Day 4 in Haiti

A day unlike any other so far. We began the clinic in the morning after the mass. Dr. Graves (Tom) stood outside the gate and spoke to the crowd of people who had come, “We have come because we love Jesus.” One of our team, Dave, led us all in singing and a student, Conor, talked about his prayer for God to work through him.

I was a little frustrated in the beginning because the task of maintaining order in the triage was getting to me. I kept reminding myself what I was here for and why I wanted to come. Eventually the task became easier and new ideas came up that helped me manage the crowd. I saw members of the team smiling as they did their work and giving me a thumbs up every now and then, and felt convicted that my frustration was not good. I prayed and felt that God was prompting me to pray for patients waiting in line at the clinic to see a doctor. So I went there and started laying my hands on and praying for each one, specifically for the sickness stated on each triage form. More and more patients began to thrust their triage forms into my hands asking me to pray. I prayed for most of them. As Sara Groves said, “your faith has changed me, your hope inspires, your courage asked me what I knew of love, and your courage asked me what I knew of God.”

I came back after lunch and finished triage duties. The highlights of this day was a pregnant woman who came into the triage with high blood pressure, whom Joyce diagnosed to have preeclampsia. She decided to induce the baby in order to save its life. After 8 hours, baby Frank was born and the lives of both baby and mom were saved. One of the Haitian team members told me, "This is why God will always bless you." Father Roosevelt told me, “That Joyce is awesome- she should stay here forever.” After we discharged the woman, she had to walk to her home which was nearby. This was a makeshift hospital which we needed to use the next day. Her family members accompanied her and she went home limping! As we walked back in the tick Haitian night, Brun told me in a hushed tone, “This was a miracle.” I nodded and then he asked me, “At any point were you afraid for the baby’s life?” I said I wasn’t, but I was scared for the mom’s life. I told him that when we were expecting Emma, Alma asked me a few times, “Am I going to die?” I now tease her about it.

Did I not write yet about watching the second half of the US Ghana game? That shows how much electricity was in the air. It was indeed, as Brun said, a miracle. I'll never forget it.