Anse-a-Pitre

         A four and a half hour drive into the mountains yesterday landed us in Anse-a-Pitre, where we held a community clinic. This was our first time in the area, and the people of the community demonstrated their gratitude with hand carved wooden plaques, thank you notes and a sumptuous meal. Their generosity made the bumps, jostles and headaches worth it.
       For obvious reasons, I spend a lot of time thinking about cross-cultural interactions, the ways the different kinds of poverty manifest themselves in different cultures, and the ways in which Westerners in general and American Christians in particular reinforce stereotypes and assumptions that worsen the respective kinds of poverty for both my Haitian and American friends. A repeated example of this is when Americans visit Haiti, are overwhelmed by the material poverty and make the mistake of thinking that because of their material poverty Haitians cannot do things for themselves. Whether it's getting to the clinic, or feeding and dressing their children adequately, we as Americans often assume that because our Haitian friends and acquaintances do not have access to the abundance of material goods that we do, they have less to offer in our cross-cultural relationships.
     The longer I am here, the more vehemently I disagree with those assumptions. I am brought up short again and again by the beauty of my Haitian friends' hospitality. Yesterday was a perfect example. When my American eyes looked at the situation my patients were in, I am tempted to think that because they apparently have so little, they do not have much to offer. That's a false assumption. Yesterday I saw a community working together to seek treatment for their sickest members, young men and women assisting in the organizing and flow of the clinic, pastors advocating for those that needed it. I community in action.
     The longer I live in this country, the more I learn about what generosity and living as brothers and sisters in Christ can look like done well. My Haitian friends have unique gift and talents to bring to the table of Christ that make all of us richer. I was (am) hesitant in posting this, for fear of the myriad ways I could be misunderstood here. This is not a "they're poor, but happy" post. I have spent too much time one on one with patients in the clinic to ascribe to that theory. My friends and patients are acutely aware of the ways in which their material lack makes their lives harder than their Western friends' lives, but that isn't the whole picture. My friends bring something beautiful, rich and deep to the table of Christ and I don't want that overlooked or missed in any way.  I pray that in my time here and abroad as I share about my experiences, in word and in deed, I would learn to do them justice.

Bless Back Clinic

    We have a Bless Back Worldwide medical team working alongside our staff this week, providing patient care and community health teaching. It is always a joy for me to work with our partners at Bless Back towards our shared goal of high quality, dignified healthcare for all of our patients. The first few days in clinic have flowed incredibly smoothly, for which I am exceedingly thankful.

The triage and intake area, where we check patients in and take their vitals.

Becky and Ancitho providing medicine teaching in the pharmacy.

Nurse Matha and Student Nurse Baby checking vitals as patients wait in line to be seen.

It's hard to be still for a length check when there are so many interesting things to grab at.

So thankful for our dental team!

Everyone was charmed when this precious girl spent the day grinning at us. 

     In the midst of clinic weeks like this, with so much going on, I often find myself becoming ultra task-oriented, caught up in completing the next thing that needs to be accomplished, or untangling the latest snafu. It's easy for me to get so harried in managing the administrative tasks of keeping the clinic running that I forget to really see the human beings in front of me. I don't love this fact about myself.

       Yesterday, I ran across the excerpt Prayers for a Privileged People by Walter Brueggemann and it resonated deeply.

"Give us some distance from the noise,
some reserve about the loud success of the day,
that we may remember that our life consists
     not in things we consume
     but in neighbors we embrace."

Let it be to me Lord. Amen.

(Thanks to Melissa Roper from Bless Back Worldwide for the clinic picutres.)

Coming back

        Back to Haiti means back to daily drama and regular reminders to count my blessings. It means back to patients recounting stories of children they've lost and newlywed parents facing the loss of a child. It means daily reminders of all the complicated ways poverty assaults my friends and loved ones.
     Back to Haiti also means a three year old running across the yard, arms flung wide to greet me with a hug. It means MOHI students calling my name, telling me how the haven't seen me in a long time and how much they missed me. It means a 17 month old in our nutrition supplementation program who was fussy and undernourished six months ago toddling around and grinning wide on his follow up visit. It means welcome hugs and the overwhelming beauty of Haitian hospitality.
     In the storm of emotions that was my first week back, the clinic and I received some particular blessings. On Tuesday we were given several tote-size boxes of medications from friends in Gressier. Our whole staff celebrated when we found boxes of medicines we had been running low on!

Nurse Ruth and I were thankful for Liz and Lina's help sorting and inventorying our new supplies.

     As previously mentioned, I also have a beautiful new bedroom and bathroom. Two windows make for a welcome cross breeze and new shelves provide me lots of space for my beloved books and handmade art projects from the kids!

     
      For those who've sent prayers and supportive emails and Facebook message as I've transitioned back, you're the best! I cannot overstate how welcome they were. This cross-cultural life can be intense and your support is a gift. Thank you.
     

     

5 years later

       I got back to Haiti on Thursday, and (no surprise here) it has been a whirlwind. We had our annual leadership conference this weekend and over 500 participants showed up to our guesthouse the first morning for teaching and workshops. Things were beautifully crowded. On a personal note, construction has been completed on my beautiful new room. I hope to get pictures up in the next week.
      Today, however, is not the day for those stories. Today is the fifth anniversary of the earthquake. It is a day for remembering, for prayer and for reflection. It is a day for mourning the brokenness that is still present while shouting the hope the continues breaking forth. Join with us in remembering today. Light a candle, if that's your thing. Take a moment to pray, to reflect, to grieve and to hope. I know I will.