The Grits Eating Girl

I couldn't think of a better way to say that all is well with Anna. She was cleared by the hematology group, who have decided that she DOES have ITP after all, and we will continue to watch her and are to let them know if she begins bruising easily again. Her platelet count is still lower than normal, but it has been on an upward trend since October.

She had her tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy a week ago today, and as I write, she is sitting beside me eating yet another bowl of cheesy, buttery grits, which has been her favorite during her recuperation.

We're so thankful that she is doing well and that her procedure is behind us now!

Our Hike

Last week, we hiked up Mt. Leconte outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, just the boys, Tully and me. It was a fun time, even though it came in the midst of a very busy six weeks for us. We chose the Alum Cave Bluffs trail, which is the shortest, at 5.5miles, the steepest, but the most scenic. We took our time, almost five hours--but we arrived in time to drink a bunch of hot chocolate, get a short rest, and then hike a little more to the summit to watch the sunset. It was exquisite.

Years ago I read the book Shogun, and remember one part in the book which describes how the Japanese in that time period would invite friends over to watch the sunset. Each sunset is unique and breathtakingly beautiful in its own way, and the Japanese would sit in silence together as the sun went down, just soaking in the beauty of the moment. We did much the same thing, well, as silent as one can be with five boys who've just conquered a mountain, and we praised God for designing sunsets for us--how each is unique with the various pinks and oranges, purples, and blues in the clouds surrounding, and how each one points us straight to the Creator!



This was at the beginning--they were all perky!



"HOW much LOoooNnn-GER??!" This was near the end--we were so proud of Elijah--he didn't complain or get tired until we were almost at the top! "I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength" became his favorite verse during that hike!


Trey--our new driver!



The bridge before Arch Rock on the trail








Our reward at the end of the hike--a bird's eye view of the Smoky Mountains


Sunset from the top of Mt. Leconte




Almost gone!

Pictures from Lately

The children "helping" the brickmasons at the hospital.


On the bus trip to San Pedro Sula, the city from which our plane left. Eight hours in the bus--it was a long day, but we had plenty of room to stretch out. :)


Finally, in SC--Trey has enjoyed some fishing on our furlough.


Snuggle time one morning with Tully, Tee, Gabe, and Eli


Michelle and Carmen at the Fall Festival at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church--waiting to see what is on the other end of the fishing line


Gabe and Eli--proud of their pumpkin carving skills

Anna

Anna needs a tonsillectomy--her tonsils literally touch, so she is very much a mouth breather and her ENT says that she probably has sleep apnea as well due to her enlarged tonsils. First, however, we had to clear her for surgery with the hematologist, which involved more blood work due to the temporary condition that she had in the summer of 2008, ITP. Although her platelet count has gone up since August, 2008, she still has low platelets, so her doctor ordered more bloodwork. If she had ITP, it should have already resolved. In three days, Anna had 12 vials of blood taken. She was such a trooper!

We are now awaiting more blood work to confirm a diagnosis of platelet agregation disorder and have an appointment with her hematologist next week. Right now, he just said that she will need a platelet transfusion before her tonsillectomy.


Anna and Carmen

Well. . .

It has been too long since I posted, I know--I have just downloaded 561 pictures from my camera since the missionary retreat at the end of September. So, I will try and relate some of our latest happenings and news.

We arrived back in the US at the beginning of October. Yes, we had a little reverse culture shock. As we landed at night, Elijah looked out his window and marveled at all the lights down below--he said, "Look! It's already all decorated for Christmas there!!" He just wasn't used to all of that electricity!

We have already visited seven states: SC, NC, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. It has been an adventure and a pleasure to catch up with lots of friends and make new ones.

One momentous occasion was when we visited First Church of the Nazarene in Greenville. They have two services, one in English and one in Spanish. When the Hispanic pastor told his congregation that we would be speaking to them in Spanish that day, the whoops of excitement and enthusiasm from the crowd were deafening! In July, 2008, we had to use a translator while speaking during that service.

Many in the congregation were from Honduras, and, when we finished, the pastor thanked us for loving their people, Hispanics, and for serving them in this way. Perhaps they understand best of all the poverty and needfulness and lostness of their people. At any rate, it left me in tears and praising God again for the way He is using us.

Missionary Retreat

Today, we leave for a missionary retreat at our mission house in the Zamorano Valley. It will last for a couple of days. Some of the people who were doing the program were coming from the States, and now are not due to the political situation. Still, all of the missionaries with BMDMI in Honduras will gather together for a time of sharing, inspiration, and encouragement. We have looked forward to it for a long time, and, although it will be different than what was originally planned, it will be a blessing to all of us. Please continue to pray for the political situation here and the leaders involved in the decision making process, for the safety of all the missionaries as we travel to our mission house and back, and for the retreat.

Update

We're still doing fine here. The first day the curfew was lifted for a few hours, we went out to the grocery store in town and bought some extra food. Our grocery store (think very small--sells just staples) had plenty of food, although we heard from a fellow missionary that the grocery stores in Tegucigalpa were selling out of food with the throngs of people flocking in to buy groceries. International flights resumed today.

A lady from the US Embassy called yesterday to check on us and asked how things were here, and Tully relayed that it has been quiet with no demonstrations.

Please continue to pray for the political situation.

All Is Quiet Here . . .

Just wanted to let you know that we are all safe here. There is a country-wide curfew in effect today due to the return of the deposed president yesterday, so we cannot leave the hospital compound. The airports are closed as well. Some employees came to work today, but there are just a few patients, although there were several emergencies in the night, and one this morning. We feel very safe and know that we are in God's hands--the best place to be.

Cast is Off!

Last week, Carmen got her cast off--

She was so brave as the saw was very loud.



When it was gone, she didn't know what to think--it hurt a little. Since then, she has done great and can even straighten her arm out completely, with no help from us!

Girl with the Hurt Toe

Here is the little girl who had the hurt and deeply infected toe. We had a picture of her foot in our September newsletter. She came to church the next week, and we asked her to show it to us again. The nurse on call that day cleaned it really good, applied more antibiotic cream, and bandaged it. He scrubbed it so hard, and yet her face remained completely stoic. It made me wonder what her life has been like--to have endured tremendous pain without flinching.

Monkeying Around

We were invited to eat Sunday lunch a few weeks ago at a house near the Mennonite community. The family who invited us has a small orphanage, so there are a bunch of kids there, and a bunch of animals: horses, sheep, donkeys, dogs, chickens, etc. Even a little thing called a honey bear--which I didn't get to see, but my family told me it's more like a weasel.

Luke, our resident monkey, hit it off with the monkey there. The monkey preferred Luke over anyone else--we couldn't decide if it was because of being kindred spirits who prefer to spend alot of time high up in trees, or if it was the red hair.

Eli, Bob, and Friend

To satisfy inquiring minds, here's a picture of Eli, Bob the gecko (Eli usually names all the geckos, big or small that he finds, "Bob,") and a frog, or toad, I should say. He gets too busy hunting for interesting things around here to worry with pushing his headlamp back up. : )

The Visitor

It was so hot, the kind of hot that makes you a little sleepy. Then I heard, "Pssst, whisper, whisper, whisper. Tell Mom." Then, a few seconds went by, and the whisperer sounded a little more urgent. "WHISPER, WHISPER, Whisper. TELL MOM." Well, now my interest was piqued. So I listened as the son next to me leaned over and whispered, "Mom, Eli has a gecko." I knew Eli had had one earlier, so I thought, as there were other sounds going on around me, that I had misheard something and he meant HAD a gecko. So I said, "What did you say?" And he said it again, with his brother, Whisperer Number 1, now leaning over to look at me with wide, desperate eyes.

Well, the problem was not that he had a gecko, it was the location--we were sitting in church this morning. I had been so proud to see how excited little Elijah was to be in church this day. He came in with such a grin on his face. And he was sitting so still, just as straight as an arrow as if he was soaking up everything going on in church this morning.

I leaned up, tapped him on the shoulder (our family was split up on two different benches), and whispered in his ear, "Eli, do you have a gecko?" He turned around and nodded enthusiastically and then gave me a big, proud smile. I really hated to ruin his time, I did. But, I also knew that as lively as our church service already is, and as much as we stick out, it really wouldn't do for a gecko that Elijah had brought in to get loose on someone. So I said, "Eli, could you please take him outside and let him go?"

Well, his little shoulders slumped, but with an audible sigh, he obeyed, with one parting glare, of course, at his ratting big brothers.

Since I have had boys, one of my all time favorite books is Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain. One chapter that I have read over and over again, and laughed til I had tears running down my cheeks is the one where Tom is in church, and has brought in a pinchbug to play with, and it's so hot and there's a sleeping dog inside the church. If you haven't read it, please do--it's a phenomenal representation of the way that boys think, at least mine. The great news in our family, especially for our easily embarrassed teenagers, is that the gecko didn't get loose when Elijah took the matter of his Sunday morning entertainment into his own hands. Literally. : )

Bus Wreck

Last night Dawn and I had gotten the little kids to bed, and sat down to enjoy a cup of decaf Dunkin Donuts coffee (courtesy of Dr. Lori York--thank you, Lori!!) when I heard over the radio that there had been a bus wreck and multiple people had come to the hospital. I walked over to the hospital to see if I could help.

Apparently a Greyhound type of bus had hit another vehicle and run off the road. Out of the 80 people who were on the bus, ten injured people were brought to the hospital (how I do not know.) The wreck occurred about a kilometer down the road from the hospital. One man had a deep cut under his chin. I took him to the suture room and started to sew him up. In the meantime, Dr. Mendoza and Dr. Estrada were seeing the other patients. I finished closing the wound and then checked him over. He had no other significant injuries. Most of the other patients only had minor injuries as well, and the ones who had been wounded more seriously were taken from the scene of the accident to a hospital in Tegucigalpa.




Sewing a patient's chin.



One young man was not so lucky. He had contusions on his abdomen and swelling on the left side of his abdomen. We suspected a tear of his spleen which can cause life threatening internal bleeding. Dr Estrada called one of the hospitals in Tegucigalpa and made arrangements to take him there. An ambulance came out from Tegu and met our truck about two thirds of the way to the city. See the picture below of our truck ambulance. Dr. Mendoza is sitting on the side, before the truck left the hospital.

Imagine being the patient--not much fun to ride for an hour or two in the back of a pickup with a life threatening injury and 60 degree weather. We will be praying for another ambulance, as we have realized that, for those patients who can sit up (in the cab), the truck is great in many ways as it is built to handle these roads. However, this man needed to lie down. We are glad that the hospital is here and able to minister to people in emergencies like this one or just for routine check-ups or to delivery a baby.





Our patient in the back of the pickup truck with Dr. Mendoza sitting with him. Summer, our pharmacy intern, rode in the back of the truck with the patient on the way to meet the ambulance from Teguc.






A picture of the wrecked bus.

Recent Sights and Happenings

Summer Millican and Tee. She is a pharmacy intern here for one month and will be leaving next Saturday to return to NC--in this short time, she has become a regular member of our family and we're going to miss her so much!


Many people ride others on their bikes "sidesaddle."


The fair was held recently--it lasted for around a week. Just as many interesting sights there as at fairs in the US! : )


At the fair, the two little boys next to the MC were holding chickens--and petting them like puppies! : )



The Catholic church in town--decorated with beautiful handmade flowers.



Gabriel and Neptali share the same birthday. We invited Neptali and his family to eat birthday cake with us in the team kitchen. He is head of security here at the hospital, and his wife, Iris, is the head nurse.


Ashley, Luke, and Elijah. Ashley is a recent college graduate (Lousiana State University) who feels called to missions, and is considering studying to be a physician's assistant. She is a Sojourner missionary here for one year.


The biggest locust I could ever imagine--outside of a science fiction movie.




1. The people--both Hondurans and North Americans could not have been any more welcoming. We are enjoying very much getting to know everyone--adults and kids alike.

2. Gigantic critters--okay, this is not something I have been enjoying, but the rest of my family are loving these! See picture of locust.

3. Safe water--The water here on the hospital campus is from a deep, clean well. We are enjoying drinking straight from the tap, and it's fine if the little ones get some in their mouths during shower time.

4. The nighttime sounds of crickets and frogs after a year of listening to buses roaring by, car alarms, and taxis honking for their fares.

5. A large greenspace for the kids to play--I think they had covered all 25 acres within the first 24 hours we were here.

6. Pupusas--a typical Honduran food made with cornmeal, cheese, and meat and served with condiments--they are delicious!!

7. Baseball with the Mennonites on Sunday night.

The Face of Death

So I am sitting in my office at the hospital tonight when our pharmacy intern burst in saying "we have a patient who cannot breathe!" I run around to the patient area and there is a young Honduran female gasping for breathe. One of her family members hands us a packet which is marked with large letters--"Poison." About that time one of our Honduran doctors arrives and looks at the pack. It normally holds three pills. It is some type of pesticide and is a neuro toxin. He looks at me, gives a little shake of his head, a little shrug of his shoulders and says very matter of fact "she is going to die, there is nothing we can do." In my head I am screaming "we must do something, start an IV, give an antidote, dialyze her." As if reading my mind he says to start an IV. We do and run in one liter of IV fluid. He then puts an NG tube down her throat and flushes some saline into her stomach to try and wash any remaining poison out.

The doctor asks her how many pills she swallowed. She responds "two." The doctor looks at me and says one is enough to kill her, with two there is no question she is going to die. Again my head is screaming at me. I ask "can we send her to tegucigalpa?" He says "no, it would do no good. There is no treatment or cure for this poison. Many girls commit suicide with it." I ask some of her family about her. She is 24 and married, her husband is here at the hospital. They have a 6 year old son. She has some history of depression and has been arguing lately with her mother. She took the pills one hour ago.

She is young and healthy and we all want to know "why." The doctor and one of the male nurses ask her repeatedly why she took the pills. They, too, want to know why, even though she is going to die even if they find out the answer, so why ask? Well because it is hard, I mean it is really hard, to see a young healthy person throw their life away leaving a 6 year old son and husband behind.

Then doctor and nurse did the only thing left to do. They asked about her spiritual life. She did not have one. They explained the love of Christ and that he can and will forgive her sins. They then led her in a prayer of salvation. Basically, they held out to her a ticket to the Kingdom of God, paid for by Jesus Christ, and hopefully, I believe she took it.

So we ran in one liter of IV fluid, lavage her stomach and then left her alone with her family on the stretcher. The family decided to take her home to die. Again, my mind is screaming at me,
"surely there is something we can do, something we can do, something we can do." The doctor once again tells me, "with this poison there is nothing we can do. It is just a matter of time, 2-4-6 hours and she will be dead. The family left with her. I do not yet know the final outcome.

But it occurred to me we did do something, we offered her the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, I believe and hope she accepted it and if indeed she does die tonight, she will be present with the LORD.

So, I find that there are some things that I hate (even though we are not supposed to hate):

I hate poverty
I hate depression
I hate not being able to help someone physically who is young and healthy and is dying right in front of my eyes.

But there many things that I love:

I love God the Father, Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit.
I love my family, my wife, children, and extended family
I love being able to help people in need.

Dear God,

grant me the compassion to hurt when other people hurt, to love the down trodden, to cherish my family, and to worship and glorify You in all I do.

AMEN

A Change of Emotions

Some days are just difficult. Two days ago was one of them. First we received an email with some disappointing news. That was enough. But, it was not all, Dawn noticed that Carmen was scratching her head alot. So I look and saw the creeping crawlers--lice. Yuck!!! Dawn washed her hair, 3 times with medicated shampoo before we no longer saw any live ones.

Then Dawn started cutting the boys hair short. Wouldn't you know it, we found the white "nits" in another boy. More shampoo. Between the bad news and lice, Dawn was a little tearful all day.

But yesterday was better and Dawn was back to her old self. Then last night we were telling the boys to go to bed, when Dawn says to the boy with the lice, "good night, sleep tight, don't let the head bugs bite."

To which instead being sad and tearful, Dawn started laughing so hard she had tears on her cheeks. Of course we all joined in the good natured laugh and joke.

My Week of Surgery

Last week a team of surgeons came down to the Hospital. We got to meet them and eat lunch with them and got to kind of know each other. My dad was out with a different team so he wasn't with us. On Monday night Mr. Sandy (the Director of the Hospital) asked my mom if she wanted to watch a surgery she said "Oh,............ well.... sure." Luckily, I was standing right there and I asked if I could watch a surgery to to see if I could handle it because I want to be a veterinarian when I grow up. Mr. Sandy said sure and I couldn't wait until the next day.



The next day I went to eat breakfast in the team dining room and I got to know the Anesthetist, Angela Jordan. We talk for a while and then they went to work. Around 11 AM my mom and I went into the hospital to watch what the team of surgeons were doing. We met Joann (the Director's wife) on the way and she asked my mom something and they went somewhere else.



I still wanted to watch a surgery. A doctor who graduated from the same high school my mom did helped me put on a gown and mask and cap. I walked into the OR and they were just finishing up a prostate. The head surgeon asked if I could help move a bed and, of course, I said sure. I moved the bed and helped put the man on a stretcher and moved the operating bed back. The head surgeon (Dr. Smith) asked if I wanted to actually scrub in on a case. I jumped at the question and said, "Of course!"

When I got all clean and sterile they said, "Stand over here and wait while we get this lady ready." When it was finally time to start I stood to the side and kind of waited for an instrument to hold for the surgeon. When they cut her open and started to cauterize I could not take it any more so I sat out for the rest of the time.

Then when the surgery was over I said thanks to the doctors and went to find my mom. She said for me to start packing up because we need to go back to the Zamorano Valley. Carmen and Anna got hurt (Carmen, Anna and Gabriel were staying at a friends house while we unpacked at the hospital). The next morning I asked the doctors if I could scrub in one more time before I had to leave with my mom. They said, "Of course, but go put on some scrubs first." This time I didn't sit out. When this surgery was done I went and asked my mom if I could please stay to help out the surgery team because a few people asked if I was going to stay. She talked with Sandy, the director of the hospital and he said, "Sure, I'd be happy for him to stay and work as long as he doesn't do surgery on me.":)

I stayed from Wednesday to Friday by myself and observed and helped with surgeries, helped Angela mix antibiotics, changed IVs, monitored pulse rates, oxygen, and blood pressure rates, and all that bloody stuff. I even translated some for one of the doctors.

All in all I scrubbed in on five cases and only sat out on one. It was awesome!!

I would like to thank Dr. Tommy Young, Dr. Dane Smith, Dr. Russ, and Angela Jordan epecially for letting me do this, I really had a great time!

Some Pictures and Highlights from our time with the Fairview/Jimmy Wright Team Aug. 8 - 15, 2009

Terry Williams and me at the airport when they arrived. We were so happy to see so many sweet familiar faces! What a blessing with which to begin our ministry here!!


The medical clinic--they saw around 2300 patients that week.


Tully, enjoying being "back in the saddle" again. His interpreter from the children's home began to tell patients, "Digale a él porque él habla español." "Tell him because he speaks Spanish."



The future church at Hospital Bautista--around 125 members who make up the current church meet twice weekly in a chapel area inside the hospital. The room is filled to overflowing.


Tully with Dr. Dane Smith and Rebecca Deal, a professor of Spanish at North Greenville University. Dr. Bob Osbon, DDS, is on the right.



All of us with the exception of Anna, in front of Hospital Bautista de Guaimaca. Anna was too busy playing to pose for a picture! : ) This was right before we had to say goodbye to the team--which was so hard!

Thank you, guys, for an awesome week--and a great kickoff to our ministry in Honduras! Words can't adequately express how much our family looked forward to seeing you all, spending time with you, and ministering with you!

Finally!

This Week:

Saturday, saying hello to so many friends on a BMDMI team from Greer--an incredibly special blessing

Telling Tully and Lynda (our fellow missionary we were staying with for two weeks) "goodbye" Sunday, as they went out with the team

Later Sunday, worship again at the children's home, then back to Lynda's to pack up our stuff and clean her house

Monday--move our things to Guaimaca, with four of our boys, a two hour trip, and unpack that day

Say hello to new friends from Greenville, SC -- the surgery team at Hospital Bautista

Computer trouble--can't get connected to the internet

Unpack more

Tour a school for the kids, meet several of the store owners in town. Take a trip to the little grocery store.

Get a phone call Tuesday night from our friends with whom the girls and Gabriel were staying: Carmen fell and hurt her arm

Anna fell and hurt her head

Surgery team still hard at work in the hospital when I turn out my lights Tuesday night after 10 pm.

Go back to Lynda's on Wednesday morning and pick up the girls and Gabriel from friends. Is her arm swollen or not? Yes, I think so. Poor baby, she cries when we go over the rocks on the road. Now I think it IS broken.

Wednesday night--no Tully, no Lynda, Carmen crying with her arm, Anna crying with her head (and mostly we're all really tired).

Okay, call Tully in distress Wednesday night, who calls Dwight and Margaret.

Thursday morning--load up the girls and Elijah and drive Lynda's car to Tegucigalpa. Meet Dwight and Margaret at the office, then Dwight rides with me to the hospital to have Carmen's arm checked out. Margaret takes Elijah and Anna to her house.

Yes, it's broken. : ( She was very brave, however, and was like a different little girl once she got her cast on.

Thursday afternoon--Dwight says he will send the bus to Guaimaca with us and all of our stuff and those of the team who want to see the hospital the next morning. Tully and Lynda are back with the team--can I say how happy I am to see him and how much I love him?!

More packing

Today--Sent Tully and the kids to eat breakfast with the team at the mission house. Cleaned Lynda's house, then Tully came and got me, we all loaded up the bus and rode to Guaimaca.

Took the group from Greer on a tour of the hospital. Said goodbye as they continued on and we stayed at the hospital. It was hard, and I was teary.

Now--finally--and there are four years worth of prayers and life tied up in that word, "finally" . . . we are all here together and have all of our stuff with us, and it's sort of unpacked. We are ready to hit the ground running with our ministry here. And . . . now we even have an internet connection. Fabulous!

Can't wait to see what God has in store for us tomorrow! : )


Boxes and trunks of surgical supplies line the hallway to the operating room, ready for the surgeons' use.


Shelton Hall and Gabriel--whenever he was around, the boys tagged along after him



Members of the team from Greer on their tour of the hospital grounds


Timothy, observing a surgery by Dr. Dane Smith of Greenville, SC


Oops! He got a little queasy and had to sit down for a few minutes. Afterwards, he helped some more that day, and was in the operating room or helping for the next two days. An invaluable experience and blessing that he will always remember!



Sweet Carmen with her cute purple cast


Wish I could say that's eye shadow on Anna, but it's not-it's the effects of her accident last week.
Praise God everyone is okay and things could have been much worse!

First pictures from Honduras

Luke's first glimpse of Honduras--checking it out from a bird's eye view



a little roadside tienda



A family cooling off and bathing in a river on the way to the children's home


A view of the beautiful Zamorano Valley from the chapel at the children's home



Tori, daughter of Greg and Eva Vaughn (directors of the children's home), showing something cool to one of the kids



Kevin McKenzie, grilling out without electricity--it was pitch dark and there was no electricity (the flash from the camera lit up the picture). The girls are holding a flashlight for him




Having fun in a tree at the Good Shepherd Children's Home



David, a precious boy who lives with Kevin and Julie



Trey making a friend at the children's home. Julie McKenzie's mom, Judy, and her friend, Mrs. Jan came for a 10 day visit. Judy is talking to Timothy.