First night

We arrived without incident at the mission complex in La Romana. The
dorms here house about 60 or so, and there are around 70 here tonight.
We've met a pediatrician, cardiologist, ER doc, and 2 nurse
practitioners who will be going into Haiti with us tomorrow. In
addition, there are several folks still around from last week who are
going with us - some logistical, some pharmacy, some I'm not sure yet.

Today was low key - we arrived, sat around for a couple of hours, then
had dinner - pork (I think), potatoes, broccoli, and carrots. (I must
document food for my family's sake. But someone needs to forward this
on to Dad because you know he'll never go to read a blog!) After that,
more visiting with folks. There's even a nurse from Charleston here on
our team.

Right now, it's pretty chaotic here, but there seem to be a good core
of people who have been on other trips into Haiti in the past weeks
who are bringing some order. We've yet to meet Kristy, who is the
missionary who has lived down here for years, is a nurse practitioner,
and is leading the team. We'll meet her tomorrow as we spend the day
preparing for the week.

Jason and I are currently camped out on the roof of the dorms. It's a
little crowded inside, and the weather is great out for camping under
the stars. It's a little loud now, but that's life in the developing
world!

So far so good, that's the summary!

Oh, some have asked who we are down here with. It's interesting to
hear all the different connections people have. We came through World
Medical Mission, the medical end of Samaritan's Purse. They have an
affiliate hospital here in DR, Good Samaritan Hospital, which is
connected to the American Baptist denomination. Though the media has
often called the ten Americans arrested for trying to take children
across the border "American Baptists," they are in no way associated
with this denomination or organization - it's sort of a misnomer
(leave it to the media!)

In response to questions about what exactly we'll be doing, it seems
that we will be setting up mobile clinics in and around Port-au-
Prince; mostly in church courtyards and other areas that can be
someone secured and controlled. We hope to see around 300-350 people a
day. Now that the acute traumas have settled down some, it sounds like
we'll be doing a lot of general primary care things. The WHO as of
last week was not reporting any infectious disease outbreaks (yet,) so
I don't know how much we'll see of that. There are certainly a lot of
post-operative patients that are now 4-6 weeks out from surgery, so
that could be possible.

Ok, bedtime now. Thanks again for all your prayers. Jessica, Jason,
Ellisa, Brent, and I all thank you and send our love.

Soli Deo Gloria!!

Sent from my iPhone

John David Williamson
John.David.Williamson@gmail.com