Medical Clinics in Haiti

This time when I went to Haiti I went with Love A Child again, and one of their ministries is to provide medical care to those who don't have access to it. We started our journey by going to a village called Lastik. This is a village that can only be reached in the dry season because you have to drive through a river bed to get there.

We packed up the vehicles and drove to the village. Then like a well oiled machine we quickly unloaded and began setting up the medical clinic.

Hanging up tarps to help give us shade

Getting Pharmacy all set up

In two short days we saw close to 500 people.

People waiting for us to open up the clinic

We planned on staying in Lastik all week but being in Haiti things are never certain and because of some political unrest we had to pack up early. Our team was heartbroken to have to leave early but it's important to use wisdom and the people were very sweet and understanding.

We packed everything very quickly

While we didn't get to stay in the village we had planned on staying in we did get to help elsewhere ... more about that in my entry.

Donations

When I went to Haiti I saw some of the worst poverty ever, there are people wearing rags and children running around naked. Some of the simplest gifts can bring the greatest joy.

Life consist of surviving day to day and play is a rare thing, yet I have found that play is a universal language.

Playing jump rope attracted a crowd

I have some wonderful friends that help collect things for me to take with me.

This trip I had clothes and balls

Last time I went I had boys shorts and girls dresses, this time I had a variety of clothes and sports balls.

The kids got very excited when they saw the balls, I had a hard time getting them to hold still so I could get a picture.

I love how something so simple can mean so much to somebody.

So after everyone received medical care we took time to play with the kids, this is showing the love of Jesus in a practical way.

Friends

I have met some wonderful people on my travels and have made some great friends along the way. Last year when I went to Haiti I met a sweet lady and I'm sure will be life long friends.

So when I found out that she was planning on going back to Haiti the same time as me I was thrilled.

She is a wonderful wife, mother and friend and she shares my love for the people in Haiti.

When we found out that we were going to be on the same trip she invited me to come to her house and spend a few days with her family before we flew out. I had a lot of fun getting to know her family and getting to see her home town.

One of the things I love about traveling is the different people I meet along the way. A major bonus are the friends I make.

Visiting Family

My parents both come from big families so everybody is spread out. As my cousins move off and start their own families it is harder and harder to see everyone. Not only is everyone busy with their lives I'm busy too. My mom and I decided that we would take a weekend and go visit what family we could.

Most of our family still lives in Michigan so Mom and I packed our bags and got ready for the 12 hour car drive. We ran into some heavy traffic and actually had to go another route because traffic was at a standstill from a fatal accident.

 Our trip ended taking close to 15 hours but we eventually made it.

We only had a weekend to see everyone so we started making our rounds to see as many people as we could. One cousin even managed to take some time out of his deer hunting to visit.

My cousin perched up in a tree deer hunting

We didn't have time to see everyone that we wanted to but it was great to see those that we could.

Our trip ended at the bottom of the state at my Aunt Ella's

Holiday Season is approaching

In today's society it feels like the holiday season is rushed more and more each year. While I don't want to rush from one holiday to the next I do want to be prepared.
For the past four years one of my best friends and I have been putting together and selling Christmas baskets. So while we are enjoying the fall season we are getting prepared for the Christmas season. During the year we are looking for deals and buying items for our baskets. Mid October we bring our treasures out of storage.

It has become a joke with our families that Santa's workshop has opened. We will be covered with glitter and iridescent shred from now til new years.

Once we start working the process goes pretty quickly.

Now we just need to get selling events on our calender.

This is a crazy busy time of year but it is also a time that I look forward to because I have so much fun with my friend. It also helps to fund some of my mission trips for the next year.