Erin doing what she does best.
The teams inflatable tent they use for a clinic.
Erin and the MTW team treated 103 patients Thursday and 83 on Friday. When they started clinic there were 40 people lined up waiting to receive care. The team is fully incorporating counseling sessions into many visits. Needless to say they are hearing some amazing and heart breaking stories. They had a few equipment problems including the generator dying. The generator kept the tent inflated that the team has been using as the clinic. They had to move their clinic outside in the sun to continue seeing patients. Today they are moving clinic to nearby shade.
One 21 year old man lost both his parents, and knows that his brother was taken somewhere in the Dominican Republic. All he has heard from his brother is that he is dying. He cannot contact his brother or confirm if he is alive. The man is alone on the streets with nowhere to go. The man visited the MTW team both Thursday and Friday just to talk.
The MTW team is healthy and has bonded well. They continue to have devotions in the morning as well as the evening.
After clinic the team drove a different route back to their camp. They went through one of the heaviest hit neighborhoods in Port au Prince. The sights and the smell of decaying bodies were overwhelming. Erin said, “It was a smell that will stick with me a long time. I can't believe it is a month after the earthquake and you can still smell the stench of death.”
The Haitian government reports that it has buried 217,000 people in mass graves and the number is expected to rise as the rubble continues to be moved. Seven thousand people have lost an arm or a leg. Over 1.5 million people are sleeping in the streets or in tents made with bed sheets. Thousands of children will be unable to return to school because 5,000 schools have been destroyed and 1,000 teachers killed.
The President of Haiti called for three days of prayer and fasting throughout Haiti. There were huge gatherings around the city for prayer and worship! When the team reached the refugee camp, they held a worship service with the patients before beginning. Esaie, a Haitian national and MTW Pastor, read Psalms 31. Three Haitians prayed and three "blancs" (think gringo) prayed. The Haitians sang prayer songs in Creole and our team sang in English. It was an incredible time. They plan on doing this each day. Praise God! Our MTW team prayed with two Haitians to accept Christ!
Some medical professionals are reporting abnormally high numbers of patients with dengue hemorrhagic fever in Port au Prince. However, officials are concerned that these reports may not be accurate since it is not yet the rainy/mosquito season in Haiti.
The team is discussing the possibility of doing a full day of clinic on Monday, then heading back to the compound and leaving for the airport that evening. If this plan stays in effect they will attempt to find transportation out of Haiti late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
Prayer needs: 1) Pray for energy and sleep. Erin and a few others are completely exhausted. 2) Pray for an additional translator to help with counseling. 3) Pray for Esaie and his family as they decide how to best minister to the Haitian people.
1 comment:
Wow. I will be praying.
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