The following post is from CBF field personnel Nancy and Steve James who serve in Haiti.

The past month has been filled with activities and people.  Steve and I often feel overwhelmed and tired.  But God has blessed us with wonderful moments of sharing with our Haitian co-workers, brothers and sisters in Christ. Other dear friends from the United States and Canada who have come to share their talents and their love with us and with the Haitian people during this time of great trial and suffering.  We have worked in the clinics together, prayed, sung together and even shed a few tears together.

Steve has driven to Port au Prince five times since January 12^th and I have been twice on those trips.  Those areas most affected by the earthquake are still the hub of suffering and places of great need.  Tent cities are everywhere and now that the rainy season has arrived, they are deluged with water and sewage making conditions difficult at best.  

We are heartened by not only by the huge international effort but the efforts of the Haitian people working side-by-side together helping to respond to this enormous crisis.  Yes, there are misunderstandings and set backs as expected in times of stress and hardship but there are many positive things happening since the earthquake.

 The American Baptist and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship were invited to start rebuilding a school in one of the worst hit areas in a town called Grand Goave close to the epicenter. Scott Hunter from CBF, who helped after the Tsunami in Asia, worked together with the Haitian Baptist Convention and Pastor Moise from Grand Goave to set up a tent site, water tower, out door showers and bathrooms for workers and teams to come help in the rebuilding.  Joining him for 7 weeks was Herb Rogers a former missionary to Haiti with much experience in cross-cultural and Creole language and construction.  Roy Durgin, 21 yr old volunteer from Christian Communities helped for a month in Port and GG to translate and help in ground clearing and construction.   Tori Wentz, RN from CBF came to help with medical needs at the camp and surrounding areas. Recently Gene Gentry, ABC and Tim Brendell CBF, arrived who will  be replacements now that Scott and Herb have returned to the US. The Haitian team are members of the church and daily work hard at the camp helping the US teams.  Life at camp is rustic and the weather increasingly hot and humid, but work gets done with the love of Jesus.

 Closer to home in the north surprisingly we continue to see and minister to the victims of the earthquake.  A few weeks ago at the Ebenezer Clinic a tiny baby girl was brought in by her two aunts to be consulted.  They told the story that their sister had died in the earthquake and her newborn baby trapped next to her body for two days. Her cries were heard amidst the rubble and she was rescued.  Imagine the horror of trying to reach the baby for two days and the joy they must have felt when the baby was rescued, but then also the sorrow of finding the body of her mother next to her.  The baby was amazingly unharmed except for a crushed right arm. First aid had been administered in Port Au Prince but now they were seeking help as her arm was unable to extend normally.  Her tiny hand was clenched and she cried when we tried to open it.  We had heard there were visiting surgeons from the US working at Milot hospital in the north. Steve and I and two nurses, Laura Greenwood and Mercy Huessy and the two aunts were able take our truck over very bad roads to Milot to have her consulted. The hospital Sacre Coeur is teaming with patients from the earthquake and their caregivers both foreign and Haitian. The hospital is too small to hold all the patients so surrounding the hospital are huge tents for wards. The surgeon told us that the baby was too small to operate on but that he would be back in September and wanted to follow-up with her then.  He encouraged the aunts to keep trying to gently stretch her hand so it wouldn’t contract. He felt that there was hope in restoring her arm and hand to normal. We were all relieved to hear the news.  We have been able to keep close touch with the baby girl and her aunts as they are living close by us and we see them often. 

 Another case was brought to our attention at Ebenezer Clinic two weeks ago with a five year girl named Widjine, whose mother had died in the earthquake. Her grandmother was caring for her and they had arrived by motor bike taxi about an hours drive from the clinic. Her face swollen and feverish she looked sad and withdrawn.  Her grandmother said her mother had been killed in the earthquake and now she is caring for her granddaughter.  She was sick enough to intern her to a hospital.  But which hospital? Ebenezer is constructing a clinic with beds next door, but it wasn’t nearly ready. Her grandmother said they couldn’t afford to go anywhere else.  Dr. Manno and the clinic staff, made the decision to keep her overnight in spite of the fact that the clinic with beds is still unfinished. 

Two other patients needed IV’s  and close observation that night as well.  The new tiling was barely dry, furniture piled in to the center of the rooms and there was dust everywhere.  But these patients and families didn’t care, They were just grateful that they could be looked after in a clinical setting.  Two visiting family doctors, Dr. Phillip Mitchell and Dr. Karen Richter from North Carolina spent hours caring for little Widjine even Dr. Karen donating her own blood to her when they discovered Widjine’s families’ blood was not suitable. After she received the blood, we gathered around her bed that evening and sang songs.  Widjine was lying on her bed with her eyes wide open, face puffy and looking lethargic but to our delight she patted her hand on her chest to the beat of the music. 

We sang children’s songs in Creole, “Jesus Loves the little Children” and  “Brighten the Corner Where you Are.” And “Deep and Wide.” It cheered us all to sing and see Widjine responding by tapping along to the beat even though she was too weak to sing.  When tests revealed sickle-cell anemia and suggested possible tuberculosis, we arranged for her to be transferred to a larger hospital that could start her on prescribed TB medicine regulated by the public health department. Steve visited her and her grandmother the other day and she is making gradual improvement.

 Widjine and her grandmother are one of many families that your prayers and your donations are helping during the after math of the earthquake here in Haiti.  Merci ampil et Bon Dieu beni ou! (Thank you so much and God bless you!)