Thankful in the Chaos

Tuesday. A crazy day. A day you don't want to repeat. A day you look back on and, though crazy, thankfulness is the only thing you have, the one thing I look back and see in the chaos.

Tuesday was the last day for us to have a team of doctors and nurses here so we did a low key clinic at the school that morning, seeing students with special cases while Kameryn and I, along with our trusty translator Patrick, worked on de-worming the whole school :)
At one point Kameryn was pulled away. A very pregnant mother had walked up the mountain with her 11 year old son who could barely stand. When I saw him he was limp and nearly lifeless, his body cold to touch. The nurses started him on IV and we de-wormed him, it was amazing how quickly his body warmed up but his belly was so hard and he was in so much pain.
We decided it would be best for the little boy, Jamesly, and his mother to come down to the house with us while he finished up his IV. The doctors diagnosed him with cholera.
As Jamesly sat on the porch, with Adam by his side, he threw up. Anyone who knows Adam knows it's a miracle he didn't automatically throw up right back on him. Instead he was able to sit there, in the puke, while the doctors got him up and into the bathroom. I was very impressed at the level of calmness Adam had, especially since vomit even got on his lips...
Anyhow, we proceeded to wipe down the area. Kameryn had just mixed up some bleach (a very strong powdered bleach) and as she put the rag in the jar the bleach slipped from her hands, hit the floor and splashed up directly into her eyes.
My first instinct was to grab water, the doctors and nurses rushed her to the sink, leaned her head back and said to start pouring water into her eyeballs. After at least 5 gallons of water being poured in her eyeballs, and at least 6 bottles of eye solution Kam went right back to caring for Jamesly. She was a champ, so tough and calm.
In all of this all I could do was look back and say "thank you." I'm thankful Jamesly's mother heard about our clinic somehow, I'm thankful she had the wisdom to know to bring him, I'm thankful she came Tuesday and didn't wait til Wednesday (not only would there have been no doctor but he may not have been alive), I'm thankful the doctors were there to care for him, I'm thankful God gave Adam the composure to not vomit right back on Jamesly :) I'm thankful, again, that we had doctors here to help when Kam got bleach in her eyes, I wouldn't have known to flush them so intensely or thought to look for eye wash solution. I'm thankful that Kam's eyes are perfectly fine, I'm thankful Jamesly was able to walk from the truck to his home later that afternoon.
I'm thankful God has me here working with such incredible team of people. I'm thankful for the community He is building here with these people.
Thankful.

You can also read about the events of last Tuesday on Adams blog, he has a pretty funny take on the day :) Just click here

Poor Yet Rich

(10.13.13)

As part of the James Bible study the ladies are doing I'm working on memorizing the book of James. 

As I sat in church this morning, unable to understand, I started in on chapter two. After saying verse five a few times, "Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?" the part about the poor in the world being rich in faith struck me.

There I was in a little Haitian church sitting among the poor of the world and witnessing their rich faith as I memorized James 2:5.

As convoluted as some of the beliefs are here, with as much influence of voodoo and myth that are present, these people have some of the greatest, most devout faith I've seen. The joy and enthusiasm they worship with would put us to shame. 

After listening to Haitians pray we've commented more than once that we Americans don't really know what it means to pray. That's just one example.

While there are things we can teach these people we also have so much to learn from them.