We started off the morning with a quick breakfast, all thankful for a good night's sleep. Then we headed to Moulin Sur Beach Resort along with the other YWAM volunteers for a day of relaxation (and some adventure with sea urchins). We enjoyed the warm water, but not for long. Everyone was hesitant to continue playing in the water after Janelle stepped on an over-zealous sea urchin who responded by embedding multiple black spikes into her feet. As the kids prayed over Janelle, Monica and Jenna attempted to remove them on the beach with the primitive materials at hand, but after an hour and a half of digging with no success, they let her rest for another try back at the base. The kids enjoyed the pool instead, along with a yummy Haitian lunch buffet. The weather and blue ocean water were beautiful, and the girls enjoyed collecting shells while the boys performed complex acrobatics at the pool.
Everyone was tired but happy after arriving back on the base. After dinner, Jenna and Monica performed minor surgery with instruments from some medical staff on the base while Dustin provided excellent moral support. Two spikes were freed, and several appeared to have disappeared. The few remaning spikes were too deep to remove but will be monitored closely by the nurses. Janelle did great through the whole experience and assured everyone that she is confident that the Lord will continue to heal her feet. We are thankful for Jenna and Monica's abilities on this trip (and baby Peifer is doing great!).
During this time, the kids shared a really powerful worship time and ended up praying for a girl from the base who is sick. One staff member mentioned that she felt a pure and raw presence from the worship and prayer. The kids were really moved during this time and began singing praise songs in the direction of the girl's tent. One YWAM staff member also mentioned how impressed she was by our young group's maturity and how prepared they were for the work in Haiti. The kids are really doing well at keeping a positive attitude and are finding the Lord's presence in the midst of the many challenges seen everywhere in Haiti. Thank you for your continued prayer support as we look forward to the work the Lord has for us here!
- Posted by Jenna and Janelle
Brianna and Grant, we miss you guys and are praying for you everyday. It is great you are willing to serve in this way! Grant, I assume you were doing gainers at the pool, be careful!
ReplyDeleteBrianna, we pray the skit you directed will impact many for the kingdom.
Praying Janelle heals quickly!
Moses, "Be with me prayer"
Exodus 33:14 the LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest"....
17 And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."
Love you so very much, Mom and Dad
See Monica, all those hours spent playing the surgery game on the Wii came in handy after all!
ReplyDeleteSteps to Treat Sea Urchin Injury
ReplyDelete1) Apply a topical antiseptic to clean and disinfect the wound until you can get to a clean comfortable place to apply further treatment - hydrogen peroxide is a good start, and neosporin is good to apply to the area as well. As with other types of wounds, keeping the urchin spine injuries clean is good to do.
2) Soak the injured area in a pot of very warm water (obviously not so hot that you scald yourself...but the hotter, the better) - you should submerge the affected area until the skin is 'pruned' or well soaked (about 20 minutes). If you have some epsom salt handy, it helps to add some to the water. Do this several times a day until the injury is resolved. The hot water helps with the pain, keeps the wound clean, and helps the body push out the embedded spines as it softens the skin (which makes it easier for extraction once it dries out a bit ... see step 5).
3) You can try to remove the spines with pliers or tweezers, though the spines may be too flush with the skin to get good purchase. For simple punctures that look like the spines are protruding and can be easily pulled out, gently remove them. Also, as mentioned earlier, the spines can be very brittle and may be very hard to remove without breaking. Still...it is worth a shot, so if you do so, try and be careful not to crush the ends with the tweezers and break them, and though it is painful to pull them out, it makes the whole recovery period a lot easier!
4) Soaking the affected area in some vinegar helps alleviate the pain from venom. (some people apply urine when vinegar is not available...) - not all sea urchin spines have venom (in fact, only about a dozen or so species of sea urchin emit venom) -if you don't feel the venom 'sting' then obviously don't bother with this step. Vinegar does not dissolve the spines, it only helps to counteract the effects of the venom.
5) If you are experienced with using a needle or a pin to dig out splinters and thorns, this technique works well with urchin spines. Make sure that you use a sterilized needle and if you are causing bleeding, you should stop. I recommend attempting an extraction after you have soaked the affected area in warm water for a while.
6) To keep the wound clean, when you head out and about, you should be sure to first apply some antiseptic like neosporin to the area and then cover it with a ban-aid to keep debris from infecting the wounds.
Keep soaking the urchin affected area in warm water a couple of times a day and keep that wound clean!
Dr. Ike
Thank you Jenna for your nursing ways in helping Janelle...we are praying for a healed foot and no infection. Dustin, you'll just have to carry her around! We love you! Mom and Dad V
ReplyDeleteThe Jr High Sunday School Class is learning about prayer this quarter. In order to put into practice what we are learning we have committed ourselves to pray for you this week. We came up with a specific request in each of the following areas:
ReplyDeletewhole soles,
communication frustration,
Haitian salvation,
construction production.
We will be checking with you next Sunday to see how God has answered our prayers.
Have an awesome week!
For His glory,
The Jr Hi S.S. Class
We are praying for you Janelle! We hope you are feeling better soon.
ReplyDeleteHey Eric, Heather and the whole Haiti mission team we were in the mountains this weekend with friends and had a worship time and prayer for you all....anticipating along with you great things the Lord will do through you and in you as you all live out this great and blessed experience.
ReplyDeleteAll our love, Mom and Dad