Hello from Haiti!

Hello from Haiti! Well, we made it through our first week. I am happy to report that we are all doing well. We have been so blessed this first week, but we have also been challenged. To be honest I’ve had to stop a few times this week and ask myself what the heck we’re doing here.

When we arrived, the hospital was kind enough to have some cooks available to prepare some meals for us. On Friday a small team arrived from Community Coalition for Haiti so we had some company for the week. We hired our own cook on Saturday to help with market, laundry, cooking and cleaning. It seems kind of weird hiring someone to do things that we normally do ourselves, but the way of life here is so different. Her name is Beatris, she doesn’t speak English but she is an outstanding worker. It worked out so well because Beatris used to cook for the hospital and was let go because of lack of funding and now we have the opportunity to give her a job. I feel a little sorry for her because we keep trying to speak Creole to her. She’s a really good sport though. We just finished a pseudo conversation and we found she has 4 children: Benis, 20, Ligenz, 18, Finel, 11, and Sharen, 9. Our Creole is starting to come around. We are working with a tutor each night for about an hour and are starting to think we might be able to talk to someone soon.

We also got started on our house on Monday. We hired 2 workers to start cleaning the weeds and brush from around and inside the house. For those who don’t know, the house is a cement block house that was started years ago but never finished. It is located in what used to be the garbage area for the hospital compound. On Monday we worked all day with picks and machetes and cleared a lot of brush. The Haitians I worked with worked circles around me. We also hired two guys on Tuesday and Wednesday as well and were able to clean out most of the area. I am going over there in a little while to pick up more garbage. Hopefully next week we can get the “Big Boss” over here to get a price for finishing the house. Hopefully I’ll be able to post some pictures. We made a lot of progress, but still have a way to go. We’ll keep you updated.

In Haiti there is one thing you can’t miss, and that is the need that surrounds you. We still aren’t sure what niche we will fit into exactly, but it’s obvious that there are many ways we can help. As we walked out of the compound the other day there was a young boy standing at the gate. He had a large piece of flesh missing from his arm. He said he had fallen on a piece of steel a week ago. The wound had been treated with iodine but was uncovered and the bugs were swarming around it. The next day his friend brought the boy back to us, and the wound had broken open and the bugs were all over it; it had several areas of dead tissue and needed attention. His name is Joseph Evenz. The family said they couldn’t afford treatment so Stacey cleaned the wound and bandaged it with antibiotic ointment. Stacey continues to treat the wound each day, and it is now healing nicely. A short time after Stacey treated Evenz, one of the watchmen at the hospital came to us with a tropical ulcer on his leg. The wound started as a cut from a pick ax in the garden and worsened into a large sore on the leg. He was carrying a leafy branch and swatting the wound to keep the bugs off of it. Stacey has spent the last several days cleaning and removing dead tissue from the wound and providing antibiotic bandaging. They are healing nicely and are learning how to care for the wounds on their own. I can’t imagine what we will see in the future, but we are sure God’s plan is good.

We got some really good news this week. We put a deposit on our truck a few weeks ago and were told that they had no trucks, and we would have to wait for a truck to come from Japan which would be about 2 months. Magically when the dealership found out we have all the money, they came up with a truck for us. We hope to have it in a week or so and are really looking forward to it.

This has turned out to be a little longer than I had planned. It’s so hard to convey not only what is actually happening but the thoughts and emotions that have come along with it. There are so many things that we can’t cover them all. We’re so grateful for the support we have and look forward to getting another week under our belt. If you get a chance, pray for wisdom to know what to do in unfamiliar situations, that we learn the language quickly and that we start building good relationships. Also keep the missionary teams in your prayers, specifically Tim and Catie Brand and a group from 3rd Church coming in on July 2. Take care and talk soon.