Day # 4
After a very busy morning of working triage, Jim Pile and I, along
with our translator Saby, went with Gary to take a tour of the Puerto
Cortez Government Hospital. The experience was eye opening, from
unsanitary conditions to the anxious faces of patients waiting to be
seen. The power was out, so the heat carried the smells of the dried
blood and sweating patients. The Disney cartoons on the walls of the
children's ward did little to make it feel like a welcoming place.
There are not words to describe the feeling of that hospital. I have
not seen a place in more need of prayer than that hospital and I'm
sure the other hospitals in the area.
Mark Keilbarth
"I did not want to come to English class yesterday. I did not want to
come to English class today. I do not want to come to English class
tomorrow." That was my introduction on Monday to Yolinda, a quiet,
sullen young girl who sat alone at the back of the advanced English as
a Second Language class. The Honduran teacher, Nelson Osorto, was
puzzled why the teen attended the class if she disliked it so much.
Today, though, Yolinda was the captain of the girls' team, encouraging
her team in the board race and a flashing a winning smile as the
chicas beat the chicos. As we closed the week's classes, precious
Yolinda came to the front of the class, gave me a hug & a kiss, and
told me she loves English class and is so glad that we came to
Honduras to help teach her English and to talk about Jesus. Amazing
what some laughter, some prayer, and a heaping measure of the Holy
Spirit's grace and leading can do in the face of two languages, two
cultures, and two generations. Praise be to God!
Kathy Pile