Today was a record day in the clinic and we saw 182 patients.  Even though we were busy, we managed a good flow and it didn’t feel like overwhelming.  We have had a few illnesses and injuries in the team so a few people have been staying back resting.  So pharmacy has been short a few people, but they have been troopers and managing fine! Today there were some tough cases in the clinic that sone of the providers had to contend with.  A couple of them were serious abscesses that needed to be drained and my heart hurt for those little kids and the pain they had to endure.  It’s unfortunate and sad that these kids and adults have to deal with the illnesses they do because of the lack of resources.  

Sometimes it’s hard and you feel somewhat helpless.  I get a lot of comfort snuggling and playing with the little ones that come through the clinic and just seeing them smile and giggle.  There were definitely some sweet little snugglers today!  Lots of kids again today, some sent over from the school screenings.  Word travels around here and that is how a lot of people hear about the clinic, so it seems we have an endless stream of patients coming through.  We do what we can to see as many as we can, but sometimes it’s not possible to see them all. 

The school continued with their screenings and saw 111 kiddos.  The education team there had fun teaching the kids some fun computer games they had developed to teach the kids math and geography.  Lots of planning for the future projects at the school makes for some exciting days!  

The womens health screening had their last clinic today and have had several young girls coming through in an effort to be more educated.  Which is fantastic.  One of our translators told us that birth control and education in these topics is often taboo so no one talks about it.  Education is key to helping these kids make good choices for their future.  There are a lot of young girls having babies here but there’s definitely an interest in being more educated and making better choices.  It’s exciting to see the developments in these areas.  

VBS had 120 or so kids today and Nancy and Mara have managing all week with no translator.  Nancy knows a fair amount of Spanish or at least enough to get by . But still thats a lot of kiddos with a language barrier.  Bruce finished up his vision clinic and went over to help out with the kids.  His instructions were to take the younger kids outside and play duck duck goose, but instead they played a monster game.  Oh Bruce!  

The clean water ministry continued today and word is spreading about the filters so I think this will grow in the future.  

Fatima spent the day at the Cricol working with some of those rehab patients and had a wonderful time connecting with people there again.  

I think about all of the relationships we have developed in this area over the years and how wonderful it is to have them.  They are not just a group of Hondurans we come to do mission work with, they are friends and family and people who care equally about us as much as we do them.  We’ve seen kids grow into young adults and so much growth its awesome.  I can’t wait to see where it continues to grow going forward.  God is good! 

I’m turning in for the night. It’s been a busy day and tomorrow is our last day working in the field.  Friday is a travel day back to the city near the airport.  We do that to make Saturday a smoother travel day because the drive up there is so long.  

Blessings,

Shelley 

                                                    Chantel with a helper in pharmacy 

 So by the second day of the clinic/medical mission, we have usually gotten into a groove with how things are going to go, workshopping new ways of doing things and working through the hiccups.  Today was very much a day like that.  We did have an issue with the EMR Electronic record system not communicating, and so had to switch back to paper records for a short while, until I figured it out.  I did a little work on the router that they connect to and after about 45 minutes or so things seemed to be back up and running.  Which is good because the system is really proving to be worth while.  Providers are seeing huge benefits to it and the real excitement will be next year when we have a lot of our regulars come through and we are able to look up past medical history and medications and treatments prescribed.  

In general today was a little harder in that we had quite a few challenging cases come through the clinic.  A lot of them are diabetic related.  Diabetes is very prevalent here in Honduras and often goes untreated.  Untreated diabetes is the worst and the body can deteriorate fast.  We had at least two cases of necrotic feet from untreated diabetes and referrals to surgeries to have them amputated were made.  It’s so sad and heartbreaking that people reach this level due to no fault of their own.  Lack of access to medical care and medicines is the biggest component of it.  The ability to even get to a health care center is a challenge.  And to be able to afford is an even bigger challenge.  The numbers we measured for a lot of our diabetic patients have been high.  Hypertension is also another disease that is prevalent here in Honduras.  Again very treatable, if you have the resources to do it.  

Several people got involved in caring for the patients that needed amputations and it was amazing to see the care been given to them.  Tonight at our devotions, our Honduran provider shared her story today about the love she saw given to her people . She talked about how its not just about giving a medication, its about how its given and how the person is made to feel during the treatment.  It’s important to show respect and love.  

Today was a loud day in the clinic also – I think all the crying babies came this afternoon! I got to at least cuddle and play with a few of them and even managed to get a couple of them to giggle at me.  I do love all those cute kiddos!!  

In VBS they had around 90 kids so it was a busy day for them also.  They enjoyed stories and crafts

Kurt continued with his clean water project in the community, continued health checks at both the regular school and special needs school, and health checks at the women’s clinic all continued.  The school team had fun teaching some of the kids how to grow seeds and they all went home with chia seed sponges!  The hope is to help them implement a vegetable garden in their school down the road so they can learn to grow food.  

Tomorrow is another day and we hope and pray it will be another great day!

Blessings,

Shelley 

                                                    Working the kids at the special needs school 

 Today we had an early start.  6am devotions, breakfast then vans loaded by 7:30am, ready to start the day.  Today was our first day of seeing patients.  There were groups going in different directions, at the church clinic, the grade school, the hospital, the special needs school, feeding center and the local health clinic.  It takes a lot to coordinate a large group like this, especially going in many different directions, so kudos to Milton our Honduran coordinator who puts this giant puzzle together for us every time.  He hates to be called out, but I’m going to do it – Milton you are the best!!  

There are a lot of moving parts on a mission like this and flexibility and patience is key!!

I was in the group with the church clinic and when we arrived, we already had patients waiting.  Inside, we set about getting things ready and the rest of pharmacy set up etc.  So many have been coming on this mission for such a long time now, that it seems like a well oiled machine.  However, even well oiled machines have hiccups on occasion.  We had a few snags getting going and opened the clinic a bit later than we had hoped.  Our team this trip, has been working on implementing an electronic records system, using iPads that talk to each other.  Each of the providers has one, and you can enter all the essential patient information including a picture of the patient.  So at each step in the clinic the next person to see the patient has the most up to date information.  More importantly, going forward we will have clear electronic records of patients we see.  This is huge and super exciting.  We had a few snags getting it started, that required a few emails/calls to a support person in the states, but we did get it up and running and the rest of the day it worked so well!  Its super exciting and such a game changer in the clinic.  I’m sure there will be the occasional hiccup along the way, but I think we are off to a great start with it.  

At first, I was helping a bit in pharmacy with dividing of medications etc and then the rest t of the day I spent helping with the triage/intake part of the medical mission.  I worked with the iPads and doing all of the data entry as patients came through.  We got into a good groove and got through at least 130 patients.  I expect tomorrow will be a lot more as we will get started earlier, and word travels fast so more people will show up.  We did have to turn some people away at the end of the day but they will be back tomorrow.  

The team members working on surgeries at the hospital, got held up and we found out they would not be done until about 9:30am this evening.  It’s not unusual, but it’s a long day for them.  I believe they did 5 surgeries today, a few included hysterectomies.  I believe that the surgical team will have done 22 surgeries by the end of Thursday.  

‘ After we closed up the clinic, we came back to the hotel and had dinner together.  The hotel has been providing our food and it’s been great so far.  We then got together as a group to talk about our day and to enjoy devotions together.  There were lots of great stories shared from everyone’s day and conversations.  

It was a great first day.  It’s such a blessing to be here and to be a small part of something much bigger.  This mission and the people we work with are so special and it’s so great to see this mission continue to grow and touch so many lives.  But not only that, the people here in Honduras touch our lives in ways that can’t be explained.  We talked tonight about they are always so giving and embracing.  They have so little to give, yet they don’t hesitate to give it.  I’m blessed and privileged to be here and to be part of it. 

Tomorrow is another day, but it comes quickly.  6am start for us so its time to say goodnight!  Until tomrorow.

Blessings.  

                                                Fun with stethoscopes at the special needs school 

‘

 This morning the team had a later start due to our late night of travel the night before.  We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then devotions together.  Devotions are an essential part of this mission and it grounds us in the work that we do and the intention and purpose for why we do it.  Lots of discussion over various topics and singing together.  It’s a time to take a breath and reflect on either the day we had or the day ahead. 

We discussed the plan for the day and got those details out the way, and then split into our own smaller groups.  Each group took the time to find some space to meet every morning for morning devotions.  Our group found a nice shady spot and spent more time talking about our topic the Lords Prayer.  Our group will be meeting at 6am every morning in that spot and we start our day together then.  Following by breakfast and then leaving for the various mission locations at 7:30am.  

After some down time at the hotel, our team headed to La Ceibita to participate in the opening ceremony of the newest feeding center. This has been a long time coming and the community has prayed about this day for many years.  The old building was in significantly bad shape and needed to come down.  I attempted to do a facebook live post sharing the event with folks back home.  There are many supporters of our mission back home who have been out here and some who have not.  So many people we appreciate that have been part of this process along the way.  The feed was a little buggy due to internet issues but I think we got some good material.  After lots of discussion and recognition we finally got to open the gate and cut the ribbon for the feeding center.  I think it’s safe to say that everyone was so in awe of house beautiful the building turned out.  So many people had a hand in the building and so many locals donated time and talents to help build this center.  Folks at home helped raise funds, but the community of La Ceibita really came together to raise funds also.  They worked very hard with making food and selling food and other things to help get the funds together for this. Its so wonderful to have this partnership and help with creating a sustainable feeding center.  

The kids came in and sat down and we had the pleasure of serving them lunch while everyone admired the new building.  Lots of time spent chatting with community members, visiting with people and soaking it all in.  It was a good day.

After the opening ceremony, we returned back to the hotel to eat dinner, and share and spend time again in devotion.  We have been blessed with so much love from this community.  

Tomorrow the work begins with clinics, and surgeries, and women’s and children’s health, Vacation Bible School and so much more.  Time to rest and get ready for the work week!  I can’t wait.  

                                                        Serving the kids at the feeding center

                                                            Kids waiting for lunch!

                                                         The women cooked Tamales for us!

                                                At the ceremony for the new feeding center.  

                                                                       Ribbon Cutting

                                                                Serving the kiddos lunch 

                                                    Our team with the community all together 

                                                                            Beautiful view

                                                                    At devotions together 

                                                                            Side  View

                                                           Another view of the new building 

                                                               First view of feeding center 

                                                                Kids waiting for lunch 

                                                            The ladies hard at work 

                                                            My little Girl Valery and I 

                                                                    Cuteness over load!!

‘

 Today was an exceptionally long day for the team but we made it here safe and sound.  The majority of the team have been traveling for 24 hours so they are pretty beat.  Arriving at San Pedro Sula Airport we had a minor hiccup with a missing bag.  Turns out it had been pulled by customs for reasons we couldn’t explain and it took a while to retrieve it.  So after sitting around for a long time we finally left the airport at 4:20pm.  Our lunch was at 6pm at Wendy’s in Tela and finally after a short bathroom break, we arrived in Tocoa at around midnight.  Much of the drive was in the dark as the sun sets around 6pm here all year round.  So not too many sights to report along the way.  

 Greeted by the few team members that came ahead a few days, we were happy to get to our rooms quickly so we could turn in.  I was thrilled to learn that the clinic is all set up!  Tomorrow will be a more restful day.  I’m excited to see everyone again, but for tonight keeping this post short as I need some sleep!  I’ll write more tomorrow. 

                                                                    Selfies in the van 

View over Belize fron the plane