Back Home?

I am back in Raista and it seems I just left!  Well, I was just here six weeks ago.  It did feel kind of like coming home….or at least to a very familiar place

We left LaCeiba on Sunday morning and drove to Cusuna.  Cusuna is a Garifuna village and being there is like stepping into a National Geographic article.  We met with the local pastor and some of the community agents.  We broke into groups and discussion ensued for lessons learned on water quality, HIV, and communication techniques.

I was blessed to make a connection with Mary and Kandy and several children.  We communicated as best we could through sign language and laughter.  My tablet was an item of huge interest in taking pictures and videos.  We headed for the local pulperia (mini converience store) for a soda. 

It was an  amazing experience as I was with about a dozen Garifuna folks, walking through their village to the store, buying sodas.  Across a short distance, several village members sat in hammocks and chairs enjoying the evening and talk.  Of course I couldn’t understand their conversations, but the rapport and experience was thrilling.  A downpour ensued and we all huddled together under the metal awning in front of the store.  It was one of those rare moments in my life that I seek, to be with another culture, making friends, making memories.  The next day, before we departed, Kandy came to our compound and brought me a beautiful orange crab shell and another beautiful sea shell.  I was speechless and wished that I had something I could give her.

We drove for about three hours to Palacios where the road ends.  Here we boarded the long canoes for the two hour ride to Raista.  The river journey is one of my favorite parts of my visits to Honduras.

Seeing Raista made me feel like I was coming home in a way.  We unloaded the canoes, settled into our rooms and rested.  Later, some of us walked the short distance to the ocean and enjoyed the surf.  It’s incredible to see the miles of beach with no one on it!!  Some found it a little disconcerting that the bottom is literally covered with live sand dollars.  I mean, there are thousands, perhaps millions of them.

I think the three and a half days we have been in Honduras was beginning to take its toll on us physically as naps seemed to be in order for several of us.

A good portion of the evening involved final preparation of the lessons plans for the workshop to begin today, Tuesday.

This morning one of our Honduran team members shared a powerful devotion to begin our day.  It is amazing to stand with Honduran believers, not being able to understand a lot of what is being said, but definitely sensing the power of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Let me take a moment here to thank all those who are praying for us on this trip!!!

We are now at the first session of the seminar.  We have broken into three groups and learning is underway.  It is truly a blessing to be here!!!

AHMEN is in Honduras

Just east of La Ceiba Honduras this morning, April 21, 2016 near the town of Sambo's Creek.  Last week I stood on the Atlantic beach in Daytona; this morning I stood on the beach of the Atlantic in Honduras!

I met up with several members of the team at the airport yesterday. The team is largely medical personnel, the majority of whom are doctors and nurses.  I've been privy to some very interesting conversations already.

We arrived in San Pedro Sula about 1130 local time.  Honduras operates on Central Standard Time.  We chilled at the airport for a few hours, exchanging money and renting vehicles. We have five Nissan 4-wheel drive, diesel trucks to transport the team and all the gear to our destinations.  I was asked to be a driver to which I was happy to do.  The conversation about driving in Honduras was humorous. "Full contact" driving was one reference.  I told them I like driving in Brooklyn and Manhattan and I was hired!!

I cannot say that I ever anticipated just how applicable this missions trip will be to my Masters in Public Health (MPH) program at Fort Valley State University.  It's as if everything that I've been studying for the past year and a half is being shown to me real world with this trip..

Last evening, over burgers in a Burger King in La Ceiba, I listened to two doctors discussing what to tell patients about the Zika virus and how to treat them if they do, in fact, test positive for Zika.

This morning I listened to discussion about sustaining medical efforts which are put in place by one organization or another.  People tend to revert to the ways they have always done life.

How does one sustain an effort in a community such as those we will be visiting.  This team previously gave a water filter to a hotel in a small village.  When they came back and asked where it was, the response was "Oh, it's protected over here for when the gringos come back." Or the woman who was set up to sell glasses, but all her friends come in and want them for free and pretty soon, she has nothing left. 

In consideration of where I am at in my Public Health studies, I am being directly exposed to the challenges of community public health.  The discussions include words on surveys, databases, point source water quality, coliform levels in water supplies, test kits, FDA limitations, cultural differences between patients and medical personnel trained in different countries.  This is an amazing field experience and I am anxious to learn all I can.  

This team is going to a part of Honduras which seldom sees trained medical personnel. The ultimate destination is the village of Las Marias, about 6-8 hours by canoe up the Rio Platano into the rain forest. This is an extremely ambitious undertaking and takes an incredible amount of preparation, to include grocery shopping here in La Ceiba as the villages we are visiting do not have adequate food supplies to feed a group of 20.