It's raining! And it's been raining!! All night Wednesday (it started before six pm and we actually watched the storm come down the town--we thought we had a few minutes before it arrives, poked inside a souvenir shop and seconds later the rain arrived! We sprinted to Jim's pizza from the store!) When we woke up Thursday it was still raining! Often clinics get canceled when it rains. Wednesday we traveled to Las Brisas de San Juan and the roads leading to that village are impassible in rain. They remain impassible for a day or two after a rainstorm actually as they are so steep, muddy, and curvy. Thankfully the rain did not start until long after we left Las Brisas! Praise God!
Each day we have seen about 150 patients, mas o menos. (More or less). Tuesday we went to Las Medias. Clinic setup there was interesting--the medical treatment team had to share a one room building with pharmacy! It was a little tight but it worked out. In that village, there is a gentleman who is in charge of the water supply--and he continues to deny water to 8 Chorti families. Please pray for a change of heart. He owns the house where the Bible study leader lived and held meetings. He recently demanded the leader stop holding meetings or move out. The leader would not stop holding Bible studies and has had to relocate. Please pray for strength among animosity and persecution for he and his family.
Wednesday--we went to Las Brisas de San Juan. There are about 30 or so Chorti villages. Although this is only my second trip to Honduras--I remember going to Las Brisas six years ago. This village is frequently rained out of clinic and the men always wait patiently for all the women and children to be seen first. This time each family consisted of 4-5 children! But the men waited patiently for their turn. The Agricultural center (Ag center) works with this village and has taught terracing the land and they have done phenomenally with it. Words cannot convey the place they live--the sheer steepness of the slopes. Imagine standing on a hill planting corn. It is so steep you do not have to bend AT ALL to plant the next row up. It's incredible.
How catastrophic landslides are makes much more sense when you look at the slopes. It would not take much water to erode the soil.
They had several turkeys in Las Brisas. Eduardo bought one to bring back to his family. Around 11 am it looked like rain but thankfully it held off!!
Thursday we went to El Conal. It had rained all night and the rain continued. We made it to the village with a few auto problems and began to set up. And it continued to rain. And rain. It lighten for a few minutes every hour--but after each light spell it came back with more force! Thankfully we set up tarps and had a few covered walkways. We were packed in tight under the triage tent. The tent top kept needing to be emptied of water every 20 minutes or so. Hay mucho llueve!!! So much rain!! Often when it rains we have to leave:( Thankfully today was a close village with a decent amount of rocky roads (more traction!) and we were able to stay until we finished.
One village to go!!
No comments:
Post a Comment