DATE: Sunday, July 27, 1997                 TAG: 9707250248

SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 34   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOY COOLEY 

        CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   88 lines

PROCEEDS FROM BREAD BAKING ARE BENEFITTING HAITI'S POOR

With four loaves of bread baking in the oven, Colleen James mixed a meat loaf and cleaned potatoes for baking. She poured herself a cup of tea, and sat down for a few minutes of quiet before her Green Run household erupted with her five children coming home from school.

When 16-year-old Matt walked in, he said, ``Boy am I hungry. That bread smells great. For us or Haiti?''

``Haiti, this time,'' his mother answered. ``You can make a sandwich with the other bread.''

For many families, home baked bread is something of a treat. But for James baking bread has taken on a larger mission in her life - a mission to help the poor and dispossessed of Haiti.

``I bake extra bread and friends give a donation which goes to Haiti, and the work of Lamertine Liberus,'' she said.

James met the Liberus family many years ago at a neighborhood Bible study when both families lived in Michigan. She recalled the strong impression he had made as he described the poor conditions in Haiti, the lack of water, schools, proper housing, latrines, etc. and the sense that God had put it upon his heart to go back and help his people, even though it meant sacrificing a good job, and a comfortable home to do so.

James could not get his words off her mind, and the sacrifices his family was making. She decided she would write and pray for them. A friendship started and knit the two families together.

James' interest grew with each letter and pictures that went back and forth, and it spread to the whole family. The children prayed nightly for their Haitian friends, and Haiti became a topic of conversation.

One December her children, Michelle and Timothy, not yet in school, gathered their own toys, some pencils and crayons, and brought them to James.

``For poor kids in Haiti,'' they said.

James knew there was not enough money to mail the package, and prayed for some way to get it sent. As she opened one Christmas card a check fell out. She hesitated for an instance, thinking of the needs of her own family, but, drove to the post office and sent the package instead.

Later contributions provided enough for a ticket for her and Matt to visit Liberus, with money left over for gifts. Liberus greeted them with enthusiastic hugs and a grin to match. They bounced and swerved their way from Port Au Prince in his beat-up old truck. The heat, the dust, the filth bombarded their senses.

Though there was no advance word of their coming, whenever the pick up reached a town, people shouted Liberus' name and followed the vehicle as if it carried a king arriving in a limousine.

Their trip to Fond-Parisian took most of the day and they arrived hot and sweaty. The only water to drink, was what they had brought. As Liberus had said, a well was needed for this dry dusty place.

Even so a crowd had already gathered on the newly purchased land for a church/community building. They knelt in prayer for God's blessing on the site, and Liberus introduced James and Matt and told the people of their caring, and how they had sent gifts for the work.

Back home, one morning, she read from the gospel of John, chapter six, about the young boy who shared his lunch of two small loaves and fishes with Jesus. As He blessed it, somehow there was enough to feed all the people who had come to hear Him. The story inspired an idea.

She said, ``That little boy only had two small pieces of bread and God multiplied it. I already bake bread for my family. Why not make extra?'' Any money received as donations, she would send to Haiti.

James told her children to let people know about the bread. Timothy caught the idea and told his teacher about the good bread his mother made. Someone suggested to James that she might prepare an oven ready meal for teachers, and include the bread. So James called Timothy's teacher and asked her about it. She had her first order. The teacher ordered more and spread the word too, about the tasty bread.

Soon James was baking bread and making meals regularly, always telling those who ordered that all donations were going to Haiti for Liberus and his work.

She also taught bread making in local adult education courses.

Through her various projects and donations, James sent more than $1,500 last year.

Recently, Liberus visited the James family. During his stay, he spoke to third- and fourth-graders at Timothy's school. He told them about children in his village who had no water in their homes, and described their long walk to the river to get it, and how they carried it home in large pots set on their heads.

He told them of his dream to get a well dug for them.

James still wants to do more and to interest others in helping, too.

For information, call Colleen James at 498-0621. ILLUSTRATION: Lamertine Liberus

Colleen James

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