Fr.

Reisers Nieces take to the streets of Haiti

nieces of its late founder Fr. Bernard Reiser. Here's what they had to say during their first trip to Haiti in May 2012:

Ann Brau
~ Ann Brau Our first day! We spent most of it traveling, so we didnt get a chance to see much of Haiti except for when we were coming in for our landing and on our short drive on our tap tap from the airport to the house. As we were landing, I was struck by how beautiful the city looked from the air. Largely surrounded by mountains, it was hard to believe
2

there could be so much poverty in such a beautiful setting. But reality set in after we left the airport and saw villages of tin shanties, dirt roads covered with litter, and signs of poverty

in every direction we looked. The Haitian people we have met so far are friendly and accommodating, and we are blessed to be staying in a guesthouse with

Amongst it all, there was a presence of God

them living 6-8 people in these dark one-room shacks, elderly people sitting inside dark homes or outside in the hot sun with nobody to look after them, small children carrying buckets of water weighing more than themselves from our water trucks to their homes, countless children with no clothes at all, children playing in sewage-infested waters and walking barefoot over filth and garbage, small babies left

delicious food and air conditioned bedrooms..

no windows, no beds, no furniture and no sign of food to be eaten, many of

~ Ann How can I begin to describe a day like yesterday? A day surrounded by a city made up of dirt-packed roads, garbage everywhere, children with visible signs of malnutrition and physical impairments that had never received medical care, people of all ages living in tin shanties with dirt floors, leaking roofs,
4

The little red truck that could..... save more more lives every day.

crying and alone in darkness while their mothers were out getting water for their families, no bathrooms or running water, no hope for the future. And yet, children running from all directions to greet us, children with huge smiles on their dirty faces begging for hugs, wanting to be held, tugging us from all sides, naked children finding joy in sitting under the water trucks drinking the water dribbling down the back of the truck or trying to catch it in small buckets, children wanting to tell us their names, ask us our names, play games with us, babies that were happily willing to be scooped up in our arms and stay for endless periods of time, children climbing into the newly-fetched buckets of water with delighted grins on their faces as they splash in the cold water, children joyfully following us through the garbage-filled streets, alleys and beaches gladly posing for pictures as we examined their lives and their homes, children who found happiness in a street, city, country that has so little to offer and so little hope for the future. And amongst it all, there was a presence of God It cant be described. I couldnt bear to be there, yet I couldnt bear to leaveall in the same breath. Words can never do justice to the experience. Not even pictures can explain it. Yet I share a few with you. Blessings,Ann
6

This is my one commandment, that you love one another

~ Joyce We were asked yesterday to choose one word to describe our day. The first word that came to my mind was grit, probably because I was so dirty when asked to think of a word! I had grit on my hands from turning cartwheels with the kids, grit between my fingers from holding naked children, grit on my shorts from holding children who ran through garbage and sewage with no shoes, grit on my face from dirt blowing from unpaved roads, grit in my nose from breathing smells that come from no access to sewage systems. Not to mention the grit that it takes the people of Cite Soleil to survive from day to day. Its one thing to imagine what it would be like to live without water, but quite another thing to carry 50 pound buckets of water through narrow alleyways to shanties to lift that burden from a skinny child, pregnant woman, or elderly woman, and then turn around and do it all again and again. But then another word came to my mind as I was reflecting on the Gospel of John 15: This is my one commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. You did not choose me but I chose you.
7

This is the first time in my 42 years on earth that I have felt like I could quite literally be the hands of Christ in this world. For I was thirsty and you gave me water to drink. It was so simple and pure and good and true. So I changed my word of the day to HANDS. God used my hands to give water to the thirsty. How incredible is that? God used my hands to hold babies needing love. God used my hands to play with children looking for validation. God used my hands to lift heavy buckets onto womens heads so they could cook, drink, bathe and feed their families. God used my hands to hold a water hose and fill buckets. God used my hands to move buckets into place and out of the way. God used my hands to show his love. Its easy to smile in Cite Soleil because all the children are smiling at you. In fact, I couldnt stop smiling for the first half of the day. And then we walked back to the furthest recesses of the slums. Back to where the sewage and muck stagnates. Back where people perch on outhouse structures over the ocean to go to the

I cant walk away from misery and do nothing.

bathroom and where other children swim nearby because they have nowhere else to swim. Back where people have to struggle more than their neighbors just to carry a bucket of clean water. Where sharp corroded sheet metal and rusty nails poke out around every corner. Back where pigs root, and chickens squawk, and the barefoot kids wince because the ground is so treacherous with sharp shells and garbage. And I couldnt smile anymore. My face wouldnt move. But all the kids around me were still smiling. As Fr. Reiser said, I cant walk away from misery and do nothing. Peace, Joyce ~ Ann Change Tonight I was recalling an event that happened yesterday. I paused and had to be surewas it only YESTERDAY that we did our water truck delivery? How could only one day have passed and yet I have changed so much? Who could have told me even one day ago that today Id be rubbing lotion over the bodies of sick and dying women of all ages ranging from younger than my own daughters to women older than myself and be completely comfortable with it?

And how could I have known I would have the opportunity to visit a school that my beloved late uncle helped to fund and see 625 smiling faces of children, being taught in classroom settings that are primitive compared to what we are accustomed to at home and they were thrilled to meet us? I visited a medical clinic so far behind United States standards that there was no comparison, but yet I found myself truly impressed with what they DO with what little they have. And finally, that I would go to an orphanage filled with so many sick and dying babies, hold them in my arms and feed them and love them and somehow be able to walk away broken-hearted at the end of the day only comforted by the fact that I WILL be back to see them again?Everything about today was so detached from my real world but yet so completely comfortable for me to do in the world I live in here in Haiti. I think our Lord is allowing me to experience this knowing that I will go home a changed person. My picture of what Father Reiser saw here in Haiti, what moved him, and what inspired him to want to help these people is so much more clear to me. The importance of what we are doing at Reiser Relief has deepened. My interest in continuing Fathers mission has turned into a passion to continue. We ARE needed here in Haiti. Blessings, Ann
10

~ Joyce My word for today is RESILIENCY My word for today is RESILIENCY. Today we drove to Reiser Heights; a school that Reiser Relief supports. It is in the mountains above Port-auPrince, so I was able to take in the beautiful Haitian countryside and even catch a couple of cool breezes. On our way to Reiser Heights (we

rode in the back of a pick up part of our way therebrought me back to my farm days!), I noticed a woman with one leg begging for help from passing drivers. And I was struck that this was the first beggar I have seen in Haiti. I truly see more beggars in downtown Minneapolis than in Portau-Prince and Cite Soleil. The Haitians have an incredible resiliency that I am coming to admire. If a building is too structurally damaged to use, they pitch a tent along side it and set up shop or housing on the same land. If they need to make money, they find something, ANYTHING, to sell or peddle. If they need to pitch a pile of rocks into a dump truck and they dont have a bobcat, they use a shovel. If they dont have electrical lines to their home, they string their own. If they dont have tillable land on which to grow crops, they grow them on hillsides, in pots and in crevices. If they cant afford a butcher, they butcher on their own right
Reiser Heights School
11

in the street. If there is no seat on the bus, they hang off the back. If they dont have a chainsaw, they use and ax. If they dont have an ax they use a machete. They dont wait for a hand out or assistance or aid or the Red Cross, they just make do. The kids at the school today had

no electricity, no flushing toilets, no iPads, cell phones, white boards, and sometimes no paper or pencils. But they are resilient. They learn and make do with what they have. We passed out candy and stickers, and the kids were so cute, sticking them to their hands, foreheads, tummies and noses. There is something so incredibly refreshing in this resiliency. I live in a world filled with regulations, protective services, social services, insurance, lawsuits, ordinances, judgments, laws and programs. Not that any of this is bad; it makes us safer. But does it make us too safe? Does it make us dependent? Does it make us reliant? Ill say
12

this, it sure was fun to ride in the back of a pickup truck again, just like I used to do as a kid with the bull calves on our way to the Sales Barn. I read a beautiful devotion in a book today called God is No Stranger.Father, They say I am poor.Thank you, Father.May I also be poor in spirit, that I may inherit the kingdom of God. What kind of world would we live in if we all thanked God for everything that we view as a misfortune? Peace, Joyce God was everywhere ~ Ann Similar to questioning as a little girl why Santa Claus didnt bring Christmas presents to poor people, Ive always questioned why God could allow for there to be poor people in the world. Today, as we were driving up to Reiser Heights, a school founded by Father Reiser, I finally realized that God had not forgotten the people of Haiti. As we climbed higher and higher into the hills of Haiti, God was everywhere. He was in the clouds that formed around the tops of the mountains, He was in the

lush green trees and plants that adorned the roadsides as we drove higher and higher, He was in the valleys lined with crops meticulously tended by hand,
13

by Haitian hands, and when we finally arrived at Reiser Heights, He was in the eyes of the children that greeted us. Sometimes it takes things less than perfect for us to be able to see what is truly good. And today, God looked down on the world and saw that all was good. Blessings, Ann ~ Joyce My word of the day is MINISTRY. We started our day at a sunrise worship service in a tent that is almost beyond description. The Haitians are so unabashed in worship and so filled with the Holy Spirit. It set the tone for a beautiful day. After breakfast we traveled to Titanyen, a village outside of Port-au-Prince where Grace Village is located. On the way there we stopped at a school with dirt floors, no bathrooms, no playground, no food, and hundreds of children. There are so many opportunities to make such a huge difference in Haiti. We also stopped at a mass grave where tens of thousands of Haitians were buried, unidentified, after the devastating earthquake in 2010. One of our Haitian guides and translators, Wilson, shared the story of how he lost 55 classmates in the earthquake. He had stepped

out of his school to buy a bottle of water, and was across the street to witness the collapse of his three-story school that killed all of the students in his class. He also lost his father in the earthquake. The next words out of his mouth after describing his losses were, I give thanks to God. What an
14

Serve the elderly through what I will call guerilla health care
incredible example of faith. God calls him to great things. In Titanyen I had the opportunity to serve the elderly through what I will call guerilla health care and meals on wheels. Guerilla health care involves 3 untrained women (me, my sister Ann, and our teammate Shelley), attempting to minister to the needs of the forgotten elderly with Neosporin, powder, basins, peaches, Spam, straws, water, washcloths, clean sheets, clothing, and wet wipes. Shelley gave sponge baths while Ann and I applied powder and distributed food and water in their shanties. My heart was broken wide open when we ministered to Antonia. A paraplegic, Antonia suffers from bedsores and a fungal infection on her feet, and was on a flea-infested blanket on a filthy mattress soaked with her feces and urine. If a dog were found in such conditions in the United States, the owners would be charged with animal cruelty. I couldnt stop crying. We did what we could to clean her up, apply ointment, change her bedding, pray with her and give her nourishment. But it was clear that what she truly needs is 24-hour care in an elder care facility. This is not an option for Antonia After guerilla healthcare I set off on a 4wheeler with our Haitian guide and translator Andrenoi. At age 29, Andrenoi is compassionate beyond his years and ministers to the elderly. Six days each week Andrenoi delivers hot meals in Tupperware containers to 10 suffering elderly in Titanyen. He will soon expand his ministry to 20 elderly.
Andrenoi
15

Andrenoi supports his parents, brothers and sisters on his salary from Healing Haiti, and feels so blessed to have the opportunity to do what he does. Half way through our meals on wheels deliveries Andrenoi asked me, What is your ministry? I have never been asked that question before and wasnt sure how to answer. I told him about Reiser Relief and Fr. Reiser and the ministries we support. But, after all that I have seen this week, I can honestly say that the ministry closest to my heart is the elderly.

Nov 9th 2012 - It is with a heavy heart that we tell you our dear friend Antonia has been called People like Antonia are beloved Home. Please pray for Antonia, her family and friends, and those from Reiser Relief and Healing children of God, and as such Haiti that loved and cared for her. We rejoice that deserve to live their final days God has accepted her with open arms, and that in dignity and love. she is finally free from suffering! Amen. Thank you, Andreoi, for revealing my ministry to me. Thank you, Haiti, for opening my eyes and heart to Gods will. Peace, Joyce

~ Ann Today was our day of endings. First of all, it was our last full day in Haitiour last day to take in a few more pieces of this beautiful, complicated country. We started with a 6 a.m. tent service that was anything but an ending. It was an inspiring start to our day inside a huge white tent filled with people of all ages singing and praising the Lord. Haitian people are filled with the love of God, and watching them praise His name is a joyful thing to behold.

16

Thankfully, the tent service gave us the strength to witness some of the things we experienced the rest of the day. Our first stop was at Redemptor School, another very poor Haitian school with so many needs but yet, like the other schools we have seen, its filled with the smiling faces of Haitian children who seem to find the beauty in every day despite a poverty-filled existence. We then visited the mass graves in Haiti made after the 2010 earthquake. It was painful to look out at the crosses and memorials scattered over the mass grave and think of the horrific way these thousands of peoples lives had ended in the earthquake and even more painful as we listened to the stories of some of the Haitian men with us who shared their stories about loved ones lost in the earthquake. From there, we went to . It was such a contrast in comparison to what wed seen so much of what wed seen during the weeka beautiful complex of brightly colored buildings and so much more building still taking place. Besides the 43 smiling orphans we met who were so lucky to have been placed in such a love-filled environment, there is a feeding center and plans for elder care, a church, medical clinic and much more. Good things ARE happening in Haiti.
17

Ann and Joyce with Elder Moreland, principal at Terre Promise School

women & children carry everything on their heads from water to eggs

18

19

20

Reiser Relief Inc has assisted in funding for the purchase of 16 lacers of land and funds for a feeding a center and currently working on funding for a future eldercare facility. Grace Village is owned and operated by Healing Haiti. - Forty of the orphans Healing Haiti cares for moved into Grace Village just before Christmas 2011! The children were thrilled to settle into their beautiful and comfortable new home. The children were so grateful for the support of so many and the goodness of God that have made Grace Village a reality. Many of these children have lost their families to extreme poverty, hurricanes, cholera or AIDS. Through Healing Feeding Center Haiti and it's donors, God provides for needs of the 56 children now living at Grace Village by furnishing clean water, food, school and medical care. We are so honored to be able to be the hands and feet of Christ to these children and they are such a joy to us Most of these orphan children will never be adopted and so we have committed to equipping them to live a God centered life... one with significance. By caring for their spiritual needs, their personal needs, educating them and eventually teaching them a skill or trade, they will be able to be self sufficient and provide for not only themselves but their future family. Our goal is to raise up the next generation of Haitians leaders that will help build a better future for all.
Feeding Center

Construction of Phase I of Grace Village in Titanyen, Haiti is complete! The two dormitories, cisterns and Feeding Center now are home to 58 children with the ability to feed an additional 75-125 street children each day.

We have finished some aspects of Phase II as well. The Host Missionary Home is complete and the Medical/Dental Clinic is scheduled to be finished at the beginning of 2013. The Integrated Aquaponic Tiiapia Farm in complete and operating. It provides a constant source of protein and fresh vegetables for the children to eat. The temporary buildings for Grace Academy are complete and school started on October 1st for 305 children! Phase II will also include additional housing for children and orphaned elderly.
21

But, sadly, the next part of our day was back to all about endings. We made visits to sick, elderly people living in one-room huts who were sleeping on filthy, flea-infested mattresses on the dirt floors (if they were lucky enough to have a mattress at all), with soiled clothes, painful bedsores, little or no food and water, and little or no loving care. What we were able to do to help these elderly people in their final stages of life were so small, yet they were better than the alternative of nothing at all. In the United States, we rightfully put so much emphasis on dying with dignity, and to many poor elderly people in Haiti, there is no dignity at all in dying--only loneliness, hunger, thirst, filth, and pain. It was such a tragic thing to view on our last day in Haiti. Yet, maybe God had that in his plan for us, because now, besides leaving Haiti with a passion to help the children of Haiti, we are leaving with a passion to help the elderly. I have truly been blessed to have the opportunity to see, hear, and touch Haiti, and I am filled with a sense of urgency to come back here. There is so much left to do, and so many hands are needed to complete Gods work. I thank
22

Father Reiser for giving me the nudge to go to Haiti, and I thank the people of Haiti for being so willing to share a piece of each of their lives with me. My deepest gratitude and love to every person I have met on this trip, and my sincere thanks to those who have supported our mission and continue to do so. I will end my Haiti blog with a quote from Mother Teresa:If we want the poor to see Christ in us, we must first see Christ in the poor. Blessings, Ann

-To provide relief, hope and dignity to the poor, elderly and homeless people of Haiti. -To provide relief from malnutrition and water born illness by providing food and clean water to women, children and elderly living in slums and impoverished situations. -To provide hope for the poorest children and orphans by funding education and housing. -To strive, by the Grace and Greatness of God, to be the hands and feet of Christ in serving the most vulnerable Haitians.

Reiser Relief Inc. PO Box 48096 Coon Rapids, MN 55448 (763)280-3433 http://reiserrelief.org

23