Different world...

I started this blog awhile back, and then things got crazy again at the cholera ward and I didn't get around to finishing it...until now. At the beginning of December, Julie, me, Matt, Stacey, and their daughter Lily took a four day trip to the Domincan to one get our passports stamped(we have to leave Haiti every 3 months to renew our "visa") and two to have a little rest. We packed up and headed out Thursday afternoon and to drive to an all-inclusive resort in Puerta Plata, and then come home Sunday afternoon.

The day we left, Julie and I had been working in the cholera ward and had a pretty wild morning. A family brought in their young daughter who was already taking her last breaths and there was nothing at all we could do. She died in the front yard outside of the cholera house and since the bodies have to be burned to make sure the disease does not spread, they had to keep the body there until someone could come pick it up to take it away. At noon we staggered home to get our things and get on the road, both still very much in the mindset of all the happenings of that morning and the weeks prior we had spent treating cholera patients...by that evening, we were pulling into an all-inclusive resort with a huge lighted Christmas tree waiting to greet us as we drove up. Talk about culture shock! While we were waiting for our rooms to be ready, we went into the buffet where we had a wide array of foods, desserts, and drinks at our fingertips. We were all a little shocked at the number of choices and the amount of excess. For the first few minutes we just walked around and stared at everything with open mouths, all the time whispering to each other and pointing, "wow look at those," and "oooo they have these," and "oh my goodness that looks wonderful!" We were all very thankful for the little bit of Christmas tradition we had found, for the blessing of foods and drinks we hadn't had in a long time, and for a good nights sleep after a long day of work and travel.Friday it was a nice day, sunny and warm, so w all put on the bathing suits and headed for the pool, Lily of course being the most enthusiastic to jump right in(the water was not by any means very warm). It took awhile for me to wrap my mind around so quickly being thrown into a completely different environment, opposite of the one I had just been in the day before. It was bizarre to think that everything that was going on back in Haiti with cholera and our clinic was still happening, while only a few hours drive away, there we were trying to get a suntan with everything we needed/wanted at our beckon call. It was just surreal and I never could quite push that out of my mind, or be at peace while we were there...but I am grateful or the opportunity for a change of pace, some more sleep, good food, and great company with the Ayar's family before jumping back into the craziness that has been life working in the cholera house. We also had another huge blessing that came about because of this trip to the DR. Someone had sent both Julie and I a large amount of money to buy supplies for treating cholera as well as for baby formula and supplies. These things had become hard to find in Haiti and when found, were much more expensive than they had previously been before. On Saturday we all went to a large super market near the resort with a list of things the clinic was in need of. We bought around $800 worth of baby formula, bottles, diapers for both babies and older people, and baby wipes. We were able to get way more there for our money than if we would have tried to buy it in Haiti so we were praising the Lord for that as well. The rest of our time there was filled with walks on the beach, exploring the resort, watching Lilly dance up on stage with the other kids during their hour of scheduled and choreographed dance sesh, visiting with each other, people watching, and watching some Office episodes. It was great to get away and give our bodies a bit of a rest, but come Sunday we were ready to go home.When we got home, Julie and I were motivated from seeing all the decorations at the resort, to set up our Christmas tree along with all the decorations we had in our house from the past years, all the while blasting Christmas music. Here is a picture of our little fake tree that we have in our living room.This Christmas is going to be a little different than any other one I've had. For one, I will only see a white Christmas in my dreams this year, two I won't be with any of my family, three, I will be periodically going to the cholera house to take some shifts, and four, I will be staying with Dr. Rodney, Vedane, and their 3 kids so the majority of my communication will be done in a different language :) But I am so grateful the Lord has blessed me with their presence in my life since being here. They are a very special family and I am looking forward to spending this time with them. I am thankful for all the abundant blessings the Lord has so faithfully poured out on me this year, and am in awe of his love for us that He demonstrated by sending His son to earth to die in our place so that we may spend eternity with Him. That is what this season is all about, and no matter how much I miss all the traditions of Christmas back home, or no matter how much I miss being with my family, Jesus is the only one who offers that true happiness, love, and peace. It is in being reminded of that during this time, that I rejoice and am truly filled with His joy. May God fill you with this joy and richly bless you this Christmas season :)