She has done what she could

There is a story in Mark's gospel (Chapter 14) about a woman who brings an expensive jar of perfume to the house of Simon the Leper, where Jesus is having dinner with his friends. The woman anoints Jesus with the perfume, an act which is later seen as anointing him for his burial. At the time, the disciples were upset, asking Jesus why he let this woman "waste" this expensive perfume when the money could have been used to feed the poor. Jesus responds "She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you will, you can do good to them; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could."

Dr. Mitzi Minor, a professor at Memphis Theological Seminary, taught a Sunday school lesson about this passage last week. She emphasized the fact that the woman understood the suffering Jesus was going through and knew what was going to happen to Him, even though none of His friends seemed to get the idea. She did something for Jesus that was an act of kindness and did not ask Him for anything in return, in contrast to the other people surrounding Him. The woman could not stop what was going to happen to Jesus; she could not prevent His suffering, she couldn't fix the problem with the Romans or with the Jewish high priests. But she offered comfort to Jesus and He was no longer alone.

This struck me as an insight into our mission work in Haiti, and for that matter anytime we offer comfort to someone who is suffering. We may not be able to fix the bigger problems, or to stop something terrible from happening. But we can give what we have; the love and support we can offer to another human being is sometimes all we have but it is our greatest gift. All God asks of us is to give the tiny gift we have, and He will bless it and make it into something wonderful.

Lenten reflections

St. Vincent's School was founded in the late 1950s by Sister Joan Margaret, of the Society of Saint Margaret, an anglican organization based in Boston. Several of the sisters still live and work in Haiti. I just discovered an amazing journal account of the earthquake in Jan 2010, written by Sr. Marjorie who was living at the convent in Port au Prince. Click on the link below. If it does not work, visit their website at: www.ssmbos.com and look for their newsletter from Lent 2010.

http://www.ssmbos.org/sites/default/files/Epiphany%20Lent%202010.pdf

Living Water

This past Sunday the gospel reading was about Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman. He tells her He will give her living water (John 4:3-42)

I always wondered what that living water was exactly, or if Jesus was just using a metaphor. I thought maybe He meant something spiritual like the knowledge of eternal life. I confess I often thought the Samaritan woman must have left feeling empty handed, or at least puzzled by a confusing answer.

I realized during Andy's sermon (Andy Andrews is our priest at St. Mary's Cathedral in Memphis) that by speaking to her as a woman, as a Samaritan, Jesus gave her the gift of recognizing her value as a person.
The living water is the gift of being valued
Of being given your dignity
Recognizing you have the freedom to be loved
To hold your head up and thank God you're alive

The Samaritan woman walked away from that conversation with something that couldn't be taken away from her.

This is the gift God gives to the Haitian people, a gift we Americans don't always see at first. We see the devastating poverty most Haitians endure all of their lives, and we ask, How can they love God? Why arent they angry all the time? The Haitians know that God loves them even though the world ignores them most of the time. They have a treasure inside that can't be taken away.

Wes's experience (our pharmacist)

My experience in Haiti was fraught with first-time experiences. Prior to this trip, I had never experienced a third world country. I had no idea what to expect as we landed at the Port-au-Prince airport, but the moment we stepped outside the airport the reality of how much poverty there is in the country was immediately apparent. You want to help everyone you see. You want to give them the money/food/clothing you have on you. I constantly felt guilty for all the things I had that they didn’t and probably never will. It seemed like no matter what you did it would just be a solitary raindrop falling on a thirsty desert, having little effect on the greater problem; but the following morning at St. Vincent’s showed me just how big an impact twelve people can make.

We weren’t supposed to have clinic the first day we arrived but I soon learned to expect the unexpected in Haiti. I owe a huge debt to Miloine (we all spell and pronounce her name differently), the nurse that is now in charge of the pharmacy there. Even though neither of us was fluent in the other’s language, we were able to communicate through the magic of medicine. She let me know if the directions I was writing actually made sense in Kreyol, and in the beginning – they didn’t. Thankfully my English to Kreyol improved as we went along with help from her, the other members of the team, and my iPod (there’s an app for that!). I think I will have “bwe yon grenn chak jou” (take one tablet every day) ingrained in my memory forever.

There were so many memorable moments at St. Vincent’s that it’s hard to list them all. Everyone on the team was always in motion. There was one day where Sherye was being pulled in every direction to interpret for the deaf children. We had two exam rooms with three providers all needing Sherye to interpret for them plus my need for her to interpret directions for the medication… she handled it in stride and I’m not sure how we would have done it without her. Everyone has a role even if it’s not necessarily medical. You will find your role once you enter St. Vincent’s.

I guess I’ve rambled on a bit so I’ll close by saying (typing?) that one month ago I had no idea the West Tenn. Haiti Partnership even existed and now here I am back in Memphis after experiencing something that will forever change my world outlook for the better. I made some great friends whether they live in Memphis, Haiti, or New Orleans. I am thankful for the privilege that this organization has given me to serve a people that need our help. Once your eyes are opened to the plight of those less fortunate, it is impossible to close them again.

sent in by Wes Savage, a pharmacy student at UT

See-through toilet paper

There are many things about visiting Haiti that are memorable and unique, and some are downright funny.  Like the toilet paper that is so thin you can see through it.  Really.  Also the experience of washing off all the dust and dirt in a cold shower, so you can come out and cover yourself with sticky bug spray.  Then there is the terrifying ride through Port au Prince when Ronald is driving.  Ronald Noel is one of the school administrators, and he was one of our drivers, along with Lionel, who also works for the school.  It took 2 vehicles to shuttle us back and forth between the guesthouse and the school every day, and everyone preferred to ride with Lionel if at all possible.  Ronald would slam on the gas pedal anytime there was more than 10 feet between him and the car in front of us, then slam on the brake just before running over a pedestrian or the back of another vehicle.  Ronald also loves to drive on the left hand side of the road, especially if the cars on the right hand side of the road are not moving quickly.  He would somehow manage to squeeze back into the line of cars just before driving straight into an oncoming vehicle. He takes turns at tire screeching speed, throwing all the occupants to one side of the vehicle.  Amy suggested that he must be making a bet with Lionel to see who got to the guest house first.  It was usually a 50-60 minute ride, and Ronald could do it in 35 minutes.  Evidently the only rule for drivers in Haiti appears to be this:  if there is an available space, fill it.
Some of the facts of life of Haiti are even more obvious upon returning to the states. This morning I took my second HOT shower in 12 hours.   I swatted a fly earlier and didn't immediately think of grabbing the bug spray.  There are trash cans in all the bathrooms and even one in the kitchen!  (there appear to be no trash cans in Haiti, they seem to dump all the trash directly into the street).

Here are some memories from our recent trip which may be funny only to those who were there at the time, if you know what I mean:
Nick Pesce was the only team member to bring his own beer cozy

Famous quotes from team members include the following:
Nick:   "Did I tell you I only work with adults? Susan--Did I tell you this was an orphanage?"

Wes: "Its like when you're in college and you wake up in the morning and you have beer and you have cheerios, then you have beerios...and you realize it wasn't such a good idea."

Sonya - after being patted down at the airport, "Dude, I don't even let my husband touch me like that!"

Amy - looking through her many suitcases, "I know I have it somewhere."

A surprise customer

The first night we stayed at the Heartline Guest House in Haiti, there were other visitors as well. Some folks were working at a local orphanage and they brought one of the Haitian children back to the guest house that night.  His name was Gabriel and he was about 14 months old.  He was quite ill with fever and cough, so the workers were worried about leaving him behind at the orphanage, which they said was not taking good care of its children.  They found out I was there, a family doctor, with medicine in our many suitcases, so naturally they asked me to take a look at the child.  After examining him, I could reassure them that he seemed to have bronchitis but not pneumonia or an ear infection, and we had medicine to treat this condition.  Next step was digging through TWENTY TWO suitcases to find the amoxicillin and a syringe to dispense it with.  Wes, our pharmacy student, found the medication right away.  It was in powder form, so he mixed it up with water and Voila! we had the remedy.  We also found tylenol for his fever, and cough syrup. I dont think Wes expected to be put to work quite so soon, but it was typical for Haiti.  It is always very satisfying for me to be able to help a child who is sick, especially in Haiti where the poor have very few options for seeing a doctor, much less buying medicine.
To all of you who sent in donations to the West Tennessee Haiti Partnership, please know that your contributions helped pay for our $1500 worth of medication which we used on our trip.  Actually, we only used a small portion of our supplies, intending to leave the rest for use by the Haitian pediatrician who works at St. Vincent's 3 days a week.
St. Vincent's has hired a full time nurse, Marilaine, to run the pharmacy.  This is great news, especially since one of her duties is to supervise the distribution of vitamins to all the children every day with their lunch.
She will be training Samuel Elizaire to help her as a pharmacy tech over the next few months.  Samuel is a graduate of St. Vincent's school.  It's great to see the school slowly rebuilding itself after the earthquake.

Dont open till you can cry: Elisme Time 3-23-2011

On Friday February 11 2011 when I saw the email from Susan Nelson saying sad news I knew I needed to pay attention. My heart was saddened when I read that we had lost one of the (Time) identical twins Cebien Time. (pronounced "Tee-May").  I first met the twins a little over two years ago, I tried to have only one of them come in to the small exam room. I learned that that was not an option; that because they were blind and identical they stayed within arm’s reach together all the time. I quickly adapted and proceed to take vitals on the two men. No easy task with their blindness, first their weight one got on the scale then the other you guessed it they weighed exactly the same.  Blood pressure same, pulse same, temp same, they were so much the same that there was nothing different on their cards except for the name. All the time I was doing this they sat smiling and holding hands. I watched them walk off after their exam and realized that I had just witnessed one of the strongest brotherly bonds I have ever experienced in my life. The flowing song kept going on in my mind and at first I thought the Song writer's Bob Scott and Bob Russell must of written it for them, then I realized it was written before they were born but it sure fit them .


The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows when
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
So on we go
His welfare is  my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another.

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all

He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
He's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

This song kept going in my head as the days passed and I prayed for the surviving brother that God help him cope with his loss. Well God has indeed answered my prayers I saw Elisme Time and he was walking around and at one point on our last day he was sitting by himself smiling that same smile swaying with the music we heard coming out of the dorm enjoying the beautiful weather . I thought he was lonely so I went over and sat beside him and gave him a hug and held his hand. He them proceeded to ask me if I could take him in my vehicle to see his brother in the hospital? Needless to say I wasn’t expecting this I held him and said no I can’t take him to see his brother . But it is apparent that God's helping Elisme cope with his loss; it was a little different then I envisioned. Re read the words to the song

Elisme and Cebien had closeness and love that few people get to experience: God continues to love them.

sent in by John Mutin

Last day at St. Vincent's

Today we had clinic for the last time, then we handed out some of our goodies to the children. Lots of photos of kids in hats and bandanas and Mardi Gras beads, I will upload these later. My favorite part of the day was sitting on the concrete steps with Frenel in my lap, next to Sienna and surrounded by kids.

Frenel is blind and about 6 years old. He is very sweet and gentle, unlike some of the other boys his age who push and shove to get attention (just like little boys everywhere). Frenel usually winds up in my lap and he will sing little songs to me if I ask him to.

We had a large picture book with basic english words in it, like dog-ball-bed-table....and Sienna was going through it with Mackenson, one of the older boys. His brother, Jobson, and his mother, Naomi, were both killed in the Jan 2010 earthquake. He is a sweet boy and we traded english and creole words back and forth.

There was music playing on a radio, solo guitar with a quick rhythm to it, and most of the kids would bounce and sway to the music, especially Maille who has a pretty smile although she cant speak. She is about 17 years old.

When Pere Sadoni told us it was time to go, it was really hard to leave those children, knowing I will not return for 8 months. In fact, Frenel asked me when I was coming back, and I told him in November, so he asked me how long was that. A long time, I said.