Rinse and Spit

After a good nights rest a group of us traveled about 20 minutes to a school where we did more fluoride and worm treatments on students there. Most of them enjoyed the worm treatment (banana flavored!) but, the fluoride was a little more difficult. (The picture to the left is them "swishing") The kids were so appreciative of us being there and playing frisbee and football with them afterward. They also loved our cameras! We took tons of pictures of them and they were so tickled to look at them on the screens.

A group also went to a construction sight where they started building the foundation of a school. They carried boulders up a hill to start the building process.

Right before lunch Marquita, Avent, Donna and Jim went to a "home" with Martha where she showed us where 2 families were sharing a living space. We all agreed that we had never seen anything like this before, our hearts broke with them.

After lunch, we went to the eye clinic where we saw 25 people, which we hope in the next couple of days will increase with "town talk". The people were so grateful to be able to see better.

We had a wonderful day and saw some old friends and met many, many more! Please keep Randell Foxworth in your prayers, he has been feeling bad all day. Thank y'all for all your prayers and support! We wouldn't be here without you and the Lord's grace that brought us here!

Avent Clark

Off to a good start

A flat tire and delayed construction materials kept our crew from heading to the work site this morning, but it didn't keep the men from working! After an inspiring devotional from Randell and a delicious breakfast, they assembled 120 backpacks in record time. Another crew headed to La Guana, a rural village about 30 minutes away from our home base. There we visited the Marco Aurelio school where we provided flouride treatments and worming medications to 140 students. The teachers here are on strike, so mothers of the children were filling in today. Of course the children captured our hearts. The kindergarten kids filed in one by one with their hands on each other's shoulders and lots of smiles. Only one child cried, but a few stickers and some warm hugs went a long way.

After lunch, our group headed to a local kindergarten where we will begin the eye clinic tomorrow. None of us seem destined to have a profession in the medical field! We practiced on each other with the auto refractor and had Emory believing that she needed coke bottle glasses! Don't worry. We will have perfected the process by tomorrow afternoon! Donna has us doing the math problems before we go to bed tonight!

We couldn't end the night without a visit to Shirley's for ice cream. We are all happy and well and missing our dear families and friends.

With gratitude for opportunities to serve,

Anne Buffington

Greetings

There is the sound of laughter and yawns in Quimistan tonight as a tired group is getting ready for bed. Our flight was on time, and we were greeted at the airport by Arturo and his wife Suyapa. Our first mode of transportation proved a little slow! We couldn’t figure out how to get all fifteen of us on the back of this wagon, so we opted for Arturo’s truck and a van made for eight. We squeezed in fifteen!

Our accommodations are great although we’ve decided to visit the local “Lowe’s” in the morning to purchase more fans! We will be up early for daily devotional followed by our first instructions of the day. Half of us will be constructing a classroom at Pinal, a rural village about 45 minutes from here. The rest of us will be doing fluoride treatments and giving de worming medications to local school children in neighboring villages. Can you say “Swallow and smile”??

We have already seen many friends and are anxious to meet more. Thank you all for supporting us and loving us in so many ways. Here’s to a great night’s sleep.

With gratitude for God’s provisions in getting us here safely,

Anne Buffington

Adios!

Our last day in Quimistan opened with a beautiful devotion from Vanna. She emphasized we should allow God to dwell in us in every and each thing we do. He has showed us an amazing group of people, who love him fully and without embarrassment even in the face of great adversity. However as we return to our daily lives in the U.S., we cannot just simply readjust our priorities as a result of our Honduran experience. God has no desire to be top priority. He does not want to be a part of our lives, even if it is the largest part. He instead wishes to be present for every part of our life. If we allow Him to do that then his love can flourish and truly become alive through us.
Well pretty quickly we figured out our plans for the day were irrelevant. God decided all of Quimistan Valley should be covered by an unrelenting downpour. No work was done this morning at the schools or construction sites. Instead we were able to very neatly refold all of our clothes, pack, finish books (team recommendation: The Shack by William P. Young), and fellowship. It was a great time to absorb the events of the week and prepare our hearts and minds for the return to the United States. In the afternoon, a few team members were able to return to the dump we visited earlier in the week. The way the children ravaged and picked through our trash that day struck particular nerves very deep. We were able to pack rice, beans, and fried chicken into individual bags that were hopefully split evenly amongst the twenty odd people who canvas the road into the dump. We also toured previous home sites, went to the supermarket, picked up our large order of machetes, and visited La Flecha for souvenirs (all in the rain). All our loose ends have been tied and the week has come to a gentle conclusion. We thank you all for your interest, comments, and prayers. Pending our travel tomorrow, all that is left to say is..........ADIOS!!!!

Brittany Klein

Copan

Copan was a great experience for all. Despite the sickening, curvy roads that we had to take to get there, the outing was immensely enjoyed. We even got to eat pizza and hamburgers! As you can tell, we are all very tired due to our busy, adventurous day. The picture below captures one of our many moments at Copan. Our great tour guide, Antonio Rivers, took this picture for us.

Jenna and Morgan

All in Day's Work

Lots of work was done today. Once again, the group separated in construction for houses one and two, flouride and deworming treatment in the morning, and eye clinic in the afternoon.

Kathy and Mike returned to House #2 to finish up some work needed there. After this morning, no more assistance is needed at that home. House #1 had lots of help available. Sam, George, Jenn, Vanna, and I (Jenna) went over to make ourselves useful. Even the children wanted to help as they carried concrete blocks over to the house with us. Since there were so many people, Vanna and I opted to play with the children for a little while. Armed with Bubbles and a beach ball, the children went wild and were very excited to play games. They especially enjoyed "mono en el medio" (monkey in the middle) with their own rules to the game. Needless to say, all of us were extremely tired from our various activities. At left, Joey tries to interest the kids in a photo.

Morgan, Roxanne, Andrea, Blakely, Brittany, Joey, Arturo, and Suyapa (Arturo's wife) went up to Pinal to deliver more fluoride and deworming treatment for about fifty school kids. Despite stories of rocky roads up to Pinal, the path was smoothed out for them thanks to the municipality. The teacher in the school their had contacted them a few days ago asking for them to do that. Much to our surprise, the one who okayed the deal has become a very valuable resource for us. His daughter, Andrea, has translated for us the past two days in the clinic. He is also Martha's cousin. Afterward distributing the medicine, everyone played various games with the children there as well. Bubbles and jump roping were among the top favorites.

Today was the last day for the eye clinic. We were able to see and assist 79 patients today. That brings the eye clinic's total to 311 patients assisted. It was very exciting to know that we helped that many people in and around Quimistan.

Even though so much has already been done, we know that we can't do everything. It is very fulfilling to see the small steps taken to completing a larger vision. Stay tuned for tomorrow's excitement at Copan (the Mayan ruins).

Jenna Francis
Pictures chosen and input given by Morgan Fletcher

As Jenna and I sit here, we are somewhat at a loss for words. Each day brings with it something new and unforseen. Even though we are doing a lot of the same task, the people that we come into contact with make each experience different.

This morning the majority of us loaded into a vehicle destined for a school in Banderas (a small community up the highway). Apparently the maximum capacity of the vehicle was surpassed. We were stopped by the national police who then questioned Arturo extensively as to where we were going and why. By the grace of God, the police had compassion on us, and we were not ticketed. This was truly amazing seeing as how the fine for this infraction is very hefty. This incidence goes to show how God honors those who are trying to serve them. Nonetheless, we certainly didn't want to push our luck, so we took two trips back.

Once in Banderas, we administered the typical deworming medication and fluoride. Because it was a smaller school than the others, we were able to do more with the kids. I had made little cross necklaces to give to some children, and it turned out that I had enough for all the grade school kids. The kindergardeners got to play with lots of balloons. After the passing out of necklaces and balloons, eight of us grabbed bags of purchased rice and beans from the back of the truck to go door to door evangilizing. We found families who were in great need of food, and told them about the love of Jesus. Each bag of rice and beans had a little Spanish track included so that the families could read more about God and being saved. Brittany, Blakely, George, and Jenna remained at the school to play numerous games with the children. When we got back the kids were in the midst of a "Blakely Says" game. I joined in and it soon evolved into follow the leader and "Hot Avocado" (there were no potatoes available). In the picture George is in the middle of an intense game of Duck, Duck, Goose.

The construction group made great progress today. Only one person is needed at site 2 tomorrow, because basically all that is left to do is the roof. The materials for that are not yet available. Site 1 will be the greatest concentration tomorrow. Team members will be doing concrete, steel bars, and other things to catch it up the level of the other house. Whoever goes in the morning will for sure be plently busy.

We have gotten the afternoon eye clinic down pat. The people come in in an organized fashion and leave with a pair of glasses that helps them to see. I have been taught a very valuable lesson today. Every day that the clinic has been opened thus far, I have been in the examining room. I have been the operator of the auto refractor. Today I wanted to see the final stage of the process, so I checked Jenna out on the machine and went to the fitting room. After a while, I noticed that some of the people were very greatful, while others were not so much. When I got back I started thinking. We are not here to receive praise. Our sole purpose in coming is to spread the love of Jesus. It is instances like that that make you remember why it is that you came. I am very appreciative for being shown a different perspective on the issue.

After dinner tonight, some of the more adventurous missionaries (Blakely, Jenna, Brittany, Jenn, George, and I) went to see close friends of the veteran team members play soccer. The boys, and one girl, were really excited that we came to watch. Their ages ranged from probably about 8 to 17. The field was extremely small, but they played better than any American kids that I have seen.

Until later,

Morgan Fletcher
(Jenna has become my blogging buddy. Even though she did not have to stay up, she has chosen to stay with me to keep me company and pick out pictures.)