Lorraine, Carol, and Catherine worked with about 15 women in La Montanita to determine if the women could use their craft and sewing skills to make items for sale. The women are very adept with hand crafts and thus very artistic and proficient with hand sewing. The first day was spent trying to understand their capabilities, what materials were available, and their interests in such a project.
No one in the village knew how to knit and only one woman knew how to crochet a few stitches. Catherine spent the next day with 6-8 teenage girls to teach them how to crochet using needles and yarn that she had taken. One of the girls learned fast and completed a baby cap by the end of the second day. Now, this group is capable of crocheting baby caps and blankets. We will be sending them new and different crochet patterns in Spanish for the group to make additional items to be sold in Honduras.
The women already design and make tortilla cloths. Each person draws a pattern of their own design on the cloth before they start the embroidering. They were looking for ways to use these skills to make other hand-crafted items. They were very excited to show us these cloths and several of them went back home to get some. On the second day as the conversation progressed to the idea that they could sell these items, they told Lorraine that they only made them as a hobby and for personal use. They seemed to have little interest in selling these cloths at first. Then, Lorraine suggested that they could organize a group to make the tortilla covers to sell to earn money to buy school items for their children, or other things that would benefit all of the children in the community. When the women realized that the money could be used to improve the lives of their children, the interest in the proposed project came alive. I guess mothers are the same world wide!! Then, a leader emerged from the group and she quickly began organizing them and getting their individual commitments.
Before the meeting was over, Lorraine agreed to ask the next mission team to bring 20 of these tortilla covers back to Aiken to determine if they will sell. Also, one of our group members ordered 15 of them for gifts. The women were promised that they would be paid $4 for each tortilla cloth picked up by the next group. The La Montanita women will then have $140 to buy more materials to make additional cloths. Also, if the cloths sell for more that $4, all of the extra money will be sent back to this group. On the bus ride back to the airport, several of our team members brainstormed ideas on other uses of the tortilla cloths and how to start marketing and selling them. Bruce even had two good ideas here!!
While all of the crocheting and tortilla cloth activities were happening with Catherine and Lorraine, Carol intended to teach a group how to make paper flowers to decorate their church. This had been requested the previous day. Before she could really get started on the flower making, she was overwhelmed by a large group of village children who wanted to color and draw. So, that’s how Carol spent her day. None of these items could be sold, but the children left happy.
During all of these activities, children comfortably moved in and out of whatever was going on. It seems that the children just naturally integrate themselves into anything that is happening. Jim and Bruce had mentioned that several young boys had helped the adults assemble the school desks and benches the previous day. This just seems to be the way that things are in Honduras.
Lorraine, Carol, & Catherine
Monday, January 25, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
A Moment for Sharing the Love of Christ
As part of our team was getting ready to depart for home on Thursday, we took time to give thanks for the many blessing we had received during the week. Holly led us all in a service that included celebrating communion. Our support staff, Gloria and Sondra, our translators, Debbie and Daniel, Maynor, Elmer, the bus driver and Marvin, his assistant, joined us.
Holly asked us to reflect on where we had seen God during our time in Honduras. To listen to the feedback was very special. The sharing of the elements with all was an unbelievable experience. Emotions were overwhelming and we could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Tears flowed as we said farewell to our teammates.
As previously noted on the blog, before we left home Holly gave us all bracelets with the words, Watch for God. During these special moments it felt that God was watching us.
June and Ken
Holly asked us to reflect on where we had seen God during our time in Honduras. To listen to the feedback was very special. The sharing of the elements with all was an unbelievable experience. Emotions were overwhelming and we could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Tears flowed as we said farewell to our teammates.
As previously noted on the blog, before we left home Holly gave us all bracelets with the words, Watch for God. During these special moments it felt that God was watching us.
June and Ken
Friday, January 22, 2010
Words from the heart from La Montanita
On Wednesday in La Montanita we saw God at work in so many ways.
Crafts
Lorraine and Catherine made tremendous progress teaching the ladies to crochet as well as how to make handicrafts that might sell. The village ladies determined that Reina would be the leader of the ladies craft group. Soon she had a whole bunch of ladies on her team working together to make crafts. Gerry placed the first order!
Carol Ryder worked with the children to express their ideas of beauty in God’s kingdom through colored pencils and water paint. The children made cards. Since it was Gerry’s birthday he received a very special card while all of the children sang Happy Birthday.
Health
Maxine and Ken worked the deworming area. Only one child cried out of nearly a hundred! You would’ve thought it was ice cream. From deworming they went off to fluoride where Carol Hidlay held forth.
I Love Jesus / Jesus Loves Me
Debbie, our translator, taught all of the children how to sign I Love Jesus, Jesus loves me. Each child received a Dios Te Ama bracelet as a reminder of the love of God.
Justa Stove Construction
Many of the men on the team encouraged Santos, the local Justa stove expert. He built a stove on his own while the folks from Teo observed, questioned and took notes. Allen announced that Montanita was self sufficient in stove building!
Glasses
Holley and I worked with Maynor on glasses for reading and sewing. Since the auto refractor wasn’t working we used a printed eye chart to test near vision. There were 25 patients and we were able to provide a good fit for 23 of them. Ken provided sunglasses to all of the patients. The big aha is that now Maynor can carry on this service to other villages.
Words from the heart
At the end of the day Holley, Allen, Ken and I sat down with two of the village leaders, Juana and Xiomara. Together we reflected on the events of the past several days. Since other teams will be visiting the village we urged them to reinforce the dental hygiene training and assured them we were going to check everyone’s teeth the next time any of us were to be in the village!
As we summarized, we commented on their tremendous spirit of collaboration. The village really pulled together. We stressed the need to continue to help one another and their neighbors. Juana told us how she had seen the love of God coming from us and that surely God had filled us with His love so that we could share that love with them. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Up to that point we didn’t know Juana was a Christian and here she was speaking the words we all believe. Truly we saw God that day.
June
Crafts
Lorraine and Catherine made tremendous progress teaching the ladies to crochet as well as how to make handicrafts that might sell. The village ladies determined that Reina would be the leader of the ladies craft group. Soon she had a whole bunch of ladies on her team working together to make crafts. Gerry placed the first order!
Carol Ryder worked with the children to express their ideas of beauty in God’s kingdom through colored pencils and water paint. The children made cards. Since it was Gerry’s birthday he received a very special card while all of the children sang Happy Birthday.
Health
Maxine and Ken worked the deworming area. Only one child cried out of nearly a hundred! You would’ve thought it was ice cream. From deworming they went off to fluoride where Carol Hidlay held forth.
I Love Jesus / Jesus Loves Me
Debbie, our translator, taught all of the children how to sign I Love Jesus, Jesus loves me. Each child received a Dios Te Ama bracelet as a reminder of the love of God.
Justa Stove Construction
Many of the men on the team encouraged Santos, the local Justa stove expert. He built a stove on his own while the folks from Teo observed, questioned and took notes. Allen announced that Montanita was self sufficient in stove building!
Glasses
Holley and I worked with Maynor on glasses for reading and sewing. Since the auto refractor wasn’t working we used a printed eye chart to test near vision. There were 25 patients and we were able to provide a good fit for 23 of them. Ken provided sunglasses to all of the patients. The big aha is that now Maynor can carry on this service to other villages.
Words from the heart
At the end of the day Holley, Allen, Ken and I sat down with two of the village leaders, Juana and Xiomara. Together we reflected on the events of the past several days. Since other teams will be visiting the village we urged them to reinforce the dental hygiene training and assured them we were going to check everyone’s teeth the next time any of us were to be in the village!
As we summarized, we commented on their tremendous spirit of collaboration. The village really pulled together. We stressed the need to continue to help one another and their neighbors. Juana told us how she had seen the love of God coming from us and that surely God had filled us with His love so that we could share that love with them. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Up to that point we didn’t know Juana was a Christian and here she was speaking the words we all believe. Truly we saw God that day.
June
Thursday in Texoxingales
What a day! We’ve been to the end of the road at the top of a mountain to the village of Texoxingales an hour and fifteen minutes away from home base. Coffee and cardamon are the cash crops.
As with many other villages, this is a very poor village. The closest town with commerce and middle and high schools is one hour away by car. Horses are used as transportation here but I have no idea how long it would take by horse to get to town.
Their number one need is another source of water. The source that they are using now is drying up. The tank that holds the water fills so slowly that the water is turned on only for a short time in the morning and again in the evening. There is another source of water on a different mountain but they are in need of pipe to bring it down to the holding tank. This village is lucky in that they do have electricity.
Dental kits were given out to the children followed by deworming and the fluoride treatments. Over 125 doses of the deworming medicine were given to the children and adults. Plastic spoons were used to measure out the doses. We ran out of spoons and had to have one of the women take the used ones home to wash them. I knew that at the end of the day that I was getting tired as I spilled a spoonful down the front of a young mother. Fortunately, she laughed along with us and accepted my apology.
For lunch we were invited to have lunch with one of the families in the village. We dined on their best tablecloths and dishes with the menu of chicken, chicken soup, tortillas and coke or water. The chicken soup was made by boiling the whole chicken in the pot and then removing it, putting it on a spit and roasting it. Zounds, we have chicken and chicken soup! The chicken was definite free range and was tough as an old inner tube!
We visited several homes to view the types of stoves being used and the problems that are present when the stoves are not properly vented. Those houses whose stoves were not vented were full of smoke, just like when you light the fire in your fireplace and forget to open the damper. Needless to say, we did not tarry long in those houses. No wonder there are so many respiratory problems with conditions such as these. Some of the houses had vented the stoves to out side so there is a recognition of how to eliminate the smoke.
The children, of course, were cute and adorable, but there is no future for them after the 6th grade as it would be an hour’s ride by car to get to the closest town that has a middle school and high school. In addition the parents would have to come up with enough money to pay for their school fees, uniforms and money for room and board if they have to live in town.. Therefore, what the future holds for these 12 and 13 year olds is to have a baby and maybe marriage and more babies year after year. Between having so many babies and the hard life that they have, the women are old before they are 30.
We feel that God has led us to a village that has many opportunities for us to work with the people in showing them God’s love for them and to help improve the quality of their health.
Maxine
As with many other villages, this is a very poor village. The closest town with commerce and middle and high schools is one hour away by car. Horses are used as transportation here but I have no idea how long it would take by horse to get to town.
Their number one need is another source of water. The source that they are using now is drying up. The tank that holds the water fills so slowly that the water is turned on only for a short time in the morning and again in the evening. There is another source of water on a different mountain but they are in need of pipe to bring it down to the holding tank. This village is lucky in that they do have electricity.
Dental kits were given out to the children followed by deworming and the fluoride treatments. Over 125 doses of the deworming medicine were given to the children and adults. Plastic spoons were used to measure out the doses. We ran out of spoons and had to have one of the women take the used ones home to wash them. I knew that at the end of the day that I was getting tired as I spilled a spoonful down the front of a young mother. Fortunately, she laughed along with us and accepted my apology.
For lunch we were invited to have lunch with one of the families in the village. We dined on their best tablecloths and dishes with the menu of chicken, chicken soup, tortillas and coke or water. The chicken soup was made by boiling the whole chicken in the pot and then removing it, putting it on a spit and roasting it. Zounds, we have chicken and chicken soup! The chicken was definite free range and was tough as an old inner tube!
We visited several homes to view the types of stoves being used and the problems that are present when the stoves are not properly vented. Those houses whose stoves were not vented were full of smoke, just like when you light the fire in your fireplace and forget to open the damper. Needless to say, we did not tarry long in those houses. No wonder there are so many respiratory problems with conditions such as these. Some of the houses had vented the stoves to out side so there is a recognition of how to eliminate the smoke.
The children, of course, were cute and adorable, but there is no future for them after the 6th grade as it would be an hour’s ride by car to get to the closest town that has a middle school and high school. In addition the parents would have to come up with enough money to pay for their school fees, uniforms and money for room and board if they have to live in town.. Therefore, what the future holds for these 12 and 13 year olds is to have a baby and maybe marriage and more babies year after year. Between having so many babies and the hard life that they have, the women are old before they are 30.
We feel that God has led us to a village that has many opportunities for us to work with the people in showing them God’s love for them and to help improve the quality of their health.
Maxine
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Miercoles, 1/20/10
DIRT POOR; RICH IN SPIRIT
I have been led to believe that practically all the land in Honduras is owned by a very few families. And of course this is the most productive or strategic land. By contrast most of the poor folks have to settle for sharecropper status on small plots that can hardly support a family let alone provide the material trappings we take for granted. However, most make do and manage to survive while maintaining a positive outlook.
A case in point is the homestead of Bartolo Gonzales whose family of eleven occupies a small dwelling, about 1,000 square feet, on top of a little ridge in La Montanita. Not all the family resides there right now but I think you get the idea. His land slopes away on both sides of the ridge and is about two acres. At first glance the property appears to be overgrown with scrub palms and jungle plants. But we found out differently.
Closer observation and after a few inquiries we found that most of the plants we were looking at were indeed food sources. He had mangoes, bananas, coffee, sweet potatoes, about fifty pineapple plants, a spiny fruit I don’t recall the name of, papaya, and probably some other stuff we were unaware of. Of course there were the ever present chickens and dogs (I don’t think they eat the dogs, they’re too skinny)
Many of us who have spacious lawns, a half acre of ornamental plants, and shop at Wal-mart probably don’t appreciate (or care?) about the way most of the world’s population has to live: shame on those who do. I continue to be impressed by the spirit and apparent happiness of the Honduran people. Do they hope for a better life? Of course they do, but they are not beggars; they are financially poor. They are very friendly and appreciative of the small things we can do for them.
Bruce
COMPLETED OUR CONSTRUCTION TASKS AT LA MONTANITA
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we completed our construction tasks at La Montanita. We finished assembling the new desks and benches and completed Justa stoves #2 and #3. Four people from Texoxingales (Teo), a mountain-top village about 1.5 hours away from La Montanita, watched Santos ( the man who had been taught stove building on stoves #1 and #2) build stove #3. Santos was an excellent teacher and the Teo people were very good students. They watched intently, asked lots of questions, and took lots of notes. We had given them a copy of the stove building instructions in Spanish.
We believe that La Montanita can now complete construction of their stoves as funding is made available. We expext Santos to go to Teo to assist in construction of their first stove.
We are extremely pleased at how fast the locals are learning to build the Justa stoves. They really made George look good!
Jim
DIRT POOR; RICH IN SPIRIT
I have been led to believe that practically all the land in Honduras is owned by a very few families. And of course this is the most productive or strategic land. By contrast most of the poor folks have to settle for sharecropper status on small plots that can hardly support a family let alone provide the material trappings we take for granted. However, most make do and manage to survive while maintaining a positive outlook.
A case in point is the homestead of Bartolo Gonzales whose family of eleven occupies a small dwelling, about 1,000 square feet, on top of a little ridge in La Montanita. Not all the family resides there right now but I think you get the idea. His land slopes away on both sides of the ridge and is about two acres. At first glance the property appears to be overgrown with scrub palms and jungle plants. But we found out differently.
Closer observation and after a few inquiries we found that most of the plants we were looking at were indeed food sources. He had mangoes, bananas, coffee, sweet potatoes, about fifty pineapple plants, a spiny fruit I don’t recall the name of, papaya, and probably some other stuff we were unaware of. Of course there were the ever present chickens and dogs (I don’t think they eat the dogs, they’re too skinny)
Many of us who have spacious lawns, a half acre of ornamental plants, and shop at Wal-mart probably don’t appreciate (or care?) about the way most of the world’s population has to live: shame on those who do. I continue to be impressed by the spirit and apparent happiness of the Honduran people. Do they hope for a better life? Of course they do, but they are not beggars; they are financially poor. They are very friendly and appreciative of the small things we can do for them.
Bruce
COMPLETED OUR CONSTRUCTION TASKS AT LA MONTANITA
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we completed our construction tasks at La Montanita. We finished assembling the new desks and benches and completed Justa stoves #2 and #3. Four people from Texoxingales (Teo), a mountain-top village about 1.5 hours away from La Montanita, watched Santos ( the man who had been taught stove building on stoves #1 and #2) build stove #3. Santos was an excellent teacher and the Teo people were very good students. They watched intently, asked lots of questions, and took lots of notes. We had given them a copy of the stove building instructions in Spanish.
We believe that La Montanita can now complete construction of their stoves as funding is made available. We expext Santos to go to Teo to assist in construction of their first stove.
We are extremely pleased at how fast the locals are learning to build the Justa stoves. They really made George look good!
Jim
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Watching for God
Geckos abound in Honduras. These harmless little lizard-like creatures have the amazing ability to cling to any vertical surface (with the exception of Teflon) thanks to bristle-like structures on their footpads. No matter where they are (Teflon excluded) they are ‘firmly planted’.
This week we, too, are attempting to be firmly planted, fully engaged in all the encounters in which we find ourselves. Christian spiritual teachers describe this way of being as practicing the presence of God or the sacrament of the present moment – living with an awareness of God’s presence in the here and now and being open to the potential of the sacred in the ordinary.
We are witnessing God’s presence everyday here. Holy ground stretches for miles.
Is it stepping outside of our ordinary routine that makes us more receptive to God’s presence here? The invitation and the challenge to be open to God in the present moment awaits us on our return to Aiken.
Holly
This week we, too, are attempting to be firmly planted, fully engaged in all the encounters in which we find ourselves. Christian spiritual teachers describe this way of being as practicing the presence of God or the sacrament of the present moment – living with an awareness of God’s presence in the here and now and being open to the potential of the sacred in the ordinary.
We are witnessing God’s presence everyday here. Holy ground stretches for miles.
Is it stepping outside of our ordinary routine that makes us more receptive to God’s presence here? The invitation and the challenge to be open to God in the present moment awaits us on our return to Aiken.
Holly
Real work.......Great Partnering from the People
The whole group returned to La Montanita on Monday to help the locals complete the school desks and benches, start the Justa stove project, conduct a dental hygiene clinic, teach a group of women how to make various crafts for them to sell, and assist Dr. Elsa conduct a personal hygiene clinic.
Justa stove
We installed their first Justa stove today. This stove is an efficient, wood burning unit that is totally vented to the outside. Omar, a previous recipient of one of these stoves, assisted us by building one for a resident of La Montanita. He concurrently trained some other residents. On Tuesday, our plan is to install a second unit in another home. This installation will be done by the local residents under the supervision of Omar.
The enthusiasm and work ethic of the residents of this village are exciting and encouraging.
George
While Allen was carrying out his board president duties (walking around inspecting!), he saw a group of men & boys complete a desk, set it on the floor, and give it the “wobble” test. Well, it failed the test. Then, they disassembled the desk and reassembled it, and it now passed the “wobble” test. We were pleased that this group had taken great pride in what they were doing.
Jim
… And they came to the mountain on a horse
As we finished the dental hygiene clinic, two little girls (ages 11 and 6) came up the hill to the village school riding on a horse. They jumped off their horse uphill from the school and conferred. The older girl being a bit reluctant sent her younger sister down to the group of North American missionaries. The girls had heard that the team was giving away toothbrushes and they wanted some for their family. They had ridden the horse for an hour down their mountain and up the mountain to La Montanita. Surrounding the little six year old with love, we learned the family’s sad story. Just after the 11 year old was born, her father abandoned the family. The mother eventually remarried and when the 6 year-old was 14 months old, her father was killed by a gang in San Pedro Sula. The mother again remarried and her youngest child was born. The mother could not accompany the two girls on their journey as she had to care for her son and the flock of newly born chickens. When we demonstrated the correct method of brushing and flossing, the six year old related that she knew how as her mother had taught the children. Finally, after meeting with the children’s grandmother who lived in La Montanita, the two girls mounted their horse for the hour’s ride home – a home on the next mountain top with no electricity – a ride the girls made twice a week to their grandmother’s during the school year. The team was amazed by the beauty, intelligence, and presence of the six year old who held intelligent and thoughtful conversations with adults she had never met before. There were lots of teary eyes during this encounter.
Alan
Personal Hygiene..the road to better health
Today Doctor Elsa gave the first chat on personal hygiene to the women of La Montanita. Eleven aspects of personal hygiene were discussed such as skin care, hair (checking for head lice) and ears. Many old remedies were questioned. The Doctor assured the women that brushing a cat’s tail over sore eyes won’t cure the problem.
Our team cheered as she reinforced the importance of dental hygiene and encouraged the moms to set a good example for their children. Doctor Elsa closed with words we all love of caring for one another and helping where needed.
June
Some thoughts about Honduras
We have been very busy and have met many wonderful people. It has not been all hard workt hough. This is an amazingly beautiful place. Imagine sitting at breakfast with a view of hibiscus blossoms and hummingbirds. As I write this I see a flock of cattle egrets. The mountain views are glorious. Two very friendly and capable women prepare our meals and do our laundry. The people here may lack many of our material possessions, but they seem full of joy.
Such a meaningful experience for us.
Carol
Mountain Crafts
Yesterday in La Montanita we were very pleased to have more than a dozen women & girls come to show us some of their handiwork – some embroidery and some hand sewing. They were quite interested in learning to crochet. We had some crochet hooks with us and were fortunate to find some acrylic yarn in Quimistan (35 cents for enough to make one baby cap). We found our pupils were fast learners and very interested. They told us they wished to learn to make artificial flowers and things they can use to decorate their homes so we are looking for supplies and ideas. Lovely, friendly folks to work with.
Catherine
Dinner with Martha
We had dinner with Martha on Tuesday night. She is the” hostess with the mostest”. Due to her kind hospitality we are sheltered and fed in luxurious surroundings. We have flowers in the yard, a soft bed in which to sleep and lots of good food and company! She is a remarkable person. As she related to me. She grew up barefoot and with one dress that she washed every night so she could attend school. She witnessed a relative who was assinated in front of his home for being of the wrong political persuasion. She was able to come to the U.S. because of the sponsorship of an American family. At that time she was marriend and pregnant with her fifth child. Her husband and children stayed in Honduras. They later divorced. Her fifth child was born in the U.S. She lived and worked for many years in the U.S. Subsequently she married an American man and settled in California and brought her four other children to live with her.
They returned often to Honduras and Quimistan. After they semi-retired they decided to return here to live and bring Christ to the people by helping them to help themselves. The reason she shows Christian missionaries such kind hospitality is that as a missionary to Honduras she was sleeping in a card board box and it was so cold!
Carol Hidlay
Drinkable Water at Last!
How do you feel when you help save a baby’s life? We got a little taste of that feeling this week.
Water in many areas of Honduras is contaminated with E. coli, a primary contributor to gastrointestinal disease, diarrhea, and dehydration that cause many infant deaths. One of our health initiatives has been to identify contaminated water sources in communities in our mission areas, and to help the communities overcome the problems.
This week we tested several water samples from two mountain communities of 300-400 people each—La Montanita and Santa Clara. We used field test kits that show clearly in 24-48 hours whether a water sample contains E. coli, and roughly how much.
Water samples tested in La Montanita were all completely free of E. coli—veritable “pure mountain stream water.” Those results confirmed results from months ago. The president of the La Montanita Water Board was pleased to hear of the results. We even kidded about how he might be able to sell their pure water.
But here’s the good lifesaving news: Following that earlier testing in Santa Clara, contributions from various Foundation-related donors enabled three men of the community to build and install more than a hundred biosand filters (BSFs). Every home in the community now has a BSF.
Allen
Justa stove
We installed their first Justa stove today. This stove is an efficient, wood burning unit that is totally vented to the outside. Omar, a previous recipient of one of these stoves, assisted us by building one for a resident of La Montanita. He concurrently trained some other residents. On Tuesday, our plan is to install a second unit in another home. This installation will be done by the local residents under the supervision of Omar.
The enthusiasm and work ethic of the residents of this village are exciting and encouraging.
George
School Desks and Benches
When we returned to La Montanita this AM, we found 10-15 residents eagerly waiting on us to bring more nails so they could continue assembling the desks & benches. They took the nails and enthusiastically took complete ownership of this job. Some of us started sanding the finished desks/benches and other residents showed up and joined in to help with this. This whole job would have been completed, but we ran out of nails again!! We will take more nails Tuesday AM.
While Allen was carrying out his board president duties (walking around inspecting!), he saw a group of men & boys complete a desk, set it on the floor, and give it the “wobble” test. Well, it failed the test. Then, they disassembled the desk and reassembled it, and it now passed the “wobble” test. We were pleased that this group had taken great pride in what they were doing.
Jim
… And they came to the mountain on a horse
As we finished the dental hygiene clinic, two little girls (ages 11 and 6) came up the hill to the village school riding on a horse. They jumped off their horse uphill from the school and conferred. The older girl being a bit reluctant sent her younger sister down to the group of North American missionaries. The girls had heard that the team was giving away toothbrushes and they wanted some for their family. They had ridden the horse for an hour down their mountain and up the mountain to La Montanita. Surrounding the little six year old with love, we learned the family’s sad story. Just after the 11 year old was born, her father abandoned the family. The mother eventually remarried and when the 6 year-old was 14 months old, her father was killed by a gang in San Pedro Sula. The mother again remarried and her youngest child was born. The mother could not accompany the two girls on their journey as she had to care for her son and the flock of newly born chickens. When we demonstrated the correct method of brushing and flossing, the six year old related that she knew how as her mother had taught the children. Finally, after meeting with the children’s grandmother who lived in La Montanita, the two girls mounted their horse for the hour’s ride home – a home on the next mountain top with no electricity – a ride the girls made twice a week to their grandmother’s during the school year. The team was amazed by the beauty, intelligence, and presence of the six year old who held intelligent and thoughtful conversations with adults she had never met before. There were lots of teary eyes during this encounter.
Alan
Personal Hygiene..the road to better health
Today Doctor Elsa gave the first chat on personal hygiene to the women of La Montanita. Eleven aspects of personal hygiene were discussed such as skin care, hair (checking for head lice) and ears. Many old remedies were questioned. The Doctor assured the women that brushing a cat’s tail over sore eyes won’t cure the problem.
Our team cheered as she reinforced the importance of dental hygiene and encouraged the moms to set a good example for their children. Doctor Elsa closed with words we all love of caring for one another and helping where needed.
June
Some thoughts about Honduras
We have been very busy and have met many wonderful people. It has not been all hard workt hough. This is an amazingly beautiful place. Imagine sitting at breakfast with a view of hibiscus blossoms and hummingbirds. As I write this I see a flock of cattle egrets. The mountain views are glorious. Two very friendly and capable women prepare our meals and do our laundry. The people here may lack many of our material possessions, but they seem full of joy.
Such a meaningful experience for us.
Carol
Mountain Crafts
Yesterday in La Montanita we were very pleased to have more than a dozen women & girls come to show us some of their handiwork – some embroidery and some hand sewing. They were quite interested in learning to crochet. We had some crochet hooks with us and were fortunate to find some acrylic yarn in Quimistan (35 cents for enough to make one baby cap). We found our pupils were fast learners and very interested. They told us they wished to learn to make artificial flowers and things they can use to decorate their homes so we are looking for supplies and ideas. Lovely, friendly folks to work with.
Catherine
Dinner with Martha
We had dinner with Martha on Tuesday night. She is the” hostess with the mostest”. Due to her kind hospitality we are sheltered and fed in luxurious surroundings. We have flowers in the yard, a soft bed in which to sleep and lots of good food and company! She is a remarkable person. As she related to me. She grew up barefoot and with one dress that she washed every night so she could attend school. She witnessed a relative who was assinated in front of his home for being of the wrong political persuasion. She was able to come to the U.S. because of the sponsorship of an American family. At that time she was marriend and pregnant with her fifth child. Her husband and children stayed in Honduras. They later divorced. Her fifth child was born in the U.S. She lived and worked for many years in the U.S. Subsequently she married an American man and settled in California and brought her four other children to live with her.
They returned often to Honduras and Quimistan. After they semi-retired they decided to return here to live and bring Christ to the people by helping them to help themselves. The reason she shows Christian missionaries such kind hospitality is that as a missionary to Honduras she was sleeping in a card board box and it was so cold!
Carol Hidlay
Martha is the Honduran woman and her husband is behind her.
Drinkable Water at Last!
How do you feel when you help save a baby’s life? We got a little taste of that feeling this week.
Water in many areas of Honduras is contaminated with E. coli, a primary contributor to gastrointestinal disease, diarrhea, and dehydration that cause many infant deaths. One of our health initiatives has been to identify contaminated water sources in communities in our mission areas, and to help the communities overcome the problems.
This week we tested several water samples from two mountain communities of 300-400 people each—La Montanita and Santa Clara. We used field test kits that show clearly in 24-48 hours whether a water sample contains E. coli, and roughly how much.
Water samples tested in La Montanita were all completely free of E. coli—veritable “pure mountain stream water.” Those results confirmed results from months ago. The president of the La Montanita Water Board was pleased to hear of the results. We even kidded about how he might be able to sell their pure water.Results from Santa Clara showed dangerously high levels of E. coli in their community water system, again confirming results from earlier testing. The photo below shows on the left side what one family with nine children used to drink from a little spring at the bottom of the hill. The two middle petri dishes show what they were drinking after they got tied in to the community water system. The purple spots in each of the three petri dishes are E. coli colonies.
But here’s the good lifesaving news: Following that earlier testing in Santa Clara, contributions from various Foundation-related donors enabled three men of the community to build and install more than a hundred biosand filters (BSFs). Every home in the community now has a BSF.Yes, the community water system may be loaded with E. coli. But after that water passes through the BSF, the E. coli has been removed. The petri dish on the right of the photo is water that was collected from the BSF in the home of the nine children. None of the samples from the BSFs showed any sign of E. coli.
But what is the real test of whether we have been successful? How many kids now have to be carried to the hospital for treatment of extended diarrhea and dehydration? We were told that since the BSFs were installed in early November, there have been zero instances! How’s that for dramatic evidence? What a terrific feeling!
There are lots of ways to show God’s love and care for the people He loves. The people of Santa Clara are seeing some of that love. And so is our team. It’s tough to be silent about stuff this good.
Monday, January 18, 2010
I will pray, learn, and serve because Jesus loves me!
After a morning of participating with the AP students and their brothers, sisters and friends in their weelky Bible study(about 50 children), we came back to Martha's ranch for further religious instruction. The Bible verses used for the basis of the teaching were Mark 12:29 - 31
The "HAF Agape Players" with the help of the senior AP students, put on askit to help the children understand the how much Jesus loves them. They were also taught, for them to love Jesus in return, they must pray, learn and serve. Hand signs were used for these lessons too. At the close of the session, each child was given a bracelet with the saying, Dios te ama (God loves you). It was a wonderful experience to share this lesson with all of the children. The message seemed clear and the repeated use of signing the words helped them to get the true meaning of the words. As we prepared for additional break out sessions, love and understanding filled the room. The Holy Spirit was truly present with us all this afternoon.
Ken
The introduction spoke about the word for love is "agape" and it means the love that Jesus showed to people. Agape means love that serves others - that brings out the best in people, love that can change somone's life for the better. The message to the children was that God Loves You! He loves all of
you. They then repeated the words Jesus Loves Me and I Love Jesus several times. They learned how to sign each of these phrases.The "HAF Agape Players" with the help of the senior AP students, put on askit to help the children understand the how much Jesus loves them. They were also taught, for them to love Jesus in return, they must pray, learn and serve. Hand signs were used for these lessons too. At the close of the session, each child was given a bracelet with the saying, Dios te ama (God loves you). It was a wonderful experience to share this lesson with all of the children. The message seemed clear and the repeated use of signing the words helped them to get the true meaning of the words. As we prepared for additional break out sessions, love and understanding filled the room. The Holy Spirit was truly present with us all this afternoon.
Ken
Sunday, January 17, 2010
God is with us
Domingo 1/16/10
Before we left on this mission trip, Holly gave a devotional at one of the team meetings which ended with the admonition to look for God in your life every day. Yesterday after our visit to Santa Clara, three of us were to go by taxi to La Montanita to work on desks. Also, Daniel our Interpreter was to follow us there in his pickup truck. Before leaving Santa Clara, his truck developed a truly ominous clunking sound. Daniel slowly drove the truck down the very rough road from Santa Clara and then slowly on the Guatamala to San Pedro Sula raceway to Quimistan. Upon reaching his intermediate destination, the Thomsen Ranch, the truck froze up and refused to roll any further. Oil was seen to coming from the differential and had been slung all over the undercarriage.
Where was God in all this? Breaking down anywhere along the way would have been far more hazardous, especially on the main highway and unable to move the vehicle onto the shoulder. You could consider this luck, coincidence or whatever, but this writer prefers to believe that God was indeed showing his hand in this case, particularly since Daniel was able to catch up to us in town and hitch a ride in the taxi. This was all followed by a very successful desk assembly training session.
Bruce
Before we left on this mission trip, Holly gave a devotional at one of the team meetings which ended with the admonition to look for God in your life every day. Yesterday after our visit to Santa Clara, three of us were to go by taxi to La Montanita to work on desks. Also, Daniel our Interpreter was to follow us there in his pickup truck. Before leaving Santa Clara, his truck developed a truly ominous clunking sound. Daniel slowly drove the truck down the very rough road from Santa Clara and then slowly on the Guatamala to San Pedro Sula raceway to Quimistan. Upon reaching his intermediate destination, the Thomsen Ranch, the truck froze up and refused to roll any further. Oil was seen to coming from the differential and had been slung all over the undercarriage.
Where was God in all this? Breaking down anywhere along the way would have been far more hazardous, especially on the main highway and unable to move the vehicle onto the shoulder. You could consider this luck, coincidence or whatever, but this writer prefers to believe that God was indeed showing his hand in this case, particularly since Daniel was able to catch up to us in town and hitch a ride in the taxi. This was all followed by a very successful desk assembly training session.
Bruce
Work Begins for the Team
January 15 &16
We finally got an internet connection!
The team spent Friday scoping out projects for the rest of the trip. All 14 of us, plus a driver and helper, crammed into a mini-bus and became much closer friends during out trips. Our first visit was to a mountain village, La Montanita, about 45 minutes from Quimistan. This village is high on a mountain range and has about 300 residents. Their houses are very rustic and in poor condition. They get their water from a mountain stream about 3 km away. The main “industry” in the area is coffee bean growing.
Below is a summary of the potential projects for this village.
The latrines at the local school are “outhouses” which are dangerous for the small kids because of the open holes underneath them. These latrines are also near the end their useful lives. The teachers’ latrines are still “outhouses” but with porcelain “commodes” that empty into a cesspool.One of these was not functioning, but we corrected the problem quickly. The village leaders had expressed a desire for us to assess options to provide several homes with latrines that did not have them.
We also scoped out issues related to water pressure and water capacity in the village. Several water samples were collected for analysis by Allen Blancett while we are here.
Part of the team conducted a dental hygiene clinic for about 50 village kids. This included the proper way to use a tooth brush and dental floss. Poor dental hygiene and the resulting medical problems are major issues in this area.
Dr. Elsa, a local physician who works with HAF, conducted some initial mid-wife training for 2 women so that they could become community health workers.
We visited several homes and chose 2 homes where Justa stoves will be built next week.
On Saturday, our scoping and planning phases were moved into the execution phase.
We began our day with a 45-minute close-packed friendship-building ride to Santa Clara. There are about 90 houses in this mountain-side village. Most of the homes have running water, but it is not pure and this causes major diarrhea and urinary tract problems. With HAF, private, and church funding, all of these homes were provided a bio-sandfilter over the last few months. The filters were fabricated in Santa Clara for about $30 each. We were told that there had been NO diarrhea problems since all of the families started using the bio-sandfilters. Wow! What a great success story for bio-sandfilters!!
We collected input and output water samples from several bio-sandfilters to build a database on the performance of the filters.
We met with several families who were the proud owners of Justa stoves. With a private donation, about half of the homes now have new Justa stoves. These stoves use 30-40% less wood, provide much more cooking surface, and provide proper venting of the smoke and soot from the kitchen. A traditional cooking stove is not vented to the outside, which causes severe lung problems.
We conducted a dental clinic for 50-60 kids. It was fun to watch kids learn to use dental floss for the first time.
The construction team returned to La Montanita to teach the local villagers how to assemble new desks and benches for their local school. First Presbyterian provided funding to buy the materials for 20 desk/bench sets. We wanted to try to fulfill the HAF’s new philosophy of building self-sustainability instead of us doing all of the work. When we arrived, about 20 adult workers and an equal number of villager children, some of whom worked along side the adults. We worked closely to help them assemble the first desk or bench, and then partially stepped back on the second ones. Then, we sat down and watched them assemble 7 complete sets of desks and benches on their own. It was fun and very fulfilling to see them really take ownership of this job, and to see them really having fun while they were working. I seriously doubt if we could find a better example of a group of people who could fulfill the HAF’s new self-sufficiency philosophy. We were proud the three of ourselves because we only drove 2 nails, and those were driven by me!!
Jim
We finally got an internet connection!
The team spent Friday scoping out projects for the rest of the trip. All 14 of us, plus a driver and helper, crammed into a mini-bus and became much closer friends during out trips. Our first visit was to a mountain village, La Montanita, about 45 minutes from Quimistan. This village is high on a mountain range and has about 300 residents. Their houses are very rustic and in poor condition. They get their water from a mountain stream about 3 km away. The main “industry” in the area is coffee bean growing.
Below is a summary of the potential projects for this village.
The latrines at the local school are “outhouses” which are dangerous for the small kids because of the open holes underneath them. These latrines are also near the end their useful lives. The teachers’ latrines are still “outhouses” but with porcelain “commodes” that empty into a cesspool.One of these was not functioning, but we corrected the problem quickly. The village leaders had expressed a desire for us to assess options to provide several homes with latrines that did not have them.
We also scoped out issues related to water pressure and water capacity in the village. Several water samples were collected for analysis by Allen Blancett while we are here.
Part of the team conducted a dental hygiene clinic for about 50 village kids. This included the proper way to use a tooth brush and dental floss. Poor dental hygiene and the resulting medical problems are major issues in this area.
Dr. Elsa, a local physician who works with HAF, conducted some initial mid-wife training for 2 women so that they could become community health workers.
We met with village leaders to help determine the priorities for future health, housing, and water improvements.
After we returned to Quimistan,we helped serve a meal to 50-60 kids as part of the “highway ministry”. These kids live in roadside shacks without running water or electricity.
This was a VERY LONG and tiring day!
On Saturday, our scoping and planning phases were moved into the execution phase.
We began our day with a 45-minute close-packed friendship-building ride to Santa Clara. There are about 90 houses in this mountain-side village. Most of the homes have running water, but it is not pure and this causes major diarrhea and urinary tract problems. With HAF, private, and church funding, all of these homes were provided a bio-sandfilter over the last few months. The filters were fabricated in Santa Clara for about $30 each. We were told that there had been NO diarrhea problems since all of the families started using the bio-sandfilters. Wow! What a great success story for bio-sandfilters!!
We collected input and output water samples from several bio-sandfilters to build a database on the performance of the filters.
We met with several families who were the proud owners of Justa stoves. With a private donation, about half of the homes now have new Justa stoves. These stoves use 30-40% less wood, provide much more cooking surface, and provide proper venting of the smoke and soot from the kitchen. A traditional cooking stove is not vented to the outside, which causes severe lung problems.
We conducted a dental clinic for 50-60 kids. It was fun to watch kids learn to use dental floss for the first time.
The construction team returned to La Montanita to teach the local villagers how to assemble new desks and benches for their local school. First Presbyterian provided funding to buy the materials for 20 desk/bench sets. We wanted to try to fulfill the HAF’s new philosophy of building self-sustainability instead of us doing all of the work. When we arrived, about 20 adult workers and an equal number of villager children, some of whom worked along side the adults. We worked closely to help them assemble the first desk or bench, and then partially stepped back on the second ones. Then, we sat down and watched them assemble 7 complete sets of desks and benches on their own. It was fun and very fulfilling to see them really take ownership of this job, and to see them really having fun while they were working. I seriously doubt if we could find a better example of a group of people who could fulfill the HAF’s new self-sufficiency philosophy. We were proud the three of ourselves because we only drove 2 nails, and those were driven by me!!
Jim
Saturday, January 16, 2010
We have arrived and are spreading God's Love
Dear Friends, thanks to your prayers and great planing by the team leaders we arrived without a problem -- even early and no hassle with security. We intended to update the blog upon arrival Thursday afternoon, but the internet connection has been down till today (Saturday). All is well, much progress has been made and new endeavors are being started. As we are just writing this at lunch and between mission visits, this will only be a short post, much more tonight.
Alan
Alan
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
January 2010 Mission Trip to Quimistan
A group of 14 people will be on a mission trip to Quimistan, Honduras January 14-23. June and Ken Blohm are the team leaders. Other team members are Holly Shoaf-Okula, Allen Blancett, Gerry Depo, Bruce & Maxine Eberhard, Jim & Lorraine Kelley, Carol Hidlay, Alan Moses, Carol Ryder, George Sewell, and Catherine Vandegrift. The team will be involved in teaching local residents how to assemble 20 desks and benches for a village school, building Justa stoves, conducting a vacation bible school, meeting with the Agape Promises children, conducting various health tasks, such as eye examinations, dental hygiene training, fluoride and de-worming treatments, and water testing from bio-sand filters. Some team members will also teach some of the local women how to make several craft items that the villagers can sell.
The group will also survey the needs of nearby villages to assist the HAF board fulfill its long-term vision of helping the local population improve their health and living conditions in a way that creates a strong and sustainable sense of self-sufficiency.
The team met on January 9 to pack 14 trunks with dental and medical supplies, tools, and other items that will be distributed at Quimistan.
Jim is using some of the medical supplies to give Bruce a good check-up before we depart. I'm sure that this group will accomplish a lot on this trip and will certainly have lots of fun too.
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