October 27, 2004

Dear Friends,

We recently returned from a two-week trip to Virginia and Pennsylvania. As always, there were dozens of sub-goals but paramount was a visit to the dentist. Sharyn had a three-month long toothache. A trip to Richmond and the pain was gone. She even ate dinner that evening with a group of friends and supporters like you. A day does not pass that we do not thank God for your prayers, gifts, encouragement, and many other forms of participation that enables us to continue serving the people of Haiti.

CODEP provides several scholarships each year for students who wish to attend a vocational/agricultural high school program in northern Haiti. The school is Sts Barnabas and is an outreach of the Episcopal Church of Haiti. This year we have five students attending. Travel to northern Haiti was and is terribly disrupted due to flooding last month. Not only have travel expenses soared, but also security while traveling in that area has been compromised. Escorting our newest students via public bus to their new school, one of our staff members had a gun drawn on him. Common sense prevailed; several rivers were forded, and a five-hour trip that had become 14 hours was completed. Arriving too late to Cap Haitian to complete the trip the same day, the group was forced to spend the night in a hotel, which quadrupled the trip’s price tag. The students board near school and normally only return to the CODEP area once or twice per year. After dropping off the students and saying goodbye, Wensy, our staff member, returned to Port au Prince via a small commuter plane. Again, not a budgeted item but a wise decision based on earlier encountered problems.

CODEP has several scattered sites where we have never placed starter fertilizer on tree seedlings. In those places, after three years, seedlings are as big around as my thumb and about 4 feet high and reddish purple. A dozen steps away are similar trees that were planted the same day but received a couple handfuls of starter fertilizer. These trees are green and have beans growing in their shade. They are big around as my thigh and thirty feet tall. Decades ago, the topsoil AND the subsoil were washed from these mountain slopes. Soft, fragmented bedrock is all that remains. A couple handfuls of fertilizer, the right tree, 60 inches of rain per year, and the landscape changes from brown and parched to living, green, and productive. God is at work.

The housing program initiated a couple years ago continues to create much interest and motivate people greatly. Two types of homes are constructed. One, from treated lumber, is built in the interior regions far from the road. Because all materials must be carried on people’s heads, this long-lasting wood construction is preferred. Designed to close specifications to avoid wasting materials and yet be incredibly strong to withstand hurricanes, U.S. contractor/volunteers have been used to construct them. Travel security concerns have caused several group cancellations this past year. Further complicating the construction of wooden homes is the remoteness. Many groups who have skilled people who could construct buildings are physically unable to make the difficult trip to the job site.

Concrete homes for members who have qualified and have land are built closer to the road. This month we began constructing the latest house for Dures Durandisse. The concrete roof was poured earlier this month with the help of a group from Washington Presbyterian Church in North Carolina. Forms were removed Monday, concrete floor pad poured Wednesday, and today local masons are starting the concrete block walls.

Jn Seme Alexandre has taken off this week to attend his oldest son’s graduation from medical school in the Dominican Republic. Many years ago, you all gave a small grant to Jn Seme so he could pay for visas, entrance fees, and to find housing. An excellent student, Jn Seme’s son (also named Jn Seme) was able to get substantial aid from the university.

Oldert Lavache is a name you will be hearing more of. He was among Sharyn’s first group of Siloe graduates. He has been a teacher in the summer school program for the last couple summers. In June he graduated from the twelfth grade, CODEP’s first student to go “all the way.” CODEP is giving him a small grant to attend a two-year teacher-training college in Port au Prince. Maybe it would be better stated to say, “You are giving him a small grant to attend a two-year teacher-training college in Port au Prince.” Several hundred dollars a year and he will return to the community fully trained and ready to train others. He has already demonstrated a commitment to the community, a super attitude, and a gentle Godliness in his life.

Please pray for:

• Wisdom for our staff leaders as they are constantly confronted with changing situations and difficult decisions.
• Continued rains as the dry season rapidly approaches.
• Security in the country to allow visiting groups to come as needed.
• Construction-skilled visitors to construct wooden houses.
• Rapid, safe completion of concrete house for Dures.
• Success in school for St Barnabas students, Oldert, and Siloe School students.
• Praise for both Jn Semes and all they have completed to date.
• Encouragement and direction for Jn Seme (Jr.) as he begins his residency/internship program in the Dominican Republic.
• Awareness and response to CODEP budget needs as year comes to a close.
• Continued calm through the Leogane/CODEP area.

Please share the good news coming from Haiti with others. God is doing a marvelous work here. If you and your church would like to be a larger part of it, contact Jim Pease at jpease@pobox.com. If you have questions about information from the field, write to us directly at codephaiti@yahoo.com. Thank you.

In Christ,

Rodney

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 136