Greetings Family and Friends on the Home Front,
Got off to an early start yesterday (4:30 a.m. at the Richmond Airport) and arrived in country right on time. All our meds, supplies and baggage landed with us so we had no delays once on the ground.
We were met by Nury, FOB Director of Honduran Operations, and Elmer, a dear friend, driver, problem solver, and all-round good fellow.
Lunched at the airport and headed out into the hills to what I call “Paradise South.” It’s so peaceful. Much of the time, various bird calls are the only sounds we hear. As I’ve said many times before, this beautiful place is a perfect setting for a retreat.
At Alfredo House, the kitchen staff had laid out a mid-afternoon snack of chilled watermelon and mango and cold horchata, a rice-based drink gringos call “rice milk.” While the name of the concoction may have you wondering about our choices of local foods and drink, it was very tasty and refreshing and all of it was consumed.
The major effort for the team yesterday afternoon was the sorting, de-bulking and packaging of vitamins and medications in preparation for clinic visits the next five days. A real team effort! Everybody pitched in and about 75 percent was completed. The job would have been finished had not a thunderstorm rolled in. We were working on the carport and so we shut down earlier than planned.
Although yesterday was a long day, we had breakfast at 7 this morning and afterwards drove over to Rio Linda to see the waterfall. Several of our folks crossed the river on a foot bridge upstream and came back to our side via a “zip-line,” a 20-second ride. The rider is harnessed and attached to a pulley type rig which rolls along the cable. My days of thrill rides ended several years ago so I just watched.
The team arrived back at Barnabas House in time for the 10:30 service in the church across the lane.
Last night’s rain cooled things down a bit and it’s been very comfortable today with scattered clouds. It’s going to be good sleeping tonight!
While I started this journal, I could hear the team members downstairs on the carport, processing the last of the meds and supplies for our clinic visits this week. This is a “can do” team and that final 25 percent of the task took less than 45 minutes to complete.
We will be ready to hit the road first thing tomorrow morning. Keep us and our patients and their children, in your prayers as we go out to serve them.
Peace, Love and God’s Blessings,
Papa Joe and the Warwick Memorial Medical Mission Team
