We made it home from Soroguara before dark last
night. It was a treat to have a little
down time before dinner. During our
share time, we all remarked on the “little old ladies” with their beautiful
aprons. Donna told of one of the ladies
that she and Anna gave special attention to.
The lady completed her time at the clinic, went home, and then came back
looking for Donna and Anna (she called her the girl with curly hair!). She brought back some fresh parsley from her
garden as a thank you!
Hannah shared with us that their last patients for the
day were two young teenage girls. After
their examination, Hannah (who is 18 and a freshman at Union University), took
the time to remind the girls that even if they are bullied at school, they are
beautiful in God’s eyes and they are made exactly in His image. The girls were emotional and wanted their picture
with Hannah so they could remember her and what she told them.
Today we went to Casa De Diamantes. This ministry is located near the city dump. Many people live near the dump and “mine” the
dump for recyclables as their only source of income. Individuals in the dump community are
typically uneducated and trapped in their poverty. Casa De Diamantes has a church, school, and other
programs to try to help break this cycle.
Luke 9:2 Ministries has held a clinic here for the last 3 or 4 years.
When we arrived this morning, there were about 100 Hondurans
lined up outside the fence of the compound waiting for the clinic to
start. Church volunteers had already set
up the clinic rooms, chairs for the patients, and a cooking station to sell
lunch and snacks to the attendees. And,
they surprised us with lunch – Chinese (much like chow mein) and passion fruit juice. Yum!
Although we see many children at every clinic, today’s clinic
seemed especially blessed with kids. Moms
brought nieces and nephews, and it was not uncommon for one adult to have 4 or 5
kids with them. Amazingly, most of the young
people were quite healthy. We assured
the moms they are healthy and provided basic education in how to treat the inevitable
future illness.
The kids who saw the dentist had lots of bad teeth. When the only water you have makes you sick,
then you drink sodas instead. All that
sugar has a harmful effect on their teeth.
Again, we encourage them to reduce the sugar, drink safe water, and brush
often!
Every clinic day, Victor and his daughter Victoria
Abigail (10 years old) rode on the bus to our clinic with us to help with
triage and other tasks. Abigail came
along because she wants to be a pediatrician.
Her dad shared that she regularly lines up her friends and plays doctor
with them. They are her patients. She looks
into their ears and eyes and gives them pretend shots. Every day she patiently observed how we conduct
clinics.
Today, she got to sit behind Donna, our pediatric
nurse. Abigail watched everything Donna
did closely and it was obvious she was taking it all in. During a slow time, Donna helped her look
into another child’s ear and listen to her heartbeat. Hopefully, Abigail will
be on our Luke 9:2 Ministries medical team one day!
We will attend church services tonight in Cofradía followed
by our final team meeting, debriefing, and review of the week. Tomorrow, we will visit Valley of the Angels,
a popular tourist spot in Honduras and just enjoy being together (as well as
dressing in something other than scrubs!).
More pictures from today…
 |
| Regan, Mega-Medical Technician! |
 |
| Cesar and Kristen consult with a patient |
 |
| Elizabeth and Allen testing eyes |
 |
| Dr. Kristen at work. |
 |
| The kids love nurse Donna (and she loves them, too!) |
 |
| Janet and Jean made a great team |
 |
| Nellet interpreting for Todd |
 |
| Our Chinese lunch |
 |
| Erica assisting Heather with a cleaning |
 |
| Loretta numbing teeth before they are pulled |
Hannah shared with us that their last patients for the
day were two young teenage girls. After
their examination, Hannah (who is 18 and a freshman at Union University), took
the time to remind the girls that even if they are bullied at school, they are
beautiful in God’s eyes and they are made exactly in His image. The girls were emotional and wanted their picture
with Hannah so they could remember her and what she told them.
When we arrived this morning, there were about 100 Hondurans
lined up outside the fence of the compound waiting for the clinic to
start. Church volunteers had already set
up the clinic rooms, chairs for the patients, and a cooking station to sell
lunch and snacks to the attendees. And,
they surprised us with lunch – Chinese (much like chow mein) and passion fruit juice. Yum!
Although we see many children at every clinic, today’s clinic
seemed especially blessed with kids. Moms
brought nieces and nephews, and it was not uncommon for one adult to have 4 or 5
kids with them. Amazingly, most of the young
people were quite healthy. We assured
the moms they are healthy and provided basic education in how to treat the inevitable
future illness.
The kids who saw the dentist had lots of bad teeth. When the only water you have makes you sick,
then you drink sodas instead. All that
sugar has a harmful effect on their teeth.
Again, we encourage them to reduce the sugar, drink safe water, and brush
often!
Today, she got to sit behind Donna, our pediatric
nurse. Abigail watched everything Donna
did closely and it was obvious she was taking it all in. During a slow time, Donna helped her look
into another child’s ear and listen to her heartbeat. Hopefully, Abigail will
be on our Luke 9:2 Ministries medical team one day!
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