YPC Honduras 2011: 11/9/11 Las Paraiitas, La Cumbre and Cerro Azul, Honduras

11/9/11

Friends,

Here is the most recent update from our Honduras Mission Team. Each day's update from the medical team comes from Nancy Geary. Kevin King provides the construction team updates. We are grateful to them both for sharing with us each day!

The medical and vision teams went to La Cumbre yesterday. This is a place where we have been in past years. A town woman there always proudly prepares delicious food for us and her preparation methods are approved by Gloria! It is wonderful for us to be welcomed back and be remembered for our care and love in the past. We were also fortunate to again have Obed in this clinic. Obed is a 25 year old man from this community who helped us with interpretation and crowd control last year! He spent a few years in the states, returned last year, and is now studying nursing in the college with plans for advanced study! He is truly wonderful. The people of this community are younger with younger children than those we saw yesterday. They have a very strong sense of family and care for each other. We did see 2 men and a woman in their 90s today, which is very unusual! One of them received new glasses and was very excited! Tammara has been in charge of the pharmacy and of treats and the children would swarm her everywhere she went, even when she needed a moment of privacy. Again, the people here are so grateful for every bit of attention and care that we can give and every medicine that we can provide. I do not have an exact number that we have seen but we have seen enough persons that we have already run out of children's vitamins and a large oversize bag of tooth brushes. We have had to purchase more adult vitamins, Advil, and certain antibiotics from a pharmacy in a town 30 minutes away!! We still have 2 and possibly 3 more pueblos to serve!

The Construction Team was in Cerro Azul and also had an absolutely gorgeous day. The view from the community is an amazing landscape. Pictures may show the view but we strongly suggest a "personal" look. It was a hard-work day. A 2 ton rock pile was moved in place to build the second latrine. During the rock pile move many of God's creatures (critters) were discovered. It was Lauren McGee's "favorite" part of the day. We actually found a good size crab in the pile that we think may have been brought from Poquoson. Lots of sand was screened and cement mixed. The finishing touches were added to the floor in Juan's. To understand the "finishing" is to envision yourself being the catcher in a baseball game for 20 innings, with no shoes. The base for the eco-stove was also installed. Today the house will be finished short of the window frames. Juan and his mother will live in the house and be able to cook in it by Thursday. 2 other eco-stoves were also installed in other homes. The children keep us all busy and keep us smiling and Gloria keeps spoiling us with great lunches prepared in one of the completed homes. Did we mention the view...?

Tonight, our evening discussion centered on the "where" of this mission, including the question of where are we as individuals involved in a mission. One of our new team members responded by saying, "We are exactly where we are supposed to be, where God intended us to be." That reflects the spirit of this team and hopefully the Spirit at work in each of us. Bendiciones--blessings--and joy!

The young man in the back of this group is Obed, from La Cumbre and speaks English and Spanish and is currently studying Nursing to serve his community. He is sponsored by an Educational Scholarship. This is his family, including his grandmother, mother and many other members.

How about those great new glasses?!

This is Senora Rosa, she welcomes us every year with her great food (and her clean bathroom!)

This is the view walking back to Trinidad from La Cumbre...

Clair and Laura enjoying the walk!

What a great eye team! Peter, April and Jeanne...Oftentimes after a clinic session in a town, only one truck was available so part of the medical team would start walking back to town to meet the second trip of the truck. It was always a pleasant pace, though often felt uphill both ways!

Can ANYONE identify this dirty man???

Perhaps by his feet!!?? Did anyone mention it was MUDDY?????

April and Iris. Iris is a wonderful Honduran Nurse Practitioner who worked with our medical team for most of the week. She attended patients and also used the opportunity to update vaccines.

Nancy in her glory surrounded by her patients!

Nurse Iris treating a family as well...

It gives a new meaning to "Family Medicine"...

...To see the WHOLE family all at once! :)

Peter is convincing this young fella that the sunglasses really are a "hot commodity" and will help him so much in the field where he works in the bright sun every day...