This time tomorrow I will be meeting the rest of the Haiti Medical Mission team in Louisville. After a briefing, and packing party (medical supplies) we'll likely all sleep very little before heading to the airport at 4 a.m. Thursday morning. Our flight from Louisville to Chicago (yes, we have a connection in Chicago) will leave at 6 a.m. From Chicago we'll fly to Miami, then on to Port-au-Prince Haiti. I think we're due to arrive around 3 in the afternoon. Haiti is on Eastern time too, and they also recognise daylight savings, so we'll get to have an extra hour of sun starting this weekend. Nice timing on that :-)
The word is that we'll still be working within an hour or so of Port-au-Prince, but I don't think we will be staying there now. Plans have changed several times in the last month, and we've been told they may change again before we get there.
Medical teams take everything they will use during their time there, as there's really no secure place to store equipment and supplies. Our team of 24 will take at least 48 checked pieces of luggage full of supplies and equipment for use during our stay. Nurses and other medical volunteers usually take some of their own personal equipment as well (stethescopes, BP cuffs, etc.) Those items are packed in our carry-on, which will also include the clothing we will need for the 9 days we are in Haiti. Needless to say we'll be re-wearing things! We should be able to do "laundry" while we are there. No warm water, no washing machine. We'll do laundry just like the Haitians do laundry. In a bucket. That alone will be eye opening.
Tommy will pick me up at the airport on Friday, March 19 around midnight. He may want to drop me off for a shower before driving me home! We've been told that we should have access to shower facilities of some kind, but that water in Haiti is very scarce and our cold showers have to be short, short, short. The team will also have some warm meals provided by a church or mission house, and will be local cuisine like beans and rice with onion and tomato (those are four of my favorite foods!)
I am so excited about going on this trip and serving the Lord and the people of Haiti. I know it will be a humbling and life-changing experience. Thanks to all my friends and family for the prayers and kind words of encouragement. Love to all of you and I will share pics and stories when I get home!
Karen
Showing posts with label Haiti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haiti. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Mission To Haiti - How You Can Help
Haiti Medical Mission Trip confirmed dates - March 11-19, 2010
Many of my friends and family have contacted me asking how they can help to support local efforts to send aid to Haiti. So for any of you interested... and this might be a long post... and I will update it as needed... here's the scoop.
Most folks who go on a mission trip (medical or otherwise) are required to pay or raise funds for (at least) their air-fare for the trip. This is true in my case. My air-fare to Haiti is nearly $1,100. The KY Baptist Disaster Relief organization will be helping to cover most of my in-Haiti expenses (can be over $100 per day) since I will be traveling and working with Southern Baptist relief operations. We will also be gathering supplies to take with us to use in the medical clinic while we are working there.
There are MANY ways you can support this medical mission trip to Haiti! The MOST important way is to pray for the people of Haiti, and pray for our team members! The devastation is beyond belief, and there's so much help needed. Just pray that we can do much good in Jesus' name with the scant resources available. And pray that the people of Haiti will be receptive to the message of our LIVING and LOVING LORD. If you'd like to read more about the last KBC medical mission trip to Haiti, please go to www.greatcommissionkentucky.com. You might have to scroll down a few posts but there's some interesting and detailed information on there from the last teams.
If you're interested in helping financially, you can contribute to the cost of my trip by making a check payable to Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief (KBDR for short), and putting my name and Haiti trip in the memo section. The funds you contribute will go directly toward my expenses, and if there's any extra, they will help cover one of the other missionaries' expenses. You can mail contributions to me, or directly to the KBC (addresses below at the end of this post). KBC will provide a contribution receipt to you for tax purposes.
We will be receiving a detailed list of needed supplies in another week or so. I will post those details as soon as I have them. In the meantime, here's a list of general medical/supplies that we've already been told to bring:
BP cuffs & stethoscopes
Thermometers
Small battery powered flashlights
Wound care products (we should get a detailed list soon)
Medical gloves
Antibiotic ointment (and the like)
Hand sanitizer (must be at least 60% alcohol)
PPE (disposable gowns, shoe covers, masks, etc.)
Mosquito repellent
Keep in mind that we leave any and all extra supplies and equipment in Haiti! Donations of equipment/supplies that we do not have room for on this trip will be sent on subsequent mission trips.
Contact me if you have questions, or would like to donate in any way. Thanks to all of you for contacting me to ask how you can help. And thanks for your prayers!
Karen Hall, RN
P.O. Box 567
Campbellsville, KY 42719
270-465-0332 (home)
270-403-4409 (cell)
karenflys@aol.com
KY Baptist Disaster Relief
Attn: Cindy Henderson
P.O. Box 43433
Louisville, KY 40253-0433
Phone: 502-489-3401
Many of my friends and family have contacted me asking how they can help to support local efforts to send aid to Haiti. So for any of you interested... and this might be a long post... and I will update it as needed... here's the scoop.
Most folks who go on a mission trip (medical or otherwise) are required to pay or raise funds for (at least) their air-fare for the trip. This is true in my case. My air-fare to Haiti is nearly $1,100. The KY Baptist Disaster Relief organization will be helping to cover most of my in-Haiti expenses (can be over $100 per day) since I will be traveling and working with Southern Baptist relief operations. We will also be gathering supplies to take with us to use in the medical clinic while we are working there.
There are MANY ways you can support this medical mission trip to Haiti! The MOST important way is to pray for the people of Haiti, and pray for our team members! The devastation is beyond belief, and there's so much help needed. Just pray that we can do much good in Jesus' name with the scant resources available. And pray that the people of Haiti will be receptive to the message of our LIVING and LOVING LORD. If you'd like to read more about the last KBC medical mission trip to Haiti, please go to www.greatcommissionkentucky.com. You might have to scroll down a few posts but there's some interesting and detailed information on there from the last teams.
If you're interested in helping financially, you can contribute to the cost of my trip by making a check payable to Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief (KBDR for short), and putting my name and Haiti trip in the memo section. The funds you contribute will go directly toward my expenses, and if there's any extra, they will help cover one of the other missionaries' expenses. You can mail contributions to me, or directly to the KBC (addresses below at the end of this post). KBC will provide a contribution receipt to you for tax purposes.
We will be receiving a detailed list of needed supplies in another week or so. I will post those details as soon as I have them. In the meantime, here's a list of general medical/supplies that we've already been told to bring:
BP cuffs & stethoscopes
Thermometers
Small battery powered flashlights
Wound care products (we should get a detailed list soon)
Medical gloves
Antibiotic ointment (and the like)
Hand sanitizer (must be at least 60% alcohol)
PPE (disposable gowns, shoe covers, masks, etc.)
Mosquito repellent
Keep in mind that we leave any and all extra supplies and equipment in Haiti! Donations of equipment/supplies that we do not have room for on this trip will be sent on subsequent mission trips.
Contact me if you have questions, or would like to donate in any way. Thanks to all of you for contacting me to ask how you can help. And thanks for your prayers!
Karen Hall, RN
P.O. Box 567
Campbellsville, KY 42719
270-465-0332 (home)
270-403-4409 (cell)
karenflys@aol.com
KY Baptist Disaster Relief
Attn: Cindy Henderson
P.O. Box 43433
Louisville, KY 40253-0433
Phone: 502-489-3401
Friday, February 12, 2010
Shots Anyone?
Thank goodness I was up to date on most of my immunizations... but I still needed a couple of shots in preparation for Haiti. Thanks to Ruthie (our famous public health nurse here) I now have two band-aids that verify I have current protection against Tetanus and Hepatitis A. She's such a good shot-giver (and a sweetie to boot).
I still have to go to the doc for a script for the Typhoid vaccine, plus scripts for some other meds that I have to take with me to Haiti (in case of certain bacterial infections like Malaria, ewww). So hopefully I can squeeze in a visit next week...
My mind is full of planning, and I am making lists of course. OCD comes in handy when you're trying to get a trip like this organized. OCD also comes in handy when you're a quilter. Well, maybe not always. I've found that being quite obsessive about details does actually PREVENT action sometimes, especially when quilting. It's weird, and if you lean toward being a little obsessive yourself, well, you understand.
I still have to go to the doc for a script for the Typhoid vaccine, plus scripts for some other meds that I have to take with me to Haiti (in case of certain bacterial infections like Malaria, ewww). So hopefully I can squeeze in a visit next week...
My mind is full of planning, and I am making lists of course. OCD comes in handy when you're trying to get a trip like this organized. OCD also comes in handy when you're a quilter. Well, maybe not always. I've found that being quite obsessive about details does actually PREVENT action sometimes, especially when quilting. It's weird, and if you lean toward being a little obsessive yourself, well, you understand.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
I'm Going To Haiti!
It's been so long since I posted (I had good intentions, really I did)... and a lot of water has run under my bridge since last summer when I started this blog... but I wanted to try my hand at blogging again... so here I am!
I've been interested in mission work all my life, and last summer I attended a disaster team training session hosted by my church (Campbellsville Baptist Church) so I'd be ready for the call when it came. And it came. Today. I am going to Haiti to help on a medical mission team with the KY Baptist Convention. We're tenatively scheduled for March 11-19, and we'll be serving in Port Au Prince. Although I've been a nurse for over 18 years (has it really been THAT long?), this will be the first official mission trip I've ever been on. I am feeling pretty blessed right about now.
The next couple of days will be filled with trying to get the needed vaccines, and some more basic information so I can properly prepare... so more to come when I have more info! In the meantime, all prayers are welcomed!
I've been interested in mission work all my life, and last summer I attended a disaster team training session hosted by my church (Campbellsville Baptist Church) so I'd be ready for the call when it came. And it came. Today. I am going to Haiti to help on a medical mission team with the KY Baptist Convention. We're tenatively scheduled for March 11-19, and we'll be serving in Port Au Prince. Although I've been a nurse for over 18 years (has it really been THAT long?), this will be the first official mission trip I've ever been on. I am feeling pretty blessed right about now.
The next couple of days will be filled with trying to get the needed vaccines, and some more basic information so I can properly prepare... so more to come when I have more info! In the meantime, all prayers are welcomed!
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