After the dental clinic was completed and part of our team returned home, additional projects were started while work continued on other projects. Roxanne took Maxine, Lorraine and Tommy to the Las Vegas Kindergarten and the Jicaro Elementary School. They distributed clothing and personal items like soap, lotions, shampoo, etc. to the children. Lee stayed behind to buy hardware for installing the fans in the ladies’ dorm. Tommy rejoined Lee after returning from the trip to the schools.

On Sunday Bruce and Jim completed the project to construct and install shelves in the church supply room. We had plenty of help from young boys who arrived early for Sunday school. The project to construct and install shelves in the Light of the Valley elementary school was started Saturday. It was decided the work of framing in the openings would be done on Saturday afternoon to minimize disruption of classes. After some communications entanglements we arrived at the school only to find the gate to the ten foot fence was locked. The key was in San Pedro Sula so all of the equipment, including a 75 lb generator, had to be transported over the fence. But the job got done and done safely.

On Sunday afternoon the crew had lunch with the Agape Promises kids. We had a nice meal that was prepared and served in the new cafeteria. Afterwards the kids were entertained with balloons, bubble blowing and kite flying. The luncheon was an opportunity for some of us to meet for the first time the child we are sponsoring and for others to become inspired to sponsor new children.

The shelves for the Light of the Valley School have been installed and work on the doors will begin Tuesday.

Bruce

The dental team completed their work on Saturday, March 29. In three days, they treated 67 patients and did 4 exams, 25 cleanings, 92 extractions, and 93 fillings. They had planned to “close shop” at about 4 PM, but they were told that 5 more patients had come, and they all needed extractions. They finished with these five, but there were 5 more, and then more. They finally finished at 6:45 PM.

Since Charlie, Randy, Karen and Dave are leaving today, I asked them for a few summary comments.

Dave – ” It’s a marvelous thing to see what God can accomplish if people are willing.”
Charlie – “Once again the Lord has joined, through His grace and love, the people of Quimistan and our missionary groups. You would think that after all of these years that He could do no more, but I have been blessed beyond compare. God is good. Let us thank him for our friends.”

Karen – How can I summarize in 2-3 sentences my feelings about an experience of a lifetime? As always, I have been blessed beyond measure. God is so good and He uses the beautiful people of Quimistan to show me His perfect love. “

Randy –
“ 1. The joy and encouragement of serving God with fellow Christians.
2. To expectantly watch and know the seeds planted by the team will grow and spread in Quimistan and home.
3. The amazement of what God can accomplish when we go forward in His strength and not our own.
4. How thankful I am for this team’s attitude and gifts. It was a joy to serve with them.”

Lee, Tommy, and Dave completed installation of the new ceiling fans in the men’s dorm room. They will do the same in the women’s dorm room next.
Bruce and Jim began installation of shelving in the Light of the Valley elementary school. The main difficulty was getting our supplies and us over a 10-foot- high gate, since no one has a key for the lock.

We have two men assigned to our team as translators. One is named Arturo, who is 45-50 years. His native home is Bolivia. He and his family lived in Miami for several years, and he worked for a mortgage firm. Last year, he and his wife moved to Santa Clara, which is about 30-40 minutes from Quimistan. They wanted to move there since that was his wife’s native home, and they wanted to start a new church in Santa Clara. They have done this. Arturio is the minister and he talks about this with a lot of passion. When they established the church, they had about 10 attendees. Now, they have about 30, many of them children. Arturo has become a good friend to us.

Jim

Charlie Wyont set a record yesterday. He extracted 22 teeth from a 42-yr-old woman. He said that he had never extracted that many teeth from a patient at one time. This type of situation shows the importance of the dental health program, especially the oral hygiene training. Also, it is indicative of the overall health of the Quimistan population.

When I asked Randy about his day he said “Oh, it was pretty routine”. I think that Randy is being too modest. The dental team successfully treats some very serious dental problems under less-than-ideal conditions. These include inadequate lighting, no suction, no x-rays, and dental chairs that require them to stand all day ( 8-10 hours).

The rest of the team rearranged their work priorities because of the delay in material delivery. Tommy, Lee, and Dave continued their electrical work. Bruce and Jim started work on shelving for Pastor Anna.

I saw an amazing transformation today. While Bruce and I were working on the shelving, Francisco, the AP child that he and Maxine are sponsoring, showed up. Bruce changed from an impatient curmudgeon to a patient, doting grandfather figure. Bruce integrated Francisco into our work applying glue and nailing. Bruce chided me for not starting the nails straight, which made Francisco’s work more difficult. After a few minutes, several boys showed up to help. Francisco was obviously proud to be working with his sponsor.

Jim

We rose at 6 AM to prepare for another exciting day. Randy and Charlie, along with Lorraine, Maxine, and Karen, will continue their dental work. They saw 17 patients yesterday doing extractions, fillings, cleanings, and oral hygiene training. This is Randy’s 7th trip to Quimistan and Charlie’s and Karen’s 4th trip. Over this period, they have provided dental care , including fluoridations, for several thousand people.

Bruce, Lee, Tommy, Dave, and Jim will continue their repair work around the mission complex, and to construct book cases.

Additional photos are on a separate blog.

Jim