Sunday, April 23, 2023
First full day here, we arrived yesterday before dinner after a long day of travel. We were greeted by the house staff and had a great prepared meal and went to bed early.
Breakfast 7:30am - we gathered as a group.
There are 13 people from Virginia, North Carolina and Chile that gave their time to be here for a week.
Of the 13, it is the first time being here for four in the group. The others love this experience and serving so much they have been here multiple times. One person has been here 20 times, another 8 times, 13 for another and for several this is their 2nd or 3rd trip here.
After breakfast, Fernando drove us to Bioparque Paradise for an enjoyable hike as a group for about 11/2 hours for 1.36 miles. We stopped to listen to our tour guide, Christian, inform us of some of the native flora.
The Emperor’s plant was memorable as it looks like a scepter, which has both a king and a queen bloom. Chrisitan opened and shared a cacao plant that we were able to sample which contains a seed that is used to make chocolate.
In addition, we looked forward to viewing the blue pond that we had heard about from others.
We enjoyed another great meal for lunch prepared by Karen and Alba and then gathered together for an overview and training. Then we began preparing the medications for the people our group will see this week.
Fernando introduced us to the nurses, Minerva and Lilian, who will be working with the group this week helping to educate the communities we will meet.
We then worked on compiling the medications that will be given to the households who arrive for services this week in the different communities. Sara, the inventory coordinator for the pharmacy, helped guide us through the packing process. This was a team building event as we worked together to efficiently package these medications while enjoying some of our favorite tunes and getting to know each other.
Fernando and Lidia brought us to dinner at Cabanas Agua Azul. We enjoyed another meal together by Lake Yojoa.
We returned from dinner for our evening devotional led by Peggy who shared a liturgy for medical professionals and helping staff on a medical mission. We gave thanks to our Creator who extends mercy. We were asked to be a willing servant to the people we serve as we look forward to God's kingdom being more present in the world as we do our small part.
~Katherine
