Feast of St. Barthélémy, 2006
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Dear Friends, Two special events took place at the Saint Barthélémy School in Terrier Rouge this summer: the graduation of those who left preschool and moved to 1st grade, and the Vacation Bible school. The graduation exercise went very well. It was hard but rewarding work. My wife, Marise, spent three weeks in Terrier Rouge to to prepare for the graduation ceremony. Dominique did a marvelous job in preparing gifts and diplomas for the children. Decorations were managed by Marina Baez from Epiphany Church in Santo Domingo. Merry Reetz Stovall and her son John who were visiting from Emmanuel helped with all preparations. The balloons for the decorations were given by Carol Downs, an artist friend from Athens, Ga.
We had more than 500 people this day in our school property. As always, the children, colorfully dressed, entered in procession singing Psalm 91. They marched in with rhythm and discipline. We built a big stand in the feeding porch for 73 kids and the teachers. The children performed their different exercises: this one gave a speech in French without note and mistake; that one performed her part of the play perfectly well. They danced, recited poems and told stories in perfect French. The audience as always was amazed and applauded those talented 6 year olds. 
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Graduation is hard work, but it pays off. It is encouraging to note that we at St Barthélémy are doing a great job with the children. One of the parents in his speech expressed the satisfaction for the community. After a week of recess, we conducted a three week Vacation Bible School with more than 300 children. It included all kinds of activities from paintings to reading Bible stories, to soccer and films for children. The 3 year olds who will be admitted in September were part of the camp. It was their introduction to the bigger world of the academic community. This year we have introduced a new program with the help of "Mercy and Sharing". We reached around 50 old folks in the community by providing them a hot lunch every day from Monday to Friday. Those who can walk come to the Center. The shut-ins either send someone to get their food or we have it delivered by some volunteers.
While I was in Haiti, I visited with my friends the schools in Cap-Haitien and in Limonade. I contacted the administration of those schools and made arrangements for the scholarships. |
