an outhouse

One of the the things I love most about Haiti is that you can never know just what to expect.  Initially I thought I was coming to Haiti to serve the Haitians.  What I have found out though, is that they really are more of a blessing to me.  I find that the same is true with medical teams that come to serve with NVM.  The medical teams come prepared to assess and treat patients.  They prepare by having a lot of team meetings and packing suitcase after suitcase with the needed medications and supplies.  What I love is that the team has no idea what is truly ahead of them though.  Yes, the team will give excellent medical care.  And yes, they will treat infections and love on each of the patients.  What is really fun to watch though is how the community that the team is serving actually turns around and blesses the team.  It isn't uncommon for the community to give me a basket of whatever fruit is in season to say "thank you" for coming and serving.  It isn't uncommon for the team members to leave feeling very blessed by conversations had with patients.  Recently I took a team to Fond Cheval, a small village that is tucked away up in the mountain.  Fond Cheval is one of my favorite places to take medical teams.  The community has a lot of older people and everyone tends to be more laid back.  Recently as the team was unloading the truck the Pastor told me and another NVM staff member that he had something to show us.  He led us down this little path through the field where we ended up at a small cement structure.  He lifted a sleeping bag and I instantly realized that he was showing us a new outhouse that the community built for us and any of the visiting teams to use.  I was so very humbled in that moment.  He was so very proud to tell us that the teams no longer needed to squat behind a tree but rather there was a space set aside just for them.  He even showed us that there was a side for the boys and another for the girls.  He practically giggled when I asked if I could take pictures of the new outhouse.  As the day progressed, I loved watching the faces of each person in the community beam with pride each and every time they saw a team member walk towards the outhouse.  It has been a blessing to watch as the teams and community have learned to serve each other and as relationships have started to form.

A medical team running a mobile medical camp under
the huge avocado tree in Fond Cheval!