Words from Pastor Pierre
Apr 5th, 2012
Dear Precious Friends and Faithful Supporters:
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus who died for us on the cross of Calvary and who rose again so that we can live spiritually.
Sunday is Easter Sunday. The Christian churches celebrate Christ resurrection. I am in particular very grateful for the resurrection of Christ because if I know you today is because of His resurrection. If this ministry exists in Lacroix today it is because of His resurrection. If you are so committed to helping the children here it is because of His resurrection. His resurrection has caused us to go an extra mile. It causes us to deny ourselves and to think of others. That is why when you get your pay check you set some money aside for the children in Lacroix. Some of you sacrifice some needs to meet the need of others here. Only Christ could make this possible. I was very self centered until I come to the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus. Now look at me. I am given to helping my fellow Haitians. Only in God this is possible.
Today I got some more exciting news to share with you. I got an email from Laurie Adams that $11,000.00 are given for three new wells here for villages where Lacroix Mission serves. What a blessing! Again this is another example how God provides for this ministry. It seems since the beginning of this new year the Lord has made me prosperous. No wonder my wife's last name is Prosper. I am not kidding. Her last name is Prosper. Since the beginning of this year you can notice I changed the way I signed my updates: Instead of signing Prosperpierre, I sign God Prosperpierre. You know I have been prosperous when I used to sign Prosperpierre now that I sign God Prosperpierre I become more prosperous.Yes I am more prosperous. You are going to see that in this email.
The Church of the Holy Spirit of Leesburg, VA has been here since Wednesday Last week ministering in the Word. We have been having a revival and a Crusades that last two weeks. The group is leaving tomorrow but the crusades will go on till Sunday night. They evangelize in the community and they distribute food to the villagers. So far this year every group that come proceeds in the food distribution. People come every day for food. Laurie Adams has started that fire. The fire is still burning. There is a village in lacroix that has been neglected when we distribute food but my wife just call these people to receive food. St Valentine Church in Bethel Park PA has sent us about $4,000.00 to buy food for the people. We are so grateful for that. Again you can see how God provides for this ministry. Bethel Bakery has sent more than $18,000.00 of which $8,000 plus was designated for food. We thank God for His provision. When you order your cake from Bethel Bakery you automatically support the Lacroix Mission. Ha Ha.
The Church of the Holy Spirit has bought a Sound system last year for the church. Now they pay for a potable system for evangelism in the village. We have devoted ourselves to evangelize the whole community of Lacroix this year. Every first Monday of every month we hold evangelistic meeting in a different village so every one can hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Lord has blessed me this year with a very great blessing. My daughter Vanessa is going to College this fall and she has obtained scholarship for her four years of College. She has a scholarship of $40,054 a year for four years. They said that she just needs to maintain her GPA in order for her to continue to receive the fund every year. Let's take for granted she maintains her GPA and the total amount for four years is $160,216. She is accepted in the University of Iowa where my daughter Myrtha went to College. Where in the world would Pierre come up with this sum? Now you see I have become more prosperous. The Lord has more in reserve for me and as he unfolds them I will let you know. Vanessa is in Advanced Placement Program this year. She is a straight A student. You know she has received letters from more than 30 Colleges. I told her when she asked me for advice to see which College offer full scholarship.
I will continue to committ myself more in the harvest of the Lord because it pays to serve the Lord. The Lord is taking care of my needs and the those of mine family. Sometimes there is a tendency to let doubts sneak in especially when we think of the future. My God is great. I will never cease to thank Him and to tell of his wondrous to the whole world.
I am blessed. I am blessed. Every day that I live I am blessed. May My God bless you as well! I conclude that I own God.
I have another thing to share about the micronutrient program: Yesterday I was at the clinic and I asked a report on the program. One of the nurses in charge of this program told me that there is no better program than this one. She said a child who weighs 4 kgs after a month weighs 6 kgs. It is unbelievable. I think every mother should know about this program. Yesterday during a visit in the homes, I saw some children who are very undernourished. I told their mothers about the program. I said you should go fast in the clinic and ask for this vitamin that Pastor Pierre said can help my children. Thank you Heinz for this diamond program that gives life in abundance to these children. If Jesus is the first Savior of the children, Heinz company is the second savior. Let us thank God for putting in the mind of the responsibles of Heinz to step a foot in Haiti for the redeeming of the kids here. Thank you Heinz for obeying God. You could choose to go somewhere else but you choose Haiti. Thank you so much.
God Prosperpierre
Mar 26th, 2012
Dear Precious Friends and Faithful Supporters:
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus. This is the remaining of the update I sent you last night.
Laurie Adams's visit this time had a twofold purpose: First: she wanted to do clinics in the villages like she did last January two months ago. Second: She wanted to do get me some acquaintance with Operation Blessing International in Port au Prince, Haiti. For the same reason she had Pastor Brian Shivler and her daughter Halie come with her in order for us to take a trip to Operation Blessing International during their stay here which we did on Saturday March 17, 2012. We met with Eric Lotz Deputy Director of Operation Blessing International. Mike Riddle come all the way from Leogance some 30 miles south of Port au Prince to come and see us and to tell us about the work that he does in clean water. We met several others like David and Crawford Nelson. Crawford is Haiti Health Coordinator. They hosted us for the night and at their best they explained to us every thing they do. We even visited an orphanage that they have in Port au Prince for the handicapped children, children that somehow were abandoned in General Hospital and who did not have any other chance of survivance.
Operation Blessing International work in disaster relief/medical aid/ hunger relief/clean water/orphan care. We talked about clean water and well drilling as well as medical aid. My eyes were wide open when I went to visit their tilapia pounds. I covet to have one like that in lacroix. They promised to come and visit my place to see what possibility that I have. My visit there was a blessing. Laurie is still working on establishing a strong relationship between Operation Blessing and lacroix Mission for there is a lot that Lacroix can benefit from Operation blessing.
We had a very special man on the Zion United Methodist Church team whose name is Tony Gehenio. He came to teach our guys how to do a better job welding. He taught them things that they didn't know such as the kind of welding rods to use for each job. They used to weld every thing with the same kind of rods. Now they know that there are several kind of rods depending on the job. My Haitian guys were very eager to learn. Tony also bring an electric welder and equipment that my guys can use. Now for the sake of the schools outside of the mission like Paul, Lacoupe Boukan Tony and Perisse where there is no electricity, we plan to buy an electric welder powered by its own generator. There are available in the country at the same store where we bought the vibrator and where we bought the diesel generator. I am praying for God's provision.
Today the medical clinic in Lacroix has received more patients than ever. For the first time this year they finish working at 5:00 PM though we had three doctors, six nurse practioners seeing patients. My wonderful wife Ermithe provides lunch for all on staff. They just left for Gonaives. The advantage they have is that the clinic provides transportation for them. It takes also a lot of medicines when we have to see 300 plus patients. Thank God medicines are available at the clinic.
By the way the pre-eclampsia patient did not make it. She died. Her funeral was saturday evening. I did not get to go to the funeral because I did not know. This is the story behind her death. Our clinic after we had every thing under control with her blood pressure normal, referred her to Dessalines. There they offered to do C section to take the baby, she said no because she said she knew what the problem is. Unfortunately she was deceived by witchdoctors. That is why she died. She delivered the baby safely but then expired. She was 25 years old. It was her very first pregnancy. I heard that some Americans took the baby for adoption. I see we cannot expect people to accept our teaching 100% until they all accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. Please pray for us.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this update. Another one will be on its way soon.
God bless.
God Prosperpierre
Mar 21st, 2012
Dear Precious Friends and Faithful Supporters:
Greetings from Lacroix- Haiti the village that many of you have adopted to put your name and to do wondrous for the Lord. I am very proud to work with you and to be your representative here. I appreciate every thing that you are doing to alleviate our task here. Thank you very much.
We were happy to have with us last week the Zion United Methodist Church outreach with Bill and Becky Ross as leaders. They had with them Laurie Adams, Nancy her twin sister, Rev. Brian Shivler and lovey daughter Halie from North Hills; Dan and Rebecca Hills and Dr Tommy Tigar.
Dan, Bill, Tony and Dr Tom went to Paul to wire the clinic. They had done a great job.Now the clinic is ready for a generator.The nurses told me that they had a delivery with only a flashlight. Though it is not in good condition I took a small generator of 5kws there so they can turn it on to charge their cell phones and to have deliveries. There were times when we wanted to communicate with them we could not because their cell phones are dead.
On Sunday March 11, one day after the team arrived, they met with more than 100 pregnant women upon Dr Dan Lattanzi request. The women like that especially when it comes to learn how to have a safe and healthy pregnancy and safe delivery. This encounter was a lifesaver. We saved the life of a young mother with first pregnancy who was diagnosed with preeclampsia. We thank the Lord for that.
On Monday we went to Lacoupe and held clinic there. On Tuesday we went to Paul and worked in the clinic. Again we saved the life of a pregnant woman brought by her midwife. Pastor Brian took her to Marchand Dessalines the nearest hospital for care. Later we learned that every thing went well for that woman and new baby.
On wednesday we went back to Lacoupe and on Thursday we went to Paul and worked in the village. We had some serious cases. We are convinced that clinic in the villages is very important. Thank God for Laurie Adams whom the Lord has laid on her heart to buy medicines for clinic in the villages. The clinic cannot afford to have this because it needs to buy its own medicines and it is self sustained.
The group decorated the school building and painted caracters on the outside walls in LaCoupe for the first time. The building looks very nice now. You must see it. They had also redone the walls of the kindergarten building in Lacroix. It is more beautiful than ever. Thank God. These people are professionals. They know what they are doing. I am praying that they be back to paint the addition that we are working on now and the new school building in Paul next year Lord willing.
Dr Usha has also worked with the nurses in Paul and evaluated them. She gave a very good report about them for that I am glad. They have been installed there in Paul three weeks now. They stay there without going to Lacroix. I did not expect them to stay that long without going home. They seem to love what they are doing. It is cool there. In the evening it is cold to them. My wife has sent them some blankets. It will take times before the clinic in Paul become self sufficient like the one in Lacroix. Every day they have new patients. They don't have a large group but every day new people come and they come from far away. Since the clinic is open 24/7 people come with emergency patients in the middle of the night. That is why we hire a watchman for them.
Dr Usha has brought an EKG machine for the clinic in Lacroix. She taught Dr Patricia and Dr George how to use it. Praise God. The team also brought two microscopes. We are blessed.
Brian and Sandy Kalmar brought four laptops for us. Thank God. We were in need of them. One went to Dr Miguel who had lost his on the plane. Eguens a student in civil engineering was in need of one and also received one. Youvely a student in medical school received one as well. For her mother she cannot be thankful enough because it would take her two years to save money to buy a laptop for her. The fourth one is in my possession. It is the one that I have been using in replacement of my dead laptop. I have been back in business since the team arrived last week.
I have several more updates to send you. Pray that I find the time to do so. You are going to be blessed to hear and see how God has answered your prayers.
I love you all with the love of the Lord.
May God bless you as
He Prosperpierre
Feb 18th, 2012
Dear Precious Friends and Faithful Supporters:
Here I am again as I have promised. It is not my fault; you have to admit I cannot make it without you.
Every thing is going well here. As I sit to write this update, I can hear the masons working on the addition to the kindergarden buiilding. They are now pouring the colums and the beams before they make the forms for the roof. I hope next week they will start working on the form in order for the roof to be poured. It is taking time more than I have expected. There is more work than I have expected.
The Mitsubishi truck is now fixed and ready to be on the road again. This next week is holiday what we called Mardi Gras. They won't be any school till Thursday Lord willing.
They continue to work on the road going to Lacoupe. We cannot stop thanking God for this great miracle. Now we will be able to get along with the projects that we have. The school has now 500 kids. They have outgrown the current building that we have. We have only five classrooms that accomodate 50 children each and the rest of the children meet in one big room that is not even enough for all of them. The plan is to build six more classrooms. I am very proud of the school there. All the teachers are attending college in order for them to become professional teachers. The principal of the school is attending classes on weekends in order to be more qualified as Principal. Another teacher is also attending Theological seminary. They are moving ahead. There are a lot of potential leaders there in Lacoupe. I told Pastor Wisner yesterday let us see their talents and then we can send them to the right place to get the necessary training for their calling. It costs about $ 3,000.00 US to keep the staff trained a year and this goes for four years. But it worths it.
There will be a food distribution next week in Lacoupe. People there are starving. Friends of Haiti have sent $3,000 to buy food for the people there when they found out about the need. The reason it is delayed is because of the truck situation. It will be done next week for sure. Now the road is being fixed it will be easier for the truck to make it with a load of food.
We do have a small team here since last Sunday. Karen Pope from Virginia , Jill Robbins from Altlanta Georgia. Gail from Florida arrived on Thursday. There is one who supposed to join them here on the 21. They are here to for the After School Program. They are working with our Haitian staff to equip them so they can continue the program. They are very enthousiastic. They have visited several parks here in the countrywith our staff in order to give our folks an idea of what they want to see happen in Lacroix. They teach the children in the school daily. They are telling them wwhy they are here and what they would like to do with them. Today they had 120 children from different ages in a soccer tournament. You should see how happy these kids are. We also feed them.The Lord is opening doors for the people here in Lacroix. Praised be his name.
Well I better stop now. But next week Lord willing I will have more for you. Have a good weekend.
God bless.
God Prosperpierre
Feb 17th, 2012
Dear Precious Friends and faithful Supporters:
Greetings again in the name of our wonderful Jesus, our Savior and Lord.
Hope you are not tired of me yet. There are times I don't write but when the news are so excited I feel I can't keep it to myself I need to share it right away.
God works sometimes in mysterious way. He amazes us a lot of times.
By the way I am using the secretary computer that is why I use it after she is gone for the day. My computer died. Thank God it is the computer that died and not me. Ha Ha. A friend is going to help me get one. By the way if you have a laptop that you are not using please send it here for an engineering student that needs one to do his school work. He is one of our student that we are paying for his education. He also plays the base guitar in church. If you have one please contact Sister Shelley and she can connect you with someone going to Haiti. Now, let's go on with the update.
Tuesday afternoon February 14, I called the office of the engineer of Public Work to ask them if they can help us with the roads going to Lacoupe knowing they have machinery that can do the work. The Engineer asked me to bring three to four people to the office in order to make the petition official. There is a saying in our language that goes like this "Bat fe a pandan li cho" In English "Strike the iron while it's hot." I went the next day, Wednesday morning, with three people Pastor Wisner and two teachers from lacoupe.I could not believe my ears. The director upon hearing my request asked, "When would you like the work to get done, tomorrow? We are ready to send the equipment but you need to provide the fuel and then be nice to the operator. Since yesterday the Bulldozer was carried there on the road to lacoupe right at the steep hill. I have been on site this afternoon and the operator is doing a wonderful work. I thank God . The whole operation is going to cost us around $3,000.00 US for fuel for the bulldozer and also for the truck that carried the Bulldozer to the site.. Every body says that it is a miracle for Public Work Department to grant our request that quick. They did not even require a letter. God was at work. Praised be his name!
The reason we asked them to help is because we are very limited to what we can do there construction wise. No big trucks can go up there because of the road. I am so excited to see that happen. The operator thought we were going to hire people to move the rocks as the bulldozer dig them out. He was surprised to see how the community come together to do it. They have good reason to do that because they have been working hard to build this road to begin with. We are surprised to hear the operator said that he will be working tomorrow even though it's weekend.
I have more to write but it is getting late and I need to go to bed. I will get back with you tomorrow Lord willing.
God bless you.
God Prosperpierre
Feb 10th, 2012
Precious Friends and Faithful Supporters:
Greetings in the precious name of Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer.
PP is back at your door knocking. Please open the door to let him in. Please! It's too cold outside! Let him in! He won't be long!
He promised not to give you too much at the time but to give you something to munch on each time. Here here is now.
As you probably already know it by now, the new year has brought potable water for the people in Paul. So far Hands Together had drilled two wells out of four in Paul. They would have had three wells dug had it not been for three dry holes. Last week we were able to have two handpumps installed. It was very delightful to see people carrying five or seven gallon bokits of water on their heads. I have not seen this since I have made my first trip to Paul. I thank God for the Hickory United Presbyterian Church who had provided this money for wells and thank God for Friends of Haiti who had raised the money for the pumps. People are very exicited for water. The first day after the pump was installed in the well at the clinic, there were, I was told, 197 bokits that people carried from that well full with water. It was a big celebration. Since we are located by the route, vehicles stopped and asked what is there because they saw the crowd and not the bokits since the bokits were in line. We thank God for Bobbie Hartman who has tested water from both wells and the water is safe to drink without any bacteria. Praise the Lord. I told the people that the water is safe to drink but they just need to wash the recipients and rinse it with bleach water before they put water in them.
One lady made this comment as she came for water someone told me, " We should start calling Pastor Pierre Papa Pierre."
I remember when I first came to lacroix in 1975, the water situation was even worse but with God's help we were able to solve it. This is the beginning of our ministry at work in Paul. I told the people there that the best is yet to come.
The young Pastor that we have installed there in Paul, Sadrack is doing a fantastic job. He took the church with 30 to 40 people and now in three months they meet on Sunday with 150 to 200. I thank God for that. He said that he had walked like five hours one way to visit people in the villages.These are places on the mountains where motocycle cannot go. I told him to train leaders who can in turn doing what he is doing. I am very proud of him. He goes to school on Friday and Saturday in Gonaives in order to get a degree to teach and to be the headmaster for the school there. There is a great possibility for the school to develop into a bigger school like Lacroix. As of now there are about 700 children in the school.
Pastor Sadrack is looking for a property to buy to build the school and the church. There are three families who offered properties already. We are waiting to see what the price is going to be. Once the property is found and paid for we would like to start building as soon as we have the legal title for it. I told Sadrack that I want the church to step up in the search of the property and I do not want to be involved otherwise it is going to cost more. Please pray for God's provision. I know He is always faithful to provide.
We covet your prayers for Pastor Sadrack as he presents the Gospel of Jesus Christ to these people who are big in voodoism.
Pray that more wells be provided in the village of Paul in order for people to enjoy good health like those in Lacroix.
God bless you all.
God bless Prosperpierre
Pray that more wells be dug in Paul so people there can enjoy clean water as the people in Lacroix and in its surroundings.
Feb 7th, 2012
Dear Precious and Faithful Friends and Supporters:
Greetings in the name of the most High. It's been a while since you heard from me. This is my very first update since the new year and the first one since I changed my email address. I know you are waiting for this and I am sorry for the delay. Please forgive me.
Since January 7 to Feb. 4, we have been hosting teams in Lacroix. They came back to back which is good because every time we dropped a group, we pick another one. The last team as I mentioned left last Saturday. Good News Gathering with Pastor Jeff Lyle as the team leader was the first to come on January 7 . There were accompanied by a group from West Virginia led by Sharon Dennison, a nurse practitioner. They were kept busy, preaching, teaching, working. They build the record room in the medical clinic in Paul along with shelves in the pharmacy room where there were no shelves at all. Medicines were laid on a table. They also built ceilings in the two rooms in the four seasons that we plan on adding Air conditioning so our guests can be somewhat comfortable when they come in July/ August, the hottest months of the year.
The second group was a medical team from the North Hills with Laurie Adams as team leader. With them came Andrea Loether and Dr Opal. The group from West Virginia stayed for two weeks and they worked together as a team. We focused on Lacoupe and in Paul. They spent one day at the clinic in Lacroix and then we went to Lacoupe two days and to Paul two days seen patients. IN Paul we did not work in the clinic building but we went to the villages and see patients for free. It was a blessing to provide health care for several hundreds patients who would not have received care if the group did not go. We saw a lot of children with fungus on their head but we only had medecine for just a few. Laurie Adams is coming back with a group of Doctors in March and she wants to do this again. They will be more prepared especially for these children who have fungus.
The last group we had was the Westminster Presbyterian Church. Some of them came for one week and some of them like Paul Conley, Tom and Bobbie Hartman stayed for two weeks. They had the opportunity to deworm the school children in Paul and in Lacoupe, Perisse and Boukan Tony.
Bobbie taught chemistry and developed the chemistry lab. She also worked with the chemistry teacher in order for him to continue after she leaves. The children are very eager to learn. Renee has taught English to a group of children who asked her. She had over 50 in her class every afternoon. Tom was busy designing new buildings for me like a residence for the medical staff in Paul for it is not good for them to reside in the clinic. Also he designed a utility room for Paul where the compressor for the dental room, generator, solar panels etc. He laid out both buildings before he left on the trip. Paul worked on our Internet system and installed new wireless devices and we are back to wireless again. He also established a computer lab for the school. He was giving it a try hoping to have it in full next time he comes. For now he has 5 computers and they work well. He trained some young men like Edvens and Denis to work with the school kids.
Bobbie with the help of several in the group worked on the scarves with the girls in Lacroix and bracelets. The team was kept very busy.The scarves and the bracelets both are to help the school children with uniforms and books and also with the vocational school.
The addition to the Kindergarden building is coming along fine. It goes a little slow because we had to buy new form boards that can handle the vibrator. As of now they are pouring the columns and beams in preparation for the pouring of the roof. It is going to be a very strong and steady construction. I did not realize that two of the kindergarden classes are held in the new school building. I just found out last week. Please pray that we will be able to move these kids back to where they belong and have more rooms for the older kids.
I will write again soon.
God bless.
Prosperpierre
Dec 19th, 2011
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God forknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the first born among the brothers. And those he predestined, he also called, he also justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Ro 8:28-31
Dear God given friends:
I assumed you all knew that my yahoo account was hacked. I was not in London as said the Hacker. I have never been there. I am sorry about every thing.
The end of the year 2011 is not good for the mission. but I rest assure that God is in control otherwise it could be worse. Our generator was caught on fire during the night. Our mechanic accidentally hit and killed a young man on route# 1 accident that was unavoidable. The driver stopped without any warning and open his door and come out of the vehicle and that is how he got hit and killed. He did not even make it to the hospital ten miles away. My wife had to handle the whole situation by herself because at the time I was in Ohio for my annual routine trip. She handled it very wisely with God's help. I thank God for making the best of the situation for the mission.
My wife had a weird vision three days prior to the accident. She told several people that according to her vision something bad is about to happen but one thing I know I will be safe. She said the next day she found a dead frog before her bed. She was wondering where would that frog come from since there was no room for the frog to get inside the room.
Six weeks later, the same mechanic who was involved in the accident, his business partner was involved in an accident with his entire family. They all got severely injured and hospitalized. He lost control of the vehicle that went down a clift. The vehicle is completely destroyed.Our mechanic just told my wife that he would like to spend more time in the bloc plant from now on. It is going to be a blessing for the plant because our mechanic is very responsible and honest.
Last week one of our school students got hit and killed by a vehicle in front of the mission. This student was from Boukan Thony. The way the school super intendent described the accident it is the fault of the student. He is a 3rd grader. He just come to our school this year. He was playing on the road with another friend crossing back and forth the road. It was not the fault of the driver because he did not expect him to return on the road after he saw him cross the road. It is not the first time that this student acted like that. Anyway the School Superintendent always hold meeting with the parents to explain to them the behavior of their children when school is out. The parents of the deceased child was aware of their child practice on the road. However the driver is taking full charge of the funeral. The school superintendent had to accompany the parents because every thing is be to done legally.
One may ask what happen to the buses. Good question! The nearby students are not eligible as well as students from Boukan Thony because there is a road thru White Oak that takes them straight to their village without being on route #1. The two buses cannot accomodate 1400 children.But we are making progress.
This week my yahoo account has been hacked. I am sorry about all of you who have received that email about the awful trip. It was not me. According to experience when you register to an hotel you do that with your credit card and then when you leave you just sign the receipt and they don't ask you for your credit card again. I have never been to London. Pierre doesn't take vacation except in Grand Cayman because it is prepaid by someone for me. I even received a call from someone who used to work at the mission in lacroix who is now in Paris, France who has received that compromised email. He called my wife to confirm before he sends the money. He was surprised when he heard it was me answering the phone. I told him that I really appreciate the fact that he wanted to help. I had several nationwide calls about the same situation. I was worried about whether or not the business lady in Haiti who does all my transaction for me had received that email. She did but she knew that the account has been hacked. I thank God for that.
To tell you the truth since then I have been afraid to even turn my computer on. I am still working on fixing the problem. I still have to transfer my yahoo account before I close it completely. Not every one receives this email. If you do please forward it to those you think would be blessed by it. I know some already like Mike Ehland, Shelley Buchanan (Hillside Christian Community) Denise Douglas for Friends of Haiti, Victoria Bender, Becky Ross, Bonnie Eichler, Marchetta Klamut etc forwards it. Please do I would appreciate that.
Not all the news are bad. I also have some good news for you. The Well drlling team has been to Paul last week. They have started to dig. They got one well dug at the clinic. They found water at 120 feet. They are now digging by the existing Lacroix Haiti Mission school across the road from the school. Last I heard they find no water yet. Please pray that they find water. The hardest place I thought water would be hard to find was at the clinic.
Now that there is water, once a pump is installed in that well I am going to plant reforestation trees as well as fruit trees. Without a fence it is going to be diffcult but I am going to hire some one just to take care of the trees like I did in Lacroix at the clinic back in the late 90s. I hope within a year if you go to Paul you will have a different view of the area.
Please pray for me as I am trying to recover from that dilemna. Thank you for all that you do. I would not be able to do all this without your prayer amd money. May the Lord continue to bless you as he has started!
Stay with God's blessing.
Godprosperpierre
Nov 28th, 2011
Dear Special Friends:
I hope you had a very good thanksgiving with your family. Though thanksgiving day is not coming till next year again but as Christians we give thanks to God every day. Thank you all of you who had hosted me in your home in Ohio and Indiana. Thank you for making 'su casa mi casa.' I had a great time. It could no be any better than that. It was a great visit. Thank you.
A seven year old black boy asked his mother this thanksgivng day why do they call tomorrow Black Friday? Is this a celebration day for the Black? Her mother said no son it is not; you see both White and Black waiting in line at the store on black Friday. Does any one have a clever answer to this boy's question?
By the way my cell phone has been turned off. The plan that I have is prepaid. Since I am going to be in haiti most of the time I do not need it. However I can be reached by email. I still have the number. It is not disactivated. i just cannot use it until I add minutes. My minutes are kept in my pocket for now.
There is a link that is about to establish between the Pittsburgh teams and the Ohio teams on behalf of Lacroix Mission. Archie Barber a supporter of the mission from the very start is scheduled to go to Pittsburgh on december 5 Lord willing to meet with Ed Lyness, Tom and Bobbie Hartman, Dave Errett and possibly Paul and Sandy Conley. Since Archie is an electrician and scheduled to go to Haiti with the Good News Gathering on the second week of January 2012, he wants to continue the work that was left undone.I thank God for that. Please pray that this meeting is a good one.
We are coming close to the day of the inauguration of the clinic in Paul which is Sunday December 4 Lord willing. We have two distinguished guests from Leesburg VA who are coming: Ken Ivey and Warren Rathjen both from the Pucelleville Baptist Church. I thank God for their presence. They are coming to install a new block machine in the sander block plant in Gonaives and also to help in the acquisition of a new generator for the mission. Ken is both a mechanic and a building contractor and Warren is a mechanic. Ken is going to look at the church building on the compound that has some major cracks and the roof trusses that are in bad shape. He does not know all that he is going to do because the purpose of his coming is to install the block machine and to help in the purchase of the generator.
Dr Lattanzi is not a guest. He is the reason for this clinic. He is going to be there for sure. There is no inauguration without his presence. It would be a great mistake on my part if I classify him as a guest because he is not. I thank Linda, his lovely wife for standing behind Dr Lattanzi in his effort to improve health for all Haitians. As the saying goes : "Behind every good man there is a good woman." I would like to make a slight correction to this. Behind every good man there is the best Woman. Let me explain: One who is good needs more than being good to make someone good; but one who is the Best can make someone Good. Now I don't expect every one to agree with me that is why I backed it up with the comment. LINDA you are the BEST.
The clinic in Paul is finished. They are now painting it. I can't wait to see it. My wife, Pastor Wisner and Dr George are making preparation for the inauguration. It is good to have a wife like my wife. She is very well organized. I thank God for her every day. She is still working on me to make me good. LOL
By the way I went to the Urology office in Winter Park, FL last wednesday for a check up. The result of the PSA come out today. It's 0.2 . My next appointment is in six months. I thank God for keeping me healthy.
The construction of the three additional classrooms for the kindergarten is coming along fine. So far every thing is going well. As I mentionned before the upstairs will be dedicated for long term missionaries. I think some privacy will make their stay more enjoyable. We are planning on making this wing more beautiful than the existing one. Thank you for making this possible thru your donations.
It might be a while before you hear from me. I am going to miss you BIG TIME. Thank you for all that you do.
God bless you!
Prosperpierre
Nov 12th, 2011
"I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles
of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty
deeds. Your ways, O God are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are
the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." Ps
77:11-14
Dear Friends:
Greetings in the most precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus. The Lord
has done so much for me since I wrote the last email that I do not want to
keep silence. I want to tell you about his wondrous so that you can share in
my joy. We serve an amazing God. He amazes his children especially those who
put their trust in him. There is none like God. What god is so great as our
God.
As I told you I was going to be in Greenfield, Indiana to translate for Dr
Miguel our Haitian dentist, I did. It was a whirlwind trip but very
profitable. Bob Wakeland and Dr Miguel drove from Greenfield, IN to
Owensville, OH to pick me up on Sunday afternoon. On Monday Nov.7 Dr Brian
Kirkwood scheduled to have him in his dental office in Greenfield from 7:00
AM to 6:30 PM. Dr Kirkwood took time of his heavy schedule to teach Dr
Miguel almost every thing that he knows. Before he works on his patients he
explains to Dr Miguel what he was going to do. He is a very good teacher. He
made it very plain and simple to him. Dr Miguel observed every thing from
extraction to implant. Dr Miguel was surprised at Dr Kirkwood's technics as
he worked on his patients. Dr Kirkwood has also contacted other dentists in
Indianapolis on behalf of Dr Miguel. He wanted every dentist to share their
expertize with him. On Tuesday Nov.8 we went to Castleton Oral and
Maxillofacial Surgery in Indianapolis. There Thomas H. Lapp, D.D.S., M.S.
and David A. Bussard, D.D.S., M.S. both worked with Dr Miguel and taught him
a lot again from extraction of wisdom teeth to bone grafting and implant.
They worked with him all day. On Wednesday Dr Miguel went to Indiana
University school of dentistry with Dr Timothy J. Carlson D.D.S. , M.S.D.,.
I did not have to be there with him because Dr Carlson is fluent in Creole.
He has been in haiti several time. in fact he lived there in Cap Haitian for
two years. On Thursday Dr Miguel flew back to Haiti.
The three days that Dr Miguel spent in Indiana were very productive.When Dr
Kirkwood heard that Dr Miguel was working with the patients in Haiti without
Xray, he said I am going to help you with that. I am going to give you two
Xray machines. One is a Panorama Xray machine. It is only five years old. He
just bought a new digital one. The other one is to be installed in one of
the rooms. In addition he gave him a lot of materials and supplies. Those
things will be shipped to Haiti soon. Dr Kirkwood has also made an appeal to
the other dentists in town to donate equipments and materials that they are
not using. He has a very good response from that. Now we need to raise money
for shipping and custom. While Dr Miguel was in Indiana he called one of his
colleagues who told him that the only Panorama Xray machine that was in Port
au Prince broke down. Therefore Dr Miguel is going to be the only one to
have an Xray machine in Haiti. Can you believe this?
Because of the absence of the Xray machine Dr Miguel could not do certain
things in his dental clinic such as root canal, implant, bone grafting etc.
Thank you Dr Kirkwood for making Dr Miguel more efficient in his practice.
From my own observation I can say the dentists are always people with a good
and big heart. They are very compassionate.They all have a giving spirit.
They are not selfish. They don't want to see people suffer. Dr Kirkwood
asked Dr Miguel, " How long does it take you to do an extraction?" Dr Miguel
said when it comes to wisdom teeth it takes him a good hour. Dr Kirkwood
said I am going to teach you a new way to do it and your clients are going
to be happy. You can do it in less than five minutes absolutely pain free.
He said you got to see a smile on your patients face when they leave your
clinic. The way he thought Miguel if I did not have a profession, I would
make myself a dentist. No I AM JUST KIDDING. You who are reading this you
can take my word for it. The dentists are nice people. If the work they do
for you hurts it is because they want to prevent more pain for you in the
future. They love you. If they care like that for the people in haiti
that they know not, how much more they are caring for you their beloved
clients.
I would like to thank Bob and Jane Wakeland for taking Dr Miguel in their
home and to provide transportation for him during his stay in Indiana. Thank
you Jane for the laptop and other things that you gave Dr Miguel to take for
his kids. Thank you so much. Thank you for teaching him English.Thank you
for the wonderful meals. Jane you are going to see me more often. I don't
need to be invited.
The good news continue. The dump truck is now at the Mission compound. I
thank the Lord for that. Every thing that has been shipped with it has made
it to the mission. Tom Hincy is very good at putting things very secure in
the truck. He loaded the tires and the plywood in such a way that nobody
could take them off the truck. Thank you Tom. Praise the Lord. The custom
fee was not too bad. It cost $4,000.00 USD to get it thru custom. I thank
God for that. Thank you Westminster Presbyterian Church for paying the
custom fee. Now we are ready to continue the building projects in Paul at
full speed. The truck will be able to carry twice the load we used to haul
or buy. I can't wait to see that. We are going to recruite a new truck
driver for this truck. Thank you Georges and Kathy Yonker for the donation
of this truck. Thank you Friends of Haiti for the money to ship it all the
way from Pittsburgh, PA to Gonaives, Haiti. Thank you Bill Biedenbach for
making sure that every part was perfect before it was shipped to Haiti.
Thank you all for your prayers.
The good news continue. The same day I sent the update about the need for
the generator the Lord provides $10,000.00 The day after God provides
$5,000.00 and just yesterday the Lord provides the remaining $4,000. Isn't
God wonderful. God is getting better and better at providing for the
mission. He showed me that in the middle of the difficulties he is present
and we can keep our heads up. in The money come just from three families.
Thank you very much. I thank you all for your prayers. God is still in the
business of answering prayers. I am going to shop for a generator in Port au
Prince next month Lord willing to see what is available there.
I am still in Ohio. Today I had the privilege to spend time with a dear
friend of mine, Archie Barber. He has been a supporter of the mission for 25
years. Yesterday I was at Praise and Worship Center in Lebanon and in the
evening I was at Kings Point Church of God. Wednesday evening I am going to
be at Burning Bush Community Church in Washington Court House and on
Thursday I will be going to Hillsboro. Sunday Nov 20 I am going to be at
Good News Gathering. Sunday evening at Seaman United Methodist Church. This
is the rest of my itinerary for this trip. Thank you for your prayers.
May God richly bless you!
Prosperpierre
Nov 1st, 2011
Dear Friends:
Greetings.
I realize this time I give you no time to breathe. This information is so important that I want it to pass it to you as soon as I can.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the money you provided for the purchase of the two school buses for the transportation of the children in Lacroix. There are a blessing for the children. You have made life a little easier for them. Thank you very much. Thank you for your willingness to respond to our immediate need inspite of your financial difficulty. Thank you again and again.
It is always our goal to accommodate our guests to the best of our ability. One of the things that our guests appreciate the most is a cool night after they had worked all day in a hot and humid climate. The idea of the air conditioned rooms was my wife's. The idea of having our guests on one floor was also my wife's. You remember how we used to have the dining room on the first floor of the Hilton and the dorm in the 4 seasons. Sometimes our guests had to walk in the rain to get from one place to another. Now you can see how my wife is the master brain. If your accommodations have improved greatly it is because of her. I just follow direction. I don't know what I would do without her. God is no dummy when He gave her to me. I always tease my wife, "Honey you are mine, aren't you?"
The first person to enjoy the air conditioned room was the Rev. Lindsey Smith, Pastor of Praise and Worship Center in Lebanon Ohio, a church that has been supporting the Lacroix Mission since its very start. He enjoyed it so much that he paid for the first two units. The air conditioners were functioning with the power generated by the 65 KWS Perkins Diesel generator that the Westminster Presbyterian Church bought us some 11 to 12 years ago. As you know Haiti power is not reliable. You can spend months without seeing it come on.
Last week on the last day of the church of the Covenant team, the generator died. The belt was broken and thus the engine stopped by itself. Before this happened, it was burning a lot of oil like a gallon per night. The cylinder head cracked and possibly the engine block. Somebody was looking at the cost for a replacement one in Florida and the one he come up costs $16,156.00. For shipping and custom we need to round it to $20,000. Thank God we already have $1,000.00 as seed money. We need your prayers for the rest. As you and I know that we serve an amazing God. This is nothing for him.
My wife did not know the plan that we have. She is so focused on making your stay easy and cool that she had the mechanic come to take it apart. As they were ready to load it on the truck to take it to Port au Prince to check the engine block for crack. I told her that it was not a great idea because they will not be able to check for real if the engine block is cracked. I admire her for that. It was that same evening the mechanic hit and killed the man as he was on his way home.
I covet your prayer as something needs to be done before the January group heads to Haiti.
Prayerfully,
Prosperpierre
Oct 27th, 2011
Dear Friends:
Greetings. It's been a while since you heard from me. That is why I sent you an update before I left for Haiti knowing that it might be a while before I send you another one.
Anyway here is PP. I am so glad to be back with you. I miss you very much. Yes I miss you.
By the way I am now in Ohio. I just arrived last Saturday October 29. This trip will put an end to my visit for the year 2011.
The last team that was in haiti last week had a great time. The leading church was the church of the Covenant of Washington, PA. They were accompanied by people from various churches. Dr Patti Fisher came with her son and a friend. Dr Fred Landenwitch sent a friend. There was a professional dental team they came for various projects: to install a new office in Gonaives for Miguel our Haitian dentist, to fix dental equipment in the existing office in lacroix and to install a new office in the new medical facility in Paul.
The medical team was kept so busy in Paul and in Lacoupe that they concluded that the days were too short. They went to lacoupe Monday and Friday and to Paul Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This convinced us that the medical clinic in Paul was a necessity. It will be dedicated on December 4 Lord willing. Right now they are laying the tiles. It is going to be very nice.
Those of you who are in Western Pennsylvania Go STEELERS AND GO GILLECE. Tom Gillece is a STEELER's FAN.
The Gillece Plumbing company has sent a young man Anthony Venditti to solve the plumbing problem that we had with three new bathrooms in the guest house's addition. It was very diffcult but he put us back in business. Now Thanks to the Gillece Plumbing that help us to accomodate our guests better in the days to come. Anthony went also to Paul to do plumbing in the bathroom that we have in the medical clinic for our American guests. Since Anthony started this plumbing from scratch he was able to teach me and Dr Miguel. I admire Anthony very much. It was his first time in the country. He had no idea what to expect. He brought all the supplies he could think of but he learned a great lesson in haiti: You cannot go to Gillece Plumbing to get all you need or to Home Depot or Lowes.You got to make whatever available work. In spite of that he did a perfect job. Thank you Tom and thank you Anthony.
Tom Hincy was able to build a compost toilet to be used in New Perisse. We bought a fifty five gallons plastic that he used. I thank God for Tom. We are going to focus on sanitation in Lacroix to stop Cholera from spreading. We are going to see if we can provide compost toilet and clean water in each village in the year 2011 and 2012. The one that Tom built is going to serve as a model for us to build more.. He has also worked on providing clean water at the mission and at at the clinic.
Dave Errett has worked on the solar systems to make them more efficient. He has discovered why the system on the compound is not working to its full potentials. One of the batteries has a bad cell. It maybe a problem in the manifacture. Had it not been for the solar Power we would not have any power at all during the day. Thank God for solar energy. The system solar at the clinic is working to its full potential. Thank God. Dave has also brought charge controllers for Boukan Thony, Lacoupe and Perisse because each has received a solar panel in order to have light for evening services. Those panels were damaged either during transport or from the manifacture and could not be used in the system.
The ladies of the team worked with all kids teaching them how to brush their teeth. They used the same principles that the Haitian Government used to teach children how to protect themselves against cholera. They sing it. In addition each child has received a tooth brush and toothpaste.. They also deworm the kids. This is very good because all children in Haiti have worms. Dr Dan Lattanzi has a program to deworm them every six months in the schools.The visiting teams take care of that. It is always in their agenda. We had a very good driver on the team, Craig Hall. He drove the team members to places they needed to go like Paul and Lacoupe. You ought to see the roads to Lacoupe. I think if we call it road we belittle the word road. There is no actual road. The people there are so eager to have medical team come their way they constructed a road with hoes, machetes and shovels. This can give you an idea. The Landcruiser (Thank God for the Speakman
Financial Institute that provided it eight years ago) made its own way. That is why we have 16 plies tires on it.
This team is the last one we had schedule for this year. The next team is scheduled to come on January 7, 2012, the Good News Gathering from Hillsboro, Ohio.
Thank you so much for your prayers. Without you I would not be able to make it.
God bless you all.
Prosperpierre
Oct 11th, 2011
Dear Special Friends:
Greetings in the name of Jesus, our Savior and our Lord.
It is always good to keep you posted. Every thing is going well here.
I arrived here in Lacroix on Friday afternoon October 7. It has not rained since I left for the US on August 27. The moment I stepped my feet on the ground it started to rain and it's been raining since. People said I brought the rain with me but I do not want to take the credit for that. God is the one who deserves it , not me. We thank God for rain every day now. The crops are not doing well. The farmers lost the first one because of too much rain and they lost the second crop because of shortage of rain.
Pastor Evens, Pastor Wisner, Pastor Merius, Me Altenor the school superintendant, Pastor Sadrac and me,we went to Paul last Sunday to install Sadrac as the Pastor of the church up there. He is going to work together with the existing Pastor, Jonel Desilaire. The church people were happy to see that. They were happy because they are going to have Bible study now. The present pastor that they have is not capable of doing that but he is a man of prayer.
Altenor went because Sadrac is going to be the principal of the school there. He needed to talk to the current principal to assure him that Sadrac is not here to take its place but to work together with him. The school there is very promising. The clinic building is almost finished. They just need to tile the floor which they will do next month.
School is now in session. The preschool is going very well. There are more children than we have expected. We had to turn some children down because we ran out of space. Every body wants to put their children in our school because of the reputation that we have. We are now working on the addition to the kindergarten. The contractor has laid out the addition to the kindergarten. They are now digging the foundation.
There has been no electricity from Haiti power in Lacroix.However there is in Gonaives 10 miles North. They said there is a problem in the lines. The only source that we have is the solar energy along with the generator. We thank God for that. In spite of the rainy days that we have been having it never goes off. Praise the Lord.
WE are expecting the church of the Covenant from Washington, PA this Saturday October 15. Denise Douglas the President of Friends of Haiti is coming with them along with other people from other churches. The leading church is the Church of the Covenant. Please pray that they have a great time here. I count on you.
Again thank you for your prayers and financial support.
God bless.
Prosperpierre
March 19th, 2011
Dear Precious and valuable Friends:
Praise the Lord! God is in control. Knowing that God is in control we can be assure that all will go well.
Yesterday Aristide returned from South Africa after he has been in exile for seven years. I did not know for sure how the climate was going to be. I cancelled a trip to Port au Prince today. I was scheduled to work at Agape Flights Office but I obtained their permission if I feel it is not safe for me to chose another day to work. I thank God for their understanding.
So far all go well. One day prior to the second run off election. There is a poll station here on the mission compound. Enough for this. I told people whether is Mirlande who got elected or Martelly I am with whoever is elected. Just want to be on the safe side
Here is an update on the wells project in Paul. The accountant has already paid the organization :'Hands Together' for the wells. I was told if I request more than a well they would give me a great discount. I was stunned when the administrator said, "They give a me a discount of 5000gourds, equivalent of $125 USD. I told him that I have a better idea: how about me paying for three wells as I should and them give me a fourth one for free. Anyway they come up with this decision: the 4th well is free but I have to pay for the casing, fuel and labor. Therefore the cost for the 4th well is 45,000 gourds an equivalent of $1,125USD. Their machine broke down and they are repairing it. They were supposed to come and drill them the beginning of this month but I am waiting. I am not in a hurry.
I have been talking to the community leaders in Paul to have meetings with the population re: the wells for once we put pumps in them they have to be able to pay for the maintnance if not don't let the mission waste its money. I make them aware of the cost per well. We help them in order for them to help themselves. Once we have this need met we anticipate great improvement in their health. The school children are going to be on time because their excuse for coming late to school is because they have to go far for water. This is the way it's been in lacroix when I arrived in 1975. If God could help us change Lacroix completely He can help us change Paul as well.
One of the first time visitors who come with Pastor Mike's team has made a donation of $2,000.00 when he heard of the needs for the hand pumps for the wells. I thank God for his provision. Therefore of the six thousand dollars needed for the pumps, one third is already in our hands. Praise the Lord.
We thank the Lord for the way He is providing money for the clinic in Paul. As I told you before I had $10,000 to start with. By faith I undertook a building project that cost three times that much. First, the Notthingham Christian Center where Pastor Bill and Karen Lusk minister, located next to Thomas Presbyterian Church on Landen Rd not only pays for the roof materials but they are coming next week to do it. All the materials are already in place for that. Praise God. Second several families have donated money toward this project. When you move in God's direction you do not worry about money because God is very rich. All the wealth in the world is at his disposal. As one said," If God gives you the vision, He will give the provision. GOD PROSPER PIERRE. HA HA. God loves me so much. I don't know why He loves me so much. He loves me so much that He put me in your monthly budget. I know sometimes your giving is a sacrifice. You don't have to give but Love compells you. You give up your wants and sometimes your needs to provide for the children in lacroix.
Right now we are working on a latrine in Paul preparing for the clinic people as well as the school children for the next fiscal year 2011-2012. They already dug the hole. The mason will start laying the stones on monday. I will make a trip to Paul on monday to have an agreement on the price. I told him if he is not expensive he will get more business from me but if he is this is his last job or he may not get it at all. This is a new contractor. My former contractor had left the country. He did not even notify me because he knew that I would have discouraged him. I have another man digging a septic for me for I plan to have a bathroom with flush toilets in the clinic for important people like you when you go up there. He will start digging on monday Lord willing.
Remember it pays to serve the Lord. When I was sick to death, the only reason the Lord let me live is because of the children here. No wonder Apostle Paul in 1Cor 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, , always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."
The school building project in Lacroix has slow down. We just roughly finish the four rooms addition as well as the stair ways and porches.We also closed the first floor porches with rebars. It is going to be very fancy when it finishes. The school children meet in it. Hopefully it will be finished soon. We thank the Lord for all that He is doing among us thru you. Thanks a lot for obeying him. When you obey him many get blessed.. Thank you for blessing us. I think this enough for you until I write my next update.
God bless you!
Prosperpierre
March 18th, 2011
Dear and Special Friends:
Greetings.
Pierre is back on the scene. I have good news and bad news to share today. The good news is Pierre and Ermithe his sweety are alive. Thanks be to God. The bad news is I had attended and still have to attend many funerals. Three of them are Pastors'wives. Three years ago two prominent Pastors in lacroix died. This week both wives died two days apart. I had the privilege to attend both funerals.
Here is an update on the school buses. I want to thank all of you who have sent donations toward saving the children on the dangerous highway # 1of Haiti. So far we have received $16,039.00. We have bought one bus that we are now using. We paid $13,000.00 for it. We have made a down payment of $2,500.00 toward $15,000.00 on a second bus. We anticipate buying at least three buses to transport 1400 children. As of now only a few children benefit the transportation. This transportation of children will also create six jobs for six jobless people: three bus drivers and three helpers to help the children in and out of the bus. What a blessing!
We continue to covet your prayers for the fullfillment of the transportation for the children. Thanks a lot for helping us enhance in a very positive way our service to the dear children of God in lacroix.
We had the privilege to host the very first outreach group from Ohio on February 26. There were 16 from different churches in Ohio. Some have come for the first time. The Reverend Michael W. Smith was the team leader. They put the roof on the church/school in Foucarde a locality of Bayonnais. They had to hike every morning because vehicle could not make it all the way. The rest of the team build school desks about 70 for the new school building. Dr Tommy worked in the medical clinic in the morning till about 2:00PM then he come to the mission to do plumbing work, him and Pastor Mike. Both stayed for two weeks. The Pittsburgh and Virginia team lead by Laurie Adams who arrived on March 5 joined them. This team did food distribution to more than six hundred families.They went to Lacoupe to distribute food but most of the distribution was done in lacroix and this for crowd control. Laurie is a nurse. She works with Dr Tommy in the clinic. They even went to Paul for mobile clinic.
Pastor William Spriggs arrive on march 8 and he is here till March 26 the day that Pastor Bill Lusk arrives with his team. They are coming to put the roof on the clinic building in Paul. He is now is Paul preaching a crusades for a week. He hired musicians, sound systems to take up there. I went to visit them today. Last night he had 14 new converts. From Monday evening to now about 28 souls have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior for the very first time. To God be the glory.
We are still praying for a Mack dump truck a tri-axles especially for the building project in Paul. I expect to pay between $25,000.00 and $30,000.00. Some one asked me, "Are you talking Green dollars or Haitian dollars? Green dollars. You know when we talk business we talk in green (USD) There is a common saying here: we get pay in haitian currency and we spend in USD. An old man went to the American Consulate for an Interview for a non immigrant visa. In his application where they ask, "How old are you?" He put twenty years old. The interviewer asked him, " Are you sure you are 20? He said," I gave you my age in US. Now it is your turn to calculate it according to the exchange rate? Ha Ha !
The school in Lacoupe outgrows the building. They now have 400 children. There are only five classrooms. Now we need to build at least three more. Pastor Wisner is doing a very job there. We have a young man in from there in Bible College in Gonaives and another one is going to College to be a school teacher. I am so glad to see them moving forward.
I may have to stop here and will send you another update soon Thank you for your prayers and financial support which allowed us to make this significant progress.
God bless.
Prosperpierre
January 29th, 2011
Dear Friends:
Greetings in the precious name of Jesus. It is so good to get back with you in order to inform you about what is going here in Lacroix. As you can see Lacroix is my home. I love it. It seems it is the only place I have perfect joy. I love being with the children that is why I am so short. The kids in the kindergarten love me. They all love to hug me. Iasked one the other day what do want Pastor Pierre to do for you. She said give me five gourds. I said five gourds what is this. She said it's money. She said you know very well what I mean. She is only three years old. I said it not good for kids your age to have money. She laughs.
Another child her name is Jovana. She is Francine's sponsored child. I saw her in church in a very pretty dress. She said my sponsor makes a young lady out of me. I laugh. You can see the closer you get to your sponsored child, the happier I become. These kids are part of me. I love them. Thank you for supporting them. Thank you for helping with the breakfast. Those kids love it.
This morning I felt led to climb the hills across the road from the mission. When I get up there I saw a young man whom said he is 17 years old. I could not believe that. He was harvesting some charcoal. That is how he makes a living. He is in school but he cannot buy books etc. That is why he quit going to school about a week ago. I thank God I met him just on time. I told him to come to see me tomorrow sometimes I can give him a note for his teacher because I am going to be away on Monday Lord willing. I will take care of his schooling for him. He is in third grade. He live near the school. He said he does not go to church because he does not have clothes but he comes in the evening services. I will be watching for him. I felt that he is the reason why I climbed the hill this morning. It is good to be obedient to the Lord.
Thursday afternoon this week accompanied by Sadrack Adolphe, a seminary student who is in his senior year, we went to do personal evangelism from house to house. I am trying to tutor him how to minister. I told him what he learns in school is different than what he is going to experience daily.
The first house we entered we found a young man who was in a motocycle accident. He was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. It's been over a year now but his kneels are in terrible shape because he did not have money to go back for treatment. Sadrack and I we felt that this man was the reason for our visit. Anyway the entire clan said that they are born again christians. I promise to help them financially with this young man medical treatment. This is genuine evangelism. As one said, "People don't care about how much you know until they know about how much you care." I took their name also for the next food distribution as well.
We went to another clan. You know here people live in clans. Families stick together. I saw a house that leans against two poles. I asked if there are people living in that house. The response is YES. Their lives are heart sick. One lady came to me and said Pastor Pierre I am the one who has been to you last week who asked you to help me with a house. They have five children. They gave birth to 9 but lost 4. The kids are in our school in Lacroix. One of them whose name is Evens St Louis said that his child sponsorship number is T-64. The children sleep with neighbors but mother and father still sleep in the house that is about to fall down. This is life in haiti. In the mean time the haitian government wasted 29 millions in a fraudulent election. We need prayers.
I have an urgent prayer request. In my letter to some of you I mentioned the danger that my children are in on route nationale 1 on their way to and from school. I am praying for several schol buses to take the children off the route 1. I went to see some that are for sale but they are not satisfactory. Yesterday on my way from Port au Prince, I saw one with 4 SALE on it. It just comes from the States. It is in good shape. It is a 1990 International a long one. I think we can easily squeeze ( Ha Ha) 100 children and even more because they are not going that far. They asked $20,000 USD. Knowing me I said how about $10,000. They said know. How about 11? NO . How about 12? NO. Finally they agree to give it for $14,000US. It is a good bargain. What I and my mechanics went to see were school buses painted in white just arrived from the US. You know what that means. The engine is not in good condition and they wanted $10,000USD for one. They said in custom only they spent $2500 US plus red tip. That is why I would rather buy them in the country to avoid these extra expenses.
Here is a calculation that I make: If I could find 14 people who could donate $1000 each this will make $14,000. Or 28 @$500; or 56 @ $250; or 112 @ $125, or 224 @ $63; or 448 @ $32; or 896 @ $16.
Please pray God has done this before and he can do it again.
I hope I did not give you more than you can chew. I hate to see you choked. Ha Ha. well you never know where Pierre is up to but just hang on.
God bless
Prosperpierre
January 21st, 2011
Dear Friends:
Greetings. This is a very short update notifying about the danger my children are in on their way to and from school. As you know the Haitian Government has undertaken the construction of High Way # 1 that goes from Port au Prince to Cap Haitian. Lacroix is about 85 miles north. The Dominican Company, ESTRELLA has made great progress with the project. As you know our haitians drivers including PP ( Ha Ha) can not fly in the air but we can fly on the road. You should see how they go fast while my children are walking to and from school. Right now it seems there is no walk way left. On the left they are building a drain with stones. I hear that they are going to do that on the other side as well. Therefore piedestrians have no room to walk on the high way. Even myself old as I am, I am afraid to walk to the clinic now because there is no way to protect myself from the oncoming vehicles. People tease me saying I am coward. The brave is in the grave but coward lives a long time.
Now it becomes mandatory to have some school buses to haul the children on the high way to prevent them from getting hit and killed by the crazy drivers. Today as I was watching the children after school, I feel really sad. I talked to the school superintendant Altenor to ask the teachers to motivate the children on a daily basis. He said he had parents meeting last sunday to motivate the parents about the danger. Please pray that the Lord provide buses for the children in Lacroix. The plan is not to take them all the way home but at least to take them from the school to the secondary road to get home. I don't remember to ask the enrollment but I think it is over a thousand kids.
Please pray with me for that. God is able. Nothing is too big for God.
God bless.
Prosperpierre
January 16th, 2011
Dear Friends:
Greetings. Tonight every one is surprised with the arrival of Jean Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc) in Port au Prince. He says that he comes to help when asked the purpose of his coming. I believe he arrived just on time when the country has a crisis for political leaders. I would say about 2/3 of the Haiti population is excited about his coming. There was a great crowd who went to meet him and to acclaim him at the airport. I don't know how they knew about his coming. People are so excited that they call one another to spread the news. I received several phone calls to notify me that Jean Claude is here in the country.
The current President has become very arrogant and has no respect for his superior. I said that after he described how he talked to President Obama who asked him to leave the country the evening of the November 28 after he messed up the election. Friday about 14 to 15 men were arrested by the police for riots. They were building roads barricades, they had guns, machetes and about $30,000USD in cash. The Police thought they were doing their job until the Minister of Justice along with the President asked the release of these men without any delay. It was done. One don't know what to expect in the days to come. Please pray for Haiti.
The two candidates that are eligible for a run off are not the best. The lady, Mirlande Manigat , is a good woman and she is very qualified for the position but her surroundings are bad and mean. Those guys who were after me and who had left the country because they were after them to arrest them are all back in the city of Gonaives on account of her. There is also a Senate who is with her who is a vagabond. The Rapist Sweet Micky is amoral. I don't know if this word is english but it means that this man is more than immoral. He has no problem to drop his pants before a crowd. His vocabulary is vulgary. But between him and the woman, if I were to choose I would choose him just to tell you how difficult it is to make a choice.
I had a man by the name of Dumarsais Dorleon who accepted Christ right in my office on Friday, January 14. He is from Paul. He is an earthquake survivor of last year. His foot was severely fractured. I promised to help him. He does welding work. I promise to buy him an electric welder so he can get back on his feet. Dumarsais is also one of the 6 sibblings that donate the property for the clinic in Paul. I gavw each one $125 USD equivalent of 5,000gourds but Dumarsais received $375 USD equivalent of 15,000 gourds so he can buy the welder machine. When he got to my office he said Pastor Pierre I don't know why God is so good to me because I am not even a Christian. I told him not to kid me for I never knew he was not a christian. I asked him what stopped him from becoming one. He said nothing. So I led him to Christ. I thank God for this new soul.
In the mean time the clinic in Paul is progressing. They are now finished with the inside walls. They start plastering now. They are digging a pit latrine now. Nex thing I need to build a place for the nurse who is going to run the clinic. I am still praying for a well driller to go there to drill wells for the people and for the school.Please join me in prayer for this great request.
We now have the guest house completely run on solar. It is going to lower the bill a lot. We can't wait to have the whole compound on solar.
Thank you for helping us go green.
Again thank you for your prayers and financial support.
Prosperpierre
December 3rd, 2010
Dear Precious Friends:
Greetings in the precious name of Jesus who in turn make us precious. We are precious in the eyes of each other because of His provision on the cross. We see spiritual before material, people before things, our neighbors before ourselves.
Sometimes it is better to lose a few dollars than to lose our lives. These days in Haiti the political situation is heartbreaking. A lot of money has been wasted for an election that leads the country to chaos. It put the haitians in a very difficult situation. There have been riots in the cities since November 28 after they discovered that the Haitian Governmemt was trying to steal the votes of the people for his hand picked candidate. In the city of Gonaives they are going on demonstration with the lead of a well known and prominent Senator requesting that the presidency be given to Mirlaande Manigat a 70 year old female presidencial candidate. It is not because this Senator loves the Haitians or the country. He has a selfish goal in it. Each department is fighting for their candidate. It is very sad. I don't know how long this is going to last. The Haitian Government has lost his authority before the people since it deliberately deferred the election.
The majority of the presidential candidates had asked that the election of Nov. 28 be cancelled after they noticed the fraud and also so many people were able to vote because it was not well organized. It is said that the result will be published on Tuesday Dec. 7 Lord willing. This might make the situation worse.
Spend 29 million dollars for an election when 1.5 million people are living in tents did not make any sense. This money could build hosues to accomodate several hundred families. It was my pint of view before the election. Now after I see the result I was right. They wasted 29 millions and people are still starving and homeless. We are not going anywhere. Those who currently lead the country should be honest and loyal enough to admit that they are incapable and to ask the International Community to step in and help.
Now my advice to all those who are scheduled to go to haiti December, January and February is to postpone their trip. Those of you that scheduled to go in March you can still leave it open but I will keep you posted. I have been communicating with people back in Lacroix. I told them I am coming to Haiti. They said don't come yet. They are there because they have no choice but the condition is no good. They beseech me to stay where I am.
As the old haitian proverb says, :pito nou led nou la. pee to noo lead noo la. Phonograph. The lead is pronounced like the metal , English rather ugly but alive I saw a lady at Albert Schweitzer Hospital who had one leg amputated after the earthquake. I approached her and say, "Pito nou led nou la" She laughed in spite of her pain.
I know some of you have already bought your tickets and you might lose some money but Pito nou led nou la.
I know some of you have taken time off your vacation and this is going to mess up your plan. but Pito nou led nou la
I really care and I don't want any thing to happen to you while in haiti. I know there are times when we cannot predict like this January when the earthquake came for we had no warning. This time there is a warning. You are not going to be a blessing if you have to worry about your safety while there.
Again I am sorry about the inconvenience but PITO NOU LED NOU LA.
LOVE YOU ALL.
Prosperpierre
November 13th, 2010
Dear Precious Friends:
Greetings again. I told you I would keep you posted.
Some sections in Gonaives are infected by Cholera while other sections are not. People are still dying in great number. People in Lacroix is safe. Thank God and thank you for your prayers. With your help Lacroix Mission is able to make a difference.
Believe it or not I just come from Paul. You just come from Paul! Yea! I want to give you an update of things there. You may wonder when did Pierre go to Haiti? I thought he was in Ohio. Yes, you are right. Pierre is still in Ohio but he has been to Paul via a phone call today. There was a seminar this morning, organized in St Michel a town located about 30 miles N.W. of Paul. This is the town under the jurisdiction Paul is. Some of our teachers were invited. Asnel, one of the teachers, who attended told me that the seminar was about Cholera, what it is and how to prevent it. 13,420 aquatabs (tablets to purify water) are given them for the school. I thank God for that. He said so far every thing is going well up there. The Cholera outbreak does not make its way there yet. I told him to block the road so it does not get there. As you can see some progress is being made about protecting people in haiti against the Cholera outbreak.
Now about the construction of the clinic every thing is going well. People there are motivated and they work along with the building contractor St Hubert. I was able to talk to them on Speaker phone this afternoon. They all were very pleased to hear me talking to them. It is like a stimilus for them. They said that they were happy to hear me talking directly to them. It was fun. They told me there were more than 110 people carrying stones at once. I told them, "I love them to death. I will die for them." I also told them when I return I am going to have a party for them. We are going to eat together and I will also have cold drinks for them like coke, pepsi, 7up, teem etc. They all clapped when they heard me say that. I told them to keep carrying stones for the project for I will not stop working for them until they say they are tired. They said they will never get tired. Talking to these people and hearing their voice has made my day. I thank God for such a privilege. I told the people that I would feel better if I were with them now to see their enthousiasm and zeal in the project. I miss them very much.
A lot of work has been done this week on the clinic building. They were working on the footers. People are excited to see that. They said the building is going to be nice. I thank God for Dr Dan and Linda Lattanzi for their generous contribution. I thank the Nottingham Christian Center for their contribution for the roof. I thank all of you for your prayers and the support that you are going to bring to this project.
May God richly bless you!
With Love,
Prosperpierre
November 11th, 2010
Friends:
Greetings again. Hope you are not tired of Pierre. If you get tired of Pierre at least don't get with me. Ha Ha.
I just talk to the school superintendant in Lacroix about half an hour ago. The report is very good. I thank God for that. The school is going very well. No ones in our schools are sick with the cholera outbreak because a lot of cautions are taken by the personel. He said he has never seen that before: all children are motivated to wash their hands after they go to the latrines and before they eat. It is very interesting to see that.
Schools in Gonaives have been closed due to the cholera outbreak that is doing its course in that city. The spreading is caused by the flooding that Tomas brought las week to the city. The closing of the schools in Gonaives was about to affect us in Lacroix said the Superintendent but he quickly got control of the situation and school is going as normal here. Teachers are motivated to daily talk to the children about the cautions to take to avoid cholera at home and at school. I believe the Lord put the Lacroixhaitimission there for a time like this.
There is an organization (BID) it is a NGO they distributed AQUATAB to the schools. It is a tablet that you dissolve in water for purification. Our superintendent was invited in a meeting they were having Tablets were given to him for the school.
In Lacroix we thank God because Cholera is under control. I am so glad for the motivation of the people in the area.
Continue to pray for us as we minister in a very hard time.
God bless.
For Calvary Cause
Prosperpierre
October 27th, 2010
Friends:
Greetings. Here I am again to give you an update on the cholera outbreak especially in Lacroix.
It is sad to say this. Several people from Lacroix make a living in the place where Cholera started that is in the heart of the Artibonite district. Needless to tell you that they not survive. Those who were taking care of them while sick also died. There are about 8 who have died so far. Two children from the school at Boukan Tony were also sick and taken to the clinic. As of now I don't know how they are doing.
Because of the cholera outbreak some folks were thinking that school should be suspended for the time being. The school superintendant and his assistance had supported the idea but when they talked to my wife about it, She said let's get my opinion on the matter. She is very clever. I told my wife to tell them that the school is equipped with a medical clinic and we can respond to the need of the children if necessary. If we send them home is like we send them to await death. Let us get more oral dehydration packages handy if we need them and let the children come to school. They all agree with the decision.
I suggested that they meet with teachers and children both to make them alert of the problems and what cautions to take. We give teachers and employees at the clinic hand sanityzer. We have water and soap for children to wash their hands after they use the toilets. The teachers of the preschoolers are teaching them how to properly wash their hands. We also used a lot of desinfectants like Chlorox, Pinesol and others of the kind in the classrooms and at the clinic. A man is being hired to maintain the latrines cleanes and healthy.We hope to have parent's meeting this coming Sunday to alert them of the situation. Haitian Peasants are ignorant when it comes to situation like this.
The nurses and Dr George are really committed to this cause. They work all day long non stop. We provide a meal for them for we don't want them to succumb. Those who live in the residence make themselves available 24/7.
I thank Dr Dan and Linda Lattanzi who had provided the clinic for a time like this. Even though they had no clue at the time. I also thank Dr Fred Landenwitsch and his friend Joe Vonderheide who sacrificed themselves to provide financial means for the construction of the residence for Doctors and nurses to reside for the sake of the people in Lacroix. God is good.
Since we have a clinic at the school, we asked that those who are already infected by diarrhea be stopped at the gate and sent to the great clinic where they can receive intervenous IV fluid. The clinic is very busy. We welcome all patients whether they have money or not. We welcome the sick one with a glass of oral rehydration.
Some schools closed their doors. Now people are trying to avoid hand contact with each other. For this reason those who sell in the market are having a hard time to find people to buy from them. It is very sad. Every body is trying to stay safe. They don't want to buy food from the vendors, nor water. No one wants to buy bread from the vendors because they have to touch it with their hands.
Thank you for your prayers. We need as much as we can get.
For Calvary cause,
Prosperpierre
October 24th, 2010
Friends:
Greetings.
I want to thank you for your prayers. These days are not too good for us at the mission. I am writing this with a heavy heart. To find yourself facing dying people and unable to do nothing.
The Cholera out break is causing many deaths. In lacroix there are already three deaths though they were people living in places affected more by the outbreak. My wife went to visit one family yesterday in white oak. They are two deaths in that village.
Many have been coming to the clinic for medical attention. Some we are able to help and some we cannot help. This morning this morning we had Dr Patricia talk to the church to tell them the cautions to take in order to prevent Cholera. She encourages people to wash their hands with soap and clean water as often as they can. To drink cleaned water. Tomorrow morning one nurse will address all the patients after the devotion time about the issue. Tonight one patient is in the clinic receiving IV rehydration.
Since last week many have been coming. They even come on the week ends. Hospital in St Marc is out of bed and space to receive new patients. The Hospitals are full. Now they become to register some cases in Port au Prince. I believe it is getting worse once the disease is there especially in the tent cities where about 1.5 million people live in no good sanitation conditions. It is spreading all over haiti.
The Dominicans who were working on building the High way #1 had left last night because they are afraid that they can have the cholera. For how long they are gone,I don't know.
This is not a good situation for the up coming election on Nov. 28. Now no one can focus on election. People are desperate. Every one has their hands full. I don't know what the clinic is going to look like tomorrow.
We are going to meet with the teachers tomorrow before school starts to talk about prevention. We will also meet with the children and if necessary with the parents as well.
I continue to covet your prayers.
God bless!
Prosperpierre
August 18th, 2010
Dear Friends:
Greetings in the precious name of Jesus whose death and resurrection cause us to be one in spite of our race and culture. I am doing fine as well as my family. I thank God for that. Health is precious and you will never know how precious it is until sickness robs it from you.
There are more sick people these days. It's been very hot and humid. Rain has been scarce in our area. Usually when theire is no rain there is a lot of dust that cause people to get sick. Monday this week I went to the clinic and I was stunned to see that many patients. There were over three hundred plus. Some were complaining because to them they wait too long to be seen. They start coming around 3:00 AM. Every week we buy medecines for about 400,000 gourds, equivalent of $10,000 USD. As you know the clinic is self sufficient. What the patients pay goes toward medecines, salary and maintnance. We thank God for that because the clinic is not a burden. The maternity is not self sufficient but the clinic covers it financially. Thank God for the medecines that outreach teams bring for the clinic. It allows us to exhonorate those patients who come with no money. The Purcellville Baptist Church from Purcellville, Virginia brought a lot of medecines for the clinic though they did not have any physicians on the team this time. They had dental and eye teams. I thank them for the medecines. Alltogether what they bought to bring for us cost about $20,000 USD. There was a Microscope 100 X that was requested by the lab techs. I told them about it when they asked me what do we need and they brought it for us.
By the way I am going to Purcellville this weekend on their invitation. I like to strike the iron while it's hot and they seem to be that way too. It is going to be a very short trip, Saturday to Monday Lord willing. It is exciting to be with people who are on fire for God.
Now because the staff at the clinic has to put long hours we are going to provide lunch for them on the days they have a lot of patients like Monday, Wednesday and Friday. They put in long hours. It is hard for them to stay without food. It is going to be a surprise for them because it is not announced.
I have a testimony from a patient that I would like to share with you. A lady came to the clinic with her very sick daughter who has been hospitalized at a private doctor in Gonaives. Her complaint was fever. The doctor asked her to pay 15,000 gourds an equivalent of $375.USD for the treatment. The child was hospitalized for a week with no sign of recovery. Finally someone came to visit her while she was at the doctor's and said to her, " Did you never hear about Lacroix clinic?"No was her answer. She said don't wait go to Lacroix clinic and your child will recover quick. That is how this lady came with her child. The lab tests revealed that she had typhoid fever. Appropriate medecines were given to the child. The next day her other daughter had fever too and she brought her to the clinic. After a week she came back to the clinic and shared this testimony. She said she paid the doctor 15,000 gourds for nothing. It only cost her 1,000 gourds for both girls to be treated at the clinic. She said that she is going to make publicity for the Lacroix clinic. There are many testimonies like that. No wonder every day more people come to the clinic. Thank you God and thank you Dr Dan and Linda for this clinic that enhances the health of many in Haiti. May God continue to bless you.
I am working on the sanitation around the clinic too. Haitians are not hard to please. I pay someone to clean the latrine on a daily basis. Patients are very happy for that because it used to be kept dirty. It was so dirty that I set the example myself. I went to clean it so I can show the guy that I hire how I want it to be done. I told him to put himself in the shoe of the patients. Next thing I am going to build a urinal for the men. I want to put convenient seats in the latrine so people can feel comfortable to sit on it. I will have to provide toilet papers and hand sanitizer to give patients after use. If you feel led to help with that I will be glad for that. I will have to buy them wholesale and ship them to haiti. As you can see I am always thinking. You know I am inspired by Dr Dan and Linda Lattanzi who never stop thinking for us. They always have new ideas. I am going to Pittsburgh next week I can't wait to hear their new ideas. They are fully committed for the cause of Christ in Lacroix Haiti. I thank St David's Episcopal Church of Venetia, PA who had taken Dr Lattanzi for the first time in haiti and since then he is hooked. St David's Episcopal Church was the first church God led me to via John Nuzum in Pittsburgh back in 1982.
The property in Paul was surveyed last week. We thank God for that. Now we are waiting for the surveyer's plan and minutes. In October Lord willing when I return from my Western Pennsylvania visit I will start working on the clinic project. The Purcellville mechanic had put in new clutch in the army truck. It needs new bolts and nuts for the wheels that I am buying this week. Then we need to buy tires in order to get ready for Paul. They are still working on the roads up there. I thank God for that.
The mobile clinic there and in lacoupe is going very well. It is even better in Paul due to the distance to Lacroix. As I told you in a recent update the Toyota Landcruiser is made available to go to Paul and Lacoupe for mobile clinic in order to save lives trusting God to provide some other nice transportation for our visiting guests. I have noticed that it is getting weak in climbing steep hills. God has done it before and He can do it again. He is so good to us and He is always good. Continue to covet your prayers.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. Without you it would have been impossible to accomplish all that has been accomplished. Thank you so much for all that you do.
For Calvary Cause,
Prosperpierre
June 30th, 2010
Dear Friends:
Greetings in the precious name of Jesus. I am so sorry I could not communicate with you. Our internet in Lacroix is down. I hope they get it fixed soon.
I am now in Indiana as I have told you until July 12 and I go back to haiti on July 14 Lord willing to receive the team from Purcelleville Baptist Church that is coming on July 15 to the 25.
Last week we had Dr Lattanzi with a group of 14 with him. Among them were several physicians, nurses and med students. We had a great time with them.They worked in the clinic, the birthing center and in the villages. Because of the weather we did not go to Paul as we had planned. We had a group of people in the seven villages in which we minister to receive training to promote good health in their community. They receive training to provide first aid and to treat people for worms and malaria fever etc. They all were very excited to go back to their village to put into practice what they learned. They will refer those who are very sick to the clinic and the pregnant women as well.
I have some news that are not fun to share with you. When I first arrived last week in Lacroix the first thing people told me Pastor Pierre we are finished, or we are dead. I said I don't understand because I see you alive. They said the animals are dying: cows, goats and hogs are starving to death. We have lost a lot of them because it doesn't rain there is no food for them. I could see those that are alive are not too far from dying because they are very skinny. You can count their bones. Every where you go people have one single complain. You know the cattle is their saving account. If they have no cattle they have no savings. People are starving as well. My wife is buying food to distribute to the families. She is preparing to cook for the children for the summer and she is going to have a program for them. We need your prayers.
My wife said to me we need to buy uniform for all the school children whether sponsored or not because this year is a disaster. We are also buying a lot of school books to replace many that are completely worn out. The expenses for the school this year have increased but the Lord is always a good and faithful provider. If the Lord lays it on your heart and you would like to pay for uniform or books for one child who is not sponsored, the cost for one uniform is $30.00 USD and $30.00 USD for books. Remember you can always pray for prayers do more than money can do.
Thank you very much for your support that allows us to do so much in a needy place. The people in Lacroix are very thankful to you for the help that you provide them. Our prayers are with you as always.
God bless you all.
Prosperpierre
May 22nd, 2010
Greetings Friends.
It is so good to get back with you. You are so kind and good to me and to the children in Lacroix. Words are not good enough to express our thanks and gratitude. You are the best.
Every thing is going well at the mission. Power Shortage has made our news. For a week now we cannot communicate with Lacroix and vice versa because the generator at the mission broke down. The mechanic said that it needs a new injection pump. He took the old one to be rebuilt in order for them to use the generator until we can locate and buy a new injection pump. The generator is 13 years old. It was a donation from Westminster Presbyterian Church. We do not know what we would have done if we did not have this generator. Thank God and Thank Westminster.
Westminster is blessing us with a two story school building where the secondary school is to be launched this fall and a solar energy system to electrify the building. We plan to have a computer lab as well as a chemistry and biology lab next year. Westminster was waiting for the completion of the building to provide a chemistry lab. Our two chemistry and biology teachers who came with Westminster last month really gave our students a taste for Chemistry and Biology. We hope to boost our school curriculum for the school level in Haiti is to low. We want to work on this as soon as possible for the benefit of our school children. We hope to have American Teachers who come like Carol Fraker, Bobbie and Lorraine to help us and with the students and with the teachers to hold seminars for them so they can enhance their teaching.
In the same context, Carol Fraker along with several churches that support the Lacroix Ministry are trying to bring our school superintendant here in the US to visit and sit in the classrooms here so he can see how to improve our classrooms. Please pray that a non-immigrant US Visa be granted to him. We would lke to have our classrooms as they are here designated for a subject. like science room, language room History room and materials for such.I know materials are not a big deal many of you can help us get them. To be able to tell the school SuperIntendant this is what we want and for him to live it is a different story. Please pray for us. Your invitation and support letter to the American Consulate on behalf of Altenor Philippe our school superintendant would carry a lot of weight.
We are also praying for an English teacher to go to Lacroix teach English beginning in preschool and up. This will be a great move for our students. The knowledge of English by itself will help someone earn a living in Haiti. Organizations are always looking for English speaking people since most organizations working in Haiti are American base. Had it not been for the Americans, Haiti would not have survived. Haitians owe a lot to the American People. Thank God for the American People. If it were not for you American People lacroix would be buried longtime. Thank you for the existence of Lacroix and in particular the Lacroix Mission. Though our eyes are fixed on God, He uses you to provide to our very needs. Thank you so much.
We also need people to come and teach carpentry, wood working, plumbing etc. I have noticed one thing when teams come to work several young men come to learn from them. They can learn from faster from you because your technique is different. I'd like to have your feed back.
Our school days are going to be full. From 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM Academic classes; from Preschool to 12th grades; 2:00 to 5:00 PM vocational classes like masonry, carpentry, sewing (masculine and feminine), mechanics, electricity and plumbing. Right now they are working on knowing who interested in what before we determine what classes to teach. We intend to have literacy classes 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Keep in mind 85 % can't read and write. Something ought to be done.
There will be a Teachers training session in particular for teachers in our schools that are not gone yet this far. All students are welcome for this is where our school teachers will be recruited from in the future. It is going to be a three year program. Right now Altenor is working on a curriculum for this. For sure it will start this fall.
Doctor George is working also on starting a nursing school in Lacroix. We were thinking about this fall but my wife suggests next year for there are a lot to be put in place before it starts. We have to work together with Public Health. We need to have their approval. We also need to have a building just for that school. I understand they will come to inspect it, to see our demonstration room, meet the teachers and all the materials and equipment that we have. Then Money Factor is a big one. Money to pay the staff. As you can see we have a lot in our hands. It will be a necessity to host outside students. With the devastation of the tragedy that over 300,000 people in Port au Prince now they are talking about moving things out so that people don't have to go to Port au Prince for every thing. We'd like to see students come from other part of haiti to our school.
Again thank you so much for your prayers. Your advice or comment on this is very welcome. Let me hear from you.
God bless you all.
United in Him,
Prosperpierre
May 15th, 2010
Dear Friends:
Greetings. It's been a long time. I am back on the scene. Pierre is doing fine and the family is doing fine too. A lot of things had happened since I sent you my last update. In haiti the Internet was not working for a while and time was not in my hand either.
I don't know where to start.
Thank you very much for being with us in great task that the Lord has entrusted us with. It is not easy but with your prayers and financial aid you have made it easy. Thank you very much.Thank you for your faithfulness, your loyalty, your love for the Haitians. Proverbs 18:24 "A man of many companions may come to ruin but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." You are that friend. Thank God.
I'd like to start with the most exciting news: Since the earthquake there has been a spiritual revival going on throughout the country. Many have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. I mean several thousands. It maybe as many as 10,000 since there is no record giving in all the towns. My prayer is twofold: 1st for the revival to keep spreading in all corners of Haiti and second for those who have given their heart to Jesus in new birth keep walking with Jesus. This is the greatest need of the country. "Jesus." It is not money, it is not food, it is not new leaderhsip in the government but J-E-S-U-S. When the country finds Jesus every thing will fall into place. May this also be your prayer for Haiti!
We have started the building project in Paul for the earthquake victims that came back to their village from Port au Prince. There are so many of them that it would be impossible to build house for them the way we intended it. First their geographic position doesn't allow us to bring building supplies such concrete blocks and cement etc. I went and have a meeting with them and ask them how would they want to have a house built if they were to have one built. All of them said with stones. Those of you who have been up there know how stones are inumerous and it is the way to go. I told them I would like to help them and this is what we will be able to help with: money to buy lumber for the house structure, cement for the plastering and the floor and metal sheets for the roof and doors. They don't need cement to lay the stones for they use clay. They were very happy to hear that. Money has been given to them already for wood. Each family received already $140.00 USD equivalent in haitian currency so they can start working on the project. The metal sheets will be given as they are ready for it.
Thank you very much for putting smiles on so many faces. We are working right now with 40 families. We will keep you posted as we are progressing on this. As we have undertaken this we realize how difficult it is to help those in real need. Many of those who had nothing to do with the earthquake are complaining that they are left out. They even intimidated Dufort Pasquet and some others during the money distribution for the wood.
We have made some progress up there now as fas as property is concerned. It has been given to the mission more than 4 acres of ground to implant the mission. I have taken Tom Hartman and Paul Conley to see it for I wanted them to give me an idea where to put the clinic. The money is already available for the clinic though it may not be enough. Contrary to the original plan we want to build something bigger because there are more people in Paul than there are in lacroix. We are going to spend wisely what we have. We thank God for Dr Dan and his wife Linda who has given $10,000.00 for this project. I already have a group who is willing to go put the roof on it. And who knows they might be able to come up with some money for the roof as this group has been doing in the past. We hope to have it done by January 2011 Lord willing. We are also ready to build a school there too and for this $25,000.00 is already available. I thank God for His provision. As one said if the Lord gives the vision, He will make the provision. I already visualized a finish product up there. " We live by faith and not by sight" (2 Co 5:7).
I have more to share with you but I don't want to choke you.
God bless you and see you later.
For Calvary Cause,
Prosperpierre