Changing Roles
Today the medical crew headed to El Cayo, a community that was an hour and a half drive on a winding dirt road lined with beautiful cascading palms. We saw a total of 226 people, ranging from months old to 93 years old. For Colleen, this was her fourth trip back to the community, and it was so rewarding to see so many familiar faces. For years, Bob and I have talked about building lasting relationships, beyond just our close friends in Gracios A Dios, and today this relationship has seemed to flower.
We decided to mix things up a bit today, so Terri put on her construction pants (leaving white but coming back black in color) while Dave and Eric joined the medical crew. Eric started the day with giving deworming pills to many children, including classes of students, but then ended the day playing soccer, which was more like mud ball thanks to the afternoon showers we had. Dave found a second career option for himself, working very hard beside Mari (an MCC volunteer from Nicaragua) in the pharmacy. Rosita is another volunteer that has been working alongside us as well for the first time this year.....yes that means we have two Rositas with us is this year!
In comparison to yesterday, Connie and Colleen noticed more disparity between patients; some came with multiple prescriptions from doctors while others struggled to even get food every day. Connie was amused by the various responses that she would get to the question "Embarazada?".....some would quietly say "no" while others quite emphatically said "NO! I'm not pregnant!" It was very heartbreaking to hear many of the stories, including many young teenage girls that face a world caring for their own young children, as well as many times their siblings, all the while with no husband to help as they have been forced to go to America to find work. This idea can be scary, as many do so illegally and so there is no way of family here knowing for sure if they even survived this long trip. And if they do make it, it will be hard for them to find substantial jobs as they are illegal
immigrants in the country. For us, it's hard to imagine a world where you would be forced to leave your family, traveling miles away to only maybe earn a few dollars here and there.
On the construction crew, the team finished painting the school for special needs children they have been working on all week. They have had a lot of fun working beside the Hondurans of the community as well as a Pastor Juan, but tomorrow the locals will probably find themselves doing "touch ups" to some "oops!" painting by our crew. They accomplished a lot this week so far, painting not only a school, but tell us the outhouse they also painted looks also looks like a Carribean cabana....on the outside!!!
We closed the night with a very fitting and inspirational devotion time led by Rolando. With a focus on Matthews 9:36, he stressed the importance of compassion. He even took a page out of Pastor Juan's book, singing to us!!! Who knew Rolando could sing! :-) He sang of a song that says "I don't want to go through the motions, I don't want to go one more day without Your all-consuming passion
inside of me. I don't want to spend my whole life asking "what if I had given everything, instead of
going through the motions...." leaving us all thinking about how we can continue our work from this
week even when we return home.
For the team, by Connie and Colleen
We decided to mix things up a bit today, so Terri put on her construction pants (leaving white but coming back black in color) while Dave and Eric joined the medical crew. Eric started the day with giving deworming pills to many children, including classes of students, but then ended the day playing soccer, which was more like mud ball thanks to the afternoon showers we had. Dave found a second career option for himself, working very hard beside Mari (an MCC volunteer from Nicaragua) in the pharmacy. Rosita is another volunteer that has been working alongside us as well for the first time this year.....yes that means we have two Rositas with us is this year!
In comparison to yesterday, Connie and Colleen noticed more disparity between patients; some came with multiple prescriptions from doctors while others struggled to even get food every day. Connie was amused by the various responses that she would get to the question "Embarazada?".....some would quietly say "no" while others quite emphatically said "NO! I'm not pregnant!" It was very heartbreaking to hear many of the stories, including many young teenage girls that face a world caring for their own young children, as well as many times their siblings, all the while with no husband to help as they have been forced to go to America to find work. This idea can be scary, as many do so illegally and so there is no way of family here knowing for sure if they even survived this long trip. And if they do make it, it will be hard for them to find substantial jobs as they are illegal
immigrants in the country. For us, it's hard to imagine a world where you would be forced to leave your family, traveling miles away to only maybe earn a few dollars here and there.
On the construction crew, the team finished painting the school for special needs children they have been working on all week. They have had a lot of fun working beside the Hondurans of the community as well as a Pastor Juan, but tomorrow the locals will probably find themselves doing "touch ups" to some "oops!" painting by our crew. They accomplished a lot this week so far, painting not only a school, but tell us the outhouse they also painted looks also looks like a Carribean cabana....on the outside!!!
We closed the night with a very fitting and inspirational devotion time led by Rolando. With a focus on Matthews 9:36, he stressed the importance of compassion. He even took a page out of Pastor Juan's book, singing to us!!! Who knew Rolando could sing! :-) He sang of a song that says "I don't want to go through the motions, I don't want to go one more day without Your all-consuming passion
inside of me. I don't want to spend my whole life asking "what if I had given everything, instead of
going through the motions...." leaving us all thinking about how we can continue our work from this
week even when we return home.
For the team, by Connie and Colleen
posted by Bob Moyer at
3/13/2013 10:20:00 PM
2 Comments:
Thanks for the daily updates. It's wonderful to hear of your experiences, and the ways that God is working in you, through you, and among you. Blessings, Ken
Bob remember you are only allowed one "oops" per day. Glad to hear all about your trip. Reading these posts makes me wish i was there with you. Brent
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