Père (Father) Michaud Arrives
Nothing can adequately express the joy felt by the Haitian Hope committee upon the arrival of our friend and brother in Christ, Père Michaud Fruitho. Many of you may remember the wonderful visit of Père Jean Alphonse in 2007. Through him, we learned much about how to build relationships with the people of St. Marc—Trouin. And the ministry expanded in unbelievable ways. In July 2008, Père Jean Alphonse was moved to Torbec when Bishop Duracin placed Père Michaud at St. Marc’s. Since then, the school has increased its enrollment to 400 students, and it has inaugurated a dynamic music program and a sustainable lunch program. We are grateful to have the privilege of participating in this exciting time of growth and adventure in the paths of learning.
Meeting Père Michaud is a rare opportunity to know one of God’s “men on a mission.” His determination to make St. Marc’s school an exceptional learning facility becomes evident with every word as he explains what is needed for his children at St. Marc’s and in Duny, the partner school of the Diocese of Maine. At the women’s breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, Père Michaud bravely endured the chatter of mostly grandmothers bragging about their grandkids. In the midst of such, he shared about the sickness going around the village of Trouin and explained some of the harsh realities of life in Trouin: there is no doctor with whom to confer; there is no medicine to take; there is no hope for those who take a turn for the worst, because they will simply die. The comfort he had for them was to ask if they wanted to be healed. If the answer was “Yes,” he encouraged them to take up their mats and walk and to continue to pray for healing. This is the hard life of poverty. This is the reason we continue with the mission of Haitian Hope. We know, without a doubt, that every penny we send to them eases some of the pain attributed to the hard life experienced by the poorest of the poor.
Had the deadline for this article not been set for the day before Père Michaud’s arrival, many amusing stories could have been told about trying to keep up with Ranny and Gail as they ran from one activity to another. Our hope is that exposure to several classrooms and different levels of learning, as well as his exposure to the weekend lunch program and Habitat for Humanity will provide him with a wealth of ideas to take back to Trouin. Our thanks goes out to everyone who helped make his visit perfect, whether hosting him, providing meals, preparing the reception, translating, welcoming him and/or publicizing his visit.
For all these, we thank you.
