I am writing this today because we had no internet access in our hotel in Jacmel last night. Sort of like camping in the Adirondacks, but in a hotel room. We had a late start today, leaving Port au Prince around 9 am. We checked out of our rooms and stored our luggage in one room at the hotel--only 17 bags now instead of the 27 we arrived with! We carried our overnight things in our backpacks. Neal stayed in Port au Prince and went safely back to RDU. The rest of us climbed into the van for a very challenging road trip.
We began with a brief drive through downtown Port au Prince. As we crept along in the chaotic traffic we observed enormous contrasts. There was a new huge, white columned building belonging to the Jordanian government, the ruins of a Cathedral destroyed in the earthquake, the ornate round stained glass windows standing empty against the sky; rubble of government buildings, a new modern museum, and one or two famous statues in parks in the city center.
Commerce is very alive in Haiti. Both sides of almost every street and road are completely populated with vendors of every sort. Small stalls with the wares exposed to the elements on weathered wooden tables, the vendors dressed in clothes of every color, boldly displaying the names of schools, companies, sports teams, etc., squatting barefoot next to their goods. Some stalls were shielded from the hot sun with colorful umbrellas with names of Haitian companies dancing around the edges of them.
We even saw two STOP signs, but of course no one ever stopped! Traffic flow is an art here. The drivers read the body language of approaching and encroaching cars, truck, and tap taps like world class basketball teams. There seem to be conventions about when to honk your horn, depending on whether you are behind someone, are careening headlong toward someone, or along side. They generally don't honk it loud and long as in New York, but perhaps with a message encoded in the number and pattern of the short honks delivered. In any case the communication is effective and life goes on.
By the time we were on the outskirts of the city we were realized that the air conditioning system really only pumped outside (i.e. very warm) air through the vents. At the same time the dust and car exhaust in the outside air increased because the pavement became more broken and sections of the road lies in the path of landslides. Residual dried mud covered parts of the street. Gradually the city street evolved into a rural highway, the amount of traffic on the road decreased, and the speeds increased. The highway was two lanes, and we even observed a painted center line in the beginning.
The highway from Port au Prince to Jacmel is a jagged road that climbs to the top of a mountain range and travels along the backbone of it. As the road winds you can see the ocean first on one side and then the other...and you are looking at coasts on opposite sides of the narrow country! The mountains run like the backbone on a starving donkey (of which we saw many) and the road is irregular and bumpy. The closer you get to Jacmel, the rougher the road becomes.
As you peer into the distance you see a beautiful vista of multiple mountains stretching before you. As you look the other way you see somewhat level land, green now from all the rain of the hurricane, with small trees scattered around. Further up the mountain, you can see small houses, even churches on hills stretching away from the road, so far away their homes look the size of the little houses in a Monopoly set. The only way to reach these houses may be a squiggly "driveway", a rocky dirt pathway navigable only on foot or on donkeys with packsaddles, or maybe on a motorcycle. We only spotted three horses in the two days we were traveling. Cows and goats were tied here and there along the road, grazing, or scattered sparsely within the fields. I think they were also tethered so they would not wander off, as there are no fences or visible property lines.
The higher mountains have no forests like our beautiful Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. All of the trees have been cut down and made into charcoal to be sold to supermarkets. As a result erosion has washed much of the soil away and landslides have polished the sides of the mountains like a ski slope of mud. The hurricane in this area produced wind and rain that continued washing the mountain into the valley. Downed trees in this area have already been cut up and carried away to make furniture or firewood. You could just see some broken trunks and twisted palm trees as you peered into the valleys. The true disaster of the hurricane is in the region of Jeremy which is some distance from where we were.
After about two hours, as we neared the highest part we sighted a large, new, creamy yellow and white concrete block building on a small hill, down a narrow driveway to the right of the road. As we passed it we realized that was our first stop for the day. Our driver was unfamiliar with the area, and was reluctant to turn around to go back. (I secretly think he just wanted to get to down off that mountain as quickly as possible.) Finally he turned the van around and we made our way onto the campus of Carmella Voltaire Woman's Health Center (commonly referred to as the 'birthing center'), a new facility belonging to Family Health Ministry, a non-profit organization based in Durham. We were welcomed to the facility and the nurse there, a really delightful person, showed us each area, explained that they did education to the community, and provided a clinic for women. The doctor is there two days a week, and the nurse five. She lives about 30 minutes from there and has to take a tap tap back and forth every day to work.
The interior of the clinic is immaculate and there are five little bassinets lined up with a little shirt and knitted cap awaiting the first newborns -- but they have had none yet. The clinic has been open only six months. There is one pregnant woman in the community and the nurse is clearly looking forward to their first "real customer". As with the clinic in Cite Soliel, this clinic is financially challenged. They were presented with this excellent facility, but it is of little use unless they can afford staff, medicine, and supplies. It is a lesson to us all that a large gift like a clinic becomes a burden unless there is a plan to sustain the effort through time.
While we were at the birthing center the cool breeze on the mountain kept the clinic at a delightful temperature and sadly we had to return to the van. We realized that as long as we were at these high altitudes we could open the windows in the front of the van and allow some desperately needed air circulation to the whole group, but to the back rows especially. However, as we descended toward Jacmel, the dust and dirt picked back up and we had to close the windows. Never had a group of 11 appreciated air conditioning as much as we did as we continued on our trip.
About this time we tried to reconfirm our next destination with the driver, and when we said "Wings of Hope", he said he did not know it!! There ensured nearly an hour of chaos, as we tried to get directions. Cell phones didn't work for awhile; when they worked, no one answered; queries to people on the street turned up nothing. The heat in the van was building and the frustration was evident among everyone. Suddenly our driver, who used to work in the Baptist Mission in Jacmel, saw one of the phone numbers we were trying to reach and recognized it. Locally it is known as La Trinite, the name of the organization who used the facilities previously and which is still a school and bakery adjacent to Wings of Hope.
Our hope took wings at that and we proceeded through a part of Jacmel that looked like an earthquake had just gone through, not a hurricane. The narrow rubble filled streets twisting uphill, around obstacles and downhill formed a totally incomprehensible maze that the van had to take at about 5 mph. We did not believe he knew where he was going until we actually arrived at a very new, simple concrete block structure of bedrooms, classrooms, and meeting spaces around a concrete courtyard. This structure, completed only a year ago is the home of 32 severely disabled children, both boys and girls. This incredible mission is part of Hearts with Haiti, begun by St. Joseph's House. Jacky, who runs the home, and his mother arrived homeless in Port au Prince when he was very young. His father abandoned his mother as soon as he discovered she was pregnant with Jacky. A Christian woman took them in. Subsequently Jacky's mother had three more children without fathers. Her fifth baby died in infancy, and she also died shortly after leaving Jacky and his two brothers and sister with no one.
Another Christian woman put Jacky's sister in a home, and Jacky and his brother's ended up with Michael in St. Joseph's home for boys in Port au Prince. Jacky grew up there and has even been to Westminster. He was the choreographer of the amazing dance team that performed for us years ago!
Sometime ago, Michael of St. Joseph's Home was asked to take a handicapped child into his Home, because an orphanage for handicapped children could not keep going. Once the boys of St. Joseph's home saw the little child, they voted to bring them ALL to St. Joseph's to give them the same chance they had received. Michael was not prepared for that, but proceeded with God's help, and both St. Joseph's and Wings of Hope continue.
These children began life being rejected ,despised, and ignored. Some of them have very severe disabilities, both mental and physical. People who talk to them, hold their hand, smile and interact with them give them a very precious gift, the gift of validation to them of their own worth. Words cannot describe the experience with them. It is hard to know what to do when we meet these children.We gave them cookies, we held their hands, and with one young boy in a wheel chair and little control over his body, we shared the "I LOVE YOU" we had shared with the schoolchildren at Terre Noir the day before. The smile on his face was of God as he returned the gestures in his own way, and said in his own speech "I LOVE YOU". Truly we were receiving his blessing on us.
After a tortuous journey back out to the main road, we at last arrived at the Hotel Cyvadier Plage. It took awhile to get checked in, but within 10 minutes of receiving a room key folks were onto the little beach and into the water. Others obtained their cold beverage of choice and sat on the patio overlooking the bay letting the sea breeze restore their spirits and recover us from the heat of the van.
We were exhausted from the effects of the heat, and the constant bumping and twisting on the road, so after dinner and devotions we headed to our rooms. We once again realized how fortunate we are and continue to be amazed at how these people who have so little can love so much. We are seeing so much it will perhaps be weeks before we can begin to understand its effects upon us. We just have to keep remembering that when we have served the least of these, we are serving God. Thanks be to God.
dorene
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Thursday, October 27, 2016
DAY 6 YES, WE DID IT!
What a day this has been!!! After a normal start we found out due to a slight misunderstanding, instead of our patient goal for the day going DOWN (half of the team was going to Terra Noire after lunch to visit students ) it remained the same as yesterday: 130! The lines of people waiting for us seemed longer than ever when we arrived. (Some had been there since 4 am!) Yikes!
The beauty of this wonderful team of people is that they don't waste any time on things they really can't do anything about and instead get on with what they can do! We had our morning prayer and hit the road running right at 8 o'clock.
Lunchtime came and we shared all the lunch fixin's with our translators and driver and let them take as much as they wanted when we finished. All the extra food disappeared in no time. At 12:30 sharp the 'first timers' Ben, Marge, Helen, and Richard, along with Jules and I hopped in the van to Terra Noire. The driver took us through the back streets and we got to see the actual neighborhood served by the school and church at Terra Noire. It is not a pretty sight. One of the key roles TN (not Tennessee--Terre Noire) has is making available to these 'neighbors' clean water. Each family can obtain up to 5 gallons of clean water a day. TN has its own water purifying system, and the water kiosk is right inside the front gate. School begins at 6:30 so these gates open very early. People can get water all day long.
As we turned into the gate, one of us exclaimed excitedly..."There goes one of our dresses!" As you looked out the window, tiny preschoolers were running beside the building with the little yellow "size" tags showing on their dresses. (The little dresses were on over their school uniforms!)
We pulled into the courtyard and as we got out of the van, our translator directed us first to the Gift Shop upstairs in one of the buildings. There we found an assortment of Haiti gifts to purchase, including the awesome Haitian coffee and vanilla. While the guys looked around as though they were in a museum, we ladies could not resist buying just a little more stuff. As a matter of fact, we picked up a few things we will put in the One World Market sale next week, so stop by our Haiti table, and see if there is something you might like. (Proceeds of course go to the Haiti fund for supporting our future trips.)
We then went to Nadege's office (Nadege is Pastor Leon's daughter and Director of TN school. This school has about 540 students from 3 years through 6th grade.) We had no idea what was about to happen. We had bags of DumDum suckers with us to give the children and we proceeded first to a 4th grade classroom.
TN school is run as only the elite schools in the US are. They of course have school uniforms-- a different color and style for each grade level. They begin class at 6:30am so if they arrive at 6:30 they are LATE, they must be there by at least 6:20. Their classrooms are colorful but tasteful and you can almost tell what grade they are just be peering through the ironwork into the classroom. The teacher (they have both male and female teachers) sits in the corner farthest from the door. The desks in the older classroom are the familiar wooden desks with the one curved arm that comes around to write on. In the younger rooms bright tables and tiny chairs in primary colors fill the room. The schedule for each class is impressive. God is ever present in their teaching. Everything is pursued with the highest of standards. It is a joy to behold.
As Nadege enters (remember she is the "Director") all the students in unison repeat with great respect a short mantra (in creole) ending with "Director"...a formal greeting showing respect for her. In some rooms they stood, in others not. In some of the rooms they then said a few English words of greeting to us, also in unison. What happened next was truly amazing.
The teacher spoke to them, and each one, boys and girls, reached for their school back pack , and began to pull something out of it. Each girl in every classroom pulled out one of the dresses the people of Westminster and their friends sent with us. Each boy in every classroom, with big grins on their faces, pulled out either a bright red or bright yellow T shirt...the tee shirts we had left over from VCS this year. The children would hold their precious piece of clothing up and hope that we would take a picture of them! The little boys would hold the shirts under their chins, looking so excited!! The girls were more shy until you said something to them like "belle", meaning pretty and then the smiles came out. Ben and Helen and Marge and Jules got busy handing out suckers...one for every child, while Richard and I took pictures.
Nadege said when they handed out the clothes to the children they started jumping up and down and dancing they were so happy. Some older girls particularly liked the reversible pillowcase dresses because they immediately realized they could "wear the dress one day, and the same dress the next day and it could be a different color!" Some of the girls liked the feel of the pillowcase dresses made from tee shirts. Most of the girls had the simple, colorful, creative pillowcase dresses and they would hold them up to their shoulders and smile for the camera, so proud of their beautiful new dress.
In one of the sixth grade classes, Nadege had them all line up to pose for a group picture holding their new clothes in front of them. First the girls were lined up in front for a picture; then she made the girls move back and the boys move up. Giggles galore ensued as the boys pushed to the front.
In one of the younger classrooms we started to exchange with the children some sign language and a phrase in English that brings a smile to your face, and joy to your heart. Westminster might want to start using it. As you touch your chest you say "I". As you cross your arms across your chest you say "LOVE". Then as you make a sweeping motion with your hand you point to someone, look them in the eye, and say "YOU". Each successive word is spoken in a slightly higher, singsong pitch. It is my favorite part of Haiti.
So in the same sixth grade class, with the boys lined up in the front, they in unison said "I LOVE YOU" to us. And this time we got it on someone's video (Ben's I think). It should get an OSCAR for the best video of the year. But maybe we just think that because by then we were all totally in love with these children.
So thank you Westminster and friends. Every child in this school got a bright new piece of clothing thanks to you and I wish you could have been here in the moment. The kindergarteners were the ones we saw running around as we came in so they were gone home, but Nadege sent me pictures of them with their new clothes too. I will be putting them and the others we took online so people can browse through them when I get back. They are priceless images.
Somewhat guiltily we headed back to the other half of the team who had been carrying a double load while we were experiencing a little bit of heaven. When we got there we found some tiring colleagues, but the teamwork had continued and miracles were taking place. Very quickly we jumped in, but today we didn't end early. Amazingly though...a total tribute to these folks...by 4 PM (the normal closing time of the clinic) the team had served EXACTLY 130 patients...who knew that could be done! And by then we had all the rooms cleaned up, garbage emptied, inventories of the medicines, supplies, and equipment completed, and had hugged all our translators goodbye.
Just before hopping in the van to return to the hotel we had our "Group Picture" taken to go perhaps into the "Heroes Hall of Fame", because at least for me, these folks are truly heroes.
It didn't take long at the hotel for us to head for our cold beverage of choice and sit in the out door lounge and marvel that we were done with this part of our trip. At 6 pm tonight's invited guests arrived for dinner: Arnold who is our "godfather" and makes sure everything on the trip goes smoothly...getting transportation, helping us with bookings, giving us advice, answering questions, and smiling, ---the most tastefully dressed man in Haiti. Nadege, and Zoe who is on an extended assignment to Haiti Outreach Ministry teaching English in the High School . (Note High School here is grades 7-9). Before that the students learn both Creole and French.
At eight PM the team was fading, and the guests had to get up early for work tomorrow, so after Eric's short and sweet devotions we wished our guests safe journey home and we scattered to our rooms. Tomorrow we begin a very different part of the trip--to learn a little more about Haiti and her people.
Until tomorrow! God is Love
The beauty of this wonderful team of people is that they don't waste any time on things they really can't do anything about and instead get on with what they can do! We had our morning prayer and hit the road running right at 8 o'clock.
Lunchtime came and we shared all the lunch fixin's with our translators and driver and let them take as much as they wanted when we finished. All the extra food disappeared in no time. At 12:30 sharp the 'first timers' Ben, Marge, Helen, and Richard, along with Jules and I hopped in the van to Terra Noire. The driver took us through the back streets and we got to see the actual neighborhood served by the school and church at Terra Noire. It is not a pretty sight. One of the key roles TN (not Tennessee--Terre Noire) has is making available to these 'neighbors' clean water. Each family can obtain up to 5 gallons of clean water a day. TN has its own water purifying system, and the water kiosk is right inside the front gate. School begins at 6:30 so these gates open very early. People can get water all day long.
As we turned into the gate, one of us exclaimed excitedly..."There goes one of our dresses!" As you looked out the window, tiny preschoolers were running beside the building with the little yellow "size" tags showing on their dresses. (The little dresses were on over their school uniforms!)
We pulled into the courtyard and as we got out of the van, our translator directed us first to the Gift Shop upstairs in one of the buildings. There we found an assortment of Haiti gifts to purchase, including the awesome Haitian coffee and vanilla. While the guys looked around as though they were in a museum, we ladies could not resist buying just a little more stuff. As a matter of fact, we picked up a few things we will put in the One World Market sale next week, so stop by our Haiti table, and see if there is something you might like. (Proceeds of course go to the Haiti fund for supporting our future trips.)
We then went to Nadege's office (Nadege is Pastor Leon's daughter and Director of TN school. This school has about 540 students from 3 years through 6th grade.) We had no idea what was about to happen. We had bags of DumDum suckers with us to give the children and we proceeded first to a 4th grade classroom.
TN school is run as only the elite schools in the US are. They of course have school uniforms-- a different color and style for each grade level. They begin class at 6:30am so if they arrive at 6:30 they are LATE, they must be there by at least 6:20. Their classrooms are colorful but tasteful and you can almost tell what grade they are just be peering through the ironwork into the classroom. The teacher (they have both male and female teachers) sits in the corner farthest from the door. The desks in the older classroom are the familiar wooden desks with the one curved arm that comes around to write on. In the younger rooms bright tables and tiny chairs in primary colors fill the room. The schedule for each class is impressive. God is ever present in their teaching. Everything is pursued with the highest of standards. It is a joy to behold.
As Nadege enters (remember she is the "Director") all the students in unison repeat with great respect a short mantra (in creole) ending with "Director"...a formal greeting showing respect for her. In some rooms they stood, in others not. In some of the rooms they then said a few English words of greeting to us, also in unison. What happened next was truly amazing.
The teacher spoke to them, and each one, boys and girls, reached for their school back pack , and began to pull something out of it. Each girl in every classroom pulled out one of the dresses the people of Westminster and their friends sent with us. Each boy in every classroom, with big grins on their faces, pulled out either a bright red or bright yellow T shirt...the tee shirts we had left over from VCS this year. The children would hold their precious piece of clothing up and hope that we would take a picture of them! The little boys would hold the shirts under their chins, looking so excited!! The girls were more shy until you said something to them like "belle", meaning pretty and then the smiles came out. Ben and Helen and Marge and Jules got busy handing out suckers...one for every child, while Richard and I took pictures.
Nadege said when they handed out the clothes to the children they started jumping up and down and dancing they were so happy. Some older girls particularly liked the reversible pillowcase dresses because they immediately realized they could "wear the dress one day, and the same dress the next day and it could be a different color!" Some of the girls liked the feel of the pillowcase dresses made from tee shirts. Most of the girls had the simple, colorful, creative pillowcase dresses and they would hold them up to their shoulders and smile for the camera, so proud of their beautiful new dress.
In one of the sixth grade classes, Nadege had them all line up to pose for a group picture holding their new clothes in front of them. First the girls were lined up in front for a picture; then she made the girls move back and the boys move up. Giggles galore ensued as the boys pushed to the front.
In one of the younger classrooms we started to exchange with the children some sign language and a phrase in English that brings a smile to your face, and joy to your heart. Westminster might want to start using it. As you touch your chest you say "I". As you cross your arms across your chest you say "LOVE". Then as you make a sweeping motion with your hand you point to someone, look them in the eye, and say "YOU". Each successive word is spoken in a slightly higher, singsong pitch. It is my favorite part of Haiti.
So in the same sixth grade class, with the boys lined up in the front, they in unison said "I LOVE YOU" to us. And this time we got it on someone's video (Ben's I think). It should get an OSCAR for the best video of the year. But maybe we just think that because by then we were all totally in love with these children.
So thank you Westminster and friends. Every child in this school got a bright new piece of clothing thanks to you and I wish you could have been here in the moment. The kindergarteners were the ones we saw running around as we came in so they were gone home, but Nadege sent me pictures of them with their new clothes too. I will be putting them and the others we took online so people can browse through them when I get back. They are priceless images.
Somewhat guiltily we headed back to the other half of the team who had been carrying a double load while we were experiencing a little bit of heaven. When we got there we found some tiring colleagues, but the teamwork had continued and miracles were taking place. Very quickly we jumped in, but today we didn't end early. Amazingly though...a total tribute to these folks...by 4 PM (the normal closing time of the clinic) the team had served EXACTLY 130 patients...who knew that could be done! And by then we had all the rooms cleaned up, garbage emptied, inventories of the medicines, supplies, and equipment completed, and had hugged all our translators goodbye.
Just before hopping in the van to return to the hotel we had our "Group Picture" taken to go perhaps into the "Heroes Hall of Fame", because at least for me, these folks are truly heroes.
It didn't take long at the hotel for us to head for our cold beverage of choice and sit in the out door lounge and marvel that we were done with this part of our trip. At 6 pm tonight's invited guests arrived for dinner: Arnold who is our "godfather" and makes sure everything on the trip goes smoothly...getting transportation, helping us with bookings, giving us advice, answering questions, and smiling, ---the most tastefully dressed man in Haiti. Nadege, and Zoe who is on an extended assignment to Haiti Outreach Ministry teaching English in the High School . (Note High School here is grades 7-9). Before that the students learn both Creole and French.
At eight PM the team was fading, and the guests had to get up early for work tomorrow, so after Eric's short and sweet devotions we wished our guests safe journey home and we scattered to our rooms. Tomorrow we begin a very different part of the trip--to learn a little more about Haiti and her people.
Until tomorrow! God is Love
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
DAY 5 OCTOBER 26 - ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE
Today is supposed to be our "normal" day-- just go to the clinic then come back to the hotel for dinner. We made a brief stop to view the new high school, which is very impressive. Its yellow, white, and orange colors on the concrete block walls shown brightly in the morning sun. The grass in the compound was dark green and grown pretty high since all the rain. A second building is being begun to expand the school and should be done in 2 years. But the team was so eager to begin with patients no one got out of the van. The gate keepers of the compound were actually startled when we just turned around and headed back out of the gate before they even had a chance to sit down.
Today Pastor Leon's Haitian clinic that shares the building with mission teams was closed . The Haitian staff worked out of Menelas, another one of Pastor Leon's campuses in Port au Prince for the day. That meant that the rows and rows of people already outside the clinic were all "ours" and the team wasted no time getting started. One of the really gratifying thing to see is how every team member sees what needs to be done and then either does it themselves or helps another team member get it done. Switching roles from triage, to lab, to treatment, to pharmacy, to traffic cop...whatever is needed is really amazing to watch.
The first priority when we arrived was to fine a way to replenish 4 or 5 key medicines that we had run out of in only two days. One of them was an expensive inhaler, another was old familiar Tums. Believe it or not, the clinic is more dependent on the Tums. It took hours for Fritzon to contact pharmacies trying to find the drugs. When he located them he had to drive a good distance to get them. Our van was in the garage being overhauled in preparation for our long trip on Friday and Saturday, so a tap tap was used. The pharmacies persisted in saying there were no Tums available (We had been being told that all week) and that blew our minds. Finally Jim remembered he had seen Tums in the supermarket when we stopped to buy our lunch fixin's on Saturday coming from the airport. We redispatched Fritzon to the grocery story with cash from our pockets and our fingers crossed. When he actually came back with four bottles of generic brand Tums it was one of the high points of the day! This is an example of how much we take for granted. In order for people to get things like tums, ibuprofen, multivitamins, tylenol...items that probably 80% of the patients we have seen need, they have to come to a clinic and pay the equivalent of a day's pay!
I can't see what goes on in the doctor's exam rooms with their translators and patients, but I have always assumed it was pretty serious business. The well oiled machine among the groups outside the exams certainly never slows down and is in constant motion. So when I saw this picture of one of our doctors at work, I was somewhat surprised.
I can now better understand why Ben does so well as a baby doctor!
The clinic ran today until 3:30pm and served about 120 patients. When the team finally stopped they realized how tired they were and were grateful for the two tap tap ride back to the hotel. It did not take long for folks to reappear near the pool with a cool beverage of choice, check for wi-fi, and start to unwind.
We had invited Dr. Quincey, the Haiti doctor in charge of the Haitian clinic to join us for dinner. He brought his very attractive wife, who incidentally is an industrial engineer, and his two children--a really cute 2 1/2 girl full of energy and a several month old little boy who is adorable. Before the night was over Helen was down by the pool with the little girl, blowing bubbles and playing. Not too surprising.
The five docs spent dinner in their own special universe as they started to get to know each other and were able to ask each other all kinds of questions, including Dr. Quincey's dreams and needs for the clinic. We look forward to getting to spend time with him again on every trip.
Janet Horton, our medical contact in the US for Haiti Outreach Mission, arrived today and is staying at our same hotel. She also joined us for dinner. We learned from her that the clinic is really only two years old and is experiencing normal growing pains and a severe shortage of funding. It takes $120,000/year to operate the clinic and they nearly had to shut it down this year due to lack of sufficient funds. She will be working next week to find ways to more efficiently operate, but even so they are unable to afford a full time Haitian administrator for the clinic. What monies they do receive they will use to staff the doctors, nurses, and medicines, clearly the right priority. When she returns to the US we plan to spend a little more time with her to understand it all better and see if there might be a way for us to help.
Another busy day tomorrow...we get to go to Terre Noire and visit the classroom ! All the first time team member, Jules who worked all summer receiving the donated clothing, and I will go. The others will keep the clinic running like a top! We hope to get to shop in the Terre Noire Gift Shop which I have never seen.
Tomorrow night we hope to again have dinner guests as we celebrate our last day of clinic.
Time for bed. God is good and we are truly blessed.
Today Pastor Leon's Haitian clinic that shares the building with mission teams was closed . The Haitian staff worked out of Menelas, another one of Pastor Leon's campuses in Port au Prince for the day. That meant that the rows and rows of people already outside the clinic were all "ours" and the team wasted no time getting started. One of the really gratifying thing to see is how every team member sees what needs to be done and then either does it themselves or helps another team member get it done. Switching roles from triage, to lab, to treatment, to pharmacy, to traffic cop...whatever is needed is really amazing to watch.
The first priority when we arrived was to fine a way to replenish 4 or 5 key medicines that we had run out of in only two days. One of them was an expensive inhaler, another was old familiar Tums. Believe it or not, the clinic is more dependent on the Tums. It took hours for Fritzon to contact pharmacies trying to find the drugs. When he located them he had to drive a good distance to get them. Our van was in the garage being overhauled in preparation for our long trip on Friday and Saturday, so a tap tap was used. The pharmacies persisted in saying there were no Tums available (We had been being told that all week) and that blew our minds. Finally Jim remembered he had seen Tums in the supermarket when we stopped to buy our lunch fixin's on Saturday coming from the airport. We redispatched Fritzon to the grocery story with cash from our pockets and our fingers crossed. When he actually came back with four bottles of generic brand Tums it was one of the high points of the day! This is an example of how much we take for granted. In order for people to get things like tums, ibuprofen, multivitamins, tylenol...items that probably 80% of the patients we have seen need, they have to come to a clinic and pay the equivalent of a day's pay!
I can't see what goes on in the doctor's exam rooms with their translators and patients, but I have always assumed it was pretty serious business. The well oiled machine among the groups outside the exams certainly never slows down and is in constant motion. So when I saw this picture of one of our doctors at work, I was somewhat surprised.
I can now better understand why Ben does so well as a baby doctor!
The clinic ran today until 3:30pm and served about 120 patients. When the team finally stopped they realized how tired they were and were grateful for the two tap tap ride back to the hotel. It did not take long for folks to reappear near the pool with a cool beverage of choice, check for wi-fi, and start to unwind.
We had invited Dr. Quincey, the Haiti doctor in charge of the Haitian clinic to join us for dinner. He brought his very attractive wife, who incidentally is an industrial engineer, and his two children--a really cute 2 1/2 girl full of energy and a several month old little boy who is adorable. Before the night was over Helen was down by the pool with the little girl, blowing bubbles and playing. Not too surprising.
The five docs spent dinner in their own special universe as they started to get to know each other and were able to ask each other all kinds of questions, including Dr. Quincey's dreams and needs for the clinic. We look forward to getting to spend time with him again on every trip.
Janet Horton, our medical contact in the US for Haiti Outreach Mission, arrived today and is staying at our same hotel. She also joined us for dinner. We learned from her that the clinic is really only two years old and is experiencing normal growing pains and a severe shortage of funding. It takes $120,000/year to operate the clinic and they nearly had to shut it down this year due to lack of sufficient funds. She will be working next week to find ways to more efficiently operate, but even so they are unable to afford a full time Haitian administrator for the clinic. What monies they do receive they will use to staff the doctors, nurses, and medicines, clearly the right priority. When she returns to the US we plan to spend a little more time with her to understand it all better and see if there might be a way for us to help.
Another busy day tomorrow...we get to go to Terre Noire and visit the classroom ! All the first time team member, Jules who worked all summer receiving the donated clothing, and I will go. The others will keep the clinic running like a top! We hope to get to shop in the Terre Noire Gift Shop which I have never seen.
Tomorrow night we hope to again have dinner guests as we celebrate our last day of clinic.
Time for bed. God is good and we are truly blessed.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
DAY 4 TUESDAY SPONSORED STUDENTS & EINSTEIN
Morning came early. At 7:30 am the van and a "tap tap" pulled into the courtyard. For two days Jules and Marge had been gathering the clothes, shoes and dresses from all our suitcases into their room. Their beds were piled high with little clothes, sorted into sizes. 10 large suitcases and two bags were loaded into the "tap tap" to deliver the clothes to Nadege, the principal of the school at Terre Noire. Richard, Neal, Arnold and I squeezed into the back with the luggage. The rest of the team headed straight to the clinic at Cite Soliel to open the clinic.
The trip to Terre Noire (Blanchard to some people) was even more exciting than our previous trip in the "tap tap". Not only did the traffic threaten to climb into the back with us, the road was partially submerged for long stretches. We bounced across five or six small, clay-gray lakes that replaced the shattered road. School children in their uniforms walked carefully around the water on either side. A car behind us got stuck, and traffic going both ways came to a stop. Fortunately we were ahead of it and could continue on.
Terre Noire's campus is surrounded by warm, yellow walls and as the gate opened I felt so welcome. I have been to the school there twice before and the little children in their neat uniforms and carefully groomed hair, polished shoes, going down walkways clean enough to eat on is a warm and pleasant sight.
Our translator and another young man began to unload the "tap tap" and put the bags on the sidewalk as Nadege came to greet us. We were uncertain as to what we were supposed to do, but Nadege welcomed us with a warm smile and about that time a few small children with 3x5 cards paper-clipped to their collars arrived and sat on the bench against the wall. Neal and I greeted our students, and with the help of the translator, explained we had met them a year ago and gave them the little presents we had brought along. Pat, Taylor, and Jane who were not on this trip sent gifts to their sponsored students, and Neal and I gave those gifts to them.
Imagine you are in second grade, a shy student in a loving but very disciplined school. You have been in the school since you were three, being taught how to dress, to sit at a table and eat, to groom yourself and if you are a little girl have your hair braided into a dozen tiny braids and decorated with pretty white beads. If you are a boy your hair is cut very short. Your skin is a dark mahogany color, and your eyes are large and inquisitive, with beautiful curving eyelashes. Today you came to school as usual, and all of a sudden you are shepherded from your classroom to the hallway and a white card with writing in a language you don't know is clipped on you. A very tall white man with a bearded face or a white women with grey hair is introduced to you and gives you a bag of school supplies, toys, clothes....for YOU. At least that is what the translator is saying but somehow it doesn't make any sense. While you are trying to figure it out, another man with a camera asks you to please stand up next to your visitor, and he takes your picture. Just as you reach back into your bag to look again at the toys, the principal of your school asks for your gifts, says thank you and asks you to go back to your classroom. And off you go, wondering what just happened to you.
I am sure when the strangeness of the unfamiliar white visitor wears off, and the toys are taken home you won't think too much about the strange encounter, but you will somehow treasure then gifts you could never have imagined owning. You won't even know that an even better gift was given to you by that person who has made it possible to be in second grade this year at all.
After the children left, Nadege was looking at all the luggage we had unloaded. I told her these were the dresses, clothes and shoes we brought to her. She looked at them all and then asked, "May I use some of them for the school?" I said, "Of course. We brought them to YOU. Anything that the schools can use. Of course of you know some other children that need something you can give some to them. It is up to you. We have brought these to you." She looked stunned. She asked me again and I replied the same thing. We had not given her any idea about how much we were bringing so I think she was a little overwhelmed. She smiled then and the smile said it all.
Thursday we will come back to visit a classroom at the school and give new clothes to the students there. I can't wait.
We climbed back in the tap tap and headed back to the clinic. When we got there things were well underway, everyone now experts in their roles. Richard had now moved to his own exam room and we added another translator for him. We now had all 4 doctors and 5 nurses going full speed ahead.
It was amazing to see Marge direct the flow of patients, to hear the occasion cry of a child, to watch the translators and the triage nurses with the patients large and small. The patients were indeed "patient" as they sat outside the door of each doctor, looking forward to the care they would be receiving. The pharmacy had become a non-stop operation, so much that half of the morning passed before Neal and Helen had time to greet each other properly. Last year the lab had some activity, but not so much. This year it looks like Grand Central Station and Jami was kept hopping. It is interesting how different the mix of patients is this year from last.
By 2:30pm today the ace clinic team had again run out of patients. They served slightly less than our goal of 110 so we will hope that tomorrow we will have an opportunity to see even more. This is a wonderful group that works so well together it is fun to watch. Patience, flexibility, creativity on the part of everyone certainly has made things go even more smoothly than last year
So we went home a little early, but clearly drained from the effort. Sitting around waiting for the wi-fi to come on and getting the air conditioners to restart was about as ambitious as we were for awhile.
About 4 pm the "tap tap" filled with the awesome wooden Einstein bowls pulled through the gate. These are beautiful handcrafted wooden bowls, true works of art. The man, a slightly wandering eye and a missing tooth or two, carefully unloaded and unwrapped the stacks of bowls from the back of the tap tap, arranging them carefully on the retaining wall in the courtyard, under the watchful eye of the wizened old woman who apparently was in charge. The man carefully affixed the prices to each type of bowl with little round green stickers. Sleepy, slow moving team members gradually emerged from their rooms or from the gazebo by the pool to look over the beautiful art, and began to choose items for Christmas presents or to bring to WPC to the One World Market next week, or just to take home and enjoy on their own table. When everyone was done looking and shopping Einstein's folks re-wrapped each bowl in paper, put them back in the tap tap, and headed back to wherever it is they are made . Artisans on the street outside the hotel's gate were not at all happy that Einstein could bring his wares into the courtyard but they had to stay on the street.
We were all glad when dinner finally came...it seemed like forever ....at 6 pm. After devotions, and few discussions of 'business', we headed off to our rooms, worn out but having had a really good day!
The trip to Terre Noire (Blanchard to some people) was even more exciting than our previous trip in the "tap tap". Not only did the traffic threaten to climb into the back with us, the road was partially submerged for long stretches. We bounced across five or six small, clay-gray lakes that replaced the shattered road. School children in their uniforms walked carefully around the water on either side. A car behind us got stuck, and traffic going both ways came to a stop. Fortunately we were ahead of it and could continue on.
Terre Noire's campus is surrounded by warm, yellow walls and as the gate opened I felt so welcome. I have been to the school there twice before and the little children in their neat uniforms and carefully groomed hair, polished shoes, going down walkways clean enough to eat on is a warm and pleasant sight.
Our translator and another young man began to unload the "tap tap" and put the bags on the sidewalk as Nadege came to greet us. We were uncertain as to what we were supposed to do, but Nadege welcomed us with a warm smile and about that time a few small children with 3x5 cards paper-clipped to their collars arrived and sat on the bench against the wall. Neal and I greeted our students, and with the help of the translator, explained we had met them a year ago and gave them the little presents we had brought along. Pat, Taylor, and Jane who were not on this trip sent gifts to their sponsored students, and Neal and I gave those gifts to them.
Imagine you are in second grade, a shy student in a loving but very disciplined school. You have been in the school since you were three, being taught how to dress, to sit at a table and eat, to groom yourself and if you are a little girl have your hair braided into a dozen tiny braids and decorated with pretty white beads. If you are a boy your hair is cut very short. Your skin is a dark mahogany color, and your eyes are large and inquisitive, with beautiful curving eyelashes. Today you came to school as usual, and all of a sudden you are shepherded from your classroom to the hallway and a white card with writing in a language you don't know is clipped on you. A very tall white man with a bearded face or a white women with grey hair is introduced to you and gives you a bag of school supplies, toys, clothes....for YOU. At least that is what the translator is saying but somehow it doesn't make any sense. While you are trying to figure it out, another man with a camera asks you to please stand up next to your visitor, and he takes your picture. Just as you reach back into your bag to look again at the toys, the principal of your school asks for your gifts, says thank you and asks you to go back to your classroom. And off you go, wondering what just happened to you.
I am sure when the strangeness of the unfamiliar white visitor wears off, and the toys are taken home you won't think too much about the strange encounter, but you will somehow treasure then gifts you could never have imagined owning. You won't even know that an even better gift was given to you by that person who has made it possible to be in second grade this year at all.
After the children left, Nadege was looking at all the luggage we had unloaded. I told her these were the dresses, clothes and shoes we brought to her. She looked at them all and then asked, "May I use some of them for the school?" I said, "Of course. We brought them to YOU. Anything that the schools can use. Of course of you know some other children that need something you can give some to them. It is up to you. We have brought these to you." She looked stunned. She asked me again and I replied the same thing. We had not given her any idea about how much we were bringing so I think she was a little overwhelmed. She smiled then and the smile said it all.
Thursday we will come back to visit a classroom at the school and give new clothes to the students there. I can't wait.
We climbed back in the tap tap and headed back to the clinic. When we got there things were well underway, everyone now experts in their roles. Richard had now moved to his own exam room and we added another translator for him. We now had all 4 doctors and 5 nurses going full speed ahead.
It was amazing to see Marge direct the flow of patients, to hear the occasion cry of a child, to watch the translators and the triage nurses with the patients large and small. The patients were indeed "patient" as they sat outside the door of each doctor, looking forward to the care they would be receiving. The pharmacy had become a non-stop operation, so much that half of the morning passed before Neal and Helen had time to greet each other properly. Last year the lab had some activity, but not so much. This year it looks like Grand Central Station and Jami was kept hopping. It is interesting how different the mix of patients is this year from last.
By 2:30pm today the ace clinic team had again run out of patients. They served slightly less than our goal of 110 so we will hope that tomorrow we will have an opportunity to see even more. This is a wonderful group that works so well together it is fun to watch. Patience, flexibility, creativity on the part of everyone certainly has made things go even more smoothly than last year
So we went home a little early, but clearly drained from the effort. Sitting around waiting for the wi-fi to come on and getting the air conditioners to restart was about as ambitious as we were for awhile.
About 4 pm the "tap tap" filled with the awesome wooden Einstein bowls pulled through the gate. These are beautiful handcrafted wooden bowls, true works of art. The man, a slightly wandering eye and a missing tooth or two, carefully unloaded and unwrapped the stacks of bowls from the back of the tap tap, arranging them carefully on the retaining wall in the courtyard, under the watchful eye of the wizened old woman who apparently was in charge. The man carefully affixed the prices to each type of bowl with little round green stickers. Sleepy, slow moving team members gradually emerged from their rooms or from the gazebo by the pool to look over the beautiful art, and began to choose items for Christmas presents or to bring to WPC to the One World Market next week, or just to take home and enjoy on their own table. When everyone was done looking and shopping Einstein's folks re-wrapped each bowl in paper, put them back in the tap tap, and headed back to wherever it is they are made . Artisans on the street outside the hotel's gate were not at all happy that Einstein could bring his wares into the courtyard but they had to stay on the street.
We were all glad when dinner finally came...it seemed like forever ....at 6 pm. After devotions, and few discussions of 'business', we headed off to our rooms, worn out but having had a really good day!
Monday, October 24, 2016
DAY 3 OCTOBER 24 THE CLINIC
It is 9:01 pm and I am the last one still awake from the team. It seems like a month since we left the hotel for the clinic this morning. Breakfast officially begins at 6 am but at least two early risers were in the dining room by 5:30am ...or so I am told.
The van arrived right on time and today we began to experience a little of the Port au Prince rush hour. One characteristic of it is that it does NOT rush. Driving here is a matter of inches. Wildly painted buses and trucks creating irregular columns of vehicles, motor bikes zipping through 10 inch spaces between two cars, cars stopping to let people cross the street, vans slowing to ease down into 2 feet deep holes scooped into the street. It was a welcome sight to see the gates to Cite Soliel open so the van could move into the quiet sanctuary of the walled compound.
It was 7:30am and already long lines of mothers, children, and a few men were lined up outside, sitting on the cinder block retaining walls in front of the green and white clinic. It is October and it is still in the 80's, but when the Haitians come to the clinic they dress in their best clothes. For many women this means they must wear a hat, and hats of every season could be seen. Wool, straw, felt, --fancy, simple, but all carefully placed just right on their heads. We all wore cotton scrubs, and had fans in most of the rooms in the clinic, but outside they sat with the sun streaming down and said there was no problem with the temperature.
They arrived early, paid their small fee at the window, and sat quietly and patiently, grateful for the opportunity to visit the clinic, and moving uncomplainingly up one seat at a time, getting nearer and nearer the front door.
Once through the front door, they were received by Triage. Each one of our triage nurses partnered with a translator, Each person was weighed --even the tiny tiny twins in their head to toe onesies and their also tiny mother, Temperature, blood pressure...all the normal things to start a visit.
Each doctor had 2 chairs outside his door, his "waiting room" and the nurses in triage directed each family to the right doctor for them, After the first 15 or 20 minute the pharmacy geared up as the first patients exited the examination rooms. The nurses moved among triage, the lab, and the treatment room as needed. The non-medical team members helped in the pharmacy, assisted triage, and help keep traffic moving in the clinic. Like a well oiled machine the activities never stopped. Nothing was rushed, people would smile, touch us shyly, sometimes laugh, and even reach out and say thank you. Some of the doctors said they received blessings and prayers as their patients departed. One wonderful young woman who could not talk taught me how to say "I love you" in sign language as she awaited her turn for triage. Later as she left the clinic she made her way back to where I was and gave me a shy hug .
Today we managed to find time to have some lunch, but thing were running so constantly we were all surprised with at 2:30pm the last person in line had seen a doctor and was awaiting her prescription, Just then the children in the Cite Soliel school on the same campus as the clinic were filling the yard. Jami and Helen rushed out to the kids, bubble blower in hand, and for the next 10 minutes or so the laughing and screaming of children filled the air, jumping to reach the bubbles, shrieking when one broke on their nose, and laughing all the while.
Suddenly, we were done. No one quite believed it. We just sat around for nearly half an hour chatting, laughing, marveling at the day we had just experienced, We gathered up our things, piled in the van and headed back to the hotel. On the way I think we may have all discovered just how really tired we were, No one had taken any breaks except for lunch and thing had just kept going and going and had no time to think of anything else,
I think we can all say it was a great first day. We saw about 80 patients today, and are setting a target of 110 for tomorrow since we ended early. The wifi at the hotel didn't work when we arrived so we all sat around and talked until supper. A short devotions, a few more minutes to sort the clothes and dresses we will deliver tomorrow, and the lights started going out room by room.
This was a day the Lord has made and we all rejoiced in it. Good night.
The van arrived right on time and today we began to experience a little of the Port au Prince rush hour. One characteristic of it is that it does NOT rush. Driving here is a matter of inches. Wildly painted buses and trucks creating irregular columns of vehicles, motor bikes zipping through 10 inch spaces between two cars, cars stopping to let people cross the street, vans slowing to ease down into 2 feet deep holes scooped into the street. It was a welcome sight to see the gates to Cite Soliel open so the van could move into the quiet sanctuary of the walled compound.
It was 7:30am and already long lines of mothers, children, and a few men were lined up outside, sitting on the cinder block retaining walls in front of the green and white clinic. It is October and it is still in the 80's, but when the Haitians come to the clinic they dress in their best clothes. For many women this means they must wear a hat, and hats of every season could be seen. Wool, straw, felt, --fancy, simple, but all carefully placed just right on their heads. We all wore cotton scrubs, and had fans in most of the rooms in the clinic, but outside they sat with the sun streaming down and said there was no problem with the temperature.
They arrived early, paid their small fee at the window, and sat quietly and patiently, grateful for the opportunity to visit the clinic, and moving uncomplainingly up one seat at a time, getting nearer and nearer the front door.
Once through the front door, they were received by Triage. Each one of our triage nurses partnered with a translator, Each person was weighed --even the tiny tiny twins in their head to toe onesies and their also tiny mother, Temperature, blood pressure...all the normal things to start a visit.
Each doctor had 2 chairs outside his door, his "waiting room" and the nurses in triage directed each family to the right doctor for them, After the first 15 or 20 minute the pharmacy geared up as the first patients exited the examination rooms. The nurses moved among triage, the lab, and the treatment room as needed. The non-medical team members helped in the pharmacy, assisted triage, and help keep traffic moving in the clinic. Like a well oiled machine the activities never stopped. Nothing was rushed, people would smile, touch us shyly, sometimes laugh, and even reach out and say thank you. Some of the doctors said they received blessings and prayers as their patients departed. One wonderful young woman who could not talk taught me how to say "I love you" in sign language as she awaited her turn for triage. Later as she left the clinic she made her way back to where I was and gave me a shy hug .
Today we managed to find time to have some lunch, but thing were running so constantly we were all surprised with at 2:30pm the last person in line had seen a doctor and was awaiting her prescription, Just then the children in the Cite Soliel school on the same campus as the clinic were filling the yard. Jami and Helen rushed out to the kids, bubble blower in hand, and for the next 10 minutes or so the laughing and screaming of children filled the air, jumping to reach the bubbles, shrieking when one broke on their nose, and laughing all the while.
Suddenly, we were done. No one quite believed it. We just sat around for nearly half an hour chatting, laughing, marveling at the day we had just experienced, We gathered up our things, piled in the van and headed back to the hotel. On the way I think we may have all discovered just how really tired we were, No one had taken any breaks except for lunch and thing had just kept going and going and had no time to think of anything else,
I think we can all say it was a great first day. We saw about 80 patients today, and are setting a target of 110 for tomorrow since we ended early. The wifi at the hotel didn't work when we arrived so we all sat around and talked until supper. A short devotions, a few more minutes to sort the clothes and dresses we will deliver tomorrow, and the lights started going out room by room.
This was a day the Lord has made and we all rejoiced in it. Good night.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
DAY 2 SUNDAY OCTOBER 23 HAITI MISSION
The night seemed short but the air conditioning kept the room comfortable. After a quick (warm) shower it was a nice omelet, fresh mango fruit, and good strong coffee for breakfast. I was almost the last one to the dining area.
The van arrived on time and I discovered I had miscalculated how many huge bags of medications and supplies we had. In reality the van was not big enough for all of that, the driver, and translator and 12 team members. However this is Haiti and we demonstrated that not only "tap taps" always have room for one more! We almost had more weight than the van could pull up and down some of these very rough roads. When we arrived at Cite Soliel campus for church we first unloaded all the stuff into the clinic.
As we did that we could hear the amazing music and singing filling the air from the sanctuary adjacent to the clinic. As last year, we were seated on a row near the back on an aisle so we would be able to leave the service at the appropriate time without disturbing the others. From there we were able to see the rows and rows of Haitians, many with Bible in hand, dressed in their best clothes engage in a worship service you are unlikely to experience in the U.S.
For probably an hour before we arrived a music ensemble on the stage at the front, led by a young woman singer, with a voice that could fill the heavens, led the music service. Choir members in modest green blouses and dark skirts, white hair coverings, sat to the left of the stage. From the center podium the young woman sang, words in Haitian Creole displayed on a large screen behind her and everyone in the sanctuary sang, moved, raised hands to the heavens, knelt in prayer, and created amazing, beautiful, full throated, uplifting music in praise to God. After nearly and hour of singing, the choir filed onto the stage and performed a beautiful hymn that continued for 10 minutes. A male group of 6 young men, one of them an acoustic guitar player, then sang a beautifully harmonized piece. Although we could barely see them over the people in the pews, 8 or 10 little girls in red dresses with red bows in their hair performed an active dance to some recorded music. The applause for them was vigorous.
The young lead singer turned the pulpit over to a large, bald headed man who appeared to admonish the congregation and to discuss quite enthusiastically the Bible Verse of the Month, Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might." First time visitors were welcomed with ribbons (even our team!), people with birthdays this month were awarded ribbons, and then communion was begun. Communion here is not by intinction but bread and cups were distributed to everyone and the bread and cup were shared in unison as one.
When communion was ended, the cups and the collection were collected at the same time by ushers who stood at intersections in the sanctuary while people filed past them and then returned to their seats. We filed past them and left the sanctuary for we were heading to Repatriot to join their church service in progress.
When we arrived for the second service, they had already adjourned, so we escaped the sermon this week. I guess we will need to be especially diligent with our devotions. Instead we had the joyful pleasure of holding hands with pretty little girls in the Sunday best and touring their school building. We went up to the roof and gazed across the homes to the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. A mild breeze added to the pleasant experience.
After about a half hour we headed back to Cite Soliel clinic where we changed from our "Sunday Best" into casual clothes and began the orientation to the clinic for the new folk and the set up of the exam rooms, triage, and pharmacy. We were pleased to see our daily host there is again Fritzon and we were also pleased to reconfirm we had wifi. We want to try to keep some simple records in the pharmacy to help us understand this trip to help better plan the next one. We shall see if that really works.
We headed to the Vista Lodge for a "quick bite to eat". It only took 2 hours! The food was good and as we sat under a roof by the pool the temperature was very pleasant. From there we went to the tin village to shop among their incredible art. Several people worked on their Christmas gift list and Jules kindly picked up some things we can make available at One World Market Christmas Sale next week at Westminster, to continue our fund raising to support the Haiti mission.
At this point I think God sent us a sprinkle of rain to send us scurrying back to the hotel a bit early. A nice shower, maybe a nap, catching up on blogs and emails, a cool beverage, and in a few minutes we will gather for supper and devotions. It is thundering again now, so I will stop before the power goes out (AGAIN) on the router.
A really good day!!!
The van arrived on time and I discovered I had miscalculated how many huge bags of medications and supplies we had. In reality the van was not big enough for all of that, the driver, and translator and 12 team members. However this is Haiti and we demonstrated that not only "tap taps" always have room for one more! We almost had more weight than the van could pull up and down some of these very rough roads. When we arrived at Cite Soliel campus for church we first unloaded all the stuff into the clinic.
As we did that we could hear the amazing music and singing filling the air from the sanctuary adjacent to the clinic. As last year, we were seated on a row near the back on an aisle so we would be able to leave the service at the appropriate time without disturbing the others. From there we were able to see the rows and rows of Haitians, many with Bible in hand, dressed in their best clothes engage in a worship service you are unlikely to experience in the U.S.
For probably an hour before we arrived a music ensemble on the stage at the front, led by a young woman singer, with a voice that could fill the heavens, led the music service. Choir members in modest green blouses and dark skirts, white hair coverings, sat to the left of the stage. From the center podium the young woman sang, words in Haitian Creole displayed on a large screen behind her and everyone in the sanctuary sang, moved, raised hands to the heavens, knelt in prayer, and created amazing, beautiful, full throated, uplifting music in praise to God. After nearly and hour of singing, the choir filed onto the stage and performed a beautiful hymn that continued for 10 minutes. A male group of 6 young men, one of them an acoustic guitar player, then sang a beautifully harmonized piece. Although we could barely see them over the people in the pews, 8 or 10 little girls in red dresses with red bows in their hair performed an active dance to some recorded music. The applause for them was vigorous.
The young lead singer turned the pulpit over to a large, bald headed man who appeared to admonish the congregation and to discuss quite enthusiastically the Bible Verse of the Month, Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might." First time visitors were welcomed with ribbons (even our team!), people with birthdays this month were awarded ribbons, and then communion was begun. Communion here is not by intinction but bread and cups were distributed to everyone and the bread and cup were shared in unison as one.
When communion was ended, the cups and the collection were collected at the same time by ushers who stood at intersections in the sanctuary while people filed past them and then returned to their seats. We filed past them and left the sanctuary for we were heading to Repatriot to join their church service in progress.
When we arrived for the second service, they had already adjourned, so we escaped the sermon this week. I guess we will need to be especially diligent with our devotions. Instead we had the joyful pleasure of holding hands with pretty little girls in the Sunday best and touring their school building. We went up to the roof and gazed across the homes to the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other. A mild breeze added to the pleasant experience.
After about a half hour we headed back to Cite Soliel clinic where we changed from our "Sunday Best" into casual clothes and began the orientation to the clinic for the new folk and the set up of the exam rooms, triage, and pharmacy. We were pleased to see our daily host there is again Fritzon and we were also pleased to reconfirm we had wifi. We want to try to keep some simple records in the pharmacy to help us understand this trip to help better plan the next one. We shall see if that really works.
We headed to the Vista Lodge for a "quick bite to eat". It only took 2 hours! The food was good and as we sat under a roof by the pool the temperature was very pleasant. From there we went to the tin village to shop among their incredible art. Several people worked on their Christmas gift list and Jules kindly picked up some things we can make available at One World Market Christmas Sale next week at Westminster, to continue our fund raising to support the Haiti mission.
At this point I think God sent us a sprinkle of rain to send us scurrying back to the hotel a bit early. A nice shower, maybe a nap, catching up on blogs and emails, a cool beverage, and in a few minutes we will gather for supper and devotions. It is thundering again now, so I will stop before the power goes out (AGAIN) on the router.
A really good day!!!
DAY 1 SATURDAY OCT 22 On the road
It's 4:15 am and twelve hearty team members began to assemble at American Airlines next to the suitcase scale. Amazingly almost all the bags came in right at 49 pounds!!! We only had to juggle two or three pounds to get everything in the 3-4 extra checked bags.
220 pounds of children's clothes and shoes and even more pounds of medicines and supplies all arrived safely in Port au Prince right on time. The team, posing as separate small groups of tourists, had no problems at all with customs and immigration. Kay Wellemeyer successfully navigated the yards of young men trying to "help" us with our luggage and found Arnold Dorleans, our host and source of all knowledge for Haiti Outreach Ministries.
Awaiting us in the parking lot were three "Tap Taps". All our luggage went into one and it headed directly to our hotel. The team split up, half in each tap tap, and we headed to the supermarket to buy lunch materials for the upcoming week.
The "tap tap" experience together with the rough road surfaces was a good way to be introduced to Haiti. Where we traveled today Port au Prince looked the same as last year except some of the street trash must have floated away in the rain, and the goats on the side of the road seem a little fatter. We surmised they are eating better because the grass and bushes are greener ---maybe from the rain.
Arnold awaited us at the hotel and ensured we were all settled. As we chatted over a cold beverage, Arnold discovered what Helen Tharrington does for a living and his face lit up with a grin. We could maybe come down some time and work with the school children??? We will have to think about that!
Dinner was a good buffet. We ate quickly and moved on to devotions. Most of us were too tired to think much, so we shared our hopes and curiosities for the upcoming week, and headed off to bed.
A very good first day, and a long one. Up tomorrow for breakfast at 6am and the adventure will begin!
220 pounds of children's clothes and shoes and even more pounds of medicines and supplies all arrived safely in Port au Prince right on time. The team, posing as separate small groups of tourists, had no problems at all with customs and immigration. Kay Wellemeyer successfully navigated the yards of young men trying to "help" us with our luggage and found Arnold Dorleans, our host and source of all knowledge for Haiti Outreach Ministries.
Awaiting us in the parking lot were three "Tap Taps". All our luggage went into one and it headed directly to our hotel. The team split up, half in each tap tap, and we headed to the supermarket to buy lunch materials for the upcoming week.
The "tap tap" experience together with the rough road surfaces was a good way to be introduced to Haiti. Where we traveled today Port au Prince looked the same as last year except some of the street trash must have floated away in the rain, and the goats on the side of the road seem a little fatter. We surmised they are eating better because the grass and bushes are greener ---maybe from the rain.
Arnold awaited us at the hotel and ensured we were all settled. As we chatted over a cold beverage, Arnold discovered what Helen Tharrington does for a living and his face lit up with a grin. We could maybe come down some time and work with the school children??? We will have to think about that!
Dinner was a good buffet. We ate quickly and moved on to devotions. Most of us were too tired to think much, so we shared our hopes and curiosities for the upcoming week, and headed off to bed.
A very good first day, and a long one. Up tomorrow for breakfast at 6am and the adventure will begin!
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