Thriving Villages International: April 2014

Monday, April 21, 2014

Special Edition: Sister Fidelis

Hi everyone,

This May Sister Fidelis will be 'retiring' from Haiti to return to Sylvania, Ohio. Please see the attached document (TVI Update April Special Edition) as well as this short presentation:

Sister Fidelis Presentation

(click on the link, then click download and open the file when it is done downloading. If you have trouble, please let me know!)

In putting these together my mind was flooded with memories of my time with Sister Fidelis as we spent hours together in Pestel. I remember meeting Sister Fidelis for the very first time as she stepped up (a big step!) out of the boat that came to pick us up at the port in Jeremie and introduce us to Pestel. You can read more about it here: http://thrivingvillages.org/howWeBegan.php

I remember the two of us talking around her table in the village of Ferrier with only an oil lamp dispelling some of the thick darkness around us. The world becomes very small when all that is illuminated is a bit of the table and an outline of the other person across from you.

We visited many villages together, usually walking/hiking to get there. And some of them were quite a distance. As we traveled Sister Fidelis would prep me for how we might interact with the community.

Here's a sample:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64oYjXlzlU4

My wife and I have had the great joy of meeting many of her friends and Sisters in Sylvania, Ohio. And while we may not visit with her again in Haiti, I imagine we'll find a chance to sit across from her table in Ohio!

With great love and affection,

Ben

President, Thriving Villages International

Thriving Villages website: www.thrivingvillages.org

Thriving Villages blog: http://thrivingvillages.blogspot.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ThrivingVillages

"Pay special attention to these issues:

love for one another;

absence of desire to be thought of as someone special;

and the impeccable performance of mundane tasks." Teresa of Avila

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Thriving Villages Intl Spring Update

Hi all,

I'm trying to get into the habit of sending out a quarterly update. So far so good! Please feel free to share the attached document with others.

We had a good trip to Pestel in March with the Miss World Organization and thankfully, while there were a number of snafus, there were no injuries/accidents or illnesses. We are now cooking up some really neat plans and I hope to share that with you fairly soon, probably in the next update (oh boy, a cliffhanger!).

There is so much for which to be truly thankful, as you'll read about in the update. There is no way to give everyone his/her dues, but I think you'll get the sense that this is a combined effort with individuals doing their parts. So much is needed on so many levels, and we have seen time and time again people step up with encouragement, prayers, donations, fund-raising, providing opportunities to speak, promoting the needs of the poor in Pestel, managing projects, organizing people, volunteering to take one some aspect of the work, etc. In short, people willing to give of themselves.

With a grateful heart,

Ben

PS You can read a bit about the March trip to Pestel here:

http://www.missworld.com/News/2014-03-18/A-Message-from-Julia-Morley/