day 8 - home for the dying

this morning joyce and i went to the mother teresa home for the dying. this was my first visit to this place. because we are women, we were told that we would only be allowed to volunteer in the women's sections of the hospital. there were about 200 women in varous rooms ... many bed-ridden ... most dying of AIDS. joyce and i spent our time massaging the women's limbs, singing to them, praying for them and communicating with them any way that we could. joyce knows a bit of spanish and connected with a couple of women who spoke some spanish. i am always amazed at how much french comes back to me when i am in haiti. of course, i sound like a small child, but the haitians do not seem to mind at all. these women in particular, appreciate any love, care and effort extented toward them. this was a very fulfilling time for me, as i have wanted to go to this place for many years but have not until now.

joyce and i then travelled to the hospital for children, met up with the other gals, went for lunch at a haitian restaurant, and then went back to the children's hospital for the afternoon. i spent all of my afternoon with mercy. by the time we left, we were all pretty tired.

we returned to the guest house and met some canadian reporters who will be staying at st. joseph's for some time. we chatted with them over dinner.

for the evening, we gals decided to have some fun. we shared our photos, had a bra contest ... and just dialed down til bed time.