Culture Shock

I don't know how many people will read this...if any... but culture shock really really REALLY sucks. I'm kind of struggling to readjust to things here at home, I miss haiti so much it physically hurts, I miss the people I met out there even more and I've become an emotional wreck...so if you're reading this please pray that yes I'll adjust (cos i need to in order to function as a human being!!) but that I won't forget or push my experiences away ... That I won't loose my follow through. Thanks

God Bless
Laura xo

I've completely lost what little sanity I ever had!!

Ok so now... we're sitting in JFK, we missed our flight out of JFK to heathrow because the delta flight out of fort lauderdale was delayed by 45mins. So pretty much we've been screwed over by ALL the airlines (I'm never flying with Delta again!!) We've had to book a flight from JFK to Dublin with aerlingus (hopefully we'll get some money back on our travel insurance) and our bags well... apparently one of them - we don't know which one - has been sent to atlanta and from there to cincinatti and it's supposed to go from there to heathrow - where aren't even going anymore so that could be fun trying to get that back! and we still haven't seen the other bag which is supposed to be here in JFK!!! Its now 2am and Evan and I are kinks of laughter at everything ... cos lets face it if we don't laugh we'd probably cry!!! Just wanted to keep you updated!! Hoping to get into Dublin (hopefully) at around 5.15 on monday morning and get a bus up to newry... so with a bit of luck I'll see you sometime this week but who knows...
Love you all lots!!!
Laura xoxo

ARGHHHHHHH!!!

Ok so clearly I have the worst luck in the world (and I HATE fort lauderdale - nothing good ever happens there!!!) so once again I'm sitting in this random airport -this time with my luggage - but no flight!! we missed our connecting flight from fort lauderdale to JFK because our lynx flight (the one from haiti to fort lauderdale) was delayed and well... its haitian!! so we've been booked onto another later flight to JFK with delta and they've booked us on later flight from JFK to London with british airways but we need to get our ticket re issused there apparently and we only have an hour and 15 mins between the 2 flights and if we get it that will get us into heathrow for 10.20 tomorrow morning and our aerlingus flight leaves at 10.50 so we probably aren't gonna make that one!!!

So Pray for us please this is driving me insane I'm completly dehydrated Ive been crying so much!!
Hopefully see you all soon
God Bless
Laura xoxo

Maybe my last post??? Then again maybe not...

Ok so I'm leaving Haiti on saturday and this could be my last post... then again it might not... cos lets face it Haiti has stolen my heart in so many ways and more than likely I'll be 'hittin haiti' again. I've made some wonderful friends, done some pretty indescribable stuff, seen some heart wrenching soul breaking things, and I have so many stories to tell you all when i get home I just hope that God will help me to show you all just a glimpse of what I've experienced here in Haiti... I also hope I don't bore you all to death with my stories!!!! (sorry in advance if I do!) All I ask now is that you pray for me as I prepare to leave because leaving WILL be the hardest thing I have to do pray that God will give me peace the strength to say my goodbyes...preferably without too much dehydration!!! By the way... when on earth did I turn into such a wuss??? I've cried wayyyy toooo much in Haiti!!! lol

And can I just say again THANK-YOU!!!! Thank you so much I wouldn't have been able to get to Haiti without all your support... I wouldn't have been able to have coped or survived out here for so long without all your encouragement through text messages, commments, posts, emails facebook comments and most importantly prayer - prayer is the reason I've lasted in Haiti because none of this would have been possible without God and I want to Thank Him for giving me this opportunity.

Hopefully see you all soon!!
Laura xoxo
Ps pray for safe travel- again four flights and some VERY tight connection times
pps love you all lots!!!

21

Oh my goodness - it's the 14th of july - I'm 21 today - I'm offically old - Mid-life crisis - I can't cope!!!!!!!!! lol

xo

I don't want to come home!!

Much as I love you lot at home ... I really really really don't want to come home, I love it here and God is teaching me soo much. I've learnt so much about myself, I've learnt I need to rely on God completely, I've learnt that I'm not gonna save the world only God can and maybe sometimes we need to get out of the way and let Him, I've learnt that in order to not waste my life i need to spend it boasting only in the cross and that everything good in life is because of Jesus, as is everything bad but God uses those bad experiences to teach us and through hardship we learn endurance through endurance character and through character hope... Jesus is our reason for hope he is the saviour of the world I think I needed to be retaught that because we ...well i... get complacent and loose the awe I shoould have of His wonderful Grace ... ok I'm rambling now sorry! But that's what the christian life is about - Transforming Grace.

I can't believe I've been here 6 weeks!!! I only have 1 left and I know God has soo much more to show me and tell me I'm excited! I'm excited about what I've learnt already! Even silly things like why we can't wear tank-tops, and never stick your tongue out at haitian boys cos to them - that's a come on ... yikes!!! and don't accept all the marriage proposals you get in life (if i did I'd be married 30 times over - a week - in Haiti lol!)

The last thing i want to say is - yes Ive had tough times in haiti but Ive had loads of funny times, good nights of craic laughing soo hard my sides hurt, blonde moments and just general silliness. We nothern Irish amuse ourselves if not anyone else at least! And I want to yes learn from the hard times because 'When I am weak then I am strong' but I also want to let you know that I've had alot of fun out here - seriously - alot!!!! I'm still trying to convince some of the others to play knock door run at night but I think thats where the line gets drawn!!! Its definitely gonna happen before I leave!!

Thank you so much for all your prayers
laura xoxo

PS antibiotics make me sick - not good!!!
pps bug bites make me itchy
ppps it gets really really really hot when the electricity goes out at night and there's no more fans!!!!
pppps thats all!! lol
xo

Growth

Hi Everyone, so there was a reason behind the tone of my last blog entry, We had a patient - a wee boy He was 6 and was called Ogblion (i think thats how it was spelt) he was very very very sick and we worked with him for about 3 hours trying to secure him a decent airway he was on nebulisers, we had the equipment ready to do a traecheostomy we gave him the max amount of adrenaline he could have, his mum said it had started on Friday so he had been struggling to get oxygen for nearly 4 days he was getting very tired, which was dangerous- it was a really rough morning. When we ran out of options (and prayed alot) we decided to take a chance and try and get him to the hospital which is about half an hour away ( on a good day). So God was with us and we got him there in record time. I won't bore you with all the details but pretty much we found out he had Diptheria (which we get vaccinated for at home) None of us had ever seen this before. We found out yesterday (wednesday) that he died that morning ... so ... I've lost my first patient ... and I'm not entirely sure how to deal with this, plus we were all exposed to a very serious and dangerous disease which killed people in the UK years ago and still does in Haiti Its transferred by airborne droplets - bearing in mind he was on a nebuliser and we were in an enclosed space with no air conditioning with him for 3 hours. So yesterday we all had to get a booster for tetnus and diptheria and we have to take antibiotics for a week. There were 5 of us in the room - Gavin, Evan Sharkey (a dr from NI) Amy (a nurse from Canada) Sun Min ( a med student from America) and Me so we were exposed the most. Pray for our health that God will keep his hand upon us. Pray that I'll be able to grow from this experience and that God will use it and all the other things I see and do out here to teach me, increasing my faith and reliance on him.

Thanks for all your support guys it really means ALOT to me!!!
Lots of Love
God Bless
Laura xoxoxo

Good days followed by heart breaking earth shattering days

Ok so just when I think I've got the hang of thing here in Haiti and at the clinic i get the feet cleaned from under me! I had a really good week last week, saw a lot, learnt alot, met some amazing people, said goodbye to some wonderful people and generally God blessed me.

We had a wonderful weekend, loads of good craic, however on sunday we were on the way to church whenever we got a phonecall from a mum who's kid was in sickle cell crisis so we had to come back to the clinic and treat her (just giving her an IV and morphine) so our plans changed and we went to the local church right beside the clinic which was an amazing experience! Then this morning I said goodbye to Nadine and Vicki (the 2 Canadian nurses who were living with me) I'll miss them loads!!!

Today was probably the hardest day I've had at the clinic so far emotionally, spiritually and of course medically I just ask that you pray for the people of Haiti, pray for the nurses and doctors both in the clinic and in other hospitals in haiti, pray for families who can't afford to keep their own kids and so try to pass them off to strangers, pray for the AIDS crisis in Haiti, and for vacinations which prevent so many diseases pray that people won't die from easily preventable diseases. People die from things like Diptheria and Polio, things we haven't seen in the UK for maybe 30 years, because it's easily prevented by a simple childhood injection, but in Haiti when someone gets these thing 8 times out of 10 they die and thats one of the hardest things to cope with out here soooo many people dying of preventable diseases and malnutrition.

I don't really know how to communicate to you how I'm feeling at the minute because I'm not even sure myself ... so I suppose that will be my last prayer request pray for me and the other missionaries that when days like these come along we'll be able to lean on God (all the time not just on days like these) because if today was anything to go by - I cannot do this alone - I really can't. I've had a rough day guys just pray that I'll be able to process what's going on in my head and that God will help me make some sense out of it and that I'll learn and grow because of it.

Thanks for all your support and prayers
Love you all Loads
Laura xoxo

Good days followed by heart breaking earth shattering days

Ok so first of all can i say sorry mummy! I had a patient yesterday afternoon (how wierd does that sound!) There was a car crash around lunch time and we spent most of the afternoon suturing the huge deep gash on the back of his hand (including an artery! yikes!) Then we had to take him down to the x-ray place about 10 minutes down the road. We had to take him there because the X-ray machine at bethesda broke (as in completely unfixable) in January so everytime they need an x-ray herewe have to either send or take people to the other x-ray place which charges about 4 times as much for an x-ray which in the current economical situation is crazy cos people can't afford basic food never mind an x-ray which cost about 3 weeks wages! (alot of the time we subsidise or pay for the x-rays). So it turned out his elbow was broken in 2 places (for you medical people reading this it was the head of the radius and the elecronon - i think thats spelt right?) so we had to bring him back and put him in a cast. He was the most amazing wee man he was about 75 and was an elder in the church that one of the nurses in the clinic goes to - well actually i think her husband is the pastor- and he prayed with us so many times thanking God that he didn't die in the crash, thanking Him for bringing us t0 Him and much much more he even sang for us i think it translated I love the Lord, I love the Lord, I love the Lord for all he has done for me, I love the Lord, I love the Lord, I love the Lord for all he has given me, now this wee man literally had nothing but the clothes he stood in and he was praising the Lord for all he was worth - it was so humbling to see and hear!

The main reason I wanted to write this post though was to say goodbye to some people. Now when they actually left I quite literally balled my eyes out (some of you know I'm not too good with goodbyes!)and they even gave me a birthday present which made me cry even harder! The team that arrived the day after me, left on tuesday afternoon and it was one of the hardest things I've had to do out here! They have been there for me the whole time we had some amazingly funny times, playing alot of games and taking alot of pictures (esp in my room - imagine 12 people on a single bed trying to pose for pictures!) and some sad times when we cried together and got each other through some of the tougher stuff. I've truly made some life long friends - so they'll be invading Norn Iron over the next while! So (in no particular order!) Jen, Beth, Emily, Carly, Anna, Christina, Mary (and not forgetting) Tim thankyou guys for everything you taught me out here, everything you shared with me, thank-you for letting me be your kimmy gibbler! and know that I love you all lots and everyday out here is a struggle without you.

The other person I wanted to say goodbye to is Julie (she's from NI) she's a physio and has been here for 6 months, and she left yesterday, it was alot of fun getting to know her, and as much as I'll miss her its not just as emotional cos lets face it I'll see her in like 3 weeks time! So Julie love ya lots and miss you loads and I'll see you when I get home and we'll meet up for that coffee and you'll esp have to meet all my family ;)

Thanks again for all the comments and messages guys!
Love you all lots and miss u LOADS
God Bless
Laura xoxo

Thanks!

Ok guys so I've been here a month now - wow - a whole month i seriously don't know where the time has gone!! So I just wanted to do a post at this point to say thanks.

Thanks for all the comments on my blog, for the texts, the emails, the comments on facebook and bebo, sometimes they've made me laugh, alot, they've made me cry evenmore because lets face it, I miss u guys all like crazy!

But i just wanted to let you know how much of an encouragement it is to know that there are people at home praying for me I seriously wouldn't have made it this long without prayer warriors like u guys at home lifting me up to God, He is really blessing me in my time out here but he's also challenging me massively and i need alot of prayer support to get me through all that I'm seeing and doing out here, so I want to thank you all for that. I don't wanna mention people by name and single anyone out - but u guys know who you are - you've been with me every step of the way encouraging me, you've been there for me when I've been excited, when I've been scared, nervous, worried and even when I was chickening out... now I'm crying (thats the one downside about a trip like this - the dehydration!! (some of it admittedly is due to sweat!) but alot of it is because of tears, I miss u guys LOADS and just wanted to let you know that its because of you that I'm out here learning, learning about who God is and who I am in him (and of course a little bit of medicine on the side as an added bonus!) So Thank-you Thank -you Thank-you I can't put it into words how grateful I am that God has blessed me with friends and family like you... I better stop now before I completely dehydrate!!! I'm praying for you all everyday and Thank u for remembering me

Yours in His Service
Laura xoxoxo

Furry little friend!

Ok so I had a brilliant weekend again - we went to the beach again but this time we went to labadee which is owned by the royal caribbean cruise ship so when the ship isn't docked its open to the public for use its only about 100 goudes in - around a pound i think. The only thing is its totally americanised so its full of like hair braiding stations and cafes and bars etc! Altogether around 30 of us travelled in one big truck so there was definitely some close fellowship! There was the 2 american teams (1 construction, 1 medical) me, Sunmin and a few others!!! Evan also arrived on saturday I was so excited cos it meant another good oul Norn irish person to stand up for u lot at home lol alot of the banter between us and the americans is about the language barrier we've had some interesting consequences just because of terms like pants, ladybird and torch!!!

Then on sunday morning we had an early start! We went to pastor daniels church - he also works in the clinic - which started at 7 am!!! It was amazing though ,they presented each of us with certificates with our names on them to say thank you for risking our live to get on a plane and come to haiti to help!! it was so nice! Then after that they played/sang a song and pastor daniel announced that the whole church was to embrace eachother and bless eachother ... ok so i kind of have personal space issues with people i dont know... so this was... interesting to say the least!!! I got around 100 hugs and kisses in the space of about 2 minutes!!! Yikes! I think I've gotten my quota of hugs for the next year! lol. Every sunday afternoon we go to the cristoff hotel for lunch but because church was over by like 10 there was no point going back to the compound since the cristoff was about 10 mins from pastor daniels church. The cristoff happens to have the only swimming pool in the whole North of Haiti whoop whoop lol!! So you can probably guess what we did - yep we went straight to the cristoff and relaxed by/in the pool until lunch!!! What an amazing day The craic was ninety!!! Carly (one of the girls on the American medical team she's my age) and i were messing around and i got her to stand on my hands and i threw her up and back into the water (if that makes sense lol) so then julie briggs the physio at the clinic whos from NI taught SunMin and I how to throw people properly (she used to coach gymnastics) and she taught carly how to do back flips so by the time lunch came our arms were sooo tired I think we threw Carly, Amy (one of the nurses from canada) Julie and Tyler (who was on the construction team) sooo many times i lost count lol! Sunday afternoon we came back to the compound and just had a bit of banter and some people slept etc.

Yesterday (monday) was just a normal day in the clinic lots of consulting lots of patients, malnourished, diabteic, TB, HIV, Hypertension etc and then 2 new people moved into my house!!! so exciting!!! They're called Nadine and Vicki, they're nurses from Canada and are here for 2 weeks so its class to have some company (they're around my age too). Last night however i went down to the kitchen just to get my bottle of water out of the freezer and all the lights were out so, as you do, i turned it on - big mistake - as i saw a rat run right across my path across the kitchen counter I let out a big GASP stopped to make sure and process that I had actually just seen what I saw and then Ran down the corridor screaming ERICA!!!! I'm jumpy now just wrting about it!! So we've set a trap and some poison but there's no sign of it ... yet... I really don't do rats!!! Anyway thats enough for now lol. Missing you all loads!! Please keep reading and posting!! (Apparently mummy is quite good at it now if you want some advice lol)
God Bless xoxoxoxo

Bethesda Medical Clinic (BMC)

This week I've been working flat out in the clinic. I've been with Dr Gary (who is in charge of the AIDS clinic) and Miss Betsy and Miss Loude who are the counsellors for the AIDS clinic. It works like this - the doctors ask everyone they think is at risk if they will go for an HIV test (which is pretty much everyone) and they can choose to opt out which some people do, so everyone who gets sent for an HIV test has to be pre counselled and post counselled regardless of the test outcome. Miss Betsy and Miss Loude have the perfect opportunity to speak to people about Christ as many people think there is no point in life if they test positive for HIV and they have led so many people to the Lord that way. The AIDS programme involves ALOT of paper work, each new patient is registered and there are seven types of forms that have to be filled in 3 of which have to be filled in every time they visit which is about once a month. There is no computer system at the clinic so everything is done by hand which is a huge hassle and means alot more work, but the staff plods right on through all that paper work. So when someone is diagnosed with AIDS they get put in the programme and alot of their medication, food and transport (especially when they aren't well enough to get themselves to the clinic etc) is all paid for. Their progress and associated symptoms are all monitored and dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible therefore prolonging the life of many many people.

Also this week I've been doing alot of consulting with Dr Gavin and Dr Rodney which has been really good experience and I'm finding I'm starting to understand alot more Creole - I still have a very long way to go, but Dr Rodney (a Haitian doctor) who is great craic, announced to me yesterday that he was going to stop speaking English to me!! And today he kept his word so I’ve been having to try and speak and learn more and more Creole! Last night I sat down to try and learn some more and realised that my English was hardly good enough to start and try and learn another language! So please pray that I'll pick it up and be able to speak it better!

Today I helped out in the well baby clinic too which was so much fun the Haitian babies are sooo cute! (nothing on Ben and Ryan though lol) and pretty much the mums get given alot of education and then the babies weights and temps are checked (which i was doing) and then recorded on their charts and then all this information has to go into a record book where we have to work out (based on their age in months and weight) whether they are normal, underweight or malnourished - today we had 3 malnourished babies, which is a bit abnormal due to the effectiveness of the well baby clinic. I also had to do alot of this working out and putting the information into the record book, here's hoping they can read my hand writing!! Plus the name aren't good old norn irish names so I struggled spelling them and pronouncing them when I had to call a baby to be weighed, a few times I called a name and the whole room just burst out laughing! Great for a girls self confidence!! lol.

I just want to ask you to pray for one wee girl (she’s about 3 and a half weeks old)who has a haematoma ( a bleed in her brain) these are common enough at birth and usually go away after 2/3 weeks but this one is pretty big and she had a big bump on her head where the blood was gathering, we had to refer her onto the hospital for surgery - which is a big deal here, well anywhere is the world for a baby so small and young!

Thanks again for all your prayers, posts, emails and texts they're so encouraging!! Miss you all lots and lots like jelly tots!!! Kisses!! Laura xoxo

Beach!!!

Ok so the beach was amazing!! (i kinda got a bit sunburnt!! oopps!!) mmm yea a fun day but on the way back literally as we got on the truck the heavens opened on us and it bucketed down like mexico/florida style only harder!!! It was so much fun it felt like being at home lol! We were literally soaked right through!!! And of course me being me I started singin my heart out!!! Things like It's raining men, and I'm singing in the rain, and my favourite I got chill's (from you're the one that I want - Greese!) and all the Haitians were running for cover - don't know if it was to get out of the rain or to get away from our singin lol - probably both!!! But as we drove past we heard them shout fow fow blanc - translated - crazy crazy white's!!!! lol. A fun day all round!! keep posting I love hearing from you guys!!!!
Lots of Love
Laura xoxoxox

Prayer

So yesterday (friday) was the OMS half day of prayer which meant everything (the clinic included) closed down for the day and we had a big service in the seminary chapel and we prayed and sang and prayed some more! It was amazing these guys just commit absolutely everything to God in prayer - it was such a challenge in so many ways! Today I'm heading to the beach with the American team I'm so excited! lol! Playing football on the beach and swimming in the sea ... its a tough life being a missionary lol I'm only joking! The missionaries here work so hard they really live their lives by colossians 3;23! So I think they deserve a day off every once in a while! Cheryl if you're reading this would you do me a massive favour and send me a picture of my 2 favourite nephews?! I miss them sooo much, its unbelievable! I'm totally cravin to hear 'aunty wa-wa, come play in the hall!!' I asked mummy to but she just laughed at me lol Thanks!!

Love you all Lots!!!
Laura xoxo

OMS

Hey guys so today i got a tour of all the different departments within oms in haiti. First we saw a video on the starfish school programme which is the church run schools which as far as i understood is run completely on sponsorship of the kids and they get fed and everything at school. At the minute they're trying to get all 32 of their schools into a government run programme which will feed the kids rice and beans rather than just bread and peanut butter like they're getting at the minute but each of the schools have to have somewhere secure to store the food the government gives them. At the minute a lot of schools don't have that and they're trying to raise money to build them ASAP otherwise the government will just give it to other schools or not at all! So for each school that needs a secure house they have to raise £1000 and to sponsor a kid is around £12.50 a month they were so cute i cried watchin the video! (who knew i was so emotional!)

We then watched a video on the seminary which told us how they are trying to train haitian men to take over the ministry because thats how it works best because as much as we try to integrate we will never understand the Haitians and their culture as well as the Haitians do! The current seminary where they teach all the guys (and some girls) is about to fall down - parts of it already have - so at the minute about 5 miles down the road OMS are building a new seminary including dorms for the guys and girls. So we were taken to see this there is still a long way to go and they really need some help so if you know anyone in construction send them to Haiti!!! Well actually most of the building is done its things like rubbing down the walls and painting and fitting showers and bathrooms, so anyone could help out (i dont pretend to know much about building and even i was up for it lol) The missionaries that are here are doing an amazing job so please pray for them! They also hire alot of locals which is good for building relationships in the surrounding community!

We were then brought out to radio 4veh and given a tour by Scott, its amazing the shear number of people the gospel is broadcast to every hour of every day its pretty much like UCB only better! As part of their ministry they give out wee radios with solar panels which are fixed tunned to radio 4veh and horizon 94.7 ( horizon 94.7 is like the young peoples version!) Each radio costs about £15 which isn't alot!

Obviously the other part of the oms ministry is bethesda medical clinic which i've been really involved in over the past week. But recently due to economic crisis people cant afford the tiny fee of 30pence the clinic charges to see the doctor. This means less people are coming to the clinic full stop or they are coming later and later in the stages of their diseases which mean a lot of times they've progressed too far for us to easily fix!

I've seen alot today and I've alot to think and pray about. I just ask that you'd pray for me as i try and figure out all this stuff in my head and pray for God's guidance in the short term and longterm future!

Love you all lots!!
God Bless
Laura xoxoxoxoxo

Luggage!! whoop whoop!!

ok guys so i just realised that i didnt tell you i got my luggage!! It was actually the most exciting day of my life i actually (literally!) skipped out of the airport. I got it on thursday i dont think i would have gone to roque if i hadn't have gotten it cos lets face it i was already surviving in the compund on 3 outfits never mind climbing a mountain lol! Thanks for the love and prayers I got eaten my mosquitoes and insects 2day (not bugs like the americans call them!) so pray that i wont be too itchy!!! Love u all lots!!!
Laura xoxoxo

Roque!

Hey guys so this weekend I went to Roque to do a mobile clinic this involved a 3-4 hour drive and then a 2 hour hike up a mountain a bit bigger than Slieve Donard at 37 degrees Celsius!! We did a lot of this on donkey’s (I would have preferred to have walked!) it was so scary! We left the OMS compound at 6:30 am and arrived at around 12:30pm once we got there we had to start the clinic for the day after some lunch (rice and beans and some cashew nut sauce – it was amazing mummy you’ll have to get the recipe!) I mainly helped out in the pharmacy and in the lab – yep that’s right we brought a mobile lab and a couple of techs (Tim and Mary) they were brilliant at their job and this was their 3rd year going to roque – so they let me do some bits and pieces which was a great experience! we worked till it was well dark! none of us slept overly well that night (well except for me i could sleep through a tornado - 20 years of having to listen to mummy and daddy snore in the next room does amazing things lol!!!) the next morning we set up and went all day again with a few breaks for food inbetween which included stew for breakfast ... interesting ... but all good! there were no proper bathrooms so none of us could shower the whole time we were up there - we definitely smelt pungent once we got down the mountain! we went to church in Roque ( in the same building where we had the clinic!) the people were so welcoming and sang some amazing songs seriously hatians know how to harmonise!!! I was in heaven lol! I walked down the mountain there was no way i was getting back on a donkey I nearly broke my neck like 6 times trying to get up the mountain never mind down but unfortunately i had a run in with a big thorn on my way down - quite literally a thorn in the flesh! But i survived!

Today (monday) we ran another mobile clinic but this one was only a 2 hour truck drive away it was slightly less organised but still as rewarding i even got to take some blood and do some examinations! Gavin is all on for letting me get some good experience I love it!

I just read all your post there and ended up in tears lol i miss u guys loads (can u tell Iv been spending time with americans?! Theres a big group here full of girls my age which def helped me settle in they arrived the day after me!) Thank you so much for all your prayers and keep going cos i really need them im tired and achey and my IBS has just started to act up I'm also taking devotions 2moro morning yikes! Keep posting too, its a real encouragement I'm gonna try and call home tomorrow mummy i promise!!
Love you guys!! xoxoxoxox

Hi!! Im still alive yeah!

Hey everyone so I know its been a while but I'm still trying to get on my feet I've had an amazing few days - its wednesday night 9 pm and my luggage still hasn't arrived (see mummy I told you it was a good idea to pack for a few days!!) hopefully it'll come to more but there's no promises! Its been a really eventful first couple of days with 2 major car crashes so the clinic has been busy that way (apparently this doesn't usually happen - thats the effect I have on places!!! oopps!) I miss u guys all loads. I havent been able to ring yet so ... mummy daddy etc I love u loads and im fine! I'm heading up the mountains on friday morning til sunday evening with the mobile clinic which is a big deal Im really excited please pray for our travel (around 5-7 hrs 2 of which is a hike) and safety up the mountain and that we will show Gods glory to the people we meet through our Joy in God and the things we do for them. Hope you aren't missing me too much!! Laura xoxo

LOST LUGGAGE!!!

ok guys so here i am sitting in fort lauderdale (i think thats hows its spelt!) it has been a VERY long day i think I've been up for nearly 28hrs its 1am here. I am shattered ive navigated my way around belfast intl heathrow AND JFK and now im in this random airport iv never heard of in my life in florida and they've lost my luggage i just stood at the conveyor belt and cried (not a good look lol) My laptop batt is about 2 run out so thats all for now please please pray!!! Thanx
Laura xo

Getting packed!

Ok guys so this is the blog I've set up to try and keep everyone up to date with what I'm doing and where I'm going. I'm going to try my best to write in it every few days but I can't make any promises :)

As most of you know I'm heading to Haiti on the 1st of june (less than 2 weeks now - YIKES!) for 7 weeks. At the moment I'm trying to get packed and making lists lists and more lists! I'm panicking slightly just at the thought of it!

I'd ask that you pray for me as I prepare mentally and spiritually for the trip, and that I won't forget anything major - like my PJs (ohhh pjs! have to put that on my list!)

I also ask that you'd pray for the actual journey I have to fly from belfast international to London Heathrow ( I hope I can avoid terminal 5!) to JFK New York to Fort lauderdale (Miami) and from there to cap-hatien (haiti) thats a lot of flights, and a lot of places for both me and my luggage to get lost in! I'm making the journey on my own so I'm apprehensive to say the least!

Thats all for now thanks for reading and God Bless!

Laura
ps. feel free to leave a comment I'd love to hear from you!!