Friday, January 12, 2001

5:30a.m.
A gentle breeze whispers at dawn, arise friend, come work in my vineyard and you will eat of the fruit of your labor.
7:15a.m.
Kim Beisiegel presented our worship talk this morning, the topic was all the people Jesus called friend in the Bible. All of our hearts were touched.
Last nights worship topic was brought to us by Dale LaRoche and was on what Jesus really requires of us. To love justness, to have mercy and to walk humbly with our God.
8:00a.m.
After a sumptuous breakfast our workers board the bus, fed physically and spiritually and ready for service.

It is quite cool here at the camp in the morning and evening. The difference in the temperature between here and the work site is amazing. While it is less than 20 minutes distance between the two, the altitude difference is drastic. The campsite is at 4,400 ft above sea level and the compound is at 3,000 ft. For those of us who reside in Massachusetts it would be like living a thousand feet higher than the top of Mt. Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. Many of the workers at the compound are coming back in the evening with sunburn, despite the use of sun block as high as 40spf. While those that are at the camp are wearing long sleeves or jackets.

We have some wonderful news and yet sad news. Do you remember the woman that the towels were given to, several months ago when Bob Young was down here last? And then Hurricane Keith came and only one person was killed, and that being her? Well it was not her, on the first day we were at the compound she spotted Bob and came running out to greet him, asking where I was. Bob was so stunned, emotion overtook him as happiness filed his heart that our friend had not been killed. The sad part is that someone who was loved just as much by others did loose her life. It was the neighbor, in her duplex. A monument has been erected in the spot as memorial to her. No houses remain in that area as they were all washed away in the flood.
Kim Beisiegel had also seen this lady on the second day and recognized her from the picture we had posted in a newsletter, she spoke to another one of our workers and she thought she had looked like her too. Well, now we know for sure, the reason she looks so much like Mari Bella is that she is Mari Bella Praise the Lord! It is not often we are pleased to have received wrong information. But in this case we are.

Tom Fritzche who is a new friend to us, but an old friend to Roy Jr. has certainly been a blessing as a translater. Phil Harris, who is our young friend from England, has certainly proved his abilities on this trip. After leaving Honduras he is off to see the world. I only remember a few of the places he is heading, but some of them are, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia. I know there are several more. Those large biceps on Josh Delmolino has certainly come in handy on the construction crew. I also noticed that Chris Patton was also enjoying himself as he works hard. These are all young men that have a great future ahead of them. Their willingness to serve will be richly rewarded.
As I type this, I am listening to Treden Rousseau trying to have a conversation with the Honduran washwoman. They are having a great time trying to communicate. Little Treden must be asking her what each item is and the woman will tell her in Spanish, and Treden will repeat it.
5:00
The bus is back with all our angels of mercy. There was much excitement at the clinic today. A woman was diagnosed as being pregnant early this morning by one of the doctors. By 2p.m. one of our nurses came running to Bob saying we need a truck immediately, a woman was bleeding to death. Blood was everywhere; the doctor packed her as well as could be for the conditions here and started an I.V. running. She was placed in the back of our truck with Dr.Kellerman with her as they drove at 75 miles an hour into Tegucigalpa where the only hospital is. This was the woman that was diagnosed as pregnant this morning. She said she had a miscarriage. But that didn't really seem to be the case. Oh the sadness of it all.
There was some happiness for those at the clinic today as her mother brought in a 12-day-old baby. She was healthy and happy, as was the mother. Everyone had their turn at oohs and aahs as they witnessed the happier side of life.

While Bob was in Tegucigalpa he decided to stop at the ADRA office to see about our email situation. Eric
Had been there trying to fix their computer so we could send out our mail. But it is tough when everything on the computer is in Spanish. Bob saw our bus there at 3:30 and it was not ready to leave for Amarateca to pick up our people and bring them to the camp. They are over 30 minutes away. The driver said he didn't have money for gas. If things didn't work out like they did, our folks would have still been waiting at the compound not able to get back. Things are so different and laid back here. Time is of no importance to anyone. Unless they happen to be American that is.

Dental clinic - Dr. Williams saw 19 people and pulled 44 teeth.
Dr. Beisiegel saw 25 people but didn't keep track of the pulling. He did some cleanings and pulled a wisdom tooth, which was very time consuming.

Medical clinic-266 people were seen today. Most with upper respiratory problems, one gestational diabetes case. The afternoon was interrupted because of the emergency or more would have been seen.
Mike Strapp said he was seeing a lot of young patients with upper body pain. It could be from carrying the heavy baskets on their heads. Some of the problems look suspicious and it seems that the folks might just be trying to store up medicine in case they are sick or in pain when we are not here. It is hard to fault these people for what they are doing. They have so little and no chance of things changing much. And yet we have to be as responsible as we can with the medicine and time we have. Hard choices to make. Pray that we have wisdom from above as we minister to these folks.

Optical clinic handed out 27 pair of glasses.

Ashley Wagner in the form of song brought worship this evening to us. Her beautiful voice glorified God by sing Shepherd of my soul and Majesty.
7:30p.m.
There were 190 people at the special public health meeting done tonight by Jennifer Young. The meeting was started with singing, and the children enjoyed that so much. We invited several up to sing into the microphone, and I wish you could have seen their little faces. They were the stars for one night at least. Topics presented on health included simple things like keeping your hands washed, keeping the latrine clean, tips for keeping intestinal worms at bay, not spitting in the house or urinating or defecating in the street. These are all things that are problems for people in this area. The people seemed to listen very carefully and we pray that they put into practice what they have learned tonight.

With a heart made glad in blessings we praise the Lord our God for His tender mercy.

Smile Always,

Jennifer Young