Mission to Haiti – Day 6

Mission to Haiti 2012
from Todd Lake and Martha Ezell

Today started off with a bang… Not really a bang, more of a whoosh. We got a flat tire shortly after leaving the place we stay.  We napped for two hours on the steps of a church before the tire was replaced and we were off again in our open-backed truck with 27 Haitians and Americans, three trunks of medicine, all our water and food, and several unexplained bags of cement.

We set up the clinic three hours late in a large open cinderblock church with a beautiful view of the mountains.  As always, the Haitians were endlessly patient.  We had five stations:  check-in, vitals, history, assessments, pharmacy, and prayer. We rotate each day, getting to interact with the team and patients in different ways. Late in the afternoon after the last patient was seen, we learned that our truck had yet another flat tire. FYI: we were eight miles up a mountain. The decision was mad that we would begin walking down while the tire was repaired. 3 miles down, the truck rolled by. God is indeed faithful and we made it safely home.

We have all fallen in love with the people we have met here. Each morning before clinic opens, the assembled community gathers with us for a hymn and prayer. This is not, as some of us had been warned, a “dark or godless” place. We see hope everywhere. The faces of children and the smiles of the elderly remind us that God is here and He is working. Continue reading

Mission to Haiti – Day 5

Mission to Haiti 2012
from Martha Ezell and Charly Hood

We apologize for the lack of news last night; we did not have internet. This is information from Sunday:

Post Saturday nights blog, we took a trip to the local smoothie shop for our first Haitian night life experience. We arrived to find a crowd of people, a single light bulb, a woman, and her blender. Our options for the night were: papaya, bread fruit, or potato. The majority of us thought we were playing it safe by choosing papaya, but the mixture of evaporated milk, sugar, and the raw fruit itself made for an interesting taste sensation.

Following a delightful late night thunderstorm, our fifth day in Haiti dawned warm and sunny. Breakfast was a traditional Haitian staple, pumpkin soup with potatoes and carrots. We were honored to attend an outdoor worship service with the group of believers in Grand Goave. Every member of our team was impacted by the passion and authenticity of the worship! We were struck by the realization that those who actually depend on God’s mercy for their “daily bread” do not find it difficult to express gratitude to Him. Continue reading