If you got bumped into God's path, then you are blessed

Today we went to Arena Blanca.  It is a mountain village a little over an hour from where we are staying.  The road to get there is winding and bumpy (luckily no one got car sick). The scenery was beautiful.  The mountain sides are full of coffee plants and lush vegetation.  After the rain we got last night the temperature was a pleasant surprise.  The girls described it as brisk.  It made the work at the school house pleasant before lunch.  When we got there, all the kids came running towards us! There were about 60 kids ranging from 1st to 6th grade. They meet in two classrooms. 1st, 2nd, and 6th grade students met in one classroom and 3rd, 4th, and 5th met in the other. When we got there, the guys put in a swing set for the kids that HAF donated and rescreened the front windows of the school. The girls spent the day playing with the kids in a whole bunch of ways. We threw tennis balls, played a little bit of soccer and volleyball, and drew on the chalkboard. Then we took a little break for lunch. Then we played and worked again. When we finished what we needed to do for the day, we left and it took another hour to get back home, but we stopped and took a picture by a waterfall. Then when we got home we, finished painting the tables and we ate dinner, then played cards. We all had a wonderful day filled with so much love and joy, because of the amazing God we have!

Day 3........Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Off to Work We Go!!

Day 3

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho it's Off to Work We Go.....

What an amazing day!  We started off at Los Hornos school.  We treated over 160 children and teachers with deworming medication and fluoride treatements.  We also lead hygiene clinics that included proper hand washing and teeth brushing.  Afterwards we read a bible story and did a craft with the children.  They rewarded us with hugs and smiles and warm applause.  They also gave everyone a Coca-Cola.  Life is good!!!

 

 

After lunch we worked on tables for the Tejaras feeding program.  We were able to make 8 tables and have one coat of paint on 4 of them.  Very excited to see the finished product.  The team all got along well during the process.  We formed a bit of an assembly line.  Fun times; but super hot today. 

 

 

 

The team had worked hard and all were ready for a little fun.  We went to the indoor soccer arena for a little team downtime! 

                













 

 

Our long day ended with dinner at Rana's house.  Best pancakes in Quimistan!

 

Dinner at Rana's House.  Best pancakes in Quimistan!  

 

We returned to the villa to find we were having power outage.  Now blessed with a little rain!!!!!!!   God is good!!!!!!!!

 

 

Day 2

Today we woke up to the birds chirping outside our windows. We went to the Three Presidents school in Pinalejo where we put in a swing set for the children. At the school we also gave them deworming pills, showed them how to properly brush their teeth and gave them a fluoride treatment. The children showed their thanks by giving hugs and drawing us pictures. For lunch we ate at Mrs. Gracie's house, which was delicious!! She told us that she wants our help in starting a new foundation called Hope Honduras. Later in the day we began to make picnic tables for the Tejeras Feeding Program, we have not finished them yet but we will!!


Children at Three Presidents

Children learning to brush their teeth!


Putting in the swing set at Three Presidents!

Day 1: Mutant Lemons!

Today we arrived in San Pedro Sula early this afternoon. We arrived at our houses, and after a brief but yummy lunch we went to hang out with AGAPE Promises Children. This was a lot of fun as we were able to play with the kids and get to know them better.  When we arrived back at our housing, we found strange fruit in the backyard. It look like a lemon the size of a football, but smelt like an orange (we still don't know what it was).  We also found coconuts growing in the trees. Overall today was a very successful day and hopefully tomorrow will bring even more fun and adventure!

April Mission Trip - April 6 thru 13

The next mission trip starts on Sunday, April 6. 

Team Members:  Michael, Jimi, Allie, Dave, Andrea, Brianna, DeeDee, Ford, Heather, Jeff and Kaylee

 

Here is a brief schedule (subject to change, of course):

 

Day	TEAM #1
Sunday, 4/6	Arrive at Quimistan   Agape Promises Meeting at 2:00
Monday, 4/7	Morning: Hygiene and VBS at Three Presidents (60 students) / Deliver Swing Set Visit Los Panales school (batteries)
Tuesday, 4/8	Morning:  Hygiene and VBS at Los Hornos (164 students)   Afternoon: Construction for Tejeras (tables)
Wednesday, 4/9	Construction at Arena Blanca (toilets / screens) / Deliver Swing Set
Thursday, 4/10	Morning:  Visit Teo Afternoon:  Construction at Arena Blanca (toilets / screens)
Friday, 4/11	Construction for Tejeras (tables) Tejeras feeding at 4:00
Saturday, 4/12	Take AP kids on a field trip to the beach.
Sunday, 4/13	Team Leaves for Aiken

 

Please pray that we will have a safe and productive trip.

Michael

The final day

                What a day.  Early in the morning we finished treating the last of the 53 Agape Promises children – each child was examined, had their teeth cleaned and all restorative procedure totally complete – a first for the dental team.  For the remainder of the day we examined, cleaned, and performed as much restorative dentistry as time permitted on each of the sixteen Post-6^th Grade students from La Montanita.   

  

               The total number of procedures performed on the 76 students and adults were: 132 cavities filled, 11 tooth extractions, and naturally 76 cleanings. Eleven AP students had NO cavities (5 were repeaters from last year).  At 6:15 p.m. we closed the clinic, made inventory of which trunk had what supplies and equipment packed in it, cleaned the hospital rooms we occupied, and moved our “stuff” to the “ranch” for storage till next year.  

                Our two faithful care takers (Gloria and Sandra) had prepared an old fashion bar-b-que for dinner – what a treat!  After dinner, we packed our suitcases or trunks, relaxed with some great fellowship, and went to bed with much anticipation of our return home in the morning.  

 

…And the rest of day 2 of the dental clinic

          We do hope that you read this afternoon’s earlier posting.  This post will highlight the dental clinic and our ever expanding presence.  Thanks to Dr. Tino and Dr. Elsa we now have two rooms to use.  With three dentists traveling with us and a new portable dental chair, we initially set up a triage and tooth extraction position in a corner of two hallways a few steps away from our usual dental room.  Today we moved, thanks to Dr. Tino and Dr. Elsa, the triage and tooth extraction position into a very large room – with air conditioning.  The expectation is that next year’s team will consolidate all three positions into this large room – there is more than sufficient space.  This will make for a much better environment and more efficiency.  In the first two days of operation the dental clinic saw and treated about 52 AP children along with several of the hospital staff.  Many of the children required restorative work which was accomplished.  In fact ALL of the required work on ALL but two of the children was completed – this is a first for the dental team of not leaving with needed restoration left undone.  There were two children treated today who will return tomorrow to finish up their dental needs.  Tomorrow we also will be treating some 15 children from La Montanita.

Because of inclement weather Allen and Gail had to quickly improvise ways to engage with the children waiting to be triaged, teeth cleaned, and then restoration (read cavities filled / teeth extracted).  The age of the internet was our savior.  With permission from the hospital staff, Allen and Gail were able to interact more successfully using their iPads and the iTranslate program.  Long conversations with the children and some of the mothers were enjoyed.   

 The dental team only worked twelve and half hours today.  We returned to the ranch for home made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with bananas available. We told our faithful Gloria and Sandra to leave early as we would return late again. However, we did celebrate our dedicated and hard working translator Daniel’s 42nd birthday at lunch.  The team purchased him a gift and a pineapple upside-down cake, his favorite, for dessert.