Jose, our night guard here at Faith Home, had hernia surgery about two months ago and is having trouble recovering. He is 76 years old. He has not been able to work for past couple of weeks and we found out he now has pneumonia. Some of the house parents went to see him and found out he needed some medicine but the government facility didn't have it. Today we went with Miguel (one of the house parents) to Jose's house to see if we could help.
We found out he did have an antibiotic he was taking but needed some medicine for coughing. He has also lost a lot of weight over the past year. We went to the pharmacy and bought some stuff for a cough and nine cans of Ensure (the heavy duty kind) and took them to him. Cindy told him and his wife that he needed to drink three cans a day of the Ensure. Before we left he had already finished off one can and really seemed to like it. We will check on him in a couple of days.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
October 25, 2008 Gabriela's Birthday Party
Tonight we went to the home of one of our pastors in El Porvenir. It was their daughter's 15th birthday. Here the 15th birthday is similar to the importance of the 16th birthday in the States. It was a great experience. She was dressed in a formal pink dress. The area beside their house was decorated with pink balloons and they had a wooden swing in the middle of the festivities decorated with pink flowers. Gabriela sat in the swing and her father swung her back and forth 15 times while the crowd all counted out loud with each swing. Then they served a full meal (chicken, potatoes with melted cheese, and rolls) while the music played over the loud speaker. Finally Gabriela cut the cake and we all were forced to sample some.
But, the big surprise for us - actually for Cindy - came when the father of Gabriela (Julio) asked Cindy if she would say the "bendeciones" over Gabriela. You've got to understand, Cindy HATES to speak in public when she is speaking in English. Now, not only did she have to do it in Spanish but, she had no time to prepare and neither one of us was sure just exactly what did Julio mean by "Bendeciones". Brad tried to ask him for a little more clarification but it didn't help Cindy at all. Does "Bendeciones" mean a few words, a short sermon, or simply to pray. Cindy knew this was such a special night and she didn't want disappoint them, but she wasn't sure what she was suppose to do. Her time came. She said a few things. And then prayed. All in Spanish in front of probably 40 - 50 people. She did great.
Miguel (one of the house parents at Faith Home) drove the van and brought some of the kids and adults from Faith Home. When the van arrived (it seats 13) we counted at least 22 people who got out of the van. Man, can fit a lot of people into a vehicle.
But, the big surprise for us - actually for Cindy - came when the father of Gabriela (Julio) asked Cindy if she would say the "bendeciones" over Gabriela. You've got to understand, Cindy HATES to speak in public when she is speaking in English. Now, not only did she have to do it in Spanish but, she had no time to prepare and neither one of us was sure just exactly what did Julio mean by "Bendeciones". Brad tried to ask him for a little more clarification but it didn't help Cindy at all. Does "Bendeciones" mean a few words, a short sermon, or simply to pray. Cindy knew this was such a special night and she didn't want disappoint them, but she wasn't sure what she was suppose to do. Her time came. She said a few things. And then prayed. All in Spanish in front of probably 40 - 50 people. She did great.
Miguel (one of the house parents at Faith Home) drove the van and brought some of the kids and adults from Faith Home. When the van arrived (it seats 13) we counted at least 22 people who got out of the van. Man, can fit a lot of people into a vehicle.
October 25, 2008
We noticed when we were at the church there were no men there. Later we asked Saul about the men and he told us the men will stay at their houses and or least check the house every hour. If they don't the family will most likely lose everything that is left to looters. Many times these men are standing in, up to waist deep, water for hours to protect their homes and the few possessions they have.
October 25, 2008
We waited around all morning to get a check written for funds to send to one of our churches in the southern part of the country - Choluteca (waiting is normal here). There has been significant flooding in that part of the country also and the pastor, Ramone, called and told us the area where he lives was flooded and all of their houses were full of water. Finally around 11:00 am Sid was able to get himself free to write the check. However, INFA (the governmental agency through which we get legal custody of the children was on campus this morning) and Sid needed Saul to help translate with a couple of topics. So, now we had the check but Saul was tied up. Finally, about 1:00 pm everybody was ready to go and we had the check. While Saul and Brad went to the bank to cash the check and then wire the money to Choluteca Cindy and Bessi (Saul's wife) went to the grocery and bought some supplies for the people living in the church in El Barro.
When we returned to Faith Home we gathered some medicines together and headed to the church to deliver the supplies and for Cindy to check on the people's health. There were no major health issues but we did have to make a couple of trips back to the clinic for various items - including some stuff for the kids (soccer ball, jump ropes, crayons, coloring books, and cookies). While we were at the church they were cooking supper using the metal trash can as an open wood stove. They were cooking beans, eggs with tomatoes, and tortillas. One of the ladies asked if we would like some so we couldn't offend them and had to eat with them. They make some of the best beans and tortillas here. It was delicious. However, even though we had bought them some plastic spoons they didn't pass them out. So, we had to watch to see how they were eating the beans and eggs using just the tortillas. They didn't seem to have any problems but we struggled a little. Finally had to cheat and use part of one tortilla to scrape the eggs and beans onto the other tortilla and then eat it. Maybe someday we will get this down.
When we returned to Faith Home we gathered some medicines together and headed to the church to deliver the supplies and for Cindy to check on the people's health. There were no major health issues but we did have to make a couple of trips back to the clinic for various items - including some stuff for the kids (soccer ball, jump ropes, crayons, coloring books, and cookies). While we were at the church they were cooking supper using the metal trash can as an open wood stove. They were cooking beans, eggs with tomatoes, and tortillas. One of the ladies asked if we would like some so we couldn't offend them and had to eat with them. They make some of the best beans and tortillas here. It was delicious. However, even though we had bought them some plastic spoons they didn't pass them out. So, we had to watch to see how they were eating the beans and eggs using just the tortillas. They didn't seem to have any problems but we struggled a little. Finally had to cheat and use part of one tortilla to scrape the eggs and beans onto the other tortilla and then eat it. Maybe someday we will get this down.
Friday, October 24, 2008
October 24, 2008
Dr. Rudolph was kind of enough to buy these shelves, have them put together by some of the team members, and stock them with supplies. He also purchased and installed four Welch Allyn Diagnostic System and two exam tables.
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