In 2002, a TORCH team built a church building in an area here in Honduras called Los Pinos. Los Pinos is the kind of community that exists quietly between curvy dirt roads that never quite fit two cars comfortably at the same time, and you can forget it if a bus or a truck is involved. It's the sort of community that had barely started when the church building there was established with hopes to be a center for its people, a foundation of Christianity and hope. It's the kind of community brimming with opportunities to show the love of Christ-
Today, that is precisely what we tried to do. Two houses were constructed in the community, and every person involved worked hard to accomplish this- by 3 pm, two families were blessed with shelter that had none of their own before, thanks to the opportunity and ability granted by the Lord, and the willing hands we had to work!
We also had a clinic in the Los Pinos church building. While I am not sure on the number of patients, I know it was a full day's worth, and maybe some extra. Thankfully, there were two doctors at work (Gayle Davidson and Olga Mazaranes), and a full fledge of willing hands to fill out initial information, triage, and even fill orders for the pharmacy. It was incredible to see the amount of work that was accomplished and the number of people that were helped.
A special treat that the women were so excited and grateful for was the boxes of bras and other undergarments provided by Mrs. Margaret Wahtera. It was great to see this added provision being utilized and appreciated so much. (You should have seen the faces in that crowd!)
As far as patients are concerned, cases ranged from colds and coughs to parasites and wounds, and various other ailments. After consultation, these patients received a slip of paper with various medicines prescribed for each individual. Thankfully, we had plenty of medicines for them. We are so grateful to the Borgess Medical Center, Tom & Gail Gola, Bill & Mary Planck, and Bonnie McCarty for the various antibiotics and children's medications that were donated for these people.
Overall, it was a fantastic day of hard work. I still feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with this group and see their determination and motive- it has been an incredible encouragement.
Written by Jessica Phillips
