I found a bunch of posts from my time in Darbonne, Leogane, Haiti. They are only half written, but I think I will post them as is. Still something to be said here, even if incomplete.
Here is the first post, on the ongoing parish visits - original text below the asterisks, all one line of it (all photos were already pasted in).
I believe I started it 7/27/09 on a visit back to the convent for my sabbath day rest. For this one, I'll add some current thoughts and recollections as well.
I remember these visits vividly - the walking and walking and walking, the prayer (and boy could they pray!), and the singing. Everyone seemed to have Psalm 23 memorized in French - a particular version, not the one from the Book of Common Prayer (French translation thereof, used in the Episcopal Church in Haiti). Must be like the King James translation of it here. And, as is true here, there were hymns that everyone knew. I had bought myself a hymnal and started to look them up and learn them, or at least mark the places in the book once I figured out which ones were likely to be sung.
The committee divided the parish visits up over the summer by areas of town. It was quite an experience, and I am so glad to have been able to join them. Each family got around a fifteen minute visit with intense prayer for them and their current needs, among other things. I am sure it was and is an experience of bonding among the parishioners. It would be good to try something like that up here in the US if we could figure out a way.
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Here is the first post, on the ongoing parish visits - original text below the asterisks, all one line of it (all photos were already pasted in).
I believe I started it 7/27/09 on a visit back to the convent for my sabbath day rest. For this one, I'll add some current thoughts and recollections as well.I remember these visits vividly - the walking and walking and walking, the prayer (and boy could they pray!), and the singing. Everyone seemed to have Psalm 23 memorized in French - a particular version, not the one from the Book of Common Prayer (French translation thereof, used in the Episcopal Church in Haiti). Must be like the King James translation of it here. And, as is true here, there were hymns that everyone knew. I had bought myself a hymnal and started to look them up and learn them, or at least mark the places in the book once I figured out which ones were likely to be sung.
The committee divided the parish visits up over the summer by areas of town. It was quite an experience, and I am so glad to have been able to join them. Each family got around a fifteen minute visit with intense prayer for them and their current needs, among other things. I am sure it was and is an experience of bonding among the parishioners. It would be good to try something like that up here in the US if we could figure out a way. 
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In Darbonne, the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation's comite d'evangelisation, made up of quite a number of parishioners, goes around to visit each household for a short visit to pray for the family.
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