Bridging Words From Haiti to Iowa!

Mike Schmillen from Hope Reformed Church in Spencer, IA,traveled to Pignon
earlier this year. He offers words for thought and inspiration that he shared
with his team members. A copy of these words are as follows:

" I just returned from Pignon last night. It was my sixth trip having b
een there each year since 2006 (missed 2010 due to earthquake).
Last year I wrote a little thoughtful reading that I shared with our
team while sitting on the roof of the Minnesota House prior to our
return. It is a good jump start for a "going home" discussion as to
how to handle questions and reactions when home again.

January 14, 2011

I woke up this morning with a story that I need to share.
Many are familiar with the animated Christian series, Veggi
e Tales. Larry the Cucumber has always been the most easily r
ecognizable character from that series for me. He is taller in
stature than most of the others, has a sense of humor that s
ometimes isn't taken as humor, seems to be easily noticed,
sometimes a "goof-ball", but also is a vital part of the work/
story being told.

Larry the Cucumber went to Haiti.
He saw, heard, smelled, and felt the needs of the people.
He was so convicted that he wanted to give himself totally to
helping, SO he sliced himself into ten pieces (Silly Pickle) so
he could do more in less time. He could reach out to more people
and be of more service in the time that he had.

So the sliced up Larry went ten directions and helped serve f
ood at the hospital, he delivered food and God's love to some
of the poorest people in the world, he bought something he d
id not need from a lady in the street because she needed money
to help her sick child, he helped repair a school, he visited and
helped at an orphanage, he supported a church in Caiman with
his presence and a donation during collection, he visited the hospital
nd talked and sang songs of hope and God's love for the sick, the
amputees, the new born and the dying, he gave his clothes to those
who were without, he literally walked hand in hand through the streets
and garbage with the needy, and he cried, and he gave a little of himself
and God's love to everyone he met. He felt blessed by the Haitians to whom
he came to help.

But most of all, Larry did all of this without any thought of himself
(remuneration). He had humbled himself to God and gave of himsel
f freely. He felt good about what got accomplished, but it wasn't what
HE had done but rather what God had ordained for him.

When the ten smaller Larry's were ready to return home, God spoke
to them. God said, "Larry, you have fed the hungry, you have visited
the sick, you have visited and helped the orphans, you have reached
out to the Haitians in my name. But most of all, Larry, you did all of this
without thinking of yourself but rather giving a slice of yourself to all you
have served. I have noticed your humility for my sake. But now you need to
reach out to those whom you will return to. (God stacked the ten pieces of
Larry and breathed on them thus restoring Larry to his original physical self.)
You can not out give me as I will return to you ten-fold or more. Thank you,
good and faithful servant. Now take your stories and your experiences and
your giving attitude home and share it so others may be touched. You have
always been one of mine, but now your mission has expanded. I have see
and heard your compassionate heart. Reach out and share my love and
compassion with those in Spencer and to all you meet. You are to be my
ambassador. You will still be the fun-loving Christian Goof-ball you have
always been, but when the topic of helping others is breached, you will not
just "tell" of your experiences but the Holy Spirit will reveal to you that same
humble conviction you felt while serving in Haiti and it will touch those who
hear and see. Now go and serve the Lord, you Silly Pickle."

Thank you, Lord, for the experiences you have allowed me to have in Haiti.
Only with your help can I continue this mission in Spencer. I pray for your
continual intervention in my life so that I can do your will and not mine. Amen."

by Mike Schmillen, Hope Reformed Church, Spencer, IA

Fargo medical mission team

Fargo Medical Mission Team Sees Pignon With a Different View!

Kevin Wallevand traveled with the Fargo Team in January.
Here is a glimpse of their hard work and efforts as they
put together supplies for these trips. Click here for a link
to their Haiti trip. Kevin Wallevand has been a Reporter at WDAY-TV
since 1983. He is a native of Vining, Minnesota in Otter Tail County.
His series and documentary work have brought him to Africa, Vietnam,
Haiti, Kosovo, South America, Mongolia and the Middle East. He is an
Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award recipient.
After visiting Pignon for so many years, the landscape is changing with
a different view around Pignon. Accompanied with his pictures, Kevin g
ives us an inside look at the great things happening in Pignon.

" What another great welcome and surprise for the Fargo-Moorhead
Medical Mission team when arriving in Pignon a few weeks ago. Even
after 15-years, it is always a great way to start the trip: landing at the
grass strip, riding in the back of a pick-up truck to the hospital.
But this year? What an amazing change in the village. A large number
of workers joined contractors in paving some of the streets in Pignon. Sidewalks,
along with water systems, fiber-optic and electricity are slowly being installed
in town. A new park with fountains is completed and will open soon
And compared to just a few years ago, the market is bustling.
A good gauge of what is happening economically in Pignon.
Smaller businesses are sprouting up and motorcycles are everywhere.
(Not always a plus when you are a Medical/Surgical Team)
Of course there are challenges. There is still too much poverty
and too few jobs. Promise for Haiti staff at the hospital and clinic
continue to do an amazing job of providing care to those in need.
The Fargo-Moorhead team worked along side and with talented Haitian
Operating Room staff that does so much when we are there;
helping perform 35-operations.
A mission trip once again peppered with stories of perseverance and faith. A reminder we all hope for growth, strength and peace for our friends and loved ones in Haiti."

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Greetings from Pignon, Haiti

Wednesday night and we are getting ready to leave Haiti around noon tomorrow.
Team members are saying their goodbyes and packing.

Tuesday part of the team headed to the Citadel but were not able to get there
do to demonstrations near the hospital in Millot. They turned around and had
a leisurely drive back to Pignon. The rest of us worked on desks and cabinets.
Later in the afternoon some rice and beans were delivered to selected families.
We also brought three of the gals out to UCI to work with the peanut butter program
at the school which their church is currently funding.

Today we loaded the trucks and headed back to Guimby. We delivered and
assembled 21 desks did a bible lesson, sang songs and some crafts with the
students. It was also baby clinic day at the school. Approximately 40 mothers
showed up with their babies to be weighed and get vaccinations. A couple of
nursing students doing a rotation at the hospital went with us and did the
clinic. Many of the mothers were pregnant so I think the school will have a
lot of students in the future.

The storage depot was broken into last night. The thieves came through
the tin roof and took our miter saw, extension cords and some other
small stuff. A disappointing way to finish the trip!

Dr. Guy’s goose nipped Paula’s toes while we were up at his house
on the patio this evening. The goose is very protective of Dr. Guy
and goes after you when ever he thinks you’re not looking. Right after
that she asked Dr. Guy if he likes baked goose. He says he does but
not this one! He also said if we stay here again next year we will have
peacock. Says it tastes like turkey?

See you state side the end of the week.

Bondye Beni Ou,

Dean

February 6, 2012

Bonswa (good evening),

Saturday before breakfast part of the team climbed Mt
. Pignon. They looked pretty hot when they got back but
all said they enjoyed the hike. No major casualties! After
breakfast, off to the market for some shopping and to give the
“newbees” a new experience. Mike bought a cow at the auction for the
noon lunch feeding program at the hospital. I think it was one of the items
on his “bucket list”. They took it back to the hospital maintenance area. T
hey plan to butcher it on Wednesday. Zeke bought food and gave the cow its
last meal today. Not quite sure why since it was going to be butchered tomorrow!
The team spent the rest of the day working on the benches and
delivering rice/beans to houses scattered around town.

Jesula and Thompson stopped by in the evening. It was good to finally
meet him. He doesn’t speak much English so Jesula translated!!!! He is a nic
e looking man, employed, and by the time the evening was over had loosened
up a bit and tried out more of his English on us. They are coming back
on Sunday morning to go to church with us.

On Sunday most of the team went to UCI to worship with the Mompremiers.
Paula, Sharon and I stayed in Pignon and went to worship at Zeke’s church.
It’s a large Baptist church with great music. The service was two hours long
and the message was about loving your neighbor. A bit long, but OK! Had
lunch at our place and when the team got back from UCI Zeke and Babi
treated us to cassava smoothies. Cassava is a tuber similar to a potato
that they boiled then ran it through a blender with water, milk, sugar and
ice. The mixture ended up tasting like tapioca which is
actually made from cassava. Later, I froze some of it and had it with chocolate
chips. This was very close to ice cream!

Monday most of the team was at the family life conference. I think
they had about two hundred attend again. I worked on the cabinets for the
prosthesis dorm and Paula did some varnishing. In the afternoon I drove
over to UCI for a board meeting. Three other board members from the US
were here so we thought it would be a good opportunity to get together.
Jesula came tonight to say goodbye. She is heading back to PAP in the
morning to look for work at hospitals in the PAP area. She would like to
continue her anesthesia training but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
First she needs to find a job! Thompson is in the PAP area so at least she
has some company. No news on a wedding date.

Not much change at the zoo. A hen hatched out a batch of chicks in the
garbage pit today so we’ll see how many survive the night. With all the
hungry dogs around I’m amazed any of them make it to adult hood. I’ve
been driving the truck more lately around town and out to UCI. It took a
some time to get use to a straight stick on the floor. When I get back home
I’ll probably try to shove my left foot through the floor. The kids say I’m
getting pretty good at missing the giant holes and rough spots in the road.
I usually take a couple along for translating in case I get in trouble. They also
think it’s pretty macho to roll down the window and holler at their friends
riding in a truck with a blanc (white person). The donkeys, horses, goats
and people are starting to recognize my horn toot and slowly head to the edge
of the road!

The month has gone fast, four days left in Haiti, but we are anxious
to get back home to see family, friends, eat fast food, TV and spend
some serious time on the couch!

Bondye Beni Ou,

Dean

February 3, 2012

Bonswa…Greetings from the north central plateau.

The last team from Hope arrived Thursday afternoon.
They got settled and started in on the school bench project.
There was a possibility they would have to move to the dorm at
the hospital because of the lack of water in the compound.
The workers were having a difficult time finding the leak in t
he water system. They moved their bags into the MN dorm but
didn’t unpack until they knew where they would be staying.
Later in the afternoon they found a broken water pipe next to the
water heaters (they don’t actually work). They replaced some
piping and the tank appears to be holding water. The hospital
generator has been running quite a bit trying to keep us in water.
This is an added expense for the hospital but very much
appreciated. The tank on the roof on our house is again
full so we have better water pressure.

Friday we again worked on the bench project.
The Hope team worked really hard and got a lot done
! We have cut out and varnished the parts for 60 benches.
We plan to finish the assembly tomorrow and deliver some to
Guimby next week. I also worked with an organization out of
Port au Prince today that is coordinating the delivery of 44,000 p
ounds of packaged meals from Food from the Heartland. This will be
divided between four organizations in the area. UCI, HAFF, Haiti House o
f Hope and Promise for Haiti. This will get us started feeding the kids at our
elementary schools five meals a week. We are currently doing three
meals a week. This will be a great nutritional boost for our kids.
I have also been doing some coordination of the shipment of boxes
for the eye team that will arrive the day we leave.

My last construction project that I plan to start tomorrow
is building some kitchen cabinets for the prosthesis dorm.
They plan to open that later this month. Doctors and technicians
will come to teach and train others how to fit and build prosthetics.
There is quite a demand for this after the earthquake.

Jesula called from PAP today that she passed her last exam
for her nursing license. Quite an accomplishment! We are very
happy or her. She is coming to Pignon tonight with Thompson
her boyfriend. I think we will go out and celebrate tomorrow. Rice/Beans etc.

At noon we have rice with beans on the left side of the plate
and in the evening we put the beans on the right. Once in a while
the cooks mess with us and put the beans in the rice! I’m pretty much
off the rice/bean diet. Sometimes they have a side dish of potatoes, s
quash or macaroni with mystery meat that is very good. Paula’s down
to coleslaw, bread with peanut butter and instant soup. We’ve both had
some gastro issues but are on the mend.

Things with the zoo are pretty much the same. The dogs
are getting friendlier but Paula insists that I don’t feed them
no matter how sad they look at us. They stopped by tonight
for a longer visit before they headed out to forage.

Until next time…..Bondye Beni Ou

Dean