14/27 February 2008

Blessings and greetings!  I wish I had been able to get something written sooner, but after returning from Haiti last Friday found myself swamped with backed-up book order processing & shipping; just caught up this afternoon.

Though plagued by a bad cold (I had it before I left) and continuing leg problems, I weathered the trip well.  Soon after arrival, drove to Cyvadier, to serve there for the Meeting of the Lord and the following Sunday, and bless the homes of the faithful (I lost count -- somewhere around a dozen after liturgy Friday on foot, another half-dozen or so by car on Saturday). 

Saturday morning was set for a meeting at the notary's office in Jacmel to conclude the most recent land purchase (about 1/4 acre, contiguous to the existing property at St. Augustine's).  Should have been a simple matter -- pay the notary his fee (BTW, a notary in Haiti is a major public official; handles all land transactions, inheritance issues, etc.) and sign a few papers.  Not to be.  When we arrived, we discovered that by some devious means one Augustin Gesnel, the "front man" at Cyvadier for ROCOR/MP, had gotten his name inserted in the declaration of sale as a member of the parish council (which he had never been).  In order to correct that, it was necessary to drive back to Cyvadier, collect the primary seller so that he could sign off on the changes in the declaration of sale.  Shortly after we got to the notary's office the second time, Augustin showed up (bush telegraph aided by cellphones is really fast!) and proceeded to rant and rave for more than an hour.  The affair turned into a public circus (the office is more or less open-air), with everybody and his brother expressing an opinion.  Mostly I sat silent and waited.  Later discovered that Augustin had three times previously visited the notary, attempting to persuade him to remake the declaration of sale with he, himself, as the sole recipient of the property.  Never mind that neither he nor the ROCOR/MP minions had ever paid a dime on it (the final decision to buy and all payments occurred after Fr. Jean & Fr. Grégoire had left for the MP, from funds collected after the submission of Met. Laurus & others to the MP), nor did he have the money to pay the notary's fees (which include the hefty transaction taxes).  Foiled in his attempt, Augustin finally left & we got down to business and successfully concluded the transaction.  Now we wait many months for the actual deed to the property — such things move very slowly in Haiti.

On the way to Cyvadier/Jacmel I made yet another stop at the Cafétière, source for Mission Bleu coffee, which had been closed for some time.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the processing of the harvest in full swing — drying beans spread over the acre or so of concrete drying-ground, sorting and grading and blending underway, everything back to normal — almost.  But under this new administration, it will be necessary for someone, for each purchase, to go to the central office in downtown Port-au-Prince (which I avoid like the plague), pay in cash, collect a receipted invoice.  Only with this in hand can I (or someone else) go to the processing house (halfway to Jacmel, at least 2 hours' drive from PaP) and pick up the sacks of coffee beans.  Ouch!  So I didn't get any on this trip (but have ample reserve on hand for immediate needs), and only hope I can work out the logistics to get a resupply when I return in March.

A very easy return from Cyvadier to Maison Mission in PaP Sunday afternoon, allowing a little time to recover before vigil Monday afternoon at St. Dorothy's at LaPlaine — the second liturgy there, and the first on the patronal feastday (there are two, the other in the fall).  Unfortunately, no liturgical service yet for St. Dorothy, so we had to content ourselves with chanting the service for St. Bucolus, with a magnificaiton for St. Dorothy before her icon inserted.  More blessings of homes in the region after liturgy.

Final day mostly occupied with a cordial and promising meeting with two inspectors from the "Ministry of Cults" (ouch!) concerning the renewal of the legal registration of the Mission.  Fr. Jean was charged with getting this done when the prior registration expired in 2005, but for 2.5 years offered various excuses as to why it couldn't quite yet be accomplished (not too surprising in Haiti).  Suddenly, late last year, he got interested (after his dismissal from the Mission), trying to get the registration renewed in his name, as representative of the MP.  However, as I had already notified the Ministry of the changed circumstances, a red flag went up and no action had been taken on his request.  As this is an "open" list (no control over who subscribes), further comment at this point is probably inappropriate.  And then more homes to bless in the Delmas region.

The bottom line — to keep you informed, and as an appeal for help:
Funds have already been taken to Haiti to meet the February payroll for St. Augustine's
Funds are committed sufficient to meet the March payroll for St. Augustine's
Monthly pledges (about $1000) are sufficient for travel costs and incidental parish expenses in Haiti
NO funds are available or committed for the payroll for St. Augustine's for April, May or June (a little less then $3000/month)
Sufficient funds are in hand (about $4500 in the US account of the Mission) to pay off the final bills from construction of the school, with a little left over.  This will leave the Mission debt-free in Haiti — and broke.
No funds are currently available for external scholarships — unless funding is soon found, most if not all the students in outside schools (several at university/technical level) will not be able to continue in school this semester; total need about $10,000
Although a portion of the debt has been repaid, thanks to a generous contribution dedicated to that end, the Mission still owes the St. John of Kronstadt Press $17,475 (funds borrowed to complete the school and finance the just-completed land purchase at St. Augustine's).  This would not be quite so serious, but a recent and unexpected family crisis situation has drained the Press account to a dangerously low level of reserve.

Begging your prayers and your generosity!

In Christ Jesus,
Fr. Gregory Williams,
administrator of the Mission