Thoughts from Honduras
2000
Contents
Things We Learned in Central America
Update
Jan 1, 2000
A wondrous thing happens in our community on Saturday nights. Our little church in Lis Lis meets together with a sister church from Cerro Colorado. One week they meet in Lis Lis, the next in Cerro Colorado. The best way to describe what happens is kind of like a Christian variety show. It is the highlight of the week, much like the barn dance probably was in The States 150 years ago.
The visiting church is in charge of music and the sermon, which is really a devotional, often prepared extemporaneously, as is the whole service. The music leader starts with a few songs, then asks for specials. Someone leads the group in their favorite song, recites a poem, or reads a portion of Scripture. Some young people sing a special or two, maybe some older folks do too. There is no time limit or schedule. Talent is not a prerequisite. Some of the presenters are downright off key, but no one seems to mind.
The music is lively, with all participating. Generally everyone stands who can. Someone plays the keyboard, another the tambourine, another the guitar, and another the maracas. Everyone else claps and sings along, swaying to the music, tapping their foot, and maybe both feet! (Now some may call this dancing, and it probably is, as was described in the Old Testament. There is nothing sensual or sinful about it. It is a pure expression of joy; joy at being a child of God, joy in being together as the body of Christ, and joy in being in the presence of the living Savior, Jesus Christ!)
When Scripture is read, everyone stands in respect for the Word of God. The return of Christ is a favorite theme, much as it was with the slaves in the United States. People so beaten down and dirt poor have much more to look forward to than those of us who are so comfortable materially that we are in no hurry for Jesus to return.
Even though I am usually tired by the time Saturday night roles around, and would probably prefer to stay home, I am always glad I went, coming home refreshed, energized, and joyful at having been with such wonderful folks, the Body of Christ. I can’t help but believe that God also was pleased with the worship and joy of His humble people.
Snake
1/26/00
A fellow missionary in Costa Rica had to wait years for his “Snake Story”. It took me less than a year to get one (sorry Ken), but his is better. Maybe I will have another, more exciting experience at a future time. For now this will have to do.
This morning, Chrysti Reeck, our newly arrived missionary nurse, and I had just entered the hospital to do some work in the pharmacy in preparation for the opening of our clinic. I had forgotten some papers, and retraced our steps outside. There on the concrete entrance to the hospital was a three-foot snake. I watched it a while, but it did not move. If it was dead, I couldn’t believe we would not have seen it upon arriving, but then again, we were talking, and not really looking for snakes. I tossed a rock at it, but it didn’t move. I dropped a bigger rock in front of its face, it recoiled quickly, and so did I!
Esteben, one of our workers was nearby, so I asked him to tell me if the snake was venomous or not, not wanting to harm a beneficial snake for no reason. As he approached, the snake struck at him. He jumped, the snake missed, and Esteben’s boot crushed the snake’s head. Esteben then said “boa”, which would have made it non-venomous. I tried to examine the remains of its crushed head, but could not be sure if it had fangs, or if I was seeing broken jawbones.
I took him home to show the family, and see if I could identify him on our “snake chart”. To our eyes, he could have been one of several different snakes, some venomous, some not. When I showed the chart to the Hondurans at the hospital, they had the same difficulty. To them, a non-venomous snake is a boa, and a venomous snake is either a “barba amarilla” (yellow beard) or a coral snake. So I have concluded, at least for me, the only safe snake is a dead snake. I don’t plan on being the Honduran version of “The Crocodile Hunter”.
1/26/00
There is something about the independence and freedom a boy finds in a bicycle. As a boy, I traveled far on my bicycle, often afraid that my mother would find out how far I went, especially when I would meet up with someone we new when I was far from home. I didn’t worry about my dad, I guess because I knew he had been a boy once too, and would understand.
I enjoyed watching Adam learn to appreciate his bike in Norwalk. Now he rides the three miles up and down hills to the hospital with the O'Neil kids, each time trying to “break” his prior speed “record”.
Now I am experiencing the same “learning curve” with Jake. Tonight we went for a ride around Balfate, where the traffic is light, but the roads bumpy. Jake just shed his training wheels a few weeks ago, and has been gaining strength and endurance.
Off the boys went before I even was out the gate. I caught a glimpse of them turning the corner, far ahead. Jake rides like he does everything; full speed ahead and fearless. I cringed as he purposely hit the bumps, trying to make his front tire come off the ground, but he always seemed to recover after a few wobbly feet.
Then Jake wanted to race. I resisted, but he insisted, so off we went. Then it happened! Somehow he lost control, took a nose dive into the dirt, and come up with blood on his face, dust from head to toe, and a blood curdling scream. Once I surveyed the situation and found out it was just a split lip, we started walking home, with bikes in tow. But before long, he was ready to ride the rest of the way home, proudly presenting his wounds to Becky and Abbie. I am sure this will not be the last, nor the worst. I think the Lord has doubled the guardian angels over Jacob, and also works them overtime!
1/27/00
It was absolutely frigid here this morning! Ok, it was at least unseasonably cold. We could begin to identify with our friends and family up North that have been sending reports of freezing temperatures and snow.
We pulled out the sweatshirts. I put on my flannel shirt over another shirt. We had oatmeal for breakfast, and wrapped up in afghans. It certainly was the coolest we have experienced in Honduras: 61 degrees!
Well, I know that doesn’t sound too cold, but when you don’t have heat, and the temperature outside is the same inside, it is chilly. I guess it is a matter of perspective, and what one is used to. But as soon as the sun came up, it warmed up into a beautiful spring day here!
It is spring! The flowers and trees are blooming; the birds are singing more during the day and the insects more during the night. This is really a beautiful time in Honduras. Even my mother would like it, if I could ever talk her into visiting!
Feb 3, 2000
Yesterday we had about 125 Hondurans at our house for a Bible lesson! That was more than twice as many as last time, two weeks ago.
Becky has been translating Child Evangelism material into Spanish to present. In the process she is learning more Spanish as she reviews the presentation with our Spanish tutor. She also does the presentation in our small local church, like a Sunday school for the “kids”, but the adults benefit as well since the material is full of good teaching. The programs include singing, Bible memory, and an activity for the kids.
We purposely have not been giving gifts or treats to the kids, other than their activity, to avoid crowds who are not interested in listening. We thought this might weed out those who don’t want to learn and give us a more manageable group; but they keep coming, and are surprisingly well behaved for the size of the group. We do need to start using a PA system so Becky can project over all the background noise to reach those in the back of the crowd.
The programs are planned for every other week. An hour or two before the program, I get on the ATV and spread the word around the community. The kids start showing up a few minutes before the scheduled time, and keep wandering in for the next hour or more. They come in their best clothes, all washed up, and hair combed. But they don’t stay too clean as they play soccer and Frisbee before and after the program. The ages range from toddlers to teenagers, and a few adults attend too.
Hondurans, and Latinos in general, have wonderful memories. They remember complicated directions and all verses of songs, and easily memorize Scripture. They love coloring and doing activities. Most of our crayons have disappeared as they find them tempting, and hide them in their pockets as they leave. When home in The States, we will need to replenish our stock, since they are expensive here. The attendance has been more than anticipated, and we ran short on copies and supplies. But the kids are pretty patient and share well. We need to plan for more next time!
Please keep these little ones in prayer, as they are the future of the church, and the future of Honduras. Jesus truly loves all the little children of the World!
March 4, 2000
Finally, at long last, on Feb 21, the first permanent clinic at Hospital Loma de Luz opened. One delay after another, problems with weather, problems with construction, repairs, and hiring personnel, all contributed to the delay. But we are now open for patients.
We have not advertised, other than word of mouth, for now, since we didn’t want to get inundated with people before we worked out the bugs and got our routine down. We have had a full clinic every Monday and Wednesday. We started with 18 a day, and moved up to 24, plus emergencies and urgencies. I think that will be our limit for now.
It works something like this. The people begin showing up early. We had some folks walk 4 hours down from the mountain the night before, so they could be first in line. We assign the first appointments to the sickest, and then those who had been here the last clinic day, but didn’t get an appointment, then first come first served. Emergencies, and we have had a few, take precedence throughout the day.
Sonia, our “hostess” helps people fill out forms, keeps the TV running with Bible programs all day, and directs traffic flow. On non-patient days she bags medicine, prepares forms, and whatever else needs done.
Elmy, our receptionist, puts the chart together, makes ID cards for the patients, and enters data on the computer. She sends the patients to Luis, our chaplain.
Luis is a missionary from Costa Rica, working in Honduras. He counsels and prays with each patient, and will mentor the area pastors who will be working at the clinic on a rotating basis along side him. Luis also will be teaching leadership training and discipleship classes to the area church leaders, developing our network of follow up for those who want to know more about Jesus Christ.
Chrysti, our missionary nurse checks the patients in, asking about their presenting problem, giving them a small bottle of Clorox, eye dropper and instructions on how to purify their water for drinking, and takes their vital signs.
The patient next sees me. I tell them that Jesus is the Great Physician and ask them to pray with me. I ask God to help us understand each other and to give me wisdom with their problem. Then we have our interview and exam. We dispense the needed medicine, give instructions, and offer literature. The patients then return to Elmy to pay for their appointment, a small token amount that preserves their dignity, and helps improve their compliance with our instructions. After all, you are more likely to take medicine you paid for.
Honoria, the “mom” of the clinic, cleans and cooks us lunch, as well as direct patient flow and helps with everything she can.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we prepare for the next clinic day, and move through the endless stacks of boxes of supplies and equipment that have been sent down from The States. We have a new stock pharmacy, thanks to Larry Pullin, Michael Jones and Levi Tkach from North Central Ohio. We are filling that up quickly, and overflowing into the next room with supplies.
Fridays, Chrysti and I plan for morning surgery at the government hospital in La Ceiba, and surgery clinic there in the afternoon. So far, despite trying for more than a month, we have not been able to get that off the ground. Once they didn’t schedule any clinic patients for us, then we were stuck in Balfate by rain and swollen rivers. The last two weeks the hospital employees have been on strike. We will see what the future holds.
For me, the highlight so far has been the little Catholic girl from Satál, four hours walk up the mountains, who saw the stack of reference books in the exam room, thinking them Bibles. She asked if we sold Bibles. I told her no, but asked if she wanted one. Her enthusiastic answer was “yes”! She left with a Bible of her own and a smile on her face! We trust that God will reveal Himself to her as she reads His Word!
30 March 2000
In our Western / North American culture, time is everything! We have deadlines. We break the day down into segments of time. We assign tasks to each segment. We look at our watches and clocks constantly. We set our alarms. We expect others to honor our time. Time is money! We wish we had more of it. We force ourselves to begin each day by the clock. We go to bed by the clock, usually exhausted, not having used all our time wisely, frustrated that we did not meet all our goals for the day.
Honduras is different! Time is irrelevant here in the rural country. Relationships are paramount. The people arise and go to bed by the sun. Each day is about the same, so if you didn’t get to something today, there is always “Mañana”. Life is unrushed, and by North American standards, is fairly unproductive.
The conflict is that we North Americans are trying to live in a foreign environment. We have 101 things we want to get done in a day. We set our goals and assign our time segments. We interact with Hondurans, and the schedule falls apart. People come to visit unannounced from La Ceiba, who take time to drive the distance. They can’t call ahead, since there is no phone. They take the risk that we are not here. And they usually are in need of refreshment. Since their trip requires a significant time on the road, they deserve our attention when they are here, and for more than just a few minutes. If we try to live by our clock and stick to our schedules, we risk missing the blessing of friendships.
The local people as well are constantly visiting. They are unhurried and never seem to get to the point of their visit. Actually, many times there is no “point” other than to visit. We expect purposes to a visit, and can become annoyed if we keep our eye on the clock and our daily list of things to do. We must constantly remind ourselves that we are here for people, and not simply to meet deadlines and accomplish written goals.
So, as we are a month “late” in answering emails, and “late” in sending out news letters and thank you notes, and time is growing short as we need to set up our itinerary for our visit to The States this summer, and…. we struggle with frustration. As I look to Jesus life on earth, it is obvious that He was not rushed, and that people were His priority. So as I begin each day, I ask The Lord to give me wisdom and to help me accomplish the things that He wants done for this day.
May 31, 2000
It has been about six weeks now since Eugenio, or Eugene in English, came to the clinic. I remembered him as the man who often visited our church services in Lis Lis. When he came, he was drunk, loud, but interestingly, seemed to know all the songs and be familiar with the Bible.
Now, he sat before me, sober, and depressed. His right arm hung limp, almost useless, unable to perform his daily work as a farmer. He had no strength in his grip to hold a machete.
As usual, he had been drunk for the weekend. When he awoke Monday morning, he found himself covered with bruises, one very large one about his elbow. His right arm, much to his distress, had no strength. He could not remember what happened.
As I examined him, it was obvious that he had a nerve injury, probably a serious bruise or stretch to the main nerve controlling his hand and forearm. If it would heal, it may be a long process requiring months.
Not being able to do much medically, other than anti-inflammatory medication and vitamins, I concentrated on his bigger problem, alcoholism, and his underlying spiritual need. He told me about his past, having been a member of several different churches, but always leaving, either on his own or via church discipline, because of his alcohol. He was single, had no children, and rented a room to live in. He got by farming enough to meet his basic needs and buy alcohol.
I told him that God was being very gracious to him, and was trying to get his attention. I told him that he was slowly killing himself, but that The Lord wanted something better for his life. He agreed, and turned to God in prayer, confessing his sin, asking for His strength to overcome his problem, and restore his health. We talked about the need of being accountable to a church body, and to some individuals. He agreed. I asked Eugenio to wait until the clinic was over. I wanted to give him a ride to Lis Lis to talk with Chepe, one of our pastors.
He asked for a Bible to read. Not being sure of his commitment, and not wanting to give him a Bible that would not be used, I first gave him a gospel of John, promising to give him a full Bible if he proved faithful in his commitment to the church.
We found Luis and Chepe, leaders in our church, at their home in Lis Lis. Eugenio agreed to meet with them every morning for a short time of prayer together, seeking God’s strength for the day to overcome the desire to drink. Chepe had found deliverance from drugs and alcohol a few years before when he came to Christ, so he especially was aware of the need in Eugenio’s life. He wanted Eugenio to seek him out when the urge to drink came upon him.
After about a week of faithful attendance at church, and daily meeting with the men, I gave Eugenio a complete Bible. There has only been one service that I have not seen him at church. He usually has a special song to sing in the service “for the honor and glory of The Lord”. His Bible already shows signs of heavy use, the writing on the cover being worn off. His sadness seems to be slowly being replaced with joy, even though his arm has regained very little strength. It seems to me that he is realizing the truth of Romans 8:28, that indeed all things turn out for good for those that love God. Even though his arm doesn’t work very well, that is a small thing compared to the spiritual healing he is experiencing, which will be for eternity!
Please pray for Eugenio. He has tough days yet ahead; days of temptation to drink, days of depression and uncertainty concerning his arm, but hopefully days of victory in Christ and joy despite the circumstances.
June 28, 2000
We have been back in The States for almost a month, and have been busy shopping, getting our personal affairs from two years past and for the next few years in order, presenting our ministry, visiting friends and family, and trying to find some time for recreation.
Becky’s Uncle Bob, who visited us in Honduras last fall shared something with me that I thought would help you identify with the poor mountain folks we serve in Honduras. Here it is:
STEPS WESTERNERS WOULD NEED TO TAKE TO TRULY IDENTIFY WITH THE DEVELOPNG WORLD
“First, take out the furniture; leave a few old blankets, a kitchen table, maybe a wooden chair. You never had a bed, remember?
Second, throw out your clothes. Each person in the family may keep the oldest suit or dress, a shirt or blouse. The head of the family has the only pair of shoes.
Third, all kitchen appliances have vanished. Keep a box of matches, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a handful of onions, a dish of dried beans. Rescue the moldy potatoes from the garbage can; those are tonight’s meal.
Fourth, dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, take out the wiring and lights and everything that runs by electricity.
Fifth, take away the house and move the family into the tool shed.
Sixth, no more postman, fireman, government services. The two-room classroom school is three miles away, but only two of your seven children attend anyway, and they walk.
Seventh, throw out your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, insurance policies. You now have a cash hoard of $5.
Eighth, get out and start cultivating your three acres. Try hard to raise $300 in cash crops because your landlord wants one third and your moneylender 10 percent.
Ninth, find some way for your children to bring in a little extra money so you have something to eat most days. But it won’t be enough to keep bodies healthy—sp lop off 25 to 30 years of your life.”
From LEADRESHIP magazine, summer 1988:81, quoted by Calvin Miller in his book “Into the Depths of God”, p 39, in a chapter entitled Breaking the Thrall of Materialism.
Things We Learned in Central America
Our Stateside presentation for Summer 2000
We had been warned during orientation at The Spanish Language Institute that during our year of school we would learn much more than Spanish. That was so true!
Over the last two years, we have lived in Central America, the first year in Costa Rica, learning the language and culture, then in our field of service, Honduras, where we continued to learn and adjust. During this time, we have learned many things, some tangible, many more intangible.
This is a sampling of some of the tangible things we continue learning. Some of these we shared as we were traveling in The States this past summer.
It is not easy to learn another language!
Or, subtitled:
“A Good Dose of Humility”
As we prepared for our year of language school in Costa Rica, I was looking forward to a light year with lots of leisure time. I packed several books to read and planned several projects to do in preparation for opening the clinic in Honduras. I figured, with all my experience at studying and surgical residency behind me, certainly a year dedicated to only one subject, Spanish, had to be a piece of cake. WRONG!
The Bible teaches:
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 1 Cor 10:12 (NAS)
It did not take long for me to taste the dirt as I fell on my face. Spanish was different than anything else I had ever studied. All of my learning skills failed as I struggled to understand Spanish. Rather than being at the top of my class, as I had been in my premedical years, I brought up the rear. This was tough for someone who is so competitive!
I found myself envying and having less than perfect thoughts about one classmate in particular who seemed to soar in this new language. I was convicted in my heart of my sinful attitude and struggled through this. Daily I prayed for God to help me overcome this sin, but daily in class my pride took a beating, which just made the process of learning and gaining victory over my attitude all the more difficult.
As God worked in my heart, I had to grapple with my pride and learn humility. God gave grace to rejoice with others who succeeded, knowing that He was preparing them to accomplish His work in His Body, even as I struggled. The Lord reassured me that this was not a contest, and that He would prepare me for the task He had called me to.
So, as people ask if I “enjoyed” learning Spanish, I really can’t answer “yes”, but it was a “good” time that we will always remember.
People are people, no matter where they are!
I worked through the issue of racism during my involvement with Promise Keepers, while attending a local church that choose to grapple with this issue, and in the process of adopting our biracial son, Jacob. I became aware that I had a degree of racism within me. I confronted that, and sought to correct it, but yet, some of it remained, and probably will always be there because of my cultural background.
When we moved to Latin America, I had thoughts of going to “help” those who were in need; those who, for whatever reason, were in need of someone who knew a little more, had a little more, was capable of more. Maybe the word that was unspoken, but never the less was in my heart was “superior”.
We arrived in Costa Rica, came to know our middle class language teachers, and attended a middle class Costa Rican church, which was almost identical to the church we had last attended in The States except for the language. We learned that the Latinos were intelligent, capable, loveable and essentially equal in every way to us North Americans!
We were in our second trimester of language school when the shooting at Littleton, Colorado took place. As people throughout the United States sought to understand the motivation behind the shooting, so did we in Costa Rica. One morning, a few days after the shooting I sat in class, but my mind was elsewhere pondering the shooting. As I looked at our teacher whom I had grown to love and respect, I realized that this wonderful, talented, beautiful person in front of me would have been shot, simply because she looked and spoke differently. My thoughts also moved to my adopted son, a joyful, exciting, energetic, loveable child, who also would have been shot, simply because of his appearance. My heart was struck with grief over the reality of racism.
Oh how God must be grieved when even His people, who bear His image and His Name, choose to hate one another based on their God given characteristics!
But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.
James 2:9
The birds and the bees (horses, cattle, chickens, dogs and pigs)
Living in the country in Honduras, with all sorts of plants and animals right outside, and some inside our gate, we have had a wonderful opportunity to study God’s creation. Colors, which we formerly thought were man made, are part of God’s creation. Plants, frogs and birds have vibrant fluorescent colors, making them look artificial.
Even in our house we have experienced lizards, iguanas, tarantulas and armies of ants. Right outside we enjoy hummingbirds, parrots, toucans, rhinoceros beetles, scorpions, alligators, jaguarundis, orchids, and fresh fruits of many kinds.
And of course, the close proximity to all the domestic animals has exposed the kids to an early understanding of “the birds and the bees”. We have had some interesting discussions!
When you look in the Spanish-English dictionary, you find the word “mañana” is translated “tomorrow”. But we learned that:
“Mañana” doesn’t mean “tomorrow”
or
“Is a lie really a lie when everyone knows it is a lie?”
and
How to Make Small Talk
One of the main differences between our North American and Latin American cultures is in the area of honesty. We generally operate on a system of honesty in the US. Verbal contracts can be enforced legally. We still take people at their word, even though this value has eroded significantly in the US even in my short lifetime.
One of the reasons we value honesty is that we are time oriented. We live and function by the clock and our daytimers. When the time is up, we move on to the next appointment, whether we have completed our task or not.
In Latin America it is different. The relationship is all-important. Time is relative. You would never think of terminating an appointment until you have accomplished your purpose. And you never jump to the point of your meeting without the proper “warm up” or “small talk”.
This is a problem for me. Usually long before I get to the clinic, my workday has started. I already have my mental list of things to do, questions to ask, and tasks to assign. My tendency is to dive right in as soon as our staff has assembled. When I do this, I come across as very rude and uncaring.
When you meet in a Latin culture, there is an expected time of greeting and social exchange that proceeds all else. It begins with “Hi, how are you?” and a hug between men, and a hug and kiss between women, and men and women. This is not the quick “How are you?” that we use and really don’t care about the answer. This is a sincere “How are you?” that expects a detailed answer. Then follows the litany of “How’s your spouse, your kids, your parents, your aunt… all equally detailed in the answer. Then follows the weather, current events, etc. Only after this dialogue is finished, which may be accompanied by coffee and a snack, depending on the setting, do you get down to the actual point of the meeting.
As I talk about Latinos, I am generalizing a bit. What I describe is especially true of the country folks we work with, but a bit less so for the city folk. There are certainly some very westernized Latinos that seem more like us than like the country folk of Balfate. Living in another culture does require that you “
become all things to all people”
!
(1 Cor 9:22)
So, “generally”, there is another cultural difference that stems from the Latino value of relationships, which to us may actually seem to be a contradiction. This involves honesty. We value telling the truth, even when it hurts. The Latino tells you whatever they think you want to hear, to make you feel good, at least for the present. If you need something done, they will tell you with a smile, with pleasure, “Manana”, which, by the dictionary, means “tomorrow”. If you don’t understand, you may find yourself disappointed and angry “tomorrow” when the task is not done!
What is actually happening is the Latino values you, and wants you to be happy today. He is telling you that you are important, and that he will help you as soon as possible, which may be tomorrow, in a week, or in a month. For him to say that it will take a week or a month at the outset, would be saying that he has no desire to help you. For Latinos, understanding this is no problem, since they understand each other, and waiting is part of their culture. They are really pretty biblical, since “a day may be as a thousand years” for them.
For us, who live by the clock and calendar, this is almost maddening, especially when we are trying to build a hospital, run a clinic, and host visiting work teams from The States. These things require some reliable planning and scheduling. But since we live in a culture that does not plan, we are often frustrated if we refuse to be flexible.
Mt 6:34 takes on new meaning:
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Along this line, we also struggled with learning that:
Things will be done according to God’s timetable, not ours
Or
“Learning Patience”
As we lay plans, create schedules and make deadlines, we find ourselves constantly being interrupted by people and situations. This can and does create frustration.
For example, frequently people from La Ceiba will stop by for a visit. Now you need to understand that when someone drops by, it is not just because they were in the neighborhood. We live an hour and a half from La Ceiba across some rugged terrain and rivers that require driving through. If someone comes to visit, they have a purpose, and have made an effort. Besides that, since we don’t have a phone, they can’t very well call ahead and ask if we mind a visit.
So, when someone stops by, we usually need to dedicate some time to the visit, which often includes refreshments or a meal. If the visitor is Latino, add to that the usual informalities. Often our daily plans need to be set aside on the spur of the moment. For Type A’s, like us, that is challenging!
But that is not our only source of the unexpected. Our house is 30 years old and in constant need of repair. The steady heat, humidity and salt breeze take its toll on everything. As I am sure you are aware, things never seem to break down at opportune times. I have had several plumbing and electrical “emergencies" that also tend to ruin a daily schedule. Wal-Mart is not around the corner! And generally there is no repairman to call!
Add to this, the dependence we have on local Hondurans to accomplish some of the work. To us, the Latino may seem to be lazy and lack initiative. This is due to many factors, including health, nutrition, and their perceived inability to change their social situation. Why should they work hard when there is nothing to gain by it? This often frustrates our plans and timetables.
Now God is not caught unaware of who will be visiting, what will breakdown or how much work our Honduran laborers accomplish. Nothing disrupts His timetable! The problem is that our schedule and goals for the day may not match His!
As I begin each day, often frustrated from the apparent lack of accomplishment the prior day, I have to remind myself that God is in control, and that His top priority is “People”. The Bible says:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)
Therefore I must begin each day by submitting my plans to God’s Plan, asking Him to use me to accomplish His goals for the day, and to have wisdom in deciding what that might be.
And in this process, we are learning patience!
Yet another angle on this that we are learning is:
How to get along with what you have when you can’t get what you want
In The States, we have the problem of confusing needs and wants. The media blitzes us via TV, radio, billboards, and now the Internet, convincing us that we “need” this item or that.
In Honduras, the distinction between needs and wants is much clearer. People need food. People need clothing. People need a place to live. People need health care. If they don’t get these, they die! That is a
need
!
The Hondurans also
want
a lot of things, mostly the things they see North Americans have. They are really no different than us in that respect. We all seem to want just a bit more, but tend to think that we “need” what we only want.
God promises to supply what we really need, considering eternity’s values. Scripture says:
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Cor 9:8
God wants us, like Paul, to be content with the things He gives us. Paul said:
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Phil 4:12
Now those are great verses to read and remember. It is even better to apply them when the “rubber hits the road”. God has given us many opportunities to distinguish between needs and wants, and to be creative in getting by when we don’t have what we want.
For example, Becky is a master at substituting items in recipes. My mom frequently sends recipes. Very often we don’t have what a recipe calls for. Becky will substitute a little of this, and a little of that and usually the dish turns out better than the original. Then she will tell my Mom that her recipe was good! I chuckle because many times the recipe no way even resembles the original!
One day, during rainy season, stranded in Balfate by the high rivers, I was trying to solve a plumbing problem. It seemed that everything I tried made the problem worse. It appeared that I was either going to have to deal with a very big leak, or turn off the water to the kitchen. Frustrated, I took a break, prayed and thought. I needed a rubber washer, but could not locate a spare in our storage shed. So, I used a washer from another identical connection, and carefully split it in two with a scalpel, praying for a steady hand, or I would have to deal with two big leaks! Thank God, it worked!
Living in Honduras we have learned the truth that:
God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:19
How to plan
I found out very early that you don’t start a nonessential plumbing project unless you have all the things you need, and then some. And certainly you don’t start something like that when the rivers are up! You can’t run around the corner to the hardware store. There ain’t none! A trip to town requires most of a day!
When we go to town, we have to make our list and prioritize things, since often we run out of day before we have moved down our list very far. When we leave we have to take the cooler with ice, drinking water, towing equipment, clothing for an overnight in case we get stranded in town, and our laptop to check email.
It is also essential to plan out food, fuel and household item needs and keep things stocked. During a hurricane or heavy rainy season, we could be stranded for four to six weeks.
Finally, one more thing we have learned is:
What it means to look forward to the return of Christ
The majority of us in North America are very comfortable, not in real need materially, and usually in no hurry to change. We talk about the return of Christ, and how we look forward to it. But deep down we really don’t want him to come before our next vacation, or until we get to enjoy our new house or car… With a few exceptions, most of us are really in no hurry for Jesus to return. We enjoy our health, wealth and prosperity, and don’t really want to cut it short. When we are old and have lost our health, we may be ready for Christ to come, but not while we are young and healthy, and enjoying life!
This is not the case in Honduras. The people in the Honduran countryside live a hard life. They have been oppressed for generations, and know very little of the wealth that we consider the norm. They don’t have insurance, investments, or a retirement plan. They don’t retire until they die. Each day is a struggle to exist, to get fire wood to cook, to obtain food to eat, to have shelter to protect from the elements, to try to supply the basic needs for their children. They don’t generally see beyond what is necessary for today. Life is not fun!
The Hondurans feel, and for many it is the reality, that they are trapped in this difficult life. They know about Jesus Christ and a future that is far, far brighter than anything they experience for the present, and would gladly trade their current situation for the streets of gold and the banquet of The Lamb. I suppose this is the same reason the slaves of the US past sang of The Promised Land with such frequency and gusto. The people in Honduras too, sing in anticipation of heaven and the return of Christ with a longing and groaning that only comes from experiencing the curse of this world in a manner that is inescapable otherwise.
I can’t really identify with this desire to the degree that they do, but I have learned as well to long for the return of Christ to establish justice, to meet the needs of the poor, to eliminate disease and death, and to deliver me from myself and that sinful nature that still resides within me. In a new way, I am looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!
So, these are just a few of the many things we have and continue to learn in Central America!
Aug 25, 2000
People have been asking, “How has your time in The States been?”
Jake’s summary says it best: “You go somewhere. And as soon as you find the toys, you have to leave!”
This summer has been an emotional roller coaster, and emotionally exhausting! We have seen people from all facets of our life; people who held us as babies, people we held as babies, people who have influenced us, people who have played significant parts of our lives.
The time was insufficient, far too short. As we spoke in churches and met in groups, we would see people across the room that we longed to talk to. But they had things to do, children to attend to, and were out the door before we could say “Hi”. Others we were able to greet and hug, but only talk to for a minute or two; far too little time to share, to reminisce, to be brought up to date. Then they too were gone. We heard of joys and heartaches, new life, and lost life, ambitions and shattered dreams.
We said “Good bye”, knowing some we would not see again this side of glory, others we would never see again, many would come visit us in Honduras, and many more we would possibly see again for another minute or two in a couple of years.
And there were many others we wanted to see. But due to our time and geographic constraints, we could not get to see them all.
So, we are tired, happy to have seen so many yet wishing we could have seen more.
Has this summer been a vacation? Not really. Not in your wildest dreams! We will go back to Honduras on August 31, hopefully to rest a bit before we dive in again to resume the work God has set before us.
written October 8, 2000
Did you ever have one of those days that you knew was going to be unusual?
My first hint was the lady from the visiting medical team running wildly down the hill toward the hospital with an expression of terror mixed with urgency.
I was expecting a “normal” day of helping a visiting medical team from the States care for a crowd of medical and dental patients. As I continued up the hill, wondering why the lady was so excited, I next met Chrysti, our nurse, who had a look of some mix of emotions tied to exhaustion and frustration. She announced that in room one we had had a normal delivery in the middle of the night. In room two, we had just delivered the second of a set of twins, and in room three we had a two month old that was gravely ill.
The place was a buzz with medical folks scurrying around, trying to find things, and making due with what the had, as they tried to deliver the quality of care they were used to giving in The States.
Now to understand this scenario better, you have to realize that we only have a clinic at this point. We had never even delivered one baby at Clinica Loma de Luz. Occasionally we have a really sick patient that needs transported to La Ceiba for more advanced care, but generally we are an ambulatory clinic only.
So, with a crowd of patients waiting at the gate for their appointments with the Docs, all the rooms occupied, and all the Docs busy, we were beginning this very unusual day like a plunge into ice cold water. I had been planning on a leisurely cup of coffee, strolling around looking for ways to enhance patient flow and answering questions from our visiting team.
As we assessed the situation, the lady and newborn in room one were fine. We arranged transportation home for them. The lady and her twins were so so, so we arranged their transport to La Ceiba, along with the sick two month old who now had an IV. When we finally got them all on their way, we had rooms to clean (ever see a delivery room after an emergency delivery?)
Finally, as nerves settled, the rooms readied, much less serious patients were given their appointments, and the day kind of got back to “normal”.
Writt
en October 8, 2000,
Don’t you just hate it when someone begins to tell you some important news, or asks you to pray about something, then never mentions it again?
Well, I don’t want to be that person! While writing and visiting The States this past summer, we told you about many people. So this is to bring you up to date.
Eugenio, the alcoholic whose arm was paralyzed has regained use of his arm. Unfortunately he has slipped back into alcohol. He came to church a couple weeks ago to be reconciled, but came to church last night drunk, bloody and dirty. He seems miserable. Please keep praying.
Pastor Juan from Lis Lis lost his job at the snack shop because of his laziness. He wouldn’t keep the trash picked up. He is working some with his brother again at the carpenter shop. Please keep him in prayer. He likes to be a visible leader in the church, but doesn’t like the preparation necessary.
Pastor Chepe, the other pastor at Lis Lis is really encouraging. His sermons are developing as he puts in preparation time. We have started meeting once a week for discipleship, which helps my Spanish and helps him learn the Scripture. While we were gone, the church recognized him as their official pastor.
Elmy, one of our Honduran office workers accepted Christ! She is afraid to tell her parents, because they attend a church that is not sympathetic to evangelicals. She is single, and lives at home, which means she is under her father’s authority. She fears he will forbid her to attend church or Bible study. It would be very difficult for a single woman to move out on her own. Yet, Elmy feels the burden to share Christ with her family, for she wants them to likewise have eternal life and know the joy of Jesus Christ!
Sonia, our other office worker is blossoming in her faith as Chrysti disciples her. She was engaged to an unsaved young man whom her family liked very much. She made the very courageous step of breaking her engagement, which most of her friends and family don’t understand and oppose. She has begun teaching Sunday school for children and is a real joy to be around!
Harold, our anesthetist, married Francis in August. They have moved to Balfate, renting a room in a home. They need a home of their own. Francis, a city lawyer, is adjusting to country life, and is seeking some sort of professional direction. She claims to be a believer and is eager to be a part of the work at the clinic, volunteering much of her time to help. Please pray for clear direction for this couple’s future.
Abdulio, our gatekeeper at the clinic is now also our personal gardener at our house. We hope to continue building a relationship with his family with the goal of seeing them come to Christ.
Our office building in Norwalk has been shown to a hopeful tenant. We are waiting to hear more.
We continue to battle leaks in our roof and ants in the house and rats in the ceiling and walls. We just painted the roof with a rubberized paint yesterday, and it was dry inside this morning after a fairly heavy rain. So maybe! The exterminator comes Tuesday, weather permitting.
And that’s the news from….
November 29, 2000
It has been a red-letter day, or more correctly, a red-letter couple of weeks!
At Hospital Loma de Luz, we took our first patient X-ray today! We received a C Arm X-ray unit from Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana (Thanks, Dr. Clark and Mitch Carson!). This is a portable X-ray unit used generally to aid surgeons during operations. As often is the case here, we will use it for much more than its intended purpose! It displays images on a television screen, and saves up to 25 pictures in its memory. Unfortunately we don’t yet have capability to develop X-rays, but we were able to hook up a small thermal copier from an ultrasound unit, and make wallet-sized pictures to store in the patient chart!
Also today, Cornerstone acquired a large nice rental home in La Ceiba to be our staging facility for work teams, our communication center, and our missionary “hang out” in La Ceiba when we are trapped by the weather or waiting for late airplanes. Work teams will no longer need to stay in hotels the night before their departure. We will be busy preparing and furnishing the house before our next work team season.
A couple weeks ago, we hosted an eye surgery team that broke in our new operating room. Yesterday, we did our first general surgery case, removing a small “lump”, a lipoma, from the head of a visitor from The States. This allowed us the opportunity to “try out” our arrangement in the room, and use our new electrocautery unit (Thanks, Dr. Steve Myers!) We have a couple of minor procedures scheduled for next week, plan a couple of “trial runs” without patients for hernia repairs, and then hope to begin a regular surgical schedule. Since we don’t have any trained OR personnel, we will all be learning this together as we go!
Finally, this has also been a sad time as we have said goodbye to several visitors who have shared in our lives over the past weeks and months, and to Harold Reyes, our anesthetist, and his wife, who have moved to La Ceiba to work with other missionaries.
There are many more things that make these last few weeks special, like a surprise birthday party for our nurse Chrysti, Drs. Shaw and Sharon Yount working in the clinic, 19 at our place for Thanksgiving, and more septic system problems in our house. But that will suffice for now!
We trust you had a great Thanksgiving celebration. We all have much to give thanks for!
Written Dec 4, 2000
We knew it was rainy season. We had been anxious for weeks about the eye surgery team that had been scheduled in November, and for the other guests that were staying with us. Our schedules are flexible, but visitors have planes to catch, jobs to return to, family waiting.
The eye surgery team had wonderful spring like weather with blue skies and moderate temperatures. I had to show them a video of last year’s heavy rain to convince them that this was indeed rainy season!
Our last three guests were flying out Nov 30. The weather had become more characteristic, with daily rains, sometimes heavy, but nothing really significant. Every morning we would listen for the sound of the bus horns in “downtown Balfate” signifying that the buses were still running. Occasionally, we would even go down to the river before sunset to scout out the conditions if we were planning to attend church across the rivers in Lis Lis that night. Our car, now equipped with a winch, is always loaded with towing equipment, boots, etc, in case our car or another became stuck in the mud or river. Whenever we go to town, we take an over night bag, “just in case”.
On Nov 29th, we headed for town with our guests, planning to spend the night, see them off the next day, do some shopping and head home. It rained on and off, but nothing really worrisome. As we reached the rivers after dark on Nov 30th, we noticed they were a bit up, but nothing really concerning, and we crossed them easily.
That night it poured!
The next morning, I could not hear the bus horns. Since Chrysti, our nurse, and Doctors Shaw and Sharon Yount, with their family, had spent the night in town, planning on returning that day, I drove down to check the river. It was certainly up, possibly crossable in an emergency, but not worth risking otherwise. I called La Ceiba on the cell phone, advising our coworkers of the situation. Chrysti had already left, but returned to her parents home when she found the Lis Lis river neck deep for those wading across.
The rains continued heavy over the next two days. The rivers continued to rise. Daily we talked with those stranded in La Ceiba, making and changing plans as the conditions changed.
On Sunday morning, December 3rd, the heaviest rain hit with wind driving water through every nook and cranny in out house. We found new leaks. The inside walls were damp to the touch, and a pond formed in our yard which grew to engulf one corner of the house. The sound of the rain beating the house was so loud we had to yell to communicate inside. The power that had been flickering for a few days finally went out.
Early afternoon, the rain lightened, which then allowed us to hear the roar of the river! The river had swollen its banks, at places lapping at the outer wall that surrounds our yard, being only 20 feet from our front gate. We had literally become an island in the midst of a huge delta.
As we watched the debris whisk down the river, we were amazed to see a series of floating islands, some as large as 40 ft across. One had a bird perched on it, another with a six-foot tree perfectly erect. We assumed these represented pieces of land that were sloughed from the mountainside upstream.
Since the rain had diminished to a drizzle, and the skies were brightening some, we decided to venture out with our cameras to document the event. We found the whole town of Balfate flooded, every street a river at least a foot deep. Maribel’s restaurant looked like a houseboat surrounded by water, with the family looking out the windows.
We were surprised to see a rather festive environment in town! Everyone seemed to be out enjoying the day. Kids splashed and swam. Adults gathered in clusters around the deepest and most rapid flows of water discussing the flood. People had their umbrellas with them, but most were down, since the light rain then falling was almost nothing in comparison to the prior deluge.
The main road out of town was too deep to drive through, so we took the road to the hospital, crossed a rather rapid flow of water, much to Becky’s dismay, and doubled back to see the Balfate River at the ford. What we found amazed us. At least 200 yards this side of the ford was parked a canoe on the edge of the river! The normally dry fields around us were filled with water, and the road had become a causeway, or more like a boat ramp gradually easing into the water.
As we returned home, we found the water level was continuing to rise, and the rapid we had just crossed a few minutes before was even more ominous. Assessing our options, we headed on through the rapids, to the amusement of the townsfolk who warned us that we would be swept away. We made it safely home!
The rains continued on and off, but with much less force, during the rest of the day and into the night. This morning the skies were partly sunny, with a few threatening looking clouds. The river had receded some and the pond in our yard had become a puddle. We wrung out the towels and emptied the buckets that were catching our leaks, opened the windows to let some air through and begin the long drying out process.
A trip to the river ford demonstrated five canoes busily shuttling people across the still deep, still rapidly flowing water. It will be several days, hopefully without much more rain, before normal traffic will again be flowing across the rivers in any other way.
12/9/00
If you like those humorous accounts in Reader’s Digest of human success and failure, you may enjoy this. If not, delete this now!
Visitors often ask what we do in our “spare time” as missionaries, since we currently only have clinic two days a week. I often want to respond tongue-in-cheek, that we lounge on the beach, drinking piña coladas, working on our tans. But that usually wouldn’t go over too well, since I don’t know most of those people that well. This is an account of how we used some of our “spare time”.
Now, at the outset, you have to understand the setting. My only plumbing experience prior to coming to Honduras was a fiasco. It occurred during residency when money was a bit tight. Not only did we not save money, in addition to paying the plumber, we needed to hire a dry-waller to patch the multiple holes in our living room that failed to reveal the pipes that I knew had to be there! Enough said.
This Honduran plumbing problem actually had its origin last spring. As we were preparing to leave for three months in The States, our fellow missionaries, the O’Neils, had their septic tank overflow. Their boys spent a few days sludging out the tank (there is no one to call to pump out your tank down here!). Pad O’Neil mentioned that I might want to consider doing the same to our tank before we had a problem, since to his memory, the tank had not been cleaned for at least six years. I filed this item on my “To Do” list, below several more urgent things. Maybe I would get to it this winter.
Finally, the day to leave for The States arrived. Leon Greene, a cardiologist, had arrived, was to stay at our house with his family, and man the clinic in our absence. Becky was doing the last minute laundry, a couple of extra loads of linens, to leave everything clean for the Greene’s. As we were loading the car, the last load hit the rinse cycle, and up through the shower in our bedroom came murky water, quickly spreading into our bedroom.
Our departure was delayed slightly while we cleaned up the water, but our plane would not wait. So, we left the ultimate job in the capable hands of Dr. Greene. After we left, our gardener, Abdulio, was given the job of excavating the lid, and sludging out the tank. I can’t say I am really sorry I missed the job, but I did feel bad leaving it with Leon. Pad O’Neil made another suggestion. I needed to bury a 55-gallon drum full of holes to receive the wash water from the laundry to relieve the pressure on the septic tank. Did I learn? No! I filed this info on my “To Do” list, down the line a bit. But I did give it some thought and had a plan.
This fall, after returning from The States, we had continual visitors. We noticed that the toilet in the main bath was starting to flush rather sluggishly. We were even having water back up in the sink at times when we flushed. I didn’t need to be a plumber to realize that this was a problem, so I put this on my “To Do” list, near the top.
The day before we were to receive houseguests for two weeks, I decided it was time. The problem had grown to the point that we were asking everyone who had “solids” to deposit in the toilet, to use ours in our bedroom. This was going to be very awkward with a visiting couple, especially at night.
Whenever the toilet was plugged with solids, we could temporarily clear the clog by plunging. But since the bathroom sink allowed the pressure to escape, one person had to remove the trap and seal the pipe with plastic wrap while the other person plunged. A real team effort!
So, the day before the visitors arrived, I set to work, with many anxious looks from Becky, well aware of my prior experience. I supposed that trying to snake through a toilet bowl would be awkward, so I decided to run my 30-foot snake (purchased during my residency days) through the trap under the sink. I ran it all the way in with out trouble, except that now the trap wouldn’t seal well. No problem! A small pan under the trap could catch the water, which was only a slow drip anyway!
The toilet was no better!
Next, I took the bold step of pulling up the commode. I noticed the thick waxy ring and gasket around the opening in the floor, and figured this must be somewhat important. I could see how it worked (this was not rocket science!). I also noticed some spaghetti-sized roots floating free in the pipe beneath the opening. I ran the snake, pulled out a few strands of roots, but nothing more. I wished I could see down the pipe better, and even gave consideration to using our colonoscope from the hospital. After all, it had been down several sewer pipes of a sort before!
But time was short, so, after carefully reshaping the wax ring that had become flattened and grooved by the snaking effort, I reset the commode. When I flushed the toilet, water gushed out around it at floor level. That wax ring was even more important than I first thought! I pulled the commode again, and did my best to reshape the ring. As I did, I noticed how irregular our floor was around the pipe, and that there was wax both above and below the rubber gasket. I reset the commode. It still leaked.
Since they had installed several toilets in the housing complex last year I decided to see if there was any wax around that I could borrow at the hospital. To my excitement I found two wax rings. I grabbed both and headed home. I installed the first above the gasket, and the second below. It worked! Now we were at least back to where we had been, with the addition of a small leak under the sink.
We limped through the next few weeks, going through the flushing routine daily, until our guests left. I did have Abdulio open the septic tank again, to find it so full of water that we could not see anything. So I decided to bury the barrel.
Abdulio, Adam and I took our turns drilling holes in the barrel over the next few days, each working until the batteries of the drill ran out. After I chose a site for the barrel, Abdulio carefully marked a circle the size of its lid. I suggested he start wider and get narrower at the bottom, but he insisted, so I let him be. In a few hours he had dug a perfect cylinder with barely two inches of clearance around the circumference of the barrel. We chipped a hole in the wall and ran the drainpipe from the washroom, buried the whole thing, and were in business.
Then came the rains! The yard was flooded, and we couldn’t do much else until things dried out.
After the water level dropped, we opened the tank. When we flushed the toilet, no water came through the pipe, even though water seemed to be flowing sufficiently down the commode. We then turned our attention to our second tank, which was more than 50 ft from the house, and had been cemented over. We had thought that tank had been disconnected when the addition to the house had been built. My hopes were raised as I saw the line from the house to the old tank passed beneath two trees!
Abdulio carefully exposed the pipe, which to my disappointment, appeared free from any roots! He then chipped open the cemented lid of the old tank. It was only half full, and indeed when we flushed, water entered the tank. We then disconnected the pipe at a joint between the house and tank that had not been cemented. We flushed the pipe with water. The pipe was clear. We then bit the bullet and cut the pipe a couple of feet from the house and checked the pipe beyond that, which also proved clean.
We ran the snake into the pipe under the house, and at 25 ft encountered resistance. I withdrew the snake to find again some strands of root. How could roots be growing under the house 20 plus feet from the nearest plant?
As we considered our next step, hoping there was a straight shot to the roots, we took two 20 ft lengths of 2 inch PVC pipe, and joined them with a rubber hose clamp. At the leading edge we notched the tube to give it “teeth”. Near that end we drilled some holes and ran stiff wire through, leaving ends and angles exposed to catch the roots. Near the junction of the two pipes, we drilled another set of holes in the leading pipe, which would be pushed totally under the house out of site and reach if the coupler came apart. We ran a long wire tether through this to retrieve the pipe if that happened.
We passed the pipe until we hit resistance. We then rotated the pipe several turns and withdrew it to find the wire at the end tangled with roots! We repeated the process again and again. For you medical folks, it reminded me of passing a Fogerty catheter down a clogged artery, retrieving clots! As we obtained less roots, we then added an attachment to the end of the pipe. A circular saw bit used to cut holes in doors for doorknobs fit the end of the pipe perfectly. This helped us clear additional root material.
As we then checked the toilet, it flushed without restriction!
We have not yet buried the pipe, planning to wait a couple of days to be sure the job is finished. I wonder how quickly those roots might grow back, and if they might grow somewhere else, around a bend, where they can’t be reached! I wonder if Roto Rooter would be interested in opening an office in Balfate!
