We are SO Back to Honduras

(copied from the old blog. entry dated: 8/13/2007 4:35:00 PM)
Hey everybody, we are so glad to be back to Honduras!
We had hoped to slow down the pace once we arrived here, but that has not been the case. As you already know, our excellent friend, Melody Alt from Jacksonville, FL was here to help us establish the pharmacy. We have many boxes of donated medicine and have not had the chance to sort through it all. Melody was able to do just that. Her nursing background allowed her to begin setting up shop and our medications are now almost organized and will be easier to distribute.  Thanks for your willingness to help; we loved having you here with us!
Shortly after arriving in Rio Viejo, and checking out the building etc., we made plans for me to fly out to the “frontier city” of Puerto Lempira. Its airport is very rustic and its runway is just a straight and smooth dirt track; nothing fancy. I arrived early in the morning to meet up with Jack Dyer and Pete Wunstel from Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, LA. I had hoped they would already be there, waiting for them gave me ample time to worry and doubt whether I had the date and place correct. I started thinking of where I would spend the night and catch the next plane out in the morning. Much to my relief, their single engine airplane rolled up to the “waiting area” where I was anxiously praying a few hours later! We spent a couple of hours in Puerto Lempira visiting with various friends. Jack Dyer spent many years, early in his ministry, in an area of Honduras known as the Moskitia. Back in the late 70’s and early 80’s Jack piloted and brought relief aid during a very tumultuous time of war between Honduras and Nicaragua. The Miskito people were victims caught between a rock and a hard place. Consequently, Puerto Lempira is the gateway to La Moskitia and many ministries and church organizations were established there. There, Jack is known by the locals as Papa Jack, a name given in honor of the way he lovingly cared for so many during those years. Walking through the streets, people upon recognizing him would mouth the words, “Papa Jack” some of them had the incredulous look coupled with the whispered name in their mouth. I felt like I was walking around with a celebrity, it was so cool….
   
Our single-engine airplane (Alpha Delta Sierra)                          Papa Jack Dyer

After lunch we climbed onto the airplane piloted by a Norwegian missionary and we flew to the very remote village of RusRus. It is a Miskito phonetic name for the village, it is said that the name represents the diesel generator sound that sometimes runs there for the benefit of a hospital established by Friends of the Americas when Jack Dyer was director. RusRus is a small pocket of civilization, REMOTE just doesn’t seem a descriptive  enough  word … the plane had to first fly over the airstrip to inform the villagers of our arrival, they in turn, scattered the animals that were grazing on a short clearing so that our landing would be uneventful. BELIEVE IT OR DON’T.  I had not been to RusRus since 1995, and I remember at the end of my first night, earnestly asking God not to send me back there, ever again, please. 
Crossing the Coco River on a “pipante”.

On this trip, we were to venture across the Coco River that divides Honduras from Nicaragua. We crossed at Leymus, without any problems and without any passport, only my Honduran driver’s license and my doctor ID card. Mike Bagby and a local leader from a near-by town, Truman Cunningham, (no, I did not make up that name.) met us and together we rode down-river to Waspam, Nicaragua. Waspam is to Nicaragua as Puerto Lempira is to Honduras, an outpost town, bustling with activities; outriggers, boaters, pick-up trucks for taxis and a lot of smoke everywhere you looked. There we met some more of God’s children; Nutie Melrose, along with Mike and Laura Bagby who were hosting a short-term missions group, actually they were two families from south-central Florida. They were becoming acquainted with the Bagby’s ministry and in turn so did we. All I can say is congratulations guys; you are doing a great work in Nicaragua’s Moskitia.

When we got back to RusRus, we were able to tour the hospital. Geraldina Coleman is a Miskito woman who has been their nurse for almost 20 years. She has done an incredible job during this time. Unfortunately the last 5 years the hospital has declined in its scope of service and ministry to the many communities that surround it. It is the only health care facility for hundreds of kilometers. This part of Honduras sorely lacks the infrastructure that the rest of the country enjoys. Consequently, people are forced to use the river system as a main mode of transportation, much like their ancestors have done for centuries in the past.

Pastor Victor and his family at the RusRus Church of God.

We met the local Church of God pastor in the village of RusRus, along with his family and the congregation during a worship service.   It was so refreshing to see faith at work, seemingly against all odds there is the conviction that God sustains and maintains. This dear pastor and his family operate in one of the most difficult circumstances I have seen. Food and supplies, communication, transportation, water, electricity; are all at a minimum and demand great efforts to partake of any of them. Honduras’ Moskitia is indeed a difficult place to minister. Yet, this church has remained steadfast and continues to grow. We pray God’s richest blessings on them. With this in mind we want to return soon to bless the area by holding medical brigades during the day and having preaching/worship services at nights. There are about 16 churches along the Coco River that each represents a village. It would take more than two weeks to visit each church/village to do the medical brigade but we are planning on doing this during the dry season. Would anyone join us? The invitation is especially cordial to any health care worker or minister of the Gospel that doesn’t mind extreme conditions! Imagine yourself in a “Man vs Wild”-type of setting except you want to remain in the wild and you actually have a reason to be there: to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ- isn’t that awesome?

Once I was back in the La Ceiba area I was able to schedule time with the Regional Director of the Ministry of Health for our State (Departamento de Atlantida), Dr. Becerra. Just to show you what God can do, Dr. Becerra, agreed to not only visit  RusRus’s hospital with me in the near future, but will also help to provide the medicines needed there on a regular basis.  He has also given his permission to open and operate the Rio Viejo medical centre.  I have been given a contract to serve 3 days per week in a small nurses station in the next village and to continue my monthly visits to the village of Las Minas.  He will provide government medicines for all of these endeavors!  I will now have the government doctor identification badge that will enable me to send any of our patients from Rio Viejo to the government-operated hospitals for any care or surgeries that we cannot provide at the medical center here.  This is an incredible blessing for our ministry!
Another blessing…we will be welcoming Pat and Leslie, short-term missionaries from Fayetteville, Tennessee  to Rio Viejo soon! They will be helping with the finishing work on  the medical center and also the construction of the dormitory in our growing complex. We are so greatly encouraged with their contribution.  The dormitory will be key in allowing visiting health care workers to minister with us and make their stay pleasant and safe. Hopefully, we will have something fully underway for the dedication of the centre November 9th.

Upcoming events:
Arrival of Pat and Leslie                         August 29, 2007
Groundbreaking of Dormitory                September 2007
Introduction of medical equipment        September/October 2007
Dedication ceremony       
 of Rio Viejo Medical Centre                   November 9th 2007