Women's Conference

     After months of planning and hours of preparation our first ever women's health fair began yesterday with our partner organization, Bless Back International. For me, this time has been saturated in joy. We kicked off the conference by worshiping with the nearly 300 attendees. Sap that I am, I dissolved into tears, overwhelmed by the beauty, and had to hide in Renee's office so I could pull myself together. 

     We have already had a series of teaching seminars on everything from healthy food choices, to choking to fetal development, and are only two days in! Women have had the opportunity to make crafts, see our medical providers and enjoy a beauty room that includes manicures and makeup application. It has been a delight to watch these women I love be honored, respected and pampered, to see their excitement and overhear their discussions about the different things they are learning and experiencing. 

     One of the most precious moments was watching a pregnant woman see her baby on ultrasound this afternoon. The joy on her face brought tears to my eyes (again). Several pregnant have women come through the clinic in the past, hoping for an ultrasound, only to be disappointed that we are unable to offer that service. The opportunity to rectify that this week has been a highlight. Will you join us in prayer for the next few days, that we would continue to honor and serve our sisters, and savor our time together? Thank you!

Crammed

"Earth's crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God;

But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,

 

The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,

And daub their natural faces unaware"

Excerpted from Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Thanks to Nora Walker for the St. Etienne pics!

Overflowing

      We have been brimming with things to rejoice about at MOHI in the last few days. Wednesday and Thursday we started drilling for water in St. Etienne. Everyone driving by said it would not be possible. Well, Thursday afternoon we struck water! We are beyond excited at the opportunities this will give our friends and neighbors to access clean water in an area where there are no other wells.

      In other news, my sister and brother-in-law are scheduled to arrive this afternoon for a week long visit.  I have been counting the hours until their scheduled arrival since Wednesday afternoon. To say I am beside myself with excitement would be an understatement. The people I live with will also be glad when Naomi and Zac finally arrive, just so I will quit with the hourly updates.

Tuesday Morning Gratitude

       When I worked in the States, I often felt like my patient's ailments would follow a theme from week to week. One week everyone had COPD, the next week the floor was full of patients with GI bleeds. This phenomenon followed me to Haiti, and it often seems as though many of our patients come in with the same problem on any given day. One week it is hypertension, pregnant teenagers the next week, heartburn the week after that.
      Apparently this is our week for little ones with pneumonia. Our benches have been crowded with worried mamas and babies with horrible, hacking coughs. (I much prefer the weeks where everyone has heartburn.) Yesterday the clinic felt like a revolving door of nebulizer treatments and antibiotics. By the time they got to us these babies were exhausted by the effort of breathing, most of them too tired to even fight the breathing treatment mask. Along with antibiotics and albuterol, we gave out follow up appointments to make sure the children were improving.
         One of those follow up appointments absolutely made my Tuesday morning. Yesterday Michard was lethargic and weak, with that scary, droopy look that toddlers get when they are sick. This morning in clinic we were greeted by a bouncy two and a half year old, racing up and down the concrete path, grinning, playing and giving her aunt fits. Her lungs were clearing, as was her cough. Today I am even more thankful for the grace of modern medicine.
       

Dominican Republic

     A group of us went to the Dominican Republic this week to renew our visas. Twelve hours in the car together one way is a fantastic way to get to know the people you live with even better. Wednesday and Friday were travelling days, and Thursday we had the chance to enjoy the place where we stayed. There is nothing like a day by the pool, Nook in hand to refresh this introvert. I have mentioned before how much I love the chance to sit and soak in beauty when I come across it. Well, Caribbean beaches and sunsets over the water provided plenty of opportunities Thursday. Yesterday we drove back to Haiti, stopping at a grocery store to get some treats on the way. I now have hummus, tortilla chips, salsa and pickles, and I could not be happier.

Conference

     I believe in the communion of saints. This weekend was our annual conference. It was filled with guest speakers, visitors and joy. Sunday morning was particularly poignant. Dawn found us at a baptism service. The sun broke over the mountains as hope songs were sung and brokenness and tears were shed. I believe in the communion of saints.
    I believe in the communion of saints. After a worship service brimming with music and gladness, we held communion. Or partook in the Eucharist. Or had the Lord's Supper. However you want to word it, the bread and wine were present. The invitation was given by the man who baptized the founder of our mission. The wine was given out by one of our pastors. The bread was given out by a pastor of passionate prayer, and men and women from all over this country ate and drank, remembering together body broken and blood poured out. I believe in the communion of saints.
   I believe in the communion of saints. We had people from Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, Mirebalais, Leogane, Lagonave and our own neighborhoods overflowing our benches and spilling into our yard. There was laughter and dancing, prayer and a remembering of the mighty works our God has done. The worship did not always look like what I am used to, but I think it was a foretaste of what "thy kingdom come" could mean. I believe in the communion of saints.

Missions Moment

     In recent weeks, I have inadvertently started running an unofficial kids program in the afternoons after I finish seeing patients. We color, and sing and laugh a lot. It is a lot of fun, although it significantly slows down the rate of my paperwork completion. Case in point- there was a half hour break between typing the above sentences as we divvied up coloring books and picture books, discussed the rules for their use and then discussed what we found in the books. We had conversations about vultures and bears and why you absolutely do not stick your fingers between the blades of a running fan.
    Sometimes I over romanticize these moments, caught up in the beauty and grace (or my perception of the poetry and grace) of them.  Last night was one of those times. We were having the opening session for our annual conference, and one of the little girls I have a particular soft spot for was sitting with me. During the worship time she wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me, as she sang along with the music. I was entranced by the beauty and sweetness of the moment, totally caught up in the grace of it. Then she stuck her fingers in her nose and wiped the residue on my arm and I spent the next hour and a half wishing for soap and water. Moment lost.