Today we have a treat -- not only do we hear from Wes and Jane, we also get our first message from Dr. Dave...
From Dr. Dave...
We've gotten up around 6:30 AM every day, and the Sun already seems to be a mid day strength. The hotel (the Mont Joli in Cap Hatian) is nicer than I expected, and everything is stucco and Mahogany (a reminder of days long past before the island was stripped of its lumber). It's a stark contrast to the chaos & poverty of the streets in our journeys to the current orphanage, the various clinics, or the new orphanage building site.
U.N. soldiers are still everywhere, but I guess we're just used to them now.
The trip is almost always in the back of a small pickup truck, and you learn after the first trip to arrange the supplies & tools of the day so as to have an actual seat. We've discussed a betting pool for the number of stops we'll make on the way to our destination (a minimum of six on every trip I've made). Every trip is like a slow motion version of an action adventure chase scene, with everything from other trucks to dump trucks to bicycles & motorcycles randomly passing each other and driving on either side (or the middle) of the road. All of this is interlaced with pedestrians, and no traffic control mechanisms of any kind. How we avoid major accidents is beyond me.
Some portions of Cap Haitian look like the French Quarter of New Orleans, other areas are simply squalor with garbage burning in piles along the side of the road. People are selling anything and everything all along the streets, everywhere. The amazing thing is the spirit of the people; they seem very much alive in spite of the conditions, determined to thrive. They also seem to be remarkably honest, except for their sense of time ("I'll be back with the supplies in 15 minutes" actually means 2-3 hours).
Primary transportation is a pickup truck with 2' wrought iron extensions on the sides and a camper shell on top. This is called a "Tap-Tap," (why, we don't know) and as many as 10-12 Haitians will be in and on the back of one at a time.
My adventure in cistern repair came as a result of knowing too much (a little knowledge is a dangerous thing), so I was given a helper & the tank was drained. Unfortunately, I didn't actually have all of my supplies until 2 PM, at which point the temp inside the cistern was probably 110 degrees (100% humidity). Being short on time, I pushed myself a bit too hard, got dehydrated, & nearly passed out a couple of times, but got the job done. The materials were far from ideal, but the repair might hold in spite of everything, and my clothes don't fit quite as tightly today as they did yesterday.
We got in some interesting discussions with a businessman from Dominique. He managed to get several of our group a little riled up with his opinions, but his passion for helping the people of Haiti was clear.
All of this challenges us to be present, to live in the moment. The stresses of the chaos, unpredictability, heat, etc., pushes everyone to want to function out of their regressed personalities (including yours truly, who's had to just step away & take a breather a few times). The children at the orphanage have been a good reminder of what it means to once again become present, live in the moment, open our hearts, quiet our minds, and experience God's presence. They gave us a mini-concert yesterday, a short Christmas medley. Very heart-warming.
From Jane Caney...
We have had a couple of very productive and very tiring days.
Yesterday we took our furthest trip to the mountains where several months ago we first met Watson and took him to the orphanage. We took him with us to see his grandmother. She is still alive and he saw her and his extended family. We also met his younger brother whom none of us knew existed. Watson had a very mixed reaction to the experience. He seemed happy to see his
grandmother but very apprehensive. Another adopted child explained that Watson was afraid that we were returning him to his family.
It was hard for me as I of course related to the pain in his grandmothers eyes who had given him up. But she did the right thing for him. He is doing so well in school and looks so healthy and happy now.
The clinic went well. We saw a huge crowd there. The people were the sickest yet.
We saw a lot of malaria there.
There was a grandmother who broght 3 grandchildren. She only had one leg and no crutches.
There was a man who was wheeled in in a wheelbarrow by friends. Twilla examined him all curled up. It reminded me if the man whose friends let him down through the roof to see Christ. I wish we could have seen the same miracle today. But we saw others.
The guys cooked up 3 huge kettles of all the leftover rice and beans and fed the whole crowd. It was incredible.
And the drugs lasted and lasted til the bitter end. And I lasted and lasted til the bitter end
(another miracle).
The kids came out (all 48) from the orphanage and had an Easter egg hunt and played
frisbee. Wes ruined his anked playing frisbee. I am sure he will tell a romaniticized version. We are curing it with a homemade potion which will remain a deep secret. Susan would not approve.
From Wes Jones...
When we threw out 5 frisbees to keep the kids occupied after they sang, she was in the middle of the action. Picture 40+ kids scrambling for 5 frisbees. At one point Cheron was on the ground with a huge mound of kids on top of her trying to get the frisbee. It was hysterical and I told her it was more like rugby than frisbee. Oh yeah, before the frisbee, the little kids had an Easter egg hunt with the plastic eggs Jane and Janet had brought down. It was a wonderful experience for
each of these kids. I've got lots of pictures.
Jane has covered all the high points about the clinic. But you can't imagine the scene at clinic today. They were expecting 25-30 people to come, but the 25 daylaborers that Kenneth employs spread the word and we were mobbed (literally) with over 400 people.
Twilla employs a large staff of Haitians which act as interpreters and clinic assistants. And
Kenneth and his top supervisors spent the day doing crowd control. Things went pretty well until around 1:00, because as Twilla triages the patients, they are given a numbered form with treatments, vitamins, and drugs to be dispensed. With 4 Nurse Practioners, pharmacist, nurse, and assistants working, things moved along. Kenneth anticipated that we would not get to all the
patients, so he had his people cook up 3 huge pots of rice and beans (with a little macaroni on top), so at least the people that showed up would not go away hungry. He had also anticipated the crowd control problem and was ready with razor wire cordoning off the clinic area when we got there this morning. When he backed his truck into the crowd, sitting in the back with his people ladeling the food onto plates and handing them out, the people mobbed the vehicle. Even
though he had his supervisors yelling for order, the people could not or would not comply and he had to pull the truck back behind the razor wire again. He and his people spent the next 3 hours serving the people one plate at a time, carrying them to the wire barrier.
The new orphanage site is much more impressive than I was expecting. There are several 12 foot high buildings that have walls up. One is the orphanage, one is for future clinics, and one is for a future vocational school for the kids so that they can learn a trade.
There is also a huge open air circular veranda where they will eat. There are no floors yet and just a little roof completed. But he has started foundations for the water tower and kitchen. And he is working on a security wall around the whole compound that will be 10 feet high.
All he needs is money to move things along. I believe he is funding this project mostly with his own cash and whatever donations he can get. This is a truly inspirational effort by one of our local Gwinnet County builders.
Clinic went long, till about 6 pm. But all the orphanage kids arrived about 3 pm and serenaded the crowd singing hymns complete with hand motions. Cheron, the 24-year old orphanage House Mom, directed the singing. She is a true inspiration. She has to be Mom and at the same time a disciplinarian to 48 kids in age from 1 to 18. And she does it. She is also a Nurse Practitioner that graduated at the top of her class at Emory and always comes and does clinic with the rest of the team.
On a more serious note, I have mentioned previously that our team got all the lights working in the old orphanage, but only when the generator is run. Cheron told me today that they can only afford to run the generator about 4 hours a day, because it costs $4.00 per hour for the fuel. Anyone out there that would like to contribute can talk to Jane Carney when we return. Remember -- Eternal Hope In Haiti is a tax exempt organization.
And speaking of contributions, there are 2 teenage boys at Hope Haven that are interested in carpentry. They have been helping a local carpenter a little. But they have no tools. If anyone has any old woodworking tools they would like to donate, we could have the team take them down next trip in June. They need handplanes, hammers, handdrills, saws, chisels, measuring squares, toolbags, etc.
Well, that's all from me for tonight. Have to rest up for the 3-hour church service tomorrow. I wonder if that means Dave's sermon will be 3 times as long.
From Jane...
Dave is working out rather nicely, for a preacher. We have found a few useful things for him to do. In fact, tomorrow he is preaching - in the church where the kids all go. The service is usually 3 hours long so we will see if he is up to that.
Some of you remember hearing me tell a story about the bat that flew into the window in the middle of my prayer and shortened the service significantly.
It's the same church :)
From Dr. Dave...
I'm really bumping against that sense of the unknown when it comes to preparing for Sunday's worship. I know you're praying for us; I can sense it, and treasure the support. Keep it up. In fact, step it up.