We caravanned thru the wee hours of the morning to the grand aluminum palace that houses a flock of metallic sea gulls. One by one they majestically lifted off in to the pre-dawn horizon. Our team was checked over with more scrutiny than Santa’s naughty or nice list… So, not to mention any names… but Senor Jefe, was pulled aside to scan the extreme amount of contraband he was carrying. This blogger is glad to inform everyone that he did not have to visit the Darkroom… Again! We boarded the steely beast, strapped in tight for a short hop to Atlanta. After dining on some of the finest that Hartsfield airport had to offer and a few visits to the Bano… again we strapped in for the journey to a land far far away and filled with many adventures and mysteries.

Going thru customs in a foreign country is slightly less painful than getting a root canal without the aid of Novocain, again considering that we were muleing a ton of medication and medical supplies for the Federation… the Passage to Bangkok was without major incident. Just on the other side of the glass curtain we could see our Amigos Maynor, Daniela and Mario awaiting our arrival. We greeted each other with warm salutations such as amigo… hermano and a plethora of hugs was had by all.

Onward to the Villa we traveled in Mario’s new Auto bus. As he always does, taking care of his passengers like cradling a new born infant… never risking our safety by going three wide in a blind curve. Upon our arrival we unloaded the contraband laden cargo and stored it in a safe location until the Czars determined a safe date to distribute… We dined on BBQ chicken and rice prepared by Sandra’s crew. The team departed for a short field trip to our job site in La Montinita to make plans and procure the necessary equipment and materials to get started off on the right foot.

I am trying to write this blog post with critical detail, though I am reeling from the effects of sleep deprivation… A 14 hour travel day… Adjusting to 100 degree plus temperatures here locally. Until our next entry, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

 

Marco Francisco

 

Our final dental clinic day was another busy one. While we had no mountain children to see, the rest of the Agape Promise children who were available to be seen were all taken care of. Most of them were found to have no dental concerns, so they needed only their regular cleaning.

As time allowed, some of us took our sponsored AP kids shopping. When we do that, they invariably head for needed school supplies or clothing, rather than to toys or games.

After cleanup, inventorying and packing up, all of our equipment and supplies were taken back to the ranch. We were then treated to a very nice dinner at Graciela Paz’s home in Pinalejo. What a nice treat to finish our week here in Honduras!

We are finishing the evening putting supplies back in storage here and packing up our personal belongings. We look forward to a wonderful sunrise tomorrow, our last Honduras breakfast and then on to the airport for our trip home.

We thank Ben, Anna, Erin, Patty, Randy, Tommy, Leroy and all of our Honduras helpers including Maynor, Daniel, Gloria, Sandra, Bessy, Dr. Gema, the hospital clinic staff, and many others for a wonderful mission trip.

God has been so great to us on this mission trip – we received many more blessings than we were able to give. Thank you God!

 

Another beautiful day in Honduras! A clear, hot March day with many flowers and trees in bloom and lovely Honduras mountains in any direction you look. Everyone should come see beautiful Honduras!

Today was a dental clinic day similar to yesterday. The dental team treated children from Arena Blanca today along with several Agape Promise students. Some of the treatments were relatively easy; however, some with more serious dental problems took much longer to treat. One 11-year-old youngster had an especially difficult tooth to extract that required some dental surgery to complete. He was a very brave child – a real “trooper” during the procedure.

Dr. Gema helped again today. One of the patients was her father. He had needed an extraction for some time, but would not let his daughter take it out, so Dr. Randy took care of it.

One of the AP children, Sebin, wrote a very nice note to “The Missionaries” thanking us for the dental care and all we have done for him. It has inspired him to become a doctor, so that he can help “not the people with lots of money, but people with very little.”

After the Arena Blanca children were complete, we gave them a soccer ball and thanked them for coming. They are wonderful children.

After the end of the dental day, we came back to Martha’s for a wonderful dinner of fried tilapia. We were joined by Maynor’s wife, Jessy, and daughter Arleth.

Following dinner, we had a very, very special treat – several of the Agape Promise students presented a pantomime program for us. It was based on John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”   It was extremely well done – everyone truly loved it. And Erin learned that one hazard in hugging the cast is that you might become one of them!

Thank you God for another wonderful day – GOD IS GREAT!

 

Today was a full dental clinic day. This morning, 8 children (with a few adults) were brought down the mountain from the small mountain village of Teo. Although it was an hour & 20 minute ride down, the children were waiting for us at the Quimistan clinic when our mission team got to the clinic a few minutes after 8 am. The children that came had the most severe dental problems.

In addition to the Teo children, the dentists also treated several Agape Promise students. Many AP students also had their teeth cleaned by the hygienist, and several of them were able to show “thumbs up” when they were found to have no cavities! Local dentist Dr. Gema (pronounced “hay’-ma”) returned today to help in the clinic. She is being a big help to us, while at the same time learning new techniques and treatment strategies, so it is a winning proposition all-around. She plans to also participate in tomorrow’s clinic.

While the children were waiting to see the dentists, Ben entertained them with a soccer kick-around.

When the Teo children and adults were ready to go back up the mountain, we gave them a soccer ball for their small school. The Teo children and adults were most thankful for all the dentistry they received.

While most of the dental team was at the dental clinic, Anna had the pleasure of spending the day at Tranquilidad, a new foundation that helps small children. She accompanied Sam and Joel, the 3 year old, to get a haircut, and then ice cream for Joel for doing so well with his haircut. The rest of the day was spent helping out with feeding, holding, and bathing the babies. Also, it was spent entertaining Joel. He was full of energy and excited to have a new playmate from the United States that spoke Spanish!

We spent the day in the beautiful Honduran mountains. After an hour and 20 minute ride up the mountain, we arrived at the village of Teo. There were about 100 children from the village waiting in a circle just outside their classrooms to greet us.   After the teachers welcomed us, a student greeted us on behalf of all the children. Then numerous children came up to give each of us several colored picture drawings that they had done for us. The pictures were superb! Several of them were pictures of Jesus – we will cherish them forever.

Then we began the hygiene clinic with de-worming, hand-washing, teeth brushing, and fluoride rinse. The children were very cooperative and everything went well.

It was then on to VBS – the Bible story of Jesus calming the storm (in Spanish), and then a craft project to build tiny sailboats from materials we brought. They also played a game in the school yard that simulated rough seas.

The dentists then did quick dental exams to determine which children will come to Quimistan tomorrow for dental treatment.

The adults and teachers from Teo fixed a wonderful lunch for us, with fried chicken, vegetable soup (with Honduran vegetables), and rice. It was super!

After lunch, it was then on to Arena Blanca, another small mountain village. In this village we completed a similar hygiene clinic, VBS, and dental exams.

While in Arena Blanca, we distributed clothing and flip-flops to all the children in the school. Then each girl received a special gift – a home-made dress made by wonderful ladies in Aiken. The dresses were beautiful and the girls loved them!

At the end of the afternoon, we came back down the mountain – a very rough, dusty dirt road – very tired, but thankful for the great times we had.

Just before dinner, we had a special treat – we visited Tranqulidad where we saw the beautiful babies who are getting great care there. Sam also gave us a tour of the overall place. We loved it.

We are now a tired mission team, but after a good night sleep, we will we ready to welcome another beautiful day in Honduras, most of which will be spent in the dental clinic in Quimistan.

Today was the first full dental clinic day. The dentists and hygienist were able to treat numerous children.

In the morning, 11 children (with their teacher and a few moms) were brought down the mountain from the small mountain village of Los Panales.   The children that came were the ones assessed to have the most severe dental problems. These wonderful children are shown below with our team.

In addition to the Los Panales children, the dentists also treated several Agape Promise students. Many of these students also had their teeth cleaned by the hygienist.

A special treat today was having a local Quimistan dentist, Dr. Gema, come to the clinic to help our mission team dentists with the dental treatments.

While the children were waiting to see the dentists, Ben & Anna entertained them with a soccer kick-around, blowing bubbles, coloring, and similar fun activities.

When the Los Panales children and adults were ready to go back up the mountain, they expressed their sincere thanks to us for everything. We thanked them for coming and gave their teacher a soccer ball for their small school. Below is a picture of them leaving (all 17 or so of them) in a small Toyota truck.

After finishing the dental work, the team went to help feed the children of the Tejeras roadside community. HAF now sponsors 5 meals a week for these families. When they were finished eating, the team distributed clothing and flip-flops to the children.

Tomorrow it’s back to the mountains to visit the villages of “Teo” and Arena Blanca.  Stay tuned…

 

What a wonderful day in Honduras! After devotions & breakfast, the team, joined by Gloria’s daughter Bessie, headed up the mountain to Los Panales where about 50 beautiful school children and several additional younger siblings met us. We began with a hygiene clinic, which went well, even though several of the children really would have liked the de-worming pill to taste a little bit better. (I probably would not have enjoyed that part either.)

Dr Patty & Dr Randy then did a quick dental exam on the older children to determine which most needed dental treatment. The 11 selected will come to Quimistan tomorrow for the dental treatment.

 

 

 

 

Then came the surprise highlight of the day – all the school children sang several songs for us. What a treat! Even for some of us that don’t understand Spanish, it was wonderful!

The team, led by Anna, then held a Vacation Bible School for the children – Jesus calms the storm. Patty & Anna told the story, then the children divided into two groups. Each group made beautiful sailing ships made of corks, a paper sail, and a toothpick for the mast. The children decorated the sail with various types of stickers. They looked so great! The group that was not shipbuilding was kept busy playing with a small parachute and beach balls. The goal was to keep the beach balls on the parachute while the children were shaking the parachute to resemble a stormy sea (like the sea before Jesus calmed the waters.)

Before leaving Los Panales, we distributed dozens of handmade donated dresses to the young girls, who were thrilled!

 

 

After lunch, we unpacked the dental supplies and set up the dental clinic at the Gracias a Dios hospital. The dentists then took some time to treat the first few children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In all, it was a super day in Honduras! GOD IS GREAT!

 

 

We recently received some pictures of Gloria’s home.  Thanks to everyone that helped with this project.  This project included adding a bedroom and porch.  Expanding the kitchen and adding floor tile throughout the home.

We have a mission team going down to Honduras on Sunday, October 18.  The team will visit most of the villages that we work with and evaluate potential projects for 2016.  The team will also conduct some VBS and hygiene clinics.  The team returns on Sunday, October 25.

Team:

Michael, Tom, Leslie, Erin (Aiken, SC)

Jill (Atlanta, GA)

Richard, Melanie (Starkville, MS)

Please pray that the team has a fruitful and safe trip.

Spent most of the day with Maynor and a friend/driver, Wilmer. We visited the Tejeras location, where the latrines and pila have been completed.

I was surprised and blessed to see that our feeding shelter/church is in use as a Kindergarten. The municipality agreed to provided a teacher so that the young children would not have to walk a mile plus along the busy highway to the nearest other school.

Up the mountain we went to Los Panales where the villagers – with the help of HAF donations for materials and some mission team sweat – have completed a new kindergarten.

We found another class in session and enjoyed learning my Spanish counting with the kids. The railing and skilled labor was provided by the local Mayor.

Down the mountain we went, then up the mountain we went – to Tierra Amirilla (Yellow Earth) a new village to HAF. This village of approx. two dozen families has a small school and had requested help with their water system. We met with the school teacher and then walked to inspect the water system. I had not realized or inspection would become a ‘school trip’.

The community had built a capture tank (collecting water from a spring) and laid out/buried pvc pipe to gravity feed the various homes several years ago. The capture tank leaks so badly that the system no longer works.

We met with the teacher, the patranato and water board leader. For over a year all of the families have been having to haul water from the river – a half-mile walk. They have raised half of the funds needed and HAF is blessed to be able to fund the other half of the materials needed. The village people will do all of the labor.

Down the Mountain we went, then up the mountain we went – to La Montinita. This village is and ‘old friend’ of HAF and has a kindergarten in need of repair. Classes are often held in one of the local churches because of the poor state of the building.

HAF will try to raise funds to restore/replace this kindergarten in the coming year.

Down the mountain we went to Gloria’s home where designated donations are being used to expand her small home. Gloria has taken in two young ladies who had no stable home. The home originally designed for three (in one bedroom) has been holding five.  The expansion construction is well underway.

Up the road – not the mountain we went. WHEW!, had my quota of jostling for the day. Joined into the fun at Tranquilidad, getting the children’s home in show ready condition (more work to do) for the dedication on Sunday.