The first is a man who lives several hours hike from Las Minas, some of which can be traveled by horseback. He was bitten by a snake several months back. Because the bite was on his leg, he was unable to walk to the clinic for care. So Martin has visited him almost weekly for the past three months. He has seen great progress towards healing and his leg and his life have been saved. Before finishing his service in Las Minas on the 27th he hopes to get a final picture of his leg and show you the improvement. Below is a picture of the leg after several treatments and also a picture of the head of the snake that inflicted the almost fatal bite!
The next pictures are of a woman who came to the clinic just last week with a fatty tumor (lipoma) on her hip. She thought she would set up an appointment with the doctor to have it removed since she heard he loved to remove such things. Little did she know that Martin would cut it off right then. Her husband wanted to be present — though after a few minutes he turned pale green and looked like he was going to hit the floor! ha/ Martin had him sit in a nearby chair where he could monitor the progress from a safe distance. Next week she will return to have her stitches removed. She was so happy to be rid of the huge thing. Martin thought it looked like a big baked potato once it was removed. Only Martin could enjoy such a thing…
As things wind to a close in Las Minas, we are all counting the days again and anticipating Martin’s return to Rio Viejo. The rains have made travel both difficult and dangerous. We are ready to have him home with us for good. He continues to work on his thesis and has gotten good reports from his tutor in Tegucigalpa on the progress. He will turn it in and defend it in the month coming. As far as we know, the date of graduation is still around the 20th of December. And our planned departure for the United States is January 25th. We will not be able to celebrate Thanksgiving together due to Martin’s extended stay in Las Minas, but hope to celebrate with turkey and dressing the week following in Rio Viejo. All is going well with homeschooling and with the kids. They are counting down the days until our trip to the States and it is the topic of much conversation at the dinner table lately. We are all looking forward to the completion of many things in the coming weeks. I know you will be celebrating with us as Martin’s year of Social Service is completed, his thesis is completed, and his long journey of medical school is completed. I know you share in our joy just as you have shared in our struggles. Won’t it be wonderful to see this dream finally become a reality?!
We send our love to all of you and will keep you updated as things progress.
In His Love and Ours,
Wendy & family