Haitian Report, Mar 12th.
Well my time is half over here in Haiti. This has been a profound experience in so many ways. My poor wife dreads these trips because she knows how connected I get to the people and how much my heart is pulled towards mission work.
Please don't misunderstand this; but, it is so rewarding to work in places that so want the gospel and have so much physical need. When you open your heart to them they do the same for you. I know that Lucner and I will be like brothers until the day we die. I am excited for you (My home congregation) to meet Lucner and his wife, Rose Marie. I have invited them to come and visit us when they next come to the US. You will enjoy his wit and his powerful preaching.
This morning over breakfast Dave planned my off day in Santo Domingo. I have a full day to kill there and plan to go to some museums. The town has a section that was founded by Christopher Columbus' brother. The city square is nearly 600 years old and has some of the oldest buildings in our continent. I love history and look forward to the day off.
Today was very busy and physically demanding. This morning we split up. I went to the Royal Caribbean docks to oversee the unloading of about 35 pallets of relief supplies. Again, it wasn't the shipment we expected but all shipments are welcome. It was clear and hot today, so, I am pretty red in the face and arms this evening. Luckily I don't burn, I turn red then brown. My only problem was that loading supplies in the trucks got very, very hot and we all were pretty dehydrated by the time we finished. I did enjoy a great lunch (Don't tell Dave or Lucner) at the tables of Royal Caribbean. Ribs, Cole slaw, fresh salads and enjoyable conversation with some elderly passengers; it was quite nice. I told Dave it was Haiti day and they only served Rice and Beans. Don't worry about him, he has found a local restaurant that serves hamburgers, so he is quite content now.
Meanwhile, Dave and Lucner went to the Docks to check out the load of rice I mentioned last night. Disappointingly it is not fit for human consumption; but, God can turn anything to good. When the UN saw we are so desperate for Rice that we were willing to take sweepings, they have asked me to come to a meeting Monday where they may give us a onetime gift of Rice. Pray all weekend about this PLEASE!
In the afternoon we all got together and went to Justenien Hospital to feed the patients there. It is the same madhouse as usual. We fed all the patients and only had 5 meals left which we gave to children. For the nurses out there; we have several nurses here who are trying to support and train the nurses at Justenien but the system is just too broke. How any one survives a major medical issue is beyond me. Biohazard waste, pools of blood, critical patients in the ward with non-critical, family members sleeping on the floor or in the hallways, dogs wandering in and out, it's madness.
After the hospital we came back to settle in for the night. We are going to take Ursula out again tomorrow to see another Orphanage. Sunday we are going to worship with one of the village churches.
God bless and good night, jeff
