Experiences in Haiti

I came to Port au prince, Haiti last May. When I got home last year I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to come back. In complete honesty, I didn’t know if I could handle it again. It took me over a month after I got home from Haiti last May to finally talk about my experiences. When someone would ask me how it went, I would say “fine.” When they would ask what it was like, a million things would run through my mind but fitting my thoughts and memories into words was too difficult, so I would just steer the conversation to the heat and the food. After the shock from the mission trip finally settled in, I was able to start opening up. After I opened up, I couldn’t stop talking about Haiti. This country was in my thoughts day and night. God wouldn’t allow me to stop thinking about Haiti and my experiences there. In August I decided I wanted to go back on another mission trip to Port au Prince. Months passed by, the holidays came and went and life was normal. Then on January 12, 2010, a terrible earthquake hit Haiti. It was in the heart of Port au Prince. When I found out about the quake everything went silent and numb in my head. I immediately got on cnn.com and called my fellow team members from my trip last May. I just didn’t understand. Haiti is already in a rough situation and yet here comes along this huge earthquake with after shocks and shakes the country to its roots. God has His reasons for everything, but I just didn’t understand. All I knew was that I felt an overpowering drive to come back to Port au Prince. I’m not a doctor and I’m not a nurse, I don’t know how to do construction and I don’t know any French. All I know is that I have a lot of love that I can give to others. When I heard that Bellevue was sending out a full medical team in March and another team in June, I signed up to go. I was scared but I knew I was called.
Fast forward to June 13, 2010. I arrive in Port au Prince, Haiti to an airport that looked nothing like it did last May. When we finally got on the bus to drive to our compound everything was so different. We would pass by a home that was in great condition and the home right next to it was completely demolished. Carolyn, a nurse and a member of MSI said that Haitians didn’t say that their home is demolished or destructed. They said it was, “broken.” To me, that just screams of the constant hope that these beautiful people have. The earthquake came and it passed. The deaths that occurred will be a constant reminder of the loss that happened. But to me, it just seems like even though this horrible tragedy occurred, the Haitian people haven’t let this hard time define them. They are so beautiful. The medical clinics came and passed, so many were seen…about 2,000 people! ALL of them were prayed with or prayed for. The children still smiled and played. The adults still laughed and held their heads high. Everyone was so appreciative for help. At one of our medical clinics a little girl was standing outside in her Sunday best with little flowers in her hands. There were signs that said, “Welcome to You.” The place where the clinic was held was cleaned and had decorations. It brought tears to our eyes. We felt so appreciated and blessed by the Haitians. On a visit to an orphanage that I went to, the children and their teacher sang songs for us. When we handed out clothing and candy to the kids, every single one of them said, “thank you.” This morning when we had our devotion, a woman that works here at the compound came and thanked the team. She prayed for us and sang to us. When she sang it gave me chills. My eyes were filled with tears. This woman was saying thank you to us, but I felt like we should be thanking her for accepting us so greatly into her country. Haiti’s true beauty is its people. There wasn’t a medical clinic today. Some of us went to an orphanage that was heard about through word of mouth last year. When we arrived there last May these kids were starving and near the edge of death. Now they are fed twice daily and the place looks great compared to what it was. Also some of the team went to a clinic to observe Dr. Milem perform surgery on one of our workers with a growth on the side of his neck. He is well, but will still need us to keep him in our prayers.
In conclusion to this days blog. I just want to say thank you for praying for this team and supporting us. Haiti will slowly rebuild, but it still needs a lot of help. Please pray for Meredith McKinley, Lindsay and Kelly Gleason, Jordan Gray. They are staying until next Thursday to work at an orphanage. Please pray for their strength physically and personally. Thanks.

-Eva Tullis