Out of my comfort zone again!

Being back in Haiti again after one year, is all that I expected it to be. I was excited to come back to Haiti Arise. It was nice to see familiar faces and to see that they even recognized me. This time I came with a medical team. My job has been to work in the pharmacy, but today one of our nurses was sick, so I worked in an examining room seeing patients. Every area has been quite busy. In pharmacy we have to do a lot of calculations to figure out doses, so by the end of the day your mind slows down. By today we have seen about 620 patients, and each prescription can have up to 4-5 medications to fill out. So add that up and you can see what we have to do. Our translators are excellent in translating and explaining everything to the patients. Besides medications we also hand out hygiene products, clothes for children, and baby formula. Sunglasses and reading glasses are also handed out. We see a lot of children and often grandmothers are looking after their grandchildren, when they themselves are not healthy. Twins are in abundance here. Yesterday we had one child that kept coming into our pharmacy and didn’t want to leave us. They are not shy. In church they almost look for a white person to sit with and just cuddle up to you. I just wish I could speak their language. I know how to tell them my name and they won’t forget it. We are all tired after a long busy day of sometimes nine hours on our feet. But in the end, it is all worth it when you the see the dilemma and need that these people are in. To be able to serve them in love and in the name of Jesus is a great blessing. They are always so appreciative and thankful for every little thing you do for them.
Loretta, that Roughrider loonie that was imbedded in cement here this week was not mine, but another team members. They always say you can find Roughrider fans all over the world. Now we have something to prove that they are in Haiti too. Rita