Houses, Cars, and Motos.

Well, we've had an eventful week after our clinic week.  We stayed in the DR an extra week so we could look for a vehicle, house, and orient a little more at the school.  We looked at houses and areas that we could potentially live in.  There's quite a range of places and should be exciting to see where we end up.  We looked at cars also.  We had one that we were interested in but then when we ran the CarFax it showed it was totaled in the states and was shipped to the DR...so, no go there.
 I was able to purchase a motorcycle though!  It was an interesting adventure.  First, we had to talk to the guy at the colmado (a small neighborhood store) where the bike was, then, we talked to the "owner" on the phone (who was Haitian and not really the owner).  We made an offer and he countered.  We finally met and agreed on a price.  We then had to meet with an attorney to make sure the paperwork was done right.  We ended up meeting at the lawyer's house at night while I had 60,000 pesos cash with me...a little scary and we weren't sure what was going to happen.  It turned out that the Haitian was a pastor and the lawyer was a pastor at the church that our friends go to.  We got a deal on the lawyer.  What a blessing that was.  So, anyway, I do have a motorcycle now which is a great economical way to get around down there.

One of the days we took one of the students to the HIV clinic to get his blood drawn, see the doctor and get his meds.  This is going to be one of my duties as the Health Care Coordinator at the school.  He got his blood drawn and then saw the doctor and then got his meds.  He is 6 years old and is doing better about getting his blood drawn a lot but does better knowing he gets helado (ice cream) after his appointment.
On our way back to the states our flight was delayed and we couldn't make our connecting flight to Columbus.  There were no hotels by the airport because of the power outages in New York and New Jersey.  So, we ended up getting picked up by the mom of one of the teachers at the Makarios School and she took us to one of her friends houses for us to sleep for a several hours and then got taken back to the airport to catch a flight to Columbus...whew!  We are very grateful to all who helped us out so we didn't have to sleep in the airport with 2 kids.
We are in the Dayton area for a few days and then heading to MI for a while.  Thanks so much for the thoughts and the prayers.  We really appreciate it.  Dios te bendiga.

Makarios Medical Clinic Week

This was the week for our "normal" medical trip that we have been doing for six years now.  It was a fantastic group of people that we had assembled from various locales (Ohio, Georgia, Texas, and Illinois).  We had three main providers including a Pediatrician,  Pediatric Ortho PA, and an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.  We also had 3 fabulous interpreters that spoke English, Spanish, and Creole (for the Haitian population that we see).  I had the opportunity to spend time with Lauren, the PA that has been with Makarios for the past 3 years, and learn her job.  We had some Nurses and PCAs to help with the clinic as well.  We also had one non medical person to help around the school as well as with our medical group.  A total of 13 people that  did a wonderful job.

 One of our "rooms."

 Wilner, one of the Mak school students.

This year we were able to set up the clinic in the new cafeteria at the Makarios School.  We had three "rooms" made out of tarps along with school tables for our exam tables.  We had a lot more room and the flow of patients was very good.  In all we see about 371 patients throughout the week (really in about 3 1/2 days)!  It was great to interact with the students and their families as well as the Makarios staff.  We would consider this week a success with many people treated and healed physically and one woman who asked to be healed spiritually and gave her life to God.  We appreciated all of the prayers throughout this week.  We will be here next week to look for a house, car, and orient.  I put an offer on a motorcycle and am waiting to hear back.  Lots of good stuff going on:)  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Darren and Becky