John Leininger, continued
from above: |
 |
"I
remember very vividly a woman living in boxes," Leininger
said. "It had a big impact on me. I just
couldn't imagine that nobody was there taking
care of her. It was near a busy street. Tons
of people were driving by, and there she was." |
|
More
recently, Leininger encountered a 6-year-old girl
who had backed into a cooking fire and had severe
burns down her back to her knees. |
|
"We
got there 10 days after she was burned," Leininger
said. "She had no health care at all, other
than antibiotics. Not even a pain pill. We were
able to get her to good health care. Now, we're
trying to get her to the United States to get skin
grafts." |
|
Executive
Director Danny Thomas described Leininger as "a
tremendous blessing." |
|
"I've
learned many, many things from Dr. Leininger," Thomas
said. "Our trips to Haiti have always been
an adventure and an experience. We have walked
through some deep waters together - literally. |
|
"In
1991, he and I got caught in a coup in Haiti. The
roads were all blocked. The only way we could get
out was through the ocean. We had 17 or 18 Americans
with us. We commandeered three sailboats and took
them from Haiti to Guantanamo, Cuba. We were refugees
for awhile." |
|
Most
of the mission trips are not quite so dramatic,
but more laborious. Mission teams usually build
churches, schools and community centers. Medical
teams trek into the woods carrying backpacks filled
with medicine. And children are fed meals provided
through interest from a $130,000 endowment fund
that was established in Marion County. |
|
Previously
of Ocala, Leininger and his wife, Diane, also helped
found the Women's Pregnancy Center. Leininger recently
was named president emeritus of Harvest International.
Now he marvels at how the mission has grown to
include seven different countries and multiple
mission teams. |
|
"I
guess my initial vision was that we would run a
few teams to Haiti and do as much ministry as we
could," Leininger said. "I didn't expect
it to grow this fast and this big." |
|
Leininger's
latest venture, a "barefoot doctor program," trains
Haitians to dispense vitamins, bandages and over-the-counter
medicines to the poor. He also wants to find a
way to get patients to health care facilities.
There are not many in Haiti, he said. |
|
And
Leininger has another goal that is closer to home. |
|
"I
would love to see everyone in Marion County take
a trip to Haiti or some Third World country - and
not a hotel trip, but to go to some location and
live in the homes that the people live in and see
what their life is like. Obviously, Harvest International
can always use funding and prayer. But, the No.
1 thing for anyone to do is to go and see for himself." |
|
[Our
sincere gratitude to the Ocala Star Banner for
allowing us to reprint this article] |
|
|
