Bayeux Clinic

A few days ago I went to the Bayeux Clinic. This formerly self-sufficient clinic sustained damage in the January earthquake, as well as other damage from initially poor construction. They have received donations for reconstruction, including from my sending church, Epic Christian. Above you can see that they are already moving ahead. A contractor from a church in the neighboring Dominican Republic has made several trips to the site to advise them and work with the construction workers.

Here is a picture of what will be the new storage facility for the pharmacy, on top of the laboratory. The old storage facility was too damaged to be saved.

I hope to go out here every week or two to assist the (very capable!) nurse auxiliaries. My medical knowledge is sure to come back rapidly with the wide variety of cases they have there. On our way back to Cap Haitien we took a woman with severe pre-eclampsia to the "big city" hospital.

Above is the Cap Haitien office of Medical Ambassadors Haiti in action: Evelyn, Anias, Enoch, and Lucson. I'm here when I'm not traveling -- it's on the same site as my lodgings, which is awfully handy!

Next week I'll be at a Training of Trainers 1 we're facilitating for an organization on the island of La Gonave. If you look at this map you'll see both Cap Haitien and La Gonave -- it's the big island in between the two "arms" of Haiti. If you zoom in you can even see Bayeux, on the north coast (written "Bayeau, " it's on the coast west of Cap Haitien). This should be a great opportunity for more language learning!

Leaving

My sister (seen here on Skype on my computer) has been a huge help in preparing electronically for my move.

I arrived in Arizona today for a couple of days to meet with my pastor and be prayed over by my church before leaving for Haiti. My host so kindly said, “Welcome home – well, I don’t know if you consider this home, but we think of it as your home.” Buenos Aires feels like home. Lots of cities in the US feel like home. But today, unsure if I’m returning to Argentina, that’s where my heart turns.

I was listening to “I Can Only Imagine” when I started writing this note (and started crying). That song, seen in a Hebrews 11:16 light, is sort of about homecoming. Now “Be Thou My Vision” is on as I unpack, so many of my things reminding me of my friends in different places. But the prayer of this song is that God would give us true vision. It reminds me of church last Sunday, when we sang (in Spanish, of course), “Precious Jesus, my redeemer, beloved Lord, you are everything to me, I will worship you every day of my life.” I was crying then, too, since I was declaring those truths with my words. Declaring that God is faithful, and worthy of being followed, even though that means leaving people that I really love, yet again. Leaving a city and a country where I feel at home, where I have loved ones, where I know how to get around and where to get what I need, and am able (most of the time, anyway!) to get potable water out of the sink.

Nicole and Tim, my fabulous hosts in Arizona! Here they are on "make your own pizza" night, yum!

On the positive side, over the past few years I have realized that my heart is capable of more love than I ever thought possible. Six dear friends came to see me off at the airport. I miss them already.

My three buddies in Arizona. I was honored to get to borrow the Superman cape during my stay!