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As the Cock Crows: Reflections of a Medical Missionary to Haiti

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Having been tempted to write my own description of what it is like to be a missionary doctor in Haiti, I don't have to thanks to this book. Accurate vivid descriptions of Haiti as it was in 1946 and still today in 2000 fill the book. Dr. Nelson's writing details how everything is difficult in Haiti, takes longer than expected, yet gets done in God's time not his. The primitive organization of Haitian society and infrastructure is captured factually. This should be required reading for any person considering missionary work in Haiti, medical or ministerial. Haiti is a destination for service, not vacation or leisure. Don't go unless you are called. Don't stay home if you are.

If you are interested in Haiti, specifically in medical missionary work, please read "The Neglected and Abused" by Bentivegna, or "Song of Haiti" by Barry Paris. They are wonderful.

If you are interested in Haiti on a broader historical or cultural basis, please read "Written in Blood" by Robert Debs and "The Rainy Season" by Amy Wilentz. I am sure there are others, but at least I can vouch for these two.

I admire that Nelson worked in Haiti, but the book just does not reflect what it should if you want to know about Haiti, its people, its conditions, and its wonder. Nelson spends too much time on his personal travel problems (about 1/3 of the book it seems) and other negatives, not nearly enough on either his missionary work or medical work, and when he does there is just no substance or development of topic. What were the reasons behind the bad roads? The poverty? Anything else medically or culturally he dealt with? Few of these are addressed, so the book reads like I did this, or this happened, with no illumination as to the whys of the situations he experienced.

I read this book to learn anything I could to apply to work a group of us do every year in Haiti and felt that I came up empty.

Nelson wrote a book of his experiences and opinions, but by golly, he could have spent SOME time on those people he went to serve, and surely he could have been less condescending and more understanding of the conditions and culture.