Our first contact with Madam La Fleur was a desperate cry for help from a compassionate woman caring for 23 children in a tent city, who had no food or means of supply. Some of these children were victims of the devastating 2010 earthquake in Port-Au-Prince. Others simply had either no parents or no one to supply their basic needs, so Madam La Fleur took them in. She also had a small shelter were she provided schooling and spiritual training. The 2011 Discipleship Training School was in the midst of their outreach in Haiti and were contacted to help. Upon arriving we were saddened by their living conditions : a temporary shelter of tarps and tents on a spread of dirt. Madam La Fleur’s dedication and love for these children, and her faith in God, was inspiring, and yet they were in dire straits. The day was well spent playing with the children and serving them a BBQ chicken dinner. A supply of soup mix and dried fruit was left behind to sustain them for a season.
“We are awake all night when it rains; wet, crying and miserable. What weneed is a house.” Dilapidated, torn tents and an even more appalling situation stared us in the face when we revisited the children’s home nine months later, in November 2011. Our broken hearts were stirred to action as Madam La Fleur shared her despairing needs. Jesus tells us repeatedly that we are to meet the needs of the poor; He was asking us to respond to their distress by building Madam La Fleur and her 25 children a home. Consequently, three of our team members, Fritz Meier, Sheldon Munro, and John Steele cancelled their return tickets, remained in Haiti, and built a home while the remainder of our team of 14 returned to Gleanings. Amazingly, two weeks later, the home was completed. With thankful and joyful hearts Madam La Fleur and her 25 children moved in!
“Thank you for coming to help us. You have taken us out of our misery!” was Madam La Fleur’s recent correspondence. What an honor and blessing to spend our lives on behalf of the poor. We are committed to continue supporting them with food and finances.
by Cindy Meier, Gleanings’ Director and DTS leader
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40
As of April 2013, Madam La Fleur has 35 children in her care. A second house has been built, donated solar panels and lights have been installed. New shower stalls and outhouses have been constructed.
How You Can Help
PO Box 309
Sultana, CA 93666