Meet the first child to break my heart here in Concepcion del Norte. This is Lucy. I met her on my very first trip to Honduras in July of '07. Lucy had come to church in a pair of pants made of purple cloth hand stitched together with embroidery floss. After church I had her mom, Dominga, walk back to the Kalachucha clinic with me as I had a duffel full of flip-flops. Her 3 girls had no shoes, and had walked the rocky mountain road for 40 minutes to get to Sunday School. As I opened the duffel, I turned to see Lucy grabbing from the ground fistsful of a small fruit known as Nancies. She was so hungry she was putting them in her cheeks as fast as she could. A neighbor, Ursula, was with me at the time and quickly went to her yard to pick some oranges and bananas to send home with Dominga. As our group was called in for lunch, sure to be multi-coursed , painful awareness of the disparity on the planet left me in tears and speechless. I needed to take a walk and get some perspective. Part of that perspective has led me to our family meeting today. Guidelines were reinforced regarding medical follow ups and families aiding their children when the Americans are no longer present. The need for hygiene and being pro-active was also discussed. Several of the more fragile children received their Pediasure and all walked away with their vitamins. A big smile and a kiss from Yester, who continued to wave until out of sight, reminds me of how EVERY life on this planet has value and how vital our work is here. Reminds me of the boy on the beach throwing starfish back into the ocean. Miss Lucy is just one of our 27 starfish. There are many more waiting in line on this beach. How about rescuing one.... you'll never regret it!?!?
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Final Family Meeting
Meet the first child to break my heart here in Concepcion del Norte. This is Lucy. I met her on my very first trip to Honduras in July of '07. Lucy had come to church in a pair of pants made of purple cloth hand stitched together with embroidery floss. After church I had her mom, Dominga, walk back to the Kalachucha clinic with me as I had a duffel full of flip-flops. Her 3 girls had no shoes, and had walked the rocky mountain road for 40 minutes to get to Sunday School. As I opened the duffel, I turned to see Lucy grabbing from the ground fistsful of a small fruit known as Nancies. She was so hungry she was putting them in her cheeks as fast as she could. A neighbor, Ursula, was with me at the time and quickly went to her yard to pick some oranges and bananas to send home with Dominga. As our group was called in for lunch, sure to be multi-coursed , painful awareness of the disparity on the planet left me in tears and speechless. I needed to take a walk and get some perspective. Part of that perspective has led me to our family meeting today. Guidelines were reinforced regarding medical follow ups and families aiding their children when the Americans are no longer present. The need for hygiene and being pro-active was also discussed. Several of the more fragile children received their Pediasure and all walked away with their vitamins. A big smile and a kiss from Yester, who continued to wave until out of sight, reminds me of how EVERY life on this planet has value and how vital our work is here. Reminds me of the boy on the beach throwing starfish back into the ocean. Miss Lucy is just one of our 27 starfish. There are many more waiting in line on this beach. How about rescuing one.... you'll never regret it!?!?
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