Minneapolitans Arrive!

Delayed one day by airline problems, our Minneapolis contingent is now with us!
Members, all from St. John's Episcopal Chuch,  are Dr. Dianne Pizey, Pediatrician, organizer, on her 9th trip to Haiti, Kate MacKinnon, also of St. John's, attorney, helper in Pharmacy, and Victoria Madsen, photographer and pharmacy helper.

Also joining us on Sunday, a distinguished member of the Native Haitian medical community. Dr. Rudolph Richime is quite young and quite modest but a major figure in Haiti's recovery in the field of orthopedic surgery. Although his  official status at the time of the earthquake was resident in orthopedics, he basciallly took over orthopedic surgery at the Hopital Lumier in the town of Bonne Finne in the Cayes region of Southwest Haiti, one of the areas spared by the quake where masses of victims went for treatment. Dr. Rudi has been extremely active in helping American physicians get involved in assisting the recovery. His new title is Orthopedic Surgeon For Various Surgical Teams Coming To Haiti From The United States.

The main event for those of us already on the scene was attendance at Sunday services at St. Joseph of Arimathea Episcopal Church in Jasmin,  close to the site of the eartquake's epicenter. A spirited congregation of  young and old prayed and sang for well over three hours, and the sermon delivered by our Pere Delicat proved remarkably appropos. Pere Delicat's topic was the story of Jesus and the lepers taken from Luke.  The point, as Pere Delicat told us, is a message of special relevance to Haitians, that one should be grateful to God for what he does provide to us and not worry too much about what we might have wanted but did not receive.

This turned out also to be particularly relevant for our Haitian Companions group. We arrived at the church in a Toyota Land Rover after a 30 minute or so trip from Hopital St. Croix, the last part of the journey on a tortuous road up to the heights where the church is located.   When we emerged from the church we found our Land Rover had a flat tire.  It would have been nice if Our Lord had provided a spare tire and a jack, both of which we needed but didn't have.  That didn't happen, but what the Good Lord did provide was a level of communication and some friends of Pere Delicat through which we eventually got back to the Hopital St. Croix on the back of a flat bed truck!