Defender of the Weak

Haiti is not far from my mind. I scour the news, I hungrily read the list serves I have joined. I follow the progress of the battle against cholera. I cheer on the victories in the rebuilding efforts. I pray and wonder at the next event which will catch the world's attention in this small island nation not far from our shores. Announcements that hit the airwaves surprise, baffle me. Random comments prompt unexpected tears...."they are rebuilding the Iron Market...".

In church yesterday I  wept as we sang a song in worship to the King of Kings. Sobbed, actually. In praise. And I believe, in mourning, for my dear Haitians. And for countless other people who suffer.... Injustice. Violation. Dehumanizing, demeaning treatment. Starvation. Unimaginable deprivation and disease. 

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord (repeat)

Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer

You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint You won't grow weary

You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles Chris Tomlin

I have witnessed and even been a part of this song in action. You're the defender of the weak, you comfort those in need......
And though my need is nothing compared to what I have witnessed, I am comforted. 
Amen.

Perfect Timing

I returned from working in the Cholera Treatment Centers 6 weeks ago, home just long enough to celebrate Christmas with my family. Then David & I returned to Haiti for one week to visit a small fishing village on the northern coast of the southern peninsula.


It was a timely visit. We had hoped to go in August of last year, but couldn't pull it off. God had other plans. The members of the group finally solidified in December and we headed out in the first week of January. This trip was very meaningful for David and I. We met several people who fondly remembered his parents from their years as missionaries in that part of Haiti. How sweet. We ate dinner in a home he had lived in as a boy. We spent the night at the retreat center where he first told me "I love you." And, we got to introduce the Haiti that we love to some people we worship and fellowship with. Great trip with wonderful new and deepened friendships.


But, in Gods perfect way, the timing that we considered delayed, was perfect. The first comment David heard as we got out of the truck was, "Cholera is killing people." Not, "hello" or "how are you"? But, "Cholera is killing people."

We were able to teach about Cholera three different times. One time was a full time seminar that went on for several hours, open to community leaders. Two other times were impromptu to a primary school and to a church packed to see the foreigners.


If we had been there in August, we would not have been there in January just as cholera was striking this village. How awesome is our God who knew all about it last summer when our "plans" just weren't working out.

In their hearts humans plan their course,
   but the LORD establishes their steps. Proverbs 16:9

Home again?

I am home again. That is to say, I am back in Sisters, Oregon where we make our home. There is snow on the ground and Christmas music in the air. A friend wants to bake cookies tomorrow and my mom is addressing Christmas cards. Usually this is my favorite time of year. And yes, celebrating the birth of our Savior takes on new meaning this year. But, I admit, I am not buying into the usual festivities. We are opting out on the tree this year and will go with evergreen garlands instead. We are exchanging only a few gifts and are just hanging out together.
Where are my thoughts? In Haiti. With my Haitian (and otherwise) colleagues who are fighting the good fight against the deadly disease called cholera, putting up a solid defense against the conditions which make the Haitians so vulnerable to its ravaging effects. I recall situations and patients who have impacted my life forever.
My thoughts are with the volunteers waiting for their flight itineraries to be confirmed so they will have a turn to serve. I think of the staffing decisions and the potential hires who will help the staff at Samaritan's Purse get through this epidemic.
I wonder how the election turmoil will be settled. Will there be a successful recount? Will there be a peaceful resolution? 
So, how do I reconcile the ache of Haiti with the excess of our land of plenty? I cry out to God for the dear Haitians. I long for Haiti to know the compassion of the Lord. After all, the fact that we are working against all odds to spare people the miserable death of cholera's devastating dehydration and organ failure is because God has not forgotten her.

O Haiti, return to the LORD your God,
   for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
   and he relents from sending calamity. 

In that day the mountains will drip new wine,
   and the hills will flow with milk;
   all the ravines of Haiti will run with clean water.
A fountain will flow out of the LORD’s house
   and will water the valley of banana trees.   Joel 2:13 & 3:18, paraphrased                                                                    

Heroes

So many new friends. Doctors, nurses, paramedics and EMT’s from the US and Canada, UK, Sweden, Ecuador and Haiti. With rare exceptions, we have never met before. We are bound together by the desperate need confronting us and by the common call of our Lord Jesus. A little humor helps too.

Dr. Jeff and Mary Ann, husband and wife team, trauma surgeon and nurse from Alberta, Canada

Joany, a nurse from Ontario, Canada

Drs. Stephany, pediatrician from Indiana and Karen, ER doc from Tennessee

Dr. Trey, obstetrician from the States

Ben, paramedic from Indiana

Dr. Lance from North Carolina with Franz and Oliver, translators

Nurses Priscille, Natacha, Victoria and Micheline proud of  their new certificates

A Horrible Situation Redeemed

The last several days I have had the privilege of teaching Haitian nurses. These are the nurses at the front lines of this battle against cholera. Dr. Kara Gibson gave several us the task of brainstorming to develop simple lessons on hygiene and aseptic technique, rehydration and patient care documentation.

Our Haitian nurses come to us with four years of education and a variety of experience. For many, this is their very first job. Others have some experience in an outpatient setting, but not with IV’s. Then there are a few seasoned veterans among the ranks who can start an IV in the most elusive vein and who have the experience to help us tease out diagnoses which often coincide with cholera.

I love that Samaritan’s Purse is not only in the relief business, but also looks  toward development. The old “teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. I also consider it a personal challenge and joy to work myself out of a job.

After all, long after we leave, these Haitian nurses will still be here fighting the good fight against poor health amongst their own people.

So, we begin with a diagram of a stick figure nurse teaching her patients and their families good hygiene, the importance of oral rehydration, and how cholera is spread and can be prevented. If each patient and family member returns to their community and teaches their household and neighbors, who then do the same, then the efforts will be multiplied and the results life-changing for an entire country. We plant the seed that one nurse can make a significant difference in Haiti.

We also point out the obvious: these nurses are becoming experts in the prevention and treatment of cholera. God is transforming this horrible situation into a gift of great value for these nurses. They will be forever enriched professionally by this clinically challenging experience.

We end each short session with the presentation of a simple certificate, complete with a stamp from the Samaritan’s Purse office. Each nurse will keep and use these treasured certificates when they seek future employment.

My favorite moments? When they become animated, jump at the chance to demonstrate removing an IV, or when they smile and laugh at my Kreyol. But the best moment was yesterday when they sang an impromptu song to thank me. No matter how much I give these dear people, I always come away more than blessed.

Sweetness.

Keeping Our Sanity

In the midst of so much suffering and overwhelming need, the tender and humorous moments help us get through the grueling hot days and long nights. They help us keep our sanity in an otherwise surreal world.

Seeing a recovering child sit up, eat crackers and laugh at a silly face drawn on a balloon.

Catching a glimpse of a chaplain stroking the cheek of a child frightened by an IV insertion.

Holding a limp child who needs some TLC while her mama nurses her younger sibling.

Watching a father tenderly care for his small children while their mother lies ill on the adjoining cot.

Wondering which patient has the strange cough only to realize it is the cow just outside the tent.

And then there are the definitions unique to this setting:

Positive TapTap Sign:  patient arrives at Triage in a TapTap with horn blaring, lights flashing; have the IV ready to go

Pest Control: Mama hen leading her chicks around the camp to devour the hundreds of gnarly grasshoppers

Multi-tasking Generator: powers floodlights, dries freshly cleaned cots, dries hands, warms IV fluids and offers heat to patients chilled by the night air and cold IV fluids

Gourmet Survival: MRE’s, Meals Ready to Eat. Shelf life 12 years. Mmmmm.

Decon: process of cleaning every possible contaminated surface with diluted Clorox; including shoes, scrub clothes, pens, stethoscopes and bodies.

BRAT diet Haitian style: ripe banana, white bread, bouillon with plantain or bread, white rice

Rehydration Cocktail: Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), straight up (no ice)

Baby Food: crushed crackers mixed with ORS and perhaps ripe banana

These are the moments which make the scope of this disaster less terrifying.

How much more?

I often wonder how much more can a people take. Haiti has suffered floods, hurricanes, a devastating earthquake and now, the killer known as cholera. And that is just in the last several years.

It is also known for its extreme poverty, political corruption and devastated environment.

How do the Haitians persevere in the face of such overwhelming odds?

The Haitians I work with and love put their trust in someone bigger than Haiti’s problems. They put their trust in the almighty God, ruler of heaven and earth. In Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, who will right every wrong and wipe every tear.

I think of Franz. He calls me sister, I call him brother. He is married with three small children. He accompanies us to the CTC (Cholera Treatment Center) in Bercy four nights out of each week. His job is that of interpreter. But that does not begin to describe what he does every night. He helps recognize the sickest, he carries the frail, the helpless, and he assists the nurses as we start life-saving IV’s. He even comforts us when we feel overwhelmed by the size of the task at hand.

He recently went home to visit his family in the south of Haiti over election weekend. We shared a meal the evening of his return to base. We just sat silently next to each other, comforted by each other’s presence, each knowing the other understood what we could not speak. I asked Frantz if he had tried to tell his wife what he had experienced. He said “M pat kapab”….I couldn’t. Those of us who have seen what we have seen, who have had to do what we have done are forever bound by our shared experiences. Not unlike war veterans, for whom I now have a deeper respect.

We cling to one another, but more so, we cling to God. He is our righteousness.

The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. Psalm 37:40

Put on the Full Armor of God

This battle against cholera is a spiritual battle.

I think of the mom who sang to the Lord while she labored to deliver her stillborn infant; she recovered and went home later that same day.

I consider the woman who was slowly deteriorating before our eyes. We released her to her family for transfer to another hospital better equipped to diagnose her problems She needed medical help which was beyond the scope of our CTC (Cholera Treatment Center). Instead, they took her to a Voodoo doctor. She died later that same day.

I remember the young man asleep at the foot of his ailing mother’s bed, waking from a heinous nightmare and fleeing the camp, knocking over IV stands and startling patients and their families as he ran by. The Haitians all said it was a result of Voodoo influences.

That same night, we heard Voodoo chanting off in the distance.

Yes, we come with lots of IV solution fluids, some clinical expertise and servant’s hearts. But the work we do is the work of the Lord. It is only He who saves. We press into His presence, waiting for a word from the Lord, a reminder that when we are weak then we are strong, Perhaps He will whisper that He loves us and approves of us. Sometimes we just need to be still and soak in His grace. Then we can put on the armor of God.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12