Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20
Buried in the likeness of His death. Raised to newness of life.
It’s Thursday. I’ve been trying since Sunday to find the words to share the events that transpired in these photos. But I have come to the conclusion, words are inadequate. They will never be enough.
Sunday those of us who live outside of CERMICOL had the privilege of being part of a holy moment inside those prison walls. I’ve often expressed that, in Haiti, I sense the presence of God in a way I have never experienced Him here in the US. Sunday was perhaps the most sacred moment to which I have ever had the privilege to be in proximity.
This morning my thoughts are on the following verses, verses I have known for many years, verses that became so real to me on Sunday.
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4-5
"Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit." I Corinthians 12:13
Buried in the likeness of His death. Raised to newness of life.
Glwa pou Bondye.
Hudson's perspective on the trip to Les Cayes
By God’s grace, Rose-Carmel and I recently had the opportunity to travel to Les Cayes from Port-au-Prince, Although I have been to Les Cayes many times before, this time it amazed me more than it used to.
Haitian people are resilient. We believe in working hard and we are creative to fulfill the void due to a lack of materials in order to have the best results that we are looking for.
Rose- Carmel and I went to Les Cayes specifically for a food distribution for inmates. Friends picked us up at the airport and we went to the market to begin buying food and supplies.
When we got to the prison, police introduced us to female prisoners as the organization that helps them with what God put on our way. They were so grateful for that.
It was Rose-Carmel's first day ever in the countryside, and she was also amazed by how the countryside is different from Port-au-Prince. She had to experience the authenticity of our fellowships in the South of Haiti. People are always showing their willingness to help, to assure and know that we are comfortable. The people embrace life with a contagious smile. This tells us life is beautiful, no matter where you are.
We visited a market that is mostly for the “Madan Sara”. These ladies come twice weekly to sell or buy in order to make a living. This place is known as a center for gathered vendors from different places of the remote areas. A picture can tell more than a thousands stories. That's why you can see we tend to share pictures of farmers, fishermen, butchers, to tell these important stories.
“Madan Sara” is a bird that you will call “Village Weaver” in English. Those birds are known to migrate together. They are so active you can see that they are working in groups, and they are noisy.
This theme also describes the strong ladies in Haiti that are bringing food from the remote areas to the city. They play a big part in our community by improving the food market and playing a big part in our economy.
If you ever go to an informal market in Haiti, you will be able to see how our Madan Sara are negotiating, how they are active in the market, and they will remind you of that beautiful bird that is a Madan Sara.
Believe us when we say, Les Cayes is a beautiful country. There are so many places that we didn’t have time to discover in order to share the beauty with you. But through those special pictures we had, you can see the resolve in the face of our beautiful Haitian people.
The Work That Is Ours
"I want to have faith that there is no heart God cannot mend, no past He cannot redeem, no sickness He cannot heal, no relationship He cannot restore, no person He cannot save, no sin He cannot forgive, no need He cannot meet, no prayer so big that He cannot answer it.
"And yet to have that kind of faith is risky because it means trusting God and His Word. It means believing that God is good, that God does good, and that God is working all things together for my good, even when things don’t look good."
Christine Caine
Our 2022 in Review
Haiti Awake, A Safe Environment
Celebrating a fantastic summer
As the summer of 2022 draws to a close, we look back with thankfulness for all that we were able to experience and enjoy. Here are just a few hightlights.
Glwa pou Bondye.
May
A trip to Les Cayes to see projects Haiti Awake has completed post-earthquake
The Your Pie Pizza Fundraiser
June
Graduation of the oldest four from Kay Timoun
July
Summer camp in Haiti
Kids Week at The Bridge, Wilmington, NC
August
The Sponsor Appreciation Picnic
A food distribution and a meeting to establish future outreach at the Les Cayes Prison
A soccer tournament at the CERMICOL prison in Port au Prince
A parents’ meeting to start the new school year
Thank you for your faithful support of the ministry of Haiti Awake. May we continue to see our Provider do exceeding abundantly above all that we might ask or think. He is able! (Ephesians 3:20-21).
Propane gas for CERMICOL
We often struggle to explain life in Haiti to our American friends.
How do we explain this first photo - that this is how the CERMICOL prison has been attempting to feed 85 boys day-by-day for the last week? Do you see the wood they chopped from trees in the yard? Do you know why they had to do this? They had no more propane in their tanks.
Today, by God's grace, we were able to provide them with some propane.
This outreach ministry means so much to us, and we're thankful for those of you who support our ability to share Hope with our friends there.
82 mattresses
Yo bay kouran = There’s electricity
Because of your faithful generosity toward the ministry of Haiti Awake, after a long time without consistent power at the boys’ prison, after a long time their generator had been broken down, Haiti Awake had sent technicians to fix that big generator to make the life of those boys better. What a joy for everyone there! - Pastor Steeve
Why our Ministry at CERMICOL Matters
Because Batman turned 6!
Hindsight is 2020
Since Haiti Awake was founded, we’ve often quoted Proverbs 16:9 in order to remind ourselves that God is ultimately in control.
We can make our plans, but the Lord directs our steps.
Perhaps no year has this verse been more relevant than 2020.
In January we started the year with such optimism and so many plans. Jake Flaming and Michelle Carr came to Haiti for a few days to work on projects for 2020. They were also in attendance on the first Sunday of Eglise Évangélique de la Grace de Caradeux.
February was monumental for us because we helped the first child ever in our community with school fees. By year’s end, our community child sponsorship had grown to the point that we were able to help all children in the program with school-related fees for the 2020-2021 school year.
Then came March. And we all know what happened in March.
But prior to a great portion of the world going into quarantine, we had the most blessed weekend with our friends, the Finks. God knew how much our hearts needed encouragement from them before heading into a very uncertain season.
In April, we began to focus a great deal of our time and attention on creating a homeschool program. In Haiti, though school was suspended because of Covid-19, there was no plan for remote learning. So we created our own curriculum, and it was fun and fulfilling.
In May, God brought a series of events together in a way that can only be credited to Him, and we knew we were to intentionally begin investing in the life of a young woman named Kerwin. At the time, Kerwin’s health was very poor, and her situation seemed hopeless, but today, by God’s grace, we have seen her come back to life in so many ways. We are so thankful to be part of her story.
June was a month of continued opportunities for outreach - including an outreach at a women’s prison. Our friend, Brian Sanders, had encouraged us to focus on others during quarantine, and his perspective, his questions, his advice opened new avenues for ministry that are continuing. We are so thankful for the influence he has had in our lives this year.
In early July, the country of Haiti reopened its borders, which had been closed since mid-March. We felt like we were beginning to see some light and hope for better days ahead. One of the forward-planning things we did was take photos of all the children individually and collectively so we could send out new child sponsorship cards to all of the wonderful people who support Kay Timoun month after month.
August was a blessed month indeed. Life in Haiti began to return to normal, and we were able to host our first ever dental clinic for the children of Kay Timoun, our staff, and the children in our community. This was so exciting to everyone!
Becky was able to return to Haiti in September. Being away for 6 months was the longest absence she had ever had from Haiti since Haiti Awake was founded.
In October, we hosted our first Mission Made Live Facebook event since MMJ became part of Haiti Awake in July. The on-line event was incredibly successful. We are thankful for our team of volunteers here in the US who makes events like this possible.
November brought the homecoming of our friend Jocelyne Andre who was severely injured in an horrific accident in September. Many regular givers gave above and beyond to make sure Jocelyne and her family were cared for, and it has been our honor to help the family during this difficult time.
December was full of exciting events, but nothing compared to our opportunity to bless those in our community through Christmas for our Community, an annual event where Haiti Awake gives to vulnerable members of our community - a goat, rice, beans, and oil. What a joy it is to be part of this program year after year.
We look back on 2020 with utter amazement at the way God provided through every challenge, every difficulty. Our Community Child Sponsorship grew. Our opportunities for outreach expanded. Our own children and staff matured in many areas.
As we look toward 2021, we have chosen the following verse to guide us:
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
2017 in Review
It's been another year. We have another opportunity to look back and see God's providence, His faithful hand, His leading...and to see that once again, we never walked alone.
The first four months of the year were marked by change as the children came under our care. We also began to discuss the idea of expanding Haiti Awake outside of Port au Prince, hosted teams in the new upstairs guesthouse, launched our child sponsorship program, and added stateside coordinators - Hannah Telman, Liz Kyle, and Alicia Mercer.
Glwa pou Bondye.
The middle four months were characterized by teams - five of them to be exact . . . in addition to the four we had already hosted in the first four months of 2017. Fun times. Busy times. Times of growth. Many of this summer's team members became sponsors to our children, and for that we are grateful.
Relationships.
Gospel.
Hope.
The latter part of 2017 brought great joy, as well as some hard times. The children returned to school for their 3rd year of schooling since Haiti Awake began providing for their tuition, and we rejoiced. Haiti Awake was also able to open the copy center and begin its first chicken project during this same period. We are thankful that God continues to expand our resonsibilities. We also were forced to think about the brevity of life when Wesly and Idelmy were involved in a serious accident. And we finished out the year with a wonderful Christmas celebration provided by friends and sponsors.
We look forward with great anticipation to where God will providentially lead in 2018. We anticipate growth through new business opportunities as well as outreach and expansion of responsibility outside of Port au Prince. But we recognize and affirm the truth found in Proverbs 16:9:
“We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.”
Tout glwa pou Bondye. Toutan.
Hope that's hard to find
Let me first say, I’m not an author. I’m not a blogger. I do not pride myself on my ability to write, but I was asked to write something about the day I visited Centre de Reeducation des Mineurs en Conflit avec le Loi (CERMICOL), a boy’s prison in Haiti. I will attempt to do that.
I was taught from a young age, just like many American boys, that men don’t cry. I’m not in any way saying my parents raised me wrong, but I deal with emotions like many other American men - I bottle them up.
The night that followed my trip to the boy’s prison, I cried, and then I cried some more. I wept in a way I haven’t wept in a very long time. I cried at the position these boys were in, the hopelessness of the situation, how their entire life is altered. Forever. I cried because if I had been born into poverty, I could have faced a situation that some of these young men faced, made a similar decision, and ended up in a boys prison at age 14.
This could have been me.
I have an 11 year old son. He’s a good kid, but he’s done things that are, well, regrettable. Just like every other kid. I could not help but picture him when I was at the prison. I don’t know the kid's ages, but some were young. Probably 12 or 13 years old.
The boys are locked up for various reasons, I don’t know what each one did, I didn’t care.
I saw children. I saw my son. In a green jump suit with CERMICOL on his back. Hopeless.
Now, I’m far from saying that these boys should not be held responsible. But to see a kid that has been locked up for a crime, and find out some go 2 years before they ever see a judge, that’s heartbreaking. Some of them committed crimes, some terrible crimes, stuff we spoiled Americans only see in TV shows. They do not need to be told that’s ok. They need tough love. They need to be educated. And they need hope.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
When we arrived, we unloaded the supplies we brought - rice, sodas, toiletries, a hand written scripture for each boy. Each item was inspected by guards and then loaded into a wheelbarrow. There were 3 prisoners that were pushing the loaded wheelbarrows into the prison. Quite obvious this was their reward for good behavior. Once it was all in, there were a few conversations between guards, some more waiting, and then we got to enter. They escorted us to a room, set up similar to a classroom, with a chalkboard, seating for 30 or so, one door.
There was a large window that opened to the common area. The cells with bars were across from this. We could see the boys. They looked at us, they didn’t look angry, or threatening, they looked like my son. Some were a few years older, but they were young men, trying to find their place in life. While in a holding cell with 125 other prisoners. Hopeless.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
The guards ushered in about 40 at a time, 3 groups. The groups came in, we spoke to them. Told them God loved each one of them, that we at Haiti Awake loved each one of them. We prayed. Then they left, back to their cells.
We left, empty handed, sad with the situation, angry thinking the boys may not get a fair shake, disappointed that decisions were made to put them here, but hopeful that some of these young men heard our words. Hopeful they heard us pray for them. Hopeful they heard the message we had for them. Heard that it’s not over. They have decisions to make every day going forward. Maybe as they make one of these decisions, they will think back and remember the Haiti Awake team, and remember some words we shared, or a prayer, or a verse written to them.
Maybe this will be what they need to get through a rough day. Maybe it’ll help them make a good decision in the future.
Maybe it will give them hope.
Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Hebrews 13:3
How do you explain a place that does not even make sense? How do you describe a place few will ever have the opportunity to visit?
These photos don't explain. They don't even describe, but they are all we have.
Over the last year, Haiti Awake has been actively pursuing a relationship with both the prisoners and the staff of Cermicol, a juvenile prison in Delmas. We are thankful to have been granted access to take these few photos to help you understand a place where on most days over 100 teenage boys are imprisoned. Their alleged crimes vary, but their stories are the same.
Their stories are similar to yours.
Their stories are similar to mine.
They are broken people in need of a Savior.
For those of you who have generously given to support our prison outreach in the past, we thank you. The boys were thrilled to get care packages filled with soap, shampoo, hard candy, and a snack on our last visit. Everyone appreciated the food, sodas, and water we were able to purchase through the financial generosity of those who support Haiti Awake monthly.
As a mom of boys who are the same age as the prisoners, I always struggle in my heart when we go to Cermicol, and yet I always want to go back. For me the highlight of our last visit was seeing one young man get a big smile on his face when he saw Lifesavers in his bag and to hear so many of the boys say, "Mesi," with genuine gratitude. It was also good, though sad, to talk with boys we've met in the past.
Please pray with us that we will continue to find favor with those who have the authority to allow us access to the prison, and pray that our visits are a way to show Christ's love in action.
“Remember the prisoners, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily.”
