I'm sitting at home. It's weird to be here, knowing the rest of the team is still in Haiti. They are touring the village and meeting the people of Gramothe, and honestly, I just want to be there with them.
In an effort to soothe my aching heart, I'll post some more pictures.
There are three reasons I'm angry.
1. Kervens seems to be a little con artist. There are rumors his mom didn't die in the earthquake. I just couldn't bring myself to confront him on the subject. He did say goodbye to my on Friday when we left the clinic. I pray that Willem will be able to mentor the boy so he doesn't become a real con artist.
2. This is not water. Here's the story. Caitlyn and I were sitting outside on the front steps just talking. We had been there for probably more than an hour when Flash, one of the dumb dogs, came over and sniffed my back. The dogs are social and like affection, so I thought he was going to come around to my side. I was planning on talking to him and maybe even petting him. But instead of his head showing up at my shoulder I felt something warm on my back. The dumb dog was peeing on me! You can tell from the picture that it wasn't just a little marking. He was letting it all loose. I jumped up as soon as I knew what was going on, which caused Caitlyn to also jump up. We both started screaming and ran inside. Caitlyn made it to our room before me and shouted, "Mom, I have the funniest story for you!" Then I ran in and shouted, "I HATE THAT DOG!!" Then we had to tell them the story, and of course they felt the need to take a picture.
3. Any guesses as to what this is? You'll only need one! I couldn't believe my luck. We had a mama and a baby that needed to be weighed. We started with the little guy. He stood on the scale very reluctantly. Maybe "reluctantly" isn't the right term. He screamed the entire time and tried to get off the scale at all costs. When he was finished being weighed, I thought I would pick him up to hold him while mama was weighed. Well, he really didn't like that. I started to put him down and I thought my toes feel wet. Then I looked down and saw that my toes were not the only thing that were wet. Baby got me good.
I told Willem I changed my mind about coming back to Haiti. Urine reeks.
The clinic went well today. Mostly I weighed people and directed traffic.
However, my life was altered when Kervens (pronounced like Kevin with an r) walked into the clinic. This 14 year old boy has a resiliency beyond anything I've ever witnessed. His story blew me away. He was at home when the earthquake struck on January 12. He happened to be standing by the door, so he quickly rushed outside. However, his little sister and was inside. He hasn’t seen his mom since the earthquake. He assumes she died, but he holds on to hope that she’ll show up some day. Kervens said when he got out the door, he turned around to see that his house looked like a pancake. At that point he started crying and stayed there until his dad found him.
His story at this point gets a little fuzzy for me. It seems like he’s living with his dad, but it sounds like he’s basically on his own for food, money, school, everything. This morning he came to the clinic, found Willem, and in one minute convinced him that he could work as an interpreter in the clinic. The boy is something else.
After convincing Willem that he could work as an interpreter, Kervens walked into the clinic and worked with strangers from another country as if he had been there all his life. The boy is amazing! He taught me words in Creole, shared about his life, and helped us communicate with the patients.
At lunch Kervens asked me questions like, “Can you give me your opinion on something. In Haiti life is very difficult. What can I do to succeed in life?” and “Why are earthquakes so dangerous?” He’s very preoccupied with how he will have a good life now that his mom is gone and what he should do if there is another earthquake. Thankfully Willem was there. After hearing Kervens' questions, he spent a good amount of time during lunch just speaking words of life into the young man.
