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Report from Dou Bwa Rouge

DOU BWA ROUGE TRIP REPORT: AID FOR HAITI MEDICAL TRIP, MAY 2013

Dear Friends and Family who have been so faithful in praying for our AFH team, below is my journal of the trip if you’d like to read details from my perspective. This is by no means comprehensive, but just what I remembered to write at the end of each long day. Thank you for your faithful prayers. We felt them and saw the results of them, and I personally know that my little family at home was saved from at least one tragedy because of your faithfully, persistent requests to God for us. I was humbled to go and serve as I could and even more so to be brought home safely. Sonja Everhart

May 18, 2013, am

Copied down a poem Dad wrote for me when I graduated college and started my first nursing job:

“For grit and grace in today’s workplace, I remember Him.

His face like flint to Jerusalem

His pure heart, the Father’s pleasure

His words of love, mine without measure,

Lord, I need You near. To Thee I rise,

Whose name I bear, Whose ways I prize.

For grit and grace to reflect Thy Son

Till the day is over and the race is run. – Dad

On my way to Haiti. Dad brought Sarah B. and I to the airport this morning, early. I catnapped on the first flight, so now I’ve had 3 hrs. sleep. Couldn’t sleep but an hour last night- too anxious to have everything ready and sad to leave my babies at home. Deep breaths, a few tears, many prayers and ready for this adventure. The Sovereign Lord who holds the galaxies in His hand, stretches that same hand down, down to earth and leads me, if I’ll follow. He goes before, preparing a way, softening hearts to His gospel. I pray that I live it out this week along with the team. AFH. Aid for Haiti. All for Him.

May 18th, pm

We arrived safely to Port Au Prince- very hot and humid as expected because of rainy season. The airport exterior is nondescript with some brightly painted ramshackle buildings as well. Spent too much time in the hot concrete baggage claim looking for a bag that never appeared. We’ll see. Michael Rudolph and Cindy Mast rescued us from baggage claim and the team was waiting out in the truck. A mountain of camping gear and medical supplies with us all standing in the back of the truck flying down the highway. There is a cage structure on the truck bed. Wonderful to be here and take in the noise, smells, exhaust, palm trees, mountains, ocean, brightly colored cars, buses, motor bikes everywhere – and people, people, people. Reminds me of my reading in Matthew on the plane: ” The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles- The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light and those who were sitting in the land and Shadow of death, Upon them a light dawned” Matthew 4:15, 16 (quoting Is. 9:2, 60:1-3)

We are fortunate to stay tonight at a Christian guest home, CAM, run by reformed Menonites from Ohio. They served a wonderful dinner and I drank so much ice water but still thirsty. Team meeting and sorting of medical supplies followed. Then a cool shower and now to sleep in a bed for the last time. Driving up the mountain to Do Bwa Wouj tomorrow and camping at the clinic area. Now for sleep. God is good.

Sunday May 19th

Continuing my reading in Matthew and loving it.

‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread…deliver us from evil…for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen’ Matt. 6:9-13

Up at 6 am today to get ready, pack our bags, eat breakfast. Shannon and I made scrambled eggs for the team and the others sliced up the fresh mangos and made coffee. Fresh mangos bring back good memories of my trip to Honduras in summer of ’97. I can’t believe how long ago that’s been. Almost half my life ago. Another ride in the back of the luggage laden truck, standing, driving fast, bracing ourselves and having such a good time together. The fellowship has been wonderful. The warm sun, beautiful ocean and mountain views during the almost 3 hr. ride. Made 2 stops for Michael, the ‘on the ground’ team member here in Haiti full time since the 2010 Earthquake, to put chains on the tires for the rocky, steep climb. Took lots of pictures, hiked a bit during the stop for chains. Beautiful mountain views, palms, banana trees, mango trees, corn. There would/should be many more trees though – deforestation history. Arrived here in village of Do-Bwa-Woug while church still going strong. Vibrant singing, clapping, preaching, praying. We were introdued and greeted with clapping, blessings, smiles. A very warm, vibrant, loving group of believers. Gorgeous people and I’m in love with all of the children- big brown eyes and shy smiles.

Set up tents inside concrete block structure with tarp roof – very thankful since it’s rainy season. Lunch of noodles and sausage with sauce plus Louisiana style hot sauce. I opted out of the mayo and sweet ketchup toppings. (All meals cooked over open fire out back by Haitian church ladies who live on site.) Set up pharmacy station for tomorrow and reviewed diseases: malaria, typhoid, cholera, etc. Dinner, hymn sing, back to tents, fun girl times, talking, laughing, reading, writing in journals, trying to learn some creole. Lovely hike today too, through the village – though very muddy, red clay. ‘But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.’

Monday May 20th

It rained very hard last night for a couple hrs and then consistently but lighter through the night. I awoke many times and my headache from the day persisted. Very sore today, but excited for the day. Breakfast of spaghetti noodles with hot dog chunks. I should’ve realized it was too early for hot sauce. Ate some bites of cereal bar to settle my stomach. Probably some unsettling was nerves for the first day. Haitian villagers already lined up outside the chapel, which we have set up for clinic with curtains to separate exam rooms and a pharmacy. Day spent triaging, taking vitals, filling prescriptions, teaching through interpreters. The automatic/battery operated BP cuff was not working, so I taught Elijah and Sarah how to take manual blood pressures, etc. They’re quick learners and will soon be experts. It’s hot but not unbearable- rain in the afternoon but we kept on with short meal breaks, treating about 120 pts. today including malaria, typhoid, malnutrition, worms, etc. Beautiful babies and children, broke my heart to see them so lethargic and weak. Several children with club feet, lady with radial head fracture, splinted by Caleb and Jerry, I think. Highlight of my day was assisting Caleb taking a bullet out of a woman’s thigh. We wore camping headlights for light and he did a great job dissecting down and then let me close the fascia layer. I did a running vicryl stitch. My first time ever! Then he closed the skin nicely and we dressed it . Made my day. After dinner we watched Michael debride a lady’s two thumbs – one partially bitten off and the other cut with a machete. Wonderful how he is fluent in Creole and can communicate. I forgot to mention a morning devotion, hymn sing and then late evening hike (group) up the road to attempt phone calls home- little reception and raining- not sure texts went through. Cold bucket shower tonight – felt wonderful. Bible reading, to bed.

Tuesday 21st

I didn’t sleep well last night- I couldn’t reach Doug by phone or text yesterday and felt uneasy. I think this, and the roosters, woke me up in the night and being uncomfortable I couldn’t sleep for several hrs. Very tired today, but God gave grace and we treated about 120 pts today – preop, clinic visit, lab, pharmacy, education, more procedures. Such good fellowship and commraderie amongst the team and the Haitian believers and interpreters. They serve so cheerfully. One of the sweet cooks here is about 35 wks. pregnant and preeclamptic by vitals and urinalysis. She was told that to save her and the baby, she needs to ride down the mountain and then on to a hospital in PAP and probably be delivered w/in 36hrs. She was so sweet and hiding tears. It breaks my heart to see the realities and dangers of third world jungle life. ‘Lord, watch over Genovese and her baby’. ‘He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases’. Isaiah 53:4

Last of all, what has been weighing on my heart today is a woman 9 mo pregnant wo came to clinic yesterday and was treated for heartburn. I knew she was close to delivering, but she wasn’t in labor yet, was told that we would help if she called for us or came to us for delivery. She wanted to birth at home with her midwife and gave birth to twins last night. The first one died right away and the other one later. We were told she didn’t want them and left them alone to die. She has other children. I have grieved for those babies all day and wonder at the sin-numbed soul. But for the grace of God would I be one. “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick…I desire compassion and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matt 9:12, 13 ( Side note: many mothers and grandmothers have offered their children to Cindy when she sees them in clinic – I think they are weary of seeing their children hungry, malnurished etc. Cindy tells them that she would if allowed and has given out much protein powder for shakes, electrolytes, vitamins, toys, and even her own jar of peanut butter. One return text from Konrad that came through says that he’s setting up bunkbeds – Cindy told him we’d try to sneak some babies home in our backpacks. I wish.)

We hiked again after procedures and dinner – I climbed atop an old wall on an old building on the mountain with Elijah and Michael and found reception. I resked my neck to call home, but only got voicemail. I hope my family is not concerned and doing well and happy. Doug is wonderful to take off work and be home with the kids. The Lord has been so kind to allow me to do this.

Wed. May 22nd

Today was so long it feels like days since I got up this morning at 6:30am. Breakfast of mango and my cereal bar with syrupy sweet coffee. Then group devotions led by the guys – today was Caleb- ‘The Lord is our rock’ – very fitting for the day as it turns out. Patients waiting in line outside the chapel as every day. Jerry, an ED nurse, and I were seeing pts. this morning to give Caleb a break and consulting him when needed. I was thrilled to find a baby’s heartbeat with fetal doppler and watch the lady hear the strong, fast heartbeat for the first time. She had thought she was losing the baby. Her eyes were wide and full of happy tears. Cindy, pediatric PA, is again seeing all the children and most of their parents. She has done a wonderful job.

First thing today an apparently elderly, emaciated Haitian brought in on a stretcher. Appeared to have cancer in his abdomen – hard and visibly bumpy. Too far gone to send for surgery and too weak. Turns out he was only 39 years old, and up until 3 mo ago was the strongest man in his village. Caleb and Michael agreed on palliative care and gave him pain meds to send home with him. Michael shared the gospel in Creole and the man said he was a believer in Jesus, had burned all of his voo doo charms, but didn’t know any of the Bible’s teachings. Michael told me later that he gave one of the Creole audio Bibles to this family so they could listen to the N.T. in their home. It solar charges so they can listen over and over. What a blessing. I know the Lord had something special in mind for the audio Bibles.

Next came many more of the same pt. problems as before, but a 4 yr old named Linda came back again. She was diagnosed Monday with Typhoid and given meds and told to return today if worse. Parents brought her in after turn for the worse, dehydrated, poor vital signs, lethargic, in her mom’s arms. Held ouside in her mama’s lap in the shade under the palm trees while Jerry started an IV and I managed her fluid bolus of LR. Later rocephin added for more antibiotic coverage. Within a few minutes of IV fluids, she started to blink more and look better, by evening child rehydrated, more alert, hungry, able to void for urinalysis, and go home with family. Another IV for a 20 something woman with persistent vomiting for 15 days. Lab results back, and pregnant- which she already knew and didn’t tell us and we suspected. Michael talked with her to encourage her not to take an abortion pill. 3L of NS and anti nausea meds, vitamins, etc, later – Pt. smiling, feeling better. Parents at her side. Endless day of filling meds, etc, 12 hrs, then I assisted Caleb in removing a scarred mass on a lady’s backside that made it painful to sit down. Very deep and difficult, considering limited instrumentation and tempermental hand-held cautery. Fibrous tissue removed, so hopefully pt. can sit down without pain. Morphine injection during and sublingual zofran after with pain meds. (Pt. came back next day for more antibiotics, smiling, very happy).

Truly the Lord is our rock. A 15 hr workday amongst friends, bone tired but in good fellowship. I was happy to hear the local Haitian pastor preaching to the waiting patients since massive rains have prevented people from coming out to evening Gospel meetings. The Lord knows best. We smile and work hard. Reminds me of James chptr 2? “Faith without workds is dead…show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works.” To God be the glory.

Friday May 24th

I’m on an airplane in Miami, heading home. Whirlwind day yesterday and too tired to write. After a short night’s sleep Wed, we were up at 6am TH -packing bags, tearing down tents, several hrs. of clinic. Packed up all the medical supplies, loaded the vintage beast of a Land Cruiser – this time with all the buckets of meds/supplies under our baggage, tents-piled high, the team riding standing again in the bed of the caged truck. Took two additional people down with us partway – so 13 people! It’s more enjoyable in the back of the truck with the sun and wind, but b/c of limited space and my tendency for motion sickness when I can’t see over the load, I was voted to ride up front. Michael driving and Martalise and I sharing the other seat. A fun surprise to discover that Martalise speaks Spanish as well as Creole so we could talk on the way down to her stop. She and her husband, Brother Drakes, were heading to his mother’s home, then on to the Dominican Republic where they live now. Marta is a phychologist who volunteers at her church counceling inner city youth and teens.

I fogot to mention the departure-it was difficult saying goodbye to such sweet people-so loving and little Veronica hugging me during the final prayer and farewell. Her mother is Genovese, the pregnant woman with preeclampsia who had left that morning on the back of a mule, I believe, to head down the mountain, stopping overnight on the way to PAP to be hospitalized and deliver the baby early. The truck ride would have been too bumpy and hard on her. The night before, Genovese was up late with us watching over our post-surgical pt. We encouraged her to please rest and put her feet up. In the states she would have been on strict bedrest. She always smiled and was constantly serving. Her three children are some favorites with our team-Leonardo, Veronica, Michael. Her husband is brothers with Drakes and Olivier (one of our interpreters).

Also said goodbye to a little girl named Loveli, who gave me fruit for a going away gift. Passed out candy and hugs all around as we said goodby. Tears during the prayer -hard to leave a part of one’s heart behind in a farway place, but better than not having done so. I think loving and letting go enlarges the heart. “Freely you received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8

The trip down the mountain to PAP was very enjoyable. We stopped at a lookout ridge with a view of a beautiful waterfall. Shannon and I hiked down to a mango tree and tried our hand at knocking mangos down with rocks like the locals. It appears we would starve here on our own. We hiked to the ridge and saw the others had hiked down into denser jungle grass/trees toward the waterfall but were unable to cross all the way to the falls. If they had been swimming we would have hiked down gladly. Turns out they had an adventure with cuts, scrapes, and snakes so we’re happy with our pictures from above.

I asked Michael a lot of questions about the Island seasons, vegetation, crops, his work here now and in the months following the earthquake when he came and stayed 3 yrs ago until now. The physicians who came for earthquake aid told Michael, who was already a paramedic, that the experience he gained in 4 months of 20+ hr days of trauma and delivering babies, etc. was about the equivalent of 2 yrs of medical school residency in the states. He continues to work part time in a medical clinic near the AFH land, as well as travel all over the country providing medical and spiritual assistance to different villages. That clinic as well as the temporary one that we set up, both charge a small fee b/c the people are proud to be able to pay something for service and we don’t want to develop an even greater sense of dependence on handouts. No one is ever turned away for lack of funds, though. Having arrived a day late for the trip, I had missed some of this info, as well as the tour of the AFH land, and am happy to get some questions answered.

Beautiful island sunshine and breeze through open windows flying down the mountain now that we were off of the rocky trails and onto pavement. Roads crowded with people walking, pulling carts, leading cows and pigs and goats, riding horses and mules laden with mangos, avocados, bananas, sweet potatoes, etc. Children walking along the road carrying machetes, same as their parents. People sitting in roadside stands selling produce, etc. Gradeschool age children holding the younger ones by the hand, walking along the roads, or over mountain paths. Sisters carrying younger siblings on their backs, though seemingly too small to do so. Pregnant women hiking up the steep mountain roads with their load of produce in a bag or bucket on their head. Everywhere little brown baby bottoms as toddlers run around without pants – probably for easy potty training as no one seems to use diapers. Women carry their babies with towels around the babies. The upside is we saw no diaper rash problems in clinic.

Still driving/flying down the mountain, weaving in and around trucks and motorcycles all laden with produce and people. I am reminded of verses I’ve been reading in Matthew of Jesus in the villages- of simple ways of life and a slower tempo to the day – of life in its bare essentials- food, clothing, shelter, life, death, and looking beyond the temporal as life is known to be short and accepted as such. “Jesus, going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.'”

Safe arrival back to CAM where we spent the first night at the guest house. Real beds and showers after 4 nights of sleeping on our thin mats in tents on hard clay floors and taking cold ‘bucket showers’. Some of course chose not to try the bucket shower so this was their first shower in 5 days. They will remain nameless. I personally enjoyed the cold bucket shower while camping, especially after a sweaty day in clinic and assisting in a not-so-minor procedure. Maybe I didn’t get the full camping experience.

Dinner was served to our whole team by the CAM folks who run the guest program-dinner at tables on their long front porch with expansive views of the port with the city lights twinkling on the far side. Not very many city lights for such a massive crowd of people in huts and slums. We met several Americans at dinner, one of whom has the job of overseeing many of the schools in Haiti-he travels 2 weeks of every month, visiting villages, schools, overseeing curriculum, teachers, outcomes, etc, and the subsidizing of much of the cost of books, etc.

After dinner, we all walked back to the main living quarters where we have our team meetings. For the first time in 5 days, I was able to reach my family by phone and hear their happy chatter of the last day of school party etc. The few times we found reception from Do-Bwa-Wouj, I had only reached Doug’s voicemail. I am very thankful for a wonderful husband who cheerfully agreed to take time off of work to stay home with kids and run the house for me, as well as both of our moms and other siblings who stepped in to help. I am acutely aware of all the details that come into focus and have to fall into place for a trip like this to happen. Sacrifices by those close to me, gifts of supplies from my coworkers at LMH and mostly the prayers of so many that I cannot count – asking the Lord for grace, safety, wisdom, open hearts, strength for each day, unity for the team; I feel that all of the prayers were answered and more that we did not think to ask for.

Our team meeting last night to wrap up the trip was a wonderful time of sharing best and most challenging times, what we’ve learned, and acknowledging that we have all felt the prayers lifting us up and giving unity and good harmony as a team. We sang hymns together for the last time, as we have every night. We are so thankful for the dear sister in Lawrence who thought to print off copies of our favorite hymns so we could sing together. We are also humbled to know that another sister has been fasting and praying for us and the work here every day until our return.

When I was tempted at times to be tired of filling meds and explaining the same things over and over through the interpreters, I was continuously reminded of the verse in Matthew 10:24 which says ‘ A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.’ If the God of all creation would humble Himself to be born as a human baby, grow, live among sinful mankind, serve them and then die on a cross made from a tree that He himself created, to pay the price for mine and all of mankind’s sins – how can I hold myself above even the most mundane tasks?

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give You rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and You will find rest for Your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matt 11:28-30

Come and Hear!

Psalm 66: 16-17, 19-20

Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue.
But certainly the God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me!

I read this earlier, and it is so true! I want to stand on the top of the roof and shout out the goodness of my Lord. I want to go throughout the earth convincing men of the beauty and worthiness of my King and God. He hears when I pray, He answers when I call! I am so grateful and humbled by the mercy my God has given me, is bringing me close to His heart, in dealing with me gently and lovingly.

Several months ago I was so thirsty for God. I had a hunger that would not be satisfied by anything or anyone else. Months before that, I did not have that hunger, but I wanted it. I asked God to give me a desire for Him and He did! Then that hunger drove me to Him in ways I never knew before. I have found in my Lord the spring of life, full overflowing life! He is truly ALL I need, He is my surfeit. In Him I find my Savior, my King, my Husband, my Friend, my Counselor. He is the source of my life, my strength, my joy, my peace. He feeds me with heavenly bread, satisfies my thirst with living waters.

He is totally trustworthy. Countless times I have had to trust Him because there was no possible way out of a bad situation, and He has provided safety. I have trusted Him with the future when it was pitch dark and full of terror, and He turns the night into day and works things out for His glory and my good. I have trusted Him with my physical needs, and He has provided for them all. I have trusted Him when my heart was so hurt and sad I couldn’t even pray, and He healed and blessed me beyond what I thought possible. I have trusted Him when He asked me to do things far beyond my capacity, and he has always given wisdom and strength. I have trusted Him with the people in my life, and He keeps and helps them far better than I can or could or would. He is perfectly trustworthy!

He has total control over my life, and the things that come into it. Of that I am sure. It is so freeing! I used to worry and fear for the future, but His perfect Love has cast out my fear! He will do all things well. I still have times of trials and troubles, and I still doubt sometimes (to my shame); but time after time, I am able to believe, trust, and praise even in the darkness. Through His grace I can give it all to Him sooner than I used to be able to. Praise His glorious name!

He is more than worthy of my life, my love, my all. And by His grace and strength I will love Him above all others and do His will for the rest of my life.

EVEN SO, COME LORD JESUS!

Lawrence health care workers aid remote village in Haiti

From left, Cindy Mast, a Lawrence physician assistant, Sarah Bradshaw, a Lawrence nursing student, and Shannon Harvey, a former Lawrence resident and nurse, pose for a picture with kids from the Haitian village they provided medical care for last month.

The patients started lining up at the crack of dawn. They had come from hours away, up the mountain, from areas so remote they made this dot on the map seem like a big city in comparison.

They presented a wide range of ailments: a large facial tumor, a broken arm, cancer. Some would likely not survive — not because their illnesses were too acute, but because they were too far from an adequate medical facility and too poor even if they were closer.

Villagers started waiting early in the morning to see the doctors and nurses from Lawrence who ran a mobile medical clinic in Haiti last month.

They made the treacherous, exhausting trek to Haiti’s Dos Bois Rouge region to see people we often take for granted: doctors and nurses from Lawrence. In the jungles of Haiti, though, they were like visitors from another planet, aliens there solely to help.

Caleb Trent, an emergency room doctor at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, first went to Haiti in the mid-2000s with medical school classmates to investigate a rash of neck tumors, discovering that it was being caused by an iodine deficiency. They saw numerous nongovernmental organizations doing mission work in Haiti’s population centers but seemingly none in the more remote parts of the country.

“We were impressed with the medical need and the lack of resources these people had compared to what was available in the city,” Trent said. So in 2008, they started Aid for Haiti, a Christian charity that provides health care and spiritual training to Haitians.

Trent, 34, moved to Lawrence, his wife’s hometown, last year, starting his job at the hospital in July. At his church, Lawrence Bible Chapel, he noticed that the pews were filled with people working in or studying health care. So he pitched the idea for a church-sponsored trip to Haiti. Five current or former Lawrence residents signed up, and last month the group traveled to Dos Bois Rouge, near the border with the Dominican Republic.

In Haiti, it was hard to ignore the trash everywhere. It was also hot — very hot. Fresh mangoes and bananas were sold at roadside stands. People wore hand-me-down clothes from the U.S.; Trent said he once saw a guy sporting a John McCain “Road to Victory” shirt from 2008. The locals, while poor, dressed and cleaned up well. Clothes, vehicles and homes were splashed with bright colors, perhaps as a way to lift the spirits but also be representative of the Caribbean culture.

The drive to the village was an adventure in itself: The gang packed in a Bobcat utility vehicle filled with medical supplies, including several 5-gallon drums of medications, driving up rocky, steep mountains.

Lawrence nursing students Sarah Bradshaw and Elijah Penny do intake at a makeshift medical clinic in Haiti last month.

They finally arrived at the village, a grouping of shacks alongside dirt roads, kids standing around chewing on sugarcane. The locals were happy to see the contingent from Lawrence, writing a greeting on a chalkboard to welcome them.

The health care workers set up a clinic, using tarps as a roof to keep the rain out. Patients would check in, with Lawrence nursing students Sarah Bradshaw and Elijah Penny taking their vitals. Cindy Mast, a pediatric physician’s assistant in Lawrence, would see the kids, while Trent would treat the adults. Sonja Everhart, a surgical nurse at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, and Shannon Harvey, a Lawrence native and nurse from Colorado, helped out along the way. Ailments included hypertension — “It wasn’t uncommon to see a blood pressure of 180 over 90,” Trent recalled — and acid reflux — not surprising when many of the kids’ breakfasts consisted of bread and coffee.

By the time the group woke up every morning at 6 or 7 a.m., there were already dozens of people waiting to be seen. The missionaries would work straight through until 8 or 9 p.m., treating respiratory illnesses, fungal infections, elephantiasis, and children so malnourished they looked much younger than they were.

At one point, a woman came in, lethargic, complaining of fatigue. She could hardly walk, needing help to even get into the clinic. It turned out she was pregnant and would have been fine had she been in a developed country with access to nausea medicine and prenatal vitamins.

Another patient, a man in his early 40s, was gaunt and emaciated, with several masses in his abdomen. He had cancer that was metastasizing, the doctors believed. But because the area they were in was so remote and the man was so poor, his chances for survival were slim. The group couldn’t treat him, save for giving him some medication to keep his stool regular, so it prayed for him.

“If you make a difference in his life, you make a difference in his eternity,” Trent said. It also helps that Haitians are generally more accepting of death than their American counterparts, he added, having to deal with it at seemingly every turn. Their life expectancy, 57, is roughly two decades shorter than it is in the United States.

A medical mission trip to Haiti last month included current and former Lawrence residents, from left, Sonja Everhart, Sarah Bradshaw, Shannon Harvey, Elijah Penny, Cindy Mast and Caleb Trent.

Trent also said that as hard as it is, you have to realize that you can’t help everybody, that the need is so immense that any assistance makes a difference.

“You look at what you can do, and you’re thankful for the people who you can help,” he said. “You realize that the people you did help are better because we are there, so you focus on the positive.”

On the last day, the team worked for 15 hours, trying to treat as many people as they could before they had to go home, bringing the total to 400 over three and a half days. The Haitians returned the favor, giving them gifts like fruit and blankets and singing hymns with them.

Trent, the board chairman for Aid for Haiti, plans to return for another medical mission in September or October and, prior to that, pastor-teaching training in August. Part of the mission of Aid for Haiti is to educate, showing Haitians not only how to care for their ailments and prevent further disease but also be their best spiritual selves.

“I think there will always be a need there,” he said, “but as people become more educated and dependent on themselves, hopefully that will change.”

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2013/jun/11/lawrence-health-care-workers-aid-remote-village-ha/

Building Continues

Over the next few days we hope to keep you updated with some pictures of the building that is going on in Haiti. AFH is currently building at a new location to provide for our future ministry. Currently a small home with storage space is being built.

Progress and Plans

The building is in progress! Michael has the hole for the septic dug, and the foundation for the sides ready for block. My older brother just left on Thursday to go help lay the block. He will be there helping a week. Another young man from our church went along also, and will be staying for three weeks. Here is the foundation Michael made.

In three weeks, Michael is going to be coming home for a short time. We are all very excited that we will have him with us again!

There has been a new plan put into the works in my life. I went to the CHE class in April, and I am now working on developing classes for a week of teaching. In August, my dad has a Pastors Conference in Haiti, and with the help of God I will be teaching a group of girls at the same time. Please pray for me as I think and plan and write, it is a huge job! Not only will I be teaching for the first time, I have to cross a language and culture barrier as well. We (AFH) have asked Breanna to help, so you can pray for that to work out as well.

Since my language isn’t developed well enough to teach, there is an American nurse who lives in Haiti that we have asked to help with the translating and teaching. Her husband is a translator for the Pastor’s Conference, and she is willing to help with the health classes. I am so grateful that God has provided for the language area! Please keep us in your prayers as we work to produce simple yet thorough lessons. I want to cover practical life lessons as well as health issues. I know that in God’s hands, these classes could change lives, so please pray that He would guide and direct, and prepare our hearts and the hearts of the girls that attend.

Here is a link if you care to see the topics we plan to cover.

Proposed Schedule for August Health Class

Looking Forward

January 12, a catastrophic 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck just west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It leveled many buildings and killed about 200,000 people (this number is widely debated). Haiti was already an impoverished nation, but the earthquake was yet another blow to its people in a long and sordid history.

Now years later, Haiti still appears to have barely started its recovery despite billions pledged in foreign aid. Grand visions proved to be pipe-dreams. Most rubble remains. Current reconstruction efforts are inadequate to meet enormous needs. So many Haitian homes were destroyed in the disaster that temporary tent cities set up in Port-au-Prince have begun to appear permanent — more than 550,000 people still live in dirty and dangerous encampments. Reports of 7,000 deaths from cholera and over half a million infected are estimates; some evidence suggests the true figures may be double or more.

Much has been made in the media recently of the problems in Haiti. Some would point out the problems with the international aid community. A recent columnist said “Today’s Haiti looks like the earthquake happened months ago, not years. Virtually no funding actually went directly to Haiti. It was diverted to private contractors, other nations, international agencies and predatory NGOs.”

This is harsh criticism, but it may be deserved or even earned by some aid groups. However, we know that Haitian people’s greatest need is not housing, not clean water, not even lack of access to healthcare (which we care deeply about), but their greatest need is our greatest need, it is my greatest need – Jesus.

One victim of the earthquake told Associated Foreign Press, “My hope is God, not the leaders of this country”. That is the correct perspective. The hope of the Haitian people and of all people everywhere is in a personal, passionate relationship with Jesus Christ.

That’s why we at Aid For Haiti (AFH) are involved in Haiti. When I was there in a small mountain village recently, I was reminded how much I like doing medical clinics and deeply enjoy building relationships with some our friends there, but my utmost desire is to see people come to know Jesus on a personal level and walk in truth with Him. Medicine for us, is a tool, to be used in the Master’s hand.

So please pray for us this year at AFH as we seek to exalt the Lord Jesus more effectively in our work with our friends and partners in Haiti. Pray that the Lord would give us wisdom and vision as we plan clinics, surgery trips, and church elder/pastor training sessions. Pray that people would see their need of a Savior and turn to Jesus. Pray the Lord would use us as empty vessels that would be filled by Him.

You see that’s what we are about at AFH…it’s All For Him.

Organizational Accountability

For everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your own hand. -1 Chronicles 29:14b

We have a responsibility to be faithful stewards and to maintain integrity and openness in our financial practices. Therefore, we are committed to fulfilling sound, Biblical standards. Through all our activities we endeavor to present the needs to God’s people, then trust the Holy Spirit to touch the hearts of those whom He wants to participate in meeting those needs. The Lord supplies us with the resources for ministry through individual contributions. We recognize our accountability both to Him and to you, our donors. Therefore, we are committed to fulfilling the following standards:

We subscribe to a written statement of faith clearly defining our commitment to the evangelical Christian doctrine.
We have a commitment to openness and honesty. Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and copies are available for review here. We have submitted to review by Guidestar (the leading organization for the review of nonprofits) and earned the GuideStar Exchange Seal, demonstrating our commitment to transparency.
We are governed by a responsible Board of Directors. Our Board meets regularly to establish policies, approve budgets, and review operational results and ministry accomplishments. More info: Organizational Bylaws
As a legitimate organization we have a commitment to do all things lawfully and within the regulations of the US and Haitian government.
1. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization approved by the IRS. Our tax ID (EIN) is: 26-2846707.
2. Letter of Right from Haitian Government is available for download as is our registration and approval as an official organization in Haiti.
We seek to conduct our activities with the highest standards of integrity and to avoid conflicts of interest. Our conflict of interest policy is available for review.
All contributions designated for specific projects shall be applied to those projects, and we may use less than 10 percent for administering the gift. Our goal is to meet the needs God lays before us, so that Christ is lifted up and the Gospel advanced. We believe that it is God’s place to prompt a response to our fund-raising appeals and avoid manipulative fund-raising tactics.
Contributions to the ministry are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Our tax ID (EIN) is: 26-2846707. We will receipt all donations showing the fair market value of any goods or services provided to the donor.
Out of respect for individuals’ privacy, we do not sell or rent our mailing list to other groups wishing to use the names and addresses of our supporters.

Give through Ebay

Attention e-bay sellers!!!

You can support Aid for Haiti the next time you sell on eBay. Our partnership with eBay allows you to direct proceeds (10-100%) from sale on eBay directly to us. EBay gives back to you too, with a fee credit on your basic selling fees. In addition, charity listings often get more bids and higher prices than regular eBay listings? Boost your sales and support our critical work while you’re at it! Click Here to start selling or find out more!

Also, Aid for Haiti can now receive direct donations from eBay users through the Donate Now feature, which lets anyone with a PayPal account donate to nonprofits right away –without buying or selling anything. Best of all, 100% of everything donated goes to Aid for Haiti (click here).

Pastor/Elder Training – Fon Doux

“They returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the hearts of the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by teaching “it is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God”

-Acts 14:21-22

Many of the men who have the responsibility of preaching and teaching in the local churches possess fervor for the Lord, but they do not have biblical resources or training opportunities. As a result, they are sometimes ill-equipped to serve the needs of the Body. To this end, we provide week long training sessions to these pastors. These training sessions are provided at no cost to our Haitian brothers (other than their own travel and time). If you have an interest in helping make these events possible, consider the following: For $15, you can pay for a Haitian pastor to be further trained in God’s word for one day, including two of his meals and creole printed study guides and bibles as well. Would you join us in helping educate and equip some of the pastors and elders of Haitian churches? Please pray about how God could use you to help affect believers throughout Haiti. Please contact us if you or your church is interested in helping train these pastors in Haiti.

[button url=”https://www.aidforhaiti.org/donate-to-pastor-training”]Donate[/button] or [button url=”http://www.aidforhaiti.org/contact-us”]Join Us[/button]

A Home in Haiti

You know we (AFH) bought land in Haiti to build on. Michael and I need a permanent place to live in Haiti, and God has provided us land in the area where we have been living the past two years. We have been serving with other missions, but that opportunity has been filled and it is time to move to a place of our own.

This is the west end of the land. On the right side, you can see the retaining wall Michael built.

The progress so far consists of a driveway, a 380 ft. well, and the foundation for and shipment of the perimeter fence. A spot has been cleared for the first building, and rock for cement work stands in great white piles.

This is looking out the driveway to the road. The entire front of the property is solid vegetation and trees except here where we cleared it.

The first water from the well.

Michael has been working alone a lot of the time, and is grateful for the few young men who have volunteered their time and energy to help for a couple of weeks. He also has one Haitian who lives on the land and helps him all the time. Wilmon has been working for Michael for the past 3 years and has proven himself a faithful worker and friend.

The plans for the first building are being finalized, and it is time to start buying and shipping things down. We would like this first building to be a 16′x32′ concrete block building with a flat concrete roof. We plan to have a toilet, shower, laundry area, living room/kitchen, two small bedrooms, and a depot.

Please pray with us that God would guide and bless the construction, and that He would provide the funds for it. We can’t do this without your prayers and support. If you feel led to help with a tax-free donation, please send it to:
Aid For Haiti
1367 Old Manchester Rd.
Morrison, TN 37357

Thank you for your interest in our lives and work for God in Haiti. We are just normal people, and often feel inadequate and helpless as we face the events and challenges of daily life. Sometimes I wonder how God can clear a road through the impossibilities that block the way; but every time He has proved faithful in making a way so we can go where He wants us to go. He has done miracles, I’ve seen them, but most of the time He uses people like you who have willing hearts to do as He asks. And for that, I thank you. May God bless you and work out His way through your own particular impossibility.

I know this sounds pretty newsletter-ish, but I have to let you all know about it. I’m not able to be in Haiti right now, so I am looking at things from a distance. As far as I can see, I will not be able to return to Haiti to live till there is a building on this land. Right now, there are no other doors open. So I am trying to improve my time here in the States with studying, and I certainly am enjoying being with my family! But I also pray that God will speed the progress on the building so I can go back again.