“Come to me, all you who are we weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.” We started the day on “Haitian” time with transportation being late to our destination of Lambi to do clinic. Haitian time is actually very nice because you don’t feel rushed and we get to spend a little more time in fellowship with one another. When the truck finally came, we had to push it to just get it started…and it did start!

As we drove to Lambi, we were heading more toward the epicenter of where the earthquake had happened and there was a lot less building and way more destruction. It struck me of the difference between this drive and the drive going through Port-Au-Prince, even after two years. What also struck me was the juxtaposition of the amount of destruction against the unobstructed, beautiful view of the ocean, as we were heading more toward the water.

As we got to Lambi to set up for clinic, a woman walked through the camp with a megaphone to announce that the Americans were here to provide free medical care. Oh yes, here come the masses! It took us a while to get set up, delegate roles, and semi-organize as much as we could under a beautiful shady tree. The “exam room” was set up in one of the temporary one-room houses that other teams had helped to build. The door to the exam room was a “frosted” shower curtain with lime green and blue birds taped to the inside of the doorway. We had a table outside with chairs for vital signs and a few chairs lined up next to the table to piece together their main medical complaints with an interpreter. We even had a table-top on top of two chairs to create our own pharmacy! The patients would go to the intake desk, then vital signs, then to wait to see “Dr.” John.

We saw about 40 patients in 4 hours. At first, as people were trickling in, we were doing pretty well with keeping the pace. After 15-20 minutes, the bus unloaded (a figurative bus). While people were standing in a long line for both intake and to see “Dr.” John, the patients waiting to see the “Dr.” were getting restless and started cutting in front of each other and pushing toward the shower curtain of the clinic. We actually had to place the guard that came with us, who carried a baton, in front of the door to keep the peace. One woman got so upset and pretty aggressive, she started yelling at the others in line and at our interpreter. She eventually threw down her intake forms and stormed back to her house. We finally got the crowd under control and into a semi-line. Organization lesson number one: give everyone a number (which we finally discovered towards the end of the day).

After a while, the line was getting pretty long, so we had to stop intake and give the ones still waiting a number for the next day to come back. We had to number a total of about 40 people to come back the next day. Whew! “Dr.” John is a rock star. He was patient, thorough, compassionate, and asked for help when he needed it.

One patient, despite the hopelessness of the situation, reminded us also of God’s love and grace.  Lindsey, one of the nurses, came out of the exam room with a young woman and asked me to help pray for her because of my nurturing side as a mom (Malinda). Lindsey went on to explain that the woman was pregnant, was living with the father, along with four other children. The woman, when asked, also admitted that the boyfriend was physically abusive and told her he did not want anymore children. Therefore, the woman decided to take a pill to force a miscarriage. This woman did not know the Lord, but I prayed that she would know God’s love for her, His grace through all things, that He would protect and provide for her, and that His love transcends everything and every situation. After we prayed with her, I abruptly left and broke down because at that moment, I was so overwhelmed with the hopelessness of this woman’s situation and so many other Haitians. But in the midst of my sadness, it brought to mind the verse in Romans 5 which urges us to rejoice in our sufferings because “we know that suffering

produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” I pray that God washes his hope over these people who may feel hopeless and that He would be glorified through every situation.

After Lambi, the entire group headed over to the Boy’s orphanage to love on and play with the boys living there. It was fun to see so many boys with so much energy and joy. It was a good end to a day that yes, was pretty emotionally difficult, but a day where God’s presence surrounded all of us.

In Him,
Malinda and Stefanie