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
