A New Building for Yvrose and Cholera Supplies

Praying over Yvrose’ new building.

It is made a little different than the first two with louvered metal windows instead of small glass ones and taller side walls to begin with.  The Victory people all gathered around the house when it was up and prayed to dedicate it and the property to the Lord.

It will be awhile before Yvrose’ can use it, however.  Rod brought the concrete and supplies on his truck that we needed to do the foundation but we need more supplies now to put the finish on the floor which is needed before moving in and we have no way of getting them.  The truck situation, which we are constantly making calls and occasional trips to PAP about, continues to be stalled.

The morning after the house dedication, Yvrose called to tell us a little girl who lived next door to her had suddenly died.  She had a history of epilepsy.  She was from Pays-Pourri and lived with her aunt here in Fonds.  Bill and I went up to see the family.  It was the first time I had been around a death so immediately after it had happened.

The aunt was weeping and screaming and thrashing about.  Bill walked through the crowd into the little room and took the aunt in his arms and just held her for a while as she carried on.  She calmed down a little but with new people arriving, the wailing would started in afresh.   It seems to be part of the culture as more people came and started screaming and wailing.

The child’s body was in another room.  I went in past the people there, knelt down on the floor beside her, and sang Safe in the Arms of Jesus over her just I did over my son Caleb’s body 10 years ago.  I don’t know what people thought about us being there, but as I have watched Bill over the last two weeks interact with the poorer people here, I’m a little in awe of his gentleness and loving attitude with them and how he blesses the people.

The little girl was from Pays-Pourri and the body needed to be taken back there.  Since we didn’t have the truck, we called HCM and they graciously sent their ambulance over to take her to the trail head.  The little girl went to Yvrose’ school and had been friends with Yvrose’ little girls so this was a good time for Yvrose to talk with them about heaven and the hope we have in the Lord for our eternal future.  What a joy that we have such a home waiting for us!

On Sunday after worship with Yvrose’ family, we went to the clinic next door to visit Antonine, the sweet older woman we had helped some months ago with a loan to start her little clothing business.  She was sick but not with cholera even though they had put her in the cholera ward.  She had been there for 24 hours.  The clinic does not feed the patients.  Their families must bring food for them.  No one had brought Antonine food so I went back to the house to get some for her.  She was getting better and was released later that day.

Cholera is picking up again in the mountains and by the time the people come down trying to get to a clinic, wading through the rivers contaminating them on the way, they are nearly dead if they don’t die on the way.  It makes no sense!!!  There needs to be a way to treat them up there!

Monday, the nurses we had found and had trained at the cholera clinic next door came out from PAP.  We spent the day trying to contact World Vision to try to get some supplies for the mountains.  We finally just called Mike at IFM next door.  He told us to bring our list of needs over and he would see what he could do to help.

Scrubbing down the donated cholera tent

IFM not only donated medicines but also a large UNICEF tent they were no longer using since World Vision had put up a huge tent for their cholera treatment center.  We spent Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning scrubbing all the tent pieces with Clorox water.  Love A Child donated Clorox and IV solution.  We borrowed Victory’s truck and drove to PAP to Grassroots United who donated an entire truckload of things.  We are so very grateful!

Wednesday morning, Bill, Yvrose, Manolo, NoNo, the two Haitian nurses, and three

Praying before leaving for the trailhead with cholera supplies

Haitian helpers drove with the truck to the trailhead to meet the pack mules.  They were headed to Pinser, a site between Pays-Pourri and Mawozo (pronounced Mowser).  It is a central location and if we can get it up and running, the people from both regions can come without having to go through rivers.

It was a four hour hike though it seemed hours longer.  Bill called late in the afternoon.  They had just gotten there and were exhausted.  He said the two Haitian nurses were about to fall to pieces.  I’m wondering if they will even stay when Bill comes back.  The biggest problem?  Finding a level enough place to pitch the large tent!

It started raining last night and continues today.  I haven’t heard from Bill this morning.  Please keep them all in your prayers as they hope to find a place for the clinic, set up the tent and supplies, and then return safely, not an easy task on steep mountain sides in the rain.

We had hoped the Haitian nurses would find a couple of young mountain women to come down and train at the cholera clinic next door while they were there as we knew the nurses from PAP wouldn’t want to stay in the mountains in the primitive conditions there for long.  But women from there are used to the conditions and if trained in cholera treatment, could save many lives.

Thank you for your patience in reading.  I know this has gotten long.  It is so hard to get to the internet here so I’m sending two updates today.  Thank you for your prayers.  Though Haiti can be a very frustrating place to try to work, we continue to seek to be a light in a very dark place, sharing God’s love as we are able.  May God bless you.