Meetings, Reports and Trainings

It has been a busy time since the last post. School has been in session and I have taught my one hour of National Exam Preparation class each week. I have also helped out in the office. But much of my time has been spent in community meetings and other one on one meetings concerning a transition at HAFF. There will be more about that soon, but for now, just please help us pray that God's will will be done and His Name glorified in the transition.

The last couple of weeks I have been busy mostly with working on the big report for the Haitian government that is due each year at this time. Many of the Haitian and American staff have been helping supply me with information, but with Barb and Greg in the States for the board meeting and Christmas, I have had Teresa Nesman helping me with the actual filling out of the government forms. Teresa is at HAFF for a year to help out. And she has been a wonderful help in many ways so far.

I have also spent my two to three hours a week in the eyeglass clinic. It has been almost miraculous how Becky and Teresa and I have been able to find glasses for the people who come in each week. Even most of those with odd prescriptions have found something that helps them see, even if they are not the most stylish glasses! Very few have been turned away disappointed because we didn't have their prescription or glasses they liked. Becky and I have made a point of giving each person who receives glasses a Haitian Creole tract explaining how to find Jesus as their Savior. Many of the people who come to the clinic are pastors or church leaders or other Christians, but they still get a tract which they can pass on to someone else.

This past Monday I had the fun and privilege of speaking to 67 women at a conference in Monac -- about 5 miles south west of HAFF. I was asked to speak about cholera, so I gave them information about what it is, how it is transmitted, how to treat it and, most importantly, how to prevent it.
But, I also used the opportunity to share Matthew 24:42-45 which talks about how if the home owner had known the thief was coming in the night, he would have been ready for him. I reminded the ladies that in the same way, life is uncertain. It is even more uncertain when severe, untreated cholera can kill within 2 or 3 hours of the onset of symptoms. Therefore there is a need to be sure they have a right relationship with God and to make sure others do as well.

Finally, on Tuesday I had the pleasure of sharing devotions with the ladies of the Godly Woman class. We looked at the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus and how all the accounts we have of her life are written to shine light on the life and work of Jesus. I challenged the ladies and myself to make sure our lives shine a light on Jesus and to give our lives completely to Christ so that our lives show Christ.

I will be leaving Haiti Thursday Dec 16, Lord willing and the airports stay open and the MFI planes remain in good repair! I take the Auto Train to State College the 17th to spend my first Christmas in State College in 4 years. My uncle from Texas will be joining me and between Christmas and New Years, we will be visiting family and friends further east in Pennsylvania.

Veterinarians, Cholera and a Hurricane

I have long been fond of saying that Bohoc, Haiti, like State College, Pennsylvania, is equally inaccessible from all directions. With Interstate 99 coming through, that is changing somewhat for State College. And with the National Route 3 paving project getting closer to Hinche, it is on the verge of changing for Bohoc as well.
But thankfully, our inaccessibility to hurricanes will not change due to a paving project. The mountains that have protected this area from the ill effects of hurricanes for generations have done so again the last couple of days. By the grace of God Hurricane Tomas did not make landfall at all in Haiti, but passing Haiti closely, it did create flooding problems along the south coast. Here on the Central Plateau we just got several days of nice rain that we needed to keep the sugar cane, sweet potatoes, manioc, plantains, beans and peanuts growing. Thanks for your prayers for us and please pray for those who were hard hit by the hurricane.

The cholera epidemic has moved a bit closer. We have heard of cases in St Michel northwest of us and in Hinche to the south. So far there have been no cases here in the Pignon area, that I know of. Our personal water supply here at HAFF is a deep well on the HAFF property. We all either boil or filter our drinking water. The community has several wells as well as a couple of springs from which they can get their water. And, as of a couple weeks ago, 60 families in the area have the same water filter that HAFF uses at the dorm and that some of the HAFF staff use in their homes. Please pray that the epidemic would be stopped and no more people would die or be infected.

One of the best parts of the last two weeks or so was the Veterinary team from Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island. Three Veterinarians, three veterinary students and a vet agent came and spent 8 days at HAFF working with 12 local veterinary agents.

It was an intense 8 days.

There were two days of seminars where the Canadian team taught the Haitians about the anatomy and physiology of the digestive and respiratory systems in horses and cattle, how to tell the age of animals from their teeth, how to estimate the weight of animals and then how to calculate dosages of medication, and how to safely restrain and move animals. If you right click on the photo montage at the left (and any of the ones following), you can open it in a new window and better see the details.

There were also two days of clinics. In Bohoc and in the mountains of Cercady the combined team of Haitian and Canadian clinicians vaccinated and de-wormed 1028 animals – cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, pigs, goats, dogs, cats and a few chickens – for 173 farmers. Some of those animals also had illnesses treated or wounds dressed.A fifth morning was spent doing labs for the students at Bohoc Training Institute – HAFF's secondary school. The Haitian veterinary agents who had attended the seminars shared with the students about safe animal restraint, telling the age of animals from their teeth, estimating the weight of animals, the respiratory and digestive systems of cattle and horses and discussing humane treatment of animals.
A fifth morning was spent doing labs for the students at Bohoc Training Institute – HAFF's secondary school. The Haitian veterinary agents who had attended the seminars shared with the students about safe animal restraint, telling the age of animals from their teeth, estimating the weight of animals, the respiratory and digestive systems of cattle and horses and discussing humane treatment of animals.
The afternoon of the day of the labs was spent training a group of 50 young people and their parents about goat care. Young people from 5 communities were chosen by the Community Relief Committee to receive goats to raise. 5 goats were given to each community group of 10 youth. Each goat was given a collar and each group of young goat owners received a pair of hoof trimmers and a tape for estimating the weight of goats so the group could keep track of the condition and growth of their goats. The goats were vaccinated and de-wormed before they were taken to their new homes.
Saturday morning that the team was at HAFF was spent at the Pignon market. After lunch in town, the team helped assemble the above mentioned water filters before they were distributed to the families.

We are well. We are busy!

You may have heard about the 49 people who have died and the 450 people who are sick in the central part of Haiti. We have too. That appears to be mostly located south west of where we are on the Northern Central Plateau. So far, thankfully, nothing seems to be happening in our area that resembles the diarrhea others are suffering. Thank you for your prayers for the families affected and for our continued safety and health.
We are, however, very busy with a team of veterinarians and veterinary students from Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, Canada. They arrived here at HAFF yesterday and will be here for 8 days. Today we had our first of 2 seminars for local veterinary agents. The seminars were on techniques for safely restraining the various animals the agents work with and estimating the age and the weight of the animals.

The exciting part is the sharing that happens at the seminars. For example, in the photo at left, Philemy from Pignon shows Kristen and Lloyd from Canada a new, and quicker method for tying a quick release knot. Quick release knots are essential for assuring the safety of animals tied up for any period of time. An animal tangled in a rope needs to be released as quickly as possible to prevent injury to the animal and to any people who may be around.

The week to come will include 2 veterinary clinics, a number of home visits, labs at HAFF's secondary school, a talk to the Godly Leaders class about leadership in good animal care and a training session for 50 young people who will be receiving goats from the local Community Relief Committee. Pray for us all for safety, wisdom and a clear exchange of knowledge.

An Adventure and an Encouragement

This is a photo from a few years ago showing the HAFF Land Cruiser taking its first outing to market in Pignon with Barb and Greg Van Schoyck and a team from Fort Myers, FL. Last evening, the vehicle was put to another use. It became first an ambulance and then a delivery room!

As the only North American on campus at the moment, I get all the calls to take people to the hospital. HAFF's driver, Elizert has been keeping the vehicle some nights to give me a break. Last night it was my turn. About 7:20, I was advised that a woman on the other side of the Bohoc River (maybe 2 miles from HAFF) was having trouble having her baby. So, head night guard Ezayi and I got in the Land Cruiser and went to pick her up. We didn't get back to HAFF for another 3 hours!

Imagine a pregnant woman laying on the bench in the back to the right in the above photo. Imagine the midwife sitting with her, her mother and several others sitting across from her. Imagine basins and buckets and a foam pad and a suitcase and a spare tire piled in between. The road is terribly rough right now. Each bump elicited an, "I'm falling!" or a "Don't go so fast!" from the pregnant woman. At one point the speedometer needle was registering 0 (even though we were moving) and she was asking me to go still slower!

About an hour after leaving HAFF we stopped in LaJeune (normally that trip would take about 30 minutes) to see if anyone was at the small hospital there. No one was there and the employee who lives nearby doesn't have a key. So, we headed on toward the Pignon Hospital singing and praying to take the woman's mind off her pains while she cried out at every dip and lurch of the vehicle.

Finally, about an hour after leaving LaJeune (which would have normally taken about 25 minutes) the baby was born just at the top of the hill going down to the bridge crossing over into Pignon. A beautiful, healthy baby girl was born by flash light and Land Cruiser dome light!

Mom felt much better now that the baby was born, so with the baby in Grandma's arms and the mom resting in a friend's lap, we turned around and headed back the way we came. The bumps and rocking of the Land Cruiser didn't bother the delivered mother anymore so we made better time. And an hour after the baby was born, the family was returned to their home (I got to hold the baby while they were unloading) and Ezayi and I were back at HAFF. Other than the time spent on the terrible roads, this is when providing ambulance service for the area is a joy.


This is HAFF's daytime gate guard, Paulers and his family in a photo taken a number of years ago. I spent some time this afternoon with Paulers (prounounced Paul-ess) asking him about the training HAFF sent him to this past Thursday and Friday. He was so excited about it that he came by while I was getting dressed this morning to tell me about it and to show me the packet of materials he had been given.

The Haitian government has decided that it would be good to establish a Disaster Preparation Plan in communities all over the country. To that end, Haitian meteorologists are training 2 people in various communities to install and gather data from government provided rain guages. HAFF was chosen as the location for one of these rain guages because of the fence and security the campus offers. Paulers was chosen, with a community leader, Lumanes, to be trained to gather the rainfall data.

The training was quite extensive and the candidates were tested on the material. Paulers was very proud that he had passed and that he would be involved in this endeavor. He is the one I deliver my weather reports to and he is the one who posts them at the front gate -- after thoroughly studying them first! He is very pleased to now be taking part in the data collection process.

Each month the data that he and Lumanes collect will be delivered to a local agriculturalist who will then pass it on to the government respresentative responsible for analyzing the data. And the data will serve as a basis for warnings of flood and landslides which will be routed back through the same channels.

I was very encouraged by this effort on the part of the Haitian government. I was also excited by Paulers' excitement. And pleased that, even though he does not have a full academic degree, he was accepted into the program and did well on his testing. When the project was originally presented to me, there seemed to be some doubt on the part of the presenter that Paulers had enough education to make use of the training. I was pleased to see Paulers shine! Keep him and the program in your prayers and pray for the Haitian government as they make the move toward being proactive in protecting their citizens.

Settling Back into the Routine

I walked into the house and called his name and was immediately answered with his always questioning meow. "It's about time you got back and what took you so long anyway?" My cat Morgan complains when I leave the house even to go to the outhouse, so he really hates it when I'm in the States for 10 weeks!

Yes, my travels back to Haiti went well and I am pretty well settled back in to the house in Bohoc. Life is getting back into a routine somewhat and I have even had my first 3 meetings this week!

Thankfully the rainy season was not a total disaster this year. Some folks aparently got their early corn crop and, while the second season corn didn't do so well, the rains are coming just right now for the beans and root crops and other crops for this next harvest. People have been cautiously optomistic this year.

But, sadly, I hear that Port-au-Prince is still a mess. People lament the fact that in the face of all that needs to be done, not much seems to be happening. But I have been told that many of the students who came to us after the earthquake have gone back to Port-au-Prince, though not all. It remains to be seen how many will return for this coming school year.

School starts the 4th of October. That is a little late this year. But I have already been meeting with Met Phanes, the head master, and others to make plans for the new year. Last year was the first we had World Vision sponsored students receiving scholarships to attend our school. Yesterday we went over some strategies for making sure we don't double up on scholarships by giving a World Vision sponsored student a work study job that another student could use!

Please pray for us this year for wisdom as we head into the new school year. Pray that we would be able to guide these young people into lives of faith and service. Pray for the students that they would be able to heal from their past trauma and would find strength in Christ and the steadfastness to ride out the waves of change this new Haiti will bring them.

Summer 2010

I have been back in the US for 5 of the 10 weeks I will be gone from Haiti. I left Haiti June 24. I was excited to be able to fly out of Pignon as it is much closer to the house (30 minutes rather than a 4 hour drive) and I arrive in Florida less tired. But this time, it was a bit nerve wracking. There was a huge rain storm gathering and the Missionary Flights International DC3 was late arriving from Port-au-Prince where it was held on the ground waiting out the rain there. Once they finally got to Pignon and we loaded and took off, it took 45 minutes, rather than the normal 20 minutes to get to Cap Haitien.
We had to fly around the storm taking us way to the west over Gonaives and Port-de-Paix rather than straight north over St Raphael. It was a little scary as the wind was buffeting us in the narrow passes between the mountains (though I knew I was in good hands with pilots Kenny and Brent). But it was exciting as well -- I saw some of Haiti I had never seen before, including a ruined French era fort perched on the prow of a mountain!
We arrived in Fort Pierce, Florida and unloaded the plane in the Missionary Flights International hangar around 11:00 that evening. (Thanks to MFI for these two photos)

After a weekend with friends in Florida, I got on the Auto Train the 28th to get to Pennsylvania as soon as possible, arriving at the house the evening of the 29th. The weather was wonderful -- perfectly pleasant (read cool and dry!) during the day and chilly at night! I helped my tenants prepare to move out of the house -- we labeled things that were to stay and things that could go on the truck.
They moved to Virginia July 1 and I had the joy of entertaining friends and supporters that same evening. I am going to try to not rent the house. I have found in the last few years that I need a nest – some place I can feel comfortable taking care of things in the US – preparing for visiting supporters, etc.
So I am slowly re-claiming the house. My cousin came 2 weeks after my tenants moved and spent a week painting the interior of the house (the photo was taken pre-painting -- thanks, Doug!). Now I am slowly getting settled back in – trying to figure out what I want where!

I head to Potsdam, NY this coming weekend for the 40th anniversary of the start of Koinonia Church (now called New Hope Community Church), the church I attended 30 years ago for the two years I was at Canton College.
Then, the weekend of August 14th I will be in Orangeville, PA for the Welsh family reunion -- my mother's mother's family. I have hopes of not being the only representative of my Grandmother Conner's family this year!

Finally, I get back on the Auto Train August 23rd and travel around Florida a bit before heading back to Haiti September 2nd. Please pray for the traveling and for my final 5 weeks in the US. Also that God would prepare me for being the only North American at HAFF for several weeks when I first get back in September. Please remember in prayer as well the people in Port-au-Prince who are still living without adequate shelter. And check out www.HAFFDetails.blogspot.com soon to see what has been going on at HAFF in Haiti for the last several months.

End of the Year

Another year of school and eye clinic are at an end. School is in the midst of final exams now and Becky Wilson and I had our last regular day of clinic Wednesday the 16th. I have gotten more comfortable using the Tono-pen and everyone is happy to have their intra-ocular pressure checked. Thankfully I haven't found too many people with high pressures.

Since October 2009, we have seen over 200 people in the clinic. Most people come for reading glasses, but some come with more complicated prescriptions. It is always a joy when we can find a pair of glasses that meets a need. Thankfully, we have been able to help most people who come.

We continue to meet with the Community Response Committee to get relief funds and food into the hands of the people who need them. Right now, the committee is encouraging road work with sacks of bulgur wheat (see the HAFF Details blog). The committee mounted a crew to work on the dangerous ravine on the main road between Bohoc and Pignon. Twenty seven people received bulgur for the first phase of that job.

Saturday, about 175 people received bulgur.

These folks have been working on their own since February to improve the road from the Bohoc market up into the mountains to the area of Cercady. The bulgur was given as an encouragement to the folks who gave of their own time and energy to do the work to serve their community.

I am getting ready to leave Haiti on Thursday the 24th. I will be spending most of the summer in State College, PA working on my house, but will do a bit of travelling as well. If you will be travelling through Central Pennsylvania between the first of July and the end of August, get in touch with me and we can get together. I'll be heading back to Haiti in early September. In the mean time, please keep the Plateau in prayer -- for good rains and for a good harvest. And keep in prayer Port-au-Prince and the other cities in the south that were hard hit by the earthquake. Many people are enduring the rains in "shelters" made of nothing but sheets and plastic bags sewn together.

Roads, Teams and Graduations

It has been a while since I have posted anything to either blog. That has partly been due to time constraints, but also to the fact that we have been having major problems with the internet. So, here are some highlights from 3 weeks at HAFF:

Saturday 15 May, was the Young Leaders for God class graduation. They were blessed to have the team from Chattanooga, TN and Huntington, NY here. The team baked the cakes for the graduation reception, Pastor Eric Mullinax presented the message and Pastor David Aldridge and Met Derold had a special song to share. It was a joyful day.

That Sunday, we split the team and Barb translated for Pastor David at one church while I translated for Pastor Eric at another. Pastor Eric spoke from Acts 20:17 - 38 about the marks or signs showing that a church is characterized by a vibrant ministry of the Holy Spirit.


The road leading through the Caïman ravine has gotten bad. HAFF driver Elizert has said that another couple big rains and Pignon can remain by itself and Bohoc and LaJeune can remain for themselves – we would be cut off from the north.

Thankfully, the Community Relief Committee (CRC) started a project June 25th to fix the road. Trucks from Pignon, Bohoc and LaJeune have committed to bringing rock and gravel from the river for the road

Crews of men and women have been hired to clear the brush growing around, over and in the drainage canals on either side of the road.

Finally, the CRC has purchased fuel for the local grader to grade and crown the road and fix the canals.

After the first couple of days of work, traffic was flowing so freely that the local Dignite bus, which does not have 4 wheel drive, was able to bring the local school children from Pignon all the way to Bohoc – a first in a very long time. It was entertaining to see the bus trying to turn around at the HAFF front gate!

24 May a group of visitors arrived at HAFF. The group included visitors from Florida, Wisconsin and Rwanda. Violette Nyirarukundo showed me how to wear a Rwandan skirt!

Violette also blessed 30 members of 5 local churches with training in Trauma Counseling. Gabi Van Schoyck had previously translated a 19 page set of notes that Violette had sent ahead and Barb and Gabi and I shared the translating for the 4 day seminar.

The training included practical break out sessions for sharing with one another and for role playing. Even before receiving their certificates of participation, the seminar participants were sharing and using the knowledge they were gaining to minister to others.

The Florida, Wisconsin, Rwanda team was still here for the Godly Woman class graduation on May 29th. The visitors baked the cakes for the reception and Pastor David Rogers presented the message. The women of the class had a wonderful day showing their craft items made during the class. Their parting song at the end of the graduation ceremony was enlivened by a round of hugs and kisses for each other, for Mme Gesson, Barb and me and for the visitors and some of the invited guests sitting nearby!

Sunday May 30th was Haitian Mother's Day. We took the team to a small, lively church on the other side of the Bohoc River from HAFF. The children of the church had a special song and procession to honor their mothers. During the song, each child carried a small package of crackers or cookies in a little dance to meet her mother, gave her the package and kissed her, before dancing back to join the rest of the girls singing.

I translated for Pastor David as he encouraged the people to look to Jesus when they are helpless. He taught from Luke 9:37 – 42. From this passage he showed how Jesus came for the helpless and how we are all helpless, like the disciples, the father and the demon possessed boy, because we try to solve our problems on our own and don't look to Jesus.

June 3rd, the Van Schoycks and I had the great joy of traveling to Limbe in the north of Haiti to attend the graduation of HAFF's first University scholarship student, Georges Cadet (shown here with his god-daughter). We traveled with other friends of Georges for 5 hours Thursday and spent the night in Cap Haitien. The graduation the next day was a wonderful celebration of hope for the future as the first class since the earthquake was able to complete their studies on time despite the horrendous toll that day in January took on all their lives. Even the 7 hour trip home, having to backtrack due to a high river blocking the shorter way home didn't dampen our joy from the day.

Rejoice with us in all these wonderful accomplishments and join us in keeping all the graduates in your prayers. Pray for Georges as he works now toward ordination and recognition by the government as a pastor with the legal right to marry, bury and register the birth of children. Pray for him also as he has already been functioning as the young pastor of a new church in the area. Pray for the Young Leaders and Godly Women who have just been graduated that the Lord would show them the ministries He has planned for them and their new training. And pray especially for the Trauma Counseling Seminar participants as they use that training in the mercy ministries they already have. Pray that God would bring people to them who are in need of their new understanding of how to listen to and help traumatized people.

I just wanted to post a note that, thankfully, I seem to be fully recovered from my illness. The allergies are still bad, but I seem to be able to better stay on top of them.

Here, like in the US, Spring has arrived. It is mostly noticable beacuse there have been some rains, so things are very green and there are more flowers blooming. It also means it is hot and humid. Please pray for the rains to start in earnest so people can get their gardens planted. And pray too for the rains to come in their proper time and quantity so people can realize a harvest.

It has been a busy time. I seem to be always saying that, but life here is busy. It was good to get back in the eye clinic again after 2 weeks away from it getting over whatever I had. I saw 7 people by my self since Becky and Colin were in the US. I could have seen 11 people, if the last 4 walk-ins had had their way! But I was out of time.

Mme Lenes came to the clinic Wednesday. She has been to see me several times for pain in her eye and for glasses. She was complaining of pain again this time, but she also said she couldn't see well with her new glasses anymore. I took them, cleaned them for her and gave them back. She could see quite fine with them now! That was just the confirmation I needed to remind me that I needed to be telling people how to best care for their glasses. It never occurred to me, since I can't stand it when my glasses are dusty or smeary, that others would need to be told they could wash their glasses! 24 years in Haiti and I am still figuring things out!

Another activity adding to the busy-ness was the distribution of most of the boxes with items shipped down from the people of Rome, Georgia (see the HAFF Details blog). I didn't do as much with that as I could have since I had things to do in the office in Colin's absence, but by the grace of God and the organizing skills of the Community Relief Commity, the distribution went quickly and smoothly.

Now, today my main activity has been planning for the first regular work study team we have had since the earthquake. Thursday people are coming from Chattanooga, Tennessee and Huntington, New York to spend a week ministering to the people in the community through construction, church leader training, women's Bible studies and home visitation. I have been creating a meal schedule and later today I will meet with 3 of the dorm cooks to make the market list to purchase the food.

Pray for us this week as it will be an intense week leading up to the work study team coming.

Back in with Both Feet then Down for a Week

Tuesday April 13 I flew back to Haiti on Missionary Flights International (MFI). It was not one of the days that MFI was flying into Pignon, so HAFF driver, Elizert met me at the Cap Haitien airport. Barb and Gabi Van Schoyck and Gabriel Mompremier had come to town as well to start the process of working a shipping container through customs. More on that later. Elizert and I met them in town, finshed up the errands and had a late lunch then drove the 44 miles back to Bohoc -- about a 3 1/2 hour trip -- arriving about 7 pm. We were all pretty tired.

The next few days were very busy. Wednesday morning I was in the eyeglass clinic by myself for most of the morning, since Becky was helping Barb with a milk baby weigh-in. That kept me busy till lunch. Right after lunch was the Wednesday afternoon staff prayer time. And then for the rest of the afternoon, I helped Barb with some budget calculations to help her get ready for the HAFF board meeting. That evening the American staff met for Bible Study.

The rest of the week centered around the shipping container in Cap Haitien. The kind folks in Rome, Georgia had put together a 40 foot container filled head high with donated items for people in the area. They sent clothing, shoes, toiletries, soup, snacks, water and other items for distribution. Colin and Elizert and Gabriel spent Wednesday and a good bit of Thursday finally getting the contents of the container released. They came home with the Mitsubishi Canter and Elizert's full size Ford dump truck full of about half the container load. They got in to Bohoc just after dark Thursday evening and we unloaded the trucks in about an hour or so.

The guys started out Friday before day to go back down to Cap Haitien for the rest of the load. The rest of the American staff started sorting what had already arrived and packed over 90 boxes to be distributed. Those boxes were moved to a second depot to make room for the second half of the load. I did not spend as much time sorting as the rest, since I spent the morning going to the bank and then getting payroll ready for the end of the week workers' pay. The men arrived again just after dark with trucks, if anything, even more heavily laden than Thursday. The boxes were unloaded, the depot secured and thanks returned for everyone's safe arrival.

Saturday Barb and Gabi spent some time working on the new boxes that had come in while I spent some time getting the dorm porch ready for the Pignon Area Missionary Ladies gathering at noon. There were about 25 women and children (plus Colin) at lunch on the porch. It was a good time of catching up with everyone and a chance to get to know a new Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) staffer who is spending time in Pignon learning Creole.

And that was the last productive time I had till now! By the late afternoon Saturday, I had a deep cough -- my allergies caught up with me. I did not sleep much Saturday night due to the coughing and woke Sunday with a headache. And I didn't leave the house again till last evening. The allergies tried to become pneumonia, I and Mme Telius, the HAFF nurse and Mme Niclaude, my cook fought tooth and nail with antibiotics and a local herbal tea, to stay ahead of the cough and the fever. Today, finally, I feel like I am on the mend and I finally slept well for a good part of last night -- the first time in a week.

In the mean time, Barb went to the States for today's board meeting and the rest of the staff went about their normal work and continued to sort the contents of the container. There are another 130 boxes packed in addition to the original 90. The boxes will be distributed starting Friday. There was also a meeting with community leaders about a cash for work project to fix the road -- another big rain or two and Bohoc/LaJeune and points south will be cut off from Pignon and points north. Hopefully I will be able to be back to my normal activities and participate in the community projects during the next week.

An Easter Monday gift

This morning I got an unexpected bonus of spending part of my break on the west coast of Florida.
It started as a red glow in the dark sky on the horizon. Soon we could see the bright orange, yellow glow rising through trees. The Space Shuttle Discovery was being launched from Kennedy Space Center and I was in North Fort Myers -- all the way across the state -- watching in the pre-dawn coolness with Martin and Bonnie Price. The following link takes you to photos (including the one posted at the left) from the Fox station in Tampa Bay, FL, north of Fort Myers. These are professional photos, taken from much closer, but still, the later photos give an idea of what we saw this morning.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/generic/photos/space-shuttle-discovery-sts-131-launch-photos-040510

R & R

I flew to Florida on Tuesday for 2 weeks break. I am in Fort Myers now and will be in Naples next week, then back to Haiti on the 13th. We have all been taking turns being out for a break and this is my turn. I have been sleeping a lot and will probably sleep more.

In the mean time, ministry in Haiti continues. Please keep the Wilsons and Jonathan Fischer in your prayers as they hold down the fort till Barb and Gabi get back on Saturday. Greg will be working on HAFF business in the US until after the board meeting at the end of April. Keep the Van Schoycks in your prayers as well as they launch back into ministry after their break.

And please keep the Haitian members of the Community Relief Committee in prayer as they minister tirelessly without the option of taking a break. They are enduring the persecution of people misunderstanding them and lying about what they are doing, but they are holding firm and doing the best they can to assure that the relief money and relief items are getting to the people who need them. We are very very pleased and proud to be working with these Godly men.

A Morning Call

My phone rang at 7:00 this morning. It was my former student, Jean Robert Joseph, on the right in the photo at the left. He is now attending university in Limbe, near Cap Haitien in the north of Haiti with a partial scholarship from HAFF. He was calling to let me know that he and our other former students at the university in Limbe are all well and hadn't felt the earthquake that hit Cap Haitien last night.

I have only been able to find one small story on the internet about the supposed earthquake that brought down a house in Cap Haitian overnight. Apparently geophysicists did not register any quake, but might not have if it was less than 4.5 on the Richter Scale. I was not 100% clear if the building that came down in Cap had people from our area living in it. I think, from what Jean Robert said, that it might have, but it wasn't clear. The story on the Washington Post website said that 2 were killed, and that they were still looking for survivors.

This morning in church Jean Jean Mompremier, the pastor, spoke about the earthquake and said that the only people who survived were those on the top floor of the 3 story building. He also warned that the people need to be ready to receive more refugees, this time fleeing the perceived threat of buildings collapsing in Cap Haitien. Please pray for this country. People all over the nation are living in fear of buildings falling on them. And the rainy season is getting ready to start and many many people still do not even have the shelter of a tent. There is still a great need in this country.

I talked on the phone to a woman yesterday in Port-au-Prince who just recently got a tarp to cover them since their house collapsed in the 12 January quake. When I asked why her family didn't just come back to this area to their family that wants them to come home, she answered that they would lose everything if they left. She said if they want to be able to hold on to their property so they can rebuild later, they have to stay there or someone else will just move in and start building.

And yet this morning, in the midst of all the questions of how much more these folks can handle, there was great encouragement in church. A woman got up to speak about her experience in the earthquake in Port. She shared a story we have heard many other share. She said she cried out, "Jesus save me" as the building started to shake, and the next thing she knew, she was outside in the street and the house was collapsed behind her. She was thanking and praising the Lord that she had kept her life clean and that her family was all saved from the quake and they were all back home in the area where she had been raised and back at the church where she first learned to know Jesus. She encouraged all the young people to guard their reputations and to be proud of the place they were raised. And above all, to trust in Christ.

The Fashionista Syndrome

It is everywhere! Everyone likes to look nice, sometimes even more than they want to see well.
We have been noticing a trend in the eyeglass clinic. There are certain people -- you can often tell who they will be by how they are dressed and the accessories they carry -- who will be able to see just fine with a prescription in the trial lens frame, but when you bring that prescription in a pair of glasses which are maybe a bit out of style, "I can't see anything" or "I see all black," they say! What they are actually saying is that they don't like the style of those glasses!

Today a woman came to me who had broken her glasses in the earthquake. She had come early in February to replace her glasses. She barely needs glasses -- her prescription is quite low and we don't have many glasses in her strength that don't also have a fairly strong bifocal or astigmatism that she did not need. Thankfully I was able to find her a pair of glasses that she could see well with and that were small and fashionable. But they weren't perfect so, she came back today to exchange them. I had no more glasses in that prescription and so I showed her selection of glasses that were very close. Again, I don't have a large variety of glasses in that strength, so her choices were limited. She wasn't impressed with what I had to offer.

It took a while to convince her that the glasses I had out were really the only ones I had. I did have others, but they had not been stylish since the 1980's (she agreed that she didn't want them) or they had bifocals (after insisting that she could manage with the cute pair with bifocals, she realized she couldn't) or an astigmatism. So, she finally found a pair of the ones I had out for her that she thought she could wear.

The classic comment that she made towards the end of the process was, "But I have seen so many pairs of pretty glasses that have come from this eyeglass clinic!" I have heard that before. Two people come to the clinic together and one just needs reading glasses in a strength that I have lots of styles available. The friend needs bifocals or has different prescriptions for each eye and has a limited selection of what will work for him or her and they don't like the style of any of them. But they will say, "can't you just give me a pair like my friend's?" And it is so hard to say no! One girl brought a pair of glasses back (the only one I had that was even close to what she needed) saying that her mother had told her not to like them! And she wanted me to give her something more fashionable, even though I had already explained to her that I only had the one pair in her prescription. Thankfully she did not need glasses badly, because she left without glasses. Even in fitting people with eyeglasses, I am still teaching science -- both physics and biology some days!

Not every person who comes to the clinic has the fashionista syndrome. I have had some folks who, when presented with the choice of reading glass styles will say, "I'll take whatever you give me. It doesn't matter what they look like, as long as I can see!" It is hard to convince those people that they can see well and look nice at the same time! But the greatest joy is when someone comes in with a real need for glasses and we find just what they need in a style they like and that suits their face. That is satisfaction.

Since the earthquake the clinic has been even busier. Becky and I see a minimum of 5 people each Wednesday. This last Wednesday we saw 8 and sometimes, like today, I make extra appointments for people. Each week there is at least one person who has come back to the area from Port-au-Prince. This Wednesday, a former student, Mimose came to replace the glasses lost in the quake and for her and her son to be treated for dry eyes irritated by the dry weather and the dust in Port. She had injured her right hand in the quake -- I didn't ask if it was broken or just badly bruised or what. But Wednesday, her hand was still swollen and the skin peeling.

The eyeglass clinic has become a real joy for me. I enjoy seeing people from all over the area and I believe we are providing a needed service. I find satisfaction in learning to do it well. I am grateful for the tools and glasses that have been donated by so many and for the knowledge that has been passed on so freely. Thank you for your prayers for Becky and me for wisdom, patience and compassion as we strive to help people see with their physical eyes. And help us also to shine the light of Christ in all we do, so that people's spiritual eyes can see Him as well.

It's Not Easy to Write about Meetings

And that is what I have been spending a lot of time in. Since the last post, I have attended at least 16 meetings! Barb, seen below with the Community Relief Committee (CRC), has been in even more than I have.
There is on-going revison of the refugee censuses as more people come in to the area from Port-au-Prince, others return to Port and as people move within the area. Some folks are staying with several people -- a few days at Aunt So-and-So's house and then some at their brother's house and finally some at their parents' home. Some folks have made the decision to remain in the area and are looking into renting locally. All of that needs to be figured out as we do our best to get the relief items to the people who need them.

Wednesday I had the fun of spending the afternoon photographing the distribution of the food that came in from World Food Program. I went with the loaded UCI school bus to LaJeune and LaPila -- sitting on top of the bags in the seats was a challenge as the bus lumbered from side to side down the road. But seeing the folks receive a good sized gift of food was the fun. There were many who asked us to send their thanks to the people "on the other side" (of the ocean) who had made the gift possible.

Earlier that morning, I had been grateful for the gift of the Tono-Pen. In the eyeglass clinic, a gentleman from Coupeal (about an hour or so walk from HAFF) had a very high intra-occular pressure and I was able to start him on glaucoma medication. I have him down on the list for the next Pignon eye team as well to be evaluated for any damage to his optic nerve from the high pressure. But I think he came in in time. His distance vision was fine and he just needed the normal strength reading glasses for someone his age. What a blessing!

But the most time consuming meetings this past couple of weeks have been the meetings to calculate salaries using the new minimum wage set by the Haitian government. The calculations and issues weren't straight-forward, and in the process of confirming details for one aspect of the change, we learned about another change. And each time we thought we had figured out how to do it, we would look at it again and realize that we had done something wrong. Finally, thankfully, Friday we had it all figured out, met with the employees and got the changes made. Now we still have to meet with the teachers and others who were not covered by the minimum wage hike -- that will be hard. Please keep us in your prayers for that.

New Tool for Eye Clinic

Two weeks ago, Saturday February 6th, I was privileged to spend part of the morning with the eye surgery team from Des Moines Iowa who were working at the Pignon hospital. They had graciously allowed me to refer about 40 people to them for cataract surgery and other consultation and treatment that is beyond me. And now they had offered to train me to use a Tono-pen – a portable, simple-to-use instrument for measuring intra-ocular pressure to see if someone might possibly have glaucoma.
Virgil and Linda were my teachers and explained the care and use of the Tono-pen and showed how to use it

and then coached me as I learned. They were kind enough to say that I did a very good job. If they were not being just kind, it is as simple to use as was advertised.

One of the most poignant parts of the morning was that I got to test a young woman who had lost part of her left arm in the earthquake. She needed help walking to the place we were working and her face had a very frozen aspect the whole time we worked with her. After I checked her pressure, I asked if I could pray with her. After she was seen at the next exam station, they called us over to pray with her again. It was good to see her later in the snack bar after she had gotten a pair of glasses. She had an energy drink mixed with evaporated milk and was talking and smiling and animated. Please keep Carline Pierre and other earthquake victims in your prayers.

The team was working with 2 Tono-pens and when they left they gave HAFF one of them as well as a supply of glaucoma medication. So now Becky and I will be able to offer another service to the people coming to the HAFF eye clinic. Please pray that I would use the instrument properly, that I interpret the results wisely and that it would be a blessing to the folks who come.

School is Back in Session

Monday school opened. While the students did not come in uniform, and there were only about a third of the them at devotions, school has started. Met Phanes said in devotions that morning that the next day the students could come in uniform – always a good thing since it lends official authorization to the opening and lets everyone know that things are getting back to normal.

Please continue to pray for the schools throughout Haiti, including HAFF's Bohoc Training Institute. The Ministry of Eduction has yet to determine how to help those students whose schools have been destroyed by the quake. The local inspector for this area seems to think that our headmaster will be able to submit a form for those students transferring into our school. Pray that it is so. Also there are still questions about how the national exams will be done, if the school year will be extended, and, if so, will the time be taken from the Easter break, other national holidays or added on in June and July or some of each.

Continue to pray also for those people who were in Port-au-Prince during the earthquake. Many of them still have the tendency to run when they hear sudden noises and they are still having trouble sleeping. Pray that the Lord, the Father of all comfort, would lay His healing hand on each of these people.