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November 2007 Update
.jpg) The
New School Year
Quisqueya Christian School started the school year well. Jodie is again
teaching Kindergarten and Jessica is a 10th grader this year.
Jodie has an interesting class of nine 5 and 6 year olds. They come from a
variety of backgrounds and nationalities. Jodie works hard to keep them all busy
and learning. In addition to her usual classroom work and preparation time Jodie
also spends a lot of time in her job as elementary lead teacher. In this
position she coordinates schedules, communicates with the office concerning
issues in the elementary division, and tries to find little things to do to help
keep the other teachers happy. Finally, she coordinates chapels for the
elementary division, and leads the children in singing.
Jessica is very busy this year. She experienced a “first” for her by getting
all A’s in the first quarter of school. She is also excited to have a job as a
tutor for a 6th grade student. She seems to be enjoying it and especially likes
the $$ that come from giving up some of her free time. She is also on the
Student Council this year.
.jpg) A
part of the requirements of Quisqueya is that every student must take part in a
community project. This weekend Jessica will be spending Saturday about two
hours from Port-au-Prince where she will help plant trees for a day. This kind
of experience hopefully gives each of the students a sense that they can have a
small but positive impact on the country of Haiti.
Jessica remains a very strict vegetarian. She hasn’t had meat for over a
year and a half now and we don’t see any time in the future when that will be
changing. We sit at the same table and while Jodie and I continue to eat
hamburger and chicken she enjoys her cereal, peanut butter, and salad. We
respect her for what she is doing and I’d love to join her but I don’t find that
I have the self-discipline for it.
In October Quisqueya experienced a great loss. Katie Broecker, the school
recruiter, Student Council director, basketball coach, PE teacher, and yearbook
coordinator was found dead in her bed on a Saturday morning. She was 25 years
old. There were no obvious reasons for the death. Katie was loved by her
students and the campus is mourning the loss. Please keep Katie's family, and
Erson, her fiancé, in your prayers.
The Clinic at Prospere
On our return to Haiti in early August I had planned to spend a few days
preparing then starting the clinics back up. Unlike other years, Eden was sick
and not available to keep the clinic open during our time away this summer, so
we needed to get things ready for a complete re-opening. At least that was the
plan. But due to many long nights of continuous rains in Haiti the roads to
Prospere were impassable. I would drive out occasionally to check if the roads
were passable and even learned a number of “back” ways of getting there but we
could never make it due to the flooding. Finally on September 6th we found a way
through. It wasn’t all that nice for the car but at least we were able to begin
the clinics. The “restarting” part wasn’t all that hard to do since our patients
were happy to see us back.
.JPG) .jpg) Tim
DeYoung, a missionary who grew up in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and I
have been friends for a long time. Now as a married man he and his wife (a
dentist) are here with a group known as Medical Ministry International. Tim and
Paola are working to develop dental and medical clinics in some of the
impoverished areas in the two countries where they serve. So after the back
fields became passable we took a day in Prospere when our medical clinic was not
scheduled and did an MMI dental clinic. We had three dentists, a dental
assistant, an EMT, and a doctor. They extracted, cleaned, and fixed more teeth
than you would want to think about. It was a great experience for me. It’s
always nice to see others trying to give their skills and lives in order to
serve those who are in need.
About the middle of October we finally got to drive the whole way to the
clinic on dirt roads. How nice those rough rocky roads seemed after having to
drive through the fields so many times!
The clinics continue to go well. Eden is back and her strength seems to
increase with every clinic we do. When we got back in August she was barely able
to walk outside of her home in Petionville, but now she walks to the market, to
the road where I pick her up for the clinics, and is becoming more active at the
clinic every time we go.
One other person who has been a very special addition to our work recently
has been Jan Flanagan. Keith and Jan Flanagan are from the Church of God in
Oklahoma. They have been in Haiti for about 20 years now where Keith is a Doctor
of Veterinary medicine and a missionary par excellence. Jan worked with special
needs children until recently, when the orphanage where she was working closed.
She has been working at the Prospere clinic keeping things clean, assisting me
with examinations, passing out medicines, and simply helping me be able to stay
off my legs more than I would have been able to had she not been there. She has
been a blessing and has a real heart for ministry.
Visitors From the North
.JPG) Ron
and Carol Baker came to visit. These two friends of ours come from my home town
in Newton Falls, Ohio. Ron and Carol have been working with the Church of God in
the Dominican Republic. They have spent a lot of time in the Dominican helping
in the growth and support of the national church leaders. Now they are
interested in expanding their work into Haiti. They were kind enough to come
down for 12 days in September to see what we were already doing and dialogue
with us to see if there were concrete ways that they could contribute to the
work that we are doing in Haiti. In addition to this they visited with many of
the Children of Promise sponsored children at the “House of Blessing” children’s
home where Phil and Lonnie Murphy worked for many years. Children of Promise is
a child sponsorship program of the Church of God which raises money for children
to be able to attend schools.
Ron and Carol spent most of the time while I was working in the clinics
walking around Prospere and researching what they could do for us that would
help us in our desire to make Prospere not only a healthier place to live but a
place where Haitians would enjoy living.
They are bringing a work group down in December. This group will be made up
mostly of people from the Newton Falls Church of God in Newton Falls and a small
group of men from the Church of God in the Dominican Republic.
What they will be doing.
1. Securing the doors of both the clinic and the Church in Prospere so that
equipment can be kept without the danger of it being stolen.
2. Closing the open areas between the roof and walls of the church (the church
also acts as the school) so that birds won’t have easy access to the church,
leaving it filthy.
3. Since the youth of Prospere have almost nothing to do during their free time
and also have little to do socially, they plan to begin the construction of a
basketball court. Although they will not be able to complete it during the first
work camp they are hoping to be able to return and finish this project.
4. They are again planning on returning to the House of Blessing to visit the
children involved in the Children of Promise program and deliver Christmas
presents to them. Ron and Carol hope that these visits by them and especially by
the leaders of the Dominican Republic Church will encourage the growth of the
Children of Promise program in the Dominican Republic.
The New Knees
As most of you know, in June I had a double knee replacement. It seems that
almost everybody asks how the new knees are doing. So here’s the current report:
I still realize that the new knees are not the ones that I was born with. It
is sort of like they replaced the joints with bags of marbles which seem to do
the stability trick but I can still hear them whenever I bend, straighten, or
walk on the legs. Now that wouldn’t be too bad but the sound is often so loud to
me that I get the feeling that everybody can hear it (they can’t). I know this
sounds crazy but it makes me feel self-conscious to make all that noise. So I’ll
live with my self-consciousness because for the most part the pain is gone. The
only time I have pain is when I have to stand and walk on them for extended
periods like at the clinic. I was given a great gift of a stationary bicycle
which I am now trying to use on a regular basis. Yes, they do hurt after riding
for two or three miles. But now I can go down steps twice as fast and I don’t
have to step down one step followed by the next foot on the same step. Things
are improving. Thanks for your concern.
-.jpg) Project-Link
Report
Project link is the program by which churches and individuals give tax free
contributions to us so we can make improvements in the lives of those we serve
here in Haiti and improvements in the physical equipment and buildings we use to
do this. At present our Project link money is designated for the securing and
improvement of the clinic room and the Church of God in Prospere, play areas for
the children there, and a waiting area for the clinic and exploration of finding
someone to drill a new clean water source. To date the following has been worked
on:
1. The waiting area is built but we are still waiting on an addition to the
roof which would keep the rain out of the structure.
2. A work group from Newton Falls, Ohio is coming down and will be securing the
clinic and Church doors, closing the roof of the church so birds cannot enter
and make a mess of the place, and setting up a basketball court area where the
children can play
3. I have just approached a person in the community to price the laying of a
cement pad that I will cover with indoor/outdoor carpet and fence as a place for
the young children (under 6) to play. I will need some toys for this but please
don’t send them. If interested contact me. Things I know that I would like for
this area would be about 10 good quality tricycles of all sizes. They don’t have
to be new but certainly in good condition, and tough. Please contact me with
information if you would like to contribute money, astro-turf or tricycles for
this area.
The next project that I am just contemplating is the building of a secure
place to keep the play equipment and school supplies for the school that takes
place in the church.
To all the individuals and Churches who have given or will give toward the
completion of these projects I give you my personal thanks and commit to using
well every cent of money you give toward these projects. If you are interested
in giving please send any funds to
Church of God Ministries
PO Box 2420
Anderson IN 46018
On the memo line of each check please write: Project #42.30233-Prospere
Clinic.
.jpg) A
Son in the Family!
On September 20th our Jacquie was married to Kevin Bonewitz in a civil
ceremony at the courthouse in Anderson, Indiana. Friends in attendance were
Jacquie Gross (Jacquie’s Grandmother) Deanna Edwards (Jacquie’s aunt), Barry
Callen (a family friend) Darcy (Kevin’s sister) and Stephen (Kevin’s friend).
Jacquie graduated from Anderson University in May this year with majors in
political science and French. She is presently working for Sallie Mae in Muncie,
Indiana. Kevin is presently a student at Anderson University majoring in
Business and Finance. He is employed as a financial counselor at Anderson
Citibank.
Their address is:
Jacquie Ackerman & Kevin Bonewitz
1314 Jonathon Ct. Apt. D
Anderson, IN 46013
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