Christmas Eve Day, 2009

Tis the night before christmas, here in Hondurees,
the monkeys are stirring, free from all worries. .
No stockings are hung, as no chimney is had,
There’s no hope of Santa, tho one is not bad.
But the children will not snuggle secure in their casitus,
for tonight is FIESTA, tamales and ruckus.
There will be no santa, no reindeer with sleigh,
but there will be apples on Sunday , that’s the Honduran way.

Okay, Oklahoma CARD BARD (Mike McGowan, whose Christmas poem I am awaiting again!), I know it doesn’t measure up….

Christmas Eve day, 2009, dawned hot and sunny, still. So clear we can see the islands in the bay, the ocean is calm. Slept in til 6:20 as it’s a holiday in the hospital and we will enjoy a 4 day weekend except for John’s taking call! I staggered to the kitchen, whining, “COFFEE, COFFEE” and then settled back in bed with my Bible and study materials to begin preparing Sunday School for our kids, rapidly growing to adulthood, now mostly 12 years old.

Been back in Honduras since Dec. 3, got back in time for all the Christmas celebrations, enjoying it all. Lots of missionaries coming and going, so a real flux. I was part of a choir for the annual missionary Christmas program that our neighbor, Suzanne, wrote and directed- great fellowship in our many practice times, and was very uplifting to just be part of it…the wee kids were the hit of the program, with 1 of the 2 yr old lambs having to be carried out for tizzying by her dad, and one of the 4 yr old girls stopping Suzanne during “Away in a Manger” and correcting her for a wrong word! Priceless. The theme, “Christ With Us, Christ Thru Us” couldn’t have been more meaningful.
Just a few days after re-entry, we took a ferry trip to Roatan to visit with friends Dan and Rhoda who were on a cruise from FL thru the Caribbean. Only had 3 hrs. to lunch with them, but after being friends since Sarah was 1 (now over 30 yrs.), we start out deep.

This past Sunday was our campo church Christmas program, also with a Nativity drama largely masterminded by just l woman. She crafted cow and sheep faces out of quilt batting, and managed to cajole enough youngsters and teens to participate that it was special. The lector did not practice and got his pages of the script out of order and there were lots of LONG pauses and incorrect parts read,….but the audience of about 100 did not seem to mind. The kids seemed to enjoy it, and it was a festive time, with the traditional tamales served to all the guests after. Because we were involved with our missionary program presentation we had to miss the tamale making party.

Our first days back in the country we had to say goodbye to Pastor Antonio and his wife and 3 girls, whom we loved and admired. They returned to their Guatemalan home as they had planned 2 ½ years ago when they agreed to serve as leaders of the church. The little group is struggling….pray for the Lord’s clear direction for The Church at Margarita, and for a national pastor to lead it.

Yesterday fellow nurse Norma and I hosted all the nursing staff at her home for a Christmas “tea” at 3:30. I spent the day making my annual treat of cinnamon rolls for them, and we had a fun time with them as they shared Honduran customs with us, and it was also a forum for Ritza, who has been with the hospital since it opened, to share her engagement with everyone at once. It gives me such joy to see them “walking in truth”….and having walked with Ritza closely for 5 years, I know its not been easy for her, and I have such admiration for this woman who, when she hears new truth, applies it to her life, no matter the cost.

We’ve added a 12 yr old boy to our payroll, so to speak. Joni is being raised by his elderly grandmother and needs encouragement to thrive right now. He has been in our Sunday School class for several years, has picked up guitar and has an awesome voice. He always has his head cocked to one side with a quizzical look on his face. We found out he has trouble in school because of his eyes, so have arranged to bring him with us to the city for fitting of glasses. Our wonderful gardener, Chilo, has agreed to let him work at his side, training him, “fathering” him, during his vacations from school. Someone donated a youth guitar while we were in the US (thanks, Jane!) and I got a case on Craigs List for only $10, so Joni spent last week paying off the guitar and proudly carried it home. He is now working towards the glasses, and then will begin saving for the new school year which begins before February. I showed him just once how to calculate his tithe, and yesterday he did it without hesitation! Then handed back his pay and said I was to start a savings account for him! So we’ll teach him basic recordkeeping and hopefully responsibility. I put my own guitar out for him for his lunch hour as well as a Honduran devotional for kids, and he can use his time as he chooses. Usually he runs around, swings on the hammock, sings and kicks up his heels. Know his short life has been full of hard work, not much play. He had been getting up at 3 am each day to help his uncle with his job of getting the cows in for milking in a nearby community, returning at 5 am, then getting ready for school! Not sure what we’ll do when school starts…

Trying to set better boundaries, both of us, to have more quality time at home, keep up things better, have more company. John found parts for my stove in the US, so have been having a great time being able to cook and bake again after over a year! We are getting fat with all my experimenting! We are doing better at watching out for each other’s health, making exercise priority daily. John’s bike trainer broke, irreparable, so just last night found one online and had it sent to someone who will be returning here shortly. Praying it gets there in time, as biking is HIS favorite form of exercise, and he had a nice system set up on the back patio where we could watch the monkeys swinging in the palms while riding! Hope to have that up and running for him again soon.

For my part, I am finding my new IPOD to be a great invention to lower my cholesterol and triglycerides! Hm, Pastor Barnett, bet you don't advertise your sermons with that benefit! I love it! It moltivates me out the door at 5:30 and actually a smidgen of enjoyment in it now.
You'd think I invented it, the way I talk about it! I find its been a steep learning curve...had to go to the neighbor to ask how to adjust the volume.

May your days be merry and bright, even those who’s Christmas will NOT be white! We ALWAYS have a reason for joy, as OUR hope resides within us, the great Immanuel.

More from The Top of the World

Last blog posted as Nov. 5, but was written weeks ago. OOPS! So we have been in Kathmandu now for 2 1/2 weeks. Overall impression is ...sensory overload! The incredible colors, textures of the women's clothing, the Pashmina wool, the weavings, the Hindu prayer flags, the smell of coriander and garlic in the streets, the steamy milk tea with its sinus-clearing spices, the men's colorful hats, the mass of humanity on motorcycles or buses or bike-rickshaws, the honking of the horns, the odor of humanity in the narrow alleys..... and over all that, the awareness of how blessed we are to be having this opportunity, praying constantly not to miss ANYTHING the Lord has for us in this land.

We spent our first 5 days being a bit touristy, wandering the streets of Patan where LB and Jeff live, and getting used to again being where we understand nothing of what is going on around us!
Took us back 5+ years to our arrival in Honduras! Jeff and LB's pastor from Vashon, WA flew in with a friend of LB's dad to participate in all the doings, so joined us on our wanderings. We wandered out in a rural village near the city, amazed at some of the similarities to our villages in Honduras. It is harvest time, so rice was drying on evey available space of gound, the window openings were full of drying corn unhusked. I stopped to stroke the soft head of a baby goat- and he began to suck my finger... then chomped on it. Hm, they sure teethe early. I have trouble resisting baby goats. We spent one afternoon going thru a famous large Hindu shrine here, and then bussed to a Buddhist site and wandered in and out of the shops, stopping to enjoy a big meal for about $2 in a typical restaurant. Those first 2 weeks we ate lentil and rice (dal bhat) almost daily- and we have not grown tired of it. (Hm, I smell it cooking in the kitchen right now!)

For me, a touching and emotional memory of the "before dedication" events was a visit to the printing press that was pumping out the New Testaments and song books for distribution. Because of strikes and Hindu festivals, they were much delayed and it sure looked like right up to the last minute that there would be far fewer ready than Jeff desired. But to see the intricasies of the process, the dozens of people sitting crosslegged in a dark workroom under lightbulbs doing the cutting, folding, gluing, sewing... and to know how many years, tears, and prayers had gone into this endeavor was momentous. At the last minute, we were able to transport all the needed books to the dedications!

Along with about 7 other folks from the US from the Seed Company (a Wycliffe affiliate that works with this type of project to fund it), we flew out to the east on Sunday, Oct. 25, and settled into the accomodations the Limbu committee has secured for us. Ours was right on the main highway, up a dark stairway, a spacious cement room that showed no signs of having had clean linen for a long time nor a cleaning of any kind. Workers slept on mats out in the hallway. But we had no bugs or rats, unlike our companions in a neighboring hotel. We were able to participate in a church service in the Limbu church a fair walk away the evening before the celebration, which was really neat- seeing them singing THEIR songs with THEIR instruments, ones they had composed themselves, not just english hymns that had Limbu words. They did their traditional dances and had their traditional dress, giving us a peek at their lives.

The dedication ceremony was 5 hours long, with many dignitaries speaking, some christian and some political. Jeff felt that the location, the local municipality building, very public, and the banner over the entry for all to see, was a real first. No effort was made to hide the purpose of the celebration. Jeff was honored both here and at the India dedication for his years of devotion to the Limbu translation.

There was a huge feast on the grounds afterwards. Because of a strike closing down transportation and businesses the following day, some of the visitors left for the airport area that PM to be sure they arrived in time for their flights. LB, who had made the long journey over just for the cereomony but had to return to her teaching job the next day, chose to stay overnight...then had to take a bike rickshaw the 1 1/2 hrs to the airport in the early am as there was no taxi service!

From there, we piled into vans like sardines with all the Limbu folk who were also traveling the 8 or so hours into Sikkim, India to a town called Jorthang. The border crossing and journey are a blur...not easy. The believers awaited us at the church there with a meal specially prepared. We sat outside and gradually several got brave enuf to attempt the use of English. Much more personal interaction here, as it was a smaller group, probably only about 350. We were taxied by the Limbu committee out of town to a guesthouse on a rushing river, far from the highway, where we enjoyed a small supper and a deliciously quiet night- WITH hot water, a rare commodity. We attended the second dedication Thursday, where the highlight for me was to hear Jeff give an address, the only one who spoke Limbu! Apparently the Nepali are hesitant to use the language in public- there was an obvious response to him! We drove the incredibly curvy, narrow roads (yes, Dr. Don, worse than the road to Sattal!) thru the mountains over the border and down to the lowlands before dark, but still a long drive to the border thru awful traffic. I will never again complain about Honduras traffic. We stayed at a $7 a room place near the bus terminal, the nicest hotel in town! Think we were all relieved to get to the little airport in the AM and fly back to Kathmandu.

We rested up over the weekend, enjoyed the international church that meets at the school LB teaches at, and prepared for an overnight trek. John had gone out biking with Jeff and a group of men for 4 hours that morning, and had a nasty fall when some schoolgirls crossed in front of him in the mountains. He did a 4 or 5 point landing, striking his sternum also so is having some residual discomfort. Despite all his ouchies, and wondering up to the point of departure if he could do it, he took off with Jeff and I at 6:30 Monday for an 8 hr, 13 miles mountain hike. He survived better than I did- there wasn't much that didn't hurt by sunset! But the views were worth every ache and pain! We arrived at an awesome mountain retreat right before sunset, with time to shower and snuggle beneath 4 layers of down, wool, and 2 regular blankets to warm up while sipping Nepali milk tea. We watched the full moon come up on our right and the sun go down on the left- with the snowcsapped Himalayes in front of us. Then limped to the dining room for a wonderful hot meal- yup, dal bhat! Slept deeply beneath all the layers for warmth as we were a mile high and it got cold. Jeff had to wake us up to view the sunrise! Hated to leave the view behind, but we descended the mountains after a leisurely quiet time facing the mountain range in front of us. May we never forget the many showstopping views we were privileged to see! Winding down our time for departure next Monday.

Thanks to all of our supporters who in one way or another made this trip possible.

Top of the World

October 21 sees us in Kathmandu, Nepal, on our long dreamed for trip to see my brother Jeff and his incredible family here. They have lived here doing Bible translation work for about 20 years. We were able to arrange a day's layover in HongKong enroute here to catch-up with some longtime friends, Diane and Steve Lawler. That was not only a delightful interlude but allowed us to survive the long trip better.
Diane Lawler, HongKong

Oct. 26 will see the formal dedication of the New Testament in the people group Jeff has been working with. What a culture shift, from the Western Third World of Honduras,with a mostly Judeochristian worldview, to this mostly Hindu nation. We will be here and in northern India for a similar dedication, returning to Kathmandu for another week and a half of just family time- with a 2 day trek in there somewhere. John has enjoyed the first of what he hopes to be many long mountainbike rides in the early AM.

We left Honduras 2 weeks ago and made a week stop in Tulsa for the start of our medical checks
and visiting our kids and the 3 grands there.
It was not nearly enough and are looking forward to Thanksging with them enroute back to Honduras. We happened to have unknowingly timed our Nepal departure to conflict with Tulsa Bible Church’s mission conference, but were at least able to participate in the kickoff, and then the children’s conference and a brunch, so better than nothing. It is shocking to realize that the 1st graders in the conference were born the year we left the states! We will continue the visits we began when we return. Its never enuf!
Snuck in a lunch with Joanne Heck

My last update from Honduras was mid September, and I was chronicling the progress of my favorite patient, Enel, a 37 yr old who was with us with bad burns. I also shared the need for an instrument for doing skin grafts. Well, while in the US for the birth of a grandchild, fellow workers Dr. Leon and Judy were able, miraculously, to obtain the $20,000 instrument for $500! Fun story- but the results were good skin grafts on Enel’s calves before we left the country….and we vicariously enjoyed and cried over his return home 2 days ago. He was with us for 7 weeks I believe!

We left the hospital knowing the new missionary RN , Joelle, was already gaining the confidence of the Honduran staff, even with such a short orientation. I can’t imagine taking on the responsibility she has at 22! Our last weeks there were exhausting, trying to get John’s system sustainable in his absence, and enjoy a team of 7 that were there for 2 weeks from Jacksonbville, OR visiting us. They decided to not cancel their trip despite the continued political unrest and anxiety. 5 had been with us before, 2 were new, but is amazing how quickly the “new kids on the block” become part of our lives! One of our fellow missionaries will have ongoing memories of them, as they painted her house outside, that had suffered so badly in last year’s flooding. John will think of the 2 nurses as he enjoys the neatly organized delivery room they prepared, plus many more tangible and intangible blessings they left behind. All our community feels the touch of this team when they come! More later from the Top of the World.

Sept. 12, Lost Journal when Computer Crashed!

Sept. 12, 2009

Our burn patient Enil is on day 13 now, beginning to heal. Still not out of the woods as far as grafts is concerned, but no decision yet on those. Each crisis here like that makes the need for specific equipment glaring. Right now we could use a Dermatone, that cheesecutter type device that slices off the skin to use for grafting. Ours is archaic. Anyone got one stuffed away on the top shelf?

Our new RN’s arrived Monday and I began to orient them to us and the hospital. I promised them that we would not do the “sink or swim” method of orientation, that they would NOT be asked to do something before having been checked off. Yeah, right! Wednesday after having assigned them to their places for the day, John let me know about 9 (as I was beginning the hour+ dressing change on Enil) that I needed to be the ambulance STAT to take an OB patient at 8 cm. to Ceiba. Not my favorite job, as I dread getting caught on the road delivering a baby. I changed the job description of Belkis for the day and enlisted her companionship to transport. We hit the road, and thankfully many of the speed bumps had been leveled in road repair recently. We made the low flying trip in 55 minutes instead of the 75 I usually take. I kept one eye on the road and the cows and chickens crossing, and the other on the rearview mirror to watch for signs of pushing! By God’s grace, she did not begin pushing til we arrived at the hospital. Whew!

We arrived back in the campo to find that a 14 yr old girl had come in in our absence, having been shot in the face by her boyfiend (oops, that friend!) at fairly close range. She was just coming out of surgery, and a big repair job of her tongue and mouth and face by Dr. Jeff. As she is unable to talk til she heals, I gave her a notepad and pen to communicate. I was so touched when I asked her the second day if there was anything I could do for her and she wrote, “Ore por mi”, pray for me.

John went up to Satal in the mountains on Tuesday, getting to be a regular clinic up there monthly. We are beginning to see results in the care there, more folks following up down below with ultrasounds and coming down to have their babies. Recently a road has gone thru to the mountain village making that 1 hr hike at the end of the old road not necessary any more. Makes the trip more feasible, tho it will still not be passable in rainy season. Our Dr. Don has begun some home groups meeting for bible study, and has been doing programs in the school. We are thankful for such open doors here.

Just got back from another trip to the hospital. #3 for the day. The first was when the guard from the gate rode up on a motorbike he borrowed this AM at 7:30 as they couldn’t reach us for some reason by radio. A lady was ready to deliver, so we both scooted down to be there to help Dr. Joel, who was on call and found himself caught with this imminent birth. I was done with my part and on the road to the music program by 8:45- now that’s an efficient mother. The second trip was to give John a tetanus shot as he got himself with the drill while working here at the house. The 3rd. was just because ER was too busy for the nurse to handle that plus her inpatients, so just got her thru the worst of it. Time for bed.

Exciting note from church this afternoon. Angelica, for the first time in over a year, was emotionally healthy enough to lead singing. I had met with her twice during the week as she cleans house for us and she worked on the songs she wanted. Decided to pick 3 hymns, which we haven’t used much here, but she loves them. Well, she did great, and there were an unusually large number of attendees. There was great participation with her selected hymns…made me happy to see her glowing. Met with the pastor and a young couple I have been very involved with now for 3 years to discuss their role in the church. Have seen them thru some troubled times, so was a great joy to see them ready to make mature decisions. They were the ones that got married a short time ago.
Sept. 15 Honduras Independence Day- clinic closed today in honor of their holiday. We will celebrate with the fellow missionaries, the Tumlinsons, later today with a program on the history of Honduras and typical Honduran food, hosted by Cynthia, who is Honduran.

“Is today the day?”

Julia, Bonnie and John Barnett, "out to eat"
The staff dealing with the burn victim

September 7, 2009, Monday

In the book, Safely Home by Randy Alcorn, the Chinese Christians taught their children that came to the point of being born again to ask the Lord daily on arising, “Lord, is today the day?” There are many martyrs in the Underground church in china, and they learn young that there is a heavy cost to following Jesus. That they need to be prepared to suffer, and even die, for Something that outlasts life.

I wonder if Noel awoke Saturday with that question on his 12 yr old mind. As I got out of Dr. Don’s car and began to unload the guitars and keyboards from our weekly Saturday AM music class in Margarita, I heard Heidi shout at me, “Code Blue! They are calling you from the hospital!” I ran for the driveway and hopped on the motor scooter. The downhill ride to the hospital gave me time to pray and calm my “Fight or Flight” response. I arrived in the ER just about 5 minutes after they had begun CPR on a young man who is a student of Dr. Don’s in LisLis in the music program in the school there. Noel had been diving in shallow river water, hunting shrimp while the ladies were doing laundry in the river and got caught on a submerged root. It was too late when it was finally noticed he’d not come back up. We worked hard for about 30 minutes before calling the code, the whole time praying audibly that God would choose to miraculously bring him to life. For Noel, Saturday WAS the day.

We had a pretty sober Sunday School class Sunday Am in the aftermath of this event, as our kids are about 12. Life and Death are SO “in your face” here, nothing to sugar coat the reality of either. Very few of our kids have not seen the death of a baby in the family or the death of a mom or other close relative, most up close. They understand that they need to decide now whom they will serve, and with that choice, where they will spend eternity.

Several weeks ago my Honduran friend, Ritza, shared her dream about Loma de Luz being flooded with RN’s. I wisely told her that we could be sure that was just a normal silly dream because we couldn’t afford even 1 LPN with our current shortage of funds, much less RN’s at triple the wages. Last Monday, just a week ago, we said kind of a happy goodbye to a young LPN that had pinchhit for us during the vacation of one of our nurses. He did not prove to be a good gamble, so were thankful it was short term, but it left us with big gaps in the scheduling, and with 2 nurses needing to postpone their vacations for lack of staffing. About 4 PM I got a call from the gate that a nursing instructor from the RN program in Ceiba needed to talk with me. She arrived with 2 new graduate RN’s in tow. Her story was that they had been placed to do their 1 year of social service for the government out in the Mosquitia, but that the cost of living was higher than the small stipend they receive so the government had told her to send them to us! We ARE part of the public system as well as a private hospital, making us a site for MD’s and nurses to do their service time. A major WOW! Today I began intense training of Rosa and Beklis, to have them trained before we leave for Nepal in October. Thursday this week, an RN from the US arrives for 6-12 months to help us, and tomorrow another Honduran RN begins volunteering for John, as she can’t find employment. Hm, the count is now 4 RN’s, and I am in touch with one more, an American trained Master’s degree RN who is Honduran…and you guessed it, wants to volunteer with us until she gets her Honduran license to get some experience! I guess that 5 RN’s, all unpaid by us, constitutes a flood of them. Ritza, I stand corrected. Your dream WAS a vision from God!

In the wake of such good news last Monday, I was bringing a birthday cake down to Silvia, one of the nurses, and saw a lot of action in ER, long after the day shift should have left. They were working on a young man who had been badly burned in a home gasoline fire, receiving 2^nd. Degree burns over about 45% of his body. I joined them to get him stable and took staff home after. It’s been a challenge to work twice daily with Enil on cleaning his body and reapplying dressings with our limited handicapped accessible bathrooms and showers. But we have seen great improvement, bonded with he and his wife, a teacher at our local highschool. I said years ago when our daughter Kate was working in the Burn Unit at Hillcrest that I would NEVER work with burns. Hm. Sure makes me admire her, tho. Its been a tremendous challenge for staff, and we’ve even enlisted visitors to help as it takes about 1 ½ hrs. to do him.

Last week passed in a blur more or less, with the bright spot being a whirlwind visit from John and Bonnie Barnett (our pastor and wife from our Tulsa days). I went to Ceiba to pick them up at the ferry dock from Roatan after work Tuesday. Julia had taken them there for a birthday celebration for her mom as they entered the country. John and Bonnie had accompanied Julia on her 5^th trip here in less than 2 years, to be able to see the area she has fallen in love with. (and that has fallen in love with her!) They were with us just 2 nights, before we turned around and drove them back to San Pedro. Having company and seeing our work here thru their eyes and hearing about it from their point of view always causes us to stop and thank the Lord for allowing us to serve Him here for this time. Julia will stay for 3 months to help Lisa in administration.

Odds and Ends of Update

So many scenes here are idyllic, peaceful and picturesque. The woman washing clothes in the pila is Sonia, a long time employee of the hospital and a good friend. She is a success story- trained from the local pueblo in surgery, sent off to the city to attend LPN school, returned to us and is now the Triage nurse. She adds sparkle to each day with her loving hugs and sense of humor. I frequently pass thru her little enclave where all the family lives to climb up higher to visit another employee.
I just love seeing their everyday life, sitting and laughing with them over the antics of the little puppies under the pedal sewing machine (which is currently hemming John's pants!), the chickens jumping up on the couch.

The week after returning from the flight out to the Mosquitia, John and I journeyed inland 6 hrs with 4 young ladies to the mountains for another Health Promoters Conference where John did several days of teaching on OB GYN issues for the group. I enjoyed the extended downtime in a bed and breakfast surrounded by nice gardens and a wall. It was SO nice- and the sink did not fall off the wall! There was electricity and it was SO clean. A sharp contrast to the motel we stayed at in the Mosquitia. We left ahead of the girls to get John to the airport in San Pedro for a flight to the US. We were able to meet up with Dr. Leon in the motel there, as he too was leaving the country and I put them both on the plane before heading into the city to pick up the girls at the big bus station there. I had their company back to the hospital.
Then began a week "alone"- if one is ever alone here! While John maximized his time to be with our son Jake in Tulsa, and pay short visits to Kate, the kids, and Dan, I said goodbye to Norma, the other RN that works with me as she was leaving for a 4 month furlough. Did some things for John's patients during his time away, but more or less just kept things running! Enjoyed a bit more time visiting with friends in the campo, and even had the adventure of a bus ride with 40 others from the church out further towards the end of the road for an evening of singing with other area churches to the roar of the generator that fueled the 2 lites and the amplifier!

Joni, the young boy below,reading his Bible early in the AM, came home with me so I would not have to drive alone in the dark from the church. He has been in our Sunday School class for several years, and have seen grow from a wimpy, retiring dirty kid to a well-groomed, confident, guitar-playing young man, competently memorizing his required verses and taking big responsibility. Being raised by his Gran, a local illiterate midwife, since his mom was killed, he is now working as gardener and cleanup man for our sunday school champa with dirt floors for 6 weeks to earn his own Bible. He and 2 others persisted in a program we put together and memorized 35 verses to earn a children's illustrated bible, but he wants an adult Bible too.

Well, its almost midnight, John and I have been at the hospital with a young friend in labor with her first. John is now headed for the city with her and her husband. Off to bed.

La Mosquitia

kitchen at orphanage


Have 20 minutes til Norma picks me up to be at the church early to practice guitar. My progressively more arthritic hands and finger are balking at the thought, but guess movement is the best treatment. Returned just yesterday from a 3 day trip by air out to Puerta Lempira, in the Mosquitia to the east of us, land of swamps, drugs, another language and culture. 2 other women and I left at 6 am wednesday for the 1 1/4 hr flight, landing on the dirt airstrip to be greeted by many dogs, the pastor and Gris that work at Mama Tara's orphanage, and assorted people we didn't know. I had created havoc in the departing airport and almost missed the flight because the scanner showed 3 things in my backpack that weren't permitted! Oops. Even in the 3rd world they are careful. As the flight took off, a steady stream of water began to drop on the woman across from me, so Liz and I held up a barf bag to catch it to keep her from getting soaked. It soon stopped. The airconditioning for the ride out was the frequent opening and closing of the window in the cockpit, so was a pleasantly cool trip!

Dirt air strip in Puerto Lempira

We spent our day visiting in the orphanage, asking questions of the boss and various others connected with the work. Had time to play guitar with Gris, the 19 yr old from our area that I'd gone to encourage. She spends time teaching guitar to the kids with an evangelical program Dr. Don from our area created, and they were delighted to give me a concert! Part of our goal in the trip was to encourage the 2 volunteers there and assess their success and needs, so took the Canadien 29 yr old out for lunch to have time to talk with her alone. She took us on a tour of main street, a dirt road ending at the dock, bordered by many small wood shops. All goods come in by boat or plane, so the dock is integral. Prices are high based on lack of access by road, there is no clean water to be had, and electricity is sporadic to say the least. We were able to visit House of Hope, a special needs orphanage that is the nicest in the area with good support from the US. I slept well, despite no a/c or lights during the night. No coffee to be had in early am is my only complaint!

Our second day was also spent at the orphanage playing with kids or consulting with helpers, and then we left with Gris to visit another orphanage that is essentially a family in which lots of the mothers, (sisters), have died and so the aunties have kept the 29 kids together in a very small 3 bedroom house. They were spotless, delightful, orderly. Assessed their water and hygiene needs- water is from a deep square dirt hole pulled up by bucket- muddy to say the least. They walk a fair distance to a faucet in the community for "drinking" water, also not purified. We are so blessed!
We went back to our motel to process all we'd seen and while I was holding my water bottle over the sink in the bathroom to add some powdered drink mix to it, the sink fell off the wall. Shocking pain, as I began to form a hematoma on my foot immediately. The water began flooding the room so we had to evacuate! In the end, we were moved to another room and ended up having a peaceful night, again without electricity. I did NOT touch the sink in the new room!

Backtracking a week or so, John admitted a 7 yr. old with osteomyelitis (bone infection) in her leg from an untreated break. He sent the xrays to an ortho in the US for counsel, and he said it was among the worse he's seen. After 2+ weeks of IV antibiotics in the hospital, with her leg immobilized in a cast and more or less restricted to bed, little Fanny became everyone's pet. She is from a long ways away, but family stayed with her much of the time. It was decided she'd do better at the Children's Home with other kids to help her pass the time, so she was sent there a few days ago, with her IV, and the need to come to the hospital twice daily for her antibiotic. When Dr. McKenney returns on the 17th, he will assess her and decide what he as a surgeon can do for her. Meanwhile, we're fattening her up, introducing her to yogurt and other high protein foods, and loving her.

Because of the political unrest of the past weeks, we had missed an important wedding about 3 hrs from here, and it took place without our signature on the wedding papers. Last week, we took a 24 hr trip over to Tela with Silvia, the new bride, and stayed overnight in a hotel with her, enjoyed dinner at a place on the beach....and then went with her to sign her wedding papers. Silvia is now legal! We got to meet her family and enjoy breakfast with them before hoofing it back to the hospital. We had no problems on the road, met no demonstrators.
There is a political standoff right now, with relative peace but no resolution. Negotiations still going on, roads blocked on Thursdays and Fridays with marches. The teachers staged a large march on Friday with spraypainting bad things on public buildings and private dwellings. We are still expecting 2 teams in September, praying nothing will happen to cause them to change their plans. Life is more or less normal, with the typical swine flu scares, local shootings and macheteings, more civil weddings. We are safe, here in the center of His will.

Spotlight on Eryn,Honduran Unrest, July 23, 2009

Eryn at Luis and Kara's wedding.
Eryn on front porch, waiting to swim in ocean
Patients arriving for clinic on the island.
Eryn helping in the island clinic

3 1/2 weeks since I last made an entry. Gabi , the little girl we took to the big city because of a tumor in her brain, DID go to be with the Lord. The political unrest that began big time the day I wrote continues, some days scary, but always our lives continue as normal at the hospital, at work in the community, in the bible studies. Eryn, who arrived as I wrote the last entry, lived and played with us for these past weeks while storm clouds brewed politically. She overlapped many shorttermers, all of whom have left the country due to the potential powderkeg. I just returned from a quick trip to San Pedro with Dr. Greene to put his wife Judy and our Eryn on a flight out of the country. Nothing we saw alarmed us other than the riot police setting up shop near the airport! I am just thankful to have found a way home for Eryn and breathed a sigh of relief thru my sad tears at her departure. We had quite the time together!

Eryn made good friends with a new MK here, Sam. They spend many hours playing, swimming, staying overnight with each other. She also bonded to our pastor's girls, and spent l day playing in the campo with them, and would play with all the church girls during the women's bible study on tuesday. While I was at church working with 4 kids that wanted to practice guitar, she played around the church Monday. Jessica shinnied up a palm tree and got her a coconut to try. She loved the water, and then our gardener chopped off the shell and presented her with the "cup" to scoop out the coconut meat. She has had about as much avocado as she could hold, as well as mango and pineapple, as all are producing right now.

Her stay overlapped 2 weddings, one of which we had to miss as there was a curfew instated for this time of crises and we chose to adhere to that. Silvia got married without us attending, but is coming to dinner tonight to show us her pictures and share her big adventure. We were to be the witnesses, so still have to make the 3 hr trip to sign her papers! The following weekend was a huge festive wedding of Kara Faull and Luis, a local guy that we all love. Luis is at bible school in Guatemala City, so Kara will join him there. That event took dozens of us to prepare for, and Eryn was included in helping. It brought in a lot of old timers that had lived and worked here in the past, so like a major reunion. All homes were full of guests as there are no hotels in the area.

Last week, we took a private boat to go out to the clinic on the Cayos Cochinos islands. Eryn went along to "help"- and snorkel. We left early Tuesday AM and returned when the sea got rough on Thursday, leaving a census undone that we'd planned. Next time. We saw about 22 patients, snorkeling in between during the lulls. All come in by small boat or dugout, so often come in groups, then awhile before the next boat arrives. It is a chain of small islands with no roads, so only transport in water. I got up early one day to have 5:30 coffee with Laurie, a friend on the island who kindly opens her guest cabin for us to use on our trips out there, so that was an added perk for the trip. We visited the one village on the East End to see the potential of beginning a bible study or some other outreach.

Saturday, Eryn had the opportunity to go to Ceiba with Lisa Bradley, who has a ministry in the city dump there. She spent the whole day, and really enjoyed it. Seems nothing shocks her. I went out to Margarita with Dr. Don and another newcomer to the hospital to help in the music outreach there. Regularly having 30 youngsters and adults learning, singing, praising. Incredible. Eryn enjoyed that once while here also. She really got a good taste of what we do here.

Johns life has been consumed with clinic, as there are just 2 docs and himself here right now. All the rest have left for the US. So sharing call among the 3 makes for a busy life. He had 3 OB's over the weekend, one whom he shipped by ambulance, one whom he delivered Saturday night, another whom he himself drove to the city after dark to deliver. Seems to be a run on babies right now.
The one delivery was a good friend from the church. Hard to separate the incredible miracle of a newborn from the situation that conceived it. Many tears on her part, much grief on ours as we gradually uncover the day to day wickedness that abounds here.

As I close tonight, ex-president Zelaya has stated that he is approaching the Nicaragua-Honduran border with a "force of press". He has asked his family to meet him on the border. He claims he is entering under a white flag. Because of Venezuela's involvement with Zelaya, the Venezuelan ambassadors to Honduras have been asked to leave the country, and their 72 hr. deadline is about up. Today there were major road blocks near the capital as well as public hospitals that were "paralyzed" by Zelaya supporters. We were blessed by hearing Norma tonight at missionary prayer and fellowship share her rendition of the story of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, where in response to the kings pleas to God to intervene in an inevitable battle, he was told "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Take up your positions, stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you". Then in the morning, as they prepared to march out, he appointed men to lead at the head of the army, "singing to the Lord and praising him for the splendor of his holiness". Remember what happened? As they began to sing and praise, the Lord "set ambushes against their enemies and they were defeated. "

Thus we choose to remain here for now, praising God for the splendor of his holiness, delighted to have front-row seats to see Him at work. He shines the brightest in adversity. Pray for Honduras.