The Southern Florida District returned to Gros-Morne, Haiti, from January 4 through 12 to train local teachers and pastors, complete several construction projects, and oversee a clean water project.

Following the devastating Haiti earthquake in 2010, the Southern Florida District established a partnership with Gros-Morne Church of the Nazarene, which is located about 100 miles north of Port-au-Prince. In that time, the church became Haiti's largest congregation and largest church structure. Over the past three years, the district sent six teams to Gros-Morne and contributed more than US$250,000 dollars to assist with improvements. District Work and Witness Coordinator Roy Shuck led all six groups.

In the latest effort, Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, sponsored a group of three educators and one student to begin a pilot program in Gros-Morne. Their goal was to train parochial teachers with new methods to better teach and inspire elementary and secondary school students to read books in French. Sixty teachers were expected for the training but over 130 attended the two-day training in the Gros-Morne church sanctuary. The teachers responded positively to the training and cherished the Certificate of Participation from Olivet.

University educators then worked one-on-one with teachers from Gros-Morne Nazarene School, which serves about 800 students. Educators demonstrated teaching methods for 5th and 6th grade students in the Gros-Morne computer lab.

Southern Florida District Superintendent David Nixon and USA/Canada Haitian Coordinator Pascal Permis conducted two days of intensive training for pastors on spiritual leadership. Forty pastors were expected, but 82 attended. Some pastors walked as many as six hours before they could secure public transportation to Gros-Morne.

"This training experience was extremely rewarding and extremely humbling to see all these pastors eager to learn how to better lead their congregations," Nixon said.

The training concluded with a special recommitment to their calling and original baptism through a symbolic hand-washing baptism.

Meanwhile, the other team members rewired the local district center and guesthouse with nearly 2,000 feet of Romex wire and 400 feet of electrical conduit. Civil engineer Jim McLellan of the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Northlake Blvd. Church of the Nazarene, led this part of the project. Numerous plumbing and other improvements were made to the guesthouse, which is used to host visiting teams, pastors in training, and district meetings.

Tai Peachey, a junior from Olivet, led part of the team in repainting the exterior walls to the church's pre-school center. Peachey designed and painted several educational murals for the students.

For the past three years, the district has worked to provide a clean water well for the Gros-Morne church, school, and community. While touring the city with Gros-Morne Pastor Paul Edouard Zamor, the group had a divinely inspired "chance" meeting with a well driller who was from a distant town but working in Gros-Morne on another project. The owner of the drilling equipment is a Christian who agreed to drill a well for the church and provide a submersible electric pump for about half the price of what was expected. The Southern Florida team quickly raised the money, and the well and pump installation will be complete within a week.
--Church of the Nazarene Southern Florida District