Honduras Mission Trip 2024

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Trip start
June 14, 2024
Honduras Mission Trip 2024 Traveler
Day 1 - June 14th - Not a Great Start
June 14, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
Our team has about 40 volunteers from across the U.S. This medical mission trip started in 1993 with volunteers from the Gettysburg, PA Presbyterian Church. I learned about this trip a couple of years ago from Phil Winand, a Willow Valley resident. Phil, a retired pharmacist, has helped on the trip for many years. Our group includes many medical professionals and general helpers like me.

I met the U.S. director, Bill Waring, at his home near Gettysburg to catch a ride to Reagan International Airport in DC. Many people from the Gettysburg area still join every year. One of my tasks is to check in a second suitcase full of medical supplies, so I was given the suitcase and the necessary documents.

After driving to Reagan International Airport, our flight was quickly canceled due to storms in Miami. Our only option was a flight out of Dulles at 4:00 am the next morning. The five of us loaded all ten suitcases and miscellaneous bags into the car and drove to Dulles. We tried to get some sleep in the airport before our 4:00 am flight. Not a great start.Read more
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Honduras Mission Trip 2024 Traveler
Day 2-June 15-Finally in Honduras
June 15, 2024 in Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F
The 5 Gettysburg crew tried to get some sleep at the airport before our 4:00 am flight. Our flights from Dulles to El Salvador, and then Honduras, went very well. We were able to get our medical supplies and drugs through customs without much trouble. Each of us have 2 large suitcases. We spent a few hours waiting for all the other team members to arrive at the airport.

By 3:00 pm everyone had arrived. We loaded all the luggage into a large truck and got everyone on 2 buses. There was a strong police presence loading the luggage, leading us, and on the buses.

The drive was several hours and steadily climbed into the mountains. The last 12 miles were on winding mountain dirt roads. San Luis is pretty remote to say the least. After our arrival we had an orientation, followed by a nice dinner that was put on by some of the towns people, and got settled into our rooms.Read more
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Day 3 - June 16-Setting Up The Clinic
June 16, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F
Today, we had a morning orientation session that lasted several hours. We sat in a pavilion surrounded by mountain top forests, fields and horses wandering around. Everyone was introduced to each other, and I even did my introduction in both English and Spanish. I'm hoping my years of working on my Spanish will pay off. Jobs were assigned, and I was placed in the pharmacy, likely because my friend Phil Winand, who was the pharmacist on the project for many years, recruited me.

Two maintenance guys were in charge of setting up all the mechanical devices for the doctors and dentists. They had no help, so they recruited me for the Sunday afternoon setup. They asked if I was handy. I told them I had managed a rental property for 23 years, which sealed the deal. They said they were setting up a suction system for the dentists. I joked that I had two of those in my rental property.

Everything went well except at the very end. The cow milking machine they had rigged up for years to provide suction died. Eventually, a suction system was brought in from a nearby hospital, and things went smoothly for the rest of the week.Read more
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Day 4-June 17-The Medical Clinic Begins
June 17, 2024 in Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
Who are the volunteers? We have 40 team members, 23 of whom are under 25, including several teenagers. The teenagers have been fun to be around. We also have almost an equal number of Honduran doctors, dentists, and medical students.

When we arrived at the school complex where the clinic was held, there were already lines of people waiting. The crowds remained throughout the day, waiting patiently.

I was with the pharmacy team. We had about 12 people, evenly split between Americans and Honduran medical students. I started out with Velinda, a first-year volunteer. We just created packs of common items like vitamins and antacids. However, by mid-afternoon, we were handling complete requests for 3-4 medicines. My roommate, Dr. Kent, approved everything we prepared.

I got to watch Bill and Susan do their dental work. I flew down with both of them. There are so many professionals who volunteer their time year after year to help others. Some of these people seem just one miracle away from sainthood.Read more
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Day 5-June 18-Day 2 of Medical Clinic
June 18, 2024 in Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F
I’m going to focus on the people in this post and talk a bit more about the pharmacy operation where I’ve been helping.

The first photo is of Ruth and Daniel Castro. They are the organizers of the medical clinic. They run about 10 clinics a year in Honduras and have been doing this for over 40 years. Here are two people who use their faith to make their country and the world a better place. It amazes me that they still have such a high level of enthusiasm.

I still can’t believe I spent the entire day filling prescriptions. I suggested we set up a rewards card system, like CVS, but the idea didn’t catch on. They put the prescriptions in handmade cloth bags made by a women’s group in the U.S. The folks here love them.

Walking around in my scrubs, all eyes are on me as I pass by. It feels like being a celebrity.

My goal today was to get some photos of the adorable children. I had a variety of approaches. Sometimes I would quietly snap a picture. One time I sent Brady, one of the 16-year-olds, out to get some photos. Brady is just adorable himself and so much fun. I also brought along some origami birds and handed them out to some of the kids.

I so admire these down-to-earth medical professionals who volunteer their time to help those who can’t afford to visit a doctor or dentist. My three roommates are all general practice doctors and very low key. Kent has come on these trips over 20 times.Read more
TravelerGive my regards to Kent, Ruth and Daniel Phil
6/19/24Reply
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Honduras Mission Trip 2024 Traveler
Day 6-June 19-Day 3 of Medical Clinic
June 19, 2024 in Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F
I want to start with two special people. Cecelia is 84 years old, originally from Venezuela, and has attended this medical trip for 11 years. She acts as one of our translators and helps hand out prescriptions at the pharmacy. She is a fabulous and inspiring lady.

Coto is a local who helped set things up at the school beforehand. His English is about the same as my Spanish, so we agreed to only speak Spanish whenever we meet, which is several times per day. This has been wonderful practice for me. I’ve used my Spanish more on this trip than on any vacation. I have to read and write all the prescriptions in Spanish, which hasn’t been a problem since my writing and reading are better than my listening.

How do things work at the clinic? First, there is a long line before the clinic opens. Many people travel by foot for miles. Folks then register, and the staff identifies what services they need. Everyone gets parasite medicine. After that, they disperse to the dentist or doctors for a preliminary assessment. Eventually, they get their dental work or visit the doctor. The last step is getting their prescriptions. Since there are hundreds of people each visit day, there is a lot of waiting, but everyone is so patient. Anyone who makes eye contact with you smiles. Three elderly gentlemen wanted to shake my hand and thank me. We realize that although everyone is poor, the adults and children try to dress up and look their best.

The pharmacy usually has 6-8 people running it. Yesterday, we filled over 700 prescriptions. Most people end up with 2-3 prescriptions. My main partner is Velinda, the wife of one of my roommates, Dr. Steve. We also have a crew of hardworking Honduran medical students helping us out. The last few photos are of the pharmacy.Read more
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Day 7-June 20-Day 4 of the Clinic
June 20, 2024 in Honduras ⋅ 🌧 72 °F
Today was another full day at the clinic. I will say it is physically exhausting since you are usually working from 8:00 am to almost 6:00 pm. Yesterday, we topped filling over 800 prescriptions for that day. Most patients will have 2-3 individual prescriptions to be filled. It is a lot of fun interacting with the Honduran medical students helping at the pharmacy. It gives me a chance to practice my spanish.

The other night we walked into the town of San Luis. You can see the huge inequality that is so prevalent in Latin American - wonderful homes with incredibly poor houses nearby. I have included a few photos of the town.

It is still wonderful to people watch at the clinic and capture a few photos. I have added a few more. If we catch up with the incoming prescriptions, which is not often, I will spend a couple of minutes walking around.

I was talking at dinner with a lady that is with the group for the first time and like me, she is a general helper. Her role is as a dental assistant (no experience). She is working in the. clinic that does fillings and tooth restoration. She is amazed what they can do. Many of the patients have badly decaying front teeth, but after the restoration they have almost perfect front teeth. After the work is done, they show the patient the results in a mirror. The expression on their faces is priceless. It is a life changing event, especially for teenagers.

After the pharmacy was about to close, one of our military security guard soldiers stopped by to get some medicine. Our doctor, Kent, checked him out and I filled a prescription for him. To see Kent examining the soldier while the soldier was carry his assault rife, was amazing.Read more
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Day 8-June 21-Day 5 of the Clinic
June 21, 2024 in Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F
Before breakfast, I decided to take a quick look at the line waiting to get into the clinic. An hour and a half before we opened, the line was already 100 yards long. I like to people-watch, so I added a few shots to my photo gallery.

One of the photos shows a huge leaf someone found. It was very cool.

Dentist Susan from Hanover, PA, invited me to observe what they were doing in dentistry. Basically, they are trying to restore smiles. They had a young man with serious decay in his front teeth who would eventually lose them. I stopped by every 15 minutes or so to see how things were going. After the work was done, the young man got a chance to see the results in the mirror. He smiled broadly. He was already a handsome young man, but this was a life-changing event for him. As I was about to leave, I told him in Spanish that he was going to have many new girlfriends. He laughed, so I assume he understood me.Read more
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Honduras Mission Trip 2024 Traveler
Day 9-June 22-Last day of the Clinic
June 22, 2024 in Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 88 °F
Story of the Day: As I mentioned before, despite being poor, many folks try to wear their best clothes when visiting the clinic. I particularly noticed one lady dressed in a pleated dress. I asked if I could take her picture. She agreed and asked if I could send the photo to her son since she had no phone. With the help of one of the Honduran medical students, we texted the photo to her son.

Today was the last day of the clinic, so I want to talk more about that. The last few days we topped over 1,000 prescriptions, which is why several people told me volunteering in the pharmacy was the most difficult assignment. By the end of each day, I am really dragging.

Two of my favorite people on the trip are Dr. Steve and his wife Velinda. Dr. Steve is a recently retired doctor. Like me, he and Velinda are on the trip for the first time. Steve is easygoing and makes fun of everything in a lighthearted, yet positive way. He is one of my roommates and always has a smile on his face. Velinda is my main partner at the pharmacy. We have had so many laughs, and she has been an absolutely delightful person to work and chat with.

Our primary pharmacist had to cancel at the last minute, so Dr. Kent and his wife Martha stepped in to run the pharmacy. Kent is also one of the doctors who is my roommate. Martha answers hundreds of questions a day from the helpers with absolute patience and knowledge. Kent may be one of the most remarkable people I have ever met. All day long, he handles questions and issues that change at least once every minute. Yet, I never saw him get flustered. He always keeps his cool and always shows kindness and patience.

I saw Kent work with a sick young girl, and his style as a doctor was amazing. Here is my favorite observation about Kent. A group in the U.S. makes pretty cloth bags for the prescriptions. Kent had to sit at a desk and check and approve each prescription. I remember him seeing a prescription for a young girl and saying, “We want to make sure we find a real pretty bag for the little girl.” Despite the chaos around him, he is still looking for ways to be kind. How remarkable.

Kent checks every prescription we amateur pharmacists pull together. He told me about the funniest mistake he encountered. The prescription called for medicine to deal with bad sneezing, but the helper accidentally selected a stool softener. That could have had funny consequences.

The clinic only ran a half-day on Saturday, so we spent the afternoon inventorying the remaining medicine and packing it up for next year. In the evening, the town threw a big dinner for all the U.S. and Honduran volunteers, including the cooks, housekeepers, and other local helpers. I’ve included a little video of the band that performed.Read more
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Day 10-June 23-Leaving San Luis Behind
June 23, 2024 in Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 90 °F
We started the day with an award ceremony and took group photos as we finished up our stay in San Luis. But first, we had to remove some wandering horses from the pavilion. After that, we loaded everything and everyone into our two buses and headed toward El Progreso. The ride took about five hours, including a stop for lunch at Pizza Hut. The poverty and shanty houses we saw as we drove out of the mountains were remarkable, but the scenery was spectacular.

Security was very prevalent again. We had two armed soldiers on each bus with AK-47s, and even at Pizza Hut, the doorman/security guard carried a shotgun.

We checked into the Casa Blanco hotel, and it was fantastic. The hot showers were a great relief since we had only had cold showers until then.

I also wanted to share a video of a cool plant down here that acts like a Venus flytrap.Read more
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Day 11-June 24-Vacation Day
June 24, 2024 in Honduras ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F
The final day is usually set up as a vacation day where people can do a bit of touring at the end. This is optional, and some chose to head home yesterday after the clinic ended. Originally, I planned to visit the Maya ruins, but that was canceled due to the unavailability of a driver. So, I joined the majority who opted for a trip to the beach instead. It was a lovely beach, quite laid-back, and part of a resort. Being a Monday, it wasn’t crowded, and it’s definitely the low season for tourism in Honduras.

I’m not a huge beach person, so when plans were made later in the day to visit another beach with shopping opportunities, I thought it would be fun to see something different.

On our way back to the hotel in our two minibuses, the other bus broke down shortly after leaving the beach. It took some time, but they managed to get it back on the road, albeit very slowly. Eventually, the bus company sent another bus, and everyone made it back to the hotel. I’ve heard this group has had bus breakdowns before.

We have a 6:00 am flight home, so I’m going to wrap up this blog with the final chapter. Thanks for following along.Read more
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Trip end
June 25, 2024