This coming Sunday, May 27, Haitians will celebrate la Fête des Mères or, as we know it, Mother’s Day. Mothers are highly esteemed here, whereas Father’s Day is barely noticed. This speaks volumes about Haitian society. Many of the homes have one parent and that parent is usually the mother.

The Haitian mother, in general, is a very strong and resilient person who works hard to support her family. She is also accustomed to extreme suffering and loss. I can think of very few mothers in our church that have not lost at least one child. In a place where disease, malnutrition and natural disasters are commonplace, it is common for mothers to suffer grave loss. Because of this, their hearts seem to long for Heaven more, especially since one of their little ones may have already preceded them there. Years of toil and emotional suffering are often etched into these mothers’ faces who age much sooner than they normally would elsewhere.

We are very proud of our mothers here, especially the “Mothers in Israel” who not only demonstrate a great love for their families, but also for the Lord and his Church.