The Spirit of God is Alive & Flourishing in the Mountains of Honduras

Today our mission team, ably assisted by AP students Marleni and Dilcia, took the long dusty road up the mountain to visit Teo and Arena Blanca. In Teo, we were met by many, many children, some who had just begun their 2015 school year today. After a short delay while the children had their lunch, we held a hygiene clinic of de-worming pills, hand washing, tooth brushing and fluoride mouth washing. Teo has just added a seventh grade class to their school this year, which resulted in additional children participating in the hygiene events. We estimate that 126 children were treated.

Following the hygiene events, we held a Bible story and related craft for children in Grades 1, 2 and 3. Patty told the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 using only 2 loaves and 5 fish (Luke 9: 10-17) in Spanish to the children. The team then assisted the children in constructing a bread basket using coffee filters for the basket and a strip of card stock paper for the handle which was decorated with crayons by the children and then stapled to the coffee filters for the completed bread basket. The children were then given some five gold fish crackers (e.g. the fish) and two cookie crackers (e.g. the bread) to put in their basket. The children appeared to really enjoy the Bible story and the craft.

The final event with the children in Teo was dental screenings by Dr. Patty for children in the 4, 5, & 6 grades (plus some selected students in the lower grades). This was done to identify the 10 children with the greatest need to come down to Quimistan on Wednesday for treatment by the dental team. Two or three adults will come with the children.

 

The women in Teo made a very delicious fried chicken lunch for us – this really showed us their love and appreciation for everyone associated with Honduras Agape. It was wonderful!

We then loaded up and headed to Arena Blanca just down the road. There we repeated the hygiene, Bible story/craft, and dental exams for the children. We estimate that 45 children participated in these events. Many of them also engaged Ben in a rousing soccer match as well.

 

In Arena Blanca, Dr. Patty did a dental screening for every child present. She noted that a much greater percentage of these children urgently need to receive dental treatment (as compared to the children in Teo). She is still trying to determine why the Arena Blanca children’s dental health was significantly worse than the children in Teo. She again identified the ten children here with the greatest need, who will travel to Quimistan on Thursday for treatment by the dental team. One of the Arena Blanca teachers will come with the children.

After the scenic ride back down the mountain to Quimistan, we loaded several dental trunks into the van and headed for the medical clinic to begin preparation for the dental clinic days later this week.

We finished the day with a delicious fish dinner prepared by Gloria and Sandra.

God is good!

Leroy