For questions about the contents of this newsletter or Seeds of Support’s work in general, contact Linnae Stole.
FALL REFLECTIONS: INNOVATION AND SELFSUSTAINABILITY
Hello everyone, and God's blessings to you all.
With the end of 2020 upon us, it has been eighteen months since a Seeds of Support mission group has traveled to Pasquette. Even amidst the uncertainties of Haiti’s political and economic situation, Covid-19 and other challenges, we believe God continues to work for good in, with and through our partnership. As one benefit, we are seeing increased self-sustainability and new ideas from our partners within the community. Some of these ideas are highlighted throughout this newsletter. Our goal as a board is to continue providing support and infrastructure to help these ideas to grow. Like in the parable of the mustard seed, we believe even the smallest ideas can grow into great things to provide sustenance and livelihood for God’s people!
WATER TOWER UPDATE: 74,000 GALLONS DISTRIBUTED THROUGH SEPTEMBER
In our last newsletter, we shared that the new water tower had just been completed. Three months later, it is having a significant impact on the community. Those who have connected their houses to the water line have enough for their needs, and people are coming to fill up their buckets as well as walking up for one-off uses, such as washing their hands. In fact, thanks to the water meters installed in the new tower, over 74,000 gallons had been pumped as of late September to support the community. Pastor Holand’s banana trees are certainly benefiting, as you can see in this video! And with sustainability in mind, Pasquette’s water committee added a basin
underneath the spigot to collect runoff for use on plants.
The new tower has a solar panel to harness one of Haiti’s greatest natural resource, meaning the community doesn’t have to rely on power from a generator to run the pump. A late addition to the structure was a solar powered security light for nighttime use.
UPCOMING INITIATIVES IN PASQUETTE
- Bench Building Class: Jorel will be teaching a carpentry class through the Ideas Technology School starting in the next few weeks. The class will focus on more advanced techniques, and as part of the instruction will provide finishing touches to the benches in the church in Pasquette. As a graduation gift, St. Andrew is providing all participants with their own tools, including a tape measure, saw and hammer. Stay tuned for pictures and messages from participants in future newsletters!
- Community Garden: Redemption Lutheran Church has offered to use some of its property near the water tower for a community garden. Many people in Pasquette have plots of land down by the river, but since frequent storms and flooding make them an unreliable source for food, a community garden will help provide sustenance when hunger is so rampant. The church is working with an agricultural technician to determine the best crops to grow, as well as to learn about irrigation and composting techniques. Some of the potential crops they are considering growing include plantains, corn, tomatoes, watermelon, eggplants and carrots.
ON THE HORIZON: ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Now that the new water tower is finished, Seeds of Support is exploring the use of alternative energy sources in Pasquette, namely enhancements to the solar grid and the possibility of wind power. The community has defined this as a priority, seeing increased need for power in the church (for everything from lights to musical instruments), the Ideas Technology School, the bakery, and a new initiative related to cosmetology training in the blue roof building. Plus, a more reliable power source in the village will benefit our relationship with our partners, making it easier to stay in communication via mobile technology and the internet. This work is just one more step in encouraging selfsustainability and economic empowerment in Pasquette, and we are excited to step out in faith to see what the future holds!
HAITI STAFF UPDATE: JOREL
We want to keep you updated on our Haitian staff, all of whom are so critical to the continued success of our partnership. Our project manager, Jorel, has shared some updates on his life and his family:
Peace and Blessings from the almighty God be with you.
How is your Family?
My family and I are doing great. Thanks be to God we are covered under God’s protection.
Describe something special that happened in your family in the past couple months:
This past couple month there is several marvelous thing happened in my family!
John, our oldest son, turned 20 on July 20th and Mitgaelle, our oldest daughter, turned 19 on August 4th. Ruthzaelle, our youngest daughter, turned 15 on July 16th and myself 42 on July 15th.
The school year was very difficult due to unrest situation in the country and the pandemic who puts the lockdown to force all activities to shut down. But at home, our children worked very hard to be able to take the final test of their grade and recently Mitgaelle took her final official terminal grade test. Ruthzaelle took her second official test and Ezra took his school test with results where his average is 9.17. Thanks be to God John has successfully registered to take the TOEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) test that will be held Dec 19.
And Guerline and I were working very hard on building the house. From March until August we finally lay all the blocks and poured concrete, but we can’t go any further due to lack the cash flow, but we are very excited because it is such a blessings for the whole family.
Describe a normal day for you, what do you do? Where do you go?
A normal day for me is a Sunday. From 6 am to 11 I have to be at the church to attend worship service. Afterwards, I have to meet with the worship team of the church for one hour then I have to practice with one of my singing groups for two hours, then after that I would go home to be with my family and at 5:30 pm I return to the church to attend the evangelization service, if only I am not scheduled to sing with a different singing group in a different church.
What is the impact of Covid-19 on your life?
Covid-19 is making a huge impact in my life. Personally, I was terribly sad when I heard how people are losing their lives and knowing all activities were shutting down. It’s like I was facing the end of my days and the end of the times as well; furthermore, it has changed completely the way I used to live my life. But on the other hand, I have learned in this life you can only place your faith in God the creator of heaven and earth as your firm foundation.
Where do you see God present in your life?
From everything that is happening in the world today I can say God has been present every single minute and continue to be present in my life through the Holy Spirit and the best thing no matter what happen I will trust him until my last day on earth.
What is your hope for the next year?
- I am hoping to pour concrete as a roof on my house and make it livable so that I can move and live in it.
- Our oldest son John is scheduled to take the TOEFL test by December 19th our hope is for us to get a chance to go to a vocational school in the next year.
I am willing to share with you that our God is a such provider and a shepherd therefore he always provide for his children.
When the country lock down and during all the vandalism in the country, all the clashes, it was difficult to get even the water truck to go anywhere and we did not have any water left in our cistern. At very last minute, God provided.
Thanks be to God.
A WORD ON OUR NEW LOGO
Thanks to Dana Mostad in St. Andrew’s communications department for designing our new logo! You’ll notice references not only to Haiti, but also Africa, domestic and pilgrimage arms. Our longterm goal is to explore new and innovative ministry partnerships across the globe that bring people together to understand where God is moving in their lives and the world. Due to Covid, much of this work is on pause, but will hopefully resume sometime in the future (such as St. Andrew’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2022). We will continue to update you on new partnerships and opportunities as they arise.
Thank you for your continued support of St. Andrew and United Lutheran’s work in Haiti. As always, please keep our friends and partners in your prayers amidst the unrest in our world, that God will be with them and keep them safe in the days and months ahead.
Blessings,
Pastor Peter, Linnae Stole, and the Seeds of Support Board
