Sunday, November 18, 2018

Haiti - November, 2018 - Team 3

November 19, 2018

Today we went to Dupin for team three's first day of work. We met our translators and rode in the cattle truck. We got a flat tire and had to hike the rest of the way but the view was amazing. We were happy to see that school was in session and all the students that came got their physicals. We got a special treat for lunch with coke and passion fruit pop. We loaded up at about five o'clock and headed back to the mission center. We had a tasty supper and celebrated Pam's birthday again with a Haitian cake from nurse Anite. Pastor Miguel and Maude (our cook) joined us. It's been a blessed day!


Rachel- we found your sponsor girl! :)



Lots of goodies came from this little girl's ear!




November 20, 2018

Power

Today we are reflecting on power.  We started this reflection this morning when we made our coffee in a French press again because the power was out.  As far as the power provided by electricity, we like it, but we can function without it.

The power we cannot get by without is the power of Jesus.  We know that at home, but we feel it in a special way here in Haiti.

Listen to the story of Shakespeare, a 10 year old student at Chardene.  He had his physical last week with Nick, and he explained that the wounds on his right arm were from a voodoo doctor trying to take blood from him as a result of a curse that had been placed on him at birth.  The wounds were infected.  Last week's team got together and decided on an antibiotic and dressing instructions.  Then they gathered to pray for him.  Pam asked if he knew Jesus, and he said yes.  She told him that Jesus' power is stronger than voodoo. He has been thought of and lifted in prayer several times since then, and today we were back at Chardene and got to follow up with him.  Belinda checked him out, and his wounds had healed!!  All better!  There was great rejoicing, and we were happy to be witnesses to the power of Jesus.

It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. 2 Samuel 22:33-34

We saw the power of God's love this afternoon as we shared hugs and laughs and smiles and prayer and a meal with five sponsored children and some of their family members.  The children were beautiful and they had so much fun blowing bubbles and playing duck-duck-goose and London bridge and taking selfies.  Deb has spent time with her sponsored child, Eldana, previously, but today she got to meet her mother for the first time.  The children ate well, even Roselinda, who had had her tonsils taken out two weeks ago today.  Sponsorship allows for education and health care and hope for these children, and we could see it with our own eyes today.

Afterward, we sat around the table and sang and prayed together, and we shared stories of God's power as we have seen it this week and in the past.  A special treat was hearing from Ruth and Liddie about growing up in Haiti. Leah shared about the bonding experience she shared with Hannah and Belinda during their travels on Saturday.

Remember, your prayers have power too!  Please remember to pray for us and for the Haitian people. We are off to Degeance tomorrow, and Sabine is heading home.











November 22, 2018

Perspective

How are your feet?
One of the important components of the physicals for the Mission Possible students is the foot check station.  Each child takes off his socks and shoes and a team member checks for sores or peeling skin or any other problems.  Those feet definitely see some use!  When you live in a place without many roads and sidewalks and don't always have access to shoes or to shoes that fit, your feet are dusty and dirty (and if they are like ours, some are probably stinky :) ).  The good thing about checking feet is that it is an easy and inexpensive way to improve health for the children.  What better way to serve and practice love and humility.  This week, one of our translators, Macintosh, jumped in and did this task faithfully.

So, for perspective, how are your feet?  Can you clean them whenever they get dirty?  Do your shoes fit, and how many pairs do you have?  We are so blessed to spend this holiday that is intended for giving thanks here, in a place that highlights how much we have for which we should be thankful.

We are thankful for safety today.  We are thankful that Maude made us turkey for supper!  We are thankful for each other-what a great time of sharing we had tonight, revealing who we had been praying for this week and encouraging each other.  This team is an amazing group of people who are authentic and learning to love like Jesus.  And then, the singing in the kitchen, AKA kitchen karaoke.  I wish you could have been there.  It Is Well With My SoulAmazing GraceGive Thanks with a Grateful Heart, etc.  The melody and harmony filled the room, and it was breathtaking.  We sang together for the best part of an hour (and it was the best part of the day!).

"The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

You're rich in love and You're slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind
For all your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, Oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I will worship His holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore"

Thanking Him in Haiti...











November 23, 2018

And just like that.... we are done doing Physicals. "Mesi pou vinni na fisik ou" (Thank you for coming to your physical). Today was one for the record books: We had the first ever school physicals at the Mission Center. The Mama's and Papa's brought our Lanzac students to the Mission Center in order to get their children's physicals. It was fun to have so many families running around, but it got a little crazy when the students didn't want to leave. Leah loves seeing patients by the ocean with a great view and a cool breeze! Hannah had the opportunity to take a child through the physical line, I think she has found herself a sponsor kid! We were finished by lunch time and were able to share a mismatch lunch of American food, cooked by Heather and Sabine, with our translators. We had barbecue chicken, chicken burritos, pineapple, cole slaw, applesauce, summer sausage, and cheese sticks. The translators liked the barbecue chicken best, but we aren't sure that they really liked it that much. Evans said "he can adapt to any meat" and this was Mackentouche's first experience with American food. It was great to fellowship with the translators over lunch! It was nice to have some time to talk with them on our last day of physicals. Emily and Liddie held down the fort with tooth extractions. This was the first day where there were no biters! Ruth did some much needed translating this afternoon when some students showed up for their physicals after lunch.

One student that we have been following all month had her physical today. We were happy to see that her burn is better. it is a great feeling when she recognizes us from her daily treatments. She easily climbs into our arms and has become more curious about the mission center. She "helped" in the pharmacy for a little while. She was so curious, grabbing for different medications, the formulary card, and anything else she could get her hands on. It was sad to say goodbye to her today, but we are happy that she no longer needs treatment from our team.

Lanzac is full of sponsor kids! Jean Peter, Sabine's sponsor child, was not happy about getting his physical today! Herta, our hygiene kit seamstress, brought her 3 children Elda, Billy, and our precious Ricardo. We love Ricardo, Billy and Elda too, but Ricardo has a special place in all of our hearts! Pierre Lensky, Hachemy's sponsor child, came through for his physical and got some love from Madame Hachemy (Rene). It was a special day with lots of pictures and lots of connections.
After we were finished with the Physicals, we organized and took inventory of all of our medical supplies. We had a busy month and our supplies have really dwindled. Deb, Belinda and Shari spent some time cutting bars of soap into 4 pieces. Deb informed us that Zest soap was the best and Ivory was the worst! After this was done, it was off to the beach! We enjoyed a nice afternoon relaxing in the water and on the shore.

Our community agents came to the center for their graduation practice! Watching them practice, hearing them sing, and seeing all of their beautiful hair-dos has us so excited for the celebration tomorrow.

The vendors came so we could do a little shopping. Devin finally bought the statues of the pregnant women she has been looking at all month. Rene got a wooden nativity scene. Many other team members made purchases! After shopping, Balak and Ruth came to lead us in worship and taught us a new song in Creole!

Nick rounded out our evening with some much needed chocolate (thanks Jeff).

PS: We are currently enjoying a wonderful thunderstorm which is bringing a nice cool breeze with it! Thank you, Jesus!!!











November 24, 2018

Today we said goodbye to Ruth and Liddie, as they headed back to Port Au Prince.  We inventoried and packed in the morning, and then everyone got ready for the community agents' graduation.  Hannah blessed several of the ladies by doing their hair.  Deb, Belinda, Shari, and Pam received dresses from the Community Agents, Anite and Pastor Herve to honor their participation in the training of the graduates.  We all attended the graduation, and it was quite a production!  There was a band and several groups of dancers.  The agents, led by Miss Anite, sang several songs.  They even put on a skit that gave a humorous look at healthcare in Haiti and how it favors the rich and ignores the poor.  We pray that these people will be part of turning that tide.

Deb had been named the "godmother" of the event, and both she and Pam gave speeches encouraging and honoring the community agents.  Belinda, Pam, and Shari sang first in English and then in Creole, accompanied by Rene on the keyboard, with lights held by Devin and Emily, since by then it was dark :).  You could sense the excitement of the audience as they heard them singing in Creole; it clearly meant a lot to them that the Americans were singing in their language.

The amazing Sabine and Heather whipped up mini-pizzas for our supper, and Pastor Herve came and chatted with us for a bit.  Nick continued his role of making sure there were no leftovers.  He ate 3 of the pizzas, but it paled in comparison to the 13 hot dogs he ate a few nights ago.  Right now he has a blazing fire going (not because we are cold, but to burn some trash).  Jeff Hochstettler, we finally finished the chocolate! Everyone is scurrying around getting everything packed and put away.  We plan to leave at 4:30 am, so feel free to wake up and pray for us as we travel.  Thanks for praying for us during the trip.  As Devin said, it has been a week of answered prayers.

And when we get home, get a hold of us to find out how you can sponsor a student (or Community Agent) and also come on a trip yourself.  You would be so blessed by both...











Sunday, November 11, 2018

Haiti - November, 2018 - Team 2

November 11, 2018

Saturday we said good-bye to part of the Week 1 team. We hated to see them go, but are left with great memories that were made during last week. The 10 of us left at the Mission Center for the weekend spent the day doing laundry, relaxing, and swimming in the ocean. The evening was spent in playing cards and having a nice time of fellowship.

Sunday we enjoyed worshiping at Lanzac. Our little friend, Ricardo, made his rounds in the church and sat with us, enjoying the attention we were giving him. The photos in this post were ones that he took on Rene's phone during church. He certainly has an eye for photography. ;) After lunch, we spent several hours putting hygiene bags together in assembly line fashion. Several enjoyed a swim in the ocean again.

Our new team members arrived safely around 6 PM with smiles and excitement. We enjoyed the traditional Haitian spaghetti welcome meal together. We are looking forward to going to LaHatte tomorrow with our new team. Keep praying for us- we appreciate each and every one of them!












November 12, 2018

What a bumpy ride we had on our way to LaHatte this morning! BUT, we made it safely to the top! Upon arrival, the translators took our team members on a tour of the community while some started to set up the stations for the physicals.

The smiles, laughter, and games of the students just melted our hearts. A couple of kids got some new sponsors :) We could not believe how healthy the kids looked. We were able to have stations to check feet, vision, hemoglobin, flush ears, visit the nurses and physicians and pick up any needed medications at the "famasi". With having three providers (Jameson, Nick and Devin), we were able to see all of the kids!

Our first day went incredibly smooth and we are having such an amazing time serving together and watching how God is using each of us. It is such a blessing to have a team with such big hearts that are willing to just jump wherever needed.

Once we returned to the mission, a bunch of us hurried down to take a swim in the ocean and enjoy the beautiful sunshine before the early onset of nighttime. After a delicious dinner, we all engaged in worship, fellowship and devotion before Jeff treated us with CHOCOLATE. YUM!

We are excited for tomorrow's adventure and cannot wait to see what God has in store.











November 13, 2018

We spent the day today at Chardene seeing only a few grades, expecting to be out by 2:00, but had a few surprises that extended the day.  We saw a sweet boy with a sore on his forearm which he said was the result of a curse put on him by a voodoo doctor and it would never heal.  With lots of encouragement from everyone, he was able to take his antibiotic, and he fully understood the directions for washing and dressing his arm each day.  We all then laid hands on him and prayed aloud for his healing.  Expecting God's hand to show in this in a big way.

We returned to the mission compound around 3:45.  The MP staff had planned and organized a dinner for those of us who sponsor a MP student.  They and their families were invited to come to eat and spend some time with their sponsor.  It was so memorable and special to have time to speak with them (through translators) and learn more about them.  We took a group photo and were so grateful for the time we had together and a wonderful meal provided by our cook, Maude.

This evening we successfully talked Deb into telling her whitewater rafting story.  No one can tell it like she can and we were all laughing hysterically.  She also gave her testimony about how she came to be involved with MP.  We all love her very much and are so thankful for her work in this ministry.

We awoke this morning to no electricity, but Heather saved the day with her French press coffee pot.  Praying for electricity tomorrow morning.

Missing our families at home, but enjoying our time with our family in Christ, serving, laughing, sleeping, and sweating together in Haiti.










November 14, 2018

I'm going to jump ahead to the end to say: IT IS RAINING!! It has been so hot this week and the air has been so still. We are thankful for the mist and the breeze. We spent the day at St. Marc and saw over 100 children for their school physicals. We also had the opportunity to see several follow ups from last week and they are looking great! We feel so blessed that God has provided for our students! We continue to pray for the kids we have seen and for those that we will be seeing in the coming week. Today we had the opportunity to take sutures out of a pre-schooler's eyebrow. He told Nick: "You do me wrong, you are not my friend, I am all finished." over and over again...at the top of his lungs. After Jameson, Nick, Devin, and Pam held him down and took the sutures out he calmed down in Emily's arms. His mama came and told us that she thought the sutures were dissoluble. We are so glad that we had the opportunity to take them out, because they were not dissoluble sutures and it is possible that they still would have been there in February when the next team came. After a long day of physicals, half of our team went to Pierre Payan Hospital to take a tour. We saw the Operating Rooms, the Maternity Ward, and the In-Patient Ward. We all found ourselves humbled by what can be done here in Haiti. We were amazed to learn that they have very few post-operative infections. We are so thankful for the missionaries who live in Haiti and the teams that come in and provide for this population. We were reminded today that 50% of Haiti practices Voodoo which was a driving force for us to continue to serve these people and tell every child "Jezi renmen ou" (Jesus Loves You). Today was Maude's (our fabulous cook) birthday! The team celebrated with her by making a card (Thanks Rachel) and baking her a banana bread/cake (Thanks Sabine and Heather). She was so surprised and it made us all smile. We are so appreciative of her and were glad to be able to celebrate with her! Alison and Emily spent the morning wandering the school finding children who still needed their school pictures taken. By the end I would say that they were finding kids with ease! The students love when their cards have their pictures on them. They come up and point to the picture so that you know it is them! Kem decided not to do hemoglobin today because the kids didn't like her yesterday! To make up for the kiddos at Chardene thinking she was evil for poking their fingers, she spent the day doing snap chat filters with the kids.  Shari took over the unfortunate job of poking fingers and checking hemoglobin. After Kathy checked their feet, they would scoot over to play with the snap chat filters before getting their vision screened! Kathe spent her day assessing and cleaning ears. She also had the opportunity to hold down our screaming kid with the sutures; that was a team effort. Jeff continued to do height and weight with the kids. They get so excited to come up and give him a high five and stand nice and tall when it's time to get their height. The kids LOVE Papa Jeff. Rene decided not to check feet today ;) She felt her talents would be better used to collect kids from their classes since she knows where they belong and she doesn't need a translator! Joey and Rachel were busy all day! They always finds something to do! Jameson and Nick have been forgetting to initial their charts and so Joey came up with the idea to give them each a different colored pen. Now we just need to remember that Jameson is blue and Nick is purple! When Deb is not crying about not having an iPhone or the ability to "air bomb", she is becoming a pro at flushing ears.
Overall, it has been a great day! We are enjoying the music coming from the kitchen as Kitchen Karaoke is in full swing while we watch the storm brew over the ocean! God truly is a wonderful creator and we can't help but to see the beauty in his work! Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers!








November 16, 2018

What better way to end another week of clinic than a beautiful hike to Degeance? I'm always amazed at the beauty of the landscape; a sunny sky with majestic mountains surrounding acres of banana fields. Friendly passers-by greet you with a hearty "Bonjou!" while walking or riding on a donkey.  Each member of our team arrived successfully to the top of the mountain, and soon we began to interact with the students, teachers, and community agents at Degeance. Immediately our team began to witness smiling, chanting, clapping, and dancing (in addition to an intense game of soccer using a tennis ball). It's always amazing to me to see the joy the children have.

Today our team tackled physicals for preschool through second grade! The children were so cooperative, making our job a breeze.  In clinic we were able to treat several infections, cleanse and dress wounds, and provide reassurance and encouragement to all of the students who were healthy. Deb spent the morning with us at the school, then made her way back to the mission center to continue her amazing work training the community agents. The Ultra Blanc took a motorcycle all the way back to the mission center. I'm always impressed by how adventurous Deb is! Those of us leaving tomorrow said "See ya later!" to our interpreters, many of whom have been so helpful and a pleasure to get to know. The week has flown by and our team has worked well together. It's impossible for me to mention all the ways in which each person has contributed to our team. From Heather and Sabine making fabulous lunches, to Joey and Rachel helping the providers with prescription dosing, to Emily the Real Estate Agent taking over the enormous task of flushing out ears so that Emily the Nurse could eat, members of our team have seen a need and tended to it. I'm thankful to serve with so many people who are so focused on the goal of ensuring Mission Possible students are healthy that they are willing to jump into any task in which they see a need. It was truly a great way to end our week!

-- Jameson












November 17, 2018

Today was a day full of prayer and traveling. Our week 2 team left early this morning and made it safely to the airport. They are now in the States enjoying all of the air conditioning they want. ;) Our final team just made it safely to the mission center and entertained us with stories as they ate their Haitian spaghetti! Those of us who have been here all day spent a lot of time in prayer and worship as we waited to hear how our team members coming & going were doing. Please continue to pray for us as we finish seeing students this week and for the country of Haiti.