Another Perspective

Tuesday we will be heading to a distant, mountain village called Anse-a-Pitre, with our friends Bob and Sally Heier. We are planning to do a mobile medical clinic and some activities with the school children. The village is located high in the mountains that border the Dominican Republic. It’s a beautiful, but somewhat treacherous drive. Your prayers for safety and a positive day for everyone are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I thought I’d try something a little different this evening. For those of you who are wondering what a week at MOHI in Haiti might look like, here’s what it looked like to Melissa Roper. Melissa led a team to Haiti from Bless Back Worldwide (Charlotte, NC) that impacted so many people in so many ways. I hope you enjoy the insider’s view…

January 18, 2015

The Haiti team just arrived in Atlanta. I’ve decided to name this group “Team Lean and Mean”. “Lean” because we are a small team (although we won’t be as lean after a week of Angelise’s delicious fried plantains and homemade bread) and “mean” because we mean business. This is the most seasoned group I’ve ever traveled with and even the newbies are acting like pros. It’s been a pleasure watching everyone jump into their roles already. Can’t wait to meet our 3 team members traveling in from Ohio!

Team Lean and Mean…ready for action! First task- bed!

Worship and hearing God’s Word…a beautiful start to our week!

Sweet moments today praying with the people in the village near the guesthouse. We met the newest member of the village born just last night. Prayers for blessing and mercy on each home!

Interesting to see the reach of blessings from Charlotte. Notice the orange Charlotte Eagles T-shirt with the Carolinas Medical Center sponsorship.

January 19, 2015

How about starting your week off with this smiling face?? The clinic is in full swing today!

Pat spent the morning working in the classrooms, then training the preschool teachers.

It’s exciting to collaborate with our new Haitian doctor. The two physicians saw patients together, learning from each other!

The dental team is finding their groove. One side of the room is happier than the other though. Mary is doing cleanings while Chris is doing extractions!

We have a fabulous triage/intake team. The Haitian nurses are taking blood pressures, Chapel and Caroline are checking patients in, Linda is doing therapy, and Chris is doing, well, a little bit of everything!

And here is our highly over-qualified water boy!

At the end of the day, all the action is happening in the pharmacy. But look! Becky still has a smile on her face!!

January 20, 2015

Team Chris… Do you think they called each other and planned this??

It’s s full house today!

It’s touching to see the love of parents- both mothers and fathers- as they bring their children to the clinic!

The two cousins are hard at work side by side!

Speaking of hard work….teaching is a tough job! Pat is busy in the classrooms today working with both students and teachers.

January 21, 2015

We finished up the day yesterday connecting with friends olds and new !

Tuesday afternoon was spent doing health lessons and screenings in the village. The human sized demonstration of flossing was quite the spectacle to watch!

We met this young handicapped woman. Her hands were filthy, so the nurses taught her family about the importance of good hand washing.

An office suite with a view! Up and running in the mountains of Haiti.

When we were setting up for village lessons, this sweet man cleared a spot with his machete, then brought out his only two chairs for us to use. It was a humbling moment.

Last night the kids played cards while the old folks Farkled.

Lisa had a tough round.

Jerry holds down the pharmacy in St. Etienne.

Dad and daughter made a great team! They are sharing many special moments together!

Starting the day off right with prayer and a song. So sweet to hear the voices joining together to say “How Great Thou Art”.

What makes our doctors so great is the way they connect with their patients. They take the time to show them that they care.

January 22, 2015

Lots of great stuff happening today! Here are some of our friends from the village who have come into the clinic to see us!

We have fabulous translators! Sometimes they just can’t watch the procedures though!

Look how professional this dental team looks with their matching outfits!

We love working with our Haitian colleagues- Ruth and Dr. Lavaud!

Pat has her hands full today teaching about measurement using toy cars and her fancy recycled track!

Linda has a line of patients waiting for therapy outside her “room” (aka the bathroom). Adaptable is our middle name!

Look at Lisa smiling at her computer today! She has kept the EMR system up and running perfectly!

The cutie of the day!

Little big man came to the clinic on his own today !

Twins!

This fella was literally walking taller when he left the clinic today. Before….after.

Our last two patients were characters! They used Becky as their personal water boy!

Chris is a trooper! It’s “Not Happy Baby” day and he gets to measure them all. Plus he’s the King of Urine. We love you Chris!

January 23, 2015

We’ve been privileged to treat several local police officials. We are thankful that they work hard to keep the peace in Grand Goave.

Translated in English, “eerwwwaaaagh.”

Cutie of the day! Bonus- she’s not crying!

As a treat yesterday after clinic, we enjoyed a ride on the boat to Taino Beach. It was fun to swim and haggle with the vendors selling their goods!

Lots of education going on today in the classrooms. The teachers also learned how to administer fluoride treatments weekly to the students.

Ask Teresa later about what is in that bucket!

Our birthday girls!!

January 24, 2015

We capped the week with a Teacher Appreciation dinner for the MOHI teachers. They are training the future of Haiti.

Goodbye Haiti! See you again soon! This has been an incredible team- skilled, compassionate, and adaptable!!

TEAM SPRING FEVER is looking for a few good team members to join us in HAITI for the week of March 21-28, 2015. What could be better after a loooong, cold, wet winter than a week of service in beautiful, warm Haiti?? We are still looking for dental providers, RNs, EMTs, and non medical. We will have our first meeting this Thursday, January 29, 2015. Please contact us if you are interested in joining this wonderful team.