As we walked there, a huge rainbow came out of the sky before us. It was so bright and beautiful, and the Biblical significance and impact could not be missed.  It left us both slightly overwhelmed, having honestly never seen a rainbow like that in Haiti before, and recognising that even amidst our pain, God was very much with us.  It was nothing short of a miraculous sign, and we remain incredibly humbled by this moment.  The actual service was very informal, but was lovely as was filled with all our family and friends.  In particular Doctor Touissant and his family were there to share in the occasion.

Monday morning was filled with the business of preparations for the actual funeral. As part of this we went with Nancie to the funeral home to dress Grace for the last time. Nancie had bought her the most beautiful white dress with gloves and a veil for her to meet Jesus.  As we arrived her little naked body was laying on the table.  Carwyn dressed her with her tights, dress and gloves.  How we wished she could have seen herself in such clothes – she looked like a beautiful princess.  We were all in tears as he placed her in the coffin ready to go to the church, and we said good bye with a little kiss upon her beautifully veiled head.

As we arrived at the church later that day all the childrens home staff were already there sitting in tears at the front of the church. The service was beautiful, with so many people who loved Gracie. There were two choirs, one with nearly 50 people in. Carwyn spoke beautifully about the impact of Graces little life, and challenged everyone to follow the incredible example set by Grace and Nancy in their relationship together.

After the service, the choirs and scouts made a procession with Carwyn, Jethor, Pastor Sadock and Pastor Philisten carrying Grace.  It was incredibly moving, with some of our rehab patients lined up before Carwyn, and a child we sponsor with Compassion following beside Carwyn on the long, sad journey.

The town stopped, and one of our favorite Haitian songs which we didn’t know was going to be sung rang out from Graces little royal procession.

We arrived at the cemetery and close friends and family gathered around Grace as she was placed in the grave. They cemented up the grave and with a stick wrote Graces name and date in the wet cement, with the verses from Isaiah 65: 17 – 25, Carwyn’s favorite Bible passage (which can be found below.)

A humble grave for a precious little girl. Throughout everything Nancie’s faith in God is what has pulled her through. When Grace was in resuscitation she was outside the ward just praying, and when I saw her yesterday she had been at church all day just praying. We must just use the example of little Grace who loved Jesus so much to live our lives for every moment in Gods presence.

New Heavens and a New Earth

¹⁷ “See, I will create 
new heavens and a new earth. 
The former things will not be remembered, 
nor will they come to mind. 
¹⁸ But be glad and rejoice forever 
in what I will create, 
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight 
and its people a joy. 
¹⁹ I will rejoice over Jerusalem 
and take delight in my people; 
the sound of weeping and of crying 
will be heard in it no more.

²⁰ “Never again will there be in it 
an infant who lives but a few days, 
or an old man who does not live out his years; 
the one who dies at a hundred 
will be thought a mere child; 
the one who fails to reach^[a] a hundred 
will be considered accursed. 
²¹ They will build houses and dwell in them; 
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 
²² No longer will they build houses and others live in them, 
or plant and others eat. 
For as the days of a tree, 
so will be the days of my people; 
my chosen ones will long enjoy 
the work of their hands. 
²³ They will not labor in vain, 
nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; 
for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, 
they and their descendants with them. 
²⁴ Before they call I will answer; 
while they are still speaking I will hear. 
²⁵ The wolf and the lamb will feed together, 
and the lion will eat straw like the ox, 
and dust will be the serpent’s food. 
They will neither harm nor destroy 
on all my holy mountain,” 
says the LORD.

Thursday was a busy day as we continued work on making the solar panels work and had a team from Hands up for Haiti who were coming to help set up our paedetric, neo-natal, public and private maternity wards. As I was showing the team of doctors and nurses around from Hands up for Haiti I asked the pediatric doctors to look at Grace. They said they would come back after the tour to look at her properly, but thought it may be a blocked shunt. As I continued setting everyone up, Nancie called me saying Reninca come quickly. I ran and found the paedetric US doctors and we went to Grace. She had a form of seizure and was all floppy. I however thought that she was fine.  I began to realize it was bad when they began to do chest compressions on her and asked me to get an ambu bag. The program our staff had been learning was on helping babies breath and I knew enough to understand this meant Grace was not breathing.

Nancie was outside just praying and other staff members were coming in and assisting. I just stood there watching it all unravel in front of me – helping where I could. There were four doctors working on her little body taking it in turns giving compressions and breaths. After 15 minutes they all agreed to stop trying. The US doctors said to me in English that she had died and they could not revive her. She was just lying there, her little body gone. I went and got Nancie, held her and told her that Gracie was dead. We went back into the room which erupted with crying and screaming. Gracie was loved by so many people. As I walked across the lane Lily who is Nancie’s sister came up to me and asked what room Grace was in. I had to tell her that Grace was dead – she began screaming and ran in and threw the sheet of Grace and kept trying to wake her up…..  This has to be one of the hardest things I have ever had to watch. I called Carwyn in the UK and he left straight away for the airport to come out and be with us all. The staff from Maison de Benediction were inconsolable as our little ray of sunshine has been taken away.

However in the midst of the darkness as Gracies light began to fade, Gods light continued to shine, as for the rest of the day we managed to get the solar panels working at the children’s home, volunteer village and main site. Also the team managed to set up the neo-natal intensive care unit and the public maternity ward.

In all of this I know God is faithful and God is good. I have been given some verses which have been of great comfort that remind us that God is in control. Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to God, there are some things that are difficult to understand but we shall understand later when we see him in heaven”. I believe this to be the case – that we do not always understand but God is in control and knows all things.

Also 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 “what happens to those already dead and buried ? We don’t want you in the dark any longer. First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus.  And then this: We can tell you with complete confidence—we have the Master’s word on it—that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they’ll be ahead of us. The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God’s trumpet blast! He’ll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise—they’ll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.”

We take comfort in these words and know she is in heaven with her Jesus she loved so much. Grace could not say many words but she could say Alleluia (one of the hardest words to say) Jesus and God. She loved church and songs of praise to our mighty God, and is in heaven now with him, where she can continuously praise him. Grace will be having a service Sunday at 4.30 for close family and friends at the funeral home and then the actual service on Monday at 3pm. This will be at the same church to which she was dedicated in nearly two years ago.

Thank you everyone for your support and love. We really appreciate all the emails, texts and messages. Sorry we have not yet responded and ask for your prayers and patience to be with us at this time

As I anticipated our arrival on the anniversary of the earthquake, I wondered how I’d feel.  Two years on, and it’s an event that has irrevocably changed and transformed my life and the work of HHA, both in good ways and bad.  It was no surprise as we sat on the runway at port au prince, that we could hear the sound of signing from a near by church, as services of remembrance scattered the country.  Arriving at the HHA site, our rehab patients and staff gathered, as the hospital paid its own tribute.  Whilst the service was in some ways understandably solemn,  the service was also filled with great hope, with Julien our administrator calling out repeatedly at the end – ‘Haiti can, everyone in Haiti can, people in wheelchairs can, people with or without disability can, Haiti can.’  He was speaking of the continued opportunity of change that Haiti can achieve.

Some days later we had the moving experience thanks to ITV to take Leon back to Port au Prince and re-unite with some of our old patients who we’d not seen in some cases for over 18 months.  It was incredibly moving seeing that room of people whom many once feared had no chance, having now achieved great feats –  a graduate in economics, a rehab nurse, a competitor in the parapan games, a carpenter, a truly beautiful mix of people.

Yet on this trip, it was to my suprise not the earthquake anniversary that most moved me…but a chance encounter with two families, physically completely unaffected by the earthquake.  Following the amazing work of our community rehabilitation team (CBR) who have been supported through CBM in the last year, we were taken a mile or so off the main road in Cap, to a collection of small, shabby huts surrounded by boggy marsh.  Cut off from all the others by dirty, stagnant water was one young family home, inhabited by two young parents and two children, including a small child with cerebral palsy.

Without too much thought, our CBR workers took their shoes and socks off and waded through the dirty waters (the only way to reach this family house), driven with a deep compassion to bring encouragement to this family.  Humbled by their sacrificial service and love for this family, after a few moments thoughts, I tentatively joined them.  Shamefully on my part, I soon found out that the water I  feared to dabble even my feet in, was the same water where this family bath their children.

After a short time of encouragement and prayer within the family home, we made our way back, greeted by another family who’d prepared a small bottle of clean water to help wash down our feet.  As we did so, a few meters further on, and another desperate family came to our attention.  A mother calling for our help, holding a child clearly malnourished and in desperate need of care.  After a short exchange it was felt best that we took this mother and baby in our ambulance to the hospital.  We later found out that the three year old child had the weight of an 8 month old, and was quickly hospitalised by Dr Toussaint.  Whilst this little life had been saved, we had to turn down many other cries of help in that community, with the ambulance being stopped several times on its way out by other families calling for assistance.  Sadly the ambulance was already full, and we made arrangement for the CBR team to return this week.

The desperate poverty of those two families broke my heart afresh by the desperate circumstances of Haiti.  Communities, completely unaffected by the earthquake and perhaps sadly overlooked, who have lived a life of disaster for more than two years.  Their suffering was founded way before January 12th 2010, and the injustice remains of not knowing how many more years such families will have to suffer in such poverty.

Never the less, in that brief moment of time, we had a small but privileged opportunity to help those two families.  Two families I’ll not forget easily.  I was filled with great pride by the work, compassion and love of our CBR team, who taught and challenged me a great deal on that trip.  They were willing to reach out in love regardless of any potential personal risk or discomfort, and in this first blog of 2012, I’d ask that you’d join with us in striving for a similar level of compassion this year.  One that’s driven by an intense love for others.

Needless to say, the ambulance was again key on that trip and in saving that little girl.  However, over this anniversary period we have been desperately seeking funds to repair our ambulance.  I’d ask, that for anyone who’s joined our stories over the years, that you’d consider making a donation today towards the continued work of HHA’s outreach ambulance service.  You can do so by donating on our donate page, or via our anniversary ambulance justgiving page, or simply by texting HHAA99 £10 to 70070.  Thank you all and God bless.

As we begin 2012 we have been reflecting on all that has been achieved in this year and how God has used so many wonderful, amazing people to help develop the work in Haiti. So many people work tirelessely to support HHA in so many ways. Carwyn and I are two of the lucky ones who get to be part of the excitement in Haiti everyday, seeing the real change and development. But this could not happen without the amazing volunteers we have in the UK and the brilliant UK staff who have supported us in our work this year: Geoffrey and Phil. The unimaginable has been achieved, but only through the dedication of those in the UK and all those who continue to give money to support the work in Haiti.

Thank you so much for your continued support, it is doing incredible things! In my penultimate day in Haiti I went out with some of our community based rehabilitation workers to visit some of the families that we work with through the Maison de Benediction. Sometimes in Haiti it is easy to forget how much has been achieved. We sit in our office with electricity, internet, fan and cleaners to keep the place mopped, clean and organized, whereas two minutes down the road people are living in absolute poverty.

We visited the first home, after the rains we had to climb through the mud to get there. They had 3 chairs which they gave us to sit on.  We had to literally climb through sewage and rubbish to get there. The local children were just playing in the dirt. As we walked through the community we came into contact with a young lad aged about 7 years with downsyndrome, who is on our program. The other children were just pushing him in the puddles and laughing. This young boy had nothing on but a shirt with no buttons. Our CBR workers went and spoke with the other children and in the end they took the boy away to play.  We continued on to meet his family, but it just gave a small glimpse as to what it is to live with a disability in Haiti

However, we are very excited with lots of changes that’ll be happening in the coming months.  Within a few months we hope to be opening our paedetric and maternity wards which will be an absolute dream come true. Our heart is to see Gods kingdom come and his will be done in Haiti this year.  A kingdom of justice, peace, equality, freedom, hope.  We just want to submit to his will and let our mighty God lead us on what is next to come.

This month Carwyn will be heading back to Haiti with ITV for five days and then I will be heading back at the end of January. Specifically we are looking for: welly boots, bike gloves, back packs, old blackberry mobile telephones, and raincoats if you have any of these items you would like to donate to HHA please email me at reninca@haitihospitalappeal.org. At the moment we do not have a container going so have no space for clothes, medical equipment or toys.

We pray God may continue to bless you in this upcoming year.

All the best, Reninca and Carwyn x x x

The hospital continues to be a place to give glory to God. We are having a security wall built around the site at the moment, and as it continues to grow, it is bringing a sense of security and peace. It is very exciting and you can see huge progress each day. There can be up to 60 men working at one time; just the employment this brings to local people makes the project worth it!

Last week we also received a container of new maternity equipment. It is now being arranged and distributed into the different rooms. This is a dream come true, the equipment is one of the final hurdles, it had been stuck in customs a short while but now we can look forward to the new year and the opening finally and officially of the service. Dr Adlin our Maternity Director is so excited and with Dr Touissant, they are spending many hours planning for the service to start.

With the amazing highs there has to be some lows. ‘Cheri’ was left abandoned in front of the rehabilitation center. She had been dropped off in the morning and was still there as some of the nurses planned to go home at the end of their shift in the afternoon. She is a teenager with learning disabilities who had just sat there all day. We bought her to the children’s home but it is not an appropriate place for her to be long-term. I went with Pastor Sadock to take her to the local government office for children. There I was so impressed with the love and care of the staff, in particular of the director who over the past 3 years has become a good supporter of our project. However they could not find any organization to take her and asked the Maison de Benediction to take her for 2 weeks. ‘Cheri’ has taught me so much about God, our mighty Father and the grace and provision he has for us. Her simple love of people and childlike simplicity to life has been a testimony to us all. Cheri has settled into life on site well – we just continue to pray for the right place for her or for her family to return for her.

On Sunday we went to our local church in Quartier-morin. I was not planning to go, due to the massive amount of reports, budgets and data needed to complete before I go home. However through a series of events I ended up at church for ‘Bible Sunday’. This was an amazing service filled with such heart felt praise and worship, Gods presence was truly there ministering to the people and me. As I looked around the church I felt so incredibly blessed to have the family God has given me in Haiti – there was Grace and her foster mum Nancie, Esther with her foster mum Milouse, Shanika and her foster mum and Louina. Other friends Jean Claude, Lily, Dadi, Simone, Jacqueline, his wife and boys, plus many, many more. All there raising their hands in praise to God.

We continue to praise God for all that has been achieved and thank him for his presence in this place. Please pray for the project during the Christmas period. Be very blessed!

It started on Monday by picking up Charles and Jeremy from Able Flight who came to visit the project until Thursday. Charles is the founder of Able Flight, which is an organization from the US that helps disabled adults learn to fly planes. Jeremy is one the disabled pilots and an ultimate ‘cool guy’. He snowboards, goes water skiing, climbing, hiking and flies planes, just a small selection of the things he does at the weekends. It was amazing for the patients to meet Jeremy, hang out and hear about his life. For every patient it brings transformation, as every mindset it stretched to believe things they thought impossible were possible. The patients were absolutely amazed at hearing about Jeremy’s life and all that can be achieved. Jeremy is also a keen sportsman so took some of the patients out on the hand bikes for a ride around Cap-haiten.

On Thursday with the help of the rest of the team; Cameron, Cowboy, Chad and his wife, the highlight of the week took place. Some of our patients were taken to the airport to have a flight in a plane. We had two planes with 3 patients in each plane. We were so blessed in that the authorities at the airport were co-operative and amazingly helpful. The patients flew over Cap-haitien and those sitting in the front got the opportunity to fly the plane – an immensely liberating and awesome experience for them. They were all buzzing when they got out, and just could not stop smiling. We are so grateful that they could have this experience.

On Saturday I travelled to Pilat with the UN to help set up for National Children’s day – an amazing privilege as I was the only non-UN member of staff and we were working with the military, police and various departments. On Sunday along with some of the House of Blessing’s staff and Samuel and Rose, two of our rehabilitation patients, we travelled to Pilat and got to talk to 3000 children about disability. We showed off the handbike and then the children got to have a go. It was a very exciting time.

This coming week should equally bring lots of excitement with Leon, Albert and Carwyn arriving back and with the opening of our rehabilitation centre on Wednesday.  We will also be saying goodbye to Stephen Ballard, who has been helping us for the past 3 months. He has been invaluable during his time here and has really helped the project grow and progress. He particularly, made an impact with Leon’s training, without Steve’s input, Leon would not have been able to participate in Mexico. Steve has been amazing at helping to develop the volunteer village, as he lead and encouraged the teams. We will miss him and we wish him every success as he goes home.

In February 2010, just a short time after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, HHA took the brave step to open a spinal cord injuries unit for paralysed patients from the earthquake.  Those early days were filled with so many emotions, and I remember them as if they were yesterday.  Sitting in the ward at night, tears in my eyes, listening to beautiful hymns from a ward of people who’d lost everything.  Yet, it was those hymns and the courage, faith and humble determination of those patients, that carried them through almost impossible circumstances.

Over 18 months on, and that same faith and commitment this week has captured the hearts of many, as Leon stepped up onto the world stage to be the first Haitian Handcyclist in history at the 2011 Parapan Games.

After the disappointment of last weeks early crash, which severely hampered Leons time, the pressure was really on this week.  We knew that if we were to stand any chance of a bipartite place for Leon (find out more about that via our news page) then we desperately needed a good time today.   With corners proving an issue on a few occasions this week, Albert and I hesitantly approached today’s race with a mix of hopeful expectation, and also nervous anxiety.  The pre-race warm up rushed by, and before we knew it, Leon was lined up besides all the other hand cyclists for his first road race.  This was never about Leon winning.  All we wanted was a solid performance which we/he could build upon.

One of the problems I’ve come to realise with cycling, is that you only get to see your cyclist for short bursts of time.  We’d only get to see Leon for a few seconds per lap, before he’d disappear again.  In those ten minutes or so when he’s out of sight, everything floods through your mind.  Both optimism and pessimism, joy and fear.  Yet, despite our concerns for Leon, each time after disappearing for 10-15 minutes, a little red speck would appear in the distant, and each time Leon would come closer and closer and then pass us by again.

By the final lap, Albert and I were perhaps more exhausted than Leon, as a huge weight lifted from our shoulders witnessing all of Leon’s hard work pay off.  Whilst my mind had already turned to celebrations, Leon didn’t quite know he’d finished.  Before we could stop him, he was off on another lap.  Everyone else had stopped at the 40km mark on 4 laps, but Leon charged on, doing another 10kms.

Never the less, when we finally managed to stop him, none of us could feel anything less than immense pride, joy and relief.  Leon got a time of: 1hour39minutes, going at an average rate of about 25km per hour.  The Dream of London hopefully remains alive, but either way, Leon’s done his absolute best, and we couldn’t have possibly asked for more.

What was perhaps most touching was watching Leon after the race.  On one occasion a group of young children beckoned him over, swarmed around him with huge smiles, and proudly had their picture taken with this proud hero.  Whilst this was going on, a Mexican TV company were interviewing the Haitian NPC about Leon and the other athletes, comparing disability in Haiti to Canada.  It’s exactly what our dream had been about.  Using the courage of these athletes to highlight to the wider world the urgent disability needs in Haiti.

What made this more poignant, was that whilst the interview took place, a homeless man in a wheelchair stood behind listening on.  He was only separated by a small security barrier, but his world was very different from the highs of the Parapan games.  It was a moving and challenging reminder, that it was for individuals like that man, that we bought Leon to Mexico in the first place.  To give others the hope, courage, and belief, that anything is possible.

As Leon walked away from those children, and I reflected upon his success, Leon turned to me and asked for a computer when we return to Haiti.  When I asked what for, he said that he wanted to write a book about his experiences.  And so, not only is Leon now an international hand cyclist, he’s also trying his hand at being an author.  I wouldn’t put it past him, that some time in 2012, you may find a best seller in your local bookshop, and it may well be by a guy called Leon Gaisli.

Our final blog from Mexico will arrive on Monday or Tuesday.  Thanks for all your support and prayers!

On arriving at Leons room we were slightly concerned to find Leon still asleep.  Albert the coach was not best happy, though I tried to remind him that this is ‘Haitian time, not Swiss time.’  After a frantic rush, we finally got on the bus and headed towards the race track.

I can’t remember having been as nervous as I was that morning for a long, long time.  We knew Leon had it within him to put in a good time, and the pressure for us was on.  In handcycling, the way to formally qualify for London 2012, is through collecting points at different events around the world.  Obviously, the more events you attend and do well at, the more points you can get.  For us, this has been impossible, due to Leon only reaching full rehab potential earlier in the year, the outbreak of cholera, and of course a lack of funding to attend such events.  Our hope for Mexico was that we could put in a good performance and with the Haitian Cycling Federation apply for a special bipartite place, which is kind of like a wild card, given to potential competitors who didn’t qualify through the normal means.  In order for Leon to stand any chance though, we were hopeful he could show his potential during this race, and support our belief that he’s more than a worthy competitor.

With the stakes so high, the pressure was on, and I for one was rather stressy.  Albert kept his cool as always, and Thomas soaked in the highs and lows of the mornings joys and stresses.  As for Leon, it was hard to tell just what he thought, and if I’m honest, it seemed that all the adrenaline and excitement of the last few days had really tired him out.  Never the less, with a final prayer and prep talk from the coach, Leon approached the start line for his individual time trial.

By this time I really was nervous.  It was his first race, on his first trip out of Haiti, in an environment completely alien to him.  I had the chance to follow behind him in the team car, and was over the moon when finally he raced off the start line.  His start was quite good, and I was filled with immense pride watching Leon taking part as an official athlete in these incredible games.  The race course suited Leon well, being relatively straight, accept for one difficult corner after the first quarter.  Albert and I had been concerned about this, as in Haiti due to the roads, we’d been unable to practice such hard corners.  He dealt with the first section fine, and suddenly I thought, he’s going to do this.  But, just as my heart began to relax, just coming out the end of the corner he flipped, suddenly being surrounded by stewards and police checking he was OK, and trying to fix his bike as the gears had come off.

All of a sudden my nervous anxiety switched to worry, as to whether Leon was ok, and whether he’d want to continue.  Clearly a little shaken up, he insisted to carry on, and started heading up the course which was now up-hill.  He was clearly struggling to work the gears as he wanted too, and took a long time to get back into a rhythm.  On inspection after the race, Albert found out that the bike had actually been damaged in the race, with the gear shift being affected (hence his problems.)  He was the only person to crash at that bend, but he courageously went on.

We’d been hoping he’d do the course in 20-22 minutes, as thats what he’s been capable of in Haiti during training.  His end time was 27:52, due to the crash and gear problems afterwards.  Never the less, we were all very proud of Leon, and he was clearly over joyed to have been involved, cycling through the streets of Mexico, with people clapping him in on his way, and me shouting from the car with my terrible pigeon Creole/French, ‘Aller Leon, Aller.’  Sports a tough one, you win some and you loose some.  As a Welsh Rugby supporter, I felt a little like I had done after Wales were knocked out of the World Cup by France.  Aware that Leon could have done better, but affected by one small mistake.

Later that afternoon as we returned to the Parapan village and all had time to reflect on the days events, Leon quietly and humbly came up to me to ask whether he’d get a medal.  Together in his room, myself and Albert explained that unfortunately he wouldn’t.  Leon asked, with genuine hope in his eyes ‘Isn’t it possible to get the time changed?’  He clearly didn’t want people in Haiti to feel he’d let them down, and we re-assured him that even getting here was an incredible achievement, especially when he couldn’t train for 6 weeks from the end of September after breaking his hip and having a hip replacement!

We shared the realities that some of the other cyclists have trained for ten years or so, and have excellent facilities etc.  Training in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world is a whole different ball game.  Never the less, Leon remained confident that had he not crashed, he would have won.  It’s that kind of ambitious thinking that helped him survive after the earthquake, so I can’t knock it.

This week though will be filled with some hard training, trying to give him practise on corners, and build his confidence in the changing of gears.  A nervous week ahead, as the race on Saturday takes on even greater significance for a good time, and any chance of a possible place in London 2012.

It was the first time Leon had left Haiti (other than immediately after the earthquake when he was flown to a hospital in the DR.)  Understandably for much of the flight he quietly absorbed what was happening around him, adjusting to this new experience, and adapting to the difficulties of flying on a plane with his disability.  Never the less, with true Leon courage he did great, often closing his eyes in prayer, and relying upon God to help him cope with these new experiences.

Our flight was due to land at 4pm on Thursday, with our classification slot at 6pm (the last day available.)  Classification is a legal requirement for Paralympic sports, where a committee review your level injury and decide which category race you should be in.  If we missed it, Leon would have struggled to get registered.  Things for once ran smoothly though, and our little Haitian delegation even got police escorted to the venue.  By 6:30 Leon was sat before a panel, being registered for the Parapan Games.  He didn’t quite understand what the meeting was about, and thought it was where the committee would choose a sport for him to do.  He said to us, ‘You can tell them I can do anything.  Any sport they give me, I’ll do!’

Filled with excitement, the following few days were full of incredible memories.  On Saturday morning Leon had the opportunity to practice on the race course for the first time.  I have to be honest, I found the whole experience very moving and emotional.  18 months or so ago, Leon had arrived at HHA in a life threatening position, with a spinal cord injury, severe pressure wounds, and the emotional devastation of loosing his wife and 8 children.  At the time, as many of you know, people thought guys like Leon had little chance of survival.  Yet, here he was, sat next to the USA, Canadians and other national teams, proudly ready to show the world what he’d worked so hard for.

Leon didn’t quite realise it was only a training session, and surrounded by the other cyclists, with police back and front, did everything within his power to get to the front (as pictured on right – Leon in red.)  I was like a kid watching.  Leon, myself and many others have no doubt that God’s divine intervention delivered him from near death last year, and by the same token, its nothing short of a miracle that Leon was now here.  Seeing a man who’s lost everything, representing his nation, and humbly recognising his unique privilege to represent all those with disabilities in Haiti was perhaps one of the most inspiring and happy moments my relationship with Haiti has had.

We had a group from New York come down who are in the process of setting up an American version of the Haiti Hospital Appeal. This is so exciting and will mean that we can raise funds and apply for grants in the States which will open a whole new world of opportunities for us. We had a great four days with them showing them around our site and Cap-haitien. They really share our heart to bring hope, freedom and justice in Haiti, by sharing God’s love, particularly through the provision of health care.

The hospital itself is working well, as you can imagine never a dull moment. A real high this past week was seeing our good friend Jonas, who is in charge of maintenance around the site, bring his wife to the hospital to give birth. They have just left with their two twin boys, the smallest babies I have ever seen, but just so beautiful and healthy. We praise God every day for new life and Gods hand over their lives. It’s such an awesome privilege to know that we have played a part in the safe arrival of such precious creations.

We were also joined this week by some friends Melissa and Michael. On their first day here, they had the pleasure of helping us take some of our rehabilitation patients out on to the road for the first time using our hand-bikes. It’s amazing to be part of this groundbreaking change for disabled people. For some of them, for the first time in a long time, they felt such freedom while cycling down the main road. We were a picture as I drove our small Peugeot in front and Steve was driving the big Daihatsu pick-up truck behind. Michael busily waved at traffic so they would not run them over and Melissa filmed. Then Albert – our amazing coach from Switzerland, was in a hand-bike too, helping the guys out. It was an exhilarating afternoon, and particularly amazing was the response, hearing the ovation from the other patients, families, friends and local passersby who all stopped to watch.

Training has continued for Leon who travelled out to Mexico yesterday. At every turning and corner there has been some difficulty to overcome, Steve was in Port au Prince still trying to get a Mexican and Dominican visa at the final hour. However, all the while, we have felt Gods guidance and presence and seen Him move in what have seemed impossible circumstances.

Carwyn made a trip back to the UK last week, but now, with Leon is making his way to Mexico.

Thank you for all your support!