Preparing to go back - Saturday, March 12, 2011

So, I've been trying to get around to posting on the blog again. As the time draws near for going back, I was busy getting things ready, too busy it seemed to sit down and write about it. Now, I'm heading out tomorrow! Yesterday was a furiously busy day of running around picking up donations. I had started to worry that I wouldn't be bringing much down with me, but I should have never doubted how God would provide. By the time all was collected, there was a massive pile of boxes in our living room. Audrey and I spent all day unboxing vitamins and tylenol, then organizing into ziplock baggies. We also sorted through hundreds of onesies and nearly 80 baby blankets, washing them and organizing according to size. I was determined to be done with plenty of time to go to bed early, but somehow there was just too much work to do.

Audrey was adorable, though. She was thrilled to be able to help. She's been asking when she can go with me to Haiti, but she's made it clear she only wants to go to play with the babies. She's also asked if we can adopt a 12-year-old sister with a 6-year old brother. Nothing like making your wishes known!

We finished, though. Finally managing to get everything into three containers. We had more blankets than would fit, though, so we had to squeeze those in with our own clothing.

It seems surreal that I'm going back tomorrow. I've spent so much time over the last year thinking about Merline & Vlad, and the patients I saw. The night before I left last year I felt nauseated and scared. Tonight, I simply feel excited, like I felt last weekend when I flew to New Mexico to be with my girlfriends from college. I don't know what to expect, since we're not even going to be in Port au Prince proper this time. We'll be working in clinics in the surrounding towns. I'm grateful for God's blessing that I can go back. I'm looking forward to seeing the changes in the last year, but most importantly for providing a little encouragement. Last visit was about frantically trying to provide urgently needed medical care. This time I'm going to share hope. I want the folks to know they're not forgotten. God loves them and knows their suffering. I'm going down to help alleviate, for a little while, that hopelessness. If one patient, one Haitian staff member feels a little less burdened because of some dumb thing I've said, or because of me helping lug boxes back and forth each day, then that will make it all worthwhile.