Clinic update: Dec 27-2018
Charlotte’s update is below, but I can make a few comments of recent developments….
From the administration things are working reasonably well at the clinic even though our administrators who came to replace Matt and Sheri had to go back to Canada due to some unforeseen health reasons. We thank them for the 6 months they were able to put in and wish them Gods blessings. Matt and Sheri Giesbrecht’s term of 2 years was over in July and they did a fine job in learning the language and getting into the work. We hope for more time from them in the future if God wills.
Since we are in between general administrators now (we have good prospects), the board felt I should go to Haiti and rearrange some of the admin responsibilities to different of the clinic workers to be able to keep a smooth flow of meds supplied, and leadership provided for the different aspects of the work. This went well. Charlotte is director of nursing, Ozias is managing the HR area, the workers and the patients etc,. Quentin Russel is managing the finances and purchasing, and Gareo and Maggi are running the household. We feel a need for an admin family just to oversee things, but we are happy that things are in good hands in the interim. Ozias told me that he congratulates the good workers we have there and said that this kind of shock (admin leaving suddenly) would not be sustainable without such exceptional team players. We are in close contact with them there.
Continue to pray that the needs of the clinic are well supplied. We have nurses lining up but we still need funds. Things are in tight supply now. We have a Toyota sitting in customs that we are waiting for money to be able to pay the bill and get it out. (long story of how 6000 dollars tax owing suddenly became $29,000 tax… but we are working on bringing that down as low as possible yet).
May God bless your compassion and generosity. Keith Toews
Canadian Donors make checks out to …
“Confidence Health Center”, OR if a Canadian receipt is needed then to… “Mapleview Church”
And send to …
Confidence Health Center
PO Box 1202
St Marys Ontario
N4X 1B8
Donors from USA please send checks to our board member Dave Wenger at…
Friends of Haiti (checks can be made out to Friends of Haiti)
2024 AL hwy 25
Faunsdale, AL
36738
Now below here is Nurse Charlotte’s recent letter. It’s Good, Gory, and a Glory to God!
I'll try to give you a touch of our lives here at the clinic in Oriani Haiti.
Tonight, in church a brother had a testimony... Friday night his wife had put their baby to bed and shortly after his 5 or 6-year-old boy went to bed too. Not long after they heard the baby cry out. They went to check on her and how he explained it seemed like she was having a seizure. Shortly after the boy also started acting in the same way, body stiff, teeth clenched and urinating on himself. His wife becomes quite upset as she starts thinking perhaps both of their children were going to die. They prayed and at 11:00 at night they both got better seemed to be fine. Later he noticed a big blood stain outside their front door and he had not done anything or killed any animal that could have caused that. I was telling that story to our Haitian nurse, and she said that when the devil tries to get a child or kill someone and if he can't do it… he vomits the blood outside the door, otherwise he keeps the blood and the child dies. Did someone try to put a curse on them? These people have so much to live with and through. I sat in church with my mouth open listening to his story and the members just sit there like this is normal stuff. In our clinic, so many times we are not aware of how often people have tried devil worship or witch doctors before they come to us, or if they go home from our clinic and still go there. It pays to be close to God’s Spirit and listen to his promptings and then also rely on the Christians that work at the clinic for advice. Since they are familiar with these things they also can sense and see it in someone better then we can. Oh, the hopelessness in a person when there is "no hope in Jesus"!
I got a call one early morning for a baby with respiratory problems, once I got to the clinic by 7 or shortly after and checked her oxygen it was registering 20%! Did some fast work and it slowly started climbing, come to find out this was the same family who had a boy with seizures Matt and Quentin we're taking down to Port au prince a couple months ago and suddenly he had a turn around and was totally normal! A miracle and now they are needing another miracle! It took a while to arrange a ride down to Port for this baby. When we finally did the family was threatening to take her home, (possibly to go to a witch doctor rather) but at the last minute a well-respected uncle called and encouraged them to go to the doctor, rather unusual as the older ones usually prefer the witch doctor. So, they agreed to go. They found help and the child got better, a Sunday or two later the mother brings her two children to church to testify and thank God for the miracle and the help they received. Once again, we thank God and praise him, so often it is despite our weaknesses and what we try to do. It’s very frustrating when it seems like you must convince them to go for professional help for their child. Lacey and her dad Wally, and Ilome helped with all this too and got the ball rolling to send them down. It takes a team effort.
Gareo and Maggie are here living with us and running the household, Maggie was from Rosewood Manitoba and married a Haitian a little over a year ago. They are waiting on papers to come through, and since we are still hunting for new administrators, they graciously are helping us out for a while. Maggie wanted so badly to assist with a baby delivery so Sunday morning at 4:40am before Lacey’s wedding, she got her wish. Shayla, one of the orphanage volunteers was along too. Maggie and her knew each other well. So Gareo is driving me to the clinic and Maggie is texting me, "if a baby is to be born make Gareo come back to get me!". I can see it probably wouldn't be too long, so they came to cheer us on. It sure made the getting up at night more fun. An 8.8 lb baby boy was born to a first-time mom! Quite unusual for them to be that big! So that started the wedding day... just sat up and drank coffee and talked and waited for the day to begin when we got home.
(A few words on the wedding of Lacey Toews (from Pincher Creek Alberta, and Ilomi a Haitian from here). Lacey has been volunteering and working in Haiti for the clinic as well as local schools since 2011 and is very familiar with this country and culture. - Keith.) It was so fun to have all the visitors here for the wedding. Matt's were back, Todd's and Kay too so it felt like old times seeing them all here again! The wedding was very large. It was hard to calculate exactly how many people, but they said they served about 800 meals. Brutus had the sermon and Dallas married them. The school children all had deep coral color uniforms and they sang "Seek ye first the kingdom of God". Very pretty, Lacy has helped and taught in the schools here for years, so she has touched many children's lives.
One day we had a long day at the clinic, 8AM -7PM. We had just been ready to leave and a pregnant lady showed up. It took several hours before baby was born, just as we were cleaning up from that, a child is brought in with a rag wrapped around his wrist. I can tell it's not good but don't know how bad until we get him in and check it. His wrist is cut through the bone, he was chopping food for pigs and chops his wrist instead, the brave boy is not crying, maybe 6 or 7 years old? We stabilized the wrist and bone and sent him down on a motorcycle to a hospital that hoping they had a pediatric bone surgeon. Seen him back since and he seems to have movement of all his fingers! So, they must have found a good doctor. By the time we got home, we thought we deserved some ice cream and Doritos! Lucky for us, we had the essentials to make ice cream and still had Doritos from our trip to DR!
Time would fail to tell of the drunk child we gave IV fluids to help him come out of his drunken sleepy state, the many skin rashes and skin diseases that have us scratching our heads at times (literally) . The many babies and children with respiratory problems, as well as adults with their own set of minor and the occasional big problem. We saw a young girl once who had been living down in Port with extended family and had been abused by the people she was living with. So many sad stories. A husband killed by the fighting that's been going on in Port au Prince lately, parents who are worried about their children who live in the city for schooling, and etc. Thankfully the unrest seems to have settled down now.
Now it's several days later… Dave Wenger from Alabama (on the clinic board), Jay Geisel from El Campo TX (an RN that's interested in maybe coming here someday as administrator), and Eldon Schmidt (from Mississippi and who has a heart for the clinic) are here visiting right now. It feels good to have visitors. It's been a very relaxing weekend as far as extra clinic calls go...but I guess the weekend’s not over yet... last weekend we had a fun weekend. I guess we thought we deserved a getaway after all the wedding company and busyness so Gareo’s took my uncle Dallas's to the airport and Agatha and I went along. We went up to Fairmont the mountain above Port, sat in traffic a lot on Friday getting there and getting back down, bought a beautiful poinsettia up there, so now it truly looks like Christmas! Is that what it takes? Spent night in town and went to a beach before heading back to Oriani Saturday. Fun times!
PS: if I'd only finish this and send it on I could quit writing... last night we had a baby delivery that took a long time and then still ended up sending her down the mountain, final diagnosis was possible pelvic abnormality, too small to have the baby... but I would like to hear what the doctors actually said. That made for a very short night, so a nap was in order this afternoon. Those three gentlemen that came to visit brought lots of beef jerky, supplies, parts, and even a nice non-stick pan! Thanks! Along with a real boost in spirit again...
And now it's time to close this letter and move on. Wishing you all a very blessed Christmas season and many happy family gatherings.
Love and prayers... Charlotte Nightengale RN