First Baptist Church, Live Oak, Day 5

Another great day of ministering to the sick and the lame of the Bercy, Haiti area found more than 190 people filing through the medical clinic. Pharmacy personnel handed out Creole tracts with the medicines and Pastor Charlie gave the message of God's saving grace to the waiting crowd. The turnout was so strong that Rusty and Melody made a run into the town of Cabaret in the afternoon to purchase more antibiotics for Monday's clinic.

The morning clinic kept four nurses, three pharmacy workers, a registrar and a vital signs specialist covered up with patients who had everything from sniffles to serious chronic diseases. Registrar April shared the e-cube when she got caught up with her clinic duties. Work at the clinic came to a halt for nurse Kristen when she got called away to minister to a tiny baby girl who Haitian police brought to the orphanage. The baby was found abandoned on a roadside. Her teething indicated she was anywhere from 7 to 9 months old, but she only weighed 5 pounds. She was terribly dehydrated. Pastor Charlie prayed over the baby and dubbed her Maria. Kristen tried to open an intravenous line to hydrate the baby but neither the orphanage nor any shop in Cabaret had the proper infant size IV supplies. Still, with lots of prayer and with constant critical care and proper medications, Maria survived the day.

A surrogate mother was called in by Rusty to nurse the baby and the mother generously gave of herself to give life-giving nourishment -- a Christian lesson for us all. She spent the night at the orphanage with both her baby and the abandoned one. Pastor Nathan came to pray over the Baby repeatedly. Her life is still a touch and go matter as her skin has broken down in the advanced stages of starvation. She is in need of much prayer.

Meanwhile, the other newly arrived starving baby we have come to know as Peanut continues to thrive under the care or the women of the mission team. Although he was without muscle tone nor energy when he was whisked from the clinic to the orphanage, today, Anda was helping him to walk across the meeting room floor. What a blessing from God. The boy has smiles for everybody.

Following the clinic and dinner the team filed downstairs to the orphanage bearing a big platter of oatmeal-raisin cookies (baked by Pam and Anda) for family night. The children attacked the cookie platter then spent the evening romping around as sugar infusions tend to do. They hopped from lap-to-lap and sang and danced and generally had a good time with their American guests. The thought that many of these healthy, vibrant children were in the same condition that Peanut and Maria were in when they arrived at the orphanage gives one a sense of great gratitude for the work God is allowing to happen in Bercy.

In the evening devotion circle, Jared commented that he didn't want this all to end when we take flight again for Live Oak, but he wants us to continue to meet and pray for the struggle that Rusty and Cheryl are carrying on in Bercy. Amen to that.