Hello everyone,
First, let me start by saying "THANK YOU" to everyone who prayed and helped on "the home front" with the kids and by taking over my responsibilities while I was away. I truly could not have gone without your help and support. I thought often of how my kids were faring while I was in Haiti and, though I knew they were in great hands and you were praying for them, I knew our absence was quite hard. Micah did exceptionally well but the week was difficult for Ellie.
I am still processing everything from the trip (something I expect to be doing for some time...) but I wanted to share a bit about how things went. Several things went far better than expected.
- Transportation in Haiti went remarkably well (this has often not been the case so we are tremendously thankful)! I did not think it was possible for the roads in Port-au-Prince to be worse than they were on my last trip but, alas, they were. Cracks and rubble from the earthquake took their toll on the roads and sidewalks. The remarkable skill of our drivers compensated beautifully!
- We had surprisingly comfortable beds the entire trip (although the roosters prevented sleep from 3 AM on each night...this is no exaggeration).
- I was able to see all the heart patents we hosted and several of our dear friends. I am thankful to have had much-needed time to reconnect with them. It was tough to see how they were affected by the earthquake, especially Sisters Fidelis and Jo as they told stories of the medical relief work they did.
Community Health Program
The things we expected to be problems were not and the things we expected to go smoothly did not... The training for the Community Health Workers was riddled with difficulty. Each day had more than its share of drama and interruptions from the Mayor trying to shut down the program (this was an attempt to strong-arm us into hiring his friend), to tremendous conflict with the woman who was hired to manage the program. We had to create two separate accounts so we could funnel money slowly to make payroll each month without having everything accessible to the manager who may try to spend it with no regard for how things are set up in the budget. While we were still in the Pestel, the manager tried to convince the bank to allow her to make an unauthorized withdrawal and we have MANY concerns about how she will do as a manager. We are giving her one more chance and the local doctor who is overseeing the program will be keeping close tabs on her.
Some of the financial issues were ultimately ironed out in one discussion on the final day we were in Pestel. We fully recognize God's hand in this.
The 14 Community Health Workers who finished the program are dedicated and we think they will work nicely. Ben returns in 2 1/2 months for his 2nd training with them. We are so grateful for what this program means for the people of Pestel. Not only will this boost the health of the children in the area, the grant from Variety International provides funds to pay the workers so we were able to employ 2 managers and 14 workers full-time in an area where jobs are scarce!
Coming Home
Our trip home was not a smooth one. Due to a windstorm, JFK airport was shut down on Saturday so we were diverted to Miami for a 21-hour layover. This was an exhausting way to end an already tiring trip. Upon reflection, it afforded us and others some opportunities to digest and talk through what we experienced during the week. It also gave us some valuable buffer time to escape the chaos of our trip and gain enough distance to start processing things without having our responsibilities at home start pressing in and distracting us. By enlarge our plane was filled with Haitians who were returning from visits with family or missions workers who go down with some frequency and have developed a real love for Haiti and its people. Our 21-hour delay forced all of us to stay together. We were able to talk with each other and I think this was therapeutic for most of us.
Over the next few weeks, I'm expecting a lot of people to ask me how my trip was. As I go through the gamut of emotions that follow a trip like this, my responses can vary from a simple "Good and bad" to a flow of endless comments about the trip (and you'll have a hard time getting me to stop talking). No matter my response, know that I am tremendously glad that I went. I hope that I can find a way of remembering all that I saw and heard and really allow God to change me through this. As you pray for us in the upcoming days, please pray for peace, that we would fix our eyes on Christ and not get too distracted by the way things "look" and that we might find solace and rest.
Jen
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