FUMC Youth: Serving while Waiting!

At FUSION Gathering, for the second week of Advent in our series "the Advent Experience," FUMC Youth discussed the topic of "Serving while Waiting."  We read Luke 1:26-38, the story of Mary hearing the message from the angel Gabriel that she would give birth to the son of God.  Miraculously, Mary's last words to the angel are "I am the Lord's servant.  May it be to me as you have said."  Though Mary was "troubled" and most likely scared, surprised and maybe even doubtful, she accepted Gabriel's message from God and proclaimed her servanthood to the Lord most high!  She was willing to do whatever God asked of her...even giving birth to God's son! 

Last week at FUSION Gathering, we talked about waiting quietly and listening to God's message and plans for us.  This week, we realize through Mary's story, that God calls us to serve others as we prepare for Christmas.  We are called to love God and neighbor as we prepare for Christ's birth!

So, we watched the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas and talked about how the Whos in Whoville loved their neighbors and community so much that having all their Christmas presents, decorations and food stolen from them didn't stop them from celebrating and loving one another.  In fact, they even loved the Grinch through his unkind acts and welcomed him into their community to feast and celebrate together.  In discussion, we came up with many ways that we can be in service and show love to our neighbors this Christmas season: caroling, sharing food, providing warm clothes, visiting others, giving rather than receiving, and much much more. 

To kick off our commitment to be in service while we wait this Advent season, the youth packed 100 bagged lunches to give to members of our community who come into our church seeking assistance.  We also made cards to give to those receiving these meals, and we decorated Christmas cards to give to our nursing home residents.  We challenge the whole church to find ways they can be in service and mission this Advent season!

-Lyndsie Blakely

Operation Christmas Child Mission Trip

Our Group led by Sarah Stokes travelled to Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday, December 2 for two days.  We worked in the Samaritan's Purse Warehouse from 2-6 on Thursday and 10-2 on Friday. 

Our group did various jobs.  We processed shoe boxes in an assembly line order.  1st by opening them and taking out the shipping money, the next person was responsible for going through the boxes to make sure there were no inappropriate items such as food or liquid.  We also put extra items in the boxes if they looked a little skimpy!  Then there was a person responsible for taping the boxes shut and another person loaded them back into the big cartons! 

 It was neat to see the creativity that other people had when it came to items they put in their boxes.  Today we saw a hammer & screwdriver, bag of rubber bands, princess shoes, and much more.  Debbie Lehman said the most interesting thing she saw in a box was the original pair of shoes that came in the box .  Jen Roller found a box that had a pink teddy bear that had "Jesus loves me" written on it.   It was hard when we had to remove items such as bubbles, gift cards, cash etc..  These are things you can't send but you know people took time to put them in - bummer!  I think we were all touched by this amazing experience!

The boxes we packed during our shifts were going to the Dominican Republic & some very special countries like Pakistan & Afghanistan!

The other thing I thought was super cool was how the warehouse was broken up.  There was a break area for us to rest where they sold chick- fil- a and dominoes pizza.  There was the filler station which was like a shopping mall for shoe box items.  There was the hospital for broken or ripped boxes and much more!

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow

Neskin, whose little heart will be evaluated for repair.

        Juan, who we pray will live until Monday when he comes to the Barnabas House for nutritional support.

We are praising God today for all the blessings that we have seen and been a part of this week.  This was the theme of our communion service tonight.  We shared with each other where we saw God this week, and where we saw God in each other.  Many tears were shed as we all agreed it was going to be hard to leave this country and it´s people behind us tomorrow.  Some of our favorite memories were described as follows:  deworming medicine with Fanta chasers, the blind can see, toothless grins, desperate parents, the smell of children´s vitamins, dirty feet....

A parasite filled belly that will get better because of medicine.

We have spent our day playing.  We visited the artisan market in the city of San Pedro Sula.  We ate Mennonite BBQ chicken, and we visited the beautiful Pulhapansak waterfalls.  We are praying for the bus now, which decided to cough and sputter today.  Don´t think our cough and cold medicine will cure that problem.
Kevin shared three songs with us tonight.  A version of The Doxology, The Lord's Prayer and How Great Thou Art.  All had amazing harmonies and took our breath away.  We felt God´s presence with us.  We have felt you all with us this week.  Thanks so much for your love and support.  Please....ask us about our stories.  Plan to sit for awhile.....
One child at a time,
Bill, Patti, Matt, Kevin, Linda, Kindle, Pam, Jack, Sharon, Kelly, Sylvia and Eric

Today's village, La Sauce, was very small and very poor.  Our numbers were smaller also...medical-120, deworming-80, eyes-26 and 2 children referred for heart evaluations.  Mountain Medical teams typically have a shorter day of Friday so we can inventory all the medicines for replacement with the next team.  Not our most pleasurable job of the week.  
Anyway....Our grand total for the week was 3558 patient contacts with what we think is a record number of referrals into the extended care system....58!!!!!  We are really excited about that.  58 more children with major medical needs that will be helped.  These children will be seen within the next two weeks at the Barnabas House clinic, helped with medicines, therapy and any further medical care needed.  If you would like to help fund some of this activity, go to http://www.fobf.org/ and send some money!  :)
Today´s clinic saw many grandmothers caring for grandchildren, several very young mothers, and several young people caring full time for younger siblings on their own.  Out of respect, the older people of the village were allowed to be seen first.  The first two gentlemen were 88 and 87 years old.  Both in great health.
These families were so grateful for our presence in their village.  One mother sat at Pam and Kindle´s station and began to cry because they could give her basic medicines for her children.  Wow!

Matt and Elmer in the eye clinic

Sylvia, Kelly and Linda setting up the deworming clinic

We are going to be in the newspaper in Las Vegas too.  That would be Las Vegas...Honduras.  Melvin Flores and Patti were both interviewed and explained what FOBF does, and why we are here.  We are hoping that the staff here will mail us a copy of the article.
The team is enjoying several hands of cards now and drinking hibicus tea.  We have laughed, we have cried, we have learned more about each other than sometimes we wanted to know and..we have seen God.  Tomorrow we will play.  Will fill you in later on all the fun.  More pictures to come....
One child at a time,
Patti, Bill, Matt, Kevin, Linda, Sharon, Kelly, Sylvia, Pam, Jack, Kindle and Eric

Back to the Barnabas House

Well, we have had a very busy three days.  The large town of Santa Barbara was our temporary home, as we worked with two other organizations, Agros International and Child Fund (the old Christian Children´s Fund).  Tuesday we were in Lempa.  Child Fund had already found several children in need of more medical help and support.  They brought their families with them , of course.  Our day was very busy!!!, to say the least.  Medical clinic-544, deworming-380, eyes-125, and we had....24 children referred for evaluation into the Barnabas extended care program.  The staff here says that is the largest amount ever in one day!  We had everything from heart murmers, to cerebal palsy, to deaf and mute children.  The people from Child Fund has recruited townspeople to be volunteers for the day.  They had bottles of cool water ready for us, coffee and sweet breads for snack, and made lunch for team and workers.  Two doctors joined us today.  One is Dr. Louis, who will work with us the rest of the week, and the other is a local doctor who just happened to be in the area Tuesday and volunteered to help out.  It is a good thing.
Wednesday we to a trip up what most people would call a creek bed, high into the mountain and visited the village of Ilama.  The school house was situated at the highest point in the village, so our view was beautiful.  Medical-397, deworming-310, eyes-136, and 11 referrals for the day. Today we saw a 17 year old who looked as if she was 9.  She was mentally handicapped and had a large heart murmer.  We finished a little earlier, but had a 88 year old lady carried in at the last minute.  She lived alone.  On her leg were two ulcers, one of which was the size of a baseball.  She had been treating it with¨"some cream" she had.  Thank goodness it wasn´t terribly infected.  It was scrubbed good with soap and water, cleansed with betadine and bandaged.  A neighbor was given her medicines and agreed to help her care for the wound twice a day.  Patti and Matt carried her to the truck to be driven home,since she couldn´t even walk on the leg.
Chld Fund again provided our lunch.  They also took us out for typical Honduran dinners both nights.  We have eaten well.
Thursday was in the town of Arenales, a short drive from the hotel where we stayed.  Today we are teamed with the people from Agros International.  We encourage you to go to their website and see what they are doing here.  The building was set up in was large and open.  We could all be together today.  Eye clinic had a little dark room at the back of the building to use.  Medical set up in the center of the large central room, with pharmacy set up along a little stage in the front of the room.  Deworming station was up on the stage.  It was really fun to see all the activities we were all doing.  Medical-357, deworming-315, eyes-78 and 15 referrals.  Today we were all touched by a young mom with 6 children.  She was 7 months pregnant with with number 7.  Her one year old was a failure to thrive baby.  She weighed 7 pounds at birth and yesterday weighed 10 pounds.  Mom´s milk had dried up and she was feeding the baby flour and water.  She will be picked up by the Barnabas House staff on Monday for evaluation and nurtritional support.  We ended early enough to get home for a dinner of fried tilapia!  Yummy.  As we shared around the table, we discovered the Matt has the magic touch in eye clinc.  He can find a pair of glasses for anyone.  He says, "I just have faith, bless the pair of glasses I think will work, and....TADA!  They work.  We all thought that was a hoot.
Will have our last clinic day on Friday.  Will try hard to get some pictures up for you to see.
Thanks for your continued prayers.
One child at a time.
Patti, Bill, Matt, Kevin, Linda, Kindle, Pam, Jack, Sharon, Kelly, Sylvia and Eric

Collection Week is here!!

We are in the middle of Operation Christmas Child Collection Week.  Our parking lot has a huge tractor trailer in it waiting to be filled with boxes for deserving children around the world.  Our side street parking has been busy each day this week with generous community members and churches bringing hundreds of boxes to our collection site.  Our collection goal is 6000.  Sarah Stokes, our leader, asked for a truck that would hold 7500! So far this week the center has collected 2242 shoe boxes.  Our church has donated 488 of these.  Last year our church packed 674 boxes.  Please consider packing a box or two to help us match last year's box count!  The collection center is open for 4 more days. 

Here are some pictures of the OCC Volunteers hard at work!!

 

Our first clinic day was...long...big...and blessed.  The small village of Nueva San Jose turned out at the school house to be seen for eye exams, deworming and medicines.  Eye clinic saw 53 people.  Deworming gave meds to 250 people.  And the medical clinic served 309 people. 
Sylvia started us off with reminding the towns people that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.  She blessed our day together.  7 children were referred for further examination and evaluation, including 3 cardiac problems, one failure to thrive, and a three year old who couldn´t walk. 
One mother who came to see us had 7 boys, all under 12.  She was just like a mother duck, counting heads where ever she went.
We have all learned our roles very quickly.  Tuesday night and Wednesday night we will be staying in the large town of Santa Barbara.  We may or may not have internet access, so this may be the only blog until Thursday night.
Thanks again for your love and prayers.
Patti, Bill, Matt, Kevin, Kindle, Jack, Pam, Linda, Syliva, Sharon, Kelly and Eric

Domingo-our day of rest

Well, we have rested, we have eaten, we have worshipped and we have worked.  The day started with a light breakfast and a tour of the Barnabas House complex.  Midway through the morning, local midwives began to arrive at the "house".  They had been told that our team would do eye exams for them, so Matt and Eric got an early dry run for their eye clinic.  16 ladies left with better eye sight. 
As they were examing eyes, the rest of the team went to church at the end of the drive.  The congregation was small, but most of those attending were bilingual.  The sermon was about the first chapter of Jonah, reminding us that we often go in the opposite direction of where God tells us to go. 
After church, we piled in the bus and headed to Bella Vista Fish House for lunch.  We all enjoyed the tilapia (whole), rice and beans, fried plantains, pickled cabbage and onions.  The view was the best part of the meal.
Our next stop was a short visit to Las Glorias Resort.  This resort area is owned by the family who donated the land where the Barnabas House is located.  It is situated right on Lago de Yojoa.  Again, the views are breath taking. 
Our labors began as we blended all the medicines we carried with us into the 17 tubs here.  We cleaned, sorted and organized all the tubs, and loaded them onto the bus.  The eye crew went through each box of glasses, making a list of the numbered bags that were missing, so that we know what we are starting with. 
We took a short break to worship...again.  Sylvia asked us why we were each here.  What was is we expected to happen.  And...where would we expect to see Christ.  We each have been given a cross to wear.  These crosses will be given to someone who blesses us during the week.  We listened to the song "God Speaking" by Mandisa.  "Who knows how He'll get a hold of us..."  We annointed each others hand for service.
After dinner...we have counted out and bagged 25,000 children´s vitamins, 25,000 adult vitamins, and 7000 Tums.  This activity came with much laughter and sharing of life stories. 
Tomorrow is our first clinic day.  We are excited, anxious, and ready to go.  We covet your prayers.
More tomorrow....
One child at a time,

Patti, Bill, Matt, Kevin, Sylvia, Linda, Pam, Jack, Kindle, Sharon, Kelly and Eric 

We have arrived!

The Honduras Medical Mission Team has arrived safely to the Barnabas House in Pena Blanca, Honduras.  Here is who you will be hearing from this week and what they will be doing.
Bill Hogan-co-team leader-pharmacy
Patti Wagner RN-co-team leader-medical station
Matt Wagner-eye clinic
Eric Hougland-eye clinic
Kevin Cannaday-pharmacy
Linda Fox-deworming station
Rev. Sylvia Meadows-deworming station
Pam Evans FNP-medical station
Jack Evans- pharmacy
Kindle Higgins-translator
Sharon Chandler FNP-medical station
Kelly Bailey-deworming

Our first challenge was getting all the 24 duffle bags onto American Airlines without having to pay the checked bag fee.  Check!!  Then it was asking the ticketing agent to check us all the way through to Honduras, with a change of airlines in Miami (Taca Airlines).  Check!!!  God was working, because the ticketing agent had done mission trips before, and she can´t now due to her job.  She did all we asked for!
Then we had to get 24 bottles of deworming medicine through customs in Miami.  Bill and Patti took all 24 bottles to the Security office, setting off alarms along the way, and got all the paper work signed.  We just went where we were told to go.....
We were met at the airport by Melvin Flores, the FOBF director in Honduras, and our beloved bus driver, Elmer.  After the beautiful drive up into the mountains, we shared an awesome dinner together, devotions, and reviewed plans for tomorrow. 
We are tired...we are excited...we are feeling very humbled and blessed.  We covet your prayers throughout this week. 
More later....

One child at a time....
Patti

Operation Christmas Child 2010 Preparations!!!

Our Church has been involved in some very exciting things pertaining to Operation Christmas Child, this year!  Sarah Stokes was promoted from relay center coordinator to South Central Virginia Area Coordinator. This is the 2nd year that our church has served as a collection center instead of a relay center.  This means that all the little relay centers collect their boxes then deliver them to our church!  It is a large but rewarding job for Sarah!  Debbie Lehman has now taken on the role of Collection Center Leader and Jennifer Kinne has become the Media Specialist for the South Central VA area.  These new roles have proved to be both challenging and exciting at the same time.  Christmas has been in the air at FUMC since July!!  For the 2nd time this season we have been blessed to host a powerful spokesperson in our small town!  1st Mesfin Gudeta and this past week, Lejlah Allison, National OCC Spokesperson and former shoebox recipient!  We have held two packing parties here at our church and packed over 250 boxes.  We will host a packing party at HSC next week with the Fellowship for Christian Athletes and another at Brookview Assisted Living.  Between the 2 we have a goal of almost 300 more boxes!

Operation Christmas Child is in the air...Have you packed your box??

The Lejlah event was held at New Life on a Sunday Evening. 

 Here are the men unloading the truck with all the giant boxes to put all the shoeboxes in!!!

 Our Packing Party Hostess, Judy O'steen showing Mr. Diamond how to pack a box!!

Youth in Mission!!

This Sunday our Youth were busy doing God's work!  They began their day by going to the Southside SPCA.  It was the SPCA's Open House.  Our Youth, led by Director of Discipleship, Lyndsie Blakely volunteered at the pet bowl decorating table.

 

After a busy & productive afternoon at the SPCA they met back at the Church for their weekly FUSION Gathering.  During this meeting the focus on mission continued on a more global spectrum.  The Youth packed 50 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and folded 200 empty boxes for others to pack!

It is amazing to see our youth so active in our missions programs!!

Colleen and Rich Return Safely

Rich & Colleen returned safely from Haiti on Saturday afternoon.  Rich said the trip was very good.  He said it is hard to put in words a description of the area.  I am attaching Colleen's photo album for you all to see for yourself.  They fell in love with the children and you will see several pictures of them with the precious poverty stricken local children.  Rich said he left all of his belongings there for the families.  He only came home with the clothes on his back!  Their job while there was to build a concrete security wall around the Methodist House Compound.  They are both already planning a trip back in May!
click below to see the photo album of their mission journey!
http://picasaweb.google.com/cmeisnp08/20101016HaitiOctober2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCNTPx7yqiP2rlAE&feat=email#

Saturday In Haiti...From Colleen!!

Good morning!
It has been quite an adventure so far! It seems we have been here for days already. We arrived in Haiti at lunch time yesterday at the Methodiste House Port au Prince. Last night we had orientation by Mike Willis a pastor from New York who is serving here as the volunteer coordinator. He provided some encouraging news. There are more people here helping on projects for UMVIM than ever...which makes hosting us a bit of a challenge. There are 15 teams here over the next 2 weeks. There is no air conditioning but there is wireless internet. There are plenty of roosters (they began crowing at about 2 am) with dogs barking, horns honking. The staff cooked us a wonderful meal last night. Many are homeless and sleep on the porch of the house and other places on the campus of the church.
We will be leaving in a few hours for our work-site and anxious to get there in the Leogane community. We will be staying in tents with our translator and a few cooks. We've heard a about them and the community and how lovely they are. We are also looking forward to sampling the bread. There is a local bakery with delicious bread we are told. Our jobs will be demo of a school and working on a security wall. We will mostly be hauling material while the more skilled locals do the demo. The church nearby and temporary shelters are being used by the school. There used to be 500 students but because of the earthquake and the economy there are only 100. We have the opportunity to provide scholarships for more students for less than $100 each per year.
We met several locals and artisans yesterday. There are some beautiful gracious people here and I am overwhelmed by there sense of contentment. We already gave a soccer ball and basketball to 2 young boys living on campus. They were thrilled.
We will not have the ability to communicate much if at all until Thursday night. I am journalling so I don't forget other things we want to share with you...and taking lots of pictures!  We feel your prayers and love you all!
Colleen

Friday Morning

Hello All,
I wanted to let as many people as possible know that we are alive and well - but also hot and sticky - in Port au Prince. We are at the Methodist House, a very nice facility we're sharing with two other teams tonight before making the 2-3 hour trip to Mellier in the morning. Everyone seems to be adjusting well. This will be our last day with internet access (as far as we know) until next Thursday evening, so you may not hear much, if anything, from us until then.
Our flight was excellent and we had zero problems. We enjoyed spending the night last night, eating pizza and redividing our supplies for the trip. Three of us even went by nearby Cokesbury UMC where a Disciples Bible Study class formed a circle and prayed for our mission. We were all up for the trip to Dulles by 2:15 a.m. - thank God we got some additional sleep on the plane.
Port au Prince is a bit crazy and the main fuel for vehicles seems to be the horn! Lots of rubble but also some rebuilding going on. We'll see how things are further out in the country tomorrow.
Grace and peace to all our family and friends - we need your prayers; we feel your prayers; and we believe God hear's your prayers.

In the hope that Haiti will steadily be rebuilt by God's people bit by bit,
Bob Weeks(Rich's Friend)

God's Blessing...Our God is Amazing!!

I just returned to the office from running some last minute errands before
picking up Colleen and heading to NOVA for our early morning flight to Haiti.
When I returned I noticed the message light blinking on the answering
machine.  When I pressed play there was no message.  I did check the caller
ID on my phone and saw it was a 757 area code so I returned the call. It was
Bob Weeks, the pastor from New Creation UMC that is leading our group.
After sorting out some transportation issues Bob shared an incredible story
with me.  I would like to share it with you.  I think it shows God's grace is
going with us.  Something I very much needed to be reminded of.
Bob and I went on a mission a trip to Jamaica several years ago. Bob
returned severals time after the first trip.  He met a young man that was in
seminary in Jamaica, this young man was training to be a pastor back in his
home country of Haiti.  At the beginning of this week Bob received an email
time marked 1:50 am.  It was from this young man who is now a pastor in
Haiti.  He told Bob that he had been thinking about him and wanted to know if
Bob had forgotten him.  Bob replied later that morning and told this young
Haitian pastor that we would be in Haiti next week and where we would be
serving.  What are the odds that it would be in the same area where this
pastor serves?  We will be attending his Bible study Wednesday night.  WOW
God is amazing. God's Blessings and thank you for your many prayers.  We will
keep you posted as much as possible during the week.  I hope my legs
remember some of those old soccer moves.
Grace and peace,
Rich

This is my last blog post for this trip.  Lots of mixed emotions today for Julie, Virginia and myself, as well as the Honduran staff and the families here.  It has been a day of play, of worry and concern, of tears and of laughter. 
In my photos yesterday I am a mistake.  I told you that little Genisis, pictured above was 3 months old.  Well, she does look it.  Actually she is 7 months old.  She has been our worry of the day.  Her little heart continues to work very hard to keep her oxygenated.  Her lungs continue to accumulate some fluid, that needs medication to help her body get rid of it.  When she cries she sounds like a little kitten.  But...she will smile at you when you talk to her and is very alert most of the time.  Poor Julie checked on her every hour during the night.  Please pray for her and her mother as they continue to make forward strides.
The only thing we didn´t have weather wise here today was snow and a thunderstorm.  It rained twice, it was foggy twice, the sun came out off and on, the wind would blow, it was warm and then cold.  Not sure now how I will pack for our November trip.  Most definitely will have long sleeves and a jacket.

The Chicken Dance

Bowling

Play time was a little quieter.  There are only three children old enough to be out playing.  We bowled (a new word for them), we colored, we had a couple of English lessons.  Nancy Haga and Bruce Montgomery will be excited to know there is a Honduran version of the chicken dance, and yes....we learned it!!  Much too funny!
There were many conversations in broken English and Spanish as we all tried to share our feelings about each other and enjoy the last day together.
The flurry of activity started when our newest two post-op patients arrived.  Caroline and Julio both got to the "House" having some problems.  Caroline has a fever and Julio is needing to do lots of respiratory therapy.  Julio I am not so worried about...he has cried often since his arrival.  He will get those little lungs expanded in no time.
The day would not have been complete without another attempt at making tortilla.  Julie did just great.  Mine were a major fail.  I told Berta, our cook, that they could not be used for general consumption.  I had them for my dinner.
I finally got what I call "porch time".  The Barnabas House has three porches that face the mountains and the view is constantly changing.  This is my time to be quiet and listen, to reflect and be thankful.  There are no words, as Edwardo´s mother said to me today, to explain how lives are changed in this blessed place.  If God would allow us to be in two places at once, I would be with my family in Virginia and family here in Honduras.  It is a place of pure beauty, both of nature and people.  It is a place of great need, and great joy.  I will always be thankful that God led me to this place, and has given me the skills to be of service to these people.

Pascuela and Fernando

Edwardo´s mom and I cried together this afternoon as we tried to tell each other how thankful we were that our paths had crossed.  She, and everyone else here this week, have been more of a blessing to me than I could ever be to them.  For the cost of one cardiac surgery in the US, we did procedures on almost 75 children.  That is 75 children who can now live a full life.  75 little hearts that beat stronger. 
It is time for vital signs and evening medications.  I have the last night shift before we leave tomorrow.  The day will be long, but my full heart will get me through.  Thanks so much for listening (reading ) my rambling of the week.  I hope you will keep all these families in your prayers.
One child at a time,
Patti

RICH AND COLLEEN LEAVE FOR HAITI

Rich & Colleen Meiser are leaving for their mission trip to Haiti tomorrow.  Rich just informed the office staff that he still has NOT packed!!! 
God called Colleen to Haiti and Colleen feels very passionate about this trip.  Rich is a little nervous about the trip but is excited about the work they will do once they arrive!  Colleen has stocked up on medical supplies, mainly to fight dehydration.  Their primary task while there will be to work with concrete. The weather in Haiti is currently still in the high 90's. 
Colleen noticed that Rich got a little more excited about the trip when ODU donated soccer balls and a pump for them to take to the children.  We look forward to Colleen capturing Rich's soccer skills on camera!

The Haiti response plan establishes an organizational structure for United Methodist Volunteer in Mission (UMVIM) teams to help with recovery and rebuilding in Haiti.
 Priority projects have been identified by the Eglise Methodiste d'Haiti (EMH, the Methodist Church of Haiti). Find out more at the web site www.umvimhaiti.org

Please join us in praying for a safe and successful trip for the Meisers.  Stay tuned for updates through out their week long journey!

Whew!

"Pastor" Pascuela

Wow! What a day we have had here.  The day started with rain and only one child going in for surgery.  Pascuela led us in wonderful devotions, reminding us that when we give the little that we have, it gets multipied many times.  Throughout the day four of our most "active" kids went home, including Nerlin.  But not before I had the pleasure of rocking him to sleep one more time.

We had a surprise visit from one of my favorite translators, Raphael.  It was good to see him and catch up on life.  Unfortunately, while giving him a hug hello, I was bitten by some nasty bug that has left my right arm very sore and a little swollen.  Doctora Moncada is watching it closely for me.  Sadly enough, I got extra attention from Pascuela in the form of an hour massage!  It was really tough to deal with....NOT!!  She does have magic hands!

3 month old Genisis

8 month old William

Orlyn

Ok, I know what you are thinking...where is the busy part of the day.  It came in the form of 5 new arrivals.  Four of them post surgery, with three under a year old.  Little Genisis was a add-on to Monday´s surgery list.  She is a failure to thrive baby with a huge hole in between her ventricles.  She was very close to death when she arrived at the hospital.  We are continuing to watch her very closely.  Crying makes her oxygen level drop quickly and she continues to have some fluid in her lungs.  Julie (who has night duty tonight) is going to be busy keeing a close eye on her.
It took us about two hours to get everyone settled, assessed and charts written on (yes, in Spanish...that has been a challenge).  Just as we were finally ready to sit down to eat dinner, Genisis and her mom came to the kitchen door.  Genisis was crying and obviously having some difficulties.  As we called the hospital for instructions on new medicines, I was amazed as I watched the other mothers gather around this frightened young parent.  They gave her words of encouragement and prayed with her.  They all have watched and worried over their children this week.  They have made their own support group.  God is working miracles through everyone here.

Going home!

Our day has ended as it started, with rain.  It is cool outside but our hearts are warmed.  There is joy here that many of us will never understand.  Only God´s gives that kind of joy.
One child at a time,
Patti