Saying Goodbyes

I hate saying goodbye. This week has been rough because I really don't know if the kids will show up to the next event or not. Monday was the last ESL; Tuesday the last Kids' Club; today the last time with the street kids and the last trip to the river. Tomorrow is my last actual day of ministry, and I'm not looking forward to leaving for the final time. I would love to stay here and keep building the relationships I have. Who knows...God may have already planned for me to come back. We'll see.

Sunday, we interns will be spending the day in San Pedro, and then we'll fly out Monday around noon. We'll be in Atlanta for debriefing July 31st and August 1st (is it really August already? I'm still in May). August 2nd I'll fly home!! After two days with family and friends, my brother and I will be driving to Georgia--another adventure in itself :) So two weeks from now, I'll be in Georgia for RA training. Crazy how fast this summer has gone and how much I've done.


Prayer Requests:

-Praise for a fantastic summer--great relationships, learning a ton, serving the Lord and having fun

-Pray for my adjustment back to the US...it's going to be tough.

-Pray for safe travels in the coming weeks.

-Praise for the memories and pray that their impact will be significant and long-lasting

Manos Suaves

There are times when you need to be tough and mean in order to get the point across. For instance, “You will die if you don’t change your lifestyle” needs to be taken seriously. But a huge part of offering medical care is being a comfort and giving of time and attention. Here are a few stories from the past weeks.

One young man came to our clinic with leg wounds that had become infected. The local hospitals are on strike again, so this was the only help he would be receiving. After receiving a very painful shot and some oral antibiotics, he expressed his great gratitude for the “manos suaves” (smooth hands) that treated him gently so that he did not feel anything but the sting of the medicine.

A few children here have needed nebulizer treatments, and often they are too young to understand why this loud machine is blowing vapor into their face. Last week, one three-year old would not have any of it. His sister tried holding the mask on, and he screamed the entire time. The next round, his grandma bounced him, and I held his hand. The kind woman kept asking him where his girlfriend was, and he’d look at me with his big brown eyes and break out into a big smile—no screaming. With the little extra attention, he got the treatment he needed plus love he was craving.

This week’s clinics involved lots of patients with long lists of lab tests to be done and prescriptions to be handed out. At one point, we had several urine samples lined up and a longer line of people waiting for meds. I took care of the analysis for one kind old woman, explained where she had to go for an additional test and that she’d have to go back to the doctor with the results. A good while later, she came to my window with her prescription, so I gathered the baggies, wrote out instructions and went outside to explain everything to her. After our a few questions, I prayed for God’s blessing. She grasped my arm and sincerely thanked me not only for the medicine but for the careful attention I had shown to her. It can be easy to get focused on the lists of medicines needed or the tests that need to be run, forgetting about the people who are behind those papers and cups. That was a good reminder that a smile and a personalized question make a big difference between completing a job and serving someone.

Seeing (via ultrasound) an unborn baby is quite the experience. This is God’s creation, one of his beloved. The children I saw were not mine, but I still felt an overwhelming love for them. It’s so exciting, knowing that God has their lives planned out and is direction their formation at this moment. He is working in the hearts and lives of their parents and siblings as well, shaping the environment into which they’ll be born.

Working Pharmacy

Inserting an IV

Helping Extract Teeth

 These are just a few of the memories I have to share that have even further motivated me to whole-heartedly pursue God and lovingly serve others. This week, I'll be doing that in La Ceiba. In a few weeks, I'll be doing that on Harambe! (my hall at Covenant). God is bringing together a great group of girls for a year of loving, learning and growing. I cannot wait to get to better know and serve these girls! It'll be hard transitioning from learning on the field to learning in the classroom again (I won't be doing more NG tube or IV insertions any time soon), but I'm very excited about it and the hard work/determination it'll require. This summer has been the experience of a lifetime, and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for this year!

Busy week!

This week has been fantastically draining!! It’s draining because of the sickness and long work days, but I’ve been learning so much! This week, we’ve got a dentist, a radiologist doing ultrasounds, and three doctors offering clinics. We’ve treated well over three hundred people these last few days and are expecting a big crowd tomorrow at our last clinic. That means a busy time in pharmacy (a wonderful job but tiring after 8 hours of reading doctors’ writing, doing math, performing lab tests and translating instructions into Spanish).

In the few breaks we get, Keilah and I have been able to observe ultrasounds, teeth extractions, injections, abscess draining and more. My wonderful team leader volunteered his body in the name of science so that Keilah and I could learn (under Erin’s careful guidance) how to insert an NG tube and IVs. I still can’t believe I put a tube up someone’s nose a few hours ago!

My time here in Honduras is drawing to a close, and I’m not ready for it to end in a little over a week. Having short-term teams come and go has made me realize how hard it is to have people come and go from your life so quickly. I’m dreading saying goodbye to the people in Armenia I’ve come to love, especially the children. I have hope in the fact that I’ll see many of them after this life, but it’s still hard to part.

I’ve got tons of really cool stories about Kids’ Club, clinics, soccer games, river days, day trips, dorm life and so much more…unfortunately free time and sleep are running short so those stories won’t make it on the blog for now, sorry.
 

Prayer Requests:

-          Praise for the completed clinics and pray for clinic tomorrow (and next week's team)

-          Praise God for the life and breath He gives us and please pray for continued strength and energy

-          Praise for friendships and how God uses them to encourage and challenge us

-          Pray that parting would draw all of us closer to God

Hope of all the Ends of the Earth

This week, we didn’t have a short-term team, so we interns had the chance to experience more of Honduras. We relaxed on the beach, took a bus through the gorgeous mountains, explored Mayan ruins, and gazed at the stars. Seeing these different sights put into perspective Psalm 65: 5-8,
 

“You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.”

 

This week provided much needed rest and the chance to re-focus on the Creator and Savior who formed this land and people, bringing us here to share more about who He is and what He has done.

The coming weeks will be extremely full. We’ll have two teams here this week (one in Armenia and another in La Fe). Having so many people means more mouths to feed, creative transportation arrangements, and higher probability of something going wrong. BUT it also means more arms to hug the children, more mouths to spread the Gospel and more love to be shown. Missions is not about numbers or projects but about God’s glory. “Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion…You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.” (Psalm 65: 1-2) God displays Himself in the world all around us, and we have the joy of reflecting Him in our lives as well—what an honor!!

 

Prayer Requests:

·         Praise for a time of rest

·         Please pray that the coming teams will have servant’s hearts and student’s minds

·         Pray for continued energy and fresh perspective. Pray that we will not become worn down, jaded and ungrateful as we’ve been working here for a while.

·         Pray that the Hondurans will see more and more of Christ in the world around them, in us, and in themselves

The Halfway Mark

In one month, I’ll be back in the States. That realization comes with mixed emotions. I miss family and friends but am thoroughly enjoying my time here. Time really has flown—so much has happened and there’s so much more yet to come!

This week started with celebration. The English class finished its 10-week cycle, so Mike, Allen and I brought the kids who had attended 8+ weeks to a restaurant. All 23 of them showed up in their nice clothes since going to town, especially a restaurant, is quite the treat. It was a great chance to get to connect names and faces as well as learn some more details about the lives of these precious children of God.

Kids’ Club was more difficult without a team in Armenia to help out, but it was still a lot of fun teaching the kids about Jericho and God’s ability to do everything.

Wednesday, I got to go to the river with the La Fe Kids. The women taught the short-term team how they wash clothes, and the kids loved getting their hair washed and horsing around in the water.

Thursday, I spent more time in La Fe as the team helped build a cement pathway for the community and as Keilah led the English class in the afternoon. Soccer that night was fantastic like usual.

It was a busy and trying week, but God comes through with small blessings and pick-me ups. Today was one of those blessings. We celebrated Kate’s birthday with a party on the beach. Swimming in the warm water, playing with the girls and babies from Puerta de Esperanza, and hanging out with the Troxells were great follow-ups to weekly worship! This coming week, we have no short-term teams (a very needed break after four weeks of 24/7 service). The Caroline, Keilah, Jeff, Allen and I will be heading to Copan Ruinas for a couple of days and then working hard to get the dorms ready for the coming teams.

Prayer Requests:

·         Praise for a time of rest!! God knows just how much we can handle :)

·         Praise for kids and the joy they bring

·         Pray for safety (we interns are travelling across Honduras and the other missionaries have various trips and get-togethers planned)

·         Pray that our time would be refreshing and that we would use it to refocus on the One who brought us here and will give us strength for the coming teams

 

 

Our English Class heading out to celebrate

Construction's going well on a house in Armenia.

(Team from TN)

TN team helping with Kids' Club

Goofing off with Isaac.

 Construction in La Fe this past week.

 

This is what we interns do for fun after four hectic weeks with teams!

Having fun at the beach!

Yes, we do all match.

No, we did not plan it.