Highlights- waking to breakfast tropical fruit mmm one of my fav treats, mango, pineapple, coffee and juice prepared by ladies at the guest house. Each morning they had an assortment of selections ranging from an scrambled egg mix to cereal, french toast, pancakes, Haitian pourage among other flavorful items. As it would take a bit of planning to get the mobile clinics running with the local clinicians, I headed to the hospital after being picked up to help out in triage. Triage here meant diagnosing and treating, when appropriate discharging generally after prescribing patient’s medications they paid for in the pharmacy. If necessary fluids would be given or additional testing sometimes with labs. There was a small space with one bed, one chair for patients, one bench and a few chairs for staff with a small desk. So patients would at times need to be triaged on the bench in the entrance of the hospital grounds, privacy was not possible in most cases, nonexistent. You just have to get used to everyone sharing everything, space, materials, instruments and time. It is always humbling and puts life in perspective realizing how incredible seemingly fortunate we are to come from an area where there are generally abundant resources. Highlights- treating a young volunteer to cover both typhoid and malaria as she presented with symptoms of both and much of the care given is done empirically. Another case that stands out is a severe trauma that I treated with a lady who’d been driven inside the hospital gates who’d been hit by a truck reportedly, her leg disfigured and a bloody seen it was no time to react just act, the closest thing available to splint her dismantled leg was a cardboard box torn into pieces.

I enjoyed a good meal of Haitian food a vegetable plate so flavorful.
By God’s design, I made 3 connections for mobile clinics 2 ER women docs and a medical students. There was a going away party in the cafeteria at the end of the day for Kim, a volunteer RN who was leaving to return to the states to start an NP program.
It was sweet to see all the support she had it seemed like all the Haitian staff came and they had pastries including patties and cake. I ended the night at the guesthouse talking to Nick, an engineer who’s volunteering at Heartline ministries long-term.

After spending the morning in the lounge with a free breakfast, feeling thankful to God, we were off to Haiti. Flight was smooth slept through most of it. How pleasant to arrive in such a warm, sunny climate. The airport was looking nice and had been rebuilt since my last visit. I was happy to be back, but sad over the recent loss of my friend Windy who went home at just 26 less than a month before my return. It was disheartening to know he’d died after suffering a bout with what was said to be leukemia, possibly lymphoma, a disease that wreaked havoc on his body from a lack of health care access. He endured a lot of pain and fortunately for him he was a strong believer and is home in God’s kingdom. He story gives hope to anyone with a dream like my visions for mobile clinics in Haiti. He had a dream, a big project, to have a school started in Cite Soleil an area deemed to be perhaps the most dangerous in the world. Slums so extremely impoverished, I recall heartbreaking visions of poverty, one infant so grossly malnourished after her mom was feeding her what was believed to be flour water and oil cause she didn’t have resources, one story of numerous in this crime ridden area. Windy’s vision was to start a school here and with the help of many volunteers it has come to fruition, creating a beacon of hope in the area along with the churches and scattered clinics all bringing hope in promising ways to deserving communities. Windy introduced me to the 1st orphanage where we did a mobile clinic. He had a unique way of engaging the children, teaching them and educating them that was endearing. He completed Haiti’s first paramedic training program to become an EMT. His legacy of service and captivating energy will live on in the school he dreamed of which even has a clinic developing in Cite Soleil. Accomplishments in his short life exemplify what Christ can do with one. His zeal and passion are motivating forces behind my trip and vision for mobile clinics in Haiti. As I exited the plane into the airport, it was so refreshing and brought joy to be created by a serenade gentleman singing songs in the airport. I could not think of a warmer, friendlier greeting to make me feel welcome. My heart smiled ready to begin another journey, feeling like it was with a nod from God.

I was greeted by a customs agent, a lady who remembered my from the last trip, what a hard ordeal it was trying to get medications through customs on that visit. I somehow knew this trip would be different, easier in some ways. I got all my luggage and had just enough cash, $2.00 to rent a cart for luggage. Great, I forgot to bring cash! Oh the minor details and there is no ATM in the airport. All good, after getting through customs, thank you Jesus, uneventfully, I proceed outside and am greeted by friendly gentleman trying to help with luggage. I repeatedly explain I had no cash, one man was sweet enough to help regardless, these are the loving qualities I’ve come to love in Haitians. He and another man helped me find the guy Phillip, we’ll known there as he often comes to pick people up who are coming to work with Project Medishare at the trauma hospital. We headed to the hospital about 10 minutes away. It felt good to be back. The poverty that used to stand out more around the airport is no longer as noticeable to me, my focus is different now, and perhaps more geared towards seeing the possibilities. It seems fewer people are living in tented camps by the airport, maybe displaced to elsewhere or on the streets or maybe even in housing. I was excited to pull into the hospital and find my fabulous Dad there who was socializing with other volunteers. I had a tasty meal from the hospital I missed this delicious Haitian food, rice, beans, sauce and plantains was just what I needed. Phillip enjoyed my chicken. The hospital changed a lot, felt different I heard they got rid of 40 people on staff with budget cuts, sad. My Dad’s tool room that he assembled was torn up no longer organized, its hard to keep things maintained with so many people going in and out. He was short on tools. I stayed until evening hanging with plans to return in the morning. I got a ride to the beautiful guest house I was staying out through Heartline Ministries in Tabarre, about a 20 minute ride from the hospital. To wrap the night up I had talks about getting medications in Haiti and connections on how to do so among other topics with volunteers, including Kim, Ryan and Nick.

Yeah, excited this time and not as many bags which made it easier turned out to be a big Blessing as I got to pack an extra bag with no charge so able to send more goods like supplies to Haiti. Off to Haiti flight went well and I was able to hang out in the airline lounge with a pass in New Jersey airport so that was a nice start to the trip. During the flight I read in the Bible about faith out of Hebrews 11 and felt that was to be the focus of the trip. I had a talk with a young man next to me who inquired about the Bible I was reading. He didn’t have a religion he identified with and we had a good discussion about God. Interesting he flies planes and rents them we talked about him flying medications to Haiti which wouldn’t be so far since he lives in Florida. I gave him a card and hoped to connect on that in the future, God willing, as it’d be a good way to get medications in Haiti for mobile clinics. I pondered on the readings, faith with works was the message and I believe that God is going to use my Dad for his mission work and myself for mine to make a difference in Haiti. My Dad is there to fix biomedical equipment in the trauma hospital Bernard Mevs and work on training people to do so as well. I’m going to help with mobile clinics to be sustained and run by local Haitian clinicians after my departure with help provided in getting medications and equipment. All of these goals will be challenging and hard requiring faith to press on through the obstacles that will no doubt arise. I was happy to have learned from a message through a friend that picked my Dad up that made it safely to Port au Prince. Yes, this trip is off to a good start.

More shopping, planning, supply packing, medication sorting bagging party. I wanted to get through customs in Haiti so I was trying to organize things efficiently and not over pack. I got to the airport but not in enough time to get through security before the plane left the line was much longer than anticipated. My bags made it through okay and the flight was rebooked for the next day.

Haiti medication packing- with the help of my mom and Uncle we put together packages for orphans including small activity books, pencils, pencil sharpeners, stickers with religious symbols and educational stickers in bags for children. I also had many medications that were purchased but we did not have enough time to bag them up.

This was my last morning in Haiti and I was pleasantly surprised that a few of the clinicians and Haitian staff came to visit and give me a sweet send off. I was sad to leave, but knew in my heart I’d return. We made plans for them to carry on mobile medical clinics in my absence and I would help support their efforts with fundraising and getting the NGO, Global Mustard Seed missions up and running. They would continue to arrange mobile medical clinics in the urban and rural areas and as I can work out connections help provide them with medications, materials and volunteers to assist when feasible. I left them with medical books they could use for future clinics which they were so grateful to receive. We walked to a pharmacy that morning to try and get them some meds to carry on. After seeing the prices I reached out o Leslie from the Hope Alive clinic and had some unexpected Blessings that morning as she agreed to provide some medication. The clinicians planned to do the first clinic after I left on March 14, 2012. I was in touch with Pastor Luc who has the 43 churches in the provinces so it was so exciting to be able to make this connection. There is no way this was anything other than the hand of God putting me in all of these places, making all of these connections and keeping me safe through it all. It was such a wonderful gift to have them continue on as I envisioned hope for sustainable efforts but never imagined it would come to fruition so soon. Dreams do come true with hard work and perseverance and of course faith and above all else keeping Christ central as He is still in control. There are many lessons learned on this trip in Haiti, but I think that summarizes the most important ones. The Americares rep, Brian who I’d been working with agreed to follow-up on getting the meds out of customs and he’d already sent someone there to handle it. They would then connect with the clinicians there to provide them the meds so they could continue to render care. I think of the importance of having faith when we cannot see the outcome and it seems hard to envision anything good coming out of trials. But now I see, all along, God had His plans for those medications to be delivered on His time and where He wanted them to be. I am only a vessel here to help as are we all and have to learn to give things to Him and trust in His sovereignty. These plans for the clinics to carry on were so meaningful and such a fabulous way to end my trip in Haiti. Until I can return, I will continue to work hard to fundraise and do what I can to make, what my dad says, my splash a big drop in the ocean. I had been Blessed with so many people to help with the process like the rep from Unitransfer who agreed to continue food deliveries from the warehouse in Haiti. I’m so thankful that things worked out as they did and the dreams I have of mobile clinics are becoming a reality. I ended the trip with picking up some souvenirs the guys helped me negotiate on around the streets of the Walls guesthouse. Bertrand came and picked me up and we headed to the airport. This trip I left with a sense of accomplishment, knowing there is much more work to be done. Check in at the Port au Prince airport went smoothly. Feeling like we all served as Christ’s hands and feet made the load a little lighter and the weight less heavy for the patient’s we touched and who touched our hearts. And that in itself is a reward beyond measure. The strength gleaned from working with such resilient people makes me feel even stronger.

I slept in til around 7ish and woke up to one of my fav meals with pancakes and fresh fruit. I caught up with one of the Texans before they headed out to the north about 7 hours away. Haiti is such a big place in ways and there are so many placed to serve. I then called United airlines and explained that I was supposed to leave that afternoon, but wanted to change til the next day. I was so thankful and pleasantly surprised when they changed my ticket for no fee. What a Blessing that was and I was looking forward to a stress free last day in Haiti. My friend Renulus came to meet me and we headed to the store for some drinks and then set out on a moto (motorcycle) to check out the Mother Theresa Home for Sick and Dying children at Delmas 31. I guess there is another large orphanage in same neighborhood so we were brought there first unknowingly and ended up touring the place as there was not a name on it. The woman who worked there showed us around and it was a nice well kept, but crowded orphanage and I found it that it was actually an adoption center. It was so sad to see so many children needing homes, one as young as 14 days old whose mom died when he was 3 days old. I got the women’s card for the place as I planned to keep in touch with them. I believe divine providence led me to the place. We eventually arrived at the Mother Theresa home and the Sisters there taught us about the place and how they try and refer to children with other co-morbid conditions to hospitals when there is availabilty. They took in very malnourished children off of the streets regularly and even had a community feeding program. We toured the place and saw the heartbreaking cases of the worst hunger and malnourishment and all the physical components that manifest like edema, altered skin texture, big bellies, changes in skin texture and hair color and of course an emaciated thin appearance. I learned to recognize subtle signs of malnourishment during this trip as I never had before from just textbooks as I saw more of it this time around than I ever had. Some children were so bad they had to be started on just fluids and carefully titrated up to foods or they could die. They had different levels with the sickest children at the bottom who could not tolerate food and we did not get to see them. It was heart wrenching to walk through this place and see so many ill and hungry babies. It was encouraging to see their feeding program and volunteers feeding the babies, some who were on IV fluids, even with IVs in their necks. I had wanted to use some of the funds from the T shirt campaign to do a food delivery and was considering this place and the orphanage/ adoption center as recipients. The staff gave me contacts for places to order bulk food from in Haiti. They invited me to a dispensary called St. Josephs the next day where patients would be seen for healthcare services and medications. This is somewhere I’d like to volunteer at on.

After our visits we decided to go out to dinner and went to this nice authentic Haitian restaurant which was crowded and popular. I liked the dim red and green lights and enjoyed the food, my usual beans 7 rice with plantains for dinner and fruity smoothies with papaya we ordered. The Haitian music was a plus and there was even an attached dance room. We headed back to the guesthouse on a moto and spent the evening hanging out there and on the rooftop.

I started the day early in customs at the airport in another attempt to get meds up in the directors office. The morning grew long after spending hours going back and forth between people and offices which was so frustrating. I even had all of the paperwork I needed from the ministry of health and everything, I still couldn’t get through with nothing but delays to get meds out of customs. There was a line of patient’s waiting at the church for a mobile clinic, this time with the other clinicians there prepared to see them, but I was hoping to get the meds to bring to use in the clinic. Instead I spent hours, with several people, including even a police officer who was a cousin of my friend Bertrand, all trying to help me persuade people to release the meds. They let me obtain the bags to go through them and it was even more disappointing to see that a bag had been damaged and opened with items missing. We had to verify the list of meds with what was in the bags, but they still would not release them. We stayed all day until about 3pm when they insisted on wanting money or that I would have to come back the next day. I decided at that point I was done with the process and would not return and instead let Americares reps, the company that donated the meds deal with the rest of the process to retrieve the medications. It was a lesson learned and in the future I’d focus on getting medications in country rather than trying to bring them in to go through customs. Fortunately the clinicians waiting at the church went ahead and saw all of the patients which was such a relief and reminded me that God works things out on His time. Around 3 pm we were warned that there was a lot of commotion going on and we needed to get to a safe place as loud sirens could be heard and traffic came to gridlocked standstills. Businesses, including airport staff and schools were shutting down now and everyone was rushing to get home. It was all political issues and reminded me of the time I was working in a clinic in 2011 and when BabyDoc arrived in town we had to shut down the clinic and rush back to the guesthouse to avoid trouble. I convinced some of the others to go out to eat since it was the end of my trip and we went to a nice lounge called Eclipse at Delmas 31. There was a broadcast of the political state and it had to do with the President Martinelli not relinquishing his passport to prove his Haitian citizenship reportedly. They were accusing him of being American and wanting him out of the country, at least that was the rumor. After we were watching the news he eventually surrendered his passport to prove he is Haitian . Then it was all good and people were celebrating. He was also a popstar and had songs and they began playing his songs in the lounge we were in and many folks were celebrating. We enjoyed food and drinks and spent some hours chatting. The ambience was really relaxing with the dim lights. I had my usual tasty dish, beans, rice, plantains and picklies but somehow it tasted different and good everytime. The plan was to spend the afternoon at the beach, but we had to change that since the upheaval occurred. I was supposed to be leaving the next day to return to the states, but didn’t want to go so was going to call the airlines. That night I met some missionaries from Texas at the guesthouse hosted by Haitians who had an NGO and we had a nice long chat reflecting on purposes of mission trips and the need to respond with actions to what is witnessed. We exchanged contact info to keep in touch.

I got up early and Bernard took me to the airport in another attempt to pick up the medications out of customs. We arrived around 730 and after going through the process of talking to multiple people still had no success. Patience is very necessary and something that doesn’t come easy. I had several clinicians waiting on me at the clinic and people waiting for medical care at Pastor Lucs church as we had planned on doing a mobile clinic there that day. After stopping at a clinic, We finally made it to the guest house and picked up the clinicians then headed to the church. We made do with meds I stopped by a pharmacy to get after going to an ATM in a bank. I saw a huge line of people when stopping by the bank and learned it was people seeking work. Humbling and a reminder of my good fortune. Haitians are hard working people and it’d be a hard country to live in unemployed I imagine. At the church, the members were so attentive to helping us set up the clinic. The people were waiting patiently, a lesson I needed to adopt and practice more. With 3 clinicians and myself we worked through the patients. I learned lessons about organization to have triage, vital signs taken and ideally someone to manage the pharmacy to keep everything in order and flowing, will take it all into future preparations in developing solid mobile clinics. I can look back on this trip and see how the variety if experiences have been instrumental in preparing me for the mobile clinics that I’m managing with God’s guidance. Having these things arranged at other clinics in advance made things work out more efficiently so lessons learned for the future. This basis enables providers to focus on spending time with and moving through the high patient volumes. Though it started off rough, with teamwork, we all pulled together and all the patietn’s were seen. We walked back to the guesthouse and the others enjoyed soda and Prestige Haitian beer while waiting for me to change. Bertrand came with his tap tap and we all headed out to go to dinner. We ended up at a really nice restaurant called LaMaison, it was delicious. Everyone ordered tasty Haitian food, I enjoyed my usual beans, rice with a sauce, salad, plantains and picklies. They shared stories with me about life in Haiti, some really sad and it was good to get more acquainted. One of the clinicians lost his mom and siblings in the quake and you never would have known it with the quiet strength he carried on with and he was always willing to help out. The painful stories people endure are palpable and hard to fathom. It helps put things in perspective about what matters in life. It amazes me how those who have been through some of the worst trials have the most calming and comforting spirits. The determination and resilience Haitians carry, maybe is in part what gives so many people a desire to come serve here as Haiti is a very special place. Somehow exposure to the culture strengthens and Blesses us beyond measure. I cant contemplate how I would carry on in the face of a magnitude of similar obstacles. In the end of it all as my trip nears its final days, it only deepens my desire to come back and serve more. It makes me want to dedicate part of my life from now until I can no longer serve in Haiti to help make a difference. Perhaps, in part I’ve found my calling, medical mission trips abroad, it’s what makes me thrive. I especially love the idea of mobile clinics and meeting people where they are at. I was touched more in this day, which was no doubt one of the hardest, but most emotionally moving and somehow uplifting days I’d had in Haiti. I had a renewed energy to carry on even after the challenges of not getting the meds out of customs and other issues. After dinner we stopped by a couple of different pharmacies to get more meds on the way back to the guesthouse to no avail. Things were really expensive to buy in bulk at the place that was open, and Delmas 2000 the main market I wanted to go to was closed. Most shops close early in PAP, especially on the weekends in the early afternoon by ~2pm most stores are closed.

Latter that night after I was back at the guest house hanging out I was reading through and singing from a worship song book and gave an extra copy I had to one of the stoic guards. Not long after I saw him walking around and singing out of book as well, many songs were in Creole and English. He later came to join me and even though we spoke different languages he sang in Creole and I sang in English, both praising the same God. It was these serendipitous, spiritual moments that left a lasting impression in my heart for Haiti and the people and what an awesome God we serve. He helped me with the Creole verses and I helped him with the English and we sang songs until late in the night. The spiritual unity of believers is a powerful thing and transcends races, languages and all other divisions. Its what reminds me of Christ’s omniscience and a gentle affirmation that he’s always there. That night was a reminder that I’m where He wants me at this point in time. Those moments spent singing had me thinking we never know how we can impact someone’s life.

We got off to an early start I actually made it to the dining room dressed in scrubs at 6:30AM, motivated to start the day. People normally start days really early in Haiti, I have a hard time adjusting to the hours. We had breakfast with fresh fruit, toast and coffee. A morning devotion was the perfect way we started the day with a prayer focusing on letting Jesus serve us through others. We then loaded up in 3 tap taps and headed out to clinic in Croix Des Bouquet about an hour away from Port au Prince driving through dusty and bumpy roads. There’s never a dull moment on the streets of PAP. Lots of stimulation with the sites, sounds, people, activity, animals and whatever random things pop up whether it’s the UN big armed trucks, misc accidents from lack of traffic regulation, buses turned over on the side of the road and vendors running up to cars hustling everything from fresh fruit to shampoo and medications, it’s always a thrill. After awhile , we arrived to a hidden gem, a pleasant surprise next to the grounds of a seminary, a clinic run by Haiti Medical Missions of Memphis. I had previously read about this organization and was interested in working with them before so was very excited to make this connection. It was a very large Catholic based clinic with many services and speciality care called the Clinque Saint E’Sprit (Holy Spirit Clinic). There were even prosthetics, occupational & physical therapy, a large kitchen, guest house a gym and very nice clean facilities with private patient rooms. Volunteers were welcome. I noticed Sisters were present as well. I somehow ended up in the pediatrician/ midwife section so by default was mostly seeing children with ailments through the day, occasionally I’d treat women with genitourinary problems and children has mostly GI and derm issues. It was sad to see such advanced manifestations of simple ear infections that went untreated. We were served a tasty meal for lunch, chicken for those who like it, a bean sauce w rice & beans and fruit. It was comical that we were told to wash our own plates after eating considering there was a tiny kitchen with a sink and like 3 tables of us. This was a custom we’d never heard of, fortunately some folks did it for us so we could keep seeing patients. I bought some souvenirs before leaving (flags, paintings and a necklace) from a man on the translator team and bargained for a good deal. We took group pictures before leaving for the day. We were stuck with a flat tire and after it was changed, stopped by a store called DeliMart in PAP to stock up on goodies like Rebo coffee and other treats.

We spent the evening at the guest house hanging out. I fell asleep early after being tired from a long day and was awakened around 9pm with my bed shaking from an earthquake. I quickly sat up and was on the verge of going right back to sleep til I though about being in Haiti- I ran out of the tent so quick I was the first one out of the guesthouse. Recalling that people had perished in the same guesthouse just two yeats prior from the quake and knowing that I was sleeping under slabs of concrete was unsettling. I was shocked to see people straggling out 10 minutes latter carrying personal belongings. I could see how priorities misplaced could lead to such tragedies in catastrophic events. Poor Haitians I could see standing on the roofs of their houses, who could blame them considering the history. It was a restless night, I went back in but came running out when I’d hear loud sounds fearing aftershocks. I later learned it was around a 4.6 earthquake , but thinking on the damage done from the large one of around 7.0 in 2010 with ~200,000 people perished that was not comforting. I heard there wasn’t damage from this nights quake though.