Saturday, March 7, 2009
Mr. Leonard, Ti Paradi garden
Mr. Leonard has returned from Ti Paradi and the garden is doing well. He said the greens are almost large enough to thin out and eat some. Goats had eaten up an outside bed so he wasn't too happy about that. He thinks they need a goat proof fence. The folks at Ti Paradi have been watering the garden and he was impressed at how fast it is growing. Also very happy about the ample water supply. He is really excited about the project but would like to be able to check on it every day. My favorite line from Steve was, "Mr Leonard is talking of planting coconuts, mangoes, breadfruit and papaya in the near future there. I told you he wouldn't be interested in doing this half-way." I would not have expected anything less from him.
Friday, March 6, 2009
SFP Update
Time seems to pass so quickly and already we are looking forward to spring here in the Midwest. Mark Scott and I visited with the folks at Flat Creek Baptist Church near Sedalia, MO. on Sunday February 22. Mark gave a financial report Sunday morning and presented a slide show on Faith Home Sunday evening. I reported on the project at Ti Paradi, Haiti and then presented a slide show on the shade houses and a new design we would like to incorporate. It was truly a blessing for both of us. Flat Creek has a real heart for missions and being mostly farm people they can relate to the sustainable food ministry. It was great to answer their many questions and see their interest in helping people help themselves.
In Bombardopolis, Haiti 3 of the 4 adult missionaries have full blown TB and two of their sons tested positive on the tine test only. Rich Byers, Faith Leach, and Steve Leach are all taking the complete treatment and Jacob Leach and Ty Byers are on a preventative maintenance medical schedule. Please be in prayer for all of them.
Please keep us in your prayers as we investigate other opportunities that have come up and that we will make wise decisions.
Mr. Leonard is currently down at Ti Paradi to teach and work in the gardens. When he returns we will have an update on the progress being made there. Steve Leach has taught him how to use the shredder and he took a load of shredded manure with him on the trip. We send down a new type of Papaya seed which has been planted in the Leach's shade house. When the plants are large enough they will be shared with the folks at Ti Paradi. In addition we just shipped down more pesticides for the gardens and a couple of pump type dusters for the Sevin dust.
I will be leaving for Honduras March 13 and returning on March 22 along with a team from Sedalia, MO and Fay Scott from Florissant. I hope to work on some landscaping around the shade house, dig a water line, and work on the tiller. The tiller stripped several gears in the gear case assembly and one shaft is bent. Parts are very expensive and it may be more economical to purchase another tiller and use this one for spare parts. That's something we will have to think about. Gardening continues at Faith Home and I hope to bring back a fuller report when I return.
In Bombardopolis, Haiti 3 of the 4 adult missionaries have full blown TB and two of their sons tested positive on the tine test only. Rich Byers, Faith Leach, and Steve Leach are all taking the complete treatment and Jacob Leach and Ty Byers are on a preventative maintenance medical schedule. Please be in prayer for all of them.
Please keep us in your prayers as we investigate other opportunities that have come up and that we will make wise decisions.
Mr. Leonard is currently down at Ti Paradi to teach and work in the gardens. When he returns we will have an update on the progress being made there. Steve Leach has taught him how to use the shredder and he took a load of shredded manure with him on the trip. We send down a new type of Papaya seed which has been planted in the Leach's shade house. When the plants are large enough they will be shared with the folks at Ti Paradi. In addition we just shipped down more pesticides for the gardens and a couple of pump type dusters for the Sevin dust.
I will be leaving for Honduras March 13 and returning on March 22 along with a team from Sedalia, MO and Fay Scott from Florissant. I hope to work on some landscaping around the shade house, dig a water line, and work on the tiller. The tiller stripped several gears in the gear case assembly and one shaft is bent. Parts are very expensive and it may be more economical to purchase another tiller and use this one for spare parts. That's something we will have to think about. Gardening continues at Faith Home and I hope to bring back a fuller report when I return.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Gardening at Ti Paradi
Earlier this month the team from Global Compassion rebuilt the shade houses at Ti Paradi and installed the new covers. Meyse Leonard a wonderful gardener from Bombardopolis came down and helped the men of the village make beds and plant garden seed. We have hired Meyse Leonard for 1 year to teach and assist the folks there to learn to be food independent. He will visit twice each month to check on progress and make sure the project is being carried out. As you can see from the slide show already posted, a lot of work was required to get the shade houses back in good condition.
This past Sunday, Feb. 15, Meyse Leonard returned to check on progress and reported that the beds were being irrigated and that vegetables were coming up. He was able to catch a ride with Rich Byers who was traveling to Port au Prince and carried with him 10 bags of shredded donkey manure most of which he used before returning home. While his job is to teach, Meyse Leonard is a hands on type of person and will do a lot of teaching by example. We look forward to more reports each month. I have to add this last note. Steve Leach put out a call to the little boys around the hospital at Bombarde that he needed more donkey manure and in one day they delivered 30 bags to him.
This past Sunday, Feb. 15, Meyse Leonard returned to check on progress and reported that the beds were being irrigated and that vegetables were coming up. He was able to catch a ride with Rich Byers who was traveling to Port au Prince and carried with him 10 bags of shredded donkey manure most of which he used before returning home. While his job is to teach, Meyse Leonard is a hands on type of person and will do a lot of teaching by example. We look forward to more reports each month. I have to add this last note. Steve Leach put out a call to the little boys around the hospital at Bombarde that he needed more donkey manure and in one day they delivered 30 bags to him.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
A walk in the country
Here is a little story I wrote a couple of years ago. Maybe you will find a smile there.
A Stroll in the Countryside
The destination was Kafilipe, I hope I spelled it right. In reality it is the “other gardens” that Mr. Leonard refers to so often. I had visited there once before and saw the beautiful sweet potatoes, beans, and zucchini growing on the rocky hillside. He told me it was all food he was growing for the children’s home.
Today was different. We had hired 4 Haitian peasants to clear about another half acre and stack the loose rocks in an adjoining area to plant more crops. That was 4 weeks ago and since that time I had suffered a bout of dengue fever or something and was just now feeling pretty good. I wasn’t looking forward to a 3 mile hike out into the Haitian country side in the afternoon heat. But Mr. Leonard was right on time and asked if I was ready to “mache lot jaden.” (walk out to the other garden) .
The initial mile or so was slowed by constant greetings from others on the road or people in their homes; it seems that everyone knows Mr. Leonard. Out here a white American is still a novelty but is considered an honored guest not a source for a handout. Since I had broken my partial dental plate before the trip, I seemed to fit right in, since few Haitians have more than a few teeth. One particular lady with only one top tooth was quite disturbing when she kissed my cheek and that one tooth sort of raked down my cheek. But I digress.
The jeep path gave way to a foot path which gave way to a trail thru the brush. All along the way people shouted their greetings and if they were close enough reached out to shake my hand. One elderly lady was digging peanuts by hand, scooting along the ground and putting them in a plastic jug that had been cut to form a sort of bucket. There was no begging or pitiful story just a “Bondye bini ou” or God bless you. Farther along, we came to the hut of Leonard’s uncle. He was a white haired gentleman of some 86 years who lived alone in a thatched hut. The entire building was thatched, not even mud walls. He had a warm smile, gentle handshake, and a sparkle in his eye that reminded me of the stories of the old Haiti. I am so sorry that I will not get to know him here on earth but perhaps one day in Heaven we can have that long conversation that I so badly want to have with him.
Walking along the foot trail thru menacing brush and tall grass the air was filled with the singing of birds, bleating of goats and an occasional cow. Two in particular that had been gifted with tremendous horns dared us to make them move off the path but when they saw and smelled this strange white creature they couldn’t move fast enough. Finally we came to a sort of clearing with a few large avocado and orange trees. This area belonged to Leonard and he assured me the garden was only a short distance ahead. Sure enough about another half mile brought us to a clearing in the brush and a hillside planted with sweet potatoes, beans, and corn. It bordered the older garden which was a mass of vines of all sorts of root crops, beans, and squash. He pointed out the different beans planted in the new area as well as the new sweet potato slips which would be ready for harvest in April of next year. Here was a simple peasant man bursting with pride over what he and his friends had accomplished. He kept repeating Bondye bini tout travay, Bondye bini tout jaden. (God blesses all work and God blesses this garden.) Here was an acre and a half that in America would be considered totally useless. Laced with ridges of coral and piles of rock it looked a total waste. But Leonard knew that between those rocks were pockets of rich soil that would bear food. A man of less intestinal fortitude with little respect for hard work would have fainted long ago but not this man. He sees in every patch of soil an opportunity to receive God’s blessings and a good return on his labor in freshly grown food. So that nothing be wasted, the larger brush that had been cut was carefully cut into pieces, stacked, and burned into charcoal. I listened to lecture after lecture on the goodness of God and the reward of hard work as I looked over this rocky hillside garden. A place of seeming waste was going to produce over 1500 pounds of sweet potatoes, beans, and squash.
As we returned past the grove of avocado and fruit trees some little boys were busy filling a bag with avocadoes that had fallen to the ground. I asked Leonard why he didn’t gather all the avocadoes and sell them at the market and he simply answered, “ Ti moun bezwen manje tou.” Or “little people need to eat also”. How often my heart has been humbled by the kindness and wisdom of this little man.
About half mile from the main road we stopped at the home of a cousin of Leonard. The yard was filled with 7 or 8 little kids and 3 adult women. The lady of the house gave us a fresh coconut to drink. As I lifted the coconut to my mouth which had been skillfully hacked open by a machete, I couldn’t help but consider what else that machete had chopped up that day. Oh well, too late now, it was delicious and very refreshing to a now overheated and tired fat old man. She also fixed us some pates to take with us to eat. A pate is a piece of fried dough often filled with various things, the most popular being pikliz. These were filled with pikliz and herring or “ah rahn” as they call it. It is a small fish from somewhere, possibly on this planet, that has been smoked, salted, and dried and has been dead for a very long long time. It makes sardines smell good. Pikliz is a relish made of shredded cabbage, carrots, a little onion, and habanera peppers. It is salted and packed in white vinegar to preserve it. It is wonderful, hot, and leaves you wondering how much abuse your stomach can take. Heat depends on whether the pepper is left whole which makes it fairly hot or if the pepper is split open to obtain maximum heat. I figure that anything coming out of 350 degree oil and filled with Habanera peppers should be germ free.
As I reflect on this afternoon’s activity, I am drawn back to this great man. What a wonderful place Haiti could be if there were more people like him. No, in fact what a wonderful world it would be if there were more men like him in it. You probably won’t get to meet Leonard on this side of the River, but you are going to love him when you meet him in heaven. He’ll be the little black guy in the ragged pants with a shovel in one hand, an arm load of vegetables in the other and a smile that lights up Heaven itself.
The destination was Kafilipe, I hope I spelled it right. In reality it is the “other gardens” that Mr. Leonard refers to so often. I had visited there once before and saw the beautiful sweet potatoes, beans, and zucchini growing on the rocky hillside. He told me it was all food he was growing for the children’s home.
Today was different. We had hired 4 Haitian peasants to clear about another half acre and stack the loose rocks in an adjoining area to plant more crops. That was 4 weeks ago and since that time I had suffered a bout of dengue fever or something and was just now feeling pretty good. I wasn’t looking forward to a 3 mile hike out into the Haitian country side in the afternoon heat. But Mr. Leonard was right on time and asked if I was ready to “mache lot jaden.” (walk out to the other garden) .
The initial mile or so was slowed by constant greetings from others on the road or people in their homes; it seems that everyone knows Mr. Leonard. Out here a white American is still a novelty but is considered an honored guest not a source for a handout. Since I had broken my partial dental plate before the trip, I seemed to fit right in, since few Haitians have more than a few teeth. One particular lady with only one top tooth was quite disturbing when she kissed my cheek and that one tooth sort of raked down my cheek. But I digress.
The jeep path gave way to a foot path which gave way to a trail thru the brush. All along the way people shouted their greetings and if they were close enough reached out to shake my hand. One elderly lady was digging peanuts by hand, scooting along the ground and putting them in a plastic jug that had been cut to form a sort of bucket. There was no begging or pitiful story just a “Bondye bini ou” or God bless you. Farther along, we came to the hut of Leonard’s uncle. He was a white haired gentleman of some 86 years who lived alone in a thatched hut. The entire building was thatched, not even mud walls. He had a warm smile, gentle handshake, and a sparkle in his eye that reminded me of the stories of the old Haiti. I am so sorry that I will not get to know him here on earth but perhaps one day in Heaven we can have that long conversation that I so badly want to have with him.
Walking along the foot trail thru menacing brush and tall grass the air was filled with the singing of birds, bleating of goats and an occasional cow. Two in particular that had been gifted with tremendous horns dared us to make them move off the path but when they saw and smelled this strange white creature they couldn’t move fast enough. Finally we came to a sort of clearing with a few large avocado and orange trees. This area belonged to Leonard and he assured me the garden was only a short distance ahead. Sure enough about another half mile brought us to a clearing in the brush and a hillside planted with sweet potatoes, beans, and corn. It bordered the older garden which was a mass of vines of all sorts of root crops, beans, and squash. He pointed out the different beans planted in the new area as well as the new sweet potato slips which would be ready for harvest in April of next year. Here was a simple peasant man bursting with pride over what he and his friends had accomplished. He kept repeating Bondye bini tout travay, Bondye bini tout jaden. (God blesses all work and God blesses this garden.) Here was an acre and a half that in America would be considered totally useless. Laced with ridges of coral and piles of rock it looked a total waste. But Leonard knew that between those rocks were pockets of rich soil that would bear food. A man of less intestinal fortitude with little respect for hard work would have fainted long ago but not this man. He sees in every patch of soil an opportunity to receive God’s blessings and a good return on his labor in freshly grown food. So that nothing be wasted, the larger brush that had been cut was carefully cut into pieces, stacked, and burned into charcoal. I listened to lecture after lecture on the goodness of God and the reward of hard work as I looked over this rocky hillside garden. A place of seeming waste was going to produce over 1500 pounds of sweet potatoes, beans, and squash.
As we returned past the grove of avocado and fruit trees some little boys were busy filling a bag with avocadoes that had fallen to the ground. I asked Leonard why he didn’t gather all the avocadoes and sell them at the market and he simply answered, “ Ti moun bezwen manje tou.” Or “little people need to eat also”. How often my heart has been humbled by the kindness and wisdom of this little man.
About half mile from the main road we stopped at the home of a cousin of Leonard. The yard was filled with 7 or 8 little kids and 3 adult women. The lady of the house gave us a fresh coconut to drink. As I lifted the coconut to my mouth which had been skillfully hacked open by a machete, I couldn’t help but consider what else that machete had chopped up that day. Oh well, too late now, it was delicious and very refreshing to a now overheated and tired fat old man. She also fixed us some pates to take with us to eat. A pate is a piece of fried dough often filled with various things, the most popular being pikliz. These were filled with pikliz and herring or “ah rahn” as they call it. It is a small fish from somewhere, possibly on this planet, that has been smoked, salted, and dried and has been dead for a very long long time. It makes sardines smell good. Pikliz is a relish made of shredded cabbage, carrots, a little onion, and habanera peppers. It is salted and packed in white vinegar to preserve it. It is wonderful, hot, and leaves you wondering how much abuse your stomach can take. Heat depends on whether the pepper is left whole which makes it fairly hot or if the pepper is split open to obtain maximum heat. I figure that anything coming out of 350 degree oil and filled with Habanera peppers should be germ free.
As I reflect on this afternoon’s activity, I am drawn back to this great man. What a wonderful place Haiti could be if there were more people like him. No, in fact what a wonderful world it would be if there were more men like him in it. You probably won’t get to meet Leonard on this side of the River, but you are going to love him when you meet him in heaven. He’ll be the little black guy in the ragged pants with a shovel in one hand, an arm load of vegetables in the other and a smile that lights up Heaven itself.
Gardening at Ti Paradi
Here are a few pictures from Steve Williams
during the trip to Ti Paradi. We will have more
information and pictures about the trip later.
Meyse Leonard worked several days with the
men from the village and we have hired him to
return twice each month for a year to provide
expertise and train new gardeners
Shade Houses after the hurricane
New aluminet shade covers and rebuilt
support structure.
A great picture of Mesye Leonard and Steve
Meyse Leonard
during the trip to Ti Paradi. We will have more
information and pictures about the trip later.
Meyse Leonard worked several days with the
men from the village and we have hired him to
return twice each month for a year to provide
expertise and train new gardeners
Shade Houses after the hurricane
New aluminet shade covers and rebuilt
support structure.
Meyse Leonard made a new center bed with
narrow walkways down each side.
A great picture of Mesye Leonard and Steve
Williams.
Meyse Leonard
Take a good look. He may just be the best
gardener you have ever seen, a man who
loves the Lord and loves gardening.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Ti Paradi, Haiti
Just a short update on what is happening at this time. A team from Global Compassion Ministries will soon leave for Ti Paradi to build a storage facility there and to minister to the people in that community. We are sending down new shade covers for the shade houses built by Living Waters. The original covers were destroyed by the hurricanes and they will be replaced with the Aluminet material. While the team is there, they will hire Mr. Leonard to come down from Bombardopolis to help with the gardening project. Living Waters has laid a very sound foundation for gardening there including a fenced area for gardening, shade houses, and a good water supply. We have several bales of peat moss to be used at Ti Paradi as well as for projects by other in-country missionaries. In addition to all this Mark has prepared 4 large packets of garden seeds for distribution. Each large pack contains several smaller packets for distribution to local gardeners.
In addition, the team will investigate ways we may be able to assist with the local goat herd. Mr. Leonard will be able to suggest ways to grow grass or fodder along with gardneing. Pray for GCM team members as they work hand in hand beside Living Water to bring a better life to the folks in this little community.
In addition, the team will investigate ways we may be able to assist with the local goat herd. Mr. Leonard will be able to suggest ways to grow grass or fodder along with gardneing. Pray for GCM team members as they work hand in hand beside Living Water to bring a better life to the folks in this little community.
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