Oh what a week!

This past week on campus was busy! We had a vision clinic, dental clinic, Halloween festivities, and much more!

Vision Clinic!

LOVE this! How exciting for her to have a new view of everything!

Dental Clinic!

Scott is a dentist that returned to serve in the clinic. I don't know if you could count just how many teeth he pulled and filled!

Rose is a dental hygienist and she cleaned LOTS of teeth (most had never had a cleaning before...she had her work cut out for her!)

Halloween in Haiti!

Ok, so Halloween isn't celebrated in Haiti but we decided to have some fun!

E'tienne, myself, and Aubree are the nurses on campus...for the party we were the Greek Goddesses=)

We even had a magic show!

Rose told our fortunes...we shall see just how those turn out!

The kids trick-or-treated all of the doors on campus and got lots of candy!

Bobbing for apples!

A party isn't complete without a corn-hole tournement!

Art festival!

Each year there is an art festival in PAP. Artisans from all over Haiti come to sell their iron work, paintings, figurines, jewelry, and much more. And a festival isn't complete without lots of authentic Haitian food. It was a fun day!

Not everything about the week was great though...

Tarantulas--this would be my least favorite thing about Haiti!

Shoes!

Shoes. Everyone loves a new pair of shoes. Especially when we’re talking about the first day of school. We all had to have the newest style, the best brand, and to top it off even an extra pair with non-scuff soles for gym class. In Haiti the children all wear uniforms to school. They have matching shirts, skirts, hair bows/barrettes, socks, and black shoes. Each child files into the school exceptionally clean and beaming with pride. Today, we started physicals and it was beyond adorable to watch the preschool class come through the clinic. Some were giggly and others were in tears simply because of being in the clinic. Each child received a head-to-toe assessment, height and weight check, pill to kill any worms, and had their feet measured for shoe sizes. Measuring feet is where the real story begins. A fellow nurse and friend, E'Tienne, was measuring each child’s foot and as she removed a little girls shoe she felt something on her hands. She looked at her hands and they were covered in black ink. The children are required to wear black shoes to school, but this little girl’s shoes had been colored or painted black to disguise the white tennis shoes she was wearing. We were all silent. I was struggling to get over the sight of E'Tienne's black, inky hands while holding back tears. I was overwhelmed with sadness that not only was this the saddest attempt at "black" shoes, but they didn't even fit her little feet. I wondered if the other kids noticed or if the little girl even realized her shortcoming. Working through the surprise and sadness I found myself feeling proud. I was beyond proud and encouraged that her parent chose to do whatever it took to make sure she was in school. Even though her parent couldn't afford or didn't have access to the "proper" shoes, s/he chose to find a solution. That solution was black ink on white tennis shoes. Black ink that stained my friend’s hands and broke each of our hearts, but also left us smiling. Squeeze your foot into a shoe that’s covered in ink and two sizes too small and let me know if you could ever swallow your pride and truly understand what it’s like to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”.

Mobile Clinics!

The last two weeks on campus have been busy! We were blessed to have four different teams on campus. Medical and some non-medical people from the teams all assisted in running mobile medical clinics. NVM has three different sites that we have intentionally invested in and are also dedicated to providing medical care for. Each of the sites serve people who were displaced by the earthquake and are still living in tents without running water, electricity, etc. The medical teams from Indiana and Florida were able to see over 1,050 patients in just seven clinics. We were busy! I am always blown away at how amazing each medical team is. Team members come from all different medical backgrounds, locations, and specialities and yet they join together to serve each and every person that sits in their chairs. Nurses and doctors work together as one team and each person builds up the other and everyone asks the rest of the team lots of questions....because let’s be honest, no one really knows it all=) The language barrier is removed with AMAZING translators who are also dedicated to providing the best care. Doctors and nurses all pray with patients and multiple times a day are moved to tears by the stories and people they meet. Each healthcare provider truly invests in each and every patient. Time isn’t rushed and lots of hugs and kisses are handed out along with medications and basic healthcare education. Needless to say, the mobile clinics aren’t fancy (tent, metal chairs, rubbermaid bins filled with various medications, and a folding table) and yet they change lives of both the Haitian and American people. More important than any medication we hand out...the medical teams provide hope and give out lots and lots of love. At the end of the two weeks I felt exhausted and yet blessed to have been given the opportunity to serve with each and every team member.

It's what I love!

Here are some photos that were from the last week. As most of you all know...I believe there is no better way to spend a part of my day than rocking and playing with the little ones. I hope you enjoy seeing all my friends and even more importantly, I hope you are able to see just how special they are! I know many of you are praying for them and I love that you will be able to watch them grow over the year.

Davidson is in my lap. He is the cuddliest little 9 month old with the most precious grin. Natamara is cuddled in my arms...right where she fits perfectly. She is the happiest baby and is always smiling!

Another of Natamara...you will be seeing a lot of her over the year. She has completely stolen my heart and has an amazing momma that I love spending time with too.

This is Kris (one of Natamara's sisters). She has the most precious little laugh!

E'tienne is a nurse from New York and is also here serving with NVM for a year. I have been blessed to have her as a friend and as you can tell...the children in Chambrun also think she is pretty wonderful=)

The boys had soo much fun with this pile of dirt! They made E'tienne, Aubree, Adam and I all sorts of "food" because we were very hungry! We all laughed a lot and of course left the village full from our meal of dirt.

This is Vanesta and Jean-Love. Rarely will you see the two apart and honestly she acts just like a little momma for him instead of his big sister. Vanesta loves playing with us and would love nothing more than to be tossed around and loved on by us. Jean-Love has a completely different attitude towards us and is 100% afraid of us. This makes it really hard for Vanesta to join in on fun when we come to play because she can't put him down or go more than a step away from him. E'tienne is starting to win over some of his love though so maybe just maybe he will have a change of heart by the end of the year.

Little Don Peter came into the clinic earlier in the week weighing all of 2.36 pounds at 19 days old. He came back later in the week and gained some weight! Hopefully he will continue to grow and thrive and in time...he will be a chubbly little man=)

For more pictures...click on the link below. It is a link for Facebook but you do NOT need to have Facebook in order to see the pictures. It's much easier (and I think more people see them) to put pictures on Facebook so the album is updated more frequently than the blog.

www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150374500225831.405560.529825830&type=1&l=885a6310be

One month

One month. One month ago I said a lot of goodbyes and boarded a plane with a one way ticket to Haiti. Even though a lot of people weren’t surprised by my move to Haiti, I felt deep down this was a very un-Brooke-like thing to do. I’m a type-A personality and love to have everything neat, organized, and with a plan. I truly believe God has a huge sense of humor lately because nothing about my life is any of the above. This past month has been a huge adjustment. I didn’t think that all the “things” in my life really mattered and was one of those people that always said I could do without all the material stuff. In reality being removed from your “comfort zone” is hard and painful. Honestly, there are some days I wish so badly I was in my home and I question why I’ve been called to Haiti. It’s in those moments though that God shows me glimpses of hope. I love that each time I’m in the village I recognize more and more faces and am slowly learning more names. I love that the children recognize me and call my name (ok, they can’t really say my name..it sounds more like B-look). The language is still overwhelming, but the smiles I get when I say something correctly or actually understand what someone is telling me are literally priceless. I love that I have the opportunity to actually form relationships and not just be a visitor in this community. I love being a part of NVM and the opportunity I have to connect with people all around the world who come to serve. Most of all, I love going to the village in the afternoons and simply washing babies and visiting with the women and children.

I don’t know what God has planned for this year in Haiti. At times I’m completely overwhelmed with the reality of living in another country that is far away from family, friends, and just my comfort zone in general. And then there are other moments when I know I’m right where I’m called to be. A bible verse, that was used in church a lot the month before I left has been on my mind daily...

Eph 2:10 “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

One month. One month ago I boarded a plane and that glowing “Fasten Your Seatbelt” sign somehow felt quite directed towards my future!

How quickly things can change..

Below is another post from Leslee's blog (she is another nurse here on campus, lesleesell.wordpress.com)

"There are some days that are just ingrained in my memory. I’ve had a couple such days during my stay in Haiti. Several have involved malnourished babies, one involved an evening of staying up too late watching Gilmore Girls and then crowding three women into one double bed. And one happened last night.

One of the things I’ve gotten used to in Haiti are the evening storms. It doesn’t rain every night, but probably at least once a week as the sun starts to set between 5:30 and 6 the rain clouds come in and the rain pours down. Yesterday afternoon as we walked back in from the village, the clouds started moving in. I love looking at the Haitian sky towards sunset, it is breathtaking. Right on cue it started raining right before we sat down for dinner. And this was a particularly heavy thunderstorm.

I’ve never been afraid of thunderstorms. In fact, I’ve always loved them. But I will admit, the thunder in Haiti is unlike any thunder I’ve ever heard before. And after last night I have a new perspective on thunderstorms. In the middle of eating dinner, there was a bright flash and then a sound that was louder than anything I’ve ever heard. I thought a bomb had been dropped on the dining room but once I came to my senses I realized that it had been thunder. A couple of the men ran out to make sure that everything was ok and came back shortly after to report all was well.

After finishing dinner and making a quick trip to the bathroom, I came back and was surprised to find that all the other nurses and most of the Haitians had left. I asked Aaron where everyone was and he said that apparently someone was hurt but he didn’t know what was really going on. I ran outside just as some of the Haitians were running in to say “Aaron, we need a truck NOW”. Those are never good words to hear. I booked it out past the fence and ran into E’Tienne running towards me. I asked her what was going on and she pointed out towards the side gate and said someone was hurt. I ran through deep puddles for what felt like an enormous distance and as I came closer my worst fears were realized when I saw Aubree, Adam, and Kacie performing CPR.

Someone had been struck by the lightning.

One in a million odds came true. Aubree yelled at me to go get the emergency gear and I immediately turned back around to run back to the storeroom. My flip flops went flying and I found myself barefoot running as fast as I could over rocky terrain. I grabbed E’Tienne and told her to get our epinephrine out of the clinic and then halted as I stared at two large bags of emergency equipment with oxygen tanks and a backboard I knew we needed. I grabbed everything and prayed that I would have the strength to get it all back where it was desperately needed. Thankfully I saw Shelli at that point and yelled at her to carry the back board and that we were doing CPR on someone. Thank God for adrenaline because there is no way I ordinarily would have been able to carry all that I did while sprinting barefoot.

As I arrived back on scene a truck was just driving up and they were still doing CPR. The man who was struck was named Jocelyn, and he is one of our guards. We got him loaded onto the backboard and placed in the back of the truck. I swear ten people tried to climb in as well but we quickly narrowed it down to our medical team: Aubree, Adam, Brooke, E’tienne, Kacie, and I as well as one Haitian.

The next forty-five minutes are like a nightmare that I think about and just shudder. I am so thankful for the people I was with as it could have been an even worse nightmare. We took turns doing CPR and mouth to mouth as we flew over bumpy roads in an absolute downpour. I will never forget the smell of burnt flesh as I would take my place beside Jocelyn and place my hands on his chest and pump, pump, pump as my team tried to hold me in place so I didn’t fly out of the truck. 45 minutes. I knew it was futile, but I had to hope. I had to pray that somehow Jocelyn could come back. And above all, I knew that in order for me to go on I had to do EVERYTHING that I could to save him. All throughout today things just keep flashing to my mind. The taste of Jocelyn as I gave him mouth to mouth. The shouted prayers and encouragement – “JUST KEEP GOING, YOU CAN DO IT, YOU’RE DOING GREAT”. The looks on the faces of Haitians as they saw a truck flying down the flooding streets with the back filled with soaking wet white people administering CPR. And I will never forget how as we got closer and closer to the hospital and exhaustion crept in we resorted to singing “staying alive, staying alive” (the ACLS song) to keep up the beat of our compressions. Towards the end we stopped doing mouth to mouth and just left the oxygen in place as he was started to bleed out of his nose, which meant we did constant compressions.

As we finally pulled up the gate of the hospital we screamed at them to let us in, NOW. We pulled right up to the ER doors, and Jocelyn’s friends and coworkers jumped out of the truck, grabbed the backboard with Jocelyn and RAN for the ER doors.

I’ve never been to a hospital in Haiti before and it was an eye opening experience. We pushed our way in and were met by an American nurse with a piece of tape on his shirt that said, Brian RN. I told him what had happened and what we had done and they quickly pointed to a bed. At that point I expected the hospital staff to take over. But I look up and see Adam alone still doing compressions and Kacie climbing onto the bed to take over. I glanced around the tiny ER and see many sick people and few staff. The bed next to Jocelyn’s holds a patient with what looks like a stab wound to the chest. I overhear an American doctor say, “So the lab is closed for the night? Can I get a chest x-ray at least now?” and then the reply that when the rain slows down, yes. Wow. I move up beside Joselyn and ask for some IV start supplies as Brian, RN asks for some epinephrine and the defibrillator. He looks at me and asks, should we shock him? I said no, he’s soaking wet, we’re soaking wet, and he’s been pulseless for 45 minutes at least. As a team we all decide to continue CPR and do a round of epinephrine. Kacie started the IV and pushed the drug as we all stood hoping that somehow a miracle would happen and we would get Jocelyn back.

The doctor called time of death a few minutes later. I stood there for a second, dripping water all over the floor, my bare feet slipping in the puddles we created when we came in, trying to wrap my mind around the last hour. I went from eating a delicious dinner to kneeling in the back of a truck doing chest compressions in the middle of a Haitian downpour. I feel numb. I carefully walk towards the ER doors, fighting back tears and go outside to see Aubree talking to the Haitians that had come with us and hugging them.

Pastor Pierre arrived a short time later and immediately started the process of getting Joselyn’s family there and the death report filled out to have the body released. I found myself with no sense of purpose and no idea what to do. I finally made it back to Jocelyn’s side to help E’Tienne cover him with a sheet and wait for a gurney and body bag. The ER needed the bed for other critical patients coming in and so we ended up wheeling Jocelyn’s body outside and around a corner under an overhang to keep his body as dry as possible. Adam cleaned up his face and then we all settled in outside to await the arrival of Jocelyn’s family and Aaron.

We were really blessed by the staff at Bernard Mevs hospital, I could see the compassion and sorrow on their faces as they found out how far we had come to try to help Jocelyn. They showed a great deal of concern for us as we all stood outside barefoot, completely soaked and shivering. One worker even found some scrub pants for us to change into. I was reminded of the odds we all fight against in Haiti. It seems sometimes that nothing is easy, nothing is simple. There were critically ill patients all around and I could tell by a glance the hospital was understaffed and lacking in resources. It looked nothing like any ER or ICU I’ve ever seen. But we fight. We fight for Haiti.

As I watched Jocelyn’s family say goodbye to him, I was so thankful that even though we knew that there was probably nothing that would save him, we still did everything. The aches and pains I feel today are worth it. Jocelyn was worth it.

In the midst of this tragedy I thank God for carrying us through it. I thank Him for His love that endures all. I thank him for the people He has placed around me here. And I thank Him for today as I’m reminded of how precious life is."

Last night was a night that changed each of our lives here on campus. Thank you again for your prayers as each of us continue to process. I feel completely blessed to be a part of an amazing medical team at NVM.

Prayers for our team and community in Chambrun

Below is an email that was sent to my church prayer team and pastoral staff:

"Last night at around 6:15, we were sitting down at dinner. A strong thunderstorm had rolled in and it was raining pretty hard. Suddenly there was a flash of lightning followed by an immediate crack of thunder. Everyone at the table in the dining hall was immediately shook. It was so loud and powerful. After calming the kids a bit and taking stock of everyone, I stuck my head outside to look at the girls bathhouse thinking the lighting must have hit something nearby. I knew it wasn't the generator because we still had power. We went back to eating. About 5 minutes went by when one of our Haitian staff came in and said that Gestin was calling for help. Gestin is our community liaison. I was having trouble getting clear information, so I sent our medical staff out. I told them I think we have a medical issue, could they check it out.

It turns out that giant lightning strike hit Joselyn, one of our security guards. He had just completed his shift, had turned things over to the next guy, and was on his way home walking off campus when he was hit.

Our medical staff went into fast action, starting CPR, getting him on a board, bringing the oxygen. He was quickly loaded up in the back of a truck and rushed off to the hospital in the pouring rain. They made it to the hospital in probably less than 30 minutes where the medical staff continued to work on him for another 20 minutes. Joselyn never revived.

I brought his family to the hospital last night to see his body and sign for it. He looked peaceful. We are sure he died instantly. He had many burn marks, his pants were burnt, especially at the zipper, his cell phone in his pocket was completely fried.

We took his body to a morgue in Croix-des-Bouquets. We were back on campus and cleaned up around 11:30 last night.

We had a memorial service on campus this morning. Pastor has basically told all the workers there will not be any work today. He has met with the family and we will be supporting the family in anyway we can. They will most likely bury the body today.

Having given you the facts, I search my heart to describe what I am feeling. I think I am still in shock and not fully in touch with it. There is such little time for grief is what it feels like. I immediately left the memorial service to pick up three people from GAIN Germany at the airport. Pastor is meeting with these three in his office right now. Tonight is Nathan Pierre's birthday party, a happy occasion. They don't even have time to organize much of a funeral as they really don't have the ability to preserve a body here so you must get it buried quickly, otherwise the heat and humidity here really begins to take effect. Life just keeps moving.

Pastor sent all the work crews home today. There will not be any work. Many on the staff are hard hit. Joselyn was known in the community as being extremely polite and respectful. He seemed quiet to me.

Please pray. Pray for Pastor. Today was his last day here before leaving for the States tomorrow and I know his day is not at all what he expected or needed it to be. Pray for Joselyn's family and the community who are stunned and mourning. Pray for the NVM community as everyone on staff knew him. Pray for our staff who worked so hard to try and save his life (our medical team did CPR all the way to the hospital in the pouring rain in the back of a pick-up truck). Our staff our heroes, and they are dealing with this situation in their own ways.

It is so good that you all are willing to help shoulder this with us. Thank you for being with us in this crazy journey."

Aaron's email sums up the events from last night. I can't even describe the mood on campus today. Thank you for praying for not only me but the entire team here in Haiti.

Where did I see God this week?

Where did I see God this week? I was asked this question and I find myself having a love/hate relationship with it. It is difficult to answer the question because it forces me to truly process my surroundings and the situations I am encountering. If I can be brutally honest...sometimes it's just easier to go through the motions without really allowing myself to become emotionally involved or vulnerable. I met a mom this week that brought her five month old to the clinic. He was precious and weighed a mere six pounds. The mom wasn't able to breastfeed and didn't have formula to feed him. He wasn't "sick" he just needed to be fed. Something so simple and yet nearly impossible for this mom. Part of me wanted to be frustrated at how small he was for his age, but the other part saw hope. His mom chose to bring him to the clinic and paid with what little she had, so he could be seen. I was able to sit with the mom and teach her how to feed him while the other nurses filled a bag with formula. I taught her all the normal things like how to mix the formula, use only clean water, and wake him every 3-4 hours. More importantly though, I had the opportunity to encourage her. I told her how beautiful her baby was and how smart she was for repeating the formula recipe. I even joked that before long she would need to see the doctor because he would get so chunky it would hurt her back to carry him! So where did I see God this week? I saw God in this mom. I saw Him in her smile and desire to learn how to care for her son. For me, at the heart of it all, choosing to see God also means I have to accept and allow God to be God. I have to trust in the plan that He has for the people of Haiti and know that ultimately He has already provided everything they need.

For more pictures-- click on the link below! You do NOT need to have Facebook in order to see the photos. Enjoy!

www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150374500225831.405560.529825830&type=1&l=885a6310be

Nothing cuter than Haitian babies!

I'm in Haiti!

And so it begins...

Over the past few months I have been busy preparing for my move to Haiti. My house is being rented by some amazing young women and I was able to move out without worrying about a thing. The financial support for my year in Haiti was raised quickly and I am still in awe of just how generous and excited everyone was to partner with me for the year. My job granted me a year long leave of absence and after seven years of working at Methodist I said goodbye. The youth group at church sent me off with prayer and a lot of hugs. It was a lot harder than I thought saying goodbye to all my family, friends, work, and just leaving in general but I left feeling very loved and completely supported by everyone.

I officially moved to Haiti on September 1st. My flights were uneventful and everything went smoothly. I arrived in Haiti and cruised right through immigration, had luggage waiting (YEAH!), and then through customs. I was greeted outside by Aaron, Adam and Aubree and I can’t tell you just how amazing it was to see familiar faces! I instantly realized that I’m home now and I won’t be leaving in a week. It’s overwhelming to think of everything I have to learn and yet I have to pace myself and realize it will all happen one day at a time.

I will be living on campus at Nehemiah Vision Ministries and am sharing a home with three other women who are also here for the next year. My bed was made and space cleared out for all my belongings. They couldn’t have made me feel more welcome! A sign was made by Isabel announcing my arrival and everyone went out of their way to make sure I felt right at home. Coming “home” to friendly faces was the perfect way to end a long day of travel and move to Haiti.

And so my journey begins. I’m still in awe that God has called me to Haiti and honestly I don’t know just what all this means. I do know that He is faithful and that He has prepared me for this adventure. I can not thank you enough for the love and support that you have given me during this season of transition. I am blessed to have this opportunity and I know that this is only the beginning to an amazing year!

I'm moving to Haiti!

In February 2010 I went to Haiti for the first time. Immediately, I knew when I came home that I would someday return. I was warned that this country would hold a special place in my heart or otherwise known as catching the "Haiti bug". Much to my disbelief, I did. There is something about being in Haiti that just seems right. The people have nothing and yet are completely generous.

Over the past year, I've been fortunate enough to return to Haiti four times. My first three trips I served with Nehemiah Vision Ministries (NVM) and my fourth trip with Heart to Heart. During my fourth trip, I had the opportunity to see a different part of Haiti. It wasn't until my fourth trip that I realized I was being "called" to serve with Nehemiah Vision Ministries. I began feeling that it was my time and sent this email to my family:
"I've been in Haiti for a week and today I was able to go to NVM. As soon as I arrived in Chambrun it felt like I was at home again. I was only in Chambrun for a few hours but it was much needed for my heart. So many of the people there have changed my life in countless ways and to see them was amazing. Today was the most perfect day and I'm still in awe that God worked it all out. My love for Haiti started in Chambrun and to be there was just what I needed. And to think today was supposed to be a free day to just hang out...I love that God had soo much more in store. Because let's be honest...I can't sit still that long."

After the day in Chambrun I knew that this was home for me. NVM is committed to serving the people in and around this area. People walk for miles to receive care in the health care clinic and hospital that are being built on the campus. Children also have the opportunity to receive education in the school and the church is challenging the congregation to step up and live according to God's plan for them. NVM isn't just a disaster relief effort, but an organization that is committed to serving the people of Haiti. Their mission goes beyond the country's immediate needs and strives to educate a new generation in order to rebuild the community for the future. To find out more about NVM visit www.nehemiahvisionministries.org.

So what does all of this mean for me?
I have accepted a year long internship with NVM and will work in the clinic that is on the campus. My plan is to leave for Haiti in September. My job has been gracious enough to allow me to take a year long leave and I will be renting my house while I'm gone (anyone need a home?!?). Oh and my parents are taking my dog! It is overwhelming as the list starts forming of all the things I need to do before I leave. I keep reminding myself that even though it all seems like a lot now, that in the end....I will be at home in Haiti and that is truly an answer to prayer.

I am responsible for raising the funds (airfare, food, housing, travel medications, insurance, etc) needed to be in Haiti for a year. I will not be paid while I'm serving with NVM. If you would like to partner with me on this adventure feel free to email me (brookes_00@yahoo.com) and I can give you more specifics. Any donations and prayers are greatly appreciated and needed to make my calling a reality.

And so the countdown begins until September!