June 2013 Newsletter

  

As June is quickly approaching, Nicole & I are busy preparing for our Haiti trip. We will be in Haiti, June 11-25. Many exciting things are planned on this trip. We will be helping out at several medical clinics, feeding programs & our beloved pig & goat adoption program. A special day is planned for Dourvey Haiti, with a guest speaker all the way from Conklin, NY, presenting a Gospel message.
We will also be spending time at the Living Christ Orphanage. We have some great activities planned for the children. Also some repair work will be done & an assessment of future projects that will need to be done. We have some plans of perhaps bringing a team of a few construction minded individuals next year to do some larger projects.
Mark 16:15 says "And then he told them go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone"
Please keep us in your prayers as we travel, that God will be glorified by our work in Northern Haiti
Steven P. Sager
President
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UPDATE ON MIGURLIN
Migurlin is a young child who was badly burned in a household cooking accident. Julienne was able to get him transported to a burn unit in the Dominican Republic. Some great healing has already taken place. Over the course of the next year, he will be wearing a clear medicated mask that helps with the healing to prevent deep scaring.  He will continue treatment on a outpatient basis at the burn unit.
Proverbs 19:17 says "If you help the poor you are lending to the Lord and he will repay you"
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DOURVEY HAITI FEEDING PROGRAM
On any given Sunday, around 125 people receive a meal through our feeding program. This meal is fed after the church service. With the opportunity of receiving some food, church attendance has risen. We are excited to report that last month, 5 people who had not previously been attending church, had accepted Christ as their Savior at the church/feeding program. These 5 people are now being discipled to through the pastor. What a joyous time in being a part of this ministry. I am in awe, the way that our Lord can use each & everyone of us.
Deuteronomy 15:4 says "There should be no poor among you for the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession"
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A SERVING HEART
Many of you know Julienne, who is a full time missionary in Haiti, who you may not know is Deb Eklund. Deb is co-founder of A Serving Heart ministries, the mission that we work alongside of. Deb was instrumental in helping us get our ministry off the ground. Deb is always the one I run to with a crazy idea or question. She always knows how to encourage us & has the experience we need when it comes to making things happen. Deb works behind the scenes, providing Julienne the support & prayers that she needs.
You Have A Choice Ministries is forever thankful to Deb & Julienne for the support needed to keep our ministry running full steam ahead.
Deb & Julienne, thank you for all the dedicated efforts you do in Northern Haiti.
Romans 8:28 says "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purposes for them"

You Have A Choice Minitries

This is our new logo.  It was decided that we needed a logo that reflected our ministry.  The meaning of this logo is, The waves of compassion washing over Haiti.  Check out our website to see how we have incorporated our new logo with parts from our old website logo.

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YHACM video - Haiti Christian Mission

A short video we created that tells a little bit about our ministry.  Check out our website to see more in depth about our ministries & the programs we have in Northern Haiti.  You Have A Choice Ministries website

Burned Boy in Northern Haiti

This is a recap of everything with regarded to young boy in burn unit.  God's Hand was surely in this one. What a range of emotions for me.  I feel so bad for this boy & his mom, but feel so blessed that we were able to help out in prayer & financially.  This is a remarkable story and really touches my heart.  I think part of it for me was that from early on, I was involved in some of the logistics & decision making on what to do.  Julienne is a real tough cookie & can be super aggressive when needed.  She has such a servants heart.  She has been sharing the Gospel with the Mom this week.  I am so looking forward to working alongside her on our trip in June.  Please keep everyone in prayer.....  Steve

Little Miguerlin 5 year old Burn Victim, Update from Julienne

I'm currently in the Dominican Republic. I have attached two pictures of the 5 year old burn victim. He fell head first into a big pot of beans cooking over a charcoal oven. He was left unattended and the mother found him with the pot spilled over and he was covered in beans on his face and chest. She washed him (Haiti unsanitary water) and then applied tomato paste over him and 
brought him to the Justinien hospital in Cap Haitian.

I went to the hospital to check up on a young 7 year old girl that was there in January and was a burn victim also. I did not find the girl. However I saw this boy with flies walking on his face laying in bed. This was on a Tuesday, the boy was injured on Sunday. The hospital is not an adequate hospital for any treatment let a lone a burn victim. The beds are close to one another, side by side and its a dorm style room. Patients with tuberculosis are next to patients with broken legs or arms who are also in the same room as someone with typhoid or a burn victim. There are windows but no glass or screen on them. Patients urinate in plastic bowls that are then left on the floor next to the bed for a few hours. The moms mop the floor once in a while around the bed. Patients have to bring their own sheets, food and meds. No meds are administered unless the family has money. They do have a program for free I.V.'s for children up to 5 years old. The care is rudimentary and archaic. They have no ressources to work with.

The next day I checked on the boy who now had a cough. I traveled to 3 different hospitals to seek help for the boy. The United Nations Doctor saw pictures of the boy. He helped my by writing a letter stating that there was no adequate care in the North East of Haiti and that the boy needed an ICU unit and a burn unit to treat him. He recommended Port Aux Prince. I do know of a top of the line burn unit at the Children's hospital in Santiago,Dominican Republic, which is easier to get to from that area. 

I then traveled with the letter back to the border one hour and 20 minutes one way, on a hired motorcycle as I have no vehicle and public transport would take up to much time. I went to speak to the Director at customs to see if we could get the boy to the Santiago burn unit with the mother. I also showed him a picture of the boy. He said, "this boy is already dead". And almost turned me away at that point. I believe had the boy stayed in Haiti, his verdict would of been accurate. He asked me if the mother and boy had a passport. I said no and he asked me then how did I think they would get there. My response was a small smile with eyes filled with pleading that one human would show compassion to a small child. He granted permission for mom and child to the Dajabon hospital at the border in the Dominican and said IF they were to refer the patient to the burn unit then he would also grant that permission.

That is all I could do that day as the border between the two countries (Haiti and D.R.) closes at 5 p.m. The next day I went back to the hospital and mom chose to have him treated in the Dominican. In this part of Haiti there are no adequate ambulances. After 3 hours of running from one office to the other to get a bottle of I.V. and a stamp on a paper, the head nurse prepared him for the move. I hired a taxi to bring to the border (how crazy is that!) I am not a nurse, I have no medical knowledge. I was given instruction from the head nurse as to what to do should we get stuck at the border and need the other I.V. set up. I don't ever remember being so scared of doing something. I had to travel one hour and 20 minutes with a very ill child (mom was with us) in the Cap Haitian traffic and I was still not sure if the Director at the Dominican Republic border would still agree to him going through. 

When we got to the border at 2:20 in the afternoon the Director had stepped out of the office. The mother had to stay in the cab with the child in the hot Caribbean sun (no air conditioning in this cab). She fanned him with an envelope we had. I waited perhaps 40 minutes. One of the customs workers (Balith) told me that I should just talk to the secretary and see if somehow we could just move to the hospital without the Director's approval  The secretary had heard the conversation the previous day. I asked her to come and see the boy. By then a crowd was around the taxi so people could take a look at the disfigured child. She glanced at the 5 year old and went to see another official and began to try to explain to him the situation. I interrupted and took the stern looking man by the hand and gently pulled him to the car. One glance at the child and he waved us to the gate where the military were and motioned to them to let us through. We drove in a Haitian car in the Dominican Republic with the Haitian driver (no passport) accompanied by the customs worker (Balith)to direct us. We did not know where the hospital was. Once at the hospital I carried the boy in my arms into the emergency room and the gasps of the stunned people as they saw him just borke my heart. Everyone cleared a path in the crowded emergency room for us to get treatment for him.

The doctor was not present but a nurse called her over immediately. When the Doctor saw the boy she stopped stunned in her track and let out a spanish exclamation. She then had the nurse administer sivlerdeen cream (FINALLY) to the boys wounds. Meanwhile other people where trying to get a glimpse of the boy (which made me angry). The Doctor arranged for the ambulance to bring us to Santiago to the Arturo Grullon children's hospital where there is the best burn unit in the Caribbean.  Within 30 minutes we were on our way on this 3 hour ride.

Once at the hospital the child was in the burn unit within minutes and I was crisply stopped by the security guard who told me only the mother and child could go into the burn unit because of fear of contamination. I nearly hugged him! Finally adequate care. None the less I barged in (followed by security) because the mother does not speak the language or has never even set eyes on a Dominican person. She is from a fishing village (island) and is illiterate and has no education. 

While they were cleaning the wounds they discovered that his skull was burned also as his hair was washing off. The hospital in Haiti was not even treating his head. Hi entire face is burnt, his head, the back of his ears, parts of his little neck and his chest. 

I am now traveling daily into the city of Santiago (1:30 one way) to take care of mom (public transport). She shares a room with another Dominican mom and her son. She has no support system in this country. I am her only help for now. So I get her food, give her a break and check up on her personal needs. Today is Tuesday. I have not seen the child since his admittance last Thursday. He is now playing and he can open his eyes a little his mom tells me. I am not allowed into the room as visiting time is 11 A.M. only, Monday to Friday. I also have a cold and do not want to contaminate the child. 

Only by God's amazing grace could I get a child through the border and 8 military check points as well as his mother with no I.D. Only by God's grace is this child still alive and the Doctors say he will be fine. 

(Due to the graphic nature of the photos, We are not sharing them. Please continue to pray for this entire situation. Thanks everyone..Steve)

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