Bon Ani!

So, December has one more day than June.... Consequently I'm more than one day behind... So I'm going to combine and consolidate some days. Hope no one minds!

(December 31, 2009)
Erin and I worked at the General Hospital again, but this time we basically shadowed a doctor that worked for the same company that Doctor Rachel worked for. I-TECH. He worked for I-TECH,which to my understanding is a government funded program in which those with HIV/SIDA or those with positive partners could come and receive tests and medicine free of charge.

We spoke to the doctor at length because he said that it is so difficult when people come in and have HIV and are married or planning to get married and have children. HIV is easily prevented if people just take the right precautions. However many Haitians refuse to do so. The doctor told us that HIV/AIDS work in a country like Haiti can be very frustrating!

We left the hospital right after lunch that day. December 31-Jan 2 are holidays in Haiti. They have New Years and then a holiday somewhat like our Thanksgiving on the 2nd. Traffic was terrible and I got to take lots of pictures from the road.

H1N1 (Swine flu) information and prevention techniques painted on a wall in town. These were everywhere.

A poster in the hospital about AIDS prevention.This is what the houses looked like pre earthquake. All built up on top of each other on a hillside.

(January 1, 2010)

Who knew what this year would bring? ... and what God still has in store for it!

We went up to the roof to watch the sunset on the last day of 2009 and then got ready for the church service that night.

Haitians always spend New Year's Eve at their place of worship, be that church or a voodoo temple. We went to Gersan's church, Church of the Evangelical Community of Haiti in Port au Prince and sang songs and Gersan gave a short message.

This little girl sat with her dad as he played the bass for the music and she would put her hand on the strings and "help." SO cute! If you have never had the pleasure of hearing Haitians sing then you are missing out. It is a slice of heaven on earth to hear these beautiful people worship our God.

There were 20-25 people sitting in the front row of the church dressed all in white. The women wore white dresses and the men white pants and white shirts. Each went up one by one and gave their testimonies. These were the people that had placed their faith in Christ this past year. They were about to be baptized to bring in the new year! I couldn't understand most of what they were saying I could feel the joy and hear their love for Christ in their voices. I could pick out key words and try to figure out some of their testimonies.

God was glorified that night! There was one lady in particular that had been deeply involved with voodoo and had accepted Christ a few months before. You can read about part of that here. I got to hear more about her story and how Christ has worked in her life and its truly incredible. She had previously been in a relationship with a voodoo priestess and I found out later that she, the priestess was actually at the service that night instead of being at the temple. She clearly heard God's word numerous times that night!

After all the testimonies Gersan baptized each one of them. It was so beautiful to see a Haitian, dressed all in white, formerly a captive sinner, saved by the grace of God being baptized and coming out of the water with joy painted on their faces. It was not much different that an American baptism, but to see it there, in another language gave me a clearer picture of all races and backgrounds and languages worshiping our God.

After the baptism service there was an open time for people to get up and talk about what God had done in their lives that year. One girl said that she was in the school in Gonaives during the flood earlier in 2009. She lost 4 siblings in that collapse and from her family, only her and her sister survived. She praised God for his protection and faithfulness.

I can only imagine the stories that will be told this New Years.

After the stories of thanksgiving the congregation began to pray. We prayed beginning at 11:55 and prayed until 12:05. It was neat to be before the throne of God as our last act of '09 and first of '10.

Then it began... "BON ANI!" (HAPPY NEW YEAR!) We gave each other the traditional greeting, a hug and kiss on both cheeks. Then we drank hot chocolate and ate pumpkin soup. A Haitian tradition.

Haitians spend January 1st & 2nd eating pumpkin soup and visiting friends. You don't eat a real meal, but go and visit people and at each stop you are supposed to eat pumpkin soup and catch up. We didn't do this because the Valcin's were very busy, so we didn't go around from house to house, but we did eat a lot of pumpkin soup.

Pumpkin soup is an interesting dish. Its different depending on who makes it. I like the broth and the vegetables, but try to stay away from the meat. If a Haitian can't tell me what kind of meat it is, I generally will still eat it, but I try to be pretty careful. Sometimes you find gristle, bones, or even a chicken trachea in your soup! (I found the trachea in my cup and asked Daryl if he wanted the rest!)

Erin and I preferred baby holding to eating!

By now it was like 3:30 am, so we went home to take a nap before dinner that night.

We went to a house party for someone from church the night of the 1st. GOOD Haitian food was enjoyed by all.

Also, Pascal came with us. She was a friend of the Valcin's. More about her later. She has a great story. That was the night that we became friends!

How Foolish I Feel

This post is going to be hard for me to write. Some of it is graphic. I want to effectively communicate what I saw, so I don't think I can leave out certain details. However, these things were very hard for me to see and harder for me to write.

Gersan had done His best to warn, and prepare us for what we would see at the General Hospital today. I was prepared mentally, but not emotionally. I still thought God had brought me to Haiti to help people. But Gersan had been right. God didn't need me for his plans, He wanted to change my heart!

Doctor Rachel Coq came to pick us up early in the morning. We got to talk a lot about healthcare in Haiti and some of the issues that they face. We found out that she is a big deal, not only in Haiti, but worldwide. She was preparing to go to a conference in South Africa and she had been many other places for work. She worked with AIDS patients, "SIDA" in Kreyol, and we spent the car ride to the Hospital talking about that. I really enjoyed spending time with her. She is one of those rare beautiful people that everything she does seems beautiful and elegant. I loved listening to her accent and the way she talked about her people. I could tell she loved her work and the ones she worked with.

We arrived at the hospital and she walked us in the door, spoke briefly with someone then said, "Orevwa!"

"OREVWA??!?!" – "YOU'RE LEAVING!???"

Yes, she was leaving. She had other things to do that day, so she was going to leave us with a lady in the administration office. In Haiti, It's hard to tell who is friends with whom, because they are all so friendly, so I don't know if Rachel knew the lady we got left with, or if she was a stranger. Either way we got left in the administration office.

"ok. We can handle this." We tell our selves. "This is Haiti" quickly became our motto for anything that went different than we planned.

After waiting over an hour in the office watching people come and go, and no one acknowledging our existence, we decided they had totally forgotten about us. The walls were white, and so were we, maybe we blended in? Then the head charge nurse said, "Follow me." So we did, she took us to another nurse, who walked us to the pediatric building. She explained that she was a maternity nurse and wanted to leave us with someone in that department, so she introduced us to Naomi, a pediatric nurse. Did I mention that every person down the line spoke less and less English? They asked who is staying and who wants to go to the surgery building? .... Wow. That sounds exciting, but I think we'll stick together. (We thought our mothers would appreciate that.)

And so our hospital tour began. I know we were both humbled by the next few hours. We thought we were going to come in and change the world, but God needed to break our hearts and humble us first… He did.

I don't think I was prepared for what I saw after that. In a sense I was, because they had prepared me for the worst. I'm not really surprised by anything I see in Haiti anymore, but sometimes its still hard to take in.

There were 3 rooms in the "main" part of the pedi ward. Naomi showed us around and stopped by almost every bed explaining what was wrong with each child. She spoke French with an attempt at an American accent and we tried to add a French accent to our English. Communication was a battle for sure! Every child was febrile, anemic, malnourished, and had edema. Some had infections, but I got the idea that the malnourishment caused all the problems. After telling us what each child had, she would look at us with a look that said, "Can you help?"

Heartbreaking.

There was room upon room of children, younger, older, babies, infants, teens… all malnourished and uncared for. I could tell which children had families and money by how well they were cared for. Some were just laying there with no IV, no medicine, nothing. Just waiting to die. There was one baby that the nurse wanted to show us. She had no IV, no medication, and no care. She was hydrocephalic; a condition where there is a buildup of fluid inside the skull and severe brain swelling occurs causing deformation. This sweet baby had not been fed or cared for, she was tinier than tiny. Her arms and legs were no bigger than one of my little fingers. Both eyes were severely infected; I wouldn't doubt that she had become blind from the infection. Nothing was being done. The nurses were all sure to show her to Erin and I multiple times, like an animal at the zoo, but not a sweet baby girl that God loves dearly.

We were then led down a hallway. I new smell hit me square in the face. Rancid. I thought, "Where are we going?" I honestly thought we were leaving through the back abandoned hallway door or something, but no, we walked into another room. There were 3-5 children per bed. Most had dried food or vomit on them; some were lying in beds with sheets that looked as if they had been soiled over and over without being changed. They seemed to all have mental problems. They reached out us like beggars in jail through the bars of their cribs. They weren't begging for money, but for someone to love them. The nurses would slap their hands and scold as they reached out to us. Some looked as old as 12, but didn't have speech or controlled movements, almost as if they had never been held or stimulated so they never developed right.

These were the children with no mothers or fathers: Orphans. I felt as if I had been kicked in the stomach. These were God's children, the apple of His eye. To be totally honest with you, my first reaction upon walking into that room was to recoil, and shy away when they reached out. Those kids were dirty and smelled bad. I needed purell, gloves, and a facemask before I got close to them. Then a split second later I wanted to sit on the floor and cry. Then I wanted to pick them all up, bathe them and hold them. Oh! How Jesus would have loved them! Oh, how He DOES love them!

The nurse hurried us off to another room. There was a man there who spoke decent English and showed us around his room explaining what the children had there. Most were teens with heart problems like arrhythmias, or other problems like Tuberculosis and meningitis.

From there we were taken to the Neonatal ICU where a doctor that spoke French and Creole, but not a word of English was working. Basically we stood and looked at the babies for the next few hours. There was nothing for us to do in the hospital, which is why we kept getting passed around to the next person, and on down the line. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the NICU. All the babies in there were premature and had mothers that were HIV/AIDS. I can't even begin to tell you how tiny these babies were. I bottle fed a few and thought they would be too little to suck, but somehow they did. Those babies were fighters, fighting for their lives. What a hard life they had ahead of them. Haiti is so hot of a place that you wouldn't think they would need incubators, but those babies were so little and cold. Some were wrapped in plastic baggies wrapped so tight, so the heat wouldn't escape.

We stayed there, feeling very useless and in the way, but enjoying holding the babies and loving them whether we were in the way or not.

I think both me and Erin felt a little guilty for not working a longer day…. And not really doing anything other than be "on tour" in the hospital. God still had humbling to do. We both went home feeling very foolish and frustrated and helpless…and heartbroken.

Here is something from my prayer journal that night: "How silly of me to think I could come here and do something for you, God… I feel so foolish and arrogant that I assumed we could actually be of some help to these people. I don't even speak the language or know anything about medicine. I pray that you will give me a humble heart to see and know you. I pray that I won't become discouraged about how little I can help, but become motivated to learn and apply myself more."

It was a hard day to say the least. I hope I adequately described the tragedy and pain I saw that day. God loves those children, He has not forgotten them, although it seems like everyone else had. I had to keep telling myself over and over, God loves and knows those babies!

Xaragua

(December 29, 2009)



I told you we were going to have a fun day today. I feel somewhat strange that the first day of our "mission trip" that we rested and drank grapefruit juice and the second day we went to Xaragua. I guess Clay and Robert have been here for 2 weeks now, and I'm sure Gersan (our Haitian pastor) needed the break, but Erin, Daryl, and I sure feel strange about this.

What is Xaragua, you ask? Well first of all, its pronounced "Zar-ah-gua." Go ahead, try it out loud! Its the most beautiful beach I've ever seen! I've been to Galveston, Destin, and Virginia Beach, but this tops it all. Maybe because its in the Carribean? Haiti was once called the Jewel of the Carribean. I've always thought it was beautiful, but wow!

This was incredible. Am I on vacation or a mission trip? Basically we just relaxed all day. I enjoyed God's creation and had a lot of time to sit, think, drift in and out of napping, and play 'chicken' with the waves.

Apparently I forgot to bring my tennis shoes AND my swimming suit. I didn't want to get my clothes all wet and sandy for the ride home, so I sat on the beach teasing the ocean. I sat as close as I possibly could so that each wave would get my feet wet, but not my shorts.... A very daring game requiring lots of skill!

I found out today that Gersan loves the ocean. As soon as we got there, he went off to find a shady spot under a palm tree and took a nap. (Maybe it was a coconut or passion fruit tree... I don't remember. But it was something exotic, I'm sure.) He laid down, plugged his headphones in his ears and turned on the "Sleep machine" app.

...Wait a second... Don't people have sleep machines that sound like the ocean?

When I teased him about it, he said he was listening to 'Spring Birds' or something like that. He assured me that he had the volume so that he could hear both the birds and the ocean, but not me talking. Then he laughed at his joke and closed his eyes for his nap.

In the evening he gathered us all up to share some words of wisdom and encouragement as the sun set. God had taught him early in his ministry that He didn't need Gersan's help to accomplish His purposes. Just like He didn't need my help. Gersan wanted all of us to be sure that we were in Haiti to allow God to teach us and shape our hearts.

If by doing so we shared His love with others, then Hallelujah! Gersan knows the power, and importance of a humble spirit. I still have much to learn.

I mean, of course God is going to teach me things about Himself, and of course I know He doesn't NEED my help, but I'm still going to accomplish a lot for the Lord on this trip... right? I had, (and still have), much to learn about the topic of humility. More on that later.

We got back in the car and drove back to PAP. And we drove by Global Outreach, where I will be staying from January 10-16! It looks neat!

Tomorrow is Erin and my 1st day at the Hospital!
We are going to be working with Dr. Rachel Coq. (Pronounced 'RaA-shell'.)
Betty told us over dinner that we will be going to the General Hospital. I don't really know what that means, but judging by Gersan's reaction I think its going to be an experience.

He tried to prepare us a little bit: "Don't expect much. I've been there one time and I swore I would never go back unless I absolutely had to." He said it used to be a half decent hospital, but they they had so little money and resources and the infrastructure was just too bad to really help anyone.

Well, I'm up for anything! I'll be glad to do something tomorrow anyway. Maybe save the world, one patient at a time! I'll let you know how it goes. (Be sure you read tomorrow... by the way!)

__________________________

Meanwhile, in real-life time (June 29th, 2010):

Here is a small picture of what my day at Mugwalls cafe entailed.

Blender Explosion (x3). Not only do frappes/smoothies like to shoot out the top of our new blender, they also like to shoot out the bottom. The perfect recipe for a fun-filled day.

I was draining the water out the spigot on the igloo where we store our ice, and a customer came along, so I went to help him. The bucket that I was draining into was apparently ineffective, so I turned around and found a small puddle/lake made by the igloo. (If a puddle is make of ice water does it count as a glacial pool like they have in Montana?)

Fetching the mop...

So the mop was full of soap, which I couldn't see cause it was all dry. But when that mop got wet... Let me tell you, things got exciting. Good thing I was wearing my Sperry Top Sider shoes, which prevent slipping. No falling for me!

I did a little washing of the dishes and other coffee equipment. That sprayer has a lot of water pressure! It had no problem cleaning those dishes and then bouncing right back at me. I got back sprayed numerous times and felt somewhat like this...

Ok. Maybe that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but still. It was an eventful day!

The good thing was that I laughed it off. Every time something new and exciting happened in my day I couldn't help but laugh. I don't know that I could have handled Blender Explosion #4, but thankfully I didn't have to!


Thanks for reading. Be sure to come back and find out what happened at the General Hospital!