I didn't believe people when they told me that the mission team's wake-up alarm is Klaus playing "Morning is Broken" on his accordion. But it's true. And on this first morning, before he realizes that he hasn't reset his watch to Honduras time, Klaus begins his 2008 debut -- at 5:00 am instead of the expected 6:00. Everyone takes it in good humor, though, and most manage to go back to sleep until, at 6 on the dot, Klaus reappears and the gives the day its official start.
Soon the runners and joggers in the group go off on their morning jaunt, and when they return the day takes a sobering turn. On their run, they've encounters a man with a badly lacerated face and told him to come immediately to the school where we are staying. The problem is, all of the team's medical supplies are lying unpacked at the elementary school a kilometer away. Still, when the man shows up at the gate, people are standing by with purified water, clean towels, and an antiseptic from someone's personal first aid kit. Medical Director Brad Hoch and oral and maxillofacial surgeon Mike Matzkin examine him, and Lydia Walker, a nursing student who at home works in a Hanover, Pennsylvania, emergency room, cleans and treats the wounds. He is told to come to the clinic the next day for more thorough care.
Then it's morning devotions in the school's beautiful outdoor assembly area, followed by some essential announcements:
- Under no circumstances drink unpurified water or let it get into your nose or mouth when you shower. The consequences are described in unvarnished detail.
- Do not drop toilet paper into the toilets, because it will clog the plumbing. Place it in the covered waste basket.
- To conserve, use minimum water when showering. Wet yourself. Turn off the water. Soap up. Turn on the water to rinse. If the water in the showers fails (which is does), buckets of water are available.
- If there is insufficient water to flush the toilet, retrieve a bucket of water to do the job.
- Eat nothing that is uncooked unless you peel it or it comes from the mission's kitchen ...
By the end of the announcements, there is no doubt that we are in a very foreign environment.
The task of the day is setting up the clinics, and all hands are recruited. I am assigned to the Maintenance Crew, assisting Jack Eckrote, Dick Lee, and Klaus in setting up the generators, dentistry suction system, room cooling fans, and electrical lines, as well as making necessary repairs to medical and dental equipment.
After breakfast, the entire mission treks from our high school home down the unpaved rock-and-dust road that leads through town to the elementary school. The town residents watch our parade pass by. We smile and greet them, most of us using one of the few Spanish phrases we know, "Hola!" or "Buenas dias." They watch us with curiosity. Many smile shyly. The children whisper to each other, laugh and wave.
It is difficult to explain how big a task we face this first day. Back home, we think nothing of it when a new medical or dental or physical therapy clinic opens nearby, or a new pharmacy or medical laboratory or health education center. But here, where there is no running water, no reliable electricity, no paved roads, and where construction and maintenance supplies are often many miles and several hours away, setting up a clinic can be a monumental challenge taking weeks. And here we are, about to set up five clinics -- dentistry, oral surgery, adult medicine, pediatrics, and physical therapy -- plus a pharmacy and laboratory, in a single day.
I am too busy with my duties (primarily helping to set up the suction system for the dental and oral surgery clinics, which is an ingenious invention based on a cleverly converted milking machine) to take photos. So I set my camera on a tripod to automatically take photos in the largest clinic area -- dentistry and oral surgery -- one every three minutes. The result is a time-lapse view of a minor miracle, the conversion of the staging area for all the mission's tools, supplies, and equipment into a functional 16-chair clinic, complete with a 3-autoclave sterilization area. (Note: I am still struggling to get slide shows to load onto the CURE International blog. Please stand by.)
The sun climbs through the day. The heat builds. Everyone is in continual motion. It is like working in a beehive. We are encouraged to pace ourselves and to drink water by the liter to fend off a constantly looming enemy: dehydration. Slowly but surely, everything takes shape, and by a long day's end the school's classrooms have been transformed with curtained examination areas, pharmacy shelves, administration stations, and essential medical and dental equipment.
It is well past 6 pm when the last of the weary mission team straggles back to our living quarters for cold, sparse showers and a welcome meal of rice, beans, vegetables, chicken and wonderfully spiced beef.
But the day is not over. The people of the town have prepared evening entertainment for us. We congregate in the high school's assembly area. A group of local parents and children join us. The program begins with the Honduran national anthem. It is clear from the heartfelt intensity of the local people as they sing that they deeply love their country. It stirs us all. Then, to our surprise, the first strains of the Star Spangled Banner pour from the huge audio speaker on the stage. We cannot help but sing with equal intensity. It is a wonderfully emotional moment, and I am swept by a sudden longing for home.
The mayor of San Marcos welcomes us and thanks us warmly for coming to the town to help the people of the area. He promises that our problems with water and electricity will be fixed satisfactorily. Then the students of the town take to the stage. Eight adorable elementary school girls, costumed as butterflies, dance with a joy that makes us laugh and applaud loudly. Next is a play with an environmental theme, complete with a mountain prop, elaborate costumes, and amazing performances by the two leads, a boy and a girl who could not be more than seven or eight years old. They have scores of lines each, and it is all in Spanish, so I cannot understand more than a handful of words, but there is no doubt how much they are enjoying themselves or how sincerely they feel about what they are saying.
Next, it is the high schoolers' turn. Six beautifully costumed couples in traditional folk costumes perform a series of intricate, lively dances. Their dancing matches the very best that I've seen at any folk music event in the States. Then, it is time for comedy. There are two acts, and the comedy is the physical kind that you don't need to know the language to understand. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, us or the local children and adults.
It is a wonderful way to end a long day. But as I leave the assembly area and head for bed, all I can think of is a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day.
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