A Difficult Decision For The Donkeys

Hi All:
A week ago, I said we would make a decision on Tuesday regarding going, as we had lab supplies to keep cool to ship and don’t have refrigerator space for the supplies until the next person goes, etc.  Things seemed to be looking up for Haiti when I talked with Dr. Moise on Tuesday, some fuel trucks had come through and our fellow missionaries on the compound, who have their separate generators and water supply, had been able to get a 400 gallon delivery.  So, we delayed the decision, hoping we could find supplies, sending out the maintenance department with barrels to fill.  Everyone was positive we could get the required 6 barrels we had established as a minimum, so as not to cripple the busy hospital for weeks to come, but, as of noon on Friday, only one barrel had been filled and we reluctantly cancelled our trip.  Thursday was the festival for one of the founders of the revolution that ended up establishing freedom for Haiti from France in 1804 and energetic riots were promised and came to pass.  Even the president was blocked by the angry crowds from making a trip to the memorial site to pay homage to the former leader.

We were ready to give it a try, knowing that the roads might be difficult, Jean Eddy and Dudu were certain they could make it and bring us back with a minimum of difficulty, but the lack of fuel was the unresolvable issue.  This makes us sad, not just because we wanted to go and help our brothers and sisters help their people, but we know that this means that other vital supplies, especially food, is not getting to the starving thousands who never had a pound to spare in the first place.  It is the opinion of my Haitian friends that the majority of the Haitian people are not in agreement with the riots, but, as is often the case, a vocal minority ends up ruining things for the rest of the people.  Most of them want to get on with their already difficult lives, this only has made things worse.  We have a container of supplies in Port, that will have to stay there until things calm down enough to venture out, certainly not any time soon, from the looks of things. 

Personally, as it turns out, I have been struggling with a yeast infection in my blood and will change meds and try using the extra time I have this week to remove my present line and install a new one (hopefully they can find an open one) 48 hours later to try to clear things up.  Infections of one sort or another have been a struggle for the Haitian Donkey for years now, also with no end in sight, at least for the near future.  I will have to schedule this if possible, as well as trying to keep the schedule open for the funeral of our dear coworker and friend, Jory Mulder, who died Friday after a short but difficult battle with colon cancer.  She did a lot for the office, and especially for Karen and I, helping schedule my treatments, CT scans, resolving issues for my TPN, etc and we all will sorely miss her.  A constant reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of being sure of our eternal destiny.

In His Service, Evart and Bill