What I do everyday...February 25, 2025

Last night and today were full of heavy gunfire, all around the city. Delmas 30, and the area of the airport, and here in Tabarre among many other places. People were killed, houses were set on fire.

Here in Tabarre there was a massacre, and about 15 people were killed. Houses were burned. These events are just down the road- a short walk.

We honestly don’t see how this downward spiral will be stopped. Drone footage shows many emptied and destroyed areas of Port au Prince. It is troubling to think that 500,000 Haitians or more, working in the USA, might be returned to this death trap with their children. If they must be deported, another country is a better option than Haiti.

If you read this message I wrote yesterday morning, you will see how very often a pet dog fares much better in Haiti than the multitudes of poor human beings:

“When my dog Beau died during the night, I could not help but reflect on how his life over twelve years and death over three weeks was a much better life and death-one hundred times better- than the life and death of the poor people of Haiti.

Beau’s quality of life was blessed compared to Marie France and Madame Milord, two very poor and very sick women who also died last night at our St Luke hospital

In particular Marie France had bilateral breast cancer that spread to her brain.

In a country of closed hospitals and with her economic means bring zero she found no help, until her family found us at the very end of her life. Cancer is already a huge suffering for anyone in any country. Cancer with no treatment even for the final agonies of cancer pain is worse than a nightmare We did our best to manage her pain these days with round the clock fentanyl.

Her life was tougher than nails and we offered mass for her eternal peace.

I will miss Beau for sure. His life and death, companionship and witness to death, give me lessons for my life and death.

But the lessons of Mme Milord and Marie France give me lessons a hundred times more profound.

Let’s pray for peace, and the chance for the people of Haiti to live a normal and dignified life

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All institutions here are struggling to survive. Many have failed already. Ours are greatly reduced because of the flight of professionals from our workforces, the enormous inflation, the dangers for the staff and the sick to reach our hospitals, and for students and teachers to reach a number of our schools in Port au Prince.

In order to survive I have been selling anything not totally essential, and using the money for food for refugees, surgeries for the destitute sick and victims of trauma, and to help relocate people to safer areas (more honest to say less dangerous areas).

It is sad to dismantle what was once successful and productive, but by same same token in a neighbor’s time of extreme need, its best to “sell what you possess and give to the poor.” (Matthew 19:21) I am selling the industrial seed and peanut grinder pictured below. Today I sold my small dump truck. I am sure God will keep score of our sacrifices and one day help us to build back even better than we were.

Port au Prince was just listed in a report as one of the most dangerous cities in the world to life. How did we ever slide to this level of destruction.

Please thank God with us that things are quieter in Kenscoff these days.

For the sake of our sanity, and being productive, you will see some pictures from our garden. Some of our vanilla vines are flowering, and since they need to be pollinated by hand we learned how to do it with a toothpick. See some pictures below. You will also see we have no need to curse our fig tree, as Jesus had to do with his, because it is giving us some welcome figs.

We appreciate your concern and friendship and prayers. We all strive to keep our hopes high and our good works strong. God is our helper and our strength. God is our Provident.