A TEAM FOR ROSE

     Rose-Guerlande Geffrard was born in a small village in northern Haiti with the odds stacked against her. She was born with a birth defect that might have serious consequences for her life. Rose was born without any way to have a bowel movement except through a fistula (small opening from her intestines) into her vagina. Most children with that defect die within a few days in Haiti. A second tragic event in her life was that her mother abandoned her. Somehow her grand parents kept her alive and even sent her to school. It must have been embarrassing to Rose to go to school and have no control over her bowels. She would have smelled badly and been teased by the other children. A mission group from the US,  called His Hands in Haiti, discovered Rose when she was 8 years old when she and the other children of the village were being screened for health problems at a church school she was attending. When they realized the severity of her problem they referred her to Dr. Manno Marius, who was consulting at the remote clinic in Danda. He and Pastor Elima then worked together and found a Cuban surgeon in Cap Haitian who was willing to do a colostomy on her. Pastor Elima and Rose's grandfather cared for her while she was in the hospital, providing for her needs, bringing her food and supplies. There were many challenges, blood needing to be donated before surgery by a family member, post-op infections, anemia, but little Rose, by the grace of God, pulled through. She now could attend school without smelling bad and drawing attention to herself. At 9 years old she learned to adjust to living with a colostomy under very meager living conditions. It was felt that the reconstructive surgery needed to give her a normal anatomy should be done in the Dominican Republic. This is very difficult surgery that should be done by a pediatric surgeon with the right surgical team.

    This past June, when we were in Santiago, DR, for a conference, Steve contacted a Dominican doctor whom he has worked with, and asked for his recommendations for Rose Guerlande. He recommended a pediatric surgeon whom he knew. Steve contacted him and made arrangements for him to see Rose. After much prayer, networking, team work and hard work on the part of many Haitians, Americans and Dominicans we were able to take Rose and her illiterate grandfather, to Santiago for an evaluation and hopefully the reconstructive surgery. A wonderful Dominican Christian family, Flor and Hiran de Leon worked very hard to get the immigration papers (Rose had no birth certificate or passport) for Rose to enter the DR and lovingly took Rose and her grandfather into their home. Neither could speak each other’s language but with patience, love, sign language and laughter they communicated! As you perhaps know the Dominicans and Haitians have in the past been antagonistic towards each other and there are often fights that break out on the borders. There are still tensions between the two countries so when a situation like this arises where a little Haitian girl needs surgery in the Dominican Republic it is a sign of God’s Kingdom having come to us when everything goes as smoothly as this case did.

    When we arrived in Santiago, arrangements were made to visit the surgeon. Flor and Hiram, Steve and I and Rose and her grandfather waited in the large, very busy Children’s Public Hospital waiting room for several hours. When Dr. Helio Grullon arrived to consult her, his verdict was that she needed immediate attention as the colostomy that had lasted a year had stopped working only a few days ago. She needed to be admitted right away to prepare for revision of the colostomy or her health could be endangered. We were not prepared for her to be admitted as the purpose of this trip was for Dr. Grullon to examine her and set a date for reconstructive surgery in the future. We did not have a female family member to stay with Rose in the hospital. In the DR and in Haiti, and in most places around the world, the nurses only come to give meds or do procedures for hospitalized patients. Rose could not be admitted until we found a woman to stay with her in the hospital. Her grandfather was not allowed to be with her and Flor didn’t speak Creole. We did not know what to do except pray. We felt the prayers of so many people for Rose. That evening, Woodly Dormeus, our Haitian partner with Medical Ambassadors, networked with Haitian Christians in Santiago, and found a Haitian pastor’s wife, Pimpina, who was willing to stay with her in the hospital. She could speak both Spanish and Creole, be Rose’s advocate, caring for her and staying with her through the nights. She was an answer to prayer! We took her up to the ward where she would stay. It was an 8 bed-ward with children and babies in various stages of recovery, some with IV’s and tubes, bandages and family members hovering over their sick ones, a baby next to Rose’s bed was crying. I was concerned that there was no privacy for these patients, no curtains between the beds but soon I observed that each family showed a deep caring and concern for the other young patients. It was like one big family in that ward. We even were able one day to have a prayer service with everyone in the ward together. Rose Guerlande, seemed anxious but also accepted the situation quite calmly. Her eyes lit up when I brought her a doll as a gift to help ease the waiting. After four days of preparing for the surgery, Steve and I needed to return to Haiti but the doctor’s kept insisting Rose was not yet ready for surgery. It took over a week to make sure her bowels were emptied and clean enough to do surgery. We felt she was in good hands with the team there so after a prayer circle together for Rose we took the five-hour bus trip back to Cap Haitian. Thankfully we received daily emails from Flor updating us on Rose. Four days later, she reported that the surgeons repaired the malfunctioning colostomy with a good outcome. The surgeon said she would need to return to Santiago for the complete reconstruction repair in 12 to 14 months. The cost of the surgery and medications, room and board for she and her grand father, transportation and immigration costs came to only $700! Thankfully the gift from the US mission team that discovered Rose in Danda, more than covered the cost. Even more important than the financial gift were the many people who knew about Rose, in Haiti the US and Dominican that were praying for her. Steve and I were able to visit Rose in Danda this last week. She is recovering nicely. I discovered though that, except for her grandfather, she has no one else in the little thatched home to help care for her. Rose takes care of her colostomy all by herself which for an 11 year old is pretty amazing. Please keep her in your prayers. We praise God for such a wonderful team for Rose and for the Lord, our Good Shepherd, opening all the doors for her. Thank you for all you do for His Kingdom.

In Jesus' nonviolent love,

Nancy and Steve James

 Matching Gift News!
International Ministries has received a challenge gift of $45,000 to match up to $45,000 in contributions from
new donors who designate to support Steve and Nancy James, or give to Haiti Medical Clinics. Gifts between
$200 and $2,000 will be matched dollar-for-dollar if received by International Ministries by December 31,
2009.

> Pray with Steve and Nancy James and their medical mission partners in Haiti.
> Current Donors. Your gifts stand with the James’ ministry and help families not only survive, but begin
to thrive. Please introduce the matching gift opportunity to new donors.
> New Donors. Please indicate “New Donor for James’ Support’” or “New Donor for Haiti Medical Clinics” on
your contribution and mail today or donate online, www.internationalministries.org.