Saturday, March 14 - Medical Clinic in Jacmel

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Saturday was very busy. Patients were ready and waiting for us at Pastor Marky's church. We set up the "doctor's" exam areas where the altar usually is.

Patients would first go through "intake which is where we interviewed the patients with the help of our translators. From this station they would go to have their blood pressure and pulse checked. If a urinalysis was needed they would take their paper cup and go back by Robbie our "pee pee king." After all of this they would wait to see the "doctor". Their last stop was the pharmacy where Jeanne and one other team member would pull together the prescribed medications. Jeanne would explain the dosages and drugs to our interpreter who would then tell our patients what the instructions were for taking the drugs. The time goes so quickly that hours pass and you don't even know it.

One patient stood out, well make that two patients. One woman was suffering from many ailments. She had had an abortion. Whether this was voluntary or involuntary we didn't know. She suffered from depression, anxiety, stress and other problems. Robbie seeing her many issues did the right thing. He talked with Pastor Marky and had him talk to this woman. It was obvious to Robbie that her problems went much deeper than any medication could touch. As I often heard Pastor Isador say, "God is good." That was obvious when we got the report that the following day this woman was baptized. She received the gift of peace, joy and love that only our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ can give. She came for physical healing and received spiritual healing. These are gifts that we as missionaries were honored to witness.

Friday, March 13 - Travel to Jacmel

Tuesday we had traveled the one road from PAP to Les Cayes. Today we traveled the one road from Les Cayes to Jacmel. Each road brought a different view of Haiti.

I was amazed how small villages existed along the mountainous terrain. You could see the rows that had been turned and prepared for planting.

The roads are basically two-lane and you encounter every size truck. Along with the vehicles you have your share of donkeys, horses, groups of children walking home from school, women with baskets balancing on their head. And as always, the honking of the vehicles to warn others that you are close by.

We also saw small villages where the roadside markets were busy. As we got closer to Jacmel we began to get glimpses of the ocean. It was exciting knowing that we were going to spend time with Pastor Marky and would have the wonderful experience of standing with his congregation as we would worship together on Sunday. It would be a dream come true.

How often I've wanted to better understand the needs of the people in Haiti. As a congregation Peace Lutheran has worked hard to help in some small way to meet their needs. The hearts of the people at Peace open wide to their calls for help. We have been blessed to be able to help. Visiting Haiti will now help us answer our many questions. We can offer suggestions based on a knowledge of the country and the work Pastor Marky and his lay pastors do here.

I think we were all surprised at the beautiful hotel that awaited us in Jacmel. We still couldn't drink the tap water but most were anxious to jump in the pool. Jeanne and I were content to look out over the bay at the mountains on the other side. The breeze was warm and the air was clean. It was very different from Les Cayes. Each city has a feel all its own. PAP is large with many people. UN trucks were everywhere. Les Cayes was equally busy but smaller. The smell of charcoal (made from wood) always hangs in the air. Jacmel seemed smaller and less people, but more mountainous.