Alrighty, So I haven't quite finished my blog on "The Pursuit" but I do think I need to update people on what I am doing in Haiti. I had a successful trip here to Mission of Hope 4 days ago. I just received internet access this afternoon. So I am just now able post something.
Everything has been going fairly well. I am just now getting used to going to bed at 9 and waking up at 7. My college sleep schedule was a little different than this as you could imagine. I hope that I will be able to post a couple pictures and maybe a short video of where we are at now. People say a picture is worth a thousand words. Ironically, it would probably take exactly 1,000 words to describe what one of my pictures could describe for me. So I am going to wait on trying to describe in detail what the supplies look like. Instead let me try to explain what I am trying to do with the supplies. The ultimate goal is to be able to have a permanent system that can take incoming supplies, and separate them into three basic categories. (Trash, Keep, and Donate) Trash will consist of anything that is expired, or anything that cannot be used by anybody in Haiti. The Donate pile will consist of anything that we at Mission of Hope cannot use but some other clinic or hospital in Haiti could use. The keep pile will consist of anything that Mission of Hope can and will use. After that, the next step would be to organize the keeps into categories that will be easily accessible for the nurses and doctors. This whole plan seems to be simple and easy enough on paper. But that is where the pictures come in. I hope that I will be able to include a couple pictures so that you will understand how much supplies there really is. Anyways. We started by separating the big white boxes of supplies into keep and donate sides of the tent. The good part about this is that these boxes had already been looked through and the keeps and donates have already been decided and written on a list. The bad part was that when these HUGE boxes were moved from the warehouse down to the hoop tent they were put in random places and the keeps were not separated from the donates. So we spent all of day 1 (about 6 hours) moving about 10 boxes of supplies about 30 yards a piece. Saddening I know. The next day we spent building shelves out of used pallets so that when we started sorting through the random boxes we would have a place to put them. Today (day 3) we started laying out the random boxes (the smaller ones) on the ground, opening them up, and labeling them with what they contained. Tomorrow we hope to have some of the doctors come to the tent and tell us what can be used and what can not be used. We will then put what can not be used in the donate pile and what can be used we will attempt to organize (on the shelves we built) into broad, basic categories so that it is easy to find. We are starting to do all of this with the supplies that are already in the supply dome. (This is what the big, half circle tent is called) We are trying to ignore the circus tent and the rest of the warehouse of supplies. These supplies will start to be organized after organizing what is already in the supply dome. If I had to guess, I would estimate that the supplies already in the supply dome probably take up about 25% of the total amount of supplies. In summery, there is a ridiculous amount of work to be done. And the work that I will be able to do in the next 3 weeks that I'll be here is only the beginning part of the process that will probably take at least 6 months to successfully accomplish.
Anyways, I hope that I will be able to continue posting daily and I also hope that I will have time to finish "The Pursuit" soon. I will also try to get those pictures up as soon as I can. If you have any specific questions to ask you can either email me at danielwalton0@gmail.com or you can comment on here and I will try to include the answer in my next blog.
Well that is all I have time to type right now. More will follow.
In Him,
- Daniel
Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the update of your efforts there. I hope and pray that you are still experiencing peace that God is meeting you during work in Haiti. Your efforts with Lydia and Tracey will most definitely make a difference for MOH, but also the people of Haiti. I hope that Paul is able to come back to pick up some more supplies to distribute around other ministries in the area. Don't forget to take some time to rest and reflect with your friends there. Love,
Dad
Hey Daniel!!! Glad to know you are doing well! I really want to commend you on your hard work down there! No act of service is too small! God can use it to do great things! Your efforts will certainly make it easier for the doctors to assist people, possibly saving one more life than they would have been able to if they had to spend their precious time digging through the supplies!!! I am so proud to say that I am friends with you and Lydia--true servants of the King! Thank you for taking the time to post blogs and I can't wait to see the pictures! You are in my thoughts and prayers! Emily Hyatt
ReplyDeleteMy friend, I miss you a lot and you've not even been gone quite a week yet. I know that God is doing awesome things, not only in Haiti, but in your life as well. I am continuously praying for you and the girls down there, and telling everyone that I can about the awesome things you are doing.
ReplyDeleteOn a much lighter side, it would be more pleasing to the eye if the font that the posts are in is a lighter color like white or yellow. The black on blue is difficult to read even for my good eyes.
I love you man, and I can't wait to talk to you again.
Rob-E