Changes....

….happening here in Haiti. With the whites that is. Cam is leaving Haiti. He's going back to Ontario to work there for his uncle. And everybody loves him. All the kids here and the youth here in Oriani... He will be missed.

I really love the youth here. They are strong Christians and feel like any youth group. Every Wednesday we have a Bible study together. It starts at 3 and usually its Haitian time and everybody will get there quite late. And that's no excuse for what I'm about to say. -But it just so happened that last Bible study we had been talking about to punish people for not getting on time or not even showing up at all!- So last Wednesday I show up at approximately 3:05. And I walk into the classroom and its all full and they stop me at the door. Fre Willie ( the teacher) told me that anybody that walks in late has to sing a solo and say verse from the Bible. Every one hoots and hollers like they do here when something like this happens. Fre Willie justs tells them to be quiet. Immediately every song and Bible verse I ever knew fled from my mind. I had been humming a song during the day which was the only one I could think of. Suddenly though halfway through I realized no I did not know this song at all! There was a complete misunderstanding between myself and my brain. And surely I would be capable of reciting John 3:16. I managed with just minor jumbling up of the words. It was much more enjoyable when more people came and had to sing. Everybody laughed and it was a good time. A real youth group.

I thought about daily life here and how it all seems so normal to me by now. But looking through the eyes of a new comer, new to Haiti, new to third world countries. Their brain might explode at some of the everyday sights here.

After supper last night, we got a clinic call. A man, lady, and a baby wrapped in a big blanket were standing in the front yard. The madam had a piece of fabric tied around her mouth. And blood was beginning to seep through. Matt called Keith over and he asked what had happen. The madam look at the guy. And he acted like he didn't know for sure. But he finally explained that he had had been on the way to his house after work.. and laying beside the road was his wife and baby! All crumpled up and hit on the head just laying there. So off to the clinic came the mom and baby. Chrystelle took to stitching up the lady which upper lip was split open and her chin was all cut up and different places and a big gash was upon her head. Then the poor baby was a whole other story. It turns out that he had been in the clinic before but also his parents had taken him to many witch doctors and spent most of their living in caring for their son and paying the witch doctors. Here at the clinic they only need to pay around 2 dollars. The little guy was 2 years old and he had a massive swelled stomach, which is a major sign of malnutrition and worms. The mom carefully took this homemade bandage of the little guy's foot. It consisted of raggedy, dirty fabric and also a plastic bag. And under there his foot was completely rotting away. The top of his foot was all gone and you could about see his bone. But he wasn't in any pain at all..he was so sick and out of it. His arms were all twisted and his eyes closed. Matt and Keith worked on the little boy. Tried and failed in get an IV in his dehydrated body. So Matt put an NG tube in and Sherri made some formula for him, high in protein. Keith cut on the dead skin off the little guy's foot and bandaged it up real nice. Keith yelled at the guy and told him they had to bring their baby back in the morning! If they wanted their baby to live they must bring it back. But unfortunately, the little guy passed away in the night. Now he is running around in Heaven with a new foot.