Friday CONASPEH heald its annual "Grace In Action" assembly for member pastors at the CONASPEH headquarters. As summer vacation comes to an end, a new school year begins and projects are attacked with new energy and inspiration. The leaders of CONASPEH invited pastors and friends to a day of information sharing, celebration and prayer for work ahead. I thought I'd use the opporutnity to share with you an update on CONASPEH projects as well.
A huge crowd of pastors responded to the invitation, flooding the usual meeting room in the school auditorium. Instead of acquiescing to cram within the confines of 4 walls, everyone grabbed a chair or a school desk, carried it out to the open land neighboring the CONASPEH school, and congregated in the open air under the shade of many trees. The meeting area was perfect as it took place on a piece of land CONASPEH has been working a long time to obtain. This month, thanks to generous contributions from partners in the States, that dream looks like it will finally come true.
The morning started off with a worship service kicked off with song, deepened by prayer, and accented by a sermon. The final prayer asked God for blessings on the work of the many pastors in their many locations all over the country as well as for the projects of CONASPEH as a whole. The prayer asked for blessings on an upcoming school year, the lives of the children, the teachers and administrators, and the all work to be done ahead.
After the worship service, Patrick Villier conducted a meeting serving to share information about the many CONASPEH projects, and invited discussion on ideas to improve or fortify them. The acquisition of the large plot of land adjacent to the CONASPEH headquarters and school was discussed. Dreams of future projects on that land include the construction of a university, medical, science and language laboratories, a guest house and a large meeting place to hold such congregations of CONASPEH pastors and partners. Pastor Villier invited everyone to give thanks to God for sending the friends, partners and patrons who have helped CONASPEH purchase the land in the service of a greater vision.
The CONASPEH seminaries were discussed, active now in Port-au-Prince, Leogane, and Jakmel. The seminaries were a big point of interest for all the attending pastors who are anxious for the opportunity for more education, both in theological studies, church administration, and language. Discussion about theological education dominated the meeting agenda. Challenges with the seminaries, as with most CONASPEH projects, is largely economic. Currently students can't afford to pay tuition. Without tuition, teachers can't be paid; without teachers, classes are sporadic and unreliable. A new director has been hired for the Port-au-Prince seminary and Patrick Bentrott will be working with him to help coordinate a yearly curriculum with the minimal resources they have.
Highlighting events from the last CONASPEH Congress, Patrick Villier was glad to report that the peace march and demonstration held last February successfully caught the attention of the minister for culture and sparked the approval for a franchise for CONASPEH. This means that gifts and supplies sent from outside the country can more easily be received as well as further validating CONASPEH as a reputable organization in the eyes of the government and international organizations.
The problem of CONASPEH's budgetary crisis was addressed. A "insurance" system was proposed asking pastors to consider a monthly monetary donation to a CONASPEH pool--the equivalent of about $4US--to be used as a reserve for emergency relief and as a resource to allow CONASPEH freedom to respond to member church requests for aid when implementing projects. With 6,000 participating churches in CONASPEH, $4/month would add up to a significant reserve. But as little as that membership fee seems, interest was not overwhelming. For many of the very small, extremely poor churches, $4 a month is a huge percentage of total offerings.
School starts tomorrow, and the primary and secondary schools are expecting around 600 students again this year. The seminary resumes classes this week in Port au Prince. The nursing school will kick off in October with one class newly starting didactics and another splitting time between class and clinical work.
What I appreciate about CONASPEH meetings is that any of the members in attendance can stand, offer their opinion, their question, and their ideas freely. So the projects above were discussed with great fervor and interest, and as a reward for everyone's participation, the day ended in a huge shared meal of Kreole rice and beans, chicken and a cool, cold beverage.
So what are Patrick and I doing these days? Despite 10 months here, we still are adjusting to culture and language. We can now navigate the streets of Port au Prince with more confidence, can ask for directions and understand them better, we know who to call when the car breaks down, where to go when we are sick, and have friends that stop by for a shared dinner and conversation.
Our jobs continue to evolve as does our understanding of what are roles are here.
Patrick will start teaching English and Computer Skills to the seminarians this quarter in Port au Prince. He is already well into his New Testament course teaching at Leogane (a town about 1 1/2 hour drive along the coast south of PaP), and hopes to one day travel as visiting professor to the Jakmel seminary offering classes there as well. However such outreach is dependent on acquiring a more reliable means of transportation as the Galloper continues to smoke and sputter its way around town keeping most of our mechanic friends gainfully employed. He'll be getting to know the new director of the seminary and helping organize the curriculum, drawing in resources from visiting friends and professors who can augment the curriculum by offering seminars on theological subjects. He will likely continue teaching English to a class or two in the primary school and engage the kids in games of basketball after school. He has weekly invitations to member CONASPEH churches each Sunday where he delivers a sermon and gets to know the pastor and the community surrounding the church. When he has free time, he often stops by to volunteer some time with the kids at Solomon's orphanage or at the orphanage in Leogane. He continues to study Kreole (is a much better student than I am) and explores various theological subjects through reading and research at home.
I continue to work in the CONASPEH clinic 2 days a week, the Carrefour clinic one day a week and the Artibonite clinic one day a month. We are starting our mobile clinic outreach again to sites around the city (again, postponing more rural outreach until we have better means of transportation) one day a week. Tomorrow I visit a maternity hospital on the edge of City Solei as a potential place to volunteer one day a week in order to keep my labor and delivery skills fresh as well as keep my foot in a broader medical community. After church, if invited by the pastor, I give 1-2 hours of free consultation time, helping to plug in the members of the church to CONASPEH's healthcare outreach. I'll be teaching 2 classes to the nursing school this semester while working on offering some practical skills learning labs to augment the student's education. The nursing students volunteer in our clinics as a means of practicing skills, and we hope to develop that teaching opportunity better in the year to come. Currently with the medical lab, I am using the tests that can be done quickly in the span of an office visit. I recieved a potential lead on a lab technician at the Grace In Action meeting Friday, and am hoping that with her help we can start to better utilize the full capabilities of the mobile and stationary laboratory, offering affordable lab diagnostics to our patients.
For rest and recharge, Patrick and I escape to the beach or up to the mountain. We take turns hitting the sportif center to sweat out our fatigue and frustrations.
The highlight of our lives continues to be a 20 lb ball of energy who is crawling at new high speeds, eating cheerio's all by himself, and entertaining us with enthusastic soliloquies in baby language. Solomon smiles easily, loves to be held, and is a great snuggler when he's sleepy. He pulls himself to a stand, motors around the apartment in his kiddy cart and is just shy from walking on his own. He can make us both spontaneously laugh and sigh in a single moment. He's our favorite reason to come home and inspires us to be better people.
We've been here for almost a year, and have learned a lot. We've taken part in some projects, dreamed up others, and still struggle with how to have a positive and meaningful presence here under a liberating model of mission. Some days we feel inspired, others frustrated, and are always searching for balance, meaning and inspiration.
For those of you who continue to check in on us, follow the ramblings of this blog, I thank you. For those who have sent money and supplies, CONASPEH thanks you. For those who hold us up in your thoughts and prayers, we thank you. If we've learned nothing else here, we've learned that we can do no great things alone, we can make no big change by ourselves. We live on a small planet with great divides, but can bridge those gaps better with love and support from partners, family and friends.
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