Sweet girl suffering...

One of the patients that tugged at my heart the most was a 10 year old that came to us from the Medishare hospital on Friday, February 19th. She has a broken lower leg on the right side which is in a long leg cast and a broken upper leg on the left side which is being fixed with an external fixator (pins). She also has a nasty ulcer like lesion on her lower back as a result of burns she suffered during the earthquake. She came to us with her aunt. However, we soon realized that her aunt was not the most committed. Apparently aunt had a job and so was gone a lot during the first few days. I started worrying however, during my last week there, when I did not see the aunt at all over a 4 day period. By the time I left Haiti, it has been a week since the aunt showed up. I am worried about what this means. Has this 10 year old been left at the clinic for good? Or is the aunt trying to do her best for her by making money to provide for her once she is discharged? Apparently the child's mother and siblings are living in the countryside, her father died in the earth quake. Long before the quake, her parents had sent her to Port-au-Prince to live with an aunt. I think they just could not take care of her as well as her other siblings and maybe hoped for a better life for her in Port-au-Prince. Unfortunately she has not yet begun school...

Everyday we spent some time with this girl. Doing her woundcare; cleaning her pins and her open wound on her back. Praying for her. Sitting with her. Helping her on a bed pan. Trying to teach her to make a bracelet. Etc.

There were a couple of moments that my heart broke for her. One time was at around 7:30 am one morning when we found this girl in her tent, laying on soaked sheets. We have no idea how long she had been laying on wet sheets or why they were wet (sweat? pee? trying to wash herself?) but were heartbroken to find her like, wishing her caretaker would actually show up to care for her or that the night nurses would check in on her now and then. Poor girl was trying to clean herself up with wet wipes. We got her out of bed, onto a clean, dry cot and took her outside to join the other children already situated out under the mango tree. We changed her bed and hoped that this situation would not repeat itself. It didn't. However, we did often have to go to her tent in the mornings to get her onto a cot and out under the tree so she wouldn't remain lying on her bed in the very hot tent till late in the morning. You see, most of the other children had caretakers to move them out, or the children could go out themselves.

Another issue was worms. This girl was unfortunate to be without a caretaker, not be able to go to the bathroom on her own, and have worms. For us, this meant helping her get onto a bed pan multiple times a day. And on 4 occassions it meant disposing of worms. Let's just say that was definitely one of my least pleasant experiences while in Haiti. Bless her though, she's had it rough. Praise God that after 2 albendazole treatments it seems she has been cured.

Pray for this girl. She needs it. She has been in the hospital/post-op ward for weeks now; since the earth quake. And she still has weeks to go. Her follow-up appointment at Medishare is on the 20th. Let's pray for healed bones. And let's pray for her future- that her aunty would come back for her or that she would be able to move to the countryside where her mother lives. This girl needs to be shown the Father's love. She needs to know that when people abandon her, there is a loving Father who welcomes her with open arms, all the time. Lord, be with this girl and touch her heart and touch the heart of her aunty and mother too.

Imagine...

Imagine being in Haiti right now.

Imagine living in a sheet tent.

Imagine having to provide for your family when you are unemployed.

Imagine needing to find food and water for your family every day.

Imagine hearing that water is being distributed near the palace.

Imagine rushing to the palace grounds in the hopes to receive water.

Imagine the crowd that gathers in front of the palace.

Imagine making your way to the line.

Imagine the pushing and shoving that goes on.

Imagine waiting for hours in the hot sun, packed like sardines in a line.

Imagine nearing the front of the line only to hear the water is finished.

Imagine the yelling and screaming that goes on around you.

Imagine going back to your tented camp empty handed.

Imagine the frustration.

Imagine the anger.

Imagine the sadness.

Imagine the desperation.

Can we even begin to imagine what life is like for the Haitians right now?

Our lives are so rich in comparison.

I am praying once again for the Haitians.

Praying for strength and endurance.

Praying for His provision of food, water, shelter and medical care.

Praying for peace and joy in difficult circumstances.

Praying for a nation to turn to Him.

video footage taken in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on February 21, 2010 by Sandra Lako.

Life isn't fair...

Who said life is fair? No one. Everyone always says life isn't fair. And they are right. It's not.

It is not fair that I will sleep in a comfy bed tonight, with a roof over my head and not have to be afraid of my house collapsing while I sleep or getting soaked in the rain. Many people in Haiti are sleeping in tents made of sheets, praying they will stay dry tonight, too afraid to stay inside buildings because of the traumatic experience they have been through.

It is not fair that I had no trouble obtaining three meals today while people in Haiti are struggling to get one meal; with women standing in the hot sun, waiting for hours to get a bag of rice for their families.

It is not fair that I have running water and can drink water from the tap at any given moment while people in Haiti are lining up for hours in the streets hoping to get one bottle of water given to them for the day.

It is not fair that I had the possibility to get on a plane and leave while so many in Haiti will be stuck in the devastation caused by the earthquake; living in poverty for the rest of their lives.

It is not fair that I can call up the doctor's office for an appointment when I need to, while people are dying in Haiti because medical care is not available to everyone.

It just isn't fair. Life isn't fair. But where does that statement get us. The situation does not change. The fact is, I have a lot and they have a little. It's just the way life is. At the end of the day, I am the one from the developed world and they live in an impoverished nation. I have opportunities that they will never have. It's not fair, but it is life.

However I am reminded that in life's unfairness, God remains just. He stays true to His word. And He longs for justice. And I suppose that today as I write down these thoughts I am reminded about how blessed I am and how thankful I should be for those many blessings. Food. Water. Shelter. Medical care. And so much more. I believe that God has blessed me so that I can bless others. Let's not take what God has given us for granted. And let's use our blessings to bless others. We may not understand the unfairness of life but we can count our blessings today and try our best to make life a little better for those around us.

Praying for Deve...

Today Deve turned 2.

Happy Birthday sweet girl.

Deve spent her birthday at the post-op clinic at New Life Children's Home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

A place she has been at with her father since the earthquake.

Not because of an earthquake related injury but due to a congenital heart defect.

She was scheduled for surgery at St. Damien hospital around January 12th but seeing as this hospital collapsed, surgery in Haiti was no longer possible.

She is waiting.

While I was working at the Medishare hospital I met a cardiologist there and asked him to look at Deve.

The diagnosis written on her papers (all in French) was persistent arterial canal.

We weren't sure what this meant and with only auscultation the cardiologist could not be sure as to the type of defect.

So again we waited, trying to make some contacts to get her out.

Deve needs specialist care.

She needs to be accepted and flown to the Dominican or USA.

We need to pray for a miracle.

For some reason the logistics are taking forever.

Yes, she is growing well, happy and not distressed but it looks like she really does need this surgery sooner rather than later.

Please pray for Deve and for her dad.

It is her birthday today.

Let's pray that this year is one full of miracles for her.

A year of open doors and God's provision and healing.

So far, it has seemed pretty impossible to get this arranged.

But God is the master of the universe and He can do the impossible.

Join me.

Let's stand in the gap for Deve and her family.

Haiti in the Tyler paper...

Lexie Waters, an Australian volunteer currently working with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in Texas, was the team leader of one of the Mercy Works teams that came to Haiti to provide medical relief. She arrived with her team during my second week in Haiti, and stayed for almost 2 weeks. While in Haiti, she was able to write and send back a few reports to the Tyler Paper. One of the reports featured the post-op clinic that I worked in for the majority of my time in Haiti. I started working there after having done a few mobile clinics and working at the University of Miami field hospital in week 1. It was a privilege to be able to serve and invest in the children in the post-op ward.

Click here for the article. The previous two articles can be found here and here.

Chili's earthquake...

Saturday's quake in Chile was huge. 8.8 magnitude. Destruction was inevitable. However, due to strict construction standards many buildings remained upright, saving hundreds if not thousands of lives. Let's hope they can rebuild quickly. And pray that there are solutions for rebuilding Haiti- maybe the Chilean contractors need to be sent in to Haiti to construct solid well-engineered buildings.

After Chile Quake, Focus Turns to Reconstruction - WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

Chile's stringent building codes helped avert an even greater loss of life from Saturday's massive earthquake, but the extensive use of adobe in the Andean nation's hardest-hit regions meant many structures were no match for the temblor's strength. Click on title to read full article.

Baby update...

An update on my 2 favorite babies in Haiti. Jean pictured on the left, Kevin on the right. We weighed Jean and Kevin before leaving the post-op facility. And both have grown! Praise God. They are now both 7 1/2 pounds (Jean - 4 1/2 months old - is a few ounces heavier than Kevin - 10 weeks old). They are doing SO well. Kevin is alert and happy, stretching his feeds to 3 hours. Jean is still a hungry little boy usually wanting to eat every 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The last few days he was full of smiles. And my last day there he started grasping objects. How cute to see them change so much. I pray that God will continue to protect them and provide for them. I am praying for a family for Jean! And praying that Kevin's situation will become clear- with his parents showing up to discuss what they want. I pray that all involved will be granted wisdom and insight as to what is best for Kevin. Lord, keep these two little ones in Your hands. We trust You with their lives.

Where am I...

I woke up a little startled this morning. Inside. Looking up at the ceiling. Peace and Quiet. Where am I? I was actually a little troubled that I was sleeping inside. But no need to worry. I am back in Texas. I do not need to be worried about an earthquake here. I am now in a place with many comforts. I enjoyed a welcome home package, a hot shower, clean clothes, a bed, quietness. Bliss. I definitely do not miss the rooster calls all through the night in Haiti. Or the dogs barking, people talking loudly in their tents, the ferocious generator noise, the mosquitoes buzzing, the sticky heat, the bucket shower, letting anything yellow mellow in the toilet, the layer of dirt on my belongings, etc. I do greatly miss the children as well as my remaining 4 team members. My prayer for them today is that they will see God move in a mighty way. That they will each be encouraged and feel loved. I pray for excellent wound care and successful physical therapy. I pray that children will be able to walk again. I pray for Rudy and Deve as they need care beyond the scope of care that places in Haiti can provide. Make a way for them God. I pray that God will continue to grow my love for Haiti. And that He will use me to tell the story of the wonderful Haitians I met there. They need our help. They need God's people to move in and minister. Thank you God for your faithfulness.