It is Thursday morning – another day of sunshine. Dr. Kris is coming home today! Her parents and their friends came in on Tuesday, so we are all getting ready to celebrate her return. She was supposed to fly in to Cap Haitian at 7:30 this morning. As of 10 AM she was still on the ground at Port Au Prince, but ready to fly out in a few minutes.
Larry and Carol (Dr. Kris’ Parents) and Gene and Gerda , are all hard workers. They brought supplies with them and have a list of projects that they want to accomplish while they are here. Gene and Larry are both carpenters. Gerda is a wonderful cook, sews and is going to trim my hair. (I was really concerned about getting that done here). Carol is the organizer/grandma – who helps with all the projects. Eli and Anna are so happy to have everyone here – and are so very happy that mom is coming home today. Gerda and I are working together to make a banana cream pie in honor of Kris returning home.
Bill and Chris are working on the plumbing in the clinic and hospital. Up until now, they had to go to the well to draw water in buckets. The medical staff is very excited that they are helping them out.
Yesterday I took my camera down to the clinic to take a picture of the guys working. After I got down the hill by the church, I realized that I had never walked to the clinic alone, and I didn’t really know exactly where it was. I finally got Anna to help me. As she led me into the clinic she went through a door and expected me to follow. I said, “Anna, you’re leading me through a bathroom!” As we went out the door at the other end we found Bill and Chris. The room we walked through was a line of examination rooms, where patients meet with the doctors. They were very tiny cubicles with a narrow hallway beside them. Life is certainly different here.
In the afternoon 4 of us walked to the market by taking a path to the river and walking on the flood plain to Port Margot. It was a beautiful walk (my camera was home), but we really enjoyed the mountain views. We walked on rocky paths and had to wade across the river 2 times both ways. The first time we took off our shoes, but it was way too rocky for me to be happy. After that I just waded through - it was much easier - although my shoes are still wet.The market was just jammed with people. It's an amazing place where they were roasting goat, selling lots of little fish, and fresh chickens. I held my breath through some of it. it's fun to watch the people, that just gather around as Chris Sloan tries to dicker with the women over the price. The girls just laugh and laugh at him. I told him it's because he is a good looking young white man trying to speak Creole.
May God continue to be with the suffering, the hungry, and the giving people of Haiti.