Haiti: Days 7 and 8

Dinner table at Marlene's

Day 7: We saw about 204 people in the medical clinic today and 75 people in the dental clinic. It was much more orderly (at least in the clinic, I hear the outside wasn't!). We had medical in a small square room alongside the dental clinic. We let people in one at a time and it went very well. This day we saw the most people, but it wasn't as exhausting because there was more order. I'm very easily distracted when there is a lot going on around me. Barry expressed an abcess from mastitis gone horribly wrong. We gave her a shot of antibiotics and at least a month more of oral antibiotics. It was the worst abcess I have ever seen. I think she would have probably died in a few days from sepsis if we had not treated her. She still has a long road ahead.

After we saw the patients Deborah would ask them if they knew who Jesus was an what he meant to them. About 6 people accepted Christ that day. It was so encouraging to have Deborah there while we were treating. Sometimes we would stop taking patients to pray for our patients. One little boy had HIV and we all prayed for him. It really helped me to be mission focused instead of just working. We ate so good while we were at Marlene's. She told us stories about Haitian culture and especially about the countryside.

A local man approached Justin in Kenscoff and asked him if he would take his baby. It wasn't a misunderstanding! This baby is the youngest of 8. He was healthy and chunky. Apparently this happens often. :)



The Baby



Day 8: It's Good Friday today. There was a Rara procession this morning as we were decending to the clinic. On the other hand a Catholic priest came and blessed us today also. I was unaware of this until the end as it was all going on outside the clinic. There was also a Calvary dramatization also. We saw about 93 people in 2 hours. The lady with the abcess returned and we changed her dressing and gave her supplies for the future. It was still draining and she looked much better than yesterday. She was having a lot less pain. We got to meet her 3 month old baby. She was beautiful. We managed to load up and leave around noon again. We stopped again at the Baptist mission. I bought a Kreole bible. I was able to learn a lot more of the language during this trip, since it is close to French, I was able to understand a lot of what was said but I can't quite ask questions yet. We had to pump up a flat tire before we started again. When we got home we visited the orphanage in the city again. We said goodbye to all the kiddies. We played “ring around the rosie” and “london bridges”. I learned that the little boy who fell asleep on me is Galixon, he is an orphan. We played and danced together, I think we got kindof attached to each other. Or it is just me. :)

Galixon

I learned that this orphanage feeds the children twice per day and I was really shocked. We got to watch them eat, they had heaping plates of rice and beans and a little piece of fish. I was more shocked to hear that most orphanages feed once per day and some once or twice per week. I visited more with Jean Onell and Jeffery before we left, they are some orphan children that live at the mission house. Jean Onell, 14 years old, was giving me Creole lessons. His English was about as good as my Creole. But our French was comparable so we managed to communicate well. We are leaving in the morning about 7 am. Our plane leaves at noon. I'm going to miss Haiti.

So the total for the Medical team was 586, Dental was 231 with 390 extractions.

I hope you have enjoyed the account of our travels to Haiti. Please continue to remember Haiti in your prayers. If you have any extra money please support local ministries or humanitarian efforts in Haiti. There are many economic orphans in Haiti that could use an extra meal per day, clothes, or basic healthcare.