Final Thoughts

Judy with her sponsor child in Escuapa

This is probably my final post on this blog, but you never know!  First time I have ever blogged and I really enjoyed it.  Partly because I had something interesting to write about but also because it served as a good reminder as I went back and re-read some of the events of the week.  I think it is important to remember the things accomplished and the lessons learned and being able to document this was important to me.  My next goal is finding a way to incorporate this blog into print to save for future readers and future reminders!

Before going out to dinner with our team and our interpreters we were blessed to have another visit from Henry and Sara Cline.  They both are founders and currently run the Becas Con Bendiciones program in Honduras.  Becas Con Bendiciones means scholarships with blessings.  The program was created some 10/11 years ago to help young children afford to attend school.  While education in Honduras is "free" the children are required to wear uniforms and purchase school supplies etc., which many families cannot afford, so their children do not attend school.  

Henry and Sara found a way to help these children and came up with this program.  Please check out the link below to their web site and consider becoming a sponsor for a child.  

Education makes all the difference in the future.  Without it how can we expect things to change.  As Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon in which you can use to change the world". Education in school as well as God's love and promise.  


Click here to learn more about the program and ways you can help.  
Becas Con Bendiciones






Henry and Sarah Clines with Judy (A sponsor for the program)

 

 

 

 

 

Blog entry from Pat Garrigues.

When the sewing team on Tegu was looking for their machines, we found one in its box in a closet of the mission is house, under a100# sack of beans and a 100# sack of rice. Machine was OK but it took work to get it out!

Also on Tegu one woman wanting to remember project instructions just took a photo on her cell phone.

Pat

Final post from Honduras

     Well, it is almost over.... The past few days have been very eventful. When I'm working in pharmacy, Friday is the hardest day. Our morning is patient care, followed by the frenzy of inventory, breakdown of shelves, tables, division of medication for saving, donating, use by team members. After our final ride back from Escuapa, I must repack & rearrange luggage. This happens every year when I decide which pharmacy supplies need to go home to be cleaned, repaired. After that is the paperwork..... We must collate several numbers to be turned into the Honduran government. Then, if there is any time, I must finish personal packing. 

     This year I got a special visit!! I the same interpreter who visited the church site last week was in Danli with a different brigade on Friday night. He walked over to visit with our brigade after dinner!! This was a pleasant surprise for many of us! 

     We arise early Saturday. The same as each day we travel to Escuapa. Worship, breakfast, loading luggage onto the truck. Then we travel. This year we went separate directions; most of us to Valle de Angeles for a little shopping. A few of us came directly to Tegucigalpa for other sightseeing. Judy & I had lunch with an old friend! Shelley had other plans.

       After lunch was an opportunity to visit the Christ statue that protects this city from a peak nearby. Then, a visit from Henry & Sarah Klines who administer the Becos con Bendiciones (Scholarships with Blessings) program here in Honduras. 

     For the evening, a dinner was planned for the team & interpreters & their families. Gerilynn & I had planned alternate activities. We went to the Motagua fútbol match at the National Stadium in Tegucigalpa. That was really exciting for us. I had NEVER seen Gerilynn giddy!!! It was a wonderful night. Thank you Felipe & kids!!

     We have had our final breakfast, last worship & the final round of "Go Now in Peace". All that remains is final loading/unloading of luggage & flying home. The saddest day of my trip...... 

UNTIL NEXT TIME

Luis, Karina, Joshua, Amy and Rebecca

Today we drove back to Tegucigalpa from Danli to prepare for our last night here and our flight home tomorrow.  Most of the group went off to do some site seeing and a few of us headed back to the hotel instead of site seeing.  I got the opportunity to hang out with Luis and his family, one of our interpreters and spent the afternoon visiting with them and walking around a very local market area.  It was awesome.  Really felt like I experienced Honduran city life.  As well as catching up with Karina and the kids and enjoying their company. What a blessing.  Thank you Luis and family for sharing your day with me.  Such a wonderful family with an amazing story to tell.  

I had first heard the story of Karina and Luis last year on my first mission trip but hearing it again still gives me goose bumps. This truly is a God story. Karina gave me permission to share her story. You may find it here:  

http://fox2now.com/2014/01/29/honduras-woman-receives-life-changing-surgery-in-st-louis/

If this isn't a witness to Gods love I don't know what is!!

While I'm anxious to see my family again, my heart is saddened to leave my Honduran family behind.  One day I may come back just to visit and see a different side of Honduras.  Who knows.  

Off to dinner with our interpreters in celebration of our week.  

Blessings

Panoramic view on our drive back from Danli

Amy, Luis, Karina, Joshua and Rebecca in front.

In front of a 200 year old tree. 

Me with Luis, Joshua and Rebecca in Centro Park

Walking to streets 

Centro Park 

To encourage recycling of plastic bottles, a group created this over head art with plastic bottles and food coloring.  Close ups below.  Very cool

.

Bottom of the bottles with food coloring

Leslie's words

We have one missioner in our group that has been with the team since the beginning (14 years) and she is also our oldest missioner. 88 years old and still going strong. She wanted to write something for the blog so here it is. 

Our time in Honduras is always a joy. The people, our team are warm and friendly. Our interpreters are excellent. I love the beauty of the flowering trees and bushes; white, yellow and purple blossoms the most beautiful of all are the red bougainvilleas. 

This year I learned that the Hondurans call the end pieces of a loaf of bread "the mother in law". In Spanish of course. Why?  Because no body likes them!! 

End of a good week

Well we reached the end of the second week seeing many patients, sewers and people needing glasses and lots of smiling children in vbs. Besides our interpreter Danilos injury we managed no major incidents and no van trouble! Yeah!  

I don't know numbers for all groups yet but in optical I know we saw a total of 258 people. 258 people who can read their bibles and see well because they were able to get a new pair of glasses. 

The whole second week group

Vacation bible school 

Pharmacy and medical

Medical

Pharmacy

Sewing

Optical

Our interpreters and cook - Carlos

Gratitude.

This is only my second year in Danli but each time I've been humbled and have taken away more from the people here than I feel have given back. The gratitude and love that is shown by simply receiving a pair of readers so a person can read their bible is so overwhelming at times. I find myself thoughtful through the day wondering what it is that makes a culture like this. It's been my theme for the trip and I have been repetitive but I'll say it again, we could learn so much from our Honduran friends. We could all get by with so much less and be just as happy. 

Our translators have become such a big part of everyone's lives this week and once again I have made great friends. Friendships made last year have grown and new friendships made. It sure does make it easier being gone from home when you get to spend your evening having fun and laughing with friends.  While the work we do here is serious so is the need for some fun and a release and these friendships help with that. We could not do the work we do without these translators. 

In gratitude and love to those lives we have touched and the lives that have touched us. 

Blessings. 

Incredible Interpreters

     Again out group of interpreters have shown us how selfless they are. Many of us wanted ice cream again tonight. Some wanted to walk to the shop. Some wanted ice cream bars from the gas station. One of the main rules here is NEVER, NEVER go out after dark without a man. And we need an interpreter also. We only have 3 male interpreters. Two wanted ice cream from the shop. Ice cream was the last thing on Luis' mind tonight. But, He rousted himself to escort us to the corner gas station. 

      This is one small example. They are always around to help. From asking for a new water jug to finding out how long your laundry will take, to pouring drinks at meals. They really are incredible. They do SSSOOOO much more than translate! 

THANK YOU!!

Random Thoughts

      It has been a busy couple of days since my last post. We saw 110-120 patients Monday & Tuesday. Over 400 prescriptions each day. Add to that the paperwork and 3 hours on the road each day and it doesn't leave much time.... 

     The drive has been wrecking havoc on my body. My back was spasming so badly yesterday that a pharmacy run had to be made on my behalf. Just a little muscle relaxer has calmed things right down. 

    We even had hot water the past 2 days. That was good too..

    And, speaking of good; our food has been amazing!! Carlos has been cooking for us for a few years now. He never disappoints! Tilapia Tuesday is my favorite dinner. In the past he has made baleadas for Friday breakfast. That is the BEST!!!! 

     We are already discussing what to do on our sightseeing day, how to allocate our remaining meds after seeing patients on Friday..... It's hard to believe it is so close to the end. 

Learning patience from the Honduran people. Oh and I'm a tv star

Today the optical team were paid a visit from a local Honduran news channel who wanted to talk to us about the work we do and what we do to help the Honduran people. Of all the people to get put on the spot for a tv interview, I was not one of them but I got thrown into the lions den and now I'm a tv star in Honduras. It was pretty cool to be able to talk in a larger format of the things we do and spread the word of God. What a blessing. Even if I didn't enjoy being interviewed. 

We as Americans can learn a lot about patience and gratitude from the Honduran people. It always amazes me how long people are willing to wait and to wait patiently.  Often to get turned away at the end of the day because we ran out of time and told to come back tomorrow. They tell is God Bless you and see you tomorrow. They start showing up at 6am even though we don't see patients till 9! This kind of thing just wouldn't fly in the USA!  

Until tomorrow 

Blessings 

First day for optical in Danli

Tuesday February 2

Optical changed locations from Escuapa to Danli beginning Tuesday through the rest of the week due to saturation in Escuapa and less need for glasses. A good thing when all is said and done. Danli however, was a different story. We saw 74 patients which is a high number for optical. Busy busy busy. Had to turn people away which is always hard to do but can't be helped at times. 

Until tomorrow 

Blessings 

Thoughts from the first week

Extreme poverty is ever present in Tegucigalpa but our team's home visits to two families who are being upheld by
Tegucigalpa Central Methodist church revealed hope in the midst of it. These mothers love their children deeply.  Siblings care for one another from an early age.  The homes revealed great ingenuity to use what they had creatively.  A broken bucket is a planter.  A plastic table cloth is a room divider. Pallet material becomes a shelving unit. Nothing useful is thrown away. They were proud of the homes they had cobbled together.

With so little in material comfort these mothers rely upon hope and God's grace as a more real and present comfort.  One of the mothers said to us with absolute certainty. "We will be together in heaven."  It seems that in absence of material abundance spiritual abundance thrives. One wonders how much our own material abundance gets in the way of our reliance upon God, a lesson we can learn over and over again from the Honduran people.

Busy first day. Prayers for patience!

Today was our first day in Escuapa seeing patients. Things went very smoothly for the most part. Optical a slightly shortened day due to the fact that our plan was to do only one day in Escuapa and the rest in Danli. But that's okay. We expect to be very busy next few days. Short blog. Late nights and early mornings. 

Until tomorrow 

Blessings

Alone Time

    Those who know me will not be surprised when I tell you that I'm a rather solitary person. I need some alone time occasionally. Last week it took the form of 10 minutes with my eyes closed while waiting for lunch to be set up. Today, I sat alone in the pharmacy for a portion of lunchtime. (We cannot leave the meds unlocked but the key was offsite. So I sat inside the locked room, protecting the drugs....)
     Many things cross my mind during these alone times.  I daydream, make lists in my head, think of places to go & what I'll see when I get there (also NOT a surprise). Today I also put in my many eye drops, checked inventory, fielded questions about the baño bolsa, responded to a request for water.
      It was a relaxing interlude. Left me refreshed for a busy afternoon......

God is my strength. God is my shield.

God is my strength. God is my shield. 

     Today we had a wonderful worship service at the church in Escuapa. This is the place we will be working all week. This is my 6th year working here with the people. I enjoy it more each year, I think. Although I do remember some rocky moments in past years it just seems that each year is better than the one before....

     I have made friends, some of whom still join the brigade, some who no longer come with us. To all the people I have met in answering God's call, Thank You. You have changed the course of my life and I'm enjoying every minute. 

Prayer Request

Today's blog a little different from the rest.  It has been an eventful beginning to the second week mission.  Trouble with vans and schedule issues, led us to be delayed with setting up in Escuapa.  But the biggest concern was with one of our interpreters.  We came out to the van this morning only to discover one of our loaded up to the heavens trucks had a flat tire.  So ended up with one less vehicle to take us up to Escuapa, resulting in some people staying behind for the day because we simply didn't have room.  Danilo one of our interpreters was one of those people and while staying with our group his job was also to fix the tire.  Unfortunately the jack on the truck didn't hold and the truck fell on Danilos hand.  Due to the weight of the truck he was unable to get out from under it right away and was in a lot of pain.  He was taken to the hospital and praise the Lord it wasn't broken but he did end up with stitches.  So, prayers for Danilo and may he rest up this week and heal.  We will miss you Danilo.  

Prayers also for safe travels up the mountain tomorrow and no more van troubles.  

Until tomorrow

Blessings.

Misadventures in Chemistry

     Friday was a day of hurry, hurry, hurry. In the morning; it was hurry to start a new project; hurry, which project can I finish by noon; hurry through lunch so we can pack up; hurry, hurry pack up so we can get back to the mission house to clean up for dinner. Hurry, hurry, hurry!!

     In my hurry-ness, I reached for my eye lubricating drops, put one in my eye and IMMEDIATELY realized it wasn't eye drops. It was eucalyptus oil in the same size container..... After I pulled the contact lens out; I hollared for someone to find out if optical team had more eye drops. I must have been quite a site because a minute later the RN that works in our optical mission came running up the stairs with a bottle of virgin water. (Not taken from our 5 gallon water supply, but bought fresh.)  she flushed my eye until it was time to leave & again at the mission house (as I lay in the hammock on the patio!). You would not believe how much pain plain water causes if saline is 'the right tool for the job'. The whole time, I'm worried about saving the contact lens I had removed..... The team coordinator went to the pharmacy for antibiotic eye drops. Eye drops given, eye patch applied, wet towel over my arms, for warmth???? and I napped on the patio in the breeze for a bit.

     When it was time for devotions, inevitable comments & pirate jokes were made about the eye patch. I looked for tan paint to make it less conspicuous. We had none. Just call me an Albino Pirate!!

       I went to our farewell dinner with this big white patch over my eye.....  It was quite a sight I imagine.

    BTW- everything got packed up, loaded on the correct truck. Ready for Moving Day!

Travel day and week 2 missioner arrival

Today we said goodbye to most of our week one missioners as they headed off back to the USA.  Once we said goodbye, the few that were left, Shelley, Chuck, Pat, Leslie and Dawn, waiting fo the second group to arrive.  Finally after the long immigration\customs\baggage wait, they made it through and we headed off to lunch at our traditional chicken restaurant! Food was excellent as is most of the food we have had here in Honduras.  

We headed up to Danli where the second week team will spend the week.  Our work will take place an hour and and a half up the mountain though in Escuapa.  Escuapa is very primitive and we could not stay there so we stay in Danli.  Our mission this week will consist of medical, optical, VBS and sewing.  

After a brief check in, unpacking and truck shuffling, we headed to dinner at the church where our wonderful cook Carlos makes our meals.  After a good dinner, head back for a brief worship and everyone settled in for the night.  

Loading up one of the trucks outside the mission house in Tegucigalpa 

Finally loaded!

Part of the week two team arrives

All together at lunch in the chicken restaurant. 

Beautiful sunset as we headed up to Danli.

Until tomorrow

Blessings 

A Memorable Mission Week!

Sandy and I have enjoyed several mission trips to Honduras but I believe this year had some truly memorable experiences. The Bible program had a number of children from previous years, and some of them were helping new children to get acquainted with the program. 
The optical team provided 187 pairs of glasses and saw 233 patients. All received sun glasses, eye drops, and hats to help them deal with the bright sun shine. One of their clients was given progressive glasses and couldn't adjust to them. He saw us when we were out walking to visit with two nearby families, and since Pastor Guadalupe was with us, we were able to understand his problem. We asked him to come back, and with regular bifocals he was very, very happy!
Our sewing team was able to provide a baby carrier made from 3 T Shirts for her to carry her 15 day old baby with real comfort and security. They also taught a number of women and one man how to use our five sewing machines to make some of their own clothing from donated material, zippers, and other notions. One of the daughters of one of our professional construction team was able to make four items with beautiful design.
Our volunteer construction team was able to sand, caulk, and paint three of the six bed mission rooms (each have their own bathroom, shower, and toilet)  to provide hospitality for mission volunteers like us. These rooms are just one important factor of this third floor of the five story facility. In addition, we utilized donated funds to purchase a number of tools including a 12 foot Warner fiberglass step ladder that made our work far more possible. We also purchased more sandpaper, extention sanders, paint brushes, caulk, and other hand tools to prepare the rooms for our painting. We are so grateful for all you've donated to make our work possible.
It is so exciting for us to see the degree of progress for this essential effort of our UMC Volunteers In Mission.  This major multi-year project will provide a large regional church, housing for the pastor, office space for the pastor and superintendent, and guest facilities for those attending conferences and other events that reach out to the community.
All and all, we have found this mission trip to be filled with delight, lots of fun, inspiration, our awareness of God's living presence among us, and the privilege of doing what Jesus told us do do: "Go therefore into all the world making disciples." We feel very fortunate to do this important work. Thank you for your prayers and support!

In gratitude, Ron Retherford

An exercise in flexibility, patience and sense of Humor!

Today was all those things mentioned the title.  A shorter day for some because it was the last day on our site.  Most of the teams with the exception of Construction closed up shop early due to packing that needs to be done.  Construction continued to try to get at least the 3 rooms they had been painting done with one coat.  So the rest of the group at the end of the day went back to the mission house while construction stayed behind.  

It was at this point things began to become amusing!  Beginning with me stepping down off of a ladder into a paint bucket, accidentally set in my way by Len!  Thanks Len!  As well as an additionally long wait for our ride back to the house, the van getting stuck and being informed on the way home that there was no water at the house because there was no power (again) and the pump for water wouldn't work.  This was the point where I don't know if I was laughing tears or crying tears.  Tonight was our team celebration dinner with our translators!  Myself and my team mates were in no condition to be eating in a restaurant!  Fortunately the power was back on when we got back.  So we ended the evening with worship and fellowship.  First week team members head home tomorrow, and some of us stay behind to go to Danli with the second week team members.  Sad to see everyone go home.  They have become such a big part of my life, and the relationships we have built are priceless.  Will miss you guys!  Safe travels and prayers to all missioners coming and going tomorrow.  

One of our missioners decided to do a video tour of the construction site to show people at home what we have been working on.  I have uploaded it to you tube. See below, as well as a few pictures from the day. 

https://youtu.be/QGuSgbIvdCM

Whole crew with Pastor Guadalupe

Len Painting

Construction Missioners, Ron,Bill, Len, Bob and Shelley

Bathroom in new mission house

Bedroom in new mission house

My foot in the bucket!

The sewing crew for week 1.  Pat, Jessy, and Dawn

The Optical crew for week 1 - Lucy, Bismark, Don, Karen, and Chuck

VBS Crew for week 1 - Lorainne, Leslie, Sandy and Anne

Construction Crew

Whole crew again

Until tomorrow

Blessings!