Mountain villages, a sweet boy and home sweet home

Ok, So you know the more busy we are, the less we write right?

This month has been our busiest month so far. I (Cheryl) have had a ton of medical teams come and Laurens has had many teams helping out with construction of the new orphanage and post hurricane homes. 

My parents came for a visit and got a taste of what Haiti is like. They saw everything from a homeless shelter, to orphanges to a nice Chinese food restaurant. They will sleep well when they get home I think!

This past month, I have taken teams on mobile medical clinics all over this area of Haiti. The highlight was that we have recently completed a 2 day clinic in an area in the rural mountains called Turpin. We saw 850 patients in 2 days, shared the Jesus film on the outside of the church wall, slept under the stars, listened to the donkeys roosters and goats, shared the Gospel, saw extreme poverty and

 realized that these people have something that most of us in Canada never have.....a simplicity to life, a hardiness beyond measure, an ability to deal with tragedy and move on, a hope and faith so strong.... so intense that we were moved to tears.

Now, let me tell you about a little about a boy named Brunell Jules. Brunell (13 who looks 9) fell of his horse in November of this year. After that, he had difficulty moving his left arm and leg. The right side of his face would not function normally. Since Brunell had no other option, life went on, until our Canadian construction team came to Haiti. Brunell like many other boys hung out at the construction site watching the "blan" build houses and other Haitian men working with them. One of our Canadian team girls Maggie noticed Brunell's condition and brought it to my attention. Brunell lives with his mother in a tin and mud/thatch shack with 5 other brothers and sisters. 2 other children in his family have died. He does not know his father....he has never been there. His mother, wethered well beyond her years, is weary, has no work and can barely provide one meal a day for the family. Brunell's older brother Jeff (16 who looks 12) is the "man" of the house.

After God placing Brunell in our path I assessed him and arranged to have him seen at our clinic by a visiting neurosurgeon...(a neurosurgeon just happened to be coming that week!!) By the grace of the Canadian sponsors, we completed the CT scan on his brain that shows that he suffered from an intracranial bleed when he fell off the horse. We are looking into whether we can do anything further to help him.

Let me tell you the best part of this story. Through this experience Brunell (who's mom did not come to the CT appt) was able to see the city, get a ride on an automatic hospital bed, play with automatic windows in the truck, enjoy a big Patte (good Haitian food) and show me his house. We taked about God, invited him to church and told him it does not matter if he has church clothes or not, that God accepts him for who he is.

Here is a boy who has taught me a lot. He has NOTHING, he has no dad, he has a mom who is giving up on life, he has lost 2 siblings and one nephew. He has minimal food and clothes and he sleeps with 7 in one room and one bed. Despite all this, he has the best smile (and can't stop smiling), he has a wonderment for life, he is kind and courteous and can throw a mean baseball with his good hand. Now he has loving sponsors for his medical care in Canada, and one Canadian Doctor (me) who is determined to show him what life is really about.

Please pray that Brunell and Jeff show up to church and that we can nurture this relationship.

Thank you God for the things you teach us every day.

One other great thing this week is that I will be coming home for one week for a business trip. (March 10th to 17th) Even though I am NOT looking forward to the cold or all the work I have to do (does anyone have a warm sweater or two???!!); I am very much looking forward to seeing some family, a bunch of friends, my church family and patients and staff I work with. I will be at church at The Meeting House on Sun March 15th and I hope to see a lot of you there!

Please pray also for Laurens as he juggles the van der Mark monkeys and work this week.

p.s. Happy Birthday Julia