As some of the offices and classrooms at the Father Wasson Angles of Light school have moved from tents into converted shipping containers, a tent became avaliable for my use when I do the psychoeducational lessons and play therapy. It is a large octagon shaped tent, large enough that the children can sit in a circle for the groups, and contained enough for play therapy. I was very happy about this.
That afternoon, shortly after returning to my little house, I recieved the sad news that a beloved sister in my community had passed away, Sr. Joan Marie. She will be missed a great deal. Her kind spirit and her laughter will always live in my memory. She was buried on Saturday. Please keep her family, and all of us who loved her in your prayers.
On Tuesday night before dusk, a caravan of trucks went from here to a place called Titanyen, where there are mass graves where earth quake victims were buried last year. There on the eve of the anniversary of the earthquake, people from all many nations stood holding candles celebrating liturgy together. As distant fires probably lit to clear brush on fields somewhere burned, I could not fathom, the thousands of people's whose remains lay in the ground there. We had a couple of bodies with us, cholera victims most likely, who after the liturgy was over, were also buried there. Someone told me that since the Duvalier dictatorships, when victims of violene were first laid to rest there, this area has been used to bury people. Every week a group of people go from here to the city mourge to take the unclaimed bodies in attempt to give them a more dignified burial. (If you want to know a little more about information is included in this documentary (http://www.suncitypicturehouse.com/)
The following morning, I went with a large group of people into Portaprince where by the remains of the catheral thousands of people gathered for a liturgy remembering those who had lost there lives last year.
Later that day, there was a mass here. All of the children from St. Anne and St. Louie as well as many of the employees of the hospital gathered. Later that afternoon, at the actual time of the earthquake a small group gathered in the little chapel here for a very touching evening prayer. Somehow, for me in a way that I can't quite describe, the anniversary of the earthquake really felt like a holiday or maybe more of a holyday. My hope and prayer is that the day was somehow healing for the many people who lost so much a year earlier.
It was only days after the earthquake that the Father Wasson Angles of Light Program first began reaching out to displaced children. On Sunday we celebrated its one year anniversary, with a party for all of the children who live at St. Anne and St. Louie. It was an enjoyable event. At the end the children were given presents, some of which I think they were supposed to get the previous week for Little Christmas. These presents seemed not to break quite as easily, as the others, fortuently.
The NPH office in the United States made a video which was released for the earth quake anniversary, showing the programs which were begun or expanded during the past year including of course the Father Wasson Angles of Light program. Here is the link if you are interested. youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQuvQRWUMMH4&h=88b93
Now that the anniversary of the earthquake is over, things seem a little quieter here on the grounds of St. Damien's hospital. The quieter is not likely to apply to Haiti in general, as you may have heard by now, much to the surprise of everyone, we got word last night that Duvalier, Baby Doc, the former dictator had just landed at the airport after spending about 25 years in exile. What does this mean for haiti? M pa konnen (I don't know.)
I also don't kow why this computer is insisting on spell checking this blog in French, even though it seems like it is set to English, so I will assume I have a kind audience who will overlook any spelling errors or typos, and as it is getting late I am not even going to proff read.
Good night! Take care.
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