Monday -Flight and introduction to Gens De Nantes

I woke up with a start this morning. A rooster “let it go” right into my ears, so it seemed, I couldn't believe there was a wall between us. Elma, also listening and enjoying the sound of her beloved roosters, was watching me and thoroughly enjoyed the moment of my sheer panic. All through the night we could hear the sounds of dogs, donkeys, guinea fowl, night birds and the roosters.
Earlier in the evening church choir music filled the air, and with the hum of dune beetles, we were reminded of the “son besies”, a similar insect in our country of birth, South Africa, usually welcoming evening with their piercing high pitch sound.

 

Today's transfer from La Jeune to Gens de Nantes (pronounced JEANDENOT) occurred in stages. First, all of us were sat in the back of an open truck, and then, all of us, sat once again, in two 5 seater Cessna aeroplanes, flying us into Pignon. Finally, a UN truck drove us gingerly over a bad road to Gens de Nantes.

 

 

The MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) airplane trip was very colourful, to say the least. Our hand luggage and us had to being weighed. The flight was short and slightly bumpy, the landing on a dirt landing strip was escorted by thousands of kids trying to
get out of the way of the landing air craft, and then following in a cloud of the dust the planes to end of strip. The pilot of the first plane actually got out of his seat quickly after stopping to shout warning to the milling crowd of kids about the second plane which was soon to land.
The landing strip was quite framed by houses on both sides, and grooved from recent and past water floods. The pilots manoeuvred the deep grooves expertly and one felt a sense of gratitude to be safe on terra firma again. Gens de Nantes surroundings and clinic reminded us of our experience in Nompumelelo Hospital, in the Ciskei, during our earlier days working in Mission Hospitals from 1986 to 1988. We felt we finally are home. After soup Upon arrival, I was glad to hear a sick gentleman, seen earlier in the day with an undiagnosed back pain was kept for me to assess. Kidney stones were suspected, but his family unfortunately decided to terminate the treatment plan and took him to a witch doctor.

Negotiating who would ride on each plane according to our weight!

The runway

  

We are blessed to be guided by Marilyn McIlroy, a true missionary nurse with a long history of serving the people of Haiti. She is a bundle of experience and wisdom.

Thanks to Wilna van der Watt, my youngest sister living in Townsville, Australia for

your contribution.

We prayed for your bells palsy tonight, as well as for our ailing parents. Thank you also to Fouche and Wilna Williams, our good friends and compatriots in Regina for their contribution to our blog.

Dr Braam