Random Pictures

 A group of the men run every morning.  They run past the village and the kids love to come out to see them, I think the guys love it just as much!

 Walking to the clinic. Notice the tent city in the background.

Children as young as 6 are left to take care of younger siblings often.

Super sweet kiddo waiting in line to be seen at the clinic.

Our day at the mobile clinic

Today found us on the way to Troucaima (to-ki-ema) for a mobile clinic. The countryside was beautiful. What a contrast to the sights we would soon see in the village. We were met by over a hundred mothers, children, grandparents waiting to be treated by our medical staff. Some of those were the permanant of NVM and 4 of our own team.



With the amazing help of our translators we got each of those waiting registered, temperatures taken and assigned to one of our nurses or doctors. We saw children as young as 1 month and grandmothers as old as 65. We were taken with the nutritional deficits in many of the patients. Yet they had hope because we were able to give the medicine they needed as well as vitamin supplements.

Brooke Smalley, Joe Bennett and Shelly Elliott serving at the pharmacy table

After a long day of helping medically we also helped them remember to play. All of the children in the village came out to play soccer, duck-duck-goose (poul-poul-pidegon for the Creole speakers) and red light-green light. One of the delights of the children was beating the Americans at any of the games.

What a privilege it is to anticipate 3 more days of helping, playing and praying with these beautiful people at similiar mobile clinics. We are the blessed ones to receive as much as we give. A example of that giving was seen in an older woman who caught our eye. She was the only one wearing eyeglasses. Through the translator we found out that she had received them at one of the previous mobile clinics. This has given her a huge blessing.

Worship, Chambrun, and Kids

Bon swa from Haiti.  This is Jon Hughes, a member of the Grace Group, and it is my privilege to provide you my prespective on our time here with NVM.

The girl in the pictures above is about 16 months old, or roughly the age of my son, Nolan.  Her face speaks volumes to me and her life will impact mine forever.  Her young story is one of trial, tribulation, and yet, simultaneously, joy.  From the town of Chambrun Haiti, this young girl has survived the threat of persecution from the very life that God used to create her. In fact, she was left for dead on three occassions.  However, God, through His people, has given her hope, and in her hope, I find my own.   I put her picture here to give us all hope.  The hope that is in Jesus Christ.  I hope for new life.  In Luke 9:10-17, we are given the picture of God feeding the 5,000 with two fish and five loaves of bread. That stoy is one we have heard over and over and can often recite it as a miraculous sign that confirms that Jesus was and is the Mesiah.  But today, as we as a team reflected on that verse, I was reminded that Jesus' miracles of creating something out of little, multiplying what we his people can bring, is what gives new life to the people of the World.  

We started the day today with another very powerful image -- worship. Although I knew it to be true even before I arrived in Haiti, I was reminded this morning that we Worship the God of the Universe.  His Truth is THE Truth.  It is the truth for those of us in the United States, and it is the Truth for people all across this globe.  As I sat in Church this morning, and we worshiped in Creol I was blown away by how the God we worship is one God, the same God for all who teaches the same truth for all.



 Above is a look inside of the church before service.  As you can see it is totally packed.  Most of the children you see in the picture left prior to service to go to their own sunday school, and then our team was able to join the Haitian people for worship.  Below you can get a glimpse of some of our team prior to service. The building behind us is the church here on NVM's campus.

It was amazing to watch the people walk in from town (which is maybe less than a quarter mile away from the church).  They walk along a dirt and rock road, and they come in wearing their sunday best.  The women wear the most beautiful dresses and the men (though there were few) wore, in some instances suits and ties.  It was quite a scene to behold.

During service, we worshiped in song in both English and Creole.  Pastor Pierre (the head pastor here at NVM, and the one in whom God planted the vision for NVM) introduced the mission teams that were on campus and asked us each to sing a song.  We sang "Every Move I Make."  My friends in little one's way at Grace will be proud to know that those of us who knew the motions did them proudly!! The Church band joined in and we rocked out for a while.

After church, the kids hung out with us outside of the church, and we took lots of "photos."  They all ask "photo" "photo?" and then pose.  Then they take your camera and take about a hundred pictures on their own.  Below are some of the better ones from after church.

The kid on the right in the picture above is Josie, which is Joshua in English.  He showed me several times where his name is in the Bible and then asked for my name.  When I said "Jon" he showed me where John was in the bible. Amazing to know that God is teaching these Children His Word.

If anyone was worried, Ron is in normal form :).

After Church we went to the Village of Chambrun, which is about 1/4 of a mile from the compound.  We walked to the village over the same rocky path that I mentioned above.  When we got there, we visited the orphanage first and played soccer with the kids.  They were such a joy to play with, and really touched my life more than I could ever hope to touch theirs.

I took a few pictures of the inside of the children's orphanage, but the one below said the most to me.

NVM is currently constructing two buildings to move the children's home/orphanage to the main campus.  Pray that these buildings get completed soon so that the Children can have more of the things that they need.  For now, they have three bed rooms, and this is the only one that is painted.  Praise God for the toys and stuffed animals they have to call their own.



After playing soccer for about an hour we went further back into the village and, amidst mud huts fellowshiped with the villagers and spoke mostly with the Kids, who again wanted their "photo."  They love to pose.  This picture was taken by one of the kids who wanted to use my camera and these two posed for him probably 10 times.  It is quite the experience.  I hope you, like I, can see the joy in their face.  I wish, though, that you could see the despair they live in.  The place they call home, in most instances, is nothing mroe than a house made of mud.  Currently it is raining, and we were told that tomorrow most of them will have to rebuild their entire homes.  I was also told that they have a saying here in Haiti:  "A leaky roof can fool the sun, but it cannot fool the rain."  Pray for these people.

I leave you with this final photo.  A young girl at the orphanage whose smile and eyes simply lit up my day.  How a young girl can find joy in the midst of despair is beyond me, but I hope that the joy she shows fills your heart.  In the love of Christ, the Grace Team.



Day 1

Our medical team went to Onaville and served in a tent camp all day.  Scroll down to find that.

The rest of us stayed on campus and worked.

Some worked in a store that NVM has organized as way to provide clothing to the surrounding community at a good price.


We also had to, " Sand some boards, wait for the welders, drill some holes add some varnish... or in otherwords make some Church Benches".  This is a new venture for NVM.  They want to start a church in the tent city in Onaville.

overall we just spent the day working/partnering with NVM.

We also got to hear Pastor Pierre's personal testimony this evening.  It is an amazing story of God's faithfulness.

Saturday....

This is Tia, the medical staff spent the day at an IDP clinic on the side of a mountain called Onaville in Haiti today. Our staff includes Bryan and Dave, the doctors and Annie and I are RN's.

 As far as you can see in most directions were shacks and tents.  Interpreters told us that non of this was here before the earthquake.  After the quake, people fled Port au Prince and red cross etc. set up these areas for people.

 This is who we were greeted by when we pulled up to the IDP clinic this morning.  They helped us unload the truck and just hung around with us until all the patients came. They were so smiley and sang songs for us.The picture below is of Dave showing the kids a video on his iphone that he made of them singing a song.  They love seeing themselves on the screen.

 Quickly the tent filled with patients.  We ended up seeing 178 patients, with 3 doctors, 1 nurse practitioner and 7 nurses.  1 nurse manned the pharmacy with one other worker.

 We were in small groups with an interpreter.  Those waiting in line were very quiet and cooperative, waiting for up to 2 hours.  Fortunately the weather has been wonderful.  A constant breeze and cooler temps (80s) than normal.  One of our workers wore a coat the whole time, while another had a stocking cap on.  They liked hearing about the snow we get in Indiana in the winter.

 Sweet chubby cheek boy.  He only smiled once he saw his "photo" on the phone. He is 2 1/2 and was brought in by a friend who is 10.  His father was working. 

 The team I was with consisted of Amy, a pediatric NP, an interpreter and me learning how to do this on my own come Monday!  I introduced myself as "just a nurse" when I got there and one of the docs already here said "thats a doctor in Haiti".  I thought he was exagerating, but quickly found out he wasn't.

 The docs went on a house call at one of the relief home sites.  These were rows and rows of small houses built with donations from the US and France after the earthquake.  We saw several groups of these in a couple different locations.  They are sponsored by different agencies like WorldVision, IOP, and others in French that I can't read :).  They are 2 room small homes the size of storage sheds in the US.  There are community bathrooms at one end, with an area to get water from a fillable storage bladder.  These are filled periodically, but not dependably.

This was my last patient, gotta love the cubs shirt. (it had Prior on the back).  He ended up getting 4 shots in the rear and had his eye irrigated repeatedly with saline.  He never flinched.  (The person beside him is his mother! )  His eye was probably saved today.  A minor injury in the States, can turn horribly bad here.


All in all today was such a privilege.  A privelege to serve amongst "the least of these". I am so thankful to be here.
 Thanks for praying for us, God has provided in so many ways already.

Arrived

Our plane landed at about 3:10pm and at the same time the President of Haiti arrived.  We literally went through immigration at the same time.  The Picture is not the best but if you see my hand in the upper left.. I was on the other side pointing him out for pictures to be taken. 

We thought they were all excited for our arrival!  :)

Here we are trying to navigate our totes through the airport in Port Au Prince.

It has been a long day since our 3am wake up call. 

More to come!

commissioning

Here is our time of Commissioning and Packing.

It was a wonderful day and very productive.