Through the Roof Ministries Blog

11-2011 Through the Roof Honduras

2011-11-19T15:57:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends, Our time in Honduras has been fruitful and we thank you for your prayers! We were able to do custom wheelchair seating for almost 100 people. All received a Bible and the good news of salvation through a local pastor. We shared disability ministry in several churches. Our Board in Honduras met and we are bonded in unity to reach many more affected by disability by working together. We also had great fun and a birthday party for one of our team.

November 12, 2011

2011-11-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,
We are praising God the entire team arrived safely in Honduras together!

One shipment arrived from the Hope Haven warehouse

All 3 shipments have made it to our warehouse in Jesus de Otoro. The team is working hard to unload, clean and sort all of the equipment. The pastors are joining in prayer for many to be saved. We are also meeting with contacts for our spring outreach. Thank you for your continued prayers for safe travel, good health and that we will be open to all the Lord has for us to do.
In His service,
Paul and Margaret Matasic

Reach Out 11-11-11

2011-11-10T05:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Thank you for praying for our Reach Out team going to Honduras November 10-20-2011. Reach Out is the international program of Through the Roof Ministries a 501C3 non-for-profit integrated auxillary of the church. We serve in the Central America and Haiti.

With a miracle from the Lord our 3 shipments have just arrived in time in Honduras for the team! We have taken a step of faith by purchasing new wheelchairs for children custom made in Guatemala.
Each child needs a sponsorship of $200 to receive a wheelchair.

Lesly Yolani is just one of the children waiting for a wheelchair to give her mobility.

You can see in the picture she received a "wheelchair" from another organization and how they have put it to use. Children need custom wheelchair seating. We send specialist that often take up to 8 hours to be sure we have just the right fit so the child can sit up, interact with the environment, go to church and school without having skin breakdown and deformity that a "chair on wheels" could cause.

Please pray for good health and safety for the team, for each person that will come to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior and for the much needed financial support to continue to make a difference for today and eternity!
In His service with you,
Paul and Margaret Matasic

Shipment Arrived in Honduras

2011-08-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
Thank you for your prayers and support for our shipment to Honduras! After six months it has arrived in port and has been released. Armor of Hope was able to pick up an autoclave and several items needed for minor surgery at the clinic in El Sauce. The remaining mobility items are now Jesus de Otoro!!! The next shipment is scheduled to leave Orville, Ohio this month! We are so grateful to CAMO and Wheels of Hope our partners in ministry in Honduras for assisting us to make the gift of mobility and hope a reality for our friends in need in Central America.

5-2011 Honduras

2011-05-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
Thank you for your prayers for our Spring 2011 Honduras Mission trip. We were very encouraged by our Board meeting and all the Lord is doing in Otoro. Our wheelchair shipment did not make it, but we did have several wheelchairs in Honduras and were able to give mobility equipment in Omoa. We visited a new rehab center in Puerto Cortes and gave them new walkers and crutches. We look forward to partnering with them in the future. Our next team trip is scheduled for November 11 - 19.

Board Meeting In Otoro

2011-02-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

Our Board met to plan for 2011 and to prepare government reports for A Traves del Techo (Through the Roof).

Tulio, Teo, Margaret, Salatiel, Erica, Bernice, Lilliam

(not in photo Pastor Noe)

Wood for Teo

2011-02-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

We stopped by and visited Teo's house and his wife and son Freddy. Teo is our wheelchair mechanic in Otoro.

We stopped by and visted Teo's new casa and wood for their stove was being delivered.

Teo's son Freddy

Teo Stove

Clinic in El Sauce

2011-02-19T19:14:00.000-08:00

We visited Laura and Armor of Hope Mission in El Sauce where they are building a new medical clinic in this tiny rural mountain town.

Outside clinic before final stucco on.

Inside clinic

Apartment next to clinic

Covering mud blocks before rain comes

New Friends in Otoro

2011-02-19T19:08:00.000-08:00

We arrived at the therapy center in Otoro and found we have a new guard dog and a dozen eggs under the pila, which is the outside sink.

Honduras shipping

2011-02-18T14:15:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,
Thank you for your prayers. We have arrived safely in Honduras. Today we met with the US Military in Honduras to arrange shipping through the Ohio base to Honduras in the furure. It is highly unusual to obtain a face to face meeting this quickly. They said typically you need a time for military clearance.
However...we serve a MIGHTY God!

This week in Honduras

2011-02-13T16:47:00.000-08:00

This week I am on my way to Honduras. We will meet with the Board in Honduras and go to the US Military base to set up future shipping and to Omoa for distribution.

What About Diego

2010-11-21T16:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

We have returned to the US to the comfort of family and friends. A piece of our heart remains in Honduras.
I ask myself, did we make a difference? And I hear a resounding yes! There were 80 people that received the gift of mobility at our wheelchair seating clinics. More than 390 people heard the Gospel message. 45 accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. 85 Bibles were given. Through your help our team provided first aide supplies and other medical equipment to a clinic that was destroyed in the 2009 earthquake in Omoa...
Could we have done more?

What about Diego? Diego and his mom traveled from Comayagua on a bus and waited 8 hours only to hear that we had already given away all of our wheelchairs for children. My heart breaks for him and for his family.

What about the hundreds...thousands like him who do not have a wheelchair? Can we do more?
And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can? All things are possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23
Yes, we believe and we ask for your help. There simply are not enough restored children's wheelchair available.

"KidChair" needed for Diego.

WHAT MAKES THIS WHEELCHAIR GREAT?

The KidChair is manufactured in 3 sizes and easily adapts to a variety of children’s shapes, sizes and positioning needs. Specifically it was designed to meet the durability needs of very challenging environments, such as unpaved roads and uneven sidewalks. It is light weight, yet durable and easy to assemble on site and has no welded parts. The KidChair has a therapeutic tray, hanging tote bag, and a front harness.
This same chair could cost over $3,000 if manufactured in the US.

HOW IS THE CHILD PLACED IN THE WHEELCHAIR?
A dedicated group of professionals – therapists, rehab specialists, mechanics, and volunteers – travel on the distribution trips in order to specifically fit each chair to each child while in country. All children are different and each chair is modified to maximize the child’s potential.

HOW IS THE FAMILY INVOLVED?
The family or caretaker of the recipient are trained in wheelchair use and given a tool that allows them to make simple adjustments to the sizing of the chair, to be sure the chair continues to be adapted to the child’s size as he/she grows. Depending on the size of the child or small adult, the KidChair can be adapted to the person for up to 5 years.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Pray for Diego and others in Honduras and Haiti. Consider making a gift toward the purchase of a pediatric or adult wheelchair. Each KidChair can be purchased for $150.
A donation of $75 will cover the cost of collection and distribution of a restored adult or pediatric wheelchair. We have a matching gift for each $150 donated.

THIS WOULD MAKE A GREAT FAMILY CHRISTMAS GIFT!
Consider making a donation in any amount toward buying the gift of mobility for Diego and others in Honduras and Haiti.

http://www.throughtheroofministries.org/contributions

Thank you for your prayers and support.

And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can? All things are possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23

Omoa Clinic

2010-11-19T21:02:00.000-08:00

Today in Omoa we were able to visit the clinic and take some first aide supplies, pain medications and other medical equipment that was donated by several team members and their church family. We also went to distribute wheelchairs but it was raining so hard the people could not make it down out of the mountains.
The roads are steep, winding and there were mud slides.

Church in Omoa

Rafael at Omoa Clinic

New Crutches for Edimar

Honduras 2010 Mission Trip

2010-11-18T18:44:00.000-08:00

Before we came to Honduras our coordinator visited several cities pastors, mayors and people that were in need of wheelchairs. They visit each person and register them for a wheelchair. They work with the community to get transportation to our distribution.

During this trip Shanda shared her testimony in a rehab centerm a church and a agricultural science center. The people that came to hear her on Tuesday went to the distribution to receive mobility equipment on Wednesday...

On Wednesday a bus came from Comayagua about one and a half hours from Jesus de Otoro.
Rita is a young teen with osteogenesis imperfecta, she was on this bus. This is also known as brittle bone disease and they often have fractures. Rita had a right leg fracture recently.

Rita came to receive a wheelchair on this bus.

She came with her mom and her brother. God provided just the right wheelchair for Rita! We often need to make modifications that can take 4 to 7 hours. For Rita the mechanic simply had to make her a foot plate.
What a blessing for this mom who usually must carry her everywhere.

Rita in her new chair with her mom.

Honduras Update 2010

2010-11-18T13:48:00.000-08:00

Today we have returned to San Pedro Sula and tomorrow we will go to Omoa to visit a clinic destroyed in the 2009 earthquake. We will give medical supplies and wheelchairs, walkers, canes and crutches.
We will share the Gospel and give Bibles.

So far on this trip we gave 78 wheelchairs, also many walkers, canes, and crutches.
47 people accepted Jesus!
See photos below from Otoro.

Thank you for your continued prayers

Honduras Picture Update 2010

2010-11-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

Susan Unpacking Boxes in Otoro

Church with Shanda, Tim, and Lilliam

Team Member Sara

Wow I Have a Wheelchair!

Team Member Karen

Team Member Cindy

Taking my New Chair Home

Hello from Otoro

2010-11-17T20:07:00.000-08:00

We do not have Internet access so I am sending an update from my phone.
Yesterday we gave 23 wheelchairs and 10 people accepted Jesus. Today we gave 34 wheelchairs and 16 people accepted Jesus. That is a tremendous number of chairs plus walkers canes and crutches for a small team. A man needed to stand on top of a bus when they came from Cumayagua to hold electric wires up.

There are so many stories to tell... The mom that came with 2 small children even though her husband died this week. The many we turned away because we did not have enough children chairs and not enough funds to purchase or ship more. Many people travelled for 7-9 hours. Tonight they had special merimba players for us. Tomorrow we leave to return to Omoa. We will help at a clinic and distribute a few chairs and make connections for the spring trip.
Thank you for your prayers for safe travel. I will update with photos soon!

Distribution in Otoro

2010-11-15T19:15:00.000-08:00

Update:
21 accepted Jesus today!
24 people received wheelchairs
Shanda, Margaret and Rafael shared with 50 parents and 4 pastors in a rehab center...

Team in Otoro

Working together

Jefri

Team has all arrived safely!

2010-11-14T19:30:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, We do not have Internet in Otoro at this time. So I am sending from my iphone.
The team all arrived safely and we went to church today and set up for the wheelchair dustibution. It is unseasonably cold in Honduras and we are praying for warmer weather for the people in the mountains. Even some babies have died from the cold.
We are sending blankets and coats.
Please pray many will come and hear the Gospel message this week.
In His care, Margaret and Through the Roof Team

Bernie and Susan Arrive

2010-11-12T16:44:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends,

We took Julie to a safe bus to get to Tela and where she will take language classes.

Bernie arrived from Maryland and Susan from North Carolina. We were able to continue
with preparations for the team and purchase needed materials for the distribution.

Tomorrow Tim, Shanda and Cindy arrive from Cleveland, Karen and Sara from Houston and Debbie and
Denny from Miami.

Children playing.

Thank you for your prayers for safe travel.

In His care, Margaret

Meeting at Omoa Clinic

2010-11-11T13:58:00.000-08:00

In 2009 there was a 7.3 earthquake in Omoa and the Medical Clinic was destroyed. They are now working out of the children's nutrician center. We discussed how we might help with medical needs and wheelchairs and the current census they are doing in Omoa that includes number of people with disabilities.

Dinner at Panchos

2010-11-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

We met with some local pastors to discuss future distributions in Omoa and how they might help. The Pastor's Association took us to dinner.

Julie and Pastor have Fish for Dinner

A Friend Watches as We Eat

Mercy Ships in Omoa

2010-11-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

We are still in Omoa investigating opportunities for future teams. We met up with Mercy Ships and they asked us to go and fix a wheelchair for a young girl in Porte Cortes. We will be sending photos once we find an internet that can upload them. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Adventure with Julie in Omoa

2010-11-10T19:03:00.000-08:00

I met Julie on the plane. She is a young lady who works in California with kids and teaches them about nature. She is on a 6 week break and was planning to travel around Central America for 6 weeks alone and does not speak Spanish nor does she have any contacts.

So throughout the flight we talked and I asked her if she wanted to spend a few days with Rafael and I. So she is here with us in Omoa. Why God has us together I do not know, but I do know it was his plan to have me sit next to her.

Our internet connection here is very slow so I will send picture updates from another location when we find a working internet.

Margaret is on the way...

2010-11-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

Margaret is on the way to Honduras and praying for the team members as they pack and prepare for the week ahead. Thank you for joining us in prayer.

Strength of Heart In Honduras

2010-11-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

During our trip this week and next Rafael has set up several speaking opportunities for Shanda, Strength of Heart , a ministry of Through the Roof.

Shanda and Tim Gobeli

On Sunday we plan to be at Pastor Noe church in Otoro, On Monday afternoon while the team is distributing wheelchairs and Bibles, Shanda, Rafael and Margaret will be in Comayagua, we will be at CEDA, this is a school of agriculture where we will share with people in the community and Comayagua´s Governor and Edgardo Martinez, a congressman helping people with disabilities. On Tuesday we will plan to go to Siguatepeque, at Carita de Angel with Pastor Antonio from La Cosecha Church. The largest church in Honduras. There will also be several speaking engagements Wednesday and Thursday with parents of children with disabilities and couples affected by disability. Thank you for keeping these opportunities in prayer...for safe travel, open hearts and God's will to be accomplished.

Center in Jesus de Otoro, Honduras 2010

2010-11-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

Front Building - Mission-Guest House

Back Building - Therapy center and wheelchair workshop

We are praying for funding to assist with the therapy center to help offset the costs for the physical therapy and speech therapy, wheelchair mechanic costs and sign language and learning disability classes. Therapy is $5.00 per two week sessions. Most typically the individuals receiving therapy can pay 20 Limpera ($1.00)

Thank you for your prayers!

Honduras team is preparing for departure

2010-11-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

Rita Fidelina and many others are waiting for wheelchairs and more important they need

the opportunity to hear about the great news of Jesus love.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

www.throughtheroofministries.org

Edwin 2004

2010-11-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

History in Honduras continued...

Edwin in early 2004

Late in 2004 we returned with a building team with a semi trailer that carried a donated pole building. Along with this team was a medical team, a prosthetic team, a dental team, a wheelchair seating team, a VBS team...

totaling nearly 70 people.

The shell of the pole building was erected with the help of the children in the town.

They were given the day off school and came out and paired up in their best school clothes and each team dug a hole for a pole for the building which now houses a therapy center, wheelchair workshop, school for children with learning disabilities, speech and language center, and team that teaches sign language.

Edwin in late 2004 with his new wheelchair!

How it began...

2010-11-05T03:32:00.000-07:00

From 1997 Margaret Matasic, DPT traveled to Honduras with several organizations including Central American Medical Outreach, Wheels of Hope and JAF Ministries...

In 1999 Through the Roof began as the disability ministry at The Chapel in Akron, Ohio. In 2007 Through the Roof Ministries became a 501c3 nonprofit. www.throughtheroofministries.org

In 2004 a doctor from Michigan called and invited Margaret to visit the tiny valley town of Jesus de Otoro. This is where she met Edwin. A little boy in an adobe hut with Cerebral Palsy. Edwin spent his days in a dark room that smelled like dirt, in a high chair that the legs had been sawed off. Edwin hung over the front of this chair and all he could see were the chickens running in and out.
Edwin never smiled, had no friends and rarely ever left this room

Many of the town's people were passionate about helping the disabled. Margaret vowed to return to help Edwin and the hundreds affected by disability in the 50 mountain towns surrounding Otoro.
Come back each day to learn more and pray for our mission in Honduras...

Bibles and Wheelchairs Now in Otoro!

2010-10-26T04:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

Praise God our wheelchairs and Bibles are now in Otoro!

Please remember to check out our Blog for updates and to send the link onto family and friends so they

can follow the Lord's progress with this ministry in Honduras and Haiti. We will update the Blog while we are in Honduras...

http://throughtheroofministries.blogspot.com/

Ruth Mabel (photo) and many others are waiting for wheelchairs and more important they need

the opportunity to hear about the great news of Jesus love.

Thank you for your prayers!

Have a blessed day,

Margaret Matasic, DPT Director
Through the Roof Ministries
PO Box 3333 Akron, OH 44309
www.throughtheroofministries.org

Our mobility equipment is in Porte Cortes, Honduras!

2010-10-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

Loading mobility, medical equipment and Bibles in Akron, Ohio

Through the Roof Honduras

2010-10-07T04:18:00.000-07:00

OT/PT at our center in Otoro

Painting the Therapy Center in Otoro

Learning Sign Language at A Traves del Techo (Through the Roof)

Thank you for your prayers

2010-08-17T02:39:00.000-07:00

Our team for November is complete! Thank you for praying for the Lord to send his servants. Teo is our wheelchair mechanic in Otoro. He has been serving with us for 6 years! The Lord opened his heart and he accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Please pray for Teo, his wife and son Freddy. Pray the Lord will bless them and meet their needs.

At the A Traves del Techo (Through the Roof) center in Otoro we have recently started a class for children with Learning Disabilities. This is a tremendous outreach in the community. Prior to the center being built these children did not attend school and now they have a program especially designed for them!

Your Help is Needed!

2010-07-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, Please join us in prayer for our upcoming November Honduras mission trip.

We are praying the Lord will send a person that is gifted with a camera and a person that is good with tools to join our wheelchair distribution. Please log on to our website http://www.throughtheroofministries.org/mission-trips
or contact us at info@throughtheroofministries.org

Thank you for reaching out to Haiti!

2010-05-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, In March items were collected in a team effort with Through the Roof Ministries, The Chapel in Green, Wheels of Hope and many volunteers. Operation Mobilization offered to deliver these items to Port-au-Prince and Bonne Fin. They have arrived at Hospital Lumiere and to others in Haiti!

From Akron to Haiti

2010-05-25T04:52:00.000-07:00

Honduras MIssion Trip November 2010

2010-05-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

We are now accepting applications for our November 12 - 20, 2010 mission trip. Please join the goers or senders to this beautiful country. We will do light construction, wheelchair distribution, evangelism, teaching seminars. We are also collecting clothing, wheelchairs, walkers, canes and crutches for this trip.

Medical Supplies for Omoa new opportunities on the Bay Island

2010-05-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

On this shipment and in our luggage were medical supplies for a hospital located in the northwest coastal town of Omoa. We were able to load them up for delivery.

We will continue to collect items for this hospital and are praying about serving with a clinic on the island of Roatan. We spent a couple day on the island and met with some individuals involved with Clinic of Hope. Baby items are needed for the new birthing and pediatric center We thank the Lord for placing many people in our path to partner with.

Thank you for joining us in prayer for the Lord's will as we continue to serve His people in need here in NE Ohio, Central America and Haiti.

A Traves Del Techo Honduras

2010-04-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

During this trip we voted in a new Board for A Traves del Techo (Through the Roof Honduras). New members are Margaret Matasic, Exec Director, Lilian President, Salatiel Treasurer, Tulio Secretary, Pastor Noe, Doctor Uretia, and there are 3 additional members. We discussed many needs including parts and funds for the wheelchair workshop, a microwave and freezer is needed, and funds for children to receive much needed therapy in order to live withless pain , have more normal function and to attend school. Each session is $5.00 (that is less than lunch at McDonalds). Thank you for praying for these needs and thanking God for the answered prayers!

Luggage arrived...water pump broken

2010-04-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

Our luggage finally arrived. It took 7 hours to drive what should have taken 2. The thermostat and water pump went out on our truck on the way to get the luggage.We needed to stop every 5 to 10 miles and get water from country homes and let the engine cool. We called a rental company and finally met up with the them near Lake Yohoa and got a rental for the rest of the way. We made it safe and our luggage and all items arrived!

Therapy in Otoro will resume later this week

2010-04-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

Teo, the wheelchair mechanic, is helping by cutting rebar for the ceiling.

We will complete the ceiling and painting the walls in a day or two. This week we have many meetings with our local partners. Thank you for praying for good communication which is more difficult due to language barriers. But God can intervene for our good and His glory to reach more for the Kingdom!

Next week therapy will resume.

We are in Otoro

2010-04-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

We are now in Otoro. Our luggage still did not come. We are hoping it will because Pauls brace is in the luggage. We are in the process of putting up the ceiling in unit 2. Paul is painting.

We opened and sorted all of the wheelchair boxes. Thank you for your prayers.

We are in Honduras

2010-04-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends, We are here in Honduras. It was a wild ride getting here.

We were put on the wrong flight out of Cleveland and went into Atlanta. There was a big storm and we could not land. They said we would circle until almost out of fuel. By the time we arrived we missed our flight. They sent us onto Miami. I went to get boarding passes to go to Honduras while Paul waited with our carry on. Once through the exit terminal they would not let me back to get Paul and he needed to be there to get his boarding pass... A long story but we are here now. The wheelchairs and supplies are in Otoro but we have no luggage! Fortunately most of our personal items were in our carry on. Thank you for praying for continued safely...

Ceiling materials have arrived in Otoro and mobility equipment is on the way!

2010-04-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

The wheelchairs and other equipment have been released from port! And the items for the ceiling in unit 2 have arrived in Otoro! Please pray for safe travel, good health, for the many meetings planned for this trip with in-country partners and local officials, a time of rest and seeking the Lord and His will.

Unit 2 without the ceiling

Otoro Project

2010-04-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

We are praying that the supplies for the ceiling in unit 2 will arrive soon. This is the room that we have therapy.

Unit 1 is sign language classes. Unit 3 is storage of wheelchairs, unit 4 is the wheelchair workshop. Coca Cola has donated transportation for us many times over the years and we are grateful!

Update on Honduras trip

2010-04-20T03:54:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends, Paul has been cleared by the doctor to go to Honduras.
We leave Friday May 23. Thank you for your prayers.

Sign Language class in Otoro

2010-04-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends, We talked with Lillian in Jesus-de-Otoro, Honduras today.

Lillian coordinates the Integrate into My World therapy program.

There are sign language classes each Friday afternoon. She said all is well at A Traves Del Techo Honduras (Through the Roof). They are looking forward to receiving the many items that were donated and that funds were raised for. We shipped many therapy items and therapy toys for fine motor control. We also received many after the shipment left and will take them in our suitcases.

April 23 - May 1 Mission Trip

2010-04-17T04:33:00.000-07:00

Please join us in prayer that our shipment will arrive in time. Currently the shipment is in Porte Cortes with delays due to paperwork. Please pray for safe travel, good health and unity with the team in Honduras.

Upcoming Honduras Mission Trip

2010-03-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

November 12 - 20, 2010 Disability Ministry Honduras Mission Trip. Estimated Cost $1,800.

Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, and Assistants, a photographer/videographer, general assistant(s) and those mechanically inclined are needed.

Please contact m.matasic@the-chapel.org or visit the website at http://www.throughtheroofministries.org/mission.htm to learn more about this opportunity to serve.

Reflections on Haiti Mission...

2010-03-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

As we returned to the United States there were some contrasts that stood out vividly. We went in to use the restroom. It was clean. There was paper. It flushed. We waved our hands and got soap. We waved our hands again and a towel came out of a little box on the wall.

People were standing in lines at some of the restaurants in the terminal, but they didn't look gaunt and haunted. Not one person came up to us and begged a "dolla", not one rubbed their belly and said "hongry!". There were stores and kiosks everywhere with goods that are readily available - trinkets, really - nothing substantial that sustains life - and people were there browsing and buying such trivial things as a book or magazine or a trinket to take home. Well-dressed people in expensive clothing were everywhere, discussing their latest shopping trips and how it makes so much sense to spend more on everything they buy because it lasts longer. We were wondering how many times they actually will wear what they purchased before discarding it and purchase something else.

We Will Not Soon Forget

2010-03-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

And through all of this, we are thinking of the Haitian people that we became so attached to in our five short days at the hospital and how they will fare.

One man who was discharged and ready to go, but needed a pair of shoes to be able to hike down the mountain - with a femur fracture, mostly healed.

I think about the extended families who are beside the bedside of their loved ones 24/7, sleeping on the floor with no pillow, possibly just a sheet, and go back behind the hospital twice a day to cook some food for themselves and their loved ones over a crude charcoal fire, do all the bedside care - bathing and dressing their family members and emptying their slop pots - all with smiles on their faces and a song on their lips - praising God for preserving their lives, despite the losses they have suffered.

The patients who we cared for who never smiled, but are going through some inner trauma that we will never understand, and who have not found a way to express their grief to anyone images are vividly in my mind.

We pray for some of the patients who have no one beside their beds because their loved ones have been lost and the patients who have physical wounds that are slowly healing, but emotional wounds that may never heal.

We will not forget the crude conditions that the nurses of the hospital are trying hard to work with - no running water, dim lighting (we at least had head lamps), limited supplies (a man with a blood sugar over 500 without the right insulin to give him), patients with cardiac conditions with no medications to help them. Open buckets or basins being used as sharps containers, which then get emptied into the regular trash and dumped in a big pile out behind the hospital. Mice scurrying across the floor right next to where children are sleeping. Charts with notations and orders written by English-speaking doctors and nurses that they can't read and therefore are not following through with.

And here we are back at home. And we wonder how long it will be before their faces leave our mind and we get caught up in daily life. We promised so many of them that we will never forget them and that we will pray for them every day. And we will - at least for a while - until our busy life pushes the memories into the background. But God does not forget any one of them. He hears their cries of anguish and their songs of praise. He knows what their futures will be. He sees all of the tent cities that have sprung up, thousands living out in the elements with only a layer of tarp or a sheet or a canvas tent, lining up by the hundreds, solid walls of people standing in lines to get what? a cup of rice or a small loaf of bread? And we passed through them on our air-conditioned bus and left them behind and came to our beautiful homes with our healthy bodies, weary physically, but inspired spiritually. We commit the Haitian people to God, praying for them and hoping that the memory of what we have experienced will linger long.

The Children

2010-03-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

I am reminded of little Jodeleine, who lost her parents and siblings in the quake and had been carried by an uncle and grandmother from the hospital grounds and back to whatever her new life will be - in a hip spica cast, with an above-the-knee amputation on the right and a broken hip on the left. About Bethlie Paul and Naika, two little girls who after numerous surgeries and treatments will most likely still lose their legs. About resilient little Kervin and his engaging smile. About Harold, who winced and trembled as he removed his dressing each day so that the nurse could clean his wounds and apply a new one, and then grinned at at her and thanked her profusely.

About the resilient teen-age boys who are so bound together by their eight week long experience in the hospital that we wonder how they will adapt when they eventually leave and go their separate ways.

Friday

2010-03-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

On Friday morning we went into the chapel where the people meet each morning to pray before they go into the hospital to work. It was emotional once again as the people thanked us for coming and helping them. A highlight of this service was when the pastor's phone rang during a prayer. He shut it off once and it immediately began to ring again, so he left the room and about five other people all started praying at once, out loud for the healing of the nation.

We scrambled around all morning trying to finish dressing changes, trying to educate the Haitian nurses and nursing students who have arrived, flushing IVs, doing pin care, checking orders in charts, organizing supplies, setting up medications to be taken over the weekend (the big concern is the antibiotics) which we left with families at the bedside in case they are short-staffed again this weekend, PT walking patients and doing range of motion exercises, handing out snacks and nutritional supplements again and in short, trying to tie together loose ends before we leave. A few of us got to go into the OR, where an open reduction and internal fixation of a hip was being done on a woman who had arrived the evening before, having fallen and broken her hip.

The plan was to all be back at the guest house at 3:30, load the luggage (not near as much as we had when we came up as most of it was donated) and head down the mountain by 4:00 p.m. Mid-afternoon, people started arriving at the ER. There had been an accident between a Tap-Tap, a bus that carries many, many people - not at all safely, and a motorcycle. Some of our team went to the ER to try to assess people's wounds and begin treatment on them. There is just never-ending work to be done, and as the afternoon wore on, we simply had to turn away and leave, some of our team not even having the opportunity to go back to the wards to say goodbye to these patients who have wiggled their way into our hearts so deeply in just five short days. Those of us who did have that opportunity were so touched by those goodbyes, knowing that the possibility of ever meeting these people again here on earth are pretty slim. But also knowing that we can think of them daily and remember them in prayer, that God would heal their broken bodies and also their broken hearts and lives.

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 15:58

Thursday

2010-03-04T17:19:00.000-08:00

Where to begin?? Each day is a myriad of experiences, from nurses stepping in to be ER docs - two men came in to the ER and had been sitting for an hour and a half and no one had spoken to them yet. One had a hand laceration, requiring stitches and the other had minor abrasions on his arm and knee and needed stitches in his chin. They had fallen off a motorcycle (Motorcycles are Everywhere! in Haiti) and had made their way to this little mountain hospital for treatment. We had to pull one of the docs from between procedures in the OR to stitch them up and sent them on their way.

So many complex dressings. So many serious infections!
Three wound vacs installed in the past two days. Dr Rudolph (Haitian) and our team's excellent Ortho Docs are putting in such long days and accomplishing so much. The US docs are seeing procedures done in ways that they haven't seen in years. We do rounds at night with head lamps on and flashlights.

The Haitian people truly "make do" with what they have to work with. One autoclave for the OR, so they have to prioritize surgeries so they can sterilize instruments between procedures.

Dr. Rudolph has done more procedures in the past 8 weeks (without a day off!) than the US docs do in almost a year!

Wednesday

2010-03-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday it was wonderful to see so many therapy patients advance with increased range of motion, less tears, and getting up and walking. We even took a group of teens out to the chin up bar and they showed of like teenagers. It was good for them and us!

In the evening, the doctors finished surgeries earlier than usual and so we did rounds before dinner and had a late dinner back at the guesthouse. After dinner, Sheila suggested that we all share the "lowest" part of our week and then go around the room again, this time sharing our "highs". This was such an emotional activity and increased the bond that we all have even more. Tears flowed, laughter rang out, and the evening passed all too quickly. We discussed patients who still need procedures done tomorrow before we leave and changed a few things around and had to go back up to the hospital to make one of the patients NPO (nothing per oral) after midnight so that they can sedate her in the OR in the a.m. So we all traipsed back up, visiting with patients and finding little tasks to do.

On the way back, those who wished to went tarantula hunting -they are as big as your fist!!

One of Alice's chores today was to measure people's feet for shoes and she went around the wards and handed out shoes. As soon as the people saw shoes, they all crowded around and wanted some. It was supposed to be patients first and then families, but after a while, you just kinda figure that they all need shoes! they all need snacks! they all need nutrition! they are all exhausted, both emotionally and physically. We also handed out toys, teddy bears, bubbles, coloring books and crayons and other treats that each of us had brought along from home.

Fracture...Fractures and more Fractures

2010-03-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

Pin care is such an important part of treatment. More than half of the patients we are seeing have some sort of an external fixator attached to one or more of their limbs. These apparatuses are leftovers from the States, rejected by U.S. doctors because they don't really allow bones to grow together completely, but rather they hold the fracture apart a little too much, not allowing the fractured area to fuse together. But they are better than nothing and have allowed broken bones to begin to mend on many of the patients. Dr John and Dr Mike are doing many procedures which they call Dynamization where they tighten some pins and loosen others, allowing more flexion on some of the joints. Weight bearing on the bones is so important also and our physical therapists, Margaret DPT, Ben Peds PT and Vickie PTA are helping people get up and moving.

2010-03-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

Tuesday

We just lost every thing that was typed due to Internet issues! Nothing is easy in Haiti! So we will try to hit the highlights. Our trip was an adventure of real Haitian proportions! Helicopter ride for Alice...Margaret and some luggage. The rest of us piled into the Land Rover and were able to drive up to about the last two miles before the hospital, again witnessing devastation all around, as people's homes were flooded and all of their belongings out in the open to try to dry them out. Some of the staff came down from the hospital and helped us with of our luggage. So we did a Haiti hike.

We had supper at the guest house on the hospital compound and then went and did rounds, changing many dressings until 12:30 AM. Because the nurses were unable to get to the hospital over the weekend, dressings were unchanged for several days. These injuries are very traumatic with most being amputees, some of which are healed, but many that are still open. The hospital has had over 300 orthopedic procedures since the earthquake. Dr. Rudolph here has amazing stamina! The orthopedic surgeons on our team are quiet impressed and are stepping right up and scheduling surgeries. Right now they expect to do over 20 procedures while they are here. The major problem with a lot of these patients still here is that they are dealing with serious infections.

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." II Timothy 1:7

Monday

2010-03-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

The road up the mountain to Bonne Fin Hospital is washed out real bad and we are told that we might have to hike or hire a helicopter to get up to the hospital where it is reported that we are badly needed. Because of yesterdays rains and flooding (local folks said that they had between 18-25 inches of rain!) the Haitian nurses who were supposed to work the weekend were unable to get to work. There is a woman up there who is a physical therapist and a doctor from Pensacola, FL and they are holding down the fort until we get there.

Sunday

2010-02-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Sunday, February 28, 2010

"And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:8

We safely arrived at Port-Au-Prince as scheduled and after some confusion at the airport collecting our bags, we boarded a bus to head to Cayes and then on to Bonne Fin, the hospital where we plan to work for the week. Going through PAP was an experience like none I've ever had. The emptiness in people's faces, the devastation and destruction all around was like nothing we have ever experienced before. After a while, all 26 occupants on the bus just got quiet, internalizing what we were seeing.

As we travelled toward Cayes, it started to rain - and it poured! and poured! again like nothing we have ever seen. We came pretty close to spending the night on the bus because there were so many vehicles stuck in the mud and water over the road. U.N. trucks were at a place where we didn't think that we would get through and they used their heavy equipment to get us through. We had so many close calls and were it not for God's protection and His almighty hand guiding us, we never would have made it through.

Because of the flood, we have been unable to go up to Bonne Fin as planned, but instead spent the night at the guesthouse at the complex where the Reinhards and the Gutweins live. We went this morning to a Haitian church, where the service was interpreted for us. A service which focused on serving God with sincerity, beautiful singing - you could certainly feel God's spirit among the people, who were praising God for all that they have - which is almost nothing.
After church, we visited a foster home operated by Loving Shepard Ministries, 12 or 14 beautiful little girls, ranging in age from 4 to 14. We all ate lunch together at a Chinese restaurant in downtown Cayes. Then we went to visit and sing at a nursing home. That was a wonderful experience, blending our voices in hymns that we know, sung both in Creole and English. In the evening, we had a short exhortation and sang hymns together up on Tim & Joan's rooftop. The moon was full and the stars were fabulous.

Seven In Miami

2010-02-26T20:00:00.000-08:00

Left to right: Vickie, Alice, Margaret, Steve & Dorothy, Linnea, Tallie

"The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us nor forsake us." I Kings 8:57

Seven of the eleven of us have arrived in Miami and had dinner together at the hotel. Karen & Ben should be here shortly. The two docs are taking a red-eye flight, arriving in the a.m. just prior to our departure to Port-au-Prince. We left nasty weather in PA, OH & CT and are thankful for a safe arrival here. When Steve & I got to baggage claim in Miami, we got a cell phone call from Tali, who was looking for us (she was standing only about 10 feet from us, but we didn't know who she was) and we shared a shuttle to the hotel. On the shuttle, one of the other passengers, Margaret, introduced herself and we realized that she was a team member also. Linnea had checked in already when we got here and Vickie and Alice arrived about a half hour after we did.