El Palmar

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

As the Honduras flag is blue and white, our 2nd clinic day had a blue sky and white puffy clouds. We bused to the community of El Palmar, Santa Barbara to see so many excited people waiting at the front door for us! During our clinic day, we saw and cared for 139 people! Our group had many highs and lows. 

Our highs start with Bill and Gretchen and their love for dentistry. They loved seeing the happy children who had smiling faces when they got their teeth cleaned! Patti got to get back to her roots and run a station for a while! Ethan and Janet were impressed with the education that the people of the community had from FOB. Jessica and Danielle worked hard educating and collecting vital information for the clinic team! Amy enjoyed watching Janet’s workstation, especially when she used Sarah’s red face as an example for a ‘normal’ looking face! Amy was also moved by the lady at the end who was shaking everyone’s hand and thanking them for their work. Catherine’s high was that she could love on all of the babies! Sarah and Emberli’s high was playing the ‘you speak English you get a sticker’ with the children. They love learning new words!

A low of the day was that Amy wanted to give her cross away to a lady who she felt a deep connection with. The lady was a caretaker for her adult son. She wished that she could’ve have given her the cross to give her the support that she needed. Another low was when Emberli was caring for three young children with respiratory problems. The kids were transported to the hospital. Before the family left, she gave her cross to the mother to lift her spirit to get her through this rough time. 

To finish the day, we said ‘Adios’ and traveled back down the windy slopes! When we arrived, we sang Happy Birthday to Fernando, a member of FOB, and enjoyed delicious cake! Overall, it was a productive day caring for the wonderful people of Honduras!

-Sarah Newman