Easter

Four baskets because the Easter Bunny always remembers Holly.

 





 

I love the look on Hannah's face.  She was tired of taking pictures and started making silly faces.

 



 

PK had to work on Easter, but he had a later schedule.  That allowed him to participate in the morning Easter Egg Hunt and baskets without us having to get the kids up at a ridiculous hour.  He was able to go to Sunday School and left church early to make it to work.

Haiti Day 6

Day 6
March 19, 2013

We started another day at the clinic.  It was steady.  Connie saw a patient who had been struck by lightening.  Her scar had healed nicely.  Her complaint?  After having been struck by lightening?  The scar itched.  Connie found her some cream to help with the itching.

This woman gave us another reason to tease Trevor about being a ladies man.  He was handing out eye glasses in the same room where Connie was seeing patients.  When the lady told Connie about the scar, she started to undress to show Connie.  She didn't seem to care that Trevor was in the room.  Trevor cared and he was Out. Of. There.

One of the saddest stories from the clinic was a patient Connie saw who was complaining of stomach pains.  The pain occurs in the morning.  Connie asked how many times a day she was eating.  Once.  Her stomach hurts because she is hungry.

VBS went well.  Dee taught the kids the story of Saul.  There was a little boy there who is about two years old.  He came up to us.  I had him doing the motions to Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes with me.  Then Jesus Loves Me.  Those tender one on one moments make my heart smile.

I lead the devotions after dinner last night.  I've been reading Do Hard Things by Alex & Brett Harris.  It is written for teens to encourage them to do hard things.  I shared Hebrews 12:1-3.  this verse encourages me to do hard things.  Nothing I ever have to face will be as hard as what Christ had to endure and in His love He strengthens me to do hard things.

During our reflection time one of the local pastors came to talk to us.  It is my observation that this means they are going to ask something of us.  He is concerned that many of the young people leave the island for a better life, but the girls get pregnant and the boys fall into trouble and have to return.  We gave suggestions, but the bottom line was he wanted someone to fix it for them.

Foreigners have come to this country and given things to the people in order to help them and with the best of intentions.  However, it has taught the people to expect things to be given to them without anyone taking ownership.  For example, a water purification system was built by a team years ago, but noone in the village knew how to maintain it.  When it malfunctioned noone in the village knew how to repair it.  It just sat and is now rubble.  It is hard not to hand the shoes off of your feet to someone who has none.  It is hard not to give someone something to eat when they say they are hungry.  However, by just giving and not teaching, we are aiding the cycle of poverty.  This attitude is slowly starting to change.  Instead of just building guest houses, the people are taught to work along side the teams.  They in turn earn wages and learn a skill.  Local people are hired to "run" the guest house.  Our security guard, Lamar, is from the local community.  The ladies cooking for us in the kitchen are from the local community.  One of the ladies does laundry.  We were able to give her a stack of clothes and a dollar or two per piece she washed.  She has a marketable skill.  And....if she is given too much laundry to get done, she can hire another woman to help her.  That is a good thing. 

Haiti Day 5

Day 5
March 18, 2013

Today was a good day.  We had oatmeal for breakfast and got straight to work at the clinic. 

Gary, the nurse from the other team, was here on Friday.  He saw a baby who was 17 days old.  Her mother's milk had not come in and she was severally dehydrated.  The parents had walked for three hours to get to the clinic.  Gary and Weslyn taught the parents how to give the baby Pedialyte on their finger.  Gary didn't think the baby would make it.  Today the parents came back to the clinic with the baby and she is thriving!  The mother's milk came in and the baby was nursing.  Rodney checked her out and said she looks good.  Gary came into the clinic to share the story.  He was beaming from ear to ear.  Miracles happen and God is working in this place.

For lunch we had french fries, tangerines, and some kind of lobster salad.  As I suspected, I do NOT like lobster.

We had the clinic open until 3:00 and then we did VBS.  Dee told the story of the Lost Sheep.  The kids at Mountain View traced their hands on black construction paper and cut them out. 



We gave those handprints to the kids here.  They glued on cotton balls to make sheep.

We brought peanut butter crackers that the congregation at home had donated.  The kids were pretty orderly.  The parents, not so much.  Bill made the mistake of handing a cup of juice to one of the adults before we gave any to the kids.  He almost had a riot on his hands.



At the end, we gave each child a sticker.  Kids love stickers in any place and any language.

Haiti Day 4

Day 4
March 17, 2013

Breakfast this morning was spaghetti noodles and bananas.  I don't usually eat breakfast, but I have been eating a little something when we are served.  I skipped the pasta.  I have been known to eat leftovers from dinner for breakfast, but something about the heat and the heavy pasta don't go hand in hand.  I ate a banana and we have a jar of peanut butter that stays on the table, so I had a spoonful of that.  Of course, there was that wonderfully strong coffee!!

We went to church in the village this morning. 

 

 Bill gave a sermon about trusting God.  The people seemed to enjoy hearing from him.

 





At the beginning of the service we stood up front and were introduced to the congregation.  Trevor is one of the men on our team and 72 years young.  He does several mission trips a year.  He is originally from Jamaica.  When Bill introduced each of us, we received polite applause.  When he introduced Trevor this little old lady in the back started clapping loudly and shouting, "Amen!"

We did not let Trevor live that down the entire trip.  Pastor Bill even mentioned it at Mountain View when we returned home.

Half way through the service the thought occurred to me that there would be an offertory.  I had not thought to bring any money.  This was an opportunity to give.  Luckily, Dee carried her money in her camera case which she had with her.  I borrowed some money until we got back to our room.  As the offering basket was passed, I noticed many coins in the bottom of the basket.  The people of Source a Phillipe do not have much, but the ones sitting in this congregation give what they have.

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury.  He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.  ^"Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.  All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."  Luke 21:1-4

During reflections I shared that I found this part of the service particularly moving.  I was in a Bible study once, probably Beth Moore, and she said if you feel like you have nothing to give to Jesus then give him your nothing and He can make something out of your nothing.

The congregation greeted us after the service.  "God bless you" goes a long way when there is a language barrier.  The people were so kind and smiled and smiled.  One little old lady came up to Doc Rodney and smiled.  Then she pointed to her knee.  He said, "Does it hurt?  Come see me on Monday."  She smiled and nodded.  Not sure if she understood.

We rested between church and lunch and visited with one another.  I found sitting still on a Sunday afternoon difficult, but tomorrow will be busy and I will be thankful that we were able to rest up.

For lunch we had sandwiches.

After lunch Angie, one of our interpreters, told us she and Rodney were going to the water and wanted to know if we wanted to go.  We walked down by the dock where their were a dozen burros loaded with packs of charcoal. 

Charcoal is one of the items exported from La Ganove back to the mainland.  The people cut down trees and burn them until they are basically black bricks.  This supplies them with some income, but it is slowly destroying the island.  When the rains come, the ground washes out. 

We walked through a part of the village I had not seen.  There were three little boys in a boat.

 

One of the things that I notice is how many of the really young children are out in the village without any adult supervision.  Many of the little bitty ones are in the care of an older child.  By older, I mean six or eight years old.  The oldest boy in this boat was probably ten and the youngest about three. 

 

As we started to walk away from the boys, we were off of the path and we saw lots of animal bones scattered about.

 

 

We were trying to figure out why there were so many bones in this particular area when one of the boys in the boat started talking to us again.  Angie told us he was saying the area we were walking in wasn't safe.  Because there is Voodoo in the area and the people are superstitious we wondered if that was the reason.

 

Bill hired our boat captain, Jackson, who brought us over to Source a Phillipe to take us out to an area where the water was safe to swim. 

 

 



A few of the men from the Virginia team went with us.  Claude and I stayed in the boat and watched.  It was pretty, but I don't like ocean water at home.  Haitians in general do not swim or like to get in the water. 

 

 

Angie brought a life jacket and got in the water.  She was very afraid at first, but once some of the team members worked with her she enjoyed floating around.

This is Gary, the nurse from the Virginia team, helping Angie to relax.

 



 

Trevor found a starfish.

 

 

Pastor Bill enjoying the water.

 



When we stopped in the area where we were going to swim, one of the men who worked on the boat swam to the dock.  He came back with a cooler of Haitian beer.  That cracked me up.

 

When we were heading back to shore, Jackson asked if we would like to swim in another area.  We dropped those who wanted to swim and chased another boat loaded with people headed for the mainland.  Jackson wanted someone on that boat to bring him something back.

 

The boat we took out was much smaller than the boat we took to Source a Phillipe.  I was nervous at first, but in the end was so glad I went along for the adventure.

 

There were some men who came to sell things outside of the guest house today.  They each had mostly the same things.  I wanted to buy something from each man.  I bought Rachel some earrings, some braided bracelets for all three kids and a wooden box with "Haiti" engraved on it.

 

When Connie went to get her shower, she had enough water to get wet and lather up.  When she turned the water on to rinse, the water was out.  She had to rinse with a bottle of water.  Too funny.

 

Dinner was so nice.  We had goat, Haitian potato salad (this may be my favorite dish so far), cole slaw, green beans and fried plantains.  Then they brought in a bottle of champagne and cake for Bill's birthday which is tomorrow.



Haiti Day 3

Day 3
March 16, 2013

I slept well last night and was awakened this morning by the sounds of roosters, goats and burros.  I'm sitting on my bed now and can see through the door of our room and out the back door of the building.  There is a rooster strutting by.

There was strong coffee this morning.  It was so strong even PK would have approved.  We had omelets, bread, Laughing Cow cheese and juice for breakfast.

We are heading to our first day at the clinic.

-Afternoon

We saw about 37 patients at the clinic this morning.  Dee, Trevor, Claude, Bill and I worked in the pharmacy.  We found a box of donated glasses.  Connie has done eye clinics before and is going to train Trevor and Claude to assist the patients in finding a pair of glasses.

Connie taking a patient's temp

 



 

Our interpreter, Rodney (blue shirt on right), translating for our doctor

There is quite a contrast between the dispensing of medicine here and in the U.S.  To begin with, I am at most qualified to be a teacher, but I play a pharmacist in Haiti. 

 

Weslyn in front of her cabinet of meds.

 

There is a local nurse who runs the clinic on a regular basis.  Her name is Weslyn.  She diagnoses and dispenses medications.  I'm not sure she has a thorough knowledge of all the medications.  Weslyn has her own system of organization in the clinic.  Every. Single. Bone. In. My. Body. desperately wants to reorganize the medications, but when we aren't here, it is her baby.  We had each of our suitcases of medical supplies packed with an individual packing list.  The list was more to show officials what was in the suitcases should there be any questions.  However, it would have been an easy way for us to locate the medications Rodney had sent.  The suitcases went to the clinic ahead of us and Weslyn had already pulled out a lot of the meds.  A lot of our morning was spent trying to figure out a system and get in a rhythm.

We took a break for a lunch of fried plantain, french fries, goat and a little peanut butter.

After lunch, Dee and I found the local pastor, Pastor Jacki.  His role could best be described as district superintendent.  We needed him to line up some local adults to help supervise VBS this afternoon.

The children were ready for VBS at 3:00.  Dee and our interpretor, Angie, told the story of Jesus telling the disciples to let the children come to him.

There was a lady with twin girls.  She brought the girls over for Dee to take a picture.  We told her they were pretty babies.  When we returned to the guest house, Angie came to find me because the woman who was holding the babies said I promised her something.  We have been warned and warned and warned not to make promises to the people here.  Anything we want to give or donate needs to be done through the local pastors as not to create jealousy in the local community.  I was thankful that Pastor Bill was nearby the entire time I was interacting with the woman.  When Angie  told me what the woman wanted, I told Bill.  He assured her we only talked about the babies.  Angie told the lady that.  In the past, people who have come to help have given handouts.  Although it is hard not to give, give, give, it is important not to just give handouts.  Many of the local people have learned to manipulate (sounds harsh, but for lack of a better word) the system.  The woman knew the babies would draw attention and was trying to get something in return.  She was actually better dressed than most people and well fed.

I am trying to make sense of the cultural differences.  Are we a hindrance to these people?  They do not see poverty the same way we do.  Do they resent these "wealthy" Americans coming to help them?  Do they think we have more pity for them than love?  What would I think if a boat load of millionaires transcended on my neighborhood trying to bring it up to their standards when I already love my home and community? 

I sat by a little boy at VBS who wanted me to sit by him.  It is a wonderful thing to see how much we can communicate with body language, a motion and a smile.  The little boy asked me my name.  Whenever another child would come near, the little boy would tell them my name and tell me the child's name.

-Evening

We had dinner together.  Rice and beans, friend plantains, green beans and a soup that had some veges and goat.

Before dinner, Connie, Dee and I were talking.  Connie shared that she saw a patient today with stomach issues.  It bothers the patient most mornings.  Connie asked how many times a day she had a meal.  The answer?  Once.  Her stomach hurts in the morning because she is hungry.  That made every bite of my dinner hard to swallow.  The people are hungry and I had three meals today.  Part of our money we pay to stay here supplies us with a security guard.  His name is Lamar. 

 

Lamar and two of his children.  He told us the other two are in school in Port au Prince.

 

He has been eating after we do.  Some how he missed it tonight.  Bill told our interpreter to tell the kitchen staff to bring an extra plate at each meal so Lamar can eat with us.

I just went outside and watched the stars.  So very pretty.

Our translator, Rodney (not to be confused with Doc Rodney), told us after dinner that many of the Haitian people turned to God and became Christian after the earthquake.  Voodoo has been very prominent in Haiti, but that has decreased.  The blessing in the catastrophe.

Haiti Day 2

Yesterday was my first full day back home.  I loved being with our church family and sharing stories from Haiti.  I am having a hard time keeping my mind focused on things here.  It is hard to put my feelings and emotions into words.  I am thrilled to be back with my family, but there is so much to be done in Haiti.  As I was driving Hannah to school this morning, I thought about the children I saw in Source a Phillipe who did not have the means to attend the small school in the village.  They will not learn basic reading and writing skills and the cycle of poverty will continue.  I packed my kids' lunches as they ate breakfast and thought about what to make for dinner tonight.  They will probably consume more food today than many in the village see in a week.  Their meals are balanced...fruit, veges, protein.  My dinner thoughts reminded me that I will soon need to make a trip to the grocery store.  I really should go today, but I am hitting the ground running.  I have to drop Aaron at school in about 15 minutes and then take Rachel to the orthodontist.  I volunteer at the front desk at Hannah's school from 11-2 on Mondays.  My biggest dilemma about going to the store today is where to fit it in my schedule.  In Source a Phillip or Haiti in general, the first concern would be how to pay for the food.  In some areas it may mean walking hours to get to the market.  Some of the thoughts and feelings will probably adjust with time, but today my heart is still overwhelmed.

Day 2                                                                                                          March 15, 2013

We left the guest house about 5:15 this morning.  I quickly learned that time is relative in Haiti.

The drive was interesting.  Cars drive on the right side of the road....most of the time.  Every spot is a passing zone.  There are very few if any stop lights.  I didn't see any, but I was told there are some.  i don't think it would make a difference.  I had to keep myself from watching out the front window.  It is best to not know what is heading toward us.

We drove to Petit Goave.  It is a coastal town about 40 miles from Port-au-Prince.  As we neared the area where we would board the boat to La Ganove, Pastor Bill jokingly said we should read a Psalm.  He said, "Psalm 91 sounds good.



 

We were driving in Petit Goave and we seemed to just stop in the middle of town.  I couldn't see the water behind the building and was trying to figure out what we were doing.  Claude took this picture of our van loaded with our bags on top.

Bill had told us about the boat, but actually seeing it was shocking to say the least.  The water was shallow so the men from the boat used a smaller boat to take us and our luggage to the larger boat.  Larger is a relative term.  The "large" boat was about 30 feet long and 12 feet wide. 

 

I can't express how relieved I was to be handed a life jacket.  I put it on, snapped it up and wore it the entire trip.  Once we were all on board, I pulled my Bible out of my backpack and found Psalm 91.  Bill told me to go ahead and read it. 

 

 

Psalm 91

 

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."  Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.  He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.  A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.  You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.  If you say, "The LORD is my refuge," and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.  For he will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.  "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him and him my salvation.

 

The scripture was very calming and I felt peaceful.  I still maintained common sense and left my lifevest on.  Our interpreter, Rodney, told Bill the captain of the boat asked that Bill pray before we leave.  After he prayed I glanced over and saw the name of the boat.

 



 

My dear friend and favorite pharmacist, Shannon, had recommended taking Bonine for motion sickness.  I began taking it three days before the trip.  I often feel sick when riding in the backseat of a vehicle so I was quite certain the four hour boat ride would do me in. 

 

 

The medicine worked.  I also tried to keep my eyes on the horizon.  During the last 45 minutes of the boat ride I started to get a headache, but I think it was due to not being properly hydrated.  I didn't drink a lot of water before boarding or while on the boat because I was not about to have to find something in which to do my business (Ha!).  Since we didn't have much longer on the boat after I started to get the headache I drank some water.  The Bonine will be my new favorite traveling companion.

 

Most of the team found a spot to stretch out and nap on the bottom of the boat.

 

Doctor Rodney

 



Connie

 



Dee

 

Trevor

 

If Pastor Bill wasn't napping, this was his favorite spot to stand and enjoy the ride.



About halfway across, they raised the sail.

 



 

 

The island of La Ganove is about 75 miles off the coast of Haiti, but it was about a four hour boat ride.

 

 

As we pulled up to the coastline of the village of Source a Phillipe, the villagers were there to greet the boat.  "Bonjou."  I was leary of walking down what in my opinion was a crudely constructed plank.  I just grabbed onto the hands of the men helping us down.

 

We were so grateful to hear that some of the men of the village would be bringing our suitcases up to the guest house.  We could have and gladly would have toted them up ourselves, but the bags we checked were heavy.  I smiled when I saw some of the children carrying or pulling some of the bags up.  So eager to be a part.

 

We claimed our beds and walked over to the other guest house to see the additions that had been made since Bill, Connie and Rodney had been there before. 



 A shower with running water and flushable toilets.  PRAISE. BE. TO. GOD!  I was willing to do whatever it took to make this trip, but I was happy to see the addition. 
 

This is the outside of the shower.  The men from the village fill the black container using 5 gallon buckets.  The use a ladder and hand the buckets up one at a time. 



 

Our lunch was set up in the same building.  We were so grateful that lunch was served to us today.  We had lots of snacky stuff packed, but it was sweet of the ladies to do that for us.  After the boat ride, it was the BEST. SANDWICH. EVER!

When we were sitting down for lunch, we couldn't find Rodney.  He had already gone on a house call.  There was a woman in labor.  I just met Doctor Rodney on our flight this morning, but it is obvious he loves the Lord.  He is very humble and so willing to share his talents.  We fixed him a plate to save, but as we were finishing up, he returned.  All seems to be going well with the woman.  he examined her and the babies head is down and engaged.  He told her to let him know when her contractions are five minutes apart.  What a blessing that God is using him immediately.

 

After lunch, those who wanted showered and we took a nap.  Being on the go at 4:30 the past couple of mornings had caught up with us.  We are rested and ready for tomorrow.

 

Dinner was fabulous.  We are treated well.  Beans and rice, fried plantains, pasta in a cream sauce with mixed vegetables, conch and cookies.  There was also something similar to cooked cabbage.  It was okay.  I took a small piece of the conch out of the mixture it was in.  I don't like seafood, but I had never tried it, so I did.  I will add it to the list of seafood I do not like.

 

Bill asked that each of us take a night to lead a short devotion.  It can be just a favorite scripture, a way we see God working here or what we feel He is doing in us.  Connie led our devotion tonight and read from Psalm 146.  After the devotion, we will have a time of reflection each night.  During reflections tonight, Rodney pointed out the changes he noticed since his last trip here and how he sees God at work.

 

We met another team we are overlapping with for a few days out of Virginia.  They are doing construction and they also have a nurse on their team who has been in the clinic and will work with us at the clinic while they are here.

 

Connie said something yesterday that I have rolled around in my head.  She said as Americans we look at the Haitian people through our materialistic eyes.  We think they are hurting for all the things we have.  They NEED to be able to have basic necessities...food, clothing, shelter and medical care.   Beyond those needs, who are we to say?



 

 

 

 





Haiti Day 1

I journaled while I was in Haiti and tried to record details.  I am going to do a series of posts from my journal entries.  The journal entries will be in italics as I may need to add some extra commentary along the way.

This morning I made coffee with water from the tap without fear of it making me sick....in a kitchen larger than most of the homes I saw this past week...This morning my children will choose what they want for breakfast.  We are Blessed. Beyond. Measure.

Day 1                                                                                     March 14, 2013

 

Yesterday I emailed a few friends to ask them to pray for specific things regarding the mission trip.  I cried this morning when I read their responses.

 



I had spent about an hour and a half packing and making an inventory list of the medicines and medical supplies our team doctor had provided.  Something that struck me right away was some of the medicines are so easily accessible to me.  Pepto, Motrin, children's multi vitamins...How many times have I had these readily available in my cabinet and thrown them away because they had passed the expiration date?  The people we are going to serve need these basic medications.

 

One of the things I asked for specific prayer for is to be able to handle what I am going to see.  Today my heart dropped as we drove by a tent city.  It was partially made from tarps that were a part of the relief effort after the January 2010 earthquake. 

 

The team met at the church this morning at 0'dark thirty (4:30).  PK and another team member's friend drove us to the airport.  We checked nine bags consisting mostly of supplies.  I managed to pack all of my personal items in a small carry on and a backpack.  A lady on the team made us several long skirts to wear which we will be able to leave behind when we come home.

 

 

A couple of nights before I left, Hannah came into my room with these two bracelets she had made for me.  The rabbit on the right has a pink bead in the back that is not visible in the picture.  Hannah said this one is a missionary and the pink bead is her backpack.  The cat is the doctor and the flowers are the medicine bags.  Sh made them for me to wear on my trip.  Precious.

 

Our flights went smoothly.  I really don't like to fly, but this time I was more at peace than any other time I have flown.  I know that was the Lord's peace surrounding me.  Our connecting flight in Miami to Port-au-Prince had a minor problem.  The power has to switch from one system to another before take-off.  I can't explain it any further than that because I just don't know.  After the power had switched, the plane wouldn't start.  According to the pilot, a piece of machinery had to be brought in to "start it the old fashion way."  That made me a bit nervous, but I assumed the pilot didn't want to crash into the ocean anymore than I did, so I trusted his judgement.

 

 

This is our nurse, Connie, on the plane.

 

We arrived in Port-au-Prince and gathered our carry on bags.  We went to the immigration desk and after that chaos ensued. 

 

Finding our checked bags, dealing with the over helpful porters and trying to clear customs was a bit scattered.  The porters want to earn that tip and will take your bag from your hand.  We were looking for a specific man the Methodist guest house works with.  His name is Jackson and he can be identified easily because h is missing an arm.  We had team t-shirts with the Methodist logo on them.  One of the porters immediately recognized this and kept telling us, "I good friend of Jackson."  We tried to tell him we did not want his assistance as we were trying to deal directly with Jackson.  All of our bags were tied with a blue ribbon and numbered 1-9.  Without directly telling the man how to identify our bags he managed to find them, so as far as we were concerned, his tip was well earned.  He escorted us to customs and tried to escort us through customs.  There was one official who asked our team leader if we had medicine.  When he was told we had medical supplies, he wanted us to have all of our bags searched.  There was some fear that our medicines would not pass through.  I'm not sure if it was thought we were going to try to sell them or that there is some corruption amongst the ranks.  To our right was the door out of the building and to our left was the door that led around to the customs area where they were searching bags.  Our team leader quickly had us do some bag shuffling, half of team went out the door to the right and the other half went to the left.  It was chaotic.  I was with the half that went through customs.  This room was very small and just separated by a wall from the outside exit.  There were tables set up with about four officials checking bags.  We had one bag that had medicines and VBS supplies.  That bag was strategically placed on top and was the one we handed to the official searching bags.  I prayed over that bag during our short wait.  I asked the Lord to help us through so we would have our supplies to help those we were going to serve.  The official opened the bag and checked labels on the meds.  I thought she would ask to see the contents of the other bags, but she didn't.  Thank the Lord.  I can't explain the chaos of those few moments in writing.  Partially because I was new to that system and wasn't sure what was happening.

 

Once we got outside, Jackson was waiting for us.  He and a couple of his men ushered us to the truck the guest house had sent for us. 

 

That is our truck with the back doors open.

Doctor Rodney, Connie and Bill inside the truck

 



The drive from the airport in Port-au-Prince to the guest house in Petionville takes about 30 minutes.  Many of the roads are very bumpy and we did our fair share of bouncing around.  The streets are packed with vehicles and they are all honking and claiming the right of way.

 

Many of the people do not like to have their pictures taken.  After the earthquake, there were tons of people with cameras snapping pictures without permission of some tender and private moments.  This is especially a problem in the more populated cities like Port-au-Prince.  For respect of the people, I do not have any pictures in Port-au-Prince.

 

Tomorrow we head for the island of La Ganove at 4:45 a.m.  The compound where we are staying tonight is nice. 

 

There are four guest rooms with several sets of bunk beds in each. 

 



 

There are bathrooms with showers and flushable toilets.  In order to conserve water, the toilet etiquette is

 

 

Yellow let it mellow

Brown flush it down.

 

I have already broken that rule out of habit.  Toilet paper is not flushed down the toilet.  It is placed in the garbage can.  The pipes just can't handle it.

 

I have been warned not to eat food that is not prepared properly and not to drink the water.  The staff at the guest house has been trained to prepare our food and we can fill our water bottles from coolers with water that is safe to drink.  It is also important to use bottled water when brushing teeth.

 

The refrigerator is stocked with bottles of Coca Cola.  The bottles are a bit of a novelty.  Growing up my grandparents always had Double Cola in bottles.

 

 



 

We were given a brief introduction or orientation.  We were encouraged to remember this is the home of the Haitian people and words can be hurtful.  The team coordinator, Sarah, told us she had gone over to La Gonave a couple of weeks ago.  She has been in her position in Haiti for about two months and had not yet been there.  She went over with another group and was sitting by the interpreter.  A lady from the group said, "Look at all the garbage."  The interpreter said to Sarah, "They forget this is my home." 

 

There was garbage everywhere, but what Sarah was trying to say was to be kind and respectful. 

 

Sarah also told us that we would see some very skinny dogs and that the animals may not be treated they way we think they should.  This is a different culture and everything is not going to be done the way we think it should.  Feeding a dog we think is hungry would be almost insulting if seen by someone who hasn't had a meal and is hungry.  Sarah's advice was to look away when we saw something we did't like. 

 

That first day seems like an eternity ago, now that I am home.