Saturday January 17, 2009

I can’t believe this moment of silence is mine. All I can hear are the crickets outside and Jacque and Isabelle talking next door. I don’t think I’ve had a moment like this since the night before I came when I had 20 minutes of sweet sleep in between packing and getting up to go to the airport. But I’m thinking now, to many people’s surprise, I actually prefer the chaos that is when 18 people travel and live together in Haiti (what my last two weeks have been). And chaos is was at times. I obviously haven’t had much time or power for internet or even time to sit down and write something, so sorry to my faithfuls.

The first day back. A high for me. I jumped off the side of the tap tap when we arrived in Passe Catabois and walked up to the hospital. Shilanda and her mom (a patient from before I left) walked around the corner and shock came across her face. Miss Ryna! Then Darlande and her mom, then I rounded the corner and heard Leah and Kate. Oh man, it was hugs, kisses, and tears on my part to see them all and be back. It was just an awesome moment. And being with Leah and Kate, who I haven’t seen since July, was beyond incredible. We must all be girl soul mates or something.

I don’t think I can put the last two weeks into words because if I did it would be a novel. But it was chaotic and overwhelming to me at times as I was trying to get back into the swing of things and catch up on all the patients and happenings I had missed while trying to help the team where I could. But the team was pretty dang awesome. Independent, confident, relational, and ready to help where they could. It seemed that many days everyone took off to do their own projects. The guys worked away at the hospital and after I took the tour of what they accomplished, I am amazed. I’ve seen a glimpse into the future of what the hospital will be and how they might be able to actually pull off a functioning hospital. They made leaps with the plumbing, showers, toilet stalls, and tiling. It’s beautiful! If I can actually say that about a shower or a floor.

The nurses worked in the clinic but also really took to the people in the hospital. Katie cooking meals for the kids, transformed the trunks we brought into bathtubs and soaped up a lot of kids. And I know lives have been changed. Especially two twin baby girls. After two weeks of TLC from the team they are both thriving. Before we were having trouble getting them to eat, play, or even smile and now it seems they are doing all of the above.

So some highlights because I can’t put it all into words:
- Jaclynn and Autumns’ enthusiasm for delivering babies. Please come back and do them all for us!
- tiling, tiling, and more tiling. And a lot of sore knees
- Jean, who seemed to have more determination than most of us, and her part with the twin girls.
- the abscesses and the popage, oh…
- um, can we say panoodles?
- Eukr and how I kicked Tom’s butt every night, haha!
- the mountain of food that is still in the kitchen
- doing rounds in the morning with my mom and the look on all the Haitians’ faces when I told them: this is my mom!
- the spiders and the all screaming, oh man…
- me and my Unicef milk jugs (aka big gulp…thanks Ashley)