Advent, 2007

"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel" Micah 5:2

On July 5, at the Graduation ceremony of the Preschool Class, the Assistant of the Master of Cer- emony was a second grade student of the St Barthelemy School in Terrier Rouge. Using colorful humor, she captivated the audience of 500 people gathered in the court yard. She spoke perfect French. (One of the goals of education in Haiti is to teach French, the language of the educated.)

As the program went on, the children performed well - every presentation was greeted with applause. One lady told me that she came from Cap-Haitian (second largest city of Haiti) to attend the ceremony and confessed that even in the big cities she had not seen such a good performance.

Sitting in the first row, I was dreaming of the future as it would be when these children would be in charge when the girl, while giving her final speech, looked at me and said: “Father Bruno, listen to what I am saying to you, we are the future leaders of this country. We will change our environment. With us the country will not be the same. Thank you for the good education you are giving us at St Barthelemy".

That woke me up. Great joy filled my heart and I felt good knowing that true leaders will come out from this small farming village of the Northeast of Haiti. In a decade or more the dream will come through.

Bethlehem and Terrier Rouge have many things in common: small towns in the country, a prophecy aliment- ing the hope of the people. In Bethlehem, the prophecy became reality. The Savior, announced long before, was born and brought hope to the people. He transformed our way of life, our history and we have a new way of seeing things. In Terrier Rouge the prophecy has not been realized yet. But we live with hope that some day our children will make a difference in the life of the country. Like in Bethlehem and Nazareth, leaders will rise in Terrier Rouge.

Dear friends, I ask each and every one of you to encourage the work of education being done in the name of the Lord at the different schools we are supporting. I thank you for your aid which is very important to us to keep a child in school. Offer this Christmas a gift of $200.00 to yourself or to someone else by sponsor- ing a child in our School for a whole year. The Child of Bethlehem and the child of Terrier Rouge will be grateful to you.