WAITING
Margaret
Morford
Author’s Note: We are normally blessed every year to
have Libby and Doug Eaton with us on our mission trips. They work countless hours and have a genius
for conveying what is happening on the mission trip through words and pictures. However this year, Doug and Libby are still
in Nashville WAITing on the birth of their first grandchild, which is
imminent. A great number of us are
trying to fill in for them and we are rotating who will write the blog each
day…or pieces of the blog. I made the
mistake of asking who was writing it today and was immediately assigned the
task for doing so.
This day reminds me of my favorite verse from the
Bible,
“But
they that WAIT upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not
faint.” Isaiah 40:31.
My sister, Jean (her first mission trip), and I
arrived at the church in Nashville at 3:20 this morning to find Robert Brown
already WAITing on our group despite the fact that Doug Nally told us we didn’t
have to be there until 3:30 AM. Robert
had come early to de-ice the buses and warm them up so that we wouldn’t freeze
in our Honduras shorts, flip flops and light jackets. It was seven degrees when we left Nashville
and no one wanted to drag their coats to warm Honduras. Thank you Robert! (We also had to WAIT on Doug Nally, our
fearless leader, who didn’t arrive until 3:45 AM, but that’s another story!)
Our plane was late leaving Nashville because we had
to WAIT while they de-iced it – something you want done so your plane doesn’t
crash! However, the delay was not a
problem as we had sufficient WAIT time in Miami to make our connection to Tegucigalpa,
Honduras. We also were WAITing to meet up with three more of our team who were
coming from various other parts of the country. All of them made it despite the fact that the
airport monitors were full of flights that had been cancelled all across the
country due to the fierce ice, snow and frigid temperatures that are sweeping
across the U.S.
Our plane was an hour late departing Miami because
we had to WAIT for the maintenance mechanics to put a new screw in the outside
body of the plane. We never found out what
needed to be reattached, but I wouldn’t want to take off in any plane for
anywhere that is missing any part!
When we arrived in Honduras, there was a long WAIT
to get our medical crates and a WAIT to clear customs. We were again blessed that everything arrived
and is available for our first medical clinic in the morning. On a previous trip, our crates got held up
and it is almost impossible to treat our patients without the medical supplies
we bring with us. A nurse on our team, Janet Gerard, was flying from Oregon to
meet us in Honduras. She managed to get
to Houston before they closed the airport due to weather. Although she had to WAIT in Houston, she
arrived at about the same time we did on one of the few flights to get out of
Houston today! Losing any medical person
on the trip limits the number of patients we can see so they are critical to
how successful our mission will be. We
have two more people coming tomorrow who had to WAIT to get off work to join
us.
We are now 33 strong and ready to do the work that
God has for us, laid out in accordance with his plan on his perfect time
table. Tonight we will arrive in the
compound at Cofradia and get everything organized for tomorrow. We are now WAITing for our first clinic day
to definitely where we will eagerly aWAIT for our first patients. But most important of all, we will WAIT to
see what blessings, and lessons, God has for each of us on this trip.
Daily
Note from a Newbie: Jean Morford
Obviously being a newbie I have no idea what to expect.
I can say that being with this caring and industrious group will be a blessing
all on its own. The camaraderie is wonderful to observe and I look forward to
whatever task is assigned me. The landing in Tegucigalpa was definitely
exciting and got things started with a bang.
2 comments:
We have been WAITing for this post to arrive! Good job Margaret, Jean, Karen and Doug! So glad all is well! Libby and Doug (no baby yet!)
Wow! Turns out I am not the only Journalism Graduate in the family! Libby & Doug are a very tough act to follow, but all of the information included makes us feel the WAIT at every stop along the way! I am so glad the medicine made it into the country this year with no problem as I know it's critical and has at times been difficult. It's another way God has blessed this group's efforts. Sorry about all of the WAITing, but it seems you're right on schedule with your good works. My sincere best wishes and positive prayers for your success this week. ...Robert Morford
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