Day two (Milpa Arada)

After devotions and a pancake breakfast the team (Mandy, Tommy, and Alan) with the great assistance of one of our AP Teachers (Ana) and outstanding AP student (Marleni, a 10^th grader), our translator Stanley along with our Honduran Administrator Maynor loaded our busito for our journey to Milpa Arada.  Upon arrival, the students were just starting their morning break and snack.   

We enjoyed the children about as much as they enjoyed watching us set up for the morning’s hygiene clinic. Some 120 children paraded from station to station (hand washing, de-worming, tooth brushing, and fluoride treatment.  The children willingly went from station to station with a smile on their face.  They were rewarded with a new tooth brush and a tube of tooth paste.  

As a side note, the team was most impressed how the three teachers covered six grades and apparently had all the children in the palm of their hands.  We were also impressed how the older ones (5^th and 6^th grade) looked after the younger ones.  The children willingly and quickly swept and mopped the three room school building prior to dismissal for the day.

When classrooms were cleaned we took over the 5^th and 6^th grade class to set up a vision care clinic.  We examined 92 patients and fitted 50 pair of reading glasses plus 42 pair of distance glasses and at least 50 pair of sunglasses.  It is so gratifying to observe folks being able to see clearly in the distance and to be able to read without squinting or holding a book at arm’s length. 

Upon returning to the beautiful and peaceful Celia Delfina Village we relaxed, reflected, sorted our hundreds of pictures and wrote the daily bog.  After dinner we will restock our supplies for tomorrow’s journey to El Venado.    

Advance Party of the Dental Team Arived

The advance three person party of the Dental Team arrived and got to Celia Delfina Village in Quimistan an hour earlier than expected.  After getting our bags into our quarters we set out to assist in feeding 53 hungry children in Tejeras.  Following that loving experience we returned to the village and made preparations for the remainder of our mission.  We invited Maynor and his lovely wife Jessy to dinner.

This is a very short blog entry as the internet has just come up and we all have been awake for 19 hours and we need time to unwind and sleep.

Mission Team 3 is ready to go!

Te advance group of The Dental Team, AKA Mission Team 3, is ready to go, bags almost packed and tickets in hand.  We depart Augusta Regional Airport Wednesday morning for the flight to Atlanta with connections to San Pedro Sula.  The two Aiken area dentists and dental technicians arrive on Tuesday 6 March.  Plans are set for the advance team to visit with three villages providing hygiene care and vision and the dental professionals to see 75 children. Pray for us.

Wrap Up Day means Inventory!

We spent the morning cleaning up and inventorying supplies.  Today was the hottest day yet in Quimistan but the weather has been a blessing in that we did not get any of the heavy seasonal rains.

We totally emptied our storage area (under some stairs at Martha's) and made sure the dental trunks had not been disturbed. The Evangelism materials were inventoried and organized for the next time VBS is delivered. The Team supply trunk was also inventoried.

Today we met with the Red Cross to start to understand what they are doing and especially what data they are collecting.

The trip has gone well with over 350 Hondurans being touched by the medical activities and over 200 attending Vacation Bible School sessions. We ended the day at the Tejeras Feeding.  Tejeras is a very poor group of homes along a major highway.  The feedings sponsored by the Foundation occur three times a week.  Our mission Team blog ends with the many faces of Tejeras.

MT2 signing off - may the Lord bless all who help the poor and bless the poor with His grace!

Our smallest, yet 'wildest' VBS

Jicaro - pronouced "Hic-a-ro" - another short but difficult drive to this village outside Quimistan. While not one of our 'holistic' villages, the Foundation has invested in latrines and electricity for the one room school.

Welcome sign to Jicaro with the school in the background.

This group of kids was our smallest for the medical activities and Vacation Bible School, but they had a 'wild' spirit that made the day fun.  At the teacher's request, we flexed our schedule to fit the medical and VBS in between 0930 and 1230.  The adults in the village had been told to come at 1pm for eyeglass fitting.  Twenty kids in the class, another four walk-ins and then two dozen adults were served today.  The photos below show each stage of the process:



Handwashing with John and Ingrid instructing.

Toothbrushing with Estela and Stanley instructing.

Parasite medicine (de-worming) delivered by Sam.

Fluoride rinsing with Roxanne and Maynor swishing away.

Main Vacation Bible School presentation - Stanley, Ingrid and Estela delivered the message.

Games with John and Maynor - who do a great job explaining the Fruits that are in play.

Music with Ingrid and Sam - the kids knew which song best?  "If you are Happy and you know it..."

Drama with Dan, Daniel and Sam/Rox. We performed two skits: one where Jesus heals the paralyzed man and one where Jesus saves the condemned woman from stoning.

Eyeglass fitting with virtually the whole team involved (even some playing with the kids outside). This picture is earlier in the week, but each set up was the same.  Registration at the door, screening and Focometer measurements center left, fitting from the boxes on the right (both distance and readers), and finally selection of sunglasses.

I think I can speak for the whole Team when I say this has been busy, tiring, fulfilling and fun.  With the Lord's help we have managed to reach out to:

Tejeras

~90 kids for Fl, DeW, Tbrsh              57 kids, 8 adults in VBS     ~20 adults fitted for glasses

Banderas

~70 for Fl, Dew, Tbrsh                        ~65 in VBS                            ~40 fitted for glasses

El Pinal

~60 for Fl, DeW, Tbrsh                       ~50 in VBS, age 5 & up      ~30 fitted for glasses

Jicaro

~24 for Fl, DeW, Tbrsh                       ~20 in VBS                            ~24 fitted for glasses

     

We feel truly blessed and extend our thanks to the Foundation's supports, the Team, our Honduran members especially, and to the various community leaders and teachers who helped us demonstrate God's love - AMOR!

From Mountains to Dental Chairs

One half of the team headed back to the US this morning.  Unfortunately, we have heard their flight was delayed, so they had to spend extra time at the airport.

The remaining team members - John, Dan, Roxanne and Sam - along with Maynor and Daniel, delivered Bibles and children's Bible study materials to La Montanita.  While not far, this was another high mountain village where the drive up was interesting to say the least.  The views from the village were spectacular, even on a cloudy day.

We delivered the Bibles to Vilma and the Pastor of the Good Samaritan Church and left materials for two other churches.  Vilma is one of our Community Health Workers and shared much appreciation for HAF and the work of Dr. Tino and Maynor.  Common medicines continue to be hard to come by in the village.

Maria, who works with the little Catholic church, shared coffee with us (locally grown of course).  While visiting with her family we also met a Red Cross volunteer who has been coming to La Montanita for a year and tracking the health issues in the village.  We were pleased to hear that he had seen a dramatic drop in respiratory problems after the 'Justa Stoves' were installed.  This information confirms what Dr. Tino had told us about the health benefits he had seen from Justa Stoves in Teo.  The HAF donations and volunteer hours have provided a long term health benefit in these communities.

The day ended with many hours spent on configuring two donated dental chairs with light arms so that the next team, which will focus on dental work, does not have to hold flashlights.  It was harder than we first thought, but nothing a cow college engineer, an Episcopal priest, an entomologist, and an ex-nurse - along with the help of our Honduran interpreter and the Lord on High - could not conquer. 

The road up the mountain to La Montanita.

Out guide for the last quarter mile to find just the right home for Bible delivery.

The view from the mountain side.

The team delivering Bibles to Vilma in La Montanita.

Vilma, her 4 year old daughter, her husband the Pastor, and Father John.

Daniel explaining some of the Red Cross materials to Roxanne and Maria during our coffee break.

Coffee bush bloom and a single berry left after picking.  Coffee is the major cash crop in these mountains, but the Team was baffled as to how anyone could pick berries on these steep slopes.

Dental chairs being set up in the local hospital in Quimistan.  They should be ready for the next mission team.



Visits to Teo and El Venado (The Deer)

This was the longest road trip of the week up the mountain to Teo and El Venado. 

 Here we are in the village of Teo (Texoxingales).

In an effort to strengthen the Christian education in the outlying community, HAF has begun providing curriculum to ages preschool through adolescence.  Above is the transfer of these materials in Teo.  We will be excited to learn about feed back, in April, when the evangelism chair meets with the teachers. 

Here we are arriving in El Venado.  Our purpose was to do medical activities and VBS.  Unfortunately, we did not accomplish this task because of a miscommunication -- the school was locked and the teacher was gone.

Dan and Allen examined the bridge at El Venado, at the request of the construction committee, for possible future work.

Vilma, the wife of the Teo Patronato, provided lunch to us, at the last minute, and we are enjoying a meal in their home.

We bagged rice and beans last night and distributed it to people in El Venado and along the road to Teo.

A picture of our team, translators, and 2 AP helpers at Martha's

3 little miracles that occurred today:

1 & 2.  We forgot to bring our lunch along, as well as the children's snack for VBS.  VBS did not happen and lunch was generously provided by Vilma.  Later we realized we had also forgotten the CD player  - music would have been very difficult.

3.     A gentleman, who was a leader among the local coffee growers, came along while the men were inspecting the bridge and shared with them that the Honduran coffee growers association out of San Pedro Sula was going to build a better river level vehicle crossing ("Plancha" in Spanish) that would make the bridge unnecessary.