October 20, 2012, 5:30pm Greetings from Haiti as a steady cool rain is falling from above, First and foremost thank you all of your prayers and love that you have sent over these first few days. Many of you have asked if our flights were on time, how we felt on arrival and how the trip up the mountain felt as we weaved through PAP traffic. We were pleasantly surprised at how smoothly our travel was and how easily we found our team members traveling from both the east coast and west coast. Geting to know each other is so engaging and amazing in its ease and grace as we come together strangers and so quickly feel a bond of mutual purpose. The traffic in Port-au-Prince was light by this city's standards and we moved through rather quickly and observed progress! We saw newly painted buildings and people streaming through the streets with business to attend to and laughter, hand holding and conversation on all sides of us. Sellers were seated with vegetables, fruits and all of their wears lining the streets. The beautiful Haitian artwork was abound strapped up to walls and fences. Horns honking, people zigzagging through the cars and trucks always gives me some pause but with Willem at the wheel or Junior we feel secure. We have just completed 3 days of patient care. The patients have seemed at times to be healthier but in the next moments we see a baby with extreme malnutrtion. This so justifies our common purpose of education and teaching accompanied with our commitment to sustainable care. Our patients are returning when asked! Yea! And we can then renew medications and reinforce ideas for their good health. Each day we have seen seen about 150 persons and the first day we hardly saw any children....pure torture for those of us specializing in pediatrics!:) Yesterday came with kids coming out of the woodwork and also today. Many of our ladies are pregnant and need a thorough workup checking for glucose or blood pressure problems and other infections that might affect their baby's health as well as theirs. Unfortunately many of our children were experiencing scabies or other skin disease and the malnutrtion always breaks our hearts. It offers us a time to teach regarding healthy foods, explore what is available for our patients and their families and provide medicated peanut butter and cream for their affected skin. I do love to interact with our moms as we massage the cream into their baby's skin. It seems to give them some peace. My heart melts. Probably our most common condition with our adults remains hypertension and also diabetes. Stepping back and watching the chatter and consults with our team is amazing in God's fashioning of a team that not only works together but has the needed members for particular patients. This becomes apparent as we interact with each other and our patients. God is good. This trip we have also been blessed with specially educated translators who are professional and talented in medical translation and education techniques. Our ability to see more patients is reflected in these new qualified Haitian members of our "team". So team 16 is engrossed in a wicked UNO game as I write this. Our group is smaller this time at 14 members but exactly what we need. The pharmacy is becoming transformed into a solid inventoried working system. This is so essential to avoid waste in this beautiful country. I can hardly think right now with all of the hooting and hollaring from the game that is being played. It's a good feeling to relax after a full day of care. I will close for now. We have a special Haitian broth awaiting us. A wonderful special meal prepared by our missionary's staff. It's certain to be yummy. As we bless the food on this eve we pray for all of you at home as well. May God bless and keep you and as always praying that you keep our Haitian friends in your prayers. Grace from Haiti as the clouds are now hugging the mountainside as the rain has been released and are getting tucked away for the night.... Vanda and Team 16