From October 29, 2022
On Friday Steph had to take her grandma to the airport for her flight to Florida. Her father, who is a police officer, drove them. They left at six in the morning. Grandma always flies on JetBlue, but for some reason her son in Florida booked the trip on Spirit Air.
From October 28, 2022
On the night of August 2, 2022, I was licking my wounds from an especially bad day in Haiti for me personally. I needed an escape from my inner turmoil. It was in my emotional fragility that I had the idea to watch The Loneliness & Longing of St. Francis of Assisi. The first 35 minutes completely arrested my attention and transported me back to all the time I spent in Rome and Assisi, as well as all the places that St. Francis loved throughout Umbria and Tuscany.
From October 27, 2022
My faith feels about as fragile as the egg my friend was about to cook. Often during the day, my faith is scrambled by the things I see, the pain so many endure. Sure, I suppose faith plays role in what I am doing (with the help of so many Americans and Haitians), but another factor is the reality that the kids have entered deeply into my heart.
From October 26, 2022
Long time Journal readers are very aware of the friendship I forged in Haiti with the best-selling author Mitch Albom, who runs an orphanage that used to be not far from Santa Chiara. Since the earthquake, Mitch has come to Haiti every month for about a week. His orphanage is more of boarding school. It is an amazing operation.
From October 25, 2022
Catholic Relief Services educational and health care programs have been suspended. “Roads are
blocked, and [staff] can’t get on the road to go to the office,” Akim Kikonda, the C.R.S. country
representative, told The Associated Press. “There is no gas to drive their cars, and in some cases,
there is no internet at the office.” He added: “You can imagine our frustration…when we see the
needs are greater than they have ever been, but we are unable to go meet those needs.”
From October 24, 2022
When the women finish doing the laundry, instead of dumping the dirty water down the drain, they store in a barrel. The water is then moved in smaller amounts to the bathrooms on the first floor. The kids will use the dirty water to flush the toilets, thereby saving the trucked-in water from the reservoir. It might sound like not much, but with all these kids, there is a whole lot of flushing every day.
From October 23, 2022
While the rest of Haiti is going to hell in a handbasket, inside Santa Chiara on Saturday morning the young kids are learning to appreciate reading. Because we have no idea when and if the schools will ever reopen, we are planning to start our own school. We have already purchased the books that would have been used in the external school. Gabens and Steph on conferring with our primary teacher, Madame Frances, to develop a program.
From October 22, 2022
Late yesterday morning, Gabens and Mackenson left Santa Chiara to pick up some needed supplies. Not long afterward they were running for their lives. Gabens snapped this photo. He had parked the car a little distance away from the store. It looked safe, but as they got close to the store the area exploded in to violence and they had to run.
From October 21, 2022
Mr. Gabens worked from home on Thursday. He really wanted to conserve gasoline and minimize the danger he is exposed to while driving. I’m sure having people throw rocks at the car yesterday rattled him.
From October 20, 2022
Yesterday, afternoon around 1:15, we heard more gunfire from the slum below us. Gabens called me from the electronic store to tell me about the price of the inverter. I told him to get it. An hour later, he was still not home and I began to worry. This is life now. A deep concern about anyone who is moving about the city.