The first mission team of the month has already come and gone. Right now they are in some airplane or airport on their way to their respective homes. It was an interesting group comprised of several smaller groups from different communities. The main focus was medical clinics and some building projects in the Mission Haiti compound. Everything went very smoothly, for Haitian standards anyway, and many memories were made. We hope the seeds planted this week will bear a great harvest for God. Below are some pictures of the group, information about each individual, and some of their reflections on the week. After that is a short update about the ministry and our family.
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Matt, Tricia, and Kelsey Spading from Charles City, Iowa, with their friend, Elizabeth Baridon (on the left). Matt is a trust officer, Tricia is a nurse, Kelsey is a senior at University of Northern Iowa, and Elizabeth is a nurse in Cedar Falls. |
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Dean and Sara Stewart from Charles City, Iowa. Dean is a realtor and Sara is a speech pathologist. |
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Darrel Hansen (left) and Jerry Snyders (right) from Larchwood, Iowa. Darrel works in construction and Jerry does construction and farming. These guys are heading up the building of a roof on a new house here, an addition to our meeting area, and some other small projects. They are staying for 2 weeks. |
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Diane and Ashley Van Kley from Rock Valley, Iowa. Dianne is a nurse and was on her 4th trip to Haiti. Ashley is a beautician and a waitress and was on her 3rd trip. This mother/daughter team wanted to take a trip here together before Ashley gets married next June. |
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Ty Ford from Sioux Falls, SD. Ty is a musician and student and is on his 2nd trip here. Previously he visited with his fellow bandmates in the group “Scarlet Letter.” Ty did all of the Bible teaching each night at youth group, covering the “Spiritual Disciplines.” |
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| Michael...fighting for life on day #1 with us |
QOUTES FROM THE TEAM:
“This was an eye opener for my 1st trip to Haiti or any other 3rd world country. My experiences here included shock, despair, wonder, and hope. Many, many touching encounters this week." -Matt
“Watching God at work was unbelievable” -Dianne
“It was awesome getting to spend so much time with my sponsor child!” -Ashley
“What a privilege to be put in a place to reach out to a people in true need, to look in their pleading eyes and love them with touch, prayer, and medicine. Incredibly humbling to give hope by providing things that Americans take for granted – Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, cough medicine, antacid tablets, bandaids, antibiotic ointment, vitamins. We are inconvenienced by a 30 minute wait at the doctor's office – some of the people we saw walked for hours to reach the clinic...carrying their sick child...up a mountain. An infant very near death was carried in her mother's arms to our clinic only to turn around and ago with us quickly (30 minutes) down the mountain, stopping only once to give syringe-fuls of water to the tiny (4.4 lbs.) 4-week-old who was severely dehydrated and barely breathing, eyes sunken, wrinkled skin. Faced with another 20 minute walk back to Mission Haiti, Cory paid for a motorcycle ride for the mom, infant, and myself. She took small feedings and now continues to improve and is more active after each nap. God blessed this baby and we were there to watch His miracle unfold. One of many stories from this week. Do you feel close to God, alive, and and active in your faith? If not, find someone who is hurting or in need and meet them there – God will be there.”
-Tricia
After baby Michael (not sure about spelling) came here, she weighed 4.4 lbs, as Tricia noted above. After four days of eating formula she was up to 5.4. Nice improvement! She looks much better. The parents came to see her and were very excited and relieved. The story is that the mom couldn't produce milk, and they were keeping her alive on some homemade formula comprised of various ingredients. It really is a miracle they kept her alive that long. We are pretty sure she will be fine after another week or so here and then being sent home with plenty of formula.
Today is our “down time” for cleaning the mission house and yard, going to the city to get more supplies, helping both the American and Haitian work crews in our yard keep on track, trying to squeeze out a few hours of family time, catching up on the blog and monthly ministry reports, and getting ready for the next team's arrival tomorrow. Today is day 365 of our Haitian Adventure, which means tomorrow is the anniversary of when it all began! We'll try to put together a post to look back a little bit at the best and worst moments of our first year in Haiti. Thanks to all who are holding us up in prayer on a regular basis and over this first year. God bless you all!
God Bless!
-The Grimms
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