Journal 2 - Monday, August 7th 2017
I’m Meghan and I’m twenty-two years old, and as cliché as it may sound I believe everything happens for reason. A month ago I attended a funeral for my great Uncle Jim in Ventura and while at the funeral I got to see my Uncle Eddy or you may know him as Dr. Edward Chambers. Ever since he started going to Honduras I’ve asked him about his trips, but I never thought that I would one day be on one of those trips with him. Anyways, long story short I asked him if there was room on the trip and he told me there wasn’t. A week later I got a call that there was room for one more and well, here I am in Honduras. And after the beautiful day we had here today there’s nowhere I’d rather be.
To be frank, I’ve never done anything like this before in my life and I believe the closest thing I’ve experienced is delivering sandwiches to homeless people that live in South Central Los Angeles. So while I was putting my scrubs on this morning and admiring the excitement around me I couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous about what to expect.
After an hour long bus ride that reminded me of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland through the mountain we arrived to Los Aguajes with our team. Along the way I couldn’t help but feel emotional. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve never seen a shack or a child begging for money on the street or people who wave at you as you drive by their home.
When we got out of the bus the first thing I noticed was all the lovely children watching us as we watched them. The moment I said my first, “Hola” to a child and received a big smile and wave in return I knew this day was going to be nothing like I had imagined. I could instantaneously feel the warmth and pure joy in every person’s gaze as I made my way to the school where we would be setting up the clinic.
I got to be in the Deworming Station and I was in charge of putting Fluoride on the children’s teeth. At first I didn’t know how to apply it, but after a few kids I got the hang of it. I enjoyed doing this job. Throughout my time spent in Deworming there were always three or even nine kids standing right next to me or behind me attempting to figure out what I was doing with that pink goo.
All the children were helpful and excited to meet all of us. They loved helping by holding the dish of Fluoride while I applied it to a child’s teeth. By the end of the day I had about 30 new friends. Here are some of the children I had the pleasure of meeting today.
friends. Here are some of the children I had the pleasure of meeting today.
This little guy was pretty mature for his age. He patiently watched me apply Fluoride on a bunch of the kids and I could tell when I asked him to open his mouth he knew just what he was supposed to do. I found out later that day that he’s 5 years old and he wants to be a doctor when he grows up so that he can help the people in his village.
This girl waited patiently with her little sister for stickers. She’s 5 years old and wore a beautiful purple dress. She is a sweetheart.
These little guys were playing soccer all day long and when it began to rain they were the first to run out and get completely drenched.
This is Martha. She wore a beautiful dress. When I forgot the word for dress I asked her what it was called and she quickly responded, “Vestido” with a smile.
These two are siblings. They hung out with me all day in Deworming. The little guy kept hiding behind his big sister, but after a while he decided to play with us.
