Starting Up Schools!

16th Haiti update -Vol I

Bill and I returned to Haiti this past Tuesday Aug 28th and as of this posting date are still there. We arrived  just days after tropical storm Isaac blew through Haiti. In our area, many flimsy roofs were blown off small houses. Yvrose’s roof over the breezeway was blown half back but our well built base suffered no damage. (Thank you, team from El Dorado Springs!) Our girls spent a wakeful, frightening night but other than that and the fact that there has been no electricity since the storm (and thus all water is being pumped by hand at the well in the front yard), everything at the base is fine.

We came this trip to take the school books “upstairs” to get our mountain schools going. However, during Isaac, “upstairs” seems to have suffered more damage than down here. Flash flooding drowned much livestock. Houses were destroyed. We had hoped to move the currently unused cholera tent from Robia to Chapelle to help with school over crowding. Unfortunately, not only was the cholera tent destroyed but the little rock church used for the Chapelle school fell down and the storm blew apart the pole and plastic pipe classrooms.

We had already talking about how to repair/rebuild the stick school in Pelerin (which amazingly did not fall down).

Collapsing walls on Pelerin School 2012

Now also have the Chapelle school that needs to be replaced. We have had no word yet on the cholera tent in Pensek which was in a more sheltered area. We will find out when we go up.

Chapelle church/school and “tent” before Hurricane Isaac

Jackson, the young man overseeing the school in Chapelle, says we can still have school this year. The people will bring “trees” (hand cut wood poles) and we can put some plastic over it to make classrooms. We are currently trying to locate some “trees”. Though you see plastic everywhere in Haiti, trying to get some donated for a small organization like ourselves is sometimes difficult.

Children from the Chapelle school

This coming Thursday, Aug 30th, the children are coming down the mountain to carry the books up. Skip Lindsey is coming in with a team on Friday, Aug 31st, and we will be going up with the children. We plan to take up food to make a meal each evening for the area people and show the Jesus Film for children the first night at Robia and the second night at Pelerin. Please keep us in your prayers as we make these incursions into the mountains, seeking to bring God’s light to dark places.

If you haven’t “liked” our Facebook page, JUST MERCY, please do so. We are trying to put short updates and pictures there regularly if you’d like to follow us on a more intimate basis.

Thank you for your prayers and support, especially those individuals and the church that sent money to help us buy the schoolbooks. Any funds for that purpose that is not used will be set back for school expenses and repairs. We have been blessed.

May The Lord bless and keep you.

Janet Montgomery

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Janet, wife, mother and grandmother has made many trips to Haiti since the earthquake of 2010. She works to support Just Mercy and her husband Bill and does the many things such as research, communication, ‘technical support”, etc, at home in Missouri that are often quite difficult to do in Haiti. All these activities and her children and grandchildren keep her busy.

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