Inventory time

     It is inventory week in the MOHI clinic and oh what a week it has been! We have been taking everything off the shelves and reorganizing it as we go, categorizing by expiration date. Organization is not one of my gifts and sometimes I think it takes more energy for me, physically and mentally to sort through all of our supplies, than it does for me to see patients and spend the day talking to people in another language. That being said, this is a really exciting time at the MOHI clinic, with so many hopes and dreams for the upcoming months. On the less glamorous days, working towards those hopes and dreams looks like my friend Tammy (pictured above, well her back is anyway) and I spending hours sorting things while singing along to show tunes. Those can be precious days too.

       

Dry bones dancing

"He asked me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?'

I said, 'Sovereign Lord, you alone know.' "

Ezekiel 37:3

I have been sitting with the first verses of Ezekiel 37 this week, savoring them, rejoicing in them. So much in these words resonates in my heart This verse especially, where Ezekiel is being shown a valley of sun bleached bones and everything is dry, barren, and hopeless. The Lord asks Ezekiel if hope can be found here.  How does Ezekiel respond? “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”  I love how Frederick Buechner describes how the Lord answers his own question:

“The first thing that happened was a sound of rattling and clicking like the tide going out over a million pebble beaches as the bones started snapping together again. The next thing that happened was a million reassembled skeletons pulling on bodies like long winter underwear. The last thing that happened was the color coming back to a million pairs of cheeks and the spark to a million pairs of eyes and the breath of life to a million pairs of lungs.”
Frederick Buechner Peculiar Treasures p. 37

I love what this passage says about the power of God to heal and restore, and what it says about how He longs to do those things. Sometimes here in Haiti my hope gets weak. I listen to the stories of some of my patients, or I get another small glimpse into their struggle to survive. I see the damage my countrymen and I can do, with our words and with our attitudes. I see the way I continue to value my own schedule over relationships, curt words over patience; these are harmful actions in a culture where relationships are central. I look at these things and despair starts to worm its insidious way into my heart. I start to wonder whether there is any reason for hope. Then grace bursts in. I am confronted with Ezekiel’s words and verses like them, I am confronted with my Lord’s heart for reconciliation and for today at least, it is enough. I repent of my own poor choices, praying desperately for the grace to learn from my mistakes and then I solidly and squarely place my hope on the shoulders of the God who breathes life into dry bones.

And this is why I am forever asking you to pray with me

                Yesterday and today we held clinic at our main campus in Thozin. The medical people I mentioned last week are here for a few more days and we have been working away. Towards the end of the morning yesterday, one of our visiting practitioners brought me one of our preschoolers. The little guy had a grossly distended abdomen and was clearly in tremendous distress. I have seen worm infections and bloated, malnourished bellies down here before; this did not look like either of those things. The other practitioners and I were deeply concerned about the child and what may have been going on internally (medical friends- distended, firm abdomen, vomiting and almost nonexistent bowel sounds). It was the end of the school day and the boy's mama was on campus to pick him up. I talked to her, explained the seriousness of the situation and told her she needed to go to the local hospital immediately. After some discussion she reluctantly agreed to take him.

                Unconvinced that the child would get to a hospital in time, I talked with a pastor at our church yesterday afternoon, asking him to help me follow up and reinforce the seriousness of the situation with the mother. Apparently, he knows everybody in town, because within ten minutes the child’s father was at the clinic doorstep. I explained the situation to him, including how critical it was that the child go to the hospital quickly and he promised to get the child to the hospital as soon as he could.

                I spent much of yesterday evening alternately between praying for that little guy and worrying about him. The team we have down here this week and some friends in the States prayed as well. Honestly, I was less than optimistic that the family would have access to the care and treatment he needed, and that he would get it in time.

                Well, this morning I was proved delightfully, completely wrong. Sort of. The little boy was in school, laughing and playing and keeping food down. He has some seriously adorable dimples, when he’s not doubled over in pain! His mom had taken him to the hospital and he had gotten some prescriptions. Friends, that’s where the aforementioned “sort of” comes in- the prescriptions had not been filled. Although the boy saw a doctor last night, he had not yet received any treatment. Initially I started to think maybe I overreacted yesterday, but the other medical professionals agreed with me that there really was no medical reason for the boy to be doing so well today.

               I don’t say this lightly, but I really and truly believe it was the prayers that went up on his behalf. Glory to God the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever! So friends, when I ask you all to join me in prayer, know that I do not ask lightly, or as a cliché. We need you to join us in prayer down here, because when you join us, beautiful things happen. Thank you!

This Morning

      This was the view when I woke up this morning.

It almost makes my inability to sleep past 6:30 worth it. :)

MOHI clinic on the go!

    It has been another whirlwind week so far in the MOHI clinic! Monday and Tuesday we had an ophthalmologist from another group in the area come to our clinic to see patients. I love when we get opportunities to address needs like that which can so often go unmet. We also spent some time doing follow-up from the medical team that was here last week and preparing for another group that came in Tuesday night that includes medical providers.
   Before I left in November, the mission received a long yellow bus, packed and outfitted as a mobile medical clinic. The bus includes a space for consulting and examining patients (with a table!), room for a pharmacy, seats for when we are travelling and even a bathroom for longer trips. If you know me at all, you know I love community health and working to extend healthcare access. This bus opens up so many opportunities for the MOHI clinic to expand our services and meet people where they are. I am pretty much beside myself with excitement.
   Today we unpacked the bus and began the process of inventorying the supplies that we will pack the bus with. We are planning to do clinic in some mountain areas this week and next week, trying out our new capabilities. If all goes well, I will get to see some new areas and some old friends.
 As I said in my previous post, I am so grateful for the opportunities that 2014 is presenting me with. So many blessings have rained down in the last few week, I have barely had time to catch my breath and number them. Will you continue to join with me in prayers of gratitude for grace poured out, and for wisdom in our health care decisions with all of the new opportunities opening up? Thanks friends!

Year 2 Begins!

                My first couple days back in Haiti have been an absolute whirlwind. I got back to Grand Goave Tuesday afternoon. a large medical team came in on Sunday, so they were hard at work when I got there and I was greeted with the sight of a line of precious babies, waiting with theirs mamas to be seen by the providers.  If you know me, you know that there are few things that can make me smile like the sight of a baby, so I was more than happy to jump in and cuddle some little ones. You know, to help out the team. J

                Wednesday we went to Bassin Bleu. I am happy to report it is as breathtaking in January as it is in September. Thursday we held clinic in Thozin (the site of our main clinic) and in St. Etienne (up in the mountains). Initially I was going to work in Thozin, but then we got a call that our St. Etienne clinic had a couple of hundred people in line to be seen and could we please send reinforcements? The view from St. Etienne is absolutely spectacular and I jumped at any chance to go up there. 

Friday morning a small group of us visited the local hospital in order to make contact to feel out future connections and opportunities. I am cautiously optimistic at the thought of what this new opportunity could mean for expanding our clinic services. Friday afternoon we did some screening and community health teaching in the neighborhood by our guesthouse. Spending time with people, talking with moms and laughing at children’s’ antics was a precious end to wonderfully exhausting week.

                In the midst of the flurry of activity have been so very many small and dear moments. The welcome where I was literally lifted up and swung around the clinic. The light reflected on the pools of Bassin Bleu, and swimming under a waterfall. The previously mentioned birthday cakes, both made just because people knew I love those specific flavors. Chances to catch up with people dear to my heart. This week left me overwhelmed with gratitude at the goodness and grace that permeate my life right now.

                We have another medical team coming in on Tuesday to unpack our new mobile health bus and do some clinics. I am so excited at all the opportunities for this new year. Will you join me in praying for wisdom and discernment about all of these opportunities, and also in prayers of gratitude for the incredible joy 2014 has already brought? As always, thanks friends. 

Happy Birthday to Me!

   
     After two lovely months on the States, visiting family and friends and a three day delay on the part of my airline I finally got back Haiti yesterday morning, my 26th birthday. We have a large, wonderful medical team down this week, so things are crazy. I'm working on a longer update about my birthday and these first days back, but I just want to let it be known that there were two (!) kinds of cake and happy birthday was sung in three languages. It was probably one of the best birthdays I have had yet.