T Minus 7 Days and Counting

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 opportunity after language school to work along side of other missionaries at Hospital Loma de Luz to bring hope and healing to Hondurans who have none. Yes, I am scared and nervous but I know that God is in control of all things and I am so grateful for that!
         Prayer requests:
         1) safety while traveling and staying in Guatemala
         2) that I will be able to easily learn Spanish so that I can effectively communicate with the Guatemalan and Honduran people
   3) that I will be fully funded by the time the end of language school so that I can immediately begin working at the hospital in Honduras

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Jupiter, Saturn, Youranus

A happy baby boy whose anus is functioning very well hence his smile under that blanket Okay We're going to talk about poop. Let's be real... not being able to poop is terrible. We have all been there. Now imagine being born without the ability to poop. Yep...it's horrible. Did you know that you could have been born with one of two congenital defects resulting in it being impossible for you to poop? It's true! One condition is called Hirschsprung disease when you actually lack the muscles to expel your poop so it just stays in there and builds up over time ... well you can imagine what happens. It is not pleasant. This usually results in a permanent colostomy and much relief. The more common condition is that you are actually born without an anus. Just imagine that. In this case you would get a colostomy at birth. If you are blessed to live in America, you would possibly have the surgery to create a hole, have months of dilation of that new hole, and take l

Left Behind

One of our new moms died this week leaving behind a beautiful premature baby girl. It was the first maternal death I have experienced in the three years that I have been here and quite possibly the first in the 20 year existence of the the hospital. It was tragic for all of those involved. The culprit .... acute fatty liver of pregnancy. It used to be that this condition was 100% fatal but with so many incredible advances in technology it has lowered to 18% in the United States. That is still pretty high. Acute fatty liver of pregnancy is a very rare condition that can happen toward the end of pregnancy or even up to a few days after delivery. It happens when the expectant mother has a genetic disorder that causes the "cell's powerhouse, the mitochondira, are not breaking down fatty acids that help the body process proteins, carbohydrates, or lipids(fat). This causes fat molecules to build up in the essential organs such as the liver, kidneys, and even the placenta res

The Five Letter Word

"Quiet" ... My mere utterance of this taboo word in the hospital brings scolding from who ever hears it. The thought being that the word being spoken aloud will bring a return of the craziness. The hospital is QUIET! For several weeks now, the hospital has been in a tranquil state. Clinic has been running as usual every week day with the emergency room and labor ward being open around the clock. But it has been quiet! No traumas, critically ill patients, or babies on ventilators for weeks now. We are so thankful that God has given us some time of tranquility to rest. To rest physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually and to recover from six really difficult months. The tranquility has brought time to slow down, to enjoy time in the Word, to make cookies, to spend time with friends in the village, to get away for the weekend, to paddle out to the reef and enjoy the beauty of God's creation. Time to stop and watch in the hospital hallway as a young amputee walked

Mending Bodies and Healing Hearts

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