February 18, 2015


Today we went with Dr. Francise to one of the mobile clinics.  This is one I had previously gone to up in the mountains.  It is called Tapyo.  I was amazed to see the improvements to the clinic.  A team from Indiana came and built a shelter with a floor to provide the patients and the staff lots of shade. We only saw about 25 patients that day.  Last time I was there we saw 250+ so I was surprised at the lack of patients today.  Haiti was celebrating Carnival (similar to Mardi Gras) that week and apparently that is why the clinics were slower.

There were alot of sick babies, one with pneumonia who was very sick.  I saw a sweet little boy with Downs syndrome who was precious.  I can't imagine how hard it is to raise a special needs to child in Haiti.  There are no resources like we have in America.  He as completely nonverbal.  I sat down and rocked him to sleep.

Hope help drain an abscess that a poor woman had on her face.  It was really big and about 1/4 cup of material was drained.  The lady had no anesthesia or numbing medicine.  I can't imagine how painful it was for her.

After we finished up in Tapyo, we went back to Cabaret and helped in the clinic there with organized supplies for Drs. Vlad and Merline.

Church tonight was awesome as always.  It is so filled with the Holy Spirit.  There are no "reserved" worshipers here!  Tomorrow we will visit a school, New Generations, that is supported by Green Springs Baptist Church (near Fayetteville). All of the children who go to that school are orphans who lived with family, friends, or just whoever would take them in. 

Tuesday, February 17, 2005

Janice, Hope, Cathy and I went to work at the Alpha Omega Clinic today with Drs. Vlad and Merline.  Seeing the fixed clinic was awesome and knowing how hard the doctors have worked to make this happen was so exciting.  They are truly God's people who love their country and their people.  The lived in a tent and still managed to practice medicine after the earthquake taking care of others.  They established mobile clinics and went to the people to provide healthcare.  I was fortunately enough to work with them on my three previous trips.  I love them so much and am so proud of them.  They are in the process of buying land to build an official clinic and eventually a surgery center.  God has used them in a mighty way.

When we arrived, a lady came in who was pregnant and was dilated but the sent her to walk a little bit and try to progress even further.  She came back in around noon and was ready to be hooked up to the IV and begin to deliver her baby girl she was going to name Mary Laura.  She pushed for 4+ hours with no pain medicine, no modern conveniences that our hospitals have.  She is a tough woman. Through her labor, Dr. Merline was able to share her story of how when she found out she was pregnant, she wanted to have an abortion.  Dr. Merline refused but did provide her with an ultrasound and then she left.  A few days later, she called Dr. Merline and said she was keeping the baby.  She is a second year law student in Haiti and if she had the baby, she would lose her funding for school. The people who were helping her, would not help any longer. As she was in labor, she shared that she wanted to go back to school and finish her law degree.  We were able to meet her mom and husband through her labor although they were not in the room with her.  

At 4:08 PM, her 7 lb (estimate) baby girl was born.  She decided to name the baby Julie Marceline, after me.  I was honored to be a part of this special day and praying to continue to be a part of her life as long as God allows.  

Since I was not a part of the construction team this time, I don't have alot of updates but I do know from sharing time at night that they made alot of progress and got the materials they needed to continue working on the chicken house.  God is using Romil in a mighty way and it has been exciting to see him grow over the last 4-1/2 years!  He needs all our support (financially) we can provide and continual prayers!  He is doing great things in Haiti by providing a church in a community that practices voodoo, providing a school that hopefully one day will also provide school to learn a trade (brick laying, sewing, etc).  He has become a pastor, which is a huge honor in Haiti to be recognized by the government as a pastor, taken in family members, teaching Haitians how to be self sufficient, etc.  

Prayers:  Baby Julie and family, clinic tomorrow, construction team.

February 16....arrival in Haiti

Flight was uneventful from Atlanta to Port-au-Prince.  I was so surprised to see how far Haiti has progressed since I was last here in October of 2011 and from when I first came in November of 2010.  The tent cities are almost all gone, the tarp shelters are few and far between, the main roads are paved, the airport has had a complete transformation, there are no buildings and businesses, and even a few signs letting you know when you go from one village to the next.  The progress stunned me all week.  Words can't describe how much better it is.  To those who think we aren't making a difference, I beg to differ. Looking at my pictures from the previous 3 trips show a tremendous difference!

Our home is a beautiful 2 story house with an upstairs balcony (my favorite spot), a front porch, and a small courtyard.  It is gated and we have visitors daily peeking through the bars at us.  The village is very friendly and we are able to walk to church, the school, chicken coop, and garden area.  We are staying in Saintard, about 45 minutes northwest of Port-au-Prince.  It is a beautiful community.  Below is a picture of our house.  It is the green one.

Our team consists of 16 people, 8 men and 8 women and we are sharing the house with Romil and 5 of his family members who will cook for us and make us feel at home for the week.  There are 2 bathrooms between all 22 of us.  The shower consists of a trickle of water (washing my hair was difficult), can't flush the toilet paper, 8 women to one room, no air conditioning, power out several hours a day but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  It's amazing how we can actually LIVE without modern conveniences we think we have to have!  It's so simple here!

Tonight we will go to Romil's church and worship with the Haitian people.  I enjoy church over there so much.  The people are so excited to worship, there is loud singing, dancing, hands in the air, and alot of "amen" shouted.  Words can't describe it, you just have to experience it.

I love Haiti, the sights, the smells, the land, the people, everything.  While I'm there, I just take it all in and enjoy it.  I wish I could bring it home with me.

On my previous trips, I became friends with a guy named Reggie who worked with us in construction.  He was a very sweet young man, very hard worker.  When I first met him, he was a little standoffish.  He wasn't quick to warm up to but once he did warm up to us, he became a lifelong friend.  One that I thought of daily and who actually sent me a gift from Haiti via a team from Charlotte once.  At dinner tonight I was informed that he had several encounters with some men who were harassing him because he was a Christian.  He continued to stand up for what he believed in and continued to worship God.  Because of this, they burned his house killing him.  Needless to say, it was quite devastating and effected me the entire trip.  To hear of people being persecuted because of their religion is one thing but to know someone who was killed because of their belief in God is another.  Me and my dear friend Reggie from November 2010.

Prayer requests:  strength, endurance, safety, the people we will meet, finding materials for chicken coop (not an easy task in Haiti), Romil and family.  Trying to please 16 American's can't be an easy task!

Monday, February 16th

Not a lot to report other than we had a smooth flight to Atlanta from Raleigh. Patiently waiting to board the flight to Port au Prince now.  Lots of thoughts running through my head. Anxious for this new adventure and opportunity and thankful for all of those who have helped me get here. We will be staying in a Haitian community living among the Haitians this time. I've been three previous times but this will be my first staying in the village. We will be near Archaie.

As we were sitting passing time for our next flight, we were talking about how corrupt the government is in Haiti and how they held donations after the earthquake in port and wouldn't give them to their own people. Some of those medical supplies could have saved lives but their govt decided to hold them and give them to the highest bidder.  Now, I'm not saying our govt is perfect, it is far from it but it could always be worse. I don't want a political debate but I also wish that people who gripe all the time about our govt realize it could be a lot worse. So....stop and be thankful for what you have today.  

Prayer requests:

Health-still not feeling well 

Safety-I'm not a bit worried about it but prayers can always help!

Our team-13 team members (I think) living in close quarters in the heat and emotionally charges environment is hard.