El Fin

Estoy un poco triste porque no quiero salir Honduras y regresar a Los Estados Unidos. But, I know I brought back a part of Honduras with me :)

I went to help, to show love, and give a little. But I think I received much much more than I gave. I received an immense amount of love from a country that knows how to shower people with kindness. I saw joy that I don’t see in the U.S. A joy that doesn’t come from things but instead from friends and family and faith. I saw children in the smallest little casitas in the cardboard villages laugh with joy because someone was there to play with them and give them a piece of paper to color. I heard laughter throughout the country, I heard poetry in the language of the people, I felt God’s presence. I hope to bring back some of this joy, some of this appreciation and contentment that many lack back home. Instead of more more more, or better, better, better, I have seen true happiness with one’s situation. Love for God that is inspirational.

I really appreciate all of the people from Honduras that touched my life, all those that helped us along the way, such as Pastor Jose, Pastor Julio, Andie, Kimi, Joel, Don, Lori, Moises, and so many more, every child that touched my life, the people in the village who were so grateful for everything, those in the orphanage, the brave children in the hospital who had such strong spirits and the most beautiful smiles, everyone from PLC, and even those at the Hostal. And of course my UCLA team :)

I’m really going to miss Honduras. Like a lot. I’m going to miss the downpour of rain every night, having Baleadas every day (if not lunch than dinner), all of the inside jokes, the warm ocean water, the beautiful landscape with green mountains, the immersion of the spanish language…I could go on.

Thanks for following, everyone, and for being a part of my trip with me!

One last thing- I’ll contact you guys who said you could help with Jayson’s heart transplant. Apparently, he was put on the waiting list BECAUSE of someone’s blog comment on here asking about the price and me mentioning it to the nurse. Gloria a Dios! hehe

Till the next trip, whenever and wherever that may be ;)

The last picture that I have yet to upload. It’s Antonio; he worked nights at the hostal.

Saturday

Today we had a medical brigade in one of the aldeas de bordos. It was with a local doctor and Leah’s dad. All of the medicine we gave the parents and children was from stuff we brought down in boxes. We basically were once again in charge of entertaining the group.

 

in the middle of saying “ooo que bonita!” haha

Friday

Friday was plain weird. In the morning, we went to visit Jenny immediately. Her vitals were back and she had miraculously went fro being brain dead to, well, not being brain dead. It was seriously a miracle. I felt really sick this day so in the afternoon I stayed in the hostal to sleep. That afternoon, Jenny passed away while Jessica, KC, and a few others were praying for her. Everything happens for a reason, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to handle her death, so I’m glad I got to say goodbye to her in the morning, but it was not expected, especially after the exciting news from the morning.

Looking back, we think Jenny went from brain dead to not in order to show that God really does answer prayers. And in the afternoon, God was ready for her. It’s not really a better life being hooked up to machines with an inoperable tumor, so there was a sense of peace over her death, even though it was a hard day. Timing was insane, too. The last day our team was in the hospital, they last hour, she passed away, with our team there. One of the songs that we (Jessica, KC, and I) specifically made for Jenny and sang to her multiple times was sung often afterwards. And from the last time I saw her, she still had the little pink heart sticker I put on her fingernail from the week before. :)

I’m going to miss Jenny and her beautiful soul. But she really is in a much more beautiful place now.

Just a picture of Diego from the morning.

 

In addition to Jenny, we also got to talk with Gerardo, who cut his foot with a machete and lost a pint of blood. One girl Ricky from PLC donated blood for him because she is his same blood type and got to watch her blood be used for this child.

The doctor on the children’s ward took pictures with us, told us thank you, and even gave us bracelets as a gift. Everyone here is so compassionate, it’s crazy.

Time to catch up! Wednesday & Thursday

Wednesday was spent in the hospital. I have no pictures from this day. But basically Jessica, KC, and I spent the entire day with one girl, Jenny, who was hooked up to machines, had an extremely slow heart rate, and was basically not really there and dying. We sang to her, read her books, talked to her parents, and truly were blessed being able to spend the day with her when it could have been spent with her parents. And Wednesday night was an intense prayer night at the church.

Thursday was back at the orphanage! We got to play with kids, piñatas, monkeys, and I got a tour of the gardens where they grow all the food they eat. I also got to meet mami, the woman who founded the orphanage 50 years ago. She was like the wise oracle that we stumbled upon in one of the rooms, haha, and she had a lot of interesting stories to tell us.

Oh! And on my last blog I talked about Jayson, who needs a heart transplant. One person asked on my blog how much it cost and I asked the nurse. She first told me that it was lack of resources (aka hearts) and that we couldn’t really help. But now she told me he has been put on a waiting list for a transplant and that if anyone could help pay, she is counting on it. So if you are interested in helping pay even a little for this beautiful boy’s transplant, please please let me know and don’t leave the comment as “anonymous” for you name. Thanksss!

 

 

Tuesday

Today was a treat. We paid 25 lempira per person (which is about $1.50) and went to a private beach near Guatemala. The day was perfect and we got to relax, nap, play futbol, and enjoy each others company. We even caught a baby jellyfish. We chased cows on the beach and drank coconut juice from coconut trees on the beach. It was especially nice because a lot of people are still sick, so being able to relax was a blessing. Actually, one member of our team is going home tomorrow because she is not getting better. Medical attention from the states would be best for her, even though it is hard to say goodbye to this place and the amazing people who live here.

The rest shall be pictures!

Monday

Monday was back in the hospital. In the morning I was in the Emergency room passing out milk to children. In the afternoon, things got pretty heavy. And hard. There are times when it’s o.k. to cry, and monday was one of those days. There was a girl, Jennifer, who on the first day was smiling and coloring with us. On this day she was hooked up to machines and the doctors told us they were waiting for her to pass away. We had some very powerful prayers with her parents. I don’t know what it feels like to have a child, but on this day I was able to share in the sadness and pain Jenny’s parents were feeling. It hit KC, Jessica, and I pretty hard and we were all crying with them. I think in a weird way, it’s a beautiful thing to be able to share one’s pain. Like you are a part of something bigger than yourself. There were some other kids in the hospital that were in pretty bad conditions, as well. I think I have a picture of one of them.

Also, a boy Jeyson came with us to pray for Jenny. It wasn’t until later that Leah told me he needs a heart transplant but can’t afford one so he is going home tomorrow. This once again made me cry. The fact that he put aside his own problems to help us pray for Jenny is absolutely beautiful, but it also frustrates me that he can’t get the medical attention he needs because of money issues.

This day in general was hard. A lot of the team has been getting sick and practically everyone has had a fever or some sort of ailment. Luckily so far I’ve been well (even though I’ve been taking risks and eating some salads.)

  

We also passed out beanies today. The girl on the right is 4 months old and apparently fought for her life for most of that time.

 

 

A picture from the cancer wing.

That’s Jeyson on the left in the white t-shirt. He is the sweetest child and I’m going to miss seeing him at the hospital.

Domingo

Sunday more PLC people came from SD and we went up in the mountains to a church that PLC built last time they were in Honduras. Then we went to this zoo by the ocean that was also a water park. It was beautiful. We swam in the ocean and the water was so warm. Such a nice change from cold california water. I grabbed a sand dollar out of the ocean as something to remember the day from. It was nice to have a day to “decompress” and take some time to relax.

Also, Amanda went home this day back to the states. She’s safe at home now.

 

We got to see Spain make the winning goal.