A new day at Be Like Brit!!! By Jonathan

A Blessed Easter and Happy Passover to all of our Family and Friends who are reading this blog in the Social Media World.  This is Len Gengel, Father of Britney, Bernie and Richie along with 66 Haitian Children at the Be Like Brit Orphanage in Grand Goave, Haiti.  I will be taking back the Weekly Blog since Jonathan’s departure on Friday. Now...

by Jonathan

A Blessed Easter and Happy Passover to all of our Family and Friends who are reading this blog in the Social Media World.  This is Len Gengel, Father of Britney, Bernie and Richie along with 66 Haitian Children at the Be Like Brit Orphanage in Grand Goave, Haiti.  I will be taking back the Weekly Blog since Jonathan’s departure on Friday. Now I’m not the eloquent writer that Jonathan is-was, but I will share with you the happenings in Haiti, in the USA and sometimes in the world.  It’s hard to reflect on the last 5 years and almost 3 months since Brit and 300,000 other souls perished that fateful day on January 12, 2010.  We continue to keep the faith in Haiti and the USA as we honor Britney’s last wish, to help the children of Haiti.  We wish Jonathan the best of luck on his new endeavor and we pray for his safety and success in bringing Libraries to all in Haiti, the Dominican, Rwanda, Congo and Mongolia.  I believe Ralph Waldo Emerson said this about Jonathan some 150 years ago.



 “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”



 





 



Being raised a Roman Catholic and considering myself a Christian I would like to share with you my thoughts on Easter.  I believe the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the renewal each year of our Faith, the theologians can argue many different thoughts and reasons as to why this time of year, I believe it symbolizes the start of something new, the flowers that blossom and it is appropriate that Jonathan leaves us on a full time basis as we can embrace the change this time of year with the smell of spring just around the corner.  With Jon’s help we have reorganized BLB in Haiti over the past 2 weeks.  Jonathan has accomplished our goal of 66 kids living at BLB Orphanage, then came the operation which he along with Amanda, Mami and Peterson managing the program of the children and with the help of Gama and Weenshy running the operations of Brit’s Orphanage and our Britsionary Program, we are in fine shape.  I will be traveling to Haiti on Monday’s and leaving on Friday’s each week from Florida and then to Worcester on the last week of the month and Cherylann will travel to Haiti that week.  We will always have an American on the ground in Haiti as we continue to operate Be Like Brit Orphanage, our goal is clear, we will raise the next generation of leaders in Haiti!!!





 



 



Each week we will feature a brief paragraph or two from one of our Team Leaders and this past week we have Mr. Weenshy who is in charge of the “Britsionary Build a Home Project”.  Here is what he has to say about last week’s Britsionary Team RaRa.  BLB’s “ Build a home week “ gives our volunteers an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the poorest of the poor in Haiti.   The Britsionary Progam provides a new home to a family in need, as their current living condition is a tent, lean-to or shanty.  Haiti being the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, our shelter that we build is only 12’ x 16’ and has a Concrete Floor, framed walls with plywood, a door with a lock and key.  Our houses our framed with Hurricane Bracing, not that it could withstand a category 3 or 4, but enough to protect the family from summer rains that can have a ferocious wind with it.  Our Britsionary’s get to meet the family on the first day, then again when they hand over the key and bless the house and family!  Want to Be Like Brit?  Just click the link to learn more: http://belikebrit.org/?week-in-haiti





When I was in College at Central Connecticut State University I had gone to church on Sunday Nights with a Priest that ran a Newman House on Campus, he was an amazing preacher and taught us by example and not just words, his name is Fr. Bob Lord and the Chapel at Brit’s Orphanage is named in his honor!  He gave a sermon one Sunday night about how we never see a painting of a Smiling Jesus, always a solemn one.  He went on to speak about Jesus and how he turned water into wine at Cana so that the party could continue, to celebrate, to enjoy life too.  Then Fr. Bob unveiled a magnificent painting of a smiling Jesus, he just loved it and hung it on his living room wall where he lived.  Years later I told him how much that sermon meant to me and how I loved that smiling Jesus painting, well as you can imagine, that Christmas I received that same painting with a note, to enjoy my own smiling Jesus.  I hung that in our Kitchen, at the bottom of the stairs, so that every morning my family would see a smiling Jesus before they left for school, work or play.   I often think about when Britney met Jesus, did he smile at her, did he embrace her and her zest for life?  I hope and pray he did, I hope when you lay your head down tonight on this Easter Sunday you see Smiling Jesus.  Someday I will bring that painting to Be Like Brit Orphanage, so that our children and staff in Haiti can start their day with a Smiling Jesus and as we move forward with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we will embrace the new day and the blessing that God has bestowed upon us!!!





We continue the compassion of Britney Gengel in Haiti and the USA, thank you for helping us help the children of Haiti at Be Like Brit Orphanage!!!  Have an Amazing Week…    



Keeping the Faith, Len Gengel 

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