Honduras Journal
  
August 2, 2001: DAY FOUR
What a day I've had on board and off!
The day began with the news that so many of you
have already responded to the needs here in Honduras and for the Mercy Ship!
Thank you so much (muchas gracias)! You can't know how much that thrills my
heart because the people here need you so much! I have been telling the Mercy
Ships crew and everyone I meet here in Honduras that the people in Houston,
Texas are wonderful and that you are prayer warriors, so please continue to pray
for our crew here and for the people of Honduras.
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Smiles all around as Adan is able to
see again!
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Adan and his beautiful Martha.
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Remember Adan? Today I got to take the eye patch
off! He was so excited. HE COULD SEE CLEARLY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOUR YEARS!!
He laughed. We cried. I asked him if he could see beautiful Marta (my
translator) and he told us she was so beautiful he wanted to look at her day and
night! What a sweetheart! I wish you could have been there with me, to see what
the gift of sight means to this precious little man!
Then we traveled to San Pedro Sula, an hour's
drive from where the ship is docked. We visited the orthopedic clinic set up by
the Mercy Ship doctors in a hospital for the poor. I have prayed that God would
break my heart with the things that break His, and I can tell you my heart was
broken today. Yours would have been too! There in that hot, smelly hospital with
leaky roof and no air conditioning we walked the eight flights of stairs with no
ventilation because the elevators are all broken. At the top of the stairs I
found people lying in their beds waiting to have broken arms and legs mended.
Some had been waiting for months, with no pain medication, and little hope for a
doctor who could help them...until the Mercy Ships came. Now more than 180
people have been given orthopedic surgeries for free. In this hospital without
the help of Mercy Ships, patients who can't afford medical care get none. It is
a real miracle what Mercy Ships has done here.
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Pray for Don, he worries about his
family.
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Without medical treatment simple
breaks become life altering injuries.
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One of the patients told me he hasn't been able
to work for months. His leg was broken by a gunshot wound when he was ambushed
by bandits. He has four children and is the only breadwinner for the family...He
worries that they won't have food to eat. I told him we would be praying for him
and to remember, DIOS ESCUCHA - God listens. I have to tell you after comforting
those hurting patients today with that promise, saying those words will never be
the same for me again.
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The Caribbean Christian Orphanage is a
happy place.
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Mercy Ships 'operates' in many ways.
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We also got the chance to visit the Caribbean Christian Orphanage And Outreach
in Omoa. Dennis Suisse and his wife Nora run the orphanage full of 30-some girls
like a great big family. The girls are sweet and outgoing, fun-loving and happy.
But Dennis told us that without the orphanage, they would be left to the streets
to do whatever it takes to survive. Mercy Ships outreach is building a wall and
driveway to help them. We missed the younger girls who weren't home from school
yet, but you can see the girls we got to meet are just like your children or
mine....and thanks to the work of the Mercy Ships they can have the hope of a
future just like yours kids and mine!
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Trying my hand at mixing cement!
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Oh, there's gotta be an easier job
than this!
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Wait until you see the video we're making while
I'm here. Today we passed a soccer field. Actually, you pass soccer fields all
over this country. It seems wherever there is a little extra land, there's a
soccer game going on. So, of course, I had to get in on the action. You'll catch
my GOOOOAAL on the video.
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Tried my hand at cargo...but needed a
lot of help!
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They're still looking for the right job for me
on board the ship. So far, I've tried a number of them as you can see, but I
don't think any of these jobs is right for me. I think Captain Susan sounds
good, don't you!? Tonight I have to swab the poop deck and man the starboard
something or other. We're preparing for tomorrow's official visit from the First
Lady of Honduras. She's an LSU graduate, so I can't wait to ask her which of the
Zapps Potato Chips are her favorite! Dave says if she went to LSU she ate
Zapps...and drinks Community Coffee. We'll see, Dave, we'll see!
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FOR SALE: Adan's glasses. Thanks to
Mercy Ships he doesn't need them anymore!
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I hate to go, but I've promised my Honduran
friend Herson that we will go fishing tonight off the Mercy Ship. He says the
big fish should be biting just about now, so, I'll write to you again tomorrow.
Remember to pray for us, the wonderful people here in Honduras, and for the
angels of mercy here on the Mercy Ship!
Adios Mis Amigos, Hasta Manana!
Cuidate!
Susan O'Donnell
KSBJ-Honduras
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