THE FRANKFORT HONDURAS MEDICAL-DENTAL MISSION

Hello from the Frankfort Honduras Mission Team!  It is time for another Honduras Mission.  The word for today is HOPE!  1 Thessalonians 2:19 says, “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?”  Certainly, we hope to travel safely tomorrow and have a productive week ministering to the health needs of this community.  This year, four of us will be going to advise and assist the Hondurans who have done their own mission with our remote advice and financial support the past couple of years.  The mission will again be at the Solid Rock Church in the Tierra Blanca neighborhood of Tegucigalpa.  For an idea of what this neighborhood is like, click here for a video of the area done by one of our Honduran mission members  (34) Tierra Blanca Community – YouTube .  Going are myself (Roger Strunk), Brian Demers, Helen Hodges and Amy Rodgers.  Brian will be replacing Jim Burris as the trip leader and one of the purposes of this trip is to get him up to speed with the health care mission process; he has previous experience in construction missions and has extensive skills in management and organization.  In addition, we will be scouting locations for new hospitals for Jim Burris, attempting to set up a weekly clinic for this neighborhood and looking for a new mission location for 2024 if we are able to establish the weekly clinic for this neighborhood.  Your prayers are greatly appreciated.  I hope to post daily updates of our progress.

POST MISSION REPORT HONDURAS 2021

This is the promised report regarding the All Honduran Medical/Dental Mission of 2021 that was previewed in the last blog post.  As planned, the four-day mission occurred as planed on February 25-28.  The medical and dental clinic with pharmacy and patient education took place the first three days.  On Sunday, the last day, the Solid Rock Church and mission team distributed basic groceries and water buckets with filters to clean the dirty water of+6 the neighborhood to especially needy families as mentioned in the previous post.  During the first three days, the medical clinic saw 408 patients and the dentists did 327 procedures.  Hundreds of prescriptions were filled, and most patients received an education lecture about clean water, dental hygiene, and a healthy diet.  Not only were the families in the extremely poor neighborhood positively affected, the many partners in the mission team were also.  The workers started as the team of Hondurans who help us when we go to there on missions: the translators, drivers, educators, and many others.  Others were recruited as needed.  In the photos there are many familiar faces but there are also a lot of new faces of the people who were recruited to be a part of this all-Honduran team.  They are as positively affected, in many cases, as the patients seen at the clinic.  I asked Karla for any stories about the clinic, and she sent this:

One of the kitchen ladies who cooked during the brigade, the last day when I went ahead to pay her she said with crying eyes, “sister Karla, I didn’t expect this money because we did this for love” I gave her the money ($100) and a couple of minutes after, she approached to me and said ” Sister Karla, I was praying to be able to buy some glasses for my son and what you gave me was exactly what I needed”.

Many of these Hondurans, like many Americans, have not had work for the last year due to Covid so the work offered by the mission was a blessing for the mission workers as well as for the patients.  This mission does many things in addition to helping the workers and the patients seen.  It shows us that the local people can do missions for their own people, which is, ultimately, the goal of mission trips.  At this point, the Honduras still need help from us in funding, organization and providing additional professionals but this is a big step.  I believe this type of mission, funded, and partially organized in the US but carried out in a third world country is unusual but that the success of this mission needs to be spread around as it can be repeated when and where in person missions from the US or other first world countries are not possible.  This mission and similar ones would rely on training and relationships built during in-person missions.  We really appreciate the help of all of those who contributed to the mission through the Frosty 5K; your contributions were well used!  As of now, we plan a full, in-person mission to the Solid Rock Church in February of 2022.  Blessings, Roger

Please click below for photos and videos.  There eight videos included with the images which show intake, a devotion, pharmacy, medical clinic, patient education and dentistry in action.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/167537108@N03/albums/72157718639644442/with/51050336448/

This is the update for the 2021 mission trip for Honduras, promised in the recent post to the www.frankforthondurasmission.org blog.  Notice I said “for” Honduras, not “to” Honduras.  As I mentioned in the last post, the mission team is not able to go to Honduras due to Covid 19 concerns.  That does not mean, however, that a mission is not taking place.  We were fortunate to have had an outstanding result from the Frosty 5K fundraiser in early December.  Kudos to Debbie Brown for an outstanding job organizing that!  The mission got about $9000 thanks to many dedicated contributions; the Mission Clinic Frankfort and Water With Blessings both got close to $5000.  With the $9000 from the 5K plus funds we already had, a generous donation from Jack Brewer, and a contribution from The Least of the Brethren Fund, we have been able to plan a three-day mission to Tierra Blanca, an extremely poor neighborhood in Tegucigalpa.  The mission will take place at the Solid Rock Church (Iglesia de Roca Solidi) in this neighborhood.  A very dedicated and energetic Christian, Pastor Wilmer at the Solid Rock Church has made major improvements to his church since our team first talked last year of doing a mission there beginning last year.  Our plans for this year’s mission had been to go to the Solid Rock Church if we had been able to go in person so it only made sense for us to have the Hondurans we have worked with in the past do a mission of their own for this area at about the time we usually go.  Our Honduran mission partners are now extremely excited and enthusiastic about the pending mission to help their neighbors.  Karla Larios, who has been assisting us for years with the logistics of our missions, has helped us put together a budget, a list of supplies, and a team of missioners to make this work.  The mission will include a medical clinic with four doctors, a dental clinic with six dentists, a pharmacy with a Honduran pharmacist, patient education by a college trained nutritionist, help with clean water by Water With Blessings (https://waterwithblessings.org), many support staff, and, of course, the sharing of the Good News of Jesus.  This will all happen later this week, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 25, 26, and 27, 2021.  The total budget for the mission is a little over $12,000; the funds been transferred, and the plans are in place for this mission to happen.  I will update you in a week or so about how the mission went, and, hopefully, will also have some photos to show you.

Below are three photos.  The first shows the new water filtration system installed at the Solid Rock Church in Honduras at the direction of our mission partner, Bill Drury; Bill has also donated 100 family size water filters from his Pura Vida Agua organization to be distributed at the time of the mission.  These filters can be shared by 2-4 families.  Thanks, Bill!  The second image shows lower level of the church  where the medical clinic and pharmacy will likely be.  In this image you see Pastor Wilmer on the right, and Daulton Hines, the water system installer, on the left.   The church is built on a hillside and sits back further with each level it goes up as you can see in the schematic below (third image) by Jim Burris.  Blessings to all, Roger

It has been a little over a year since our mission group was last in Honduras.  For various reasons, I never got the final post on the blog, so here it is.  It is a reminder that this is the time of year we usually do the mission trip to Honduras, but due to Covid, we are not able to go this year.  However, that does not mean we do not have a plan!  In the next few days, I will update everyone on this blog about the plan for this year.  The plan for this year is made possible with the outstanding fund raising of the Frosty 5K (thanks Debbie Brown!).

This is the 8^th and final report of the Frankfort Honduras Mission Group for the January 2020 trip.  The word for this update is FINISHED.  The related scripture comes from 2Titus 4:7 and tells us, “I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  I think this is how our team of missioners feels about the mission; we worked hard, had a productive week, and finished tired but strong.  This scripture is written by Paul, describing the way he believes he has lived his Christian life as it nears the end, and attempting to inspire others to do the same.  We tried to use the same philosophy of “running the race to the end” on the mission trip.  It is now a few weeks later.  Everyone is back safely, and Helen is making good progress with her hip fracture.  When you last read this blog, we had completed the Thursday clinic and were ready for the last day.  Friday was another great and successful day at the clinic, although abbreviated due to the need to pack up and store our supplies.  It is always a bittersweet time when we pack up; it is a great feeling to know we have completed another mission and served a community another year, but it is sad for it to be over.  We will miss our friends at the church, the drivers, and the translators although we stay in touch with some of them by email and on Facebook.  We always have a celebration dinner on Friday evening.  The drivers, translators, Honduran dentists and physicians and their families are all invited.  This year, the Translators gave us a surprise slide show with music of photos of this week’s mission plus photos from the missions of every year we have gone to Honduras.  It is difficult to explain what a satisfying and meaningful experience the mission trip is to those who have never gone.  If you feel called to do something like this, contact us and consider going on one of the trips.  You do not have to be a “medical person” to go; we need lots of support staff who can be non-medical.  As I write this, we are getting ready for a reunion of the missioners who went on the trip and any of their family who want to come.  We will talk, look at pictures and start planning for next year.  We may consider going to a more underserved location next year since the Ciudad Espana church now has a clinic at least once a week and our left-over medications will be used there.  In the photos for this update, you will see photos from the Friday clinic, packing up and preparing to store the equipment, a few extra photos from throughout the week and two photos from out trip to Roatan .  There are a few photos from other missioners.  We appreciate the prayers, financial support, and any other help you were able to offer the mission!  Below are a few statistics for the trip.  Manãna; we will stay in touch!  Thanks be to God!  Roger

DENTAL PATIENTS:  264

MEDICAL PATIENTS:  883

PRESCRIPTIONS:  4349

VISION PATIENTS:  369

Photo link:  https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUhkcwE

Today is Thursday, January 17, 2020, day 7 of our mission trip this year and day 4 of the clinic.  The word of the day is PATIENCE.  The related scripture for today is from Galatians 5:22-23 and says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  The reason I picked this word and this scripture for today is simple; my patience was tested today.  Jim Burris and I went to the Fuerzas Unidas hillside neighborhood overlooking Tegucigalpa to see the clinic there sponsored by the First United Methodist Church in Frankfort, Kentucky, to see how the clinic was operating, assess the neighborhood for future mission trips, and deliver new clinic supplies and furniture.  It seemed to me that it took all day to get a two-hour job done.  I had to pray and bite my tongue and keep remembering what our priorities were.  I know that if I am in the spirit and let the spirit lead me, I will manifest these “fruits” mentioned above but, being human, it is so easy to start trying to be in control rather than letting God be in control.  It is easy to forget what our priorities are and end up saying and doing things that hurt someone and do more damage than the good we set out to do originally.  That is why patience is so important.  Patience is also important on mission trips and in other countries because things often move at a different pace; we must learn to adapt to this, not them to us.  It is a difficult lesson and, for me, one that requires constant reminders because the North American way is so ingrained.  One of the things we emphasize in our group is flexibility, but as the week goes on and we all get tired, we revert to our old ways and must be reminded.  We must remember that things happen in God’s time, not ours.  Jim and I found the Fuerzas Unidas neighborhood to be much, much safer than when we left there to take the mission team to a different site six years ago.  The clinic there is going well.  The doctor is there once a week and the nurse is there twice a week.  The poverty is minimally improved but the church itself thrives.  (https://www.facebook.com/Iglesia-Metodista-Unida-Aposento-Alto-254662901325023/?__tn__=kCH-R&eid=ARAy5nJtPYF7AfUZcKUpX6yh4PQfYrcW3ewDyG2eW2rRMJD1n3m5eQkTBJ7ChzWzxxarMqyzU8xH1Cvc&hc_ref=ARR250gd6LxBwyXS-j42L42xS8pJIR9NiTrRP9gSGxbiy_zeqCB-6UXP03oJbi576Ag&fref=nf&__xts__[0]=68.ARCkgaNQEYSsUhbikVCz5n5qy5bsYdG8b9pZL7CXxW14xh0LEY5lwqjYRp1FvQkoq3F8LAbOFDb46PDPdCdvlBFnBS_eMOs0NzdsSpSL5MPf29CSlIyQQOSUm2prfJ8-uquWOJ26PRFdhC-2ixGR79wYVGkuK8WqxhSoqp3gqp8vREO9YNZ6GiP0MW8jFqXCxJO-tCgWfBmonJES1CBgTrc1ZkTVRy8oaPHlrfaOoEmJnkhz0ZQjXEVEk3ziAKY_-SeAPrGoL1q2HW9GQ2NNl6gF7cZJ73DL3nOP0o0Xgna1QqptwxgYdFdjJatalLNtM-Z0WCJ4C0sANGF3oDYs3DQ).  This week has flown by and is almost over.  Despite rain and fog in the afternoon, our clinic at Ciudad Espana thrived today.  The lab checked at least 30 blood glucose levels, some of which were as high as 400.  Hypertension and diabetes are very common.  Unfortunately, American style fast food and snacks have infiltrated the culture here, and high sugar items are ubiquitous.  This is having disastrous consequences on the health of many Hondurans.  Our patient educator attempts to correct this, but it is difficult.  She also teaches about clean water, oral hygiene, and sanitation.  Hondurans have access to come health care but frequently there are no medications in public clinics as the funding is inadequate or a government official has embezzled the money for it.  Last night, our dental team gave an excellent seminar for several local dentists.  Photos of this are included.  I will note that Helen continues to improve and is now feeling well enough to help with the mission finances.  At our meeting last evening, Charlie and TJ crowned her with a make-shift aluminum foil crown as the “Queen of the Mission.”  We were also blessed last evening to hear from a Honduran missionary who goes down to the Guapinol area in southern Honduras on the Pacific Ocean.  This is an extremely poor area where folks rely on fishing which is not always good.  These people have very poor nutrition and almost no economy.  There is a Facebook site (https://www.facebook.com/elevahn/?fref=profile_friend_list&hc_location=profile_browser) for this mission, and we plan to look into this as a possible future site for our mission.  Tomorrow, we will be closing the clinic early to break down and store most of the equipment.  There will be a dinner at the inn tomorrow night to celebrate the mission and all the drivers, translators, and all associated with the mission are invited.  Please click here for today’s images.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/167537108@N03/albums/72157712711190731

Blessings to all and thanks for your prayers!  Roger

Today is Wednesday, January 15, 2020, day 6 of our mission trip this year and day 3 of the clinic.  The word of the day is PLANS.  The related scripture for today is from Jeremiah 29:11 and says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  In this passage, scripture makes clear that God plans good things for us; he envisions a positive future for us.  It is up to us to discern the plans God has for us and follow his path for that plan.  I like to visualize that God lights the path he intends for us and we need to follow that lighted path.  It is with this concept in mind that we come to Honduras to provide care of basic physical needs of disadvantaged Hondurans.  We believe that we can help the Hondurans we assist to better discern and follow the path God has lighted for them.  In the process of doing this, we believe that our own path is better lighted and our focus on that path is improved through our assistance of the Hondurans.  We have no doubt that, in this process of this mission, we receive, in the form of inspiration and spiritual growth, as much or more than we give.  Today opened with improved weather; although the temperatures remain a little cooler than Is usual for this time of year (low 70’s), the skies are mostly clear, and the breeze is pleasant.  Our crowd was much improved today, apparently due to better advertising of our clinic in the community, and the better weather, so we are grateful for that.  We continue to have many beautiful babies, children, and elderly in the clinic as you will see in today’s images.  Our dental prosthetics technician does amazing things every day to help the people in this community improve their appearance and dental function.  The technician does not have his usual companion with him as the companion is sick with Dengue fever; all of Central America is experiencing an outbreak of this mosquito born viral illness.  Today, Dr. Elmer, our supervising Honduran dentist, had a patient who desired to re-establish his relationship with Jesus after a long hiatus in that relationship.  You will see a photo in today’s images of Elmer and Steve praying with this patient.  I also held this patient’s hand as this was going on and could feel his body trembling and see the tears in his eyes.  It was an emotional but rewarding process.  It is for just such experiences that we come here.  Another rewarding experience occurred when a patient from last year came back to thank JoAnne for the care she received last year which resulted in surgical correction of a bladder problem.  This has greatly improved the quality of the woman’s quality of life, and she is extremely grateful.  Today, Jim is out buying equipment for the medical clinic at Fuerzas Unidas, the hillside community here in Tegucigalpa that this mission team first served.  Our mission team’s sponsoring church, First United Methodist in Frankfort, KY, sponsors a weekly clinic in this community at the Methodist Church there.  The clinic needs a desk, chair, cabinet and some medical equipment such as a blood pressure cuff and a glucometer.  Tomorrow, Jim and I will deliver this equipment and observe the clinic in action.  Today’s photos feature the pharmacy and patient education as well as the usual ones of team members and patients.  Helen was able to return to the hotel today and was able to walk to the bathroom with help.  She is doing well, and the expectation continues to be that she will return to Kentucky on Saturday.  The Honduran people continue to inspire us with their tenacity, friendliness and intelligence as they overcome the adversity of their condition which is mostly due to government corruption.  Here is the link for today’s images:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/167537108@N03/albums/72157712696921166

Please continue to pray and may God be with you!  Roger

Today is Tuesday, January 14, 2020, day 5 of our mission trip this year and day 2 of the clinic.  The word of the day is PEACE. The related scripture for today is from Mark 5:34 and says, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” And from John 14:27, which says, “My peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  Peace is a major issue for us in life.  We search for it, we pray for it, and we imagine it.  The peace Jesus is talking about, though, is not the political and military peace we usually envision in for ideal world.  Jesus refers to peace as a sense of comfort we get from knowing that He is with us through whatever we go through on this earth and that we will be with Him in life after life.  Our sense of peace comes, not from the lack of violence of military conflict, but from knowing God is present with us whatever happens.  It is with this in mind that we use our clinic in Ciudad Espana to improve the peace of the residents in this area, not just by improving there medical, optical and dental health but by also improving their spiritual health.  Today was cool and rainy in the morning but warmed up and cleared in the afternoon.  The weather appeared to affect the turnout for some of the clinic areas in the morning, particularly the medical clinic but we have noticed this same phenomenon in the past.  The eye clinic and dental clinic remain at capacity.  Our dental prosthetics technician has been doing a remarkable job restoring dental function and self esteem to many patients who come into the clinic.  Please see the photos for examples.  There are many success stories of patients who have found glasses which restore their vision after they have an eye exam at the clinic.  This restoration of vision makes it more likely they will be able to get a job, read, go to school and have appropriate self esteem.  We will be giving out 100,000 vitamins to this community this week as well as parasite medication to essentially everyone who comes through.  I would like to say a special word of thanks to Amy, who has been our pharmacist for several years.  Although she initially thought she would not be able to come due to an inspection at the hospital where she works, she was able to come and get the pharmacy set up but had to fly back today.  Thanks, Amy!  Also, thanks Heather for being here to continue in Amy’s place.  Yesterday, a gentleman came in with a prosthetic arm which was more “high end” than most, but, having had it for close to 30 years, it had a lot of wear and tear.  Charley was able to repair and improve it.  We continue to offer the simple artificial hands for forearm amputees.  In both the morning and evening, several of the team visited Helen in the hospital and found her to be doing well.  She has been moved to a larger room closer to the nurse’s station and continues to expect discharge on Wednesday.  We are extremely fortunate to have Maria, a first-year interpreter on our team this year; she has provided great help to Helen and assisted in finding the surgeon and hospital which have been instrumental in Helen’s rapid recovery from the hip fracture.  Our team continues to be healthy other than a few upper respiratory symptoms which came to Honduras with us.  We all continue to be amazed at the beauty of the children and of the country itself as well as the friendliness of the people here.  Please continue your prayers for us and those we serve.  Today’s photos can be found via this link:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/167537108@N03/albums/72157712682565526

May God bless you and keep you and may his peace be with you.  Manána, Roger

Today is Monday, January 13, 2020, day 4 of our mission trip this year and day 1 of the clinic.  The word of the day today is FEAR. The related scripture for today is 1 John 4:18 – There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.  Also, Mark 5:16 – Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”  Fear is an important Christian word, not because we want it, but because, to be mentally and spiritually healthy, we need to shed our fears.  Those in a 12 Step Recovery Program come to believe that we are powerless over addiction and the management of our lives without God (a Higher Power).  Likewise, we Christians realize that we are powerless to live our lives without fear unless we have a relationship with God.  With God, all things are possible; without God, we rely only on our limited human capability and therefore live with fear.  With God and love, we drive out fear and without fear, we lead a life that eliminates many of the character defects we have which are based on fear.  This allows us to lead a much more joyful life.  We are here today at the beginning of the clinic to help the folks of the Ciudad Espana neighborhood reduce their fear of illness, disease and death but most importantly, we are here to bring them the Good News of Jesus and his love so they may have hope for life and life after life.  Ciudad Espana (literally “City of Spain”) is so named because the country of Spain built this town from scratch after Hurricane Mitch in 1998 created thousands of refugees from the related floods.  The clinic got off to a smooth start this morning.  After brief introductions and instructions, a prayer was offered by Terry.  All departments were up and running by that time as our support team of T.J. and Charley had the dental suction and pressure ready to go.   We are blessed to have 17 paid translators and at least 30 local church volunteers to make the mission possible this week.   A heavy demand for dentistry has kept the dental providers quite busy all day today and will do so all week long.  Dental care is difficult for Hondurans to acquire even though there are plenty of trained dentists.  The economy here is such that patients have a difficult time paying enough for dentists to stay in business which creates a total disaster for Honduran dental health.  Just based on what I have seen personally, I think the average Honduran has better dental health than when we first came here in 2003, although it is certainly way below where it should be.  An elderly woman came in today to have her teeth cleaned, wearing her “Sunday Best.”  After Sheila cleaned them, the lady looked at her teeth in a mirror and said, “Look, I am beautiful!”  One patient made a dental chair conversion to Christianity today and accepted Jesus as her savior.  Helen continues to recover well from her hip fracture repair and is in good spirits.  The hospital and physicians here have been great to work with and have provided excellent care.  In today’s photos, you will find an image of Helen in the Hospital with the newlyweds from the wedding some of us attended on Saturday.  Several of our group visited Helen tonight and felt she was doing well.  We continue to hope Helen will be released to the inn mid-week and will be able to fly home on Saturday.  Today, the weather has been in the low 70’s with clouds and occasional drizzle.  Our health remains good and spirits remain high.  Charlie gave a great devotion tonight based on Proverbs 20:24 which says how can we as humans understand our “steps” in life when life’s plans are up to God?  Please see the link below for some photos from today:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/167537108@N03/albums/72157712671958483

May God’s blessings be with you and thanks for your prayers.  I am sorry this is late due to Internet problems.  Roger

Today is Sunday, January 12, 2020, day 3 of our mission trip this year.  The word for today is PREPARE.  The related scripture comes from Matthew 3:3 which says, “Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.” and from John 14:3 which says, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”  Today has been a great day of preparation.  (I feel compelled to mention that the weather here is partly cloudy with a light breeze and a temperature of about 75°.)  This morning, we worshiped with the church in Ciudad Espana to prepare our hearts, minds and souls for the clinic this week.  Typical of Latin services, there was lots of lively music and praise.  The pastor gave an inspiring sermon from Philippians 2:12.  Making our outer selves match our inner spirit and our inner spirit conform to God’s will was his message.  Our outer selves should be an example to non-Christians about God’s message of love to others was what he preached.  The message was translated into English for us by Marcella, the daughter of the previous minister and the daughter of Dr. Patricia, our supervising Honduran physician.  After the sermon, the pastor and church blessed our group and the clinic this week.  What an amazing group of missioners we have here working!  After the church service, the group began transforming the church sanctuary into a clinic area. Without further urging or instructions, each area leader and their team members began this transformation immediately. The sanctuary area will be partitioned with wires, ropes, tarps, and shower curtains into a dental area, an eye care area, and dental sterilization area.  The narthex of the church will serve as the intake area and the upstairs, where the grade school classrooms are, will be medical exam rooms.  Up a short staircase outside, where the high school classrooms are, will be the patient education area and pharmacy.  Children’s art will be outside in a covered area.  As I write this, the remarkable transformation is happening before my eyes.  This morning about 8 AM, Helen went to the operating room in what is considered to be the best hospital in Tegucigalpa where she had her hip fracture repaired.  Thankfully, the hip had minimal arthritis and the fracture was stable so the hip could be “pinned” instead of requiring a prosthesis.  This is great news as there should be less chance of complications and a quicker recovery.  She tolerated the surgery well and is expected to be released from the hospital on Wednesday and go home on Saturday, as planned.  Special thanks were given to several of our group who, being health care professionals, gave Helen close attention in her time of need and her hospital a thorough inspection before granting approval.  This evening, we are up late counting medications for the pharmacy after a dinner of excellent salad and pizza.  A very moving summary of Helen’s fall, trip to the hospital and surgery this morning was given by Steve Farley before he gave the invocation for the evening meeting tonight (please see the picture for today).  Mary Ann gave a devotion from Pope Francis and I spoke from 1 Corinthians chapter 12 about how each missioner here is an essential “member” of the “body” of the mission team just as Christians are all “members” of the “body” of the church.  We have planned for the clinic to start early in the morning and are optimistic that our opening clinic day will go well.  Although we are tired, all has gone well, and we are thankful for the day’s success and particularly for Helen’s progress.  Please continue to pray for our health and safety (especially Helen’s) and that we may be in the center of God’s will as we go about His work this week.  Please see the link below for some images from today:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/167537108@N03/albums/72157712646150402

Blessings to all of you.  Roger

Today is Saturday, January 11, 2020, day 2 of our mission trip this year.  The word of the day today is OVERCOME.  The related scripture is from John 16:33 and says,  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This is a very appropriate scripture for our mission team today as we have had a lot to overcome.  Several of our team went to next week’s mission site and began the setup of the pharmacy and other equipment.  Amy, our lead pharmacist, made substantial progress getting the pharmacy ready to go although there are still thousands of pills to be counted in what we call a “pill party.”  Our equipment which is stored near the mission site was delivered in a box truck yesterday and is unloaded.  The dental units and chairs are ready to set up.  A large group of us went one of the mountains overlooking Tegucigalpa to find peace and serenity in United Nations Park and have a devotion in the shadow of the 90 foot tall Christ statue overlooking the city.  Please see the photos.  In the evening, five of us went to a Honduran wedding.  Karla, who has been our Honduran contact and support for many years, invited us to attend her brother’s wedding.  Her brother has overcome a very secular life to become a Christian and was getting married to the mother of his youngest child, a beautiful daughter.  The wedding was held on the same mountain were the Christ statue and United Nations Park are.  The flowers were some of the most outstanding I have ever seen.  Although a Christian wedding, it was done in Hebrew style in the evening with lots of torches and candles outside; it was truly amazing.  Other team members went to the Valley of the Angles, an artisan community in the mountains north of Tegucigalpa in the afternoon.  In addition to the usual obstacles we have to overcome to prepare for the clinic on Monday, we now have another major obstacle to overcome as we had a tragic event occur yesterday in the early afternoon.  Helen, our trip financial manager, missed a step down from the coffee bar in the hotel and fell.  She has a broken hip and will require surgery which will be done Sunday morning.  Many of our medical personnel have been working with this situation and are reasonably satisfied that this is a safe and prudent solution for Helen.  Many prayers have been offered and yours are certainly appreciated.  Tomorrow we will go to the mission site to worship with the local church at the mission site and complete the setup of the clinic to be ready for Monday morning.  We have a lot to overcome, as does Helen.  Many of the first-time team members have commented on how impressed they are with the friendliness and intelligence of the Hondurans and also on the beauty of the country.  Hopefully, I can get Sunday’s report out earlier.  Please click on this link to enjoy some photos from Saturday’s adventures:    https://www.flickr.com/photos/167537108@N03/albums/72157712630526388

Blessings to all at home and please continue your prayers of support.  Roger