The day before the medical team leaves

The picture above is of the doctors as they head out to the hospital after lunch. It's rather symbolic. The picture looks a little like how we'll feel when they're gone, walking out of our lives. We are going to miss them! We will be a little depressed when they leave tomorrow after lunch, but we'll get over it. We will still have a group of three women here who are ministering to the hospital staff and pastors in the area. It will be a challenge, but that's OK. That's why we're here. 

We made an appointment with Rich, the counselor, to counsel with us re: our own grief & losses over the last couple of years. We say "oh yes, we're fine" and yet, maybe not sometimes. Our losses seem so close to us for some strange reason down here - Warren, Renie, loss of the school, Annie, Chris' dad...  We were going to be involved in grief counseling to the Haitians, but this is how it might be instead. The two of us getting counseled ourselves. And so we got counseled tonight. What a blessing to sit there, the two of us, getting to share our hearts, our journey, our grief with someone from the outside so to speak. He gave us some good things to work on and shared some awesome insights from his own life to bless us with. The Body of Christ is an amazing thing. 

From Chris: As I burned CDs of photos for the doctors today, I listened to the Haitian women downstairs sing "Wonderful Savior, Jesus is Mine" and "Come Thou Fount - my personal fave - in Creole as they washed all our clothes by hand. Remember, Antiguan team members, how we would take the clothes to the laundromat before we got the washer for Ronnie and Janice? Well, these sweet Haitian women have no clue how their lives would change if they had a washer here!  Think of it, hand washing clothes for approx. 18 people. Unbelievable. Frankly, we've been hand washing most of ours i.e. underwear and shirts. Why add to their burden when we are certainly capable of it? One thing is certain- we are helping their economy by hiring them. Greg is trying to cross that barrier himself. HIRE THE HAITIANS TO DO THE WORK!!!! 

A little side note to the laundry situation - it's now night time and the laundry is done and ours didn't get done. Now that's going to be a problem! We hope it happens tomorrow! Especially Greg's work clothes!

From Chris, another baby orphan story. The guy in the white tee-shirt below, Tilom, had a sister who died after giving birth. That little one month old baby nephew showed up with an aunt. She needed food for him. What a dilemma. She also wanted him to go to the orphanage. We had only a can or two of formula and again, it's $10 a can and that's way more than they can afford. The orphanage really can't take anymore children because Haiti has put the stop on adoptions and if the orphanages take anymore children in, they have to raise them. It's so sad. Someone was sent out to buy a bottle for the baby and give him our one can of formula, but who knows what's going to happen to him? I get a little angry thinking about Angelina Jolie being a spokesperson for UNICEF and she can adopt all the babies she wants and yet we've heard that they are behind the push on the govt. to put the kibash on international adoptions. This country cannot support their orphaned children. Just a little rant. Pardon me.

Our thoughts are random tonight. Things will be slowing down for Chris with the larger group leaving and picking up for Greg as he tries to complete his projects. Our missionary doctor and his wife will get a couple of nights of R&R, one with the medical team. We are praying it will be an awesome time for them. They need it.

Greg and two of his worker buddies

Kids at the orphanage with their new balloons (yesterday)

These are the neighbor kids looking under our gate. They're always there.

More neighbor kids. Some of them are the witchdoctor's kids.

(We know some of you have been unable to leave comments on this here blog. You can do it now as our friend, Peter, has changed the setting for that. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! We can also now see how many have looked at the blog, thanks to our son, Mike, for changing that setting. You don't have to be here to help us out! Praise God!)