El Tontola

Today we had breakfast at 6:30am. Then we left in a caravan of vehicles for the village of El Tontolo. It was about an hour and a half drive there.

We arrived at the local primary school. We were welcomed by many families there. Stations were quickly set up by experienced staff and volunteers. The kindergarten building housed the medical clinic and pharmacy. The first to sixth grade building housed the dental clinic and eye clinic. In front of this building we had weights and measures, deworming, vitamins and registration.

We began seeing families once they completed registration. The teams cared for all age groups. Each of the team members had been presented with a wooden cross necklace on Sunday. The purpose of this was for us to pass it on to someone that God directed us to.

Today four team members passed on their crosses. One team member was helping a lady in the dental clinic who turned out to be the wife of a community leader. After engaging with both her and her husband the team members saw the light of Christ in this lovely woman and passed on her cross. Another team member in the clinic had assisted a lady and felt a connection to her. She was able to then pray with this woman about her concerns and give her the cross necklace. The third team member was moved after seeing a Mom and children at her station. Again this Mom shared concerns and the team member was able to pray with her and pass on her cross. The fourth team member helped a Mom with multiple children, one with a variety of issues. She felt called to pray with this family and pass on her cross to the Mom.

Another amazing fact that was shared during our evening debrief was that a team member who had served with FOB many years ago reported that FOB has been able to advance the care provided especially in the dental clinic. There are now two dental machines, headlamps for the dentist to wear and additional dental care is being provided other than extractions!

From our evening devotion tonight we learned that God is present in the journey. May we never forget this truth.

-Lynn and Angela