Brother Cyclone

“Brother Cyclone.  That’s what some of the Haitians are now calling my fellow administrator Matthew Giesbrecht. The hurricane and he both share the same name.”

I don’t want to bore you with details that you have seen and heard before so I hardly know how to write. And… words can’t describe it. At least mine can’t. I know some people can write descriptive word pictures in just a few words but that’s not easy for me.   I can sorta describe broken trees, and roofs ripped off by a violent and unrelenting wind that seems like it will never stop. I can describe rain that comes horizontally and how in a little over 24 hours it filled a 5-gallon bucket to running over and then the next 6 hours had some of the hardest rains of all. Which amounted to 18 – 20 inches of rain total?  I can try to describe how we clung to Matts roof ridge in 60 mph winds and rain that resembled a snowstorm, while working for an hour stuffing rags into the whole ridge cap so that the wind doesn’t drive rain straight into the house, but it really is one of those things you just have to experience.  And how do I justly describe the poor man who lives in what is best described as a tiny black hole of a dungeon with a leaky tin roof, and all his earthly belongings (his dishes, his clothes, and a couple trinkets) are in the bottom HALF of a five-gallon bucket?  I don’t have words for that!  What I find so discouraging to write about are the feelings of despair many of these people have after a storm like this. They survived and they have ready smiles, and you almost could think they are happy. But the smiles hide a deep sense of fatalism where they believe that they are a cursed people and a cursed nation that will never be able to rise.

When house walls are made of mud and rocks and the rain drives water straight into them for 12 hours, they just fall down. Oriani is far from the eye of the storm that passed but the wind and rain were still quite damaging to our area. Many crops were damaged even though not totally destroyed. Banana tree too. We spent a couple days walking in the little byways checking out the sentiment of the people and the damage… and there was just a lot of damage to the homes. All the homes that are damaged are old, poorly built and inhabited by the very destitute. These are the ones that, to a large degree, are unable to help themselves. The clinic had just a little money that had been donated for humanitarian relief and we used that to help do some repairs. One of our widow sisters had a house fall completely flat, hardly one stone left upon another. We had enough money to be able to offer her some materials if her family could do the labor to rebuild it for her. They started immediately. We have people constantly coming to us and asking for help but we just have to remind them we are here to help them if they have a medical problem. If they are sick… come to the clinic and we will help you! They seem to understand that quite well. We will continue to use special donated hurricane relief funds to repair and build a few more houses for some of the most helpless ones as that opens up.

Matt and I both had a little conviction to use our medical talents and meds to take a mobile clinic out to the real disaster area out west.  Soon we started getting calls from the Haitian Mission Board and they too were encouraging us to consider going. They said they were having a meeting on Wednesday and would discuss it to see if they all felt that way. I told them that if they said to go, we’d go, and if they felt it wasn’t the right time, then we would stay away. They discussed it and told us to go. So Thurs afternoon we headed out. Picked up some more meds, slept in the Port au Prince area, and on Friday left for Jeremy. We didn’t really see a lot of damage till we approached the city of Les Cayes. From there on, it was very bad. It seems like a category 4-5 hurricane does very similar damage as a tornado. Now imagine a 50 mile WIDE tornado sweeping across the country! The vast amount of destruction is hard to imagine. Hardly any houses left complete. Most destroyed. We arrived in Jeremy at about dark, and were advised to sleep in there and go to Abricot Saturday morning. As  we drove out to Abricot the next morning, things just steadily seemed to be worse and even worse. I remember Abricot as a heavenly place. Full of fruit trees of every kind, birds singing, lush jungle, and huge shady mango trees. The best way to describe now is like some pictures I have seen of war zones where all is flattened with just bare trunks of trees standing, almost no green left, and brown hills because all leaves and shrubbery and gardens are stripped. Trees are short stumpy skeletons standing against the sky or else lying flat on the ground. We have not seen all of our church members’ homes here yet, but they say every one is in bad shape. And they say a lot of people here are weak with hunger because they are only eating bare rations and maybe only once a day.

The first order upon our arrival in Abricot was to go down to the government office and sign in that we are working and providing aid for the area. I think this is always an important step to do. It’s a matter of respect, and also collaboration of us with them. If we have any problems, then they are there for us, too. Foreigners sometimes have a tendency to waltz in and do things “our” way, not giving enough consideration to the authorities who are in place.

We got here just in time to see a pair of unmarked American military looking helicopters circling the area. The men in the choppers waved to us to go down the hill into town, so we went and saw them land. They handed out some simple medical supplies that just ended up running off into some of the native’s hands, and then some water and a few jugs of cooking oil. The people were relatively cooperative. The helicopter guys were very commanding and without one word, just hand signals… got everyone in order and lined up to chain the stuff out away from the aircraft. Matt and I were unable to properly talk to them because they never shut down the noisy rotors, but we handed them our business cards and wrote notes to tell them that this community is low on food, and asking them to please send some more because the thieves on the roads are blocking food from reaching this remote town.

Two hours later a very large USA Army chopper armed with missiles (never know when you might need them) came zooming in and landed. These Army guys completely lost control. There were Haitians climbing on and under and even inside, mobbing them as they tried to get the rice and water out the door. It was chaos!!!! Then as soon as they took off, the fighting started on the ground. A rock came flying in our direction, and the crowd started fleeing as two guys with machetes started swinging, trying to attack another group. Soon clubs came out and it was crazy! I thought they were mad at the “whites” because there was not enough food to go around, but some said they were mad at another group that had hit one of them on the head. The half-naked machete-flailing picture of fury was running around trying to slice people, and when he ran towards us, we were all like cockroaches when a light turns on. I will not easily forget the sight of this tall, lean, bareback, crazed, man running towards Matt with a machete raised… and Matt doing his best imitation of a low lean race car, his sandals sending rooster tails of sand and mud towards the madman!  It would have made headlines anywhere!  ROFL (It was only funny afterward… I was pretty scared too!)

We covered the CSI tuberculous clinic (which lost most of the roof) with tarps, and were able to use the facilities here for a general clinic. Before we even got set up, we had patients coming. Some had fevers and some came with injuries from flying tin.

Sunday we went to church with our brethren here in Abricot and I honestly just had to weep as I felt the warmth of the service and the hearty singing. It was so beautiful and in stark contrast to outside the church building where it was so ugly and destroyed. The Mennonite church here is one of the only buildings left complete and was a real shelter in the time of storm for hundreds of people.

Monday morning we immediately had a crowd. We passed out sixty cards ASAP and the rest had to come back tomorrow, but there are so many serious cases that we had to take in at least another fifteen, or so.  So many of the wounds took a good while to dress, and having some people on IV fluids, etc., made for a long day. One lady had seven sliced wounds from flying tin. Several of them were deep and infected. Another old lady had both legs cut and a long gash showing her skull even after thirteen days.

Tuesday, we held the clinic all day again. Lots of fighting to get cards in the morning. Hard to keep order. Once their fists started flying, after which they all got embarrassed and started settling down. The rest of the day went okay. We have been hearing the surf from the clinic here where we work, eat and sleep, and have not even been able to spend even five minutes at the water yet. So today right after work, we guys went swimming. Was so relaxing and calm in the clean blue ocean.

Wed morning, and before we could open the clinic doors, we had already passed out all the numbered cards that we could see for the day. At 8am we heard a  noise down by the beach and when we went to check it out, we saw two Dutch Navy ships off shore with numerous inflatables getting ready to run food onto the beach. These guys had complete control, and commanded more respect than the helicopters guys last Saturday. They are also working with local authorities, which is good. They had a French Canadian spokesperson, although it seemed all these Dutch soldiers (men and women) spoke good English. Several of their nurses (with guns in holsters) came to our clinic and helped us out for a while, bandaging wounds, and doing some consultations. Very good to have their help!

Thursday was another busy day. The locals were so determined to get first in line to be seen in the clinic that they started assembling at 3 am outside our window. Made the awfulest noise with their arguing and angry talk as they jostled each other for place in line. Later I heard that they had forced open the door of the man next to us who was in charge of handing out the cards, and whacked him over the head because he didn’t want to get up so early. The severity of wounds and sicknesses we are seeing is starting to diminish and it feels like we are getting caught up with the most urgent needs.

Friday….we wrapped things up by noon so that we could hire a small motor boat to take us about two hours down the coast to the city of Dame Marie. Having had experience before of running out of gas out at sea… I made SURE the captain was confident that the 6 gallons ware enough. I asked him several times before we left if he was POSITIVE. and finally he told me, “Hey, this is my profession, of course I know what I am doing!”  OK OK, good enough. We headed out past some of the most amazing cliffs and jagged rocks imaginable. I was thinking… wow, if a boat was in distress along these shores… there would be no possible way to beach or even hang onto these razor sharp, overhanging cliffs. A boat would be crushed almost immediately!  Well, we made it to Dame Marie in about two hours under beautiful conditions. There we found a town that was extremely hammered by the hurricane. The land route was just recently opened up and help was just barely starting to arrive, but the storm had stripped and flattened so much of the city it was unbelievable. We saw several HUGE six foot in diameter trees snapped off, roofs off, houses flattened to rubble, and roads which disappeared into the sea. We visited with the residents and, while they were depressed, they were hopeful because roads had been opened and help was arriving. The fishermen in this area harvest conch from the ocean, and the beaches were lined and piled with thousands upon thousands of huge, beautiful conch shells. Sun was lowering and it was time to head back on our two-hour boat ride to get home by dark. Well… we ran out of gas an hour from our Abricot home. The captain kept peering into the tank, saying, “Oh no, it’s not out of gas!” But it kept on sputtering and dying. Every time it stalled, he would readjust the angle of the gas can again and it would start up. Every time saying, “We’ll arrive!”  Darkness set in like a wet warm blanket over our heads just as we arrived beside the aforementioned cliffs of death. Finally, the oars came out and the twenty foot boat filled with eleven people was sloooowly rowed towards a town several miles down and around the curvy coastline. We had our nurse Chrystelle and her friend Charlotte with us and neither knew how to swim and life jackets of course… were only for the sissies in America. So honestly, I was doing a fair bit of praying. I was also checking and shaking the gas tank and I heard and felt no liquid within. While the captain was too proud to admit we were simply out of fuel, I prayed and asked God to put enough in the tank to start it once again and that we could arrive safely.  Soon after it started again and even though it sputtered, it never quite died and it took us all the way in to Abricot! I couldn’t believe it. Thank you, God. We were greeted in the darkness by a couple hundred young men each with a headlamp on the head and a seine in hand. They were seineing for baby eels at the mouth of the river. It was an amazing sight. And I am so glad that communities like this have this huge resource of the ocean where they can fish and make money like this. They will be able to get back on their feet in time.

Saturday morning we headed out on the long drive back to Oriani. I think it took from 6am till 10 pm to get back into our beloved mountains and home.

It was a sobering time, and the damage out there is beyond belief and comprehension, but the people are a tough and resilient people who will bounce back in time. Our church CSI program has started a fantastic house repair project which will be a blessing to many yet. Our church family in Abricot is doing okay. None were killed or even injured, and while they almost all suffered the loss of their houses or parts thereof, they praise God for protecting them.

Continue to remember the Haitian people in your thoughts and prayers. They need it. They feel like they are a people who don’t have any “chance”. If the system doesn’t hurt them, the drought does, and if the drought doesn’t hurt them too much this year… then the hurricanes take what’s left. It is hard to understand why God has allowed some lands and people to advance so much when other hardworking people suffer so much.

God Bless you all,

Keith Toews

Director of Confidence Health Center

March Update

A view of Haiti’s mountain ranges from the top of Pic la Selle, Haiti.

Hello from my favorite chair in Oriani, Haiti.

Happy Easter! May we all live with the resurrected Jesus in our lives. We are a little exhausted with all the activity lately. It’s been a busy time getting ready for Easter. We are youth leaders here and were in charge of a youth program that we brought to the church here in Oriani and also to the neighboring congregation of Savan Mouton. Practice 3 times a week, along with all the other church services… makes lots of “church” but it’s been good. We have 15 youth here and they all did so well. The young brethren took turns telling the Easter story between the songs … but they all kinda got into preaching which made the whole program very long.

This winter dry season has been not nearly as severe as last year. It’s March now, and some farmers are starting to plant potatoes, corn, cabbage, and beans. Rain makes these people miserable and so happy. How? They sit in their cold leaky huts, and they usually can’t even cook food on their outside fires while it rains so … they are hungry, cold, huddled together in their dark little houses, the paths around the neighborhood turning to muck. Yet they are rejoicing because rain is watering the land, bringing hope for a crop, water to bathe in and water to drink! Rain is LIFE! You realize how very important rain is in an area where there are no rivers or wells. CSI has been working with a well drilling outfit and have drilled 5 holes up here in this mountain now and every one is dry so far. Contracts are being made for some kind of expensive testing to be done now before more money is poured into dry rock holes.  Pray that they can find water! It will be a huge blessing.

On top of all the other hundreds of sick and wounded people, there were a lot of babies born in the clinic in the last month. I don’t have the reports in front of me but I think it must have been about fifteen. Most of them were first time moms and were as young as fourteen! Most of these wonderful opportunities to bring a new soul into this world were quite difficult cases, too. We tend to get the difficult ones. Traditionally, the babies are born in their houses, and then when they have issues…they just bring the person to the clinic on a mule, or… four men carry the whole bed to the clinic! Sometimes it seems the whole community comes along. At that point we apply crowd control measures and lock the clinic door so they don’t all pack inside and cause problems. Usually, we allow just one person to accompany the mom, and it’s inexplicable how they choose that person. Recently, a mom chose her brother in law because she said her husband couldn’t handle it. I didn’t agree with that weirdness, so I chased him outa there and got another lady of the family instead. One of the babies born at the clinic was stillborn. Another was starting to cause alarm when it stalled in the birth canal too long and then was very slow to breathe afterwards. Thanks be to God for all the deliveries that were eventually brought to a successful end. Our nurses Kay and Chrystelle have much patience.

Things don’t always turn out well though. We had a man come in to the consultation room with a baby in his arms that looked a little strangely relaxed. Kay called me to come, so I asked him if the baby was sleeping and he said yes, but Kay and I immediately had suspicions that the baby was dead. Kay proceeded to do the consultation and listen to the lungs and heart, and then we had to quietly break the news to the father that his child was gone. His silent acceptance of it was heart wrenching.  Another day, one of our favorite church sisters (Se Simon) fell down unconscious at her house, and was carried a mile on a bed to the clinic. The nurses started CPR immediately and kept on for quite a while but alas, she too slipped into eternity to be with her Savior, never to hunger or suffer again.  Because she was so loved and respected, the funeral was huge! I counted almost 500 people inside the church and many more outside. The walking procession to a tomb near her house was likely a 1000 people, heartily singing as we walked. It grew into this large crowd as other churches let out that Sunday morning and joined up with us. It was one of those scenes which are totally indescribable!!

Another day, we had two men come in who had gone to work in their garden. When they needed a break… they drank from a gallon jug of water that they had previously hidden in the field. An hour later they both woke up from unconsciousness with a crowd of people looking down at them. Somebody had poisoned the water jug and they were in bad shape with terrible shakes and stomach cramps!! They were brought in and we gave them everything that we could think of because the family did not want us to take them to a hospital. But nobody knew what kind of poison we were dealing with! They received activated charcoal, milk, IV fluids, and then finally, the family just took them home. I had asked the men if they were praying. They said they were Christians but were in too much pain to pray. So we prayed for them. It again impressed me that we all better have our “after-life assurance” looked after and paid up by the blood of Jesus BEFORE we fall sick, because I have seen this often that a person close to death isn’t even thinking of praying! One man died, the other man lived. Reminded me of the account in Luke 17. “Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left.”

A very immoral and well known girl of eighteen, who seemingly had no known history of depression or boyfriend breakups, etc., suddenly decided to try to end her life by drinking poison. Her family brought her in. After vomiting and treatment and observation for a while, she bounced back with little or no negative effect. I talked to her and she just laughed… said she was just tired of living and wanted to end it. I asked her if she knew where she would be now if she had been successful?  I tried to describe the horrors of hell, she got sober and said she didn’t want to go there. I also told her of the forgiveness and love of God, and how Jesus came and died to save sinners like her, like me, like all of us ….If we repent and call on Him. She said she would think about it. Our hearts ache for cases like this.

Sometimes it’s a fight to be able to help these people. Yesterday a mule stepped on a twelve year old boy, and he had an open fracture of his leg; the bone ends were protruding. After pulling and setting it, the nurses splinted it and prepped him to go by ambulance on a rough three hour ride to a hospital. Now, I had noticed the woman who brought the boy looked dirty, acted distant, and disconnected. I began to question her about how to plan the hospital run and I kept getting strange answers. She said we could do nothing till the father came, and he was several hours away. I soon had a strange sense that this woman was hiding stuff and likely was a witchdoctor’s wife. We pleaded with them to let us take the poor lad to the hospital but they refused. Finally, all of them walked away leaving him alone with us for several hours! We soon confirmed that we were indeed dealing with a witch doctor family. After a few hours the witch doctor father came on the scene and refused to allow him to go to a hospital. They just took him home! We felt sick about it. I told that man in very clear terms what would happen if infection set in and that his boy could lose his leg. I also told him that my master Jesus and God were more powerful than his master Satan, and that God would severely punish him as a father if he made decisions for his boy that ended up going bad. He didn’t like that, but I felt a strong feeling to cut him no slack. Before we released the boy to go suffer at the hands of a negligent, devil worshiping father, I prayed with the boy and implored Jesus to touch him, heal him and also reach through to the conscience of the father.  That’s when they took the boy away. A couple hours later they were back, and… the witch doctor asked us to take the boy to Port au Prince! I was thrilled. I was impressed to see this proud arrogant man with an air of humility about him and even softness. I pulled out my Bible (I had been on the way to church) and just gave it to him, telling him to place it in his shirt pocket close to his heart and see if it warms his heart. I told him I wanted him to accept Jesus and become converted, and that I want to talk to him about this some more someday. He accepted it! So away they went to the hospital. I was so happy I felt like shouting HALLELUJA!

The other day, we had a man who had been in a machete fight. His cousin had gotten mad at him and tried to kill him. His head was hacked half way thru his skull, his arm was laid open to the bone. His neck was chopped open just below the jawbone. That one alone almost killed him. He had lost a lot of blood. In total, he had eight cuts. The nurses stitched tendons and, in some places, sutured three layers deep. In all… they spent six hours cleaning, suturing and bandaging. Well over 100 stitches were used. So far he is doing well.

Matt and Sherri Giesbrecht from Ballico, California are planning on moving here to work as administrators of the clinic starting in June. Matt is a RN and brings a lot of good experience with him. We are thrilled at how God provides people for the needs we have here. The Lord willing, we would then go back to Ontario for some time. We are in good health and enjoy our life here in Oriani, but we feel God is leading this way for now. The clinic has bought a house next door to ours here, and we are starting to remodel it and add on to make it more habitable for Matt’s when they come.

Our church has had revival meetings in the last month which I was very thankful for. Some things were set in order and several reconsecrations also happened.  I think we will have a few more meetings sometime soon again.  Now and again we hear of the struggles of the church in North America and how “materialism” (often extravagant lifestyles and the pursuit of “more”) can be a hindrance to fruitful Christian life. In Haiti… in a sense, “materialism” (the gnawing worry of poverty and how to get ahead materially) can have a very detrimental effect on these Christians as well. Keep praying for these dear Christians here too. Sometimes we would feel like helping them, but then at times we can complicate things if our “help” is done in the wrong way too! So also pray for wisdom for us.

There is a song in English which says…

“Thank you Lord for your blessings on me.

There’s a roof up above me, I’ve a good place to sleep,

There’s food on my table, and shoes on my feet.

You gave me your love Lord and a fine family,

Thank you Lord for your blessings on me.”

Well, we have a lot of friends and dear members of our own church here who couldn’t sing ANY of that except the part “you gave me your love Lord….”, but even that is sometimes hard to see when they are suffering. Can you imagine?…. no rain-proof roof, no good place to sleep, no food on the table, no shoes to wear to church, no fine family….

Of course we can’t lift everyone above the poverty line, (and God isn’t asking us to), but I feel God is asking us as His church through His name and in His love, to reach out and help certain situations which He brings to us. To just say, “Be ye warmed and filled and give them not those things which they have need of”… leaves us outside the blessings God has for us, and often closes our door to share the Gospel. I wish the clinic could heal people like Jesus did, with just the touch of His hand, but so far we still need to buy medicine and give it to the people. Wages also need to be paid to employees so they can feed their families, and many other expenses like ambulance service, etc., need to be maintained.  This, unfortunately, takes some of God’s money which He has allowed each one of us to use and to serve others with. We encourage you to remember the Haitian people, and give to the clinic as the Lord directs you.

Two rather major needs we have for funds right now are…

1. Fix up and furnish a house for Matts to live in by June
2. Replace our current ambulance with a better diesel model

We thank you for your prayers and support, and may God bless you all.

Keith and Candace Toews and family,

Zachary 21

Cam 16

Chase 14

Christina 12

Ketli 5

November 25

When we first came to Haiti in 2010, it was easier to write stories about the clinic, about how terrible the people live, and about the miracles and wonders that happen here on a frequent basis (both physically and spiritually). But the longer we are here the harder it is to write. This has puzzled me sometimes and I would like to defend myself and explain some things, but I don’t know if I can put my thoughts into words. Please allow me a minute to ramble and maybe totally confuse you.

We came with love, (Godly love, I trust) and sympathy for the people. We came with a solution and a help for their needs (clinic). The mountain people are so backwards in their understanding and economy and also spiritually that surely they are just waiting for that “hand up”, and then all will be good. And then it’s easy to write about what’s happening. The good things, the bad things, and the things that make us cry. But the longer we are here and the more we scratch deeper into the culture, and whys and wherefores, the more complicated it is. I have been surrounded by Haiti talk for 46 years; I was a missionary kid here. In total, I have over 11 years of living in this country, but I am still just uncovering the layers and depths these people have. And in doing that, there is a constantly changing aspect of love and respect based more and more on understanding and knowledge instead of just tears and sympathy. Am I making sense?

For example … Dieutela is a young woman who has had a terrible existence. She has been used and abused all her life. She has two little children and no house to live in. She lived with her parents until they were so mean to her she was obliged to move out and just “domi kay moun” (sleep wherever). She told me 6 months ago that she wanted to die and be done suffering. That was before she found out she has Tuberculosis and AIDS. Now for sure she thinks life is over. As I drove her home from the special AIDS and TB clinic the other day, I found myself being able to discuss her problems with her and understand from her perspective why it is that she has to sleep around like she does. She can’t say no, because these guys she sleeps with are the ones who support her and her kids, and give her a roof over her head. She knows it’s not good, but without that help she would starve. Here it’s not called prostitution. It’s existence… and everyone helping each other out. So to give her tears and prayers are not enough. She needs Christ, but she also needs frank and practical discussions to help her figure out solutions. Giving her a house and money to live on is not a good solution, because unfortunately, the culture of jealousy and resentment towards someone who comes from so low and then gets help, would destroy her. (She has already had death threats because an NGO came in and built her a small house. Now that that house has been stolen from her, she is more at peace with the neighbors again.) Dieutela is physically ugly and now she’s sick, but her gentleness and soft heart are beautiful. Pray for her, and we’ll keep trying to help her find solutions, too. Her name Dieutela means “God was here”. I hope she knows God is STILL here.

Ok… the above story is one example of real life here but it is one I had a hard time telling. I respect her too much to make merchandise of her story, yet I think it needs to be told.

So even though I don’t always know what to write… I know how important it is that you get letters and reports so you know what that which you have entrusted to us is doing. I will try to portray that to you.

Clinic life has really changed with the departure of our much loved Haitian nurse Githane. She left her husband and went down to Port to live with her family. Trev and Mirlene, our son and his wife, also left for Ontario to work and continue life there. Seems like life keeps moving on and our children are growing up. We now have a new Haitian nurse, Minister Mikel’s daughter, Christelle. She is a bright, happy young lady with a big, ready smile, and lives at our house together with our American nurse, Kay Wedel from Brooksville, MS. Beyond that, we have hired as new nurse assistants, two young moms. They are church members as well. All these changes throw a little confusion and unrest into the smooth routine we had going, but I think it will work out okay. Have a look at the October report at the top of this update and you will see how many different issues we deal with every month. Kay recently had to deal with an axe wound to the foot of one of our neighbors. One toe was cut right off and another almost severed. She artfully trimmed bone back till there was enough skin to wrap over the end and then trimmed again, shaped, and sutured it shut. It looks really good now and he is walking on it. Another boy got his finger cut off and since the mom brought the missing piece in her pocket, Kay sewed the whole thing back on. It was so cleanly cut off we thought there would be a 50/50 chance of healing. It looked well for a few days, but now it needs to be taken off and the stump closed up. We can’t win them all, but we tried. Another sad case this week is of a family who had a gasoline business which they ran from their house. In the evening they were pouring gas from one container to another and, of course, holding a candle for “all the better to see you with”, and guess what… the gas goes BOOM and the house is on fire. The wife had second degree burns on 40 percent of her body, two kids on their faces and hands, and the father on his feet. They will be a long time recovering from this. These are the situations for which we need lots more gauze rolls and non-stick dressings. With this family, we nearly exhausted our meager supply with just two dressing changes.

Some of you have offered layette bundles and clothes and things. We really appreciate all offers of help. I am always hesitant to turn down offers because we never know when we may run out of these things, but the fact is we have enough of these items for now, and with shipping costs very high, it’s hardly worth it. Our biggest need is still money donations. Medicines, workers’ wages, gas, diesel and vehicle parts, etc., cause a constant outflow of money. We also have special situations where some patients need surgeries or other procedures that we can’t do. If these patients will absolutely not go to get these procedures done, (hernia repairs, ovarian cyst removals, bone surgeries, etc., etc., etc.,) because they have no money, then we carefully step in and facilitate, especially if life is in the balance. Ambulance runs are also very costly to us. When Haitians have a request that they lay before us, they often end their plea with, “I thank you in advance”. So maybe I will do that to you readers. So today… I thank you in advance for helping the clinic out.

Our family is basically in good health and spirits. Seems like a common issue we face here is a condition called “ale vit, tounen dousman,” (run to the outhouse, come back slowly), but it’s part of life here. Jenna Toews is our new school teacher and is working very hard for our children. Only God can pay her back for the service she gives. Jenna and Lacey are sisters, who share the same passion for teaching. Lacey teaches at the church school.

Lately, I have been reading a book called, “The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good.” What a good reality check for me again. It warns against getting so busy and working such long hours in God’s work. We easily reach the danger point of not looking after ourselves, our families, and others in our primary circle. It also reminds us of how pride and burnout can take over and bring a dark side to all we do. A true heart of humble service is again what I recommit myself to. I think of the heart of Jesus and how everything he did was misunderstood, then was persecuted and finally killed. Yet he loved, and served, suffering it gladly for the sake of the Father’s plan and for us. Why do I get in such a wad about things? I feel ashamed.

A few words about the church here…it is in some struggles. Seemingly, the old traditions and customs and ungodly lifestyles are hard to break from and easy to slip back into in weak moments and difficult times. Isn’t it the same for us all? But here, these people often fall alarmingly far, quite quickly. In visits we have had lately, we are touched by the sincerity of some, but dismayed at the cold indifference of others. We are especially sad that some of the older Christians here seem to be slipping away. The healthy fear of God and a recognition of the voice of the Holy Spirit are two areas where they are seriously lacking. A song with which I have been impressed lately says, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go”. I would like to translate it into Creole.

We are in the cold of winter here. Yes, in Haiti it is cold here on the mountaintop. We had 2 nights of frost last week and the day time highs are cool, but sunny. Houses here are not insulated and have no heat source other than bodies, so I find myself getting tired of being cold all the time. Fleece sheets and heavy blankets at night feel good. (I haven’t heated up the cannonball this winter and put it in our bed yet, though!). The locals often blame an August baby boom on the preceding cold December. A couple of weeks ago, my four boys and I, plus the two CSI boys, went on a motorcycle camping trip up into the higher forested mountains in DR. We slept at 7500 ft. No tents, just rolled up in blankets on a nice bed of pine needles. I had a fever that night so with the cold… I was of all men most miserable, but it still was a fun trip. Seven of us, each on a motorbike. I would like to do it again.

Ok that’s about it for tonight. God bless you wherever you are.

Au revoir, Bayi, Adios, Swarrtotmaal, Dosvidaniya, Kwaheri, or “Goodbye” in whatever language you speak!

Keith

God's Promise

Rainbows are frequent here and are a vivid reminder of God’s promises to us.

I would love to have you spend a week here to see the Oriani clinic, have devotions with us, experience the bustle, see the patient suffering of the patients, take in the many varied smells J, and experience the blessings etc. Each patient has their own unique life and story that is intriguing and sometimes inspiring.

Dalia is a 33 yr old mother of 5 children who all appear to be under 5 yrs old. When I asked her for the children’s age she gave me wildly varying numbers that were obviously years from reality. After I suggested that maybe she had forgotten, she laughed and said “Yes, I never know how old they are.” Apparently she doesn’t even remember what month OR year they were born. One is crippled and rides on the back of her brother who is maybe 6 at most. Dalia and her children are just in survival mode since her husband left and went to the Dominican, having taken a prettier Dominican wife.

We have many many such “Dalias” in the area here. Children red-haired with malnutrition and suffering from sickness and parasites, gardens and crops completely failed every season for the last 2 years, and existing on credit or charity from anyone they can while living in houses that are deplorable. They don’t even have the physiological needs covered as outlined on the first quadrant of Maslow’s pyramid. We help them with basic health issues and give some education on the advantages to be had in sanitation. I could talk a long time about such a family to try to describe the reality they live in, but it’s hard to convey it, especially the damaged emotions and despair that comes from living without God, morals, and money. We are talking about children half naked and groveling in a parasite-laden dirt yard where there is not one “nice” thing to look at, no flowers, no decorations, no picture books, often not even basic needs like an outhouse available. There is no river, and most people don’t even have a cistern to get water from or to wash in, but just every day… having to beg a bucket of water from some neighbor who may have a little left in their cistern. Often they lack a pattern or example of how to live cleaner, healthier and better. They just exist. The sad truth of the matter is that too many of the women like this end up allowing themselves to be used sexually in exchange for sustenance. They shrug their shoulders and say, “We need to eat”. This numbs the conscience while further tearing down morality, courage, spreading more disease and suffering in the wake.

The clinic sees an average of 80 patients a day, keeping the nurses pretty busy. And then we get called on 24/7 for emergencies. Two nights ago we helped a lady in labor and a healthy little girl was born. Last night’s call was for a man who got shot in the foot by a Dominican border patrol officer. We could see an entry and exit wound, so we are sure the bullet passed through, but the whole foot was grotesquely swollen. With repeated antibiotic injections and faithfully coming to the clinic every 2 days, we feel we can take care of him here. This morning we received a young boy who fell into a 10 ft deep cistern (which was dry), breaking his forearm. Splinting it was easy enough and then we offered to take him down to Port au Prince for setting and casting. The closest X-Ray machine is a bumpy 3 hr ride away. But the family is refusing to go. It’s very aggravating that while it will heal, it likely will be crooked. Every Wednesday is still prenatal care day. The ladies line up to have a class, get weighed and checked, and given the vitamins and medicines they may need for the month. One of the practices these Oriani mountain people have is to give a woman 5 baths after she has delivered her baby. These five baths are still a little mysterious to us, but they involve herbs, other ladies beating the woman with sticks, etc. Then the new mom is wrapped up in many layers of clothes, jackets, scarves and head cloths. Mom is confined to her room for the next 30 days to sweat and suffer. All of this is to ensure that the mom does not ever encounter the most awful thing of all…. “fredzi”. It seems like this “fredzi” (cold air) is what they think is the root cause of half their sicknesses, when the truth is that the overheating and sparse oxygen they endure is what often causes them to lack milk and succumb to more problems. Ancient customs and old wives fables are hard to dispel, but we keep working on it, at least where they negatively affect them. Speaking of fables… I just learned another one. Apparently if a baby is born with the cord around the neck (representing a tie), then that is a symbol from God that he will be a very important person like a minister etc. If the cord is wrapped around the body like a bandoleer, then he will be a soldier or a policeman.

Another clinic story that I want to share is about a young couple named Jean and Sanania. They both have syphilis. His symptoms were minor, but she had huge infected patches all over her body where the skin was rotting off. Her ear was hanging with pus, her shoulder and back had almost no skin. 80% of her body was affected. She was so weak she couldn’t walk. Basically she was just about gone. They had tried witchdoctors and herb people, and now her hope and money were about gone. It truly was one of the more pathetic sights we have seen. Mirlene (bless her heart) donned protection and took this lady into the shower to clean everything off. We then gave them the prescribed Penicillin G shots and told them to come back in a week. After 7 days here they sat. Waiting their turn to come in. What a miracle sight they were! I have never seen someone heal so fast. She was walking and smiling and almost every inch of her body was re-growing skin and there was no infection or open sores left! I still can hardly believe it. They both were a charming picture of hope, excitement and life again. Encouragement was given them to seek God now that He has given them such an amazing recovery from the brink of death. We want to follow them and do what we can to promote continued full healing of both body and soul.

Thanks be to God for providing a few short term nurses to keep us going for the last while. After Ang Toews (from Grifton, NC) left in February, Kay Wedel (from Brooksville, MS) came for a month, then Rosalie Nichols (Inman, KS). Then it was Linda Unruh (Greensburg, KS), after that Gina Dirks (Halstead KS). Each spent a month with us. Now on July 15 Kay came back, so we feel blessed and happy to have her back here for a as of now… unlimited longer term. Every one of the nurses who spent time here brought their own valuable insights and help for the clinic, and we enjoyed each of them living with us. We have had an awesome Haitian nurse hired for the last 3 years and now we beg you to help us pray for her and her husband as they are on the verge of splitting up. Likely this will mean she will leave us to go back to where her family is from. We are very sad for them.

Cam, our 16-year-old son, broke the radius bone in his right forearm last week. He jumped over a yard wall to unlock a door and had a bad fall onto concrete. We spent a miserable afternoon and night in the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Port. By 5am we were able to leave with Cam only to see with dismay that the cast was poorly done and would need further attention. Since the DWB hospital had treated us so rudely, crudely and then hadn’t done a good job, we opted to go instead to a private Haitian hospital this time. Readily they took us in, quickly x-raying the arm, resetting and then recasting it very nicely. We were obliged to pay full price for everything at this private hospital. They listed all the supplies used, like gloves for the doctor, swab gauzes, the antiseptic wash, the cast material… everything had a price. The x-ray was $20 and all the cast supplies with the doctor’s fee, came to another $20. The grand total was $40 for a nice job with a brilliant blue fiberglass cast. But sadly, a private hospital costing $40 is often beyond reach for many Haitian families.
A nice little God-moment I can relate is this… When Cam broke his arm, he was 2-3 hours drive from where we were. We gathered our stuff and headed down the mountain to meet with him at the hospital. We had thought our fuel gauge was working and we had 1/8 tank left, but… an hour from home the Ford started sputtering and then stalled. We coasted to a stop within 50 ft of a house that sells diesel from gallon jugs beside the road. And this place is the ONLY place that has diesel for sale within an hour and a half drive.

Another God-moment was when we wrote out a cheque for clinic supplies and mistakenly wrote it out for 212 instead of 312. We just paid cash for the remaining 100 dollars. Later we found out the balance in the bank was 22 dollars after the 212 cleared the account. If we hadn’t made the mistake… we would have overdrawn the account and had the bank as well as our supplier furious at us for bouncing our check. 22 dollars is not a very healthy balance. We did get some donations come in to get us going again, but we urge you to see if God touches your heart for the clinic needs. We feel we are providing very good first line health care at very low cost. We have many needs. We are worried about the clinic funding situation, but we trust God that it is His work and He will supply and direct. Help us pray.

Help us pray for direction and wisdom for the many many requests and frustrating situations that present themselves to us. Sometimes it’s very difficult living here. People come to us every day telling us how their children haven’t eaten today, or they are pleading for help to build a cistern to collect rain water, or for money to buy 3 bags of fertilizer because without fertilizer they won’t be able to get a crop. Sometimes it takes me 2 hours to get to the clinic in the morning because of all the people lining up in our yard or along the road who “neeeeeed to have a few words” with me. I must confess that it is a bit taxing at times. I have to deal with my “self” to just have the patience to listen, encourage, and pray with them even if we can’t help them monetarily. I have sometimes felt like going into hiding till the hard times pass again, but we don’t know when that will be. The Caribbean drought that is affecting everyone from Cuba to Puerto Rico, is seriously affecting most all of Haiti. It’s not only in Oriani. Pray that after 4 dry and lean years now, that God will send rain and 4 fat years ahead.

Our family is looking forward to Jenna Toews from Pincher Creek coming in September to teach our children. In June we said goodbye to April Koehn, who taught last year. One of the joys of being here is all the many girls and teachers who live with us. Our family has been enlarged immensely and we have family in many places now.

Ok have a good night and let’s live like we know the Lord is returning soon.
Keith and Candace Toews
Director – Confidence Health Center
Oriani Haiti
Telephone 001-509-3783-9058
Keithtoews67@gmail.com