Home from Honduras

We are home! Thank you so much to those of you who were praying for our team while my sisters and I were in Honduras. We had a wonderful trip and are so thankful for the encouragement and prayers we received from so many of you. For those who are interested, there are some thoughts and stories below. I know some of you will be receiving emails from each of us and I apologize for any repeated material, but we all were impacted so deeply by the trip, we each wanted to share our own perspective on the events of the last week. We did work together to make a slideshow as an easy way to share some of our photos. You can find it online at https://exchange.its.bethel.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MODDJXxytQE . I was able to upload the same slideshow in higher quality on my facebook profile, so if you have facebook, the pictures will be clearer if you watch it on there.

God was working in powerful ways long before we ever stepped foot off American soil. Two particular stories come to mind. The first has to do with medical supplies. MMI teams are responsible for bringing their own supplies to their sites. Each team member is allowed one piece of luggage for personal items and one to be filled with medical supplies. As of Wednesday before our trip, the three of us girls had not been able to collect any materials to take along with us. On Thursday, through an extended chain of events, I was connected with an individual who was able to provide me with enough donated supplies to fill up our three largest suitcases! What a blessing! We had sutures, gloves, laryngoscopes, BP cuffs, bag-valve masks, nasal cannulas, and a whole lot more. It was wonderful to be able to contribute to the work of our team in that way.

Another encouraging situation that took place before we even left was the support I received from a couple of my friends here in Rochester before I left on Friday night. After a long, exhausting week that had left me very little time to think about preparing for our trip, two dear friends came over to help me pack the medical supplies I had just received and “see me off.” I can’t even explain what an encouragement it was to me for them to run errands, feed me dinner, and pack the medical supplies. It was a good reminder of what a “group effort” this trip is as the Body of Christ worked together to send the three of us girls. Between the generous gifts that made it financially possible for us to go, the act of service in a late night packing session, and the faithful prayers of so many friends and family, I was blessed by the reminder of how many of you have been actively involved in this trip.

Moving on to the trip itself….

Logistically, the trip went very well. We Brandes girls do not have the greatest track record when it comes to traveling abroad. From hurricanes in the Dominican Republic and military coups in Ecuador to transportation strikes in Bolivia and the death of major country leaders in the UAE, it seems that we are always spending our time in other countries when they are in crisis. We weren’t sure what to expect with all three of us in a foreign country at the same time!! My mom called me before we left and asked if anyone had warned Honduras that we were coming!! : ) But we made it through the week without any major crises, so that was good.

We had an incredible team of people to work with during out time there. Our MMI team was made up of 15 people: 3 surgeons, 2 family practice doctors, 4 registered nurses, a nurse anesthetist, a dentist, 2 general helpers and 2 interpreters. We were split into two teams. The surgical team spent each day at the local hospital and the medical team went to different villages surrounding San Pedro Sula and set up make-shift clinics in the schools for the day. My sisters and I all traveled with the clinical team. Angela was one of the family practice doctors that treated the patients. I was the triage nurse that greeted each patient and Hannah, who was a general helper, worked with the dentist. For being the only one who is not used to seeing blood and gore on a daily basis, Hannah saw more of it this week than either Ang or I!! She handled it very well and taught me a lot through her flexibility and willingness to step WAY out of her comfort zone.

We accomplished a lot of work in just five short days. On the physical side of it, our team performed 52 surgeries (all hernias and open gallbladders), saw nearly 700 patients in the clinic, wrote almost 1400 prescriptions and extracted 171 teeth. Patients would register, come see me in triage for vital signs and a brief assessment of their medical condition, and then head in to see the docs. By the end of the week, word of mouth had gotten around and we would arrive in the mornings to find hundreds of people already waiting to see us! Some would wait an entire day, even in the rain, to get a chance to see the doctor. From the clinic, the patients went to the pharmacy to drop of their prescriptions and then headed to “integrated health” where they received some basic health teaching and a presentation of the Gospel. Through that time of teaching we saw 75 people that we know of make faith decisions for Christ!

There were also some great connections made. Jorge, a local minister who was doing the integrated health aspect, is an ex-con who spent time in prison in both Honduras and the U.S. for his involvement in an auto-theft ring and the use, possession and sale of cocaine and meth. He came to know Christ while he was in a prison here in the States and has an incredibly powerful testimony. He has started a drug and alcohol rehab house in San Pedro Sula that he dreams of developing into a larger center for recovering addicts. There are about 8 men at the house right now, a few of whom worked with us throughout the week. One was an 18th Street Gang member who had been shot three times, stabbed twice, beaten with a bat and left for dead when he tried to leave the gang. He has now committed his life to gang ministry and is working with Jorge at the rehab house. One of our surgical patients was almost unable to go into surgery due to his high blood pressure. While talking with him, it came out that he had been using cocaine within the last week. In the end, they were able to go through with the surgery. The next morning, Jorge went to the hospital to meet with the young man, gave him a New Testament and invited him to be a part of what is happening at the rehab house.

That is just one example of many seeds that were planted this week. There were a few days when I felt some frustration over the number of people who would come through triage who were not truly “sick,” but towards the end of the trip, I came to realize two things. First, “simple” illnesses that we would not think twice about here in the States can be a lot more threatening in an environment where basic needs like decent nutrition and simple hygiene are not being met. Secondly, if a patient came through with no treatable disease and walked away with nothing more than a month’s supply of daily vitamins but in the process was encouraged in their faith, understood the message of the Gospel for the first time or had some sort of seed planted that will lead to the development of their faith somewhere down the road, every second spent was well worth it!

Being able to spend the time in Honduras with my sisters was wonderful. Of course, there was much laughter (for those of you who have ever spent time with us together, I know that is not hard to imagine!!), but even more importantly it was a sweet time of relationship building for us. We realized on the way down there that we have never really had any opportunities to watch each other function in our professional roles. My respect and love for them only grew as I watched both of them use their gifts and knowledge to live out their faith in such an act of service. I feel so very blessed to have sisters who love Christ deeply and desire to live their lives in accordance with His Word.

There is so much more to say but this email has already gotten lengthy enough. I deeply appreciate all of the prayers, encouragement and support that I received from so many of you!!!

Love ya,
Eva Joy : )