Mending Bodies and Healing Hearts

      Some days are harder than others. Some days are full of patients that are here for routine operations such as having their gallbladder removed or come in for stitches in their cut finger. These are the good days, when we can laugh with the patient and make lighthearted conversation. And then there are hard days, when it seems like every patient is very ill and needing a lot of attention. Those days can bring lots of talks with patients about death, the life thereafter, and sweet discussions about God. Sometimes these patients are children such as baby Isaac who was brought in from our Children's home due to severe respiratory distress just yesterday. We thought for sure that he was going to die. We fought to give him his every breath. If he stopped breathing, he was going to die as we do not have a ventilator small enough to support his tiny lungs. It's so hard to watch a baby struggle. His tiny chest collapsing with every breath. With a lot of IV fluids and some de...

 As several other single missionary women and I were sitting at the hospital bus stop waiting for the church van to pick us up this morning, we started talking about culture. I am not entirely sure of what started the conversation but Julie said, "Sometimes I feel like as an American I don't really have culture." "Sure you have culture!" exclaimed Annie, "You have a very mixed culture. An American culture. Americans are very independent, value their individuality and privacy, have high expectations, and very success driven."   We went on to talk about the difference in American versus Honduran culture. Hondurans are very dependent on each other as a family unit and there is no such thing as privacy. Everyone knows everything about everyone even without Facebook. As a Honduran, if you are admitted in the hospital, everyone in your community knows you are there and what is wrong with you even if they don't personally know you. You might  even get...

Oasis: pleasant or peaceful area or period in the midst of a difficult or hectic place or situation           I can't believe how fast time seems to go by as I had started this incredible journey 8 months ago. This journey has been amazing but yet difficult at the same time, very difficult.  It is difficult to give up everything that I called mine: my car, my dear horse Starbuck, my cozy apartment, my cuddly kitties, my family, my friends, my independence, and my job.         Everything is new and different when living in a different country with a different culture. Imagine having to do the job you've done so well for years but now in a different language without the convenience  of modern equipment? I am having to be reliant on other people as I have to ask for rides from other missionaries to even go to the grocery store which is 1.5 hour away. Learning to cook for myself has been a whole other adventure in itself.   ...

      It has been a rough week for all of us here at Hospital Loma as we have had three deaths in this week alone. All of them being completely unexpected, one of which was a beautiful 18 month old little girl and another that was horribly traumatic for us all.  We attempt to resuscitate almost everyone who goes into cardiac arrest because we believe that everyone is worth a second chance at life in God's eyes. A second chance to believe in the God who saves. Although we try, it is seldom that we are successful at reviving someone due to our lack of resources and inability to provide effective post-cardiac arrest care. It doesn't keep us from trying.        One of the major issues that effects patient care is the mindset of the population of the people who we care for on a daily basis. They are poor. Very poor. Just providing for their daily needs is a constant struggle. Although Hospital Loma de Luz is a mission hospital, the go...

        One beautiful, quiet morning a couple of weeks ago, I was very contentedly sleeping in when I heard loud banging on the front door and someone yelling, "Hellooooo!" Seeing as my roommate, Lizzie, and I have an open door policy, I found that very strange. Most of the other missionaries know to just let themselves in. "Mehh, It can't be that important," I thought, "I am going back to sleep." A few minutes later, I get woken up again by a text message from Lizzie, who was standing in the kitchen, saying that our apartment was flooded.         I jump out of bed in a flash and open my bedroom door to find myself standing in a couple inches of water and water spraying out from under our kitchen sink. That banging on my front door was my neighbor, Hannah, who had jumped out of bed into a lake in her bedroom.  Water continued to spray as we waited for maintenance. Not only did our apartment and the apartment next to us flood, but our...

Ya know when you have one of "those days", one of those horrible, terrible, no good, very bad days? I had one of them the other day and it was awful. It started out that I hadn't slept well for a few days so I was kind of grumpy. Everything that I touched seemed to break or malfunction, it was unbearably hot, I cut open my finger attempting to open one of those loathed glass ampules (my nurse friends know!), and I couldn't seem to find anything. On top of it all I found out only a couple hours into my shift that my dear friend, who was going to come visit me here in Honduras next week, isn't coming anymore. So I was tired, frustrated, dying of heat stoke, and now completely heart broken. I wanted nothing more than to hide from everyone in my air conditioned and have a good cry because it was definitely the end of the world.  Our miracle baby - Issis Milagro     It was the very end of my shift at 2pm, when the mother of our premature baby at the end of the h...

Exodus 17:10-13 So Joshua did what Moses had commanded and fought the army of Amalek. Meanwhile, Moses, Aaron, and Hur climbed to the top of a nearby hill. As as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses' arms soon became so tired he could not longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle.  The other day, as I was giving Jasmine her scheduled tube feeding of yogurt and  protein, my arms grew increasingly numb and tingly as I held up the syringe high in the air to allow the feeding to drain down the tube.  As I was watching the ventilator give Jasmine her every breath, my tired arms reminded me of the story of Moses in Exodus. As long as he held his arms up before the Lord, the I...

Zika ... it's all over local news channels, in the news papers, and is a common topic of discussion. In the months of preparation for my arrival first in Guatemala and in Honduras, many people have asked me, "But aren't you scared of getting Zika?" I can honestly say that I am not because I am not getting pregnant and most people who get zika don't have symptoms or think that they have a mild flu. Zika generally is of no concern for a non-pregnant person. There are mosquito spread virus here in central American that are much more severe than Zika to the point that they can even be deadly. Dengue Fever is one of those mosquito spread viruses.  When bitten by a mosquito carrying Dengue Fever, a person will develop a sudden onset of a high fever, severe joint pain, a rash, and mild bleeding. In some cases, like in that of 12 year old Jasmine, dengue can have deadly consequences.    It started last week when Jasmine arrived in our 3 bed emergency room in severe pain...

I'm here at Hospital Loma de Luz! I still can't believe it! Someone pinch me because it still feels like   I am dreaming! What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been. I left language school on May 20th and returned to Maine for a month to continue fundraising. I am just blown away by the generosity of people. What a blessing you all are! As of  the week of June 8th, I had my official approval to leave for Honduras and on Father's Day I was officially on my way! After two days of travel and staying overnight with another wonderful missionary family in San Pedro Sula I arrived at Hospital Loma de Luz. I have spent the past few days settling into my apartment, meeting all of the other missionaries here, and going into the city for groceries, etc. I started orientation in the hospital yesterday which was also my birthday! What an amazing birthday present to be able to start the work that God has called me to do on my birthday! God is so good!  After finishing a few weeks...

 My dear friends and family, I can't believe that my time here at language school in Antigua, Guatemala is coming to an end. Time has gone by so quickly as I am here for only three more weeks! God is doing amazing things here that has been so fun to be part of! I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here studying Spanish and meeting friends who are also beginning their journeys as new missionaries as well. The bond that we have with each other in Christ and what God has called us to do is amazing!  Although I have visited  a couple of orphanages and volunteered with at the hospital a little bit, this time in Guatemala has been that of preparation for when I will be leaving to work at Hospital Loma de Luz in Honduras full time. I am hoping to leave for Honduras at the end of June. The the role I will be taking as nurse in at the hospital is not a paid position as the hospital is missionary and donation run. I am required to raise money to $1,300 a month in financial support t...

¡Hola from Guatemala!     una Alfombra made of dyed sawdust  It has been crazy here in Antigua due to Semana Santa (Holy Week) being last week. It has finally returned to normal life. Guatemalans start celebrating the death of Christ six weeks before Easter with a procesión (parade) every Sunday with the climax being Good Friday. Each of one of these procesións consists of a float or two that depicts a different scene in the chronological story of the death of Christ, an orchestra, lots of burning incense, and hundreds of Guatemalan attendants. The huge floats (some weighing upwards of 7,000 lbs) are carried through the narrow, cobblestone streets of Antigua by hundred of Guatemalans. These floats are carried over very artistic and unique alfombras (carpets) made of pine needles, colored sawdust, fruit, and other things. Streets are often blocked off for hours with no alternative route as the procesións slowly make their way through town. These proc...

¡Hola mis amigos! ¿Cómo estás? I can't believe that I have been here in Antigua Guatemala for over  una semana (a week) already but then on the other hand, it feels like I have been here forever! It has been quite the adventure! I arrived at my host family's home late last Saturday night so I was pleasantly surprised to see the gorgeous view of the erupting el volcán fuego (the volcano fire) and the montañas (mountains) from my porch on Sunday morning. El volcán fuego erupted for several days in a row. What a beautiful sight! When it became very quiet at night, I could actually hear the firecracker-like sound of el volcán fuego erupting from my room.           I started my Spanish studies at Christian Spanish Academy on Monday morning. The school is just a short walk from my host family's house. My studies consist of 5 hours of private tutoring a day with mi maestra (my teacher) Orquidia. This sweet Guatemalan lady is filled with the joy...

Last night, I was looking at the weather for Antigua, Guatemala and discovered that the biggest adventure of my life is now on the 10 day forecast! And so it begins! One week from today, I will be leaving my ever so familiar home and family in Maine and flying over 3,300 miles to Antigua, Guatemala, where I have never been, to study Spanish for 3 months. After language school, I will be returning to Honduras in June, Lord willing, to work as a nurse at Hospital Loma de Luz on the South Eastern coast for a least a 2 year term. I am so overwhelmed with emotion right now. Sad to leave everything and everyone so familiar and dear to my heart at home, excited to get to know God in a deeper way by following His calling, scared about facing the unknown, happy to be on a new adventure and then to return to the people of Honduras who stole my heart 3 years ago, overwhelmed by the generosity of people who are making my mission in Honduras possible.  Above all, I am thrilled to have this opp...