His Hand is in Every Detail...

“ His Hand is in Every Detail” ~ Unknown

Have you taken the time to notice His hand today? Have you taken the time to notice the detail in everything He does?

God is a God of detail and cares about all the small things in our lives. He knows when we are weak and tired. He is there in the sleepless nights. He feels the pain physically and emotionally when no one around can completely understand. He has a plan when circumstances are out of our control.

Walking to clinic the other morning, I was thinking about the past week of events. I had to think about how God has His hand in every detail of our lives. I noticed the flowers blooming beside the path, the little lizard running across my path, the clouds in the sky. God created everything beautiful. Everything was created with fine detail. So much more does God care about every detail in our lives.

While thinking about details, I started looking around at the little details at clinic that God cares about. The lady sleeping on the bench waiting to be seen. Why was she tired? What was going on in her life?

Another girl was sitting on the bench holding her abdomen. I could see the pain in her eyes. I can’t feel her pain but God can. I saw a man waiting to be seen by the dentist. He had a huge tooth abscess. I could see the anticipation in his eyes as he anxiously waited for answers. A small malnutrition child crying for no apparent reason. Who knows the story behind the scene before my eyes? God does. He cares about this child even though the home situation may be a wreck. Food may be scarce and money hard to come by.

Walking home from clinic I stop and talk to a neighbor man whose marriage is struggling. His wife is pregnant and it feels like a mess but God knows. He sees each tear that is shed for that home. The prayers that are prayed and the hearts of each one involved in the situation.

God sees each tear that is shed, hears each prayer that is said. He feels the pain when no one else can. He knows when our hearts are heavy and hurting. He knows when we feel weak and small for the work He has called us to do. He shows Himself in the rain, in the storm. He rolls the clouds back when he sees fit. He places flowers in our path to cheer our way. He brings people into our lives to encourage our heart. 

" Don't worry God is never blind to your tears, never deaf to your prayers, and never silent to your pains. He sees, He Hears and He will deliver." 

Thanks for your prayers, 

~ Alyssa 

Pulling, filling, and cleaning...Teeth!

The dentist is here and there's a lot of goodness going on! Did you ever notice that people's smiles are bigger and brighter without a toothache or abscess? Well, they are. And they're contagious. So, it's a good thing. 

I recently saw a quote that said "Life is short. Smile while you still have teeth". We're thankful that we have a dentist to prolong the life-span of a bunch of smiles around here! :-) 
Plus, No more sleepless nights from tooth aches or big abscesses. We all like our sleep pretty good I think so that's a pretty big one! 

  Sometimes it's not always that easy for the Dentist though. the one afternoon when I was down helping with the Sterilizing, Ewald stopped working and said "We need to pray for wisdom for what to do with this patient" so we all stopped and prayed together. Do you ever wonder what YOU can do to help? You can pray. It's a Powerful weapon that every. Single. One. Of you can use. Do it! 

This time Ewald brought with him a man who makes Dentures. He is doing a great job at making people's smiles complete again!

 

        Grandpa stopped by one morning to get his teeth cleaned.

    Isabel did a wonderful job at keeping all the tools cleaned and sterilized. 

                   John busy working at making dentures.

            Polver very happy to have his smile complete again!

A huge Thank you to everyone who prays and helps support the work here. May God richly bless you! 

"There's always a reason to smile, you just have to find it" -Unknown. Go find it, friends! :-)

-Mis Ellamae 

                    Morning wake up call… “bang, bang, bang…bang, bang, bang!”

 I lay in bed and think, “oh, probably the girls bringing the routine vessels of soup for Sunday morning; Janell will take care of them.”

 The sound reverberates again, “bang, bang, bang… bang, bang, bang!”

 My thoughts continue… “Well I am on call today, it could be a medical emergency.” I pull myself from the bed; throw on a skirt and a hoodie and after grabbing a key march to the gate (still expecting the soup girls). Well my decision to crawl out of bed was warranted, at the gate I found  a man a woman informing me there was someone at clinic who had fallen and had a “blese” (injury) on their head and arm. “Can they talk?” I asked. “Can they walk?” Wanting to make sure the injured person was not unconscious or anything.

“Oh, yes they are at the clinic.”

“Ok, I am coming!” I respond. On returning to the house I trade out my hoodie for a scrub top and put my hair up in a decent fashion. By 6:40AM I am on my way to clinic to assess the situation. I sure enough did find a blese on her arm and a small one on her head.  The gash on her forearm did not line up with the idea of a fall it looked more like a knife cut, but I chose not to investigate then. I repaired it with 8 or 9 stiches, and Mali butterflied the small cut near her eye. Both wounds are healing up beautifully.

Thankfully the rest of my Sunday was very relaxed and peaceful, there were no other clinic calls.

The slash in the lady's arm

 



Stitching up

 We have continued to have fairly busy days at clinic, no one is too busy planting or harvesting currently so they have time to come and have their maladies cared for.  The blood pressure program has kept up its usual steady flow of people each day; I enjoy my work with them. I like being able to give nutritional guidance for lowing your blood pressure rather than just handing out prescriptions, and the Haitian population seems very appreciative.

Thursday was a bit of a stressful day for all of us, one of our white nurses was feeling very ill and we ended up sending her out to a larger hospital. Clinic was a little hectic a big crowd to take care of, missing one of our nurses, two or three cots coming in but with God’s help and team work we made it through. Then that afternoon we got a “gully washer” of rain storm!! Nearly 4 inches of rain fell in about 2 hours! We ended up with flooding in both houses! First of all our girls’ house started flooding because we had water standing in front of the house and the front door was open, so where did the water go but inside! After that was all cleaned up Hans had went back over to the main house, a few minutes later we hear a radio call “Girls, girls!” Hans was calling in need of assistance, we assumed it was because of flooding once again so we grabbed the already soiled towels and dashed to the other house. Sure enough our assumptions were correct, more flooding! We made a party out of it and laughed! What else could you do!

A young woman who came in for a post-partum check up, this
was the first baby I delivered!

 Thanks for all your prayers for us down here, we need them and notice them!


~Mis Kayla

What a heart can hold....

"Lord...I cannot,
But, you can."
I reminded myself every time I glanced at  the dry erase board where it was written in bold black letters.
So many responsibilities, people that need a gentle touch,some that need the 'stern look' some that need laughter and smiles. All need Jesus. They don't need me but they need Jesus. And since I am where God wants me to be...Then I /we are those hands,feet,smiles,bandages,jokes,songs,ect.
Sometimes...I wonder how much a heart can hold.

I hold a tiny baby...so tiny and malnourished it squeaks barely audible sounds. Tears fill my eyes. Ellamae walks behind and I notice the tears in her eyes as well. My heart hurts...then  after I've finished the babies 1st feeding and bathed his tiny body I walk back to my room.
A funny old guy awaits me...wanting to talk and laugh...so you switch. Gone are the tears..now smiles and a listening ear. "Mis Mali..I have hypertension in my ears..I didn't say my heart I said HYPERTENSION in my ears!!!" I laugh. .."Ok Monsieur...do you have ringing in your ears??"

"Ahhh,yes mis yes...you know." I turn away from him to jot down the ear drops he needs. Hiding my smile.

This is the little boy...he died during the night. I have to remind myself that...I can only do so much. Leave the rest in God's hands.

Mis Kayla and Madame Leger were happy to discover that they were matching! (Btw...Madame Leger looks grumpy..but she had been laughing her head off a minute before;)

Fre Nores and I decided that we matched as well😉

Living in a land of mountains...is beautiful but dangerous...this brave little tyke went to tie his goat to a patch of grass. A rock came tumbling down the mountain and pinned his little hand. 

-true and amazing fact:he didn't cry or complain at all...while we cleaned and bandaged it. I'd have given him a bravery /honor badge if I could have!!!

She was mad at her father-in-law...so she took machete to his head. Thankfully it wasn't to deep....8 stitches closed it up nicely and a good saline wash...he was all set to go. Before he left he had us all laughing. "Mis yo...I'm not sure why they did that but I think it's because I can't hear well. They call me and I don't answer. But it's not my fault." He gives us that pleading look and we all reassure him that, no it wasn't his fault.

This is my 'happy picture' little Mirlene Felix is a ray of golden sunshine. She comes dancing into the clinic with a hug and kiss for everyone. Even the white guys!!!(if they are lucky enough to be there) I brought her over to see Donny and Thea's little girls one day. She was delighted in little whites. After we walked away she looked up at me with wayyyyy-to-smart little face and asked."Mis Mali, was that 'lotbo' ? Meaning America. She is a plumpy Nut patient and doing amazing. Her flashing white grin captures your heart.

And....this is my little sister Isabel...I think she makes a wonderful little nurse controlling blood pressures and giving patients her happy contagious smile. 

I know you're wondering why this picture...my title of this blog is How much can a heart hold" for those if you who appreciate nature and it's beauty....this makes a heart glad. After weeks of working in the mountains and with sick people, IV's,blood,puke,diarrhea, death, stress...ect. this too makes you wonder how much the human heart can hold. I don't know...but I know this. That HE is able...thru willing hearts and hands to do amazing things. Anywhere...not only here but wherever you are. He gives strength .

Happy nurse.

Mis Mali

The Work Goes On

The road between the clinic and the mission house is lined with growing crops.

 The last several weeks have been filled with visitors from North America. It's been great to have the extra help for some of the projects that we have been doing around here. Another blessing is the many things that are brought down in the luggage of these visitors. Things that friends and family have sent as well as some medical supplies for the clinic.

Ellamae does patients' vitals in the morning with our new vital sign monitor, a major upgrade from the home grade BP cuffs we've been using until now.

  Clinic has been going on as usual. Large crowds each day but not more then we can handle. Reflecting back on how things were last year at this time makes me realize how much we have to thank our Father for.  Last year around this same time we were dealing with many things such as life threatening complications during births that resulted in quite a few emergency runs out the long and bumpy trail. Things have been going much smoother this year.
  One project that has been going on is the building of a small screened in addition outside the back door of the clinic. This will create a much needed spot to take a quick break when things get to hectic inside the clinic as well as be a place where linens from the clinic can be washed.

  Some of our visitors helped finish up the painting on the little shed above the clinic, it has finally been transformed from a crooked little stone shack to something that actually has a touch of its own Caribbean charm. I'm reasonably sure that in the US no one would trust a laboratory that was being run in a building that looked like this, but here in Haiti, it fits right in.
 

Mali's younger sister, Isabelle, begins painting the front of the soon to be laboratory

  I am struck every day by the beauty in this corner of the world. The fields are now green with waist high corn growing up out of a dense layer of bean plants, the trees are about as green as they get, and the rain clouds gather on the surrounding mountain tops almost every day.
  No matter what we face, no matter how many discouraging setbacks we experience, God is always faithful. His work goes on, despite our own failings and shortcomings. Someday all things will become clear. Until then, we will carry on! Keep us all in your prayers.