Haiti is hard!

Let me repeat in case you didn't get it.....HAITI IS HARD!  I cannot ever adequately explain what a day in the life of a Haitian is like. There are no midday breaks, coffee breaks, lunch breaks, Spring breaks, four-day weekends or 'bucket list' vacations.  There is only the grueling daily hardship to merely survive and care for your family. Each day brings a need and a constant search to fulfill that need. Perhaps it is a simple bar of soap, a bucket of charcoal, an 8 ounce bag of rice.  Perhaps larger needs such as $5 IV bag for your sick child, the backpack that completes the obligatory items to actually attend school or the $50 tuition to attend one more year.  And as each day brings its task, the stomach gnaws from hunger and the throat thirsts.  This is life in Jeremie. And as you travel outside the city, there is one task and only one task--food and clean water. It is so unimaginable.  So, where do they get their strength?  I shake my head as I truly don't know. I believe their strong belief in God guides many through their days. Without that protective spirit and unconditional love they would despair. But instead the tackle each day--one day at a time. 

I cannot seem to write in detail about the people we've met and touched, but feel blessed merely because WE CAN. At the end of each day we laugh with joy for some and cry for others and pray that tonight God would take them to a better place.....a place that isn't so hard.

Two steps forward....one step back

Visited our medical clinic in Gebeau today. Over the past 6 months the clinic has been in state of transition. New budget, trimmed down staff, new medical doctor director-----new realities. Like anywhere else, change is hard and it showed on all the faces at Gebeau. Patient census is down (word spreads quickly when there is no doctor in the house ) and pharmacy is TOTALLY  bare. It is difficult to make any difference in health without medications, so you can imagine that frustration has led to apathy and depression. 

However with feet on the ground here I believe a statement of caring has been clearly made. 

My work is to communicate that we, the Jeremie Haiti Project, are committed to helping them succeed and get back on their feet doing what they do best----helping the local Haitian people. 

Yes I brought some medicine (certainly not enough) but constant communication is what is most required and perhaps more listening than talking!  Likewise it is a two-way street---- the way things were doesn't count for much and the sooner the new reality is accepted, the better it will be for all. 

Geez I feel like a union negotiator rather than a caring nurse!

Plan to return to the clinic on Monday......

Nancy 

Finally!

First time we have Internet since arrival on Thursday. Welcome to Haiti!

Did I yet mention it is really HOT here?  I mean REALLY hot. But, that aside I am happy to see friends and all the sights and sounds of Haiti. Yet amongst the joy of rekindling friendships and preparing our 'to do' lists, we've experienced a great sadness. Our friend and interpreter, Wilbens, lost his younger brother shortly after our arrival. We had just arrived at the Jeremie hospital to visit him and see how we might assist with his care, but were moments too late. God had taken him to a better place. We are filled with the sadness of his passing and for the deep family loss. Our prayers are extended to Wilbens' family for peace and solace.  Funeral arrangements are being made and planned for Monday. 

Nancy 

One 'mo time!

Nancy is off to Haiti tomorrow, tagging along with friends from thenJeremie Haiti Project.  She'll be taking 3 duffels of mess and other supplies for use in her visits to Good Sam, the Gebeau Clinic, the village of Chiraque, and St. Antoine's Hospital.  She knows her around and has lots of ground support, but keep her in mind and send her telepathically lots of encouragement to drink LOTS of water as it's about as hot and humid as it gets in Haiti this time of year.  She'll be back on September 12!  John Smith

Final Post - Haiti 2015

We have made our way home, have put an acquired illness or two behind us, unpacked/cleaned/put away our trip-related gear, and want a moment to recap the work of last week, and to thank the many contributors that made it possible as well.

There were several projects we planned to address this year:  funding and helping with the last phase of the 2-room school building construction in Chiraque, which includes installing a water-collecting cistern for the villages solitary flush toilet; delivering and distributing medicines, typically in short supply and/or prohibitively expensive in Haiti, to our local partners providing care to their fellow Haitians; visiting the Good Sam assisted living facility to conduct a mobile medical clinic, to understand what plumbing changes are necessary to improve water availability for toilets, sinks and showers, and to provide new sandals and some blouses/shirts to the residents; assisting two Haitian friends (Serge and Daniel) in their support of certain indigent patients at St. Antoine. . .Jeremie's only hospital. . .who required meds, specialized care (colostomy, 3rd degree burns), and/or food; conducting mobile dental and mobile medical clinics in Chiraque, including applying varnish to the village's children; distributing 450 dresses/skirts/boy shorts/baby blankets/beaded bracelets that were either handmade (dresses and baby blankets, beaded bracelets) or collected (skirts/boyshorts) for the youth of Chiraque; inspecting the condition of the John Wesley High School "Computer Lab" that we outfitted 3 years ago with donated laptops; and, lastly, delivering to the village school at Chiraque it's first laptop (Acer Chromebook) and compact project (about the size of the movie theatre-size box of Dots!) so that the world might finally be invited in to their classrooms!

Alll of the above was accomplished, and the prior posts contain many photographs for these activities. Additionally, Nancy conducted training sessions for nurses at St. Antoine in the use of defibrilators (they have them but had never been trained), proper use of colostomy care items, and proper use of burn creams and medications.  Serge had asked for any of the colostomy and burn treatment items we could find stateside as they are hard if not impossible to find in Jeremie.  Nancy and I also had the privilege of meeting Reverend Gesener Paul, the President of the Haitian Methodist Church, on our last night in Haiti, to discuss next steps in stabilizing the Gebeau Clinic, an important facility for health of Jeremie residents.  

Much of our work took place in Chiraque, and the local lay pastor, Pastor Felix, expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the thoughtfulness and generosity behind all of the different expressions of support.  Pastor Chrisnel, our host and partner in our relief work in Jeremie the past 4 years, was also pleased with the various outcomes.

All of the outcomes, big or small, reflect contributions from many, many people, so we pass along the "thanks" from our Haitian friends to. . .First Church, and its many members who support Missions generally, and Haiti specifically; First Church's exquisite seamstresses, who sewed dresses and baby blankets with much love and attention to detail; First Church's UMW, whose contributed proceeds from their twice-annual Rummage Sales to support various of the aforementioned projects; Erica Schwegman, the daughter of a family friend, who singlehandedly collected nearly 150 articles of clothing for the older kids at Chiraque, and made 125 beautifully-beaded bracelets as well (following in her talented mother's footsteps, Lorry); St. John's-Providence Hospital, for their donation of medicines; friends and family members who contributed old cellphones, (most of) which find new life in Haiti!; Dr. John Toupin, DDS, for his contribution of tooth varnish; and our Haitian friends who formed up around us while there. . .Pastor Chrisnel, lay Pastor Felix, Serge and Daniel, Nisage and John (our driver), Dr. Maria Lubin (dentist from Gebeau Clinic),  Dr. Marx (MD, formerly of Gebeau Clinic), Rose and Modeline (nurses from Gebeau Clinic), Rubin Dijon, Jacqui Labrom (local travel expert), Nadar (expert at navigating Port au Prince), Cassy (the ONLY reliable way of getting 400#s of stuff from Port au Prince to Jeremie), and MAF (the ONLY reliable way of getting people, safely in my view from Port au Prince to Jeremie). 

Two people taking a "trip" sounds, well, easy. . .but important questions like to where, doing what, how long, etc., really determine the effort.  Several months of preparation are involved, and require putting the arm on any number of the folks noted above to get things organizing, flowing to our basement in time to be packed up.  Once there, stuff happens and whatever "plan" we had in mind gets re-racked, more than once.  But for the helpfulness and goodwill of our various Haitian friends noted above, we couldn't have done what we had set out to do. .and then some.  

Thanks for following along this year.  

John and Nancy

No doubt, education is power

Wednesday......another visit to the hospital in Jeremie. Today however I was in my element--- I had learned that some well meaning American had delivered (dumped) a defibrillator to the Emergency room many months ago but gave no instructions to anyone as to its use. So Serge and Daniel arranged for me to give instructions to the nurses.  I had heard that it was an AED, but what they brought to me was something about as old as myself!  Not withstanding the age of this dinosaur, the power was on in the hospital and the defibrillator fired up!  What began with 3 nurses soon grew to 10 --- listening, learning, asking relevant questions. We worked through the machine and all its parts, but also I soon learned that they needed instruction as to when to use it and more importantly when NOT to use it. Simple drawings of abnormal EKG readings were copied by the nurses. They seemed to understand. We 'played' with the machine to ease fears and practiced placement of electrodes ( small detail----they only have one set----I guess I have another job to do finding more). But all in all they were SO appreciative. Asking for written materials----anything to further their knowledge.  It was great to see their enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Overall, a wonderful morning for all of us. 

In the meantime, back at the Guest House, more education was taking place. This time John and Rubin sat together with two teachers who came down from Chiraque to learn how to use their new Chromebook computer and the small projector. Patiently, Rubin walked them through all the steps to make the connections and navigate the computer. They learned quickly even though everything was new to them. Every keystroke, every dialog box offered a new challenge, but when 'Google' appeared on their screen the smiles grew large. How does one explain this satisfaction??  Perhaps soon we will know this satisfaction again when a child in Chiraque will view an elephant for the first time, or a beautiful waterfall. In a small way their world will be open.  And for Rubin-- the opportunity to share his knowledge shone brightly.   

A blessed day,

Nancy

One-Five-O

That's how many patients we saw today in Chiraque on the occasion of our first mobile clinic in our adopted village.  We did mobile medical yesterday and posted about it.  Today felt like a week by comparison. . .carried meds and other gear, all the dresses, up the mountain at 9:30 a.m. and broke camp at 6:30 pm. . .not a soul was turned away.  

Take a moment and imagine what 150 office visits might tally up to in the States. . .today's marathon cost the supporters of our trip maybe $750 out of pocket.  Hard to beat the improvement in quality of life that results from directing one's generosity to a truly grateful place like Haiti.  Our team included Dr. Marx, formally of the Gebeau Clinic, Nancy, Serge and Daniel (two Haitians who have supported other visiting teams doing medical, but who practice their own philantropy by prowling hospital corridors and finding patients unable to pay for meds or food), Rose and Modeline (two nurses from Gebeau who obtained their degrees with help from Jeremie Project churches, including FUMC), and Rubin.  With maybe a 10 minute break taken when the spirit moved, no one left their posts for the entire 9 hours. . .many standing, all sweating.  Our compensation was an escort of children to our truck when finished. .sort of had a Wizard of Oz-like effect. . and a lovely Haitian sunset that I enjoyed so much (along with the breeze while riding in the truck bed with "the boys") that I forgot to take a picture.

We generated more smiles when we broke open the duffels and started passing out the hand-made dresses from FUMC's crack seamstresses, and the teenage clothing and handmade bracelets provided Erica Schwegman. . daughter of a family friend so taken with the Haiti effort she singlehandedly corraled high-school friends to donate 300 items of apparel while she made 150 bracelets on her own.  Pastor Felix kept the the excited under control as, one by one, they entered the dress paddock and made their selection.  As the medical work delayed start of the dress parade until about 5:45 pm, Pastor Felix will catch up with those that missed out tomorrow when classes resume.

We're a bit fried tonight, but have just a half day more tomorrow. .all light duty before we fly to Port au Prince.  We have the chance to meet with the President of the Haitian Methodist Church tomorrow night, and two of his deputies, to discuss how to stabilize th Gebeau Clinic, which we're committed to support provided a solid operating plan and opportunities for those of organzing financial assistance have some input to Clinic governance.  So there will be one more post tomorrow that might provide an update to that important conversation, and maybe some last reflections on the week. . ."Haiti by the numbers", so to speak.

I'll close out tonight by saying I'm pretty sure Haiti has 100% market share of the world's hand-me-downs, particularly T-shirts.  I'm also pretty sure the U.S. has 100% market share of the world's logo'd T-shirts, since I've yet to see a faded T from France, Russia, Spain, China, Japan. . .you get the picture.  Either the rest of the world is resolved to be their own person, all the time, or the rest of the world lacks our sense of humor!  Anyway, if you didn't know better, you'd think Haitians are more rabid fans of U.S. sports than Americans given the higher density of team T-shirts!

Before I get too deep into the woods on this, every know and then you see one that get's your attention, like the fellow at the bottom of tonight's pictures. . .forget the what industrial event the T-shirt is celebrating, focus on the middle. . ."Make a Commitment".  Made me smile, look up, and mumble under my breath. . ."you're right, we'll just have to peddle harder".

John and Nancy

I'm reminded of the lion. . .

. . .in the Wizard of Oz, wishing for "COURaaaaaaggge"!  

Saw it on display today the mobile dental clinic in our adopted village of Chiraque.  You can imagine that, right or wrong, teeth in parts of the world where the water doesn't contain flouride can be hard to maintain. . .in Haiti, add to that a crummy diet and not a lot of income to spend on luxuries, like brushing. . with toothpaste. . .regularly.  There were some dandies today and our traveling dentist, Maria who had to set up outside to get enough light to work with, leaned her dental "chair" against a tree and pulled 35 bad teeth in 5 hours. . .but who's counting.  She filled some cavities also. . .

I don't know about you but the dentist has never been my most favorite place to hang out, expecially with novocain needles the size of Atlas rockets try to land. . violently. .about 7 different places around a perfectly good tooth!  But I digress. . .

Not a wimper, not a tear, not a flinch, not a request for a 15 minute timeout. . .now, starting over Pont du Hoc can give you one visual as to what defines courage, but these villagers are going to be alongside the next time I plung into the rasberry thicket!

Nancy, Daniel and I varnished about 300 kids' teeth while Maria was having all the fun, and gave them new toothbrushes when finished.  We also distributed large tubes of toothpaste for the families to use.  

The 3rd and final phase of the new, 2-room school is underway.  As the pictures show, walls are up and plastered and the wood for the roof rafters was just brought up mountain. . .remember, everything gets walked up. . .and stored in the church.  For the school, we brought the usual wheelbarrow-full of lesson books, pencils, chalk, etc, and gave them to Pastor Felix who this week is standing in for the school principal. . .who is afflicted with hypertension. . .who wouldn't be trying to teach 300 kids!  But we also brought a Chromebook and mini-projector, the idea being that the teachers can access the internet and project what's on the screen onto a white-washed wall, for all to see.  

The vision for Chiraque, and other remote villages in Haiti where the internet is available, is to create an internet resources package. . .Chromebooks (inexpensive), small projectors, wireless service and router, and a low-cost solar array that is big enough to power 8 PCs and 4 projectors 8 hours a day 5 days a week.  The batteries would be in locked church storage next door, and on weekends the batteries can be used to power the church.  As it so happens, or maybe it was meant to happen, Nancy and I met someone coming into Port au Prince whose speciality is installing low-cost solar arrays.  He actually did some farmer math on system size while we were waiting for our respective puddle jumpers. . . and I have his card.

Personally, this isn't some pipe dream or a luxury.  How will Haitians EVER did out unless the kids have access to and can use the same, vast resources available to every other kid on the planet?  I asked two adorable kids today if they new what an elephant was. . .I was going to do my world famous impression. . .and the answer, both times, was "no" (personally, I think they were tipped off about my intentions and were going to have nothing of it!).

Okay, okay. . I'm off the soapbox, but we're gonna do this thing. . .and the villagers are SO excited.  It's like somebody cares. . .

And when we're done with that, we're gonna get the village water.  The nearest source, in the rainy season, is 30 minutes downhill. . .imagine how much fun it is carrying it back up the same hill, and it ani't 30 minutes either.  Somehow, someway, we're gonna find a way to dig a well by the road, which is about a city block down the hill.  

You can be a part of this.  I mentioned the 501(c)3 that has been formed to collect tax deductible donations for Haiti projects like the ones mentioned above. . .you probably all will put me in your designated "Spam" folder.

I had Rubin visit the John Wesley School computer lab. . .good news is that 2 of 3 Chromebooks that were new last year seem to be operating normally.  I'll bring the defective one home and make some Chromebook custormer service rep squirm. . .the bad news is that just about every Dell we originally populated the computer lab with is down, for one reason or another. . .some have bad hard drives (unrelenting heat, humidity and dust. . which is why we brought Chromebooks last year as they are basically solid-state devices), many have had Windows XP erased. . .meaning "well, hello there you @#$%% blue screen", some are missing batteries and others have batteries that have crapped out.

The kids also prefer Windows 7. . .the first sign that they are clued in, but can't see buying the software on top of all the hard parts that are required to fire the lab back up.  Chromebooks are the answer and we'll be bringing more. . same time, same place. . .next year.  Reserve early, it's gonna be a blast!

Oh, one last thing.  Some of you might recall that we discovered last year that Pastor Felix lost his left leg below the knee.  He lives above the road but below the village, and he just wasn't going to be allowed to navigate that terrain with one leg and crutches. . .FUMC swept into action, procured a suitable prosthetic, and arranged for Haiti's Albert Schweitzer Institute to fit the leg and train Pastor Felix to use it.  There probably hasn't been a more emotional moment that to see him standing there, then walk over and embrace us. . .ALL OF US!  Look closely, and you'll see a familiar cross now around his neck. . .a replica of the one hanging in the sanctuary at First United.  I can only imagine his next sermon. . .

John and Nancy

$6. . .really!

Sunday-go-to-meetin' day!  We were at the the big church this morning in Jeremie.  Pastor Chrisnel has much of his circuit leadership team on a retreat several hours away but we got the Haitian version of fire and brimstone from a truly passionate and well spoken lay pastor.  We were told the sermon was all about service to others, and we were asked to offer a few remarks before the sermon began.  I brought greetings from FUMC and wished them Christ's blessings, and let them know where Nancy and I would be working this trip.  

Axary's mom was in one of the four choirs that sang this morning (there was a pretty soloist as well), and her picture is below.  Many people came up to us afterwards, surely saying Peace Be With You in Creole. . .and lots of kids came up as well, mostly to get their picture taken and to see the image on the camera. 

In the afternoon, we visited St. Antoine again with Serge and Daniel as they delivered meals to patients unable to pay for food during their visit.  We stopped by the pediatric ward to catch up with a couple of little patients we saw the day before.  While there, we observed a newly-admitted little guy. . thin as a rail and breathing hard.  He had an IV to help with obvious dehydration but we noticed it wasn't "dripping".  Serge inquired and we learned the IV needle had become clogged. . . .and they had no replacement. . .and even if they did, they needed a new bag of saline. . .which they didn't have. . .and the litte guy, eyes wide open, just keeps heaving away.

We made a beeline for one of the village pharmacies and bought the needle and saline. . .for $6. . .about the price of a grande Starbucks.  So, how about we all skip every third Starbucks, send the money instead to our newly-established 501(c)3 meant to funnel money to little guys like this, through the trusting hands of folks like Serge and Daniel.  The last blog post about this year's trip to Jeremie will provide details.

Dr. Marx introduced us to his parents, and then we checked out a nearby building. . .about the size of our living room. . .that he hopes to turn into a clinic.  Right now, he sees patients. . .and lots of them, evey day. . .at his parent's house (which isn't as big as our living room).  Nancy and I think we'll support his endeavor, which will be additive to the service provided by the Gebeau Clinic. . .ANY medical service in Jeremie, or anywhere in Haiti for that matter, is "additive" for the Haitians.  I'll attach 1 outside and 1 inside picture below.  

A couple of our Haitian friends needed some help. . one needed busfare to attend his father's funeral in Port au Prince and another (Nisage) wanted to take English lessons on the weekend.  Done!

To wrap up the day, Serge packed another duffel of meds that he will use for those in the hospital but unable to pay prescription drugs.  Rather than deliver them to the hospital, which usually turns arounds and "sells" them to patients, by going through Serge and Daniel they get the meds in the way we intended them to be deliver. . .lovingly provided for free.  Nancy is busy pre-packing doses of antacids, Tylenol and other over-the-counter medications that will be used during the next two days as part of our mobile dental/medical clincs in Chiraque.

John and Nancy

I'm not kidding. . . .

. . .the power in Haiti (among the top 5 oxymorons in the English language) was on ALL NIGHT. . .meaning the fans worked all night, too.  Of course, just about the time Nancy was ready to start drying her hair. . .

OK, back to business.  Spent the morning organizing meds for a return to St. Antoine Hospital and, while Nancy was playing stawboss to the work of Serge, Daniel and Nisage, I was managing repairs to the 2nd floor balcony screens.  We ran a few errands on the way to St. Antoine, picking up supplies for our 2-day mobile dental/medical visit to Chiraque on Monday and Tuesday, some garden tools for NuNu, and some hardware for the new school building that is nearing completion in Chiraque.  Dr. Marx picked up additional novocain and injection needles for the 2 dentists who will (very) likely be doing extractions.  While they're doing that, Nancy and Daniel will be administering de-worming to the villagers and varnish to the kids' teeth.

Once at St. Antoine, Nancy instructed Daniel on how to apply colostomy bags. . .as we brought a supply before departing Detroit once we heard of the patient, and the hospital's lack of proper treatment materials.  We peeked in on the pediatric ward again, and was happy to see the littlest one somewhat improved from her high fever the day before. . .and, yes, the FUMC blankets were very much in use!  I didn't mention that every dress and baby blanket we brought has a label saying in Creole, "Made with love by First United Methodist Church".  

We visited Axary's parents (Axary is the young man we sponsored in college in Haiti and, during his first year, won a 2-year State Department scholarship to study in the U.S., where he will graduate next month).  Axary's mom is a brittle diabetic and we brough insulin with us for her.  They were all atwitter with their new home, which now features a roof. . something we helped them with.  

We stopped by Good Sam again, and delivered the last pair of new sandals to the one resident for which yesterday we didn't have the proper size.  Lots of smiles and hugs despite our brief stay today. 

Back at the Guest House, more prep for Monday and Tuesday. . .looked a bit suspicious as the crew was counting and bagging pills!  Had some great moments sprinkled in, like Marjorie's mom receving the $300 needed for Marjorie to complete her nursing studies, graduate AND receive the certificate to prove it (in Haiti, you pay for your schooling. . but one of the biggest expenses is paying for the certificate after you successfully complete your studies).  Our dental crew stopped by. . .mom and daughter are both dentists at Gebeau. . .and we confirmed all the needed meds and prep for our Chiraque visit on Monday.  

We'll be attending church services at the big church in downtown Jeremie tomorrow, something we haven't done in prior visits.  3 hour services typically, with half a dozen choirs. . .we'll be wearing our lightest-weight clothing!  

John and Nancy

The right and left hand. . .

Greetings from fair Jeremie, west on the southern arm of the Haitian land mass.

We departed Metamora at 2:45 am yesterday, checked in a gazillion bags at DTW,  snoozed to Miami, and landed in PaP around 2 pm. . .the worst part of the trip is explaining to Haitian customs why 2 people have a gazillion bags. . .and it can't be the many changes of underwear needed to be comfy in this hot and humid environment!  Actually, with Nader's help, he found a capitalist customs person and, despite getting shuffled into the red lane, we opened one bag (thankfully packed to the gills with innocent-enough dresses, boy shorts and other non-pharma items) and were waved through. . .although I did settle up with Horatio Haitiman in the parking lot for $80!  

Surprise. . .on the plane with us to PaP was Carlot Dorve, the one-armed Haitian trumpet player who was part of the Concert for Haiti at the church a couple years' back.  He looks great, still studies at MSU but was returning to Haiti to do so visa work.

We overnight in PaP near the airport as there isn't a way to get to Jeremie the same day.  So, we met Rubin for dinner. . .we're helping Rubin with his English classes in PaP, and we brought a laptop so he could supplement the classroom work with listening to CDs on his own, as well as do papers untethered from the school's computer lab.  We also met Fabula, who is studying nursing in PaP, and helped her navigate through a scholarship application provided by Metropolitan Methodist in Detroit.

While in PaP, we also ducked into Nader's favorite grocery store to fill a last-minute order for diapers, as they apparently cost more in Jeremie than the first year of college.  This was as nice as any store I've seen in the US, with the exception of Whole Foods.

Puddle jumped to Jeremie at 8 am this morning and had a lovely view of the coastline on the way.  We had contracted with Cassy to drive our gazillion bags overnight from PaP as the 5-passenger plane was no match, and he dutifully deposited the bags before we arrived at the guest house.  We set about to empty and reorganize the contents around stops we planned on making while we are here, today including Good Sam and a nearby hospital where there are a couple of difficult cases (colostomy, 3rd degree burns) for which we brought medicines and other treatment items.  We  made a stop for some drinking water for Good Sam and good the cooks tours of a very up-to-date reverse osmosis water treatment facility.  

The folks at Good Sam were over the moon with new rubber sandals and some apparel items we brought, along with bananas and the drinking water.  Dr. Marx stopped by and gave all the residents a kind of work up, supplementing the blood pressure readings Nancy had already obtained.  We brought meds for the residents which we'll distribute on Monday, when the Good Sam nurse is available.  Our stop at the St. Antoine hospital, to deliver some newborn items. . including the lovely baby blankets made by the seamstresses at FUMC. . .and we managed to generate some smiles in the process.

Tomorrow, we're back to St. Antoine and perhaps Good Sam as well, and will visit Axary's mother to deliver her diabetes medicines.  We'll also meet with the Dentist who will come along to Chiraque when we visit there on Monday.

As for the post title, Nancy bought 3 HUGE water bottles for Good Sam today. . .which the residents will surely lap up. . .but we won't be able to make the toilets flush until Monday. . . .oh well, our intentions are pure!

John and Nancy

Definitely a "before" picture. . .

. . .and we'll of course share "during" and "after" pictures!

We are all packed up and, sort of like D-Day, are prepared to improvise since. . .as has been said. . ."life is what happens to you when you are busy making plans"!

The generosity shown by everyone in supporting preparations for this trip have been remarkable and motiviating.  First Church is enabling us to finish the 2-room school building in Chiraque, and outfitting the classroom with its first Internet-capable Chromebook and a mini-projector so the teachers might share what's on the screen with the whole classroom.  We'll also be fitting water cisterns to flush toilets already installed at the church in Chiraque and the Good Sam assisted living facility in Jeremie.  And the children and young adults in Chiraque will be sporting lovely dresses, skirts, athletic shorts and T-shirts made possible by FUMC's secret weapon, its capable and eager seamstresses, and the incredible work of the 15-year-old daughter of a family friend who put the arm on her classmates for over 400 items of apparel. . .and who also MADE 120 bracelets!

There are more to thank, including complete strangers who stepped up. . .just because!

We're off at the usual dark-thirty tomorrow morning and will post nightly.

John and Nancy

Our cup. . .er, basement. . runneth over!

Nancy and I depart for Jeremie, Haiti next week.  It will be just the two of us but we'll be taking 8 duffel bags of medicines, handmade dressesand babyblankets, donated skirts/T-shirts and boy shorts, various electronics and laptops, work gloves. . .the generosity of many, many caring folks is on display in our home, all vying to be part of the 400 pounds of "relief" we'll be taking with us.

We'll be helping finish the 2-room school building we started last year, and installing water cisterns so the flush toilets at the church in Chiraque and the Good Samaritan old folks home can, in fact, flush!  We hope to restock critically-shot items in the Gebeau Clinic pharmacy, and to deliver blankets/formula/money to Nurse Dorismond's newborne program.  We'll be checking in on the high school's computer lab to make sure the back-up batteries and laptops brought in prior years are working, and delivering the first Chromebook and micro wall projector to the newly-finished school in Chiraque so they, too, can begin to invite the world into their remote mountain village.

We hope to catch up with Pastor Felix, who we discovered last year had lost a leg to an injury that we in the U.S. would have easily survived.  After we departed last year, we arranged a prosthetic leg and physical therapy, and the good Pastor has been navigating his mountainside parish (almost) as good as new, and way better than any set of crutches would have allowed.

We'll keep you all posted as to this next installment!

John Smith