Wear Your Shoes!!

Are you filling your shoes, completely? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that question? I pondered this question after seeing the row of shoes outside on the clinic wall. Some large, some small, some old others new but all had been worn by someone. 

God has given each of us a pair of shoes to fill. Some big and some small but no two pairs are the same. At times in life, we wonder what it would be like to wear someone else’s shoes for the day. We assume if we would be in their shoes, we would make different choices etc. BUT would we? The question remains unanswered because it is impossible to wear another person’s shoes/walk another person’s path. We need to be focusing on God and fill the shoes that He has given us. Each one of us has the correct size we need for right now. At times, they may feel too big or even at times too small but God knows what He is doing.

Clinic has been picking up again this week. The locals are finished planting in the garden and have time to go to the clinic. Many times, I have to call on God for wisdom because I don’t have the answers or it is hard to get help in Haiti.

Monday afternoon Hans, Rachel, and I transferred a strangulated Hernia out to TG, a case that needed much wisdom. Transfers are not easy and we need to ensure that it is an emergency. At times patients have ways of complicating situations and we need much wisdom to discern the root of the problem. Thankfully, he started having definitive signs that we could make a decision.

Wednesday evening, we had two injuries come in due to a soccer game. The first was complaining in a lot of shoulder pain resulting in a broken collarbone. 

The other was more complicated a broken femur. The leg was stabilized and the boy was able to be flown out in the morning. 

       Ellamae and Hans Transfering A pt

We have to thank the Lord for performing yet another miracle for us. The sky was over cast and much faith was needed for the helicopter to land. While circling the second time, there was a break in the clouds. The helicopter was able to safely land and by the time it was ready to depart, the sky was almost clear.

This week has also been filled with births. It has resulted in some sleepless nights but thankfully; all the babies have been healthy PTL!

 It is so wonderful to see each miracle that God has performed so much more when you have had babies that were not healthy or were taken away from us!

Thanks for your prayers!!

~ Mis Alyssa 

Peace, Perfect Peace

There are two little boys who come to see me quite often. I call them "my boys". :) Recently, they wanted me to come visit them and their Grandpa. So, one afternoon a bunch of us went to visit them. We had a wonderful time talking, and listening to the little old man talk. His hearing is very bad so we all had to smile when we had to repeat ourselves a couple times, getting louder every time. :) They thanked us over and over for taking the time to come visit them, and sent us home with lots of fruit as a gift.

The very next morning the little Grandpa came to see us at Clinic. We asked him if he needed anything, and he said "My head hurts, can you control my blood pressure?" We checked it, and it was normal. The smile on his face got brighter and he said "Thank you Jesus, Thank you Jesus!". After talking a little more, he was soon on his way home, and very happy!
  Sometimes we have patients come in who don't need more than a listening ear. They don't have any medical problem. May our lives be shining Christ's love to each person we come in contact with.

After 3 weeks without any baby's born at clinic, I woke up Thursday morning with this feeling that that was going to change. I was the one scheduled to be in charge of the next birth. Clinic had just gotten going good when I was told a laboring mother just showed up. She was pretty far along so I guessed that the baby would arrive in the night. We had just finished supper when we got word that our 2nd laboring mother was on the way. After arriving at clinic, I knew it wasn't going to be very long till the baby was here. Soon a little girl was born! Shortly after she was born I knew something wasn't normal. Her stomach was huge, and her lower extremities weren't normal at all. I prayed that God's will be done in this little girls life, even if it meant taking her home to be with him. I had such a peace. She lived for just over 12hrs and then God took her home. My hurt heart so bad for the parents, it was their first baby.

  If you keep track of how births around here work, you've already guessed this but...we got our 3rd laboring mother this morning! We always say that when you get one, you might as well expect that the second and/or third one are on their way! ;)
On Friday, just after clinic was finished, Alyssa ran into the hospital room just in time to deliver the baby of laboring-mother-number-two!

Kayla, Rachel and I delivered the 3rd baby just after 5:00.
All three little girls. 1 was a little angel, the other 2, beautiful little girls to stay!

-Mis Ellamae

   

       

Do you see these little faces? So cute, perhaps worried, sometimes laughing, at times so ill they have no expression at all. These are the faces of malnourished children. Children who each have a story, maybe their mother has died and they did not get proper nutrition from breast milk, or perhaps their father is ill and there is not the money to buy proper food to eat, maybe their family does not have the knowledge of what are nutritious foods! Some are very thin and weak, others moon-faced with swollen limbs, yet others so pale you might mistake them for a “blah” baby. Whatever the case when these children are placed in the hands of the Mis she is supposed to fix it!

                I feel so incapable to help these children! “Will the liquid iron help, and not be too strong? “ I wonder. “Will the mother’s milk be enough or shall I supplement with mamba or milk too?” “Dr. Felix, what do you think?” “God please give me wisdom I have no experience in this area!” 

                                                                                  

                I give out dozens of bags of “medika mamba” (a very high protein peanut butter) each week. Teach parents and other care givers what to feed or not feed these dear little munchkins. Sometimes I have to give some stern lectures when I see them often giving their children junk food, or when they “forgot” the child’s appointment.  I love the interaction with the children, and love to see the progress made in their health. But, it’s not always easy to determine who needs help or who doesn’t; or what to do when a child doesn’t respond well.

                Please remember our malnutrition program, pray for these little ones as they grow and pray for the nurses because we need wisdom! And if the Lord puts it on your heart to donate funds they will be much appreciated. We are able to provide enriched nourishment for these children because of the gifts of others. Thank you for your prayers and interest!

     

Extra Thoughts

                       God is good all the time! Every birth, every death belongs to God he planned it all! Do we truly believe these things? I have wondered how many more deaths I can take… a very tiny preemie, who lived for 17 hours then was taken to sing with the angels above; a neonate depressed when she was born and though my teammates worked with her for 2 hours her life on earth was not to be; the old neighbor man who had become my friend though confined to his bed; a lady on my hypertension program whom I had also been treating for a serious foot unexpectedly died; another preemie who was very cold and weak when placed in my hands made very good progress for the first week then his candle was put out; an eight year old girl came in with kidney failure and more,  we did the best we could but it was the end of her time here on earth. I really am not sure how to describe the thoughts and feelings of holding a little girl struggling, fighting to breathe hungry for oxygen and there is nothing more you can do. Yet another woman whom I had worked closely with during her difficult birth of twins that ended up being born cesarean section in another place and not living also passed away.   Oh Lord, how am I supposed to handle all of this? His answer, “My grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

      I had a discussion with a friend recently about whether a child of God, fully trusting in Him should be stressed. He said maybe we become stressed when God is trying to show us how limited our strength is. If we give or concerns or troubles completely to Him in total submission He is able to show Himself strong through us bringing glory to Himself instead of us. Or perhaps stress is when we let Satan tempt us to look at life through the way we feel and not how god can work through miracles. I think that is too often true, at least with me. I get caught up in how I feel about a situation or something I am going through and don’t remember all things are possible with God! He is always ready and willing to give us the strength and grace we need once we ask.  So if you're feeling stressed know that all things are possible with God! Don't wallow in your own feelings, ask God for strength and He WILL give it!

His servant,

        Mis Kayla

    

His way is best.

 All things work for our good,

Though sometimes we can’t see how they could.

Struggles that break our hearts in two

Sometimes blind us to the truth.

Our Father knows what’s best for us,

His ways are not our own;

So when your pathway grows dim,

And you just can’t see Him,

Remember your never alone.

 

He sees the master plan,

He holds the future in his hand;

So don’t live as those who have no hope.

All our hope is found in him.

We see the present clearly,

He sees the first and last;

And like a tapestry, he’s weaving you and me,

To someday be just like Him.

 

God is too wise to be mistaken.

God is to good to be unkind.

So when you don’t understand,

When you don’t see his plan,

When you can’t trace his hand,

Trust his heart.

 

This song has been very meaningful to me recently. It’s so easy to get disillusioned and to stop trusting our heavenly Father when we look at the waves around us and forget to keep our focus on Him. We want to know what the future holds… We want good things in our life… But, trials and testings come our way and we begin to waver. We loose sight of his face and our pathway grows dim. If we only could turn our gaze heavenward and choose to trust him, our fears can be dissolved and we can have peace and joy in knowing that His way is best. Oh, the sweet peace that can be ours, if we rest completely in Him!

I'm going to throw in a few random pictures from clinic.... 

Here is faithful Mis Zitha giving meds to a patient.

Today is Friday and Dr. Felix is back again! Here he's doing a minor surgery on a lady's hand.

Sometimes I change bandages for our bandage patients... Meet “Monkey”.

I’m not sure how he got his nickname but none of us really know what his real name is. (and if we do, we never use it.) I was busy in the pharmacy but things had slowed down and I glanced out the window to see how many people were still outside waiting to be seen. Monkey catches my eye and waves his hand as if to say, “Hi Mis! I’m here! Did you see me yet? I want my bandage changed!” In a little while I call him in and he perches himself on the ancient black-paint-peeling-rusty chair and props his foot on another chair of equal character. “Bonjou, Mis!” he cheerily greets me and I proceed to remove his bandage. 

It’s a smelly job so I don’t waste a lot of time in cleaning him up and getting new clean bandages on his sores. This time I can see obvious improvement! The wounds are smaller and they don’t smell quite as bad as they did the last time I had changed them.

Ellamae is done seeing all the pregnant ladies so she spends a few moments with one of her little friends before it's time to go home.

Philip pops down to the clinic every now and then... There's always someone who needs a listening ear.

Yesterday was another one of those days where things did not go the way we would have chosen… An 8 year old girl was brought to the clinic but she was already very low. We don’t know for sure but it’s possible that she may have had sickle cell disease… She was full of fluids and, despite the efforts of the nurses, she only continued to get worse. Her lungs slowly filled with fluid till she could no longer breathe. It was so sad to watch as the tears slid down her mother’s face and her father paced about with a wild look in his eyes. Alyssa and Kayla were holding her as she was fighting for breath. Eventually, she breathed her last and Alyssa heard her last heartbeat. She was gone.

In moments like this, you simply have to trust that He knew what’s best. We did all that was in our power to save her and yet… she slipped from this life into the next. The last grain of sand slid through the hourglass of her life. He had called her home. 

We have no promise of tomorrow. Today is our opportunity. Now is the time to give our best to Him and serve him in whatever way he calls us. Let’s be faithful so that one day we can see him face to face!

The newbie, 

Mis Rachel

Lord, I can't ... But YOU can!

Bang, bang, bang, .... I awoke, rolled over and checked the time 5:58 am. A few minutes later, Janell came  to inform me that a cot was on the way. I enjoyed the few more minutes of peace and quietness. Soon someone came to the gate to inform me the cot had arrived. 

Arriving at clinic, I found a crowd surrounding a small cot. A boy 8 years old who had fallen 6 days ago and completely broke his left femur. However, in the time before coming to the clinic the family had sought other help which created more damage. The leg was tied off so tight there was little circulation. The lower leg had been plastered with a substance that caused second and third degree burns to 80% of the lower leg. The boy screamed in pain when we would attempt to clean or move the leg. After several hours we had the wounds cleaned and dressed. Thank the Lord, it was a beautiful day so we could fly him out to a bigger hospital with Ayiti Air Anbilans.

He was so brave!

The clinic was ringing by 9:30 am. We already had a lady in labour with her ninth child and several other demanding cases. Hans, Kayla, and Rachel took the little boy up to the helicopter. Ellamae and I started clinic. Thankfully, it was a small crowd waiting for us. We started consulting blood pressure people. It seemed continually I was being pulled this way and that.

We have another lady(#2) in labour arrived. We have another lady (#3) in labour on the way. She is decomposing can we send a ride? 

I sit back down to continue consulting when I here a commotion in the front room. I find an older man had collapsed in the front room. We got him up and into a bed. Got some fluids running into him and he started to perk up.

It was a welcome see Kayla, Rachel, and Hans walk in the door. We soon had everything finished for lunch.

After a short break, I went back down to check on a patient. She was perking up but, our ladies seemed to be making progress. I called Kayla down. We were sitting with the one girl (#2) when the other seemed to be having complications. We called Ellamae down. The girls went to sit with lady (#1) while I stayed with the other. Rachel came to be my assistant. We were waiting when Ellamae yells, “Alyssa we need you quick.”

I ran in to find a limp baby and a pool of blood everywhere. I grabbed the baby and started resuscitation. We called Hans down for an extra hand. We set to work assisting respirations. She had a good heartbeat but, was having difficulty breathing on her own. 

Meanwhile Kayla and Ellamae are caring for the mother. She continued haemorrhaging even though they were making all attempts to stop the bleeding. Lord, please stop the bleeding and may your will be down in the life of this baby I prayed. God heard our prayers and His will was done. His will was the best. 

Hans, Rachel, and I continue working with the baby. After 2 hours, she gave up. It was with teary eyes that we stepped back and looked at the small little frame. So innocent, so beautiful no one could deny the fact that she was fearfully and wonderfully made.

The mother by this time had stabilized and was doing much better. PTL!

Our babies over the past two days!

You may also wonder what has happened to other mother (#2) who is waiting to deliver. She seemed to cool off for a short time. We kept and eye on her but, I truly believe that God held that baby back. we cleaned up and got back to the house shortly after 7:00 pm.

After a nice refreshing evening, Kayla and I went back down to check our patients before bed. The lady (#2) in labour didn’t seem to have changed much. We decided we would give her 20 minutes if she would start in hard labour we would stay until she has the baby. Before 20 minutes were up she was wanting to give hard pushes. We called Bethany and Rachel down because they wanted to be at the birth. Before they had even made it in the door, a little boy made his appearance into the world. It was about midnight when tired, happy nurses rolled into their beds.

You may wonder what happened to lady #3 she never did make her appearance because she was already there :)!

This last collage is pictures from the past week. We have had many stitch jobs and extraordinary events. The one was a machete cut to the face in front of the ear due to a fight. Thankfully, it wasn't deeper and facial nerves had no apparent injury. 

The other a foot injury. The girl's foot had got caught in a Moto wheel while walking through market. We sent her out for surgery. 

The last is a head injury that came in the same time the foot did. A skull fracture due to a rock thrown at him. 

At times the work is taxing, stretching, and we can be tempted to feel overwhelmed but, God isn’t asking us to do it in our own strength. A verse that came to me the past couple days is “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him” (Psalm 28:7a)

Please continue to pray for the work in Haiti and provide support as God directs you! 

~ Mis Alyssa 

We still exist!

We still exist! I wouldn't blame you for wondering, considering how silent we've been but...we're still here. The busy days have slipped into weeks and, well...I'll stop the excuses. Sorry for the silence! 

The days lately have been normal, for the most part, but a LOTS of normal so we're running hither and thither delivering babies, stitching those lacerations, lending a listening ear, and much much more! 

Here's a song I thought of recently. 

"I Believe in the sun even when it's not shinning. 

I Believe in a love even when I cannot feel it. 

And I Believe in God even when he is Silent."
I'm so thankful that we can know God is still there and still working even when it feels like He's silent. 

  I'll try to fill you in on a few of the big changes that have been happening here.
  We said goodbye to our dear fellow nurse one day and welcomed another nurse the next day. 
  Mali, thank you so much for all your time you spent pouring out to all these dear people. House calls, loving your Plumpy Nut kids, taking the time to talk and pray with a hurting patient when they really had no problem besides needing a understanding friend, your up-beat spirit in the middle of the night, and lots more. God bless you as return to life "lòtbò". We miss you! 

Rachel Oberholtzer is now our new pharmacist, and is doing a wonderful job! She's also doing a great job at fitting in to our team here. Welcome, Mis Rachel! 

Last week in the business of Mali getting ready to leave, we had the fun of deliver 3 babies in 12hrs. All of them were cute little girls, who didn't take long to enter the world! 

        Philip doing a stitch job one afternoon! 

The pharmacist! 

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!  

Mis Ellamae