Happy 52nd Wedding Anniversary!

Joyeux anniversaire de mariage Pere Bruno & Madame Bruno!

Today, March 29th, is Father Bruno and Madame Bruno’s 52nd wedding anniversary!

Did you know Madame Bruno saw Father Bruno in a picture before meeting him? And that they lived across the street from each other? The two met in their twenties and married just one year after having met. They raised five lovely daughters, first in Cap-Haitien and then in Santo Domingo, and proudly watched their daughters follow in their footsteps by teaching younger generations at the church. Click above to watch the sweet video as the couple walks down memory lane, each telling their side of the Bruno love story - as well as marriage advice!

*A special thank you to Dominique Bruno for getting current video footage and photos of historical locations, including the street where Father Bruno and Madame Bruno met and the church that brought them together - in addition to sharing these very special photos of the couple's wedding day!

HONORING MOMS AND BUILDING RESILIENCE IN HAITI AT THE FAMILY FARM LEVEL

For 2025, Jatrofa Projenou, the

agricultural/economic program that

Bethlehem Ministry supports, has a major initiative: 100,000 Trees... AND MORE.

Our historical Mother's Day fundraiser, Kids for Change, will take a break this year so that JP can focus on 100,000 Trees. . . AND MORE! Please consider giving your mom and the other special women in your life the gift of trees for Haiti this year!

Click this link to donate and make an incredible difference today (designate your donation for "Sustainability"): https://secure.etransfer.com/eft/custom/bethlehemMinistry/flexblockcode/donation1.cfm?d2org=BethlehemMinistry&d2tool=HopeandLife

Jatrofa Projenou has optimized how to achieve sustainable results that rescue impoverished, poverty-stricken family farms and has a proven track record. Rob Fisher explains more about the project: “When talking about the 100,000 tree project, the trees are important, but the essence of our undertaking is the resilience we are building, i.e., a food supply a family can count on every day, the ability to earn enough to buy the things that cannot be grown, and vouchsafing the most valuable asset a family has, the land it tills. The stress of uncertainty is cruel. I would add that given the dysfunction of the Haitian government and the economy, which is bound to last for many years, creating resilient self-sufficiency at the grassroots where people dwell is of paramount importance. One of the assets that this troubled country has is its family farms. They hold the potential to feed the people in the absence of a functional government and a national economy that can generate wealth and employment.”

Now it is time to SCALE UP, but we need your help to do that! Amazingly, the cost to rescue one entire family farm, which typically supports 8-15 people, including planting approximately 1300 trees at that farm, is only $1800! That is less than $1.50 per tree!

Rob Fisher is the Director of Partner for People and Place, a U.S. 501(c)(3) that supports JP with technical and financial support. Rob was recently honored as "One of 12 persons who left their mark in the Haitian agricultural sector in 2024"! An organization of Haitian agronomists honored Rob and invited him to make a presentation via Zoom, which he did in January 2025. Rob shares, "I was touched. Being the only non-Haitian made it even more special." This honor truly speaks to the strength and credibility of the JP program in Haiti!

CELEBRATING WOMEN IN MARCH - WORKING MOM'S DAY AND MORE!

The month of March is International Women's History Month and celebrates women generally, which we observed in social media posts.

We started off March with International

Women's Week and highlighting the

amazing volunteers at Ormond Beach

Presbyterian Church who have been

sewing reusable menstrual pads!

We are truly grateful for such incredible care in empowering our sisters in Haiti by enabling them to not miss school or work because of their period.

Interested in helping us? Please email us at

info@bethlehemministry.org for details on instructions and/or a sample kit for this fundamental project!

We also observed International Women's Day on March 8th. Women make up most of the staff at the school and clinic, and the co-directors of JP are both women! We are so thankful for these women and the example they are setting for all of the girls of Terrier Rouge! Here are photos of just a few of these amazing women!

March 12th was Working Mom’s Day, and we spotlighted a very special working mom in our social media: Rachel Bruno! Rachel wears many hats, including serving as Chief Operating Officer of Espérance et Vie (which operates St. Barthélémy and Clinique Espérance et Vie), helping lead her church as a member of its vestry, working on refugee resettlement efforts, volunteering with Toastmasters, being a devoted daughter to Father Bruno and Madame Bruno and sister to her four sisters, and last but not least being a fabulous mom to her amazing daughter Chloe!