While in nursing school, I was able to travel to Honduras during winter vacation with a group called Students for International Mission Service. Jacob had been to Honduras in 1998 after Hurricane Mitch destroyed so much of the country (See this link to find out about it). He had so many stories to tell about his work there that I was more than a little bit jealous. So when the opportunity arose for me to take this trip and taste a bit of Honduras for myself, I couldn't refuse it. This trip was so great for me in many ways. It was my first time acting as a nurse in a true clinical setting outside of school, and it greatly improved my confidence as a Spanish speaker. Before this trip I had been too shy to speak my Spanish, but as I was forced to translate for people for the first time, I discovered I was pretty okay at it. That confidence booster was so helpful for me when I started work in East Los Angeles as a labor and delivery nurse where nearly all of my patients spoke Spanish.
Our little group of nursing, pre-med and public health students was headed by a doctor and his wife. Our destination was a little nutritional rehabilitation hospital and orphanage in Peña Blanca, Honduras, a small town a little way out from San Pedro Sula. It is primarily a rehabilitation hospital for sick and malnourished children whose parents or family can not take care of them.
We held a clinic and did checkups on all the children and the staff. We also invited the community to come to a clinic for one day. When we weren't in clinic we spent time holding and playing with the children, saw the archeological sites around Lake Yojoa which was directly adjacent to the orphanage, jumped off a cliff into the river below Pulhapanzak Falls, and we took a day trip to the ruins at Copán.
Here's some pictures of the kids at the clinic. They loved the attention we gave them and we loved giving it. Just look at them! How can you not fall in love?
In this picture you can see the grounds of the orphanage. Every time I walked past, this same horse was always hanging out munching on the lawn.
These gals helped care for the younger children at the center. They themselves had grown up in the orphanage and were now old enough to be employed helpers. They're all dressed up for a wedding celebration that took place while we were there.
One of the children was sent to a hospital in Tegucigalpa with acute kidney failure. They sent me with a small group to the hospital to check on her and bring news. I was able to report that she was receiving good care, but I never did find out what happened to her after I left.
Overlooking Tegucigalpa
Visiting Lake Yojoa
The ruins at Copán
Seeing huge old trees growing out of the structures really made it hit home how long this place had been there. It was eerie and thrilling to be standing there.
I left Honduras having had a wonderful time but wanting to go back. I'm still a little bit jealous of Jacob's experience there. I mean, the guy hitchhiked across the whole country from Tegucigalpa to San Pedro Sula and met amazing people. He was fluent in Spanish at the time, too, so he could really truly understand what was going on. That settles it. We have to go back.
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