Joanne: Hello
everyone following this blog! Today mom and I have been away from home for one
week and oddly I feel caught in a bit of a time warp. This is such a different
world that on some level it’s hard to imagine life back home. Tomorrow is the
last day for most of the team but those of us staying the 2 weeks will be
greeted by a whole new team on Friday. The upside is we get a day off to
re-coop but it will be difficult to say bye to our new found friends and have to make new ones, and to
learn working with new people again. I
have no doubt, however, that all will go well J.
Today we got to
sleep in a bit later which for me was about 6:30. Then the breakfast bell rang
earlier than anticipated so I had to rush just a bit. We left for St. Marc at 8
and unfortunately no hike involved today. Despite the humidity and the heat,
hiking is a highlight for a lot of us! The scenery is amazing and when I say
there’s never a lack of things to feast your eyes on, I'm certainly not
exaggerating!! It goes completely without saying that no one reading this blog
could live the way these amazing folks do! I’ve been taking a lot of pictures
and even though they often don’t do reality justice, I’m willing to show anyone
interested! For me the day was filled with assessments on junior and senior
high students. Dressed in their tidy, all-matching uniforms, socks and hair
accessories, each school is unique in their own color and style. I’ve learned a bit of creole that I can greet
and ask the students a few questions. We encountered a few heart breaking
scenarios and a few of us shed tears
when faced with the harsh reality of what some of these children endure on a
regular basis L. A mother also brought in her little girl off
the street (she wasn’t part of the school) to see if the ‘white people’ could
help her. She had stuffed a substance of some sort up her nose and her local
hospital had turned her away after telling her they could not help her. The
girl did fight as children do, but with
the help of God, this amazing team was able to relieve this sweet child
of this obvious discomfort!! I had an amazing conversation with my translator
today during some downtime and learned more amazing info on Haiti! Heart
wrenching!! It's been an emotional week!! I'll stop rambling! Others waiting to
add! Goodnight! Hi to all my loved ones! Ernest and Cammi can you please cook
some chicken or beef or something meaty for when I get home LOL? LOTSA CARBS
HERE!! It's all good. I'm not complaining! Goodnight!!
Deb: Writing to give an update on how the community agent
education training is going. Belinda,
Shari, and I are forming relationships with our students, which is the most
rewarding part for me. They are very sweet and gracious and are working hard to
learn each day. Today we had them pack the first aid kits that will be taken to
each school. The students received their very own stethoscopes today, and they
were so pleased. Tomorrow is their final exam, and we are all hoping that they
do very well. Over the weekend there will be a few more classes with them here
at the mission center, then on Monday, I think we will begin to go to the
schools with our students where they will be serving. It will be like a
“clinical” experience for them. I am very excited to take them to the schools and
actually have them start doing the skills that they have learned this week.
Thank you to all of you who are praying for us. We feel them and are so
thankful. Miss you, but all is going
well. So far, the experience is a 10 out
of 10.
Johanna: Had another great day loving on some sweet Haitian
babies! Mom, Dad, Nathan, love you so
much! Thanks for all of the
prayers! Little miss Stella May, I love
you so much and can’t wait to see your sweet face! XOXOXO Family and friends, thanks for all of the
prayers!
**Side note: The bottom picture of the man kneeling on the floor with some of our team members is from last night. Check yesterday's post for the scoop! Such a sweet moment! Also, as Joann mentioned, a momma brought her little girl into our clinic at the very end of the day to get something taken out of her nose (as seen in the first picture of Mary holding the girl). As the team was working on the little girl, another one of our team members & a translator prayed with the mom. She accepted Christ! WOW! Pastor Herve later said that many people in the Haitian culture only know of voodoo-- a religion & practice that is NOT one of love and empathy. When this momma saw the way we loved and cared for both she & her child, she wanted to be a part of it. Herve's confident she'll start coming to church now. Awesome! The Holy Spirit is moving here in Haiti, friends!! :)
