Communiqué #001
TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY
to the PEOPLE of HAITI
October 11, 2004
It seems that God continues to send me reassurances as to why He has sent me to Haiti. Saturday night was no exception. I was sitting in the beautiful garden that is located in front of the church. While sitting on a bench with a friend, little Jean Danio Pierre squeezed his way between us. Jean Danio has recently arrived at the Izidor home. He is our first official boy of the orphanage, even though the building is not completely ready. Up to this point in time, I knew only a few things about Jean Danio … like … he was kicked out of another orphanage in Port-au-Prince for behavioral problems. He has been having problems performing in the appropriate grade level at school and has had to be moved to a lower grade. But this night, I was to learn much more about this little boy with the contagious smile and infectious giggle. As he vied for our attention, we asked him about his life before coming to LesCayes. He talked to us about his family that included six sisters and four brothers. He never knew his father and his father never sent any money to support the family. While still living with his mother, he told a tale of going to Citi Soleil (considered one of the poorest and most dangerous slums of Port-au-Prince). While there with his mother, he saw one man slashing another man across the face and the stomach with a knife. He watched this man die. When his mother told them on another occasion that they would be returning to Citi Soleil, Jean Danio begged her not to go. He pleaded to be able to stay home with his brothers. He told his mother that if she went she would die. He told us more stories of horror. He told of beatings he received from his mother and that he considers her very dangerous. He explained that when he is big, he will get a big weapon and kill the thieves who had robbed his mother of her purse and all of the things she was going to sell to make money for the family.
I don’t know how many of the things that he told us were true or how many where developments from things that he has seen and heard in his little life. I only know that no little boy in the world should have to have such things in their memory.
I looked down at this innocent little boy of about 6 or 7 years of age. I was deeply saddened that such a little one had been carrying such heavy burdens in his heart. My heart was heavy that this little one constantly thought of those bad things in his life and it filled his dreams. It is evident by the way Jean Danio is constantly snuggling up to me at every opportunity that he gets, that he is a child that needs a mom in his life, someone to hold him, love him, and let him know that he is a special creation of God. I know that Jean Danio was sent to the Children of Israel Orphanage for a reason. It is here that he will learn of God’s love. It is here that he can learn that only God can turn a battered life into something beautiful. God can take away the pain of those awful memories. I knew then that God had sent me here to be one of the special people in the life of this little boy.
Sadly, Jean Danio is not the only child that bears such scars! YOU can be a part of saving the lives of such children by remembering them in your prayers. Please pray that God will touch the heart of Jean Danio and the many other children that I work with in Haiti. Please pray that God will use me to be a light in their life and a bridge to accepting Jesus as their Savior. I cannot do this work without the faithful prayers of those of you back home! You are a true blessing to my ministry here!
God bless you and keep you in His care!
Nora Nunemaker
Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic
Until next time ………….
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