Day Four: Walls are going UP!

Going to make this quick, it's past midnight and I only got 3 hours of sleep last night and have to get up in 5 hours. So....

Today was just a clinic day so we took advantage and went to get some more work done on the Mary Lou orphanage project. First though we stopped by and planted some Hibiscus at a work site Jonathan is finishing at the Adventist University. He and his team did a great job and the flowers were a nice touch.

Then it was off to buy 10 mattress for some needy kids, we brought 4 to Mary Lou's for the new bunk beds. They only cost $35 each and they are certainly and upgrade from sleeping on the floor or a sheet of cardboard.

The we met up at the work site and the workers already had a good portion of the wall up. It looks really good and will be much safer for the kids. Tomorrow we finish the wall and start the new kitchen space. Jonathan has been a blessing and has made everything possible. Together with his Haitian crew boss and translator they are getting things done in a hurry (at least in Haitian time).

We only got slowed down by a voodoo doctor. He just showed up on the job site and started giving us problems, distracting the workers and making everything uncomfortable. In the end Jonathan informed him that our God is bigger than his and that he needed to leave. 45 minutes and lots of translating later he finally did. He said the devil sent him there and that he would put a curse on us. Interesting.

We played with the kids for hours today. The best/worst/funniest part of the day was lunch. We all happened to be at the hospital during lunch time so we all ate a big meal, Jonathan a really big meal to the point where he didn't feel good. Within minutes of arriving the Mary Lou's she served us lunch. It is insulting not to eat from your host so we had no choice. It was pretty funny watching each other shove more food where there was no room and try to look happy and thankful At least her food is delicious.

We finished at the orphanage 10 hours after we started the day and headed back to the hospital. I went to the OR and scrubbed into a leg amputation surgery. They needed an extra hand as the Haitian crew had gone home. I got to help suture the wound at the end of the case which was a real treat.

Ok, more to come later, tomorrow is a huge day (at least 10 or 12 or more cases tomorrow), going to be a marathon.

We started the day at the Adventist University. Jonathan and his crew remodeled a building for a rehab program. We planted some hibiscus outside the front door

Mattresses for the new beds at Mary Lou's orphanage

The children trying out the new beds

Some of the girls watching the action

This guy brought up two 5 gallon buckets of water at a time up a steep 500 foot hill. He did this about 10 trips in a row without stopping or complaining. It was 100 degrees outside. Impressive

Here are those before pics again of the rooftop.  There was no wall and the kids could get hurt on the rebar or fall down over 15 feet and die

So we are building them this wall to keep them safe and let them have room to run and play. This is the only space they have to be outside and now they can do it in a safe environment.

We built this wall only 3 bricks high so even the shortest kid would be able to see the ocean and feel the ocean winds blowing on him, we thought it was important. I think he likes it.

The little kids watched all day in fascination

Another Haitian kitchen. Outside 365 days a year

Same kitchen from a distance

Busy day at the clinic, took 4 docs all day to see all the patients

This the Wilner, Karen Fields arranged to get him to the hospital to have his legs straightened. He has a windswept deformity in his legs. Scott plans to put a TSF on each leg on Tuesday the 5th

My main man JJ working with some TSF struts in the clinc

I came back from the orphanage and scrubbed into these surgery, a non-union of a femur fracture. He has had numerous operations to fix it and this time we plan to amputate the lower leg