Kingston Presbyterian Church (KPC) in Kingston, NJ has been a faithful supporter of FHH from its inception. That’s because it’s my home church – the church where I grew up and still am a member. So, the congregation is always close to my heart and they have made it their mission to support Cherlie and me and our ministry in Haiti. As such, nearly every year since we first began work down here, they have sent a work team down to help us out. This year we had a group of 7 with us for a week in March. The group consisted of Pastor Sharyl Dixon, Scott Hodge, David Raduzycki and his daughter Emily, Janet Rubinstein, Robin DeGutis and Juanita Ashby. All of them had been with us on previous visits, so it definitely was like “old home week”. We had a great time together and they accomplished a lot for us.
In order to help us expand our spiritual ministry, we have been partnering US churches with some of the local churches in the area around our clinic. Last year, we partnered KPC with a Baptist church in Duranton, which is about a 45 minute drive from the clinic. The group from KPC spent a whole day at the church, leading the adults in crafts and Bible study in the morning (yes, we’ve discovered that adults really love doing crafts!) and VBS with the children in the afternoon. The church people were wonderful hosts and prepared both breakfast and lunch for the group, sharing it with great enthusiasm and warmth.
Pastor Sharyl Dixon shares a Bible lesson with the adults in Duranton
Adults who have never been to school take great delight in coloring with crayons as part of craft activities!
Duranton school children gather for VBS in their school uniforms. It was a popular activity as evidenced by the attendance.
Children work diligently on their crafts during VBS
A highlight of the afternoon was playing with a colorful parachute that the KPC group brought with them.
David Raduzycki made a new friend.
Pastor Noel and two elders from Duranton join with six of the KPC group for a day of fellowship and fun.
During the week, the group also helped us out at the clinic. Scott and David built us two new shelving units to use in our Procedure Room to store surgical instruments and supplies. Others in the group helped varnish some cabinets and painted walls of the residence. Everyone spent some time in the clinic helping Cherlie and me and our staff as we consulted with our patients. They also sorted through several drums of used clothing and made up sacks with a variety of clothing to be sent up high in the mountains to communities in need of assistance. They also spent a morning going out to a nearby community to see some of the latrines that were repaired after the hurricane. These latrines were built as part of our Water and Sanitation program.
Janet registered patients under the watchful eye of Adrien, our registration clerk.
Scott drills holes in the facing for the shelving unit he and David built.
Emily helped sort through photos on my computer to be used for a collage in our waiting area.
Juanita and Pastor Sharyl sort through clothing to send to communities high in the mountains
Emily, Janet and Robin take a hike up the mountain behind the clinic.
David inspects a latrine that is being repaired on a visit to a nearby community
On Friday of the week the KPC group was with us, Cherlie and I accompanied them to Duranton for a time of health education with the church members followed by a worship service. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and the church welcomed us with open arms. Many of the members are patients of ours at the clinic and they were thrilled to have us in their community with them.
The KPC group sang several songs in Creole for the Duranton church members. They did a great job!
Pastor Sharyl presented a small gift to Pastor Noel on behalf of the KPC congregation. It will be used to help them rebuild their church after the hurricane.
It was a wonderful week and we were sad to see them go. I felt like I was back home in NJ again and the time was sweet. Blessings on you Kingston Presbyterian Church!