Yesterday was our medical team’s first day of work in Honduras. This year we only have three medical doctors and one dentist plus a good number of nurses and support staff. When we arrived at the makeshift clinic set up inside the Espíritu Santo Episcopal Church of Santa Rita, Copán, there were already 50 patients waiting for their turn to find a sympathetic hand and healing from this team of COTI missioners. Throughout the day the team served 103 medical and 21 dental patients who were thankful to God for the miracle of medicine and the human spirit of generous love. At our last night’s reflection time, it was obvious to all that the Honduran recipients of God’s love through our COTI team were blessed by our apostolic actions, but it was also noted that as we saw the face of Christ in these needy faces, our team was also blessed by a loving God who called each of us to this year’s ministry of love.
For a week before the team arrived on site, rain had been an everyday event causing some of us to wonder how many people will be able to visit our clinic. This is the rainy season in Honduras, so our concern was justified. However, pickup trucks brought people from the outlying community of Costillona, a community located about ten miles east of Sta. Rita. One might thing, we ten miles is not all that far until we hear the stories of people walking three to five miles to the mission where they were picked up. One little lady of 77 years of age had walked three miles down the mountain side to the pickup point and was no happy that God had sent us to her. Rain was a hinderance for some people, but for those with real needs, the rain was just a hinderance, not an event that prevented the application of God’s love.
Today, more rain is expected and pickups have been arranged so people from other communities can be seen by our team. Today people will come from the communities of Gotas de Sangre, El Limón, and other surrounding communities. Each day forward, there will be pickups arriving at Episcopal missions making it possible for those with physical needs can be seen by our doctors and dentist.
CubieSphere 