Looking ahead

 So by now, our team has already made plans, bought plane tickets, have dates and schedules made ready for our trip. We have none of this right now and how it is looking, we may not be going in 2021. This is really a hard pill to swallow. I look forward to the work we do every year in Honduras.  I know the work we do benefits the people there.  I pray that we will be able to start planning a trip for the summer this year after the holidays.  

I want to shout, "I HATE YOU COVID!!!!" because this has caused so much of us to focus on the negative. But what is the positives that we can look at form all of this?

* even though we are separated by our extended families, we have gotten closer to our families in our household. I am forced to talk about other things than work. We are with each other so much! And for those households that have young kids in school. I pray for you! I could not imagine having to be a school teacher and to try to do it online with the teachers.

* We have learned to do different things, crafts, home repairs, hobbies. I have started to do my exercise at home.  Now that is a sight!

* we have learned to love ourselves. I can dress up my sweats like no one has ever seen!

* we have taken the time to get to know God. I have started a Bible study with a friend and it has helped so much in keeping in contact with God.

* it has taught us to THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX. 

So as I pray for our 2021 trip and hope that it will happen, I know God has a bigger plan and I am part of that. I will do what he asks of me. 

As in the Bible study I am in now, I am not in control and need to give this over to God. He is the God of the Universe and if he can create the Universe, then he will be able to get us through all our troubles. 

I pray you all stay safe and wear your mask. Protect yourself and others. We can get through this together!

Bendiciones, 

Our last day, 4/5/19

 Our last day, we were the guests of Pastor Franklin and his family at his house for lunch. They are so kind and open their home up to our whole team (which is like a sports team with at least 20 people!). They put a lot into it and we get so many blessings from their hospitality. But we all know that this is hard for everyone too. We say goodbye again to our friends until next year.  Pastor Franklin had service for us tonight so we could see the everyone from the church one last time to say goodbye to them also.  We all got a certificate thanking us for supporting them. I go and never expect anything in return. I only go to serve. But I always come home with blessings on top of blessings, and new friends.

Luke 10:1-3; Pastor Franklin's sermon

When Jesus says go, it's not an option. 21 accepted Christ in Tela. Jesus has sent you to expand the Kingdom of God.

-We have been called to pick new workers for the harvest. Pray

- It's not an option. You have been sent to participate in the expansion of the Kingdom of the Lord. 

-plant seeds.We must have: initiative, prayer, commitment to God.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY, 2020.

Little did we know that we would not be seeing them in 2020.  Would things have been different if we only knew what this year would bring us? I am not sure, but I know God is looking out for them. This year with covid-19 and not being able to travel for our trip and so many people getting sick and some dying, and this week, there has been flooding throughout Honduras due to Hurricane Eta. So many pictures, videos of the flooding, bridges out, roads collapsing, and even the airport terminal has flooded. So that means no planes in or out for now, which will hinder their help outside the country. Lots of flooding sea-side and even in the mountains of LaCampa. Roads are being washed away because they are dirt and gravel.  I pray that everyone is safe. Not just my Honduran family, but everyone there. It will be a lot harder for them to recover. It's not like here in the US that there is so many different recovery groups and the help of our government. They do not have as many resources. I ask that you PRAY. For their safety, health and that they will recover fast. 

We didn't go in 2020, but I anticipate that God has many plans for us in 2021. I do not know what they are, but I have to let go of the control and let God take control. He will provide for us all.

Bendiciones,

devotion time

 My devotion: 

Each year, our team leader asks us to volunteer for devotions.  Each day we have a devotion after breakfast to start our day off right.

Here is mine:

I have been struggling with preparing a devotion for this trip. I wrote this Monday before we left. I don't know why and the only reason I can say is that we are doing what God wants and the devil isn't liking it at all! He has been distracting me with busyness. The devil loves to get us to focus on the little that's wrong, so we miss the big picture of all that is right.

Over the last few months, the story of Jonah keeps coming up. On the radio, with past sermons I listen to and the finally this past Sunday at church. I was thinking, "Oh great, not another Jonah story." But then as I was listening to my pastor, a light bulb came on. Jonah was a regular person, just like me. He was human. 

We can learn a lot from Jonah.  When God spoke to him, his heart wasn't there, and he ran because he was afraid. I have done this many times. I am a runner. But what we can learn from him and his story is this: WE NEED TO LISTEN, STEP UP AND SPEAK UP.

When God first spoke to Jonah in Chapter 1, he was scared and he went in the opposite direction. Chapter 1, vs 3 says "But Jonah ran away from the Lord to Tarshish." He thought that if he went the opposite way God wanted him to go, that God wouldn't ask him anymore. But thank goodness that God will give us a second chance. 

He asked Jonah a second time in Chapter 3, vs 1 and this time Jonah listened. "Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." You will either step into a great calling or step into a place of your choosing, but you can't do both.

Once Jonah listened in chapter 3, he stepped up and obeyed God. Whenever God asks us to go and follow him, it won't be easy. It will always be a challenge. And Jonah had a challenge. The town he was to go to was very bad with sin.

Then in verse 4, Jonah spoke up. This is the hardest part for me, to speak up. I am afraid I will say the wrong thing, or not say enough. In Bob Goff's book "Everybody always", he says, "'he made a whole world of neighbors. We call it earth, but God just calls it a really big neighborhood. What often keeps us from loving our neighbors is fear of what will happen if we do. Frankly, what scares me more is thinking about what will happen if we don't. Being fearless isn't something we can decide to be in a moment, but fear can be overcome with time and the right help. We can bring all the game we've got, but only Jesus has the power to call out of us the kind of courage it takes to live the life He talked about."

But God will give us the words he wants us to say. Jonah only said 7 words: "In 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed." WOW! Not a word about God or God's love. But God gave him those words and he used them and it changed the hearts of the people in that wicked town, even the King.

Your mistakes and circumstances do not define you. Change starts with you. John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

When we are in conflict, this gives us the opportunity to serve others, glorify God through our actions and to become more like Christ. Jonah was conflicted, but once he listened to God and stopped running from him, he was able to step up, and speak out with God's guidance. He was a missionary for God. WE can learn alot from Jonah.

Bendiciones,

A time with friends

 After our clinic in Las Palmas, we got cleaned up and headed to our women's ministry at the church. There were 23 women from the church and area that attended. We shared scripture and a story and worked on our scripture books. We shared our favorite scripture and we each wrote them in our books. We had stickers and colored pencils to help decorate them. Yes, it may sound kindergarten like, but it is still fun.  You have to find your inner child and lose yourself in the fun.

I still have mine and refer to it often. After all our fun, in closing, we opened the mic for anyone to come share. Yoly and Danielle came forward to share what God has meant in their life. Some of the other young ladies came forward. I think because Yoly started. All of our young ladies on this trip have been a blessing to us all. Them going first to speak opened the door for the others to feel comfortable to talk about their struggles and journey on this trip called life.

Bendiciones,

last clinic day in Tela!

Today was the last clinic day and I think the most emotional one I have had…ever!

We saw 201 people today.  All in all, over 6 clinics we have seen, treated and witnessed to 979 people!

Well, with today, we ran out medications. So many people with so many needs. In the end, as I saw the last of our people in line, because we didn’t want to turn anyone away, I could only offer prayers for them and only had parasite medications to give. Maria, one of the ladies I saw, as I explained that we did not have any medications, I offered pray and she gave me her needs. Together, with my interpreter, I prayed over her and lifted up her needs. It is hard to not be able to give people the treatment and meds they need. But my interpreter said to me, that has stuck with me. She said, sometimes God just wants us to pray.  

I also got to meet Valentina. She has diabetes and with that she has other health problems. As I talked with her and prayed with her, her pray request was for healing but also for a Bible. I made this my mission. I was able to get a bible from one of the ladies that had brought extra Spanish bibles. I gave it to Pastor Franklin and he was able to get it to her after we had left. He took pictures and she looked happy. I hope I was able to touch her with this and I pray she is finding Jesus through our witness, with Pastor Franklin and through our prayer.

I can say that this day was stressful. As nurse, you want to do what you can for people when they come to you for help. It is a helpless feeling when you can’t do that. We rely on each other in the team to help us get through it all. Whether you are a runner on our team, working pharmacy table, interpreting, working the registration tables or working the clinic tables, it takes a team to make it work. This is the lesson that God is teaching us all in the clinics. To trust him and think out of the box and rely on each other to get through it all. I had to do that a lot. 

Bendiciones,

A day in the neighborhood and with the kids!

Today we got to spend our day on the prayer walk and with the kid’s ministry. This is always a fun day and one I look forward to. 

It was nice to see the kids at the San Juan school so excited to see us again. Or should I say, they were excited to see the kids that were on our team. This year we took some middle and high school kids with us and they were able to make a connection with the kids there. It was great to see them interact together. They didn’t need to speak Spanish, they spoke “kid” language! One that I have outgrown and am not fluent in anymore.

We had a praise and worship time in the school and the kids all came together to sing then had our lesson and craft. That is always fun. We even had time to play our relay game that we did in LaCampa. Once we were done, we all went outside to get ready to go home and the kids didn’t want to go home. They hung around for a long time just to be with us and fellowship. Even the horses wanted to be around us all! Not sure where they came from, but, tada!  there they were. 

Once we got done and everything cleaned up, we went for our prayer walk through the neighborhood. We broke into groups like last year and went knocking on doors. Lucy and I were able to minister to a lady named Maria. She was unable to come to the clinic the day before and we were able to pray for her. We also met Alejandra. She runs the little puperia in the neighborhood. We talked and prayed for her too. We tried to buy a coke from her, but she would have none of it. She gave us this gift and we graciously accepted. And even though I despise pepsi, I drank it because it was hot, I was thirsty, but most of all, she gave it to me as a gift. 

Then we met Jose and his little sister. He spoke English! He said he is in college in Tegucigalpa and graduates in 2020. He is studying to be a chef! How great is that.

The end of the day I found this quote and how true this is every day. 

“In every encounter we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange.” 

~Brennan Manning

What do you do?

Romans 10: 10-13

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the scripture says, anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference between Jews or Gentile, the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Amen y Amen

Bendiciones,

Alejandra

Jose

clinic 5- San Juan

Clinic 5 today. One more after today.

We had our clinic in San Juan today and we saw 133 people…..in 4 hrs!!

I was struggling working this day. It was so HOT! And working with the local doctor was hard to get use to. I am used to working with doctors in US and they do things and think about things differently. But she was there to help our clinics and to see the people. 

We did have a small cool breeze, but it was short lived. 

So, you read where we saw 133 in 4 hrs?? Why only 4hrs? We ran out of meds today. We saw so many people, so many people that have needs, that we ran out. That tells me: 1. There are a lot of people that have needs, 2. We are helping as many as we can.

We still have one more clinic this week. Tomorrow, they are going to go out and purchase more meds.

I saw so many that needed their ears cleaned! We flushed, we picked out ear wax and hopefully the kids can now hear better!  Also, Jen worked the pharmacy table and she did some feet cleaning on the kids! And she says she isn't medical! I think differently. 

Thank goodness for the women from the church. They helped set up, register people to be seen and helped us take it all down. Then they had to set up for church that night! They are amazing in their love for God and their support for their church.

After the clinic, we had church that night at San Juan. And boy was it a bug fest! So many bugs. My bug spray is definitely working over time! But it was a good time with everyone. I always enjoy when we preach, and our interpreters will interpret the sermon for the others. It is so interesting to hear how they work so well together. 

I am so glad my dad is here with me. I love sharing this experience with him. He has such a big heart. 

Bendiciones,

Pharmacy table with Jen

My table 

My dad helping her to the pharmacy table

Ear cleaning time

Home away from home

Have you ever just been somewhere, and it feels like home? I have. Honduras. LaCampa and Tela. Every time I arrive, we are welcomed with smiles.

But sometimes, don’t you feel, even when you are at home, that satan tries to keep happiness from us? He will attempt to try to get you to concentrate on the hard work and how tired you feel to take away from the feeling of doing something good for others.

People are watching you all the time. Whether you are at home, at work or away on mission. And it just isn’t the people you serve. It is your family, your co-workers, team mates.

 

One this day, 4/1/19, we had devotion day on the beach. All of us together and we all get a chance to talk about what has touched us so far in our mission. The God moment for me was when my dad spoke up during this share time. My dad has a lot to say, but sometimes you get his wisdom only in small groups. But today, I was proud that he spoke up. He said a lot that taught me that the small actions we do are noticed, not just the big actions.

He talked about how he witnessed us in the clinic treating patients and how busy we were. You see, this was the first year that dad was not on the construction site. He worked with us at the clinic. This was a big change in roles for him and an adjustment. But he told us all in share time that he witnessed in our care that we leaned in, listened intently, we took our time like we were the only people there. He would see us lay our hand on their shoulder to show we care. We may not have even realized it, but God shown through those actions.

 

In the times past, I would feel rushed, like I had to see all the patients that came through or the clinics were a failure. It puts a lot of pressure on you as a clinician to perform quickly. Things may get missed or the patient may not feel like we care. This year, I realized, that I do not have to rush. I promised myself that I would take my time and “see” the patient’s, then treat them.

It is such a joy to be a blessing to others, not just my patients.

 

 

After hearing this, I was even more determined to be all I can for the patients I cared for at the clinics. There was a lot of God’s love showing in the small things after this.

At the clinic, I saw a 88 yo lady with high BP. Her BP was high and she was out of her medications. She said she was dizzy and hadn’t eaten. We were able to treat her BP then, give her some food. We took her to the ministry table for Antonio to pray over her. She said she felt like she was too weak to walk home. Little did I know that the miracles in care didn’t stop. He asked Eddie, one of our team if he would drive her home and he did. What a witness to her.

 

I have learned to see the miracles of God in the small things. Look around. You will see them too.

Bendiciones,

Where did I see God?

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean no on your own understanding. In all you ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Today we left LaCampa to head to Tela…8 hr drive…In the van. And did I mention, get ready for some TMI..I haven’t pooped in for 4 days! I had to take Imodium because of, well you know. Now I am paying for it! Ok enough about poop. I am sure I will get relief soon!

We have planned for our day off tomorrow to get up to watch the sunrise. It’s at 5:45am. That’s early for a gal that isn’t a morning person!

So, the next morning we got up to watch the sunrise and it was not disappointing. It was beautiful. Something that we see and take for granted every day, when you just sit and watch it happen, it makes you think about how big and majestic our world is.

So where did I see God?

In the sunrise, and the beauty of the colors and how the sky changes over each minute.

I met 2 different people at the hotel.

1- A guy came to me at the hotel and asked me where I was from- IN ENGLISH!! I had to do a double take. We talked some and he is from New Orleans but has family in Tela and was visiting. Such a small world.

2- the second guy, I couldn’t hardly understand his English, but he said he had lived in Key West and moved to Tela. We talked about Kentucky and Florida and how they were different but beautiful the same.

With both, we had great conversations talking about the states and why we were in Tela and why our team was here and what we were doing. I was glad that I had the courage to talk with them and witness to them.

 

So, in our down time today, we all gathered around the table together and we colored. All of us, men and women. Coloring is not only for kids, it is also for kids at heart! I am excited because dad will be showing up later with team 2!!

 

Bendiciones,

coloring

van ride

"no swimming"

more coloring