832 patients seen in the last month. Alot of them were sick children with anything from mumps to colds, ear infections and corn and beads suck up their noses. One very cute 8 yr old girl named Meleena met me out on the road and told me she would like to come in and get help for her ear but that she didn’t have money. I looked at her ear and she had yellow puss running out of it and streaks going down her neck where it had been running for quite some time and never washed off. I told her to come in and we’d help her anyways and that she NEEDED to get that looked after. She said very emphatically “NO! I cant come in or I will get a spanking for coming in without my moms permission.” Hmmm... ok let me get some antibiotics and come to you on the street with nurse Kim. And again she had a look of horror on her face and said that her mom would whip her for stealing if she brought home medication without her moms knowledge. Hmmm... ok well tell your mom to come in WITH you then. “No, we live a long ways away and we have no money and mom cant come.” And so it went. Well we convinced her to tell her mom that we would treat the whole family for free, but they just needed to come asap and that ear infections this bad can be serious. So lo and behold... the next day the mom and kids all come traipsing into the clinic and the kids all were having various troubles that we gave them help for. Sure is rewarding to see them getting help when they would otherwise have just let nature take its course.
Life is always busy and interesting here in Oriani. We have alot of things to finish getting set up in the clinic yet but the clinic is very serviceable and things are progressing step by step. We see that we will be running out of space and will need to look at adding on another couple rooms sometime. So the big question comes.. how much money shall we put into this rented place? There is hardly room for the medicines we really need to stock, and where can we someday set up the lab area for testing for TB, Typhoid, Malaria, etc? If anybody knows of a serviceable lab quality microscope that is being retired or not being used, please let me know.
We got a teacher!!! Lacey Toews from Pincher Creek was working here in Haiti at an orphanage and she decided to stay and teach till the end of June. We are rejoicing that the children can get back to school now. She is now living with us and Kim and Charlene are living with Clinton Holdemans in the mission house. Feels like we are finally getting things settled in. We have an awesome crew and are totally enthused about everyone who we have to work with here. We thank you for your prayers and support here.
We had the privilege to be at a church service recently where a local witchdoctor supplier converted to Christ. It was so impressive! After the service all (50 people?) walked to his house and sang and prayed with him and he gave his testimony of how God had led him this way. These Haitian men don’t show their emotion and tears much but this man just let the tears flow. He told us of how he was the richest man in the area but how he realised he has NOTHING. He said he knows all about voodoo and magic and potions etc, but he realises he knows nothing. He said he owns 5 trucks, has houses all over Haiti and paid cash for a house in Miami, but realises now that he is a poor man that needs eternal riches instead. (The verse in Matt 5 came to me that says... Blessed are the poor in spirit. )He also asked some of the church men to help him get rid of his devil worship paraphernalia. So they scrounged around under his bed, in his closets and rooted out all his ash piles, the bowls, his potions, his symbols and statues, his candles and etc and we all together walked to the edge of the village and there poured gas on it all and had a public burning of it all. What a huge witness to the community he was. I hear now that the other witchdoctors in the area say that if this gran neg (big guy) converts to Christianity then they will not be able to stay in the area. Wow. Thank you God. Our Haiti church is having their conference this week and we attended for a couple days. What a blessing to see their sincerity and faith.
We took the family and our two girls Charlene Johnson and Lacey Toews to Dominican with us now. We need to get some supplies and meds. Right now I am sitting under a tiki hut at the hotel. I can hear the waves crashing on the rocks below the 100 ft cliffs just below me. The air is warm and abit sticky, but it looks like a nice day ahead. So we will start driving and see where the road takes us and what we can find. Just when I am starting to learn Haitian Creole I come to Dominican and realise how utterly strange Spanish is to me. I cant understand a word they are saying or how to order food in the restaurant or anything! Lacey tried to order and enchilada last night and just got a plate of cheese slices instead. Ha
Keep praying that
- we can learn Creole faster
- we can have wisdom for the decisions to be made for the future of this work
- we can provide the best care for these poor people that we possibly can
- that there will be a nurse that can come replace Kim in a few months
- for our health and safety
Keith and Candace Toews and family
www.confidencehealthcenter.com (check the website to read about Mr Konshon Shveen, a PaP hog)
Tel 1-809-816-4899
picture was of the Orson Welles collection
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