Day 6 - 2018

Tonight's blog post brought to you by guest blogger, Elizabeth Barnes.

My name is Elizabeth Barnes and I am so very excited to be on my first trip to Honduras. Ever since Dad first traveled to Honduras in 2010 when I was only 9, I've been asking when I would be old enough to go. Even though before this week I had never personally been a part of the brigade, I've always felt that a part of my heart belongs in Honduras. Over the years I've seen hundreds of pictures, read dozens of posts, heard countless stories from my parents, and even Facetimed my parents' dear friends Nahum and Yolani as well as even met Dr. Karol Pacheco (one of the doctors that works alongside us at the medical clinics) when she traveled to the United States last October. However, nothing could ever truly prepare me for the overwhelming amount of love I would feel as soon as I arrived in Honduras. As soon as we got through security, Nahum wrapped me in a big bear hug that almost knocked me to the ground. Everyone else in the team was just as welcoming. It was an odd feeling because while I never met many of these people in person, it was like being welcomed home by old friends. 

It became apparent as soon as we stepped out of the airport how great the need was here, and that became even more obvious the further outside the city we traveled. Yesterday and today we conducted medical clinics in Cantaranas, a small town a little over an hour outside the capital city of Tegucigalpa. The construction team worked on a house in Villa de San Francisco, about a 15 minute drive away. This week I've tried a little bit of everything as far as the clinics go. I want to be a pediatrician so I've been doing more of the medical aspect of things. For much of the day I worked alongside Danyiel, a nurse who traveled with us, as she spoke with patients and prescribed medications to help them with their various ailments. One thing that really resonated with me was one older gentleman who took medication for an irregular heartbeat. He had received this medication from another medical brigade and only had one pill left,  but we didn't have any in stock to give him. Danyiel asked our translator how much this medication would cost, as she would be more than willing to get some for him, as it would be extremely dangerous for him to go off his medication. A month's supply was 60 lempira, or about $2.75 in US dollars. This is absolutely nothing to us but even that small amount is too expensive for many people in Honduras to afford, even if their lives could be at stake. I was also astounded by how grateful the people were for simple things like ibuprofen that we so often take for granted. 

This week has truly opened my eyes to how blessed we are in America and has secured in me the desire to use my blessings to help others and spread the healing power of God's Word. I can't wait to see what our last day has in store for us. -Elizabeth