Over the moon excited to introduce this young person. This is William everyone. He is Esther's son. Seemed appropriate to update this blog then start fresh. Esther's story of how we met her and cared for her in 2015 is below. Truly, Yvonne and myself never thought this would actually happen in real life - God always has a plan. It is better than any storyline written by Hollywood. It's REAL.
William is 14, lives with his grandfather and was the oldest of Esther's children. He does not live with his brothers and has no contact with them which is unfortunate since he would like too. Circumstances prevent that from happening. I pray that in Gods ultimate wisdom that these young sons of hers some day be re-united for a time.
William, for the first time in 14 years is going to school. Something we take for granted in our country. He is one of the "Save a Seat" children that we sponsor through GSLC and 3-strand cord (it's $300.00 a year for EVERYTHING, including one hot meal a day). Can you imagine school for the first time at 14?
God always has a plan and this moment was a huge goosebumps moment for the entire team that knew Esther's story and cared for her. He truly didn't know what was happening, everyone kept coming up and hugging him and he couldn't understand a word we were saying. We had one of our interrupters help us with the language barrier. We told him how much impact his mother had on all of us and how we started a fund in her name (2016) to directly hands on help with continued medical care for a handful of people we see in clinic that need additional care.
In a day or two I will post pictures and stories of our Haitian patients who we were able to help this year from the Esther Good Samaritan Fund. A woman with breast cancer (the tumor is so big the skin is splitting on her breast), 2 toddlers with hydrocephalus, a toe amputation and a dog bite, to name a few. Of course William too - He was seen and card for by one of the pediatricians on the team. He has asthma and needs inhalers and they are difficult and extremely hard to find in Haiti. I would like to personally thank everyone who contributed to the fund this year. The $1400.00, is changing lives.
Our Lord, savior and king is full of surprises. He knew back in 2015, that if we kept up our medical mobil missions and continued to help the folks of Haiti that we would be rewarded. We thought the book was finished and just like God, he came up with another chapter. He gave us the book of Esther and now he is adding a chapter for William.
The following follow up is from March of 2015 after my 60th BD.
Follow up and follow through. Several of you graciously donated to our Good Samaritan - Esther Fund. (This is where I start tearing up while typing). In lieu of people buying cards and gifts (at this age I don't need or know where to put stuff - exception tequila and champagne (I know where it belongs at the right time). I was thinking if (no obligation), we collected $200.00 for the Haiti fund next year that would be GREAT..... Another blessing from my gracious friends, we have checks and cash totaling almost $1500.00. Absolutely blown away by the generosity of so many for my passion. WOW WOW WOW. Trust me the Haiti team will use this next year to glorify the kingdom, directly hands on in some passionate way next January. Some of you may recall reading the blog with my story of Esther this past January. She changed the lives of several team members. Fabienne, our/my Haitian, friend and sister has continued to keep me updated these past two months on Esther. I received the following messages from Fabienne on March 27th.
My Dearest Jackie.
I found out that Esther passed away peacefully this week. Her two children are being cared for by family who have been very thankful for all you and the team have done in help and concerns. Please continue to pray for them. I love you. Fabi.
FabI
Thank you... I sent a reply to your email. Hope you are enjoying your weekend. Take a look when you have a moment,.. Hugs... Love you, Jackie
Fabi then sent the following message:
I read it and did some research. It took the pastor a week to get up to where Esthers family lives up in the hills and a good 4 days to get back down. I am understanding that she passed in the early part of march but it took some time for the mssage to get to me. I pray for you, that March be a time of light hearted- ness and not heaviness. I used to feel like that for june. Not anymore.
Your generosity is intense and beautiful. I can't wait to see you at home. A few more weeks.
Fab
although this was sad news it was not unexpected. Hard to explain what and how the spirit can move you at times. Esther, was a gift for a few short hours in my life. She is helping me daily keep things in perspective here in California. Thank you, all so much for the birthday gifts that will help other people like Esther and her family in the future..... HONESTLY, this is one of the best gifts I have ever received to be able to do more. We can't do everything, we can't necessarily fix the problem but we can do something. That is powerful (reaching for that tissue again).
Again to anyone reading this, I just want to say to all my party going, lei, coconut, grass skirt , Hawaiian shirt wearing friends. You all have a place in my heart. You are gifts. Would you all not agree I am blessed?
Don't cry because it's over. Smile Because it Happened. Dr. Seuss
(one of Rich's favorite sayings)
My Dr. Seuss quote:
SOMETIMES YOU WILL NEVER KNOW THE VALUE OF A MOMENT UNTIL IT BECOMES A MEMORY.
LOVE, HUGS, ALOHA, BLESSINGS .... GOD BLESS.
Jackie
Following is the original story from the Blog.
Note: this is not an experience story for the faint of heart about Haiti. I promise to post more about the mission with pictures and better times shared by the team in the next couple of days. But this has been heavy on my heart since it happened. And the good Lord is not going to grant me peace until I get it out there... Additional experiences and stories by the team with, pictures on the church mission blog too. Be sure to visit that site as well. Here goes!
HOW do you explain something you can't explain? You try really hard to explain, you can hear words that I attempt to use to describe this experience but you can't feel them. Haiti is something I feel. It is found in my heart after this 3rd mission trip. It has taken up residence, the experience has taken over a section of my heart, it lives and breathes with every beat (I know really deep). Not the island of Haiti - it's about Haiti's beautiful resilience people that have taken over a section of my heart and that of the Haiti 2015 GSLC team too.
How do you make someone see and feel a story about a woman named Esther who came into my life for a few short hours that I will remember and think about until the Lord calls me home. How do I explain, Yvonne my friend who took such compassionate loving care of this beautiful soul along with other team members. How Yvonne and myself will alway have the Esther experience living in us.
Let's see if I know how to express the experience... Day 1 clinic, the bus arrives to a courtyard of people waiting, the team sets up and gets to work. Laying in this crowd of people on a cloth is a woman named Esther (seen in the picture above). She has arrived by scooter (which seems like a miracle in its self), with her father and her brother to be seen by one of the providers. She is weak and needs to be carried into the church building which is our mobile clinic today. She is placed on the one and only gurney that is probably from the 50's, that was rummaged from the building next door. We are happy to have it.
Through our translator and her family we learn Esther is 30 years old, she has at least two children and perhaps three. Her husband has left her (probably because of how she looks), and her family is trying their best to take of her. Esther is dying. Her left eye is bulging white and extended out of the socket she is blind in her left eye. The left side of her face is swollen, she can barely move her lips and can mumble some to the translator. Protruding from and in her mouth is a huge mass covering her teeth inside of her gums, she can no longer close her mouth, that side of her face is badly swollen. She has a foul smell an odor. The tumors are infected, open and the smell is from the tumors and infection, she is rotting from the inside out. She is beautiful to us.
(Picture of Dr. John and his translator with Esther, awaiting test results).
We were told by a brother that 10 months ago she had a baby and that is when the tumors started. He wanted to blame the baby (not entirely his fault it's his lack of understanding being born and raised in Haiti with lack of world knowledge). Yvonne informed him that in no way was this the fault of the baby It was cancer. Esther had been turned away 5 times, we were told by Haitian hospitals, they had no money to pay for care or treatments. He kept repeating this is going to be so much work, over and over. She was going to be a burden to her family forever how ever many days she had left on earth and that was a big concern for them.
Yvonne, took amazing care of her running the few test we could do in our mobile clinic to rule out HIV and malaria, giving her meds for pain and fever, two IV's for dehydration, instructing the family on her care, how to give her water through syringes. I was doing whatever Yvonne needed me to do and giving Esther as much comfort as I could in between. Constructing an adult diaper for her from baby pampers and duct tape... (Yes it's true and it worked). Taking a wash cloth and wiping her head and neck to try and help the fever. Other team members fitting her for new shoes as she lay on the gurney and she let us know by the feel which ones were perfect for her. A pink and black pair of water shoes were the ones she mumbled fit the best. She made us smile.
I will never forget Esther's hands as I gently washed them one finger at a time, how as I let go of one she would lift the next one waiting for it to be washed. Talking to her in my calm American voice telling her she was beautiful and all the while seeing these protruding tumors and knowing I could not endure for one minute what she was enduring. She was brave and strong and her looks were not for the faint of heart. But here was a women, with children who's life was being shortened by where she lived... She was our sister in Christ.
Yvonne, continued to do everything she could for Esther and it was almost time to send her on her way, everything we could do we had done. It was decided that a small gauze patch be put over the bulging infected eye with saline solution to keep it moist after I had seen a small bug land on it ( think about that, she couldn't feel or know bugs were in her eye) and it was something people would gaulk at if not covered.
As we prepared her to leave I found pastor Ryan and we decided we should pray over her and with her family. I had helped care for this beautiful soul not knowing her name. When the translator said her name was Esther, I almost broke down in tears but I know Yvonne and I needed to be stoic, for Esther and her family. We joined hands with the family around Esther's gurney as PR prayed to our Lord and Savior and the translator repeated it in cerole, praying for her comfort, relief from pain, praying for her family, her children and giving thanks for all the help we were able to provide with what we had available, giving thanks and peace for the love of Jesus that surpasses all understanding. It was a huge God moment praying over this young woman. The prayer was calming and gave everyone peace.
Hours later, a few duct taped diapers (peeing is a good thing, she had extensive dehydration and the two IV's really helped), lots of instructuions to the family, meds, new shoes, her hygiene kits, my personal lip balm for her dry lips, some loving touch and a new pair of sunglasses later and it was time for her to go. We are not sure how she was able to arrive by scooter but we couldn't send her home on that mode of transportation. She had just had more medical attention than she had probably received in her short life time. She was calm, relaxed and we didn't have the heart to put her sandwiched between two or three people on that scooter. Yet the family didn't have money to pay for a tap-tap (basically this is an old Toyota truck with a camper shell on the back where they take about 20 passengers at a time to their destination, Drivers are maniacs and it looks totally unsafe but it is what they have for transportation) or a taxi. We had the father call for the taxi and we would fund Esther and her family getting home as comfortably as possible. Here she is walking out with her new shoes and glasses, assisted by her family. What a joyful moment for us.
I feel like God wants Yvonne and me to know How to tell Esther's story and share it the best way we can - put into words... To talk about the injustice for Esther and her people at the lack of health care in Haiti. We live in America and have commercials on our TV everyday about the abused and sick animals (no sugar coating here), they are still animals not humans. If she could have received an 8th of the health care we were blessed to have for Rich and her symptoms could have been diagonised at an early stage her outcome would be very different than how it is now.
For a short time in our lives we were forever changed and better for the experience because I believe God gave Esther to us for comfort, caring, compassion and love for those few moments. I can't tell you how much it hurts my heart to know Esther's story. Just sharing a story that impacted the life of Yvonne, the other mission team members, and myself. Telling a true life, hands on story so that you will have more AWARENESS and insight into a woman named Esther who lives in a third world country without the basics we take for granted everyday. If you can or want to get involved to help Haiti there are many ways. Just be sure they have a direct benefit. Yes, Good Shepherd will be going for their 5th mission trip in January 2016. Praying God will bless with me what will be my 4th trip next year.
Now back in Irvine, in my beautiful home, loving friends and family and reflecting on Haiti.... I wouldn't change a single experience (ok maybe the mosquito bites and a shorter flight home), that happened or I personally experienced on this mission. I am a believer and Jesus died for me. I know I will see Esther again in heaven. She will be there with Jesus and Rich to welcome me into eternal life in our new and perfect bodies.
Esther is a book in the bible and I am not a bible scholar, I knew she had a mighty impact but didn't remember in what capacity and how.... So I picked up my NIV, Life Application bible.... These are the first words I read:
MEGATHEMES explanation/importance
The book of Esther tells of the circumstances that were essential to the survival of Gods people in Persia. These circumstances are not the result of chance but of God's grand design. God is sovereign over every area of our life.
With God in charge, we can take courage . He can guide us through the circumstances we face in our lives. We should expect God to display his power in carrying out his will. As we unite our life's purpose to God's purpose, we benefit from his sovereign care.
BLUEPRINT:
The book of Esther is an example of God's divine guidance and the care over our lives. God's sovereignty and power are seen throughout the book of Esther. Although we may question certain circumstances in our lives, we must have faith that God is in control. Working through both the pleasant and difficult time so that we can serve him effectively.
Secondly (summarizing), because of Queen Esther's courageous act, a whole nation was saved. Seeing her God-given opportunity, she seized it. Her life made a difference. Read Esther and watch for God at work in your life. Perhaps he is prepared you to act in "such a time as this".
Pray for Esther, her family and children, that she have comfort, calm, care and peace for however long she has left on earth until the day she goes to heaven and receives that new and perfect body. Perhaps he has already called her home.
These words are soon to be out there in cyber universe. I think my personal motto for 2015, is going to be to "make a difference"... Esther certainly made a difference.
Hugs, blessings and aloha from me.
