 November came in with a bang! Tropical storm Noel was winding
down, but we still got heavy rains for the next week. The ground
was saturated and many crops were lost near here. The Building
Goodness Foundation team emerged from the muddy mountains on
Nov. 1st and enjoyed a couple of nights with us at L’Acul.
The State College, PA group flew in on the 2nd and we had more
than a full house for one night. Jack Stoner and the crew were
able to finish the mountain house that Sove had waited so long
for. They will be sending a crew to build another CODEP house
in December. What a blessing for hard working CODEP members
who work years to earn a good home! The State College team
put in a cistern on the new house. They hiked in to see the
work in the mountains: tree nurseries, new and old forests,
fish ponds, and schools – retracing their steps from
4 years ago. They had done research and water testing and were
happy to find remarkable growth in many areas.
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 The group brought in a lot of things for the new farm store
at APKF. What a delight to see the excitement when the store
opened with all the new items waiting to be purchased! It was
like a grand opening at Wal-Mart! Thanks to all who have contributed
to make this store a reality. Edvy has been able to use the
profits to buy more tools and equipment for those who would
have to travel to Léogâne or Port au Prince for
these things – saving a lot on tap-tap fares. The seed
is especially needed since this is garden-planting season.
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 Our
Marine Biological Laboratory intern, Nick Warren, returned
for two weeks and continued working with the CODEP fishponds.
He speaks Creole well now and can go with Clement and get
a lot of work done. He found the ponds to be producing fish
well with only water-compost feeding. A full assessment awaits,
but we are all encouraged at the progress. Many folks will
be harvesting fish for their Christmas and New Year’s
meals.
 In a program with
the Episcopal University, we have begun hosting intern students
for a six-week period. These men are living in the mountains
and are participating each day in the various CODEP hands
on work under the direction of our animators. They get the
chance to experience what it takes to lead community development
work in agriculture. The picture at the left shows them working
to reconstruct a fish-pond compost area.
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We continue community development work near L’Acul. We
have met with local fishermen, helped women learn sewing and
cooking, and met some Haitian business leaders who also want
to help their impoverished country. This month we brainstormed
with a dedicated group from the Cormier area about organizing
themselves in order for families to have a better future. God
always blesses us when we sacrifice our private time to get
to know more about life in Haiti.
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 We
had a group from Wake Forest Presbyterian Church at Thanksgiving.
They helped Nick with fish pond work, did a fair amount of
hiking and carrying concrete blocks, and finished work on
Clement’s
house. Board Member Jim Sylivant did work on our 12-volt
batteries and on the treadle pump. 
The
highlight of the week for the group was attending Clement’s wedding on Thursday. It
was a grand affair, thanks to many American friends who helped
in its planning. The beautiful wedding service took place at
St. Etienne Episcopal church in the mountains; the reception
was at Clement’s new home in Léogâne.
We pray for their blessings in their future lives together.
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With the purchase of planting bags and fertilizer the process
of reforestation begins anew, with almost 700 workers who make
this ministry succeed. The only thing that keeps us from expanding
more is money. Your contribution helps make a better life for
thousands of Haitian peasants. Everything in Haiti is getting
more expensive every month.
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All 35 kids around L’Acul are in high gear practicing
for their 2nd annual Christmas pageant, with many of the local
women helping to sew costumes. Our newest little baby girl,
Brianna, will have the honor of playing baby Jesus! Excitement
builds as Christmas approaches. Kathy has purchased Kreole
New Testaments for all the children who can read, the only
book they own! Please pray that each child and their families
will be anointed with God’s blessings this year in a
new and powerful way. This is really the only true answer to
Haiti’s problems. We love hearing your news, so feel
free to drop us a line or two. We will have a busy month before
we visit home in January.
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Living for Him, Rick and Kathy
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