La Masica

Tuesday, April 23. 2024

God Knows the Need

Before the week began, our week was planned out.  We knew in advance each village that we would visit throughout the week. We were scheduled to visit one particular village on Tuesday, but when road construction hindered our travel, we had to move to Plan B. On Monday evening, we discussed our plans to visit an alternate village the following day. Tuesday morning arrived with its own agenda, however, so when plan B fell through, Plan C was born.  Plan C involved visiting La Masica, a village which, with very little notice, quickly assembled itself at the local school, and we had more than enough families to provide medical and dental services to.

Once we began our work in the village, we realized that we were exactly where we needed to be that day. The were numerous special needs that needed immediate attention.

Linda M saw a 31-year-old patient in the medical clinic complaining about her urine.  Linda had her take a urine test, which came back with large glucose of 414.  She was referred to Dr. Moncada for further treatment.

Courtney saw a 1-month-old baby with a rash and fever, but it soon became clear that there were other problems when the baby was floppy, lethargic, and lacking reflexes.   The baby was sent to the ER.

Vanessa saw a child whose mother was concerned that he could not roll his R’s.  Since this is not a common complaint that we hear in the US, she consulted with the Honduran doctors who indicated a possible oral issue that would require surgery and speech therapy, so this child was referred, as well.

There were also some funny moments during the day.  Scott M described attempting to apply fluoride to a little girl’s teeth.  She refused to open her mouth, but when she began to wail, she opened her mouth, and he was able to quickly move in and get the job done.   

Donna H still had to troubleshoot with the cavity filling machine but was able to get started doing fillings this week.  The dental clinic tripped the breaker a couple of times, but still had a successful day of treating many patients with dental cleanings, fillings, extractions, and fluoride applications.  Throughout the day, a child named Melvin was very eager to help Dr. Donna. At the end of the day, she gave him her cross and used our translator to explain to the child what a help he has been, how God loves him, and how she hopes he will continue to grow into a fine young man who will be a leader in his community.

Courtney also gave her cross to a 9-year-old girl who helped her, and Vanessa and Carrington gave their crosses to children, as well.

When discussing the day’s events around the dinner table last night, everyone agreed that the initial blips in our plan were just detours to get us to the village that we ultimately served. God knew the serious needs of that community.  We were so grateful that God put us exactly where we needed to be to serve the needs of La Masica.  

~Erin