Category: Blog

As many of you know, ET and I have a heart for missions. We most recently had the opportunity to serve two weeks in Haiti. In the city, you finds crazy traffic, smog so thick it’ll turn your skin black, and various awful smells, but as soon as you start up the mountain, it is nothing but beautiful. The air is so crisp you feel it cool your insides as you breathe. The mountains are so glorious you see God’s majesty. And the people, the people are beautiful and kind-hearted.

This trip was organized by ET, PS, and our Haiti resident JM. Through prior trips, they have discovered many of the Haitians have iodine deficiency which leads to large goiters and cretinism in their children. After months of research, they have figured out a way to help these people and have started a not-for-profit organization called AFH – All for Him or Aid for Haiti. We are praying and ask you to pray for the future of the organization and keeping open hearts to God’s will. It could definitely be a place where we settle to serve.

July 26th, a group of 7 of us flew to Port-Au-Prince with fourteen 55lb suitcases full of our clothes and meds. We were blessed and went through customs with ease. JM picked us up at the airport where we loaded the luggage and ourselves into the back of a pickup truck. We t

hen went to our base in Port Life Ministries. The next couple of days consisted of sorting the meds we brought and the meds they left from the last trip. Monday morning we set out for Patmos. We found ourselves stopping in Fon Doux to see a Pastors sick wife whom was also pregnant. We back tracked and then continued on driving up into the mountains and through a riverbed that we crossed 40 something times. You can imagine in the back of a truck we got pretty bumped and bruised. Once out of the riverbed we

continued to drive up donkey trails that were so

narrow that I didn’t think we would make it a couple of times. (Left: Pictures of trail river and us in the back of the truck hanging on for life!) Dusk came about the time we had driven as far as we could. We were greeted by several villagers who had come to carry the meds and our stuff the rest of the way. No, we weren’t done. We then hiked 1.5 hours up two mountains in the pitch black. We didn’t understand the extent of what we did until we woke the next morning to this view…

The next couple of days were full of adventure. ET and I shared a twin bed then up graded to a twin and a half in a 8×12 room we shared with our dear T&J. We showered out of a bucket in a 3 wall tin room. I learned not to be the last to bathe the very first night! The out house was pretty high class, not much to say about that. We served a couple of hundred people. The most exciting cases being a circumcision and a swollen knee that we removed half a liter of fluid. Oh, I mustn’t forget the patient that wanted to thank ET by giving him one of her five children! That was ver

y funny considering. We ended our stay there with a church service.

The next village we visited was Potino. This village was a lot more assessable and had almost normal facilities. Elliott and I had a full size bed that was made real nice. The shower was from the river and had tad poles in it but it came out of a shower head! And there was an actual toilet to sit on, you just had to pour water down it to flush. In this village, they actually had a clinic that we could work out of. As before, we set up a vital sign station, three rooms to see

patients, and a pharmacy. The things that stick out to me most about this village was the great food, JM and ET getting really sick and drinking a lot of Pepto-Bismol, it rained a lot, the little boy I wanted to take home, and the baby girl that had fallen into a bean pot and burned about 40% of her body. Thankfully the Lord provided and we were able to help her. We also had a church service, and we did a skit about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. MR and I were the guards and got to die when we through them into the fire. I think the most I laughed was on the hike out. TR, JR, and I hiked out together in mud up to our ankles. By the end of the trail TR was bare foot and I had a Haitian pushing my up a slick hill by my bottom! It was so funny!

After this trip we were able to go back to Port and rest a couple of days. We filled the days with laundry, reading, and catching mice. It was a nice reprieve, but we would soon find out, it wasn’t long enough.

As I am writing this, I cannot even think of the name of the last village we went to. I guess I subconsciously decided to forget the WHOLE experience. The trip started with us being very tired and with a change of the team. We had become very comfortable with the group we had been working with, but they were unable to go to this village. The journey consisted of a lot of WAITING, driving in the heat of the day for around 4-6 hours bumping around so much that my bottom was bruised and sore, arriving to our midway point late at night. Now, this was a haven to our beaten souls. This sweet missionary family took us in and fed us REALLY good American food, even good ole hot dogs and mac n cheese! The next day we set off on a 4 hour hike, straight up the mountain, with the sun shining bright, ET having more GI problems, and 1 jug of water. We arrived early afternoon and immediately set up clinic

. We saw patients that evening and the next morning. We were able to see several people even in the short amount of time we were there. That afternoon we headed back to the missionaries house. PTL! He covered us with clouds and provided extra mules for us to ride. My and JR’s mule was lovingly named Stoplight due to her stubborness and stopping every 10 feet. I discovered she just really wanted to take her own route and not follow the path. If I let her do that she was fine. ET named his mule Turbo. He was a little mule, but he plowed right up that mountain! Once we reached the house, we were back in heaven with our good food and comfort. PS and ET worked in the local clinic the next morning then we packed up for the long drive back. No matter how bad it get while we’re doing God’s work, may we always remember this little girl is why we do it.

The last evening we were there we were there we had great fellowship and pizza with other missionaries who were very kind to invite us over. The next morning, we went to a nice restaurant that over looked Port-Au-Prince and ate a big breakfast. While waiting to take our picture with the view in the background, a “famous” singer filmed a music video. It was quite entertaining! ET and Guito did their own renditions, if you can imagine. 🙂 The day ended with our trip to the airport where we had to leave our dear friends JM and Junior.

Overall, I really had a good trip and made some really wonderful friends. Lord willing, I look forward to other trips to Haiti and hanging out with all of them again soon.

That night before we went to bed we decided that we would wait and see what happens by morning, perhaps we would have time to return home yet before the storm gets to us. Tuesday morning dawned bright and clear, you would have thought nothing was coming, but behind the mountain loomed a large black cloud! We decided to “high tail it” for home! So, pedal to the medal, we went as fast as we safely could for Fon Doux where I had left my vehicle.
By the time we got to Fon Doux, the heavy clouds were coming over the mountain right in front of us. I asked Harold if he thought he could make it up the mountain to his home in Aleg? He thought he still had time. I decided I would not return to Titanyen because the storm was already on us and who knows what I would get into. So, I began to make preparation to “ride the thing out” in my little house in Fon Doux.
This was about 9:00am when we arrived in Fon Doux. By 11:00am rain and wind were already beginning to whip around us. I desperately needed to go to T-Goave yet for something, so me and Bruce and some others bailed in the truck and took off for town. We were there for maybe 1 hour and by that time it was really stormy so we headed for Fon Doux again. When we arrived in Fon Doux everything was relatively in place but the wind was beginning to really pick up.
In the mean time, Harold phoned me saying he had a flat tire up in the mountain and the “booger” came off the rim. He was having a very difficult time getting the bead to seal up so it would hold air again. I gave him some tips to try and he finally was able to get it to take air but this had delayed him for almost an hour. He continued on his way at last, weary and soaked to the bone, freezing cold air blasted him in the face as he made his way into the storm. But alas, when he came to the last river that flows through the area called Gera, he couldn’t get through the water, it was too deep. To make a long story short, he ended up spending the night in the little plywood box on the back of his Polaris Ranger, he didn’t sleep very well and I think I understand why! He plans to send a detailed story about his experience and I will forward that onto you all so you can read it.

Meanwhile, back in Fon Doux, I am quickly trying to get my goats to higher ground and securing my house. Water is running under the door so I am digging a canal to get it to go away from the door. After I am finished with these tasks and soaking wet, I go over to Bruce’s house and stay there for awhile. At about 2-3pm the wind began to pick up and blow viciously! I find it amazing the pressure that is in a hurricane! It’s unbelievable! Before long, one of the church brothers came running to Bruce’s and said that we must go rescue some of the widow ladies because their poorly built houses will not be able to withstand the winds. We put on our sandals and rolled up the pant legs and became a “professional rescue service”. We took the truck along the road and then would wade into the flood waters, (sometimes almost to our wastes) through the pouring rain and flying debris to get these old ladies out of their homes. In the mean time there were other people that began to run for the block school building in Fon Doux. Their houses were being destroyed, the roofs were lifting off, some were completely blown down or had trees fall on them. We worked until late that evening rescuing church people from the rising waters and wind. I was “bushed”! I have never in my life had such an experience, I believe it will stay with me the rest of my life! I tell you, we have no idea what it is like to try to ride out a storm like that in a house full of leaks and that the roof is bouncing up and down with every wind that blows.
After rescuing several old ladies and families we returned to the school to find that Bruce’s whole family was there also. Oh dear! Here part of his house roof blew off as well forcing him to leave and move his family to the school. Indeed, the school became a refuge in the time of storm!

Tues. night it rained and rained and rained some more. In all, Fon Doux had well over 20 in. of rain, the water gushed everywhere taking anything in its path. Bruce and many other people lost basically their whole garden to the storm, some lost houses, other’s lost part of their homes, lots of dead goats were found Wednesday morning.

There are places in the deep south that people were killed. In fact the one town Harold and I were just through on Monday basically got washed away. The people made a dash for the mountains in hopes of getting out of the rapidly rising water.
I continued to ride the storm out in Fon Doux. Wednesday morning when I awoke my house again had a bunch of water in it. Junior and I spent nearly an hour cleaning the water out and drying up the floor. In the afternoon I drove around to a few different places and took some pictures and then I walked to some of the church people’s houses that were destroyed and took pictures of those as well.
Please pray for these dear people, they have so little and then when the little they have is taken it really puts them in a tight spot, many have almost nothing to eat now because their gardens are destroyed! The price of food is still very high.
I am going to be trying to get some funds around to help rebuild some houses and hopefully help to repair the badly damaged ones. If anyone wants to donate some money to help rebuild these destroyed houses, you can just send it to Dad ear tagged for “Hurricane” and I will pass it on to Bruce and the committee that will be working to rebuild. I don’t have a figure yet on the amount of money it will take to rebuild the worst ones but hopefully I will have that within a few weeks. Any amount big or small will be a blessing and will help to get a roof on thedamaged houses again. I know there are at least 2 houses that are totally destroyed and there are several others that lost part or all of their roof. (We are basically working with people in the church at this point).

It was still raining when I left Fon Doux this morning to return to CAM but I think it’s almost over. The bad thing is that in Fon Doux it rains almost every afternoon this time of year and that is going to really make it difficult for those who have house damage.

-Jeriah

The Goter Group – Virginia

March 22 (Saturday)

We got up at 2:30 this morning and left to pick up Philip and Bethany at their house. Loaded all their suitcases and the medical supplies and drove to Murfreesboro. Picked up Caleb and Elliot and arrived at the airport by 4:50a.m. Checked in with no trouble, found our gate and soon boarded. Papa and Elliot were in first class; Caleb, Philip and Bethany, and I were in the last row of seats on the plane. It was a small plane, three seats on each side. Arrived in Miami and bought some food for breakfast. Papa and Elliot had had some food on the plane. Boarded the plane for Port-au-Prince, which was bigger than the one to Miami. It had two seats, four seats, two seats. Our tickets were for seats scattered through-out the plane, but since the plane wasn’t full, we got to sit together some.

We arrived in Haiti around noon and went through immigration. Gathered up all our luggage with the help of an airport worker who knows Philip, and walked through customs. That was an answer to prayer, since we could have had a lot of problems with the meds. The customs officials didn’t even look at our declaration papers! Outside the airport we were mobbed by Haitian guys wanting to carry our luggage. We told them no, because if they help you, you have to pay them. Managed to keep hold of our luggage and Jeriah met us and took us to the truck. The truck was small and our luggage nearly filled the back. It had two bench seats in the front, so Papa and Caleb were the only ones in the back. Jeriah has a Haitian boy with him; his name is Junior. Junior’s dad is dead and his mom is a “bad story”, so Jeriah takes care of him.

We drove to Life Ministries where we are to stay in their guesthouse. Then unloaded all our things and we unpacked and sorted all the meds. Jeriah had gathered up a bunch of supplies plus the stuff we took. Caleb and Elliot made a list of everything, and then we reduced the bulk quantities to dispensable amounts. That took the whole afternoon. Philip and Jeriah went out and bought supper while the rest of us finished up. It was a good supper of chicken, fried plantain, salad something for with the plantain, and French fries. And Coca-Cola. That is the stuff to drink if you don’t want water. It’s the best!

We have this joke about being The Goter Group. Philip made a typo when typing up the patient assessment forms. He left the “I” out of “goiter”. We said people will ask, “What’s a goter?” Papa said, “A goter is a blind goiter looking for its ‘I’!” Incidentally, “I” is the abbreviation for iodine.

There was a lovely cool breeze the whole evening that kept the mosquitoes away, and a beautiful sunset and full moon. The mountains are gorgeous! The view from the balcony at night is so neat. The mountain blends with the sky, so it looks as though the lights of the city rise into the air!

March 23 (Sunday)

I woke up this morning at 6:00 because my room was so light. At 7:00, Bethany and I made eggs and toast for those of us up, and then made some at 8:00 for the rest. We had a short Bible reading and prayer, then left at 9:15 for CAM where they had a meeting. Wonderful singing, and Caleb had a lovely children’s lesson. Papa preached on Isaiah’s vision of God, from Is.6. They had a meal afterwards, and the “three” sat and discussed the possible problems and cures for an eleven month old girl. She weighs 8 ½ lbs. and has some sort of skin problem. When we were ready to go, we traded the small truck for a bigger one. It only has one seat in the front, but the back is much bigger. It’s sort of rattlely, but we need the room. Then we gathered up a few things we needed and headed back to Life.

When we got back, we divided our supplies into two groups. Some for Patmos (the goiter village) and the rest to leave in a depot in T-Goave for Fon Doux (the other place we will have a clinic). The packing went well and Jeriah did some laundry. Caleb, Elliot, Philip and Papa mixed some medicine for the little girl; Bethany and I helped with whatever. We made Mac & Cheese and baked beans and bread & peanut butter for supper. After the dishes were done Bethany washed her hair and I took down the laundry. There was a good breeze, so it had dried quickly. We folded the laundry and I washed my hair. The guys sat around the kitchen table and talked all evening.

March 24 (Monday)

We got up at 4:30 this morning and packed our clothes. Bethany and I made eggs and toast for breakfast while Jeriah, Papa, Caleb and Elliot loaded the truck. Philip couldn’t help because he had broken his toe kicking a football around with Junior. We washed the dishes and then we read a passage of Scripture and prayed together, made sure we had everything and left by 6:25a.m.

Philip and I rode in the front of the truck with Jeriah who was driving. Papa, Caleb, Elliot, Bethany and Junior rode in the back. We stopped to get a tarp, a jack, water and bread. Then we went to T-Goave where we dropped off the things for Fon Doux and picked up Pastor Bruce. We also picked up Frankie, and then went to meet Pastor Ulrich. He was to meet us and go with us in his own vehicle; but right before we met, his vehicle broke down. So we had six extra people and a lot more stuff in the back of an already full truck! We were really loaded down. Jeriah was a little worried about the springs, but we were so thankful we had a bigger truck than the one we had started with! We drove to Jacmil with Caleb and Bethany sitting on top of the luggage, half on the roof. It was curvy road over the mountain from the northern coast to the southern coast of the peninsula. As we came over the top of the mountain, the bay lay spread out before us. Beautiful turquoise water with hazy blue mountains around it. We reached Jacmil and started on the road to Patmos. Soon we were driving in the riverbed. We drove a long way and were able to go farther than we thought we could. At the end, the road left the riverbed and followed the side of the mountain. There were a few pretty rough spots, but we have an excellent driver. When we ran out of road, we parked the truck, loaded the mules and set off. Pastor Ulrich told the local children that if they didn’t leave the truck alone they would get a beating!

So we started walking. Philip rode a mule because Doctor Caleb told him to. Philip was expecting to cross one mountain; it was two. We followed a steep winding path down, a good length of riverbed, and a switchback trail to the top of the mountain where we stopped to find out exactly where we were going. Guess where? At the top of the next mountain! So down we went, crossed the river and started up the last side. A long steep climb and finally we arrived. There were a lot of people gathered in front of the chapel where we are to have the clinic. They gave us chairs and then stood and looked at us. We are the first white people ever to be in their village. Caleb started tossing a small mango around with some little boys and that helped to break the ice. [We were all so warm I don’t know how there was any ice to begin with!☺]

Once everyone in our train had arrived, they brought water, soap and a towel for us to wash with. Then they served us coffee and bread followed by goat meat, rice, two sauces for the rice, carrot and red beet salad, fried plantain, French fries and yams. It was really good. The chapel was full of people sitting, watching us eat. When we were done most of them left, and we stood around and talked for awhile and had prayer together. They showed us to the place where we were to sleep, a little building behind the chapel. It was divided into four rooms, two big ones and two small ones. Philip and Bethany had one of the big ones and Papa, Caleb, Elliot and Jeriah had the other. I had one of the little ones and the other was part kitchen and some Haitian girls slept there. Anyway, we put our bags in our rooms and returned to the chapel for the evening service. They had a generator for lights that they ran in the evenings from about 6:30 to 10:30. There weren’t many people there at first, but they kept coming. Pastor Ulrich explained what we would do tomorrow, and then we had to introduce ourselves. We sang (English if we knew the words to the tune) and Philip preached. We are all tired from climbing the mountains. They had made a bath house out of sheets, so we washed up and went to bed.

March 25 (Tuesday)

We woke at 4:00 this morning with the roosters crowing all over the mountains, and a man chopping firewood outside our cabin. It was a gorgeous morning once the sun rose! We had coffee and peanut butter bread for breakfast, and then someone read a Scripture and we prayed.

After that we set things up, three consultation rooms and two benches facing each other for meds. Pastor Ulrich wrote down the patient’s names and kept things in order, along with his local sidekicks. Papa took vitals and did triage. Caleb had Pastor Bruce for a translator, Elliot had Frankie, and Philip had Jeriah. Bethany and I ran the pharmacy. Bethany also took urine samples and I took photos. Junior was the general “Johnny-on-the-spot”. Things moved kind of slow till noon; afterwards it flowed pretty quickly. We finished up around 5:00p.m., and they gave us a delicious supper of spaghetti.

It had started to rain and there weren’t many people when the meeting started. Someone had carried a loudspeaker in and they had it turned up so loud it was almost deafening! There was a lot of singing and eventually the chapel was almost full. Many people got up and “greeted” the church and some would share a song. A lot of people got thanked for different things. Then we each had to get up and “greet” the church. Mostly thanked them for their hospitality and said we are happy to be here. Then Papa preached. Wonderful message! I think God was speaking to some hearts.

March 26 (Wednesday)

I woke up this morning around 5:00, packed my clothes and went to the clinic. We ate breakfast and Pastor Ulrich read some Scripture and prayed. Started the clinic and saw about 60 people till noon. We had wanted to be done by 11:00, but there were so many people and one very sick lady. We finally passed out multi-vitamins and told the people sorry, but we have to leave. We quickly packed up all the medical stuff, the rest of our things, and practically inhaled our dinner, but it was 1:00p.m. before we were ready to go. And it had started to pour rain. We thought about waiting to see if the rain would let up, but the Haitians said it would only get worse.

So we set off. Rain and mud and running water. Everywhere! We were soon soaked and trying not to slip in the mud. Down the first steep mountainside and through the river, then up the next side we went, stepping on everything but the path. Coming down the mountain was worse than going up! Philip had the hardest time because there was no mule for him to ride. It wouldn’t have been safe though for him to ride even if he’d had one! We were all strung out in groups of 3 to 8. Eventually we reached the top of the first mountain, and started down the other side. Some places it was easier to go straight down the side than to follow the switchback! The rain let up, but the water still ran everywhere. Once we reached the riverbed the going was much easier, and we finally reached the last climb. I knew we were getting close to the truck, but I was surprised when I looked up to see it about 20 yards away! We stood around and waited for everyone to get there, and finally we had the truck loaded and were ready to go. We were so thankful everyone had made it safely out and our prayers for getting the truck out safely were answered too!

Everyone was wet and after we reached Jacmil and started back over the mountain, the ones in the back of the truck nearly froze! There were clouds covering the mountain, and clouds tend to be damp cold things. It was after dark when we dropped off Pastor Ulrich and those with him. Then we went to the depot and picked up our supplies. Everyone was glad to reach Pastor Bruce’s place in Fon Doux. They helped us unload our things and gave us supper. We have a lovely room with a corner curtained off for Philip and Bethany, and another sheet hung between my bed and Papa’s, Elliot’s and Caleb’s. Jeriah, Junior and Frankie are in the room where we will have the clinic. Everyone in our room has a mosquito net over their bed. It’s really nice. Took showers in a pan and went to bed.

March 27 (Thursday)

I was almost asleep last night when I heard the rain coming down the hill. Papa was in the shower (it has no roof), and he said he was all soapy when it started to pour! He quickly rinsed off and dashed under the roof, but he had damp clothes to sleep in. After Papa was in bed, Elliot suddenly sat up and hollered,” I’m getting wet!” The rain was seriously leaking through the roof. His bed was half soaked! So Papa helped him move his bed, then found his own bed was getting dripped on! We checked the rest of the roof and found that Caleb was getting wet too. He was still asleep though! Elliot said, “Caleb, you’re getting wet!” and he sat up and said,” What?!” and then realized it! He jumped up and pulled his bed away from the wall. By then Jeriah had come over and said that in their room practically the whole roof was leaking and there was water all over the floor! So they were soaking wet because their beds were just a thin mattress on the floor. Elliot went to move his suitcase that was beside his bed and groaned. His Bible and notebook had gotten wet on the way down the mountain, so he had laid them out to dry. Now they were wetter than they had been before! Since his bed was no longer under a mosquito net, Papa said he would sleep on it. He’s already had malaria. I took Papa’s bed because it was partly wet and I could sleep on the dry part. Elliot had my bed which had no leaks over it. We finally went to sleep- after 11:00p.m. Around 4:30a.m. I woke up to find my bed getting dripped on again. I woke up Papa and he helped me move it. The roof also leaked over Philip! He said around 4:00 he woke up with water dripping on him. So Bethany emptied a small cooler we have along, and he held it between his knees to catch the drips!

Thank God for small miracles though. The paperwork from Patmos was dry! The box it was in was on the floor in the water, but Bethany had put the boxes of exam gloves on the bottom under the papers. So they stayed dry!

Everyone was tired when we got up this morning. Someone strung a couple of lines where we could hang our clothes to dry. We set up the clinic, one room divided into four. A Haitian named Joseph wrote down the patient’s names, and again Papa took vitals. Philip had Madame Harold for a translator, Caleb had Pastor Bruce, and Elliot had Frankie. Bethany and I ran the pharmacy along with Jeriah who explained to the patients how and when to take their meds. Jeriah also did a little fill-in translating. We had a very busy day and saw 111 patients. I enjoyed it very much; I think everyone did. Madame Joseph is an angel on earth! She cleaned and dried our sheets and mattresses and fixed our room back up again. And we really had it wrecked!

There was a meeting in the evening and Philip preached. I really enjoyed it even though I’d heard it before. During the day, Pastor Bruce had his workers rig a roof of tarp over the roof. So if it rains tonight we shouldn’t get wet. But I don’t think it’s even going to rain. The stars are very bright.

March 28 (Friday)

That goes to show you never know! Twelve o’clock rolls around and with it the rain. Guess what- the roof leaked! Big time! Instead of just dripping on Philip and Bethany, it poured! The tarp on the roof didn’t quite reach the back edge, so the water was being dumped right over them. It also ran back under the tarp and came in the other places. Elliot, Caleb and Papa got wet again, though not quite as badly. We moved Philip and Bethany’s mattress to the middle of the floor and moved the other beds enough so they wouldn’t be dripped on. Papa checked the clinic roof, but it wasn’t leaking. Yet. A little while later Jeriah, Junior and Frankie were getting wet, along with the meds and books we had left out. Their roof leaked as bad as the night before! And there was an inch of water on the floor in the morning.

While we ate breakfast, Madame Joseph and some other ladies dried up the floor for us. We dried off the meds as good as we could and got started. Even though everyone was really tired, we saw 112 patients – in two hours shorter than yesterday. We finished at 4:00p.m. and packed up, basically threw things in boxes and totes. We loaded the truck, said goodbye, and headed back to Life around 5:00p.m. We dropped off Frankie and Madame Harold on the way back. It started to rain, and the guys in the back of the truck had to hold the tarp over them to stay dry. Of course, they got damp, but everything stayed fairly dry. They also were sort of cold by the time we reached Life. We arrived around 8:00p.m. and unloaded. We flopped on the couches and talked and laughed for awhile, then got much needed showers and went to bed.

March 29 (Saturday)

It was lovely to sleep without getting rained on! I woke up at 6:30 and read on the couch with Papa and Philip. Then at 7:00 I unpacked and sorted all the clinic things we had brought back. After the guys got up, they divided and repacked everything. Some for Jeriah to give to other clinics and some to be stored till the next time we come. While they did that I packed up Papa’s and my things, and Bethany packed hers and Philip’s.

We left at 9:00a.m. for Hotel Montana where we got breakfast. It is a really nice place with good food. It’s partway up a mountain, so you look out over Port-au-Prince. It’s a lovely view with the ocean, mountains and the city; but like Caleb said, the view from Patmos was much lovelier. (You could see the runway from the hotel and when we were in the plane on the runway, I’m sure I saw the hotel.) After a leisurely breakfast of good omelets, we left and went to a shop where we bought souvenirs. Then we tried to find the market, but it had been moved, and we were running out of time, so we just went back to Life. There we finished our packing and loaded the truck.

We left at 2:00p.m. for the airport where we said goodbye to Jeriah and Junior. Checked in, and then got a drink while we were waiting to board. Took off at 4:10, and landed in Miami at 6:00. Then it took us an hour and 45 minutes to go through immigration, customs, and find our gate. While we were waiting, they asked over the loudspeakers if there was anyone who would be willing to stay at the airport due to an over booked flight. If you would stay, they would pay your expenses for the night, plus give you a three hundred dollar travel voucher. Philip and Bethany decided to stay, and Caleb and Elliot said they would also if they needed too. The plane was full because a flight had been cancelled earlier. Papa and I boarded soon after 10:00p.m. Caleb and Elliot stayed. I had a first class ticket and so did Caleb. Caleb kindly traded his ticket for Papa’s so we could both be in first class. We arrived in Nashville at 12:15a.m., gathered up all the luggage, and were on our way home by 1:00. Those who stayed in Miami ended up having to stay in the airport all night Saturday because the hotels were all full. They each got an extra hundred dollars worth of travel vouchers and money for food. Caleb and Elliot flew out of Miami at noon on Sunday, but Philip and Bethany had to wait till the late evening flight. Michael and I took Caleb’s and Elliot’s luggage to Murfreesboro Sunday noon. Caleb’s mother was taking Caleb’s truck to the airport for them. That evening at 10:30 Michael and I went to the airport to pick up Philip and Bethany.

In conclusion, I think I can say that everyone enjoyed the trip, and that it was a blessing to all. I don’t know about the rest, but I want to go back if it is God’s will. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute, and was sorry to leave. I’m really glad I got to spend a week with you all, and hope that we can do it again.

If I have made any mistakes in the details, please forgive me. I have written as I remember it.
God bless you and keep you in His love, Virginia Rudolph

This is a map of Haiti. The western third of the island (Hispanola) was given to the French many years ago, so the people, now independently governed for 200 years, speak a form of Creole; the Dominican Republic on the eastern half of the island speaks Spanish. Approximately 8 million people reside on this island which is just larger than Maryland. The average life expectancy in Haiti is 57 years compared to 77 years in the US. Approximately 2/3 of the people lack formal jobs and the majority of the population is unskilled labor. In Port Au Prince (see photo below), 3 million people reside in a small costal town. The favorite mode of public transport is a tap-tap (a converted Datsun or Mitsubishi truck that people, sometimes up to 14, tap on twice for a ride…hence the name). Thankfully, we didn’t have to ride in the tap-taps, but had a vehicle with a driver instead. At our fullest point of the trip, we had 14 people in the back of this Toyota Hilux…I ended up on the roof of the cab at one point. Riding through the mountains like that will certainly increase your faith… Catholicism is prevalent in Port au Prince, but over half of the island’s people, regardless of formal religion, practice voodoo. In fact, we got to Haiti one day before the biggest voodoo celebration day of the calendar. Spiritual darkness is evident from many accounts, but so also is poverty. Over 80% of the population is considered below the poverty line and about half are considered to live in abject poverty. This is more evident in the city where crowding and cleanliness are major issues. But if you only saw PAP you would have a skewed view of this island nation. Much of Haiti is rugged mountains, and the land in the rain shadow of some mountains, can be very dry. Because the land is so rugged and the nation so poor, well-maintained roads are few; this makes travel time-consuming. Sugarcane used to be a major export when Haiti was still a French colony and along the way to the first village, we drove through some lush bottowland where Haitians still grow sugarcane. The photo below is the river bed we drove in for two and a half hours on our way to the first village. We ended up only one ridge away from the top of the farthest mountain you see in the photo (the highest mountain in Haiti at about 8000 feet above sea level). At one point up the infamous riverbed, Elliott and I had to take a photo just to break up the monotony of the bumps. I was on the cab roof at this point. Thankfully, the river bed was mostly dry on the way in, but it was noticeably more wet on the way out. This is how our luggage and supplies for clinic got over the two mountains we had to climb. We were thankful for the lowly burros and their sure feet.Unfortunately, we had a limited number of animals, so the believers and some villagers volunteered to carry our equipment for us. As it was, us Americans were busy enough trying to hike this “hills”, but the Haitians just took it all in stride as they waited for us to struggle our way through to the village. This the first village (see below) that we stayed at for two days. The believers there went far above our expectations in their hospitality, warmth, generosity and appreciation for our visit. It was so encouraging to worship the same Lord with other believers. Though cultural, language and customs barriers existed (and still do), we have fellowship with God and each other because of the Lord Jesus Christ. I wish I could let you hear the songs we enjoyed while we were there. I wonder if I’ve ever heard such enthusiasm for singing a body of believers. These are the two fine fellas I went to Haiti with. We are seen here on Miami Beach in Miami, FL because we stayed in the airport the night we were going to be back in TN when they needed volunteers to stay. Took a bus to the beach the next morning before flying that afternoon. Doing a procedure on a little guy who was our patient. Crude setup, but effective we pray. Listening to a patient tell me about her child. Bruce, a dear brother in the Lord, is serving as my translator. We couldn’t have done anything without the believers who served as translators. This is one of the patients with goiter who we photographed and sampled. Hopefully, we’ll be able to finish this stage of our research soon, identify the culprit and implement treatment for these patients.