Two Months

Coming up on two months already….two months in HAITI…WOW to say life has become a routine is strange to say, here in this third world country. I continue to teach my classes, set up the medical clinic and other construction/odd jobs around camp. Evenings are spent playing games with the crew, our game of choice has been FARKLE which is a game played with six dice…. strategy, gambling and most of all luck. We play for the camp RC (or Reigning Champ). I wish I could say I hold the trophy but I can’t…I have had a bit of a cold streak recently. It has been real hot, close to 100 with a heat index 110+, it is raining a little more frequently as well. I did anticipate more rain, but when it rains here it comes down in buckets. One night this week we had a thunderstorm it was so bad the thunder and lightning was happening at the same time. Well, I am still living in a tent (on a flat roof that floods) and I thought I was going to get blown off. I was the only one to stay in my tent that night, everyone else went into the building. I and all my stuff stayed dry however and my tent stayed up, a little lost sleep and excitment but just another night in Haiti.


Unfortunately no teams have signed up for the month of May so the “Long Termers” are working…a little at a time. The work consists of putting up the temporary housing (8 x 12 SHEDS), projects around our base camp (pouring a concrete slab) or putting gutters on the small house we built. Needless to say everything takes a little longer here, and there is always a story of how things worked out. The mission here did buy some property and started to clear the one story that used to be a three story house. After the second day Ricardo the pastor of the church came into contact with some people with some heavy machinery. After some negotiation and donations from the states, the property is cleared as well as half of the church across the street. It did cost more than the original price…but the job is done. This property is going to be Ricardo and his family’s home, a place for the church to meet, a place to teach English and a place to have a medical clinic…a true all purpose property. The base camp we are currently staying at will be set up for long term folks and teams that come in for relief work. It was quite the day, a true neighborhood gathering as we hauled out 70 dump trucks of rubble.

There are a lot great stories around camp. Currently a couple is praying about adopting a one month old orphan baby. The baby’s father died in the earthquake and mother died in labor. An aunt was caring for the baby and two brothers, living in a tent city…under terrible conditions. We have been taking care of the baby the last few days and looking into the formal adoption process, which can be quite extensive. In the mean time this baby (who doesn’t have a name yet) is getting a lot of love around our base. Prayers continue as to what the next steps are, there are thousands of stories just like this, all over Haiti. We do what we can and continue to leave the rest in God’s hands. It is so hard and a true tension for many of us at camp. I am working with a great team of kind, compassionate people, that hurt inside because of the conditions and pain of the people. God helps us. Ricardo just walked in and said (not knowing what I was typing) “with the eyes of God we can see the good in people (and circumstances).” Yes God, give us eyes to see.

April 19th - 26th

I continue to stay busy with my classes and any other jobs that I am handed. The one week teams coming in continue to be a great help. They are the main crews putting up our shed homes and the “long termers” coordinate, taking care of logistics. This past week Haiti is experiencing a gas crisis (which could last until the second week in May). Our main source of power is from the gas powered generator, which powers our base. This includes water pumps, pumping water from the well (we then fill above ground water tanks (reservoirs)). Obviously water is vital so a lack of gas could hinder our water supply. This generator also powers electrical (internet ) to the base which includes our saws and battery operated drills. Overall we manage to take one problem at a time and everything seems to work out. We do have two other power sources; one is solar panels charging 6 car batteries. This gives us about 2 hours of power without construction equipment and water pump. The third is city power. Like many countries around the world, this power is “rolling” (we basically don’t know when it is going to come on). This past week city power didn’t come on for three days, well there was much joy and even dancing when “city” came on AND a mad scramble to fill the tanks.



People keep coming in and out of our base, PEOPLE from all over the world. This week alone we had people from: The U.S. (From New York to Hawaii, Duluth MN to Miami), Australia, Germany, French speaking Canadians, French speaking French, Denmark, Israel, even Amish (lol… yes Amish). It is encouraging to see all of the different people who have come to serve. Each person/team with special gifts and vision to support the overall vision…helping the people of Haiti.

One of my morning jobs is to help set up the medical clinic. The medical clinic has been going on since the earthquake and treats between one hundred and one hundred and forty patients a day. Our teams keep sending in doctors and nurses and treatment is happening. “Setting up” consists of getting six benches, two large tarps, folding chairs, two tables and all of the medical supplies about 60-70 yards from our compound over a rubble pile to a partially shaded spot under a tree. The clinic usually has four stations including a midwife prenatal area. We start the day with a health teaching and the Gospel message usually delivered by your truly.

Now, three and a half months after the earthquake, the treatment is quite different. Less wound care and triage more cleanliness issues, dehydration and nutrition…. one thing we are seeing is post traumatic symptoms. Many people can’t sleep at night, have bad dreams, are weak, listless all symptoms of stress. We have had opportunity to pray for people with some amazing results. For example we prayed for a guy with cataracts and his vision cleared up. Praise GOD

We have had more spotty internet…because of some router problems sorry this is late

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