It is night again in Port-au-Prince. There is a cool breeze that refreshes me each time it blows as I sit on the porch writing this entry. We just returned from a wonderful dinner at Pastor Renol's house after a clinic day.
The clinic had a few heart breaking cases, like the woman with an infant with what looked to be advanced AIDS based on her symptoms. She is going to get tested this week to be sure, but it does sound Ike the doctors are pretty confident it is AIDS and with available treatment here it could be death sentence for her and another orphaned child. I can't imagine the pain, anger, and frustration a parent must feel in that situation. Unfortunately the doctors also believe the infant is showing signs of the disease.
We served about 147 people today, though we were only scheduled to serve 120. And we are getting low on certain medicines and completely out of others. The pharmacy is making due with what they have, but simply put, more is needed. As if to emphasize that point the Pastor mentioned tonight at dinner that the is as much if not more need for medical support now than there was right after the earthquake.
Within all of today there were blessings. The smiling children. The young girl that was making sure all the other, younger, children were getting their art supplies in the children's group. The singing of the children and laughing as they played games.
But, you do have to be careful when asking for or hoping for blessings from children in Haiti. In the places we. Have been visiting, and likely this is true in the general case, the non-potty trained children do not wear diapers. They are simply too expensive. As such it seems to have become custom that when a child wets while you are holding them and you feel that warn, wet liquid starting to drip down your arm, midriff, leg ... it is said that you are being blessed.
Several team members have been blessed at least once this week, and today was my turn. She was a beautiful little girl, but I think she might have had a sly grin and given me the eye right as she decided I needed to be blessed.
It happens. You continue to hug and hold the child and when you get the opportunity, you clean up as best you can and move on ... perhaps this has broader application.
May you enjoy your evening and may you be blessed, but in a dry way.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Bedtime Stories
After the medical clinic tonight we had dinner and then headed to the orphanage that is just down the street from where we are staying. We brought glow in the dark bracelets, a guitar, drawing material, and books. The children were very much drawn to the books and luckily we had a few people that could read French as the books we brought down were in French so that they could easily be used after we leave.
You could see the children focus and concentrate as they sat on laps and were read to. The would follow along with the reading by tracing along the words with their fingers. The were so gear to just sit and hear the stories. I very much get the feeling they don't get read to much. We do plan to leave the books with the orphanage and we hope that the caretakers continue to ad to the children, but we also understand it is different for us to come for a short time and spend that much time with the children as opposed to living with the children 365 days a year with far fewer staff.
One of our translators is spending the night at our guest house as the trip back to his house is quite long. He came along with us as well to the orphanage as well. He is a teacher besides a translator and is wonderful with both patients and the children. He spent the entire time reading to a large group of children.
As it turns out one of our team members, A, has some artistic talent. It was fascinating to watch as the children sat very still while he drew their portrait and then ran around proudly showing the portrait to anybody that he could. While many people have taken digital pictures of these children, the children do not really have pictures of themselves. We were not able to bring a Polaroid camera on this trip, so getting their portraits done was a special treat.
It was a good day and after yesterday we all needed a good, easy day.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The Other Side of the Door
Today was going well until near the end. We had are normal number of heart breaking cases. The doctors were working incredibly hard as they served 162 people mostly children, as we were at a school. The children's team were busy keeping track of 70 kids some of which were content coloring, some of which need the rough housing and male model figure our team member B provided. The pharmacy people were running around like crazy doing the best that could be done providing medications, even cutting pills, given the limited supply. The eye glass team was swamped all day and got no rest. The person handing out deworming medicine was working a way making sure the kids drank the awful syrup and then drawing a smile on their hand so we know they had it.
And then it happened ...
We could accept no more patients and yet there were more people waiting and even pleading to get in ...
A little bit of history here. On my first trip to Haiti just about 2 months after the earthquake we were providing medical clinics very much like the one we provided today. Part of my role in those clinics was to run the door and weigh people as they entered the clinic. This meant that at the end of the day it was my responsibility to shut the door and ensure no one else entered. This meant that I had to turn away people that were in greater need than I will likely every be. Least you think that is easy, trust me, it haunts my very soul today.
To the present. Fortunately it was not my role to guard the door today. That job fell to our team member I will call JP. But I unfortunately noticed it was happening and it all instantly flooded back to me. It was if no time had past and I was yet again turning people away that should not have to be turned away. It was to the point that I could not even look at JP let alone talk to him, not because I was mad at him for the job that he must perform, but because no one should have to be on the wrong side of that door. That door should simply not only never be closed, but should not exist.
I know in the midst of doing that job you can cope. It is a job and you can distance yourself. I also know that those moments burn there way into your heart and eat at you when they come to the surface. It is something that must be done, the doctors, pharmacists, nurses, eye care workers, child care people, and every one else have worked so very hard and can not continue indefinitely. But through the grace of God I pray that this door vanishes from existence never to be seen of, heard of, or remembered.
I pray that God's grace bathes the people of Haiti and that he holds them gently in his care so that they might heal, and understand how deeply they are loved. That God grants peace and prosperity to the people of this island and that through God's love no one must every be forced to shut the door again. And thank God for JP, for his strength to perform this task, and I pray that he understands, as I am sure he does, that it is an important thing he had to do today however hard and distasteful.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Different Part Of Haiti
We traveled to a part of Haiti that I had never been to before. It is actually easy to do, as out side specific parts of Port-au-Prince I haven't seen a whole lot. We traveled up towards Cap Haitien to a place called Blanket. We were able to drive by some beautiful beach area and then headed up into the hills along some rough if not questionable roads past where the main mode of transportation seemed to switch over from cars to mules.
We did our medical clinic in a small community that had not seen a doctor in over two years so needless to day the lines were long and the medical providers out did themselves and saw about 185 patients.
A couple of our team members also held a very well attended kids program. The children were very attentive and for many of them it was there first experience with crayons. As I said it was a remote village.
Before the medical clinic today we visited the chicken coop we built in January. There were quite a few chickens and they seemed to be producing very well. But I guess if you are a chicken you know what happens when you stop producing.
Not sure what we are planning for tomorrow...
Location:Ruelle Samba,Port-au-Prince,Haiti
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Evening Time
After sorting medicine and preparing for the medical clinic we headed to the orphanage. We spent time reading, singing, just holding the children, and loving one them. One of our team members plays the guitar and the children are drawn to it as soon as the first string is plucked.
I do wish I had remembered to bring some children's books with me. We have a few here, but they are in French, and I can't really read them. I wish I had a copy of "Good night Moon". Even though they were in French, some of them were shape, animal, and number books, so were we're able to use those and the children could shout out numbers and animal names.
Night time in Haiti is a wonderful time. The breeze keeps you cooler, the sounds of night come out, music from churches, street traffic, neighbors having conversations, crickets, birds, and leaves blowing. I could sit on the porch for hours just absorbing it. It brings peace.
Good night Haiti and God Bless.
Location:Ruelle Samba,Port-au-Prince,Haiti
It Was Evening And It Was Morning, The First Day
As we walked out of the airport baggage claim it didn't feel like Haiti. Inside the baggage claim area the confusion and chaos was normal, but out side no one really aggressively pursued us to handle our luggage nor was there any traffic on the road to speak of. It just didn't seem "normal".
We arrived at the guest house, had a wonderful dinner, and most went to bed or began to rest early. A few of us stayed up to chat. It was a pleasant evening on the porch where we could hear the rain on the tin roof.
But not to worry, Haiti returned the next day (Sunday) and this time it took its revenge. The breakfast bell rang at 7am, which was a half our early and most of us are off anyway as there is some confusion as to the actual time because this is the first year Haiti change to daylight savings time when the US did.
A quick breakfast and clean up and it was off to church. The traffic to church was worse than normal and we got diverted as one of the Catholic Churches was celebrating their anniversary with a parade that blocked the main road and also snarled traffic on the side streets. Several detours and about 45 minutes later we did arrive at the church and were promptly seat directly in front of the speak at full volume.
The service lasted about two hours and the Easy English Club provided us translators which was great both for the translations and because I was able to see some old friends, which I was not able to do back in January.
After service we took a trip to the grocery store for the weeks lunch supplies and then back to he guest house for lunch and to sort medical supplies for tomorrow's clinic.
The team is coming together well and there are people with whom I have been with on other trips with both in La Romana, DR and in Haiti. It is interesting how quickly teams form bonds here, even when they have just met he day before. And it is interesting to hear the people on their first trip to Haiti speak to how she has already grabbed their heart.
Friday, April 5, 2013
19 Hours To Port-au-Prince
I am at LAX right now and it took a lot of generous people to get me here. I would like to thank those that made this mission trip possible by contributing to the funding. Without your gracious support I would not be on my way to Haiti. I honestly can't thank you enough.
My trip to Haiti today and tomorrow takes me from San Jose, to LAX, to JFK, and finally to PAP. The total travel time is around 19 hours when taking into account layovers and flight times. It means that I get to sleep on a plane, but that is a small discomfort considering I am able to travel back to a people and place that I love.
This trip is a medical trip as opposed to the trip in January, which was a construction trip. This means that the team will likely travel to a different area of PaP each day, set up a temporary medical clinic, see as many patients as possible, and then head home for dinner and bed. I also suspect and hope that we will be able to visit the orphanage down the street in the evenings as well.
As I have no medical training my role will be to help set up the clinics, be a gopher for the doctors, help with directing patients to where they need to be, and do my best to entertain the crowd as they sit in the heat for many hours. This last aspect of the mission trip is something I truly enjoy as I get to meet a lot of Haitians and do my best to communicate and make them smile. It is an opportunity to love on a lot of people.
So I sit as patiently as I can waiting for my next flight, which is in 2+ hours, miss my family, and anticipate the week ahead. And while I will miss my family it will be good to get back to what has come to feel like my second home.
God Bless.
Location:World Way,Los Angeles,United States
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