Monday, 2/27/2012

Psalm118:1   Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
I've asked the team to come up with what they are thankful for today, and I will go first since they all disappeared.
Cindy- This might sound a bit strange to anyone who hasn't been here, but I am thankful today for nose hair. God in His infinite wisdom equipped our bodies to spare us from a lot of stuff. Today my nose hair prevented all the dust I was breathing from going straight to my lungs. My lungs appreciate that very much and so do I. :)
Phil-  Thankful for seeing people working the land in small plots and harvesting crops, after seeing all the big farm equipment sitting and not being used. (We saw a lot od farm equipment just sitting with flat tires today.)
Barb- Thankful for all of our interpreters and drivers. Without them we could do nothing.
Dan- The whole group of people we had today, working together.
Cassedy- Water!
Becky- Undergarments. A lot of women here don't have any.
Carlton- E'Tienne!
Dena- Cold showers.
Tim- All 3 of the nurses, E'Tienne, Aubrey and Brooke.
 Some of this seems silly, or simplistic, but we are sincere. Being here makes you thankful for small things as well as big things. And of course we are ALL thankful for God's enduring love for us.

We started the day working in the clinic on campus to help them get a jump on the day. Dr Edmond came to work, but wasn't feeling well. We put a few patients through so she could get finished earlier and go home.
We then did a clinic at a village called TrouCaima. It was VERY dusty, and very windy today. E'Tienne was our nurse/pharmacist/translator/question answerer today. It's amazing how well she has picked up the language, and fun to watch her interact with the Haitian people. All of the nurses are awesome in the work they are doing here. They are organized, loving, strict, compassionate, passionate, I could go on and on, but you get the idea.

Our heartbreaker for this trip was my last patient today. A 5 month old baby boy who is about the size of a newborn at home. 8 pounds at best. You could tell he was desperately sick just picking him up. Cassedy handed him to me and said "You really need to listen to him." I had no need to listen. He was burning with fever and his lungs were so congested you could feel his little chest rattling. He was retracting pretty severely with each labored breath. A check of his temp went immediately to 103.2 F. axillary. A quick listen to his lungs confirmed what we already knew. Pneumonia. Mom stated that he refuses to nurse, so she no longer breastfeeds him. She didn't seem overly attentive to his needs. We asked her if she could get him to hospital, and long story short, the answer was no. She said maybe next Monday. We told her that would be too late. Well then she said maybe Friday. We again told her that would be too late. She then pretty much ignored us when we said he needs to go to hospital. We did what we could with what we had. Tylenol for fever, vitamins, formula and pedialyte to boost nutrition and fluid intake,(I syringe fed him 20 cc before she took him home) and a dose of Rocephin to at least get a little antibiotic into his system. I showed her how to percuss his little chest to loosen secretions. He really needed IV antibiotics and hydration over a longer period of time, but we know it won't happen. We can hope. We can pray. We cannot force. So pray for this little one with us.

As we are sitting here, the wind is picking up from what it was earlier. The coverall buildings are trying to take off, and are rather noisy. Maybe some rain tonight?? It would be welcomed.

Tomorrow morning our plan is to get packed, and then help in clinic until it is time to leave for the airport and home. Our time here has been too short, as always. We would love to just stay another week or two or three.......

We will be home late tomorrow as long as our flights all go well.

For the team,
 Cindy

Day 3

Isaiah 58:7-12 ⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness^[a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. 

Today we went to the Lycee IDP camp to do clinic. We saw a lot more sick babies today, along with the ususal complaints that the older people that come have. Still a lot of nutritionally relatable complaints also.

I had a couple of patients today that stood out. One was a baby that was 7 months old, and had a "floppy baby" like problem. Weak muscles, and no leg strength at all. In the states she would be getting physical therapy on a regular basis. All we could do was to try to teach the mom to exercise her limbs and hold her in positions that will force her to strengthen her neck and spinal muscles. And give her vitamins to help with nutritional support.

The other was a 51 year old gentleman named Francois. His problem today was simple, just some gastric problems and a UTI. Both easily treatable. But let me tell you more about this man. He is strong, and he is a survivor. When he as a bit younger, he was electrocuted. He was burned over a large part of his torso, his left arm, and his head. The current went in through his chest and out through his upper back and the top of his head. He survived this only to be injured in the earthquake in 2010. As a result of those injuries he lost his right arm near the elbow. He survived again. What a strong man! He was gracious in discussing his injuries, and allowing me to share his story and photos.

Overall, today was a good day. Clinic went smoothly, and we saw everyone that wanted to be seen. It has been windy today, and we all got very dusty today, but I think Cassedy got the award for being the dirtiest. She spent some time playing with the crowd of kids that were hanging out outside the tent. After sweating a bit, she could make mudpies on her arms! We love our pint sized team member, and so do the Haitian children.

Serving our Lord by serving the people in Haiti.
Cindy and Tim for the team.

Day 2

Our Haitian Alarm Clock



Another beautiful day in Haiti. We started the morning off with Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." This again reiterated to us that it doesn't matter how much we plan God has already made a plan for the day and it is the perfect plan.

We were able to go to Onneville this morning to spend the day doing a clinic. It is amazing that what was empty ground only 2 years ago now has several hundred thousand people living on it. We are seeing alot of new construction and alot clearing of brush for new homes. One thing we noticed right away in this camp is that the tents aren't right on top of each other and there seems to be planning and thought into the lay out of the camp. We also saw several new villages under construction which are laid out like row houses back home. Needless to say much smaller. For the most part we saw alot of the basic complaints today of headache, stomach ache etc. Dan and I did see a man who obviously had very advanced end stage cancer and there was nothing we could do. We gave him some tylenol but realized that it probably was only going to take the ache off. If we had been home we would have gotten something much stronger. Dan got to spend quite a bit of time with him and was able to pray with him before he left. Some of the other nurses got to pray with patients as well. Several people were referred back to the clinic for futher treatment. It is so nice now to be able to refer these people back to the clinic in Chambrun for follow up. One of the new things that they had us start today was that everyone we saw got a copy of the medical record that we did for them today. We placed it in a plastic bag and they were instructed to bring it back next time. The hope is that we can start having some continuity of care betweent the clinic and the medical teams that come down to work in the villages. Thanks Brooke for a great idea.

The team is really enjoying the staff here. They have all been great about helping and sharing ideas with us. E'Tienne and Brooke went to Onneville today and it was a great help as that gave us a reference point to make sure we were doing things the way that they wanted them done. The staff are doing well after yesterday and we are just amazed at the changes and improvements that have occured in just one short year. Below you will find some pictures of the day. We will let them do the rest of the talking.

Tim and Cindy for everyone.

Phil at work handing out flip flops. We think he smiled all day. Dena below seeing patients.

Day 1

Ok. We have no idea where to start. To say it has been a roller coaster ride already would be an understanding. We arrived in Haiti a hour late last night. Not bad really. We found 14 of our totes right away but had to wait some length of time to find the last 4. As usual it was pretty chaotic. As went to go out thru customs they stopped us. First time ever. The first tote that they looked at had meds in it. Based on that they felt that they needed to look at all 18. They informed me that we had to leave our 4 totes of meds behind but that we could have the others and for me to just leave. Well that didn't happen. Everyone else went out and Dan and I stayed with the 4 med totes. At one point they even tried to wheel them away and I wouldn't let them. We were finally able to get a couple of people of NVM in with us. After some haggling and with Dan and I being lighter some cash. $80.00 we were able to take our totes. I was sure at the beginning they wanted money but I didn't want to set a precedent that would cause NVM a problem down the road. Apparently the rules have changed in the last couple of weeks.

We arrived at campus and had a quick supper. Following that we spent the evenings getting our totes put together so we could go out and do medical clinics today. Everyone slept well. Some of us even got a beautiful run in this am. After breakfast we packed up and got ready to head to Onnavile. As we were approaching the gate to leave E'tienne came running toward the truck telling us to stop. She reported that one of the Haitian's was sick and that we needed to come. Dan and I ran to the tent where the Haitian workers here on campus stay. When we arrived we found one of the Haitians that we know had a seizure in the night and had died. Wow. Talk about a change in emotions. Needless to say going to camp was cancelled as there was alot to be dealt with. We ended up spending the day fixing lunch for everyone and doing odd jobs to help the staff. Everyone found out right away how to be FAT in Haiti. Flexible, Adaptable and Teachable.

This afternoon we walked into Chambrun and spent some time playing with the kids. As we played with Baby Rose and Davidson and we were reminded that in the midst of sorrow God still performs miracles. It really is a reflection of Haiti, life begins and life ends. The quake brought an end to a lot of things in Haiti but new life and new plans as well. We were reminded again that without the quake we probably would not be here. Only God understands the plans He has. There is much more to tell you as we have seen wonderful improvements but we will save that for another post. Please continue to pray.

One of the miracles. Baby Rose.

Commissioning and Packing Day

ABC Haiti Team 2012

From left to right, this year's team is: Dan and Barb Woolston, Becky Osborn, Cassedy Meade, Carlton Osborn, Phil Wirsing, Dena Jewel, and Tim and Cindy Peterson.

Dan is a NP and is our medical provider. His wife Barb is an RN. They both went last year.

Becky is a teacher from Rochester, and is Carlton's daughter. She is new to the team this year.

Cassedy went last year. She is a student at Avoca Central School, and has a heart for missions.

Carlton was also part of last year's team. He is a truck driver for an agricultural spraying company. Phil is a retired school teacher and army reservist who loves the outdoors. He is very active in the Gideon's ministry.

Dena is an RN and this is her first trip with us. She has been on other mission trips with other groups.

Tim and I are both RN's, returning for our 4th trip to Haiti. We are all excited to see what the Lord has in store for our team.

We had our commissioning service during worship services at Avoca Baptist this morning. It is such a blessing to be prayed for, and over, by God's people. Following morning services, we had a group lunch including our families. We then got down to the task of packing the rest of our supplies and food. Many hands make the work light, and we completed the daunting task in short order. Now we have just the last minute things to add tomorrow.

We are asking you to pray for the totes. That they contain exactly what God intends for us to bring. That they might be waived from baggage fees due to their contents being for a medical mission. That they all arrive safely at our destination intact and complete. That they clear customs without incident.

We also ask for prayers for the team. For health, safety, unity, wisdom, and opportunity to reach out in the name of Christ.

Tim and I are working our regular shifts tomorrow, so the scramble will be on once we get home from work. Final packing, dinner with the family, and an early bedtime in order to be out the door Tuesday morning by 3:30 am. Oy!

Thanks for your support and prayers!!

Cindy and Tim

Packing

Saturday February 18, 2012

Packing and Spraying day.
We have spent today trying to get things organized and ready to go here at home. It always seems that there is more to do than we can ever hope to accomplish. Some of it just has to wait. The good news is that all of our clothes are sprayed and waiting to dry. We just finished packing the last of the med totes. We will be having lunch with the rest of the team tomorrow and packing the food, shoes and other odds and ends that we will be taking along. Our two living rooms look like a tornado has gone thru them with numerous totes and boxes everywhere. We always wonder if we are packing the right things to take. Our home has become a drop off point for everything from tents, and medical supplies to socks, underwear and an entire tote of sewing supplies including fabric and buttons. Unfortunately we can't take it all but always pray that we are taking what is needed for this particular trip. It is always interesting to get there and see how God has directed us to bring exactly what was needed for that trip.

Thru the generosity of a couple of young couples we have some baby formula and jars of baby food to take along with us this time. We were both just commenting on how thankful we were to have it. It always seems like Cindy takes care of alot of babies when we are there. Believe me she is not complaining about that. Her original desire after the quake was to be able to go to Haiti and love on the babies. It did hit both of us that the baby food we were taking was only a drop in a very large barrel of what is needed. But God already knows which babies need it the most.

We will try and post again tomorrow with a team picture and some information about each team member. It is exciting that 4 of those going with us also went last year and of course our "daughter" E'tienne is already there. She has actually been sending us back pictures of a wound that she is working on so that we can try and bring her the correct supplies to heal it up.

This is a picture of a mom and babies that Cindy took care of last time. Mom is 21 and weighed about 80 lbs. Dad had been killed in the earthquake. The babies looked pretty good because mom was taking care of them before herself. Cindy had the oppurtunity to go to her home. There was a small bed, a few clothes and one box of corn flakes. You want to know why we go back. Look no further.

Tim and Cindy