The therapy clinic was only open for half the day on Wednesday, as it is not generally a busy day. Suzie and Melanie were able to see a few patients and do some great work with them. Jamen was able to manufacture a foot brace for a girl with a large wound on the bottom of her foot so that she could walk without pressure and also to keep the area clean. He is quite creative!
The medical clinic closed down by noon. The Canadian students have been a wonderful resource and their enthusiasm for getting things done is encouraging. They will all make great physicians and medical professionals some day. The dad of the premie infant that we have paid to stay and have been so involved with came to the group with a piece of paper and a very large smile. He was very genuine and was trying to explain something and we were struggling to understand without our translators handy. Once we had our translator, Big Mac, he was able to read the note the dad was handing to us. He has been so appreciative of the dedication to his son and the help he had received, he was asking to have Jan be the godmother of his son. . . . . . WOW!
Once the clinics were closed, the group headed off to see down town Port-au-Prince. The conditions were hard to take in as we saw the devastation that has left so many thousands of Haitians homeless. Pictures, even by professional photo journalists, cannot describe the destruction and devastation that was seen. I struggle to even write in words what we saw. It made shopping for souvenirs seem frivolous and was difficult to feel good about spending money. There is so much needed here. Where do you begin. Suzie and Vickie remind us of a parable once shared: a little boy was walking along the beach one night and saw all of the starfish that had come to shore. He started tossing the starfish one at a time back into the sea. Each time he did this he was asked "why do you bother". He again was walking along with his father and shared what others had said as he was tossing in a starfish. His father replied "but you helped that one".
Stacie, Deb, and Jennie began packing for home. They were wonderful to have and Stacie left with a heavy heart the next day not knowing if the care for the children she had been entrusted with would be the proper care or would continue. It is a worry that we all struggle with.
The medical clinic closed down by noon. The Canadian students have been a wonderful resource and their enthusiasm for getting things done is encouraging. They will all make great physicians and medical professionals some day. The dad of the premie infant that we have paid to stay and have been so involved with came to the group with a piece of paper and a very large smile. He was very genuine and was trying to explain something and we were struggling to understand without our translators handy. Once we had our translator, Big Mac, he was able to read the note the dad was handing to us. He has been so appreciative of the dedication to his son and the help he had received, he was asking to have Jan be the godmother of his son. . . . . . WOW!
Once the clinics were closed, the group headed off to see down town Port-au-Prince. The conditions were hard to take in as we saw the devastation that has left so many thousands of Haitians homeless. Pictures, even by professional photo journalists, cannot describe the destruction and devastation that was seen. I struggle to even write in words what we saw. It made shopping for souvenirs seem frivolous and was difficult to feel good about spending money. There is so much needed here. Where do you begin. Suzie and Vickie remind us of a parable once shared: a little boy was walking along the beach one night and saw all of the starfish that had come to shore. He started tossing the starfish one at a time back into the sea. Each time he did this he was asked "why do you bother". He again was walking along with his father and shared what others had said as he was tossing in a starfish. His father replied "but you helped that one".
Stacie, Deb, and Jennie began packing for home. They were wonderful to have and Stacie left with a heavy heart the next day not knowing if the care for the children she had been entrusted with would be the proper care or would continue. It is a worry that we all struggle with.
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