Today as we were coming home from the grocery store with a car full of food, Melanie made a comment which I feel describes the way many of us feel. She said, "Quimistan is like a spa for the soul." How appropriate.
Richard Mullenax
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
No place like home...
From the joy of hot water to the rest from our own beds, we, who have just returned from Quimistan must grapple with many ambivalent emotions. I still remember the return from my first foreign mission trip to Bolivia in 1990, as I wondered why God had chosen me to be born as a North American. Now having returned from my 12th trip to Quimistan, I continue to be grateful for the luxuries of my life. Yet, I find they are an encumbrance as well.
I am now completing my seventh load of laundry. If I and the members of my family only had 3-4 outfits, it would not take so long. And if I did not have a washing machine as most folks in Quimistan, I bet we would only have 3-4 outfits. If we did not all have our own bedrooms and bathrooms, I would not have so much cleaning to do. If there were not so many choices in the grocery store, it would not take so long to create a menu and purchase the items needed. If I did not have a dishwasher, I bet I would not have so many dishes either.
If I did not have these luxuries, would I use my time more wisely? Would I visit with my neighbor? Spend time playing with children? Rest in the Word, the Holy Bible, more? Would I depend on my Lord more if I had less?
These are only a few of the emotions with which I struggle. A young man, whom I have claimed as my second son in Quimistan asked me about my house....Is it big?, he asked. What could I say but 'yes' compared to the small four room home in which he lives with his family of 7.
I began to cry as I told him and he wondered why? I was ashamed of my excess and told him that I wished I could bring one of my bedrooms to his house so he and his siblings (3) did not have to sleep in the same bed.
I struggle with the questions - Am I doing enough? What more can I do to show the love of Christ to these humble people? Is my witness a stumbling block to anyone? And although, I do not know all the answers, I know who does. And He has blessed me with the opportunity to love and serve the people of Quimistan, Honduras.
When you answer the call to foreign mission work or local ones, you will find that you receive much more than you give. As I have heard before: You can not out give God. But it may be fun to try.
Blessings from the comfort of my own home, your sister in Christ, Roxanne
I am now completing my seventh load of laundry. If I and the members of my family only had 3-4 outfits, it would not take so long. And if I did not have a washing machine as most folks in Quimistan, I bet we would only have 3-4 outfits. If we did not all have our own bedrooms and bathrooms, I would not have so much cleaning to do. If there were not so many choices in the grocery store, it would not take so long to create a menu and purchase the items needed. If I did not have a dishwasher, I bet I would not have so many dishes either.
If I did not have these luxuries, would I use my time more wisely? Would I visit with my neighbor? Spend time playing with children? Rest in the Word, the Holy Bible, more? Would I depend on my Lord more if I had less?
These are only a few of the emotions with which I struggle. A young man, whom I have claimed as my second son in Quimistan asked me about my house....Is it big?, he asked. What could I say but 'yes' compared to the small four room home in which he lives with his family of 7.
I began to cry as I told him and he wondered why? I was ashamed of my excess and told him that I wished I could bring one of my bedrooms to his house so he and his siblings (3) did not have to sleep in the same bed.
I struggle with the questions - Am I doing enough? What more can I do to show the love of Christ to these humble people? Is my witness a stumbling block to anyone? And although, I do not know all the answers, I know who does. And He has blessed me with the opportunity to love and serve the people of Quimistan, Honduras.
When you answer the call to foreign mission work or local ones, you will find that you receive much more than you give. As I have heard before: You can not out give God. But it may be fun to try.
Blessings from the comfort of my own home, your sister in Christ, Roxanne
Everybody Returned Home Safely
As of Monday afternoon, everybody has returned home from Quimistan. Here is the assembled team before anyone returned home.Left to right: June, Richard, Allen, Vanna, Sam, Flora, Jerry, Kathy, Brittany, Michael, Melanie, Charles, Roxanne, Ken, Danny, and Shirley.
Now that we have had a chance to catch up on stacked mail, newspapers, e-mail, and other things that all of us face, I'm hopeful that several of the team members who haven't yet posted anything here will be able to give their perspective. Everyone experienced the trip in their own personal way, and the richness of those views can help explain why we went, what we encountered, and how we know we need to go back in the future.
Allen
Saturday, January 26, 2008
It´s about time to pack up!
We shut down the eyeglass fitting clinic this morning, finished work on the new bathroom-shower building at Jicaro School, and completed some administrative details. After lunch, we did a Tour of Homes to see the three homes built during the last year as a result of funds contributed to, and through, Honduras Agape Foundation. These three bring the total to 37.
Right now, several team members have hopped on the back of the church pickup to go up the road a few miles to the souvenir shop. We´ll have dinner, go to church this evening, and take our last opportunity to go across the street to Shirley´s for ice cream. Then it´s packing time to be ready for an 8 AM departure to the San Pedro Sula airport. Shirley has a flight out about 11:30 AM to go back home to Canada, and the rest of us will leave there about 2:30 PM. We´ll go home to Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Our time here has been another time of coming together of the Body of Christ for the team members with each other and with the local church members. We´ve been able to serve lots of folks from outlying communities as well. I think every team member feels incredibly blessed to have been able to be here and help where there are such deep needs. We´ve agreed in our team meetings that it´s hard to communicate the full range of our feelings to our friends, families, and churches back home.
As mentioned in earlier messages, we´ve been thrilled to see how the young people and adults from the church here are reaching out into neighboring communities with all kinds of helps.
I´m hopeful that when we get home and have time reflect a bit, some other team members will be able to sit back and express their experiences here. Several of us have taken lots of photos, so there can be a lot that capture special moments I´ve missed.
So until we get home, I´ll just say Hasta Mañana!
Allen
Right now, several team members have hopped on the back of the church pickup to go up the road a few miles to the souvenir shop. We´ll have dinner, go to church this evening, and take our last opportunity to go across the street to Shirley´s for ice cream. Then it´s packing time to be ready for an 8 AM departure to the San Pedro Sula airport. Shirley has a flight out about 11:30 AM to go back home to Canada, and the rest of us will leave there about 2:30 PM. We´ll go home to Mississippi, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Our time here has been another time of coming together of the Body of Christ for the team members with each other and with the local church members. We´ve been able to serve lots of folks from outlying communities as well. I think every team member feels incredibly blessed to have been able to be here and help where there are such deep needs. We´ve agreed in our team meetings that it´s hard to communicate the full range of our feelings to our friends, families, and churches back home.
As mentioned in earlier messages, we´ve been thrilled to see how the young people and adults from the church here are reaching out into neighboring communities with all kinds of helps.
I´m hopeful that when we get home and have time reflect a bit, some other team members will be able to sit back and express their experiences here. Several of us have taken lots of photos, so there can be a lot that capture special moments I´ve missed.
So until we get home, I´ll just say Hasta Mañana!
Allen
Friday, January 25, 2008
God Opens Eyes in Quimistan
Buenas tardes de Quimistan! Well our trip is wrapping up and God has definitely been at work through us as we have been here. I have worked in the clinic all week (along with Kathy, Vanna, Shirley, Flora, and the very faithful and helpful interpreters Jackie, Daniel, and Pablo). We have seen close to 60 patients each day and sent nearly 80% away with glasses. I wish I could send a picture or video that would convey the literal eye opening experiences these people are having.
One man was introduced to the room by Vanna with, "this man is 82 years old, we cannot get a reading from the autorefractor and he sees BLURRY near and far." Well what can you do? The first pair of glasses I tried covered half his face but were +325 in each eye and caused him to bounce (as well an 82 year old man can) in his seat. "Sí mira! Clarito, clarito!" (Yes, I see! So clear, so clear). Well we tried many pairs of updated lenses but he was in love with the first ones. There have been many who are that excited and lots who have gotten reading glasses in lieu of longer arms.
I have been so blessed to be here to receive the hugs and see the happy faces of everyone, especially the ones we can help.
Pictures to follow when we return to los Estados Unidos.
One man was introduced to the room by Vanna with, "this man is 82 years old, we cannot get a reading from the autorefractor and he sees BLURRY near and far." Well what can you do? The first pair of glasses I tried covered half his face but were +325 in each eye and caused him to bounce (as well an 82 year old man can) in his seat. "Sí mira! Clarito, clarito!" (Yes, I see! So clear, so clear). Well we tried many pairs of updated lenses but he was in love with the first ones. There have been many who are that excited and lots who have gotten reading glasses in lieu of longer arms.
I have been so blessed to be here to receive the hugs and see the happy faces of everyone, especially the ones we can help.
Pictures to follow when we return to los Estados Unidos.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
It´s Still Okay here to touch!
It´s been gratifying to see that here, a teacher who loves her children is still allowed--even encouraged--to hug them. Do you think we´ve lost something in the U.S.? I think we face that danger.
This is the teacher at Jicaro School (also known as Republic of Venezuela School) with two of her students during the first day of Vacation Bible School there. This same teacher treated the visiting team to dinner the evening before.
In addition to being memorable due to a delicious meal, the evening was made even more memorable when the electricity went off a couple of times during dinner. Quick recovery with flashlights and candles gave a certain atmosphere we´ll look back on fondly. We even finished the evening with hugs all around.
Some things simply have no suitable substitute.
Allen
Holly--The WatchCat Is On Duty
Holly,
I just want you to be assured that we are all safe and secure here in Quimistan. We have had the diligent protection of Clemson the WatchCat.
You can see how stealthily the cat has been doing guard duty.
Allen
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Project Dedication at Los Hornos School
Sunday the visiting mission team was treated with a lunch at the Los Hornos school, for dedication of their new facility with six bathrooms and two showers for the students. This was built with the help of Foundation funds.
We were greeted with the sounds of a three-man marimba band as we drove up the hill to the school. The director of the school and one of 
his teachers greeted us with a wonderful lunch and heartfelt expressions of thanks for what they have been able to do with our help.
his teachers greeted us with a wonderful lunch and heartfelt expressions of thanks for what they have been able to do with our help.We even had a ribbon cutting ceremony performed by Rene Herezano, President of the MPA Ministry that had proposed and overseen the project, and by Michael Norton, President of the Honduras Foundation.
Here you see team members Brittany, Kathy, and Shirley discussing the new facility with the director of Los Hornos school, relying on our capable translator Daniel for help. The culmination of the dedication was awarding of certificates of appreciation to Pastor Jerezano and to each of the team members, and handshakes all around from the school director and his teacher.
VBS at Luz del Valle
On Monday, Roxanne and I (Allen) went to the Luz del Valle (i.e., Light of the Valley) school for their Vacation Bible School class--Day 2. About 45 students showed up. At first they were apprehensive, not really knowing what to expect. That didn´t take long to change to enthusiasm and participation in memorization and games.
You can see here that Roxanne joined in during the games--to the extent of being captured in the trap. The kids loved her as much as she loves them.
As we find everywhere, all children love to have their picture made. Here are some from Luz del Valle.
But the bottom line here is not the fun and games. It´s the learning that´s going on all the time. For example, the chart here from 1st Corinthians taught them that Christ was victorious over death, and we can be confident that He is able to bring us victory over our difficulties.
Photos from Jicaro School VBS
We´ve talked a lot about the Vacation Bible Schools conducted for two days at four different schools in the Quimistan valley. Here are some photos of a group at the Jicaro school, a one-room school in the country. The first photo shows the classroom full of children with several parents peering in the window and a teenager from the Quimistan MPA church teaching the class. If you look closely, you can see that we were imparting God´s word to the whole community including even a neighborhood dog.
The next photo shows the teacher, Vilma Maria, who captivated the children with her fast-paced enthusiasm.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the children memorized several Bible verses emphasizing that "Jesus is the friend of all the children" which we can recognize as ¨"Jesus loves the little children, all the little children of the world." The students then worked in groups to make posters showing children of all types, which were then displayed as shown here.
Next, each student in turn picked up the sign which had the name JESUS written on it. As the student displayed the sign to the rest of the class, he or she repeated the Bible verse that states (roughly) "Let the little children come to me, for they are part of my kingdom.¨"
Similar training was occurring at all four schools around the area. Team members assisted (with the help of excellent translators), but the real preparation and work was done by the young people in the church. Wow! 
From Roxanne to our supporters
Hola hermanos y hermanas,
May you feel the joy that we all feel today. Thank you for your support which enables us to be here representing all of you. As always, the joy of the Lord is present here at the Agape Church. We have enjoyed worship, fellowship, meals and today, an excursion with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The VBS reached over 200 children and was a wonderful experience for all. What a joy to see teenagers in our Agape Promise program leading the programs telling children about our Lord and Savior. It is these same children who have grown in their love of Christ and have gained confidence as they succeed in secondary school and are serving others.
The clinic is busy with patients visiting Doctora Elsa, and many coming for vision exams and lenses. We are averaging 60 exams a day.
The construction of the sanitation facilities in Jicaro are progressing well....no thanks to me as I have not lifted a shovel or a block there thus far....but God has provided willing and able men to assist.
May God bless you this day and He is most assurdely blessing me.
Your sister in Christ, Roxanne
May you feel the joy that we all feel today. Thank you for your support which enables us to be here representing all of you. As always, the joy of the Lord is present here at the Agape Church. We have enjoyed worship, fellowship, meals and today, an excursion with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The VBS reached over 200 children and was a wonderful experience for all. What a joy to see teenagers in our Agape Promise program leading the programs telling children about our Lord and Savior. It is these same children who have grown in their love of Christ and have gained confidence as they succeed in secondary school and are serving others.
The clinic is busy with patients visiting Doctora Elsa, and many coming for vision exams and lenses. We are averaging 60 exams a day.
The construction of the sanitation facilities in Jicaro are progressing well....no thanks to me as I have not lifted a shovel or a block there thus far....but God has provided willing and able men to assist.
May God bless you this day and He is most assurdely blessing me.
Your sister in Christ, Roxanne
Monday, January 21, 2008
In Case You Are Worried About . . .
If any of you have been waiting anxiously to hear from a mission team member by either phone or e-mail message, everyone here is healthy and safe. We just are having great difficulty sending e-mail messages through most ISP connections. Cell phones are nearly useless unless someone has arranged with their carrier before leaving home, notifying them that the cell phone can be found in Honduras--or something like that. But I just want to assure everybody that things are going well here.
Allen
Allen
We´re Back
Hola! This is Allen again, Monday afternoon. Things have been hectic here. Good, but hectic. We have lots of photos to be resized for transfer through the dial-up connection, so it will take a little time. But they will come.
Yesterday and today we were all busy at Vacation Bible School at four different schools in the area. We had rain all night Saturday, and periodically Sunday, so getting to the schools on the wet clay roads offered some excitement. But everybody survived and we had a great time with the kids.
Most of us were able to get to Los Hornos school for their celebration of completing the bathroom project. The school now has six new toilets and two showers for the students. The head of the school and one of the teachers had lunch for us, and as the different pickups drove up to the school with mission team members in the back, a three-man marimba band began their music. We had a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Pastor Rene Jerezano and Michael Norton, with lots of good words all around.
Vacation Bible School experiences have been terrific. The school I went to yesterday (Jicaro) had about 35 students in the one-room cinder block school, with about half that many parents hanging onto the window sills and smiling. The 16-year old teacher (Vilma Maria, a church member) was a bundle of energy who captivated the children with her enthusiastic teaching. The kids memorized several Bible verses emphasizing how "Jesus is the friend of all the children." Sounds sort of like "Jesus loves the little children--all the little children of the world" doesn´t it? And they got the message. I spent a lot of my time taking photographs of the kids. Each time I photographed one, I showed them how they looked in the digital camera. Their fascination confirmed that kids are kids all over the world. I told the teacher I will send back some of the photographs so she can post them on the walls of the school room.
Eye testing and eyeglass fitting continues today after a break on Sunday. Word is getting around the neighborhood, and the clinic is overflowing with people of all ages coming for that, as well as for an opportunity to talk with the nurse or the doctor.
Tomorrow we will have lunch with all the Agape Promises students, giving the sponsors a chance to meet their students. I believe we will also send a few team members back to the Jicaro school to continue construction on a bathroom/shower building there.
The weather has been good except for the rain. Fortunately, the rain brought some cooler weather, making things more pleasant.
Michael and Jerry left this morning. Unfortunately, Charles also left with them, needing to return home to take care of medical emergencies in his family. So we are left with thirteen team members for now.
Now I need to spend some time working up some of the pictures. I´ll be back later.
Allen
Yesterday and today we were all busy at Vacation Bible School at four different schools in the area. We had rain all night Saturday, and periodically Sunday, so getting to the schools on the wet clay roads offered some excitement. But everybody survived and we had a great time with the kids.
Most of us were able to get to Los Hornos school for their celebration of completing the bathroom project. The school now has six new toilets and two showers for the students. The head of the school and one of the teachers had lunch for us, and as the different pickups drove up to the school with mission team members in the back, a three-man marimba band began their music. We had a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Pastor Rene Jerezano and Michael Norton, with lots of good words all around.
Vacation Bible School experiences have been terrific. The school I went to yesterday (Jicaro) had about 35 students in the one-room cinder block school, with about half that many parents hanging onto the window sills and smiling. The 16-year old teacher (Vilma Maria, a church member) was a bundle of energy who captivated the children with her enthusiastic teaching. The kids memorized several Bible verses emphasizing how "Jesus is the friend of all the children." Sounds sort of like "Jesus loves the little children--all the little children of the world" doesn´t it? And they got the message. I spent a lot of my time taking photographs of the kids. Each time I photographed one, I showed them how they looked in the digital camera. Their fascination confirmed that kids are kids all over the world. I told the teacher I will send back some of the photographs so she can post them on the walls of the school room.
Eye testing and eyeglass fitting continues today after a break on Sunday. Word is getting around the neighborhood, and the clinic is overflowing with people of all ages coming for that, as well as for an opportunity to talk with the nurse or the doctor.
Tomorrow we will have lunch with all the Agape Promises students, giving the sponsors a chance to meet their students. I believe we will also send a few team members back to the Jicaro school to continue construction on a bathroom/shower building there.
The weather has been good except for the rain. Fortunately, the rain brought some cooler weather, making things more pleasant.
Michael and Jerry left this morning. Unfortunately, Charles also left with them, needing to return home to take care of medical emergencies in his family. So we are left with thirteen team members for now.
Now I need to spend some time working up some of the pictures. I´ll be back later.
Allen
Friday, January 18, 2008
Jerry´s Friday
This morning we started with a devotion and a typical Honduran breakfast of pancakes, eggs, refried beans, pinapple coffee and orange juice. Afterwards Michael and I inspected the bathrooms at the school and clinic. They now have seven installed at the the classrooms and they all were in good working order and clean. We bought trash cans for each bathroom. There are two operating bathrooms in the clinic. One needed repair. We bought parts and Celvin fixed the toilet in the bathroom.
The water system filters were clean and showed obvious signs that the filters have been cleaned regularly. They are getting a bit rough around the edges, but that is expected and they are due for change in early February. Celvin poijnted out to me without being asked that they and the UV light are to be changed on February 1st. I am very happy with the condition of the facilities.
We also bought parts and put up some shower curtains for the missionaries. Modesty and all that...
In the afternoon we went to look at the Hicaro school project. The parents of the school are putting stucco on the outside wall and have built a small kitchen behind the school. We also examined the building and property to discover future opportunities for additional projects. We plan to work at Hicaro tommorrow. It has been a very good first day.
The water system filters were clean and showed obvious signs that the filters have been cleaned regularly. They are getting a bit rough around the edges, but that is expected and they are due for change in early February. Celvin poijnted out to me without being asked that they and the UV light are to be changed on February 1st. I am very happy with the condition of the facilities.
We also bought parts and put up some shower curtains for the missionaries. Modesty and all that...
In the afternoon we went to look at the Hicaro school project. The parents of the school are putting stucco on the outside wall and have built a small kitchen behind the school. We also examined the building and property to discover future opportunities for additional projects. We plan to work at Hicaro tommorrow. It has been a very good first day.
We´re on a Roll Now!
The clinic is full this afternoon. Families have been coming in to get their eyes checked and to be fitted for glasses. Here´s a photo of Brittany and Charles (Kathy is hidden behind Brittany) as they were feverishly sorting and marking donated glasses this morning in preparation for this afternoon´s crowd. Maybe we´ll be able to show you later how the testing/fitting is going.
Incidentally, the timestamps on our posts may be a little confusing. I´m posting this at about 2:35 local time. I think the timestamp will show about 12:35.
Allen
Hola de Maynor
Hola les escribo de Quimistan, estamos felices de tener nuestros hermanos norteamericanos aqui
Greetings from Quimistan
Greetings from the sunny south! Thirteen of us arrived safely yesterday afternoon, and the remaining three come in this afternoon. We were bundled up for the cold rain in Atlanta, and arrived in San Pedro Sula early afternoon to be greeted by sunshine and 90 degrees.
This morning a group of us are setting up and completing training for eye testing and eyeglass fitting beginning this afternoon. They are sorting hundreds of pair of glasses donated by Lions clubs. June, Charles, Vanna, Brittany, and Shirley are practicing how to say in Spanish, ¨Rest your chin on this, and put your forehead here, I will adjust and focus the instrument. Blink twice and hold still.¨
Jerry and Michael are checking on the needs for minor maintenance on bathroom facilities around the school and clinic, and taking care of what needs to be done. They plan to go to Jicaro school this afternoon to check the status of project work underway there.
Earlier this morning, Sam visited the home of some young people whose mother died recently, to determine their needs. Right now he is talking with the director of the local school to determine progress the local community leaders have made toward funding their part of a proposed higher education project here.
Ken is setting up our schedule with local leaders, discussing what needs to be done during this trip, and exchanging thoughts about several projects they are proposing for the next few years.
Then there´s Roxanne. Unfortunately, when we arrived in Quimistan and unloaded the bus, we realized that her luggage which was sitting outside the bus when we loaded at the airport didn´t get on the bus. A trip back to the airport didn´t locate a missing bag. So today she is in San Pedro Sula, wearing borrowed clothes while she shops for essentials.
I´ve encouraged everybody on the team to use their cameras and to post their own notes to this blog. I think there may be a slight delay until we figure out how to use the system here. But look for more notes and pictures as the days go on.
Ken and I just now talked with Maynor Castillo (with the great help of a translator), the administrative assistant here. We have asked him to begin using this blog site to transmit his own messages and photos. His English is about as good as my Spanish, so we will need to locate a good English-Espanol-Inglais translation program we can all access on the internet and be able to understand each other. This could be a terrific way to keep people informed about what´s going on here.
Stay tuned. We´ll be back online sometime! Pray for us to be sensitive to God´s leading and to be good ambassadors for Christ.
Allen
This morning a group of us are setting up and completing training for eye testing and eyeglass fitting beginning this afternoon. They are sorting hundreds of pair of glasses donated by Lions clubs. June, Charles, Vanna, Brittany, and Shirley are practicing how to say in Spanish, ¨Rest your chin on this, and put your forehead here, I will adjust and focus the instrument. Blink twice and hold still.¨
Jerry and Michael are checking on the needs for minor maintenance on bathroom facilities around the school and clinic, and taking care of what needs to be done. They plan to go to Jicaro school this afternoon to check the status of project work underway there.
Earlier this morning, Sam visited the home of some young people whose mother died recently, to determine their needs. Right now he is talking with the director of the local school to determine progress the local community leaders have made toward funding their part of a proposed higher education project here.
Ken is setting up our schedule with local leaders, discussing what needs to be done during this trip, and exchanging thoughts about several projects they are proposing for the next few years.
Then there´s Roxanne. Unfortunately, when we arrived in Quimistan and unloaded the bus, we realized that her luggage which was sitting outside the bus when we loaded at the airport didn´t get on the bus. A trip back to the airport didn´t locate a missing bag. So today she is in San Pedro Sula, wearing borrowed clothes while she shops for essentials.
I´ve encouraged everybody on the team to use their cameras and to post their own notes to this blog. I think there may be a slight delay until we figure out how to use the system here. But look for more notes and pictures as the days go on.
Ken and I just now talked with Maynor Castillo (with the great help of a translator), the administrative assistant here. We have asked him to begin using this blog site to transmit his own messages and photos. His English is about as good as my Spanish, so we will need to locate a good English-Espanol-Inglais translation program we can all access on the internet and be able to understand each other. This could be a terrific way to keep people informed about what´s going on here.
Stay tuned. We´ll be back online sometime! Pray for us to be sensitive to God´s leading and to be good ambassadors for Christ.
Allen
Monday, January 14, 2008
Training for Service
Right -2.25 SPH, -2.00 CYL, 146 AX
Left -1.75 SPH, -1.50 CYL, 148 AX
So which pair do you go with?
What is that all about? It's all about a group of mission team members who were trained Monday evening on how to use an Auto-Refractor. Chris Thaxton, Licensed Optician from Physician's Eye Center in Aiken, is shown here watching over Roxanne to be sure she understands all the nuances of measuring Kathy's vision with the instrument. Rita Sewell, in the background, was able to locate the instrument and arrange for its loan so it will be taken to Quimistan this week. The team also will take many, many pairs of glasses donated by Lions Clubs, as well as many that were purchased and donated locally. People in Quimistan and surrounding communities will come to the clinic for vision testing by the trained team members, and will be fitted with appropriate corrective glasses.
While this is going on in the next couple of weeks, other team members can be helping in a community Vacation Bible School. Others may be installing bathroom fixtures in a nearby school. Others will probably assist in administering fluoridation treatments to hundreds of students. Still others will be talking with community leaders about how they are progressing on a program to identify and help support community scholars who need assistance to continue their education beyond high school. It's all part of living out our faith, trying to bring help, hope, and God's love to some folks who need a helping hand.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Passports. Anti-malaria pills. Antibiotic prescriptions. mosquito repellant. Last-minute preparations are underway for fifteen mission team members from South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Canada who will converge in Quimistan, Honduras next Thursday, January 17.
One of the preparations is to start this blog as a way to provide real-time news from the mission field. If our efforts are successful, a member of the mission team will send periodic updates with maybe a photograph or two. We're hoping this will allow you to share in some of the experiences we encounter as we interact with the people there and work on various projects. It will allow you to see in some small way how your donations are being used to improve the health, education, or housing of the people there.
The photo here shows three of more than a thousand students who were provided fluoride treatments last year to improve their dental health.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)