Somber Tranquility

Today’s newsletter is from our dear friend Mia. Mia has been to Haiti many times with Hope Rising and recently traveled alone to this amazing country. Her heart is our heart and we are excited to share with you what she wrote as God moved in her life during her most recent trip. She writes, …

“Passpome, Haiti: the land of circular buildings and somber tranquility. At this point in my travels around Haiti, I have come to Passpome. Passpome is a special little village in the countryside. It seems like a quaint little neighborhood, one where everyone knows everybody, but still most people keep to themselves. In all honesty, Passpome felt borderline very peaceful and borderline depressing. Nothing about it felt bad, or dark, per say, but it did almost feel heavy. I could feel the hunger and the pain, the uncertainty and the sadness; but I also felt love, community and hope. And for this reason, I decided to call this, “somber tranquility.” It is a world outside of time and worry, stress and pressure, a world where simply eating and surviving means you’ve had a good day. Girls spend all day sweeping the dirt and boys sit in shady trees and listen to the distant chatter of the masons constructing their new church.

A very simple place, but a place very much in need.

One of the biggest needs is education. There is one school in Passpome for the one hundred children who attend school. I know there are far more children around each day who do not attend school. The school has one big classroom even though there are six grades of full classes. Teachers don’t stick around long because there is a very unsteady salary pool. When I asked the principal what his greatest need was, he just replied, “more teachers.” The children in school want to learn. They want to be educated. With your help, we are renovating the school side of the new church/school building and putting up dividing walls for six classrooms. We are excited for school to get started here! (Read more about this project here.)

There is blossoming hope in this tranquil village. The Hope Rising Haiti supporters have helped us build a new church and school! We completed the existing half-circle structure and one half of the circle will be a new church were the community can gather together to praise the One who breathed life into their beautiful little home. What an awesome place to get to worship and be desperate to know God. This church/school structure will give these faithful people a place to feel safe in the powerful presence of the Lord. And that is not something to be overlooked. This is how God changes lives and how lives change communities.

God has also been faithful in providing Passpome with a working well! In the couple hours I hung out, dozens of children came by to get water for their families for the day. The next closest access to water is all the way in the heart of the city, about a 20 minute walk one way. This whole neighborhood is now blessed with easier access to a basic necessity life, of something we often take for granted. Thank you to everyone who donates to this mission, providing this community and others with safe places to worship and clean places to drink. God is good!”

Thank you for striving with us to see new schools and churches built for struggling communities. Please consider supporting our work by donating below.