Honduras
tMedical / Dental Mission Trip
Jan. 25 - Feb 1

The first time I traveled to Honduras on a Medical / Dental Mission trip was in January 2004.  The group of about twenty from the US teamed up with about twenty from Honduras to set-up a free clinic in the town of Cantarranas.  Though my job as a lay person entailed doing whatever needed to be done, I spent most of the week working with the dental team comprised of members from my home church.  Naturally, as a photographer, I brought my camera gear and tried to see as much of the town as I could. 

One day during a lunch break two of the nurses and I were walking down a street not far from the clinic. We saw a lady standing in her door like many of the people do and she managed to get our attention. Communicating with her was challenging since none of us spoke Spanish and she spoke no English.  After a time we figured out she wanted me to take a picture of what she called "her baby."  She invited us into her living room and motioned for us to wait while she disappeared into another room . The three of us stood there, amazed at the living conditions and silently thinking how blessed we were that we did not have to live that way.  After a moment, the women returned carrying her 14 year-old son who suffered from cerebral palsy. Caught off guard we began to look at each other, discussing what could be done for this boy. Soon we realized the only thing we could do was what she had asked for . Photograph him. She sat down on the steps in the doorway as I took photos of her and her son.  We left her house wiping tears from our eyes as we made our way back to the clinic to tell the others what we had experienced.
  Four years and six mission trips later I was back in the same town walking down the same street.  As I stood out front telling this story to the small group of people with me, I couldn't help but make my way to her front door.  I could see the mother of the boy as she came to the door, not sure if she would remember me. Through a translator I asked if we could see the boy.  She let us in, this time leading my group to the bedroom . I was not prepeared for what I saw. The boy, now eighteen and weighing about 40 pounds, lay upon an old, stained mattress. 
Dr. Horton, one of the doctors in our group, asked about bed sores and examined the boy.  Dr. Horton didn’t find any bed sores, but after seeing  the condition of the mattress the boy was sleeping on, suggested we try to find him a new one.  Our group left in shock as to the condition of the boy and his surroundings. The next day a mattress was found at a local shop and purchased.  We delivered it to the house to exchange it for the old one. The following
day some of the mission team working on construction projects in the village cut a piece of plywood to fit under the mattress for more support.  What we did didn’t reqire much money or effort.  My prayer is that one day that boy will see us in heaven and say that mattress made me and my mom feel special.