My First Weekend

I apologize for not posting yesterday, but the weekends here a time to prepare for next week and relax. Yesterday I helped do some grading and made even more progress on my project. Due to Deacon Moynihan’s connections within the Haitian community, I was able to have many of my questions about Haitian banking and mobile money answered. Reports say that only about 10% of Haitians have their own bank accounts, so much of my research yesterday was figuring out whether or not this statistic is accurate and the reason behind this low percentage.

Usually on Sundays the Volunteers are able to sleep in and relax, but this weekend we went to mass at the Chapel of St. Toma, which is about twenty minutes away from LCS. Mass is usually held for the Volunteers on Saturday nights on campus, however this weekend was extra special. After mass today Deacon Moynihan and Father Isaia, who usually says the masses at LCS, baptized 121 children. We did not stay to see the baptisms, but during the mass prior to them we were able to see all of the little ones dressed up in their white dresses and suits.

Even though mass was in Creole, it was a great experience. During the mass there was a ton of singing, and whenever the music started playing people everyone in the church began to sing. It was an incredible experience to just take in. Even though the Chapel of St. Toma was recently built, the pews were packed with people celebrating their faith and praying before the Lord. Being at mass reminded me that no matter where I am in the world, I can always be at home with God and the rest of the Catholic community.

The mass itself was about one and half hours, so by the time we got back to campus we were exhausted. Most of the day was spent relaxing and preparing for the last week of classes. Tomorrow a group of about eight Providence College students accompanied by Father Cuddy, the Chaplain of Providence College, and Sarah Attwood, Campus Minister at PC, will arrive at Louverture Cleary School for a week-long immersion trip. I cannot wait for their arrival and to share with them my LCS experience thus far. I am also extra excited because within the group of PC students is my second cousin Molly DiDonato (Class of 2016)! I look forward to seeing this entire group fall in love with LCS.