We were happy to report in April that the solar system project had been completed, and that we no longer had to rely on two diesel generators to power the hospital. Since the installation, the system has been reliably operating and we’ve had 24/7 electric service!  We received many thank yous from the staff during our visit last week. How often don’t we take our electric for granted? – yet for them it is a such a gift. This project will affect the lives of the Haitian people every day. Thank you again for your support!

It has been a little while since our last newsletter, but much has been happening.  Dr. Luke, Evert Bek and Justin Karns (Smucker’s tech) spent a week at the hospital in May.  They had a profitable trip working with the doctors, meeting with staff, visiting patients, completing some maintenance projects, and working through a few bugs with the solar system.  The staff greatly appreciates these trips as time is devoted to work through some of their problems and frustrations.  These trips are important in showing how much we care about them and the work that they are doing.

Duane and I also traveled to the hospital on July 9 and spent a week meeting with a lot of our staff. (Duane absolutely loves these meetings and wishes he could spend more time in them!)

Kurt Vander Loon, the owner of Embroidery House, graciously donated new security uniforms for our guards that we brought down with us. The timing was perfect as we have been working on new procedures for the guards.  They are the first people that our staff and patients see when they enter the hospital gates, and they have been focusing on how best to serve those who enter. This was a nice reward for their efforts.

One of the challenges in Haiti is the absence of a Lowe’s or Home Depot around the corner.  Sometimes we have to make repairs with only things that we have on hand.  The week we were there we needed to fix the X-ray film dryer as it is old and worn out – a hair dryer for the win!  Donations towards a new x-ray film dryer would be greatly appreciated as it really needs to be replaced.

The healthcare that we provide at the hospital opens the door for us to share the gospel with all who come through the gates. The Sunday we arrived, Pastor Zidor was ministering to a couple of young men. He shared that these men had been watching him from a distance during the worship service earlier in the day. He sought them out afterwards, and after spending some time with them, they decided that they wanted to follow Christ. That same afternoon, one of the nurses told Pastor Zidor that a patient wanted to see him. When he visited her, she said she had heard his message from her bed and she was ready to commit her life to the Lord. She passed away two days later.  God’s timing is always providential. We are blessed to have dedicated pastors sharing God’s word every day. Our hope and prayer is that the rest of show forth Christ’s love in all that we do. In June we had 84 salvations – we praise the Lord for his amazing grace.

Inflation continues to increase as the Haitian buying power continues to decline with the exchange rate now being at 125 goudes per dollar. When patients are unable to pay for services at the hospital, we use our Poor Fund to cover the cost. We have a couple of organizations and several faithful donors who regularly donate to this fund. We also use money from our general fund to fill in any gaps. Please prayerfully consider making a one-time or monthly donation to this fund so that we may continue to provide services to those who are unable to afford them.

Thank you for all your continued prayers and support.

Dan with Duane