Hi All:
This is an attempt to bring you up to date on what the Haitian Donkey and his friends and family are up to. As you may remember, Haiti continues to be turbulent with on again/off again riots for political change and the availability of fuel, at least those seem to be the most obvious concerns. It was violent enough that Duane and I were not able to go in June, some adjustments had to be made in July, though August went well. Now, Dan, Duane, Mark and I are planning on going this Friday, the 20th, with plans of either flying to Cayes or, if things are calm, hopefully driving there, which would be easier for me with all my material that has to stay cold, etc. There is a small fridge in the hotel in Port au Prince, but how good it works to keep medicines cold is another issue and, since it runs directly in my vena cava and I have chronic problems with infections already, I hate to add extra risk. So pray for peace and wisdom to prevail.
With the new realtor, the house sold in one day, the first 2 people who looked at it gave bids and the competition went up another $5000, so thankful for that. Hard to leave the home that Karen took care of so well for 21 years, remodeled a fair amount with help from friends and family. I never thought about it until someone remarked that this was the only house she ever could call home, as we were always in transit to or on the mission field, or, earlier on, in apartments while in medical school, etc. We did have a house during residency, but knew it was temporary. So, she really put her roots (as well as those of hundreds of her flowers) down here. A friend of hers down the street, who always walked her dog past the house, and many of the dogs stopped for attention from her, sometimes leaving the owner to run to her, helped me keep the flowers looking nice in the sale process, family and friends helped tons to get the house empty, clean and ready and also keep the yard mowed, so we have greatly appreciated the efforts of all of you. Thank you so much.
My hole between my intestines and the outside world has matured into a well developed ostomy that will undoubtedly be with me the rest of my days. The other two holes have closed, so I only have the drain pipe, through which little comes, but a fair amount comes around it, and the single ostomy in the lower abdomen about 3 inches below my belly button, NOT a convenient place to have him show up. At times, a small flood requires immediate attention, otherwise I change dressings frequently to keep things clean and prevent bad odors. My energy level has picked up as I have been avoiding the oncologists, who draw bottles of blood on a regular basis and leave me low and dry. My CT scan showed progression and Dr. Bartlett wants me to do chemotherapy again, but I feel too good to subject myself to being dragged down again. So, pray for wisdom and God’s direction in this area also.
Will see if I can get this to fly, as so much still is unsettled in my new, lovely downstairs apartment at James and Jenn’s house. Everyone again worked hard to make it much nicer than I had imagined and I am very thankful.
So, appreciate your prayers, as always, but especially for the trip to be uneventful and productive and us to stay healthy and faithful to our Lord, who makes all this possible.
In His Service,
Dan, Duane, James, Jenn, Mark, Rachel and the Haitian Donkey