Tim & Debbie in Haiti: Cholera

Last weekend Tim, Mezo and his son, David, son-in-law, Noupien, and I set off for mountains above Thomazeau. Mezo has a lot of family in this area. The preacher (Pitit Brese) from the church we attended in Thomazeau also has family and another congregation he oversees in this mountain area. So we had gotten word that there is a good bit of cholera in these remote villages and people are dying of it. It is so far off the beaten path that they cannot get to medical help in time. Many will not touch a person with Cholera out of fear of getting the disease themselves, so too many people are dying needlessly of this easily treated illness.
Dave Gibb (Mission Lazarus board member) recently had visited us and left with us a large amount of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) packets to distribute.

So off we went Saturday morning to deliver the ORS, the little bit of Aqua-tabs we had on hand, several Sawyer water filters and buckets, some Crocs from Healing Hands and some rice and beans. We also were able to distribute quite a few of the "For Your Joy" booklets in Creole (Pou Ke Ou Kontan) that we picked up at the Desiring God National Conference.

For Your Joy Booklets
(Pou Ke Ou Kontan)

After our trek up the mountain we understood why Mezo had told us one time we couldn't make a planned trip after a fairly light rainfall. This is not really a road - it is literally in most spots a goat path! But as I do quite frequently, I thanked God for the Land Cruiser and realized all over again what a blessing it is! It is one powerful machine!

At the church up on the mountain we visited with Petit Brese and Wibur from te church in Thomazeau. Tim was able demonstrate and distribute several of the Sawyer water filters to the church. Clean water is key in preventing the spread of Cholera.These filters are provided by Mission Lazarus partner, Healing Hands International. We left ORS packets, rice & beans, Crocs, filters, and aquatabs with the church in this village.

All the way up the mountain as we came across people we stopped to give out ORS packets and For Your Joy booklets. When we stopped at each spot a small crowd would gather and we distributed and shared information on preventing and treating Cholera.

The Haitian people for the most part are a generous people - they really give out of their poverty, like the widow who gave her last two mites. But is this really poverty? I think we have this backwards - this is what it reaaly means to be rich in God's economy. We came home with fresh congo beans, grapefruit, mirlitons, yams, and oranges.