Team gets ready for January trip

A team of six will travel to Anse-A-Galet, La Gonave to work with Pastor Agones school and the community of Baie de Tortue, a very poor area out near the airport. The team is comprised of three from Estero Methodist Church; Debra Haley, Carol Hadley and Margie Campbell and three from North Naples UMC; Sally Ritter, Janice Coffey and John Puig.

We will take water filtration supplies and our CHE training to promote better sanitation awareness. Sanitation of water using sunlight, proper storing of dishes and utensils, and simple hygiene will be some of the topics. John has just completed his CHE training, so is fresh for the job. CHE stands for Community, Health and Evangelism/Education and is a course designed for third world countries using simple plays and demonstrations to get information across. The team will gather information on the community to assist in planning the trip in March. At that time, we will be taking mid high and senior high youth with us!

Traveling up the mountain to Ti Palmeste one day, we will visit New Jerusalem Church and see the progress on the goat farm. The fence should be completed and hopefully the cistern. Hopefully, there will be time to meet with the ladies and have a Bible study. We have certificates for the ladies who attended in July.

Please pray for our mission, and for Pastor Agones. As more children have clothing to wear (most donated from the Village School), he faces increased needs in teachers salaries and daily meals for the kids. Often this is the only meal they will have. "Nothing is impossible with God", and we know that His hand is upon this mission. May God bless you for all your prayers and support!

Mission Trip January 2nd to 7th, 2012

A team is traveling to Baie de Tortue, to spend time with Pastor Agones school, College Ralph C. Tuthill, which we call Village School East. This school is in a very poor area of Ansagale on the island of La Gonave. Most of our mission focus has been on Ti Palmeste up in the mountains, but I had a calling to spend time in this area. After I spoke to Pastor Agones to see if we could set up CHE (community, health and evangelism/education) for his children's families, he gave me the sad news that an eleven year old girl had just died due lack of sanitation. Her three year old sister was also very ill and could not afford treatment in Port au Prince. Ed and I sent money to help her, and committed to doing what we could for these people.

This is an area of extreme lack of education and resulting poverty. Families are very large, often 12 or 14 , and only one or two will go to school. Pastor Agones grew up here with parents so poor that he had to have a stepfather care for him. His bio is on the blog. We admire the fact that he has devoted his life to helping the other children here in Baie de Tortue.

The team will include members of Estero United Methodist Church, who have an mission on the mainland of Haiti. This will be their first time on the island of La Gonave. In addition to the health and hygiene training, we will also spend a day with the school kids,who are learning English. We will also evangelize and spread the good news of Jesus!

Please pray for this mission!
----Sally Ritter

MISSION CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM IS OFFICIALLY DEDICATED!

July 17th 2011 was an awesome day, as several hundred people attended the four hour service highlighted by testimonies from the various people involved from the inception of the church. Visionary ideas of a few years ago came to completion on this day. Since our last trip in November, the church as been painted, the name is on the front and a church full of benches have been built.

Reverend Montreuil Milord, pastor of South Dade United Methodist Church in Homestead presided over the dedication. It was a great pleasure for us to have him there.

The church leaders were very proud to take their part in the dedication ceremony. The Mission Church of the New Jerualem has a strong council of five men and two women. They have shown good accountability and they sincerely want to be leaders not just in their church, but in the community.

Aunl Bellany's team from Homestead, Florida attending the dedication included Vicky Ballany, Maria Milord and Ipomene Valbrun. This team put on a two day medical clinic for the community.

Three weddings were held on Saturday!! What a blessing as these couples made the commitment to each other with God's blessing. The ceremonies were beautiful, as were the brides.

The ladies two day Bible study was well received by the 35 women who attended. We studied lessons that were applicable to the issues in their lives. We all had a very spiritual time sharing with these wonderful women. A talk about serving ended with the women on our team applying hand cream to all of the ladies attending. It was a bonding time that focused on our similarities, and not on what makes us different. We taught the use of the Evangecube for witnessing for Jesus, and gave several to each church represented. There were women from eight different churches present. A real ecumenical gathering!

The team from North Naples United Methodist Church, Janice Coffey, Linda Scott and Sally Ritter with the ladies Bible group.

Team getting ready for Church Dedication July 17th

The team from North Naples United Methodist is looking forward to the July trip celebrating the dedicaton of the Church of the New Jerusalem in Ti Palmeste on La Gonave.

Aunel Bellany from South Dade UMC will arrive July 11th with his team, which includes his wife Vicky and Marie Milord, as well as mission friends from Canada and France. Since Vicky and Marie are both nurses, they will host a medical clinic for the area. World Vision, which has a complex right next to our Guest House, has allowed us full use of their facility, to house part of the team and to host the clinic.

Sally and Ed Ritter, Janice Coffey and Linda Scott (NNUMC) will arrive Friday the 15th and stay the week. Saturday, the day before the dedication, will be a special day of weddings and thanksgiving services. Sunday will be the ceremony, with many supporters in attendance. On Monday and Wednesday, this team will continue with ladies Bible studies, and with follow up for the recently trained CHE grads from Ti Palmeste.

We have already purchased 48 Kreyol bibles so each of our ladies will receive one.

Church members are busy buildng benches, to accomadate all the visitors, but also to do double duty as school benches when the school opens in the fall. We will be discussing that as well as checking out the progess on the farm and the fenced area for the goats.

Pastor Agones will join us in Ti Palmeste, and we will spend some time visiting his school the end of the week.

Goats, Goats and more Goats!

We have almost 20 goats purchased for our goat farm! After Camille made a guest appearance at North Naples UMW meeting last month, the ladies circles are getting together to purchase their own goat. Camille, a lovely brown and white goat, behaved like a lady during her appearance. The following is a list of goat sponsors and the names they have selected. Each goat costs $50.

The Naomi Circle with Camille.


Mike and Melba Arthur-2 goats, "Mike and Mel"
Frank Avanzato-"Francesca"
Fort Myers Beach United Methodist-"Betty"
Shirley Horner- 2 goats"Mutt and Jeff"
Tom and dorothy Jamieson-"Jamie"
Mark Middleton- 2 goats "Sparky and Missy"
Oliver Scott-"Ms Linda"
Linda Scott- "Butterscotch"
Mary Jo Wortman-"Jo"
Joan Wurfele-"Rojo"
Rebecca Circle-NNUMC " Rebecca"
Naomi Circle-NNUMC-"Naomi"
Jan Ellison
Pete Stafford
Patrick Seay
Carole Levick
Berry Altamonte
Vicki Newell "Rob"

Thank you all! We have sent the money for fencing for the "Goat Park", and will purchase the goats in the next month after the fence is installed, This is very important to protect the goats from predators, and to protect the vegetables from the goats.

The Dedication of the New Jerusalem Church is set for July 17th!

The Haitian department of religious affairs has set July 17th for the dedication of the New Jerusalem Mission Church in Ti Palmeste. This is exciting news as this church will now be an official mission church of Haiti. People will be coming from Canada, the United States and Haiti to help celebrate. Pastor Ambroz will be busy organizing a week of activities and accommodations for everyone.

Our next team trip, planned for April, will be postponed so we can take the team to the dedication in July. From North Naples we will have Ed and Sally Ritter, Janice Coffey, Linda Scott and Jim Baker. Aunel Bellany, Homestead UMC, will be bringing his wife Vicky and their three children. They plan to make a family vacation visiting relatives in Port-au-Prince as well as LaGonave. Aunel grew up in Ti Palmeste, and he is very excited about the completion of the church. We still plan to hold additional CHE (Community, Health, Evangelism) training and Bible study, as well as some training courses for the youth.

It will be a time of celebration for all who have worked so hard on the church building, as well as the church development, including the church council and inter-denominational pastors council. This church will truly be the center of the community. As the leaders are trained, they will in turn train others in the surrounding areas, thereby improving the quality life for all and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.

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A Memorable Moment

     In November, we spent three days in Ti Palmeste meeting with pastors, community leaders and the ladies of the area churches.   We did not have a vehicle available to us, so we walked the couple miles to the church from the Guest House every morning, and then back home.  The last day there we attended an evening church service.  Pastor Ambroz kindly found a truck to take us back at night.  However, the ride was so rough over the rocky, potholed road,  we decided walking would be better.  Imagine our surprise on leaving the service about 10:00 o'clock to be directed to a fleet of six motorcycles all lined up with drivers and engines revving, waiting for us.  "Pick one." Pastor Ambroz told us.  Janice looked at me.  "Can we go together?"  I replied that we were all on our own.   So we selected our steel steeds, and  Janice, David, Ed, Floyd, Aunel and I dutifully climbed aboard for a wild ride down the rocks and bumps that pass for roads in the mountains of La Gonave.  As the young men raced each other, kids, dogs and chickens all scattered out of the way.
     Peter stepped out of a boat because he trusted Jesus.   Sometimes the boat is a motorcycle, but the trust we have in God is the same.  When God sends you, He supplies you with all you need for the journey.  While I prayed through the dark, His peace enfolded me and brought us all safely home.
-Sally Ritter  January 6, 2011