What a week
at Be Like Brit in Haiti and the USA, with Mr. Jonathan on a much deserved
vacation, I’m sharing my thoughts this week.
With lots of relief efforts going on in Grand Goave and in Worcester
with building houses and folks dropping off donated food items. We have never shipped a container to Haiti
either, but thanks to Patrick and Charlie, we bought our first container just
before Hurricane Matthew that we are now filling for shipment to Haiti. In Haiti we had our first Britsionary Team
since the Hurricane and the name they picked is fitting, “ After Matt “ ! They
built a couple houses this week and distributed the food they brought down at
St Francois of Assis Parish for the mountain folks of Mount Carmel who lost
everything, they are devastated. These
coordinated efforts are happening because of our team in the states being able
to communicate with Haiti, and the people on the ground that truly know who has
the most need in Grand Goave. Cherylann
and I were told a long time ago, don’t take on Haiti, it will consume you, just
do your piece and do it well! This was
sound advice as some of you know who have traveled to Haiti in the past, the
need is everywhere and not just in Grand Goave on the mountain of Ricondo where
Brit’s Home sits!
I was in
Haiti until Tuesday morning, even though I was supposed to stay until Friday, I
had to fly out because of a dental emergency, my temporary implant fell out and
even though Dave and Coach took me to a so-called dentist in Ti-Goave, she
couldn’t fix it! Now as most of you
reading this are in America, don’t think this was a typical dentist office in
the states. This was a white and green
building with no electricity, it was getting dark when we pulled up around
5:30pm and the guy at the desk told someone to start the generator. Lights came on and they sat me in a very old
dentist chair, there was a Sears Craftsman air compressor next to the chair and
when the dentist arrived, she flipped on the lever and the drill started to hum
as the compressor kicked on. Now I
looked at Dave who did 1 year of Dental School and told him to tell the women
that she wasn’t sticking that drill in my mouth! She LoL and said it was only to clean the
temporary tooth, she tried her best to glue the tooth in place, but to no
avail, she said she would get better adhesive the next day! I made a tough decision, to stay or not to
go, I opted to go and fly out of PaP the next morning, how lucky am I to be
able to just get on a plane and go to the USA, not everybody in Haiti has that
ability! On the flight to Ft Lauderdale
a lovely woman with her granddaughter sat behind me, it was Marylin who had
just come out to visit Brit’s Home a few weeks ago. She introduced me to her son, Jean who sat
next to me and as we started to talk, he told me he was the 2nd
generation owner of a Shipping and Brokering Business in Port au Prince. Well, you can guess what the next
conversation was about? Yes, I learned
in great detail how to pack the container the so that the Haitian Officials in
PaP will allow it out of Port when they check the Bill of Lading! We call this a God Wink, when you really need
something or someone and they just sit down next to you!!!
This past
Thursday was my 56th Birthday, my 7th year without Brit,
it’s always Bittersweet. Now I don’t
expect you to understand how I feel, unless you have lost a child or
sibling. It never gets easier with that
empty seat at the table as a reminder of just how unfair life can be
sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I count
my blessings every day, I love my two sons, Bernie and Richie and I love my 66
Haitian Children, but these days that we are supposed to celebrate, like a
birthday or holiday, are just reminders of the pain and suffering we have
persevered! A lot has changed over the
past 7 years, I am blessed with many good friends, but lost 3 people very close
to me over the past few years, my Brother in Law and friend of 38 years, Steve
Penka. My lifelong Best Friend John
Cassidy I lost 16 months ago and my nephew Tommy who lost a 10 year battle with
Pancreatitis, like Brit, they all died way to young and it makes you question
not only your Faith, but your purpose on this earth as well? They say that God only gives you as much as
you can handle and with my Loving Family and Friends, I’m still standing,
thanks be to God!!!
I would be
remiss If I didn’t thank our team on the ground in Haiti, Mami Love has been
incredible with her commitment to helping those in need. Dr. Rev. Deb Kaiser Cross who lead her first
team into Haiti and is now part of our team in South Florida has been Amazing,
I love her spirit and determination to get the houses built, even though she
has a cast on her foot! Davidson who now
wants to be called Dave has gone far above our expectations, he is thirsty for
everything I teach him and his desire to do it right the first time is on a
level above the rest. Madona and Francky
are learning and working really hard to make our Britsionary’s experience
memorable. Gina, Coach, Willman, Walter,
Farah and Peterson do an amazing job everyday with our Children! We never can forget our vision for our
children at Brit’s Home, to “ Raise the next generation of Leaders in Haiti “
!!! This past week I got the best gift
ever, my children made a 10 second video in English, telling me how much they
Love me and wish me a happy birthday!
Like many Americans after the earthquake, I went to Haiti thinking I was
going to help the Haitian People, but it was the Haitian People that have
helped me survive the most horrific loss a parent can live thru…
We continue
to Keep the Faith in Haiti and the USA and Thank You for helping us help the
Poorest of the Poor in Haiti…
Papi Len
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