Rainy Day for Fighting the Bad Guys

 the backyard garden

 Hunter Friday and Leyna

As I write, rain falls heavy on the tin roof and I am reminded of God's goodness to water the earth here. At the same time, I think of the roads flooding, those around us without roofs, children walking home from school soaking wet and the good and hard things that rainy season in Haiti brings.

We arrived home from the hospital Saturday night and this week seems to be different than the others.  It was my fault to assume that leaving the hospital = well. I should've known this from my mom. Leaving the hospital = first step to recovery. Sunday I was surprised that Ava's symptoms were trending down but continuing. She was mostly struggling with stomach cramps and too many (green) dirty diapers as well as fluctuating fever and lack of appetite. Ava seemed to reject any type of fluid I could think to offer. Same thing Monday and today. She told me her stomach is broken. Several times an hour she goes from whatever she is doing to a moan and into the fetal position. It makes me so sad. I do a chore around the house and hold her. Get Lilly started on another subject and then hold Ava. Start dinner. Hold Ava. It's been a pattern. I've received different medical advice from each person who has offered it. We received lab results last night that simply read negative. I guess it would be helpful if we knew what was negative. From what we know it's some sort of bacterial infection along the lines of typhoid or salmonella. Going with the symptoms, we seem to know what we're looking for that would indicate we need to seek more help and until that happens, we're going to keep fighting the bad guys. I think i've said it may be a dozen times but I am so thankful we are not hosting a team this week. It's been nice to be able to comfort Ava and welcome our two interns back to Haiti. Leyna was a life saver over the weekend and Hunter Friday has just arrived today. Friday, as we call him, is here for three weeks and is going from here on to Peru until August. Lilly said "Mom, Friday comes on Tuesday this week." The girls love having extra friends here!

We were nervous the other day that Ava may have the Chikingunya virus that is being spread all over Haiti from mosquitos. Fortunately, we ruled that out for Ava. Unfortunately, it is spreading like wildfire here and so many we know are suffering from it. It is nicknamed the "Lazy Bones Virus" since one of the symptoms is achy bones. The two ladies who cook for us on the hill both have it along with a number of neighbors in our village. There is no real preventive other than mosquito spray. I was teaching the weekly women's Bible study yesterday afternoon outside in the breezeway. Due to the virus I offered the ladies some repellent. They kindly declined it even though two of the ladies who came have the virus! I'm amazed at their resilient spirit but saddened that so many are and will be fighting the virus in the days to come. So many people in the village have knocked on the gate despite the sign that says clinic is closed and that Tony is not here. I offer them tylenol and pray for them but send them away still hurting. It's been a pivotal experience for me to understand the depths of struggle on so many levels in a third world country.

On Sunday we heard a message to missionaries about the reality that sometimes when we give it's never enough or the relationships we hope for are jeopardized by constant want on the field. And though we are missionaries, we are not invincible. We hurt from those experiences and manipulations in relationships. I was reminded of that this morning. I was out running this morning when I saw a group of 5 or 6 high school girls who were dressed in uniform walking to school. As I got closer to passing them I could tell they were trying to tell me something. I had already been stopped by several people from the village asking me for medicine due to their symptoms and knowing I work with Tony in the clinic. I slowed to understand them and came to a stop when I still struggled to make out what they were saying. After less than a minute two girls grabbed my arms and one tried to grab a really small cross necklace from my neck. They tried to grab my ring from my ring finger as well. I took off and was surprised at their swiftness given their flat school shoes and size. They were persistent. I was chased for a half mile or so when they finally gave up on the jewelry. I was glad because a sprint on rocks is not pretty and a fall on the rocks, even uglier. While I had mace in my hand I was hesitant to use it. I think about how I will probably see those girls again and I don't want anything premeditated or unnecessary danger. It was such an odd encounter. I thought they were saying something about the Hope Center but not at all. Relationships are hard here. I'm learning slowly. Lilly said about school today, "I don't want to do the hard stuff." Me either, baby, me either. "But that's life," I told her.

Thank you for being a part of our life in Haiti ... God is good all the time. All the time God is good.