Journey On

By Adam Sarbin May 31st, 2018

***Sorry for the delayed post but as you will learn, yesterday was a long day and evening, so here goes and I will try to keep up the rest of the way.***

Our first night in Haiti was cool with continued breezes. We were even treated to quite a rousing basketball duo before bedtime. After all, it is NBA Finals season and if we can’t watch it on TV here, this was the next best thing…a hard fought battle of H-O-R-S-E. I won’t share the winner, but let me just say, Beth has some mad shooting skills! I am told there WILL be a rematch on our return next week.

 

Once the battle on the court was over we all turned in for a very restful night…even had to pull the extra sheet over me at one point. We awoke early to a delicious breakfast…best part, fresh mango…it doesn’t get better! Soon after, Garry arrived with 2 vans and all stuff and people were loaded for the trip to Les Cayes. Garry proved his navigational skills yet again, with a very circuitous route, avoiding traffic jams and demonstrations to reach the highway west and south.

It took a little longer getting out of the city but Garry and our other driver definitely made up for it on the rest of the trip…made it to the pier in 5 hours, which included a stop to buy more mango and a potty stop as well. Once we arrived at the pier, it was obvious the breeze was going to work against us now, but Journey On we did. We unloaded the vans, reloaded the 2 boats (1 with stuff and the other with us…thank you Bethanie for joining us!), and we headed into the chop of the channel. It wasn’t long before most of us were soaked in salt spray, but thankfully it wasn’t storming. The trip took longer than usual due to the large swells but we made it with all supplies and personnel intact.

We quickly unloaded the boats and trekked up the hill to the guest house, hung nets and made the highly anticipated walk to the clinic site. I could feel my pulse quicken as we got closer. It may appear like a bunch of trenches, piles of dirt and columns of iron rebar, but to me it represents the beginning of the culmination of a dream. It is going to be beautiful!! We wandered around the site for a time and speculated on this and that, but then returned to our home for dinner…spaghetti…yes!!

After dinner, the many arduous tasks began in preparation for work tomorrow and beyond – digging through supply bags to re-sort medications and re-pack other supplies as well as the creation of hundreds of medical records from the papers created on previous trips – sorting, assembling, labeling, alphabetizing and filing. This is tedious work, but again, it signals the progress we are making towards our goal of sustainable medical care on this island…every step, just a little bit closer!

By 11pm, we are exhausted and will turn in for the night, with hopes the generator will keep the fans running straight through. There is more prep work to do in the morning before an afternoon clinic.

Good night for now….more again tomorrow (if I have signal).

Love to All,

The Team

P.S. I need to provide what I believe to be a very important clarification to last night’s post. I did not know Peter to be a prideful man, so when I said “I think Peter would be proud” what I meant was I think he would be proud of us for the hard work and commitment to this Project, but I am also certain he would be humbled by our efforts to honor his memory. Thank you for indulging me.

Adam