Cholera education

As you probably know already, there has been a Cholera outbreak in the central region of Haiti. The majority of the cases are found between St. Marc and Gonaives and as of October 27, a total of 4,722 cholera cases and 303 deaths have been reported. Cholera is transmitted through fecal contamination of water or food and causes an acute, severe, watery diarrhea that can result in hypovolemic shock and death if not treated immediately with fluid replacement. The Haitian population is not aware of the dangers or effects of insanitary conditions, and the widespread poverty only aids in facilitating such circumstances. Lack of education along with unclean living conditions makes these people more susceptible to the infection.

However, Cholera is an easily prevented disease, and it starts with promoting water treatment, adequate sanitation and hygiene, and safe food preparation. That is the main goal right now, to educate people on how to prevent the spread of Cholera in Haiti, as well as care for the those who are already infected, through oral rehydration salts and IV fluids.

Bethesda, as well as many other healthcare facilities, have begun responding to the outbreak by having supplies on hand to treat those infected and by offering information about Cholera to the public. Bethesda has already implemented a plan to keeps its doors open 24 hours if need be to treat patients, and leaflets have been made in both Creole and English to hand out to schools, churches, leaders in the community, and missionaries. Dr. Rodney has made announcements on Radio4VEH which is an OMS ministry that reaches thousands of people across the country via radio.

Last Wednesday, Bethesda put on 2 education classes for students from the local schools in Vaudreuil. We met in the church on the OMS compound and in both sessions combined there were about 1500 kids ranging from ages 5 to 20. Each child got a little brochure of information, and one of Bethesda's Doctor's, Dr. Cader, explained to the children what Cholera is, how it is contracted, what the symptoms are, what to do if you think you are infected, and most importantly how to prevent themselves and others from getting Cholera. We demonstrated how to properly wash your hands and gave each student a bar of medicated soap to take home with their brochure to share with their families.The next day we went to Saccenville to speak at OMS's seminary. We educated the students and staff there and asked them to pass on the information to their churches, families, and friends. We held a similar teaching session after that in the local church for the people in the community. We believe that the key to controlling the further spread of this disease truly lies in teaching the importance of clean water, good sanitation and hygiene habits, and the awareness of how Cholera is contracted. We are praying that the information learned in these sessions, and the others like it being conducted throughout the country, will not stop there but have a widespread impact and aid in putting an end to this outbreak.

With faith, all things are possible...

About 4 months ago in June, when Julie was translating for a team who was distributing radios, she found a 30 year old guy in a zone called Balan which is a half hour from where we live. This young man, Berlota, had fallen from a tree a few weeks before, landed on his back, and was paralyzed from the waist down. He had been laying on hard ground in his house and had developed a large pressure sore on his backside. It had become severely infected because it had not been kept clean or covered with anything. She came home and told me about it and we decided that if he didn't get to a hospital soon, he would definitely die. So that Monday we drove out to Balan to pick up Berlota, his cousin, and his mom and took them to Milot hospital with us. When we got to the hospital, the first doctor we talked to said that there was really nothing they could do and that he would most likely die. They kept him at the hospital, gave him antibiotics, cleaned the wound, and gave him a bed to sleep on. We were worried because the family literally had nothing and could not possibly afford to keep him there and pay for all the treatment he needed. Julie wrote about it on her blog but didn't ask for any help other than that people would pray for the situation. A week later a woman she didn't know but who had read her blog, emailed her and said that she read about Berlota and wanted to send some money to help. She ended up sending about $1500 dollars towards his treatment and care, which covered everything he has needed. I praise God for how he faithfully answered our prayers and provided a way for us to help Him. The money has covered all of his medical care up until about 2 weeks ago. The last of the money had been used up and we weren't sure what we were going to do. Berlota had made a miraculous recovery. He had an operation to put a flap of skin over the pressure sore which was healing very well, and he just looked much healthier and happier. But there were still medical bills that needed to be paid plus he will need ongoing care for a few more months until he heals completely.

Then Sunday night about 2 weeks ago , Julie received an email from that same lady saying that she wanted to send $800 more dollars for Berlota's ongoing treatment. Amen! The Lord gave us our answer plain as day. The very next day we were working in Milot and the hospital said that they were going to discharge him with orders to come back every two days for dressing changes and antibiotics. It was just crazy how we happened to be there the very day they were sending him home, to be able to drive him to his house ourselves so that he didn't have to pay and endure public transportation.

We also found out that since coming to Milot, both Berlota and his mom became Christians. Berlota said He realized that it was God who had saved his life and who had provided everything he needed each step of the way. His mom had a similar response, and both of them never mentioned anyone other than God who had brought them to where they were today.Berlota and his mom

It was just cool because we never said anything other than who we were and what we were doing in Haiti. It is amazing how God uses us when we least expect it and in ways we would never expect, to allow us to boast only in God's glory and faithfulness.

I wish I had taken a picture of when we first found Berlota to compare it to the one I took on the way home. I just remember the first trip to Milot, the hassle it was to get him in and out of the car, that he had to lay on his stomach in the back seat because of the open sore, the terrible smell of infection, and the look of hopelessness on everyone's faces. When we brought him home this time, he was sitting up, looked much healthier due to good nutrition and antibiotics, actually smiled, and was thankful to be be going home.When we started to drive through his town, people on the side of the road and from their houses started pointing and shouting his name as they realized who was in the car. When I looked behind us, there were about 30 people following, running after our car! By the time we reached his house, there was a large group ready to welcome him home and many more on their way.We had gotten a nice wheelchair that was sent up from Port-au-Prince to give to him and we wheeled him up to his front door with friends and family crowded all around him.Outside Berlota's house

It was a time of joy and celebration as he was reunited with these people he hadn't seen in over 4 months. We all sat in his house, him on his new bed surrounded by friends and family.We took some pictures, laughed and hugged, and then prayed for him and his family before we left.There were many miracles that happened in this young man's life to bring him to this point. The Lord not only saved Berlota's life here on this earth, but more importantly He saved him spiritually for all of eternity.

"Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10

Aroma of Christ

It was a blessing to be back in Diquini this past weekend. Despite the hot dusty ride and getting bounced around in the back of the truck for a total of 16 hours, the journey there and back was quite enjoyable and full of energy, singing, laughing, and prayer. I only knew two of the seminary students from prior trips and mobile clinics, Pastor Belonie and Pastor Devicour. It was great to get to know some new people and see their hearts for God and for their Haitian brothers and sisters. Junior met us in Port, he went down the week before to organize all of our housing and eating arrangements and to get the word out in the community that we were coming.

The first night we arrived we had a service at the church and 8 people came forward and gave their lives to Christ! Matt passionately preached the truth of the Gospel and the power we have through the salvation of Jesus Christ. It was a great way to start off the crusade and everyone left excited and encouraged for how God is clearly at work in this place.

The next morning Julie and I went out in groups with the students to evangelize. Although I was a bit nervous and timid about how I as a young “blan“(white in Kreyol) female would be received, the students boldly spoke of the grace of Jesus in truth and love and almost everyone was willing to listen and let us prayer with them. There were still more who heard the message of redemption and decided to live the rest of their lives in light of that truth. There was one older lady who had been deep in the cultural roots of voodoo for most of her life. The students revealed God's true perfect love for her and what He had done on her behalf because of that love. She became a Christian that day, and to symbolize the dying of her old life and beginning of a new one in Jesus, we had a little fire outside to burn all the various voodoo articles she had in her house.This experience truly challenged and stretched me, and my own faith was strengthened through witnessing the power of the Gospel.

After lunch we planned out a VBS for the kids. We sang songs, learned about Noah and how God blessed him for his obedience, memorized Genesis 7:5, and Julie and I sang a song in English that we had taught them back in April. We were both amazed that straight after we finished singing that same song in Kreyol, they started right into it in English and remembered the whole thing without any of our help! We had a great service that night, Devicour preached and the theme for this weekend was all who are tired and thirsty, come to Jesus because He is the living water and only in Him can we find true lasting life. There were more people who came forward after he spoke to give their lives to the Lord.The next morning Julie and I went with Junior to see a lady who had a broken hip the last time we were there. Julie had given her some exercises to help strengthen her muscles and wanted to see how she was doing. We walked down the side of the mountain through the mix of tarp tents, lean-tos, and the occasional cement house. The lady was very happy to see us and said she still had pain but could walk and get around just fine. After we left her house, Junior told us about how he had helped build 12 houses in Diquini during his time there. When he was in his early teens he went to live with a missionary family in Port who took him in as their own son. He told us that his “dad” had sent him money to buy materials to build houses for those in Diquini who had lost their homes in the earthquake and were now living in tents. He took us to see a couple of them and they were by far some of the nicest houses in the area and definitely a big step up from the tarp homes surrounding them. Junior told us that he has been looking for more support so that he can buy materials and continue building houses for these people. The need is so great and each night we were there, there was thunder, lightening, and pouring rain. We heard of one house collapsing under the force of the rain, and I'm sure there are many more that are frequently damaged during those kinds of storms. It is also safe to say that no one living in one of those tents would have a chance of staying dry when it rained. It was heart breaking to think that most of these families had been suffering in these conditions for the past 9 months.I am praying for a way in which I could help raise support to give these people proper homes to live in. If you would like to join in helping the families of Diquini, you can get in touch with me via email and I will give you more details about how you can do that.

Kids club on Friday afternoon got a tad bit chaotic when we brought out beads and string to make bracelets. We had black, red, white, green, and yellow beads and we explained to them that black stood for the darkness our sin, red represented the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all of that sin, the white bead represents how we are made clean and pure through His blood that covers us, the green stands for growth in our faith in who He is, and yellow represents heaven and the hope we have of spending eternity there with God. The seminary students were all really wonderful, and it was a blast working together with them.

Saturday night Pastor Belonie preached about Jesus and the Samarian woman in John 4. He incorporated humor, passion, and intensity into his message and had all of us shouting an amen at one point or another. He drove home the point that whoever drinks of the water Jesus offers will NEVER again be thirsty and that water will become in him a spring welling up to eternal life. We sang and danced, more people were saved, and the night ended in everyone running to their homes to try and escape the downpour. We were all up early the next morning. Church started at 6 because we needed to get on the road early so we wouldn’t be driving on the treacherous roads in the dark. The service was lovely, we heard from Pastor Elizay about the true bread and water of eternal life. In total, there were about 20 people who came to know the Lord during the crusade. We took communion, prayed for the church, and pastor Charlo who took over after Junior left, prayed for all of us as well. After church we had breakfast, packed up, and spent some time together as a group thanking God for who He is and all He had done in the short amount of time we were there. We prayed for His continued presence and blessings in the lives of His children in Diquini. I am so grateful that God has allowed me to be apart of experiences like these and apart of the work He is doing here. Even when we feel weak, discouraged, unfit to accomplish anything for the Kingdom, worn out, under attack, in the middle of a crisis, or out of our element, praise the Lord He is so much greater than our circumstances and that through our weaknesses He is made strong. For it is Christ who is living in us, and who chooses us as vessels to accomplish His will so that He may be glorified."But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing..." 1 Corinthians 2:14&15

Thankful heart

I wanted to share with you a couple of answers to prayers, and thank those of you who have been praying for me and the people of Haiti these past few months.

The special week at the clinic went really great. We saw over 200 patients a day and despite being exhausted at the end of the week, everyone worked really well together and was satisfied with how everything went. The medical team from the states that was here helping us brought 2 pastors with them, and they along with our 2 Haitian pastors on staff at the clinic, led 17 people to Christ...exciting! Currently Dr. Rodney is working to create a budget for the clinic that will allow Bethesda to permanently lower their prices and continue to offer the same affordable health care to all of their patients.

The never ending job of pill counting...woohoo!

I have an update on Tania the 23 year old girl in Milot who has breast cancer. We have been praying that she would be accepted to a hospital somewhere in the states for chemotherapy treatment and we just found out on Monday that a center in Baltimore that specializes in breast cancer patients has accepted her for treatment. There were many details that needed to be organized such as flights, someone to travel with her, living expenses while she is there, and of course all of the paperwork needed for her to be allowed into the country. They are estimating that she will need to be there for a year to complete the needed treatment. The hospital has found an apartment for her and her mom that is on the same campus as the hospital which will eliminate the need for transportation back and forth. The cost for them to live there with all of their meals included is $100 per day. There are a few people here who are looking to different organizations and businesses to try and find the funds to support her during the year, but the need is still great. Also, we are waiting for her and here mom to get their visas approved before they can go. They are scheduled to leave for the states on the 23rd of this month. Please pray that their visa applications would go through and that we would be able to find enough support to fully fund the trip before they leave. If you feel you would like to help Tania financially, you can let me know via email and we can make arrangements for that to happen. My address is hannahp333@yahoo.com.

It is amazing to see how God has been working in this situation and preparing the way for her to receive the help that she needs. I am confident that He will see it through to completion if we continue to trust in Him to provide for everything. I am so encouraged by Tania's attitude and steadfast faith in God despite her circumstances. Please continue to pray for her physical, emotional, and spiritual well being throughout this journey.

One last bit of news...I will be going back to Diquini Port-au-Prince tomorrow morning and coming back Sunday. There is team of missionaries and seminary students going to encourage the church there, lead church services, and do some evangelism in the surrounding areas. We would all appreciate your prayers for this opportunity we've been given to show the love of Christ to these people.