Team on way!

Cory really needs to learn to travel with books like the rest of his family. Today he waited over 7 hours at the airport for the Warsaw/ Michigan team. They waited for most of this time in Port-au-Prince. Waited for the clouds over Cap Haitian to lift. Shortly after Cory and I talked about how to try to talk to the team by telephone [not sure why they didn't call us?] they finally arrived.

Cory did take about one hour to go do some shopping but because the plane from Port could arrive at any time he felt that most of the time he needed to stay at the airport. Not need to figure out who gets to return to the airport tomorrow for the 3 bags due to arrive in the morning.

Eli, Anna and I spent most of the day working on school work. We did venture down to the House of Hope for some last minute cleaning. We also walked down to clinic to pray with Dr. Winick for his first day of work. He asked us to come down earlier when he came to the house for the tools and chair. Pastor Rigo had not yet arrived but Dr. Winick wanted to pray before he started to see patients so we did.

Later this week Dr. Winick will travel to LaGonave to join Dr. Steve's Starfysh team for a dental team trip to the mountains. We look forward to hearing the reports from this trip.

Later Pastor Rigo returned the videos he used for the youth during Carnival. He let me know that a young boy arrived with relatives to see the doctor. Although the swelling of his jaw and the condition of his teeth indicated he also needed to see the dentist the family reported that there was no money for both visits. Thankfully a donation for the care of Haitian children covered his visit. Pastor Rigo borrowed our camera for the picture.


So the tired team should arrive just in time for chicken/vegetable soup and hot cinnamon rolls. I'm sure they and Cory will be weary and turn in early. Thanks for the prayers.

I'm sure that the team did not want to spend a second night in an airport [don't even think that you can stay IN the airport in Port overnight].

Kid's Club Dental Clinic

Confession, I like to see rapid improvements. During college, a period when most of my life consisted of learning and study, (both hard to physically see any change), I mowed lawns in the summer.  Mowing not only made a bit of money and provided physical activity but it also satisfied my need to see improvment. At the end of the job I could easily see what I accomplished.

Missions can be one of those jobs where improvement takes time and can be hard to see some days. Sometimes one takes one step forward only to fall back a few steps all in the same day. Trees grow slowly. One may not know for a few years if the tree will fruit, and what the quality of the fruit will be. Not a job for the faint at heart. Homeschooling takes time too.

Checking out the tools.

Last March, Dr. Wilnie shared with us his dream to provide dental care in Fauche and we started praying.

This summer a set of dental tools generously donated made it to Fauche and through a second gift we purchased two "zero gravity" dental [lawn] chairs. Because Dr. Wilnie does not have a full time job or the additional supplies needed to run a dental clinic the prices for a cleaning or extraction prohibit most people in our area from being able to pay.

But knowing how bad teeth can badly impact one's health we worked with the Kid's club leaders to identify the 40 worst cases and today the first children received dental care and education. Praying that the dental clinic can continue to improve lives and touch people with God's love. After a slow start I enjoy seeing some progress.

The dental work started after 2 p.m. down at clinic. This allowed clinic to be competed for the day and the children finish their school day. Notice the line still waiting around 3 p.m. Doubtful that most will be seen today but perhaps they can hear the educational talk given to the others. Clinic started with prayer.

Thank you to each who prayed and donated to help make this happen!!

Prayer- A truck driver hauling earthquake rubble in Port-au-Prince lost control this morning and slammed into a crowd killing at least 26 people and injuring around 60 others.

Aug. 30

Settling back in to a 'normal' routine feels good. Yesterday Cory headed out early to Pignon to help with an agricultural training seminar. He reports that they made good time arriving before lunch. They plan to head back home Wed. afternoon.

Eli, Anna and I completed a full day of school, exceeding my expectations. As we delayed starting to read some of the books on the schedule it will take us a bit to get all subjects on the same day. As always with restarting classes we changed a few things around hoping to improve and enhance our learning experience.

A couple of pictures showcasing new areas of ministry on campus. Pastor Rigo and Dr. Wilnie, dentist will be discussing how to start a dental clinic with our new dental tools. Two zero gravity lawn 'dental' chairs should arrive in the next couple weeks. Currently no dentists work in the Fauche / Portmargot area but lots of people need dental work.

Agriculturally, Cory can now add breadfruit trees to his list. The trees traveled very well and already growing new roots in their larger pots. He brought a few with him to share in the Central Plateau. He plans to multiple these trees but I forget exactly how.

Many people welcomed us home and asked about Beth. At least 4 churches and the Kid's Club are now joining us in prayer for her health. Today a port will be placed in preparation for chemo. They find out Friday what mix of drugs she will be started on.