Hi Everyone!  My name is Leisl Stoufer and I am the Children's, Family and Youth Director at California Heights U.M.C. in Long Beach, CA.  This is my first trip to Haiti and  it has been an amazing experience so far!

Today we had a wild trip on a little prop job, puddle jumper from Port-au-Prince up to the northern coast of the island where we landed in Cape Hatien.  We got on the plane and as the pilots got us off the ground they explained that the air conditioning would kick on in about 15 minutes and we would land in 22.   We all cracked up because as we are discovering in Haiti, that is quite an accurate description of the way things work.    

The flight was not too bad and as we flew further north we could see the change in the agriculture and terrain.  It definitely took on a more lush and tropical atmosphere.  Everything was a beautiful green.

Once we arrived in Cape Hatien, we began the next adventure.  We loaded eight of us into a vehicle that had room for seven.  Karen White, Pastor Amy and I crammed into the very back of the small SUV and Karen basically laid on the ice chest they had packed us for lunch.  I have lovely pictures that I will share when we get home.  We had a good giggle all the way to the hotel.

Aaaaaah....the hotel!  We are staying at the Roi Christophe, which is a tropical resort.  More later on this beautiful spot!

After a quick bite of lunch in the hotel parking lot, the real fun began.  We took the ice-chest out, and added another person to our already very crammed vehicle.  We had been warned that the road we were about to travel was in a very rural community and would be extremely bumpy.  Once again, Pastor Amy, Karen and I rode in the very back.   There were two seats facing each other and it was wild.  

We started on a paved road where the driver got us going about 75 mph, only to suddenly move onto the dirt road where the three of us unexpectedly went flying!  We bounced all over the place, which brought on another bout of the giggles.  We laughed until we cried and the road stayed bumpy the entire 45 minute drive.  Good Times!  It was a riot!

We definitely had moved from the urban environment of Port-au-Prince to the much more lush and rural area of the north.  We drove across three rivers, saw lots of cows, goats, pigs and chickens, saw children bathing in the rivers, mamas washing clothes in the rivers and lots of vendors selling their wares on the side of the road.   It had a very different feel than that of the city and I personally liked it much better.

We visited a very small community that has a little tiny hospital.  We were greeted by the staff with a warm welcome and a delightful Kreole song.  We had Evans, our translator with us, and he did a fine job helping us understand the work that the fine people do in their clinic.  

They have a perfect little three room hospital with a pharmacy/supply room.  They treat people from all over the northern rural areas.  Sadly, while they are doing great work there, they do not have the funding to be open more than two days a month.  People travel for miles and miles to get there for help and many times people even die because the help is not there on a regular basis.

Keith Mumma, our travel guide and a head honcho at ICC explained that $15,000.00 per year is all it would  take to get that hospital open 5 days a week.  I sensed that our team felt that spreading the word to our local churches and to our conference would be an important step in getting the funding for the much needed hospital.  The $15,000.00 would provide a three person staff and would help the people in that part of the country significantly.

In addition to learning about the work there and hearing their needs, we had the opportunity to play with some of the children.  Karen brought coloring books, crayons and bubbles from Long Beach Memorial Hospital and we passed them out to the children.  They had a ball!  We have also found that the children love to have their pictures taken and then they like to look at their pictures.  They are hams just like the children in the U.S.  Children are the same no matter what country they are in or how much or how little they have.

The trip back was just as bumpy and adventurous.  We arrived at the hotel where we were surprised to find an astonishing contrast to the poverty we have been exposed to all week.  The hotel is lovely, the rooms delightful and Lynn and I found that we were put in a suite!  An enormous room with a sitting area, a huge bathroom with a flushing toilet and a hot shower and a veranda that looks over the gardens.  I'm telling you, it is NICE!!!  It is hard to believe that on the other side of the walls surrounding us is the reality of Cape Haitien.  A far cry from where we are tonight.

We always end the day with a devotional and tonight was my night to share.  I read from  the book of Matthew, the story of the Rich Fool where Jesus explains that in order to get into the Kingdom of God we must give our clothes to the poor.  The rich young man was not happy with Jesus' answer.  Jesus went on to explain to His disciples that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of God.  

This perplexed the disciples and they did not understand.  Jesus went on to say that with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.  

I learned today that since Grace Children's Hospital began 42 years ago that nearly every Haitian is now vaccinated, the number of patients admitted to the hospital has gone down significantly because they are treated on an outpatient basis, the numbers for HIV are going down, and tuberculosis is just about under control.  In a country that is in a constant state of chaos, where water is filthy and disease is rampant, it is evident to me that the work of ICC and Grace Children's Hospital is paying off.  It has taken years to see the fruits of their labors, but in their faithfulness to God and in being the hands and feet of Christ, they are making a difference!  With God all things really are possible!  We are seeing that in Haiti!

It is a privilege and a blessing for me to be on this trip.  I am learning more than I ever wanted to know, but the experience has been tremendous. 

I am looking forward to seeing my Cal Heights friends on Sunday and giving my family lots of hugs when I get home!

Blessings to you all from Haiti!

Leisl