Friday, January 25, 2019
Rest day consisted of a lot of walking, which I don’t mind at all. It als consisted of being away from the hotel a large part of the day, but such is life. Haitian time is it’s own special time and nothing is rushed or hurried.
We started off the day with breakfast around 8:30 am. Then we decided to take the dump truck to the hospital to check on our patients that had come down the mountian to be seen for additional help.
All seven girls (myself, Tara, Moriah, Beca, Lauren, Lydia and Krissy) are sharing a room with 2 queen beds. Marcus and Kacie both brought along sleeping mats, so we’ve been able to use those too. We could’ve gotten an additional room, but this way we can save money, and its only for two nights. However the air conditioner doesn’t work in our room and its a bit like a sauna. We decided to change rooms, but then discovered that the air conditioner wasn’t working in the room we were going to move to either! Oh well!
When we arrived at the hospital we discovered that a few more patients had come down the mountain. Yesterday we had brought down a little boy who’s foreskin won’t retract and he needs to be circumcised. We also brought down a lady that had broken a bone and the bone had not healed properly. The old man with congestive heart failure is here, and he looks worse than he did before. He did tell Pastor Kevin that he was ready to see Jesus. Perhaps the hospital can at least give him something to manage the pain. Two of the pregnant ladies with very, very hig blood pressure were at the hospital as well as the lady who thinks she is five months pregnant. Remember the one that we couldn’t get a positive pregnancy test on? Hannah, Tara, Kacie and Pastor Kevin talked with the doctor for a bit, but since nothing is done quickly, we decided to go see the progress on the Faulde’s house.They are building a house in Cay Jocmel that will be there home as well as a place to provide lodging for the mission teams that come through.
It was certainly a warm walk from the hospital to the Fauldes house, but I enjoyed the opportunity to walk with Moriah, Garett and Josiah. Their house project has made tremendous strides in a year, but it still has a ways to go. Its going to be a beautiful home when it is finished.
I was ready to head back to the hotel after seeing the house, but remember we are on Haitian time. I had not expected to have lunch today since the hotel gave us a big breakfast. Pastor Kevin had arranged for us to go to someone’s house for lunch. She was making spaghetti, which is a fast meal-if you are in the States. She bought the spaghetti, stopped to pick up chicken and came home to cook lunch. It was over an hour and one-half before lunch was ready. Garett played soccer with some Haitian kids for most of the time. I actually think she was able to get lunch together fairly quickly considering that she had to boil the water in a pot over the stove, cut up and cook the chicken , and make the juice by juicing the oranges-and not with a powered juicer! The Haitians eat their spaghetti with hot dogs and chicken in it. Its an interesting way to eat it, but Nadine is a great cook. Her food is always yummy. Each plate was piled high with food...way more than I would have chosen to eat! Eating all those carbs and sugar without a lot of protein can make you tired in a hurry. As we finished up our huge lunch, Pastor Kevin announced that one of the staff at the hospital had made us coffee and rolls to eat before heading to the hotel! So back to the hospital we walked to eat more food and drink coffee! I don’t really care for Haitian coffee too much, and I knew if I drank that I would probably lose all my lunch. Instead I sat quietly at a table with Tara and Grandpa. Pastor Kevin told Hannah that he thought the hospital was getting ready to close down for the weekend (yes, that happens)and that she should go check on some of the patients to make sure they were getting their medicine. Hannah, Kacie and Pastor Kevin went to go check on them, but a few minutes later Tara and I decided that we wanted to go too. I told Tara that the hospital isn’t that big, and that we could probably find Hannah. Sure enough I heard Hannah laughing, and we found them! 2 of the pregnant ladies were waiting for some kind of shot and then they would be sent home with high blood pressure medication. They would need to come back in two weeks for a follow up visit. The one mama is at least eight months pregnant,so she could be having the baby any day, especially after a bumpy ride back up the mountain to home. The other lady (the one who told us that she was five months pregnant) is not pregnant. What she has instead is a belly full of worms! She isn’t feeling her baby move, but she is feeling worms in there! Ugh! I cant even imagine! So she will be sent home with worm medication and blood pressure medication. She did not look at all sad to not be having a baby, and she will probably be feeling much better soon!
We arrived back at the hotel around 5pm. Since we had such a late and big lunch we decided that we didn’t need supper. Garett, Josiah Beca and Krissy got in the pool even though its not full of water. I sat on the edge of the pool with Moriah, Lydia, and Lauren. We had some good conversations about some of the deeper things in life. I sure have come to love and appreciate these girls this week. I will miss them when I go home. It’s good to know how to pray a bit more specifically for them.
Since we are leaving for the airport tomorrow at 3am, I am going to bed soon even though its only like 8pm.
It was a busy and full rest day. I’m thankful for deep conversations, friends to love and pray with, and that God is at work in each of our lives.
Tonight Garett gave the extra money we was given for this trip to Pastor Kevin. It will either go towards the cost of the meals for the clinics that we held, or for hospital bills or whatever the needs may be. Garett also had been given some money that he was told that he could spend however he liked. He decided to give $20.00 to each of the Faulde kids for whatever their needs might be. I’m so thankful for his generous spirit and his desire to help others. I’m praying that he will continue to grow and mature into the man that God wants him to be.
January 26, 2019 Saturday Day 8
Today we are heading home! We woke up at 3:00am as the driver was supposed to be here at 3:30am. To take us to the airport. Well, by 4:00am there was still no sign of the driver! Pastor Kevin called him and the driver said that the van was currently stuck on a sand pile! Apparently the wheels were spinning, and the van was not moving. Since there is nothing we can do about that, we decided to go back to bed, or at least lie down on the bed. At about 4:45, the driver called to say that he was on his way. He came racing down the road at 5;00am and all the bags were quickly thrown in. Krissy had a flight leaving at 9:45am so we needed to get going! As the bags were being thrown on, one of the ropes to tie them down breaks completely! However, those bungee cords were still in the truck so we were able to solve the problem quickly. Finally, we were on the road for the airport. Our driver drove like a crazy person! He was determined to get us to the airport on time.
By the time we arrived at the airport, I think we were all feeling a big car sick. However, Krissy did mange to make her flight! Garett and I manage to pack all of our stuff to come home into 2 carryons, so we didn’t have to pay for any checked bags. Josh asked at the Delta counter about our missing bags. The ticket agent said that the bags had made it to Port-au- Prince. We would need to walk to the cargo office to get our missing bags. We knew that if we left Haiti without our bags there was a good possibility that we would never see them again. It was a bit of a hike down to the cargo office, and we never would have found it except that God brought along someone to led us there. When we finally found the cargo office, there sat our missing bags! Who knows how longs they’ve been here, but I do plan to have a talk with Delta about our missing bags. I’m hoping that Delta will work with us on the inconvenience of missing our bags all week. We did survive without them that is for sure! Howeve, the majority of the stuff in my suitcase was to leave with the Haitian people! I don’t really want to take all that stuff back home again! And I definitely don’t want to pay to take it home! Thankfully the ticket agent was kind to us. He waived the baggage fee for our bags. We might’ve walked a mile to get our bags, but now we have them back.
Since our flight didn’t leave until 1:45pm, we had enough time to chase down our bags. Maybe Ill be able to save the stuff for next year if the Lord allows me to return to Haiti again.
Another year is wrapped up! God is so, so good to us! Garett smiled the whole week. He told me that he loved playing with the kids, and working on the roof with the guys. I’m thankful for those who helped take care of our kids, gave to us financially, and prayed for us. We are so blessed by the generosity and love others have bestowed upon us. Roger is a good, good man to hold down the fort, encourage me to go, and work his job this week.
I’m thankful for a home to return to, and a bed to sleep in, a warm shower, and toilet paper by the toliet! I’m thankful for a variety of foods we are blessed to have in the States. I’m thankful for the grace of God that sustains us every step of the way.
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