Bonswa,
It’s hard to believe we’ve only been back in Haiti for three weeks, it seems we never left
Question? Do you appreciate the fact that you have the opportunity to go to church? David and I were blessed Sunday to go to an English service with a team from Michigan. Only the second time we’ve attended church (spoken in English) since we arrived. I just sat there with tears streaming down my cheeks, sometimes we feel starved for the word and miss our church family so much. A young family had just arrived from Connecticut with five teenagers that were amazing praise and worship performers. We love Haitian church services, but just aren’t fluent enough to understand the message. It felt wonderful to be “fed”.
I know I’ve mentioned that feeling of inadequacy that many feel when they arrive in Haiti, how can I help, will it make a difference, what can I do? I have been experiencing those feelings so strongly the last few weeks. While out with a team in a remote area one of the translators, Wesley, and I fell behind talking. A man approached down the mountain and began pleading for help for his daughter. She had fallen two days prior and could not walk. I explained that I was not a Dr. and didn’t think I could help and began to walk away but he pleaded with me to do something. I couldn’t ignore him, Wesley and I walked back and he led us up the mountain to his daughter. He had made a bed for her on a flat surface (in the mountains not easy to find) away from their home and covered her knee with herbs and wrapped it in pieces of cloth. He unwrapped it and my first thought was her knee is broken and it’s miles to a hospital. I spoke to her and she bravely smiled and thanked me (for what, I asked myself)… I remembered that I had two ice packs in my backpack and some packets of Advil. I applied the first pack and explained how to use it. Then tried my best to tell him that if the swelling didn’t go down in a day or so she had to go to a hospital as I thought it was broken, then we prayed for her. He stood up with tears in his eyes and thanked me profusely.
The following week with a medical team I helped a nurse restrain a small girl of about 18 months that was so severely dehydrated that the other nurse couldn’t find a vein, no matter how hard she tried. All three of us tried to smile, coo and talk to her and she did what all kids do, cry and fight. I felt so helpless. Her mother thanked us all for helping. That night I just kept seeing those little arms covered with a rash and no vein to be seen.
It’s hard being here sometimes, the needs are great but they are being met….slowly. The pastor in church on Sunday talked about what does Haiti need? His answer was one that God has laid on my heart since we arrived. Haiti needs love, one hand helping another, we can’t fix everything but we can come alongside one person at a time. I did help that young girl, even if the ice pack only eased her pain for a short while she knew someone cared. I know that darling baby didn’t understand our words but she could see our faces and hear the love in our voices. Those are the things we tend to overlook.. the small glimpses of love and hope that are shared with another person.
First for me… had surgery on my neck last week on a table in the mess hall in Petit Goave. I had a cyst that kept re-infecting so Doc draped me up, numbed me and cut it out. All the ladies in the kitchen were mesmerized and it has cranked up my “image” with the cooks. Madam David is brave!! They kept looking at my neck and putting their thumbs up and smiling! David cut the stitches out yesterday and I’m healing nicely. Queen Auglide (the three year old doll) of Petit Goave has become quite the social butterfly, she’s so friendly now and running all over. One of the puppies born under our shed is now running around like crazy but the other one seems to have wandered away. She is so cute. Exciting to hear that many kids in Percin (the fishing village) are now awaiting sponsors through the Hope For Children program.
David has a new home, he’s living in a metal shed now in Leogane. He found a safe place to stay on the property of another NGO. I’ll be going to visit with him for a week until the next team arrives. He’s working between a school in the mountains of Jacmel and a mother/child clinic in Leogane. The school up the mountain is really coming along quickly, it was only started four weeks ago and the roof is going on now and the walls are being plastered. So exciting as a team did VBS with the kids there and currently they are holding school under a tarp on rocky ground. The nights David stays in the mountains he stays in a shelter with a bed that has a mattress made of hundreds of pieces of tightly woven cloths and clothing. He thought it was a regular mattress until during the night the middle of the bed began to unravel. Oh the experiences we have…
While in Terre Rogue with a team we shadowed the women who fetch water in order for the men to make mortar. They walk over a mile (one way) on a rocky uneven uphill path to fill their buckets and bring them back to the site. During the day they make this trek 10-12 times, talking and laughing, it’s social time for them. Here I am with my all terrain shoes on, huffing and puffing and I wasn’t even carrying anything. They are barefoot and expertly carrying buckets on their heads with no hands! The men and women on the team were blown away by the effort expended just to obtain water. So much for complaining when you turn the faucet on and nothing appears.. for a few seconds…
The clean up continues and it’s wonderful to see! We can’t get over how much has been accomplished in the two months we were in the states. For those that have been here, remember all those tents that people were living in on the median in the middle of the street? They are all gone and trees have been planted in their place. The number of people in the tent cities is diminishing. Not nearly the amount of rubble and trash littering the streets. It’s exciting!
The run off election will be March 20th and the campaigns are in full swing. Don’t think just because we are in Haiti we don’t get cell phone solicitations by candidates. Although it is in French or Creole, as soon as I hear the name I know what it is and hang up, just like home Please continue to keep this in your prayers, there have been outbursts of violence and some rioting. The UN can be seen in tanks and on the streets so hopefully it should not get out of control. We pray that God continues to grant peace during the next few weeks.
I’ll say one thing for living in one room, there is no way you can accumulate too much, of anything! I know it’s hard to believe but it took me three hours to clean one room, we just keep thinning out and disbursing things as we don’t use them. Teams have been very gracious in bringing us food and miscellaneous items and what we don’t need we give away to those that do need. My life can be condensed into a tub with a lid and a backpack. Who would have thought??
We had a number of churches and friends donate kids clothing, underwear and some backpacks. What a great time we had with teams giving them out… one little boy put the underpants on his head, not sure he knew what they were. Others put theirs on right away and were strutting their stuff, so cute! The moms were disappointed we didn’t have any their size and I’d be willing to bet a few tried to squeeze into young girls sizes that night. When did I last appreciate my underwear?? Hmm…
Well, I’m going to do my laundry which thanks to my dear friend Gail I have the “WONDER WASHER”. It’s a small portable hand crank machine that uses pressure to clean clothes. You can fit three or four things in there and it works!!! You just add detergent and crank. I love it and it really makes it easier than washing by hand. I’d spend four hours scrubbing clothes and wringing them out and it took me a day to recover. It’s a miracle! Now… a hand wringer in my future???
Thanks to all that have continued to commit to pray and support us. We are still behind in funding but know that if it’s God will it will happen!
To Donate :
World Hope International
Attn: Contributions Lockbox
P O Box 17151
Baltimore, MD 21297-1151
Mark on your check our name and constituent No 28163
Or call donor services 1-888-466-4673
Check out our Facebook pages and website www.thewattersfamily.blogspot.com for new photos and information.
Bondye beni ou (God bless you)
David and Beth
No comments:
Post a Comment