Day 9 in Haiti

It was an interesting start to our morning today...a Christian group from ? is in Port-Au-Prince w/ a 3-day outdoor concert/festival. At 5:45, music began to blast from mega-amps just down the street. We would have awakened soon anyway, but on the rooftop, the music almost hurt your ears!

Another baby was born at the clinic today; I think that makes 5. Dr. Mike delivered a healthy girl and Mom & baby will spend the night to make sure they are OK. Another young girl was taken to the hospital after she was bitten by a dog...in Haiti, dog bites are considered rabid. Unfortunately, there was no rabies vaccine; although, they were contacting another hospital source. We sent a 2-month old to the hospital w/ projectile vomiting.

We have seen a few stray dogs wandering the streets and Cimo, the pet dog here at the National Police Headquarters. However, we haven't seen any cats. That is because they have probably been eaten by the rats which are HUGE! We see them in various places at night and hear them in others but praise God, I haven't been surprised by one on a bathroom run. The rats have probably eaten the mice too...haven't seen any of them. We hear roosters every morning except today when the music drowned them out. I figure where there are roosters there are chickens. Wonder if Haitians are familiar w/ dumplings! We saw a huge HOG...way beyond pig size...and goats on the travels to/from our remote clinic.

Our team is bone-tired, but everyone is still in good spirits. As I probably mentioned, I am constantly amazed at the care and concern the team shows every patient and the quality of medical care delivered in such primitive conditions. They are an inspiration to me, but we all know our strength comes from God and He has blessed our mission here. On Wednesday when I was feeling so bad, I vomited in the back of the waiting area as children and patients were sitting on the green lawn chairs...also known as examining "tables". I can guarantee that would have cleared any waiting room in the US, but no one seemed to bat an eye here. Another day in Haiti!

Dinner tonight was another MRE meal which was good...some kind of beef w/ tiny ravoli over rice and blueberry cobbler out of a pouch. That is GOOD eating here! As I ate my peanut butter crackers this AM for breakfast, I thought of the Haitians who usually eat 1 meal a day and was thankful.

We are blessed to have a shower at the end of the day which the group did not have on their 1st trip. Another blessing has been the mosquitoes haven't been as bad as expected, but we always have on our bug spray. Roy smashed one earlier filled w/ blood and he commented it was a malaria one. Someone asked how he knew and he said it had an "M" on it's back! We now designate all mosquitoes as either malaria w/ an "M" or worse, a "D" for dengue fever.

Tomorrow is the last day of clinic. On Sunday, we will rest, prepare to leave early Monday AM for the airport...flight around noon...but we also hope to arrange for a bus to carry us into the mountains to see another part of Haiti, visit a restaurant, and maybe find some souvenirs.

It's night here and rats are running on top of the tarps covering the food and communication area. UGH! Wonder if I can outrun them to the rooftop!

I don't know why my posts from the airport were such a mess...I am definitely technology challenged.

Thanks to each of you for your prayers and support. We know we are not strong enough to survive all this on our own. I tell myself often, "I can't, but He can."