“But You, O Lord, are a shield, for
me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my
voice, and He heard me from His holy hill.” (Psalm 3:3,4)
Hi! I just
got back from a vacation to Canada to visit family. Some days the weather was
just as warm as it gets here in Haiti! It was great to enjoy air conditioning
during those days.
Michelle is
recuperating from her 2 surgeries one week apart to remove most of her liver,
which was cancerous. She now has healthy liver that is growing back. It has
been a difficult time for her with the recuperation from the surgeries,
especially when she had to have a tube inserted between a couple of ribs to
drain an abscess near her diaphragm. The week that I left Canada she was starting to get her appetite back
again. Her next surgery is scheduled for August 13th, when she will have
further surgery to remove the tumour in her colon. She will also be getting a
temporary colostomy. The good news is that when a colonoscopy was done the
doctor couldn’t even detect the tumour. The surgery will still go ahead as the
surgeon doesn’t want to take any chances. The cancer levels in her blood have
also gone down from 74 to 1.4. We give the Lord thanks for this measure of healing.
Please keep Michelle in prayer as she prepares for her next surgery.
My nephew
John was also in the hospital while I was in Canada. He was brought to hospital
in an ambulance after having seizures and vomiting. Because he has a shunt the
first thought of everyone was that he had problems with the shunt. After
testing and IV’s to rehydrate him, it was determined that he had a bad migraine
headache attack. He recovered quickly and a week later he was able to attend
the Easter Seals Camp for 10 days. The care they receive there is amazing and
so are the facilities. Imagine zip lining in a wheelchair and that is one of
the many activities geared to specials needs children! Pray for John, that his
shunt continues to work properly and that his seizures stay under control.
We have
experienced a few bad accidents here at Coram Deo in the last 6 months and I
hope that no more happen. Back in December we planned an outing to Sous Zabette
to go swimming with everyone here at Coram Deo. It took 2 vehicles to make this
possible. Amos was driving a rented tap-tap and lost control when trying to
avoid a vehicle that had suddenly slowed down. As a result the tap-tap rolled
twice. Everyone was banged up and Benson and Reginald were the most seriously
hurt. Benson suffered a broken leg when the tap-tap rolled on his leg and
Reginald had some severe lacerations on his head. The visitors from Canada who
were with us had brought truck tire inner tubes with them and they were inside
the tap-tap between the 2 rows of people. They acted as air bags during the
accident. We think it was a miracle that no lives were lost. It is amazing that
a vehicle rolling 2 times and that 19 people wearing no seatbelts all survived.
We give the Lord thanks for his protection during the accident.
In May we
were bringing Marie’s sister Chrismanie who was in labour to the Medecin Sans Frontieres Maternity
Hospital, early on a Sunday morning. We were stopped on Delmas 33 waiting to
turn left into the gates of the hospital when a bus drove into the back of us.
Poor Kimosabee, his left back end was crumpled like a piece of paper! 3 friends
and family members of Chrismanie were sitting in the box of the truck. They
were thrown in the box of the truck but again everyone came through the accident
well accept for some bruises and soreness. Chrismanie’s baby was born 1 hour
later. We followed the Haitian Insurance process and the company which the bus belonged
to was ordered to pay for the repairs. The driver of the bus had been drinking
and it was the second accident of the bus that weekend. The driver got fired by
the company after the insurance hearings were completed. While I was in Canada
the garage which is located on our street put Kimosabee back in one piece again
and he now looks as good as new. Pray we don’t get any more accidents and also
pray for a new truck. Kimosabee is getting battered and old and we are having more
expensive truck repairs now.
Being back
in Haiti, it was a quick introduction again
to how the people here struggle to make a living. Pachico’s mother is a street
vendor in the large market area in downtown Port-au-Prince. Early yesterday
morning she went downtown to prepare for a day of sitting in the heat trying to
make a sale. Gunmen approached her and others in the market area and ordered
them to give them their money. They were lined up against a wall at gunpoint
and were searched by the gunmen. Anything of value was taken. One woman who
refused to hand over her money was shot and killed. Later in the day Pachico
asked if he could bring some medicine to his mother because she had a headache.
Pray for those in Haiti who every day try to make a living on the streets of
Port-au-Prince. Pray too for the police as they attempt to keep security on the
streets. I still can’t figure out why
the UN doesn’t maintain regular patrols in the downtown area.
Haiti is a
country that is susceptible to natural disasters. In the mountains of Kenscoff,
where Pastor Pierre’s church is located there was a landslide in June. Suddenly
part of the mountain just slid away. Pastor Pierre called me and said that an
earthquake had happened. It didn’t make sense at the time because we had felt
no tremor. Families in the area suddenly lost their fields and in certain areas
other ground is cracked, susceptible to another landslide. Scientists have
studied what caused this sudden collapse and the theory is that the earthquake
of 2010 unsettled the rock and ground, and the rains of April and May
contributed to the collapse. To lose a home is one thing. But these mountain
farmers have not only lost their homes but also their fields. The government is
finding a way to help these people. The mountain area is located 25km from the
epicentre of the 2010 earthquake. Pray for Pastor Pierre, the church and the
people living in the area of the landslide.
That’s all
the news for today. Have a good week!
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