My electricity was out for a while this morning shortly after President Mel Zeleya was "taken from his home" and moved out of the country by military jet to Costa Rica.
I am waiting patiently to see what will happen.
Congress says they have his letter saying that he is giving his resignation. He responded saying "he has never quit and will never quit."
The population is confused and concerned. There are no local television channels currently working to give people an idea of what is happening.
Hopefully I will be able to bake today and enjoy my afternoon hunkered down in my house with the smell of apple turnovers made from scratch.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
I'm Back!
I have experienced off and on internet since the earthquake. Mostly off. But starting Wednesday, I have had almost without interuption service. The lights have gone out several times, but not for long. I will try to get caught up on my blog spots over the next few days and hope all of you will bear with me as I backtrack to catch up.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
A Trip To The Farm AND Video Of The Earthquake
Robbed and shot... a friend of mine, in fact the man that made my kitchen cabinets for me, Roger Corbran, was recently shot by robbers. He and his wife were asleep and around 1:30 am in the morning, 6 armed young men broke down their door. Roger awoke, hearing the commotion and went to the front door at which point they shot Roger in the chest, stole what they wanted and escaped leaving Sue to figure out how to get Roger to the hospital alone in the middle of the night. This was the 3rd time that Roger and Sue have been robbed within the last few years.
Sue managed to get Roger into the car and drove him into town where he was treated at the hospital. Thank God, the bullet skimmed across the edge his right lung and deflated it, but didn’t break any bones or damage other organs as it entered and left his body and he is recovering.
Sue managed to get off a call to Leslie Hill before the robbers cut off the telephone. Photos of the robbers have been given to the police who have done nothing. Therefore many in the community of expatriate Americans feels that the police are probably involved also. This is not the first robbery against Americans, but each time these guys get more daring and bolder. Other diverse denominational missionaries including many Mennonites, who do not believe in guns, have also been robbed in the small community where they live.
Sunday before last, my pastor’s house was broken into and various valuable things stolen, including a pistol which I obtained for them fifteen years ago. Then the following Friday night, thieves tried to break into the orphanage, then Saturday the pastor’s son, our youth pastor, Joshua was held up at gunpoint and the thief stole his telephone. Joshua, not one to take injustice laying down, chased the thief down with his car, picked up the guys pistol which he dropped in the chase and Joshua held the thief at gunpoint and called Jose COBRA. Jose COBRA jumped in the car, went to Joshua’s rescue, tied the guy up with his own shoe laces and the police came and put the guy in custody. This week, less than a week later, he was sentenced to jail for 8 years. For once swift justice in Honduras! I think it helped that Jose went to court with Joshua and Jose had just completed his judicial “practice” for his law degree in the same court. Jose has since received a telephone call which included a threat to kill him. The thief worked as a guard for an official in the Honduran police department and used a gun owned by this official’s company in the attack on Joshua.
Roger and Sue are returning to the USA, they are tired, Roger’s shooting was the last straw for them. Another missionary doctor left a few years ago soon after he was shot in the head while being robbed, he and his wife moved to a safer place. Yet another missionary woman was shot in the eye about a year ago. These stories in the expatriate community of Honduras missionaries go on and on.
Earth Tremors… Yesterday, I decided to go to the farm and see how Oscar was doing after his heart surgery. It was the first time I had to visit with him after returning from the USA from a trip which took me unwillingly, from Kansas City to Chicago, then Miami and finally to Tegucigalpa. The flights I had scheduled were canceled at the last minute, in fact the airlines called me as I was walking out the door to go to the airport to tell me that there had been a change in plans.
This video was sent to me by email of a video of the earthquake that rocked Honduras May 28th. It was a magnitude 7.4. This is the first time that I have added a video to a page, but hopefully not the last. The video was sent to me by Dr. Enrique Cruz.
I soon learned that it was all in the plan of God as I met person after person which I was supposed to meet along the route. To much detail to go into, but each encounter was important.
So anyway back to the business at hand, I asked my friend Erlinda if she wanted to go with me to the farm and to see Oscar and of course she did. I made a quick stop and bought some chicken food, some horse shoes and some barbed wire staples for my fence then we were on our way.
On the way, we stopped by the church to see the new carpet on the floor! It looks so nice! Then we traveled on a few more miles and stopped and bought 8 rose plants and 4 hibiscus plants for the farm. They were sooooooo expensive, $1.65 per Rose Bush and $1.50 per Hybiscus. At the same time I ordered more orange, avocado, plum, anoni, nanci and several other types of fruit trees. The farm is full of fruit trees already, but I keep planting. Since the farm is the “retirement” farm, I want to be surrounded with fruit trees. But who knows if I will ever retire. I love what I am doing and never want to stop. Maybe I will die at 120 while standing behind a podium preaching or while hosting a medical team.
We arrived at the farm and the orchids on my trees were in full bloom. This is an incredible blessing which I receive once a year. Over the years I have purchased and planted or grown over 1,000 orchid plants. They cling to the cedar trees in the entrance to the farm. The yellow and white, purple and white, white with yellow, burgundy and yellow, brown and black orchids all hang from the trees and give off an indescribable scent.
I arrived and there were 10 gallons of fresh blackberries sitting on the porch begging to be made into blackberry pie, jam and juice. It is so wonderful to have fresh produce. It is even more exciting when it comes from my farm and when I can share with others. When I have nice crops, I share with everyone I can. Last year I made so much guava jelly that I am still giving it away. I have used it in the middle of several cakes and people rave about the fruity taste.
When I planted over 100 guava trees 5 or so years ago, unbeknownst to me, there are several medical uses for guava also. Since the 1950s, guavas and most particularly guava leaves have been a subject for varied research regarding their chemical and pharmacological properties and their history in folk medicine; with preliminary medical research in lab studies showing that extracts from guava leaves and/or bark are known to have therapeutic properties against cancer, bacterial infections, inflammation and pain. Essential oils from guava leafs seem to show strong anti-cancer properties.
Guava leafs and bark are used in Honduran folk medicine as a remedy for diarrhea and as a traditional treatment against diabetes. My neighbors often ask for leafs and bark.
Oscar is healing well, but they cut him from stem to stern. He was up the road from his house, visiting his mother. I loaned him a wheelchair and he has one of his six kids or his wife push him around to visit people. He is happy with the surgery and seems to be doing well. I am so glad as he has been a faithful worker for me for 15 years and “faithful” is hard to find here in Honduras or for that matter anywhere. Faithful workers, faithful spouses, faithful bosses, faithful kids, faithful parents, one is blessed when they find someone that is faithful to them no matter what.
I scheduled for several more wheelchair giveaways close to Valle de Angeles yesterday while I was there and I am preparing for the arrival of 550 more wheelchairs next week. There are no words to describe how thankful I am for all of the donations which keep pouring in. I have a team coming from the USA to help give away chairs in July. Two teenage boys and their dad and another man will be arriving to work with me.
Plus another 550 wheelchairs are being donated by Free Wheelchair Mission for Nigeria, Africa where my husband and I built a church and school 20 years ago. I am going to be going there soon; my May trip was put off for several months due to the huge blessing of the wheelchairs being donated for me to deliver while I am there. Rather than make the long trip two different times, I cancelled the May trip, it was supposed to be because I ended up going to the USA during that time and was able to see two of our five/six grandchildren. I also have several friends that will be going with me to Nigeria, most long time friends from Kansas City area. While I am in Nigeria I will also be teaching at several pastor’s seminars.
Erlinda and I stopped on the return trip to eat at El Anafre, a Honduran and Italian restaurant located in the middle of Valle de Angeles across from the Catholic Church.
Upon returning home, I was standing in the kitchen minding my own business and suddenly felt dizzy. Then I realized that the floor was moving below my feet. I hollered at Jose, who of course felt nothing. Then we (Jose, Erlinda, David and I) saw the problem, the dining room chandelier was swinging.
This morning I got up, called my friend Erlinda and we worked on blackberries for several hours. We made juice for the freezer, we made blackberry and banana smoothies (which we promptly drank), we prepared blackberries for the freezer and then we set aside blackberries to make cobbler and pies.
Please pray for me and for other missionaries, for protection from all the diverse and assorted dangers which we face here in Honduras. Mix all the delinquency, killings, shootings, robberies, kidnappings, car accidents and the like with amebas, dengue, malaria, Swine Flue, worms, bad roads, poor construction, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and you will determine that we are really on a battlefield.
Teresa’s definition Amebas: a one celled thing that is found in unclean water and gives you diarrhea and stomach cramps so bad you think being dead and stinking in the grave would be better.
Ameba
The ameba is a protozoan. The name ameba comes from the Greek word amoibe, which means “to change”. Protists are microscopic unicellular organisms. The ameba moves and consumes its food as it moves over it. Amebas have an unusual way of creeping along by stretching their cytoplasm into fingerlike extensions called pseudopodia. ("pseudopodia" means "false foot".) The ameba causes its body to extend and creep along. They extend out and wrap around a food particle in a process call phagocytosis. The food is then engulfed into the ameba and digested by the enzymes contained in the ameba's lysosomes. For reproduction the ameba goes through mitotic division, where the nucleus duplicates its genetic material and the cytoplasm splits into two new daughter cells, each identical to the original parent. This method of reproduction is called binary fission. A common disease caused by the ameba is called Amebic Dysentery. A person becomes infected by drinking contaminated water. The ameba then upsets the person's digestive system and causes cramps and diarrhea. A person is most likely to be infected in countries where the water is not filtered or purified.
Teresa’s definition Dengue Fever: fever, leg cramps, bad dreams and total body ache that happens when an infected mosquito bites you. As a result in a few days, you feel so bad you think being dead and stinking in the grave would be better.
Dengue Fever
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, “you can get dengue virus infections from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite infected humans, and later transmit infection to other people they bite. Two main species of mosquito, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, have been responsible for all cases of dengue transmitted in this country. Dengue is not contagious from person to person.”
Those of us who live the missionary life in Honduras have learned all to well that we must depend on the Lord and his power. There is no other way to live through the jungle of things which come against us on a daily basis.
1 Chronicles 29:11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Sue managed to get Roger into the car and drove him into town where he was treated at the hospital. Thank God, the bullet skimmed across the edge his right lung and deflated it, but didn’t break any bones or damage other organs as it entered and left his body and he is recovering.
Sue managed to get off a call to Leslie Hill before the robbers cut off the telephone. Photos of the robbers have been given to the police who have done nothing. Therefore many in the community of expatriate Americans feels that the police are probably involved also. This is not the first robbery against Americans, but each time these guys get more daring and bolder. Other diverse denominational missionaries including many Mennonites, who do not believe in guns, have also been robbed in the small community where they live.
Sunday before last, my pastor’s house was broken into and various valuable things stolen, including a pistol which I obtained for them fifteen years ago. Then the following Friday night, thieves tried to break into the orphanage, then Saturday the pastor’s son, our youth pastor, Joshua was held up at gunpoint and the thief stole his telephone. Joshua, not one to take injustice laying down, chased the thief down with his car, picked up the guys pistol which he dropped in the chase and Joshua held the thief at gunpoint and called Jose COBRA. Jose COBRA jumped in the car, went to Joshua’s rescue, tied the guy up with his own shoe laces and the police came and put the guy in custody. This week, less than a week later, he was sentenced to jail for 8 years. For once swift justice in Honduras! I think it helped that Jose went to court with Joshua and Jose had just completed his judicial “practice” for his law degree in the same court. Jose has since received a telephone call which included a threat to kill him. The thief worked as a guard for an official in the Honduran police department and used a gun owned by this official’s company in the attack on Joshua.
Roger and Sue are returning to the USA, they are tired, Roger’s shooting was the last straw for them. Another missionary doctor left a few years ago soon after he was shot in the head while being robbed, he and his wife moved to a safer place. Yet another missionary woman was shot in the eye about a year ago. These stories in the expatriate community of Honduras missionaries go on and on.
Earth Tremors… Yesterday, I decided to go to the farm and see how Oscar was doing after his heart surgery. It was the first time I had to visit with him after returning from the USA from a trip which took me unwillingly, from Kansas City to Chicago, then Miami and finally to Tegucigalpa. The flights I had scheduled were canceled at the last minute, in fact the airlines called me as I was walking out the door to go to the airport to tell me that there had been a change in plans.
This video was sent to me by email of a video of the earthquake that rocked Honduras May 28th. It was a magnitude 7.4. This is the first time that I have added a video to a page, but hopefully not the last. The video was sent to me by Dr. Enrique Cruz.
I soon learned that it was all in the plan of God as I met person after person which I was supposed to meet along the route. To much detail to go into, but each encounter was important.
So anyway back to the business at hand, I asked my friend Erlinda if she wanted to go with me to the farm and to see Oscar and of course she did. I made a quick stop and bought some chicken food, some horse shoes and some barbed wire staples for my fence then we were on our way.
On the way, we stopped by the church to see the new carpet on the floor! It looks so nice! Then we traveled on a few more miles and stopped and bought 8 rose plants and 4 hibiscus plants for the farm. They were sooooooo expensive, $1.65 per Rose Bush and $1.50 per Hybiscus. At the same time I ordered more orange, avocado, plum, anoni, nanci and several other types of fruit trees. The farm is full of fruit trees already, but I keep planting. Since the farm is the “retirement” farm, I want to be surrounded with fruit trees. But who knows if I will ever retire. I love what I am doing and never want to stop. Maybe I will die at 120 while standing behind a podium preaching or while hosting a medical team.
We arrived at the farm and the orchids on my trees were in full bloom. This is an incredible blessing which I receive once a year. Over the years I have purchased and planted or grown over 1,000 orchid plants. They cling to the cedar trees in the entrance to the farm. The yellow and white, purple and white, white with yellow, burgundy and yellow, brown and black orchids all hang from the trees and give off an indescribable scent.
I arrived and there were 10 gallons of fresh blackberries sitting on the porch begging to be made into blackberry pie, jam and juice. It is so wonderful to have fresh produce. It is even more exciting when it comes from my farm and when I can share with others. When I have nice crops, I share with everyone I can. Last year I made so much guava jelly that I am still giving it away. I have used it in the middle of several cakes and people rave about the fruity taste.
When I planted over 100 guava trees 5 or so years ago, unbeknownst to me, there are several medical uses for guava also. Since the 1950s, guavas and most particularly guava leaves have been a subject for varied research regarding their chemical and pharmacological properties and their history in folk medicine; with preliminary medical research in lab studies showing that extracts from guava leaves and/or bark are known to have therapeutic properties against cancer, bacterial infections, inflammation and pain. Essential oils from guava leafs seem to show strong anti-cancer properties.Guava leafs and bark are used in Honduran folk medicine as a remedy for diarrhea and as a traditional treatment against diabetes. My neighbors often ask for leafs and bark.
Oscar is healing well, but they cut him from stem to stern. He was up the road from his house, visiting his mother. I loaned him a wheelchair and he has one of his six kids or his wife push him around to visit people. He is happy with the surgery and seems to be doing well. I am so glad as he has been a faithful worker for me for 15 years and “faithful” is hard to find here in Honduras or for that matter anywhere. Faithful workers, faithful spouses, faithful bosses, faithful kids, faithful parents, one is blessed when they find someone that is faithful to them no matter what.
I scheduled for several more wheelchair giveaways close to Valle de Angeles yesterday while I was there and I am preparing for the arrival of 550 more wheelchairs next week. There are no words to describe how thankful I am for all of the donations which keep pouring in. I have a team coming from the USA to help give away chairs in July. Two teenage boys and their dad and another man will be arriving to work with me.
Plus another 550 wheelchairs are being donated by Free Wheelchair Mission for Nigeria, Africa where my husband and I built a church and school 20 years ago. I am going to be going there soon; my May trip was put off for several months due to the huge blessing of the wheelchairs being donated for me to deliver while I am there. Rather than make the long trip two different times, I cancelled the May trip, it was supposed to be because I ended up going to the USA during that time and was able to see two of our five/six grandchildren. I also have several friends that will be going with me to Nigeria, most long time friends from Kansas City area. While I am in Nigeria I will also be teaching at several pastor’s seminars.
Erlinda and I stopped on the return trip to eat at El Anafre, a Honduran and Italian restaurant located in the middle of Valle de Angeles across from the Catholic Church.
Upon returning home, I was standing in the kitchen minding my own business and suddenly felt dizzy. Then I realized that the floor was moving below my feet. I hollered at Jose, who of course felt nothing. Then we (Jose, Erlinda, David and I) saw the problem, the dining room chandelier was swinging.
This morning I got up, called my friend Erlinda and we worked on blackberries for several hours. We made juice for the freezer, we made blackberry and banana smoothies (which we promptly drank), we prepared blackberries for the freezer and then we set aside blackberries to make cobbler and pies.
Please pray for me and for other missionaries, for protection from all the diverse and assorted dangers which we face here in Honduras. Mix all the delinquency, killings, shootings, robberies, kidnappings, car accidents and the like with amebas, dengue, malaria, Swine Flue, worms, bad roads, poor construction, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and you will determine that we are really on a battlefield.
Teresa’s definition Amebas: a one celled thing that is found in unclean water and gives you diarrhea and stomach cramps so bad you think being dead and stinking in the grave would be better.
Ameba
The ameba is a protozoan. The name ameba comes from the Greek word amoibe, which means “to change”. Protists are microscopic unicellular organisms. The ameba moves and consumes its food as it moves over it. Amebas have an unusual way of creeping along by stretching their cytoplasm into fingerlike extensions called pseudopodia. ("pseudopodia" means "false foot".) The ameba causes its body to extend and creep along. They extend out and wrap around a food particle in a process call phagocytosis. The food is then engulfed into the ameba and digested by the enzymes contained in the ameba's lysosomes. For reproduction the ameba goes through mitotic division, where the nucleus duplicates its genetic material and the cytoplasm splits into two new daughter cells, each identical to the original parent. This method of reproduction is called binary fission. A common disease caused by the ameba is called Amebic Dysentery. A person becomes infected by drinking contaminated water. The ameba then upsets the person's digestive system and causes cramps and diarrhea. A person is most likely to be infected in countries where the water is not filtered or purified.
Teresa’s definition Dengue Fever: fever, leg cramps, bad dreams and total body ache that happens when an infected mosquito bites you. As a result in a few days, you feel so bad you think being dead and stinking in the grave would be better.
Dengue FeverAccording to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, “you can get dengue virus infections from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite infected humans, and later transmit infection to other people they bite. Two main species of mosquito, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, have been responsible for all cases of dengue transmitted in this country. Dengue is not contagious from person to person.”
Those of us who live the missionary life in Honduras have learned all to well that we must depend on the Lord and his power. There is no other way to live through the jungle of things which come against us on a daily basis.
1 Chronicles 29:11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Doing Right!
Photo borrowed from http://photos.igougo.com/pictures-photos-l10615-s2-p89198-burro.htmlToday, I am going to share a teaching which the Lord has expanded and developed within my heart since Wednesday night. This is not anything which I have really every taught on or thought about, but somehow, the Lord began speaking to me and dealing with me regarding this theme and I have chewed on it like a cow chews their cud for about 36 hours.
Several events in the lives of people, whom I love and care for, has precipitated the development and thought process of this study. The circumstances surrounding these “friends” and their relationships with their family members, spouses, spouses’ family members and friends has finally developed into a festering sore, as they fight for their right to “do their own thing”. It is because I have seen the degeneration of the spiritual life of these people that I am saddened and for this same reason, sadness, I feel compelled to share this recent insight. For those of you who follow my blog, you know this is really out of character for the blog, however bear with me for today and know that the next blog will be lighter and may even have a recipe or two.
There comes a time in the life of all of us, when we must take a tough stand when people lie, steal or attempt to destroy us, our family or our friends and/or those whom God has given us to care for. This predicament is one of the hardest struggles we must all face in life.
Some of you know me, some do not, but in my life, like I am sure in everyone else’s life on planet earth, oft times I am placed in a position where I must fight for what is right.
Several events in the lives of people, whom I love and care for, has precipitated the development and thought process of this study. The circumstances surrounding these “friends” and their relationships with their family members, spouses, spouses’ family members and friends has finally developed into a festering sore, as they fight for their right to “do their own thing”. It is because I have seen the degeneration of the spiritual life of these people that I am saddened and for this same reason, sadness, I feel compelled to share this recent insight. For those of you who follow my blog, you know this is really out of character for the blog, however bear with me for today and know that the next blog will be lighter and may even have a recipe or two.
There comes a time in the life of all of us, when we must take a tough stand when people lie, steal or attempt to destroy us, our family or our friends and/or those whom God has given us to care for. This predicament is one of the hardest struggles we must all face in life.
Some of you know me, some do not, but in my life, like I am sure in everyone else’s life on planet earth, oft times I am placed in a position where I must fight for what is right.
Deuteronomy 6:18 Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight, so that it may go well with you.
I have asked myself this question a million times if I have asked it once. Am I “IN” the will of God? Am I doing what He wants me to do? Do I know what His will is for my life and those He gave me to care for? Paul tells us:
Ephesians 5:10 Find out what pleases the Lord
This is a simple statement, but it is at the same time an extraordinarily profound statement. If you know what pleases the Lord—and then you do what pleases Him — you will be positive that you are in His will. When you are where you are supposed to be, doing what you are supposed to do, you feel good inside! It is the Spirit of God inside of you will make you feel good and make you sure when you are in God’s will.
I know people which refuse to speak to their brothers or sisters, mothers or fathers or children and yet somehow they pretend think they are in the will of God. I know pastors who refuse to speak to family members and yet they pastor and expect to be blessed. Yet, according to the same Word of God which they preach from the pulpit, IF you are in this position of strife, you are in sin.
There are three ways to be in sin like this:
If you are not in His will it is because you either didn't obey God's explicit Word for you and your life and ministry, like Jonah
Jonah 1"1-3 (NIV) 1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 "Go to the great city Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me." 3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
or if you have moved out, before God’s timing, like Joseph and Mary did in
Luke 2:41-44 (NIV) 41 Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Festival, according to the custom. 43 After the Festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.
or you have simply done the wrong thing, done what seems right in your own sight and not obeyed the explicit Word of God. Without fail, if you are in this position, God will allow things to happen to you until you become so frustrated that you make the needed adjustments in your life. When someone is in this position, they KNOW deep down inside that their prayers will be frustrated and many times go unanswered, even though they may be praying according to the will of God. We will only find rest and confidence when we return to Him and His will.
Isaiah 5:21 (KJV) Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
1 John 5:14-15 (KJV) 14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him
Isaiah 30:15 (KJV) For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
Isaiah 30:15 (KJV) For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
For example, the word of God is very clear that you are to “honour your father and your mother”. If you honour one and not the other, are you in the will of God? Can you pray and expect your prayers to be answered? NO! Because your own heart condemns you, you do not have confidence. Why do you not have confidence? Because you are completely sure what you should do and you know no matter what the excuse, your excuse will not stand up when scrutinized in the light of the Word of God.
1 John 3:19-21 (KJV) 19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
“If” your heart does not condemn you then and ONLY THEN will you have confidence towards God. About now, you might be saying, “But I have good reason.” But the Word of God says…
Proverbs 14:12 (KJV) There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
“If” your heart does not condemn you then and ONLY THEN will you have confidence towards God. About now, you might be saying, “But I have good reason.” But the Word of God says…
Proverbs 14:12 (KJV) There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
The Word of God is also clear that only a fool picks up and carries the offences of others. How many times have you known people that got mad at someone else, because a friend or family member was mad?
Proverbs 26:17 (KJV) He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.
Proverbs 16:25 (KJV) There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Shakespeare "all's well that ends well," or as my dad says, “It will all come out in the wash” or his other saying “In a hundred years, it will not matter” are all so very true, however many people do not take into account the lost time as they continue on in their stubbornness.
In the end, but not before having strong words with the Lord, Jonah ultimately “allowed” God have His way. But even later, he grumbled and complained to God. Somehow, Jonah in his infinite wisdom thought that he could out-maneuver God. Have you ever been there or done that?
In the end, but not before having strong words with the Lord, Jonah ultimately “allowed” God have His way. But even later, he grumbled and complained to God. Somehow, Jonah in his infinite wisdom thought that he could out-maneuver God. Have you ever been there or done that?
Jonah 4:1-10 (NIV) 1 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD, "Isn't this what I said, LORD, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." 4 But the LORD replied, "Is it right for you to be angry?" 5 Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the LORD God provided a gourd and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the gourd. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the gourd so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live." 9 But God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the gourd?" "It is," he said. "And I'm so angry I wish I were dead." 10 But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this gourd, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 And should I not have concern for the great city Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?"
A similar thing happened with Joseph and Mary
Luke 2:45-52 (NIV) 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." 49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them. 51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And as Jesus grew up, he increased in wisdom and in favor with God and people.
Both of these Bible stories have several things in common—the people were temporarily outside of the will of God, but by the end of the story they were reconciled to the fact that in order not to be miserable, they MUST make adjustments, because God doesn’t change and He is NOT going to make adjustments to His plan and His Word.
Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
We humans in our finite wisdom tend to allow ourselves to get sidetracked. But eventually, unless we are really hard headed we will come around to God’s plan. Wouldn’t it be much better if we did it the easy way instead of the hard way?
There is a very funny yet very informative story in Numbers about a prophet of God who was going to do what he wanted to do for money. Money became a very important priority in his life and come “hell or high water” he was going to prophesy against Israel.
Numbers 22:21-40 (KJV) 21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. 22 And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. 24 But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. 25 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again. 26 And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. 28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? 29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. 30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? and he said, Nay. 31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. 32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: 33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive. 34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
Whether you have sinned grievously like Jonah in refusing leave all to be a missionary warning people of impending judgement, or whether you have run ahead of the Lord like Joseph and Mary, or whether you have refused to honour your father and your mother for whatever reason, or whether you have taken up another’s offence, or whether you are willing to do whatever or take a stand against the people of God all because of money, no matter what your sin, God will not desert you. His intention is to teach you His "ways"— if you will listen. As long as you can hear God's voice when He rebukes you, it means you are not totally deaf to the Spirit of God. Not only is God not finished with you, but He has better things in store for you.
If what I have written has made you angry and made you think to yourself, “I am justified in what I think or in what I am doing, there are always exceptions to the rule,” then you are pregnant and waiting for an “ass speaking” experience, a near death experience or something similar. God will do all He can do to help you to understand that in the end it is an exercise in futility to “kick against the pricks”. Now or later you will make changes or wish you had. I know I speak from experience.
Acts 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
On the other hand, if you are the “speaking ass” the one who sees the danger in the road and tries to warn another about that impending disaster, be prepared to be the beneficiary of a few swift kicks and several unkind words from hard headed, self willed people. There comes a time in the life of all of us, when we must take a tough stand when people lie, steal or attempt to destroy us, our family or our friends and/or those whom God has given us to care for. This predicament is one of the hardest struggles we must all face in life. But if you are looking for wisdom, knowledge and joy remember this…
Ecclesiastes 2:26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God.
Acts 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
On the other hand, if you are the “speaking ass” the one who sees the danger in the road and tries to warn another about that impending disaster, be prepared to be the beneficiary of a few swift kicks and several unkind words from hard headed, self willed people. There comes a time in the life of all of us, when we must take a tough stand when people lie, steal or attempt to destroy us, our family or our friends and/or those whom God has given us to care for. This predicament is one of the hardest struggles we must all face in life. But if you are looking for wisdom, knowledge and joy remember this…
Ecclesiastes 2:26 For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Earthquake In Honduras and Welcome to Mike
This morning at 2-ish in the morning, Honduras was hit with a 7.1 earthquake! Several hours later, there was an aftershock. I just received a call from Jose (my "adopted" son) and all is well with everything which the Lord has given me to possess.This photo is by MSNBC and I found it on the web this morning. This is one of the major bridges in Honduras.
The "bodega" (warehouse) at the farm is perfect, no damage. All the retaining walls at the farm are fine. A very special missionary who lives in the farm house, says that there was no damage to the farm house, but he, his wife and their young son did run outside at 2:00 in the morning in their pajamas. Jorge the farm worker almost fell, running out of the adobe house on the farm where he lives, but there was no damage of any kind to anything at the farm.
Meanwhile, Jose and Esther (the poodle) ran outside because the apartment was "shaking like crazy" in Tegucigalpa. Jose who is house/dog sitting while I am visiting Kansas, says Esther jumped on his bed and warned him, waking him from a deep sleep. Erlinda, my neighbor and friend, and her 3 teens were in the street also, visiting with Jose in the wee hours of the morning. So much excitement and I missed it!
Many years ago in the Philippines I awoke in the midst of a earthquake for the first time, it was an interesting experience. Several years later at a birthday party for my, then soon to be, son-in-law Rene in the mountains of Guatemala, I experienced another quake. Then several years ago I was asleep in a hotel room in San Pedro Sula Honduras and once again experienced an earthquake. We have small tremors in Tegucigalpa every year or so, but nothing of this magnitude.
Also a huge WELCOME to Mike as one of our latest blog followers. I had no idea that he was so interested in what is going on in Honduras! Yesterday was proof positive that he follows, ever so closely, all that is happening in Honduras. He is even sharing the blessing of the Lord giving me a free move to Honduras with other people.
Last week a friend blessed me with many, many, many new roofing shingles. It may not seem like an interesting item of news, BUT I needed shingles and in fact was getting price quotes on them. Now I don't have to buy them!
By the way Wireless Internet is wonderful! You can be in airports, restaurants where ever and get on the Internet. Do we have this in Honduras? I don't know! I know we can get email on telephones for a fee, but this free stuff is great!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
May 9, 2009 Breakfast With Four Friends, Blueberry Cashew Waffles, Egg Casserole and Poached Pears
This morning when I awoke, I jumped out of bed, spent some time in prayer and reading the Bible. I am still in Jeremiah, slowly plowing through verse by verse.When suddenly I had an insatiable urge for Blueberry Waffles. NO! I had an urge for Cashew Waffles. But waffles aren’t that good for someone watching their weight, so then I thought about making a Spinach Egg Casserole and then I thought but I want a Poached Pear too. Finally I decided that if I was going to go to all the trouble to make all of this, I might as well invite a few friends. This is what I LOVE about Honduras! Life is NOT so structured that you can’t invite people at the last minute.
I have no idea where the above photo came from, it was sent to me by someone else. Sorry I cannot give credit where credit is due.
So I called my friend Mercedes who is my neighbor and my dentist. Her mother Vicky was with her, so she decided to join us also. Then I called another friend and he decided to join us too.
I started cooking and the telephone started ringing. Saul, one of the young policemen that has been a friend for years, called to wish me a Happy Mother’s Day. There are several of the COBRAs which always make it a point to call me and they are some of the same ones which stop by when they are hungry for a home cooked meal. Even though my own two daughters are far away in Kansas, the Lord has given me several surrogate "kids" here in Honduras. I cried, thankful for the sweet call and continued to cook. My friend, Erlinda, showed up and made the passion fruit juice for me and fried the turkey bacon. She has a big party with 20 church ladies at her house for lunch tomorrow so she couldn't stay.
Everyone arrived, the table was set for four, Erlinda had eaten earlier standing in the kitchen as we talked, so there was no place set for her at the table, since she was leaving to run some party errands and had just “dropped by”. I had the menu totally prepared; we sat down, and ….. there was another knock on the door. Another neighbor, Lisseth, was walking by and heard us laughing and talking and decided to drop in to talk also. I quickly added another plate and then we started eating.
What had been planned as breakfast for four, turned into breakfast for seven. Before the table was completely set one of Jose’s professors dropped by to see if Jose had returned from his spring break trip. Jose, another one of my Honduran “kids”, flew with friends to Kansas and then returned driving from Kansas through Mexico and Guatemala. He called and is back in Honduras but will not return to Tegucigalpa today. I also ended up taking food outside to one of my friend’s bodyguards, where he could eat.
The BRUNCH Menu
Poached Amaretto Pear with Grapes, Kiwi and Fresh Sweet Cream on the side
Spinach Egg Casserole
Turkey Bacon
Blueberry Cashew Waffles
Passions Fruit Juice (Passion Fruit is in season right now and is cheap)
Coffee
For some people the arrival of Lisseth might have been a problem, but I have learned that in Honduras, I must expect the unexpected. I love the culture here! It is much more like at home in Arkansas when I was growing up. Everyone is welcome; you just scoot over, pull up another chair, set another plate on the table, divide the portions a little differently and keep going! My table seats six, but many times we squeeze in eight or more, depending on size.
I love having so many friends around me all the time. Mercedes is a GREAT friend; she always is inviting me to her house for dinner and also for special occasions. Christmas day was wonderful at her home with all of their family and friends, who over the years have become my friends.
This week has been a week of paperwork, UGH! And I really needed a break from paperwork. It was fun to make a nice brunch and it was even more fun to spend time with my friends.
Even though I see several of my friends daily, in passing, there is nothing in the world as wonderful as sharing well cooked food, a well planned menu and a nicely set table with a group of friends.
Tonight I will start making a Thanksgiving Turkey with all the extras for Mother’s Day. This is by special request from one of my “kids”. Tonight I make the homemade Southern Cornbread to go into the Cornbread Dressing, because white bread dressing is a CRIME! I have a feeling that the table will be full again tomorrow evening. It just happens when people smell the aroma of freshly cooked GRINGA food!
Isaiah 3:10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.
Blueberry Cashew Yogurt Waffles
Ingredients
1 cup oats placed in a food processor and made into flour
3/4 cup salted cashews placed in a food processor and made into flour
Undetermined amount of flour
Be careful when processing the cashews and the oats not to make cashew-butter, you want cashew flour not cashew-butter. Place both of the above ingredients together in a large measuring cup after they have been processed and then add enough flour to make the ingredients come to a total of 1 ¾ cup
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond flavoring
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1 cup milk 3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Directions:
Preheat a waffle iron.
In a big bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
Separate the eggs, putting the whites into a small bowl and the yolks into another small bowl. Whisk the milk, yogurt, almond flavoring, vanilla flavoring and oil into the yolks. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture until moist yet still lumpy.
Coat the waffle iron with spray oil and scoop batter onto the grids, spreading gently. Close the lid and cook until the steam is almost gone and the tops are golden and the waffles are stiff. Lift the waffle from the iron with a fork. Re-oil the grids and repeat with the remaining batter.
Serve with real Maple Syrup and Whipped Cream mixed with a little almond extract and 1 Tablespoon sugar.
Notes: For richer waffles you may use 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup melted butter in place of the 1/2 cup oil. To keep waffles warm, set your oven to 225ºF and place the waffles directly on the oven rack. If you have leftover waffles, cool them completely then freeze in a zipper-lock bag for up to 6 months. Reheat in a toaster or in a 325ºF oven.
Poached Pears1 Fresh Pear per person dining.
Slice a flat place off of the end of the bottom of the pear where the pear will stand in place, stem side up on a plate.
Using a vegetable peeler, peel all of the skin off of the pear, being careful not to remove the stem.
Stand pear on an individual serving plate and place 1 tablespoon of Almond Liquor "Amaretto" over the top of the pear.
Carefully sprinkle with Cinnamon.
Place plate in the microwave and cook uncovered for 2 to 2 ½ minutes on high.
Take pear from the oven and place other fruit around it.
I like to place some type of fresh green around the stem before serving. I like to use cilantro because the leaves are pretty.
Serve with a dollop of whip cream.
Spinach Egg Casserole
1 cup fresh spinach leaves only, not the stems, cleaned and the hard stem pulled out of center of the leaves.
8 sun dried tomatoes cut into small pieces
½ pound mozzarella cheese shredded
½ cup sautéed onion pieces (I use olive oil to sauté)
Several slices of turkey breast cut into thin fingers
Place all of the above in a 9” x9” square glass casserole dish heavily sprayed with PAM
12 eggs well beaten
Pour over the top of the other ingredients
Italian Seasoning to taste
Place casserole dish into preheated 400 degree oven.
Bake approximately 1 hour.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
The Gringa and Making Flour Tortillas / Wheelchair Giveaway in Choluteca
Finally I have learned to make flour tortillas. It seemed like an ominous task to learn in light of the fact that everyone around me makes 50 
tortillas a day and I didn't even know the ingredients. They grab a ball of maza (tortilla dough), throw it into the palm of their hands and in seconds a perfect tortilla is formed.
The maza was intimidating because it is kind of like Grandma Wallace’s biscuits. They throw in a dab of this and a dab of that and there is no measuring and out come these perfect tortillas. One of the things I wanted to do this year was to learn to make flour tortillas. I have now accomplished that goal!
Flour Tortillas
3 1/2 Cups of Flour
1 Teaspoon Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
Combine well and make a hole in the middle of the mix. This hole is where you will place the shortening and pour the water. (This is the part that reminds me of Grandma Wallace)
The smile says it all!
After the people were given their wheelchairs and instructions in the parking lot of Hotel Flamingo, we took the group to the street. It caused a commotion and one of the television stations showed up to take video.
Dr.Canales Director of the Hospital Del Sur in Choluteca showed up to receive 5 wheelchairs for the hospital. Since SMART Medical Teams frequently have medical brigades at the hospital we are all to aware of the need for wheelchairs. Last time we were at the hospital a woman that was 9 1/2 months pregnant stood for 20 minutes while they prepared the room for her cesarean.
tortillas a day and I didn't even know the ingredients. They grab a ball of maza (tortilla dough), throw it into the palm of their hands and in seconds a perfect tortilla is formed. The maza was intimidating because it is kind of like Grandma Wallace’s biscuits. They throw in a dab of this and a dab of that and there is no measuring and out come these perfect tortillas. One of the things I wanted to do this year was to learn to make flour tortillas. I have now accomplished that goal!
Flour Tortillas
3 1/2 Cups of Flour
1 Teaspoon Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
Combine well and make a hole in the middle of the mix. This hole is where you will place the shortening and pour the water. (This is the part that reminds me of Grandma Wallace)
7 Tablespoons of Shortening
1 Cup Hot Water
Mix with your hands for 3 minutes.
Make a ball and cover it.
Wait 15 while the dough rests and then make your tortillas.
After the dough sets, divide the dough into golf size balls.
1 Cup Hot Water
Mix with your hands for 3 minutes.
Make a ball and cover it.Wait 15 while the dough rests and then make your tortillas.
After the dough sets, divide the dough into golf size balls.
Thanks to my friend Erlinda for loaning me her hands for the photo.
Unless you are Honduran and can do it with your hands, you then heavily flour your cutting board or a placemat and heavily flour your rolling pin and start rolling. Try to make them a round circle. It is a bit hard to do, but practice helps.
Then you place them on a hot griddle to lightly brown. Flip them and wrap them up in a towel! Yes, that is correct, wrap them in a towel. I always have a towel inside a baggie inside the refrigerator. Always! You cannot serve a meal in Honduras without tortillas. Usually I buy my tortillas from a friend who makes them. But now I know how to make them myself! Yea!
By tomorrow they will be perfect for soft tacos and I have a recipe for Mango Avocado Salsa I want to try. I saw hundreds of people selling mangos on the side of the road today, so I will get what I need to make the salsa and give you the recipe tomorrow.
Wheelchairs and Happy Faces
Today was the wheelchair giveaway in Choluteca, Honduras. Doña Sonja Lovo of the Flamingo Hotel in Choluteca, a long time SMART Team volunteer, had been collecting paperwork from recipients for weeks and today was the day. I bought 2 new tires for the truck and headed to Choluteca by myself. It is very rare that I drive by myself, but today was one of those days. I turned on the stereo and listened to my Bible on CD and took off through the mountains. I arrived in almost record time, as I didn’t stop at my usual place to buy cheese and I didn’t stop to visit friends on the way. Over the years I have made many friends along the road and usually I stop and visit with a friend or two on the way.
Today I was in a hurry because the tires that were supposed to take 30 minutes to change were not even at the tire store when I arrived. After waiting for them to arrive, I sat and waited as the guys that were supposed to be putting them on chatted and chatted and chatted. Finally I went out to the garage and picked up the air compressor lug nut taker- off-er thing-a-ma-jig and they decided if they didn’t do the work, I might.
The wheelchair giveaway was a blast as usual! The case which broke my heart was a young woman who was paralyzed giving birth to her second child, a son. She cannot move her arms or legs and has been confined to the bed for five years since he was born.
Then you place them on a hot griddle to lightly brown. Flip them and wrap them up in a towel! Yes, that is correct, wrap them in a towel. I always have a towel inside a baggie inside the refrigerator. Always! You cannot serve a meal in Honduras without tortillas. Usually I buy my tortillas from a friend who makes them. But now I know how to make them myself! Yea!By tomorrow they will be perfect for soft tacos and I have a recipe for Mango Avocado Salsa I want to try. I saw hundreds of people selling mangos on the side of the road today, so I will get what I need to make the salsa and give you the recipe tomorrow.
Wheelchairs and Happy Faces
Today was the wheelchair giveaway in Choluteca, Honduras. Doña Sonja Lovo of the Flamingo Hotel in Choluteca, a long time SMART Team volunteer, had been collecting paperwork from recipients for weeks and today was the day. I bought 2 new tires for the truck and headed to Choluteca by myself. It is very rare that I drive by myself, but today was one of those days. I turned on the stereo and listened to my Bible on CD and took off through the mountains. I arrived in almost record time, as I didn’t stop at my usual place to buy cheese and I didn’t stop to visit friends on the way. Over the years I have made many friends along the road and usually I stop and visit with a friend or two on the way.
Today I was in a hurry because the tires that were supposed to take 30 minutes to change were not even at the tire store when I arrived. After waiting for them to arrive, I sat and waited as the guys that were supposed to be putting them on chatted and chatted and chatted. Finally I went out to the garage and picked up the air compressor lug nut taker- off-er thing-a-ma-jig and they decided if they didn’t do the work, I might.
The wheelchair giveaway was a blast as usual! The case which broke my heart was a young woman who was paralyzed giving birth to her second child, a son. She cannot move her arms or legs and has been confined to the bed for five years since he was born. She is so thin, it is scary, but she has a brilliant smile.
Her Christian neighbor found out about the wheelchair
giveaway and made sure all the paperwork was in our hands where she could receive a free wheelchair.
Her Christian neighbor found out about the wheelchair
giveaway and made sure all the paperwork was in our hands where she could receive a free wheelchair. Then her neighbor brought her to the Hotel to receive her chair. The neighbor prayed with her, thanking God for providing the wheelchair which they had been praying for her to receive for several years.
Her husband lifted her carefully into the chair.
The smile says it all! 
Free Wheelchair Mission gives us wheelchairs to give away to people in need. Thank you to Ernest and Linette Gaudet Family Trust who donated funds to pay for diesel, bus trips and various expenses for this wheelchair giveaway trip.
Below are the photos of the others who received chairs today.
Below are the photos of the others who received chairs today.
People were waiting in line when I arrived. They actually arrived early.
As usual the Boy Scout Troop from Choluteca helped us put all the chairs together. They are such a blessing! 
After the people were given their wheelchairs and instructions in the parking lot of Hotel Flamingo, we took the group to the street. It caused a commotion and one of the television stations showed up to take video.Dr.Canales Director of the Hospital Del Sur in Choluteca showed up to receive 5 wheelchairs for the hospital. Since SMART Medical Teams frequently have medical brigades at the hospital we are all to aware of the need for wheelchairs. Last time we were at the hospital a woman that was 9 1/2 months pregnant stood for 20 minutes while they prepared the room for her cesarean.
Friday, April 3, 2009
NICE THINGS HAPPEN AT THE RIGHT TIMES
Today I received a huge blessing! I saw some of the fruit of my labors and I saw how what I am doing can really change people’s lives for the better.As I was preparing for the Wheelchair Giveaway in San Lorenzo, Valle I was tired, hot, lethargic and ready to go home to cooler Tegucigalpa. Following three days of intensive, exhausting eye brigades, I wondered, “Should I have done this on a different day?” I wondered to myself if anyone really appreciated the free wheelchairs or if it was “just another handout” and I wondered if people took them for granted or if they really had an appreciation for what many people gave in order to get these chairs into their hands.
I breathed a prayer and I said, “God, you know that I do what I do for you. You know that I commit all my ways to you. I know that you appreciate the fact that I am helping people, so I will hold my chin up no matter how tired I am and I will put a smile on my face and get these chairs given to the people that need them.” I really felt drained from the heat.
A woman came up to speak to me and called me by name. “Terasita,” she said, “I heard that you were giving away more wheelchairs today and I wanted to come and talk to you.” I figured she wanted a chair, but I was wrong! She came to say, “THANK YOU!” On February 14th, Dia de Amor y Amistad (Valentines Day) I had a wheelchair giveaway IN CHOLUTECA 40 miles away. Her invalid father came and received a chair that day.
She informed me that her father is now a confirmed VAGABOND. He had been bedridden since October 16, 2008 when he fell and fractured his hip. He had spiraled into a deep depression and was not really interested in receiving a wheelchair, but once he received it, he had a new found freedom. She told me that he leaves the house in the morning and rolls himself to friends’ houses and visits. He rolls himself down the road to the bank, pays bills, goes to the market, watches people at the park and is very mobile now. He comes home for lunch SOMETIMES and sometimes he arrives later around dinner time. She says that the wheelchair has totally changed his life.
I was so thankful to receive this news at just the right time! When I needed to hear it.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Paso Real Eye Brigade
This morning when we arrived at the school house in Paso Real, Nacaome, Valle, Honduras there were already several older patients waiting for us. It was a busy day and unfortunately I never had the time to take any photos, or even to use the restroom.People buzzed in and out, had their eyes examined, chatted with neighbors and then left the same way they came, by foot. Not one single car showed up to bring people, not one single horse. 100% of the patients arrive on foot.
We were able to identify several new wheelchair needs and will be returning soon to take wheelchairs and to snap a few photos. I also identified many people with varicose veins and many more with hernias, one cleft lip and palate, a thyroid patient and several other medical needs.
The trip was very productive and we were able to attend to the needs of 54 patients.
The photo to the left is of a sunset in Guascoran, Valle a few short miles away. I shot this photo one evening as I was returning from a wheelchair giveaway.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Vericose Vein Surgery Trip To Choluteca
First I had to reschedule the SMART Team for a week later, because the house in Kansas sold and I had to move furniture AND then I arrived late in Tegucigalpa NOT because of poor planning on my part, but because of uncooperative weather and because of late airplane traffic, read the previous BLOG.When I arrived, a few hours after Dr. Spitz had already arrived in Tegucigalpa and found he and Jose wandering around the airport waiting for me, he was smiling and taking photos at the airport. I thought to myself, “This guy is a keeper!” I got into the truck at the airport and realized that I didn’t
have some things I needed, so we had to go to the apartment to pick them up. Now we were even later!With the trip off to a bad start, I was convinced that things could only get better and sure enough they did. Dr. Gregory Spitz is a trooper and has a heart of gold.
Patient waiting for surgery with his leg marked!
When we arrived at the hospital, I think he may have been a little overwhelmed at the lines of people waiting to be evaluated by him. There must have been 50 or so patients all crowded onto the front porch of the “alberge” (Honduran version of the Ronald McDonald house where people stay when they live to far away to go home) waiting for him.
Legs, legs and more legs! In the recovery room.Dr. Spitz was fast, efficient and extremely well organized in light of the less than perfect conditions which presented themselves at the hospital. Lights went on and off several times, helpers in the operating room changed several times, it was hot, the food arrived late, the recovery room was full, there were no patient gowns at times, there were no doctor surgery gowns at times, the instruments
weren’t sterilized on time, just about anything that could go wrong, tried to present itself during this team. BUT all turned out well and he was able to help 28 patients with varicose vein surgery. Thank you Dr. Spitz!
This little one took away everyones attention for a while, she was BLUE! But all turned out well, thanks to fast acting nurses, anesthesia and doctors, meanwhile Dr. Spitz continued in the other room.
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