Dear Friends,
Wow! I think I am the most blessed person in Haiti this week! I had so many responses to my last email! Thank you so much for taking time to send me a note! I’m going to try to write as things happen so I don’t forget them.
April 28, 2011 Today we went to clinic and had an average day. It was so hot and muggy here, I prayed for rain to clear the air. Well, it rained! It poured and the wind blew so hard that the top of the coconut tree in the front yard snapped right off! The place it broke was rotten and the woodpeckers had pecked big holes in it. When it broke I thought it was a lightning crack, then I took a second look and thought, “Something looks different.” The top had fallen across the wall, so it wasn’t very obvious. I don’t know what we will do with it yet. The neighbor climbed up on the wall, chopped it up and threw the pieces over into the yard. We will have to clean it up next week as we are going to Petit Goave and Aileg this weekend.
May 8, 2011 Well, the “write as things happen” didn’t work, as you can see. Our trip to Aileg was a very enjoyable. The road back there wasn’t so nice as some, but it has improved since the last time I was back there. The folks there were lovely, and we had a great time! We came back to Petit Goave Saturday afternoon and spent the evening with friends. When we got back to Michael’s place, we saw a rat in the kitchen, so we had a rat hunt. I’m happy to say the rat did not make it through the process. Sunday we went to Pastor Bruce’s church and I was happy that I could understand enough Kreyol to get the gist of the message. Sunday afternoon Junior started to teach Jessica and I how to drive his moto. That was hilarious to say the least! I stayed in the compound and drove (or tried to drive) in the school yard. It was fun, but I never made it past using 1st gear. I’m not planning on driving a moto down here, I just think it would be nice to know how. Junior had fun teaching us too! After that, Michael and Junior got out their bikes and were doing stunts. They were pretty good, and nobody got hurt. We had to leave for Port around 4:00 pm, so our afternoon was short. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were normal clinic days. We painted in the afternoons, trying to get the house ready for the team. Oh, yeah, Monday morning we went to town for supplies because Michael was here to take us. It was nice to do something different on a Monday morning (which by the way, are the same the world around – crazy). Thursday we left at 11:00 am for the airport to pick up April! It is so nice to have her back. It took us 2 hours to drive a distance that normally takes 30-40 minutes! We were at the airport for 15 min, and it took us 2 hours to get back home! Traffic was awful, and it was one of the hottest days since I’ve been here. Thursday night Michael came back to Port to work on Guyteau’s house, and Friday morning he and Junior took Jessica and I to market. I enjoyed that even though there was mud everywhere from the rain the night before! When we got home, Jessica and I cleaned the house we had been painting and got it ready for the team that is coming in Monday. Saturday April and Jessica went to town for supplies, and I stayed with little Michael. While they were gone, and 16 year old came with a 2″ cut on his lower right leg. He said it was from a bottle. I couldn’t figure out exactly what had happened. Well, I wanted to wait for April to come back because it needed stitches. I called her but she said she wasn’t going to be back soon enough. She explained to me over the phone how to do the stitching, and I called Michael as well, and he told me what to use and how to do it. So, I went and did it! It was easier than I thought it would be in general, but harder than I thought to pull the edges together and have them stay. I put in five stitches, dressed the wound, gave him an antibiotic shot, and he went on his way. I know God helped me!
May 10, 2011 Sunday Michael and I went to CAM for church. There was a Haitian pastor visiting, he preached in Kreyol and it was translated to English. It was a good message and the singing was wonderful! In the afternoon, Junior showed me a lizard egg. It looks a lot like a hummingbird egg, maybe a touch smaller. Then Junior scared up a bunch of big lizards and they are hilarious when they run! They stick their tails in the air and look like tiny dinosaurs! Did you know lizards can’t run fast on smooth concrete? Their feet spin out! Later in the afternoon we played a bit of volleyball. Then I helped Darla and her girls make pizza for supper. Mmmm… it was good! Monday, Jessica and I came to clinic. The girl with the bad burn is healing well. I was so excited that I only needed one 3×4 pad instead of three like when I first came! April went to the airport to pick up the team first thing. They got back around 11:00 am, and then we went to a nearby orphanage to treat the children. That was a very different clinic from what I am used to. The team did not have time to unpack and organize, so it was kind of chaotic, to say the least. I’m hoping it gets better as the week progresses. Please pray for me as I am to be the pharmacy translator for the rest of the week. Pray also for safety for Jessica as she is leaving tomorrow to go home for two weeks. She’s excited to get to go home, but it is going to be very strange around here without her! Today I was in the clinic by myself, Jessica and April took the team to another town for clinic. I had a little girl come in with a cut in her armpit. They said a mirror broke and cut her. Then a mason came with the side of his finger scraped off from a rock. The cut I stitched is healing fairly well.
Well, I am going home to the States (Where is home when your family is in one place and yet your heart and work is somewhere else?) in one week! Yay! I’m excited to see my family and some of you so soon! Please pray that God will show me where and when He wants me to come back. I will make that decision after I am home.
God bless each one of you in whatever way you need this week! I am so thankful for each one of you, and for the friendship you give me!
For His glory,
Virginia
Published by