Missionary, Mother, Wife and Nurse

Trinity Presbyterian - Mission Trip - February 2012

2012-02-11T09:59:00.000-06:00

February 6-11, 2012 we hosted a short-term mission team from Trinity Presbyterian Church of Harrisburg, PA. The team put on three medical clinics and treated 160 patients. They also did construction on a ministry center, taught English, organized Kids Club, treated the residents at our newly opened home for teen moms and served homeless kids on the streets.

Watch this 2 minute and 30 second video to see the great work:

Clinic in La Fe

2012-02-09T07:33:00.000-06:00

La Fe - or "Faith" is a new community our team just started working in. Ashley and Mike Troxell have been searching for a community where they feel led to work in. God led them to La Fe. They walked the community several times and finally settled on this area. To kick off their ministry we held a clinic in the small village of about 100 homes, 1000 people. Dr. Greg and Pastor Mike are here for the week and we took that opportunity to spend the day in La Fe. Overall we saw about 65 people. The biggest "issue" we saw was the severe malnourishment in this community. There is no water to the village, it's only been in existence since 2010. So - they get their water from the local contaminated river, or from a community near them. So, bucket by bucket they bring water to their homes. Also, the lack of latrines (toilet facilities) seems to be a big problem in this community as well.

Dr. Greg and I assessing how / where to set up the clinic

We were well received! Needless to say, there were still way too many people that arrived then we could see, but we did see many sick people. We did a number of ultrasounds, and gave out parasite meds and vitamins to everyone who came. We prayed with, and loved on these beautiful people.

Ashley doing intake

Stefani, a sweet little girl who hung out with us all day

me helping out with a young woman involved in a serious motorcycle accident

Pastor Mike walking the community

Mike Troxell checking things out

Two little ones left to themselves while their mother was down at the river washing clothes

This area of La Fe will be the Troxell's primary ministry area, but I also will be privileged in being a part of their ministry as well as we will most likely be hosting 2 medical clinics a month there. This will be exciting to see where God will take this community.

Clinic

2012-02-07T06:36:00.000-06:00

This week we have the privilege of hosting Dr. Greg and Pastor Mike. Dr. Greg has been coming to Honduras for quite some time, this is his 5th trip here. With him he brings Pastor Mike who will be bringing some folks down this summer. Because we have extra hands, we are doing many different medical events this week. We are hosting 2 clinic in Armenia, 1 in our new ministry area that the Troxell's will be working in, a day with Kate working with Street Children, and even a quick trip to the teen house. During this time Dr. Greg has been schooling me on the use of the ultrasound machine. He, of course, makes it look oh so easy - I described it yesterday as like trying to drive with your eyes closed. So hard trying to get your bearings on where in the world you are, what you are looking at, and trying to measure those elusive parts! I guess I didn't get good at what I do overnight either...so I need to give myself some patience.

Yesterday we saw 50 patients, did 11 ultrasounds, had mad children, very sick patients, but good times indeed! Prayed with, loved on, and spent time with lots of people.

Village Doctor

2012-02-01T11:31:00.001-06:00

When I started taking my pre-requisites for nursing school almost 20 years ago, never did I imagine doing what I am doing now. As many times as I've told the small village where I work that I'm a nurse...in their eyes it doesn't matter. I'm "Doctora Teresa" (I use my middle name - Teresa is so common here - Erin - not). Nursing is what I wanted to do - I wanted to spend time with people, listen to their needs and problems, be an ear or a shoulder to cry on. That's what I did. I was good at it. I worked mostly in pediatric oncology, so I had a LOT of opportunity to do it.

Now - people come to me with normal stuff - aches, pains, parasites, wounds that need cleaning, ear infections, high blood pressure, diabetes. I've had to stretch myself. I've had to become something more than what I am. I'm not afraid to say, "I don't know" and direct them somewhere else. I'm also not afraid to tell them like it is. There is almost zero patient education here. Last week one of our workers had a mild stroke. He went to the doctor and they did not do any immediate care - they gave him ibuprofen and an antibiotic and sent him on his way. When I asked him what the doctor told him to do he said "He told me to take these pills." Nothing else? I asked? "No." So, I devised a simple change of lifestyle for him - AND his family - will be monitoring his blood pressure and blood sugar (both of which were high), and try and get him on a path of wellness. But I did tell him - you don't change - you will die from this.

This is what my "job" is now. Meeting people at their level. Being the village doctor. Praying with and for them. Educating young pregnant mothers in how to live a healthy pregnancy and have a safe/healthy baby. Loving them as a whole.

Wound care of a sweet lady that comes every week to see me

Last week a young woman came to see me. She had a fairly bad urinary tract infection. She had already been to the doctor and had received medication - but she admitted that she stopped taking it because it made her feel "weak". After almost 30 minutes of conversation, some loving, then some severe lecturing - I stopped. Sat back, and told her, "I love this community, I love the people here, and am grateful that you came by today. But the only way to help you is if you help yourself. You must care for your body. You must have more than 1 glass of fluids in a day. You must eat vegetables. And you MUST take your medication." She looked at me so perplexed - I don't think anyone had ever told her that she has the ability to take control of her life and has the ability to be proactive in her health. Then I prayed with her, I kissed her on the cheek, and gave her some more medication with a promise that she would drink more water and take her meds.

Taking care of these precious ones...

So...Doctora Teresa I am. Helping with the physical and spiritual ailments of the community, and loving on people. What a privilege.

And this precious one

School Supplies 2012

2012-01-29T05:56:00.000-06:00

On January 28th our mission team provided school supplies for 467 kids in the super-poor community of Armenia Bonito outside of La Ceiba, Honduras. Without this blessing many of these children would not be able to afford school in the 2012 school year.

Watch this 2 minute 30 second video to see the happy faces:

San Francisco 49ers / NY Giants Food Challenge

2012-01-27T16:47:00.000-06:00

A week before last weekends playoff game, Mike challenged me to make a SF/NY fun meal to eat during the game. So, I had to think of what I could either purchase or make - most things you might think of you can't run down to the store to purchase.

So, the meal to represent San Francisco was sourdough rounds, scooped out the innards, and seafood chowder was put inside. Had to start the sourdough rounds a few days ahead of time as it takes quite some time. The only way I had even considered this was because about a month ago I had made my own starter, so it was waiting for me. Then the chowder - clams are all but impossible to find here - I've found some tinned clams before, but none this time - so instead I used shrimp, oysters, crab and potatoes - whipped up some chowder and put in the hot bowls...YUM!!!

The meal for New York - home made pizza! Thin crust so you had to fold it to eat it - and of course GINORMOUS size!

Those with a couple of beers...and we watched the game!

Fun times!

Puerta de Esperanza - Door of Hope - Honduras

2012-01-25T18:22:00.000-06:00

On January 25th our mission team opened a home for young mothers and their babies in La Ceiba, Honduras. Puerta de Esperanza (or Door of Hope) is a place where these teenage mothers can escape the streets, violence and substance abuse and find the hope, love and mercy of Jesus Christ.

Watch this 2 minute 45 second video:

Piecaken

2012-01-21T16:27:00.000-06:00

So...my husband gave me a food challenge. Why you may ask?! Because our friend Jamie (of the Very Worst Missionary) tweeted about it. I don't know if she's still my friend after this challenge...

And so it began - piecaken. You've heard of turducken, right? (a duck inside of a chicken inside of a turkey), same idea - just in dessert mode (pie inside of a cake) there are no instructions for this kind of thing so I just did what I thought would work. And learned some VERY important things for the next time (I still haven't decided if there will BE a next time). The idea is when you cut into it you get both cake and pie.

What did I do wrong? Chose too gooey of a pie (apple definitely for the next one - or chocolate pie), chose too small of a cake pan (going for the BIG springform pan the next time), and used too much cake batter (bubbled over and made a mess on the bottom of my oven). So - lots of changes the next time - but here is what it looked like:

blueberry pie made the night before

first layer of cake dough

pie removed from the pie pan and placed on top of the layer of cake dough

batter poured to cover pie

out of the oven - yes, it sunk

cream cheese frosting

first cut

plated

It Is ALIVE!!!

2012-01-17T20:25:00.001-06:00

Okay - go with me on this...I KNOW you've done it! I KNOW you've gone to Google and hopefully/prayerfully/wishfully typed in some totally ridiculous sentence hoping SOMETHING will appear, say, "Who was the brother of Mindy on Mork and Mindy who appeared in the third scene of the 5th show..." and somehow/usually SOMETHING shows up, right? And you sit and are amazed at the incredible universe of the WWW.

Well...before we left on furlough, I had been saving $25.00 a month for quite some time so when I went back to the States I would be able to purchase a KitchenAid with a few accessories. And that's what I did - Macy's was kind enough to have most of their kitchen stuff on sale and my BFF Mindy happened to have a discount card I was also able to use. I walked out with my red (so me) KitchenAid and several accessories, and a huge grin on my face. Six months later I arrived back in Honduras and used it a bit - played with it - used my accessories to shred cheese in seconds...that kind of thing. The time my mother was sick, and all but comatose, one of the things I did was read through the 600 page Bread Bible. When I returned to Honduras I subsequently started making a new type of bread almost every day. I blogged on several of them. Then one fatal day...I was making pizza crust - LOTS of pizza crust. Why? It was our Lord-of-the-Rings-extended-watch-a-thon and we watched them all day and ate home made pizza. Until I decided to put way too much dough in (instead of making it in two batches), and put the speed up way too high. I know...I know... - WHY?! do you ask?! Because I thought I could! It was a KitchenAid afterall! I've beat it up, abused it, dropped it - whatever - and it just keeps on keeping on. But suddenly it wouldn't turn my dough hook Oh my gosh...and here is where I will admit to my weakness. I cried. Not like out loud, sobbing, "Dobby just died" kind of crying, but a huge tear ran down my cheek and my chin was dropped to my chest and I thought, "what in the world am I going to do now?" Forget the 1-800 number - been there done that with other things and the second they hear we are out of country it's always "sorry, I can't help you." Well, I don't need to tell you that there IS NO repair place here for KitchenAid's. No one for me to turn to, no Sears department that can fix anything. I already started thinking if I saved $25.00 every month again - how long would it take for me to save up to buy another one. It had already become a part of my routine kitchen prep. I was so sad, and couldn't imagine not having it.

So, in a desperate state - I sat down in front of my computer. I went to Google. I don't even remember exactly what I typed in, but something, I'm sure to this effect, "What do I do if my Kitchenaid doesn't spin and won't knead my dough anymore...." (like anything would come up - what was I thinking?!) and yet...there it was...what came up?! A You Tube Video entitled, "How to fix a KitchenAid Mixer that isn't spinning." Seriously?! Can it be that "easy"?! So I looked at the video, took a deep breath, got my hammer, screwdrivers, and put my head phones in and started the video. I started getting farther and farther in it, my entire KitchenAid was completely apart, and then the fear began.

WHAT have I done?!?!

Are you freaking kidding me?! I'm stupid. What was I thinking? Like I could actually repair this thing. There is NO way I'm going to make this thing work ever again! There are so many parts! But onward I went. What was my choice? And there it was...the CULPRIT!!!! The "Worm Gear" - see...I even sound smart! (because that's what the guy on the video said it was), but of course he pulled out his handy dandy replacement Worm Gear.

The culprit - the Worm Gear - see those smashed in pieces of 4 teeth - the gears would just slip and not turn

My next stumbling block...there was NO way I would be able to find one of those here. So - I did the next cool WWW thing. Amazon.com. Typed in Worm Gear and sure enough! There it was!!! I ordered two! Sent them to my sweet mother-in-law, then waited. A week to get to her, and then over 2 weeks to get to me. And today it came.

So there I sat...with ALL my pieces of KitchenAid. Seriously? OH my gosh...there's no way...the fear came back. My heart skipped a few beats...okay not really...but it SHOULD have! I pulled up my video that I first watched over 3 weeks ago and watched the second half of the video, "how to put it back together again." And 30 minutes later, lots of huh? going on, a small plea to my husband to get the stupid pivot bar back in...and then THE moment. Plug it in...I literally held my breath...this was it. Start saving $25.00 a month or get back to bread making. And?!?!?!.....

Final Product!

IT WORKED!!!! I DID IT!!!!! I was So amazed that I could do this with a little help (okay - a LOT of help) from the WWW - but I did it. A fully functioning KitchenAid. Now - time to get back to bread making!

What in the WORLD did missionaries do even just 20 years ago?! Surely not fix their KitchenAid.

Sun dried Tomatoes

2012-01-15T18:09:00.000-06:00

Before

If there is one thing to know about me if you don't, if there is something that I want that I can't get here I figure out how to make it! I wanted to make a recipe that included Sun Dried Tomatoes. Can't buy them here...so I was determined to make them. Well...6 hours later I went from 10 full tomatoes, to a small container of sun dried tomatoes. And OH are they amazing! Yum!

After

My dad is coming!!!!

2012-01-10T21:24:00.000-06:00

My mom passed away November 17th...it's a date that is forever in my memory. She was such an incredible woman, a loving mother, a devoted wife, and a sweet lady. Much of what I do I do with an undercurrent of thought, "would what I'm doing be approved by my mother?" With that in mind I try to be an upstanding woman, a good wife, a good mother. She leaves behind a beloved son - my brother, and a sweet husband - my father. I called my dad today and he said he is going to try and come see me in March! My parents were just planning their trip here when my mom got sick and passed before they were able to come. But my dad is coming! He's coming!!!! Hasn't purchased the tickets yet, but we were talking and making plans. My heart is full. I can't wait! I love him dearly and can't wait to give him a big hug and love all over him!!

Quilting

2012-01-08T20:53:00.000-06:00

laying out the pieces on the sketch Madison drew

I made a quilt for Madison when she was 4 years old. Let's just say you almost can't recognize that it's a quilt anymore. It's falling apart. I've patched and patched and re-patched parts until I told her she just had to put it up. She took one look at me and said, "Not until you make me another quilt." Okay then...so my challenge to her was - design the quilt that you want me to make. Her room has a Chinese theme, and one of her walls is painted dark blue, and she has placed stars in many constellations. So, she drew a picture of a swirling universe, surrounded by stars. I've quilted for quite some time, but I must say, I've always used a pattern to go from. Never had I truly created a quilt completely on my own. It was going to be a challenge indeed. On top of the fact I didn't have my incredible sewing machine anymore. Gave that up before we left for the field. I have this piece of garbage sewing machine that I use, but that's all I had - so the challenge was on. Madison picked out the material, designed the quilt, and helped pencil it out and lay it out. Finished it a few days ago and she LOVES it! Has told me she will be taking it to college. I love my kid :-)

Center of the Universe

Madison laying out her stars

final product

close up of final product

Vision trip to Honduras

2012-01-06T08:37:00.004-06:00

Vision Trip To Honduras

by Mike

Did you ever wonder what our ministry in Honduras was like? Have you or your church ever considered getting more involved? Now is the time. In conjunction with MTW, our mission-sending agency, we are organizing a Vision Trip to Honduras so others can see and learn about God’s work here in La Ceiba.

April 21-27, 2012 we are inviting 20 people to come down to Honduras and spend time with our eight-person mission team. Participants will be introduced to the missionaries and Honduran nationals who make this work possible. We will provide tours of the community and explanations of our work and the ministry we lead.

Participants will discover more about our StreetChild ministry, Door of Hope, medical ministry, church planting and short-term mission trips. This trip will help expose you to the amazing work being done here and give you or your church the information you need to get further involved.

Your lodging, meals and ground transportation will all be arranged for you. If you wish to learn how you or your church can attend this Vision Trip to Honduras click HERE.

Urgent Need In La Ceiba, Honduras

2012-01-03T07:15:00.000-06:00

For over a year our mission team in Honduras has been simultaneously constructing two ministry centers in two super-poor communities in La Ceiba, Honduras. On these properties we are building two high schools, two medical clinics, two churches, a covered soccer field, a theological seminary and a center for homeless children.

We are asking you to prayerfully consider giving a one-time financial gift to help us meet the construction costs. Here are two exciting reasons why you should consider giving now:

1) For a limited time a generous supporter has agreed to match every gift received $1 for $1. If you donate $100 we will receive $200.

2) Any financial gift you give is tax-deductible.

Honduras has the 2nd poorest economy in Latin America. The average Honduran makes only $3,000 a year and the unemployment rate is above 30%. These ministry centers will greatly address the physical and spiritual needs of this 250,000 person city.

Downtown La Ceiba Ministry Center
To learn more about our downtown ministry center watch our 3-minute video by clicking HERE.

To make an easy online contribution with your debit/credit card to our downtown ministry center click HERE.

Armenia Bonito Ministry Center
To learn more about our Armenia Bonito ministry center watch our 3-minute video by clicking HERE.

To make an easy online contribution with your debit/credit card to our Armenia Bonito ministry center click HERE.

Send an e-mail HERE if you'd rather receive information about writting a check.

Please be in prayer that God will provide the funds we need to complete these ministry centers. Also, please consider forwarding this information on to your church or friends and ask them if they would be interested in supporting God’s work in Honduras.

Thank you so much your prayers and support.

MTW Newsletter

2011-12-30T09:17:00.000-06:00

Mercy ministry is one of the primary things I do here. One of our evaluators, when commenting on our final eval right before we were approved said to Mike and me, "Wherever you end up going, one thing is for sure. You HAVE to go somewhere where Erin can use her medical mercy/compassion gifts. This is such a part of her." I have attached the end of the year MTW newsletter - it's an incredible read, and kind of neat that they included an event that happened at one of my weekly medical clinics. You can read it here.

Christmas in Honduras

2011-12-28T11:38:00.000-06:00

Christmas in Honduras is pretty much like Christmas in the States with a few large differences. First, most Hondurans celebrate on the 24th of December. When I was out in the village doing an Advent Calendar with the kids, and a count-down until Christmas, they ALL put the date on the 24th. I think this is primarily because they open presents at midnight on the 24th/25th. So for them, Christmas starts on the 24th. Because of this, the country shoots off fireworks starting around 11pm on the 24th and ending just past midnight (and sometimes later). Here in the Pettengill household, we held to our traditions. Big Christmas Eve dinner - with all of Team Honduras over. We potlucked it and the food was AMAZING! We each pulled names for a Secret Santa and shared the gifts, final advent calendar, and a celebration of Christmas through bible verses and Christmas carols. We ended the night with a Dance competition via Wii - fun had by all (except the party-pooper guys who couldn't get their whiteness on the dance floor) - but even the ladies were up dancing away!

Christmas day for the Pettengills is a quiet day. We start with a bible reading, then opening stockings, then Christmas presents. The remainder of the day is usually filled with playing games that we opened, watching movies, and just enjoying being a family. It was truly wonderful. This was a first of many first, however. First Christmas without my mom. And, my dad was staying at my step-sisters house, and unreachable, so not even a phone call to say hello. But my heart is healing, although I know there will always be a place in my heart where my mother holds dear and it will be there forever :-) Love you sweet mom! Merry Christmas!

Madison starting to open all her goodies

Mike enjoying his stocking goodies...

Gringo VBS In Honduras

2011-12-23T08:01:00.000-06:00

Our mission team realized that while we serve the kids of Honduras every day our own kids are often neglected. In fact, some of our own children hadn't attended a vacation bible school (VBS) in almost four years. So Team Honduras organized a gringo VBS for the five kids of our mission team. The week before Christmas our own children were treated to daily bible studies, games, crafts and songs.

Watch this 3 minute and 30 second video to so our great VBS:

Christmas Celebration In Honduras

2011-12-21T08:37:00.000-06:00

On December 20, 2011 our mission team treated five girls from the community of Armenia Bonito to a special Christmas celebration. The girls were served dinner, received a Christmas gift and attended a Christmas concert.

Watch this 2 minute and 10 second video to see the joy of Christmas:

Thank You Valley Springs Presbyterian Church

2011-12-20T13:34:00.000-06:00

Thank you to Valley Springs Presbyterian Church (of Roseville, CA) for making 100 handmade gift bags and quilts. Those gifts were given to the needy people who live in Armenia Bonito in Honduras. This video is to show our appreciation to Valley Springs and the people there.

Watch this one minute THANK YOU video:

Kids Christmas Party 2011

2011-12-17T17:12:00.000-06:00

On December 17, 2011 our mission team hosted our 4th annual Kids Christmas Party in the poor community of Armenia Bonito in La Ceiba, Honduras. Over 230 kids received games, Christmas songs, a Gospel presentation, a Christmas gift and a plate of food. This event was a great blessing.

Watch this 2 minutes and 10 second video to see the real Christmas spirit:

Madison and grades

2011-12-15T15:00:00.002-06:00

So I love my kid...I think she's pretty cool. AND...she got her second quarter grades today - made Director's Honor Roll (the only kid in 10th grade to do this). And her teacher was sweet and told me how much she loves my kid - but not as much as I do :-) Pretty cool I might add that half her classes are in Spanish and half in English :-)

I love my girl.

Under The Mango Update - Winter 2011

2011-12-11T08:34:00.000-06:00

We are constructing a Christian ministry center in downtown La Ceiba, Honduras. This facility will contain a high school, church, medical clinic, a theological seminary, a homeless child center and a two-story dorm.

Watch this 3 minute and 40 second video to see all the progress:

Armenia Bonito Ministry Center - Winter 2011 Update

2011-12-09T12:35:00.002-06:00

Here is an update of the two acre ministry center we are constructing in Armenia Bonito, located in La Ceiba, Honduras. This facility will contain a high school, church, medical clinic and a multi-use building.

Watch this 3 minute and 40 second video to so all the great work:

Hymns in Spanish

2011-12-06T09:11:00.000-06:00

I have a sweet friend who has dedicated the last few years putting together an incredible web site and resource for those working in Spanish speaking areas, or who work with Spanish speaking folks in the U.S. He and some fellow friends translated, put to music, and provide demos (and a CD) to 40 hymns. His web site is www.alabanzare.com If you click on the Himnario at the top of the web site it will direct you to all the hymns in Spanish. He has "okayed" me to pass this information on so you all can benefit from his hard work. Enjoy!

A Foundation Formed

2011-12-04T09:12:00.001-06:00

3 1/2 years ago Mike, Madison and I arrived in La Ceiba, Honduras, with the idea that we were here to do God's work. Little did we realize what HE had in store for us! First we applied and received our residency, while at the same time establishing a recognized church by the government. The church couldn't be recognized until it's board members (Mike and I) were residents. Once we received our residency, the church was officially recognized by the government of Honduras. In the meantime we started building. Building structures, and building an amazing team! Two High Schools, two medical clinics, a seminary, Street Children (run by Kate DeFuniak.) and a single mom's house run by our team mate Shannon Innes, and the construction and short-team hospitality overseen by our team mates the Clow's our team has been running non-stop. We have more coming...The Troxell's will be working in another area of La Ceiba, The McLaughlin's will be joining us and the Cain's will be coming also. And then...we needed a Foundation. The Foundation has become Puerta de Esperanza (the door of hope). This was inspired by Shannon and her women's house for high-risk pregnant and/or single mom's. The Foundation's name and legal standing will oversee all of our other ministries that we start. It's been a long time in coming...and little did Shannon know that when she chose the name, she would be choosing the name for our future Foundation. But what a great message. Shannon chose this name because she was inspired from Hosea 2:14-20 (verse 15 refers to the Door of Hope)

The LORD’s Mercy on Israel

¹⁴"Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
   and bring her into the wilderness,
   and speak tenderly to her.
¹⁵And there I will give her her vineyards
   and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
   as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁶"And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me 'My Husband,' and no longer will you call me 'My Baal.' ¹⁷For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. ¹⁸And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. ¹⁹And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. ²⁰ I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD.

To be consistent, there is a likelihood (although we shall see as time passes) to use "Puerta de Esperanza" and attach what the ministry is - "casa" - for the women's house, "hogar" - for the children's house - "clinica de salud" for the medical clinic...who knows...we shall see as the Lord leads where this will go.

Childbirth Classes

2011-12-02T15:46:00.000-06:00

Jolie and her sweet baby wearing clothes she received from my class

I have posted before about the prenatal classes I am teaching in Armenia Bonito, and am now starting to see fruit from that. Three moms who have attended my classes have all given birth, and to some extent all have used techniques they learned in my class. They've also received tons of additional information about labor and delivery, and some free gifts for attending the class. Soaring Oaks Church - my home church - held a baby shower for me when I was home. A friend of mind, Annette C. had sent me an e-mail and asked if there was a way they could help out - and she set the whole thing up. I would love to post pictures from the event, but on my way to the States my camera was stolen...sigh...so no pics. The ladies at the church all turned out and I was OVERWHELMED at the love that poured forth from all of them. The gifts they gave will go a long way to provide some much needed necessities for the very poor ladies in the village. After the moms deliver, I take some pictures of their babies, print them out at home, laminate them and give them to the moms. These are probably the only pictures they will ever have, and I feel privileged to be able to give this small gift to them. I look forward to when our clinic opens, and I can offer more of these types of services!

Kids Club

2011-11-29T18:42:00.004-06:00

Damaris, Keidy, Sairy

I've been doing Kids Club since summer teams left and wanted to do things a little different; to make it more of a "club", and engage the kids in some deeper thinking. So - I started the children's catechism. I'm taking it slow. I want the kids to get a deep understanding of each question and each bible verse. So - I'm taking 1 - 2 weeks per question, and 1 week for the bible verse memorization. So - we just started week 7 and question number 3. It is SO exciting to have 35+ kids all reciting the answer to the questions and all knowing the bible verses week after week. I review each question and each bible verse EACH week - to keep things fresh and in the front of their memory, so they can hide Gods word in their heart. I also have bible verse and catechism question cards to take home - many have told me they are putting them on their walls to remind themselves. I also am sending home a take home sheet to share with their parents. It goes over what they learned that day, verses to study, ways to apply the lesson to their lives, and a prayer to say each night. The kids love this too - it's a way to share with their parents what they are doing and a great way of parent participation.

As for a craft today, we made an Advent Calendar. You know - paper rings you all made as a kid as garland for your tree. The kids absolutely LOVED it! Of course cutting out 25 pieces of paper per kid and wrapping each up in ribbon took a LONG time last night! Whew! But when I explained that each day in December they should tear off a ring to count down the days until Christmas they were horrified!!!! They all wanted them as decoration for their rooms - I doubt a single kid will tear off their rings. Ah well - they all got the idea and were all so meticulous in making each ring perfect.

Because of the way I am structuring Kids Club, I am easily averaging 35 - 40 kids each week. This is the most amount of consistent kids I think we've had! And we are getting some new kids too - that are coming each week! Praise God in the teachings they are receiving!

School Supply Drive

2011-11-28T15:36:00.001-06:00

School Supplies for Armenia Bonito

We would like you to prayerfully consider providing school supplies for the children in Armenia Bonito. Please purchase school supplies, have a school supply drive at your church, or have the children all bring in school supplies for the children in Armenia Bonito and mail them to this address by December 31st:

Mike & Erin Pettengill
P.O. Box 1090
La Ceiba, Atlantida
Honduras
Centeral America

Let us know if you would rather send money and Team Honduras can purchase supplies in Honduras.

Video from last years school supply drive:

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T10:44:00.001-06:00

Enjoying the feast

So...life goes on...the world keeps on turning...who wudda thunk? Yeah, I know - stupid to think that God would stop time like he has in the past, for me to catch up with the world. I'm doing "okay". Honestly, as long as I don't think too hard, I can get through difficult times. It's not that I ignore the difficult things, it's just a way of coping. You know - take things in a little at a time rather than be totally overwhelmed all at once. So - that's what I'm doing. On that note, yesterday, as most of you did - we celebrated Thanksgiving! It was interesting to think of the similarities that we had with the first Thanksgiving meal. Foreigners in a strange land, relying upon the provisions that were around them, and not the ones they were used to in their country of origin. We found (or had shipped/or brought from the States) most of the things you would consider a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It was a true group effort. All of Team Honduras, and a few other missionaries that are in and around La Ceiba, and Madison's best buddy - Rudy (a Honduran) all in all 19 people joined in the festivities. We arrived at noon, and didn't leave until almost 8pm that night. We ate, played games, talked, sang, hung out and just had a GREAT time.

Rudy and Madison filling up their plates

The "Kid" table

Thank you God for the blessings of friendship, great food, and fellowship!

Sorrow

2011-11-18T01:32:00.001-06:00

Jesus wept. Two of the most profound words in the bible. The least verse in the bible, but inferior to none. "Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those that weep." (Romans 12:15). God knew there would be much sorrow in the lives of His people. He longs for us to cling to Him and through His Son understands the sorrow and so understands us. We can be amazed and in awe of a creator who cares so much for His creation that he weeps along with us. And I believe the choice of the words is no accident. Wept, not cried. The depth of the sorrow is expressed in the choice of the word. Thank you God. Thank you for loving me, caring for me, weeping with me. You are my refuge and my strength. And so tonight...I wept. I wept great tears of grief and loss. I mourn for the mother I will never see again. My heart is heavy with the tears yet unshed. I understand the sacrifice of being on the mission field and know that there will be times I am away from family. This was the most difficult thing I've had to do. I had the privilege of being able to spend some sweet time with my mother in her last days, if not her last hours. I return to California to be with my dad and mourn together. My small little family just got smaller, and this is a part that cannot be replaced. I love you sweet mom...thank you for the life you gave to me, the memories that will forever remain with me....and so I weep...yet again.

Soaring Oaks Missions Conference

2011-11-13T10:06:00.001-06:00

Had a lot of fun reconnecting with people, and hanging out with friends! The missions conference was a lot of fun - I had the opportunity to speak a thoroughly enjoyed it. Today my friends are hosting a "baby shower" for me so I can bring back things for the prenatal classes I am teaching. It's been a great trip, spending time with my mom and dad, my friends, and eating some yummy food. However, I look forward to being back home with my husband and sweet girl :-).

Back in California...

2011-11-07T02:32:00.001-06:00

...but this time it is a scheduled trip. I'm speaking at Soaring Oaks Presbyterian Church's missions conference this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I came early to visit with friends and family, and just catch up with people. Will be returning Sunday to Honduras, and as far as we know, that is the last scheduled trip we have to the States for a long time.

My mother has made vast improvements! After being in the ICU for over 3 weeks, she has "graduated" to a step-down unit. She still is on a lot of medical support, so there is no immediate plans as to when she will actually be able to leave the hospital for a sub-acute hospital (medically speaking - it's a facility that is somewhere between a skilled nursing facility and a hospital). As she will always have a trach (the tube in her neck), and only partial ventilator support, she will need to be in some sort of medical facility always, unless something can ultimately be arranged to get her home with 24-hour nursing care (this is what we are praying for).

Making Bread

2011-11-01T21:55:00.000-05:00

not the green back type, but the yeast type.

Raisin / cinnamon bread

For Christmas my dad got me a book called The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. This is a 640 page book. I realize that Christmas is still 2 months away, but since I went to California last week, my dad gave me my Christmas gifts early. And...since I was spending 8+ hours at my moms bedside, it was a great opportunity to read this great book. I know that reading a recipe book isn't normally what one does, but it is FULL of incredible information - from the science to what makes bread bread, to tricks of the trade, and even pointers for success. So, the day after I got back from California I started...

So far I have made:

White sandwich bread
baguettes
raisin / cinnamon bread
beer bread
mushroom bread
sourdough starter (waiting for it to fully ferment)

Beer bread - look at all those airy holes! Yum!

So far my favorite has been the beer bread. It has such a rich flavor, it's light, and SO amazing! What I didn't know/realize about bread - good bread that is - is it's quite complex. There is pre-fermentation (sponge, poolish, or biga), resting, rise, mold then rise again, ice cubes in the oven, pre-heating for 1 hour, etc. In other words, GREAT bread can take from 8 hours to 3 days (baguettes). Whew! Can't wait to see what else I can make.

Home

2011-10-28T09:49:00.003-05:00

For the first time in 3 weeks our family will be together - ALL together. Mike's been in the States for three weeks attending to medical needs and attending his first seminary class at RTS. I've been in the States with my family as my mom is pretty sick. Madison has been holding down the Pettengill household, and hanging with Caitlin (an intern working in La Ceiba), and our team mate Kathy and her children. Mike arrives home LATE tonight, and tomorrow - Saturday - we will be all together! Woohoo!

On a fun note - when I go to the States I always take the opportunity to bring back things that I miss. What did I bring back?

Instant Yeast
San Francisco Sour Dough bread - hand carried in my carry-on bag the whole way
Chocolate Chips
Kettle Chips - salt and vinegar
cast iron pan
Candy Corn

And most importantly - I bagged/iced/wrapped two bags of fresh cranberries! One of my favorite recipes for Thanksgiving is this amazing orange/cranberry sauce - but not having access to fresh cranberries I haven't enjoyed it for almost 4 years! Can't even wait!

I know...probably not the first things you may have thought of, but these are the things I miss or can't get here. I often wonder what the x-ray guys think, or when my bags get searched (as both my bags were) by Security what they think when they look at my array of things.

"Do you want to live?"

2011-10-24T17:25:00.003-05:00

If you've not been through something like this before, it can be quite a life changing experience. If you haven't sat at someone's bedside and have had to ask them the most difficult of all questions, "do you want to live?" this kind of thing can be humbling. Looking into the face of someone you love as they silently scream or cry (silently because there is a tube shoved down their throat), as they pound their fists as best they can on their bed, as they frantically nod "yes" when you ask the question, "do you feel like your body has failed you?" And time and time again you have to hold their hand back from pulling out the very tube that is giving them life. And finally, as the realization hits them - "this is what my life has become", and they rage against their very bodies, cry out (silently) "it's not fair." Watching this and providing encouragement is all I have to offer. It's a tough place to be...and this is where I find myself...

Prayers for my dad, my mom, the doctors and nurses as they care for her the best they can.

Mom

2011-10-21T00:46:00.001-05:00

I'm in San Jose hanging out with my mom and dad. My mom is in the hospital very sick. Her current state: she has a pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in her lung), her kidneys are failing, infection, and intubated (a tube in her lungs). Had a meeting with the doctor today to decide on the next step. My mom is a "full code" meaning that she wants everything done for her. So, based on her desires, the next step is to put in a tracheostomy (a tube into her windpipe - and the ventilator attached to that tube) so the tube is not down her throat. This is done for long-term care of people on ventilators. The next step is to place a feeding tube directly into her stomach so she can receive tube feedings. And another thing is, because she has a clot in her lungs (pulmonary embolism), she is at a huge risk for additional clots because she has some unknown bleeding disorder. So they want to place a filter near her heart so if a clot does come, it won't go into her heart - which is a death sentence. So, that filter is probably going to be placed in the next day or two, and the tracheostomy will be placed as soon as the surgeon is able to get her in - but that still may not be for another week. So, prayers for clear guidance of the best care for her, the hands of the doctors and nurses providing that care (she is receiving EXCELLENT care, by the way) and for peace.

Critters

2011-10-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

Invasion! In the past we have been invaded by ants, mice, the occasional tarantula (had one in the house yesterday), but lately we have been invaded by these little goodies:

They are millipedes and they love the current weather we are having, so are breeding like crazy. Because my doors are anything but sealed, they can wander freely under my door. They are trying to get away from the wet ground and rain, and my house seems right up their alley. I'm getting 2-4 of these guys a DAY in my house. They used to kind of freak me out, but now they are so commonplace I just scoop them out of my house with my foot or my hand.

Family Traditions

2011-10-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

So what do you do when you don't have a Michael's or a Target to run out and go get decorations? No pumpkin patch to spend the day at (going through hay mazes, or eating pumpkin pie)? There have been many books I've read about being a missionary, and one of the things that most all of them say is keeping traditions alive in your family. No matter where you are - those things you can do. Even in Costa Rica I managed to decorate the house - although it was only with paper rings made into a huge chain that had the colors of Fall, then the colors of Christmas. I know...kind of pathetic...but when that's all you have...

Here, since we plan on staying forever (unless God calls us somewhere else), one of the things I want to do is bring things back from the States each time I go, or I've even had some teams bring decorations with them. Fall is difficult in Honduras. There are two seasons here - 1. Hot 2. Hot with rain. That's it. Kind of weird when you set up decorations and you are sweating while doing it. Imagine yourself baking pumpkin cookies with a fan blowing full on your face because it's 92 degrees in your kitchen (I have a thermometer in my kitchen so I know). Just doesn't quite go with what I remember. Ah well. I will persevere! So, here's my Fall decorations - collected over 3 years of trips back to the States, and teams bringing them.

"Fall" in my house :-) - yes...those ARE real pumpkins! I found some here in La Ceiba!!!!

Something to ask when you go on a short-term trip. What does the family there need? Almost every team without exception, has asked this! We have been SO blessed to get a box of double-stuffed Oreos, or Cheez-It's. Or even some household goods - silicon spatula, that kind of thing. Impossible to buy here. One thing that ALWAYS makes my day - decorations. Silk flowers that represent any holiday, knick-nacks that represent as well. I only have decorations for Fall and Christmas - that's when (if we do) go back to the States - during that time. Try finding Easter or Valentines' decorations in October.

Children's Catechism

2011-10-11T19:28:00.002-05:00

Ever's "image" of himself

Genesis with her marshmallow man

I have made books for the kids that include the questions/answers and all the verses. At the end of each 8 week section they will get their books to keep, and we have a big feast for those kids who were able to come for most of the weeks.

Last week I started teaching the kids in Armenia the Children's Catechism. You know, "Who made you?" in addition to weekly bible verse memorization. The kids are eating it up! It's SO exciting to see. It's also very interesting to see what their bible background is. When I asked them who paid for their sins, they immediately responded "Dios" (God). But when I talked about who is Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and their relationship with God, there were blank looks all around. I was SO thrilled that the basic children's catechism can answer these type of questions. And they even learned Genesis 1:27: So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. But of course in Spanish, Dios creó al hombre a imagen Suya, a imagen de Dios lo creó; varón y hembra los creó. Génesis 1:27. And of course since I'm quizzing them and giving them treats if they can say it, then I'm learning the verses along with them! How cool is that! So, they all made "images" of themselves as a craft, then made marshmallow people that they could eat when they were done (course I looked ALL OVER the city to try and find straight pretzels to no avail, so toothpicks had to do).

Lemons

2011-10-08T11:45:00.001-05:00

So I have this tree in my backyard. It's one of my favorite trees. I use it's fruit for LOTS of things. But I forget, sometimes, how odd it actually is. Can it really be good being so huge? What am I talking about? My lemon tree in the back yard. So what...you say...it's a lemon tree. But I have a LEMON tree! My gardener wants to cut it down because the spines on it are at least an inch long and he has often been stabbed and cut by them. But I couldn't possibly get rid of my tree. I love it. You may look at the picture and think that it's impossible to have juice come out of it, that it must be dry. But au contraire. I only need 2 1/2 lemons to make 4 liters of lemonade! They are amazing. No...they are NOT grapefruit...I promise! It truly is a lemon!

We want You...For VBS

2011-10-04T09:16:00.001-05:00

(copied directly from my husbands blog)

We Want You…For VBS

Our team wants to organize a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the five missionary kids on our team. And, we’ve come to the conclusion that our kids would get more out of the VBS if it wasn’t our team doing it.

So…we want you! We are asking for a friend or church to come to Honduras and put on a small VBS for five missionary kidsDecember 19-22, 2011. Would you or your church like an opportunity to serve a bunch of missionaries? Does your church have a knock out youth coordinator you want to loan us? Did your church put on a great VBS this summer and you want to do it again in a third-world setting?

Our kids are ages eight to fifteen. We will provide lodging and meals for the VBS organizers.

If you or your church would like to come to Honduras and put on a VBS for five missionary kids this December please contact Mike via e-mail (mikepettengill@yahoo.com) or US phone (916/273-8776).

Women's Retreat

2011-10-02T10:30:00.001-05:00

Just got back from a women's retreat. It was a time of refreshment, study and fellowship.

Each of us was given a topic in advance and asked to prepare an hour-long discussion. The topics were based off of the personality and strengths of each person. Ashely talked about Prayer. Kathy talked about Finding Balance. Shannon talked about the Will Of God. Erin talked about Compassion, Mercy And Justice. And, Kate talked about Loving The Unlovable. Each of us led the group in study, prayer and discussion.

Women's Retreat

2011-09-26T07:40:00.002-05:00

Today is the first day of a women's retreat that my sweet husband put together for all the ladies on the team that could come. Kate (our future team mate) arrived a few days ago for the retreat. She will be joining us for two years come November. The Troxell's (our future team mates) are currently in language school in Costa Rica, they have joined us so Ashley could come to the women's retreat, and Mike Troxell will be hanging with my Mike. They will be joining us for 2 years come December. Shannon (2-year) and Kathy (career) will join us from La Ceiba. Unfortunately, Renee (training in Atlanta) won't join us. Don't know about internet access - so I'll possibly not be posting for a week. Back on Saturday.

Publications

2011-09-24T10:38:00.004-05:00

Just added a new tab to the left side of my blog entitled Publications. It's about my journey. My journey as a young nurse, as a Christian, and of the experiences that God has provided for me.

Modern Medicine - The Other Side of Nursing - By remembering why she became a nurse and helping those less fortunate, this nurse has finally found the fulfillment she'd been looking for.

RN Journal - Disaster Relief Response to Haiti

Young Life - Building on a Foundation

Prenatal Class

2011-09-21T07:38:00.001-05:00

Awhile ago you may have seen a post on making a placenta and a uterus. The purpose of that was to start preparing for giving a prenatal class in Armenia Bonito. As far as I know, there is only one other person in all of Honduras that is giving prenatal classes. The concept is, if you will, foreign. So I honestly didn't know if anyone would even attend. How could I lure women to come? I finally decided that if they came to my class, learned what I taught, they would receive the necessary items to have their baby at the hospital (a hat, socks, diapers, onesie, blanket), and I would attend them in the hospital when they were in labor. And not one, but four ladies came! Now, my Spanish is definitely better than when I first arrived 3 years ago - but explaining labor, Kegel exercises, Braxton-Hicks contractions, perineal massage can be challenging in English - so I knew my Spanish was going to be put to the test. But all the ladies had a GREAT time! And hour and a half later, I had taught them so much stuff, sent them home with lots to read, and plenty of things to practice at home. The funny looks I got when we were practicing our patterned breathing was quite comical to see - but I expressed the huge importance of this, and I think they got the idea. I plan on having a class the third Tuesday of each month - and am hoping to educate a lot of ladies! I look forward to seeing where this will take us!

Highwaymen and Hymns

2011-09-17T10:28:00.003-05:00

Along with Bethany, Kathy and myself, we took 5 young ladies out to a concert at one of the local churches. This is a huge event, and we had to buy tickets a week in advance to even get in. First we picked the girls up in Armenia, took them out to dinner, then headed over to the church. Two hours later, including a Passion Scene with actors and all, we headed back to take the girls to the village. We were in two cars, Kathy, her girls and Bethany were in one car, and the girls from the village and I were in another car. So, Kathy and her crew headed back to their house, and I took the girls to Armenia - it just didn't make sense to have both cars drive in the opposite direction from our house. However, that's when things got a little hairy.

Leili, Sairi, Iris, Nancy, Graci

First, I was unable to call Mike and let him know I was leaving as the cell phone service was overworked, and no calls or texts were getting out. The entire way to the village I tried to call or text him to no avail. I pulled off the main road and started driving down to the village. It's about 2 1/2 miles off of the main road. You have to pass two communities before you get to where we are going. Needless to say - it seems even longer when it's pitch black and you are the only car on the road. And that's when I noticed it. I was being followed by two motorcycles. They were keeping their distance, but following me none-the-less. I got to a split in the road. You can go either way to get to the village, it's just a big circle around the second community, but I typically take the road to the left - it's a much larger road. That's when I saw them - they split up. One went right, the other stayed behind me. They were going in for either an ambush, or were going to be waiting for me when I got back so whichever road I took, they would be waiting for me. I immediately picked up my speed. I was flying. I wanted to get ahead of the other motorcycle. I was totally keeping my cool, not letting on to the girls in the car that we were being followed. But these are not stupid girls. They know the dangers. As soon as I got into the third community where I was taking them - that's when they all erupted. "Tere (my nickname) ...there's two motorcycles following you....Tere....they are waiting for you...Tere....you can't go back!". Well...no hiding it from them. They knew what had happened. I dropped the first girl off at her house, and went another 1/2 mile into the village to drop the other girls off when they all started talking again. "Tere...you CAN'T leave! They are waiting for you! It's what they do! You have to stay!" Now keep in mind - I still hadn't been able to reach Mike. It was past 10pm at this time and I KNEW he would be so worried about me! But my cell phone still wasn't connecting. All the other girls tried their phones as well, but we all had the same service. I finally asked all the girls if any of their parents had the other cell phone service, and one girl did. So we all piled back in the car and drove over to her house. We were able to get through! Mike, of course, was VERY worried at this point. I discussed with him what had happened - I told him there was NO way he could come out as then HE would be ambushed! So - I told him I would wait it out. I would stay the night in the village. I was immediately offered a bed to crash in and so I did. Unfortunately, for most of the night, if I heard a noise or any dogs barking, I was afraid the guys had come looking for the car...come looking for me...I was someone who had money and a car - and both could be used! But no one ever came, and first thing the next morning - once LOTS of people were out and about I called Mike and headed for home.

On my way back - my dear sweet friend Mindy texted me (yes...from her US phone to my Honduras phone because she loves me THAT much) - the PERFECT scripture (as she ALWAYS manages to do): "The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe"

Unfortunately, because of this incident, we know that mothers are not going to let us take their girls out again after dark. For their own safety, and for ours. So - in the future - we are either going to have to do our activities during the day - or let the girls sleep over our house. I know they would love that :-)

So what scary moment have YOU been involved in? How did you respond?

Raising the Roof

2011-09-12T09:46:00.002-05:00

Raising The Roof

It is time to raise the roof in Honduras. Three buildings we are constructing are ready to have their roof erected. When complete these three buildings will provide great services to the people of Honduras and great glory to God.

We need your help. We have the workers and the tools to build these roofs, but we do not have the materials. Will you provide the needed financial resources so we can purchase the materials to raise the roofs on the following buildings?

Medical Clinic In Armenia Bonito
There is no medical clinic within walking distance of the 3,000-person, super-poor community of Armenia Bonito. This four-exam room clinic will provide a state-of-the-art medical facility directly to the most needy people in La Ceiba. We need $6,500 to purchase the materials to finish this roof. If you would like to make an on-line, tax-deductible, credit card contribution towards this roof go HERE. Make sure "92412" is in the designation.

Indoor Soccer Field in Armenia Bonito
Soccer is life in Honduras. A facility like this in the middle of the super-poor community of Armenia Bonito will be amazing. This soccer field will instantly make our ministry center the focal point of this community. The facility will also be used for community events, assemblies for the high school and church events. We need $12,000 to purchase the materials to finish this roof. If you would like to make an on-line, tax-deductible, credit card contribution towards this roof go HERE. Make sure "92412" is in the designation.

Second Floor Of The Dorms In La Ceiba
The first floor of the dorms is already completed. Finishing the second floor will enable us to sleep up to 60 short-term missionaries. Short-term missionaries do so much each summer to benefit our ministry. This is a huge investment in the future of our ministry and the expansion of the Great Commission. We need $5,000 to purchase the materials to finish this roof. If you would like to make an on-line, tax-deductible, credit card contribution towards this roof go HERE. Make sure "92410" is in the designation.

Your prayers and your financial resources are needed to raise these roofs. Like Noah in Genesis 6:16 we desire to “Make a roof for the ark” that the Lord has commanded us to build. Please consider partnering with us to complete one of these three projects.

Please share this on your Facebook, blog and Twitter.

Where Were You?

2011-09-10T12:13:00.000-05:00

While I was growing up, the things I always heard asked, "Where were you when JFK was shot?" "Where were you when Martin Luther King was shot"..."Where were you during the moon landing?" Most of these I really had no answer to. However, "Where were you when the twin towers went down" - now that one I can answer. I got a phone call from my mother in law. It was early on a Tuesday morning. My husband and I were both tired, and not really understanding what she was saying on the phone. I finally decided to turn on the TV. And there we saw it. Live and in person. The first tower had already been hit. Both Mike and I sat transfixed as the second tower was then hit, and then we sat in horror as the first tower went down...then the second. We stood - not really understanding what happened. This was not something that happened in OUR country! Madison was only 5 years old, and getting ready to go to Kindergarten. We got her off to school and Mike and I both left for work. I kept the radio on the entire way to work. That's when I started hearing evacuation orders for the State Capitol. And rightly so. The 6th largest economy in the world is the State of California. Mike works IN the state capitol - it seemed a good target. I called Mike. He was diligently working, refusing to leave the building as it was being evacuated. I was so mad! After threatening to come down there and haul him out myself - he finally left.

It was a Tuesday - all the nurse managers work day shift so we can have meetings to discuss the pediatric floor. How we can make things better, things we were working on, staff issues, etc. But we really couldn't rouse ourselves to have any type of official meeting, and our boss said it was fine it we wanted to leave for the day. I think we all left. I went home and sat in front of the television for most of the day, that night, and into the next day. Mike and I talked about it - what do you tell a 5 year old about this tragedy? How do you explain that they are still safe. Do we even tell her? We finally decided to tell her - we knew they were going to talk about it in school and didn't want her to hear things from other 5 year olds that may be inaccurate. It was that day, that we all lost some of our innocence. Some of our naivete. I know that many many people will be writing a blog about 9 - 11 and I'm okay with that. I'm okay that I'm "like everyone else" on this day. It should NEVER be forgotten! That day is burned into my memory and 20 years from now...40 years from now - I will have an answer for the "where were you when the twin towers went down....when the Pentagon burned....when the brave people on flight 93 took back the flight that was headed for more death and destruction".

A few years ago I had the privilege of being at the location of downed flight 93 during one of the anniversary days. There were representatives from the government there, and they asked if there were any veterans there to fold this huge flag. One of my duties while I was in the military was to take the flag down once a week. I've folded the flag at two of my great-uncles funerals who were World War II veterans. I was privileged that day to be able to fold the American Flag for those who lost their lives that Tuesday morning. There is a memorial book at the sight of downed Flight 93. I wrote this, As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many peopleshould be kept alive, as they are today." Genesis 50:20

Let us never forget the lives lost, the duty done, the lives saved. Let us never forget that the U.S. stands for an amazing people - who live life to it's fullest...who love God...Let us never forget 9 - 11.

Flying Solo - Kids Club

2011-09-06T18:27:00.000-05:00

Bethany (our final intern) is leaving soon! In like two weeks! This will be the first time (besides the time when it was just Mike, Madison and myself) that we will be without an intern! Kind of a strange thing. Interns have been invaluable! They jump in and get to work! We recruit very specifically for a type of intern - one who is self-motivated, a go-getter, and can handle ministry work. Therefore, we've always had them intimately involved in our on-going ministry. So now we are looking ahead and realize that English class and Kids Club will be taught by just one of us. So, Mike has picked English class - and he will be teaching and leading it by himself. I chose Kids Club. I worked a lot with children (was Children's Ministry Director for 3 years at our home church), so this seemed like a good option. Today was Kids Club - and it's times like this that you remember what it was like when we were here by ourselves. It was a challenge! I'm just going to say it! Playing with, teaching, leading, presenting crafts, etc. to 32 kids by yourself was a bit hectic! And typically every year for Dia de los Ninos (Day of the Child) we have a special event. As we are pretty short-staffed, we opted not to do that this year. Instead, I had a special treat for the kids at the end of Kids Club. Hotdogs! And BOY was it a huge hit!

The lesson today was on - How many times do I forgive someone who has sinned against me? They all learned the answer - again and again and again! So, in honor of that they made paper cut outs of multiple people, and wrote (in Spanish) on the first person - "I forgive". On the second person they wrote "again". On the third person they wrote "again". On the fourth person they wrote "again". Get it? They LOVED it! In a few weeks I'm going to introduce the Children's Catechism. I will continue on this series for quite some time - I'm excited for the kids to learn the answers and can't wait to see how it goes!

I forgive again...and again...and again...and again...

waiting in line for their hotdog

can't forget the ketchup and mustard!

My Mom

2011-09-05T06:57:00.000-05:00

So my mom...she's a miracle...no really!!!!!!

She had a cranial aneurism that ruptured...she should have died...but she didn't
she's had multiple strokes...she should have died (multiple times)...but she didn't
Was in septic shock and in a coma...she did die - flat lined - several times...a month into her coma, with instructions from her living will and the advice from all of her doctors (of which she had many) - we went to pull her off of life support, and that day - that HOUR - she opened her eyes...she should have died...but she didn't

Madison, me and my mom - Christmas 2010

Over the last 5 years or so my mom has been IN the hospital more than she has been OUT (at least it seems that way - but not too far from the truth). Right now she is in with congestive heart failure, severe sepsis (blood infection), and fluid in her lungs. She is often times confused, but as per usual - she has such an amazing heart (now if her physical heart would just cooperate). She is kind, soft spoken, lovely, amusing, funny, and always asking about others before she tells about herself.

Prayers for her would be greatly appreciated!

Mike, Madison and my dad - Christmas 2010

She is in for a long recovery - when she is eventually discharged from the hospital - she will go to a skilled nursing facility where she will be for a few weeks regaining her strength. I love hear dearly, and want her home with my dad. Also prayers for my dad. He has loved her through thick and thin. Through all her illnesses and he does it with a loving heart. If you want an amazing example of what it truly means to be in love - all you need is to spend the day with my parents. I love them dearly.

Being on the mission field has it's challenges - oh boy does it! Ministry, team, illnesses, break-ins, thievery, etc. But one of the hardest things I find is being away from those who need you. Being so far away when my mother is ill, and my dad alone caring for her hurts my heart. But I persevere, because that's what we do. If we threw up our hands every time in the face of adversity, our fingers would become gangrenous due to lack of blood supply :-)

Week "off"

2011-08-30T09:25:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday officially ended our summer teams. So this week we have "off". Our team mates took this opportunity to go to the islands, while we each are playing some small roll in watching their 4 kids. Mike and I are staying in town as Madison has school, so can't get away, and our team mates Shannon and Bethany are keeping our team mates kids during the night, so are hanging in town as well. However, in a small way, each of us are taking some time for ourselves. But, as you may know us, we can't completely take time off. For some reason it's just not in our make-up (unless we get away and are forced to take time off). We have dental appointments this week, and I am headed with my team mate to a meeting with Child Protective Services this afternoon to see how we can better serve abused children that we come across.

Mike and I are still trying to determine how we are going to be doing our ministry in Armenia. Bethany, our intern, is the last intern to be leaving in a few short weeks. In the midst of Madison in school, no more interns, etc. it's just Mike and I doing English Class, Kids Club, clinic, and special events. So...prayers for clear guidance and wisdom would be greatly appreciated as we figure this all out. The continued pull between being a missionary, mother, wife and nurse. To be there for those we minister to, but to be there for each other, and our family as well.

Covenant Presbyterian Church Mission Trip to Honduras

2011-08-27T06:36:00.000-05:00

August 20-27, 2011 we hosted a short-term mission team from Covenant Presbyterian Church of Paso Robles, CA. The team put on a medical clinic in Armenia Bonito and treated 38 patients. They also did construction on a house and a ministry center, taught English and organized Kids Club.

Watch this 2 minute 30 second video to see their amazing work:

The week has ended

2011-08-26T13:13:00.002-05:00

It's been a long week. I've been sick, then Madison got sick. Pretty bad too. High fever, severe cough, and other symptoms you don't need to know :-) Just that she was sick...and is still sick. What's a missionary to do when there are pulls from the team...pull from the long term team...and pull from your family. It's hard. Hence the name of my blog - Missionary, Mother, Wife, Nurse. It's hard - filling all those hats. Unfortunately, Madison was most sick on Thursday - I say unfortunately because that's clinic day. Fortunately, as we didn't need too many interpreters, Mike was able to come out with us to the village, set up, then was able to go home to be with Madison. But it's hard - being a mom - you want to always be there for your kid. But Mike's a good dad - and a great nurse - brought her home some gatorade, and took care of her. We were able to serve 38 people in clinic, a few who were as sick as Madison - so I felt good being able to bring them medication to make them feel better and get well. Madison still continues to be pretty sick, but I was able to put her in bed with me last night (as Mike is at the dorms), and take care of her during the night. Today the team is off to the local islands enjoying the beautiful water and the amazing day, and I'm hanging out with my kid and my husband. Tomorrow we send the team off - and it's the last team of the summer. We are currently making decisions on what our ministry is going to look like.

What does our current ministry look like? Bethany who has been an amazing intern, will be leaving us in a few short weeks. Shannon is starting her full-time ministry with high risk moms, and John continues to be our foreman for construction. Kathy is monitoring our scholarship kids. That leaves only Mike and I to continue the ministry in Armenia. So, we are trying to figure out how to do English Class, Kids Club, clinic, discipleship, etc. with just the two of us! Going to be quite a challenge indeed! Oh - AND be a mother/father, getting Madison to and from school etc. We are hoping some interns will come soon so they can help out with the ministry. It's the first time in 2 1/2 years we haven't had interns! Boy do we miss them! But - this is how the ministry all started...just Mike and I...doing all the ministry...so it's kind of interesting seeing it come back that way.

Final team

2011-08-23T07:58:00.004-05:00

Our final team of the summer is here. My schedule has been SO crazy lately, that I'm so behind on so many things! Pulling 15+ hour days can leave you that way. So, yesterday, I stayed behind in town. In the morning I spent some time with Shannon going from house to house assessing and evaluating potential young ladies for her future ministry house. She will be opening a house for high risk young moms. Got home around 1pm after going grocery shopping. Cleaned house, and then went to pick up Madison. Got her home in time to run back to the school for open house. Was there for almost 2 hours, back home to make some dinner as I missed dinner with the team. All in all a productive day, just not in the way I had planned. Today I will be trying to do some data entry - I have over 500 patient data sheets to enter into my computer! Yikes! The team will continue construction, and this afternoon will do Kids Club in Armenia.

Coming and Going, Rats and Lizards

2011-08-20T09:41:00.004-05:00

Tropical Storm Harvey came in with a boom! The rains came it rained pretty heavy all night - we monitored the track of the storm because our team leaving needed to get to the airport! Gratefully there was a break in the storm long enough to get them where they needed to be. Our final team of the summer has been traveling since late last night - so we know they will be exhausted when they arrive. We continue to pray for the weather that it will not hinder their arrival.

On an interesting note - we have a rat in the house. We've seen his evidence. However, last night we had Max in our room with us - with the Tropical Storm, we wanted him in the house and out of the storm. Right before bed, he jumped up, looked under the bed with a lot of interest and went nuts. Uh oh...we thought...and the next thing we knew, there was a rat streaking across the floor and climbing up my robe that was hanging on the back of the door. I'm not afraid of rats, and Mike was sitting up on the bed with his legs curled up under him - so I opened the door and managed to scoot him out of the room. We were so exhausted, it was no time to chase him around the house - so we will set out poison or traps soon. Sorry no pictures, I was too busy chasing him and Mike was too busy squealing like a girl.

This morning I went outside to check on my water-soaked garden to see what had managed to survive the deluge last night when I looked over at our washroom in the back. There, sitting on one of the window slats trying to keep out of the storm was a pretty big lizard that lives in our yard. I had seen him earlier this week in our tree. From head to toe he's probably at least a foot and a half long. Pretty cute.

In our tree earlier this week

Trying to stay dry

Medical Brigade Day 4

2011-08-18T20:53:00.003-05:00

Today started out with a bang! One our way to clinic, we had gone about 10 minutes down the road when we saw a motorcycle coming toward us on the opposite side of the road. He hit a patch of gravel, started fishtailing, and then totally spun out and flipped his bike! I guess the best place to have an accident is right in front of a truck full of not only doctors, but medical equipment! So Dr. Greg and I jumped out of the car, grabbed our stuff, and took care of this guy. Had he not been wearing his helmet, we may have been driving him to the hospital. He hit his head pretty hard on the curb, and then flipped over and face planted! As it was he will probably be VERY sore tomorrow, perhaps a mild concussion, neck strain, but mostly some pretty scraped up skin which we cleaned, bandaged up, prayed with him, and gave him some supplies to take care of his wounds at home.

The day continued by seeing 22 ultrasound patients, 24 dental patients (for 72 teeth), 65 medical patients, for a total of 111 today.

For our weekly totals:

Ultrasound2 - 72 patients

Dental - 79 patients, 179 teeth pulled

medical - 181 patients

Total seen in the clinic - 332

Total seen during the week (including the school) - 457

Tomorrow we are all ready for a much needed day off - this team has worked VERY hard and have been a HUGE blessing to all.

Medical Brigade Day 3

2011-08-17T20:20:00.005-05:00

Our day started out GREAT! We worked at the local public school in the village. There we had different "stations" throughout the school - stations like Parasite prevention/information, Bible Story, Crafts, Food Pyramid, Physical Fitness, Dental Hygiene, and a vitamin/deworming station. The other station we had for the 5th and 6th graders was abstinence. After that we grabbed a quick lunch, then went back to clinic to finish out the day. In 2 1/2 hours we did 13 ultrasounds, dental had 19 patients for 45 teeth (they did not come to the health day - so were there all day), and our providers saw 30 patients - so 62 patients in total.

Jairo teaching parasite prevention

Greg, Gina and I at the vitamin/deworming station

Shannon and Nancy telling a bible story

Katie and Bethany teaching Dental Health (each kid received a toothbrush)

Pam and Kathy teaching the food pyramid

Matt and John with physical fitness

Heidi with her "train" taking them to the next station

Medical Brigade Day 2

2011-08-16T21:19:00.004-05:00

Today was an interesting day. We saw 21 ultrasound patients, 16 dental patients (for about 32 teeth), and 48 medical patients for a total of 85 today. One of our most interesting cases today was a woman who was referred to me. A woman who lives locally in La Ceiba (I will keep her unknown for the privacy of the woman I will refer to)has a friend of hers who had problems with a prior baby that she delivered here in La Ceiba at the pubic hospital, and the baby ended up dying after being transferred to San Pedro Sula(the next largest city). The woman and I know each other via the internet, and each others blogs (don't you just LOVE technology). Anyway - she knows that I have a clinic, and wanted to send her friend to me. This was very providential as this week is our medical brigade, with specialists, and Dr. Greg with his ultrasound. So, the young woman showed up at the clinic today and was referred to one of our docs first (mild urinary tract infection which we treated with antibiotics), and then to us for the ultrasound. All I can say is, this was a divine happening. Most woman here do not receive ultrasounds during pregnancy. She would have gone on with this pregnancy, the baby moving, getting bigger, none the wiser of her condition if she had not come. Dr. Greg has been training me on the use of the ultrasound. He started the ultrasound and was unusually silent. I kept looking at the monitor, wanting to wipe away something that appeared in the way. Finally, Dr. Greg said, very quietly - when I asked what that "thing" was in the way of the baby - and he said, "that's her placenta". I said, "okay - now that's totally not what I've seen in all the other ultrasounds...it's in a bad place, isn't it?". He looked at me and said, "Yes, it's completely covering the opening of the cervix." Now remember, I did teach childbirth classes for over20 years, had an internship in L&D, and am a nurse - all those things combined gave me more information than I needed. Yikes...complete placenta previa. Not good. Next came LOTS of education, things she needed to do, follow-ups she needed to receive, etc. etc. It was a somber moment. She had already lost one baby, and now to tell her that not only was the baby at risk, but so was she, was not great news to pass on to her- but SO important, and I felt humbled, that through the connections of the internet, and a referral from someone else, we were able to give this so important news to her and hopefully prevent the potential negative outcome.

Our pharmacy crew hard at work!

Nancy working hard at kids club!

First Clinic day with the Medical Brigade

2011-08-15T21:07:00.005-05:00

Today was our first clinic day with the full medical brigade from Trinity Presbyterian Church. We got started a little late, but this was due mainly because we wanted the group to tour the ministry center, and then it took a bit of organizing to see how we were going to arrange 3 provider stations, 1 ultrasound station, a dental station, the pharmacy, intake, etc. It took quite a bit - required all of our brains and finally had a good working clinic! It was AWESOME!!!! Our dentist ended up seeing 20 patients, for about 30 teeth pulled, Dr. Greg did 16 ultrasounds, and our provider stations saw 38 patients. We had Nancy outside hanging and entertaining kids, our pharmacy going full steam to provide for everyone, and all of us being translators, and overseeing things. We also had some construction going on, and our English class at the end of the day! Whew! Let's see what tomorrow will bring!

Many pregnant women came in today for an ultrasound - for many of the women it was the time they had ever had an ultrasound - Dr. Greg put on the audio and they were able to hear their babies heart beat.

Dr. Jiaro - saw many complex and high risk patients

Dr. Gina taking care of the kiddos

NP Heidi taking care of the ladies

DDS Wade saw lots of patients and had a great time (his words)!

Childbirth Education Classes

2011-08-12T17:34:00.004-05:00

For a long time I've been wanting to put on some childbirth education classes. The concept here is (if you will) quite foreign. Ladies here go to the hospital, are admitted, labor by themselves, and deliver their baby - most without prenatal care, and most if not all any idea of the process. Now I don't know about you - but that seems pretty scary to me. So, after a long time, I met up with a lady (Silvia) who is committed to changing the concept of childbirth here in Honduras, she has a ministry called Dar La Luz. This got me motivated to start the process. I received many Spanish materials through the internet, through Silvia, through some books, and some I devised on my own. Some, however, I had to create on my own. I need visual aides for my classes, and can't buy them here - so I thought I would create them. That's been my motto since living in a 3rd world country for over 4 years now. I created my own visual aide placenta and uterus. I've already given one class for one individual, and plan to do many more. If the ladies commit themselves to my classes, then I have told them I will assist them with delivery at the hospital. I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes.

My baby and uterus

Placenta, amniotic sac, and umbilical cord

Learning From A Bad Experience

2011-08-10T08:43:00.002-05:00

If you have recently read our other blog, newsletter or Twitter you know that we just fired 12 of the Honduran construction workers who had been building our ministry sites. This was one of the worst days we have had as missionaries in our three years in Honduras.

For over a year our team has been building two ministry centers in La Ceiba, Honduras. In that time we hadn’t missed a payroll or been late on a payment for supplies. In fact, in the past year God raised and we spent over $250,000 for the two ministry centers. So, what went wrong? How did we get to a place where we were forced to fire half of our labor force?

Seldom did we ask for financial support. We trusted in the Lord’s provision. When God wanted us to have money He sent it. This resulted in very sporadic and unpredictable giving. One month we would receive tens of thousands of dollars in contributions and nothing in the next three months.

For the Armenia Bonito ministry center, in six of the past 12 months we didn’t receive enough contributions to even cover our monthly payroll. We used previous month’s contributions to make ends meet. For the downtown ministry center, 60% of our total contributions came in during a two month period and less than 40% of our total came in during the remaining 10 months.

In an effort to be good stewards of the blessings God is giving us and to help us better budget and plan, we have devised a solution. We are asking churches, individuals and foundations to prayerfully consider supporting either of our two ministry centers at a modest, yet predictable monthly amount.

Here are the two projects:

The Armenia Bonito ministry center sits on two acres in the middle of the super poor community of Armenia Bonito. On this property we are building an indoor soccer field, a five-classroom high school, a four exam room medical clinic and a church. If you would like to provide monthly support for this project print, fill out and mail in THIS FORM.

The downtown ministry center sits on a small plot in the middle of busy La Ceiba. On this property we are building a dorm for visiting mission teams, a high school, a theological seminary, a homeless children drop-in center, a medical clinic and a church. If you would like to provide monthly support for this project print, fill out and mail in THIS FORM.

Please repost this link on your blog, Facebook or Twitter and forward the information to your friends and church leadership. And, please prayerfully consider your role in God’s amazing work in Honduras.

Madisons first day of school

2011-08-08T08:30:00.002-05:00

In Honduras, schools only go through 11th grade. Because of that, Madison and I will be homeschooling her final year to prepare her for her GED. That being said, she started 10th grade, which in the States would be her Sophomore year, but here in Honduras they are called Juniors. So - she started her first day of Jr. year today. But - nothing could go without a hitch. Yesterday we were putting together her uniform, everything was ironed, and set to go. This morning, however, the one thing we didn't think of last night - her shoes. Madison has a size 9 1/2 - which is almost impossible to find here, so we specifically purchased shoes in the States while we were there. Well...we brought them back in February - and let's just say - they were no where to be found. We searched and searched and searched. We don't know if they were put into our ministry clothes closet (although I looked all through them), scattered or stolen when the thief invaded our home, or what - but they were no where to be found! So - what did we do? We managed to find a an old (yet usable) pair or shoes in the clothing closet. So - we are off to the mall after school today to prayerfully find a pair of shoes. Madison has gringo size shoes - so what we have found here is that shoes only go up to about a size 8. So the hunt is on.

Madison In New York City

2011-08-03T06:29:00.002-05:00

Our daughter Madison just returned from spending the entire month of July in New York City. She served as a Cross-Cultural Intern at MTW's missionary training. She helped to prepare missionaries and missionary kids for their service around the world. It was a very busy and enjoyable time of service for her.

Watch this 2 minute and 50 second video of Madison's time in New York:

Tuesday with Rincon Mountain

2011-08-02T21:18:00.002-05:00

Day 2 of full-time ministry. Today we continued with construction on a house, construction on our ministry project, and a full day of clinic. Today we had two provider stations, saw about 30 patients, and placed stitches on a young boy who severely cut his toe with a machete. All in all within the last 4 weeks we've done 1 set of stitches a week. Not so sure I like this trend - but what a GREAT service to provide to people who would otherwise not receive them, nor antibiotics. There were no medical "issues" today - everyone was VERY conscious about drinking water and staying hydrated! Yeah! A hard lesson learned, but it was taken to heart. In the afternoon we had a GREAT Kids Club with lots of kids in attendance, very fun craft, and lots of hanging out with kids! We ended the day at a local restaurant where we had baleadas (a national dish), tojadas (fried plantains), and ice cold soda! Yum! Everyone is now back at the dorms, probably talking about the day and getting ready for tomorrow. Sleep well everyone!

Rincon Mountain and the first day

2011-08-02T07:04:00.002-05:00

So...if you are a frequent reader, you've noticed a number of ways in which the Enemy has been striking the team here in Honduras. But - he's not picky about who he goes for, this week, he is selecting our visiting team - Rincon Mountain Presbyterian Church. And it's only day 2. They left on their adventure by being split up - first 12 arrived Sunday night (after a delay) and the remaining 5 arrived Sunday morning. The 12 had no luggage, the 5 did. A trip to our house was made to hit the clothing closet and provide them with at least a set of clothing, some shoes, toothbrush and toothpaste. Then came Monday. Monday is a construction day, and clinic. This day consisted of Heat Exhaustion (IV started and 1,500ml's of fluids), displaced patella (that's the knee cap), another mild case of heat exhaustion, flushed a foreign body out of an eye - and no...those are NOT the patients that came to clinic, that was from the visiting team. We saw 23 patients in the clinic - removed some stitches on two patients, breathing treatment on a pretty sick baby, lots of skin infections, etc. Our construction crew worked on starting the walls for a house for a single mom with three kids, and the other construction crew is working on a wall at our project. The end of the day saw them hosting an English class and then dinner at our team mates house. WHEW!!! I'm exhausted just writing this! But everyone was a trooper, hardly a complaint by any. It's Tuesday, and we shall see what the day brings.

Cooking

2011-07-29T22:35:00.003-05:00

So...on my day "off" I try and take a little time to do some things for myself. It's been a bit challenging as of late because I've been going out with the team most every day, getting back late, then prepping for clinic each night. I'm not able to finish up until about 8:30 or 9:00 each night, which leaves little to no time to do "stuff". On top of that, my housekeeper has been gone this whole week, so even doing things like laundry has been quite the challenge - much less any other house chores. So, my days off are filled with paying bills, buying groceries, cleaning house, doing laundry, etc. But - I did take about an hour to do something I love to do. And that's cooking.

I have a beautiful basil plant in my back yard I've raised from seed...I'm quite proud of it. It's doing so well, I thought I would finally put it to some good use. I made home made pesto sauce. Trimmed off about 1 1/3 cups of fresh basil leaves, added all my other needed ingredients, and got to work. A freshly made pizza dough, olive oil grilled zucchini, grilled red and orange peppers, fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes - and you have a pizza ready to be cooked. I was quite happy with the end result, and will definitely include this in future dinners to come.

Fresh pesto sauce

Right before going in the oven

End result with fresh basil placed on the pizza after it's cooked - with a sprinkling of Blue Cheese - YUM!

Intruder

2011-07-26T07:11:00.003-05:00

It's days like this that just make you grumpy. We were out in Armenia Bonito, the village we work in, with a 20 person team. We were busily doing construction, I had a group in the clinic working with patients, when I get this phone call from Mike. He was on his way back to our house. We had just been robbed. Apparently someone scaled our fence, took a sledgehammer to our front door, stole Mike's computer, trashed the ENTIRE house, stole some cash, and took off. Our gardener had been near by and saw the fence wide open. He quickly went over to our team mates house to get our team mate and she called Mike. One thing we are meticulous about is safety. We live in Fort Knox, afterall. But bottom line is this - if someone wants in your house - they are getting in your house.

So Mike was giving me the update and I must have gone through the stages of grief in about 5 minutes. I was first shocked. Really?! How in the world did this happen? How was my dog? Then I started crying. Imagining what a mess my house was in. Then I got mad. Like really mad. Like narrow my focus down to seeing red kind of mad. Then I got to "acceptance". Acceptance because what can you do? We are getting a new front door, an additional security door in front of that, additional razor wire for the top of our fence. So that's where I sit...balanced between mad and acceptance. I find that being mad is helpful to me - a much better sense than feeling sad and depressed. Wednesday is when we start to get these new things - and I hope with it, a better sense of feeling more secure.

Our team has been riddled with things this summer. Two of the four ministry vehicles have been on the fritz, illness all around, and now this. We are busy doing God's work, and the enemy is NOT happy about it! So I rejoice in that - will continue the fight and see what's next :-)

Grace Community Church Mission Trip to Honduras

2011-07-23T17:36:00.001-05:00

July 16-23, 2011 we hosted a short-term mission team from Grace Community Church of Mobile, AL. The team put on three medical clinics in Armenia Bonito and treated 140 patients. They also did construction on a house and a ministry center, taught English and organized Kids Club.

Watch this 2 minute 15 second video to see them in action:

My thoughts on short-term missions

2011-07-19T04:52:00.005-05:00

A dear sweet friend of mine I met in Costa Rica writes a blog. Now, many people "write" blogs, but she shares her heart and Christian experience as a full-time missionary in Costa Rica from a very practical and different perspective. It's hard, sometimes, to be honest in a blog. I'm just going to say it. We want our supporters to hear about what we are doing, share in our experiences, but not hear about the difficulties. The hard times. The completely frustrating days (talk to my husband about last Friday...it was one of those days). She shares her heart. Her name is Jamie, and her blog is The Very Worst Missionary. Go check her out and let me know what you think. Recently she has written two blogs on short-term teams and as we are in the middle of our short-term teams, it seemed appropriate to write my own version.

There are a boat load of books written about short-term teams. Their impact on the community they serve; and the people who are going. Some of my favorites: Go and Make Disciples by Roger Greenway, Let the Nations be Glad by John Piper, On Being a Missionary by Thomas Hale. Another book to read, take into consideration, but know that I have many "issues" with, that I think is VERY one-sided but I think is definitely food for thought, but about half of the book I would disagree with is called When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.

That being said, I would love to share some personal thoughts about working in a short-term capacity. Romans 10:14-15 is by far my favorite missions verses: ¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

How do I pray for teams coming? I pray that their lives would be changed. That they would be ever outward looking. That they would impact lives. They would love on people. They would be blessed by those they have come to serve. That they would be stretched. I pray that things don't always go well. I pray for some discomfort - hot; lost bags; broken down cars; supplies not arriving; cold showers; uncomfortable because you have to throw your toilet paper in the trash not in the toilet; food not what they like; "only" eating PB&J's for a week; working late; not working at all; not drinking the water; sleeping 10 to a room. You get the idea. I truly pray for these things - why?! It's so easy to become accustomed to the comfort creatures in life. How cushy we live. How self-centered most of us are (you notice I included myself in that statement). And yet, we go on a trip, for only a week, or two, and complain a whole lot! We enter into the lives of people that live this life every day. We live it for a week. How many of us could have lived in the wilderness and eaten locusts for dinner? How many could have been like Jesus and gone into the desert on faith alone knowing He would be cared for? How many of us truly and honestly, have a motivation to reach out to others from our heart, and not a desire to feel good about it? To be loving and caring when we aren't being observed? To show kindness and mercy without having pictures taken of us? Now I love pictures - don't get me wrong - I love taking those precious faces home with me and love on them again in my heart and present them to God in my prayers.

So my question to you - what is your motivation for going on a short-term trip? In the book On Being a Missionary, Hale makes the statement - "Being a missionary begins with being called. You don't choose to be a missionary; you're called to be one. The only choice is whether to obey." There are so many people who, in their heart, believe they are called to missions. The come to the field, but end up leaving the field disheartened, discouraged, and not having accomplished much of anything. I call this a "heart call". In your heart you feel led, and yet, I don't feel that God has called you to this purpose. Does that mean being a missionary that has been truly called is a missionary that "makes things happen?" Plant 10 churches, see 100 people saved, build a school? No...it means being obedient to the one who sent you. Having an open heart to go where God calls. To stumble when we stray from His path. To pray for opportunities that you may not want. Bottom line - to be obedient. Realize that 25 gringos in a village of 3,000 Hondurans is quite a spectacle. It can't help but be otherwise. But I pray that you look at how you present yourself. Are you putting on a show, or showing your love to others? Are you feeling good about what you are doing, or feeling the hearts and hardships of those you have come to serve? Are you staring in awe about how "the poor people live" in their dirty rotting home or rejoicing in their eternal home? Search your heart for your motivation - come open - come prepared to serve - come without an agenda - come and be love - the love that comes by serving our great and awesome God. The Jesus that loved the poor more than the rich, the Jesus that showed mercy and kindness without bringing a single dollar, the Jesus that loved the little children. Be that kind of missionary. See how God will stretch you, love you, break you, and use you.

'nuff said.

Covenant Community Church Mission Trip to Honduras

2011-07-16T11:09:00.000-05:00

July 10-16, 2011 we hosted a short-term mission team from Covenant Community Church of Scottsdale, AZ. The team put on three medical clinics in Armenia Bonito and treated 140 patients. They also did construction on a house and a ministry center, taught English, organized Kids Club and took 26 kids to the beach.

Watch this 2 minute 30 second video to see them in action:

Happenings

2011-07-15T08:13:00.003-05:00

In the middle of teams sometimes it's difficult to just keep up with life - pay bills, clean the house, you know - the norms. This is a week mission trip for folks, but for us - it's 3 months of missions trips. Gets to be a bit challenging. However, in the midst of all that, it's a time to reflect what is going on. To see the impact that is being made on His Kingdom. To realize that part of why we are here is exactly this time of the year. Mike and I are a result of short-term teams. We decided that for us, short-term was not the answer, and that we wanted to do this thing full-time.

Taking some kids from Armenia Bonito to the beach

Covenant Community Church has been a huge part of our ministry here from the beginning. We've received numerous short-term teams, prayers, financial support and love from this church that is over-filled with outward seeking members. I was blessed to have my own little medical group here with me, Patricia, and Dr. "Raphael" were my medical team that helped out in the medical clinic where we saw over 140 patients this week. So many people came to be physically served, and were spiritually and emotionally served as well. We will miss this awesome team and look forward to see how God will use them.

The "medical crew"

Team

2011-07-12T19:53:00.002-05:00

Wow! So much has been going on I almost can't think straight! Madison is still in New York, team mates have been coming and going - and we are doing clinic all this week. Since I'm the primary medical person on the team along with my doc friend from Covenant Community - we are seeing almost 50 people a day. This also requires me to come back at the end of a long day and spend 2-3 hours prepping for the next days clinic. So - I'm a little over tired, so am going to make this brief.

Construction is going along nicely, English Class yesterday, Kids Club today, ocean trip tomorrow with 30 kids from the village, another full day of clinic on Thursday, then a full day hike on Friday! Whew! This team has been great and look forward to see how God continues to use them.

On a side note - Mike was sick, sick, sick this last week (our week off), and the weekend. Monday he started to recover, and it looks like he's about 90% better. Thank you God!

Manor Presbyterian Mission Trip to Honduras

2011-07-07T14:28:00.000-05:00

June 25 - July 2, 2011 we hosted a short-term mission team from Manor Presbyterian Church of Cochranville, PA. The team put on a medical clinic in Armenia Bonito and treated 35 patients. They also did construction on a house and a ministry center, taught English, organized Kids Club, fed 18 needy families and took 30 kids to the beach.

Watch this 2 minute and 35 second video to seat them serve:

fun times

2011-07-05T06:36:00.004-05:00

One of the things we have the ability to do when short term teams are here are big kid events. We've done several when teams aren't here - but the logistics (more people to watch out for kids) just make it easier when teams are here. So, we took some kids from Armenia Bonito out to the ocean. It's only a 15 minute drive from their village to get to the ocean, but almost none go - it's a bus ride, therefore money, to get there. So we loaded 30 kids onto a bus and headed to the ocean where they got a huge plate of food, and I was able to give a full gospel presentation. We spent just over 3 hours there, and for those 3 hours, the kids just got to be kids. No responsibilities, no siblings to raise, no back-breaking chores to do. It was a privilege for us as well.

Me giving the gospel presentation

Hellos and Goodbyes

2011-07-02T08:30:00.002-05:00

The life of a missionary is full of hellos and goodbyes. It's a constant. In all the things that aren't, this is a certainty. We just said goodbye to a great team, goodbye to my girl, Madison, off spending a month in New York. Goodbye to Shannon and Bethany, our other team mates as they take their visa hop, and finally a goodbye to our team mate Leo. Leo first came to Honduras on a short term trip and made the decision to come back as an intern. He's been here for 8 months and has had a huge impact on the kids in Armenia Bonito. He will be sorely missed. We have a week off between teams, then we have 4 teams back-to-back. So prayers for energy, good health, and no mishaps would be GREAT!

Update

2011-06-27T22:09:00.002-05:00

So - we are in the middle of teams - and having a GREAT time! But in the midst of all that, life still goes on. Madison had an entrance exam at her school today. Because she had been out for a year while we were in the States, they required it. Now I have all her school supplies to purchase, uniforms to get made, and get ready - school starts August 8th. Wow! That just seems so early to me. Anyway - Madison is also leaving in two days to head to the next largest city so she can catch a plane early the next morning. She will be gone for a month and I'm thrilled, excited, and yet apprehensive all at the same time. She is going to have an amazing experience, and once she hits NYC, I'll feel much better - the whole international flying by herself thing has me a little on edge. We also have someone coming down for a week staying at my house. She is on a vision trip to check out our ministry and see if we are a fit for her and she is a fit for us to come down and work for a few years. And then comes the 4th of July. I still honor the US holidays - I'm a homeblooded American, and also happen to love my host country. However, there is just something to say about 4th of July and a good BBQ. Then we are actually going to take a few days to be just by ourselves, Mike and I. We are headed off to the islands for 2 days of scuba diving. A much needed break, before we come back to back-to-back teams - woohoo!!! Gotta love Summer!

Christ Community Church Mission Trip to Honduras

2011-06-25T08:24:00.001-05:00

June 18 - 25, 2011 we hosted a short-term mission team from Christ Community Church of Gainesville, FL. The team put on a medical clinic in Armenia Bonito and treated 35 patients. They also did construction on a house and a ministry center, taught English and organized Kids Club.

Watch this 2 minute 45 second video to see their great work:

Clinic and a New Baby

2011-06-23T19:51:00.005-05:00

Today at clinic, with some folks from Christ Community Church helping out - we saw 35 patients. Lots of kids with severe diarrhea - makes me wonder what has been stirred up in the water system there - lots of kids very fragile that hopefully will be better soon with some good meds in them, rehydration fluids, and careful tending. And a fun thing I got to do today. A young woman, who already has 2 children came in with varying miscellaneous "symptoms". After much discussion, I finally asked her if she was pregnant - honestly - not many of her symptoms matched what I would describe as symptoms of being pregnant. However, something prodded me to ask her if she was. With a look of "you are crazy" and a firm "NO!" I finally convinced her to take a pregnancy test for me. After the second line showed up DARK with NO hint of being a maybe/kind-of result - I advised her that in fact she was pregnant. Then I looked at her again, and her face had fallen. So I asked her if this was good news or not so good news. She shook her head, looked sadly at her two other children, and said that no, this was not good news. It's such a mixed blessing to the people in the village we work in. The people are SO poor, knowing that they have one more mouth to feed for some just puts them over the edge. It was clear that this was not a good moment for her. One thing I've been wanting to do since I arrived in Honduras, three years ago, was to offer childbirth education classes. The concept is, no pun intended, SO foreign here that the thought is almost laughable to people when I mention it here. But I'm determined! Especially after having volunteered in labor and deliver (a full blog coming soon). So, I've started offering my "service" to come be with them when they are in the hospital. However, there's a few catches. They must come to my clinic once a month to receive pre-natal care - pre-natal vitamins, and then sit through a class on childbirth. They then will be put on my list of people who can call me and I will meet them at the hospital to be with them when they deliver. NO ONE is allowed in the delivery room with them during the entire labor/delivery process, so to have me as a labor couch, sit with them, guide them through the process is going to be amazing - but I DO insist that they meet me half way. After I told her what I was interested in doing, and what her part was, she lost interest. However, maybe after the "shock" has worn off from her news, she will re-consider. I am praying that this happens! Will keep you all posted.

On our property in Armenia Bonito the process has started for the construction of the medical clinic! I'm SO excited! I can't WAIT to get this up and running! I have so many amazing plans in my mind!

The three squares in the front are exam rooms
The square in the middle is the pharmacy
The square in the top right is the supply room
The square on the middle row on the right is another exam room
and the others are waiting areas

Update

2011-06-19T22:21:00.002-05:00

So - yesterday our second team of the summer arrived. We have enjoyed some great rain. Madison is leaving for her internship in NY in 11 short day!!!! AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!! Tomorrow I have another opportunity to go to the public hospital. This visit is to meet the Chief Nurse so she gets a feel for who I am and what I can do. Hopefully this will give me a chance to not only act as a doula in the Labor and Delivery department, but to provide nursing services as well. I pray is goes well. I am taking guitar lessons. Okay - that's the update - a good blog posting soon.

A Missionary Kid going on a Mission Trip

2011-06-15T09:22:00.004-05:00

Madison, our 15-year-old missionary daughter, will be leaving Honduras for the month of July to serve as a cross-cultural missionary intern in New York City.

In the next 10-days Madison must raise nearly $3,000. We would like you to prayerfully consider supporting her New York internship.

How you can help?
The following link will send you to a website that allows you to make an online contribution. Within minutes you can make a tax-deductible, credit/debit card contribution:
https://www2.mtw.org/donations/donate/AddDesignation.aspx?No=16189
(make sure 16189 is in the designation)

What is the internship?
Madison will be working at different churches in the city and will also be spending a large amount of her time with individuals and families who wish to become international missionaries. Madison's efforts will assist in the preparation of sending 30+ future missionaries all over the world. Our family attended this very same training when Madison was 11 and she was under intern supervision. In this one-month internship she will be lending her four-years of experience as a Missionary Kid to help prepare future Missionary Kids for their work around the globe.

Why New York City?
Our mission sending agency (MTW) holds this training each year in New York City. There are 8 million people living in New York City. Thirty-six percent of the population is foreign born and over 170 languages are spoken in the Big Apple. This cultural diversity makes New York an ideal location to expose new missionaries to different lifestyles.

Madison's desire to serve others is a great testament to her heart. We wish to encourage her and allow that servants heart to flourish.

Please consider supporting Madison through prayer and financial support. Thank you for your prayerful consideration.

Mike, Erin and Madison Pettengill

A Tour of the Dorms

2011-06-13T15:11:00.001-05:00

Since September of 2010 we have been racing to finish our dorms to house short-term missionaries this summer. The 1st floor of the dorms are finished, safe and livable.

Watch this 4 minute and 25 second video to see the amazing work:

Faith Presbyterian Mission Trip to Honduras

2011-06-11T10:51:00.001-05:00

June 4 - 11, 2011 we hosted a short-term mission team from Faith Presbyterian Church of Sonoma, CA. The team put on a medical clinic in Armenia Bonito and treated 35 patients. They also did construction on a house and a ministry center, taught English and organized Kids Club.

Watch this 2 minute 45 second video to see their great work:

Diving off the Three Rocks in Honduras

2011-06-09T19:25:00.000-05:00

In Honduras behind the community of Armenio Bonito there is a swimming hole called Tres Piedras (Three Rocks). We regularly take the kids there for a bunch of great fun.

Watch this 2 minute 30 second video to see the fun:

Overview of our mission team in La Ceiba, Honduras

2011-06-07T10:39:00.002-05:00

Our missions team consists of PCA/MTW missionaries serving full-time in La Ceiba, Honduras.

Watch this 2 minute and 25 second video to see our work:

Theological Conference in Honduras - June 2-4, 2011

2011-06-05T06:37:00.002-05:00

June 2-4, 2011 our mission team organized a theological conference entitled "Affairs Of The Heart". This three-day conference was attended by 58 pastors and leaders from local churches in La Ceiba, Honduras.

Watch this 2 minute 15 second video to see this great blessing:

Clinic and CPR

2011-06-02T22:02:00.004-05:00

Today started like most Thursdays. Arrived to our clinic location to a full house. Gave a devotional on, "What if God says No" - in answer to prayer. I really enjoyed the devotional and was excited to share it with those who were waiting. It was a loud day - lots of crying / mad / screaming children - controlled chaos, that kind of thing. About 4 hours into the clinic, one of our scholarship kids - Carlos - came running into the clinic. I couldn't understand a single thing he was saying he was talking so fast. The only thing I really got out of his rambling was "abuelo" and "problema" - okay - so his grandfather was having a problem. But the anguish in his eyes is what eventually got me moving. I grabbed my stethoscope and BP cuff and ran to his house which is right near our clinic area. I came upon his grandfather - Santos Ruben Alvarado - in a bad situation. Best I could guess, he had a massive stroke. After a quick assessment, a quick set of vital signs, I put him on a portable pulse ox that I have - (for you non-medical people - it checks the oxygenation in your blood stream) - he was reading at about 65% (92% is "normal"). His eyes started to roll, he was becoming non-responsive. I told the family he needed to go to the hospital NOW or he was going to die. That at least got them thinking - but now the logistics of that. No taxi's come out to our area - no ambulances are even available for the public to use - only private ambulances exist in La Ceiba. I kept looking back and forth for someone to make a decision and finally knew I was going to have to take charge and I called Mike. He was at the airport picking up our boss who came in for a three-day conference. He arrived within a few minutes. I ran back to the clinic area to grab my "emergency" bag (face mask, a few emergency meds, IV start kit, etc). By the time I got back he had collapsed in the chair he was sitting in. I picked him up and put him on the floor. Started CPR. After a few roundsof CPR I knew this was bad. I asked to the room, "does anyone else know CPR?" - my dear husband (after a quick deep breath) jumped in to help. We worked on him for about 30 minutes. I attempted to start an IV - no go. Finally, after 30 minutes, I just looked at Mike, held his hands to stop compressions, and "pronounced" our friend. There were many people around which gave us opportunity to pray with the family and put him in a comfortable position, quietly gather our belongings...we left. When I started CPR, I already knew the likelihood of success - little to none. I knew there would be no on there to "rescue" me (i.e. paramedic to get him to the hospital). I have had an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) on my wish list for over 3 years. Anyone who asks, I always send this list out - it includes meds, supplies, and equipment. But I know the reality - the reality is it's a$1300 piece of equipment! I'll probably only ever end up using it a few times - so I've always pushed for the things I knew I would use a lot - pulse ox, bandage supplies, medicine, etc. But, this time, maybe...(and that's a big maybe) it may have saved a life. So - looks like I'll be pushing for that AED a little harder!

Santos is pictured here on the far right.

Carlos, our scholarship kid, has been through so much in his young life. Abandoned by his family, and taken in by his grandparents. He now has lost one of them. His grandfather was a believer - so he is rejoicing and standing in the presence of our Lord. But Carlos is still here, and his heart mourns for the person he sees as father. One of the crazy things about all this - this family is one of the families that was chosen to have part of their house re-built by our short-term teams. So they will have love and blessings poured on them from teams that are coming.

Clinic

2011-05-31T21:49:00.003-05:00

And so it begins...as most things do...with a plan.

Today our team mate - John, and our Honduran foreman - Santos, lined out the foundation for the clinic. I love that we have an (almost) completed soccer field, an (almost) completed High School, but let's just face it - what I've been most excited about is a clinic. This will give me a place to see patients, have a pharmacy, a storage area, and exam rooms for visiting doctors. This is an exciting step in our ministry here. Now to be patient....and wait...but it's a start :-)

Boys Soccer Day - May 28, 2011

2011-05-29T11:40:00.001-05:00

On May 28th we took 15 boys from the super poor community of Armenia Bonito to play a few hours of indoor soccer.

Watch this 2 minute video to see the fun:

Never a Dull Moment

2011-05-27T08:03:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was clinic. I saw 30 patients - many who were very very sick. I was so grateful to be able to help out our little community :-) It's been SO hot here, and sitting in a cement sweat box all day can be quite challenging. So, after a long day we arrive home and all I can see from a block away is smoke - and smoke that looks like it's coming from our house. With my heart pounding, and I get closer, I notice it's not my house that's up in smoke, it's the empty field right next to my house that's burning. Why is itburning? Honduras has had no rain for almost 3 months. That means the rivers are bone dry, and there is no moisture anywhere - imagine being 95 degrees 3 months straight and no source of water. Things are drying up. There are villages with no water at all. It's getting a little desperate! I looked at Mike and thought - what in the world are we going to do? Right when I thought this the Fire Department showed up! Now, keep in mind - there are no fire hydrants here. No source of water. So the only water they have is the water they carry with them. So,after about 10 minutes, they had used the water and went on their way. It helped stop most of it - but they didn't have shovels out, no ground was over turned, no smoldering piles were stomped out. So hours later we still had smoke wafting into our house. There were particles of ash floating in our living room and upstairs. It was quite a site!

Guest post - Madison's third essay

2011-05-22T20:49:00.003-05:00

This essay Madison was charged with writing about something she did that had an impact on someone else.

Love needs no words
Madison Pettengill

The time was two years ago. It wasTuesday and our weekly kids club continued as normal. I was romping and playing with the rest of the children who live in the slums of Armenia Bonito, the village we work in. I am a kid missionary to Honduras. Looking up, I noticed a little girl standing far away. Sitting up a little I smiled and waved. She seemed shocked at the acknowledgement and backed off a few steps. My smile faded as I got a better look at her. She was tall, compared to the rest of the Honduran kids, tall, and far too thin. Her filthy shirt fell flat around her body, which gave absolutely no indication of age whatsoever. She was tall enough to be 11 or 12, but still far, far too square with utterly no figure. Her dark hair was matted and dirty far beyond any recognition. Bursting from my chest, my heart grew wings and flew, going out to this unknown girl.

Week after week I came out for kids club, and week after week she was standing there. Every time we came out to Armenia from downtown, where we lived I saw her there. My mom saw her too. School had started and my visiting times were limited to how fast I could cram down my homework. But while I was glaring at my 20 math problems, my mom did some research. She started asking around Armenia Bonito. Who was this girl? Where did she live? Why is she so timid? Why is no one else noticing her presence?

When the answers finally came together, it was not a pretty picture. Her name is Oneida. We know of at least two siblings of hers. Her mother is dead and her father is… drunk. She takes care of herself with no help. When she’s not ignored by the other people in the village, they hit her. She is stuck at the bottom of the godlike social hierarchy right next to the dogs. It’s no wonder, then why she hid for so long. But she did eventually come out.

She finally started coming to our kids clubs and even participating in the VBS style games and activities therein. It was then I really met her. Using my bad Spanish, I tried in vain to start a conversation with her. She said absolutely nothing in response to my words. Only sitting and refusing to pick up the crayon we had provided for coloring, insisting through gestures that I color the picture. I met her insistence with my own and inserted and utter refusal to even touch the crayon. “It’s your paper, you color it”, was met with a look of ‘what?’ though it had been spoken in a language she clearly understood. Grasping her hand in mine I realized just how small it really was. I led her hand to the crayon and she grabbed it. As I guided her hand in a small scribbling motion, Oneida tried to slip her hand out of mine, and force the crayon into my possession. Squeezing my hand in a definite ‘No’, I led her hand to scribble another mark over the paper. I let go and she looked up at me. I smiled, and she smiled back. Finally.

Now two years later and I’ve never heard Oneida make a full sentence using words. She’s not mute; she just doesn’t speak. Her most common sound is a ‘tii’ followed by many signs and gestures that I speak fluently. Both my mom and I have developed a full relationship with Oneida. I first met her across the street as the most horrible personification of the word ‘lonely’ I had ever met. Now we will have full conversations. Me and my mom have made it fully clear to all the other kids that there will be full and severe consequences for hitting Oneida in our presence.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is notquick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor 13:4-8)

Madison working with Oneida during Kids Club

Hospitals without Medicine

2011-05-18T16:33:00.001-05:00

You know you are in a third world country when this is the headline in one of the English newspapers:

The secretary of the Sindicated Employees of the Public Hospital School [Sindicato de Empleados Públicos del Hospital Escuela (Sephe)] José Girón, said yesterday that there will be only medication for one month, and that they have not been awarded new funds.

“What is worrying, is that there have been awards, but there is only medication for one month because the process is long, and drugstores have not been paid either, so there are more delays,” said Girón.

The union said that they “do not have more than one hundred drugs”, of the 450 basic drugs the hospital should have.

The head of the pharmacy, Yaneth Carvajal, assured the public that “we have an 80 percent supply; there are medications through July; the problem is that the process takes up to three months, I already have a shopping list,” she said.

For Girón, the problem is for people who need daily medications.

“Our concern is renal failure patients, hypertensives, and diabetics,” he said.

On my way home

2011-05-16T00:48:00.003-05:00

Just spent some AMAZING time with some AWESOME folk in Paso Robles. The missions conference was a huge success, and so exciting to see so many people excited about missions. My best friend, Mindy, drove all the way from Sacramento down to San Jose to hang for a half day with my folks, then we caravaned down to Paso Robles where we hung with Margaret and Jack from church down there. I'm currently sitting in the San Francisco airport after my whirlwind trip and coming back with all sorts of fun things for Madison's 15th birthday party next month. My plane doesn't leave until 1:40am. It then goes through El Salvador, and arrives in Honduras at 10am. After that I have a 3 hour bus ride to La Ceiba and I have NO IDEA what time the bus leaves. So - I'll be arriving in the afternoon after not having slept for well over 30 hours unless I can actually manage to sleep on the plane - which I almost NEVER can do. So here's to praying for some sleep! See ya back home!

Madison guest post and leaving for the States

2011-05-10T20:07:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I am leaving for the States. I will be gone only for 5 days. The reason is two-fold. My mother has been in the hospital for almost 2 months now, and is still recovering. I will spend a day with my mom and my dad making sure all is as well as can be expected. The other primary reason I am going is to go spend some time with a great church in Paso Robles - Covenant Presbyterian Church - they are hosting their first Missions Conference and I have been given an opportunity to speak.

Madison was given a second assignment for homeschooling (see this post for her first essay). The topic was an event that happened in her life that made a huge impact. Here is her essay:

My life started at seven

By Madison Pettengill

Walking into the huge foyer of the largest Baptist church near us, the three year old me giggled and skipped as I held my mother’s hand while we were walking. After signing up and pinning a nametag to my shirt, mom and I walked back across the vast entrance and into a classroom labeled ‘Preschool’. I entered the room and beamed. Over twenty other kids my age were gallivanting around the room, playing in the midget-induced chaos that came from two or more preschoolers placed in a single location. These were the Cubbies of AWANA.

Four years and four classes later and I was out of Cubbies and into the primary school level of Sparkies. Ever since I had started in AWANA those four years previous, I had visited the enormous building every Wednesday from 6:00 - 8:30 and romped around for a full hour and a half playing the most ridiculously fun games imaginable, split off into a smallgroup, had a little bible study, then recited the couple of scripture verses we had memorized over the past week.

By my second year in Sparkies, I had fully memorized John 3:16, half of Psalm 23, and countless other single verses from all around the bible. I knew who God was, I could recite the creation story, Jesus was God’s son, Jesus had died and ‘wresarected’, Easter was not about bunnies, and Christmas was ‘Jesus’s birthday’. I could tell you how to get to Heaven. I could say that you need… something I lacked. I could hypocritically recite that you needed Jesus in your heart. I would say that you needed Him as your savior – something I did not have.

One day, a visitor came to AWANA and spoke to all the Sparkies during assembly. He was a man we all loved. Me especially, as he knew all the Doughnut Man songs by heart and often called me up from the crowd and we would sing them together. That day, the counselors had passed out chips, and I was munching on Cheetos, which were my favorite snacks of the time. With my eyes glued on the man – who’s name I don’t even remember – I silently passed one cheeto after another to my mouth. He spoke of God and Satan. He once more told the story I had heard more times than I can even now recount: First day, Light. Second day, sea and sky. Third day, land. Then birds and fish. After that, plants. Then animals. Then People. God had created the world, so he rested. Our storyteller told us about the trees. One of which would give you everlasting life. The other would give you the understanding of what evil was. The people ate it and were banished. The man then jumped to the other side of the bible and told about the cross and exactly why Jesus had died. All of a sudden, my hand stopped in the cheeto bag. The man had not stopped telling the story. He had not said anything new; I had already memorized this story. Something had just suddenly… made sense.

The story ended and a new sentence began. Our beloved ‘Doughnut Man guy’ asked the crowd at large if we wanted Jesus. Though my vocabulary was not as colorful at the time, my mind screamed the seven year old version of “Oh, heck, yes!”

Not waiting for an answer, the Doughnut Man guy led a collective sinner’s prayer to the 1^stand 4^th graders in the room. My life started then. It wasn’t a glorious ‘aha’ after a lifetime of evil. It wasn’t a heart-wrenching realization that Buddha didn’t have the answers. It wasn’t on the lonely deathbed of a darkened hospital room. It was me, sitting cross-legged, on the floor of a humongous Baptist church, with my hand in a bag of cheetos. God decided to start then.

Clinic and dorms

2011-05-07T10:28:00.004-05:00

Thursday we held our weekly health clinic. This is such an amazing opportunity to show word and deed ministry! Christ did it all the time - and as we try and emulate Him, and keep Him always in front of what we are doing. I've decided to do a devotional each week, before the beginning of clinic for those who are waiting in line. This week my devotional was "A God of Impossibilities". It really hit home to the people in line. We have a God who can and does do the "impossible". And when so many people live in that kind of reality, to know that the God that we love can do ALL is a comforting thing indeed!

Cleaning a badly infected wound

Giving a devotional before the start of clinic

The dorms are going full-steam ahead. We've received additional funds, although we still need more (the life of a missionary :-) ) - but we are praying that the dorms will be completed in 4 short-weeks so teams can start staying there. The tile and paint (hopefully) will be delivered today! You will see in the pictures that there is still much to be done - but our workers are awesome - so as long as the funds continue to come in, and there is time - there is a decent chance they will get done before the first team.

Bathrooms in the dorm

Dorm rooms

Guest Post

2011-05-05T07:54:00.003-05:00

One of the assignments for Madison's homeschool was to write an essay about a time in her life that had a positive and or negative impact. She chose Jr. High - ah what a good choice :-) Anyway - over the next week or so I am going to post her essays here. It's an interesting thing to see Mission Life from the perspective of a kid (okay...okay...young woman - AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!). One thing about Madison's writing - I think she has an uncanny way of writing visual pictures. I can see it happening in my head. I know I'm biased, but I think she writes very well. Anyway - here it is:

Hell – Also known as Junior High
By: Madison Pettengill

Two years ago my parents and I stepped off a plane and onto the tarmac of the La Ceiba airport. Greeting us was the unrelenting heat wave, ratty dogs, and short people who were blabbering in a language I hardly understood. Grabbing our carry-on’s we lugged them inside and over to the front desk to collect the rest of our luggage. Then - using what little Spanish had been pounded into our brains over nine months in Costa Rica - we eventually deciphered that only two or three of our fourteen bags had made it on this flight because our scrawny ten person puddle-jumper would have literally been too weighted down if all our bags had been stuffed into it’s little cargo area. We looked at each other then hauled our three little duffle bags and carry-on’s outside as my dad hailed a taxi. It was hot. I had stood there dripping as my twelve-year-old California body suffered in the ninety-five percent Honduras humidity. Dad and the cabby argued a little bit over the cab fare. The driver was trying to bump up the price because, clearly, all gringos – including poor missionary gringos – are filthy rich. After the price was settled upon, we drove thirty minutes to our temporary back room of some nice person’s house. Where we lived for a week with exactly three changes of clothes, no Spanish, no money, and little food. Welcome to Honduras.
A month later and we lived in a new house, had a new car, and I was going to a new bilingual school. I would wake up every day and dress in the school uniform I hated. My stifling, white polo matched perfectly with my stifling, blue-with-vertical-white-striped pants that were too long. Even though we had gone to the fitter four times to get them done, my pants were still uncomfortable. All Honduran girls of my age will paint their pants onto their legs so they look as loose as a python, while I will bypass the girl’s section in Target and head directly over to the 9-12 section of the boy’s clothing to buy my pants. So therefore, when I asked the seamstress to make them ‘loose’ she first gave me a look of utter confusion and then made the pants two sizes too small so that I couldn’t even put them on, let alone be comfortable in them. Three visits and three iterations of ‘loose’ later, when my mom asked how they felt, my exasperated answer was: “Cotton stretches in the wash, right?”
The first five days at any school will always be nerve-wracking no matter what country it’s in. However, the oh-she’s-the-new-kid treatment I got the first week of 7th grade never really seemed to go away. As the newness faded and became familiarity and my novelty of a new school faded and became part of daily life, so the nice relationships with my 37 classmates faded over time.
The first week had gone by and I had had a couple of forced conversations with my class. Two weeks ended and I still had no one to really talk to in lunch. A full first month had just passed but I was still optimistic. Two months and I was now fully familiar with the entire campus layout and had almost memorized my school schedule but I only knew the names of four people in my class. Three months came and went. There was still no one in my class who would really talk with me in lunch. In group projects, I had to really struggle and plead for someone to temporarily accept me into their little unit to complete a simple assignment.
Five months ended and I was the most depressed I had ever been. I still only knew a handful of names, I was still alone at lunch, and I still had to pull the my-teacher-told-me-too card to get into group projects. The only difference was that instead of my best-case scenario being a half-hearted conversation with someone, my best-case scenario was that my class ignored me. When my parents asked me how my day was, the pre-recorded little ‘It was good’ became the popular answer.
Six months and I was fed up. I hated waking up at 5:30 every day, pulling on the horrific uniform, heaving on my far too heavy backpack, eating an un-motivating breakfast, and dreading every second of the 25 minute drive to school.
Thank goodness for the school library. The books I buried myself in were the only things that kept me sane for the last three months of the circle of Hell known as Junior High. I am normally a very bubbly, out going person who will walk up to a perfect stranger and be able to make friends with them. As my time progressed, however, and all my normal modes of life and self-defense utterly exhausted, the one thing I had left to me, was to escape reality and submerge myself in a paper-filled, inter-dimensional portal of myth and fantasy. Nonetheless, my parents still wanted the best for me, though I fought the notion. So, for the last two months of that year, I was absolutely not allowed to ever –even under the most dire situations- read during the teacher’s lecture.
School ended and summer break started. I had the greatest two weeks of summer a nearly thirteen year old had ever had. Then, it seems, the school had lied to me. At the beginning of the year, the director had told my parents that, because it was my first year there, they would give me a pardon in all my Spanish classes because my Spanish sucks. Apparently I had failed my music class and apparently that, although my music class was in Spanish, and fell under the even-if-you-suck-we’ll-still-pass-you umbrella I still had to spend a full month of my summer break doing- makeup work? No, I did absolutely nothing. I sat there for two hours each day in my school uniform waiting for my music teacher to get there and then did about an hour not doing homework and instead learning the Honduran national anthem. By the end of the month I could play that anthem perfectly on my stupid plastic recorder.
I pity everyone who ever has to go through a public school environment for Junior High. Although the one I endured was a private school, it’s confining and – in many cases – conflicting rules produced an environment comparable to public school. That environment caused me to transfer schools next year. After I left, my old school stopped accepting gringos. I harbor the suspicion that I was the cause of this quite dramatic change.

You know you are a missionary nurse when...

2011-05-03T08:32:00.002-05:00

So...since I've been a missionary nurse I've had the opportunity to do all sorts of "fun" things. Lanced many an abscess, packed wounds, stitches, start IV's on the field, delivered babies - that kind of thing. However, it's always been on someone else! Makes sense, right?! Okay - now a little history - Mike PROMISES me that losing toenails is something that many runners experience. He had some friends that would lose them DURING a marathon. Well...after over 600 miles of training, and doing a marathon, I noticed that my big toe started to turn green underneath the nail. STOP here if you don't want any more information :-)

Then I noticed the toenail next to it. I looked at it, and I could almost lift the nail completely off. We have some friends visiting, and my friend Renee asked me when was the last timeI removed the nail polish completely off of my nail? I had to admit to her it had been a long time. So - off to go get the nail polish remover, and a few minutes later I exposed both of the nails to find that yes indeed, both nails were dead. So what's a girl to do? Well, I was able to pry the second nail off completely with just a little tugging - there was already a "baby nail" growing in underneath. But then there was the big toe...About 2/3rds of it I ended up being able to clip off and remove at the base...but there was a third of the nail that wouldn't come off - it was still attached underneath. A few hours later I got up the courage to go upstairs and prepare what I needed for my minor surgery. I pulled out the lidocaine, scrubbed my foot, and gave myself two injections to numb my toe. I then proceeded to shove a hemostat underneath the toenail to separate it from the skin underneath. Finally, I grabbed the nail with the hemostats, rolled it, and completely removed it. Yes...all by myself...alone upstairs on my floor. I really do need another medical person here.

Girls Day

2011-04-30T19:56:00.003-05:00

Today we brought 10 girls from the village into town. This is a very unusual opportunity for girls to leave the community. We played games (Pictionary - a HUGE success), jumped on the trampoline, had a devotional, played on the Wii, made sub sandwiches - they ate until they were stuffed, then made banana splits for dessert with all the topings.

An exciting time was when we brought Oneida, the young mostly mute girl, and her sister, Carolina, as two of the girls. This is only their second time out of the community - they were so excited to come, they arrived at the pick-up location 30 minutesearly! It is so fun to see them interact with other girls, and participate in this exciting opportunity. It was a huge blessing to all of us who were in attendance.

All of the girls having fun

Just hanging out getting ready to play

Helping Oneida draw a house

spring cleaning and making marshmallows

2011-04-27T09:28:00.004-05:00

Between English Class, Kids Club, homeschooling and cleaning my house in general - I've been Spring Cleaning as well. Our first team arrives in about 5 weeks, and I know I will be totally unable to do some elbow rubbing type of cleaning for awhile, so thought I would take advantage of the time I have now. Have painted three rooms, have Madison's to go; throwing out stuff we haven't used in 3 years; organizing; and thought I would get a jump-start on washing some sheets that haven't been used since last summer for our teams. Ah...such well laid plans...the drainage system for our washing machine is hooked up to the sink in our washroom. Right before we moved in workers laid some tile outside. It's beautiful - but they used the sink to clean out their cement buckets. You can see where this is going...most of the drain is blocked by hardened cement. So - the drainage for my washing machine is attached to a hose, which I have to put outside each time for it to drain. Well...I forgot to do that this morning in my haste to get a lot of stuff done. Needless to say - my entire wash room, and the attached room (with tons of stuff on the floor) was completely flooded. At least the floors are clean!

One fun thing - many of you know I love to cook. I've tried and succeeded and tried and failed at many things. One thing I've been wanting to make is marshmallows. I know - you can buy them at the store - but has anyone ever tried homemade marshmallows? They are amazing! So yummy - fresh! I found all my ingredients, made marshmallow, dipped them in melted chocolate, then rolled them in candy sprinkles. Yum!

Just about done...

Final product

Family Traditions

2011-04-23T10:51:00.001-05:00

Simple things in life are what memories are made of. Yes, the trips to Disneyland are fun, and the big presents you get some years, but I think - more importantly - are the memories that are made together, and family traditions are one of those things. I know it's not a big thing, but for our family, those traditions hold firm - even in Honduras. While I was in the States, I tried to remember the things I was going to be able to purchase for Easter, and those things that won't be available. Egg coloring kits were one of those things that you can't find here - so I made sure that some came back with us. So, last night, the whole family sat down and colored some eggs. It was a blast! Let's hear it for traditions!

Easter Sunday we have a small lunch planned (ham, eggs, potatoes, dinner rolls, veggies), then "gringo" church - where we will worship in English, then on to a local church for service. It will be interesting to see if the Easter message will be preached. Our experience in the three years, and multiple churches we have been to - is that the Easter story is all but ignored. It may be mentioned, but there is so message of the Passion, or the resurrection, or anything related to Easter.

Happy Easter everyone!

He is Risen...He is Risen Indeed!!!

Mike and Madison busily coloring eggs.

The final products

Pascua

2011-04-20T07:59:00.004-05:00

Easter is a very under-celebrated holiday here. In the three years we have been here and the multiple churches we have been to and our team mates have been to, it's almost never even mentioned. There are exceptions of course. On Monday, after our English class, I was trying to encourage the kids to come to our Kids Club the following day because they were going to hear the story of Easter (Pascua). One of the kids said something to me that I have been suspicious of, but he laid it out there and basically spoke for the majority of the Protestant churches/believers in Honduras. He said, "Why are you going to tell the story of Easter? That's something you celebrate in the States, we don't celebrate that here." Which of course got me even more motivated to tell the story well :-)

So, I put together a skit with Mary, an Angel, John and Peter - and the empty tomb. The kids loved to see the story in action, and when asked questions about it they responded with great answers. Afterwards, to sum up the event, we gave a gospel presentation and gave tracks to the kids. They did a fun Lapbook craft with a cross on the outside and the empty tomb on the inside. The kids that were there really seemed to enjoy it!

Kids diligently working on their craft