Day 2--Doug--Why we are here

There is a problem with short term mission trips. They are frenetic, splashy, and pricey, and then they are gone. If there is no ongoing effort and continuity, It's a waste of resources, of time, talent, and treasure. 

Today we went to Latennerie, a small town to the east of Cap Haitien. They have a church, a school, and a clinic. The poverty of this area is hard to comprehend. There are about 100 students in the school. The teachers make about $40 per month. Tuition is $20 per year. Many of the families cannot afford even that, so the Methodist Church supports them. The church cannot afford to keep both the school and clinic open, so in 2012, they made the painful decision to close the clinic. The nearest medical care is now 45 minutes away. So we come this week to not just give away our vitamins and blood pressure medicine. We want to establish a relationship with this community and its people. Our goals are many: restart the clinic, figure out how to support a physician to staff the clinic, sponsor students at the school, help them build up their village. These are not short term trip goals, but this week is a start.