My name is Lauren Sabo and I am a member of the past two medical missions to Calebasse, Haiti which also included Dr. Kevin Finley, Dr. Jonathan Hollister, John and Joy Coleman, my Aunt Gailynn Cornell, and my friend Leah Barren.  This morning I am going to share with you a few experiences from our most recent trip.  Upon arriving back in Haiti, we were greeted with open arms and incredible hospitality by the people of Calebasse.  Pastor Monoit and his family once again opened their home for us and this trip became a building block on our previous trip.  We were able to spend a lot more time with Monoit’s family and the people of Calebasse over the course of the week and we were much more at ease in our work and travel.  In the clinic, we provided medical care to over 350 people and continued to discuss the possibility of building a clinic in Calebasse in the next few years.  In addition to medical care, my Aunt gave classes on welding and had other people teaching by the end of the week. 

Our trip was also full of many blessings and excitement as we were able to visit with the woman whose life we saved last April when she was toxic during her pregnancy.  Edaline and her baby were healthy and doing very well.  Also, the two men with hernias that walked 14 hrs from Groersh to come to our clinic both were able to get surgery and are also doing well. Moreover, the infant that we saw with the neck tumor that were only able to pray for due to its mothers’ inability to stay in Calebasse was miraculously still alive and the tumor was gone. 

We also saw women in the clinic that again was very ill during her 9^th pregnancy.  She came to be treated one morning and accepted Christ before we saw her. Unfortunately, she was taken to the hospital and she and the baby passed later that day...leaving 8 children and a husband behind.  It was devastating for the team, but incredible that she and the baby were able to go in peace. The next day, the husband and 8 children walked an hr and a half to come to the school so we could take their pictures for school sponsorship.  They were all incredibly positive and thankful toward our team.

We also held a community forum after church one Sunday for the people of calebasse to speak about their wants/needs and vision for the future of their church and community. It was very successful with over 200 people in attendance and the people spoke not only of their vision for a clinic, but a trade school, community meeting place, secondary school, center for market, monthly meals provided by the church and more.  The vision they have is for a strong and beautiful community where all can live and work together to meet their needs.

I am sure all of you have heard about the 7.0 earthquake that shook the country of Haiti this past Tuesday. It had devastating effects on the already fragile country. I just wanted to give an update, since I have received many phone calls, text messages, emails, and wall posts wondering if we were okay and asking about the status of Haiti.

The earthquake that hit this past Tuesday (January 12th) was a 7.0 magnitude and destroyed much of the already fragile country. The town of Calebasse, was hit pretty hard and over half of the people lost their homes outright and the other half are unable to sleep in their homes due to the sever infrastructure damage. We heard that most of our friends survived the quake. However we did learn that our friend Enok did not.  Him and Genel were at the bible school near Port-au-Prince when the earthquake hit and Genel made it out, but Enok did not. Genel then carried Enok’s body home 8 miles up the mountain back to Calebasse. This was a terrible loss and I mourn for Enok’s family. He had recently been married (December 29^th).  So far, I have heard that numbers up to 500,000 have lost their lives-that is nearly 1/6th of the country's population. Words cannot describe the pain and suffering in the country. I can't even imagine what the people are going through. I do know however that the people are tough, resilient, and very hopeful.

Please pray for the people of Haiti and the friends and families around the world that have lost loved ones. It will take time to rebuild the country, but my hope is that this tragedy will finally put Haiti on the map and make the rest of the world realize the extreme needs which will bring long-term aid and stability to Haiti.

I will post updates when I get them. Thank you for your concern and support and please keep the people of Haiti in your Hearts.