Dominican Republic (DR)

So, here it is, hot and humid, more MoM projects, more children, more need. We will becoming here the end of August. There are 5 Children Development Centers with about 100 children in each that we will be going to. Add the siblings, the parents and extended families, and we'll easily see 1500 or more patients. DR reminds me a little bit of Cambodia, maybe because of the weather. The areas that the CDc's are in vary in terms of poverty, danger, and isolation. We'll be in some pretty interesting places. The children over all are just getting to the point of being noursished thanks to the meals that they receive at the CDC's. I saw a number of Dengue fever cases, etopic rashes, upper respiratory illnesses, and malnutrion.

All the people I've meet here are fantastic!! They are very excited about us coming, and the support will be everything we look forward to. We'll be blessed again to serve.

In all things give thanks,

David

Observations....

On this trip to Honduras, I saw a Hassidic Jew and his young son put their tallits on and pray openly at the airport in Houston. Then I met a local pastor here in Honduras who had a shofar (ram's horn) in his church that he blew every Friday before the Sabbath and blew it for me as he and I recited a classic Jewish prayer. Now I'm sitting in the airport in Honduras and a family of Mennonites are sitting right across from me praying from a book that I don't recognize.

From all of this, God sure has been prayed to on many different levels, from different faiths, and perhaps for different reasons. But the fact remains that prayer occurs. He listens better than we do I suspect, and reponds in His own way. A Jew, Christian, and a Mennonite...how different....how similar.

In all things give thanks,
David

Honduras

I'm finishing up with an assessment trip to Honduras, and I can safely say that the medical needs of the children are already being addressed for the most part. "Child Development Centers" (CDC's) are MoM projects that care for 80-100 children each. There are about 9 of them, all in various stages of development. What is unique about them is that they are cared for, sponsored, by local churches. There are no missionaries involved, and each church has its own CDC. The medical care is provided by Dr. Paublo a young general practioner. He has most of the preliminary physical examinations on almost 1000 children served by MoM, and has a clinic already established where he sees some of the children in follow up and has some medicine to give out. Some of the projects are very poor and even dangerous. Gun toting guards are seen with delivery trucks who come to the projects. Tony, the Field director and I, have been pretty careful of our surroundings, and look both ways before we enter a dirt street or an ally way. The children for the most part are healthy, with malnutrion, skin rashes, and upper respiratory infectinos most prevalent. The poorer the areas are that we go to, the more illness I see. This seems to be a country of either "you have" or "you don't". Wealth is evident and so is the poorest of the poor.
For what it's worth, all the children, the CDC's, the churches, and those who care for the MoM projects are "wealthy" in their own right: He is with them, and has blessed them.

In all things give thanks,

David

Change is good...

We decided that Sri Lanka was just not going to be on the schedule for this trip. And Bangladesh therefore fell out as well. In less than 6 hours, we set up a scouting and assessment trip to Honduras and the Dominican Republic. I leave Thursday the 10^th and return the 19^th. Same dates as the trip for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but now it’s to Central America. This will be new territory for me, never having been to either country, but am looking forward to seeing how we can help with our scheduled medical team in late August. So here I go…to a different part of the world than originally intended, but with the same purpose. He has directed this….

 

In all things give thanks,

 

David

Where to now....

I leave on Thursday May 10^th for Bangladesh and for right now, Sri Lanka, to see what we can help with as a medical team in both countries. I say maybe Sri Lanka, because there is military strife going on there right now, and as of a few days ago, all commercial flights have been halted for night time departures and arrivals. Both my flights in and out of Sri Lanka are scheduled at night. I’ll be figuring this all out over the next 24-48 hours. There continues to be obstacles put in our path as we pursue His work where He tells us. And I assume that there is a reason for it. I don’t necessarily want to ask why, or even want to know, but suspect that whatever the reason is, He’ll take care of it. So, if I make it to Sri Lanka or not, and if I get there and back without packing along a few “kidney stones”, and if I don’t get stuck in Bangladesh for whatever reason, and if I get back rested enough to go back on call the next day back in Phoenix, and if He tells me where we should go with a medical team in August, I’ll be happy. Keep this trip in your prayers and thoughts…I’m not sure where it will lead me or the medical team, but I’m sure it will be an adventure.

 

In all things give thanks,

 

David