Monday, June 11, 2007

Last Days

June 11, 2007

Well, it had to happen; the sustained levels of activity have about consumed us from a physical perspective. Today is the last day with the group from Seattle with them leaving at noon for PAP; they are quite unaccustomed to the heat here and the Lord has sustained their efforts up until the day they must return to the States. Jane and I have shared each evening on what a wonderful answer to prayer these three have been for our project; without them I fear we would not have accomplished nearly the interior/exterior work that has been completed.

It has been an adventure; we have managed the entire exterior of the hospital; we have managed a coat of paint on the main building interior – and all in a “working” hospital. Jane pointed out several nights ago that the rooms we needed to access went “empty” for the exact amount of time we needed to complete them. No sooner had the furniture been returned to its position than the beds filled – amazing. We had been concerned as we worked the “boxes” (consultation rooms) last afternoon that the rooms in ICU would go untouched this trip as there were 3-4 patients that were not prepared for discharge. By 4PM they were emptied and by 6:30PM they were “first coated” – second coat to be applied this AM at 7.

It is now 5PM; work has stopped for the day and the review is pretty amazing. We have painted the entire exterior security wall; exteriors of six separate buildings; the main hospital ward (both inside and outside); the ICU and Surgery rooms; the Pediatric ward; a guard shack and a feeble looking dog that fell asleep against the wall shortly after it had been painted – she is still green on one side. Human possibility aside, this has been an amazing accomplishment and God has answered our every need. Tomorrow we’ll finish up a second coat of paint on the nurse’s station and some trim work in the Surgery Prep area before my local guys move on to the Maternity building for a fresh coat of interior paint; after that are roughly three dozen metal chairs; two or three dozen hospital beds and who knows what else.

Jane has been working feverishly at sorting and filing many thousands of records – too many thousands to even attempt to count – 240 boxes of them to be exact. I really do not know how she has done it but her work is commendable and cannot be denied. All she has done is now sorted by city, gender, alphabetically and perhaps additional criteria as well; I cannot tell you other than to say the bright colored labels on the fronts of the boxes are simple enough that even I could find a patient if needed! The work that can be accomplished when God is in it is incredible; pictures and words just simply cannot make this clear to the reader of this memo.

Jane has committed to returning in August; I am out of vacation for the most part having used up several months worth between here and South Africa last November. Anyone interested in joining her? We could use an electrician, a plumber and a carpenter – licenses are optional. There remains much to do and the work is reasonable but tiring in the heat of the Caribbean summer.

The house project is moving forward; slowly, as is the custom here in Haiti. The land has been identified; believe it or not, surveys are required here – simply unbelievable in a country where “possession is nine tenths of the law”.This is going to end up taking considerably longer than I had anticipated; I only hope we can complete the work before the little old woman goes home to be with our Lord.

Materials for the house will be obtained locally for the most part with the sand coming from the river; the gravel coming from huge boulders that have been hammered into pieces roughly 1.5-3.0 inches in shape. Blocks will come from PAP or perhaps the facility in Gonaives up the road – I tried to buy that business once just after the flood in Gonaives in 2005 – obviously, I failed to persuade the owner even though they still have it running at about 15% of capacity.

The Haitians have a proverb “Deye mon, gen mon” which translated says “Behind the mountains, there are mountains” or “If its not one thing, its another” – having spent the month here in the mountains it carries a larger meaning.

Bondye Bon (God is Good)

Randy

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Market Day

June 09, 2007

It’s Market Day in Dessalines; the normal chatter of the neighborhood has moved about three blocks down the street to “Le Mache” for the day and we are relaxing over a cup of smooth CafĂ© Rebo. For an agrarian community Market Day is a necessary time to purchase foodstuffs and other essential items as refrigeration is limited at best. Fresh goat can be purchased (one must be careful, it is best left to Elange) along with portions of the hog that turned “commodity” in the early morning hours and a smaller selection of fruits and vegetables. If you find yourself a bit hungry there are “fast food” opportunities with fried chicken, pork and the ever available plantain “bites” and hot relish on every corner.

Painting is at a lull momentarily as we have exhausted our last batch of 55 gallons and the paint store is 4 hours away over roads accessible only with a four-wheel drive unit. I will find out after this is over how many might have been applied in this last three weeks – I’m not sure I want to know prior to that time. Restock is on the way and should be here by 10AM and all are actually relishing the down time.

Today is a heartbreaker as I must make decisions as to what will not get painted this trip; my original thought is that we paint the 6 “boxes” or consultation rooms where patients are seen prior to treatment. This has been difficult as we are painting in an “active” hospital and there is simply no room that can be closed off as we work – it is a matter of “where are the least people affected...”. We have determined to paint the boxes as it will impact the doctors positively; that means the surgery and ICU will not get a coat of paint and there is a chance the nurse’s station may not get painted as the color in there is different and must be custom blended using what we have on hand.

We have been fortunate to have a Seattle-based electrician visit with us this last week; he has literally salvaged parts from wherever available and restored lighting to many rooms in the hospital for the first time in years. Walking through the courtyard last night on our way home we noted the impact of the lighting on the evening shift – amazing difference.
Lights in the shop area have been restored as well although not on the inverter and consequently a loss of city power (each evening) and lack for generator make for cleaning of painting equipment in the dark almost impossible.

Our time is almost over; the thought of leaving so much undone is as difficult as the country itself. We plan on working on Sunday (not a standard by any means) as we are simply out of time and must return to Port au Prince within a day or so in order to complete arrangements on that end prior to leaving for home.

Pray with us as we close up for this period that God will send competent workers to the field for this purpose. Ever thought you might be called to the mission field? There is no place on Earth that could better prepare you for what you might expect – frankly, if you can handle this environment, most areas of the world would be child’s play in comparison. Pray for those willing to come and spend a vacation learning about life and what it means to another culture. Pray for Fanya that God would protect her and provide her an opportunity to see life as a child before it is over for her. Pray for the equipment, personnel and supplies to make this an effective, efficient medical facility; for the staff that make it function using what is available.

Pray for Gregg and Gail that the Lord would maintain their desire to continue; that they would “rise up and soar like eagles” in their quest to see health care provided for the thousands impacted in this area. Pray for those called on a long term basis to serve in Haiti.

Until we see you next:
“Woch nan dlo pa konnen doule woch nan soley” which literally translates to “The rock in the water does not know the pain of the rock in the sun” or more loosely “there is no way to fully comprehend another’s pain”.

Our hearts are broken at your generosity and prayer support; we can only bring you stories and a few pictures until we see you here with us next time. Our trip has been memorable; it could not have been possible without you.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Catching Up

June 6, 2007

It’s hot today; upwards of 95F and humidity as high or higher. Today we went to share soccer equipment that Adam had purchased for the school associated with the church here in Dessalines. No need to attempt to explain how excited we made that place with just a couple hundred dollars worth of soccer gear! We were told there would be an organized match played in our honor over the weekend; they were ecstatic!

Hospital has been painted outside completely; new window glass ordered where needed and will be delivered on Saturday – everything has to come from PAP; it’s over 3.5 hours away! We have started the inside and have finished the pediatrics ward; have first coated part of the ICU as well as two additional smaller rooms. Tomorrow is a Haitian holiday of some sort and we should be able to move quite quickly if not having to accommodate constant patient arrival and departures – its hard to tell how many Haitians have white and/or green stripes on them somewhere!

Little Fanya is doing well these last several days; I don’t believe she has been subjected to the beating I witnessed prior to my earlier email to you since I asked you all to pray for His plan for her life. She is a constant encouragement to us and sings to herself virtually all day as she goes about completing her chores for the day. She is truly a flower among a group of thorns and has no place in the family she resides with at this time.

I went to the market today for pictures and audio and was excited about what I was able to record both visually and through the audio recorder loaned to me. I was so encouraged that I intend to just keep recording and let Paul assist me in getting it transferred to my computer for including with my yet-to-be-created DVD of our trip. Hopefully, sufficient numbers of the files I have attempted will be of a quality that can be used; getting the recording levels accurate here is virtually impossible for the neophyte – there are extremes almost by the minute here and one can only attempt to anticipate what might come next.

We are closing in on our stay here and Jane has been asked if she would consider an additional month; please pray with us that God would make it clear as to her next steps. I am probably off to Singapore immediately after returning home and perhaps on and off for the remainder of the summer assuming my security clearance comes through from the White House.

It is tough for us to be so engrossed in our daily activity and not feel the absolute needs of the moment. The hospital is coming along nicely; there are training needs in virtually every corner and hardly anything is off limits. With the staff available to them it will be years of training to accomplish a self-sustaining mode of operation.

A huge cheer has just gone up outside (usually means the city electricity has come back on for the evening) and we have discovered that Haiti is playing Guatemala in the CONCACAF GOLD CUP soccer match. These folks may not have a lot but what they do have in the way of athletics they are most passionate.