Sunday, June 7, 2015

Haiti Reflections

I have not had time to add photos to this blog or to tell "the rest of the story" as has been my practice on past trips. Today, however, I gave the sermon at church about our Haiti experience in April and then showed a slide show of photos from the trip. I thought I would add my sermon to this blog. I think it tells the story. I will add photos to illustrate it. I tried to add the video slide show, but the file is too big to upload. Check out the Haiti page on the Christ Church website to view it there. www.ccnorcross.org. Terry


HAITI REFLECTIONS

June 7, 2015

And Jesus replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:33-35

As some of you know, it is very difficult for me to talk about Haiti from my heart. It is easy for me to tell you “just the facts”. Our team included folks from Minneapolis, our Iowa dental team, and me from Christ Church. We treated 800 patients over 3 days.
 
 

We had a wonderful team including many new people. When our usual translators took jobs for 5 days with another team because we had only 3 days of work for us, we had new translators – Richardson, Casimir, and Gerard.

When our usual optometrist LaGuerre was “stuck in the Dominican Republic (whatever that means), his friend Giermo traveled from Mirabelais where he works with Partners in Health to work with our team.

 When our dentist Emmanuel traveled with the other team, our American dentist Terry and his team worked extra hard to see patients, and then Emmanuel stepped in on Saturday to see those Terry could not see during the week.

 
 When Doctor Rudy could only be with us 2 days, he enlisted the help of one of his friends, who traveled high into the mountains with us to see patients on Wednesday.

And then there are the strengthened connections. Doctor Frantz Codio joined us for the second time, and brought his doctor wife Shareen to work with us.

 

 
Nurse Evens Joicin brought his nursing students to work with us

and his wife and two children visited with us.

Then, there are always surprises in Haiti. Frantz and Shareen’s daughter Shaneka was born at Gwinnett Medical Center because Shareen’s brother lives in Lawrenceville. Opthamologist Frantz Large finally was able to come with us on Monday and saw patients who need eye surgery, which he will perform at no charge in his clinic in Port au Prince.

When I realized that the reason my usual wad of money was light because I had forgotten the money to pay the Haitian staff, our translator Marcos and Pere Kerwin swung into action to help me get the money which Steve transferred to me out of the clutches of Western Union.
Participating in the celebration of the feast day at St. Marc’s on Sunday and rocking to the music of many choirs, including our friends at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques.



Waking to no water in the morning in my room, and late in the week realizing that it was my room only, and I could use other’s water first thing in the morning before it was fixed.

And then there are the gifts, seeing our translator Peterson’s face when I presented him with his computer repaired by Ed Fair,

admiring the new book shelves for the library at St. Joseph’s paid for by the SPCK donation,

seeing the joy on the sick children’s faces when they got their comfort dolls or bears knitted by friends across the US,
 
 

watching our patients carefully pack their meds into the cloth bags made by our friends in Iowa and Minnesota, seeing Sofini’s excitement when I gave her a photo of us together, feeling Sofini’s arms around my neck as she whispered, “Mesi anpil”,

 
and discovering I can buy solar powered lights for $15.00 at the Western Union, bringing light to those who live in darkness high up in the mountains.

One of the funniest moments was seeing Casimir’s puzzlement when he told me that there was a lady in the yard who said she had some skirts for me. I, of course, had completely forgotten about the cute crocheted skirts I had seen in the fall and my request that the mom make 10 for me to buy in the spring. So, here they are! I have sold one and the proceeds will be used to help pay for our clinics. So, buy one today! It’s our new micro-enterprise to help support the community and our clinics. (Unfortunately, the photo of the craftswoman did not turn out.)

So, these are our brothers and sisters in Haiti. They are the people who walk up to 4 hours to see a doctor at our clinic. They are very young and very old.

 They are the teachers and students at the school.
 
 
 
 
 
 They are the children who are not in uniforms, a sign that they do not go to school because they cannot afford to attend.

They are the families who live in darkness once the sun goes down. They are the young girls who walk down the mountain to the river to collect water for their families, and then carry it back up the steep mountain road in large buckets balanced on their heads. They are the mom with her two little children who roasts corn in the school yard for those attending our clinics.

They are the young men on the motos ferrying people up and down the mountain. They are the moms cooking in the yard over an open charcoal fire. They are the old men leading their donkeys laden with rice up the mountain to sell at the market. They are Jeanine and her staff who take such good care of us at the guesthouse.
They are the kids dressed in their finest, putting the Americans to shame on Sunday morning.

They are the musicians and choirs that bring the spirit of God into church. They are the people and the country that I have grown to love. They are the people whose lives have been changed forever because of your care, concern, prayer, and, yes, your money.

Of all these things, however, it is the relationship we have built over time with the people of Jasmin that is the most important. When I talked with the Bishop of Haiti many years ago about establishing a partnership with a church in Haiti, Bishop Duracin told me, “If you have $1000, and your choice is to come or to send the money, then come. It is the relationship and that the people who know that you care which is most important. “

 
So, we go twice per year. Join me in October for another visit with our Haitian brothers and sisters. 

 
 

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