Haiti Mission
To Bring Hope . . .
By Bob DellaValle-Rauth
May 19, 2004, 10:21

April 19 at Resurrection Church was a big day for our Haiti Twin, the Girls’ Orphanage. The donated 18-wheeler from Chesapeake was poised for loading at 10:30 am in front of the church. Steve Stagg, the driver, had slept overnight on our holy ground so as to be on time.

The truck had already been loaded and laden down over the weekend by twinned parishes in the Tidewater area. On hand were 10 eager volunteers to load 38 well-packed boxes weighing over 2000 lbs. Each box weighed over 50 lbs. – some as high as 80.

It was YOU, the folks of Resurrection, and your generosity in listening to the call for help, who made this all possible.

Paula Thybulle and our girls at the Orphanage were asking for and needed special help during this critical time of the coup that overthrew the democratic government of Haiti. Looting and interruption of normal food chains by the rebels and terrorists has caused widespread havoc amongst the Haitian population in the cities. It is even worse in the rural areas where the former military (disbanded in 1994) have come back and the sadistic system of Section Chiefs is being re-established.

To Paula and our 62 girls we are signs of hope. Recently Jim Wallis of Sojourners made a few observations about hope. He said: “Hope is a decision and not a feeling…hope is believing despite the evidence and then seeing the evidence change.” We, at Resurrection, in spiritual and simple ways have helped to make that evidence change. In great quantity you brought 25 and 50-pound bags of rice and beans and lots of pasta, cooking oil, and large cans of tomatoes. You brought medicines, vitamins, dental and hygiene supplies, soap, fabric and also boxes of candy canes and hard candy for the Haitian sweet tooth! You stuck to the essentials and that was great! Special requests from Paula were met by a brand new 27” TV set with accompanying VCR/DVD and 2 sewing machines.

The next and last stop Steve made was at Our Lady of Nazareth Church in Roanoke. Then it was off to Lavergne, TN (near Nashville) to be part of a five-container shipment to Haiti. The container ship leaves New Orleans on May 5 and will arrive May 12 in Port-au-Prince. After processing of government papers facilitated by Ron Voss, Director of Visitation House, all the twins in Haiti will converge on one single day for pick up of their boxes. Ron refers to the unloading as an “awesome task” but twice each year this work of love is accomplished because of the patience, tolerance and hope which is deep in the Haitian culture. The Haitians have a proverb: “Men anpil, chay pa lou” – “With many hands, the burden is not heavy.”

May our prayers and love continue to be with the Haitian people.

Thank you all for participating.







© Copyright 2003 by Resurrection Catholic Church