Las Nieves
The team’s veterans were excited to visit today’s community, because we visited them in March of 2012 and 2013 and looked forward to familiar faces. OK—we also looked forward to Osiris’, the community health leader, incredible bread she serves with our morning and afternoon coffee treats. We enjoyed a round of “This is the Day” with the community and the team, led by Melvin Martinez in Spanish and Rich Finck in English.
Today’s dental clinic saw a little boy with an abscessed tooth, which had to be treated with antibiotics before extracting. Dr. Adan Arita and his crew were impressed with his bravery as he sat calmly through the whole experience. We are hopeful that fluoride treatments every six months will help guard against future extractions. Most children are excited about getting their teeth “painted,” although some of them are a little leery.
Mark, Morgan and Zenaida helped treat a family in the medical clinic who presented with asthma symptoms. The mother received an inhaler, and two of her children received nebulizer treatments, administered by Morgan. Zenaida is skilled at creating spacers from plastic bottles for children to take home for asthma treatments. We are grateful for her creativity, and she and Doctora Moncada’s dedication to the children of their country.
On the drive to Las Nieves we passed a young man standing in his front yard; his facial features and posture suggested Down Syndrome. We stopped at their house on our way home, and spoke with his mother. Nury and Doctora Moncada explained many of the opportunities provided by Friends of Barnabas and encouraged the mother to bring him in for an evaluation. She is a widowed mother of four with a twelve year old son in third grade who works on the weekend to supply the family’s income, the ten year old son we are hoping to bring to the foundation and two younger children. It was touching to see the heart of our foundation in action, and God’s incredible timing in allowing us to see this child and speak with his family.
We will miss our travels to a mountain community tomorrow, but tonight we are feeling grateful.
Grateful for the children and families of Honduras.
Grateful for education and the ability to provide medical attention.
Grateful for a supportive and hardworking staff.
Grateful for a united team.
Grateful for compassion, loving kindness and grace.
Grateful for a God who loves.
Grateful for the God we serve.
Today’s Numbers:
Medical Clinic: 179
Deworming: 106
Fluoride: 29
Vitamin “A”: 28
Eye Clinic: 29
Dental Clinic: 25 with 40 extractions
ECP Referrals: 2
There are more Tri-Cities team photos on our photo album page.
The Tri-Cities Team:
Janet Arnold
Rem Arnold
Mark Bartholomew
Carolyn Burk
Morgan Epps
Laura Fernandez-Collius
Bonnie Finck
Rich Finck
Courtney Gifford
Jeanna Gutierrez
Courtney Harris
Amber Hatcher
Stacy Licari
Kate McLaughlin
Robin Phillips
Mitch Temple
Tammy Williams
