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CDIA Annual Report, November 2008
As we review the past year, we give thanks to the Lord for His grace and provision to the CDIA board, the Lodders and staff and students at Adoration School. Even through this past hurricane season, while flood waters raged through streets and houses, He has preserved the lives of those connected to the school, and the properties were not damaged. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassion never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
School program
Last fall Adoration Christian school opened its doors to 120 eager students, 8 teachers, 1 cook, 1 gatekeeper, 3 young grounds keepers, and 2 enthusiastic directors! In some ways it is hard to believe that was only a year ago; it seems so much has happened since then.
The school year was not without its ups and downs. During the course of the year the school had to be shut down a few times, due to a flood in February, and violent food riots in April. One of the students and one of the teachers had to be removed from the school under unpleasant circumstances. There were some tensions in contract negotiations with teachers. These are all learning experiences for CDIA and the Lodders.
There were many high points as well. Some of the parent/teacher meetings were very well attended and Randy had a chance to witness the Lord to them in his devotions. It is always satisfying to see students flourish, and especially to be able to identify some special students as potential leaders for the organization in the future. Also over the course of the year Randy and Karen were able to strengthen relationships with both staff and students, allowing them to come to a deeper understanding of their own task in Haiti.
One major change to the school program that is being developed this year is the implementation of a life-skills class for our learning disabled students. To this end Adoration has suspended the special education class for this year, in order to be able to hire a teacher and put the program in place. The reason for this change is that the special ed class did not have a properly trained teacher, and most of the children were not learning anything new from year to year. The CDIA education committee felt that the children would be better served if they could learn a skill that they could eventually use to support themselves.
Medical program
In February 08, Dr. Ed held his first clinic at Adoration! This is an exciting development, and a God-send for CDIA in realizing their goal to provide medical assistance.
Dr. Ed is a Christian physician’s assistant, originally from United States. While Randy and Karen were house-sitting for him last fall, they became friends. Dr. Ed has been in Haiti for several years, and hosts medical teams from the US. They travel throughout the countryside, and in the slums of Port-au-Prince, giving free treatment to the people of the area. However he wished to be able to also have a clinic in a permanent location. An arrangement was made with the Lodders and CDIA that a section of the school building could be used as a clinic. The clinic would operate 3 days a week, 2 days for medical, one day for dental treatments. The children of the school are treated in the clinic for their ailments, and it is also open to the community. Dr. Ed receives his own support, and CDIA provides the building and waiting area. So far the clinic has been very successful, sometimes treating more than 100 patients in a day. The Lodders and Dr. Ed work harmoniously together and CDIA is very thankful for this arrangement.
Short term missions
This year saw two work teams go out to Adoration school. The first team in December tackled the painting of the building, clean up of the yard and pouring a large concrete pad in the courtyard, plus many other smaller repairs and projects.
The March team continued to paint, pour more concrete, build benches, do more and more repairs. In addition to this they also took the footage for our promotional videos. This was a monumental task!
Throughout the year there were also a few smaller teams of friends or family members who also contributed their talents to the building.
Then in August a team of teachers and handymen came and held teacher training seminars
The main purpose of the teams is to provide free and enthusiastic labour for our school and directors. But there are other beneficial aspects about these teams.
Each team brings very little personal belongings, and then load up their luggage with school supplies, medical supplies and construction supplies (not to mention a few treats for the directors). Hosting a team, while creating some extra work for the Lodders, also provides them with encouragement and fellowship from their brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Lastly, team members that travel to Haiti and work at the school tend to become enthusiastic for the work, and often become involved in promoting CDIA among family, friends and churches.
These teams are a blessing from God and we are grateful for every benefit they bring. Yet many team members will tell you it is they who have been blessed by witnessing God in action at Adoration, and in this country.
Mentoring and Bible outreach
These programs have been more difficult to get off the ground, partly because of time constraints and partly because of language barriers. Last year Randy was able to lead the three young men who live on the property (Cadeau, Wisely, Samuel-our grounds keepers) in a weekly Bible study. He also prepared and presented devotions twice weekly to the student body. For special occasions the message of salvation was also presented to family and parents.
This year he has begun devotions with teachers, as well as mandatory Bible study group for our sponsored secondary students. These are the students that CDIA sponsors for their education at Christian secondary schools. Many of them are graduates from Adoration. They are required to come in every week and help clean the school building after classes. So this Bible group will help the Lodders create a bond of faith with them as well.
The most exciting development on this front is a church plant by the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) in Port-au-Prince! The project is being undertaken in cooperation with the local Orthodox Presbyterian mission, with a Haitian minister who was trained in the US. This is a Reformed church, and they will be using Adoration school for their services. This development is an answer to prayer for CDIA and the Lodders. They will now have a church that they can join, and to which they can direct their staff and students, and really everyone with whom they come into contact. The Lodders hope to make an arrangement with the local pastors to teach catechism classes to Adoration students and sponsored students. What a blessing for these children to be taught the Reformed faith by a Haitian pastor! God is powerful to move the hearts of people in this country!
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