Below is an article I wrote for our church newsletter about out upcoming trip

HONDURAS MISSION TRIP

September 15 - September 30

It is hard to believe that it is almost time for the annual mission trip to Honduras. This will be the fifth church sponsored trip to Belfate, Honduras and the Cornerstone Foundation mission at Hospital Loma de Luz. This year’s team is the largest we have ever sent, Richard Evans, Richard & Amber Shields, Lori Bell are returning again and will be joined by new team members Mike & Kathy Hooper and Jerry & Nell Mathern.

As with each year your support is how the team get there and are able to partner with our good friends and missionaries John and Penny Alden. The team are currently seeking support from friends, family and work colleagues to secure the supplies and donations necessary to make the trip as much of a success as past years have been.

The team has already supplied sponsorship for one nurse to be trained, and have sent 2 labor delivery beds which were donated.

The team is always flexible to what God has planned while they are there, however plans are currently afoot to supply and install several drinking fountains around the hospital, as well as setting up a labor / delivery room.

As many of you know the team commit to taking all their personal items as carry on, freeing up their checked baggage to transport much needed supplies to the Hospital.

Of course this year there will a great deal of space to fill 16 suitcases!

If you would like to donate then here are some of the supplies that are needed, scissors and gauze for wound care, scrubs, a whole variety of over-the-counter children's meds, prenatal vitamins, wet wipes, infant (including preemie) and children's clothing up to size 5, boxes of toothpaste and tooth brushes (dental care is a great need). Baby supplies (Airway and umbilical disposables.), disposable endometrial biopsy sample catheters and pap smear supplies. (old slide style, not the newer wet prep kind).

Items may be dropped off to Pastor Richard at the church administrative offices or can be given to any of the team members: If you are not sure what to get, we have some medical people who can get meds at cost if you would rather donate funds to the mission trip.

As always, you prayer support is needed and appreciated.

With Every Blessing-2011 Honduras Mission Team.

As always you can catch up with latest news before, during and after the trip at the blog

http://hondurasmissiontrip2008.blogspot.com/

or you can join the facebook group just search facebook for JPC Honduras Mission Trip.

2011

We are getting ready for the 2011 mission trip to Honduras.
This year's trip will take place from September 15 - September 30 2011.
The Team is made up of returning team members Richard Evans, Lori Bell, Richard & Amber Shields, and first timers, Jerry & Nell Mathern and Mike & Kathy Hooper.
The team meets tonight to pray, plan and prepare.
Please watch this space for updates..

Video Presentation

This past Sunday Nov 14 the team presented a video and talk about the 2010 mission trip.
You can view the video at the following link..

http://vimeo.com/16780328

Last Blog from Honduras

Today is our last day here at Loma de Luz. We spent the morning with our little Miguel. He had not been washed since arriving here at the hospital and boy was he "ripe". So, we washed and scrubbed him up and then were able to fix his hair in his MOHAWK! He was so cute!

We spent some time taking pictures and saying goodbye. We just heard that his mommy is coming down with something and has a fever, so pray that she heals soon. She is going to get to take Miguel home in a couple of days and she will need all her strength. Remember, she has 3 other little ones that cant wait to see her!

MIGUEL ROCKIN HIS NEW DO!

We have some other highlights from the trip that we have not written about but have been very memorable. Spending time at the Church in Marguerita is always a blessing. This is the building that past trips has been a focus of our work groups. The kids are so fun and it is fun to see them year after year. They love our cameras and we always take lots of pictures of them.

This is a great story! A very pregnant woman, whose older kids come to the church, had not had any prenatal care. She was on her sixth pregnancy and thought she should of had her baby in August. Penny, as a gift, told her that John would give her an appointment for free and she could hear the babys heartbeat. The woman agreed and thanked Penny. The following day when Penny arrived to pick her up, she stated "Its too late. I think the baby is dead and I'm bleeding." Penny explained then that it was very important to go and see John so she loaded her up in the truck and brought her to Loma de Luz. When John did an ultrasound, he only saw one head but he definitely saw two spines! Off she then went to La Ceiba where, after waiting all day in a hallway, she had a c/s for twins. Two girls! We visited these two cute babies when they were about 6 days old. 5-1 and 5-12. We cant wait to see them next year as 1 year olds!!!

Well, as our trip winds down, we want to thank all of you who have been following these posts. We have felt your thoughts and prayers while we have been down here and we are ready to come back home to be present with you. Continue to pray for this place. There is much sorrow and struggle, but as much love and joy! What a great people. They deserve Hospital Loma de Luz and we are so glad we have been able to be a little part in it!

We leave in the morning to head to San Pedro Sula. Our flight is at 9:15 pm so we have the whole day to travel the 4 hours and make some stops along the way. We are driving a young nurse back to the airport too. She leaves for the states the following morning. She arrived the same day we did and was able to help us with our sick babies! Looking forward to spending the day with her!

All our love,

The Team

Good bye Baby Elder

Elder Yasir Rivas Ulloa

Aug 5-Sept 29, 2010

We sadly said goodbye to baby Elder today at 3:39 pm. He lost his battle for life on this earth but is now in heaven where he has no pain or sorrow. The picture above is of his sweet little mommy. Her name is Ludin Ondina Ulloa. He was her first baby and she is grieving deeply. He was doing so poorly today and plans were in the works for a transfer. The red in the IV tubing is Ambers blood. She was able to donate blood for elder because his counts were so low. His little body was not able to maintain good oxygen sats and we were trying to get him a little stable so we could transport him to La Cieba to a pediatric intensivist.
We are all very sad. We worked hard to help Elder and were hoping for another miracle. None was to come. With all of Elders chronic problems, in a country that has very little resources, God said "I have a better place for him" and took him home.

This picture we took early in the day today. His grandmother (aubuela) wanted us to take some pictures for the family so we will stop in La Ceiba on friday on our way to the airport. There is a photo shop there and we will print out all our pictures of Elder. We are glad we got this one because he was resting comfortably. So, our pray is now for Elders mom and family. Please pray with us.

The Team

Ninos

This is baby Elder. He is a 2 month old baby boy that was born approx. 4 weeks early via cesarean section. His mom says that the midwife was "manipulating my organs and made me bleed". So she had an emergency c/s. He was born with a congenital disorder that causes his body not to make thyroid hormones. If caught early, the prognosis is not too bad, lifelong maintenance doses of thyroid hormones. If not detected, this is the result. Elder is only 4 pounds. His head is very small and his brain hasnt been developing. He has large open fontanels (soft spots)and a large tongue. He also suffers lethargy and, what brought him to the hospital, constipation. When he showed up this kiddo was "full of it!" Unfortunately, we have not been successful in getting "it" out. Tonight he took a turn for the worse and developed a small arrhythmia and had an increase need for supplemental oxygen. We are praying hard for this little one. We are asking for another miracle. We just watched one with Miguel! Why cant we have another? We were able to get a name of a pediatric endocrinologist (thanks Greg!) so the pediatrician down here can consult and hopefully find the best way to care for this little guy. So, we will keep you all updated. Elders mom is a 16 year old girl that has been here by herself for the most part. Tonight she cried so hard it would have broke your heart. Pray for her too.

Well, now on to the fat and juicy baby! Miguel is doing so well. We are so happy to see his progress. Today he cried and got mad when his food didn't come fast enough or if he was uncomfortable, just like a healthy normal 20 day old baby! These pictures say 1000 words. We will remove his arterial line (the one in his head) tomorrow and give him a bath. I cant wait to fix his mohawk and take pictures! Oh how we love this baby. When we raise funds for this mission trip we do it with the knowledge that God has a plan for the money and we see where the need is greatest. Well, after making sure the hospital was reimbersed for his oxygen consumption (6 big tanks at 100 limperas (about 55 bucks) a piece, we turned our attention to his hospital bill. Hospital Loma de Luz is the only private hospital that doesn't charge patients prior to admission. Miguel would have simply died if that was how they cared for the community. His family is so poor that besides the clothes on their back and maybe one extra set, the only thing they own is a small dog (which fends for herself) and two chickens. The hospital does charge its patients for care but does it with the knowledge that some bills will be paid in other ways than with cash. They can do work around the hospital grounds to pay back a bill. Some provide some of their harvest to the hospital kitchen to feed other patients. It is a good system that allows the local people to be responsible for their care, yet allows them the kind of care they would never be able to afford otherwise. Miguels bill up to today, without oxygen charges, is $471.74. An amount they could never pay. Miguels family lives 6 hours away (all by foot) and could not work this bill off. Nor do we want him to sell his chickens to pay his bill. They will provide eggs for the family (food for Miguel). God did not spare his life to have him starve or be malnourished. So, thanks to all our great financial support, his bill will be paid in full. Thanks to all our great prayer support his life has been saved! What a blessing you all are. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you. I wish you ALL could be down here to experience this time. We all miss our families and are looking forward to seeing them, but wouldn't trade this time for anything.

The Team

Baby Elder

Just a quick note. Please pray for baby Elder. He is the two month old baby with congenital hypothyroidism. He is 4 pounds and has gained no wait since birth. He has a long list of problems but right now he is struggling. He is having difficulty maintaining his Oxygen sats. More info later. I will post pics. Just PRAY!
The Team