Flash Backs

(prepare your sing songy voice): WE'RE BACK!!!!

Zach and I made it safely back saturday night at 11 pm to the familiar welcome of our new home: two major highways were closed unannounced and it took an additional two hours to be picked up. You can bet we were missing Honduras pretty heavily at that time.

Now that I have had a solid day or two back in California, I wanted to do a flashback of some of my highlights:

1.

While one of the groups were visiting, we were given the chance to go into the local hospital, into the delivery ward, and see a baby be born. Despite earlier efforts, this was the first time I have experienced such an event. And let me tell you, I was warned up down and sideways by everyone, but let me tell you the truth: what I was not a real birth. It was a holly wood birth. These honduran women, I tell you something else... they all have the strength physically of Paul Buyan and mentally of Ron Swanson. Typically in Honduras, the women are taken to the delivery table only just as the baby is about to come. This woman in particular was on the table for about 8 minutes. There was no tearing... no screaming... nothing. She just moaned two or three times and voila, there was the baby. If I didn't know what was happening, I could have easily mistaken the whole experience for a woman enjoying a delicious pie. But that was NOT what was happening. So when all is said and done, I feel like I am walking away with the same way I entered: having an unrealistic view of what my birthing experience may be.

2.

These two! I mean, do people get cuter than this? This is a father and son who came in to the clinic; the son was deaf and so the father assisted him in communicating through made up sign language/charades. The only catch was, the dad was almost completely deaf as well. Dr. Martin would have to speak directly into the ear of his father while they both tried to communicate to the son. And the son NEVER stopped smiling. It was the best; he was the best! So happy!! Now when these fellas came out, Zach made sure I saw them. He told me the story of the older man needing sunglasses due to cataracts. To get these, he had to visit Zach in the glasses section... Zach said that once he got these fake ray bans, the posh attitude set in! He walked out of the clinic with those babies on and went right up to a table full of ladies. He just stood there. No teeth grin and all. Doing what he does!

3.

Across the street from the hospital, there is a high school that was established by missionaries from the states. While we were there, a group came to the school to give it a paint job. This above is, as you probably have guessed... part of the paint job. But what you perhaps did not guess was that the artist was blind. Cannot see, blind! I couldn't believe it. The outsides of the fish are done in puff paint, which he uses as a guideline and the rest is unexplainable to me. So magnificent! The fish are all spotted and he used that to create unity among the school grounds as each person that attributed by placing one fingerprint of paint  to help in the masterpiece.

4.

Down the mountain a ways, there is a church that is also run by American missionaries. The church they use now was built with the intention of being a three car garage (if that is painting you any kind of picture). It is complete with a thatch roof and three blue tarps for air conditioning (their purpose is to block penetration of the sun during the church services). Their new building is at least 10 times the size of the current one and has a stage, office, and storage area. We drove by the church one Thursday night while we were down there and the place was straight hopping! There were around 200 men there for the guys night playing soccer, being served dinner, and having a bible study. They also have a women's night and health promotion class. Church services and a soccer league.

 5.

 

This is Las Minas. Dr. Martin was insanely kind in planning a trip to this special village while Zach and I were out there because this is Zach's favorite place outside of the hospital. It takes about four hours one way to travel out there and you cross over many roads that look like the picture in the lower left hand corner. I know what you're thinking and yes, I am being quite generous with my use of the word "roads." When Dr. Martin was doing his residency in Med School, he was assigned the tiny village of Las Minas. He began to ask around, never having heard of the village, and quickly found out that he was in great company. No one else knew if it either. Finally, someone from Las Minas came into the city for a hospital visit and the doctor called Dr. Martin to let him know that he had a woman who knew where the village was. After that, it took Dr. Martin four tries to make it out there successfully due to the conditions of the roads (or lack there of). Zach is ultra fond of it because the hospital crew brings Christmas to the children; that experience alone captured Zach's heart. Because of this, Dr. Martin intentionally planned for us to visit this beautiful electricity free village for two days. During these two days, we had clinic and saw about 70 folks, some with the most incredible stories. For instance, this fella on the table came in complaining about not being able to work for an extended amount of time. While being examined Dr. Martin showed us seven bullet hole wounds. It turns out that two and half months ago while collecting bus fair money, he was being robbed by fellas who successfully shot at him seven times (four of which were in the abdomen). And here he is, two months later, working and shocked that he is having troubles. Man oh man we sure aren't in America any more.  Another woman came in and said that she had something hanging out of her between her legs. She went on to explain that she had five traumatic births and now she is suffering from this repercussion. Dr. Martin asked how old her youngest son was and he was over 2 years old. For TWO YEARS she had been dealing with this prolapsed uterus or bladder and went on living her daily life. These folks are champs! Something else that struck me as incredible was the way that they cooked. Because there was no electricity, they lived their everyday without a refrigerator. A lot of other things as well but a refrigerator most importantly. I simply can't imagine life without one. What do you do with leftovers? Leftovers alone is reason enough to have a fridge. And then in a close second is cheese. We had a family hosting us while we were there and let me just tell you, that woman could cook. Fried chicken for breakfast! I"M IN!!!! She made eggs and rice, beans and tortillas for every meal. (fun fact: the average honduran woman makes anywhere from 90-300 tortillas a day!). Above is a picture of our host family's husband who brought all of us coconuts. This is him slicing them open for us to drink. Oh they were spectacular! He usually spends his day tending to their farm (they raise and sell chickens) but was so excited to have the chance to bless us. 

6.

We had a busy schedule while we were down there- four straight weeks of hosting teams. But every now and then we would sneak in a zumba or insanity session and that was gold!

 7.

 This school was so fabulous! Our last group was an education group who came down prepared with skits, songs, and hygiene lessons as well as teacher gifts. At this particular school, I would have bet that they had a class on school yard patty cakes and songs. They had so many different hand shakes and merry go round type games. Poor chicas were trying so hard to teach us but we were too inbred gringos. We played these games for at least an hour straight while waiting for schools to start but once school started, we taught a hand washing lesson, a healthy eating lesson, and a teeth brushing lesson. there was a LOT of singing going on.... so, you know I loved that with all of my heart. #Americanidol

 8.

Just before we left, we scheduled a zip lining adventurama complete with a taste of hot springs. This was a highlight because of all of the breath taking views we saw. If you can get past Zach's smile, the picture really is beautiful ;). It was a lovely goodbye as we had already seen the heart of the country and also caught a glimpse of the outward majesty. 

It was a 10 out of 10. All of it.

Donya Elida Esmerelda

Everyone, meet Elida Esmerelda!

(she's the fox in the white  and blue dress)

Here I am just working in the pharmacy and away from all of the patients when Dr. Martin (the head honcho of this whole operation) comes in and tells me that he needs to show me something. So, I blindly follow him not quite knowing what our destination is. His leading me stops and I am left standing next to Zach, his mom, another mom and her baby, and another older woman. I smile but do not know who to look at and my face is definitely leaking my secret: I am more confused than anything else. Zach's mom shoots a glance to the older woman and so I focus my eyes there. Dr. Martin says, "Cassi, I want you to meet this woman. I think you and her look so much alike that you could be her daughter." (I wish she was smiling with teeth here because we do both have quite the gummy smile. As you may notice, smiling in pictures is not the Honduran way... so a no teeth was probably as close as I could get). I smiled genuinely and then went in for a hug, commenting on her curly hair and freckles. It was decided, she was my Honduran mom. Now apparently, this is no joking matter so when Dr. Martin translated it... someone else was simultaneously carving it in stone. Every time I saw her that day, through windows, in passing, whatever... we exchanged smiles and sheepish giggles. I finally had to have someone translate to her that I would work quite hard at my Spanish so next time I come down, she and I would be able to communicate. (Smiles, hand holding, and hugs only get you so far, I have come to find.... words would be nice to know as well). After having left, she and Dr. Martin about me coming by and seeing her house. Now to be honest, this whole thing was very much confusing for me. I am not sure if I was invited or if it was Dr. Martin's idea. I am also not sure if that gesture holds a certain amount of weight or what. But sure enough, as we were leaving the village, the whole bus stopped right in front of her house and Shell and I got out. There we are (above) with her family in front of her home. They were all on the front porch waiting for us... Super sweet! I introduced myself to my honduran dad and sister. Now Shell doesn't speak a lick of Spanish so this was somewhat a feat in and of itself. She asked me to tell them who she was so I very brokenly said "Ella es mi esposo madre"... immediately realizing that if anything I should have said ella es la madre de mi esposo. But thankfully, we had that mother daughter connection going on so Momma Elida understood. She took us into her house and showed us the two rooms that made it up. The first room had one hammock hanging in the middle of it and a few knick knacks set on a "shelf" running throughout the middle of the room. It truly looked more like a support type of beam than a shelf. She told us that the hammock was where all three of them slept. The second room held two rusted bikes in the center of the floor. Both broken and unridable and both having been there an extremely long time. And that was that. She was grinning ear to ear the whole time! (Kitchens are typically outside due to the heat so, that was something we did not see).

It blows my mind to see the differences in living and lifestyle. There are no pantry's here covered in snacks. There are no refrigerators for leftovers. No storage for superfluous clothing. No room for momentos or photos or glorified living by any standards... no chairs even. Yet even still, she was so pumped to show me her house and what she called her own. Now here is where I typically tell you what I have digested after processing but, nothing. I've got nothing so far. A part of me is saddened by push for cush in the American lifestyle but I am also saddened by the lack of what I call needs in this Honduran home (for things like a fan, an additional hammock, pillows, places to sit, etc.) But that's all I've got. I am not sure what to come of it. Perhaps that'll take time but for now, I just wanted to share with you the hospitality and kindness of your everyday Elida, the sweetheart.

The Recruiter

If I could have posted the reactions of all the permanent staff here at the jungle hospital as they were responding to Zach's return, I sure would have. They all kept saying "our brother has come home" or "it's like having a son return back home!" It was just the sweetest. And everyone was so thrilled to meet me. The doctor here, a few days after our arrival, said, "Zach, you told us that we would love her and I never fully believed it. She could never be as great as you. But you were right, we just love her!" However, now he has gotten one more name down here in the jungle. He was brother but now he is also 'the recruiter.'

Three days after we got to the jungle, one of the visiting doctor's and his wife went home and in exchange, they picked up Shell (Zach's mom), Coachie (Zach's Dad), Bosher (Zach's Grandpa), Galen (Zach's classmates twin brother) and Kelsey (Galen's wife). We joked about how in one foul swoop, Zach filled up the volunteer housing but in reality, this "recruitment" is just a snapshot of the deep love and support Zach has for this place.

For organizational purposes, I am going to break this up into two sections: Zach's family and our friends.

Zach's mom had been down here before as a nurse. In fact, she is coming again at the beginning of next year to teach a class to the permanent nurses so that they may be more qualified for labor and delivery. It was excellent having her down here because she knew some of the ropes and was sure to tell me how many drink filler packets I would need, how to rock the awkward fits of scrub clothing, which bathrooms I needed to take toilet paper with me, etc. All the important stuff! Now Coach and Bosher had never been here before; so, on top of the thrill that comes with putting names and buildings into years of stories to make the life- like, it was a huge blessing to have them help with DIY's here on campus. The hospital is working hard on trying to finish their labor and delivery facilities and as a result, Coachie and Bosh were able to help out with putting in sinks and toilets and fixing gutter problems, etc. Their handy work was considered an extra dose of gold as many of the volunteers come for medical assistance.

One of my favorite things we did while they were here was hike up to a rural village deep into the mountains. To get there, we had to take a bus for several miles and then finish the trek on foot. Now brigades usually take a hardy amount of luggage as we bring all of our own supplies: glasses, medicines, water, lunches, antibiotics, shots, toilet paper, etc. In light of this, the town usually brings down a horse to help with the totes. But sometimes, instead of providing a horse, they just provide an animal of a man... much like they did this particular time. He set that tote up on his back and went up the steep slopes while we crawled on all fours behind him.  Now, any Honduran would tell you that this hike we took was a 20 minute hike, but to the talented American, we were able to stretch that puppy out to a quick 50 minute hike with absolutely no time to spare. One of my favorite parts in particular was being passed by a 3 year old boy wearing crocs. Before we went on the hike however, one of the nurses caught wind of Bosher coming along (ps. for this brigade, Bosh and Coachie came along and put off their ground keeping duties for a few hours in exchange for seeing the rural countryside of Honduras). She went to Zach out of the goodness of her heart to have a little chat with him... making sure that Bosh understood how strenuous this hike was and getting a second opinion on his ability to complete it. Zach assured her, if anyone can do it, it's Richard Gray. And sure enough, we had exhausted our camel backs before he had even take his third gulp of water. The amount of sweat on our shirts told us we were far closer to diabetes than he is. After that hike, and having our giant water jug be carried up by Coach and Zach, everyone understood just how manly the name Gray is :)

If medical school has taught me anything, it has taught me that the notion of planning your future with your classmates is something you never outgrow. You know what I'm talking about... my very first neighbor and still life long best friend, Summerlyn Wells, and I used to live by some duplex houses. We always dreamed about living in one of them with our husbands and children. Thankfully, we have outgrown the duplex part but not the idea itself. It's a 24 year dream in the making. Zach has done the same thing with his medical school friends. He has talked all of them into studying different branches of medicine so that they (we) all can come down to Honduras to be the staff. Well, our one friend Gavin, is getting married this summer and so he could not use this time to get the first taste of his future BUT, he does have a twin brother who gladly stepped in to take his place. He is starting medical school next year and so, coincidentally, was also talked into the club of potential jungle folk. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Galen and Kelsey Mills!

Zach and I were the link between Galen and the hospital but we actually had never met them. Or contacted them in any form. (Let this be a testimony to the persuasive ways of "the recruiter"... just kidding, let it actually be a testimony of the Kingdom seeking hearts that are held by these sweet two: That they be so eager, willing, flexible, and determined to see all that the Lord is doing and take such delight in partnering with Him in whatever ways He allows). Nonetheless, we were ultra stoked to meet them. And then we did... and absolutely no amount of hype could talk these two up properly. They were such a treat to work beside. I mean, they came in knowing absolutely no one but straight up cannon balled it. No testing out the waters for these two champs. They traveled something of 14 hours by bus and then some to get to the hospital. Knew everyone on our team by the time they got up the mountain. Helped with dinner crew. Jumped in during clinic time. Helped with clean up. Answered to the surprise siren song of the talent show and rocked it! Gems. They were absolute gems. I considered it such a complete joy and blessing to work alongside them as they reminded me of the importance of words. It seemed as though each thing that came out of their mouths were either drenched in wisdom, or as sweet as honey. Each thought chosen delicately and used to build up, encourage, and glorify. I am incredibly thankful for their positive influence, humility, stewardship, and gratefulness as they raised the bar for humans everywhere.

Zach's creating quite the little team for down here ;)