A Haitian man performs farm work with manual tools.

The route takes the group through a myriad of sights, sounds, and smells, especially the open sewers, which are almost overwhelming even for the most experienced traveler to Haiti. The road quality challenge is compounded by the fact there really are few driving rules or traffic signs. "If your prayer life is lacking, driving in Haiti will quickly improve it!" said McNeil. "It is especially nice to finally arrive at the hospital and be greeted so warmly."

Each day begins around 6:00 a.m., an hour after the rooster's crow usually commences. McNeil takes the peace of the morning to walk around the village, view the beautiful river valley and the mountains around Limbe. He appreciates the morning walk, a time he encounters Haitians walking to work or school. Many Haitians are eager to talk and share information. At about 7:30, the team meets for a breakfast of juice, fruit, eggs, toast, and very thick black delicious Haitian coffee. Just after 8:00 a.m. the doctors make their rounds to check patients who had already had surgery and then examine potential surgical patients while the support staff prepares the two surgical rooms for the day's cases. By 9 a.m., the first cases for the day are usually underway, and except for a short break for lunch, surgeries continue until late afternoon. After the day's surgeries are complete, some team members take a shower, sans hot water, and relax in small tin-roofed houses provided by the hospital. Kelley and a few others use the time to visit a nearby orphanage.

Evening meals usually consist of beans, rice, bread, and occasionally meat of some sort. After a hard day's work, the team heads to bed early, however, sleep is only intermittent as loud trucks zooming down the dusty rooms and sounds of animals and people make it difficult to sleep soundly.

And that's not all that creates sleepless nights. A few years ago, the group was told a large boa constrictor, looking for rats to eat, had gotten into the attic of the house where the team was residing. Fortunately, the snake had been removed before the team's arrival. "Just the thought of sharing my living space with a large free-roaming snake was slightly unnerving to say the least," said McNeil.

The group takes great pride in helping very appreciative patients. However, sometimes, the group is met with sadness. During one visit, a seven-year-old girl was brought to the hospital with a high fever six days after falling from a tree because her family could not afford medical attention when the accident happened. The team did all they could, but she died that night.

"It was hard to accept the fact that such a beautiful girl died from an injury that would not have been fatal had her family been able to afford medical care or if she had not lived in Haiti. I will never forget her or her family's tremendous outpourings of sadness that night," recalled McNeil.

A young Haitian boy flashes a smile, a common sight.

One of the most rewarding times was in 1999, when there were a group of young men in their late teens hanging around the outside of the hospital. McNeil engaged the group in conversation only to learn one of the young men was fairly fluent in English. Later that day, the team encountered a situation requiring a good interpreter and I remembered the young man and asked him if he would help the surgical team. He excitedly replied "Of course!"

The bright and gifted young man, named Evenel, was a tremendous help the entire week and towards the end of the week, the team decided to sponsor his college education. Today he works as part of the hospital's top management staff. Additionally, he is the president of the Rotary Club in his hometown and is in charge of the sponsorship program that helps others go to college.

"Helping Evenel advance in his life was particularly rewarding, as his life has been such a great blessing for his family and his entire community," said McNeil.

While Haitians lack most of the comforts and luxuries that we enjoy, they seem to place great value in family, relationships, and faith in God.

"The most amazing aspect of the Haitian life is the people of this small island
country exhibiting amazing grace, great dignity, and surprising happiness as they experience hardships and struggles that are unimaginable by most Americans," said McNeil.

"I have found it most interesting that, while the people of Haiti have so little in the way of material possessions, as a whole, they seem to be happier and more at peace than most Americans. It's probably a gross oversimplification, but I do feel that we, in our culture, allow an abundance of material possessions and the pursuit of such "stuff" to blind us at times to what is truly important and valuable in life. I have found that they may be poor in many ways, but are quite wealthy in some areas of life that truly matter," said McNeil.

The medical mission is extremely rewarding and meaningful. The people of Haiti are simply beautiful. Team members volunteer their time, talents, and money to provide a much-needed service to those less fortunate, but the return on investment is something money cannot buy.

"Each year we put together surgical teams to go to Haiti to provide free or minimal-cost surgery. When we return to the states and reflect on our trip, we realize the Haitians helped us, too. They helped us to better realize what is truly important in life: they remind us that the greatest gift in life is to be able to freely give to others in need."