Mission Trip

On Thursday, October 14, 2010 Widerson was brought back home in the arms of Pastor Henry and friends from Fayette Baptist church.
A miracle child, found in the mountains of Sufferrier by one of our medical teams, diagnosed with Retinal blastoma and a very grim future. But, with one doctors determination( DR. Laurel Coleman) and others giving generously, Widerson was given a second chance to life.
He is back in Haiti! Living with a loving family, attending school and is happy and healthy. Thank you God!

Romans 12:13, Share with Gods people who are in need.

The second team that came in were led by Pastor Henry, and one of our board of directors Rock West. Several on the team had never gone on a short term missions trip.
They had incredible hearts and were willing to roll up their sleaves and help where they could. I am not sure if you have experienced this, but it seems like the people that have the least give the most. This team was always ready to share, and surrounded me with love and encouragement. We did have a busy week planned for them.
The men had prepared to help with one of our work projects. Our clinic in Labruyere need a cement floor laid where the patients wait. They met with our mangaer Max and our project boss Anthony. Lots of preparation was needed. Anthony, worked up the materials list and prepared the way. By the time the team got to the clinic, many were busy at work. Hauling sand, gravel, large barrels of river water,digging and spreading. Anything you do in Haiti, especially in the country is difficult. Everything is done by hand, we do not have the luxury of small equipment. It always turns out to be an event and wonderful fellowship. These projects improve our clinics but also gives some of the men work they wouldn't have. It opens our eyes to the conditons many live in and how hard they have to work. The best part is even though they don't know each other by the end of the week friendships are formed, lunches and laughter were shared. One memorable moment, was when Anthony the boss, gave some young men work gloves. They weren't part of the core group, but had helped some through out the week. There smiles were big and they jumped up and dowm, thrilled to get these gloves. Pastor Henry visited the bosses house, met his family and prayed for them on. It was an eventful week.
The ladies on the team helped me with the mission house. Organizing, cleaning and encouraging me along the way. It was wonderful to have their support. We were blessed to have a Dental hygentist on the team, she had prepared a school program. She visited 2 schools and was received graciously. This went right along with our school screening program. She was pleased with the condition of the childrens teeth. She demonstrated proper brushing, showed pictures,reinforced good nutrition and good dental hygiene. They learned a song and did some arts and crafts. Everyone enjoyed this time. At the end, the team shared a bible story, performed a skit and sang some songs.
Back home at the missions house, some of the ladies help fill some small basins with baby items that have been donated and will be given to our staff to give to the parents for their babies.
The last week in Haiti, there was news of a Cholera outbreak. We did what we could to prepare for this outbreakd and especially if things got worse. Our nurse took time to educate our patients on cholera and taught them what to do. The schools were also teaching the students. The department of health began to hold inservices and meetings with community workers and public health workers. Our nurses attended these meeetings. When we left the Cholera outbreak had not reached our area. It was in the area of St. Marc. which is south of us.
We are very thankful for the teams that join in and help support our ministry and work along side our dedicated staff and family. The teams help in so many ways. One big way is by praying. They got a peak of Haiti and our wonderful ministry.

Haitian Ministries continues their amazing journey. The 3 years of praying about the desire to implement a

school health program has become a reality!! Haitian Ministries and Schooling Christian Haitian's Out Of Love, Inc., joined forces and began a health screening initiation on Sept. 29th at LaBruyere and Lassoudray elementary schools (K-6).

The nursing team did a general assessment on a number of children collecting information from parents concerning their childs general health. We were happy to find that most children had received vaccines prior to attending school and their overall health was better than expected.

The nurses took this opportunity to teach the children and parents about hygiene, nutrition, and eye exams were given.

In Lassoudry, a woman arrived asking for help with her son who was very sick. When the school screenings were complete for the day, the nurses walked to the mother's home to assess the needs of the son. His mother explained he had been sick for about four years but the last 9 months had gotten progressively worse. He was lying on the floor in pain and short of breath.

The nurses and Pastor Rosa prayed with the mother and her son and said they would return in the morning early with supplies. The nurses arrived the next morning, being met by a distraught and crying face that relayed in Haitian Creole that her son had passed away. The team comforted the mother with their love, providing her support during her grieving.

The next day when they were in Lassoudray again, they visited the mother. She was pleased to see them and receive their love.

Back at the mission house, a prayer and song would always be a part of the team's time together.

Whether at meal time or just before bed time, it was a welcome event at the end of an exhausting day in the field.

The Church Services we attended were filled with praise and handraising to Our Lord. United we look to the Lord for hope and unconditional love that only He can provide. -

The Theme of this weeks experiences at the Mission House was "Love". How appropriate!!

Our scripture verse was 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Bonjour one and all!

Two weeks have sure flown by fast :) It's hard to know where to begin, or how to describe the country that has had so much publicity and attention over the past couple weeks. But the images that stick in my mind are of the beautiful people; women with huge bundles or buckets balancing atop their heads, men sauntering along in groups singing acapella into the ocean breeze, while children peek out from behind rusty tin doors, and catching a sight of my white skin shout, "Blanc! Blanc!" (white!) and giggle hilariously. Yes, the contrasts were great in many senses :) Other images that I shall not forget easily are those of rubbish filled streets and rivers, dust like fog that filled the roads and then filtered through barred windows into peoples homes, shanties and slums, with children playing on open roofs above the busy markets below. I'd never seen anything like it, but it reminded me a little of the images I'd seen of Calcutta, India.

Firstly, just to clarify, I never actually went to the Port au Prince area, or even close to there. This trip had been scheduled a couple months ahead of time, and it was planned that the team would visit rural medical clinics in and around the city of Cap Haitian, on the North Coast. So the first week we basically did as planned. I was with a team of 6 others - 2 doctors, 1 nurse, 1 translator and 2 pastors - and then me the student :) And boy did I learn a lot! Two of the days we visited clinics that are run by very capable Haitian nurses. It was interesting seeing the types of problems and sicknesses they had to be prepared to deal with - from scabies and malaria, to birth control and immunisations. The medical team has to carry all their equipment with them, as theft is a big problem due to the desperate situations everywhere.

On Saturday we left early and drove out to the base of a mountain. Then, loading supplies onto the backs of a couple donkeys, we hiked up into the stunning hillsides of Northern Haiti. What a beautiful country Haiti is....Mountains beyond mountains extending far into the distance, deep troughs plowed neatly across steep hillsides, and children running freely down into the valleys below. Two hours later we arrived at the village of La Suffriere (meaning 'the place of suffering'). We went with a Haitian nurse named Prudence who, with her husband, has been traveling up there for 20 years, planting and building a church and running a clinic. They have seen hundreds of people saved over those years, and seen the power of God to set villagers free from the bondage of voodoo-ism and transform them into people who worship and love the Lord. Praise God that He is so able to turn a "place of suffering" into a place of hope! We spent about 5 hours in La Suffriere, the doctors and nurses seeing over 170 patients in total. My job for the day was to take blood pressures of each one - great practice, though my ears were a little sore afterwards :) Aunt Laurel saw the most serious case; a little boy about 3-4 years old, whom Laurel thought had a retinal blastoma (or a tumor behind one eye). His right eye was protruding a little from the socket, and he had lost all sight on that side. Due to the severity of his situation, he and his mother hiked back down with us to the base of the mountain, so that they could go to the city hospital to be seen by a specialist. Again we realised how perfect God's timing really was, as the day the mother was able to take her son to the hospital there was a visiting American doctor, an opthamologist, who was able to confirm the diagnosis. Right now, the American medical team are still discussing whether to fly the boy and mother into the States for surgery, or do the operation in Haiti. Without this speedy operation, the boy could well have died. God is so good, and I was reminded many times these past couple weeks of what an honour it is to be His child and be guided by His hands.

Church was awesome. Sunday morning we went to Pastor Santiel's church situated in the poorer district and slums of the city. It was beautiful and really special to be able to worship with Haitian brothers and sisters; though separated by language, we were united in love for the Lord. And boy do they love the Lord. I think one thing that God was illustrating to me through the Haitian people was complete dependance on Him. These people had nothing else but the Lord - no assurance of their next meal, or of saftey or health, no hope outside of Jesus. Yet that same dependance is what God desires of me, to trust in Him with all my heart, and lean not on any understanding or knowledge or security outside of God. I too have no hope outside of Jesus, yet the comforts that fill our western world serve to deceive us and blind us to how empty and helpless we really are. I want to learn to live like the Haitian believers - praising God in all circumstances, and trusting in Him alone with all my heart!

On Tuesday the 26th, half of the team left, while half of us stayed on. I spent the majority of that week up at the local gymnasium, which had been opened up to accomodate the hundreds of refugees fleeing Port au Prince and arriving in Cap Haitian by the busload. The displaced Haitians were being processed by the city council, but it was pretty unorganised. A lot of the people were wounded, most traumatized, and needed medical attention. There was another US medical team in charge of taking care of the refugees, and so for a few days I was able to help them. I did little things - taking blood pressures and temperatures, learned how to give an injection :) handing out water and food, taking patients to the bathroom, and just sitting and praying with others. It was great though, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity I had to be involved, serving in small ways, and learning lots. I think one of the main feelings I had during that week was a feeling of helplessness and inadequateness for the situations that I was facing. What do you say or what can you do for a woman who has lost all three sons in one day? Or a young widow who sobs while waiting in line, as she is reminded of her two children now dead? I don't know. But God knows, and in that I had to rest. God tells us to weep with those who weep, mourn with those who mourn. Praise God that He is the Healer of the broken hearted, Restorer of what has been lost.

I really believe that this is a time for us to rise up in prayer and financial support of the churches in Haiti. The pastors of churches all around Haiti are seeing an influx in their communities as people flee Port au Prince to live with family members all over the country. Yet the people and the churches are usually very ill equipped to meet the physical needs of the refugees. Healing and restoration is going to be a long process, one that can only happen through the Lord, and this is a vital time for the western church to encourage and support our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

I know this is a terribly long email already, so only two more paragraphs I promise! You've done well to make it this far :) During the second week we were also able to get in touch with and visit about 10 beautiful orphan kids, recently transported from the capital. These kids had nothing when they arrived in Cap Haitian - they had lost their parents, homes, and everything they owned in the earthquake, and were gathered onto a bus and dropped off in the streets of Cap Haitian. They banded together, and found a lady willing to help them, who put them up in a vacant house out of town. It was hard to see and to feel the pain and loss these kids faced - Pam and Luke (the couple I stayed with) brought supplies, bedding, toys and activities, and we were able to visit them almost everyday until we left. I had fun playing with the kids, sitting with others, and pretending to understand as the little ones rattled on in Creole :) They are so sweet, and leaving Haiti became hard mostly due to them. At this point I feel like the only thing I can do really is pray for them, for their protection and God's healing and comfort in their hearts. The UN now knows where they are, and so food supplies and other basics should be taken care of. I've been realising that it's one thing to see the news and feel sorry, and another to discover that 'tragedy' isn't just a word, but a face, a touch, an empty pair of eyes.

But I'll stop there...whew, you say :) Sorry for the length...I'm not very good at summerising. Last thing was that I wanted to thank each of you so much for your faithful prayers and encouragement to me while I was in Haiti - I know that God was so present, protecting, guiding, and blessing me abundantly! I was not sick at all, nor every felt in danger or afraid. Thank you my faithful prayer warriors :) God is good; I sure don't deserve His blessings that surround me everyday. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask, and I look forward to catching up with some of you soon in person!

Have an awesome & blessed week,

love Hannah

PS. Here's a link to some photos if you're interested (might have to copy and paste it):

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=149124&id=799583747&l=3e637178a9

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Our friends in Haiti continue to praise God and press forward in a country that is very difficult to find work and feed families. The remnants of the earthquake disaster will be felt for a long time. We saw some difficult things and heard many stories from hurting people. But we also heard many miracle stories. We saw a little girl that was pulled out from under a school that had fallen on her and she didn't have a scratch on her. Another young girl jumped off a collapsing building and a man caught her in his arms.


There were many other stories shared by people telling us how they lost everything and everyone.

It was a difficult trip. To be honest there were times our words sounded empty and meaningless. I would search the scripture to find what God wanted me to share to comfort and even then, the words seemed inadequate for the magnitude of what the men, women and children were living.

It was a time of trusting God for His faithfulness in others lives. God was the only thing they had to rely on, they had nothing else. We had to trust God because we were so inadequate.
Through it all God was directing our paths hearing our cry of help ( Isa.30;19)

We have children that have touched our lives and have left their little foot
prints on our hearts.

and remembering our ways are not His and we have to trust the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding...(prov. 3;5)

o

Matthew 28:20b "I am with you always."

The January trip to Haiti had been scheduled for months ahead of time. Then January 12th arrived and disaster struck Port au Prince. I was at home, and our family was all there. The phone rang and our son answered, and said "Mom, you better sit down and turn on the TV." From that point on, life became a flurry. Phone calls, emails, anxious friends and family. We couldn't pull ourselves from the screen, and the images of the earthquake and the destruction it caused. Our hearts ached for our friends and the people of Haiti. By a miracle, I got through that night to Miss Pat, and she reassured us that everyone in the North were safe. They had felt tremors, but no structural damage was caused.

Luke and I arrived in Vero, a few days before joining up with the team. In our minds we knew that Missionary Flights International would be needing volunteers at this critical time. We have flown with MFI over the past 12 years, and have come to rely on their faithful service. For the next couple days we experienced first hand the tremendous work that is involved in disaster relief. We were in awe of the commitment of all the staff and volunteer pulling together day and night to send thousands of pounds of much needed supplies to Haiti. My hat's off to this wonderful organisation, with 40 years of service, whose motto is "standing in the gap". Thank you and God bless you MFI!



The team continued to prepare for our departure to Haiti on the 19th, though not knowing what would await us nor where we'd be needed the most.

After getting settled at the mission house, we checked in at the largest hospital in Cap Haitian to see if we could be of assistance. At that time, the displaced and injured people of Port au Prince had not yet begun to arrive in the North. We were starting to hear that thousands of refugees were predicted to arrive over the coming days, in a city that already is overpopulated and impoverished.

The next day, the team set out to visit our clinic in Lasoudrey and observe the elderly feeding program there. It was a great chance for the team to experience the rough roads, the beautiful countryside, and smiling faces shouting out "blanc! blanc!" along the way. I think they gained a greater appreciation for the staff's commitment to travel to and work at the clinics week after week.


Throughout the week, we were blessed to share in the many joyous occasions of families who'd received the news that their long awaited adoptions had finally been approved!

Saturday we rose early, and drove to the base of a mountain outside the city. Backpacks full, and donkeys loaded, we wound our way up and around the stunning Haitian countryside, our destination La Soufrierre, meaning "the place of suffering". Praise God that He is transforming places of suffering into places of hope! After 2 hours, we were greeted by over 200 people waiting in an overcrowded church building, without power or water, to be seen by the doctors. After introducing ourselves, we joined in a time of song and prayer. The time passed quickly as everyone stayed busy in their various roles - from consulting 170 patients in total, to translating the various c/o, to distributing medication.

I will share about one little boy who I believe really is a miracle story; Dr Laurel examined a young boy, maybe three years old, and immediately noticed one eye was swollen and pushing out from the socket. His pupil was fixed and dialated, and he had no sight in that eye. Realising that this child could be facing a very serious situation, she consulted with the Haitian nurse to arrange for him to come down the mountain to the hospital in Cap. The doctor suspected a retinal blastoma, that untreated could result in death. On Monday, we searched the hospital to find this little boy, not being able to contact his family member. Things looked pretty grim, and we doubted whether we would find him. However, later in the day we discovered we discovered that not only had he been seen by a visiting American doctor, but the precise specialist that he needed! The doctor suspected a brain tumor, and made arrangements for the little boy to be flown with them back to the US. God's timing is so perfect!

On Monday, the city of Cap Haitian began to feel the influx of displaced people arriving from Port au Prince. Wounded, hungry and traumatized, the refugees arrived by the busloads, and were slowly processed through the hospital. The city's gymnasium was opened up, and all refugees had the opportunity to be seen by US and Haitian physicians, nurses, and psychologists, and receive food supplies. Each day there is mounting tension, rumors of unrest, and a great sadness that lies heavy on many people's hearts. You cannot find anyone who has been left untouched by this tragedy, whether a family member or friend.


We have been praying throughout the week for God to show us how where we can give. A Haitian woman aiding the relief work at the gym, told Luke their were 15 orphans she was housing that had no food, clothes, or family. Today we went to visit the children and found them in an empty house, with no furniture. The woman had no means of providing, but knew this was an vacant building that could house these kids. We took a couple boxes of shoes, toys, and clothing, beans, rice and corn, and tomorrow we will plan on visiting the children, and each day until we leave. These kids have tremendous emotional needs, as well as the basic physical. One young man told us the mosqitoes were terrible, so we will buy mosqito nets, matresses, and blankets for these children.

It's hard to understand the tragedy that shaken this country and it's people. We don't understand why God allows the innocent to suffer. But I do know that Jesus suffered, and that He is with us always. He is unshakeable, and in that we have hope.