Jacmel Campus and Haiti News
Hello everyone! We hope and pray that each and every one of you and your families are safe, healthy, and able to find all the essentials during this lockdown period. We also pray that you have a wonderful Easter weekend as we reflect on the death and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement as we continue to lead our staff in Haiti from afar. So far, Haiti only has 30 reported cases of Coronavirus Covid-19. Only a few cases have been reported in the Jacmel area so far.
As soon as the virus was reported in Haiti, the government called for a curfew for everyone, and also closed churches, schools and many businesses deemed non-essential. The borders of the country were also closed, and only government-chartered flights were allowed for those wanting to depart. Please continue to pray that Haiti is spared from further Coronavirus cases.
Due to the demographics and poverty level in Haiti, self-quarantines are not realistic. Most people in Haiti buy and sell daily to get the food they need for their families. We know that some countries have considered a different path than quarantines, referred to as herd immunity or community immunity. That’s the more likely path that Haiti will take based out of the necessity for many people to be out and about to find daily rations. New restrictions have been put in place regarding how many people can travel together, but many people still go to the crowded markets regularly.
We’re thankful for our Haitian staff who are doing a great job keeping things going on our campus in our absence. We meet via daily video calls to talk about what’s going on there and to plan our days and weeks ahead. There’s always a lot of work to do, and we’re often in meetings with our US and Haitian staff for hours every day! We only have essential staff working on our campus in order to limit the exposure of our kids, so there’s a lot for them to do and we’re always looking for ways to make further improvements.
So what are our kids doing with all this unexpected free time on their hands? In addition to our usual on-campus activities like Wednesday devotions, game and activity times, and weekend movie times, we have added activities for them similar to summer break and even more! Our staff are having daily devotions for the kids, including parts that are led by our older kids. We’re so excited about that! We’ve also added an on-campus church service on Sundays since churches are currently closed. We have such talented staff that have a desire to help the kids along their faith journey to become fully devoted and faithful Christians.
Health and Wellness News
We are back in Florida after visiting a new doctor in Nashville for Denise. She is on further diet restrictions, and is also taking more supplements to eradicate any possible parasites. Two weeks after the first appointment in Nashville, we’re a bit disappointed about the results so far, but we hold onto hope that she’s headed down the road to recovery. The constant nausea has continued, and has even gotten worse on some days. We were warned that things would likely get worse before they got better, but this time frame is a bit longer than we expected. We hope and pray that this will lead to complete healing. Please continue to keep Denise’s health in your prayers.
Despite health setbacks and lockdowns, we’re still diligently working to make further improvements in caring for our kids. With nearly 70 kids in our care, there are always things that need our attention. And as you can imagine with the distance and language challenges, things always take longer than expected! We’re making good progress in many areas as our kids continue to learn, grow and mature.
Prayers and Thankfulness
We’re so thankful for each and every one of you for your faithful prayers, support and encouragement. We pray that each one of you and your families remain healthy throughout this crisis and are able to deepen your faith and to form deeper bonds with family and friends.
Please send us any specific prayer requests that you have and we will lift them up with you. Prayer requests and comments can be sent to us via Facebook, on our web site, or via e-mail. We welcome your comments!
Thanks for taking this journey with us. Stay safe out there!