Journeys to the Sick

The day begins early in Haiti. It is now about 4:30 AM. I’ve been awake for a while, reflecting on the days that have gone past this week. Unlike last year I had not felt the urge to record my experiences here until now. I have just been absorbing the experience, talking to my friends here in Creole and getting to know them better. But it hits you hard sooner or later because the choices we make in situations and their consequences are sobering.

In the clinic yesterday morning, we had a little girl about 9 years old with 3 large abscesses around her neck which needed surgery and we could not perform. Without it she will likely die. Dr. Tom Graves pulled me in to lay hands on her and pray. We prayed for healing. Late last night I kept thinking of her and an account of a boy named John in the book Mountains Beyond Mountains, in which he had cancer which had spread to his lungs and Farmer’s team undertook an epic initiative to get him treated in Boston, but sadly he died there. I think of Jesus leaving the 99 sheep to look for the one that got away and I just cried uncontrollably that we could not do anything. A poor black girl in one of the poorest countries, insignificant in the eyes of men, having nothing, isolated and alone in the backwoods of the world. Isn’t there anyone to shed tears for her?

I prayed with some of the patients yesterday when I worked with the ophthalmologist. I gave them eye exams, and they thanked me for the prayer. Some prayed for me in Creole. My Haitian friends who interpreted for me also began treating patients with kindness and respect. God’s love spreads around.

Joyce delivered a baby boy yesterday- they called him John Metson (?), but due to the placement of the boy during delivery, they needed to maneuver him and it resulted in the mom hemorrhaging about 2-3 liters of blood.  They rusher her to the hospital in Port au Prince with baby in tow to breastfeed. Joyce, tired and hungry as she was from not having eaten all day, went with her. It is now the next morning and she still hasn’t returned but we hear that the mom is safe. Thank you Jesus for your kindness.