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...

What do I know of Holy?

So I've had the Addison Road CD for a while, but just really started listening to it the last few days. Not one of the usual CD's I listen to, but there is one song I can't stop listening too. If we were back in the old days of tapes, it would be worn out by now...so thankful for ipods!! The song is called "What Do I Know of Holy?" and it has some great thought provoking lyrics. I don't want to overwhelm you with all the lyrics, so you'll just have to listen to the song for yourself, but here is just a few of my thoughts.

"I made You promises a thousand times
I tried to hear from Heaven
But I talked the whole time
I think I made You too small
I never feared You at all"

I guess I love it because its where I am at right now. Most times I talk to much instead of listening to what God is trying to say to me. Be still and know is a great phrase, but so hard to actually put into practice. Also fits in with a great book I started reading the other day called "Your God is too Safe." God doesn't call us out to live the easy, safe life...but rather to step out - not always knowing the when, where, and how of it all. We don't have to know the details as long as he does...hmm, goes against the control freak part of me!

"I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were mighty to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees"

Growing up in the church makes it easy to "know the stories" but not see Him for who he truly is...it really isn't empty words on a page. My prayer is that in the end it does drive me to my knees. I'm still catching my short glimpses!

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

The saying goes "A picture is worth a thousand words" and if that is the case, I guess I will just run out of word to describe my 2 weeks in Haiti. Neither words nor picture could ever do justice to describe the hurting, fear, and devastation I have witnessed. I cried as I saw a young boy on the side of the street in a wheelchair holding up his arms asking for food while his mother sat helpless nearby. Or the man who brought his friend by car to our "bus clinic" (with what appeared to be a kidney stone) in the hopes that we could do more than any hospital could.
The grandmother who is now the "mother" of young infant twins after their mother was killed in the earthquake. Tent camps tripling in a days time because they have no where else to go. Or after touring the downtown ruins of Port-au-Prince, dropping my friends off at their tent homes. These are the images I have no words to truly describe and no picture could ever do justice! Yet they are indelibly etched in my mind. Harder yet is the ability to explain the fortitude of the Haitian people. I have never witnessed people with so little be so giving and dare I say joyful in the midst of tragedy as I saw in the last few weeks.
Families taking in strangers because they have no one else, digging with bare hands to find survivors in collapsed buildings, sharing of what meager food one may have...the list could continue, but it just isn't enough to let people know what is truly going on there If you could only catch a glimpse of the 2 church services I attended while there. The passion in their singing, the depth of their prayers and conviction. You don't see people crippled with fear, but rather resolve...they will not be destroyed by this. They will come out stronger - physically, mentally, and most importantly spiritually. God is all they have left! Hope is what pulls them together and allows them to face the next day. None of this could ever be captured in one moment of time as a snapshot!

Haiti Slideshow...

This is just a quick glimpse at the 2 weeks I spent in Haiti with Nehemiah Vision Ministries after the recent earthquake. I can't take credit for all the pics..we had a great group of photographers that shared their photos with us all. Check out www.nehemiahvisionministries.org for more information about the work in Haiti

In the wake of it all...

So I've been back at my house for about 12 hours now...and I'm so glad to be here, yet its a little hard. Sorry I didn't get a chance to update while I was there - bad internet connection and 40+ people vying for 3 computers doesn't make for much time to reflect and type! I'm still trying to process it all...so I'm sure I will have several posts coming in the next weeks as it finally all comes to make "sense" in my head. I can't thank people enough for the prayers while I was away! We had some very high times and some pretty low times as well...but God is faithful through it all. More to come soon but I will leave you with one of my high points for the 2 wk trip. Friday (which was our last day in Haiti)the team was going to start a little later out to the clinic. The team was sitting around drinking coffee and talking when I heard singing. I looked over the verandah and saw a group of about 8 of our translators in a circle with other smaller groups scattered around them...and they were singing worship songs. For the umpteenth time on this trip I got a lump in my throat. Here are people who have truly lost EVERYTHING...home, jobs, family, friends and they were singing. Its not like one of the guys had been affected and the others were rallying around to give him support...this was 15 people who in 1 minutes time had lost it all! I had to stop and ask myself if I would be strong enough to still praise when in the worlds eyes, all is lost. Thankfully for myself and these fellow brothers in Christ, my hope isn't in things of this world, but rather Christ! I couldn't help myself and ended up sitting on the pavement next to them. I joined in singing the ones I knew in Creole and enjoyed when they humored me and sang in English! These were the moments that kept me going the last 2 weeks...