(excerpts from an email update...)
It’s Sunday morning and to those of us in “cholera zone” it’s hard for us to even imagine a normal day… Only 3 days into it, and it’s amazing how fast you can acquire a “cholera brain”. It can feel like all we can think or talk about is cholera. Not that we fear it – there is just so many things to think about - ways to help. Our hearts are filled with concern for the ones that are sick, and we also are trying to educate those around us to prevent it from spreading…
I think my neighbors and acquaintances might soon be sick of me reminding them to treat their water, watch over their children, and wash their hands often! J It seems like that is a concept that is hard for them to grasp. Michael’s were telling me about a father that they reminded to watch over his children and not let them play in the dirt or stick fingers in their mouths. His nonchalant reply was, “Well God made them to do that, and they still grow up and get old!” The mere thought is enough to give you gray hair! That might be the case in scenarios where the children already have immunity against the germs, but the bad thing about cholera is that no one is immune to it, because it hasn’t been in Haiti for years!
It seems like some of the people take a hopeless and helpless approach to the whole thing. Yeye told me that one the ladies that works for me carrying water made the statement that nothing or no one, not even God can help them now… Oh how that grieved my heart to hear about it. It just made me want to tell her that the God that made the universe, and yet wants to live in our hearts is so great that nothing is too hard for Him! How awful life would be without God!
Yesterday I was told that there were 250 patients at B. clinic. And still only one doctor. The Red Cross has been coming up once a day, and taking a load of people to another treatment center over 2 hours away. I haven’t heard how many deaths there’s been, but one of the nurses from A. who was there yesterday said that there were several dead bodies laying outside, and one man died right in front of them. People are very afraid of the cholera, and don’t want to take the dead bodies home to bury them.
The GTH clinic is working on getting a treatment center set up and they will be full before they know it. Please pray for the staff at A. They’ve been running full tilt trying to get their treatment center up and going. Over the last several days they’ve done several transports to the B clinic. Even the smallest necessities such as meals are nearly a forgotten thing!
All of this makes me so long to get in there and do something to help relieve the misery and suffering! But for the sake of protecting my children, we’re steering clear of the treatment centers and just trying to be a support in whatever way we can…
Please keep the whole situation in your prayers… This is only the beginning… Pray that God would continue to supply the staff and supplies needed for the treatment centers… Especially needed are doctors and nurses that are experienced with doing IV’s. We are 2 hours from any hospital, and that makes the need for good treatment centers even greater!
We are praising the Lord for the inch of rain that He blessed us with last night! That was an answer to prayer!
Thank you so much for your prayers!
God bless you!
Keep checking back. I hope to post pictures of the cholera treatment center that GTH is setting up later today.
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