Getting ready for November trip

Well, its 4 AM and here I am at the computer blogging about Haiti.  Must be getting close to another trip.  This is a time where I start waking up in the middle of the night, excited about going and worrying about "things left undone".  My husband asked me yesterday, what I was worried about, since I have ordered our medical supplies, our team has their airline tickets arranged, and all we have to do now is wait for November 28.  Easy for him to say!

We have a group of 15 nurses going to Haiti from CBU, they leave Nov 2.  Their leader is the amazing Dr Evelyn Sue Trzynka, "Sue" to most of us.  She and I have been exchanging emails like crazy.  I recognize in her the same "OMG I AM LEAVING FOR HAITI IN 10...9...8...7 DAYS" panic mode that I  experience before a trip.  The desire to take everything you can possibly stuff into your suitcase, to give to the children of St Vincent's.  The worry about making connections in Miami (BOY I HATE THAT AIRPORT!)  The worry about making everything work out when we get there, the clinic, the pharmacy, the "fun activities" planned for the children....  Will all our bags arrive in Port au Prince? Will we have enough interpreters? (you can never have enough interpreters) Will  Pere Sadoni be there to meet us at the airport? (he always is)
Will we be able to see all the children in clinic?

This will be Dr Sue's second trip to St Vincent's, and when I lead the team in November it will be my 10th trip to Haiti.  I don't think the anxiety lessens, I just worry about different things.  I no longer worry about safety of the team (we are very protected by our Haitian friends and very careful about staying within the walls of the school or the guest house).  I also don't worry about being useful.  I used to fret that the big American teams were more trouble to the priest, Pere Sadoni, than we were worth.  I finally decided that God has blessed me with this opportunity to go to Haiti over and over, and take lots of other people to learn about this wonderful school, this "Cathedral for Children" as Deacon Drew calls it.

Susan Nelson