Pilat, Premye Kominyon, Panèl Solè

Sunset in Pilat

Pilat
The remainder of the week in Pilat went well.  It was a pleasure to work with the preschool children and their teachers. On Friday there was a special program for the youngest children, in which they were given a chance to play freely. They pretended to be merchants selling their wares, doctors and nurses, and mothers.  They also painted and played with playdough.

One day when I went for a walk after school, some older children who had stayed late walked along and chatted with me.  After a while, when we arrived at a bend in the river they took off their shoes and I watched them cross the flowing river; the water was nearly to their knees. They still had a distance to walk on the other side of the river too.

Very early in the morning on Sunday, I left Pilat; there was no driver available on Saturday as I had hoped.    

Premye Kominyon
On Sunday three girls who reside at the orphanage received the sacrament of First Holy Communion.  Since the mass had already started by the time I arrived in Okap, and I had attended liturgy on Saturday evening in Pilat, I went to the orphanage in the morning to help prepare for the party.  We had a joyful celebration! Relatives of the first communicants came for othe meal.  There was a lot of great food and delicious cake which the children all enjoyed.

Panèl Solè

While I was away, solar panels were installed on the roof of Leocaide Convent, where I live.  This will save on fuel costs. We are fortunate enough to be living in a place where there is electricity from the electric company, (many places in Haiti are not on the grid; many people do not have electricity.) The electricity from the company inconsistent and unpredictable and we may get a few hours of electricity a day.  We also use a generator which charges batteries on the inverter so that we have electricity whenever we need it.  We will not need to run the generator nearly as often with the solar panels.  We will continue to have times when the electricity is off such as during the night.   The major advantages include saving on fuel costs and of course the environmental benefits.

That is all my news for this week.  I hope you are doing well.  Thank you for taking the time to read my weekly update.  Have a good week. Many blessings!