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My wife and I are here on our second trip, and we already have a feel for the routine. Lots of travel Friday/Saturday, followed by connecting with old and new friends Saturday night.  Sunday we experience two hours of incredible worship and learning at the church across the street, and then… clean, clean, and clean some more.  All of this is done to prepare for the objective of performing surgeries, minor procedures, and clinic work come Monday… TODAY!  Not having MD or RN, or other clinical designations, behind our names, we serve in support roles, and have the chance to watch from the sidelines a bit.  Since we were last here a whole new set of buildings have developed, including a Depot for the more orderly storage and retrieval of supplies needed to run the clinic.  Our team leader designated Amy and I to coordinate the organizing of the depot inventory, including hundreds of cases/boxes of various and assorted supplies.  It was hot,dirty work, complete with gecko sightings and scorpion crunching, and we were assisted ably by Hannah, Katie, Delenn, and Nisha in the morning, and a older Haitian man in the afternoon.  While it would be easy to feel “left out” of the main work of the Surgery/Clinic areas, we were visited several times during the day by staff/volunteers looking for a particular supply item; as the day wore on, we could actually locate items and expedite their return to the cases at hand!  Additionally, the way it works here, we have a very regimented schedule, so we know we’ll meet at 7:00 for breakfast, 12:00 noon for lunch, and 6:00 for supper, and we are able to connect with lots of people every day at those times (and also devotions at 6:45 a.m and 7:00 a.m.).  The reports at the end of the day were very positive from all, and the various pieces of the “machine” worked as planned for the first day of clinical services.  We now look forward to settling into the routine of the rest of the week, and continuing to serve the people of St. Louis du Nord and the surrounding area, and each other.  Kudos to Randy, Jeff, Miss Maureen, and our other leaders for knowing how to mix and match us all to the tasks and hand, and always being there with the right word at the right time.
God’s blessing to all of you from all of us at the Mission…
Steve Hodges, HR guy from Scottsbluff, NE.

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