Honduras 2008---Post #7 The Many Faces of La Esperanza

Meet Nolvia. She is, out of the many faces that I saw, one that I will never forget. Larry Whiting asked us at the end of the trip if there were a few people who stood out above the rest. Nolvia was my 'One'. It's hard to describe really why exactly she stood out, but I think it was her tenacity, her bubbly personality, her desire to be close by me, her sweet smile, and her big eyes that seemed to just take everything in and seemingly recognize in a mature way (as much as a child can) all that was going on around her. More than any of the other kids, I wanted a picture with her and she willingly crawled up into my lap and let herself be photographed with this silly American woman. Though she lived in a cardboard walled, tin roofed dilapidated house with her mom and siblings (which is exactly where she belongs), I still wanted to take her home with me!! And when I think of her, I pray that out of the poverty-stricken rural area she lives in, she'll be a woman with a strong, educated mind and a tender heart, and a love for her family, and a woman who knows God loves her much more than anyone else can. I guess God alone knows her plight, and His plans are for Nolvia and He alone to know.... which is exactly how it should be.

I honestly don't make much of the work that both me and my teammates did while we were in Honduras for 10 days. If anything, I greatly admire the Mother Theresa's of the world who meet poverty head on, not by simply giving some money and some food, but by delving into povety themselves, living among the poor and ministering to even "the least of these." I recently read a small book about Mother Theresa which also included some of her quotes; while on some doctrinal issues I may disagree with her, this woman lived an inspirational life and she had some amazing things to say about loving one another, and ministering to the poor and needy. Both her name and her wisdom will live for many years to come, I think.

"The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. And they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them."

" To know the problem of poverty intellectually is not to understand it. It is not by reading, taking a walk in the slums, admiring and regretting, that we come to understand it and to discover what it has of bad and good. We have to dive into it, live it, share it. "

" Whoever the poorest of the poor are, they are Christ for us--Christ under the guise of human suffering."

" All my years of service to the poor have helped me to understand that they are precisely the ones who better understand human dignity. If they have a problem, it is not lack of money, but the fact that their right to be treated humanly and with tenderness is not recognized."

" But in the West you have another kind of poverty, spiritual poverty. This is far worse. People do not believe in God, do not pray. People do not care for each other. You have the poverty of people who are dissatisfied with what they have, who do not know how to suffer, who give in to despair. This poverty of heart is often more difficult to relieve and to defeat."

Honduras 2008-- Post #6 La Esperanza

The trip to La Esperanza was not only beautiful but also refreshing. After several days of 95+ degree weather, the trip to the mountains felt great as we felt the cool 70-ish degree wind come through the truck windows. Since January to May is the dry season in Honduras, the green of the mountainous region, along with the natural beauty of the topography, was so nice to see. We set up clinic in a currently unused church building in the tiny village of La Esperanza. This village is about a 20 minute drive down a dirt road off of the paved highway that winds through the mountains. The people living there are the Lenca Indians, a "cousin" to the more famous group of Indians called the 'Incas'. The bright colors of their wardrobe and the features on their faces certainly displayed their Indian heritage. Though the land they lived in looks lush, the people were hard-pressed to find access to a sufficient amount of water because of the geographical location they were in. They were dirtier than even the Hondurans who lived in the drier and more remote areas we visited. We held clinic in the church for a few hours and saw predominantly upper respiratory infections---headaches, coughs, runny noses, sore throats, etc. Hopefully, the medicine we gave them helped soothe these annoyances. We also gave out some more chancleetas (flip-flops), which the kids were so excited to receive. They came running from school (after it got out) when word spread that we were giving them away. It was a very enjoyable day for all of us as we were able to spend it in good company.
Some little feet waiting in line for some flip-flops. Almost all of the kids had plain black shoes on, so to get new flip flops that were bright colored was a pretty cool thing for these kiddos. They were more than willing to wait in line for a pair, and we were happy to give many pairs away.

The scenery en route to and surrounding La Esperanza was absolutely beautiful. It was my favorite stretch of road to travel on. Apparently it was a little bright that day, and my sunglasses weren't handy because I'm squinting.

The church building at La Esperanza.

Jeff sees a mom and her kids who came to the clinic.

Women and children walk to the church for clinic. You can see the little girl on the left who is holding her new blue flip flops. The other kids were coming to join the line to receive their pair.

Honduras 2008, Take #5--- Village of Palagua

Viewing the picture of this tiny house as I post right now evokes a lot of feeling within me. The tiny man shown above is Norberto, and he asked Dr. Corrigan if someone from our team would come to this home and visit his brother who was ill. So, Jeff asked if I'd like to come along, to which I agreed, and we walked about 10min down the dirt road, over a fence, and down a valley to this very meager home. Norberto's brother was very sick. Jeff had treated him in Nov. 2007 for pneumonia, after which he felt much better. But, he never fully recovered. When we sat inside this home on a hammock, we saw a very emaciated, weak, and dying man. There wasn't much that we could do for him, and Jeff conveyed the severity of his illness to the man and his wife, and encouraged them to get to a hospital in Tegucigulpa ASAP. I wondered what would happen to this man's wife and his kids (some of whom are pictured below) when the Bread Winner of the family was no longer living. I believe God sees their plight, and that he called us to that home that day for some purpose, if not for the fact that Jeff was able to share the Gospel story to the man lying in the hammock, who had a body that was wasting away yet held within it a valuable soul. Just as we were leaving from our visit, some of the children came home from school, and they wanted their photo taken. I was more than happy to oblige.

The tiny village of Palagua is located along a rough, dirt-packed and rock-filled road roughly 40 miles off of the Pan-Am highway. It took us a little over 2 hrs to reach this remote place. We stayed in a tiny church that sits just off of the road, down a small hill. When I came to Honduras in Nov. 2006, the church had only its foundation built. It was exciting to see that the project was completed and that a body of believers meets there regularly. Our team stayed just one night in Palagua, and that was actually a blessing. There is no electricity, no running water, no air conditioning available; I've "roughed" it before, but the difficulty for me comes at night when it's still 80 degrees out, no wind present, and a stifling mosquito net is wrapped around my entire cot. All I have to say is "thank goodness for Dramamine." In all actuality, I got quite a bit of sleep on my 10 day trip. It got dark around 7pm each night, and when no electricity is available, there's not much else to do other than go to sleep. I slept from 8-9 hrs just about every night I was in Honduras.

I was able to see some children whom I recognized from my last visit; as was to be expected, they had grown taller and looked older, but they were still fun to have around during our short stay. Jeff Corrigan brought along a portable printer that corresponded to his camera, so after he took some photos of the children, he printed them off and gave copies to the children. They were SOOO excited to have a photo of themselves, and I'm quite certain they had never owned one before either. We had clinic one day and saw about 65 people. The school building was close to the church, so once a few kids got a pair of flip flops, the kids ran over quickly to see about getting some cool flops. Several needs were able to be met; one woman had an inguinal hernia she had been dealing with for about 2 yrs and it was causing her a lot of pain. She needed to have it surgically fixed, but lacked the $200-300 dollars it would cost for her to do so. Some extra team money was utilized to help her get to Tegucigulpa (the capitol) to have this done. There were also two young boys, ages 7 &9, who had obvious abnormalities with their ocular function. Neither one of these two little guys could see very well, they could not control their eye movements, and they had, upon closer examination, some sort of parasite infestation of their eyes. They could not look straight at you, and their eyes went whatever direction they so pleased to go. It was VERY sad to simply see this. The opportunity to have any sort of treatment for these boys would more than likely only be able to be performed in Tegucigulpa. Our Honduran co-worker, Paz, frequents Palagua regularly, and will be following these boys in order to try and arrange some plan as to how they can be healed. I cannot imagine how many things, even at their young age, they have missed because they simply could not see well enough. I also want to mention one other cool thing. There is a microenterprise that is taking place within the church at Palagua once or twice a month. A Honduran woman named Rebekah is teaching these women how to weave purses or bags using raffia, yarn, and some plastic sheets (the pictures may help describe!). The finished products will be taken into the city in order to be sold at a market. This is a way for these women to earn a little bit of money, which is an incredible opportunity for them since they would otherwise not have that privilege. It also gives them a way to use their hands to create things that they enjoy creating, and to give them an outlet through which they can express their creativity. I loved seeing these women being empowered with this endeavor. Enough of my lengthy commentary... enjoy the pictures!

Honduras 2008--Take #4 San Antonio del Norte (Round 2)

Meet Ramona and Ectos. They lived in a small home next to the schoolhouse in the village north of San Antonio. Ectos was gathering some cattle in a pen when I first walked by to say "Hola", and he invited me to his home. There I met his mom, Ramona, and I attempted (but failed dismally) to converse with them in Spanish. I did learn, though, that cows are 'bacas' in the Spanish language. Their family also owned some chickens and pigs; the pigs seemed to like to lounge right outside of the family kitchen window, which is where their pen was. Some scenery I'd rather not have outside of my windows, but thankfully there's hills to look at as well.
Back in the town of San Antonio del Norte: Paz is preaching the Gospel before we open up for clinic. We stayed in a small church in this town and the pastor and his 3 kids were very kind to us. They didn't have a church service this Sunday morning when we had clinic so the church members, as well as other townspeople, could come and see us. That day had the largest turnout of people who came through our clinic: 124. That was a lot for three Docs to see in one day. We had a small shelter in the back yard of the church where we set up our chairs and they kept coming, one after the other, from 9am-5pm. It was a long day, especially in 95 degree weather. But, the people were so thankful, and so many received medical treatment that they certainly needed.
Larry used me as a "Doc" for our clinics. Since I know a miniscule amount of Spanish, Paz served as my interpreter. We would set a couple of chairs up in front of us, which helped us interact with the people more easily, and showed them that we were listening to them and cared about their complaint(s). Apparently in the Honduran culture, the physicians do not generally sit down close to or maintain good eye contact with the people when they go for doctor's visits. Oh, yes... nice farmer's tan, eh? In 100+ degree weather, I 'fry', not 'tan'.
I did assist with some procedures, such as the one pictured below. Here I am helping Dr. Corrigan clean out the ear canal of a girl who had bad wax build up. We're using a tool called a water pick, which basically uses vinegar and water to flush out the ear canal.
This was my cot for the 2 nights we spent in San Antonio. The mosquito netting was an appreciated piece of equipment, but it's very stuffy. We did have electricity and running water intermittently in this town..... 'intermittently' being the optimal word here.
I don't have enough time or the talent to clearly express what I want to say about the many interesting people whom I met here in San Antonio. I wish you could see how they live, and how they go about their day-to-day business. They make do with so little, and are so grateful for what services we could give to them. One lady came back later in the night to give us some of her bananas and mangos, both of which were very tasty the next morning for breakfast.
One of my favorite memories from the trip occurred in this town. It was a Sunday night, our last one in San Antonio, and I walked out into the church yard (which was fenced in) to take a look at the stars, which are so clear where we were at because there aren't street lights and store lights. You could hear the songs of a church coming across town to where we were: people singing slightly off-key but quite loud, and an acoustic guitar being amplified over a small speaker. There was no usual city hub-bub noise or usual city brightness, so all I could see was a sky full of stars and Southern hemisphere constellations, and all I could hear was joyful people singing loudly to their God...... songs that I'm sure I'll hear in heaven, but will only then finally understand.

Honduras 2008---Take #3 San Antonio del Norte

The 3rd and 4th days of our trip were spent within and outside of the village of San Antonio del Norte. The village is located approx 30miles off of the Pan-Am highway which runs from Mexico down to S. America. Though only 30 miles off of a paved roadway, it takes almost 2 hrs to get to San Antonio because of the condition of the road. Just outside of San Antonio (which actually had electricity and running water....when it worked) was a small village where we set up a clinic. We housed the clinic in a small school (pictured below) and had our smallest amount of visitors that day: about 40 people.
The inside of the one-room schoolhouse. The tables with plastic bags on them shows our make-shift pharmacy.
The outside of the schoolhouse.
Larry sees a local cowboy who came to visit.
This house was located across the road from the schoolhouse. This lady was out several times throughout the day washing both dirty dishes and clothes by hand. It's not exactly a Maytag washer/dryer or dishwasher, but they make do with what they have.

Honduras 2008---Take #2 (Outside of Tele)

This little guy came to see me regarding an infected sore on his elbow. I cleaned up the wound, put some antibacterial ointment on it, covered it with a Band Aid.....and added a little smile just for kicks. He thought that was funny, so I snapped a picture of it, gave him some extra Band Aids and sent him on his way.

The first clinic we held was in a tiny village located outside of the town of Tele. It is located in Northern Honduras, right along the Caribbean Sea. Our first day there, we traveled right from the airport in San Pedro Sula to Tele and sat on the beach that night in 80 degree weather; it was a far cry from the 8 inches of snow and 10 degree weather we had left 14 hrs. earlier. I was in heaven because it was the warmest I'd been in months and my body enjoyed the thaw. We worked one day here with the Garifuna people. They are indigenous to Africa, but set up a colony there in Honduras back in the 1600 or 1700's after having been transported across the Atlantic on slave ships. They speak both their native African language and Spanish as well. Their skin color, for the most part, sets them apart in that it shows their heritage. Some have intermarried and their skin is lighter. As the pictures show, they live right on the beaches of the Caribbean in bamboo huts with banana leaf roofs. They were excited to have us come and allowed us to hold clinic in a currently unused building. Some of the people carried their own plastic tables from their homes in order to give us something on which we could set up the pharmacy. We saw 75 people that day, and it was a blessing we were able to be indoors during the heat of the day.....the thermometer topped at 102 degrees.

Honduras 2008---Take #1 (Our Team)

March 5-14, 2008: Medical Missions Trip to Honduras, Central America
There was five people who left Detroit, MI on a blustery winter day as the city was being pounded with 8 inches of snow. We had a brief stop in Houston, TX, and then flew into the airport at San Pedro Sula, Honduras where we stepped out into 95 degree weather and glorious sunshine. The trip was organized by Jean and Joan Quirin and set up through a fund that they help oversee (The Frankenmuth International Aid Fund); much of the monies in this fund go to help Dr. Larry & Lori Whiting in their full-time mission work in Honduras, as well as allocating funds to various people and church groups as needs are made known. We worked closely with two native Hondurans, Paz (an abbreviated name) and Rebekah. The above picture shows all the women in our group; it was taken in the mountains by La Esperanza (NWestern Honduras).
We are (From Lt to Right): Joan Q, Rebekah, Lori W., Paz, and Me.

Meet Bill Fale. He is an attorney practicing Family Law in the town of Cheboygan, Wisconsin. One of the other team members, Dr. Jeff Corrigan, invited Bill to come along on this trip. It was the first time he had ever done anything like this, and he was a little intrepidatious, but excited to be able to help. He worked in our "portable pharmacy" with Lori and Joan, as well as help out in whatever way he was able to. Bill loved to talk, and he had many incredible stories; I thoroughly enjoyed his company and his big heart for service. Here we are in Seguatepeque, standing behind Paz's car and waiting to roll out to rural Honduras for a few days. I have to add that those khaki pants were the best! They've weathered a few backpacking trips and lots of bike rides, and doggone it, they did great in Honduras. When they wear out, the wardrobe won't ever be quite the same.....

Corrigan also hails from Cheboygan, Wisconsin. This was his second trip to Honduras, having gone in Oct. of 2007. He speaks fluent Spanish, and so he did a great job interacting with the patients who came to see us. I worked through an interpreter (that being Paz), but often needed Jeff's help to get my point across or to try to understand what was being communicated to me (Paz's English is sometimes a little bit shaky). The Hondurans always got a big kick out of seeing him because Jeff is quite tall: 6ft4inches. As you probably guessed, the Hondurans,on average,tend to be a of a slightly shorter stature than that. Yep, he stood out in a crowd.....literally.
Dr. Larry and Lori Whiting. They have been serving the Lord in Honduras for about 4 yrs now. They previously ministered in Costa Rica. Larry had a family practice in Frankenmuth, which he sold when they went into full time missions work about 10 yrs ago. I enjoyed my work with them both, and appreciated the opportunity to see first-hand a little snippet of what life as a missionary entails.

Paz Cordona (not pictured here) is a little Mother Theresa in the town of Seguatepeque. It's hard to capture with words just what all she does in that corner of the world. Her home is a revolving door, as many people with various needs see her at all times of the day. Before the government built roads to some of the more rural villages we went to (Palagua, San Antonio del Norte), she would travel to them on donkey and render her dental skills to the people as well as try to teach them such basic things as how to make a table or chair to furnish their homes (as opposed to sitting on a dirt floor). She has been very instrumental in helping churches be erected in remote areas, and in finding/training/overseeing pastors to minister at these churches. She's helping pay for a nephew to get through dental school. She is an effective communicator of the Gospel message, and always opened our clinics up with the proclamation of Good News.... and everyone listened intently. She is one who lives her life in a way that the World would not understand, and who is looking for her treasure to be found on the other side of this life; it's a treasure that does not "fade, spoil, or perish...."

This one's for you, Chris K.

This tatt's for you, Chris Klein!! Thanks again for giving it to me; there's nothing in the world like a tattoo off of the clearance rack at Meijer's.... I just can't even think of anything that quite compares to the thrill of such an item. Well, here it is. It finally made it onto my arm. Next time, we'll have to actually apply them while we're on our road trip, not 2 months after. Regardless, that was a fun trip to Petoskey.