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July, 2013
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The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy;
he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
NIGERIA’S CLIMATE
AT A GLANCE
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HAITI’S CLIMATE AT
A GLANCE
A
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a ge ta ta
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9”
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55
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4.
85
”
We have been reminded this month of how big of a God we serve, and although He is the
Creator of the universe, He has time to love us and have joy over us! It is our hope that we reflect
that love and joy as we seek to bring glory to His name and labor in His service.
Happenings at Consolation Center of Haiti (CCH)
Expressive Worship is a Big Hit!!
One of Catherine’s passions, as well as talents, is music and dance, especially in the form of
expressive worship. We visited a local church earlier this year, and saw for the first time that there
are some congregations incorporating a few dance steps and arm motions to song. Once we
realized the interest in this area, Catherine started to work with the girls at CCH. They have really
enjoyed this, especially the younger girls, and now they are sharing what they have learned during
the Sunday worship service. She works with two age groups. The younger girls are learning the
songs We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise and This is the Day. The older girls are working on Change
My Heart Oh God and I Will Celebrate (a Jewish circle dance), and they are learning them in
English. What blesses us most is when we hear random singing unto the Lord as they learn new
songs.
Teaching English is a Big Project!!
For about a month now, Catherine has been busy teaching English as a summer class on
Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. A year ago Catherine was moved to teach English through the Creation
story. There is a unique teaching environment in Haiti, and she has been busily creating the class
to fit with what she has observed and with what she has been told is the best way to teach here.
She has learned a lot and has to adjust along the way. The three age levels she is working with are
ages 3-6, 7-11, and 12-15. Here are some of the techniques she is using: 1) PICTURES: Felt board
pieces, rebuses for memory work, flash cards 2) SONGS: creation day related songs with motions,
other songs that relate to the creation day (in the end each age group should have learned a couple
of English songs) 3) GAMES: blackboard games, picture games, hot potato, concentration, etc. for
memory work 4) CONVERSATIONAL: Sentences relating to the creation day and that also include
greetings, respectful dialogs with responses, and caring comments that are used in every day
common phrases and 5) ART: colored pencils, coloring sheets, play dough, stickers. Each class
level is almost all bilingual.
In order for them to keep their worksheets, Catherine found “how to” instructions to convert
DVD cases into coloring folders that include colored pencils for each girl. Other web sites with
“free” creation coloring pages have helped create the worksheets she will use. The materials for
these folders were brought down by a team with Global Compassion, and they did all the
preparation work (the not so fun part of the project) and another team put them together (this was
the fun part). Each folder was hand made with poster board covered with colorful cloth to hold the
pencils in place on the inside and has a colored sheet as the DVD case cover with their own name
on it spelled in their favorite color.
Catherine is so blessed by the two team’s efforts to make this special project a reality! In
addition to the teams coming and helping out, there is another VIP that needs to be mentioned
here. Yvald, also known as “papa” to the girls, has been so generous with his time helping maintain
order in the classroom and do translation. He has gone above and beyond the call of duty, even
though his schedule is already booked, yet he has squeezed time in to help Catherine.
THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!! Three cheers to all!!!
Many Hands make light work of a Big Job.
We are now in full-swing with work projects and teams at CCH. It seems like every week we
have a team, and we are trying to keep them as busy as they desire. The months of June and July
have more or less been agricultural months for us as we worked with three FFA teams, and they
concentrated on agricultural related projects. Simultaneously, we have had 12 Haitian agriculture
students from a local university working at CCH on a month-long internship. They have stayed very
busy planting a variety of garden vegetables in a nursery, and keeping them watered. Our climate
is noticeably changing into our hotter season with less rainfall. So although we have ideal heat
units, it doesn’t take long for the sun to zap the life out of things unless they are regularly watered.
The water tower is now showing us its true value as we run to the nearest hydrant and get water for
a variety of tasks. Our latest agricultural addition is a plant nursery. This gives us a wonderful
environment where we can reduce sunlight as we start seedlings. In the near future we hope to add
a few sprinkler units inside the nursery to modernize the watering chores and simplify some of the
work that is part of daily responsibilities.
One Starfish at a Time
We find the work in Haiti to be mentally exhausting at times. There is so much need yet the
resources are limited, and it becomes overwhelming (if allowed) to try and respond to all the need.
We have learned to adopt a philosophy that’s best shared in the story below, it’s called the Starfish
Story, and is credited to the late, Loren Eiseley.
Once upon a time, there was a wise man that
used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a
habit of walking on the beach before he began his
work. One day, as he was walking along the shore,
he looked down the beach and saw a human figure
moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the
thought of someone who would dance to the day,
and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got
closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young
man, and that what he was doing was not dancing
at all. The young man was reaching down to the
shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them
into the ocean. He came closer still and called out
"Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are
doing?" The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean." "I must
ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in,
they'll die." Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that
there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly
make a difference!" At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it
into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."
The first time we saw Jakson, he was walking along the road carrying his Bible. It was just a
quick glimpse as we were passing by, but the lack of normal hands was obvious. Les says he can
remember thinking, that that young man is in a world of future struggle. If you can’t work in Haiti,
you will never manage, and without hands it will be tough to find work. That started the brain
storming of how we could help. There were a couple more “chance” meetings as we were out and
about, but God was really laying on our hearts a way to help him help himself. One day we saw him
walking to school, and we picked him up to give him a ride in that direction. We had a translator
with us, and communicated a desire to help him learn English. We always seem to have need for
translators and they are well paid for their services. English class is a very insignificant amount,
and there are certainly thousands of these types of need within our area, but for this person it will be
a life changer.
We have found out Jakson is the youngest of 10 children, and he has a strong faith in Jesus
Christ. Both his parents are still alive, but live in rather meager circumstances. We look forward to
see how God will direct our paths in the future, and we ask that you keep Jakson and his family in
your prayers.
Zachery’s Point of View
As the months go by and with them the teams come and go, I am learning so much and feel
very comfortable in the position I occupy. I am now at complete ease with driving in this chaotic
traffic, and I know my way around Les Cayes, so any area I can help my parents with in running
errands or going shopping I am more than willing to do so.
I can’t help but share another story with you guys, as it adds a unique aspect to the
Newsletter at the same that it gives you an informal glimpse at our everyday lives here. Hope you
enjoy!
On the 22nd I was at CCH and I worked hard all day with whittling away at a long to-do list.
Like fixing a leak problem in the pipes leading to the holding tanks, welding a loose piece of support
steel to a door, installing a lock on another door, etc. Now when I get into the “fix it” mode, I usually
have my entire mind occupied with what I’m doing and it is very easy for me to neglect eating when
it isn’t convenient at the moment. All I had to eat up till then was a mango and a PBJ. So right as the
last tool was placed back in the shed and I had no more excuses to ignore the gnawing in my
stomach, I went straight up to a vine that has a fruit called, “Granadilla” (yellow passion fruit) and
started to look for one that was ripe. Soon the girls started to help me in my mission to harvest this
fruit. As it would happen, there was a perfectly ripe granadilla at the top of the vine and it was
completely out of my reach. This dilemma started a rock slinging contest to see who could hit it
down first. My rock hit it dead on (after 25 tries) and taking my spoils I went to the playground, sat
down, and cut open the exterior to partake of the sweet yet tart fruit inside. When I finished, my
eyes started to wander around to other trees that I could get something to eat off of and they
stopped on a coconut tree. The only problem was that in order to get one, it required a 25 foot
shimmy up the tree with a light fixture and an entanglement of wires impeding the climb at the
halfway point. I told the girls that I wanted a coconut and they said they would ask Charles to get it
for me. I would have been okay with that if it weren’t for the fact that this guy is like 60…so I told the
girls that I would just do it. After taking of my shoes and emptying my pockets, I went to the coconut
tree and gave it a 10 minute hug! Haha It’s amazing how fast the word spread that I was climbing
the tree. Before I was halfway up all the girls had assembled and two of the staff adults told me to
get down before I hurt myself, but determined not to leave without a coconut I ignored all rebukes
and kept ascending. Dead branches and fine particles of decaying wood slowed me down quite a
bit but I finally reached the top and threw down two coconuts. During my decent I reached the light
fixture and wires, and with a lot of difficulty managed to bypass them without having to add another
project to the already long to-do list. When my feet touched the ground I was covered in sweat,
rotted wood particles, and had a bloody foot where I rubbed my skin raw while trying to get around
that worthless light fixture! The girls immediately took me to the water faucet and helped my clean
up my wound, arms, legs, and face, by cupping their hands and pouring the water at the already
mentioned places. While I was getting cleaned up, the man that told me to get down was chopping
the coconut for me and had it all ready by the time the girls led me back to my seat on the
playground. All of the girls and a few of the grounds men just stood there and watched as I drank
the milk and ate the coconut. I tried to offer them some of it once, but my offer was met with such a
strong refusal, that I didn’t ask again (they wanted me to eat it all). I was finishing up the coconut
when Dad pulled up to take me home. We left the orphanage that evening with the people
wondering what they would do with this crazy “blan” and arrived home where we found a wonderful
meal waiting for us.
Nutritional Nuggets – Eat to Live
We all appreciate the value of a high quality product. Its creator uses high quality raw materials. Men
appreciate DE Walt or Craftsman tools or a well-built car. Women appreciate the Kitchen Aid or Cuisinart.
Our maker created for us a wealth of health in the best quality food and also provides us with an abundance of
disease-fighting nutrients in nature’s powerful pharmacy. It is packaged with vibrant colors like the rainbow,
interesting shapes, fiber, vitamins, minerals, proteins, and a variety of flavors to entice every flavor you could ever
want. Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and
good for food.
FRUITS
VEGETABLES
VITAMINS
MINERALS
*PROTEINS
FIBER
are your body’s cleansers. Fruit also energizes and digests quickly. (Eat fruit first to
prevent fermentation while waiting for other food that is slower to digest)
are your body’s healers.
Many vitamins are heat sensitive. Vitamins promote metabolism, help to process nutrients
to digest, absorb into body structure promoting many health benefits.
A – 40%
B’s – most
C – 100% D – 40%
E – 55% lost
lost
B’s are lost
lost
lost
maintain pH balance; provide calories (yield energy). Minerals are okay with heat, they
just denature (change shape and quality).
build cells, provide calories (yield energy), heat denatures protein, is a negative energy
food
20 – 35
needed on average
grams
15%
found in body
70%
recycled by body
8%
needed from food
6% found in vegetables
49%
1% found in fruits
10%
*MORE ON PROTEINS IN ANOTHER NUTRITION NUGGET
creates fullness in stomach, promotes properly functioning intestines and colon
(friendly bacteria feeds on fiber), performs internal house cleaning (grabs toxins and
bad fats),
Based on a government study, Americans coming up short in terms of eating a variety of
fruit and vegetable colors. Each phytonutrient or plant nutrient which show themselves in
variant colors provide a different health benefit.
69% of Americans don’t get enough greens (thought to be one of the most
important anti-cancer compounds, improves immune system)
78% of Americans don’t get enough red (heart, blood, joints, anticancer properties)
86% of Americans don’t get enough white (protect against
stomach and colon cancers, activates white blood cells)
88% of Americans don’t get enough purple/blue (preventative effects
against cancer, ageing and neurological diseases, inflammation, especially arthritis,
and diabetes.)
79% of Americans don’t get enough yellow/orange (helps heart, vision,
digestion, immune system, help stimulate repair in DNA and Collagen)
The Rainbow Connection tips:
Gradually transition to filling at least half your plate
Pick a color theme of the week
Keep a rainbow diary or calendar
Plant colorful vegetables in the yard
Have you found your
W
E
L
L
N
E
S
S
P
R
I
N
C
I
P
A
L
:
E
a
t
t
h
e
R
a
i
n
b
o
w
? Have you found your “pot of
…I mean health”?
Prayer & Praise

•

•
•
Praise the Lord for the many new friends we have made while teams visit.
Pray for Catherine as she tries to discern the best way to teach English and keep the girls interested this
summer.
Praise the Lord for Zachery and his adjustment to life and work in Haiti.
Pray for wisdom as we balance the demands on our time with all the things happening.
Pray for the Village of Hope, and the Director (Djimmy) and his wife (Mislie).
Your prayers are such a blessing to and for us!!
In His Love & Service,
Les, Catherine, & Zachery
Ministry (U.S.)
Laborers With Christ
P. O. Box 74
Alta, IA 51002
Phone: (712) 200-1139
E-mail: faagric@yahoo.com
Web Page: www.laborerswithchrist.org
Haitian Address
Les and/or Catherine DeRoos
c/o Agape Flights CAY 26466
100 Airport Avenue
Venice, FL 34285
Phone: 011 509-3857-8345
E-mail: faagric@yahoo.com
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