Sheila On Mission

News!!

2010-02-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Up at 6:30. Fruit Loops and powdered milk. A new lady in the guest house. Patty is here to help manage the German Mission. Gary picks us up for devotions. The men are singing "How Great Thou ART" in Creole. Beautiful. One of the pastors brings the word from 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 15-16. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and bu his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. He stated that all Haitians need many things now. Haitians need food, Haitians need clothes, and Haitians need a place to live. But most of all Haitians need Jesus Christ. All that other stuff buried them under a 3 story concrete house!

We go to the hospital and make rounds with the new resident doctors and nurses.The new nurses are experienced and compassionate, Mark and Helen. It is already hot. Doouglass is up hopping around. We start in ward 1 and move from bed to bed, removing bandages. We show Helen and Mark how some of the special bandages are done. The haitian nurses are also helping with some of the bandages. PTL. There is LuJean, Megalina, George, Hope, Rita, Sherri, and Peter. We have come to know them all. Many have months in the hospital, some may be getting out, but have no where to go. Everyone here has a tragic story. But it is not a story, it is their lives.

Frannel is his name. He is 12 years old. He has his right leg amputated below the knee. He is healing physically and emotionally. Life in Haiti is hard, it will be harder still for Frannel. Some one brought him a stuffed monkey and he has it with him all the time. He used to sleep a lot, but now he rolls around in his wheelchair a lot. He probably has at least one more surgery on his leg. Pray for Frannel.

We go to lunch and hear there are two pilots flying in supplies on Friday, and they have two seats open for someone going home. Susie and I talk about it. There are new nurses in the hospital, the Haitians nurses have started helping more, and there aren't as many surgeries. So we pray and tell Gary to put us on the plane. I didn't realize how very tired I was. I have been changed forever. The Haitians will be in my prayers for a long time.

We lay down and fall asleep. Gary comes to take us back to the hospital. This is the hottest time of day. Have to get all bandages done before dark. Some lights, but not reliable. Haitian government has called for a 3 day fast and prayer for Haiti. PTL, a country that was dedicated to the worship of Satan 200 years ago, is now calling on the Lord. We can hear singing from the church next door.

Home for supper. PTL. It was another blessed day. I was blessed and I pray others were blessed by me. Use me every second I am here, and beyond.

Devotions and Doouglass

2010-02-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

Doouglass's cracked head!

HOPE!!

Susie carefully taking Doouglass for a ride. His left leg and right shoulder are our of joint. But he is smiling, so is Susie!

God's idea that the world should continue!!!

Haitian children!

Marilyn and Gary,our friends and RMI missionaires

RMI headquarters for morning devotionals. Gary and some of the pastors.

Me patching up Doouglass

Lamirre across the valley.

Amy and Susie in front of the German Mission.

Up at 6:30. Eggs and toast for breakfast under Tiki hut on back porch. All meals under Tiki on back porch. There is usually a nice breeze. Gary picked us up for morning devotional at RMI headquarters. There is usually 10 to 20 people there. Afterwards they decide what they are doing that day. The devotional was on Ephesians 3:14-20. I won't write it out again but read it, it is a good word. One of the pastors there said that even though Haitians only have half arms now, they still raise them to the Lord.PTL again and again. I sence a deep passionate faith in these men.

We get to the hospital and get our baskets. Dr.Shelby and Bobby come by to say Bye. They have been here 3 weeks. Dr Luke from Montana and Dr. William, a Haitian Doctor make rounds. Mary follows us around and is a great help. She even does a few bandages. One goes in for more surgery, one is going home, lots more bandages and now even a few band-aids.

Doouglas is his name. He is 8, but looks 4. He is very skinny, with a beautiful smile. He is very brave. He had a skull fracture that took 8 stitches, he has nerve damage in his left leg and his right arm, he has multiple wounds(at least 12) that 6 need bandages twice a day. We call him the mosquito cause he follows us everywhere. He was under the ruble of his house for 2 days before they could get him out. His sister's name is Medina. He has only an undershirt. Mary gets him some clothes. He needs a pair of tennis shoes to wear his brace for his drop foot. He says he knows Jesus and I pray with him for his family.Pray for Doouglas and his family.

Home for lunch. Burgers and fries and Cokes at Gary and Marylyn's. Amy drives up on her 4 wheeler and we go to the German mission to look at some sewing stuff. Young girls are taught to sew there. It is a beautiful quite place.

Back to the hospital. We meet a new group. Two new nurses and two new resident doctors. They make rounds and meet all the patients and families. Several babies have come into the hospital. Probably dehydration.

Gary picks us up at about 7:00. Susie and I are at the end of ourselves. Now is when my son says God can take over and accomplish His will for our lives. So much of this trip is all God. I am glad because I pray for more than human results to the one who can do immeasureably more than we can even imagine!

Thanks again for all your prayers. Please continue. Lift us up above ourselves.

Tent City

2010-02-10T17:43:00.000-08:00

At the end of a hot day with my bandage basket

Les-Cayes

Tent City, where about 100 families live.

A baby getting a bath at tent city

Some boys having rice and beans at tent city

Jonathan

A cat in the hospital!

Susie and EMT's working in the hospital

Up at 6:30. Pancakes at 7:00. Quiet time and off to the RMI headquarters for morning devotional. Susie and I meet Mary at the hospital at 8:45 and begin our rounds with the doctors. We go ahead of the doctors removing bandages so they can look. Then we come in behind them to re-bandage. I pray over each one I touch. Bonyea Beneon is how God bless you sounds in Creole. Mary continues to be a blessing. When we were in the mountains at Bonne Fin, Mary was speaking to a young girl in danger of losing both feet. Mary told her"God's plan for her life can be accomplished without feet".A simple statement of faith. God spoke to me through Mary's faith. I PRAY FOR THE SIMPLE FAITH OF A CHILD.

Jonathan is his name. He is 13 but he looks 8. He has a broken hip, and a broken leg. He has a cast from the waist down. He is a happy boy, He likes the rubber glove balloons I make for him. His father asks us to pray for his 18 year old daughter he hasn't seen since the quake. They lost everything in the quake, but each other and their faith. Please pray for Jonathan and his family.

We go to lunch about 1:00. Gary and Amy took Susie and I to Les-Cayes for a tour. Traffic is terrible. Very few automobiles, but lots of scooters and people. We go to a tent city. Three generations in a tent. Pregnant women, babies, injuries, with no hope. Where to go from here?? Susie and I find a woman who complains of her belly. She had surgery in Port three weeks ago for internal injuries. She still had the stitches in!!! We took her to the medic's tent , gave her an ibuprofen and had her stitches removed.

Back to the hospital to start the bandage rounds again. There is a lot of pain. Mary is always by our side talking to our patients and encouraging them and us. Please pray for Mary and the patients.

Gart picks us up at about 6:30. We are so tired. We prayed for God to use our hands today. and PTL, He did.

Bandages!

2010-02-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

This is Mary and I praying with LUJean.

This child had a broken pelvis. and she went home today.YEA!

This child has encephalitis. She was found in a garbage bag on the side of the road. The nurses have named her Hope!

Peter and me

Susie and I wake at 6:30. Breakfast at 7. Eggs and toast. Quiet time. Several sent an encouraging message today from the following scripture, Ephesians 3:14-21, For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! AMEN. WOW, thank yall for the good word.

We go to the hospital, LaMirre. We report in to Madame Jetty. We began making rounds with the doctors and doing bandages. A German nurse told me "Soft nurses make stinky wounds", OK, I get the message. It is really hard to hurt these people who have been hurt so much. It hurts when you remove the bandage and it hurts when you apply a new bandage. Infection is the enemy. Did you see the cat roaming the hospital! We have to hurt them to help them. There are some we give pain meds to because their wounds are really bad. Most are strong and silent, but especially the younger ones cry.

LuJean is her name. She is 18. She is tiny, maybe 75 pounds. She has internal injuries and both feet sustained crush wounds. She is one of three survivors of a nursing school in Port. There were 85 students in the room. She was in the ruble for 3 days. If we pray with her before we change her bandages, she doesn't cry as much. She says she knows Jesus. Please pray for LuJean.

We go to lunch and back to the hospital. I fold bandages for about an hour then Susie, Mary and I organize the bandage baskets. Then we start the rounds for the people who have 2 bandage changes a day. Gary picks us up at 6. At the guest house, Amy had gone to the market and had a little surprise for Susie and I. We had a bag of goodies and a sweet card of appreciation for our first week of service. I had Oreo's and a Twix. YUM!

In our room we find a HUGE spider, a tarantula! Gary said they are our friend, we flushed this one. Note to self, check under sheets. A shower and bed.

We continually pray for those who are praying for us. Thank you, please pray for Shirley, the missionaries and their families, the volunteers, and the Haitians. One of the hospital Haitian staff asked me if my family worried about me being in Haiti at this troubled time? I told him, whether I am in Arkansas or Haiti I am in His care.PTL

A day of rest!

2010-02-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

Today it was Sunday. We slept late. 'We are both exhausted. Susie's sister texting her the super bowl scores. So far away but still connected, HA! Some quiet time, and some phone calls. Madame Tijon came and cooked us some french fries and sloppy joes. I think thats American food. I have not seen any Haitians eating that. Thank God for Madame Tijon. A bath and we are ready to go again tomorrow.

We thank everyone who helped us get here. Our hands are yours ministering to these people. Please continue to pray for our mission.

Day 2 - A new adventure!

2010-02-07T15:17:00.000-08:00

Started the day saying bye to 3 guests heading back to the states. One is still sick. That small plane won't help. God Bless. Powdered eggs and toast for breakfast. My fquiet time today included a letter from one of my son in laws that stated this task was assigned to us so that He could be glorified. God bless our mission. Benson took us to the hospital, where we began changing bandages with other groups. All doors and windows open. A continuious hum of noises and flies. Even dogs wander in. People are speeping on any grass outside, on any floor space inside. There is a lot of confusion here. Dr. Bill, in a picture from last post, is the glue that holds this place together. He is a christion doctor that has a family and a practice in the states ,but has been coming here for years one week out of the month to serve. He hasn't been home since the quake. I am strengthened by his desire to serve. Pray for Dr. Bill and his family back home.

Many terrible injuries. Some are just now coming into the clinic with injuries from the quake. These injuries are almost always amputations because of infection. We see our first case of suspected thphoid. A quiet woman with a leg injury. Haitians like to be touched.We move from one bed to the next. The Haitians say "Merci", thank you.

Peter is a quiet boy. He is 8 with two surgeries to his right arm. He was pinned on his right side for several days. He is skinny. We don't know if he has any family. He says he knows Jesus. He is wearing a sleeveless shirt in the pictures. Please pray for Peter and his family.

Dr. Bill comes to Susie and I and asked us to go to Bonne Fin in the mountains. He says he can't get a security patrol but no offense to us if we did get stopped, they would only want the medical supplies.Ha! Susie, Mary, and I walk to Gary's house to talk to Bob. Marilyn has fresh baked banana dough nuts with powdered sugar. Yum!!

We go to the guest house for lunch. There are 4 guys from the states traveling through Haiti to meet with us for lunch. One is Robby Tingle with AR State Baptist Convention, and another from my home town of Fordyce. God is so good to send a friend to say hello. We tell Mr. Tingle the greastest need is prayer.

We get loaded up for the mountain trip. 8 of us for the trip, plus the supplies we seperated for Bonne Fin. We are grateful for the hedge of prayer surrounding us at all times. Bob calls and sends us encouraging messages throughout each day.

The ride to Bonne Fin is very, very bumpy. Our driver is a missionary named Jean, and a very good guide, as she weaves in and out of Haitian traffic. She said Haiti was founded in 1804, and at that time dedicated to Satan. Along the way she points out flags from houses. She says that each flag represents a different evil spirit the witch doctor has contact with. Lots of donkeys, half dressed children, thatch huts, concrete buildings, and one town. We arrive at Bonne Fin!

This is a mountainous area. We have to climb steep hills to get anywhere. We unload our stuff at a guest house that has only cots and a working toilet. YEA! The hospital is about the same as La Mirre, but a lot more amputations, and if possible, a lot more in need. A Haitian woman shows us around. I am in the obstetrics ward with a nurse named Hannaka, no babies, just sick people. Susie and Mary are in Medicine with Susie in charge of about 30 patients. A lot more disorganized. We work till about 11:30. Walk up to the guest house, lock up,take a cold shower, and get into bed or cot. My last thought was prayer for these people.

Next morning Susie, Mary and I walk to another guest house for breakfast. We meet others and walk to the hospital. Very hark to communicate with Haitian nurses. We give meds, shots, hook up IV's, hold hands, and pray a lot. Lunch and back to work. Home at 10:30. Not even a cold shower, out of water. Wipey bath and to bed.

Up at 7, breakfast, and to the hospital. A cool breeze. Tropical looking with banana trees, and lots of flowers. A lot of suffering inside. So many injuries. Sometimes we just prayer walk. So hot. Hard to keep sweat out of our eyes.

There is a young girl named Shirley. She was in school during the quake. Her family won't sign to amputate her legs below the knees. She asked for prayer. She says she knows Jesus. Her brother had a crushed jaw, and has his jaw wired shut. She cries continually with the pain, I give her a shot as much as I can. :lease pray for Shirley.

At 4 they tell us there are more nurses coming up the mountain, and we are going down the mountain. We work till 6. I tell a young man named Ralph, who speaks some English, that my church sent me here. He asked me what my church was going to do for him. I said they are praying for you. He said thank you.

Down the mountain with Gary and 6 others. We are very tired. It is a beatiful time of day. The market is closing in the town but still lots of people. We are back at the guest house where Amy has barbecue sandwiches and salad. It was good. A wonderful hot shower and,WOW we sleep in an air conditioned room.

"Rejoice and give thanks always,and with prayer and supplication, make your requests made known to God". I cry as I think of the pain these people are in. Ralph asked me to take it away. When I asked what, he said all the images, smells and sounds of everything around him dying during the quake. I hold his hand, press it to may cheek and pray in the holy and powerful name of Jesus Christ. I am glad to be here.

First day of work!

2010-02-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

At the guest house, slept in the bottom bunk. Almost all homes are constructed of concrete, even the ceilings. The bottom bunk felt safer. A missionary told us there has not been a major earthquake in 200 years in Haiti. This was totally unexpected. The guest house provided lots of fans. Woke up hot at 6 a.m. We are 1 hour ahead of home time. Powdered milk and Cheerios for breakfast. All meals are under Tiki huts on the back porch. Our hospitality lady is an American young woman named Amy , who rides everywhere on a 4 wheeler. She has been here 9 months. She runs the guest house. Our main cook is Madame (Mrs) Tijon, and her helpers are Claudia and Dede. They speak only Creole and are very nice. One of the house rules is that no Haitians are allowed in the gated area except the staff.

Had a nice visit with Dan Shoemaker, President of RMI. Met our interpreter,Mary Franz. A very nice, tall , Haitian woman. I like her. Benson comes to take us all to the hospital. One of the doctors here was sick all night (stomach), but we all load up to go to the hospital. We are in a truck. Main travel is by foot, then scooters. Even the taxis are scooters.

We wear scrubs, but the Haitian nurses wear white starched dresses with white hoes, very professional. We were told to be careful not to make the Haitians "lose face". Even if we know how to do something better, don't. The ride is very bumpy, but only a few minutes. Lots of people around the hospital area. Hospital named La Mirre, meaning the light. It is a christian hospital. Inside we are told by the head nurse,Jetti, to make bandages out of a huge roll of gauze. We sit at the nurses desk in the middle of the floor and make bandages for 3 hours. We are surrounded by many people. The patients, 2 to 90 years old, most with horrible injuries. Their families are responsible to remove waste, and to feed them. Doctors and nurses of many nationalities working with the Haitians doctors and nurses. There are lots of people, noise, flies, heat, and smells. There is a hum with some Haitians yelling "Why" repeatedly. Mary tell us that is how Haitians scream. These people have lost their government, their homes, families, friends, food, and neighbors. Their whole way of life. Susie and I thank God for the opportunity to make bandages for these people.Please pray for the Haitian people.

At lunch we go over to a young Haitian man who had been singing Christian songs all morning in Haitian. His name is George, he is 19, he has a badly broken leg fixed with rebar as fixators, and he says he knows Jesus. With our translator we pray with him. At amen he squeezes my hand and, with his eyes he says thank you.

After lunch we go to a mission house that has lots of stored medical supplies locked behind locked gates. We divide them into 3 piles. One for the General Hospital in town (state hospital). One for Bonne Fin, hospital up the mountain. And one for La mirre. It was hot work. We took water breaks. The Red Cross recommends 1 quart of water a day. Trucks load for the different locations. We go to a mission house to use computers.

Back to guest house to eat supper. Goat is main meat here. We had goat for supper. Susie had cake!Ha! I really isn't bad, very spicy. Off to another mission where the missionary kids have school, for a prayer meeting. The pastor says he is glad so many are turning to God during this hard time. He heard voodoo drums for the first time the other night , and he prayed for them to stop. 5 minutes later there was an unusual downpour. PTL

Back to the guest house for a great cold shower and bed.

Pray for all the missionaries here.

Arrival! (Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010) sorry for the delay, but the posts are coming straight from my journal...

2010-02-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

Flight out of Nassau cancelled. Bahama outfitters called at 7am flight back on. Taxi to airport. A small personal prop plane and the pilots name is Rocky Rockmore. Rocky was a good pilot and a good guy. It is his plane, and he paid for the gas. Flight was 3 hours plus. I am still calm with no fears. Hedge of prayer all around me. 12,000ft. up and trully lifted up above my fears. The pilot showed us safety stuff that he had to, but it was still scary. Like "use this for floatation devise." Lots of water below with many hues of blue between the sky and the water, beautiful. As we made the circle to come in for the landing, we had to pull up and try again because another plane was flying toward us. But we did land in Les Cayes. One building airport. John, an american missionary was there to take us and our baggage back to the missionaries house, where we had a nice supper on Gary and Marylyn's steel barred porch. Then we went to the clinic. Lots of hurting people everywhere. No air conditioning, lots of flys and lots of over worked volunteers. An interpreter for RMI mission, Benson, gave us a tour of the clinic. It is a very large compound, some parts are three story with lots of adjoining and surrounding buildings. I learned to say, "Bon Juer" means "hello" before noon, "Bonn - sway" is hello after noon. The people speek French Creo. I heard a group of young girls sing "Jesus is a Rock" in Creo. Benson took us to the guest house, which is large and has a gated locked entry with a 12 ft. concrete fence with razor wire at the top. The house has Cooks and fans and can house at least 20 people. There are four other medical personel here and we met over spaghetti, cooked by our Chef, Madam Pygon. The other guests are a jewish orthapedic surgen, a catholic rn, a methodist rn, an agnostic, and me and suzie. God Bless all the volunteers.

Almost There!

2010-02-03T14:11:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for the prayers. I truly felt His hand upon me. I was calm with no fear, and I have certainly stepped out of my comfort zone into His care!!!

Not much sleep Sunday night,at the airport at 5:30,checked 1 bag(under 25lbs)and a box of latex gloves. Said a prayer with Bob,John, Joe, Julie, and Susie. Some hugs and a few tears, through security,(shoes off)a quick wave, and Susie and I are on our way.

Small plane to Atlanta,needed a Dramamine-lots of dips and tilts. About 1 hour flight. Had to run to make our Atlanta connection to Nassau. A bigger plane with not so bumpy ride. About 2 hours to Nassau,Bahamas. Sounds exotic, but remember we are on mission here. Lots of under developed areas, run down hotels, and dirty beaches. Our hotel was,um, safe and close to the airport. Walked the beach a little, within site of our hotel. Ordered Domino's pizza for supper. It was really good. To bed at 7:30, yes 7:30. Airstrip called to cancel our flight to Les-Cayes. Bob called to say trip cancelled tomorrow.

Praying continuously!

Anticipation!!!

2010-01-31T20:18:00.000-08:00

I met Susan, the RN I will be on mission with. I like her, I recognize a kindred spirit with a heart for service. We met at the state convention for orientation with Bob, a man of God, with awesome organizational skills. Bob's wife Sharon is a lovely woman I enjoyed visiting with. Susan and I are trailblazers. We will send back detailed messages of each step of the journey to Bob for reference for future missions.

My five kiddos had a great afternoon of family fellowship at Joe's house in Little Rock. All 10 grandkids were there. Kids and grandkids have agreed to pray for mamaw and the people of Haiti.

I think i know how to work the camera, the blog and the internet. So one more trip to wal-mart and I'm ready. My flight leaves at 7:20am.

God bless Susan and I, the State Convention, the people who have supported me financially, my wonderful children and grandchildren, and the people of Haiti (and the pilots).

The beginning of the journey!!!

2010-01-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

It is now 9 PM Saturday night. I am excited (and a little bit scared). I am, as always, trusting that God designs the future. I will be in His loving hands every step of the way.

The journey began two days ago when I went to the internet site of the Arkansas Baptist Convention and filled out an application for mission work in Haiti. I am, at present, between jobs. Two days later a Mr. Fielding from the convention called and asked if I was ready to go to Haiti? My heart jumped, and I said yes. 24 very busy hours later I am packed, have my shots and meds, and I go to Little Rock tomorrow, Sunday, for orientation. I will be going with an RN from Monticello. She is a seasoned nurse and missionary. She has been on 17 mission trips. We will depart from Little Rock at 7:30 AM Monday and fly to Atlanta, and then from Atlanta to Nassau Bahamas to spend the night. Tuesday, Feb 2, we fly to Les-Cayes where we will be met by RMI personnel.

RMI stands for Reciprocal Ministries International. RMI has a mission center in Les-Cayes. There is a guest house, several mission organizations, kitchen facilities, laundry facilities, and a clinic. There is a nurse who works at the clinic, and other missionaries.

Les-Cayes was untouched by the earthquake, but the clinic and nearby hospitals are over run with refugees from Port-au-Prince. The needs are overwhelming. Refugees are being placed in churches, schools, soccer fields, anywhere that is available.

The suffering, both physical and emotional,is intense and expected to increase in the coming weeks. Nurses are in great demand.

I will try to "blog" every day. Please commit to pray that God will use me in whatever situation He sees fit to put me in the middle of, to bring glory to Him, to grow my relationship with Him, to bring lost souls to the peace only He provides.

I thank Him for this opportunity to serve. I thank those who made this trip possible through monetary support, plane tickets cost money.

Matthew 25, verse 40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'