God Knows Our Needs…from Tony West

I received this touching email from my husband this week, and I decided I would just post it as my next blog post. I am going to add in a few pictures as well. It blesses us so much that so many of you pray for us and support us through But God Ministries. We would not be able to daily reach out to so many people if believers weren’t faithful to trust God’s guidance. You all bless us as you lift us up. Thank you….

————————————————————————————–

Dear Mickie,

Tuesday, I had planned to have the day off. My plan was to get up early and read the Word with a cup of coffee. I did have one patient to see. Mirline had been in the clinic Monday night with a fever of 102. It was otitis media and horrible bronchitis. She had to have nebulizer treatments and medications to treat her infection, fever, and cough. I told her mom to bring her back Tuesday morning at 8:00 for another treatment.  (I did not expect her mom to have here at the exact appointment time).

<<<<This is Mirline in her little school uniform.

  G came to the door at 8:00 to tell me that I had a patient to see. I misunderstood him. I thought he was talking about Mirline.  However, when I got outside, not only did I see Mirline, but I saw the waiting area was full of patients! There were 7 additional patients to see besides Mirline. They were all from the village where I went a few weeks ago with a midwife to a delivery.  They had to cross a river to get here. The river level is up right now, and the currents are strong. It was a dangerous trip for them. After crossing the river, they then had to walk another hour to get to the clinic for a total of about 3 hours of walking. There were 5 children and 2 adults.  The two adults were there because they brought the children. They had minor needs. Four of the children were very sick with fever and congestion. The other child had severe pain in her leg. She had to be carried in to the clinic.  They all were assessed and treated and discharged with a bag full of medications and a few treats. 🙂  The children all needed antibiotics. We had exactly what they needed. The girl with the leg pain needed more than ibuprofen or Tylenol for her pain. We had Darvocet and topical lidocaine patches for her leg. We had exactly what she needed. We gave her the medicine and prayed with her. Within the hour, she was almost pain free, and she WALKED out of the clinic!  One of the adults is the midwife that invited me to the delivery.  I was humbled that she trusted me to take care of her grandchild and neighbors. I am humbled that God uses me to touch the lives of so many people daily who would otherwise die without medical attention. I get to see His miraculous healing power every single day.  God is so good.

This is a mother of twins who came to the clinic recently. Her children had never seen a doctor before. They will now receive regular check ups and health care. Praise God!

God has provided us with with all the right medications and supplies exactly when we needed them in order to care for the wonderful people of this community. When Dr. Sullivan was here a couple of weeks ago, he commented that we were better stocked than some of the family medicine clinics in Mississippi. Each time a team visits Hope Center we gain supplies, medications, skills, and years of clinical knowledge freely shared. I am so thankful for all of this. I am so blessed to be a part of what God is doing in Haiti.  One big need has been dental care. We have tons of supplies and equipment, and we have a huge need for dental care, but I just have no training in dentistry, so I haven’t been able to take advantage of what we have. Recently, God sent a team from Hattiesburg to Hope Center and a young dentist named Drew Middleton took me to school! He taught me how to assess dental needs and extract teeth! I am so thankful that God is providing not only the equipment and supplies to take care of the people of this community, but the training as well. I am just completely blown away by this. It’s additional confirmation that God is doing mighty works here in Galette Chambon. I am thankful to Drew and all of the other team members from all over the US who come here to share their gifts, talents, and expertise with us at Hope Center so that we can continue providing care to these beautiful people whom God loves.

Tony with Drew Middleton learning how to remove teeth in the dental clini

Today we had a lady out in the waiting area that was lying on the steps of the dental clinic. I asked her come into the clinic to lay on the stretcher until I could see her. She said she had severe abdominal pain and that she had lost a baby earlier this week. Initially I thought maybe she had a miscarriage or had a baby die at birth. Neither was correct. Earlier in the week, she had an 18 month old child die suddenly. She didn’t know what illness the child had.  I assessed her and realized that her major  problem was grief. I treated her medical needs, gave her her medications, then I asked Ray Meany to spend some time with her.  (Ray is a dear friend of mine who I met through Samaritan’s Purse last year, and he has been visiting here with me all week.)  Ray’s training as a first responder chaplain was exactly what this woman needed. He spent time with her and discovered that she was not a Christian. He took time to share Jesus with her, and she accepted Christ!   We had exactly what she needed. God provided.  I thought Ray had come to Haiti to support me. Ha! Although he has been a lot of fun to have around while there has not been a team here, he has been tremendous with the patients while they wait patiently to see the doctor. Again, God is providing all of our needs.

It is great that we are meeting the needs of the people. But what I am more glad about is the fact that we are doing so through the love of Christ as outlined in 1 Corinthians 13, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” This was validated a few weeks ago when I asked the community leaders how they thought things were going here at Hope Center. They said that they were very pleased with the care that their people were receiving, but they were especially pleased with how we were showing love and loving on their people.  That thrilled my heart.

Apparently the leaders of the community of Galette Chambon are not the only ones noticing what God is doing here. Today some Haitian congressmen came to Hope Center for a visit. They had heard that wonderful things have been happening here, and they wanted to come see it for themselves. We had a fantastic visit, and I even got to treat three of them for health issues. As we gain trust among the leaders of this nation, we spread the good news that Jesus loves the people of Haiti, and that God can and will provide for their needs. By they way, I have invited the mayor of Ganthier and his family over for dinner when you and the boys get here. Be thinking of a real “American” meal to cook for them. Vladimir and I have both been bragging on your cooking. 🙂 They are looking forward to meeting you all and visiting with our family. I am looking forward to sharing my family with the mayor too!

Thanks for encouraging me to write about events of the week. It s helpful. I hope the message of the notes is clear…. God is proving everything we NEED. Trusting in Him is not a risk at all; it’s faith that is moving mountains.

I miss you and the boys very much!  I am counting down the days until you and the boys are home with me.

I am attaching a few more pictures that I thought you would enjoy sharing on the blog. Thanks for keeping that up. People need to know what God is doing here, and they need to know what to pray for.

Blessings to all….

Tony

I got a really big hug from Esther Geoffroi after I returned from my visit to the states in October. I was gone for 18 days and to Esther it must have seemed like an eternity. I know she is going to be very happy to see you and the boys when you get here. Everybody will be actually.

This father brought his little boy to the clinic a few weeks ago. They waited for a very long time before finally getting in to be seen. The boy was very hungry so I gave him a little can of Pringles. He fell asleep standing there with his hand in the jar.