A House of Healing

Unbothered by the familiar sweat that slips down their brow and collects on their noses, bodies sit shoulder to shoulder as a slight breeze cuts through the air. Several, now attentively sitting at the front, have been here since the morning was still young. As week day waiting benches become Sunday morning pews, the clinic's packed, but it's not seeing patients today. On Sundays the Angel Wing clinic is transformed into a church. Pastel ribbons transform support beams into sweet framings for an altar, as a man with a drum set tucked in the corner accompanies the words of the pastor through prayer and song. Smiling women in bright yellow shirts usher late comers to open seats and offer new comers bows to pin to the lapel of their shirts. When cued, people row by row peel away from their benches lapping the perimeter of the room, finding space in the front to take communion. Gentle fellowshipping smiles and handshakes close out the service as people poured out into the front, spilling into the street. Little tottling feet followed mother's footsteps from familiar face to familiar face. 

There is something beautiful about seeing this space of wellness and healing taking another face, as it dedicates itself not just to the wellness of the body but to the wellness of the soul and the wellness of the community. We came with goals of healthcare. Healthcare encompasses more than medicine, treating physical pains, and the complications of healthcare as an institution. Health care is people care. And people are the product of the culture, history, space, and people around them. A place of worship, like the private spaces of clinic examination rooms, privilege you with an intimate glimpse into individuals and their daily lives. Having the opportunity to take part in this church service,  a routine part of many Sundays in Jacmel, echoed in this trip of what we had seen all around us; an emphasis on community, the importance of faith, and a keen sense of creativity and ingenuity.