Haiti Day One

Three a.m. Alarm Four a.m.leave church for airport 10:30 p.m. Lights out What a day!!

I see faces today that are beautifully tanned; Little ones walking down busy streets alone, Many carrying water jugs, Gathering impure water for their families!

We've been told over and over How the world needs clean water. I've seen the pictures But today I see them...Really see them!

Why, Lord? My family has never gone without clean water. I am blessed to live in a country with sanitation and infrastructure. I am blessed to be a blessing. How Lord? How do I do it? How do I become that Blessing?

Lord Jesus, tomorrow we will lovingly share your Gospel. Please Bless Your Word and activate Your Spirit To transfer lives from death into life, and to Allow the people to be reborn into Your eternal kingdom.

Lord Jesus, will you allow the people to NOT just receive medical care; Allow these people to be introduced to YOU! Don't let the people see a temporary fix for their pain; Instead, allow the people to receive an ETERNAL destination.

Thank You, Jesus, for the opportunity. Use us. Use me. Unify us in Your Spirit. Amen!

Haiti Day Two

One hundred ninety-seven sweet souls Baby with way-too-high fever Senior with extreme blood pressure Tooth extractions...eye exams... Medications prescribed!

Smiles and Bon jour Seniors with cataracts We diagnose. We pray. We send them on their way. Blessed, Lord. I am blessed to be in this place!

Thank You Father for this team. Thank You for using us to bring

healing to Your people. 😄💖

Father, we ask you to provide for the medical needs of the people that arrive on Thursday and Friday. Provide medications. Provide eyeglasses. Your will be done.

On Monday, the Haiti team saw 197 sweet Haitians and gave out 95 pairs of glasses! On Tuesday we saw 287 people and gave away 120 pairs. On Wednesday we traveled to Souvenance and had to pass the voodoo temple on our way to the church. We saw 139, and children. We shared

74 pairs of glasses. The people were hungry for medical care.

Haiti Day Three

Several families brought their blind relatives. One "tap-tap" driver brought a senior adult to receive medical help and to have her vision checked. Most of these people walked long distances in the extreme heat to receive the care we offered. Moms brought newborn babies...several suffering from dehydration which is a common killer of young children. People who had suffered for days/months/years with a tooth infection waited for hours in the hot sun to receive dental care. Instantaneous pain relief occurred when the tooth was pulled. Antibiotic was given to kill the infection. Victory!!

It's so sad when we cannot help the people! Heartbreakingly sad. One young man had a motorcycle accident and has neurological vision lost. There was nothing we could do for him. Others lost vision in their eye when ash blew into their eye as a child. Another was hit and cut in a fight with a glass bottle. Many had cataracts with no hope for surgery.

We fitted glasses on a 97-year-old woman; her grin was instantaneous when we put the glasses on her head. Another 102-year-old came for glasses. A five-year-old was fitted. All expressed joy as well as thanks as the glasses were given.

"And when He (JESUS) comes, He will open the eyes of the blind..." Isaiah 35:5

"The blind see... The Good News is being preached to the poor." Matthew 11:5

Thursday... Another God-ordained day!

The clinic saw 250 sweet Haitian souls and we gave 130 pairs of glasses. Several were from the voodoo temple. They came to us and allowed a salvation bracelet to be placed on their arm (in order to enter the clinic). They also were touched in the name of Jesus. Several allowed prayers in the name of Jesus. Seeds were planted. Needs were met.

Monday morning began with one of the dental team nauseated and sick. Prayers and meds were given, and an hour later she was up and working the clinic. On Thursday, another on the dental team was sick. Again with prayer and meds, she was up and serving in an hour. During the day, a third on the dental team went down sick. After some rest, hydration, prayers and meds, he was up working during the afternoon. God prevailed! We experienced hardships, but GOD was victorious!!

We saw senior adults who were blind and being led by family members, who made the effort to come because they had heard that an eye doctor with glasses would be at the church!! The youngest child was 5 years old. She had significantly nearsighted eyes. Praise God! We had glasses to fit her!

After a LONG day of serving, we came "home" to home-grown carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and goat. It was delicious!

Later, we gathered in the church to meet Rosner. Several years earlier, Rosner had come to the first medical clinic. She presented with a gangrene leg as the result of a tree branch falling on her. When our doctor looked at her leg, he said there was nothing he could do and she would die unless the leg was amputated. The team and our church paid to get her to a doctor, her leg was amputated, and she recovered. When the Gardendale

teams visit, Rosner often visits. Tonight she visited, and the team presented her with a sewing machine! The sewing machine will provide a source of income for her.

After the sewing machine was presented, the farmers came to meet with the team and thank them for the tools, seeds, and fertilizer given last year. It was exciting to see the men and women, and know that the LORD our Provider is caring for them. For the first time in the history of the school, Pastor Elise has enough food to feed the children for the next year.

We see the bean plants that have been harvested and sun dried. Women work throughout the day to sift the beans from the stalks and pods. We ask of they are being paid to do this. Pastor Elise shares that the women work the beans for free because the church is feeding their children. The women are honored to help sift the beans to prepare them to feed the school children. They are thankful to have their children fed.

One more day and then we begin our trek toward home! What an amazing time of drawing near to God, meeting other believers, worshipping in another language, and serving "the least of these!"

Thank YOU, Father. I love YOU! I desire to serve YOU all the days of my life! Amen!

Haiti ~ Day Five

Bittersweet! Our hearts are pierced with love for these people. The children have a chapel service in the church. They sing, recite poetry, and play games. Lots of smiles! Beautiful children! Talented teachers! Innovative principals!

Our medical doctors are gone today, so the dental team and vision team work to meet the needs of the limited numbers who have tickets to be seen. Our pharmacy is almost depleted and we

asked the LORD to supply the antibiotic and pain relievers needed for the dental team.

The 23 pre-approved people multiplied into 61!! Forty-nine glasses were shared. A young child with lazy eyes was brought to us, and our RN made eye patches from gauze and tape. A man w h o h a d r e c e n t l y experienced a motorcycle accident was bandaged. God provided energy for

the exhausted team. An older gentleman who could only see blackness received a pair of glasses. He smiled big. "Can you see better?" The interpreter asks. "Wi! (Yes!) "Mesi!" (Thank you!) He reads for us. He can see!

The afternoon allows time to rest and play with the children. Some adventurous team members climb a mountain in 90 degree heat! We tour some unfinished areas of the compound, see the goats, and play a friendly game of basketball. Dinner tonight is a feast of sweet potatoes, carrots, white potatoes, cabbage, rice, and goat. We eat and thank our cook. He brings hot tea and fresh ground sugar for our evening snack. We are satisfied. We've had more than enough.

We clean up the dishes, sweep and mop the floors. Suitcases are packed. As we meet at 8:00 pm to debrief as we've done each evening, we cry out in prayer to our LORD for these people. Our hearts are overflowing with loving concern for these people who have such hardships! Our efforts this week are a small drop in such a big bucket!

Dear God, please multiply our efforts. Meet needs. Give health. Provide for these people! Pour out your Spirit here. Allow these people to see our work to be the direct hand of God. Shine, LORD JESUS. Shine your Spirit here in Haiti. Bless Pastor Elise as he leads. Amen.

Haiti Day Six

We dress and complete our packing. People arrive outside and quietly stand and wait. Three beautiful children are sitting outside. They wash dishes and sing as they work. I take them a coloring book and a box of crayons. "Keyon koule" the children exclaim! Crayons! Color! They finish their work and the big brother takes the dishes into the house. The two little sisters color.

The bus arrives. Immediately, the big sister begins to cry. When she sees the bus, she realizes that the Americans are leaving! Mom takes the girls into their house. We hear the girls wailing. They realize that we are leaving. They cry. We cry. Eventually they stand in their doorway and we can hug and kiss them goodbye.

Ministry is hard. We love without boundaries. It hurts and cuts our hearts apart when it is time to leave. It hurts us and it hurts the Haitians! We trust that the LORD will allow us to come back again to see these people.

Three hour bus drive on Market Day was most interesting! Driving on both sides of the road. Motorcycles driving on the left as well as the right. Hundreds of people lining the streets. Tap-taps everywhere over-filled with people holding on the back. The LORD protected us as we almost ran into a crowded tap-tap as well as when a donkey wandered into the highway in front of us.

We laugh at ourselves as we reflect and realize how relaxed we are in this foreign land. We've slept each night with doors open and in rooms with no windows. We bathe with cold water mixed with stove-warmed water. Our meals mainly consists of rice, a few beans, and pasta. We spread peanut butter on soft tortillas and roll them to make sandwiches. We are satisfied and thankful, realizing that we are eating better than the people surrounding us. Throughout the days of serving in the medical clinic, we have water...clean water. The people come empty-handed with no water and no food. They are thankful for the services we provide.

Our plane is delayed. We finally load and return to Miami. We then must navigate customs, claim our baggage, recheck the bags, and find our gates. No time for food. We snack and load the plane. Another bus ride takes us back to Birmingham. It's time now to say goodbye to our team members~Our family for this trip. Bittersweet! God planted us to work together in Haiti and our hearts were bound with love for the Haitian people.

Thank You, LORD, for safe travels! Thank You for healing the 934 Haitians and we ask You to send Your Spirit to woo these sweet people to salvation in You! We are privileged to be used by You to meet needs in Haiti. Bless Pastor Elise, the church, the school, and the community. Your will be done in Haiti, in America, and throughout our world. Amen.

"Wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest ... One plants and another one harvests." John 4 : 35-38

"Everyone who calls, 'Help, God' gets help. But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? " "Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it? The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ's Word is preached, there's nothing to listen to." Romans 10 : 13-17