Here is a slideshow I put together of my May 2010 Medical Mission trip to Haiti. Hope you enjoy!!



And you can always check out www.nehemiahvisionministries.org for more information on this great ministry touching the lives of Haitians!

It took a village...

So if you read my post about our tour of downtown Port-au-Prince Haiti, you might have derived that I was a little discouraged by it all. It was a little overwhelming to see all the need that still lingers even after billions of dollars of aid came in. Makes one wonder where it has all gone?!?! So Monday was our last clinic day in Haiti, and I can't say I was feeling my usual ambitious self...but that could be for many reasons. The night before Pastor Pierre told us there was a new village that cropped up on the mountainside near the clinic/school in Chambrun and he would like us to visit. Apparently several families had moved out there after the earthquake. It sounded like a great idea, but I must admit I was really thinking how far behind it would put us at the clinic. Pastor had made an announcement at church on Sunday that we would be holding clinic, so you know there was going to be a good sized crowd. Just when I think I've seen it all in Haiti, I get surprised! We took a turn off the main road and started down a dirt path - pretty usual so far! But then we went through a dried up river bed where some locals had an open market. Still usual, just usually seen more in the city. Then we drove for quite a while, hanging on the backs of the pickups as we dodged bumps in the road and hung on for dear life! (okay that might be a little dramatic!) Finally we came to stop at the foot of a mountain. We all jumped out of the trucks and began following our Haitian tour guide. Up the side of the mountain we wandered until we reached the top where the village was. The view was breath-taking. I mean it was mountains and brush and lots of dirt, but at the same time just simply beautiful. One of the villagers greeted us and let a yell ring down the mountain to some huts below to let them know the Americans had arrived...apparently Pierre had told them we were coming but they weren't sure we would actually show up. We took a quick tour of the village which consisted of 6 makeshift tents with a few more a little further down the mountain side. Inside one tent was a small child sleeping. A lady (who looked much older than her 36 yrs) walked over to Pastor and asked a question. Apparently the young child in the tent had been sick with a fever and she was hoping the "doctors" would take a look at him. Pierre pulled me aside and asked me to check the child over. His lungs sounded junky so I wanted to give him antibiotics, but no one had put any in the medicine totes. Pierre and I decided it would be best to go back to the clinic and get more meds so we could see the rest of the villagers, and so the construction guys could get started on their work as well. So back into the trucks we jumped and headed off to Chambrun to restock. Two tote fulls later we were ready to head back up the mountain. Once we arrived back at the base of the mountain the Haitians were waiting for us. We were able to get food donations from our friends at GAiN, so besides medicines we arrived with 10 boxes and 12 5-gallon buckets of food. The men and women came to help us unload. One woman carried 65 pounds on her head while carrying a child in her arms...that's what you call grace and strength. Once back on the mountain top we started seeing patients. There was no shelter or building to use so we stood outside on the mountain side under the blazing sun...but don't feel sorry for me...I'd do it again in a heart beat. Linda was able to give all the children and adults Vitamin A and deworming meds while I did assessments. We even got Brandon in on the action...we'll make him a nurse yet. Several people needed antibiotics, but all received Vitamins and Tylenol. Then it was time to pass out the food. Many times this will cause a stampede and we weren't sure how this was going to end for us. But the villagers were so gracious. There was no fighting or pushing like is often seen with desperation. Each family received several days worth of rice with vegetables that contains the daily nutrients they need. Our clinic team even had 4 jugs of water left over and left it there. One woman was so appreciative because it meant she wouldn't have to trudge down the mountain for water for several days. All she could say was "thank you!" Linda then had the great idea to get a picture of the village as it is now, and when we all return at some future time we would have been able to document how much it has grown. We got the crowd to stand on the mountain with a view of the mountains behind them...left me speechless! I asked Roberson (our translator) if the village had a name and one of the adults stated it was called Boukafarine...I misunderstood the translator when he told me what that meant. He said "flour and fire" but I took it for "flower and fire" which is exactly how I would describe Haiti. Beauty amidst destruction...how fitting...so for me it will always be Flowers and Fire! After our tour of Port-au-Prince my soul was focused on how insurmountable the work seemed, but it took the small village of Boukafarine to remind me that I can't save the world, but I can make a difference right where I am at. And for those few moments on Monday, I was right where I was supposed to be doing my small part to heal Haiti!

Amidst the rubble

So I've had a little more time to sort out my thoughts about our visit to downtown Port-au-Prince. I figured it would be easier to see downtown this time, but that surely wasn't the case. In some ways you could see progress, but in many ways it seemed much worse. Many of the streets have been cleared of most of the rubble so that you could get cars and such down them, but the rubble has been replaced with mounds of trash. I honestly couldn't believe how much trash was just laying around. People still were not living in the houses, but rather "tents" wherever they could find the space. The street vendors were out in full force which definitely wasn't the case back in January. I have to say I was pretty discouraged by it all. We all wondered where the billions of dollars in donations were, because there didn't seem to be much getting done here. Around every corner you had adults and children placing their hands over their stomachs to tell us they were hungry. Or people bathing on a street corner. Tent camps seem to still be growing daily. We also just happened to be driving by the Haitian palace as a UN tank was stationed in front. An UN soldier with gun held in the air decided to perch himself on top of the tank with the palace in the background for a great photo op...or so he thought. We found it all rather disgusting, and made me realize why the Haitans aren't always so happy to see all the people here to "save them." Someone in our group said they had heard that the Haitian govt was not planning on fixing the palace because they wanted to use it to get sympathy from other nations. The palace was the one things the Haitians had to be truly proud of and now that too is laying in ruin. I'm honestly conflicted about everything I saw down there...and really not sure it will ever completely make sense in my mind. On one hand, I'm frustrated that the Haitians don't demand something better...they are content to build their lives around the rubble instead of it changing so it is better than before. One the other hand, you have to respect the resiliency of the Haitian people. I'm not sure I could face day after day like they have with no end in sight. They have taken what they have been given and made the most of it. On our tour, the scenes of downtown were weighing heavy on many of us. Moe, our interpreter, came and looked at each of us and told us "you have to be strong" and that we "always have God." Here is a well educated man, who now lives in a tent village and makes his money by translating for visiting relief teams, instead of teaching at the university like he was pre-earthquake, and he is preaching at us to be strong and lean on God. This is just one of the many reasons I have fallen in love with Haiti, but more importantly its people. I hope on my next visit to be able to see a bigger change...but it doesn't end on a bad note...the good is yet to come. God saved the best for last for me (like he does for all of us..it doesn't end here)...stay tuned!

What to say...

Not much to say today...so much to think through first. We went to church which is always one of my fav times. Right now they are meeting in a tent since the school/church is full of supplies. It was hot to say the least! They have started having youth group for the Nehemiah teens and we got to see them sing a couple of songs today...AWESOME! Finally got to see all the sponsor kids today too. Kesnal is getting so big. Then Adlove (my Haitian sister) found me as usual so she could sit on my lap. Her older brother sat with us too. Then her sister came and gave me a kiss...I feel like one of the family!! The afternoon took us into Port-au-Prince...and I have to say it was harder to see this time then the last. But more to come on that later.

Tent camp clinic...

So we finally made it out to a tent camp today. It was a smaller camp than any of the others I had been to. We were told there were approximately 300 people in the tent camp, and we saw about 180 of them. The nurses saw all the usual stuff we see and passed out tons of meds. Other team members were able to pass out Pedialyte to the crowd which was well received to say the least. The kids were adorable there...we taught them all kinds of crazy hand shakes and games. We just had a blast hanging out with them when we could. Also got the kids to sing a couple of songs for me. They even decided to bust out some moves for me too! I'll have to post the video after I get home. It ended up being kind of a short day, because several of the team members were getting over heated from all the sun and humidity. It's definitely been hot here, but it hasn't bothered me too much.
In fact, one of our translators saw me and said I looked better than all the other Americans...he told me "you are 100% Haitian now, well except for your skin!" :) I'm working on that part too! After we came home I headed up to the roof for some downtime and to catch a few rays. Can't come home looking like I never saw the sun! Then just spent the time hanging out with the team telling nursing stories and grossing the guys out!! I'm sure a few of them had nightmares last night!! Sad that the trip is winding down, but looking forward to the last few days!!

More fun...

Chambrun was once again where we held clinic today. We were trying to finish up the school kids although I'm sure we didn't even though the principal assured us we did. I did get to numb up and then cut open an abscess on a girls arm first thing this morning...so cool!! It was great to see all the kids, and get to "talk" with them...slowly but surely I will learn Creole! I think Nicky my translator had more fun laughing at my attempts to speak to the kids...at one point in time he told me I told this little boy to "chew yourself!" Oh well, at least I tried! Got to see a few more of the sponsor kids today. Only 2 more to find now! The girls braided my hair this afternoon...yeah, thinking I better stick with what I've got but they had a good time braiding it! Tonight its been raining most of the night, so no roof time. But we did have a great time sitting outside watching the lightning storm and singing worship songs. This has been a great team! Hopefully we are all heading out to an IDP camp tomorrow, but things are always bound to change. If not, I'm hoping to get some time to sort through all the tubs we have...its getting to be a bit over-whelming. But we are so thankful for all the donations.

Clinic day 2...

So yesterday we headed out to Chambrun to see the kids. We normally do their physicals every 6 months, but the earthquake kind of threw that off. It was so great to see them! Syliana was there and was so excited to see me, as I was her. Only 4 more sponsor kids to hunt down before I leave. The kids all look much better than they did in February...obviously due to the fact that they are eating again! We actually had a slow day and only saw about 160 people...so today is make-up day and we have 250 kids left to see.
It was funny today because a bunch of the kids actually remembered my name without me telling them...guess that means I've been spending alot of time down here!! But I am also getting so much better at remembering their names too...which they think is great! I took some large bubble wands with me and had a few minutes to play with the girls outside today...they had a blast! Only spent part of the day in the pharmacy, and got to see pts instead...which actually really helped me work on my Creole...but still have a very long way to go! Also made a few improvements to the pharmacy which hopefully you can see from the pics!

Something I thought I would never say...

So today was our first day to head out to our clinic at Chambrun. It's been about 3 months since I had been there...and all I can say is WOW! We have medications and supplies like you wouldn't believe. Which is amazing except that we have no where to put them right now until more construction is completed on sight. All of that is in process but the rainy season isn't helping that any. We spent a few hours trying to get the rooms cleared out and settled in and then the clinic began. We actually had a Haitian doctor come work with us. She had a practice in Port-au-Prince until the earthquake when it was destroyed. She hadn't been working since so she came to help us out. It was a great experience for all I think. We ended up seeing about 60 pts so it was a slower day than we are used to, but good. We also got to tour the grounds and see all the new construction...I will try to post pics if I can get them to load. The cafeteria is coming along, the hospital ground had been broken but the rains were filling in the ground and causing it to collapse so its been a losing battle at times. The guys have also been working on dormitories for mission teams as well. It's great to see how God is working down here and that I get to have just a small hand in it!

Welcome home...

So I arrived back in Haiti today and it was like I never left. First it was great catching up with all my friends who were on the last trip with me. It's amazing how close we all get in just a week or so together. And we have several new team member who have never been to Haiti before. It was encouraging to see some minor changes in the country- the airport is mainly indoors again and we say some new construction on the way back to Pierre's house. But in many ways it still looks the same. At the airport, Pastor Pierre met us and it was so good to see him. He definitely looked more rested and less stressed then when I saw him 3 months ago. As we were pulling into Pierre's neighborhood few of the ladies were waiting at the corner and as soon as they saw us, they started waving and smiling...it was great to see them again even if we can't talk to them til tomorrow. There is lots of construction going on in Chambrun so hopefully I can get some pics posted tomorrow. Can't wait to see the kids eitherTonight was just getting the team settled in and then the real fun begins tomorrow. We are going to have a great team to work with and hope to accomplish alot in the few days we will be here. More to come...