Hearts United with Haiti: January 2016

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Safely on their way home!

Both groups have officially checked in and are safely on their way home. They are already missed here in Haiti.

Final trip photos...

Handprints on the wall.....

Organizing shelves...

A final walk to the overlook

The chair maker... (met on a prayer walk)

Helping at the hospital...

Final Bible study day they took communion together

Communion elements

Blood pressures all around!!

Communion again

Final dinner-YUM!

More of our final dinner.

First off let me apologize for not posting anything yesterday. We did type one up, but had some computer malfunctions and when we went to post it it had been lost. So tonight we will be doing one big final blog that will encompass the whole trip.

This trip consisted of a cornucopia of people. We had people who would make this their fifth trip and some people who it would be the first. No matter how different we all were when we left our home one thing became clear very fast. We all were here for one reason and that reason was to serve God and spread his love, mercy and grace to the Haitian people anyway we could. For example, today we were able to comfort Haitian women who were in labor. In Haiti, moms do not have a support person during labor like we do in the states. So Emily, Tori and Chrissy were able to hold the laboring mothers hands while they were having contractions. You could see in their faces that they were very appreciative. We even got to pray with a few of the moms.

Lane, Kelsey, Teddy, and Mike went over to the orphanage and were able to see the kids one last time before we left. While there we were able to play some tackle keep away soccer/Frisbee/Dancing on the cement… Luckily no one got hurt this time unlike the first time where Lane may or may not have kicked the soccer ball into someone’s face… and Kelsey held a photo shoot for the girls. She brought a bunch of cardboard cut outs of different shapes such as beards, lips, and other fun shapes. The kids seemed to love it. Our last 10 minutes was full of hugs and goodbyes. Lane had a passenger come on to the bus with him. A little girl named Daphne, she latched on to him and wouldn’t let go all the way to the bus. She was even asking him to adopt her. It was sad but at the same time normal in Haiti. You just have to be willing to say no to things but in the nicest way possible.

We came home for dinner to enjoy one last meal together as a family. We talked for hours recalling all the events that occurred. There were many laughs, some sad moments but we were blessed to share them all together. At the end of the night we all said whatever was on our hearts and thanking Crystal for bringing us all together under one roof. We thanked Redgi for driving us everywhere, translating all day long and being there as a friend when needed. We thanked James for blessing us with his knowledge of the bible and his willingness to answer any questions we had. When no more words were left to be said we raised our glasses to Haiti, God and each other. We all stood up and James led us in one more prayer, saying what was on all of our hearts.

I don’t think any of us will ever forget this last week and a half. Whether we come back here or not, this place and these people will forever hold a special place in our hearts. We have made new friends and formed stronger bonds with old ones. When we leave Haiti we will know that we all have each other if ever needed no matter how far away.

We all want to thank those who helped us get here, and those who have prayed for us while down here. Words will never express our gratitude and thankfulness for giving us all this amazing opportunity. We love you all and look forward to seeing you soon.

Kirk Out.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Photos- Day 7

Bible study

People were really taking notes.

We played a game called telephone to illustrate how gossip can harm others.

The beach

Playing keep away (kind of)

Group beach shot

Silly beach shot

Group in the water...

Typical view on the road home from the beach (lots of people on the top and back of this truck)

Mike's blog- 1/6/16

Hello everyone! Mike Miller here, Today has been another blessing down here in Haiti. I have been helping with a 4 day bible study. Today we spoke about communication and how key that is for all relationships. Many relationships can fail due to a lack of communication, it is interesting to think how poorly we communicate sometimes when so many have cell phones and many outlets of social media. In the middle of our bible study we broke into three groups, (we had extra help from the Malone group today) they were break out groups that opened up many different types of questions from the people of the church. Pastor Robbie thanked us over and over again for coming and having the bible study, I was so encouraged because this trip I have tried to make it my goal to bring this church together and create stronger relationships within this community of believers. As we were discussing many different topics before I could answer someone else in the group spoke up, there came a time where Redgi was just able to translate the questions and answers. This was such a God moment for me because I took a step back and saw God working within these people.

These people have blessed me more than they know, as we finish every bible study Pastor Robbie has everyone give a hug to someone else. Being flooded with 30+ hugs and everyone saying God bless is truly amazing. I am very excited to have a strong finish at the bible study tomorrow and let God work. I am thankful for everyone’s prayers, things are going great as we just have a few days left.

Shout out to Matthew love you brother, mom dad I am great!

Also happy birthday Ron!

Go Seahawks

-Mike

Photos-day 6

Emily cleaning off a little one we saw delivered.

Swadling after getting a weight.

Baby number two for the day.

Two new little ones!

Prayer at the Bible Study...

THIRTY new mattresses delivered at Life is Wealth.

Hanging with the orphans...

Maternity hospital group....

Photos-Day 5

Studying in their down time.....

Babies in the nursery at the maternity hospital.

The nurse demonstrating how to listen for a fetal heartbeat

Chrissy trying to hear it.

Wound care in urgent care

Brand new baby boy....just minutes old

Bible Study at church

Bible study.....

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Emily’s Blog: Tuesday, January 5th 2016

What an amazing journey this trip has been so far. The opportunities and experiences our team has had to minister have been awesome and I feel we all have been touched in many ways. Every day has been great but today was definitely my favorite and a day I will never forget.

Our day began by grabbing some breakfast at the house and having team devotions before heading out for the day. Mike, Kelsey and Lane left for their second day of bible study that they have been holding at Pastor Robby’s church. They had a good turnout of people from the community once again today and engaged in some great conversation. They also were able to bless Life Is Wealth orphanage with 30 mattresses that they brought to them and spent time unloading them and spending time with the orphans there.

Our second group (Chrissy, Tori, & Savannah) left for Children’s Health Ministries clinic where they spent their time assessing and teaching expecting women as well as many newborns on breastfeeding and nutrition. They were very busy and saw many people today.

My group (Grant, Cody, Teddy & myself) spent our day at the maternity hospital in Carrefour where we had some amazing experiences. When we arrived we took the first hour to get a tour of the hospital that included seeing urgent care, family planning education, and the vaccination area. The nurse there explained to us all the vaccinations they offer and was willing to let Teddy and I each give one to two infants. We then stopped to see the newborn nursery where there were several healthy babies and one jaundiced preemie weighing around 3 pounds. After seeing most of the hospital we then made it upstairs to the labor and delivery area as well as postpartum recovery where we spent the largest part of the day.

As soon as we stepped into L&D I think we were all shocked to see the limited resources that they have to work with in Haiti and the different ways they do things throughout the laboring process. It was so busy today and one after another women kept arriving in labor all at various stages and within about 30 minutes Teddy and I were right there to assist in the delivery of a baby. As soon as the baby was placed on the mother’s stomach I jumped in to clean it off and help clamp and cut the cord. Although this was not the first birth I have witnessed I was still overcome by much joyous emotion during this time. I then took the baby girl across the room where I weighed, diapered and swaddled her. It was beautiful.

Just when we all thought the day couldn’t get any more exciting we were wrong. Within 20 minutes of seeing the first birth we jumped in on another and Cody was able to cut the cord. Right after that delivery Grant and Teddy assisted another laboring mother in walking around to help her progress. Around the same time I had the opportunity to check another woman to see how far dilated she was. This was a new experience for me and was glad to have had the opportunity to do it. In the meantime we all jumped in and assisted wherever needed and if not most of us, especially myself were content holding all the newborn babies.

Once again, just as I thought the day could not get any better I was wrong. I had taken a moment to help one of the nurse’s transport a new mom and baby to recovery and as we got her situated I could hear the screaming of a laboring woman just a few beds down. All the sudden someone said there’s a head and I immediately ran over to see what was going on since there was no nurses around in that area. Sure enough the head was out and I quickly reached into my pocket to grab gloves and had to take charge. Within just a few minute I had delivered the baby all on my own as I had sent our translator Jerry to get some more help. It was definitely a bit scary for a moment because as the baby came out the cord was wrapped around its neck which I had to quickly untangle, I was never so happy to hear a baby cry and take its first breath. Mom and baby were both healthy and well and it was an incredible experience. I am still in shock of the fact that I actually delivered a baby but was glad that I was able to be there in that very special moment.

Not too much later we headed back to the team house where we were all able to share our day’s activities. It was amazing to hear the many experiences and ways God was moving today, I’m privileged to be a part of it. Today has most definitely been a day I will never forget.

Once all back at the house we grabbed some dinner and got to go to the local Deli Mart (grocery store) where we all bought some Haitian items we can enjoy while here and to bring home.

Tomorrow some of us are headed to a bible study and others for a prayer walk in the community. Afterward we are are all very excited to be heading to the beach where we can relax and enjoy more of this beautiful country together and soak up some sun J Everyone is healthy and well at this point and enjoying the trip. It is a blessing how God has allowed our team to mesh so well together, grow and developed new friendships as we do ministry here. God is good!

Please feel free to comment or ask any questions, we love hearing from everyone. Praying all is well at home and look forward to sharing all about the trip when I get home. God bless!

Monday, January 4, 2016

Savannah’s Blog 1/4/2016

Today started out like any other day. We all ate breakfast on our own time and all the nursing students began to crack down on our medication studies. Today’s devotion was on expectations and how things do not always go as planned, especially in the Haitian culture. Honestly, I couldn’t come up with much that really caught me off guard so far this trip. Yes, there were things that were different, but I tried to come into this trip with a clean slate. As the day went on, certain things started to pop out at me (I’ll reference this later).

Anyways, today’s ministry was a little different. Instead of doing everything as one big group, we divided into three smaller groups: one group of three leading devotions at a church, another working at a nutrition clinic, and my group which visited a maternity hospital. If anyone knows me, you know that pregnancies and babies are definitely my favorite and you can most likely in vision a huge smile on my face. We began our tour of the maternity hospital in the NICU. As expected, the NICU was not like the NICU in the United States. None of the six babies were in an incubator, unlike the hospitals back home. One of the babies had meningitis, another was premature, and another was also born early due to her mom having eclampsia. The other three babies were progressing nicely and seemed to be doing well. Another huge difference I noticed was the labeling of the infants. In the United States, a baby has two bands (one on the wrist, one on the leg), one on the mom, and maybe significant other. In Haiti, the children do not have any sort of band and only the crib is numbered. That being said, just don’t put the baby in the wrong crib! Haha. Next, we moved to the labor and delivery section . . . the most memorable part of today. When, we first came in, it was obvious that men were not at all welcome in the delivery section. Our translator had to hide behind a wall so that he could translate, but also not see what was going on. There were two laboring women waiting to be checked when we first arrived. The first woman was only at 4cm so the nurse told her to leave and start walking. (A little side not, no pain meds are used, PERIOD!. Also, just think about this, the women have to go to the pharmacy and buy sterile gloves, tubing, and all of the above on their own while laboring). The second patient quickly gained my attention and was where my expectations were caught off guard. We walked over and noticed she was contracting and just wanted to push, but obviously she just needed to breathe. Crystal, the head over our missions trip, taught the woman that she needed to breathe. The girl grabbed our hands to help relieve her tension and I was so ecstatic that I could be there to help her in that point in time. The hospital did not have a working dopler so the three of us (Tory, Chrissy, and I) attempted to find the heartbeat of the baby with the old fashioned suction thing. Lol oops…I don’t know what to call it. That was fun for sure. Soon after, the nurse checked to see how far along the woman was (9cm) and also asked if any of us would like to check too. Of course, I couldn’t turn the offer down! That experience was not anything I ever expected to ever have, especially while in Haiti, but it was super cool (I’m not a creep, I promise J). The day continued with Tory giving babies shots and Chrissy and I stayed in the urgent care center and helped with different wounds. Overall, the pregnant woman touched my heart the most. I cannot imagine going through something that life changing at the age of 19 all on my own. Not that I’ve had a kid or will any time soon, but for life in general, today I was reminded of how grateful I am for all my family and friends who have and are always there for me. I am most definitely blessed!

On a side not, this week has been awesome! I am definitely excited for a huge salad and a nice warm shower, so heads up mom and dad! Lol!! To the whole family and my Ritchman, I love you all so much and cannot wait to see you in about 3 days!!!! I have so much I want to tell you!! Oh and go Steelers! Dad, the luck was definitely on their side this week; you’ll have to fill me in on how that last game went! Ritchie, I love you and I’m sorry I haven’t gotten to talk to you much, but I am so excited to hear about what has been going on since I left!! And to anyone else, please feel free to comment. Everyone here would love to hear how life is going back home. Oh and Chrissy wanted me to say hi to her mom and Logan, of course!

With Much Love From Haiti,

Savannah