Experiences to Remember!

My friends!

     I know I haven't blogged in a while and I am sorry about that, but it is for good reason. I spend the last four days in clinics and a cholera house. (I will tell you more about cholera in a bit.) I spent the first three days (of the four) in the mountains by Arcahaie. I went up there with the medical team that was here. Mahaya (not sure how to spell her name) owns the property and has provided enormous amounts of help for the people of Haiti. She has a true love for the country and talked a lot about what the country used to be like and how gorgeous it was, which she wants to bring back. She is working very hard to touch the lives of the Haitian people and provide as much as she can. Life in the mountains is a lot harder than life in the city because access to water and food is more difficult to find, so a clinic is more vital there. For the three days we were up there we saw 200 patients each day. We didn't open the clinic until at least nine everyday and by six in the morning there were about fifty people outside the clinic. People came from miles and waited several hours to see a doctor. I am very thankful for the team that came down here. I am overjoyed they were willing to use their knowledge and supplies to help others; it was such a blessing to have them here and I am so thankful I got to spend time with them and learn from them.
     On top of an amazing weekend in Haiti, I had my best day in Haiti (so far) yesterday. Yesterday I was able to go to the Real Hope for Haiti facility. The Real Hope for Haiti facility is a clinic and cholera house that was set up by a family roughly ten years ago and has grown to become a phenomenal blessing to the Haitian people! Lori, Licia and their father have worked hard to maintain the medical needs necessary for the people in the area and from what I saw they are a true heaven sent! I worked with Lori a lot yesterday and so I know the most about her, but I don't have any doubt that Licia and Zach (their father) work just as hard. Lori has been working 7 days a week since the clinic was opened (roughly ten years ago) and has only had two weeks of vacation every year (which she uses to go back to the states). However, the last three years she hasn't had a single day of. I want you to take a second and think of that; she doesn't get weekends off and hasn't had a vacation in three years. I think she truly has the hand of God guiding her, because no human can do that on their own. She works extremely hard and every second I saw her yesterday she was busting her bum. She did everything from clean out waste buckets to remove toes (surgically). Lori got her nursing degree in the United States, but since she has been in Haiti she has had to take on a lot more tasks than a nurse in the states would have to. I will tell you more about cholera so you can understand a little more about what she does EveryDay. Cholera is a bacterial infection of the small intestine that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Go to www.realhopeforhaiti.org to see pictures (I didn't take any at the clinic because I didn't want to be rude; many people were throwing up and everyone had to use a bucket next to their bed as a bathroom [which is what I meant when I said 'Lori was emptying waste', she was emptying the bathroom buckets]. The majority of people at the clinic felt very vulnerable and embarrassed, which is another reason I didn't take pictures but I highly suggest you to check out the blog). Cholera kills people because they excrete all the nutrients their body has and if that happens their body goes into hypovolemic shock, which causes the heart to stop pumping because of the fluid loss. What I saw and experienced yesterday is beyond words and a lot of it I have no idea how I would explain. Lori and her family are true angels and God is the best doctor so please pray for them and support them in any way you see fit. Yesterday was heart wrenching and although it was beautiful to see Lori's love for the people it was (and is) tear jerking to know that if this epidemic was in America I doubt a single person would die from it, because an IV and some antibiotics for, on average, four days is the treatment. However, since clinics are far and few between here many people are unable to get the help they need and therefore they are unable to fight the sickness.
     Prayers are definitely needed for the clinic, the patients and the workers.
     I want to remind you to give your day up to the Lord and ask Him to lead your way, because He has the perfect plan for your  life and that you will experience more joy than ever before when you follow Him.

     Love you all so very much!,
     Crystal Joy