We recently announced our farewell to Esther after she faithfully served at Source of Life Ministries since our opening in 2009. (Recall Esther is currently able to legally stay in the USA.) When we made that announcement, a couple of people expressed concern about filling Esther’s position, and we gave a brief response on Facebook.
We are pleased to tell you that the vacancy was actually filled on September 1st, immediately before school opened for the 2021-2022 season when Widline Jeudy (pronounced: Wid-leen) was hired. She is a very intelligent and well-educated young woman. First, she graduated from high school, and then she graduated from a cosmetology school where she was professionally trained to style hair, do nails, and make-up. She has also become a professional seamstress and tailor, and she is currently attending culinary classes in the evenings at Magnat Ècole Professionnelle, the same vocational school from which Dinia recently graduated.
When our girls realized Esther would be staying in the USA, they were very concerned about who would do their hair. They really liked the way Esther did their hair. In fact, if you look at the pictures from when the children first came to the home, you will see that none of them had much hair. But Esther cared for their hair, and as it grew and became long, she styled it nicely.
Widline is not a stranger. Both the children and staff already knew her before she was hired, and so the girls were extremely excited when they learned that she was being hired to “replace Esther.” Of course, this did not indicate they didn’t like Esther; they loved her very much. But knowing Widline’s talents, the girls were relieved and very happy to know she was being hired!
In addition to caring for the girls’ hair, Widline has begun to do a lot of sewing for the ministry. She made all of the dresses and shirts (both short and long-sleeved) for the boys and girls in the children’s choir. She is currently making shirts for Clauder and is making boxer underwear for the boys. She has not yet learned to make the boys’ pants but wants to learn to do that.
Widline is a very patient young lady and a very hard worker. She cares tremendously about what she is doing, and the children have already become very close to her.
Widline’s talents and training give her the potential of someday being a business owner. And after Widline graduates from culinary training and Dinia graduates from high school, if God opens the door, Source of Life could potentially open a restaurant with these two young women. It may seem hard to dream of that possibility with the current conditions in Haiti, but it’s time to KICK aside the thoughts of hopelessness that the devil stirs in our minds. God is big enough to enable our children to advance and “be somebody” in a third-world country!
Would you begin to pray with us that God will open every door in front of every one of our children and staff to BECOME and DO what He has planned for them? If it is a restaurant, God is able! If it is a beauty salon, God is able! If it is designing buildings, God is able! There may be obstacles to face and overcome when the doors open, but God is faithful and will give strength and wisdom!