Tuesday -A different kind of clinic

As promised, breakfast was served at 6:00 a.m. (Honduranly speaking!).  Devotions followed and we were ready to load the bus and head out about 6:45.  As we walked up to the bus, we realized that our driver and his friends had the starter from the bus on the ground working on it.  No bus ride today!   

15 squeeze in a tiny mini-van

So, we waited until, once again, a van arrived to carry those of us who preferred to NOT ride in the pickups with the supplies.

Pickup riders take a break

We were told that today would be a different kind of clinic.  We would be inside the town instead of out in the country.   

Two hours later (we had to drive through Tegucigalpa to get there), we finally arrived in San Buenaventura.  This township was very quaint and unlike some areas, was very modern and well maintained.   

There was even music playing in the town square!  Due to the delay with the bus, it was almost 11:00 before we started clinic.  We usually try to start clinic between 9:00-9:30 so that we are working during the cooler part of the day.

Dentistry clinic in full-swing as Caleb organizes the pharmacy

Since we were in the town, they had a community center and a health clinic.  It was quickly evident that the people we saw were neither destitute, nor as poor of health as those we had seen previously.  The set up was challenging, because dental wasn’t in an area where they were separate from the crowd.  The patients waiting to be seen were sitting right behind the dentist chairs.  You can imagine how unnerving it was for folks who were waiting for the dentist to watch others having their teeth pulled.  It made the dentists more uneasy, too.  An audience, regardless of what you are doing, makes any job more demanding.

Back to why we were in San Buenaventura...  Dr Ponce and Pastor Nelson met with the mayor prior to our arrival in Honduras to inquire about the possibility of holding a clinic, and eventually planting a church there.  Our presence helped to pave the way for future conversations about a church plant.

The mayor and his staff treated us very well.  They brought us water and cokes to drink, and they provided lunch.  Lunch was beef cooked in onions and peppers, rice, tortillas, and a salad.  We were afraid to eat the salad (since it was raw), but the rest was tasty, if a little gristly. 

All day, the patients continued to come.  We were down one medical staff person (Chris was not feeling well and didn’t make the trip). 

Late in the day a special-needs young man arrived. He needed to have an ingrown toenail removed.  It took about 5 men to hold him down (he was very scared). 

Pat releases his grip as music soothes our patient

He yelled and thrashed around until Nellet thought to pull out her brother’s phone to play praise and worship music for the young man.   

He calmed down immediately when she gave him the phone. He handed the phone to his aunt to listen to the music while his mother received instructions from the doctors as to how to take care of the toe.  What a blessing to witness the transformation in him!

 

Beth Ann, Doug N, Pastor Nelson and the Mayor of San Buenaventura

After the last patient was seen at 6:00 (yep, it went that long), the mayor presented Luke 9:2 Ministries with a plaque of appreciation. 

So, at 6:30, we began the 2-hour journey back to our compound.  We ate the dinner Lestbi had been keeping warm for us, and fell into bed.  We didn’t even take time to debrief.

As I write this post on Wednesday, two more of our medical staff have come down with sickness, probably a virus.  Please pray that all will return to complete health.

We are grateful for those of you that are following the blog and writing comments.  We are passing those along to team members.