Friday, January 31, 2014

The Library

Today we have officially come full circle.  We were able to deliver books to Horizontas in Comayagua Honduras.  We worked very hard to get books for all ages in Spanish.  The kids were so thrilled to see them and were all excited to start reading.  The excitement was very reassuring that we are on the right mission.  

After the drop, we were able to spend the afternoon with the boys at the orphanage.  We all fell into the usual routine of soccer, basketball, foosball, and ping pong.  The kids were All better than me.  

Most of the boys remembered us and what we were there to do, which to be honest I wasn't sure if that would happen.  

Today was a "my cup is full" type of day.  We all enjoyed ourselves and are continuing to build and grow.  Next year we plan to continue at Horizontas and with another location in the works here in Comayagua.  We also plan to start a library in Fort Wayne.  This will act as a sister location to what is in Honduras.  

We also got to celebrate the dental mission at the annual Lions Club party. In total the dentists saw over 200 patients in the clinic and did 738 fillings and 734 extractions.  We have all worked hard this week!  We also were able to focus a bit on patient education and how and why to brush your teeth along with basic nutrition.  This is a major part to proper hygiene and we will continue to grow this and keep helping the people here.  

We fly home tomorrow and have to be on the road at 6am. Wish us luck traveling! 

We will chat again when we are back in the states and will of course do a picture purge and final catch up. 

-Marie 

The Library

Books are delivered!!! More to come.  

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

A Word on Sonrisas

As many may know, we are traveling with a group of dentists. So, this means that our days are not only spent with kids but in the dental chair as well.  So here are our second "jobs"

Mandy has been dental receptionist extrondinare with another team member in the clinic.  She has been helping keep us all organized and flowing.  

Cathy has been child rangler in the field sites for the past three days.  This job is crucial as we see mainly kids and they tend to feed off each other's nerves.  

James has been helping with instruments in the clinic, medicine distribution and general clinic maintenance.

Marie has been sitting as a dental assistant in both surgerys in the field and fillings in the clinic.  

This group has some of the nicest people you will ever meet.  We could not ask for better travel buddies.  They are all very patient.  As we are none dental people, espicially myself I don't do well with names and terms.  There has been a lot of the "orange thing and the black tube" and "are you ok with blood?"  

(Honestly the blood and spit I can do but the part that gets to me is the grinding noise from the drills....eehh)

But anyway we are stoked to be here with wonderful people who love to share in our dream as much as we to theirs. 

A quick story: today we met a boy who put a piece of corn in his ear.  ( he's about 9 years old, so it's not that hard to believe).  He lives in an orphanage that we work with and the Sister could not afford to pay the hospital bill to have it taken out.  The corn has been in there for a few days and the procedure cost $250.  So..... Everyone opened their wallets and happily gave the money to Orville (nickname for the kid) and he will have his procedure by the end of the week.  This same orphanage also took home about 80 books today.  Yea! 

Please, if you haven't already, check out Sonrisas Siempre and all that they do. 

-Marie



Hump Day in Honduras

To all our kids who must be freezing in Fort Wayne...

We are thinking about you every day! If you can imagine it, the temp is around 90 degrees here in Honduras and we are sweating like you wouldn't believe! Today was definitely a hump day for us...After two long days of work, all 30 of us were exhausted and hit a wall. Some of us could've passed out standing up. Thankfully the orphans and kids in Honduras inspired us to keep moving. Here is why...

These kids have virtually nothing, but they are so incredibly thankful, happy and polite. For most of the orphans, their families abandoned them and they lack everything that a child should have. Their eyes light up so brightly when we give them a book or a toy. The kids living in the mountains have even less. We pass by their houses on the bus ride and they are basically shacks with no furniture, plumbing or electricity. The kids don't even have toothbrushes, which is why the dentists perform mostly extractions in the mountains...can you imagine kids your age having to lose their teeth from being so rotted? 

Nonetheless they are troopers, enduring painful dental procedures but still popping back up to smile and hug us and thank us for their book. These are some of the hardest days of our lives, but also the best days. The dentists who are volunteering their time and expertise are unbelievably amazing, as are their assistants. We teachers are spreading  lots of books and love, and the dentists are so supportive!

We will have more updates soon. In the interim, please stay safe and warm!!

-Mandy

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

New from Comayagua


Today was an amazing day for both the mountain and clinic crew.  Both teams were incredibly affective for many reasons but it was because of the amazing dynamic we have as a group that really allowed us to perform the best we possibly could. Everyone on the team has a role and is expected to do their best no matter what is thrown at them.  I am especially proud because both my wife and mother are here with me and both are invaluable to the team .  We are also blessed to have Mandy Stezel with us this year who has jumped right in with both feet and has already made an amazing impact with the kids and adults she has helped.   Sonrisas has created an amazing atmosphere that accomplishes so much for so many people.   The McFadden resource center is proud to be a part of what is taking place here and hopes to be a part of it for many years to come.

-James






Monday, January 27, 2014

Got a question for us?

If anyone has any questions they would like to ask while MRC is in Honduras please feel free! Either leave us a comment or send an email to info@mcfaddenresource.com


We will do our very best to answer your questions. 

First Work Day

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Finally!!!

Well we made it down here. Only two days late, which considering the weather back home is not too bad.  

We landed in Tegucigulpa around noon and apparently the new president gets sworn in tomorrow. So the airport was busy busy busy.  I think we may have seen the new president? But can't be too sure, whoever it was, he was someone very important. The people here are very excited about this and tons of people were at the airport, along with news teams, extra security, and a live band.  As impressive as this was we were glad to find our bus and get out to Comayagua.  (We are a group of 29 people and three bags each. So it was a little hectic.).  Oh, and on a side note President Obama was down here yesterday for all the festivities, so that's cool! 

Once we got out of the airport....wait I forgot something. 

Our transportation is a very old looking massive bus! Last year we had a school bus.  

Ok so now, once we got out to Comayagua we split into groups to make sure we got everything set up. James and I went to help set up the clinic while Cathy and Mandy stayed at the hotel to sort and organize all the Library supplies.  

We flew through setting up the clinic.  And we are all ready for tomorrow.  We are working like crazy to make up for lost time, but dare I say we're going to be ready tomorrow? 

Let's hope so! 


Houston

We are leaving Houston in 45 min!!!!! 

Friday, January 24, 2014

Day One of Honduras 2014...Still in the U.S.

OK, well thanks to this polar vortex thing that is going on we are a bit behind schedule.  We are grounded, but our spirits are high and the group is amazing! We are catching up and finalizing everything we need to do .  we are all a little anxious though and cold! We all packed to be traveling to 80 degree weather so we are slightly underdressed for 20 below! But this is part of mission travel, and were getting good at being flexible.

The new plan is we will be able to get out tomorrow night and will arrive in Honduras on Sunday. We will be a day behind but we're all going to roll with it!

Same story as last year, we're traveling with the dental group Sonrisas Siempre.  We are headed to Honduras on a dual mission.  The first being to offer dental care to the orphanages and people there.  The second being to expand and grow the Michael Owens Library that we started last year. This year MRC and Sonrisas teamed up and held a fundraiser to be able to ship all dental equipment and library supplies in 2 large crates. We raised $4500! So now we are carrying less equipment through the airports and will see our stuff on Sunday.

This year James and I are traveling with MRC founder and director, Cathy.  She is finally getting to join us on the road! We are so happy for her to come along and her expertise will be greatly needed.  Also, Mike, who the library is dedicated to, his sister Mandy will be joining us and helping to continue the mission.

As far as the books go...here's the breakdown...

600 books (all in Spanish)
200 pencils
150 sketchpads, coloring books, and puzzles
120 arts and craft activities
15 art kits complete with paints
1 electric pencil sharpener to leave at the Library

( the experience = priceless)

All of this would not be possible without contribution from the Charlie Tippmann Foundation, Daughter's of Penelope, friends of Mike Owens and all our wonderful supporters and sponsors.

A quick shout out to L.C. Ward and Jefferson Middle School  students for participating in the Cultural Connections program and helping to get the books to Honduras.  Keep reading and watch for video and posts. This year were going to share video messages from the kids here.

Kids at Jefferson, all your post cards are pasted into the books!

A huge thank you to Grady Pruitt (this is Cathy's boss).  We cannot thank you enough for your support and giving Cathy your blessing for her to come.  With this program on the rise we really need her help and expertise.

Keep checking in, everyone is a blogger this year!

-Marie