Rice, Beans, Oil, Meds and Not a Worm to be Found

It's a beautiful morning in Haiti! Nothing new about that. 

We had a full day on Monday to prepare for the ministry that will take place over the next few days, and it was awesome. Look at the things we were able to accomplish:

1. Dr. Kelly and Nurse Julie were able to meet with the Doctor at the Ministry of Health to talk about how our medical team can partner with them to better serve the people of Haiti particularly in the area of giving immunizations and Vitamin A. Great meeting. 

2. Dr. Ayo, and nurses Helen, Linda, & Mary gave de-worming medicine to all 400 students in the school at Christ the King. This medicine will not only kill any worms a child currently has, but also will prevent worms for 6 months. We were able to leave medicines with the school administrator with instructions on giving the chewable pill to students again. 

3. By motorcycle we sent Nurse Jordan and Nurse Pam up the mountainside to a Lutheran Church and school in a small village. They talked with the students about worms and the importance of the medicine and then distributed it to nearly 100 kids. They also had the opportunity to see the needs of the people there. They want so desperately to build a permanent structure for the school. With just a few thousand dollars they could get started with laying the foundation. We need to be in prayer with them for God's provision. 

The rest of the team unpacked all the suitcases and organized the contents. We also set up a great assembly line to fill gallon-sized Ziploc bags full with rice. We fill quart-size bags with beans. We took those 2 bags and a bottle of oil and put them into grocery bags for ease in distribution and people carrying it home. We thought a lot about the Food Give Away ministry before diving in. Our biggest concern is that it is just a drop in the bucket when looking at the hunger issues in Haiti. But year after year of seeing malnourished children come into our clinic, and parents desperate to do anything to get food for their families, we just couldn't ignore Jesus' words, "When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat." We also have a specialized peanut butter (made right here in Haiti), enriched with vitamins and other nutrients, to give to children who are malnourished. 

We are looking forward to starting VBS this morning and adult Bible studies this afternoon. I can't wait to tell you all about it! 

Lisa

On Behalf of 2016 Team Haiti