March clinic day 1

     Brenda and I are serving with a great group of doctors and nurses from the state of Washington.  Some of them have worked this particular clinic in Canaan before but I have not.  I was very curious to see the clinic operations with a Haitian doctor (Dr. Bordes) running it on a regular basis. We were simply coming to enhance what he normally does and to support him.  This team also hired a Haitian pediatrician and dermatologist in order to meet more needs.

     It turns out there was an emergency patient that needed to be taken to the hospital for surgery early in the day so Dr. Bordes took her and because the team was there, clinic went on without him.

     I personally was kind of a misfit today because I am normally the administrator and pharmacist. Today, I was the  extra person who ran a few errands, translated a few little phrases, held a child's hand during a tooth extraction, and held a crying baby (I know, someone had to do it) while her mom was seen by a nurse.  I wish I would have taken advantage of this role and spent more time offering to pray with people while they waited...tomorrow I will.
     Following a day of clinic,  knowing we won't be staying to do follow up over the coming weeks, I began to question if we have made a difference.  If our efforts really help or hurt.  Our haitian translators must have read the questioning in my mind because several of them emphasized just how much the work done today meant not only to the community but to them and their country. This reminder blessed me because I carry a burden for health care in Haiti, specifically Canaan and people in rural areas that just don't have access to it or can't afford it.  While I don't have any medical skills myself, I love seeing this need being met.  To top it off, after praying this morning that over everything else, people see Christ in us, in whatever capacity we are serving, I needed the reminder.

Praying for the same tomorrow...over everything else, let people see Christ in us, in whatever capacity we are serving.

I am Blessed to be here
~Deb

Junior did basic dental exams on the school kids this team support in Cite Soleil ~ they were bused to Canaan

Brenda giving Stephanie some hands on training in the exam room

This used to be my girls' job when we lived here, someone's gotta do it:)