Honduras 2015....our friends

Our translators who spent the entire week with us.   Without them we would be lost...literally!

Horizontas crew. 

Our dental patients who wait so patiently and have so much fun with us. 

Hotel La Posada staff who make us feel at home.   This is Maria (Sikora). 

Sonrisas team who support MRC dispite all their own work to do.  

La Paz and Sister Edith. 

Jennifer at La Vida who was an amazing person to get to work with and who we hope to continue working with. 

The mountain kids who walk quickly into our lives and leave their lasting mark on our hearts.  

Honduras 2015....unexpected beauty

Honduras 2015 bloopers

Honduras 2/6/15

Today was the last day in Honduras.   It was another full one for the MRC crew.  

We started out by putting together a foosball table.  (Yea, you read that right)

This took up a good chunk of our morning.  

In the afternoon we went to Horizontas to deliver the table and books for their library.  

As a side note, this is how the table was transported....and yes we took out 1 power line. 

Delivering books to Horizontas is always a mixed bag of emotions for us.   This orphanage holds a very special place in our hearts as those kids are what sparked our love for this country.  This place is where James decided he wanted to start working and also holds the library named after Mile Owens.   Mandy (Mike's sister) was able to join us again today and as always enjoyed being there.  

The kids are all older now and are turning into young men.  They are a bit more serious and focused but warmed up quickly and had a great time.   As always, after delivering the books we spent the rest of the time playing soccer, ping pong, and of course foosball.  

Honduras this year was different.  We went there with a ton of work to accomplish and actually got it all done.  We are exhausted but feeling good.  We made some new friends, got to see old ones, and as always enjoyed our team.  

We're sad to leave, we truly love Honduras for everything it is...beautiful mountain views speckled with a life that should be easier than it is.  There are amazing people here, doing what they are called to do and living each day for others.  

There is not a day that goes by that we don't think of our friends in a world so far away.....counting the days till our return! 

Honduras 2/5/15

Today was our last full work day to see patients.   Was challenging across the board.   The clinic saw patients that required a TON of work and the mountain team had their hands full with walk in patients.   

Both had their ups and downs but the team this year has done a great job of working together.   When one person starts to feel down another is right there to help keep them going.  Without this we could never be successful on a trip like this.  We have all been placed so far outside of our comfort zone and are pushed mentally and physically sometimes all you need is someone to make you smile.  

Example: the serious game after a long day in the clinic! (The doctors and translators all had competition rounds that had us all laughing so hard we were crying) 

Honduras 2/4/15

This morning we pretended to be dental people, helping out in the clinic.  

This afternoon was huge for MRC. 

Our first stop La Vida, to deliver backpacks. We were able to fundraise to supply La Vida with 190 backpacks full of school supplies.  La Vida is an after school program for the students in this area.  They come for tutoring and religion classes.  They also provide them with physical needs.  A perfect example is while we were there Jennifer (our wonderful host) was working out the details of having one of her students admitted to the hospital to treat an infection. 

While there we were able to pass out about half our stock and left the rest for the students who participate in the morning sessions. 

Jennifer, Wanda, and all the students are in our thoughts and prayers for continued success and we hope to be of more help in the future. 

After that we continued on back to La Paz. 

There we delivered all the books and supplies. BUT....with the help of Sonrisas we were able to also purchase groceries earlier in the week and delivered those as well.   We have been to La Paz before and feel very comfortable with this group, especially the kids.  

La Paz is ran by Sister Edith who has this amazing ability to stay calm and sweet while keeping all 25 kids in line.  There is so much love in this facility, you can really feel it when you walk in.  Most of the students were still away at school but we were able to see a few.  

I'm writing this today with a full heart and spirit.  The children here have so much need it is heart breaking and can leave a person shattered.  However, today I'm filled with hope as the students we met today have some truly amazing people in their corner who are willing to give their all for them.  It's because of people like Sister Edith, Jennifer, and Wanda who put their needs on hold and serve others that these kids will have a chance.  I'm blessed that we were able to join their world ( a small fraction of it) and pray that I can continue to learn from people like this and that we will see them again. 

Marie

Honduras 2/3/15

Today the team was split up.  

James and Ben spent the day in the clinic and Marie went up to the mountain clinic.  

Here are some pics....