Piletas

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August Team #1 2026

Thursday, August 6th

Another rain storm rumbled through last night leaving us with a fresh new day and some questions about how our road would be for this morning’s travels.  We spent the first part of our journey to the town of Piletas speeding along a main road before turning off and beginning our climb up and up.  We traveled along ridges with spectacular views on both sides in awe of how they use so much of this precipitous space for agriculture, today corn, mangos and pasture.  We had a very close encounter with a boulder as tall as our bus that refused to yield to passersby like ourselves.  We arrived at the community perched on top of the world built on top of and sometimes chiseled into volcanic rock - solid.  So far out here you expect visitors to be treated with hesitation and suspicion but this community has been working with F.O.B. and was warm and welcoming.  Along with usual pups that roamed around as we worked we also had pigs, chickens and ducks for company.  These curious critters were constantly shoed out of the school yard by community leaders though we were delighted when they snuck back in time and time again. Due to a conflict with a Church fasting service that F.O.B. was not aware of,  we had fewer folks but had the honor of serving folks that had made the effort to get here and waited in the heat. As we shared memories of the day we heard about a 26 year old young lady who has had seizures since she was 7 years old and has had another one recently despite being on medication.  She was referred for follow up care to check on the dosage of her medication.  An elderly man who came in walking with a cane on the very rough ground had walked for an hour and a half to get here.  We met Glenda, an 11 year old young lady who we found out does all the cooking and cleaning for her family as her mom is not well.  But she came and spent a good deal of time sketching out by hand and then painting a macaw (state bird of Honduras) for Joseph to enter into the silent auction fundraiser F.O.B. is having in Richmond in November.  Watch for that work of art along with others that have been lovingly crafted for this program.  

We rocked and rolled our way out of the mountains after hugs goodbye. A few well placed cinderblocks and eyes on the ground got us past that boulder. We stopped for ice cream on the way back.   

Maria Jose gave us a tour of the grounds, gardens and facilities of the Alfredo house which serves children and families in the Healthy Children program.  They certainly do a wonderful job of well rounded care and education.  Empowering families and communities to manage and improve their health care.   Ended our day with a wonderful fish dinner, sharing and devotions. I cannot believe that tomorrow is Friday already!