Our team is completing preparations for our next Haiti adventure. Our team is transcontinental once again. Our largest contingent is from Christ Church, Norcross and includes two new team members - Sandra Durbin and John Duke. This is John's first Haiti trip. John is a professional filmmaker and he'll be filming our exploits.Sandra and her RN sister Jennifer Scheible who is joining us from Arkansas have traveled to Haiti to work in mobile medical clinics with another group in the past. Returning team members from Norcross include Daphne Gary, Leslie Freeman, Steve Franzen, and me. Our Minnesota team from St. John's includes our medical leader Dr. Dianne Pizey, and RN/acupuncturist Cynthia Miller. This is Cynthia's second trip with us. Dianne's son Graham Chapman will be traveling from LA for his second Haiti trip. Our Iowa friends are returning with us - dentist Dr. Terry Shively and his wife Stevie. They are joined by their friend Jane Weist.
As in the past, we will have several Haitian team members,including Dr. Alex Lebrun and dentist Emmanuel Bastian, a new Haitian doctor whom Alex is arranging, five nursing students and seven translators.
There's always something different every trip. This time is no different. We will not have American guesthouse managers this trip. Mr. Louissaint, the accountant at the hospital is our contact and will be runnning the place while we're there. Dr. Bob Sloane, a past guesthouse manager, has been instrumental in communications, etc. We decided to order meds in the states from Blessings International in an effort to reduce the cost of the medicine. It's less expensive, but we have to haul it with us, so that has presented a few issues. The Haiti Health Ministry is trying to have more control over meds coming into the country so we had to get a letter from Dr. Gladys Memnon, Hopital Ste. Croix's Medical Director, acknowleding our work, and confirming that the meds are current and will not expire for at least 6 months from our entry into the country, and that the meds will not be resold. We also have to take a detailed inventory of all meds.
Please hold us in your prayers throughout our trip. I will try to update our blog daily during our trip, but internet access can be unreliable, so don't panic if you don't see an update. Haiti is definitely a no news is good news kind of place. Terry Franzen
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