This past week, we hosted our first ever mission trip to Haiti and it just so happened to be a Medical Mission trip. It was extremely exhausting but totally blessed! With the help of 3 Doctors, 2 Dentists and a group of about 15 other medical and non medical personnel, we were able to hold 5 days of medical clinics and saw around 650 people all together! Sharing the love of Jesus with the poorest of the poor is a truly rewarding experience!
It was a blessing to be able to spend my days as a nurse again; but, it was also very difficult. It made me remember my past nursing career and co-workers. It made me long for my "old life". In the midst of this, I was talking with my sister one evening and she shared a story with me. She had just been to confession and the priest said something very profound. He spoke of his "past life" as a doctor and how his favorite thing to do was to remove cancerous tumors. But, he said, that was nothing compared to what he could do now, removing spiritual "tumors" in confession. How true and how beautiful! Even though there are times I long for the life I lived before, for a "normal" life, it was NOTHING compared to the life I live now. Even in all the difficult moments, and the times I miss everything I once knew, I praise God that He has called me here and thank Him for the opportunity to live among and serve my brothers and sisters in Haiti!
 |
| The "waiting area" |
 |
| Loved being back in action! |
 |
| Nothing like Mission Dentistry! Dental needs here are HUGE and Dr. Ogas worked so hard to see as many patients as possible each day. |
 |
| Dr. Ernie |
 |
| Dr. Glass and Dr. Kroeger hard at work |
 |
| It always helps when the priest is also a nurse! |
 |
| Matthew doing the most important job at the clinic-Praying with the people! |
 |
| Busy Place! |
 |
| Pharmacy hard at work |
One of the chapels we were going to have a clinic in did not have a concrete floor yet, so a couple missionaries put forward the money to purchase the materials to install one. We were able to help with the work on Tuesday so we could have a clinic there on Friday. It was amazing to see! The whole community came together to provide extra hands to mix and then bucket the concrete inside. I mean everyone, from the men to the women and from the young to the aged!
 |
| Greg Glass helping scoop concrete into buckets. |
 |
| Even Lucy pitched in! |
 |
| Fun at the beach on the day of rest and prayer! |
 |
| Bonus shot: Haitians be crazy pickin' coconuts! |
