During this Christmas season, we are reminded once again that Jesus Christ came to bring Light in the darkness many years ago. Jesus Christ was and is the Light in the present darkness. All His followers need to be the wise men of today, continuing to proclaim His Light by the word and deed they do every day. Celebrate Emmanuel, God with us, with family and friends this season and as you live each day for Jesus. Continue your journey of joy throughout the remainder of 2006 A.D. and throughout each day in the new year 2007 A.D.

Tony and Mary DeKoter

Walking in His Sonshine in Haiti

It is a small world after all! At Quisqueya Chapel last Sunday and again this Sunday, we met Mr. Bultje and his friend who are both from London Ontario, attending the church where my brother attends. These men were here for two weeks working at Corem Deo, whose director is Mr. Bultje's daughter, Karen. This organization gives aid to the poor, ill and handicapped in Haiti. Visit their web site at coram-deo.org





The various modes of transportation never cease to amaze us. This truck was carrying eggs and bags of potato chips from the Dominican Republic to Haiti. The load was tied down and none of the chip bags were lost. And yes, the eggs are not refrigerated.







Many earn their living by selling their produce along side of the road such as this shoe store. The foot ware of the people is very important. Their shoes are always polished and shining. There are many people walking around with a small hand bell jingling their willingness to polish your shoes for 10 goudes which is less than a nickel. See the flats of eggs? They are also for sale :-)

This past Friday the staff gathered at the home of Ad and Coby de Blaeij. Ad works for CRWM and Coby is the pre-K teacher at QCS. This yearly event to come to eat and sing Christmas carols at the de Blaeij home is now a tradition, in its second year:-) There were more than 50 people gathered at this joyful event. It is great that we are able to travel freely and come and worship and bow down to worship the King of all kings - singing together that Jesus is the Lord of lords and the King of kings.

When we need to travel as a staff, many of us enter the cage of the school truck. It is like a tap tap, having a bench on both sides of the vehicle. It has 'air conditioning' in the back and you also have the diesel fumes of the truck, especially in the city. The ride isn't bad, but one needs to be careful not to bump their head while traveling over the rough terrain.



Each day we have power from the generator which is on campus. Each school day it runs from 7 AM - 4 PM. If we have electricity from the city, it is a bonus. Lately, that bonus has come early in the mornings such as 4 AM. It helps charge the batteries through the inverters for all those who have an inverters. Haitians generally do not have this. They have little fuel, no electricity. On the weekends we have power for four hours. This is Robenson Merantus, who is part of the security team at QCS. He also has the responsibility of starting the generator on Sundays.

In the grade seven class we are looking at the various sources of energy. Here the student is combining art with ecology - trash art. The students were asked to take a 'walkabout' of the campus and return with articles they found from God's created world or from man's discards. With the articles found their assignment was to create a masterpiece. They enjoyed the time out of the class room, as always :-)




This past Saturday was the day for the Christmas Bazaar, put on by the Parent Action Committee of which I am the secretary. It was a great day outdoors with fun, food, fellowship and of course funds for the school. There were about 35 concession booths under tents in the soccer field. All the vendors paid for their table and sold their wares to the public, just in time for Christmas. The traffic was down somewhat since many thought the municipal elections on Sunday would bring disruptions. Our prayers have been answered and all has been quiet.


Saturday night, after the bazaar we found our banana tree in this fallen state. Slowly, the stem has been rotting and the weight of the bananas was just too much. We knew something was amiss since the bananas had not grown during the last few weeks. Now we know the answer. I need to study up on banana trees and how to nurture them. They are a remarkable plant, because this tree already has two small plants to take the place of the mature plant. We just need to exercise our patience.

Today was the first Sunday of Advent. Pastor Karl asked Mary and I to read the Advent reading and light the candle. Due to the elections today, many of the regulars did not attend church as a precaution. The pastor picked us up in the morning, since our ride also decided not to attend the service. After the service, The International Community Chorus of Haiti presented Handel's Messiah. There was an 8 member stringed 'orchestra' for this presentation. It was very well done, but unfortunately, the audience was small due to the political scene here.