[Note: This was originally posted Wednesday, June 25, and accidentally deleted.]
It is Wednesday, and the clinic closes at noon so that we can begin to pack up for the journey home. There is no time to write a full blog entry, but I want to take a few minutes to post photos of some of the colleagues we've worked with, friends we've made, and people we've served in here in Honduras.
I am limited in the number of photos I have time to upload, and it was difficult choosing. I missed many people whose faces should be here, and I apologize. But whether your photograph is here or not, be assured that we will all remember you and continue to think of you for years to come.
http://picasaweb.google.com/abrubacca/HonduranFaces2
Enjoy.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Home
This (Tuesday) is my third day home, and gradually I am reacclimating to the pre-Honduras routines of my life. I arrived home Saturday at about 11:30 pm (after being awake since 4:30 am) and although my wife, Sheri, and I stayed up and talked until long past sunrise, we were both too excited to sleep for more than a couple hours on Sunday before resuming the conversation. In telling stories about my experiences in Honduras, I was surprised myself by the many things that had happened and how deeply they affected me. So it has been an exhausting few days, and only now am I finding the energy to write a new blog entry.
For the twenty-some of us returning to the USA Saturday morning, the airport-of-entry was Houston. We spilled out of the plane, excited to be on familiar soil, looking forward to the connecting flights that would take us the rest of the way home. We scattered in all directions into the huge airport, looking for shopping, food and any other distractions to help our almost six-hour layover pass quickly.
I ended up in a small diner, with an overstuffed sandwich and huge mound of french fries in front of me. I was glad to be once again in a familiar world, where, for the first time in two weeks, I could understand every word, sight, sound and smell, read every sign, decode every gesture. Yet the longer I sat there, the more things began to seem unfamiliar. Everything seemed too big, bright, clean and shiny. The spaces were almost oppressively crowded and noisy. The people too neat and hurried.
Behind the diner's counter, three young servers in pink candy-striped uniforms chatted loudly about lip gloss and the party they were going to that evening. Almost unnoticed, a small Latino woman in dishwasher's whites moved among them, bringing trays of clean glasses and tableware from the kitchen, stacking fresh napkins, mopping spills on the floor. She kept her eyes down, concentrating on her job, avoiding eye contact with anyone. The servers ignored her.
I was not in Honduras any more.
Final Statistics
The story of the CURE 2008 mission to Honduras cannot be told in numbers, but numbers can at least give everyone an idea of the mission's scope and achievements. And so here, thanks to Dr. Steve Proctor, are the final statistics for the mission's clinic perations:
Oral Surgery
Adults 526
Children 293
Tooth Extractions 2239
Restorative Dental
Adults 199
Children 284
Teeth restored 873
Surfaces restored:
Amalgam 821
Composite 1212
Dental Hygiene
Cleanings &
Fluoride Treaments 172
Medical
Adults 1381
Children 1200
Physical Therapy 261
Eye Care 362
Piprazine Treatments
Adults 1383
Children 1152
Vitamins (30-day supplies)
Adults 1303
Children 1216
Prescriptions
General 7578
Dental 888
Laboratory Tests 286
Health & Christian Education Classes
Adults & Children 3100
Decisons for the Lord 200
And as some gauge of what I spent my time doing:
Photographs taken 2887
Not the Last Word
This is my last blog entry, but it is not the end of the blog. I hope other members of the mission team will contribute their own stories to it by adding comments to this post. To get the ball rolling, here is a story I received from Steve Proctor when he sent me the statistics. I hope it moves everyone as much as it did me:
Even though this was our third trip, I am always affected emotionally by our time in Honduras. The old ones are the ones that really seem to tug at my heartstrings. They have been beaten down by poverty and hard work for their whole lives, but still manage to retain a quiet dignity. The men are very formal -- proud in spite of a life of backbreaking work in the fields -- and seem to be energized when you look them in the eye and extend a handshake. The old women are grateful to have someone touch them reassuringly on the shoulder or extend any simple act of kindness. It seems to surprise them that we would personally reach out to them with a concern that reaffirms their worth. It should be no surprise -- everyone wants to feel valued. I am humbled by these simple, decent people. It is easy to look at them and see the face of Christ.
Of course there are also the children -- innocent and beautiful, facing nearly insurmountable odds in life. They are so precious, playful, but with a sadness that is just below the surface. They are often very timid, and must be encouraged to do something as simple as pick out a toothbrush. I often wonder if they will live long enough to be one of the old ones who will bear the marks of the wear and tear of a hard Honduran life of poverty.
I often think about the woman we saw in the dental clinic on Friday. She only weighed about 80 lbs. She looked to be about 50, but was obviously much younger. She had three children under the age of 10 and was very frail. When Herman told her that after six extractions she should rest as much as possible, she watered up and said "How can I do that? I have three children and my husband is disabled in a wheelchair. There is no one else to work and take care of the children."
She and the kids were all hungry and had had nothing to eat all day. So we gave them some food we had behind the desk and some Limperas to buy food. It was one of those situations that brings me to tears every time I think about it. She was living her life hanging by a thread.
Thanks, Steve. And thank you, everyone, who made the CURE Honduras 2008 mission such a tremendous success.
For the twenty-some of us returning to the USA Saturday morning, the airport-of-entry was Houston. We spilled out of the plane, excited to be on familiar soil, looking forward to the connecting flights that would take us the rest of the way home. We scattered in all directions into the huge airport, looking for shopping, food and any other distractions to help our almost six-hour layover pass quickly.
I ended up in a small diner, with an overstuffed sandwich and huge mound of french fries in front of me. I was glad to be once again in a familiar world, where, for the first time in two weeks, I could understand every word, sight, sound and smell, read every sign, decode every gesture. Yet the longer I sat there, the more things began to seem unfamiliar. Everything seemed too big, bright, clean and shiny. The spaces were almost oppressively crowded and noisy. The people too neat and hurried.
Behind the diner's counter, three young servers in pink candy-striped uniforms chatted loudly about lip gloss and the party they were going to that evening. Almost unnoticed, a small Latino woman in dishwasher's whites moved among them, bringing trays of clean glasses and tableware from the kitchen, stacking fresh napkins, mopping spills on the floor. She kept her eyes down, concentrating on her job, avoiding eye contact with anyone. The servers ignored her.
I was not in Honduras any more.
Final Statistics
The story of the CURE 2008 mission to Honduras cannot be told in numbers, but numbers can at least give everyone an idea of the mission's scope and achievements. And so here, thanks to Dr. Steve Proctor, are the final statistics for the mission's clinic perations:
Oral Surgery
Adults 526
Children 293
Tooth Extractions 2239
Restorative Dental
Adults 199
Children 284
Teeth restored 873
Surfaces restored:
Amalgam 821
Composite 1212
Dental Hygiene
Cleanings &
Fluoride Treaments 172
Medical
Adults 1381
Children 1200
Physical Therapy 261
Eye Care 362
Piprazine Treatments
Adults 1383
Children 1152
Vitamins (30-day supplies)
Adults 1303
Children 1216
Prescriptions
General 7578
Dental 888
Laboratory Tests 286
Health & Christian Education Classes
Adults & Children 3100
Decisons for the Lord 200
And as some gauge of what I spent my time doing:
Photographs taken 2887
Not the Last Word
This is my last blog entry, but it is not the end of the blog. I hope other members of the mission team will contribute their own stories to it by adding comments to this post. To get the ball rolling, here is a story I received from Steve Proctor when he sent me the statistics. I hope it moves everyone as much as it did me:
Even though this was our third trip, I am always affected emotionally by our time in Honduras. The old ones are the ones that really seem to tug at my heartstrings. They have been beaten down by poverty and hard work for their whole lives, but still manage to retain a quiet dignity. The men are very formal -- proud in spite of a life of backbreaking work in the fields -- and seem to be energized when you look them in the eye and extend a handshake. The old women are grateful to have someone touch them reassuringly on the shoulder or extend any simple act of kindness. It seems to surprise them that we would personally reach out to them with a concern that reaffirms their worth. It should be no surprise -- everyone wants to feel valued. I am humbled by these simple, decent people. It is easy to look at them and see the face of Christ.
Of course there are also the children -- innocent and beautiful, facing nearly insurmountable odds in life. They are so precious, playful, but with a sadness that is just below the surface. They are often very timid, and must be encouraged to do something as simple as pick out a toothbrush. I often wonder if they will live long enough to be one of the old ones who will bear the marks of the wear and tear of a hard Honduran life of poverty.
I often think about the woman we saw in the dental clinic on Friday. She only weighed about 80 lbs. She looked to be about 50, but was obviously much younger. She had three children under the age of 10 and was very frail. When Herman told her that after six extractions she should rest as much as possible, she watered up and said "How can I do that? I have three children and my husband is disabled in a wheelchair. There is no one else to work and take care of the children."
She and the kids were all hungry and had had nothing to eat all day. So we gave them some food we had behind the desk and some Limperas to buy food. It was one of those situations that brings me to tears every time I think about it. She was living her life hanging by a thread.
Thanks, Steve. And thank you, everyone, who made the CURE Honduras 2008 mission such a tremendous success.
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