Hear Ye, Hear Ye....

We had a very long but productive week with our visitors, Kent Shell and Kay Dano. We also had a very special guest, Nadine Carcon, who volunteered her services to be our Creole interpreter. She is a native of Haiti, but has lived in Florida for the past 20 years. We were so blessed to have her with us. We spent each afternoon working on the different entities of our ministry (Church, School and Orphanage) to define all the positions, the job descriptions, and a workable budget. It was very helpful to have a clear idea of what we need and where we are heading. I am so thankful to Kent and Kay for being here and for their heartfelt support.

I am very happy to say that our Community meeting went well. We had a good turn out of parents, teachers and others who traveled a long distance to come and learn about our ministry. It was our hope to put an end to all the harsh rumors that were circulating because of the former cook but to our delight, the community was more concerned about what the ministry was doing and offering their support. It was great to know that they are just as excited about the future of Bayonnais as we are. I could actually feel a difference in the air after the meeting. We can now get back to our purpose and focus on what we need to do to help this community and building a strong ministry.

The Job Positions for Modene Murphy Ministries are outlined below:
Valentin Silvestre: Pastor of Church

Saint-Victor Sejour: Principal of Middle and High School

Enoch Saint-Louis: Principal of Primary School

Lucner Saint-Louis: Administrator of School

Vicki Jean Pierce: Director/Administrator/House Mother of Orphanage

They will one day have to find one to three people to fill my position when I leave the ministry in 2009.

We are all excited about the days to come and what we hope to accomplish in the next year. Our first priority is to finish the construction of the addition to the school building and to build more benches for the children. Everyday since the last week of August, we have had students enrolling to be a part of our school. Our classrooms are more than full and we need to expand our building. We currently have 300+ students for our Primary School and 200+ students for our Middle and High School. There are only 50 benches (one bench will seat about 6 to 8 kids, depending on size) and the older kids have to stand or sit on the ground.We are exploring different ways to raise the funds to get the materials for the benches, construct the walls for the new classroom, as well as build other classrooms and have a school office. Our longterm vision is to one day have a library, a computer lab, a shaded playground area with playground equipment and a place for the kids to play soccer.

Here are just a few pictures of the construction of the new classroom and the progress we have made so far.

Construction began by shoveling and hoeing into the side of the hill to remove the brush, rocks and dirt to make a place for our new addition. The neighbors along with our staff spent two days for preparation. The posts were set and here they are attaching the beams for the roof.

With the tin roof in place, the addition is near ready to serve as a classroom. Just a few last minute details such as clean up and mounting a chalkboard. The walls will have to wait.

One of our teachers, Gethro Isaac, with students in the new addition. They were on a break for morning recess. He teaches 5th grade in the mornings and Spanish for the Middle School in the afternoons.

It was necessary to attach two sheets to the west side of the building to keep out the hot sun and cool down the classroom. The afternoons are the worst.

Above and Below: The children gather wherever they can find shade. Others prefer to play soccer. It is their only active sport.

A happy group of elementary girls. The girl in the front center is one I had introduced in an earlier blog as my friend, Semamoon. It turns out her name is Mamode Chery but is called Ti Mamose, which means Little Mamose. Before leaving for Texas, I decided to be her sponsor and she is now enrolled in our school. She is very happy to be here. What a beautiful girl and a great smile!

There is so much to do with all three ministries and I am so glad that I can participate in helping it grow. It is a great challenge as well as an exciting adventure for us all.