Day #3
Our first medical clinic is today, and it’s our longest hike. Generally the hike to Chota takes between 2- 2.5 hours (all walking). We have a lot of people and supplies going, so I think it might take closer to the 2.5 hour time today. To be honest, I love the hike to Chota. Ever since my first trip to Haiti in 2017, I’ve enjoyed this hike. It’s invigorating, beautiful and good exercise!
Garett is going to be a bit tired today as it was about 9:30pm when they arrived back at the mission house last night after working on the roof. He tells me that his stomach is hurting, and I think it might be the Haitian food. He hasn’t eaten nearly as much as he usually does, but if his stomach is hurting that explains why! Praying that he will have a great day today and that his stomach won’t hurt. The plan is to leave for Chota around 6:30 am-so that probably means closer to seven.
Hannah and Tara admistered the rabies vaccine to the Faulde Family this morning before our hike. Did you know that an average of 1-2 people die from rabies every week in Haiti?! It’s a three dose series, and now it’s complete for them. Tara drew up the vaccine and Hannah administered it. They made quick work of the task, and it was time to hike!
Evening entry:
We did end up leaving for Chota around 7:15am. It’s always a long hike, but we made good time today. The hike only took about two hours. Grandpa Faulde had left a bit before us on the motorcycle, so that he could preach the Gospel message before we started clinic. However, there is not an actual road to Chota. Grandpa could get a ride for a good chunk of the way on the motorcycle, but you still have to hike to the village. Grandpa said that about10 people did raise their hands during the invitation stating that they knew that they needed to ask Jesus to come into their lives.
The Chota clinic is always a very full day, and this year we seemed to see an abundance of babies and pregnant ladies! It’s always a snug fit under the tarp for all that we need today, and I’m always amazed that this is actually the school building as well. And the school educates about 120 students! So...we have absolutely no reason to complain about any of our facilities in the States!
Kacie saw a family with a terrible case of Scabies. Scabies is a parasite that lives under the skin and causes awful itching and a rash. This family was covered in it. The young girl had it all up in the inner thighs of her legs, and the boy had some infections from all the itching. It basically takes a lot of very hot water, lots of soap, and lots of scrubbing to get rid of scabies. I can’t quite imagine how difficult it will be for this family to get rid of it. I think I’d be tempted to burn down my hut! Kacie was able to give them some antibiotics for the infection and soemthing for the itching. Hopefully that will help and they will be able to get rid of it.
We did see a few people that had symptoms of either HIV or TB. They will be sent to the free TB clinics down the mountain to be seen and to figure out which one they have.
I ran the urine aspect of clinic, and I helped Emelie in the pharmacy. Hannah likes to see and interact with the people, but she also has to help answer questions. This year we had a Haitian doctor come along (which is a good thing) but she kept wanting to prescribe medicine that we didn’t have! I mean, we aren’t an actual pharmacy, and Emelie and I are probably not the best to offer a substitute on an antibiotic! I feel like the only thing I can give out with lots of confidence would be tums and vitamins! Hannah seemed like she had to help out the doctor a lot which made it seem like we were seeing a smaller number of people. I don’t know that we actually saw less people this year, but we wont know until Hannah counts out how many bands were handed out. The triage nurses are supposed to band the people in numerical order, but Krissy (from North Dakota) could quickly see that wasn’t happening. Nevertheless, she did a good job of keeping the crowd organized and moving forward. Its a challenging job as they all want to be first!
We did take a quick break for work, and the Haitians sat there and waited for us to come back. The plan was to feed the people that came to the clinic a meal of rice and beans, but only some of the people ended up getting fed. Change is a bit hard to communicate sometimes, so we will just be thankful that some did get a meal and move forward.
We did see everyone that wanted to be seen at the clinic. We were headed back on our hike to Seguin around 4;15 pm. Garett and Josiah played and chased kids, emptied out the urine sample cups, counted out pills and kept the kids away from the medicine.
On the hike in the morning, Moriah had shoes that gave her toe a terrible blister. It looked painful by the time we arrived in Chota, but she hadn’t stopped to complain (it wouldn’t have done any good anyways). Tara wrapped her toe the best she could for the hike back, but I know it was still a bit painful. However, Moriah just kept walking!
When we started back for Seguin, we didn’t have the mule with us this time. (In the morning, the mule had carried the medical supplies.) Although the medical bags were lighter, they were still not light. I started out with one of the medical bags, and it probably weighed between 35-40 pounds. The hike to Seguin is mostly uphill, and I carried it for a while. Then I passed it off to Josiah who didn’t have a bag to carry. Krissy, Beca, Garett and I hiked back together as over the course of the hike everyone gets spread out. I walked at a normal pace for me, and Garett did a great job of keeping up. He really was a trooper and I am proud of him. I kinda walked fast on purpose as I wanted to see if he would complain, but he never did. He did ask how much farther once, but he kept up. I know he is exhausted from the long day yesterday, the long hikes today, and all the playing with the kids, but he kept walking. We arrived back at the mission house before anyone else...even those that had managed to snag a motorcycle ride. The mission house was locked, but that didn’t bother us! We were happy to sit down! As soon as we found the cook, she was able to unlock the mission house. We hurried inside. Even though the generator wasn’t running, showers can still be taken as the tanks are gravity fed. Garett decided today that he needed to take a shower-Hurray! It was almost dark, but we did get showered before everyone was back. When I was in the sower, the water ran out-no water left in the tank! Water can be pumped up to the tanks on the roof when the generator is running, but that was the quick end of my shower. Oh well, I’m cleaner than I was before!
Still no suitcases today, and I guess I’m thinking that we will not be getting them this week. Maybe they will be at the airport when we fly out on Saturday, but we will see. However God has managed to provide everything we have absolutely needed thus far. It has actually been really cool to see how God has provided the necessities of what we need, and how His grace sustains us.
I’m thankful that God kept all of us safe on the hike today. I’m thankful that Grandpa was able to get a motorcycle ride back to the missions house once we were on the main road. I’m thankful that God gave strength for every step. I’m thankful for a mattress to sleep on, a mostly clean sleeping bag and a mostly clean body!
Prayer requests:
1) a good nights rest for all
2) strength for tomorrow’s clinic
3) unity and harmony as we work together
4) for the 10 people that asked Jesus into their hearts today
Praises:
1)Safety
2) God’s wisdom for the medical team
3) the Gospel message wa presented
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