Medical, Dental & Vision Clinics…
Heart for Honduras, by God’s grace, will conduct two missions per year, one in the fall and one in the spring. Mission groups are comprised of medical, dental, vision, ministry, and water well teams. Area residents, notified via local radio announcements and word of mouth prior to our arrival, are invited to attend the clinics free of charge. Hondurans’ extreme poverty (Honduras is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere) forces people to delay and/or ignore much-needed medical, dental, and vision care. Many travel considerable distances and endure long lines to see us, and each five-day clinic serves thousands of people. Lives are literally saved as a result of the attention given by the doctors and dentists.
Water Wells
Most people in the area suffer from worms (“parasitos”) living inside their system, largely due to poor drinking water. This is not surprising, since casual highway travel takes one past rivers that simultaneously serve its various constituents who come to water their livestock, bathe, wash clothes, and gather drinking water. The water wells provide clean fresh water to people who have never tasted it before, and local residents meet them with considerable enthusiasm. One well, dug recently in an outlying village of 400, provided the first running water since Hurricane Mitch (November ’98).
Witnessing
During the day while the clinics are functioning, the ministry team partners with local church leadership to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ to those gathered in line. The message of Jesus Christ is also shared from house to house, and team members give out Spanish New Testaments and Christian tracts. Recently hundreds of people came to faith in Jesus Christ during the course of a five-day mission trip. Local pastors follow up with these new converts after our teams leave.
In the Evenings
After working the clinic from 8am-5pm, the team drives back to the hotel in nearby La Esperanza, where they shower and prepare for supper. Following the meal is a time for reflection on the days’ events. Strong relational ties are formed on the teams as each individual is stretched beyond normal comfort zones. Team members resonate with the old Peace Corps slogan, calling Honduras mission trips “the toughest job you’ll ever love.”