Cherlie and I have been in the U.S. for the past couple of weeks. At the end of October, we were privileged to be a part of a Haiti Appreciation Luncheon at my home church, Kingston Presbyterian Church (KPC) in NJ. We had a great time catching up with lots of friends and church members from KPC as well as other churches in the area. We are so grateful for their faithful support of our ministry in Haiti. Presbyterian Women from the New Brunswick Presbytery provided us with a wonderful lunch, replete with homemade desserts! Thanks to Helen Burd, who rallied the Presbyterian Women troops, and Pastor Sharyl Dixon who coordinated all the Kingston Presbyterian Church faithful.
Luncheon attendees enjoying the food and fellowship as well as an update from Dr. Wolf!
One of the highlights of the luncheon was the sale of Haitian crafts, just in time for the holidays
Some of the crafts that were sold at the luncheon were handmade items sewn and embroidered by students and graduates of Centre Lumiere, a vocational school in Cayes, Haiti, run by missionaries who we used to work with. Their aprons, purses, accessory bags, microwave pads, tea towels and pot holders were beautiful and almost sold out. Centre Lumiere items will soon be available for sale on the Friends for Health in Haiti website. Stay tuned!
Handmade mother/daughter aprons and other items made by students and graduates of Centre Lumiere in Cayes, Haiti
The day after the luncheon, I attended church at Kingston Presbyterian Church, my home church. In Sunday School, they asked me to speak to the youth about my early years growing up in the church and the influence it had on my decision to be a missionary. After that, everyone joined together in organizing a craft project to be used by our patients as they wait for their turn to be seen in clinic. It was intergenerational Sunday and young and old joined together to count plastic beads and cut plastic cord to put in a bag to be used to make a lovely necklace. When we get back to Haiti, we’ll distribute the materials to patients who are staying overnight on the clinic porch and will see what creations they show us in the morning!
Young and old(er) making up plastic bags with beads and cords for necklaces.
Two of the VIPs in Sunday School that day were my sisters, Laura Bedient, who is also a member at the church and Janice McMullin, who came up from her home in Virginia for the occasion.
Dr. Wolf’s sisters Laura Bedient and Janice McMullin in Sunday School
After our wonderful time in NJ, Cherlie and I then flew out to Milwaukee. There we had a productive FHH board meeting, shared a meal with our logistics coordinators Ray and Donna Moon, met with prayer partners at Eastbrook Church and took care of doctor and dentist appointments. We spent a wonderful morning in our new FHH office with Development Director Natasha Irish and Administrative Assistant Susan Baumgartner. Although lacking office furniture, the office is warm and welcoming and the productivity of Natasha and Susan is quite amazing! We’re thrilled to have them both on board.
Last Wednesday, seven of us took a road trip to Louisville, KY to attend the annual Global Health Conference co-sponsored by Christian Medical and Dental Association. One of the reasons we went to the conference this year was to promote the fifth edition of a book I co-authored, which now has a new title “Handbook of Medicine – a manual for practitioners in low-resource settings”. Our team consisted of Cherlie and me, logistics coordinators Ray and Donna Moon, Yvonne Ducharme, Jeanette Schweitzer and Development Director Natasha Irish.
The new fifth edition of a book co-authored by Dr. Wolf.
On our way, Ray and Donna drove a rental truck to Bluffton, IN, filled with drums of medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, toys and clothing for our patients in Haiti. We dropped off the items at the warehouse of Harvest Call, the mission branch of Apostolic Christian Church, who allow us to ship things on their containers to Haiti. Then, we continued on our way to the missions conference.
Unloading the truck was a team effort!
While I was at the Christian Medical and Dental Association booth discussing the new book, the rest of the team was networking with other organizations, attending the seminars and making friends with medical personnel who might some day be able to help us out in Haiti. Thank you, team, for all your hard work during the weekend! If you want a copy of the book, go to the CMDA website (http://www.cmda.org).