Back on day two as the team was reviewing the progress in Santa Clara, it became clear that the growth in the education program had created many new needs and opportunities to assure continuing success. The one that came immediately visible was the need for a teacher’s desk. After some discussion, we determined that we had the material to create a desk, and it could be done with spare time on this visit. I volunteered to get it started to make sure of our assumptions. By day eight we were able to provide a satisfactory desk. Upon reflection, this task surely had the imprimateur of God. The need was known, the material was on hand, we had a shop and tools, and the skill was here. So we did it. It is this kind of opportunity that keeps us happy in the business of showing God’s love.

 This morning, the dental clinic opened with a bang.  As we arrived at the new Quimistan hospital, we were greeted with a dozen or so patients already in line.  George and Daniel retrieved Randy and Charlie’s wayward trunks from San Pedro Sula airport and returned by noon, so the temporary lack of tooth polishing thingies hidden in one of those trunks had a minimal impact on operations.  About 25 Agape Promises kids were treated today, with cleanings and usually one or more fillings or extractions performed on each.  It was a busy day, as you can see.

 I was impressed today, not only by the work that was done, but also by the love and compassion that was in evidence the whole day.  When a tear was brought to the eye of a young patient, it seemed to be contagious.  Often there were 3 or 4 people in physical contact with a fearful child to offer some measure of reassurance.  So while I helped the dentists provide physical healing, I also had the joy of sharing old and new friendships.  I felt I was offering hope and self-esteem to these children, as I looked into many smiling faces.  And in doing so, I looked into the Face of God.

Where have you seen God today?

Tommy

Our primary job for Dane, George, and Tommy today was to take all the dental supplies to the new hospital and set up for the dentists, as they made their way to Quimistan today. This is a very nice facility, with 2 chairs that actually move up and down, and even an air conditioner!

We unpacked the trunks, killed about a million ants that had taken up residence under one of the chairs, and had most of the instrument sterilization completed by the time Karen, Charlie, and Randy arrived safe and sound around 5:00 p.m.  We hope the rest of their luggage follows their example tomorrow.  😦

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Lee was nearing completion of a very nice teacher’s desk for the White Dove School in Santa Clara.

Peace Corps worker Katy Wooten joined us as a guest for dinner, and brought us up to date on her activities. (Katy’s the one on the right.)  🙂

We’re thankful for more safe travel today, and glad our team is now complete (well, except for the 2 trunks, anyway.)

Upon our arrival, the local citizen’s group gathered, and we first looked at the school kitchen, where they would like to build the first two Justa stoves.

We then proceeded to a nearby classroom for our scheduled meeting.  We got all of our questions answered, and I believe we have lots of information about their water needs and other potential projects, which will be reported at the Board meeting next week.  It was a good meeting, with about 3 dozen adults from the village attending, and numerous curious children about.

Afterward, we hiked up to the water tank, which was a steep, narrow trail.

Dane volunteered to hike beyond there to the new water source, over a kilometer away, in order to photograph it and estimate the distance and elevation drop to the tank.  Also, Dane learned that he was severely out of shape, compared to these rugged locals.

Our last stop was at the home of the community leader, where we were served a wonderful chicken soup, tortillas, rice, and roasted chicken.

 

Finally, Tommy broke out the bubbles and made some more new friends.

We returned to home base tired but blessed by our visit.

George

An extensive evaluation was then made of the bridge the children use to get to the school.  The bridge is needed to cross a river that is a quiet stream less than a foot deep during the dry season ,and about 5 feet deep rushing water during the rainy season.  The bridge is constructed of two very long logs laying side by each from one stone perch to another with a single wooden post propping  the logs midway in the river.  There is no handrail or support along the length of the bridge.

Lee

 

Our Sunday was rather relaxed, and dominated by the joy of being around children most of the day.  In the morning, we visited the Sunday School Class of Martha Scarlett.  There were over 100 present, including about 85 kids.  They were very attentive to the lesson, and were given paper and pencils, as well as a small lunch at its conclusion.

We then attended the 11:30 feeding of the Tejeras community.  This is the weekly meal funded by HAF, but prepared by mothers in the community.  We were again impressed by the patience of the children and their concern for each other, as evidenced by the following pictures:

In the afternoon, we went to the Agape Promises Bible study in Quimistan.  The younger children gathered indoors, while the older AP kids had their class in the yard. Following the study time, they all came inside to enjoy a hot lunch.

On a more personal note, Dane and I were able to meet Arlinton, the boy sponsored by our Trinity UMC Men’s group.  It was fun getting to know this quiet, but very smart boy.

Also, I was able to enjoy catching up on things in the Santos family.  Our sponsored girl, Sonia, just turned 13, and her younger sister Stefanny, is about to be 6.  Holding 1-year-old Valeria was certainly the highlight of my day!

I hope your day was as blessed as ours has been today.  May we strive to be as child-like in our faith as these beautiful children with which we have been privileged to share this Holy Day.

Dane and George met with Omar and the other Tejeras community leaders.  We first thanked them for this opportunity to meet with them, which taught us some interesting history of the community.  People have lived along the highway for over 40 years.  None of the families own the property they live on; all are squatters.  Most of the school-age children attend either Valley of the Light school or Francisco Bogram school in town.  The HAF-funded feeding of 2 meals per week and the deworming medicines have improved the overall health of the children of Tejeras.

The greatest need of the community is a reliable water supply.  Almost everyone in the community gets their water from the river.  City water is not the answer because the system does not have sufficient pressure to supply water up the hill.  They would like a well that could supply the entire community.

Most of the women of the community would like a Justa stove.  They will provide us with a priority list of potential recipients.

Many families use the public health clinic in town, but since the clinic has few medicines, many are not helped, as they cannot afford to buy the medicines they need.

George

On this pleasantly cool, drizzly day, Dane, Lee, and Tommy visited the village of La Montanita. One of the problems this community has is an inadequate delivery system for their water, which comes from a spring over a mile away. A new 2-inch supply line is planned to supplement the existing 1.5-inch line. From today’s discussions with the town leaders, they are ready, willing, and able to provide the labor for installation, once we supply the funding. They have organized 7 teams of 10 people, with a coordinator for each team. The teams will each work one day of the week, and rotate until the job is complete. Maynor will arrange the purchases and oversee the work, which should begin in a week or two.

Justa stoves are another success story for this community. Following the first 3 installations, the local builders have learned to do them on their own. 

Of the 8 additional stoves recently approved, supplies for 6 of them have already been purchased and delivered.  The first of those 6 stoves was completed today. In fact, as Dane soon discovered, it was still wet! This stove was even modified to include an oven where the fire for her original stove had been built. (Note the hole in it’s side.) We were impressed by their ingenuity, as well as their hard work!

While visiting one of the other homes hosting a new stove, we were treated to home grown and ground Honduran coffee.  It was muy excelente!  As you can see, Lee is hard at work, as usual. 

In the mean time, Tommy was playing with bubbles, using the kids as an excuse to get them out. Dane was forced to take pictures and not allowed to play with the other kids.

We then went up to see Reyna and her “sewing circle”. She had eight or so ladies working with her as well as others working from home. She had 25 tortilla mats completed, and we bought her entire stock. As a gift, we brought her some more yarn, and she promised that by the next trip she would have more mats and also some tote bags.

Thanks to Dane’s excellent driving, we made it up and down the slick, muddy, winding road with no problem.  All in all, it was a very successful and rewarding trip.

We visited the highway community of Tejeras for the Friday evening feeding session.  There were about 50-60 children and a few mothers there.  As usual, the children were all seated and waiting patiently to be served.  Their meal consisted of tortillas with beans and meat, and a glass of juice.  Each started with 2 tortillas, and I saw several children put half their meal aside to take home for someone else or for later consumption.  Many came back to get a third tortilla.  It was all very organized and orderly.

   

One of the girls who led the prayer and served many of the children was Delcia, a recent addition to the Agape Promises program.  I am her new sponsor, and this was our first opportunity to meet.  She is a lovely young lady, and appeared to be very shy when we were introduced.  I hope to get to know her better during the remainder of this trip.

 

George

Following breakfast, the four of us headed out for Santa Clara. Our first stop was the new “White Dove School” for 3-year-olds, pre-k, kindergarten, and first grade. Suyapa and 4 other locals have trained in San Pedro Sula to become certified to teach. The classrooms can be seen behind the rising brick building, which is to be the new church.

The first-graders use the classroom on the right. They greeted us collectively with “Good morning”, and individually with “My name is ___”, all in English.

We caught the younger children mostly outside playing a game. They are all housed together in the other building, originally intended as a kitchen.

We visited with a family living in the dilapidated home shown below. The kids I talked to were glad that their new brick home was nearing completion.

We visited several other homes and verified once again the effectiveness of the Justa stoves and the Bio-Sand filters, which have already made an improvement in the health of the community. One especially impressive home was that of Guillermo, who is the brother of Lencho (the builder).

We concluded our visit by spending some quality time with some of the kids, playing ball and blowing bubbles, which for me is  the most fun part of the trip.  After all, it really is about the kids, isn’t it?

Tommy