'Their Faith Was All They Had'
The relationship between Evansville’s Annunciation of the Lord Parish and St. Suzanne Parish in St. Suzanne, Haiti, began in 1984 with a visit from then-pastor Father Raymond Kuper along with two parishioners. The Haitian parish has received financial support from Evansville Catholics ever since. Annunciation currently collaborates with Renew Haiti, based in Tampa, Fla., which focuses its efforts in several areas at the Haiti parishes – including school sponsorships, school buildings, agriculture programs and medical clinics.
In July, 2015, Father Alex Zenthoefer, pastor of Annunciation Parish and Father Christopher Droste, then-associate pastor, joined 15 parishioners on a visit to St. Suzanne, where Haitian parish needs were assessed and relationships grew. They visited the site where a chapel is being built, which is funded by Annunciation Parish. It will be named Our Lady of Annunciation Chapel in honor of the Evansville parish.
The group visited the Haitian Catholic School and was stunned by the small size of the classroom. Because of limited space, children attend school only half-days. The school provides lunch, which is the incentive for children to come to school because it’s often their only meal of the day.
“In many cases, their faith was quite literally all they had,” said Stacey Church, Annunciation parishioner, and Haiti coordinator for the parish Outreach Committee. She spoke about the groups’ visit to an elderly woman who lived in an outlying area of St. Suzanne. “When Father Alex asked the woman if we could pray with her, she was grateful for friends to pray with. When Father Alex asked what we should pray for, the woman said ‘stronger faith.’” Church said the woman’s statement helped put her faith into perspective and helped her realized the importance it should have in our lives. “While we have our basic needs met here at home, we all should treat our faith like it is the only thing we have,” she said.
Annunciation Parish is planning a return trip in the summer 2016. The mission team hopes to spread awareness about the needs at St. Suzanne and continue to support the parish financially and in prayer.
