Today we did a medical clinic in one of the villages nearby. It was the most heartbreaking thing I have seen in a long time. This is the sight that met us when we pulled up.
It is incredibly hot and humid here. The temperature was in the 90s so it didn't take long to get dehydrated. It was difficult to see the people lined up and wonder how long they had been waiting.
There were all ages.
Babies.
Kids
Older folks
They continued to come throughout the day.
Some were obviously not feeling well.
There were some really sad stories. One young man in his 20's was carried there because he was too weak to walk. He was skin and bones and hadn't been able to keep anything down for a month. He lost 40 pounds in that month. The doctor wasn't sure what was wrong with him.
Another young mother of two, age 27, had an auto-immune disorder that is treatable in the U.S. However, the meds are very expensive and unavailable in Honduras. She is in so much pain and just sat and sobbed when the doctor told her that there was no medicine to cure her. One of the other team members and I prayed with her and asked God for a miracle. It's frustrating to know that there is medicine for her health problem but no way to get it to her.
There were quite a few cases of high blood pressure and diabetes, most of which had been going untreated. There were a few cases of diabetes that had rather shocking glucose levels. I know there were lives saved because of the meds we were able to give out.
I started out doing vitals but pharmacy got slammed and I had helped out there the other day so kind of knew what to do. I ended up staying there all day. We saw over 80 patients. We were very busy and I had a lot of fun learning about different meds and racing to see which of us could count out pills the fastest. Ha.
I lost.
But I'm going to practice for the next mission trip.
I'm a bit competitive that way.
I'm pretty sure the baby on the left is giving me the stink eye.
This little girl broke my heart. She was the most pitiful little waif.
Our lunch was delivered by one of the pastors' awesome family. I couldn't eat it all but I didn't want to throw food away when I knew there people sitting there hungry. I asked if it would be okay if I gave them the rest of my lunch and got the ok. I walked out and handed it to the first child I saw--who eagerly took it. The rest of the team was also having trouble finishing theirs and pretty soon, bowls of noodle soup were being handed out to the waiting crowd. Jerry had just started eating but as soon as he saw what was happening, he gave his almost full bowl to us to pass out. The Mama in the picture above is feeding her little boys one of the bowls of soup.
Think about how hungry you would have to be to eat soup after a stranger had been eating it.
In the afternoon, there was a program for the children while the clinic was still going on. During a lull in the pharmacy, I went over to take pictures of the kids.
The two children in the front were so adorable.
These kids were completely geeked to have me taking their pictures.
This precious little girl held her baby sister on her lap despite the fact that it was a bazillion degrees in the shade.
Sweet girls...have you ever heard that Jesus loves you?
Peeking around the 'big people' to get a look at the speaker.
Heading home.
"...bind up the injured and strengthen the weak." Ez. 34:16
This kid was totally loving having the camera pointed in his direction and kept looking back to make sure I was still aiming it at him.
A few of my adorable little shadows today. Yes, my shirt is all wet. No, it is not sweat. It's from the wet towel around my neck.
Most of the team...back at the hotel, refreshing our weary feet.
Well...that's partly because the power went out five minutes after we got there, meaning our rooms were not air conditioned. The A/C is turned off during the day because it's so expensive to run it. So it takes a few hours for our rooms to cool off.
Have I mentioned that it's incredibly hot and humid here?
Oh...yeah...I guess I did.
We are getting up at the crack of dawn to make the drive back to Tegucigalpa to catch our flights home. I am sad to be leaving, although I am eager to see my family and sink into my soft bed.
And have hot showers.
And brush my teeth with water from the tap.
And not see spiders the size of silver dollars.
Except for my family, those things are all immaterial. It has been an incredible honor and privilege to be here.
I've been pinching myself all week.
And I don't know what I'm going to do with myself now that I won't be able to do any more verbal sparring with Jerry.
Sigh.
