Hi Everyone,

We’ve been a little slow getting back to you but we arrived in Port Salut yesterday after a truly eventful trip making us very thankful for your prayers as God certainly took care of us. It started with Pastor Ewal’s truck breaking down so we had to rent a vehicle and driver.   The driver decided we should leave at 3am but changed his mind and woke us at 2am so he could leave earlier (we still left at 3)to avoid any protest demonstrations (the recount of the election of senators overturned 17 of the candidates). It was raining heavy but completely stopped after we got out of Jacmel which we were very grateful for. About an hour later we got a phone call from the person who was coming in to Port au Prince to meet us, to say that the road was blocked so they would not be coming. We were quite relieved to find our friend Dr. Rudolph just happened (God’s provision) to be in Port so he came and picked us up and then we headed over to the airport to get Ricot and Mandie who had just arrived from the US.  After some discussions we came up with the idea of calling MAF (Mission Aviation Flights). They just happened ( God’s care again) to have an immediate opening so within the hour we were all crammed into a little 6 seat Cessna 206 and enjoyed a lovely flight skipping over all the road problems. Friends (Doris and Franz) had a wonderful meal waiting when we arrived which we thoroughly enjoyed having been up so early and having had only a snack.

Our week in Jacmel was a typical week in Haiti, things did not go as we planned but overall we felt good about our time there and had some very memorable experiences. One was the wedding of a girl who attended the church. The wedding was held outdoors as the groom’s church is too damaged to go inside.  It was a very rocky location and the bride and bridesmaids had quite the challenge trying to negotiate the terrain in their high heels. Two large choirs participated which was very nice. Everyone was truly dressed in their finest and I mean ‘fancy’ which is so amazing when you know how basic the living conditions are.  Afterwards it was quite the scene with as many as possible crammed into the back of a half ton truck, which we followed in the Pastor’s jeep, and a police vehicle (the groom is a police officer).  We paraded through the dusty, dimly lit streets of Jacmel honking our horns as well as intermittingly setting off the siren. It was quite the party time! Pastor Ewal was so pleased as the bride is an orphan girl from his church and she was marrying a very nice Christian man who would be able to provide for the family.

Good Friday was a very special service as various individuals in the church took turns reading the Bible passages leading up to Jesus crucification.  There was lots of singing and a  message followed by the baptism of 6 new believers. One was the young orphan boy that Pastor Ewal took into his family last year and it was wonderful to see him so happy and keen to follow the Lord. We were a little taken back when one person in the audience protested the baptism of one of the believers but the pastor went to his office with her and the lady waiting to be baptised. The issue was resolved and the baptism went ahead.

Easter Sunday we enjoyed a big Haitian meal with all of Pastor Ewal’s family sitting down to the table, an unusual thing for them to do.  Children just eat their food as they pass through the house. We even had some cake and ice cream, bought at a little restaurant that has just opened up.  The icing on the cake was that we got phone calls from all our boys and even my mom and two sisters. We purchased a cell phone to have here and it really has been great.

Whenever we had a break we tried to see a few of the homes that have been built or repaired with your donations. I had the privilege of receiving all the hugs and kisses and I wish it could have been some of you. It really is a blessing to be able to share with others and see the happiness it brings into their lives.  One man was so upset because he didn’t have time to prepare for our visit. While we were chatting, he suddenly went over and chopped down a big banana tree which came down with quite the thud.  I wished we knew what he was going to do and could have taken a video clip. He gave us the whole stock just to show his thanks and the next day at church he arrived with a bunch of mangoes. (We are loving all these mangoes and even developing preferences for our favorites.)

The medical clinics were not as busy as they have been in the past.  Hypertension was the biggest problem that we continue to see a lot of. Being the ‘silent killer’, it is very difficult to convince people that they should stay on their meds.  You might find it interesting to hear the blood pressure readings from one days clinic held in a little community called Meyer -  200/100,  170/110, 240/120, 150/100, 180/100.  We give them all cards with their reading and their meds and a follow-up date and place but it’s still very hard to get them to follow through. Foods also tend to have a lot of salt which is a very difficult to change.

Paul has had a very challenging time dealing with a very bad infection in his foot so has had to really slow down.  He stubbed his toe on a rock last Tuesday and thought nothing of it.  However the next day it started to get very sore and by the afternoon he could tell he had an abscess. He did all the good things he should – hot soaks, antibiotic, elevate his foot and even drained the abscess but the infection continued to spread leading to a swollen red ankle and some redness of his foot. Last night he had to add another antibiotic onto the regime and he thinks it may now be under control but he will continue to be very careful.

We’re enjoying being in Port Salut and look forward to helping Ricot and Mandie in their plans for development here. We’ll fill you in more on our next email.

Lots of love,

Paul and Mary

It’s so beautiful here, you’d all be jealous if you could see where we are staying. The hospital is built on a hillside surrounded by trees. We’ve had several downpours of rain with the sun shining in between so everything is very green. The temperature stays around 26C which is cool compared to much of Haiti. At night we go to sleep to the sound of the crickets. Morning however is a totally different experience with the sounds of roosters, dogs, people, vehicles and horns all creating an “impossible to ignore” wakeup call. Our room is near the hospital gate so it’s quite the beehive of activity.

Paul is finding the medicine as challenging as ever. His translator is a medical student so it’s a good teaching opportunity. Some of his patient’s illnesses include congestive heart failure, kidney disease, diabetic complications, AIDS complications, and stroke with paralysis. Dr. Rudolph mostly does the orthopedics and there are a lot of people with wounds and multiple fractures from motorcycle and car accidents.

I have been helping with physio and the patients are very appreciative and of course get lots of laughs out of my attempts to speak Creole. One very nice young fellow, Victor, was hit by a bullet during the trouble after the election results last Nov. The bullet went through his bladder, bowel, and hip so he has had lots of problems but he’s very cheerful and really tries to do his best. Another fellow, Jean, lost almost all of his arm and fractured his leg in a car accident but he too is also very cheerful and works very hard on his physio. Today I enjoyed making rounds with the pastor, praying with the patients and handing out some children’s Creole Bible story books and a few toys I had brought. Tomorrow I’m hoping to do some teaching with our 2 diabetic patients. We’ve really enjoyed visiting with the various people we have come to know after our many visits here. One young fellow with excellent English managed to get a job cleaning on a cruise ship so he is just back after an 8 month stint away. He is a very talented singer and musician and has directed a fantastic men’s choir. They are just preparing for Easter Sunday and we are hoping we can listen to one of their practices.

Sunday we will leave here and travel with Pastor Ewal to Jacmel so we look forward to our time with him and the people there. As always we appreciate your prayers as we travel.

Love

Paul and Mary

Hi Everyone

We’ve arrived safe and sound and with all our medicine and supplies!  We are so thankful for all your prayers and God’s provision. We had a little bit of a surprise the night before we left. We had just printed off our boarding passes for the next morning when we received a phone call from American Airlines telling us they were ‘sorry for any inconvenience’ but our flight was cancelled.  We couldn’t believe it was true but after nearly 2 hours on the phone with an AA agent we had an alternative flight for later in the day which still allowed us to make our connection in Dallas for Miami.

The temperature was a balmy 30C when we arrived so it always is a bit of an adjustment. Our flight got in early so we had a little wait interacting with all the baggage handlers until our friend Dr Rudolph arrived. It was great to spend the afternoon at his home where his wife and mother prepared us a wonderful Haitian meal. At 4 pm we enjoyed a half hour flight in a small plane taking us into Cayes.  There was another little surprise – the missionary lady who has been overseeing the running of the hospital, fell playing basketball and broke her wrist a few days earlier so she had returned to the US. She is a tall thin lady who played basketball in college but her bones aren’t as strong as they once where and she had 3 fractures.  Someone else met us and took us up to the hospital. It was a usual one hour drive to go the 12 miles but there are several piles of gravel to repair where the road washed our several years ago so that was encouraging.

We have just been able to get the internet connection working so we’ll get this note off to you. The power has now gone out and we don’t have much battery power.

Lots of love
Paul and Mary