Murder, Tragedy

The following post is gross and graphic so you may want to click off of this blog entry and wait for the next one. I have debated for two days now whether or not to write about this but ultimately I decided to write on our blog so our readers can know what we are dealing with and what at least one of our needs is.

On Sunday morning I got called out of church because we needed to transport two patients from our hospital to Tegucigalpa. I went over to the hospital to see what was going on. Apparently, a man had been physically abusing his wife for several years so she left him. He had been drinking Sunday morning as the smell of alcohol was strong on him. He went to where his wife was staying and told her to come home with him. She said, "No." He then became angry and took out his machete, cut her fingers off first, then her arms and then he gave a fatal blow to the neck.

Her brother tried to come to her defense and he received two machete blows to the skull causing long deep cuts in his scalp and possible bony damage. Then the man, the husband, went out to a bridge nearby, put his left arm on the rail and cut off his hand which then fell into the water below.

Both men were brought to the hospital. The man who cut his hand off had low blood pressure, probably due to blood loss, and we started two IV's. I am sure had our hospital not been here he would have died. We then loaded them into a Land Rover and took them to Tegucicalpa. See the pictures below. If you read this, please pray that the Lord will supply us with an ambulance. Also pray for this family.




The man who severed his own hand from his wrist.





Preparing for a two hour ride in the back of a Land Rover. We need an ambulance!




The brother of the deceased wife. The red "hat" is bandaging.

Twins!!!

This morning immediately after chapel, one of the employees at the hospital told me twins were being born. I hurried to the OB delivery room and went to see the excitement and fun. Two little boys were born and are doing fine. It is the very first time our hospital has delivered twins. Children are truly a gift from God and God gave us a double blessing us this morning!!!




Dra. Dunia just delivered baby #2!



Rubbing the baby to stimulate him and clean him! Two brothers laying together.





Suctioning to clear his airway!

Darkness

We have had to drive from Tegus to our house twice now after dark. The first time was on our first night back in Honduras. It is so easy to take so many things for granted in life. Things like the yellow refectors in the middle of the road or the painted lines on the sides of the road. There are none of those in Honduras. Once you get out of the big city there are not many lights from houses to help illuminate the streets. The next turn to the left or right is hard to see until you are right up on them. I probably should drive slower but I am tired and we have 90 kilometers to go. Dawn has already told me that if our mothers come to visit that I cannot drive:). But as I was driving last Saturday night and it was pitch black, all I could think is God please bless the man/woman who invented "bright lights".

Reforestation Program

Monday, my first official day on the job in Guaimaca, Jose Benegas came by the hospital to meet me and talk about the reforestation program. Sandy Cheves,the founder of Hospital Bautista, had the idea several years ago. He approached Jose, the manager of a saw mill down the road. After about two years, he decided to try the program. At our hospital we have 25 acres of land. We supply the land and the water and the saw mill supplies the seeds and the manpower. A different company gathers pine cones, puts them in the sun to dry and when they open, harvest the seeds. You can go and buy pine seeds and then plant them like any other seed. Over the past 4 years, the project has planted 2.5 million trees. We have the first, and therefore oldest reforestation program in the country.

The sawmill will send workers in after about 10 years and they will cut down the deformed trees. The normal trees take forty years to mature. I will say that more likely than not I will not live to see these trees harvested:). Planting these trees does not really lead anyone to Christ but it does make us a good neighbor and it gives us credibility in the communnity. Plus hopefully it will help prevent deforestation of the country similar to what happened to Ethiopia.

Below is a picture of Jose.

Travel to Honduras

One A.M.--So I am sitting in the airport in Fort Lauderdale. Otra vez (once again) our flight has been delayed. It was delayed last October when we came home stretching the two day trip into three long days. Our first flight tonight in Atlanta was delayed and now our flight from Fort Lauderdale to San Pedro Sula has been delayed for two and a half hours. As I write, it is now 1 a.m. The kids are sprawled all over the floor and seats in the waiting area trying to get a little sleep.

What motivates me to write is how resilient kids can be. Here we are taking them on a trip across 4 countries, it is late at night, we are all sleep deprived and exhausted and not one peep of complaints from the children.

Five A.M.--We finally make it to our hotel and the clerk checks us in and says with a shrug of his shoulder: "we serve breakfast in one hour." We did not care, we just needed 3-4 hours of sleep in a bed which we were able to achieve. Again no complaints from the kids!!!

We get up about 8:30-8:45 and make it to the breakfast the hotel serves. We all feel alot better with full stomachs and load up the bus for a 6 hour trip to our mission house. We all dose off and on during the trip. The arrival at the mission house to pick up our van is 6 hours later as predicted. A two and a half hour trip to our house in Guaimaca begins. Later we thank and praise God for our safe trip back home in Guaimaca and still no complaining from the kids.

I worry about how the kids will feel about Honduras after three months of luxury and extravagance in the United States. Will they hate it or now complain for having to leave family and friends. But the next morning Luke jumped on our overstuffed couch and declared, "I had forgotten how comfortable this couch is. I really missed it." And otra vez I pray to God and thank him for his provision of a happy spirit in our children.




Here we are at 1 a.m. Can you spot all seven children??





Dawn and Elijah are exhausted and sleeping together.




Gabriel hopefully having sweet dreams.

Furlough

It has been an absolute whirlwind. I cannot believe it's time to head back to Honduras--we just got to SC, it seems, yesterday! We have had so many doctors' appointments, a surgery for Anna, dental appointments, time with friends, family, and supporters. I was able to buy many things that would be needed for our house in Guaimaca during several trips to Lowe's in the days right before Christmas from insulation and doorknobs all the way to kitchen cabinets!

Just yesterday, I went to Columbia in order to get some necessary papers for our Honduran residency application. Then, I went to the Secretary of State's office and had them apostilled. (As an aside, visitors are able to enter Honduras as tourists for a stay of up to three months, but after that, they must leave the country for three days and then may reenter legally for another three months. If we are granted residency status, we will not have to leave the country every 90 days, but will technically be considered "permanent residents.")

Anyway, I digress. I can't believe our furlough has come and gone, but we are so excited about getting back and jumping into our ministry in Guaimaca!

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!