Mercy League Haiti

Thanks to one and all for joining me for this the second edition of the Mercy League Haiti Gazette. This evening finds me sitting in the dining room at Julio and Lucienne’s house with an oil lamp burning on the table. I am typing and sipping tea slowly and Lucienne is pedaling away on her old-timing sewing machine. Things are quiet up here on the mountain. Really quiet. All that I can hear right now is the sound of the keys clicking and crickets chirping outside, and the sewing machine of course. There is an occasional dog that barks but other than that it is really quiet. I have found that up on the roof here at Julio’s house, looking out over PAP, is just about the best place imaginable to pray.

Before I proceed, please allow me to apologize for not having this newsletter to you sooner. I meant to have it to you long ago but, as things in Haiti usually go, it’s late in coming.

I want to kick this letter off by letting you all know a little about the couple that I am staying with. They are definitely some of the greatest people that I have ever known. I have yet to have had the slightest unpleasant moment with either one of them. Lucienne is the hardest working little lady that I have ever known, (or at least one of them). She is the first one up ever morning and she makes us breakfast. She makes amazing food for us ever day and insists on doing almost all of the work. I have to fight the both of them to get them to let me do anything. Lucienne also sews almost every day and ladies from all around the community wear clothes that she has made. But, the thing that I think is the most characteristic about her is that she is always laughing. There is always something funny going on when she is around. (There’s a good picture to illustrate this in the collection that I have sent you.) And then she sings and prays out loud before she goes to sleep every night.

Julio is equally hard-working and pleasant. He has a great sense of
humor…they both do really. I find it hard to imagine finding a better place to live. These people rolled out the red carpet for me the day that I have arrived and they have yet to stop serving me. And one more thing about Julio that I wanted to mention in the context of the electricity that the Mercy League Haiti stateside board voted to send us the funding for, (for those of you who haven’t heard, there is currently no electricity in Julio and Lucienne’s house. Last week, I called upon the board to put it to a vote as to whether or not we could fund getting this house wired and buy some batteries. Long and short: the board voted yes so very soon, we should have power in this house.) But that was not what I wanted to tell you. It was about Julio, specifically. I have really enjoyed getting to know this guy. He is simply one of the most honest, godliest men that I think I have ever known. One of the ways that I first saw this was in that, although many of his neighbors have tapped into the city power supply under the table, he has chosen to continue living without power because he doesn’t think it’s right to take what he hasn’t paid for. Well, we as a board have participated in proving that patience and conviction pays off because Julio is about to get his house wired and some new batteries. (There are some pix attached of the men wiring the house.)

As for the house that I am living in, it is potentially a very nice one but, like so many things in Haiti , it has to be done in stages as the money comes in. So, it is a work in progress but Julio has dreams of having extra rooms and running a guest house. The upstairs has not been built but when it is, the house will go from one bedroom to four or five. He has mentioned many times that he wants to have a place for my friends and family to come and stay and we have also talked about building an extra facility for me to move up to later.

One of the funny things about living in a house that is unfinished is that (right now) the bathrooms here have no doors. For now, they are just outfitted with curtains. So this means that there is a lot of singing to be done in the bathroom. Singing has several utilitarian purposes here, not the least of which is to let other folks know that you are in the bathroom. In other words, don’t come in right now.

Three weeks ago Friday, for the first time since I have been in the country, I was able to go
a little hard to maintain a balance between keeping their hopes up and getting them overly anxious.) Please continue to pray for these children. They so desperately need a chance. I have had several other missionaries tell me that they believe if these kids could just get a chance, they would really make something of their lives.

Anyway, last week I went back down to visit with the street kids again and took my laptop and showed them their movie. They were pretty well riveted even though it is mostly in English. I don’t think that any of these guys has ever seen themselves on video before at all and now they are seeing themselves in the form of a world-class documentary. (E—hem!!) They had lots of questions about the plan for the school like when and where it will be built and how large it will be and so forth. I answered as best I could but told them that there were a lot of things still yet to be decided. The looks on their faces was really priceless. They would laugh and point w

hen they saw someone that they recognized. Antoine and Guetching never laughed, smiled, or spoke the whole time pretty much the whole time, except when I would look at them. They just watched with seriousness and intensity. I could tell that they were very affected by what they were seeing.

I wanted to mention also a prayer request. It pertains to a little fellow of about 1 and a half years named Moise. He is now living with Mme. Paul. Matt and I first met him over a year ago on our first trip to PAP. (Picture attached. He’s the one holding the picture of Paul McCartney) He has badly clubbed feet and can’t walk properly at all. He walks on what should be the top of his feet. The potential good news is

that I spoke to Carol, an R.N. that Matt and I met when we were here the first time, and she told me about a program that might be able to help Moise get an operation. Be praying that this will work out and he will be able to have his feet fixed before he gets too old to do anything about it. It’s a pretty sad situation right now; the little guy has a lot of trouble sleeping at night because of the pain but Carol told me that with the operations they have now, they can fix it and get rid of the pain pretty much from now on. That would be wonderful. Just pray for him that God would provide that he could get this operation.

Also, it has been at least two weeks now since I have been able to make it down to see Mrs. Paul. She was doing pretty well the last time that I saw her but reminded me that she still needs help in paying for the workers and for the kids schooling. Also, she had three little children, (some of her youngest), die last week. Elie called me and told me that they were sick on Wednesday and I called her that evening to check on the kids. It wasn’t Mme. Paul that answered the phone but her daughter and she told us that two of the kids had died. She told us that she didn’t know which ones they were and she wasn’t at the orphanage at the time and couldn’t ask anyone the children’s’ names. This conversation was in the evening and the daughter told us to call back the next morning so that meant that I got to wait the whole night wondering if it was any of the children that I knew. Well, we called again the next morning, (Julio, that is) and talked to Mme. Paul. He found out that three children had gotten sick and died. Mme Paul sounded just about beside herself as one might imagine. They talked for a few moments and I asked Julio to get the names of the children. Julio said one name and I didn’t recognize it but then he said “Manoucheka” and for a split second my heart about stopped because she is one that I have been buddies with since the first time we visited there. (I have a picture of her with her brother attached).

But then Julio checked himself…he had misunderstood. It turned out that none of the kids were ones I knew but rather ones who had been recently brought to the orphanage. Manoucheka is fine, as far as I know, and still totally adoptable, (hint, hint!!!). Please pray for Mme. Paul and for Moise and for the Good Sam Orphanage. Deaths like these are never pleasant or easy.

Shifting gears a bit, I want to tell you all about this past Saturday. It really started out several weeks ago when I met Ann Farquson when I was having computer problems and I took my laptop up to her husband David to have it looked at. They are in their mid sixties but you would never imagine it to be around Ann. She is one of the most energetic people that I think I have ever met. Anyway, she invited me to go with her way up in the mountains and meet some friends of hers and have breakfast and some fresh milk from the cow and ride four wheelers with their kids. So, she drove down and got me here at Laboulle 11 at 6:15 AM and had a big plate of cinnamon roles in the back seat for breakfast for when we got there and a thermos of coffee for me for the ride up. (She and I are kindred in spirit when it comes to coffee. Both like it with just cream.) Anyways, I spent the whole trip up there just completely astounded at how beautiful everything was. The mountain was so amazingly green and beautiful and the views better that I have ever seen anywhere on this island. (Pictures enclosed from this trip.) Anyway, we get up there to about 5,000 feet and meet the people, (Willem and Beth, and sons Stephan & David) and Ann had me tell Willem a little about what I am planning to do. (Willem is a Haitian and you see him in one of the pics standing on the veranda overlooking the mountains.)

I didn’t get all of my plans out of my mouth before he erupted with information. One of the encouraging things that he told me was that agriculture was definitely the way to go…even though it is socially stigmatized. He told me that he had an organization that has helped a local farming community in the mountains by building them a dam and putting irrigation pipe. He says that as a result, they are growing all kinds of fruits and vegetables year round that before they were able to only grow in-season. He says that now, this is quickly becoming one of the more well off communities in the area and some people are beginning to buy houses and cars all because of agriculture. He also mentioned that the land next door to him was for sale. It was just under three U.S. acres and is for $25,000 USD. (Land Pictured.) Willem told me that because of the rainfall on the mountain, there is no need to dig a well but to just put in a large cistern and a dam for an irrigation pond. The land has amazing views and wonderful earth for growing but there are pros and cons. One con is that we would have to think about how we would get electricity but I did talk with Willem about a windmill and he said that this would be an ideal place for it and that he knew of a resort up on the mountain that used windmills for power. I thought that it would be cool to have a prayer room underneath the windmill so that the windmill could have the dual function of powering the campus and broadcasting prayer over Port-au-Prince. One way or another, this it is an option that the board will be able to discuss.

Lastly, I want to briefly mention that the History and Philosophy of Education went well for me. I was blessed to get into the class, and was actually the last on to be allowed in. I plan to take the next class that they are offering in December which is going to be Curriculum Development. One of the greatest things about this opportunity is that I am getting to meet and get to know some of the best minds in Christian education in Haiti. (Somehow, I am beginning to think that God had all this planned out from the beginning. Amazing!) The Picture of me that is attached was taken with the instructor, Dr. Bob Brumley. I had fun getting to know him and plan to visit his church at whatever point I have to go to Ft. Meyers to buy seed at ECHO.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the education train rolls onward. I must depart but I am glad that some of you are now more up to speed on where the program is standing. I trust that you will all keep praying for me that God will continue to reveal his will and that I will stay closely in it. Thanks for the prayers thus far.

Signing off, from the Island of Hispañola in the West Indies…Haiti, that is…

Luke

The Dohms in the Dominican Republic!

Dear Friends and Family, Here is a message from good friends of mine who have known me since I was a little boy.

Here is their story as told by Melissa Dohms...

Servants of Yeshua: Melissa, Gordon, Glen, Rachel and Jesse Dohms
(Overlooking the beautiful N. Thompson River on a foggy October day)

Yes Lord, speak; your servant is listening!

We Know that God has spoken to His people in quite a variety of strange ways. The burning bush, the voice in the darkness that spoke to Samuel, but hearing that still small voice over the roar of a weed-whacker while working in the middle of a field laden with burdock really got our attention! Gord had been wanting to take the family on a trip to the south (any where south of the Canadian border) for some time and God laid it upon his heart that perhaps the Dominican Republic would be a good possibility. After discussion and prayer on the subject we will be going to live in Santiago, Dominican Republic from Jan. 8 – Mar. 28, 2008.

The inspiration for D.R. certainly did not come out of the blue though. Watching Shane grow up here in the North Thompson valley of British Columbia and seeing him embark on the adventures of ministry with Kristi has certainly been a blessing to us. They have come to inspire us with their love of the people of Hispaniola and their desire to meet the needs of the little ones over there. As Shane has traveled to and from the island we have faithfully read his blogs and kept in touch through emails and of course prayed for God’s leading on the Mercy League ministry.

Amazingly the details of where to stay, the passports required, and how to be involved in the lives of the Dominican Republic people has been totally orchestrated by God in a way that we could never have done ourselves. In Santiago we will be caretaking the Kingdom Builders Christian Ministry mission house that William Gomez and his family had looked after for several years. The leader of the Santiago mission was once a missionary to British Columbia and is a good family friend to my ministry parents. God re-connects people of the same heart. Shane has asked Gord to help organize work bees at the Puerto Plata house. God gives us purpose.

In the midst of all this will be the whole experience of taking three children, Glen who is 12, Rachel who is 10 and Jesse who will turn 8 while there, to a totally foreign environment. Vavenby is a far cry from the Caribbean life of Hispaniola. Part of our schedule will involve being tourists (escaping the Canadian winter), home-schooling our children, and settling into our new home. Our desire is that we as a family will bless those we come in contact with, that we can share with believers in another country and tongue, and to come away knowing that we were able to perhaps make a difference to those who are in need. Our local congregation Clearwater Christian Church here in B.C. is very excited for us and in full support of our going out in the name of Christ. Be in prayer for us as we continue to prepare for our departure date of Jan. 7, 2007, from Vancouver, B.C.

Donations can be made for MLI project: Gord and Melissa Dohms DR project by going to:

http:www.mercyleague.org

and clicking on the contact tab... look for the donations link.
(yes we hide our donations link on the last page of the website.)

New Project in Haiti for Street Children

Our good friend and fellow worker, Luke Wilkerson, had this to say about his arrival and first few days in Haiti:

Greetings from the lovely town of Laboulle, Haiti, just above the capital city, Port-au-Prince. As my dear cousin Jon says: “I’m loving ever minute of it.” I don’t know how in the world I was able to talk you people into supporting me to do this work but it really is a lot like paid vacation, so far. Today as I was walking through Petionville, totally surrounded by black faces, I had the realization that: “I just love being here in Haiti.” Seasoned missionaries would say that I am in the honeymoon phase of fieldwork. In other words, I haven’t yet gotten to the place where everything about this culture annoys me. But, I trust that I won’t ever get there.

When Julio picked me up at the airport and drove me up to his house, my first thought was that it was a little bit like what I would imagine driving through the Alps would be like. The views really are breathtaking up here. And the climate is surprisingly comfortable, too. I was very surprised the other morning to see my breath up on the mountain when Mario (Julio’s brother) and I went up to visit the Baptist Haiti Mission. It really feels a little bit like I am living in Gatlinburg. Only, it has rained a lot more than it does in Gatlinburg. By the way, please keep praying for me that I will not be bitten by any foul, Dengue-carrying mosquitoes. I have had really good luck in that I have been bitten very few times at all. Maybe three. But, it only takes one, you know. I am operating under the theory that missionaries that are living right wont get Dengue Fever.

Anyways, I am living with a couple of complete jewels. Julio and Lucienne are the greatest I have ever met. When I got here, I found that they had rolled out the red carpet for me like nobody’s business. They actually had me set up to be in their bedroom and in their bed and they themselves had moved into the storage closed but I wouldn’t have it and I told them to move back out and I could take the closet. They did this reluctantly but this gesture has been the model for the way that they have treated me the whole time that I have been here. They are both in their late 30s and have never had kids but there are many, many children here on the property. Julio’s dad and mom had 11 children, all of whom live here on this one piece of property. Most of them have kids. I would say that there are at least 30 kids running around here. All of them beautiful and very well-behaved. The whole family seems to love the Lord. Especially Julio and Lucienne who laugh constantly. They sing hymns at night together after they pray before going to sleep. The one big surprise that I got when I arrived was in finding out that there is no electricity. I brought this big inverter with me and had planned to buy some batteries but there is nothing to charge the batteries. Well, not yet, anyway. We are hoping to get the city power hooked up soon. For now, showering by candlelight and reading with old-fashioned lamps will have to do. By the way, I am once again bucket-bathing just like in the D.R. for now as Julio has not finished his bathroom just yet.

Things have really gone fast just in these first few days. I arrived on Thursday and on Friday I met with a guy named Chris Leib who works with the Baptist Haiti Mission. (The BHM has a wonderful facility a few miles farther up the mountain from here where I am staying.) He had a lot of advice to offer and gave me a lot of his time on Friday. He was very helpful. One of the interesting things that he told me was that the HBM is going to offer a course for master’s credit through a school in Miami . The class will be on History and Philosophy of Education and only costs about 90 US dollars per credit. The best part about it is that I would be interacting with some of the top Christian educators in the country and as you all know, I have something of an interest in education in Haiti . Also, I went to a good-sized English-speaking church on Sunday and found out that not only do they have a nice grand piano but that they are and have been looking for someone to play it. This is really exciting to me, as I have been hoping that I might be able to get involved in music somewhere while I am here.

Things are pretty cheap down here. I got a nice cell phone for $59 US and I found out that I can text message the US for pennies. There are other things that are not cheap. For example, you wouldn’t believe what they charge to wash clothes around here. It is outlandish and I almost have a good mind to do it myself. But, not quite. If anyone has a portable washer that they could send my way…that would be most welcomed.

Well, I must be on my way so this will have to just suffice for my week one news letter. Please, please keep praying. Oh, by the way, congratulations all on the money that we made at the pancake breakfast.

Will talk soon.

Luke

Mercy League in Haiti

To the ones called out to make a difference in this world.

Some have a special ability to be steady and supportive while others are unable to remain satisfied with the status-quo. It’s like when the Good Book says that one planted and another watered but God makes it grow. (1 Cor. 3:6-8) We are all in this together. We can’t all go and help but we can all do... what we can do to help.

In a world with tremendous volume and increasing demands, the faint voices of the oppressed and suffering are muted. We have to listen more intently, set aside some of our time and tune into what God cares about. What we, in our heart of hearts care about, care about.

~that’s what I am thinking today~

-----------------------------------------------

I was in “town” (Eugene, Oregon) a couple of years ago when my cell phone began to buzz in my pocket. It startled me (I though it was a bee, again) I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it. It was Luke Wilkerson. He was asking about Haiti again. He was planning a short mission’s trip with his brother across the country. He needed contacts and advice and I was on his list. He is a very magnetic sort of person. I find myself quite interested in his heart and vision because he is so interested in what is on his heart and what he needs to do to accomplish his vision. We talked for about half an hour and he said that I could expect more calls from him soon.

This has been happening ever since then. We have been talking about a vision Luke has for a self sustaining agriculture boarding school for street children (boys at this point) from Port-au-Prince. It is a perfect vision and greatly needed. Luke and I met together last summer here in Oregon. Luke prayed much and garnered much council. He invited a very capable group of people in the Knoxville, Tennessee area (as well as other friends and family) to form a board to oversee and support him as he moved forward.

He did it!

Luke picked up and moved stakes September 26, 2007. He is staying with some wonderful friends of mine in a little Haitian family settlement in the mountains overlooking Port-au-Prince. He has taken much precaution and listened to good council throughout this process. I am very proud of my friend Luke Wilkerson.

We are now partnering with the Mercy League HAITI Board and it’s membership.

To those serving on the Mercy League Haiti board and your supporters!

Congratulations!

Welcome to Mercy League!

Haitians in the Dominican Republic

Immigrant Laborers From Haiti Are Paid With Abuse in The Dominican Republic

By GINGER THOMPSON

GUATAPANAL, Dominican Republic - The tobacco fields are being planted a little late this year because the Haitian immigrants who work them were driven away by threats of a lynching.
The troubles in this farm town in the country's northwest started in late September, with allegations that a Dominican worker had been killed by two black men. Too angry to wait for a trial, local Dominicans armed themselves with machetes and went out for vengeance.

"Where there are two Haitians, kill one; where there are three Haitians, kill two," said leaders of the mobs that descended on the immigrants' camps, the Haitians here recalled. "But always let one go so that he can run back to his country and tell them what happened."

Several Haitian workers were beaten by the Dominican mobs, said Jacobo Martínez Jiménez, an immigrant organizer. One Haitian, Mr. Martínez said, drowned when he fell into a river as he tried to get away. At least half of the town's 2,000 Haitian workers fled, as they said they had been warned to do, back across the border to Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Hundreds of others hid in the hills to the east, hoping that Dominican tempers would cool so that they could return to their jobs.

The attacks on Haitians here provide the most recent example of what international human rights groups describe as the Dominican Republic's systematic abuse of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent. In recent years, those organizations report, tens of thousands of Haitians have been summarily expelled from the country by individuals and the government, forcing them to abandon loved ones, work and whatever money or possessions they might have.
"We do all the work, but we have no rights," said Victor Beltran, one of about 150 Haitian immigrants, most of them barefoot and dressed in rags, who had taken refuge in a rickety old barn.

"We do all the work, but our children cannot go to school. We do all the work, but our women cannot go to the hospital. "We do all the work," he said, "but we have to stay hidden in the shadows."

Among those who have been deported, said Roxanna Altholz, a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, are Spanish-speaking Dominicans who were born to Haitian parents but have never visited Haiti, much less lived there.

At the root of the problem, Ms. Altholz said, is that Haitian immigrants and their Dominican-born children live in a state of "permanent illegality," unable to acquire documents that prove they have jobs or attend schools or even that they were born in this country. In October, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued an opinion that the Dominican Republic was illegally denying birth certificates to babies born here to Haitian parents, and ordered the government to end the practice. Human Rights Watch has also published extensive investigations of the mass expulsions, and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concerns about Haitian children being denied access to education and medical care.

"Snatched off the street, dragged from their homes, or picked up from their workplaces, 'Haitian-looking' people are rarely given a fair opportunity to challenge their expulsion during these wholesale sweeps," Human Rights Watch reported in 2002. "The arbitrary nature of such actions, which myriad international human rights bodies have condemned, is glaringly obvious."
Several Roman Catholic priests here have been threatened with legal action, including expulsion from the country, after the authorities found that they had illegally obtained birth certificates for dozens of Dominican-Haitian babies by falsely declaring them to be their own. One of the priests has also been receiving death threats, prompting the church to move him out of the country temporarily for his safety

"By keeping Haitians in a limbo of illegality, the government can do whatever they want with them," said the Rev. Regino Martínez Bretón of the Jesuit-run agency Solidaridad Fronteriza, in Dajabón, a city on the Dominican border. "The government can bring as many Haitians here as they want and then throw them away when they don't want them anymore."

Racism helps fuel the anti-immigrant sentiment, human rights groups say, since Haitians tend to have darker skin than Dominicans and are therefore often assumed to hold a lower social status.
The two countries have been volatile neighbors for most of the last two centuries, beginning with Haiti's domination of the Dominican Republic after its independence from Spain in the early 1800's. A century later, Rafael Trujillo, then the Dominican dictator, ordered the executions of some 37,000 Haitians in what many historians have called a ruthless campaign of ethnic cleansing. Indeed, the river that separates Haiti from the Dominican Republic is called Massacre River because of the slaughter.

Although anti-Haiti talk has since become a standard part of Dominican politics, the police and the military have made fortunes trafficking Haitians into the country to supply labor for agriculture and construction. Haitians here, desperate to escape the poverty and upheaval in their country, often say they have little choice but to accept Dominican exploitation.
Meanwhile, Dominican workers have been slowly pushed out of work by Haitian immigrants who will work for less, and so they are leaving their homeland in droves on rickety boats headed toward Puerto Rico, even though the Dominican Republic is one of the fastest growing economies in the Caribbean. Nationalist talk by the elite and frustration among unemployed Dominicans drive most attacks on Haitians, human rights groups say. And while one Dominican government after another has promised change, human rights investigators charge that they have all failed to guarantee Haitian immigrants and their Dominican-born descendants basic protections.

Guatapanal is not the only place where immigrants have experienced the Dominican Republic's version of mob justice. In August, on the outskirts of Santo Domingo, the capital, four Haitian men were gagged, doused with flammable liquids and set on fire. Three of the men, from 19 to 22 years old, died of their injuries. Soon after, Haiti temporarily recalled the leader of its diplomatic mission in the Dominican Republic to protest what it described as a "growing wave of racist violence" against its people.

After a Dominican woman was stabbed to death in May not far from here, Dominican mobs went on a rampage, beating Haitian migrants and setting fire to their houses. Before the next dawn, police officers and soldiers went door to door pulling some 2,000 Haitian migrants from their beds and loading them onto buses bound for the border.
At least 500 of those deported, Father Martínez said, were legal guest workers and Dominican citizens.

"It was a disaster," said Andrés Carlitos Benson, a Dominican-born university student who lives in Libertad. "We showed them our university identification cards, and they tore them up in front of us and told us to shut up, or they were going to beat us.
"They took parents away and left their children," he added. "They took old people out of their beds without any clothes."
Stung by mounting international criticism, President Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic has publicly expressed concern that some of his government's deportations of Haitians have violated international standards on human rights.
Still, his government rejected the ruling by the Inter-American Court. Other Dominican officials have said that their government was struggling with scant resources to secure its porous border and stop the surging flow of Haitians, which they blame for rising crime rates and overburdened schools, hospitals and housing.

A statement in late October by the Roman Catholic Bishops Conference of the Dominican Republic also said, "Our nation has a limited capacity to absorb excessive immigration," and pleaded for help.
"This is a very sensitive subject," said Ambassador Inocencio García, who is in charge of Dominican-Haitian relations at the Foreign Ministry. "I can tell you with all sincerity. We have institutional problems. We are making efforts to correct them. But in no way can the government of the Dominican Republic be characterized as one that does not respect basic rights."

Ambassador García said in an interview that a majority of poor Dominican children did not have birth certificates. But he did not respond to charges that Haitian children were routinely denied such documents.
The mayor here in Guatapanal, José Francisco Pérez, described the Haitians coming into this town as "an invasion." He said Guatapanal had 2,000 Haitians and only 500 Dominicans.
Area landowners stopped hiring Dominican workers for $10 a day because Haitians accepted less than half that, he said.

"Now instead of hiring 40 Dominican workers for a field, they hire 400 Haitians, and the Dominicans are left with nothing," Mr. Pérez said. "There's too many Haitians. If the government is not going to help us get rid of them, then we will do it ourselves."
Some landowners criticized the attacks by the Dominicans, and they have brought back many of the workers who fled.

"The problem is that there is no real justice," said Francisco Cabrera, who rents a few dozen acres of tobacco land here and uses Haitian laborers. He said the police rarely tried to stop attacks on them. "So people take justice into their own hands."
Polivio Pérez Colon, 36, one of the Dominican overseers who led the mobs against the Haitians, said they did not mean the immigrants any real harm. But he agreed that the Dominicans here felt outnumbered.

"They are people who do not use bathrooms," he said, referring to Haitians, many of whom live in shacks without running water and electricity. "They walk around drinking and making a lot of noise at night. Sometimes the men dance with each other.
"It's not that they are all bad. But they have to submit to our way of life. If not, these problems will keep happening."

Shane Mast in Malawi, Africa

A friend of mine, Shane Mast, a school teacher from Yoncalla, Oregon asked me if he could partner with Mercy League for a 1 time project in Malawi, Africa. We agreed and he sent me this email...

"This is my first chance at email and I don't have much time. First I wanted to thank you all once again for helping make this trip possible...

We have been in country for just over a week now and a lot has happened. We are nearly finished building a feeding center at a nearby school, as well as a storage shed. Two of our volunteers are building every day and the rest are teaching in the overcrowded schools.

We also visited an orphan care center that cares for 150 orphans all ages 3-5. They currently live with relatives at night then come to the center during the day to eat and be taken care of. They only get one meal a day right now due to funding, and that is only rice. We donated 100 kg of rice which will get them two meals a day for two weeks. Only a little help, but I guess its a start. The center is an abandoned house. All the orphans pack into this little 10 by 10 room to learn english, counting, etc. We have the opportunity to build them a bigger center, which we broke ground on today. This one will be about 25 by 15 feet with an office and storage area. Hopefully we can later fund a full time orphan care center here...

HIV/AIDS
The area that we are in is in crisis. About 25 % of the population has AIDS. In a nearby village alone there are nearly 500. They are being cared for by volunteers from the village. The government of Iceland has sent some boxes full of painkillers. The volunteers bring the painkillers to the patients about once a week to make their death less painful. The families of those with AIDS seem to suffer just as much. Often without a caretaker, or money, children of AIDS infected parents will not attend school due to not having proper clothing, fees, etc.

We were able to visit 25 of these families and give them all a few days of food, clothes, shoes, toothebrushes, soap, and a toy for all of the kids. It was an amazing experience for all of us! They were so grateful even though the food would only last a couple of days. It was the first pair of shoes and toys for all of the kids...

Everywhere we go we are greeted with smiles, handshakes, and hugs. These people of Malawi are very gracious and in great need. The children yell "Azungu, Azungu" (white people), and the adults just say "zikomo" (thank you). I am humbled every day by what I am seeing here.

Well I got to get going! Thanks again, and I hope to give you another update soone!

Shane Mast - Malawi, Africa"

Who wants to step up to bat?

Hi.

Well its done... and now we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief long enough to sit up straight and go on to the next phase.

We need a revamped business plan for the downsized children's home model.

Originally we planned on 24 children, 20+ acres, 6 staff members Orchards, gardens etc...


Now we are looking at starting with 4-8 children. 2 house parents and 1 part time gardener.

There is a Canadian/Haitian couple living in Ontario who are hoping to move to Puerto Plata to take over some of the administrative duties associated with the children's home project and the rental cabins(that ML must build).


We need participation from you and your friends and acquaintances/co-workers/relatives to come up with work teams to get the project off the ground.
Please look at these pictures and think about ways that you could help with the repairs and mosquito proofing of the home. Building materials are readily available in Puerto Plata.

Think and pray on these things... We all need to take a turn doing what we can. I feel kinda spent right now in
every sense of the word...























Shane

It´s Done!

Hello to all,

Just a quick note to update you one progress...


We spent more than 3 hours at the Lawyers office yesterday. We have a contract signed for 2 years with an option for a 3rd. It incudes more than an acre of land and a small house capable of housing 8 children comfortably.

The agreement includes minor repairs to bathroom and bathing area as well as a general clean up and paint.


I met a young Haitian man yesterday that is interested in working as a gardener for the project. He was already hired for the general labour in the yard for the current owner of the property.



We will talk to the pastor and his wife that live in the area about the posibility of having them come on board as the house parents as they are unable to have children at this time. We will of course do a full background check with references and criminal history check.

Everything is going well and we fly out today...

Thanks for your thoughts, financial gifts and prayers,

Shane

p.s. Kristie...see you soon honey... kiss the girls for me...

Onward and Upward!

Hello friends,

Here we are back at Puerto Plata.

Monday we spent the day in Santiago. Our group went to Santa Lucia where I try to go every time I come to the DR. There is a little 10 year old girl there that lives beside a stream so polluted that you can´t see the ground in or around it for he garbage.

She is 10 now and for he last 2 years she cries when I leave. I want to tke her home but I can´t because she is the oldest of 5 children. She keeps the house going when her parents drink or do drugs. Here siblings need her. I pay the school, where she attends, a little money for shoes, food or a uniform so that her parents don´t spend it on rum.



Today we go to sign papers to lease the childrens home for 2 years.

Pray for us...

Shane

A full day in the Sun...

Yesterday we spent the secondhalf of the day back at the potential site of the children's home. We met a local couple that works with children in a area close to the place that our children's home is in. They are a young couple unable to have children. The man is a finish carpenter and pastor. The wife has a deep love for children and holds a weekly gathering for children in the area. Do you know what I did? I brought them to the home and asked them to look around. I also found out that we are paying less for this house and land than it cost to rent a small house on a lot a few miles away. We are getting a really good deal.





He asked if he could help us work on the house. Of course I told him... yes it was a distinct posibility... with my hands, facial expressions and broken spanish. The girls were laughing at me.





6/24/07





This place was hot today...







Life in this place does not wait whan it is too hot to go outside... which is what we did. The day was spent in a couple of churches and Pizza Hut. The first church was a Dominican Church down town that was progressive and updated with sound and video. Then Pizza Hut at the resort area near teh beach and then to a very very small rural and run down Haitian village. It was an optional day but all parties took the option instead of sitting at the beach near our guest house.





We walked with a group of Haitians and watched as a man was baptized. We all carried children about a mile in the heat to a small stream. Everyone loved the children and the village but we are sunburned and sore.





Tomorrow we go to Santiago to a place called Santa Lucia.





My time is running out so I had better go for now...





Shane

I met a little lady named Terri from Nova Scotia on the beach today. She was talking with one of the members of our group when she sat next to me on one of the chairs and began to tell me about the 3 young children that were with her that day.

There were three children with her aged 7, 10 and 12. Their mother was terminal with cancer in Puerto Plata and there was no father in the picture as all three had different fathers. Teri´s greatest fear was that the children would be left to the kind of life the North Coast of the Dominican Republic has to offer.

Just like the young girl that is sitting about 6 feet away from me. late teens to early twenties, she is sitting a a bar with a German man perhaps three times her age. There is no misunderstanding their relationship.

I see it all over. Sex sells here. It uses up young boys and girls and throws them away in every imaginable way. I watched lyesterday as three young girls waled across the road in front of our car. Swaying their hips as the went... something that young girls don´t do in the part of the country most of us live in.

I think of my children and thank God that I am able to protect them from the harsh reality that these young people face in Puerto Plata. My hope is that our children´s home will help.


Today was spent in the village of Assention, which is a poor village mostly inhabited by Haitians. There is a school, fair trade factory, wood shop and several other amenities for the people of the area.

We had a full day that included looking at an amazing abandoned Hotel that is for sale for a fraction of the price land costs here.

Keep us in your prayers...

Shane

Here I am!

Ok Here I am sitting ina little cyber cafe in Puerto Plata. There is Merengue music playing and plenty of conversation going on around. Brendan is standing next to me reading every word oblivious to what is going on around him.

Sorry... no pictures today because there is no way to get the pictures from my camera to the internet yet.

We got into the country yesterday but not without a mishap or two. Ten minutes into our trip the van that I borrowed to transport us to the airport...yes... the engine caught on fire. Don´t ask me but it did... So we were behind the eight ball from the start. Delta make a mistake in their flight scheduling so we rushed to get to an ealier flight when we checked in... It was interesting.

Today was spent traveling to the potential site of the children´s home. It is in a very good location away from the city of Puerto Plata but close enough to be in town in about 5 minutes. The property includes a creek next to it. Water piped from the mountain, a large garden area, fruit trees, a place for animals and a house that is almost 100 years old that the termites have eaten up. It is in terrible condition. Even the price is really good... but that house needs help, badly. It is about 600 to 700 square feet and has a bathing area and outhouse.

The rest of the day was spent at the beach because the people in the group were about to colapse from the heat... I don´t know... It doesn´t seem that hot to me?

So that is the update... we negotiated a price of approx $4000 for 2 years including the garden area. We will talk to the lawyers tomorrow...

you can call me in country at 541-729-1066 (my Oregon telephone number)

Shane

Flying out Today!

Here we go!

I wish you were coming with us!

I have received many emails and telephone calls about our latest chapter in the sustainable children's home project.

Brendan (my 8 year old son) and I are running around doing last minute things and packing mosquito repellent, sunscreen and sunglasses etc . He hasn't been back to Hispaniola, where he spent half of his life for... the last 4 years, other half of his life... That's funny... maybe just to me. Anyway, he is looking forward to eating sugar cane and helping the children. He wrote letters and telephoned relatives to raise money for his part of the trip. Yes I am proud of him. Naomi is in camp this week and Noelle isn't ready yet.



Ok... on with the details.


We fly Delta from Portland to Puerto Plata departing at 11:25 pm and arriving at 2:04 pm tomorrow. We have lodging and meals already lined up in Puerto Plata. The first 3 or 4 days will be spent working out a lease/option for the perspective children's home location. The remainder of the time will be spent in various locations between POP, Sosua, Cabarete and Santiago. We will be meeting with friends and local missionaries.



Those of you who are reading this from the Dom. Rep. please feel free to call William Gomez in country at 809-878-9029. (That is his Cell) to set up a time for us to have a cup of tea and talk. William is managing our schedule while we are there.


The rest of you please look daily at the blog to see photos and updates about what is happening on our trip. If you know of anyone that may want to see this and read along please forward the blog to them.

If you know of anyone who can help with finances please direct them to this link:
Help Mercy League and go to the contact page to donate... but especially... please say a prayer and think about joining us next time.

Take care and God Bless...

Thanks so much for all of the encouragement... telephone calls, email and gifts.


www.mercyleague.org

This is me and my daughter Naomi

Hello to all...

I know what it is like to live, what can sometimes be, a hectic life. Reading all of the emails I see in the in-box can be challenging let alone responding to them all...

so...

I am planning a condensed version of updates that can be read within 2 or 3 minutes that will, hopefully, keep you with me.

I would like to get feedback...

How is the font size for you?
Length of blogs etc...

By the way... I appreciate that 4 people sent a total of $600

I want to list their names and thank them for putting into the "stone soup " as I called it, but I don't know if they would like that...

You know who you are... so thanks... It touched my heart.

Please respond to this email and let me know if you are still with me. I don't want to bother or pester anyone. If you are like me it isn't all too often that you have time or funds to throw around... I know all about it. It's ok...

Please let me know if you are enjoying this journey with us.

There are more than 200 of you potentially reading this.

I appreciate your time and care for me, my family and this important work we are doing for these children.

Shane

Getting it on the Ground...

Hello friends and family,


Here are a few small details that need to be relayed...









1. I have contacted our man, William Gomez about the possibility of a longer term lease and asked for a clarification on the amount of acreage that comes with the house.

• A longer Lease term can be negotiated when we get there, but William believes that we won't have any trouble convincing the owner to extend the lease to 3 or 4 years. One of our members asked about the possibility of adding an option to buy at the end of the lease... We will have our lawyer look into it.
• The house is in need of repair. It has a little more than 1/2 an acre of land to use. This wold be a problem but it seems that there is enough adjacent farm land that can also be leased for extended periods of time.

2. Money... I have a little. I try to fund everything on my own. It doesn't work very well as I don't earn much of it. Doesn't it always come back money. I strongly dislike the money part of doing this kind of thing but as you know... it is our physical connection to this world.

• That said... We are a volunteer organization with no fund raising campaigns or deep pockets to pull from.

• If you can help please do so. We need $2400 to break even by June 19th but we are working on it.
  

The "contact" tab of our website: www.mercyleague.org has a link that takes a credit card or you can send a check payable to "Mercy League International" to:

Mercy League Int.
Attn: Shane Mattenley
P.O. Box 116
Lorane, OR 97451

All donations are tax deductible within the US.

Sorry that I had to mention money.


3. When we get the property leased we will need someone to lead a work team. Please consider the prospect of getting involved at the ground level.

Thanks for being a part of this,

Shane

The Latest News!!

Hello friends and Family

Update:

Things are happening.

It's a lot to read so skim if you must..

We leave for Puerto Plata in 3 weeks...

Our plan?

• To solidify a lease property for 2 to 3 years. It must have a house and some acreage near Puerto Plata
• To solidify the vision with our Dominican friends and lay out strategies for hosting work teams and staffing options for the children's home.

Here is a translated email from William Gomez our Mercy League Dom. Rep. director regarding the search for the lease property.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5/24/07

"Hello Shane,

the weekend we worked looking for a house with the characteristic ones that we needed; we have an opportunity now, of a house near you take care of it. This property this behind TORES mountain ISABEL. It has his its own water and the house is of wood, this house has perhaps 100 years, and we have repárala.

The owner said to me that he is going to call to give me the security to me of which he is going to us to rent this house, the price of the house will say to whichever hill the rent soon to me. This house this near the school. Here photos of the house, we have some friends who are helping me to grant a scholarship but houses. God blesses brother to you In Christ William and Jaquelin Gomez
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5/26/07

Hello Shane my Brother,

Today I was in puerto Plata and met with the owners of the house. They have offered the house for 4000 pesos monthly, they want a year in advance, Also is our responsibility to take care of the house and to help with the repairs, we must pay 200 pesos for Electricity so far if we want to take over for June, and we do not have to pay to the water, because the property has its own water, Also they have a property to bandage.

God blessing to you in Christ,

William and Jaquelin Gomez

http://www.xe.com/ucc/full.php - currency converter...

Live rates at 2007.05.27 05:40:35 UTC
4,000.00 DOP	=	124.543 USD
Dominican Republic Pesos		United States Dollars
1 DOP = 0.0311357 USD		1 USD = 32.1175 DOP

Here is some communication that I have recently received about the children's home...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hi Shane:

I thought of you today, and thought you'd be interested in this: After church today, had a very interesting discussion with missionaries, Donna Williams, Sue Coates, and Pauline Wren. Donna first talked about this baby in Redemption Village that is just tearing her apart with the neglect it is getting. It is Haitian. The mother is no longer around. The father leaves the baby to go to work. A dominican friend in the village looks after the child, but has 5 children of her own. The father is planning soon to leave for a job a ways away, and won't be around to look after the baby. He has already found a home for an older boy. Most times, when the Dominican woman is not looking after the baby, the father leaves the baby alone in the house! The baby is over a year old, and has no leg functions, because of the neglect. She will either sit where left to sit, or lay, where left to lay! It is so heart-breaking to Donna. If she could, she would take the baby home in a heart-beat. But she knows that's not practical. Her friend doesn't mind looking after the baby during the day, but doesn't have room for one more child to sleep at night! Donna is wishing there was a home/orphanage in the area to take in children like this.

Then Sue pipes in with their dream. There's an abandoned hotel on the way to the airport. Her husband, Jim, can't get it out of his mind about this place! He's going to make phone calls tomorrow, and start the inquiry process. They envision an orphanage. They envision taking care of babies. They also envision a "retreat center" of sorts for mothers and their babies to come there for instruction on baby care, and being ministered to by the word of God. Then they can return to their villages better equipped to look after their children, plus be encouraged, and refreshed. Donna said she could help with organizing groups to come down, to not only help with these children in the long run, but also initially to help get this building up and running! It will need quite a lot of work! Then Pauline pipes in that she has had a vision for street children. She envisions helping children to give them a meal, train them in skills, give them the love of Jesus and the gospel. These are children that are working the streets as shoe shine boys, etc. She also envisions a "retreat" center in the farm country where there would be animals and a place to plant gardens. So, it was kind of exciting to hear all this talk. We are hoping and praying that God will be in the center of it all, and see how things will pan out. Of course, Jim and Sue are not made out of money, and they feel like a small cog in the wheel. But they feel that if this is God's doing, it will somehow work out!

If you want to talk further with Jim and Sue, you can find them through their web-site at:

http://www.dominicanministry.com/

We are praying for you and God's plan for your future!

Lynn"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please be encouraged about these things,

Shane

The best gift I can give

This is a photo from a few years ago. It is me posing with a cute little fella at a place called... phonetically... odjo de buytola (hole in the ground) It is a slum in the city of Santiago which is situated on the northern part of the island of Hispaniola.

This slum is about 14 acres of land that literally sinks down from the rest of the city on all sides. It is a flood plain that changes every year, but the land is undesirable so the poorest of the poor occupy it.

One of the things that gets me into trouble is that I can't see people based on their socioeconomic status. I only see people. I mean.. I can see where a person will get placed on the scale. I have watched as... dare I say... "missionaries" have railed and disparaged friends of mine, while others would come to my house ( ok I upset even recalling this) and expect that my friend Jerry would not sit at the table with us for dinner. And worse... Jerry would never think of sitting with us despite pleading with him on every occasion. (Jerry was a Haitian young man that lived with us for three years. Kristie and I are the godparents of his son Sender.)

There is a saying in Haiti that goes like this, "Tout Moun se Moun" which means every person is a person. This is what I am talking about.

Every person is a person.

This simple phrase is beyond comprehension for some people. Many people attach a value to the a person according to some sort of criteria. For some reason that part of my brain didn't quite develop, or I wasn't socialized to look at people that way.

I guess that my dad(George) had a lot to do it. He was never one to qualify a person's pedigree before he could have a beer with them...

I remember another anomaly in school growing up. During a time when most of us teens were pretty worried about fitting in, I remember Dana Foster. I don't remember seeing her running over people to elevate herself. She did just the opposite. ( ya Dana I remember that about you!) She is now an active leader in my hometown and is part of an organization called the Yellowhead Ecological Association.

It may sound a little off but it is true: The greatest people in the world are those who give up their life for others. What do most people do? The exact opposite.


Enter the title of the blog (how do you like that for a transition)

If you ever get a chance to go and hold a child in a place like "the hole" or a batay in the cane fields you may get a dose of reality. People matter... especially the helpless children that will line up by your car as you stop at a street light and ask for food.

Living in Haiti for nearly three years Kristie and I remember several difficult scenes that will always be with us. Perhaps the most disturbing was to see too many humanitarian workers and missionaries stepping on the necks of the Haitians to gain as much as possible.

Maybe I will explain that to you if we talk personally some time.

There is a crisis in the Dominican Republic. There are over a million Haitians living in Batays like this one. The problem is the fall in sugar prices and the lack of work for these people. Here these two boys came to talk with me as I toured their village. They neither had adequate clothing or attended school. It is different when you are there talking to them face to face.

The best gift I can ever give you is perspective.


We leave on June 20th and December 27th.


Shane


p.s. Check out our Website too: http:www.mercyleague.org