Honduras Missions

There will be 8 people leaving for Siguetepeque on January 16, 2011.  The team is lead by Pastor Molly, the campus pastor at Church of the Resurrection West Campus.  The team members are Amy B., Misti C., Linda M., Steve M., Joe T., Lara T. and Kip W.  The team will be working at a small community called Poterillos which is 10 miles up the mountain from Siguetepeque.  The team will be conducting a community assessment which is very vital for future teams.  The team will also be providing vitamins, parasite medicine, toothbrushes, toothpaste and will be doing fluoride treatments.  Please keep this team in your daily prayers that the Holy Spirit will provide safe travels and keep them healthy while they are in Honduras and also keep their families safe while they are in Honduras.  May God Bless each team member as they are in Honduras

And it was a very successful mission, indeed. 

Friday morning, part of the team worked in the clinic while the fluoride team visited another school to treat the kids. The team packed up early Friday afternoon and had enough time to visit Fuerzas Unidas, another mission church just outside of Tegucigalpa.  They had hoped to worship there last Sunday, but were unable due to torrential rains.  The doctor was in attendance on Friday and the team was very impressed with the set-up.

In spite of heightened airport security Saturday morning, the team made it through the long lines, had each piece of carry-on luggage hand-searched at the gate and still managed to board the plane just in time. 

The week by the numbers:
193 pairs of eyeglasses dispensed
399 patients through the clinic
583 fluoride treatments

The team wants to thank Cayce S. for the send-off last Saturday and Jim C. for welcoming them back.

All the equipment was powered up today and there were, once again many people needing vision screenings.  The fluoride team went to the daycare and school to treat as many children as possible. 

Terry reports that his To-Do list of repairs at the church were all completed by members of the congregation, who continue to rally around the team this week to provide much-needed assistance.  Felix and Gloria have been ever-present and very visible all week. 

Everyone is healthy and happy and both Terry and Jim are very thankful for this group and the wonderful experience they’re having.

The clinic had to close a bit early yesterday due to a power outage at the church.  Some of the equipment requires electricity, so the team had to do some manual screenings.  Since this slowed things down quite a bit, some of the team was able to visit some homes in town and talk with local residents about life in Honduras.  They found this to be very interesting. 

Today is the cultural day and the team was able to drive through downtown Tegucigalpa on the way to the park with the Christ statue.  Fortunately, the weather today was very pleasant.  The team then visited Valle de Angeles for lunch and some shopping.  They enjoyed theirwell-deserved day of rest.

Yesterday was a holiday in Honduras, so the team had a very busy day – 106 patients.  Fortunately, due to the holiday, men and schoolchildren were able to come; this doesn’t always happen.  Some of the team went to the school today to do fluoride treatments and the rest of the team is working from the church.  An exciting addition to this clinic is increased participation from church members.  They are acting as door greeters, translators and helping with patient flow through the clinic. 

Tomorrow the team heads out for their cultural day in Tegucigalpa and Valle de Angeles.  They’re hoping that the pleasant weather continues tomorrow.  They are enjoying the food and lodging at Bet-el and Cindy’s wonderful hospitality.  All are well and they send their greetings.

Flexibility is always the key for any mission trip.  The team was able to visit the church in Ciudad Espana today and set up for clinic tomorrow.  They had to work through many logistical challenges, but were able to come up with a good plan to start the clinic.  Church at Fuerzas Unidas was cancelled due to torrential rains in Tegucigalpa, so the women have put together a worship service for later today.  The food has been very good at Bet-el, the new home away from home for the week.  The men are feathering their nests with extra mattresses confiscated from the bunks in the women’s dorm.  Hopefully, the team will be able to send some pictures of life in Honduras.  Please pray for the team as they open the clinic tomorrow and have the opportunity to witness to hundreds of people.  Pray for strength, wisdom and that the Holy Spirit would be at work in and through them this week.

Arrived Honduras, safe and sound, albeit a little tired.  This weary group started their journey with a 6:00 a.m. flight to Tegucigalpa.  The 10 travelers include:  Terry L., Jim P., Jim S., Mark L., Elise C., Elizabeth R., Charles J., Jo H., Mark H., and Gretchen B.  They will be staying at a lovely rural retreat center, Bet-el, outside of Tegucigalpa.  They will be working from the church as they do vision screenings, distribute vitamins and parasite medicine, make repairs to the church and treat patients with fluoride for better dental health.  They hope to worship tomorrow in Feurzas Unidas with Pastor Sandra. The team has spent many hours preparing for the upcoming week!  Please keep these 10 people in your prayers over the next week as they minister to the people of Ciudad Espana.

Yesterday was a long day of travel for us.  Cindy Ceballos (the Honduras VIM Medical coordinator) our host while we were in Honduras, arrived at our retreat center at 8:15 yesterday morning.  That would be 7:15 Kansas City time!  We loaded our bags into the truck and tied them down….all 25 of them.  Then we all loaded into the  van with our carry-on bags.  Are you getting a mental picture of all of the bags we had!?  Upon arrival at the airport  we began the sorting process and assigning bags to each team member.  We also had to get Vicky and Kristen off and checked into Continental Airlines with their bags, while we were flying home with Delta Airlines.  And so the journey began!  Checking in bags, some sorting and rearranging as some were over the 50 pound limit, paying the country exit fee, and then off to McDonald’s!  I think that the airport McDonald’s is one of the busiest places.  While our food at Betel, our retreat center, was excellent, that cheeseburger and french fries was really good.  After a 4 hour layover and a few delays in Atlanta, our team arrived home in Kansas City at about 11:30 or a bit later.  While we were all very excited to be sleeping in our own beds and taking a nice, long, hot shower, I think we also felt a bit sad to have left behind so many new friends.  I believe we all carry a little bit of Honduras in our hearts now.  We feel truely blessed to have been able to serve God in such a way!  We really were his hands and feet this past week and I hope that all the people we came in contact with were able to see his love for them through our actions.

So we are back.  Tired, itchy (the mosquitoes were crazy down there), a little sore,  but feeling so renewed!  Dan, Tyler, Rachel, Tim, and Skylar, our college students, will be heading off to school in the next days and weeks.  We wish them good luck this coming school year and hope that one day when they are medical professionals that they will use their gifts and talents and go out and serve again.  Of course, we would love to see them on a trip before then.  Betse, Bill, Hadley, Angie, Vicky, Kristen, and Matthew, thank you all so very much for sharing your time and talents this week.  We could not have accomplished what we did without you.  And I know each of you will remember the cheese balls!  ( a little secret…ask one of us about it)

As we continually reinforce with our teams, flexibility is always key for mission teams.  We had planned to go to the senior center and preschool.  Instead, the teachers brought their classes to the clinic for vitamins and toothbrushes and everyone ended up working in the clinic all day.  We did  over 700 flouride treatments!  Dental hygiene is such a huge problem here in Honduras.  We see children whose teeth are so badly decayed that they are rotted down to the gum line.  You can understand why so many seniors have dentures.  It was a very busy day and we had a lot of fun working with all the children.