When I Touched His Hand, He Touched My Heart

Medicine is only a good intention until it is lovingly put into the hands of the hurting. Only then does it become a life-saver, conversation starter, and connection maker.

On a mission trip to Haiti, Bernie Morris, Chief Financial Officer of Blessings International, was struck in a new way by the impact of medicine given in love. “In Haiti,” she said, “I observed our Haiti Orphanage Medical Support (HOMS) project in action for the first time.”

Blessings International founded HOMS to meet the need we were seeing amongst the orphans in Haiti.

“These beautiful children are dependent upon others to meet their basic needs,” Bernie emphasizes, “including regular health care, medicine, and vitamins, which may help to save and sustain their precious lives. I saw this provision first-hand as a cholera outbreak was swiftly treated by medicines from Blessings while I was in Titanyen, Haiti. Blessings International was able to quickly provide medicines for treatment.”

HOMS is run by Debi Lammert, APRN-CNS, who regularly makes a circuit from orphanage to orphanage, giving supplements, checking the children’s weight and height, and giving medical care. Bernie made the circuit alongside Debi, visiting nineteen orphanages.

Bernie recalls: “When I saw a little boy that looked about the size of my four-year-old son, I was shocked to learn he was actually almost eight years old. I am so grateful for the HOMS project, knowing we can help make a difference in this little boy’s life and the other 776 orphans we serve. We also dispensed some deworming medicine, antibiotics, and other vital medicine from Blessings International, in addition to multivitamins and some vitamin A supplementation.”

Darrenz was a six-year-old boy in one of the orphanages Bernie and Debi visited. Even though they did not speak each other’s language, he and Bernie made a special connection.

“When we first met, he was rather shy, but then he warmed up naturally and sat in my lap. I grasped his hand and he grasped mine.”

Bernie smiles at the memory. “When I touched his hand, he touched my heart. We didn’t need words. In that moment, it seemed like I was able to offer a little hope to him, a memory I will always cherish.”

HOMS is funded through our Medicine for Orphans fund, which always welcomes donations.

Our mission at Blessings International is to heal the hurting, build healthy communities, and transform lives—one person like Darrenz at a time. We accomplish this by providing low-cost pharmaceuticals, vitamins, and medical supplies for medical mission teams, clinics, and hospitals in the most remote and impoverished places, including within the United States.

Blessings International’s robust inventory includes unique, mission-oriented medicines such as deworming and antimalarial medicine. We offer free shipping, no minimum orders, long expiration dates, consistent inventory, and licensure in forty-eight states to protect both the ministry and the physician license.

Would you like to help Blessings International heal the hurting, build healthy communities, and transform lives? 100% of every dollar you give is used to provide medicines or medical supplies to the sick around the world. Blessings receives donations solely for the purpose of donating pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to places where they are most needed, not to fund our own operations. Learn how you can help here.

If you or your team has a need for life-saving medicines for your next medical mission trip please visit here to learn more.

On MissionFinder, we have over 1,000 ministries offering opportunities like this to serve at home and around the world. Does your church or organization need help organizing mission trips? Check out our partner site, MissionMinder.com. Their easy to use software will help you manage all the details for your short-term mission trips and team members online. Unlimited Trips. Unlimited team members. Easy online fundraising pages. Try it free for 30 days. Learn more here.

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