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......