Wednesday felt like it started before Tuesday ended.  Six benches full of people were sitting and waiting at the church at 5 am even though the medical clinic wasn’t scheduled to start until 8 am!  The crowd only continued to grow as the day went on.  Women sat with fussy babies on their laps, the elderly sat wherever they could find space, and a line of people wrapped around the tarps we had hung up to make examination rooms.  The doctors saw family after family, and treated a range of conditions including parasitic rashes, high blood pressure, chronic headaches and coughs, infections, abscesses, and we even pulled a rotten tooth.

After the patients saw the doctors, they took their prescriptions to our “pharmacy” where our nurse and her helpers filled the prescriptions.  It was a learning experience for us to figure out what medicines could be substituted for others, and to read the doctors’ messy writing!  The pharmacy quickly got backed up since the directions for each prescription had to be translated.  We worked till 5:30 pm and saw 162 patients, but had to turn just as many away.  Due to the need in this community, we have decided to extend the clinic through Saturday and are sending a runner into Hinche to buy some of the medicines we need.  It was overwhelming to see so much need, but we also feel blessed knowing that we are able to help.

We had two separate construction projects going on today as well.  The first group worked on the kitchen that will be used by the school and refugee camp. They began building a wash basin, installing shelving, and building a counter top. The kitchen team was so excited to get started, they were already at work at 6:15, which was even before our morning devotions and breakfast! But have no fear, all these rough construction guys were holding hands, seeking the Lord together before they got started.  God honored their prayers and allowed them to have a very productive day.

The second construction group worked on installing reservoirs on the roof of the house and plumbing the house for running water.  The water situation here has been so bad, but by the end of the day, Pastor Bastia’s house, the three outdoor showers, and even the new kitchen facility was completely plumbed and ready for running water.  Most of the team then jumped into three separate trucks with a 300 gallon reservoir tank and headed down to the river to fill it up using the brand new submergible pump and generator that the team brought over.  The new water filtration system was working so well, the guys even had time to have a water war while they waited for the reservoir to fill up. They worked late and finished getting the reservoirs installed around 7 pm. The whole team enjoyed washing up for dinner in “running” water instead of having to splash ourselves with a bucket.

Our team member, Jim Yingst, can probably best sum up some of the emotions we have all been processing.  He shared tonight that this has been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life.  Jim was motivated by the scripture in James that says that we are to be doers of the Word and not just hearers.  We are all so excited to have five more days to do the Word.

Thursday we will be continuing with our medical clinic and construction projects, and Janay will begin a 2-day seminar for the teachers of the school. Please continue to keep these all in prayer.

It is exciting to know that when we heard the call to serve here in Haiti, you were right there with us, partnering with us in prayer. Together we are making an impact.