Monday, December 1st
 
 
 
 
 
 
August 2007 Letter from Rick and Kathy Land

Land’s Newsletter August 2007

We returned from a wonderful family-filled month back home in Indiana. We enjoyed the company of friends and family very much, but it wasn’t long before we longed to return to L’Acul and to the people whom we have grown to love in such a short time.
We found things functioning fine when we returned. Our L’Acul staff and the staff of CODEP continued their work quite well in our absence. The weather went from hot to hotter and the seasonal rains have been visiting both in the mountains and near the ocean. The ocean fish have been sparse this summer, so beach families continue to suffer from lack of money, which translates to lack of food and medical attention. August is the month that families give up food for school tuitions, uniforms, and books. We have noticed how few people are in the market buying food. For Haitian families, putting children in school means a huge sacrifice. It cost on average $100 US to get a child in primary school. This does not include any transportation. It has become a daily occurrence to have hungry children at the back fence. They almost never ask for anything (one of Kathy’s rules) but she knows the code for “I am hungry”. Rubenson and Pierre Richa ask if they can sweep the beach for us because they know we will feed them after their work. Little Dutchi and Esteve often come by at the end of the day and we know their mother has left again for a few days and they have no food to eat. What a blessing it has been to see these same desperately poor children accumulate money in the L’Acul children’s bank. Some of the kids have developed micro businesses that have given them the chance to save some money for school, medical emergency, or food for their families. The beach ministry fund is available to help the local people too. Please pray that like the oil and flour in the bible, the vessel will continue to be miraculously filled so we will not have to turn any need away.
We are excited that Pastor Gabriel has begun building his house. He and his wife, our L’Acul cook, and their four children live in a little one room hut. They have been planning a house for many years, but having four children in school never afforded that luxury. . The whole family works in the building of the house. They all take turns pushing the wheelbarrow full of cement and sand for about a half a mile one way, making hundreds of trips through the banana grove on a thin dirt path. Remember that most often they have eaten little or nothing. All are painfully thin, but each always wears a big smile. Because of the generosity of our visitors, their dream is slowly becoming a reality. Pastor serves this community with such humility and love. His example to us is always an inspiration. He is the Hospital St. Croix community health worker for this area – dressing wounds, dispensing medicines, and vaccinating babies and children. He is the best example of a walking testimony for Christ that we have ever encountered.

Our young animator, Jenner, has begun an agriculture class for local teens. He has four young boys and one girl who work four days a week learning hands-on gardening. Among other things they now know about composting, crop rotation, and contouring of the land for soil retention. They have an hour of theory class each day, and when the course is finished, they will earn a certificate. It has been exciting to see family gardening be lifted up to the position of importance that it should be in Haiti. Jenner has transformed the L’Acul ground area into a model garden. He still works in the mountains and is in charge of one of the mountain fish ponds. Pray that he might realize his dream of earning a CODEP house someday.
Our visiting mission group from Trinity Presbyterian Church in Satellite Beach, Florida hiked into Gro Mon and installed a cistern. Each time CODEP puts in another cistern for a qualified family it just makes one reflect on what a great blessing a little thing like some PVC pipes and a round, black fiberglass tank is for a Haitian family. You can see it in the eyes of the females of the family who most often are the ones who must bear the burden of seeking good water from a mountain spring far off down the mountainside. You can also see it in the eyes of the man who earned this humble update to his modest one or two room hut located far up into the mountains. It costs HFI about $800 US to pay for the cistern, gutter, and pipes. Just think about this when you go to “update” your kitchen or bathroom. Many Americans could quite easily afford to buy a cistern for a needy Haitian family. We still have faith that God will send us the funds necessary to meet our goal of 50 cisterns this year. Each time you reach for a glass of water, please pray for this project. Better yet, let God use you personally to help us meet this goal.

We will soon get our new dump truck, paid for in part by a grant from the Iovino Family Foundation. This new dump truck will allow us to haul more cisterns and water working equipment from Port au Prince and up the mountain. What a wonderful blessing! We will be sure to send a picture along when we finally get it home.

We hope you enjoy hearing about how your contributions and prayers are touching lives here in Haiti. Sometimes when we report we forget to tell you the personal accounts. We know that unless you hear these sometimes, you might forget that CODEP is not only about trees, fish, and water, but also it is all about people. Each time there is a blessing given over a new cistern, a memory verse recited by a beach kid, or money dispersed for school or an antibiotic, we are doing it in the name of Jesus. Please pray that we will always make that our priority in Haiti.

Sincerely His,
Rick and Kathy Land