going by faith: Medical Outreach Part 2

After a hard day's work

We are back in Copan and had a great welcoming from our host family. What a week in Tegucigalpa! We had such a great experience with our team of 39 North Americans and about 12 Hondurans (both dentists and translators). I gave an update on the previous blog of how many people we had seen so far, and now that our trip is over, we can say we saw over 1700 patients in the clinic and served around 2500 plates of food to the people we served.

In addition to the clinic and food service, our team provided many different outreaches including hair cutting, children's activities, eye glasses, and shoes. To us, however, the most important thing was that each person who came through the clinic didn't have to pay, but were taught the good news about Jesus and what he has done for our sins by dying on the cross and rising again.

Pastor Mike evangelizing

We don’t expect people to make the decision to follow Christ, but we pray that we have planted a seed through what we have said, but more importantly by what we have done. (photo of Pastor Mike at the "Salvation Station" courtesy of Eric Engerbretson)

We also had a team working on the Learning Center which has been under-construction for the past 2 years. Ryan was a part of that team and he has said that more than anything this trip, he feels the building team has gained a connection with the Honduran builders...friendships that will last a lifetime.

Photo courtesy of Holly Lind

Personally, I gained so much from the brigade. I had so much fun with this team. It was such a blast showing my home friends and family the place Ryan and I are going to be for the next year or so. If anything, I have a clear vision again of exactly why we are here and I will use that to focus even better during my Spanish classes.

While we were in Teguc, we got to see the apartment Pastor Jeony and his wife Jessy are building for us (and other volunteers after we have left). It is being built right off of their house (the blue one). It is going to be perfect for us. I am excited to see the final product in September! We have 6 more weeks in Copan, and then we will be in Tegucigalpa for a year and a half. I can’t wait to be there!