DENTAL MISSION TRIP DAY 3 March 25, 2019

Another wonderful day starting here in Quimistan.  We see many marvelous aspects of God’s creation here – lovely people, beautiful flowers, birds singing, great sunrise, and too many other things to count.

After devotions & breakfast our team hopped aboard two 4-wheel drive pickups for our journey up the mountain.  The 2 villages we visited today were so remote that they could only be reached via a winding, mountainous, dirt road with steep grades that only a 4-wheel drive could handle.  Due to the recent lack of rain here, the road was extremely dusty and a few of our team members (Jessica, our 4 youth members, and our Honduran team mates) had to ride in the back bed of the pickups.  They had a very dusty, bumpy ride! 

When we arrived at Laguna del Carmen, the children were waiting.  So wonderful to see their smiling faces – we just wanted to hug them (and we did).  A hygiene clinic was our first activity (hand washing, de-worming pill, tooth brushing, and a fluoride treatment). 

That was followed by a Bible story on Noah and the Ark. Danielle (one of our youth) told the story in Spanish and then the children colored in the booklet we gave them with the story of Noah.  The children also sang some songs about Noah. 

Many of the children played games with us while Dr. Patty & Jessica were doing a dental screening to determine which children needed to come to the dental clinic for treatment later this week.

After a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, we then proceeded another 30-minute drive to Nueva Esperanza, a village that is so remote that it does not have electric service to the village.  On these drives, you never know what you may see.  On this trip, we encountered a monkey, who simply climbed out of her fenced-in yard to come over and check us out.

Upon arrival at Nueva Esperanza, after fording a half-dozen or so small creeks, we repeated the same activities we did this morning, with a couple of changes:  Sarah (another of our youth) told the Noah story in Spanish; and we gave all the girls in this small school a beautiful, home-made dress.  These were made by ladies at St. John’s UMC in Aiken – a wonderful ministry by the ladies.  The children loved their new dresses.

On the way home, we stopped at a scenic overlook for a few more snapshots. Then, after a long, dusty ride back down the mountain, we cleaned up and had a delicious dinner.  We are now ready for a restful night.  Thank you God for a great day!

DENTAL MISSION TRIP DAY 2 March 24, 2019

God sent us cooler temperatures and a very nice breeze last night, and today we rose to a beautiful Sunday morning with birds singing everywhere!  After devotions and breakfast, we were off to the children’s worship service at Tejeras, the poorest area of the community.  We loved seeing the happy faces of the children as they sang and listened to the Bible story about Jesus visiting the temple in Jerusalem when he was a boy.  The team then helped with the feeding of the children. These meals are financed by HAF, and prepared by a couple of women from the Tejeras community.

We then attended the Agape Promise Sunday youth group meeting, where the youth presented a traditional Honduran dance for us.  We also enjoyed a question and answer session with the youth, where we asked them about their experience and goals and they asked us about our reasons for coming on a mission trip and other life experiences.  It was an entertaining exchange that helped draw us closer to these great young people.  We then shared a nice lunch with the AP children, and Tommy took individual portrait photos of the ones present.

After a brief stop at a souvenir stand in the afternoon, we then visited Tranquilidad, an orphanage started a few years ago by Roxanne & Sam Turnipseed.  During the visit, Dr. Patty from our team checked the teeth of all the children there.

After a delicious dinner, we are now enjoying another cool evening relaxing and preparing for the trip to mountain villages tomorrow.  God has given us a GREAT DAY today! 

DENTAL MISSION TRIP DAY 1 March 23, 2019

The team had a very early start from homes in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.  We all met at the Atlanta airport in time for our flight to San Pedro Sula.  Maynor was there to welcome us with big hugs all around.  It was great to be back in Honduras.  Thank you God for our safe arrival.

After the ride to Quimistan, Lupe & Suyapa welcomed us with a delicious Honduran lunch. This afternoon, our team took several AP students shopping for school supplies and shoes.  It was a delight to see their smiling faces.

It has been a very long, but most rewarding day.  We look forward to a good rest before we start our first full day on our mission trip!  God is good!

Honduras Mission Trip – March 13, 2019

Wednesday marked our team’s final day in Quimistan and Tejeras, and we finished at the house of Diane and her three children where we started. Marco, the furniture maker, brought wooden shutters to install in the four windows. The electrical team fixed an electrical switch that had been incorrectly tied to an outlet and drove the rest of the team a little crazy with talk of green and white wires. Another worker had started laying block next to the house for the latrine and wash area which will be completed later this Spring.

After lunch, we crisscrossed Quimistan buying bed frames, mattresses, and a plastic table and chairs for the new house. Once the floors had been swept and mopped a final time, our extended team gathered in Diane’s bedroom for a house blessing. The gray block and concrete house we found last week now looked like a home with beds, table, lights, doors and windows. Karyn, Diane’s third child who was seldom outside during our work days, was placed on the new bed by her mother and we prayed in English and Spanish for God to bless this home and family. Karyn suffers from a physical and mental disability and is only the size of a large toddler although she is four years old. HAF plans to support a medical treatment plan for her in hopes that she will develop as a normal youngster. Diane’s boys – Darwin and Windor – delighted in new shoes, jumped on their bed and eagerly started moving items into their new bedroom.

The team crossed the busy highway that cuts through Tejeras over to Guatemala and hiked up to the Tejeras church which also serves as the HAF feeding center where we helped serve food on Sunday. HAF-purchased spaghetti, rice and tortillas arrived and we fed about 90 children waiting in line patiently with their empty bowls and cups. The children ate with their hands and tortillas to sop up the food. Several young boys and our team had a push-up contest with the winner topping out at 25.

As the heat of the day slackened, we walked to the brick factory which employs many children in Tejeras. The 2-3 acre site has drying bricks laid out across the hill and two ovens where firewood is chopped by hand to fire the bricks. The work touched our team as we saw 9, 10 and 12-year-old boys doing hard labor mixing clay, forming bricks into molds, and loading a cold oven to make a few pennies per brick. A child may make 150 bricks per day while an adult can form and cut about 300. We discussed with Maynor Castillo and Dr. Tino that there are no child labor laws in Honduras and that many in Tejeras get skin infections working all day in wet clay. We left the factory and walked down both sides of the highway handing out bags of dried rice and beans– valuable nutrition for families with little access to nutritious food.

We had dinner with Dr. Tino and several of the volunteers and part-time employees at HAF who serve the community. We shared laughs as well as hearing about what we had seen – there are unmet needs in Quimistan and Tejeras such as better wells for water, family planning for women, more sponsorship for HAF-eligible students, housing, and student outreach. We leave Honduras with new-found appreciation for the people of Honduras and some better understanding of how we can follow Christ’s example. The team’s trip would not be possible without the many HAF employees and volunteers.

Honduras Agape Mission Trip – March 12, 2019

Cindy Fuller, who organized our mission trip with her husband Jerry, told our team that today would be the longest day of the week. We went in two cars to Texaxingales (also known as Teo), a mountain village about a 90 minute drive from Quimistan.  HAF supported the building of a new school there several years ago and has plans to replace the bathroom facilities at the school in 2020.  We picked up some shelving built by a Quimistan furniture maker (Marcos) for a medical office.  The drive took us across streams up mountain roads dodging several cows and horses to Teo, only a half mile from the Guatemalan border.

Our team was greeted by 150 children from kindergarten to approximately 8th grade all dressed in white shirts and blue pants or skirts.  All of the HAF-supported communities appreciate the work and financial resources provided.  Our team was presented with thank-you notes, a painted turtle shell, and a cardboard school building.  As our team divided up to perform skits, assemble and paint cabinets, or play with the children, we were all reminded of the joy of play.  The schoolyard erupted with screams once a parachute, several beach balls, frisbees, soccer ball, and bubble bottles were handed out.

The school children at Teo met our team on their playground.

An older Teo student welcomed our team to the school.

Jerry Fulller plays with a group of Teo students using a parachute from Aiken First Presbyterian Church.

Chuck Scarten and Pop Buice help assemble new book cases for the medical office at Teo.

Returning late in the afternoon to Quimistan, we visited a local children’s home called Tranquilidad.  The Tranquilidad Foundation is a Quimistan-based home for youth currently with eight children all under the age of 6 with ties to several US churches.  Co-founded by Roxanne and Sam Turnipseed from the Aiken SC area, the foundation has just completed their next residential home on the property that will support a family and up to six additional children.

The team visited Arena Blanco (white sand), the location of a new medical clinic near Teo.

A mountain overlook more than 1700 ft above the Quimistan valley on the way to Teo.

Roxanne and Sam Turnipseed hosted our team for a tour of Tranquillidad, a home for children.

The day concluded with a dinner with Graciella and her husband near San Marcos; native Hondurans who lived in the US.  They retired back to Honduras and are long-time supporters of HAF for many years. Tomorrow will be the “move-in” day for Diane, Darwin and family as we install windows and buy beds for her new home in Tejeras.

The team enjoyed a dinner with the HAF staff at Graciella’s home near San Marco

Honduras Agape Mission Trip – March 11, 2019

Our team completed some unfinished work in Quimistan today and ventured out of the city to a mountain village and school called Los Panales.

Diane’s house in Quimistan – we rose early and were at the local hardware store shortly after 8 for more paint supplies and drill bits.  Diane cleans the house daily, but our team soon had three ladders, paint pans and wire spread across the house. The paint team completed the 1stnd bedroom within two hours and the electrical team wired the 2nd bedroom.  Pop Buice, Tommy Patterson, and Doug Davisson finally completed the kitchen wiring at 12:30. Our moment of triumph was when Diane walked into the house to see lightbulbs turned on in every room and saw the completed rooms.  The house will be finished once four windows are installed this week.

Pop Buice, Tommy Patterson and Doug Davisson run conduit and wiring in the Tejeras house.

Beth Beckham sets to work on the final work day at the Tejeras house.

The electric team – Pop Buice, Doug Davisson, and Tommy Patterson – celebrate working lights in the Tejeras house.

Los Panales: HAF has branched out to remote communities including the two-room school in Los Panales.  We left Quimistan on asphalt roads and went through San Marco on the way to Los Panales, which sits near the top of the surrounding mountain range where coffee and bananas are grown.  Our bus crawled along the last few miles on a very rough road and to the school.  Approximately 75 children, who had been waiting since noon were taken through handwashing, a deworming pill treatment, tooth brushing, fluoride and a Bible story. These children are visited by HAF twice a year and there is a latrine and washing station built by HAF next to the school.  Electricity for this village arrived in December 2018, only months ago.

Chuck Scarton works with the Los Panales children to learn handwashing.

Emma Davisson and Pablo hand out deworming pills at the Los Panales school.

Tommy Patterson dispenses tooth paste to the Los Panales school children.

A young girl finishes her 60 seconds of required tooth brushing with her new cepilo de dientes (toothbrush). .

Cindy Fuller administers fluoride treatment for the Los Panales students. The dental health of the school children has increased significantly since the program started.

Sponsorship is a very personal way members of our congregations support individual children who study and participate in HAF activities to grow up amidst the poverty of Honduras. As we returned to Quimistan, we visited the home of Yaky, a 9th grader, sponsored by the Scarton family.  She led her brother, her mother and other family members to meet her sponsor.  The Quimistan children know and appreciate how important HAF is to their lives.

Honduras Agape Mission Trip – March 10, 2019

The team woke early to the chorus of birds that live among the mango, almond, papaya, ceibo and other trees at the ranch house. Our team’s focus this Sunday was to support the weekly feeding for the children of Tejeras. We arrived at the block building and were greeted by 50 youngsters shouting “Hola” and the number quickly grew to almost a 100 as more children and parents streamed in. Sandra and her team of parent volunteers and some HAF staff led the children in three to four songs followed by a short sermon.  HAF supports Quimistan by employing local workers whenever possible, so the team walked a few hundred yards and returned  with a 12-gallon pan of rice and a second one of chicken stew that had been cooked by a local family.

The Tejeras Church of the Good Samaritan where HAF feedings take place

Some children had spoons and bowls, but many did not. They ate with a tortilla and used their fingers to spoon all of the rice and beans.  The HAF feedings supply both physical and spiritual needs, providing a hot meal as well as Bible training, songs and a message.  In the afternoon, we saw the Quimistan Catholic Church, a 16th century structure that dated back to the 17th century.  Later all the HAF students came to the ranch building where they presented several Honduran dances.  Our teams then began an hour-long conversation, switching between Spanish and English with our translator David.  The HAF children asked many questions about the team’s background, our reasons for coming to Honduras, and the mission team had questions of their own.

A Tejeras child waits for breakfast to be served

Beth Beckham holds a Tejeras child

Emma Davisson reads the story of Zacchaeus to the HAF students in spanish

We ate a meal together, laughing at the skits and taking selfies and pictures together. Before finishing the day, we packed 60 bags of rice and beans to give to the Tejeras familes later this week.

Tommy Patterson serves lunch to the HAF students

Central Honduras is in a drought and a large fire burned across several miles of fields near Quimistan. The flames burned up to the ranch property, but owners Gary and Martha Thomsen had hoses and workers at the ready to protect the property. HAF teams have used the Thomsen property for years as a home.

Pop Buice stands with Efron and Genesis.

Doug Davisson and Beth Beckham fill bags with rice and beans

Fires burned around the ranch property but did no damage

We return to Diane’s house to finish painting and electrical work tomorrow.

Honduras Agape Mission Trip – March 9, 2019

Our team rose early today and travelled to Tejeras, a shanty town outside of Quimistan. Following a morning devotion and quick breakfast, we climbed into the HAF van and drove to the house of Diane, Darwin and his two siblings.

Our new mission members said nothing prepared them for the poverty of Tejeras. Diane’s home is a  one-room mud house with no floor.  She has no furniture except some beds, no bathrooms or electricity.  Cooking and washing are done outside with a few buckets and basin.  Our day was focused on preparing her new home only 40 feet away that HAF has been building.  A new two-bedroom block house with a concrete floor with a lockable door, electricity, and an insulated roof.  We split into two teams focused on painting and electricity.  The paint team set to work and had painted the outside of the house by noon.  Darwin eagerly helped and several Tejeras boys joined in to help the work team.

The electrical team lead by Chuck Scarton began punching holes through the block walls, installing boxes, switches and receptacles. By the end of the day, they had wired more than half the house and expect to finish by Monday. Several Tejeras residents came by the house to watch or help.

Carlos plays frisbee with Tommy Patterson and Emma Davisson.

Chuck Scarton lays out the Tejeras house electrical plan

 

 

We returned to the ranch house tired, but pleased we got so much done in one day. Dinner was a delicious mix of plantains, huevos (eggs) and fresh fruit and watermelon juice. Our team will be supporting the weekly Tejeras children’s feeding Sunday which provides rice and beans for 70 young children. In the afternoon, we will be meeting with some of the older AP students and performing a skit about the story of Zachaeus.

Honduras Agape Mission Trip – March 8, 2019

The Honduras Agape Foundation team arrived in Quimistan, Honduras Friday, one day later than planned after our Delta flight from Augusta was cancelled. Although our team said prayers and crossed fingers from our seats, the Delta pilot could not “reboot” the plane despite powering down all systems on the tarmac.  Disappointed but still looking forward to our week together in Honduras, we returned home Thursday afternoon and repeated our same steps, arriving in San Pedro Sula Friday afternoon.

Our first exposure to Honduras cuisine was Wendy’s, compliments of Maynor and other HAF team members David and Mario. We left San Pedro Sula and began a 90 minute drive through the Honduran countryside toward Quimistan. Along the way we saw many small Honduras homes and farmland.  Favorite scenes were a herd of cows being driven down the road and our driver Mario (Andretti?) who passed busses, tractors and any other slow vehicles along the way.

After dropping our bags at the beautiful garden-like ranch home a few miles from Quimistan, we met some of the Agape Promise students – Yackie, Efron, Darwin and Angie. We went shopping at a local Coquin store and found school supplies, shoes, and uniforms for them and some additional goods for their families.  These four youngsters are sponsored by our mission trip members from Aiken and Williston.

Tomorrow we will start some construction activities at the home of Darwin, whose siblings and mother live outside of Quimistan.

October 2018 HAF Mission Trip – day 6

It a beautiful, but hot day in Quimistan. After breakfast, we visited some lovely, very young children at the Tejeras kindergarten. After they finished their lesson for the morning, our mission team helped them with a craft – a heart necklace. Each child colored a drawing on their necklace. The children loved it! We left a bag of rice & beans for each child’s family.

Next for our team was a stop at Luz de Valle school, a one-room school with about 20 children. There we did our Good Samaritan Bible skit, performed a hygiene clinic for the children and played several games with them.

On our way back for lunch, we had a briefing on the Tejeras water system. The water system is currently not functioning well resulting in periods of water outages for homes in the poor community of Tejeras.  HAF is looking for ways to resolve the problems with the system.  While there, we watched hand-made mud bricks being made.

This afternoon, we visited the Los Panales school, about a 30-minute drive over dusty roads. There we toured some recently completed HAF funded construction projects. These include 3 new latrines (toilets facilities), a roof over a large patio area at the school, a swing set, and a kindergarten school classroom. Just before we left, the ladies in the village prepared a very tasty snack for us – a cup of rice pudding. It was GOOD!

A few very dear Honduras friends and several poor families from Tejeras joined us for dinner this evening. Following dinner, mission team had a discussion  with the Tejeras parents.


It has been a great mission trip. We renewed our friendship with some great Honduras Christian friends here, had GREAT FUN with many, many beautiful Honduras children, and were able to see some of Agape Promise students. God has really blessed us during this mission trip. We cannot wait to return on a future mission trip.