Report from Linda

The Following was written by Linda
For you following our missions trip. Today I did about half of the assessments in the bi-lingual kindergarten. Will try to take some pictures in the school in the next few days. Every kid now knows Grandma Linda, as I am called. Wish I could remember all their names, but a least I know a few. Darling children. The kindergartners are not typical English speaking kids like I know at home as they have Spanish speaking parents and have not had pre-school or enrichment actives like being read to at an early age, but many are smart and will eventually be good English speakers. Amazing how well they do. Love being here and serving....

Another wonderful day

Baby number 6 arrived on Wednesday and kept the girls busy yet again, they have been able to take over for Dr Vance, just calling him to be there as the baby actually makes an appearance. Dr Richard again operated and was ably assisted by Lori. Then he went in and operated along side Dr Jeff.

The construction continued with painting of the walls and ceiling, although we think there was more paint on the team and the floor than on the surfaces that needed to be painted! Also dry wall was hung, thank goodness it was not on the ceiling like it was last year.

During this trip we have been fed well by Beverly and the kitchen crew, tonight they enlisted Scott to use the new grill that just arrived on the container. There were around 20 of us as the Pirkle family joined us. We were amazed by the story they shared of their journey to serve here at Loma de Luz.

Babies, Floors and Meals

Monday was the first full day at the hospital and the day began with the medical team headed out to the hospital, Dr Rich Owens saw the patients that he will operate upon during his week here. He also saw a man that he operated on during a previous visit and was able to catch up on his progress. Lori, Amber and Morgan ended up with deliveries as always and this year it seems like they are coming thick and fast. The average number of births at the hospital in a month is about 15 and they are already past that amount for September!

The 16 bags that arrived with the team were unpacked and distributed to their various destinations and people. We are grateful for all those who donated items and the money to purchase others.
Also today a container arrived, which has been in the port for a number of months, there is always great excitement and activity when this happens. Some of the larger items that we shipped to Mississippi for the container earlier in the year were included. It was great to be here as they arrived.

In the afternoon the construction team headed to the central supply building to assess the project that lays ahead for the 2 weeks. Having taken a short look, the team started nailing the under floor down.

 Monday evening saw everyone gather for dinner including the fields family and Ernest and Sonia, who are also here for the same two weeks as the team! More the merrier! Happily the remaining 4 checked bags of donations arrived at the hospital, delivered right to the gate of the hospital by the airline.
Tuesday saw Baby number 5 being born making for a total of 4 boys and one girl. This took place during morning devotions so the rest of the team carried on. Lori and Amber have been on call to give Dr Vance a rest. Linda will leave the staff housing at 6:30am everyday during the work week as the children start school at the bilingual school at 7am. Dr Rich had 2 surgeries today, one hand and a leg. The construction team continued the floor and also began sealing the walls and ceiling ready to be painted, before the tiles will be laid, then everything will be moved to the other side of the room and the process will be repeated. Tonight the team hosted Mike and Peggy Yost one of the missionary families here, they shared a meal and then their story of faith and journey to Hospital Loma de Luz. As always this is a great part of the trip and a really highlight of the time here. (of course Amber and Lori were called to the hospital and Dr Rich still had not made it back from the hospital.)

Day One in Honduras

Sunday morning meant the the arrival of the team took place. (24 hours late!) We arrived and all but 4 bags arrived with us. The remaining 4 will be delivered to the hospital in the next day or so. After meeting up with Dave Fields the team loaded up the trailer and then retreated back into the airport to grab a meal before the 5 hour drive to Belfate. With just a couple of stops along the way for gas and shopping we arrived after dark. Rich Owens and Dave were our wonderful drivers. Within a few minutes of arrival Amber and Lori were changed into scrubs and off to work at the hospital. And so it begins....

Delays and the like

Hi friends and family! Well this is what is going on..... We missed our flight to Houston last night thanks to San Francisco weather. We are rebooked on the flight that leaves tonight at midnight. This puts us 24 hours behind. Not a big problem except that the flight only had 8 open seats. That means unless we get on the flight as standby....Morgan and Lori have a second 24 hours here which then puts them 48 hours behind! Well as Tom (Lori's husband) said this morning.....lemonade out of lemons! We hope to have some fun at the warf today!

Update! We are back at the airport! Got here about 7 to check in only to find our reservations had been so manipulated that they self destructed well....not really but it felt that way. After an hour at the counter and the help of the two BEST United employees (see pic) we are back on track. Booked on a flight out at midnight for all except Morgan and Lori but they are number one and two on the standby list! We are trusting we will ALL make it on this flight! Well...We hope the next post will be from Houston tomorrow morning.

God made it happen! All of our team of 10 made it on the flight at the last minute. We are in Houston. We also some how ALL were in economy plus seats. Thanks to those united employees that made it happen.

Leaving Medford

We had a great check in experience. But there is a 2 hour delay. Leaving us only 30 mins to switch planes in San Francisco. Hope we make it. Here is a photo of our helpful staff.

Bags

Here are 19 of the 20 bags that we plan to check.
Please pray for the weight and sizes!! and then safe arrival.