Aldo: Smiling Through The Suffering

Aldo lives near Tegucigalpa, about 5 hours from our hospital. He lives with his three brothers and five hundred other children in an orphanage called Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos (Our Little Brothers and Sisters). Aldo has a congenital disease called Neurofibromatosis, as well as limb length discrepancy (his left leg is shorter than his right leg), a dislocated hip, and scoliosis. Needless to say, he’s had a difficult journey and although it's looking brighter ahead, it's a long road. He had his first operation approximately one year ago, in which the surgeons put an external fixator on his leg, which over time lengthens his shorter leg. To make a long story short, the fixator did not work as it was intended to, and Aldo now has more complex problems.

He came to the hospital yesterday with Carol, a physical therapist (originally from Austria) who works at his orphanage, to see what the next step in his treatment will be.

We are blessed to have Dr. Tim Mead here this week with his wife Jana, before they move to the Middle East where Dr. Mead will be the new medical director at CURE in the United Arab Emirates. Dr. Mead was the medical director at CURE Kenya from 1998-2011. He and Dr. Bridgeman discussed what would be the best option for Aldo, and decided that it will be to remove the fixator and then place a rod in his left femur bone, because it has become so thin that it will break if he stands on it without the fixator. Aldo is basically wheelchair-bound right now, although he uses a walker in physical therapy. After this next operation he will be on his way to being more mobile. As of right now he sleeps laying his chest on his lap because his hips have become very stiff from being in a seated position for so long that he cannot lay down.

The beauty in all of this, for one, is that we have Dr. Mead and Dr. Bridgeman here to make sure that he gets the best care possible, and that Dr. Bridgeman will be here to see his treatment through till the end. What's even more beautiful in this, is Aldo's shining smile through all of this suffering. He has a smile that lights up the room and an attitude that's ready to have fun. He's excited for life despite his circumstances, and we know that this can be attributed to the fact that he accepted Jesus the last time he was here one year ago, and since then his life has changed- he has hope in the midst of all of this.

When Dr. Mead was explaining on the phone to one of the directors at the orphanage what the procedure is going to be, he said, "This kid has the world's best smile, with some of the world's worst problems." This is true, and Aldo, despite his physical circumstances and being 14 years old and only in second grade, knows the secret of being content in all circumstances and keep smiling through all of it.

When asked over the phone by one of the orphanage directors how long the recovery process will be, Dr. Mead replied, "Since we are going to bathe him in prayers, he'll hopefully heal within six to eight weeks." So please join us in praying for that!

If you would like to support Aldo's surgery, please visit him here.

This Episode Includes: Apple's Leader, A Lesson in Redemption, & Eating Fish At The Lake

I feel very out of loop with current news, especially in the US as I am obviously not there, and as I don't have television or read news on the internet (need to work on that), I get most of my news through friends here, and what I don't get from them, I get on facebook [when it lets me log in], which isn't a lot of news unless it's something big. Well, today my brother Andrew posted the following quote from Steve Jobs: "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me ... Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters to me." I proceeded to read other news posted about him, and was shocked to learn that he passed away. Mr. Jobs has made a pretty much direct impact on my life, seeing that from the time I typed my first words I've been on a Mac, and pretty much all my other valued possessions are from Apple as well. The company has been a big part of my life, perhaps bigger than I realize, and for his great work, for going against the odds, and being a great example of a generous man, I will always be thankful.

I admire this quote which he spoke to John Scully (who was at the time president of PepsiCo) when persuading him to become Apple's CEO in 1983: "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?"

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Last weekend I went with the Bridgemans to the 10th annual missionary conference that is held in Siguatepeque, a city about two hours south of us, half way to Tegucigalpa. Siguatepeque is a beautiful place that is much more "fresco" than here. It was breezy and cool, and man was I wishing I could bring that weather back to our 90+ degree, humid San Pedro. Anyhow, besides the cool weather, I met a lot of other missionaries, some new ones, some who have been here for a very long time, and some in between. It was a great time of connecting with these families and learning about their ministries. The Bridgemans and I were able to share with some people about CURE, so now people from other parts of Honduras know that we are in San Pedro and are available to them should they know of any kids in need of orthopedic treatment.

The speaker for the weekend was Dave Howard, brother of Elizabeth Elliot and was best friends with her late husband, the well-known missionary Jim Elliot. Mr. Howard has been in ministry for well over fifty years. He lived in Costa Rica and in Columbia, South America for most of those years, and has more recently traveled to many countries around the world with his home base in the US where he lives with his wife.

At the conference he taught on the life of Peter as a parallel to teaching about the life of being a missionary, and really any follower of Christ- being where we are only out of obedience to God, of continually growing in our relationship with God, and this means when we fail (not if, but when), how to recognize what caused this, and to realize that no matter what, God is there to restore us, He uses us despite our failures, that by His strength we have triumph over our sin, and He is continually bringing us closer to Him as we bring our flawed selves to Him.

Peter was called by Jesus to follow Him and make disciples. Peter obeyed this call and was a close friend and faithful follower of Jesus. He grew in his relationship and ministry with Christ, yet there came a point when Peter failed greatly. Mr. Howard mentioned many other great men of faith who fell into great sin, yet who God restored and used for His glory- Abraham had a child with Hagar. Solomon, the wisest man on earth, had 300 wives and 700 concubines. Moses murdered an Egyptian. Job lost his patience. David, a man after God's own heart, committed adultery with Basheba. Peter denied he knew Jesus three times.

All of these men who accomplished great things for God, who had a very real relationship with Him and who experienced His miracles, fell. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41). It's in all of us, since the fall of man at the beginning of time it's been in all of us equally, but we have to choose to live by the Spirit's strength and know that our strength comes from God alone. We all know from experience that it's hard as flawed humans to choose rightly.

After Peter's denial of Jesus, we see in the end of Matthew 26 that he "wept bitterly." Peter had great remorse for his sin, and only with his recognition of his sin and sincere repentance, was God able to heal him and use him in mighty ways. We read in Acts chapters 1-10 of the powerful ways that God used Peter for the work of His kingdom after Peter's repentance and healing.

I continually have to bring my flawed self to God and ask for His grace and forgiveness to restore me. Such a big part of life is recognizing my sin so that I can give it to Him and be freed from it and keep living in the light.... how much easier said than done! The is a continuous process... my pride gets in the way and I start forgetting who's glory I'm living for, where my strength comes from. The only good in me is His work through me. And the only way He can work through me is if I don't pretend like I can do everything perfectly- only when I continually bring the weeds in my heart to God, can He take them and plant something beautiful, and once again use me.

We mustn't forget the weeds keep growing, yet there are less and less as we grow deeper into God.

"...He takes a world corrupted by evil and begins a long, long process of redemption. We reduce it to a handful of times, but we must not, it is the story we are living."

-Eugene Peterson

"A thousand times I've failed, yet Your mercy remains, and should I stumble again, still I'm caught in Your grace..."



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On our way home from the conference, we passed by Lake Yajoa, Honduras' largest natural lake. It is a popular lake for fishing, and there are many restaurants along the lake where you can stop and have fresh fish, so we had a nice break from the curvy roads down the mountain and enjoyed fried fish, Honduran style.

View of the lake from the outdoor seating

Abigail, Charlotte, and Lillian swinging on the porch, waiting for the fish to cook

Pick your fish out of the freezer,

watch them fry it,

and enjoy!

Seeing the Beauty

--A couple days ago a friend of mine emailed me and told me that I need to give an update and shouldn't become a lazy blogger (he added "like your sister Emily" but I won't mention that part :). I responded to him by saying that I will give an update, but that "nothing too exciting" is going on. In reality, a lot has been going on, in fact it's only been about two weeks since I wrote but I feel like it's been forever because it's quite busy! I think because I'm getting into the routine of life and things are becoming more "normal" to me and I don't see the beauty and excitement of life as I did when it was all new. When I told him that nothing too exciting was happening, he told me I was nuts. He reminded me of the job that I have, that I get to be a part of connecting the doctors and nurses who have the skills to heal these children with those who have the resources and want to make their work a reality. Of course I was aware of this as I am a witness to these kids everyday and get to share their beautiful faces and stories. But because I started getting into the routine, it took someone to tell me to open up my eyes and see beauty for what it is and not become blind to it. Thinking about this, I realized how blind I become to so much of the beauty of life altogether. I get accustomed to waking up everyday with the mountains surrounding me, the beautiful sunrises and the ever-changing breathtaking cloud displays. In the simplicity of being able to to run, to walk, to talk with a friend, to share a hug with someone. God is showing His power and love through His creation everywhere, and so often I forget the very miracle that each day is.

So that is the latest that I've been learning.... Eugene Peterson spoke at a conference I attended the weekend before last. He spoke into this when he said, "Everyday we wake up to a world we did not make. And we marvel at its intricacies. After a while we quite noticing. The world contracts and we are reduced to a life of routine.... Wonder is the only launching pad for exploring creation.... ordinary time is not what biblical people just live through. It's a gift lived with fullness." As he talked about the sheer beauty and awe of creation and living a part of the grand story of God, it made me want to open my eyes everyday with the perspective of a curious child finding joy in everything. I don't want to become one who continually tries to fill my life with new things of no real value because I've grown tired of the most beautiful thing I'll ever have: to enjoy the creation that God has placed around me, the people and the earth and the stars in the sky and to make the best of life wherever I may find myself.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands (Ps. 19:1).

So, in effort show some of His beautiful creation, here are two of our precious clubfeet patients that came to the hospital today:

Anderson, one of the cutest babies ever, has graduated from casts to bar shoes!

Jorge, a new patient of CURE as of today!

--In other news, life in general has been keeping quite a fast pace... the weekend before last as I mentioned above, I flew to the states for a conference in Florida where I got to see my whole family (!!!) except for my sister Emily who is currently living in Rwanda. Everyone else was there, and it was so good to see them all. My younger siblings are growing so fast, I can't believe that the girls are almost as tall as me. The things you don't notice on a daily basis you sure will notice after a month! My nieces and nephs who are just as cute as ever are growing up so fast; it's hard to miss this stage of their lives! But it makes seeing them all that much better.

I got to see some friends that I see only once a year at the conference, so it was great to catch up.

with all my siblings except for Emily, and nieces and nephs except Tristan who decided to no cooperate for this pic, and the twins who were sleeping. What a great bunch I'm blessed to be a part of.

CURE had a presentation on evening, and they brought a girl from the Dominican Republic who was a patient at their hospital there. She doesn't speak English, so they asked me to translate for her. She has a very cool story: Dale is one of the senior staff at CURE, and back about four years ago he went with his son, Jordan (who has recently become my friend), to the hospital in the D.R. Jordan met this girl named Heidy who was born with only half of her legs, so she struggled in daily life as she walked around on her knees. Her hands were also not formed properly, so she had surgery on one of them an can now use it normally. After Jordan left, he told his dad that it felt that he was supposed to buy Heidy her legs. He was only fifteen at the time, and his dad warned him about the commitment he was making, about two thousand dollars to buy prosthetic legs. Jordan felt that he was supposed to get them for her, so when he went home he worked and worked and worked to get enough money for them. Long story short, he got Heidy her legs. When he told the doctor in the D.R. that he finally could buy her legs, the doctor told Jordan that he had faith that Jordan would keep his word, so he went ahead and bought Heidy's legs, so she had been walking for months already.

Fast forward four years to the dinner last weekend. Jordan shared this story, and at the end, Heidy came in. She didn't know that she would meet the man who bought her her legs until she met him at that moment. You can imagine what a powerful time it was!

With Heidy and Jordan

Heidy with Dr. Harrison, founder of CURE

--So that was a beautiful weekend, then it was back home to Honduras. It was much harder leaving my family than I anticipated, but once I was back and made it through the dreaded airports and customs and immigration, the Bridgemans welcomed me home and it was good to be back.

We've been attending a missionary church, and after just two Sundays of attending, the worship leader asked me if I wanted to be a part of the worship team. I was really excited because I've missed doing that so much, so I sang this past Sunday for the first time. I'm really grateful for this fun opportunity!

Other weekend activities usually include some activities outside. I went with Pauline and the girls to hike to the Coco-Cola sign on the mountain again. And once again we didn't make it to the top- we were told it takes about an hour and a half to the top, but after about an hour with the girls in this heat, it's time to turn around and head back down. We then went to Hotel Copantl where Jay was at a doctors' conference, and we swam in their pool.

On Sunday afternoon I went to the Bridgeman's neighborhood to run. I've only gone running a few times here so far, because the only place I can go is around and around my very small neighborhood, and after about 20 minutes of running in circles, I'm hot and bored. I was looking forward to running in a new place, a big place where I could get "lost" in the trails, and explore new places. I didn't realize how much I've missed running; I took off excited to run through all the roads and see new faces, houses, and scenery. I came back nearly an hour later, only because it was starting to get very dark. I'm vert happy about my new place to run!

There is a trampoline in their neighborhood as well, and if you know me you know I LOVE to jump! So it's likely that many weekend nights you'll find us taking a walk to the community trampoline :)

The latest news is that Pauline and I are going with the girls tomorrow to an annual Honduras missionary conference until Saturday in a city about two hours away. Jay has surgeries to do tomorrow and Friday, so he will meet up with us Friday night and we'll all come back Saturday. We are looking forward to meeting other missionaries and being encouraged there.

Tonight before a big group of us went out to dinner with two visiting CURE staff from Guatemala and the US, I had talked with my sis Emily for two and a half hours on Skype. Needless to say, it was a good afternoon.

Rory and Bri's First Birthday!

One year ago today, I was in California on my way to a conference with my family, and we got the news that my brother Andrew and his wife Jennifer had two new baby girls! My twin nieces Aurora and Brielle were born, and today I am flying out to the same conference where I will get to see my whole family (except for my sister Emily who is Rwanda) and I will get to see the girls for their first birthday!!! I am so blessed by these sweet girls that bring so my JOY to our family!

Anj and Jen, congrats on completing one year of parenting. Keep up the good work!

31 Years!!!

Today I'm wishing my parents a very happy 31st anniversary! Having 11 children together, plus fostering others, and now six grandkids later, they are still going strong.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. -1 Corinthians 13:4-8

stories of life

Week 3:

(Note: please skip this first long story if you don't care about the details of my soccer stadium experience- I like writing as a way of remembering, but you very well may not care about the details!)

-¡Fútbol!

One of the highlights of the week was going to a futbol (soccer) game in the big stadium on Tuesday night with Dr. Hector Canales and his brother Juan. Honduras vs. Paraguay. I was going to stay home and not do anything exciting, because for one thing I didn't yet know Dr. Canales very well (little did I know how that would change!) but I realized that I should go out and have fun and have a good Honduras cultural experience. It was one of those "A Million Miles In A Thousand Years" moments (for any of you who have read this book by Donald Miller). What started out in my mind when asked if I wanted to go was, "sure, I'll go. It was nice of him to ask," and ended up to create some of the funniest memories I have yet as I experienced one of Honduras' favorite activities.

First of all, when we got there, the crowd of people from the parking to the stadium entrance was overwhelming and I was focusing all my attention on not getting separated from Dr. Canales as I pushed through the crowd. Thankfully he caught on soon enough and had me walk in between him and his brother. When we entered the stadium there were food vendors everywhere set up with their portable stands. We climbed up the the big cement stairs to the first level of seating, and as we neared the top, the noise got louder and the lights got brighter until we reached the top and the big field was in front of us. We made our way down close to the front rows, right next to the marching band. Dr. Canales told me that the stadium could hold forty-five thousand people, but only fifteen to twenty thousand would be there that night. There was music and shouting and announcements going on as we sat on the big cement bleachers waiting for the game to start. There were people of all ages getting excited for it to start, and I'm pretty sure I was the only one of them who wasn't Honduran. Kids and adults alike walked up and down the rows shouting out what food and drinks they had to sell- pizza, cotton candy, grilled corn, plantains, and turtle eggs to name a few.

As the game got started, the guy sitting on the other side of me than Canales noticed that I wasn't Honduran. He smiled and said, "Americana?" I told him yes I was, and for almost the rest of the game he was full of questions for me. It was hard to understand him sometimes with all the noise, but it was good for my Spanish. He told me he had twin boys who are 14 and they were sitting a few rows in front of us. He then started buying me all these food and drinks that I didn't even want, but I took them to be polite. I looked over to Canales like "what should I do?" and he just smiled and shook his head.

(Skip forward to Friday night, a small group of us were at dinner, and I was telling my friend Grace about the guy buying me all the food at the game, so she jokingly asked Canales why he wasn't looking out for me. He responded with, "I was listening to their whole conversation and I didn't hear anything inappropriate so I thought it was fine!")

The game started to get more intense because we were losing 1 to 0 and it was getting closer and closer to the end. About twenty minutes from the end, it started to rain a little. Oh right, I remembered, it rains every night here! Why I thought it would be any different that night I don't know. A lot of people started leaving then, and the other smart people had umbrellas and tarps to hide under, while Dr. Canales and I just stood in the rain (Juan shared an umbrella with three other people) as we watched our team struggle to fight. Soon the rain came down harder and harder and I didn't even care anymore about being wet, it was all part of the experience. The rain only got harder, and lighting started flashing and thunder boomed. Just a few minutes before the end, Paraguay scored a second goal, and it was then that we decided it was time to dash. Or rather slowly make our way out with the rest of the crowd. Now that everyone was totally wet and just wanted to get to their cars, and it was so dark and pouring rain, I was once again concerned about getting separated. I'm not as good at pushing through people (yet) as the Hondurans. I wanted to hold on to Canales but thought that would be weird, so I just tried to follow. Thankfully, before we had barely even left the bleachers, he saw my struggle so he put his arm around me until we got away from the chaos. Phew. We waited at the bottom of the covered steps for Juan, and when we didn't see him coming for a few minutes, we started for the car through the parking lot and sidewalks that were turning into little rivers. As we plodded along with the rest of the crowd, laughing at our very wet state, Canales said with his Spanish accent, "are we having a hurricane or something that we didn't know was coming?!" At least we were having fun. We continued to dodge cars and people and then heard people start yelling and shouting. Another goal for Paraguay. 3-0. It was a sad ending for our team, but we had fun and have hope of doing better next time!

We Finally made it to the dry car that we very quickly made wet. Canales told me that he's been in worse rain at the stadium before... geesh. Juan finally came and we were off on our very slow drive home through the dark and rain. THAT was a memorable experience.

I got home soaked and cold but with a happy face. After I got clean and dry, I saw the BIGGEST roach speeding around my house. Oh God, I prayed. These are the times I hate living alone! This was the second roach I've found in my house, and far too big and fast for me to deal with. But I had no choice, and by His strength and the help of a broom, I defeated it. Getting stronger every day... Oh, and I just got up from writing this to get a drink and saw a baby gecko run behind my microwave.

I wish I had pictures to share from the game, and wished before I went that I could've taken my camera, but I didn't know with it being so big and being for work if it was a good idea. Because of the downpour, I'm now very glad I didn't take it!

The next day after the game I was talking about it with my friends Jose and Jozzeth at work, and Jose said that in October Honduras will be playing against the US. Which team should I cheer for?

-Maintenance....

Just two weeks in to my life in the apartment, and I've already had my living room partially flooded twice, my toilet sprung a leak and wasn't fixed for several days, and then after that my fridge broke (which also wasn't fixed for several days). The fridge was warm but the freezer was about the temperature of the fridge, so I had nothing frozen, but I put all my fridge foods in the freezer. Thankfully I have an amazing landlady (Mayra) and she brought the necessary repairmen to fix both the toilet and the fridge. Sadly after they fixed the fridge and freezer, I came home to some frozen lychees and tomatoes that I had to throw out. And Mayra told me that there's nothing to do to fix the flooding- all the houses have problems when there is wind and rain.

Thankfully I had a good attitude through all of this and am remembering that this is all part of life and I am experiencing almost no troubles in light of what my friends and family back in the States are going through who are having so much flooding.

-Upkeep...I thought I was already good at this.

I thought from doing much housework, grocery shopping, and taking care of kids back at home in the States, that it would be a breeze for me living by myself. Well in some respects it is, but in some other respects, it's much harder. I don't have my dad here to kill the roaches and fix the toilet. I don't have my mom to cook or siblings to help me clean. It's me. Just me. And I love that I'm getting this experience, I love that my apartment is so small and is generally easy to take care of, but I just surprised myself at how much "housework" actually goes into life even in a house made up of just one small kitchen, one small living room, and one small bedroom and bathroom (actually two bedroom but I never go into the guest room).

On a daily basis I am doing all the normal things like making my own meals, washing the dishes, scrubbing the counters, taking the trash out, and on a weekly basis sweeping and mopping all the floors, cleaning the bathroom, and doing my laundry. All of this is normal stuff that I'm used to doing, I guess it's just more time consuming than I expected! On top of this, I try to get enough groceries at the store to last me a week when I go with Pauline, because frequenting the grocery store is not a highlight of life for me.

I like to keep it simple, but I'm learning that being responsible for a house and a life can only be simple to a certain extent....

In the midst of this adjustment, I am realizing how much I admire moms. I don't even have kids or a big house and it just feels like a lot sometimes. I've always admired moms, but I see them in a different way now I think. Whether a working mom or a stay-at-home mom, it's busyness and work that doesn't end. I must say that right now I would make a terrible mother. But that's why I'm not one right now! I'm thankful that there are different seasons of life, that God prepares us for each season we are to enter. I'm realizing now that I'm really grateful for the season that I'm in right now! I'm remembering to enjoy each season and not take any for granted, because just as the seasons change from summer heat to fall colors to winter snow to spring flowers (clearly I'm referring to life in the US, here there are two seasons: hot and rain :) so life continues to change. Enjoy the moment you are in.

-Ace

A "difficult" part of transitioning my life here has been having to leave Ace at home alone all day everyday and to see him so hot all the time. He's used to being around people all day and getting to run around a lot outside. Mostly all the dogs in my neighborhood have a yard to run around in, but we live on the second floor! I frequently bathe him to keep him cool, and we go out on a walk every afternoon, but I've found he can only handle about twenty minutes in the heat outside at a time. I at least glad that he is here with me, and he's getting used to the new life, so really if this has been one of the hardest things, I don't have much to complain about!

-Getting Connected

On Saturday morning I went to a ladies' brunch which was a group of ladies from ICF, the missionary church that we've been going to. I met some new girls there and am getting to know people better which is awesome! One of the ladies, Tara, works with many orphanages in Honduras, and I was telling her about CURE and how she can contact us if she has kids with orthopedic problems. She was very happy to hear that and told me that recently they had a girl who broke her finger, and it was never set so it healed very crookedly. I'm thankful that I get to share about CURE and for the possibility of bringing in more patients to get healed.

-El Dia De Los Ninos (Children's Day)

So just like we have Mothers' and Fathers' Day in the US, Honduras also has Children's Day! The staff at CURE told me that it is a universal holiday, so we must have it in the US. I assured them that as far as I know from spending my whole childhood there, we surely do not have it! How we got gypped of this holiday, I don't know!!! However, Saturday was Children's Day here,

so on Friday at the hospital after clinic, we held a celebration for all of our patients who were there that day, plus a class from a local school came. Dr. Canales' mother came and did a Bible class with the children, then we had a big pinata and ended with a cake. It was fun to see the children enjoying the day so much.

-It just keeps getting better. And better.

Each week working at CURE gets better. It started out with the craziness of getting the Bridgemans and myself into our homes, and then trying to make a daily schedule that fit into the hospital's routine. Now that I'm getting to know the staff better and am fitting into life, work is not only super fun but it's fulfilling. I've met some of the most beautiful kids that CURE serves, and I love capturing their faces on the camera and sharing their stories. I also get to help translate some days for Dr. Jay in the clinic which has been great, and although a little difficult still, my medical vocabulary is growing every day. For the first two weeks I wore "office clothes" to work, but now that I've started helping in clinic I get to wear my scrubs, and that's a great feeling. Learning how to cast, clean wounds, and remove stitches are some of the things I've started out with and I can't wait to keep expanding. I get to work with and learn from such fun people and sweet kids which makes me look forward to each day more and more. I used to look forward to the weekends so much (and still do) but on Friday I actually had the thought, oh man, I'm not going to hospital for two whole days!

During these past three weeks, sometimes I just stop and tell God, I am so unworthy to be blessed with an experience like this, to be with people like this, I can't think of anything better. how can I ever thank you God enough? what could I ever do? And then I realize, nothing. There's nothing I ever could do. Everything I have and am is by His grace alone, and I think that's the point: God wants me to be in a place, always, weather it's a high or a low, that I realize it's all about HIM. it's all from Him, through Him, and for Him. sometimes when His will is that we go through hard times, it's harder to see the blessing. Blessings in disguise usually are only seen with hindsight. if only I would learn from my past experiences! But I think that's how we're supposed to feel when we're in the center of God's will: when I am overwhelmed with love for life, it's a gift to me to remind me I am totally reliant on Him for every beautiful thing. when I am overwhelmed with life and just want to be done, it's a gift to remind me that when I have no strength, He is my strength to carry me through and bring me out stronger. No words can accurately say how grateful for this season of life. I think if I stay here too long, I might never leave.... and now that I've been told that there are very good nursing schools in Honduras... :)

Last week: Dr. Jay and Dr. Canales casting Belkis, one of our clubfoot patients.

This week: Dr. Jay putting a new cast on Belkis. She's a screamer, so as I took this picture he was saying, "really, you have to get me on camera torturing a child?"

My first day of clinic, last day of office clothes! Dr. Jay removed pins from this boy's foot now that it is healed from surgery, and Jose was teaching me how to clean and cast it. This poor patient, he was the loudest screamer we had in all the three weeks I've been here. Good patient for me to start with!