Haiti Team Update 6 – From Pastor Brent Kaser

Yesterday was another awesome day at the clinic. When we arrived we were shocked to see very few patients. We found out that the military was doing a food pass out at a near by stadium…I guess food is even more important than good health when you are starving. We drove over to the stadium to see thousands of people waiting for 50 lb bags of rice. Unfortunately, we have been hearing that the street gangs here are already taking the free food and selling it for $50 a bag.

We have seen our food relief stretch to many different areas, mainly away from the dangerous streets of Port au Prince. We have given food out to widows at the church, distributed food to local pastors, and distributed massive amounts in local villages. We traveled back through the marketplace to the warehouse to purchase more bags of rice. As the truck moved through the crowds of people, a little girl in a dirty white dress was following the truck with two rolls of salami for sale. As she followed us, I would bring the camera up and she would shyly turn away. I felt compelled to buy her salami when the truck stopped, but once we stopped she was strangely gone.

I was moved to tears as I saw an old woman selling plastic bags on the crowded streets. She was hunched over, and seemed to have a hip injury. Both of her arms were full with bags very much like the ones we throw away from the grocery store. She was probably selling them for change. The wind was strong and one of her  black bags fell from her arm. She chased her flying bag down the street and she nearly fell over as she reached down to grab the bag. The sad reality is that the little things we throw away at home, people here in Haiti are running down the street after simply to survive.

Eventually we saw over 100 patients, and had many more people make decisions for Christ. Another awesome thing that happened yesterday was being able to get into the U.N. Headquarters in Port a Prince. We were debriefed on many situations and met valuable contacts that may soon help us with food aid and medicines on future trips.

Today was the last official day in Haiti for the majority of the team and it was by far one of the most rewarding and yet, most challenging. We brought our mobile clinic and food relief to a village outside of Port au Prince.

As we arrived, we were greeted with happy smiles and little hands reaching out to ours. The children in this village are longing to be loved and were warm and open. Some were clothed with torn, dirty garments, while others had no clothes at all. I sat back and watched the team as they tried to absorb the surreal situation. I believe most were instantly hit with the simple thought of the many blessings we have at home.

Joe greeted the large crowd that was waiting to receive rice, and was hit with emotion and unable to address the people. Later, Tracy stood in awe as a little girl clung to both of her hands affectionately …she whispered to me “I think I found my Promise Child.”  The members of this village stood orderly in line with their buckets, pans and jars that would soon hold the food that they so desperately needed (and many of you provided for them). A woman in the front of the line began to worship, and everyone joined in, it was a holy moment as worship filled the air.

Once the relief rice was distributed, our teams broke into two- one team working on Promise Child profile cards for the children, and the others starting to see patients. The room we used for the clinic was built of sticks, with palm fronds tied together with netting, twine, barb wire and any other material that could be wrapped around the branch support beams. The first little girl we saw had an open wound on her ankle, with no clean water in this village the small wound had become badly infected. Her entire ankle was swollen.  As our doctors cut away the outer infected tissue, the little girl bravely endured the pain. She would periodically wipe away the tears that she wanted no one to notice.

The next patient was a little boy who was three years old. As he entered the clinic, he was wide-eyed wondering what was going on. He had an abscess on his left buttock. We made a make-shift operating table with two fifty pound bags of rice, told his father that what we are going to do would hurt, and began to pray. As the doctors punctured the abscess the boy began to scream in Creole; if we had to guess what he was saying it would be “why, why, why?” he continued to wail as the team pushed out about a cup of infection. The pain was quickly over and he was back running around with the other children. I know one thing is certain… the next time a bunch of Americans come into this village, this little boy will be running (but at least he will be running without an abscess).

While it sounds harsh, our team worked with amazing compassion, praying prior, during, and after every procedure.

The Promise Child team was overwhelmed trying to keep up with all the children. Finally after a bit too much chaos, Joe came over and got things instantly under control.  For two hours straight, photos and profiles were taken of these precious children. The stories were all the same… no favorite color, no favorite food, and no hopes or dreams for the future. We hope to change that by providing for the basic needs of these hurting children and sharing the love of Christ with them through Promise Child.

The team finished the day by walking through the village, entering huts, hearing stories, and praying and encouraging the people.

If anyone says short term missions teams make no difference, I would strongly disagree. The love of Jesus has been poured out on the Haitian people by this team, and that can change everything. People are reaching out for the hand of God like never before and I feel privileged to be traveling with this amazing group of short term missionaries who have been the hands and feet of Jesus in this place.

Can we really make a difference in this broken country? I believe the answer is yes, as the Holy Spirit moves through the ruins into the hearts of the people who are so desperately looking for answers and hope, this place will be changed.

Can the love of Christ really make a difference in Haiti?…you bet it can, and we are experiencing it first hand. Thank you all for coming along on the journey with us. Through your prayers and support we have brought hope through Jesus Christ.

Until the last one hears,
Pastor Brent on behalf of the Haiti mission team.