Already Wednesday! Today we are headed to Baie d’Orange to have the clinic. We are going to take the dump truck since we are taking so much medicine and a lot of people. However, we may end up having to take motorcycles.
Today I’m praying that Garett will be able to find things to do to keep busy. Sometimes that can be harder to do when we are away from the mission house. He’s still smiling though and having a great time!
I forgot to write yesterday that Tara rechecked on her pregnant lady in the afternoon and the lady had stopped progressing. This was a great thing as we didn’t want to deliver a baby that isn’t ready to safely come into the world. Dehydration as well as an infection and a bumpy motorcycle ride are the things that probably started her labor pains.
As we get tired its easy to have a little less patience and grace with each other, so I’m also asking God for an extra measure of that today.
In Chota, Hannah treated a man who started asking questions about Jesus. Hannah sent him to talk to Pastor Kevin and the pastor of the church in Chota. Pastor Kevin said that the man understood what he needed to do, but kept saying that he couldn’t get saved yet because he had already promised the devil that he would do certain things. The power of witchcraft is a real and huge thing here as
people grow up in a culture surrounded by fear and superstition. But I read in Colossians 1:12-14
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints of light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. In whom we have redemption through is blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Oh praise his HOLY NAME! I don’t have to live in darkness!
Looking forward to what the day will bring as we see the people and God at work among us.
Evening:
We were on the road to clinic by about 6:20am. Pastor Kevin drove the Parakaleo dump truck with 16 people on the back, and 3 in the cab. The road is hardly a road, more of a trail, but nevertheless,
on we went! We did have to stop to get a rock out from between the two back wheels. Marcus and
Josh were able to get it out, which was necessary as the rock rubs on the tires. However we did arrive by about 7:30am. The pastor preached the Gospel message to the crowd that was already there and growing by the minute!
Clinic was held in the same building that the guys had come to work on Sunday afternoon. When they were there on Sunday, the floor was only about 1/3 of the way done. In two days the men from the church had made, mixed, poured, and smoothed out the floor and it had dried! Those were some intentional workers! The people were very glad to see us come to have clinic in their building. This is the largest building, and we had the most space for clinic...it was great! Pastor Kevin says that in Haiti if you build the building, the people will come. That certainly proved to be true today!
Hannah’s 1st patients of the morning were two pregnant ladies. Both mamas had extremely high blood pressure. And they both appeared to be pregnant, but only one of the ladies tested positive in
the urnine pregnancy test. The other mama we tested four times with four different pregnancy tests, and we never did get a postive test! Hannah is worried about both of them and their babies, so she wants
them to come down the mountain with us tomorrow to go to the hospital. Hannah had purchased a Doppler for this trip, but guess what? It is in the missing bag! We have this thing that helps you hear the heartbeat, but its like a home thing, so its accuracy might not be fantastic. Kacie had an older man that came into be seen, and he is not long for this world. His oxygen is failing, and his extremities are very swollen. We paid to have him sent down to the hospital as soon as possible. He probably feels like he is drowning with all those fluids. Kacie also saw patient that had a catheter put in...like three months ago! He was supposed to go have it changed or removed after two weeks, but he didn’t return to the hospital, so now he has a nasty infection!
We had a lot of people working in the clinic today, so Emelie and I had time for some serious conversations. Life isn’t all roses, and sometimes life experiences are painful. At one point we were both hiding under the table looking for tissues and trying to hide our tears. Hannah asked what we were doing, and Garett pipes up “They’re talking and then crying! I don’t know what’s wrong with them!” I’m thankful for laughter and joy, but also for deep and meaningful conversations.
We ran out of baggies to put the pills into this afternoon. We are probably quickly approaching 1000 people seen. Hannah brought plenty of baggies...but guess what? They are in the missing bag! We have extra medicine cups, and I had a roll of duct tape in my backpack. We took the medicine cups, put the pills in, and duct tape across the top! Its not beautiful, but it works!
We did have a quick lunch break of rice and beans (no surprise there!) plaintains, potatoes, and chicken legs. They also made us some special juice and it was delicious. I have no idea what was in it, but Garett and I both liked it! Having lunch made everyone feel a bit tired, I think! However, the people kept coming! We finally had to tell the people that we had to leave. The nurses were rushing around trying to see everyone that they could while we packed up the stuff from the clinic. Those last few moments were pretty crazy!
We needed to get back to the mission house before the sun set as the road is so rough! On the way back to the mission house, the welding started to come apart on the back of the truck. We actually had to stop the truck, and everyone had to sit down in the bed of the truck as the sides were so loose. We passed by a man making caskets, and I made the remark that the man was building caskets. Josiah leaned over and told me, “He might have a lot of business today if this truck breaks!” We laughed together, as the truth is we don’t know when we will die. But I’m not fearful of death...I know that my Redeemer lives, and I have a home in Heaven!
Shortly after we arrived back at the mission house, the mama with the baby with the burns came to be seen. The baby had kicked off the dressings and the skin was exposed. Hannah carefully redressed the wounds, and gave the mom some very specific instructions for care of the burns. We have no way of providing follow up care. All we can do is help the child, give instructions, and pray for God to heal these wounds.
It was another long, exhausting day, but I do think that God was glorfied through it all. I cant imagine how tired Hannah, Kacie, Tara and Grandpa must be as they talked to so many people today. Grandpa translated for almost the entire day. I know he must be getting tired of these long days, but yet his love and dedication for the people is apparent. I know he is getting older, but I pray that God will allow him too come on these trips for years to come.
The church people wanted to make lunch special for our team. The people that came to clinic were fed rice and beans. However, they wanted for make lunch special for us. Shortly after the clinic started this morning, the pastor came to get Kevin. He walked Kevin down to his house where we would eat lunch later. He wanted Kevin to taste the juice that they had made. Kevin assured him that whatever was made for lunch, we would eat. They wanted the team to know that they appreaciated the medical team coming.
Pastor Kevin said that the pastor’s father-in-law lives with them, but he has Alzheimer’s. When the pastor and his family need to leave, they lock the old man in the house. The pastor says that otherwise his father in law would wander away and could be lost. The old man doesn’t mind being locked in the house apparently, as he sings to himself the whole time. It’s intersting that they have figured out how to keep him safe, but it’s not at all what we would do in the States.
In our three days of clinics, I have never seen so many pregnant women! Seguin, Chota, Baie d’Orange...there are a lot of babies and pregnant mamas! The rate of death is also fairly high as we saw a lot of children that are being raised by a family member, as the mom had died. The toddler years seem to be especially high for mortality rate as by the time the child is 2 or 3 the mama often has another baby. The toddler is expected to be “able to fend for himself” which only works out if the child is strong and healthy.
Hannah had to go make a house call during clinic today. She had seen the mom and the mom wanted Hannah to come and check on her daughter. Apparently the daughter was nine years old and had stopped walking when she was six. They don’t keep track of dates here, so its hard to know. Garett asked to go with Hannah on the house call, and that was pretty special for him. Hannah said that the girl is mentally handicapped, but she is actually fairly healthy for her condition out here.
God kept us safe today over all the bumps and rocks. He provided a church building that was big and had plenty of space for clinic. During todays message, we had about 6 kids raise their hands for salvation. The pastor of the church took them aside to talk and to pray with them. We praise the Lrod for each salvation decision made this week and we pray that discipleship will follow as these pastors interact with the people.
Tomorrow we will head down the mountain in the afternoon. We will have a full load going down the mountain as well as any sick people that need a ride down to the hospital.
Prayer requests:
1) a good nights rest for all
2) the baby with the burns to heal quickly
3) a safe trip tomorrow
Praises:
1) safety
2) salvation descisons made
3) Gods grace
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