In total we stayed in Haiti for 6 nights with an additional night used on either end for traveling.
Day 1 (actually day 2 but we won't count air travel)
After a few hours of traveling up the mountain, we arrived at the Lancour's home. As you can imagine, Jennifer and I were a bit tired so we traded off watching Isabelle and napping. We finished off the first night with good conversation and Settlers of Catan.
We even managed to remain on speaking terms after playing.
Day 2: The Pines for the Forest
After a few hours of traveling up the mountain, we arrived at the Lancour's home. As you can imagine, Jennifer and I were a bit tired so we traded off watching Isabelle and napping. We finished off the first night with good conversation and Settlers of Catan.
We even managed to remain on speaking terms after playing.
Day 2: The Pines for the Forest
The closest town to the Lancours is a tiny village called Foret De Pins. The ladies (both nurses by training) planned on holding a clinic in the town's church. We figured this would be a great opportunity to hand out some of the clothes we had donated to us for this trip. Jennifer and Kirsten had each person come to the front of the church one at a time.
They handed them a small plastic pouch of water to drink and asked them some health related questions. Haitians, at least in this area, are not in the habit of drinking plain water in any decent quantities so many of them find even the modest quantity they were given hard to get down or even unpalatable. Most regularly drink sugary beverages as their main source of hydration. This also contributes to a decent percentage of them having high blood pressure, and all the symptoms that come with it.
After the nurses provided any help they could (basic medications, dewormer, vitamins), they would pray for the patient and then send them down to Jessie and I. There they would receive a packet of hygiene supplies and could pick out a few pieces of clothing. We (Jessie and myself) had this role and the job of keeping the kiddos entertained. They were able to play with each other a decent amount. The Haitians were quickly enamored with Isabelle and many loved holding her. It's always nice to have people around to keep kids entertained.
Here's a funny side note to that bit: I would hand out the hygiene packets and breifly describe what was in them in creole. Chanpou (shampoo), savon (soap), pa dan (tooth paste.. i have no idea how thats actually spelled in the creole). Another phrase we learned was "Jezi renmen ou," or "Jesus loves you." For some reason i mixed up pa dan and renmen for quite a few people...
So they all had love in their bags instead of toothpaste.
In order to keep this whole operation calm, only the first 30 people who requested to attend this clinic were allowed to go. Their names were selected during a church service the previous Sunday. Without this kind of setup, the event easily could have been overrun and become unruly or even dangerous. The people in this community are desperately poor and have little access to any form of healthcare. This whole situation, as I hope you can imagine, is a bit of a paradigm shift from everyday life in the US.
Trains planes and board games
After finishing up with the allotted number of patients, and even a few more that slipped in, we packed up and headed back to the Lancours. We managed to pack Ticket to Ride in our luggage on the way there and put it to good use while in Haiti. We had fun teaching them a new game after the day in the clinic. I can't remember who won that first match but I remember it being a significant victory and everyone being terribly impressed... Jennifer insisted I put a wink face here to make sure everyone understands I won that game. So...
In the name of keeping things within the attention span of the digital age, we will continue adding updates to this as time permits. Please keep coming back to check for updates and leave any comments or suggestions here.
Thanks!
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Beautiful photo of some of these beautiful people. Credit goes to Jennifer for this photo |
They handed them a small plastic pouch of water to drink and asked them some health related questions. Haitians, at least in this area, are not in the habit of drinking plain water in any decent quantities so many of them find even the modest quantity they were given hard to get down or even unpalatable. Most regularly drink sugary beverages as their main source of hydration. This also contributes to a decent percentage of them having high blood pressure, and all the symptoms that come with it.
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It was a blessing to us to be able to minister to a few people in any way. It made me even more proud of my wife Jennifer. Even more than healthcare or stuff, these people need Jesus; just like anywhere else you go. |
After the nurses provided any help they could (basic medications, dewormer, vitamins), they would pray for the patient and then send them down to Jessie and I. There they would receive a packet of hygiene supplies and could pick out a few pieces of clothing. We (Jessie and myself) had this role and the job of keeping the kiddos entertained. They were able to play with each other a decent amount. The Haitians were quickly enamored with Isabelle and many loved holding her. It's always nice to have people around to keep kids entertained.
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Joseph and Isabelle filling holes with rocks. It's so much fun to see these kids playing together, even if playing is better described as fearfully tolerating one another most of the time. Isabelle likes to hit sometime... Believe it or not those flowers are made from garbage plastic. |
Here's a funny side note to that bit: I would hand out the hygiene packets and breifly describe what was in them in creole. Chanpou (shampoo), savon (soap), pa dan (tooth paste.. i have no idea how thats actually spelled in the creole). Another phrase we learned was "Jezi renmen ou," or "Jesus loves you." For some reason i mixed up pa dan and renmen for quite a few people...
So they all had love in their bags instead of toothpaste.
In order to keep this whole operation calm, only the first 30 people who requested to attend this clinic were allowed to go. Their names were selected during a church service the previous Sunday. Without this kind of setup, the event easily could have been overrun and become unruly or even dangerous. The people in this community are desperately poor and have little access to any form of healthcare. This whole situation, as I hope you can imagine, is a bit of a paradigm shift from everyday life in the US.
 |
View of the 'stage' of the church building. Jessie's back can be seen on the far right of the photo. Jennifer and Kirsten on stage. Joseph is front and center and Isabelle is hamming it up with the locals. |
Trains planes and board games
After finishing up with the allotted number of patients, and even a few more that slipped in, we packed up and headed back to the Lancours. We managed to pack Ticket to Ride in our luggage on the way there and put it to good use while in Haiti. We had fun teaching them a new game after the day in the clinic. I can't remember who won that first match but I remember it being a significant victory and everyone being terribly impressed... Jennifer insisted I put a wink face here to make sure everyone understands I won that game. So...
;)
In the name of keeping things within the attention span of the digital age, we will continue adding updates to this as time permits. Please keep coming back to check for updates and leave any comments or suggestions here.
Thanks!
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