HAITI MEDICAL MISSION 2008
Larry Bailly 18414 Broadway Ave. Snohomish, WA 98296 baillybusbarn@juno.com 425-218-6334
This was truly a trip of “firsts” for this group leader. The team consisted of men, women (for the first time) and even a teenager (another first). The team was split into two groups, and the entire team would stay for a full two weeks. This trip consisted of medical personnel, construction and electrical specialists and teachers. We would be split into two groups at two locations and accomplish considerable good work at both sites. Eyes would be opened to this very desperate but beautiful country and its people, and many hearts were won for continued service in this place of Voodoo and desperation.
The trip to the North Coast of Haiti was a very long day and a half of frustration and waiting. The size of the team and desire to take as much material, food and tools as possible prompted us to “hire” a full plane of seats from Port au Prince (PaP) where the international airport is, to Port de Paix (PdP) where the “small” plane of 19 seats lands on a dirt runway. The problems started with two of the small planes being broken when we arrived, along with another mission group with 42 travelers who also had reserved two and a half planes! We were able to make the last flight of the day (another interesting story) but with nearly 2000 pounds of luggage, some of our stuff didn’t arrive until two days later.
All but two of the 17 of us who flew in on Monday 1/14 first went out to the hospital at Passe Catabois. Not really a town, but a “place” on Google Earth. About 20 miles west of PdP, PC as we call it, is a mission compound with several purposes. First and foremost it has a medical facility currently operating. The clinic is just a small building with rooms for paperwork, diagnosis and surgery. The waiting area is a tin roofed patio with wooden benches, outside under the trees. The pharmacy is in a smaller building, an outdoor closet if you like, again separate from the clinic. The staff is Anne-Marie Hulshuizen-Wessels, a Dutch physician, her18 year old assistant Guerlande who is learning medicine from AM on-the-job (she performed her first solo surgery while our team was there!) and a small group of Haitian nurses. The hospital provides FREE medical care to as many as 700,000 inhabitants in this area of Haiti, and some people will travel many days for the care. As the team was there, word spread of the visiting “blans” (Creole word for whites), and the workload increased to many times the norm. The most common treatments are for malnutrition, TB and pregnancy complications. Emergency situations are a daily occurrence and not always with the best outcome. Everything else, including gunshot wounds, burns and even elective surgery is done as well. AM has a nickname that is not printable here.
Our team included a team of Nurses from SCC and other churches. Each one had a specialty that was of use during the trip and in some cases, God had specifically chosen them for situations that might otherwise have been hopeless. Haiti is a land of extremely difficult life and death decisions on a daily basis. It was evident from the first day at PC that the team would be tested in their faith and understanding of Gods sovereignty. That miracles were performed was evident in small lives that could so easily have been lost. Over the course of two weeks, lives would be lost for lack of proper medicine, facilities or delay in seeking medical care. On the other hand, lives were saved because the right treatment was available or medicine carried in by our team was obviously a God send.
The other part of the PC team was tasked with progress on the Hospital building. There was a lot of tile work to be done, and it was (approximately 2800 sq. feet). Septic system plumbing was engineered and construction begun. And just the presence of “blan” workers in a land that is often forgotten by the outside world, makes the sharing of the Gospel easier for AM’s husband Rob. That is after all the biggest “construction” project in Haiti. To build a large and effective base of Christian believers who can bring light to a country with such obvious ties to the Devil through Voodoo.
After two days at PC, six of us took off for our other “mission” at LaPointe, bringing our team to 10 at that location. About 5 miles east of PdP, LaPointe is a wide spot in the road where a mission compound covers both sides of the main road. On one side is a Hospital, Centre Medical Beraca, which houses the House of Hope children’s medical and care facility and other facilities supported by Crossworld Missions and its Haitian counterpart, UEBH (Union Evangelique Baptiste d’ Haiti). The other side of the road is where we stay, in a walled compound with residences for missionaries, medical staff, and guests like us. Our projects mostly revolved around infrastructure and mechanical maintenance for the mission buildings and equipment. The main purpose though is support for Gail and Lois (two Crossworld Missionaries) and their programs to teach the Gospel through many projects with children and women. Another ongoing project is improvement to the living conditions and facilities of the House of Hope, where Jenny Reitz (Crossworld) is the assistant director. The HOH is a care facility that houses as many as 100 children at any given time. The primary focus of the care is to provide a life after afflictions such as malnutrition, TB or abuse have taken that away. Due to the Voodoo influence in their lives, many children arrive at the HOH within hours of a horrible death after the failure of Witch Doctors to resolve their disease. Many parents simply abandon these children as “lost”, but the HOH takes many in for a life full of love, care and the inspiration to succeed with Christ’s love in their heart. For many of these kids, this will be the only family they will ever know, and that is OK.
We had on this team a mother and daughter team that worked with Lois on producing teaching materials for the coming year. First time travelers to Haiti, Karen and Kim along with Nadia would give preparations for the teaching year a jump start. All of us would spend time at the House of Hope on a daily basis, just holding children and interacting with them. It is this time, spent having love and care sucked out of you into a small helpless child that makes this trip such a necessary part of my year, and once that happens, most can’t keep from going back. We were able for the first time on my many trips to tour the other facilities of the mission. We toured the vocational school, the high school and elementary schools. Run by the Beraca church and UEBH, the yearly cost of education is still the equivalent of nearly a year’s salary for most Haitians. The fact that parents will sacrifice even food to be able to afford giving their children an education is what makes me believe that these people have the heart to resolve the other conflicts in Haiti for their children to prosper.
After two weeks, most of the team was ready to come home, but most said if the opportunity was presented, many would have stayed longer. By networking with coworkers, we hope to increase the team size next year, and possibly extend the impact especially at PC by having two consecutive teams there for a month.
My final reflection on this trip is: We will need two planes next January!
Thank you to the team this year for making this trip such a complete success in so many ways.
Lynn Lewis, Val Hansen, Ryna Hansen, Al Shelton, Tom Pierce, Craig Ullman, Richard Fairfield, Al Fadenrecht, Allen Nation, Harold Sweeney, Ken Wills (Peoria, Ill.), Katie Martin, Karen Douglas, Kim Askevold, Nadia Jones, Susan Robison (Mt. Vernon), Ken and Arlene Resztak (New Jersey). God bless you for being part of this mission
Larry Bailly
Donations can be sent to me at the above address. Write checks to Snohomish Community Church, with a memo that it is for Haiti Missions. Or you can send your donations directly to SCC at 13622 Dubuque Rd., Snohomish, WA 98290. Email me if you would like to be on my list for opportunities to serve in Haiti or other mission fields around the world. baillybusbarn@juno.com
This is Papa Noel (me) and Lovedine from the House of Hope
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