Haiti Part #1

So here we are in Haiti!

Haiti isn’t somewhere I always wished I could go.  But when I saw a request on the “His-midwives” e-group about a missionary in Haiti needing a midwife, I thought why not check this out.  It turns out they would be willing to pay for my trip down.  So after many emails back and forth and an agreement that they would pay Monica’s flight also, we started planning. It’s always hard to plan dates around births.  You never know if they will come early or go over-due, so we do the best we can.

Jon and Dannie’s baby was over-due, so while we waited for baby Noah, We were getting plane tickets, figuring out what we would need to bring etc.

We ended up deciding we will leave the 25th arriving in Port a prince on the 26th of Feb. Her due date being March 6th we hoped that would be enough time. Baby Noah

So we left Libby Wednesday morning heading for Spokane.  Got to see baby Noah before we got on the airplane all set for a long flight; first to Seattle, then to New York on an all night flight and then to Port au Prince in the morning.  Even while on the plane I began to question myself and wonder, what am I doing?  Is this what I should be doing?  I thought I felt this was God’s plan, his will, but it was crazy stressful to get ready for this trip and now I was so tired and uncomfortable I began wondering if this was wise! 

We arrive about 11 am and instead of being met by Dave and Nicole we were met by some other men from the Christian Aid Ministries.  They greeted us with the news that we missed the birth!  What!!  Really!?!  Nicole went into labor early and delivered at 4 am.  We had just been emailing at the Seattle airport.  There were no signs of labor at that point.  I missed the birth by hours and now I really was questioning myself.  Why am I here in Haiti?  In my head I keep saying:  I know God has a plan and purpose.  It’s not what we thought it was, but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t have another plan.  Right?  But what is it?  Well I can help around the house, cook, and clean, check baby and mom, but surely there is more then that.   We started asking around if another clinic needs some help.

Saturday morning we heard there was going to be a bible study and meeting up in a town not too far from here.  It could take as little as 90 min to get there or as much as 4 hours depending on traffic.  Here was a chance to see some of Haiti from an air-conditioned car. 

So after 3-hour drive through an amazing amount of people, markets, and car traffic we finally got to our destination. 

This bible study was being held on another mission compound. I’m learning there are many, many missions in Haiti. This one is also run by Mennonites.  Christian Aid Ministries has a large distribution center and one other clinic and mission base, but Mennonites have many missions in Haiti, along with many other Christians.  It’s a blessing to see how the missions of all the different denominations work together so well.

So we arrived and went up to a second story large porch like structure with a roof and open windows. Had some time singing beautiful hymns. 

It always amazes me how Amish and Mennonites can pick a song in the hymnbook they never heard before and without any instruments can just start singing the hymn.  Just by following the notes.  They don’t sound like they struggle with it; they sing it beautifully in 4-part harmony!  No practice sessions, no planning ahead, just jump in and sing.

So we sang for about 30 min and then had a bible study on Mark chapter 7. One new thought hit me was from a story where Jesus touched a man’s ear and tongue, the man was deaf and possibly tongue tied, how Jesus was reaching out touching other senses, since this man was deaf.  Sign language of sorts, explaining to the man what he was doing in a way he could understand?

Afterward we had a meal together and got to visit.  I started visiting with these young girls.  20 and 22 yr olds that were basically running a clinic.  The couple that normally runs this clinic had to go back to the states because of complications with their pregnancy.  So these girls are running this clinic alone. When they heard I was a midwife, they all quickly said, could you come up and teach us?  We do births all the time and we have no training at all. The one girl had been there about 2 yrs and has now done 88 births, and never was trained.  Come to find out most of the workers at these clinics are untrained volunteers, learning as they go.  There was one LPN nurse there.  Others had gone through a short term training program or such.  The need is great and they are just willing souls doing what they can to help save lives and help people.  The girls I was visiting with live in the mountains. You drive about 2-3 hours on normal crazy traffic roads and then you drive up the mountain.  Although it’s only 14 miles up the mountain it takes 2 hours to drive.  This is where they have a clinic where they take care of people as they can. They showed us a picture of a baby they had cared for the day before.  It was a few weeks old and had not eaten.  The baby was almost dead.  The mother was having trouble nursing and so the baby just didn’t get any food.  In just one day of feeding it teaspoons of milk, it was starting to cry and act normal again.  The poor baby was starving mostly from lack of education then anything else. I met several other people who run or help at other medical clinics all over.

I’m still not sure what Monica and I are doing in these next couple weeks, but I feel at peace knowing God has a plan for us. We have a few options of opportunities from sorting medications in a mountain clinic to doing prenatals. At this time we are in a lovely guesthouse on the CAM compound.  It’s a safe fenced compound with beautiful planted trees.  Outside the compound is more of a desert and the world of Haiti, but in here except for the heat it’s quite pleasant and modern with fans.  The heat and the humidity is always a challenge to deal with.  Mark is at home dealing with the broken furnace and getting the replacement and we are down here and can’t imagine ever needing a heater or even a blanket!  Even the sheet is too hot to use at night!

 

Very nice guest house

Outside the fence

This is the hot water heater on the roof.

This CAM compound is a distribution center.  They get in around 55 containers a year of supplies.  They supply missions all around Haiti with medications, schools with supplies and food for the children.  They don’t run the clinics or schools but just help supply and support other Christian missions.  Right now they stock 45 clinics with medicine and medical supplies.  They pay the salary of Christian Haitian teachers; give the mission schools food so they can feed the children while they are at school.  They do this for about 50 schools at this time.  They send material to different missionaries that have sewing classes, etc.  Herb-a-life donates 100’s of lbs of protein powder to CAM.  They in turn distribute this to malnourished children and pregnant women at the different clinics.    By orchestrating the donations from the states, they can distribute and help the other missionaries do their jobs. A fantastic ministry!

So there is our update for now.  I'll write again when I can.