Thursday, December 25, 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


Hi--Yes, we do have a camera again, and yes, the weather is just a bit different here. We are having a great time with family and friends, but are just about ready for some warm weather again.
You'll be seeing more photos from us again soon--I've been on vacation from my blog, too!
Hope you're having a great Christmas!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Pre-surgery Weekend

Everyone seemed to be everywhere over the weekend. Here you see Steve and John Benson installing the air conditioner the team brought down with them.................after the other one we already had wouldn't cool at cool............

Rich--working on wiring the big lights.

Mike, Dr. Tom, and Patty putting together a light.

John---installing one of the surgery lights.


More Photos from Surgery Week in Bombard

Astrel and Tyler washed the ambulance in preparation for a busy week.

Rich was the guinea pig to see if Mike's monitor's were all working properly Monday morning.

Surgery Team!

This was taken Monday morning while last minute preparations were still going on. Observe the ladder still straddling the surgery table.

I put these photos on in the wrong order (maybe it's been too long since I've done it?), but I'm not going to try to redo lest I lose the post altogether. So.............here's a post-surgery patient in the ambulance ready to go home.

Here's Dr. Tom, Lisa and Karen just as they were finishing up with a hernia patient. I'll try to post some photos of the team where you can see their faces, too.


Ready for surgery. Isn't it amazing? We thank God Who provided, and his faithful servants who worked so hard to make all this possible.





Sunday, September 14, 2008

Trip to Port de Paix

I went with Rich yesterday on an ambulance run to take a lady to Port de Paix for surgery. We got her to the river just fine, but they had to cross the river on a little boat, then get another vehicle on the other side. The river is still high, swift, and muddy.
As we neared the river, we saw a lot of damage to banana plantations. Many plants were washed out or broken, and there were a lot of these sand bars. It reminded us of snow drifts back home.
More flood damage. We did not see many damaged homes.

Happenings

Still working hard to finish the surgery room before the medical team comes. We installed the lower cabinet doors today, and Rich started painting the upper ones.
Here's Rich, yesterday, checking things out on the truck, after hauling a load of food up from Mole.

Photos from Bombardopolis

Wow, I got to upload photos two days in a row! Here Rich is painting in the hallway outside the delivery room. He also painted the delivery room, and refurbished one of the delivery tables.
This photo is for my mother-in-law, who has been asking to see a photo of the outside of our house. Here you go, Mom! We do plan to paint it---someday.
We spent last Saturday down at Mole, meeting four MAF flights. We were receiving relief bundles of food for Samaritan's Purse, and BHM. Since roads and bridges are out, getting food to the Northwest is a real challenge.
Ty was our "in the truck" man all day.

Hurricane Damage in Mole St. Nicolas

Hi folks--Here are a couple of photos for you. I've been trying and trying to post, but either can't get on blogger at all, or get kicked off as soon as I try to publish. These photos show the damage that was done along the coastline down in Mole. There were no injuries, just property damage, and folks there are longing for supplies and food to be shipped in, as is the case across the northwest Haiti.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Back In July..........


..................the Wilson family came to visit. I did not get any pictures of Doctors Scott and Dnyse working, but we have photos of the rest of the gang! The kids did a great job of painting this mural. Here are all artists.
And here's Betsy, measuring kids to see who qualifies for the malnutrition program.

Painting.........................

Here's Rich putting the first coat of paint on the future surgery room.
Betsy and Laurie are helping to refurbish the old hospital beds that have been deemed salvageable. Here, after sanding and scrubbing, they're giving them a coat of paint.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

A little late, but...............


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TY!

Painting, painting.........

Here are Rich and Ty painting cabinets for the surgery and recovery rooms.
And just last week while Steve and Faith were in Port au Prince, we had fun giving their kitchen a new face.
Rich says it was Botox for concrete.

Before and After

When Dan and Sharon were here, they worked very hard to clean out this store room at the hospital.
It's now a freshly painted men's ward. We're just waiting for the beds. =)

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Happy Birthday, Rich

Rich had a birthday last week. Happy birthday, hon. I love this photo of Laurie and her dad.
Just before Steve's arrived back from their furlough, we spent some time painting in the guesthouse. Again, much of it had never been painted, so it brightened things up nicely.

We're Back!

Here's the newly painted cross-hallway in the hospital. These walls had never been painted, and it's so much brighter now.

Thanks to those who've been praying for all of our communications problems. Our system is still down, but we think we're on the right track at least.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Annoyances and Blessings

"I could be such a good missionary if it weren't for the natives."............ Otto Koning (of Pineapple Story fame) said that, I think.

There is a Murphy's Law for missionaries. In my experience it is this: As soon as you are unavailable, the most impatient person in the village will come to the door, and will knock and call incessantly until you answer the door (no matter how loudly or often you call out that you will be there as soon as you can). Today it was the girl who comes each day to pick up insulin shots (kept in our fridge, as they have none) for a diabetic lady. There had been no one at the door for perhaps 30 minutes, and I thought it would be a lovely time to get cleaned up, after painting at the hospital, working in the meds depot, cleaning our house, and etc. I was at the house alone and should have known better. As soon as I turned on the water in the shower, the knock came, and continued without ceasing and in spite of my answering (ok, it was more like shouting). When I got to the door, steam was pretty much rolling out of my ears, and the girl looked so surprised that I was unhappy with her. She got my little sermon about respect, manners, and the wisdom of stopping knocking long enough to listen for a response, only a little longer than I usually give it. I think God brought me to Haiti (at least in part) to teach me patience. I haven't graduated that class yet. And I think I now need a shower for my soul.

Thank God for blessings--they help to balance the annoyances. We've been without internet here for several days. Yesterday, Rich finally was able to talk to the company (they actually called us back!), and they gave us several things to try, and then pronounced our transmitter dead, and told us a new one would cost $550! At bedtime last night, Rich and I agreed that we (well, he and Tyler, really) should investigate everything else that could possibly be wrong, so starting on the easy end--it was dark up on the roof, anyway--he tore a cable end apart, redid it, plugged it back into the modem, and..........it worked. God is good.

Today we painted at the hospital; it's not that we love painting so much, but it's so nice to see things freshened and brightened up. Rich also provided transportation for some of the hospital staff who wanted to spend a day at the beach in Mole. We had Bibles to give to a couple of pastors down there, and meds to send to the clinic also, so he was able to combine the errands with helping the staff have some fun.

Tomorrow, I'll post photos.

Blessings,
Marj

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Looking Like Home

Such a comfortable place.
Peaceful.
Never fear; Waldo the Ferocious Watchdog is on the job. =)

Widow's Home

Laurie and St. Eres
"I can't just sit around here; if I do that I'll get all stiff and not be able to move!" And believe me, she doesn't just sit around!
Ernelia is blind, but she knows her way around. Here she's showing Laurie how to dance properly. =) She has Laurie's footsteps memorized, and always knows when her friend is coming.

Monday, April 28, 2008

And MORE House Photos

The bathroom is pretty much finished, too; just have a bit of work to do on the shower.
This picture was of course followed by, "Mom!" Laurie loves her new room.

More House Progress

Saturday, Rich built these shelves in our storeroom, just off the kitchen. We're not too organized yet as you can see, but it's going to be a handy place.
The other corner of the room contains our power system.

Finished

The new kitchen is finished and it's wonderful.
Isn't it great?

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Fun AND Useful!

This week when Steve and Rich were working to install solar panels on the hospital addition and our house, the "somewhat portable" (extremely heavy) welder/generator became fully portable when Rich discovered it fits in the trailer and can be loaded by one person, thanks to the trailer's tilt capabilities.
It worked wonderfully!