THE FRANKFORT HONDURAS MEDICAL-DENTAL MISSION

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

Today is Friday January 10, 2020, day 1 of our mission trip this year.  The word of the day today is SEND.  The related scripture comes from Isaiah 6:8 which says: And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?”  The I said, “Here I am, send me!”  Today, twenty-five missions got up about 3 AM   and said, “Send me!”  We got on planes from Lexington, Louisville, Austin, and Omaha and traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to proclaim God’s word through the ministries of improving vision, health and teeth.  God seemed to be with us today as we had no major problems.  Our Honduran friends, particularly Sebastian and Karla were glad to see us.  After a quick lunch, some of our group worked on the necessary shopping and medications while others, including most of the new folks, went on a tour to see Honduran culture.  We saw Tegucigalpa’s extensive farmer’s market, the soccer stadium, the downtown area and the cathedral built in the 1780’s.  After a dinner of traditional Honduran food, we had a devotion by Dr. Farley and mission planning by our leader, Jim Burris.  We are all tired and will hopefully be refreshed tonight to prepare more for the upcoming mission tomorrow.  Your prayers are appreciated.  Please click here for some photos:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/167537108@N03/albums/72157712613504377

Have a great day!  Roger

Today is Thursday, January 9, 2020, one day before this year’s mission trip.  This update is being sent out as a trial to see how well our system of notification works and how well the updates post to the website/blog.  I want to let you know that packing day, this past Sunday, went extremely well.  Most missioners, particularly the new ones, were present and all necessary packing was accomplished with great efficiency.  The team is excited about this opportunity to serve God in the Ciudad Espana community of Honduras and to reconnect with our Honduran friends.  As I write this, our leader and mentor, Jim Burris, is already in Tegucigalpa preparing for our arrival.  He tells me that our friends in Honduras are in good health and spirits and look forward to our arrival.  Please find attached three images of the packing done on Sunday and continue to pray for our success.  Roger

This is to introduce the new web site and blog of the Frankfort Honduras Medical-Dental Mission Team. The goal is to have this site up and running enough that the daily updates from the upcoming trip in January 2020 can be posted to and viewed from this site. Welcome all and please let me know if you have suggestions. Roger

This blog is being established in time for the January 10, 2020 departure of the mission group for Tegucigalpa for this year’s mission to Ciudad Espana. As usual, untold hours of preparation have gone into this with many meetings and emails. The time spent in preparing the trip by Jim Burris and Mary Ann Burch is phenomenal and many others have spent almost as much. Debbie Brown has given her heart and soul to organize the Frosty 5K for fundraising and Cleland White has spent untold hours keeping up with our finances. Certainly, we could not do this without such talented and committed team members.

One of the main reasons for setting up this site is to have a forum to post updates while we are in Honduras so that all can see what we are doing on a daily basis without having to send out a mass email each day. Additionally, this will serve as an information and communication site for team members and those who are interested in the mission between mission trips. Please pray that it works. More later. Roger