The man on the left is Saul - the superintendent of the Bible Institute and already a good friend. The man in the middle is Professor Luis - the Director/Principal of the school. He is a great man and very dedicated to this community and the school.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
February 15, 2008
The man on the left is Saul - the superintendent of the Bible Institute and already a good friend. The man in the middle is Professor Luis - the Director/Principal of the school. He is a great man and very dedicated to this community and the school.
February 15, 2008
These are pics of the school where we will be holding the med/den clinic the end of February. Each of these buildings house classrooms - including the open building which holds two classrooms. The kids look great in their uniforms.
Friday, February 22, 2008
February 15, 2008
This has become Cindy's office. One girl comes for a treatment and the rest tag along. They get treated, watch a movie, and sometimes get cokes and popcorn.
February 15, 2008
Here are the same three girls with Santos. He and his wife serve as house parents for one of the houses. Anna and Fany are Santos' daughters.
February 15, 2008
Cindy with some of her "girls". They are Anna, Fany, and Gravie. Anna is in the pink shirt. Gravie is in the purple striped shirt.
February 15, 2008
These are the "Transition" kids performing for one of the teams that was here. They are 14 years and up. The young man standing, playing the guitar, with the orange striped shirt is Selvin. He is a very talented musician and also quite a character. We have a lot of fun wtih him.
February 15, 2008
This is Gracie - Cindy's first patient. She is about 3 years old. Obviously she has won many hearts here at Hogar de Fe.
Friday, February 15, 2008
February 14, 2008
Well, we didn’t get each other a surprise gift for Valentine’s Day. It’s hard when you can’t leave Faith Home and just go run an errand on your own. But that’s ok. We got to spend the entire day together and it was great.
We were awaken early in the morning by the sound of four young voices outside our front door singing “Every step I take …” in English. We opened the door to find one of Cindy’s daily patients (Gravie) and three friends. They came in, went immediately to the DVD player and pointed to the movie they wanted to watch. They watched a movie, had drinks and snacks while we got ready. Not a bad way to start the day.
Next, Saul came to the house and we loaded in the truck for the 45 min drive to the medical/dental team site for the last week of February. On the way we were selected to be pulled over at the police checkpoint. Brad gave the office the car’s license and registration. But as usual, he veered from the script and asked something we had no idea what he was wanting. Saul interpreted and explained he wanted our driver’s license. Ah oh, we only have our US driver’s license. Hope this will suffice. He looks at. Saul explains to him we here to help the people of Honduras. The officer hands us our stuff and thanks us for what we are doing.
Once again, very humbling. A police officer thanking us for what we are doing and we don’t feel like we’re doing that much. Later in the day we are stopped at a police checkpoint coming out of El Progresso. When they see our General Baptist logo on the side they wave us on before they ask for any paperwork. Humbling once more.
After many turns, bumps, holes in the road, and a climb up a step hill we arrive at the school located on top of a large hill. The view is beautiful of the city of Villenueva. We meet with the principle, explain what we would like to do, he calls his supervisor and Saul it explains our request to the supervisor. They are excited and we are set. The principle takes us and shows us each classroom. It’s the first day of school and the kids are there dressed in their school uniforms. Sorry to tell the med/den team but they are going to have a hard time competing with the cute faces of all those kids sitting in their classes.
We then go a speak with the pastor’s wife of the church we will be using. She gives us a tour of their church.
The day almost ended on a very bad note. Our daughter moved recently and just got their internet hooked up along with her webcam. She called us, she gets our granddaughter on the webcam so we can she. This works for about 15 seconds and then we lose the picture. Today is the first time we’ve seen our granddaughter since we left. Cindy was crushed. Our daughter and Cindy work frantically for next many minutes, restarting computers, instant messaging. Then, finally, our granddaughter pops up our computer screen and we talk with her for about 20 minutes – she’s not quite two yet but for grandparents just seeing them and hearing their voice is GREAT.
We were awaken early in the morning by the sound of four young voices outside our front door singing “Every step I take …” in English. We opened the door to find one of Cindy’s daily patients (Gravie) and three friends. They came in, went immediately to the DVD player and pointed to the movie they wanted to watch. They watched a movie, had drinks and snacks while we got ready. Not a bad way to start the day.
Next, Saul came to the house and we loaded in the truck for the 45 min drive to the medical/dental team site for the last week of February. On the way we were selected to be pulled over at the police checkpoint. Brad gave the office the car’s license and registration. But as usual, he veered from the script and asked something we had no idea what he was wanting. Saul interpreted and explained he wanted our driver’s license. Ah oh, we only have our US driver’s license. Hope this will suffice. He looks at. Saul explains to him we here to help the people of Honduras. The officer hands us our stuff and thanks us for what we are doing.
Once again, very humbling. A police officer thanking us for what we are doing and we don’t feel like we’re doing that much. Later in the day we are stopped at a police checkpoint coming out of El Progresso. When they see our General Baptist logo on the side they wave us on before they ask for any paperwork. Humbling once more.
After many turns, bumps, holes in the road, and a climb up a step hill we arrive at the school located on top of a large hill. The view is beautiful of the city of Villenueva. We meet with the principle, explain what we would like to do, he calls his supervisor and Saul it explains our request to the supervisor. They are excited and we are set. The principle takes us and shows us each classroom. It’s the first day of school and the kids are there dressed in their school uniforms. Sorry to tell the med/den team but they are going to have a hard time competing with the cute faces of all those kids sitting in their classes.
We then go a speak with the pastor’s wife of the church we will be using. She gives us a tour of their church.
The day almost ended on a very bad note. Our daughter moved recently and just got their internet hooked up along with her webcam. She called us, she gets our granddaughter on the webcam so we can she. This works for about 15 seconds and then we lose the picture. Today is the first time we’ve seen our granddaughter since we left. Cindy was crushed. Our daughter and Cindy work frantically for next many minutes, restarting computers, instant messaging. Then, finally, our granddaughter pops up our computer screen and we talk with her for about 20 minutes – she’s not quite two yet but for grandparents just seeing them and hearing their voice is GREAT.
February 13, 2008
When we left today we were greeted with a surprise. The government had sent the road-grader to level our road. It’s their once a year road repairs. We can now drive on the road in front of Faith Home and not constantly shift between first and second gears as we go through large holes. In fact, we don’t need to wear a mouthguard to protect our teeth from the teeth rattling drive. We even contemplated shifted into third gear going down the road. Of course, it does take a lot of the fun and adventure out of the trip. We’re not sure if we like the improvement or not. The old road had character and we had learned where all the holes were located.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Possibly Our Last Blog Post
Cindy says this could possibly be our last blog in Honduras. This snake was in a tree by house where they are holding the Bible Institute. Our next blog could be from China. Do they have snakes in China?
Galilea 2 Meeting
Here are some some inside and outside pics of another church in Tegucigalpa called Galilea 2. The first picture gives a better idea of what it takes to get to that church. You have to climb over 70 steps to reach the church which is located on the side of a large hill.
Galilea 1 Meeting
Meeting with the pastors and members of the Galilea 1 church in Tegucigalpa (the capital of Honduras). Also some pics of the kids hanging around outside the church and in the back of our truck
Pastor Meeting on Jan 7, 2008
Pictures of our meeting with the pastors on the night we arrived in Honduras. The meeting was in Danli (about 5 hours from Faith Home)
Pastor Diaz Using Machete
The stick in pastor Diaz's left hand is used to hook the grass when just using the machete will not get a good cut. Any volunteers to come cut grass like the people who live in Honduras?
Students Working
The students are mowing the grass around the student houses. They use machetes to mow the grass. In the picture from left to right are: in the back with the white shirt is pastor Diaz (the pastor at Los Perles), in the foreground in the blue shirt is pastor Marcial, on the right side in the hat is pastor Marcos, and to the far right is JoseLuis (his dad is a pastor in the southern part of the country).
Pastor Marcos
This is pastor Marcos repairing the roof on one of the student houses. Marcos is the pastor of the the church in La Sabana.
Pastor Marcial
The pastors at the Bible Insitute are required to work to pay for their tuition. This is pastor Marcial working on one of the student houses. Marcial is the pastor of the El Barro church which is just up the road from Faith Home.
February 10, 2008
More pictures from the baby dedication at the San Manuel church. The man in the middle with the orange shirt is Milton. He is the pastor at San Manuel.
Saul and Miguel
Here are two of the men Brad is working very closely with. On the right is Saul the superintendent of Bible Institute. On the left is Miguel the pastor at Faith Home and the head of the churches on Honduras.
Monday, February 11, 2008
February 10, 2008
Last night Brad spoke at the El Barro church and tonight he spoke at the church at San Manuel. Both nights he spoke on we can’t do enough good things to earn heaven. Jesus is the world’s only hope for heaven. Then concluded with we must share this others. He challenged all who are willing pray for and share the gospel with five people this next week to come up front. He stressed only do this if you are serious about doing it. At El Barro three committed to this and at San Manuel two committed themselves. It was very encouraging to see them commit themselves to it.
At San Manuel they also had a baby dedication. Six mothers and their babies were dedicated. Saul and pastor Miguel did the entire baby dedication service. Brad was relegated to being the photographer. It was great to see these men leading the baby dedication. They are such wonderful men.
February 6, 2008
Cindy has moved her medical practice to our house. Now the patients show up at our house and are many times treated to cokes, popcorn, and a movie while they receive their treatments. Word is growing and today she had one patient and two others that came with the one patient. All were treated to coke, popcorn, and a movie. This could get out of hand quickly.
February 5, 2008
We started the Bible Institute today to help pastors and those starting new churches. We have four students with Saul (head of the Bible Institute) and Miguel (head of the pastors in Honduras) doing the teaching. Before the first class about 15 members of the team that is here came over to be a part of it.
Notice there are four students who are following the instructor and one who is very lost - the one in the back on the right.
Saul said a few words. Brad said a few words. Then Charles Richardson (a pastor from Arkansas) spoke for about 10 minutes. We finished with the students in a circle and the rest of us gathered them, laying hands on them, and praying for them. It was nice.
We had planned on having six students but at the last minute two decided not to come due to what they feel are some unresolved issues. That’s ok. We are looking for those that are committed to the vision. Perhaps this is not their time to come. Maybe later will be their time. We are confident that God will lead to us or us to them those who are suppose to be a part of this. This is God’s work not ours. We want to allow Him to move and work and He desires.
February 3, 2008
Brad went to one of the churches this afternoon. It is called El Banano. It is located behind a large banana farm (not sure it’s big enough to be called a plantation). It is located on a small one lane dirt/grass/big mud holes road. He had a great time but didn’t really understand the custom here. They asked him if he wanted to speak and so he spoke for about 10 minutes and then sat down. Immediately it was obvious there was a problem and the pastor and Saul begin talking quickly back and forth. Saul told Brad they were expecting him to preach the message. He volunteered to speak some more but the pastor got up and spoke from Ezekiel.
Brad is trying to visit all the churches to experience each church, support the pastor, and meet the people. Apparently, the expectation is when he comes he is suppose to speak. This will not be his first cultural blunder.
Brad is trying to visit all the churches to experience each church, support the pastor, and meet the people. Apparently, the expectation is when he comes he is suppose to speak. This will not be his first cultural blunder.
February 1, 2008
The team that is here wanted to pass out beans and rice to some families. Saul and Brad went out to find a place to pass them out. They were looking for a place called the “The Invacion” where many families had moved in and set up rudimentary houses after hurricane Mitch several years ago. They stopped and asked several people where to find it and were directed to an area where the only access they could find was to go under a barbwire fence and walk across a muddy field. So they parked the jeep and headed for the area to check it out. When they got there they were met by a young girl – about 10 – and here mother.
The mother told us we could get back there by a road and she would show us how. The three of them went back across the field, under the barbwire fence, and got in the truck. She led them to the road. As soon as they we turned onto the road it was obvious it would not be a good idea to proceed unless they enjoyed getting stuck. They parked the truck and walked back to the area of homes.
The lady told them there were twelve families that lived back there. Not such good news since we had over 100 bags of beans and rice to pass out. But how could we not bring them some after all the help the lady had given us. We did find a larger place to handout beans and rice but Brad took a group of five people back to this place to give them some.
When they returned with the beans and rice the lady remembered Brad sent her daughter to take them to each house to deliver the food. When we got finished the mother asked the daughter if she had taken us to some houses that were further back in the woods. The daughter hadn’t taken us back there. Can’t say that we blame her – it was hot and required a long walk to get there. The mother made the daughter take us to the houses we had missed.
It was so humbling to be in this lady’s presence and watch here make sure every family in that place got some beans and rice. She didn’t have much and could have easily asked us for the food we had left to use herself, but she didn’t. She was concerned that all the families got some. We were deeply by the time we left.
The mother told us we could get back there by a road and she would show us how. The three of them went back across the field, under the barbwire fence, and got in the truck. She led them to the road. As soon as they we turned onto the road it was obvious it would not be a good idea to proceed unless they enjoyed getting stuck. They parked the truck and walked back to the area of homes.
The lady told them there were twelve families that lived back there. Not such good news since we had over 100 bags of beans and rice to pass out. But how could we not bring them some after all the help the lady had given us. We did find a larger place to handout beans and rice but Brad took a group of five people back to this place to give them some.
When they returned with the beans and rice the lady remembered Brad sent her daughter to take them to each house to deliver the food. When we got finished the mother asked the daughter if she had taken us to some houses that were further back in the woods. The daughter hadn’t taken us back there. Can’t say that we blame her – it was hot and required a long walk to get there. The mother made the daughter take us to the houses we had missed.
It was so humbling to be in this lady’s presence and watch here make sure every family in that place got some beans and rice. She didn’t have much and could have easily asked us for the food we had left to use herself, but she didn’t. She was concerned that all the families got some. We were deeply by the time we left.
January 30, 2008
We must be getting more accustomed to the driving in the traffic here. Today we were getting frustrated with the slow drivers and joked that we were about to get road rage over these slow drivers. The danger is to get too confident and not be paying attention ALL the time while on the road.
January 28 -29, 2008
Before we could post this one we had to get permission from those involved. By the time we got permission we’ve been so busy we haven’t had time to update the blog. We have team of about 25 people here this week. At one o’clock Tuesday morning (or late Monday night depending on how you look at it) we hear a pounding on our door. We jump out of bed and open the door but nobody is there. When we open and hear the emergency siren. We have an emergency alert system here at Faith Home. There is one on every building. A person in the effected building can activate it which causes a siren to sound and a red light to begin flashing indicating the building. The emergency siren is coming from the house where the team is staying. We quickly put on some clothes and run up to the team’s house. When we enter all of the team members are in the main room. Many are crying and all are upset. In one of the bedrooms the doctor on the team is frantically working on a team member – Judy.
Judy is a diabetic, has gone into a diabetic coma, and is having massive seizures. Cindy begins assisting the doctor as they try to get sugar into the patient’s system without having a finger bitten off during a seizure episode. This goes on for about 20 minutes or so. It’s difficult to say the exact timing because you easily lose track of time during such episodes. The lady’s eyes are fixed and dilated and she came very to passing away.
The doctor makes the decision to try and get her to the hospital. We say try because there is no ambulance to call. Four of the men grab the sheet Judy is laying on and use it to take her to the van. All these men, the doctor, the team leader, and Cindy get in the van. Sid (our teammate) drives the van while Brad follows them in the truck. In case something happens with the van we needed a backup vehicle to get Judy to the hospital.
It’s not just a simple drive to the hospital. We must wait for the gate to be opened to leave Faith Home, slow down for 6 speed bumps passing through El Porvenir (they have big speeds bumps here that can do some serious vehicle damage if you don’t slow down). We also had to avoid hitting two dark colored horses standing in the middle of the road. They are not so easy to see at 1:30 in the morning.
It’s about a 20 minute drive to hospital in La Lima. Once we arrive at the hospital we must wait for the guard to open the gate so we can enter the hospital grounds. Most places have fences and gates here for protection. We get to the hospital and they bring out a wheelchair for Judy. We try to explain she can’t sit up we need a gurney but our Spanish and their English are not connecting.
So, we carry Judy into the emergency room ourselves. The doctor and nurses immediately begin trying to diagnose the problem because they just got the patient. Our doctor, Christy Wagner, has been working on Judy for about an 45 minutes now and is trying to explain what has happened and is requesting an IV.
This is a wonderful hospital with a great competent staff who have treated us well in the past and did so again tonight. There are about six North Americans standing around Judy’s bed when the nurse comes in to start the IV. Not much pressure on her. She gets it started on the first stick. This is even more amazing when we find out later that in the States they always have to stick Judy several times to get an IV started.
Brad parked his truck and moved the van from in front of the emergency room door. Then he went inside and sat in the waiting room. There were ladies also in the waiting room with him. Eventually all three left and walked back toward the waiting room. These ladies gathered around Judy’s bed and begin praying for her. Later they said they just knew the situation was serious and so they prayed.
We found out later these ladies were at the hospital because they had brought their pastor’s wife in early and were getting ready to leave when we arrived.
Another lady that was with this group of women was Gezel (?). She too was getting ready to leave when we came into the emergency room. She is also the wife of one of the teachers at the school at Faith Home. No one realized that when she first begin to help us. She is fluent in both English and Spanish. She was such a tremendous help in the emergency room.
Shortly after the IV was started Judy came around and was more coherent than the team leader Pauletta Yarbrough. When Judy came to Sid asked her how many people were in the room. She responded there are six. Pauletta corrected her and said “there are only five you are still out of Judy.” The correct number of people was SIX.
They admitted Judy for overnight observation and Gezel insisted on staying all night with Judy, Christy, and Cindy. So the four of them spent the night in the Judy’s hospital rest. The rest of us got home about 4:00 am.
The next morning the specialists that came to see Judy spoke excellent English. We picked up Judy about 10:30 and everybody returned to Faith Home. Can’t really say that was a restful night’s sleep.
We share this because of the many times God provided: a quality hospital that is close, the ladies that prayed and Gezel who interpreted not leaving before we arrived, not hitting the horses on the road, the nurse being able to start the IV on the first stick, an English speaking specialists, and a doctor on the team.
Judy is a diabetic, has gone into a diabetic coma, and is having massive seizures. Cindy begins assisting the doctor as they try to get sugar into the patient’s system without having a finger bitten off during a seizure episode. This goes on for about 20 minutes or so. It’s difficult to say the exact timing because you easily lose track of time during such episodes. The lady’s eyes are fixed and dilated and she came very to passing away.
The doctor makes the decision to try and get her to the hospital. We say try because there is no ambulance to call. Four of the men grab the sheet Judy is laying on and use it to take her to the van. All these men, the doctor, the team leader, and Cindy get in the van. Sid (our teammate) drives the van while Brad follows them in the truck. In case something happens with the van we needed a backup vehicle to get Judy to the hospital.
It’s not just a simple drive to the hospital. We must wait for the gate to be opened to leave Faith Home, slow down for 6 speed bumps passing through El Porvenir (they have big speeds bumps here that can do some serious vehicle damage if you don’t slow down). We also had to avoid hitting two dark colored horses standing in the middle of the road. They are not so easy to see at 1:30 in the morning.
It’s about a 20 minute drive to hospital in La Lima. Once we arrive at the hospital we must wait for the guard to open the gate so we can enter the hospital grounds. Most places have fences and gates here for protection. We get to the hospital and they bring out a wheelchair for Judy. We try to explain she can’t sit up we need a gurney but our Spanish and their English are not connecting.
So, we carry Judy into the emergency room ourselves. The doctor and nurses immediately begin trying to diagnose the problem because they just got the patient. Our doctor, Christy Wagner, has been working on Judy for about an 45 minutes now and is trying to explain what has happened and is requesting an IV.
This is a wonderful hospital with a great competent staff who have treated us well in the past and did so again tonight. There are about six North Americans standing around Judy’s bed when the nurse comes in to start the IV. Not much pressure on her. She gets it started on the first stick. This is even more amazing when we find out later that in the States they always have to stick Judy several times to get an IV started.
Brad parked his truck and moved the van from in front of the emergency room door. Then he went inside and sat in the waiting room. There were ladies also in the waiting room with him. Eventually all three left and walked back toward the waiting room. These ladies gathered around Judy’s bed and begin praying for her. Later they said they just knew the situation was serious and so they prayed.
We found out later these ladies were at the hospital because they had brought their pastor’s wife in early and were getting ready to leave when we arrived.
Another lady that was with this group of women was Gezel (?). She too was getting ready to leave when we came into the emergency room. She is also the wife of one of the teachers at the school at Faith Home. No one realized that when she first begin to help us. She is fluent in both English and Spanish. She was such a tremendous help in the emergency room.
Shortly after the IV was started Judy came around and was more coherent than the team leader Pauletta Yarbrough. When Judy came to Sid asked her how many people were in the room. She responded there are six. Pauletta corrected her and said “there are only five you are still out of Judy.” The correct number of people was SIX.
They admitted Judy for overnight observation and Gezel insisted on staying all night with Judy, Christy, and Cindy. So the four of them spent the night in the Judy’s hospital rest. The rest of us got home about 4:00 am.
The next morning the specialists that came to see Judy spoke excellent English. We picked up Judy about 10:30 and everybody returned to Faith Home. Can’t really say that was a restful night’s sleep.
We share this because of the many times God provided: a quality hospital that is close, the ladies that prayed and Gezel who interpreted not leaving before we arrived, not hitting the horses on the road, the nurse being able to start the IV on the first stick, an English speaking specialists, and a doctor on the team.
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