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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Tuesday October 21st

Hello friends and Family:

Thank you for following us and leaving messages! It's the teams favorite part of the night, so please take a moment to say hi!

On Monday after we had lunch and about 19 (we are here with 2 other groups this week) of us took a  trip to the market.  God, and our leader had other plans.  Our first destination was to the local Port-de-Paix hospital.  Port-de-Paix is a city of about 175,000 people.  There were only about 25 people checked into the hospital.  It was hard to be a group of people walking into a hospital and looking at the ill.  We had the opportunity to have conversations with some of the patients, and we also had the opportunity to pray for them.  We felt very helpless as we walked through the rooms.  The rooms very much resembled an old WWII hospital that was worn down.  All the beds are in one large room.  No sheets or pillows are on the beds- patients must bring these on their own.  There is no health care system, so they must pay cash for every service they need. All we could offer up were prayers that The Lord would watch over them and heal them.

We went to the maternity ward in the hospital.  Five of us(only one person from our group) were in the room, but the mother and the midwife gave us permission to come into the room.  We were able to see the baby being born, and pray for the baby, and family right after it was born.  This was the only room in the hospital that seemed to be well equipped.   It was a bright room- a stark contrast to the rest of the rooms in the hospital.  The father was not in the delivery room, but according to Norma, men are not a part of the birthing process.  They usually do not attend the birth and in many cases do not go to the hospital.  Most mothers give birth at home with a midwife. It was an incredible experience.

After the hospital we went to the Catholic Church in town.  We took pictures and admired the woodwork in the building.  Some stopped to pray and others sat and reflected.  Next. we were off to the market.  I wish I could even begin to describe the sensory overload that we experienced.  All the "stores" are bunched together and line the streets.  Many have their wares on the ground, just lined up.  As we stood by a store, we also witnessed our first Haitian funeral.  There was a marching band, followed by young girls carrying paper mache wreaths.  Then the pick up truck holding the casket- which had glass on part of it so you could see the deceased.  Behind the truck were the mourning family and friends.  We were told they often hire professional mourners to wail as they walk down the street to the church.  So in one day, we witnessed life and death in Haiti.

Our rooftop discussions were full of discussions of the events that unfolded while on our market trip.  We also read the notes from our loved ones, sang worship songs, and reflected on our daily tasks.

Today it seemed that everyone was a bit more settled in their tasks.  We work up and had breakfast at 6.45am.  Daily Devotional with the staff at 7.30am and class at 8am.  Rob spent the morning chasing kids while we watched and admire his ability to play.

Today we have the chance to see Haiti goods at a smaller market and a little bit of down time.

Right now we are scheduled to work in the schools till Thursday.  Friday mid morning we have to start the process of traveling home.  We will need to split into 2 flights to get back to Port-au-Prince, then Miami, them Home.

We welcome your prayers and well wishes!

Blessings~The Haiti Team

8 comments:

  1. Thoughts and prayers to all of you! Love reading your updates

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  2. Message for Tami...I am so excited about all the things your are experiencing. I hope you got to see the baby being born. That is one of the coolest experiences I have ever seen. I can't wait for you to get home so you can tell me EVERYTHING! I love you and miss you dear sister.
    Message to the rest of the group...May God bless the remainder of your trip. Please give Tami a hug from her sister ;-)

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  3. So happy to get to follow your day and know that you are all being touched in some way by these people and their country. Stay safe and thanks for,sharing!

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    1. This is Donna Henrici btw, my profile wasn't showing my name xo

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  4. To Lisa & group-hope God is using you just the way you were hoping! Have a safe trip home! Love-Mom & Dad

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  5. What a blessed day to witness the miracle of life and the somberness of death in one day. Going on a mission trip, you kinda think you might know what you'll be doing and maybe what to expect, but then the unexpected happens and you realize that God is in control and you just sit back for the ride. Incredible journey and I look forward to more stories.

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  6. Laura, so proud of you and can't wait to hear about how God has used you and blessed you. Beth
    Jennifer posted this message for you on Facebook: hi mommy!!!!! I love u & im so proud of u. this is completely awsemone what u guys r doin...imam keep checkin fb to c if u were able to write back....I love u so very much

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  7. Laura, here's another message from that girl who loves you! I love u mom. thinking of u &praying for u & those lives u touch with ur kindness & love...im sooooooo proud of u!"

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