Along with 17 other Saint Markers, we left Atlanta on board a Delta flight and had a rather bumpy ride to Honduras. We arrived at the San Pedro Sula International Airport in good shape and after clearing customs and immigration, we piled into two vans with our luggage heaped onto a pickup truck for the three hour ride to La Ceiba. We arrived at the Grand Hotel Paris dirty and tired from the day’s travel but grateful that we had an uneventful journey. We had a wonderful sit-down dinner where the eighteen of us ate together and sort of re-introduced ourselves to each other in a wonderful fellowship atmosphere. I slept well in my bed and got up rested from the preceding day’s activities.
Week 1
Today (Sunday), we visited the areas where we would be working the rest of the week including the clinic at the Methodista Compound in El Pino. The site where our team will build a house this week was overgrown with weeds and will be completely changed during the course of the week. We also visited the Nuevo de Julio School where the education team will hold Vacation Bible School for several hundred children all week long. The Church in the Round that we renovated last year was our last stop of the day. We took all the medical supplies that I brought along thanks to the generous contributions of my patients while we were in El Pino.
Monday: The medical team got an early start today leaving the hotel at 6:30 this morning. We saw approximately seventy five patients today at the clinic in El Pino. Some were very sick with high fevers requiring intramuscular injections of ceftriaxone that I brought form the Vinings Family Healthcare Center at home. The afternoon was spent getting ready for the morrow when we will go out into the campo to a small village about an hour’s journey from El Pino. We packed all kinds of medications from antibiotics to creams, potions and liquids for parasites and much, much more. We had dinner together at the local Pizza Hut here in La Ceiba this evening…something I wouldn’t do at home!
Tuesday: This morning the medical team left early so we could leave the clinic in El Pino for the village I referred to yesterday (I can’t remember the name). We went as far as the road would take us where it became little more than a path. We arrived at the school which was in progress. The village had no knowledge that we were to arrive. But classes were disbanded quickly and the children were instructed to go to their homes and tell their parents that an American medical team was in the village. By the time we rearranged the classrooms to become a medical clinic and a pharmacy, there were crowds of people waiting to be seen. We were extremely busy but we did stop for a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that we brought with us. Today we saw over 150 patients! This is much busier than I am at home at the Vinings Family Healthcare Center & Internal Medicine! Tonight we were on our own for dinner but I am going to just sink into my bed after taking a cold shower (we don’t have hot water!).
Wednesday: Another early start for the medical team. Today was another day at the clinic in El Pino. It was supposed to be a half day seeing patients but it extended well into the late afternoon before patients stopped coming. I got to see little Nicole Martinez that we found last year with the indistinct genitalia most likely vaginal agenesis. Dr. Lesley Breech, the Director of Gynecological Surgery Department at the University of Cincinnati is planning a trip to Honduras in September to teach Honduran surgeons the art of reconstructive surgery. The plan is to have little Nicole seen by Dr. Breech at that time for a corrective procedure. This is all made possible by the generous contributions of the employees at NAI Brannen-Goddard Real Estate Services Worldwide and in particular, Mitch Brannen, whose vision for the world’s less fortunate, is unsurpassed. Dinner tonight was at an ex-pat restaurant which was very good. Most everybody had steak which was grilled to perfection. Tomorrow will be another exciting day. Good night!
Thursday: This morning we got off to a very early start because the village we visited today was a very long distance from La Ceiba. We had our morning devotions together before setting out. This morning’s devotion was exceptionally meaningful. We talked about what friendship means and how we can be friends with God. The village we visited today was Sin Dormir (without sleep).The little road again became little more than a path. We had to ford a stream that came up to the running board of our vehicle…a little exciting!
The Sin Dormir residents were expecting us so we jumped right into setting up clinic and pharmacy as we have on every other day. Eloyda, the nurse in charge of the Clinica Methodista in El Pino and I saw the patients. She was in charge of seeing the children and I saw the adults. We got so busy we didn’t have time to stop and have lunch. We saw approximately 200 people before the rain started at 3:00 pm. There was a deluge of rain and our driver told us to wrap things up rather quickly because the stream we had forded earlier was likely to become impassable very quickly. The rest of the team went back to the hotel but I had to go to El Pino to get medications for my venture to Belize. There was a bus driver strike in Honduras today that blocked all the major highways. What normally takes forty minutes round trip to El Pino tonight took five hours! I missed the final dinner for our group but I still got in my goodbyes. The rest of the Saint Mark team will go home tomorrow and I alone will travel to the jungle village of Dolores in Belize. The construction team finished the Habitat-style home and the education team had over 250 children every day this week.
Friday: I waited for Carlos, my promised ride to the La Ceiba airport, until 4:20 am. I think he slept through his alarm so I took a taxi to the Goloson Airport. The 5:30 am flight didn’t take off until shortly after 6:00 o’clock. Both of the remaining flights were late from San Pedro Sula and San Salvador as well. So I didn’t miss any of my flights. I arrived at the Goldson International Airport in Belize safe and sound. I then boarded a single engine Cessna Caravan for Punta Gorda in the southernmost district of Toledo where the rainy season had just begun and where the vast Peten jungle begins. It is primarily a Guatemalan jungle, a thick rainforest with spider and howler monkeys, jaguars, raccoon-type mammals, several-inch long spiders & tarantulas, and multi-colored plumed birds and is bordered by the countries of Mexico and Belize. I spent the night in PG at the Seaside Inn and had a much needed rest.
June 28, 2008
My first visit to the jungle village was over 40 years ago. I was just a lad 23 years old at that time. I and three other Amish young men were sent by the Amish church to build a school for the Kekchi Indians. In those long years ago my next door neighbors were 18 year old Pablo Cal and his new bride Marcela. During my first stay in Dolores, Marcela gave birth to Thomas (Tho-Mas’). Since then they have had many more children and grandchildren. The government of Belize has since built a road through the jungle to Dolores which borders Guatemala. Last year when I went to Dolores for the first time since we built the school so long ago, I found Thomas Cal working in the Mennonite hardware store in Punta Gorda (PG). He told me his parents also had moved to PG! So I found Pablo and he agreed to be my interpreter in Dolores and his son Thomas took us into the jungle.
This year Thomas said the rainy season has already flooded the road too much for his van so his bro-in-law Vicente agreed to take Pablo and me into Dolores. We easily forded several streams. The River Jordan was slightly over its banks and so was the Temash River. But we arrived uneventfully in the village of Dolores. We went directly to the 40 year old school I had helped construct to set up camp. Even before we were unpacked, I was besieged with patients. The first patient was an infant with a fever for two days. I examined the child a diagnosis of pneumonia was made. I treated the infant boy with amoxicillin. I have already given out approximately 80 doses of albendazole to men, women and children of all ages.
Tomorrow is the Catholic celebration of Saint Peter. Today the men of the village butchered seven pigs just outside my window which I watched in total amazement and disbelief; all the way from watching the porkers being taken unwillingly to the edge of the creek where, vociferously they protested their innocence until the knife slid easily into the throat severing vocal cords and the jugulars that drained the life blood out of them. Then the pigs were held over open flames to burn the hairs and scald the skin to make it easier to scrape the hairs and epithelium off. Next the now-dead pigs were taken into the running creek for the rest of the cleaning. The heads were severed from the bodies and the hides were removed. Next the intestines and stomach were taken out and cleaned. The liver, pancreas and spleen were examined and washed. Then the contents of the chest were removed and washed carefully. The feet were then cut off and the body was cut in two down through the spinal column. Every part was washed well in the running water of the creek and removed to a home to prepare for the feast tomorrow. After watching all that and seeing close to 85 patients, I think I’ll go bathe.
I just came back from my first bath in the creek. I went quite a ways up stream out of the village since I still have some shyness about having my nakedness exposed for all to see. It was quite an experience since I am no longer as sure footed as I once was. Since the rainy season has begun here in the jungle, getting to the creek away from the village is quite a chore. First, making my way through the tangle of verdant greenery and vines is no small task. Plus it is muddy everywhere. The dry season is January through early June and that makes for much less sloshing through mud. I got my bathing done in the clear, cold waters of the fast moving creek, washing my clothes in the process. I made my way back to the village and just got settled into my new home. Next I blew up my mattress by mouth since the little hand held flashlight / air compressor’s batteries decided not to work. I slung the mosquito netting over the freshly made bed making a neat see-through tent. As I leaned out of the open window observing the comings and goings of the Kekchi, I noticed a gentleman sitting on the edge of the Catholic church motioning for me to come eat freshly cooked pig liver and tortillas with him. The liver was still hot from the deep fat frying it had just gone through…Ah, my battery is dying. Since I don’t have the ability to re-charge the battery, I will take up where I left off when I get back to PG.
Well I’m back! What an unbelievable journey into the jungle! Since I could not use the computer in Dolores, I will give a running daily diary as well as I can remember events.
June 29, 2008
Sunday morning started bright and early. The church bell tolled at 6:30, calling people to worship. Services started at 7:30 and lasted until 10:30. The singing of the congregation was beautiful accompanied by two guitars. I stayed for a short while enjoying the singing, not understanding any of the words since all was in Kekchi. Across the creek the Baptist church had their own service under way with battery powered electric guitars. It sounded like a competition between the two congregations. When the Catholic church overflowed, the alcalde (judge) of the village came to me and asked if the school was locked. He needed more chairs and benches. That is when I decided I had enough. After church, everybody sat in the grass outside to feast on the butchered hogs. Pablo brought some of the fare for me to enjoy. There were ribs and other parts, I know not what. But the broth the meat was prepared in was very delicious. Basically, it was a mixture of jungle-grown peppers and salt. There were plenty of hot corn tortillas wrapped neatly in banana leaves and tied with dried vines.
As I expected, I was deluged by patients after the gathering was over. I lost count of how many people I saw. Late in the afternoon, Manuela the government health worker stopped by. She remembered me from last year when we worked together for a week. She too, brought some food neatly wrapped in a banana leaf and tied with a dried vine from the jungle. Last year the Indians were a little skeptical to come to me, but I saw approximately 150 patients. Not so this year! I handed out approximately350 doses of worm medicine and quickly ran out of pain medications, salves, ointments and creams. I had planned to come out of the jungle on Tuesday, but I was already out of medications. So I told Pablo to call his wife to arrange for Vicente to come pick us up tomorrow, (Monday).
I decided to go up the mountain where I used to take my bath as a 23 year old lad some 40-ish years ago. This spring came gushing out of the mountainside with force and was pure and cold. There is a natural depression in the smooth rock bottom that was perfect for a bathtub. I had a much better experience at this place, although I was not alone. A young man was there doing his laundry. Needless to say the necessary clothes stayed in place. He wanted to know all about the “States” and what he needed to do to get there. I made my way back to the village and began to prepare for the coming night.
Nightfall comes quickly in the jungle at about 6:30. We had purchased some small candles to light our abode. Pablo had hung two hammocks in the front classroom for the two of us to lounge in on our arrival. At about 7:00 o’clock I turned in for some much-needed sleep. I drifted off into dreamland. As I drifted, I could hear thunder rolling in the distance and soon the flashes of lightening and the peals of thunder got closer together. The rain began to fall but I was tired from a busy day so I slept.
At about midnight I was awakened by Pablo yelling above the roar of the wind, thunder and hard driving rain, for me to awaken. The wooden shutters were flailing in the wind with loud banging sounds as they slammed open and shut. Pablo motioned for me to look out at the usually pastoral creek with its cascade of waterfalls and clear water about 15 feet wide and one could easily wade its breadth. Not so at this hour. The waters had risen up out of its banks totally swallowing the waterfalls, rising at least eighteen feet in the process, and it was encroaching upon the school where we were. One of the homes closer to the creek was already under several feet of water. The men of the village were up and helping to evacuate the family to higher ground. The bridge over the creek was totally under water and for a short time the rain let up. But just as I got back to my mattress and Pablo to his hammock it seemed as the heavens opened again with even fiercer winds, rain, crashes of thunder and lightning. Rain began to come in on my mattress from under the eaves making me get up and move closer to the walls where it was somewhat dryer.. The winds were so unrelenting and strong I began to wonder if this was a hurricane that had formed in the Caribbean and move on shore into the Belizean jungle that I had no knowledge of. I could only pray for our safety and for the safety of the villagers.
Morning arrived and the rain dissipated, but there was considerable damage to trees uprooted and homes taking too much water. But no lives were lost and no injuries sustained for which I sent a prayer of gratitude to God who was obviously watching over us. I saw another twenty or so Indians giving out only worm medicine as I was now completely out of other medicines. As I walked about the village I saw several newly formed springs of clear, gushing water. Not only had the heavens opened in the night, the earth also opened and poured out its water. I thought about Noah and the Ark! We had expected Vicente to come for us at 8:00 o’clock this morning but we knew he would not be able to ford the rivers and streams. Pablo called his wife using Guatemalan air-waves which cost me $25.00 US per call! She said Vicente had tried but the waters were too high. He would try later.
We decide to start walking out of the jungle carrying our belongings. We walked about three miles when we came upon a small pickup truck coming from the opposite direction filled with Indians. We hailed him and he promised to give us a ride to Corazon Creek. We waited for the pick-up to return and when it did we climbed onto the back and rode approximately eight miles to Corazon Creek. We arrived at the now swollen creek approximately a mile across. We waded through the knee and thigh deep waters and came to the village of Corazon Creek. There we sought anyone with a vehicle but there was none. As we walked, a gentleman came from behind us…he was Pablo’s nephew! He invited us to come to his house for supper. We readily accepted the offer. We sat down in his home which had a cement floor…the first I had ever seen among the Kekchi. The hut was otherwise typical of a Kekchi home with a thatched roof. The corn bin had neatly stacked rows of corn still in the husks about six feet high and six feet wide and deep. We were given the typical pepper laden broth with parts of chicken this time and corn tortillas. The meal was scrumptious!
We started out walking again toward Sandy Wood the next village another six miles in front of us but it was already dusk. Fortunately, Pablo had a sister, Dominga Ical who lived with her husband Manuel on the outskirts of Corazon Creek, both in their seventies. We stopped at their home, a typical one-room hut with a thatched roof and dirt floor with no electricity or running water. They welcomed us into their humble abode to spend the night. This was the first time I slept in a hammock which was surprisingly comfortable. But I was still wet from the wading and the night became cold. I am surprised but I did sleep! Manuel was a frail man and Dominga slightly larger. She had a cough and would spit out the phlegm on the dirt floor. They had two puppies that wanted to stay in the hut but had to be removed rather forcefully. I took my wet shoes off and wrung the water out of my socks also on the dirt floor. I wrapped my damp self in the hammock and fell to sleep.
July 1, 2008
I was glad when the first light of day came at 5:00 am for I had only slept fitfully. That is also when our hosts roused themselves. Manuel set about lighting a fire on the kitchen floor and Dominga began making flour tortillas, scrambled eggs and coffee made from their own home grown coffee beans. It was a good start for what came next. The grueling six mile walk to Sandy Wood was almost too much for both Pablo and me. I carried the water, my blow-up mattress and my computer case. Pablo had put his personal items and my suitcase in a burlap bag and with a broad piece of pliable bark stripped from a tree, he carried the heavy load on his back with the bark firmly placed on his forehead. About two miles left to go, we met Victor Pau who was on a bicycle and going on a hunt with his dog and a gun slung over his back. He agreed to take Pablo’s load the rest of the way to Sandy Wood. He also knew of a gentleman named Marcelino Choop who had a truck who could take us to the River Jordan at Santa Ana. He cycled ahead to make those arrangements and Pablo and I walked the remaining way to Sandy Wood. There we were welcomed into the home of a Mr. Tush who had a telephone and we called Pablo’s wife Marcela. She said both Thomas and Vicente were on the other side of the River Jordan waiting for us. Marcelino took us the six miles to the edge of the river Jordan. We unloaded our supplies and Pablo began the three mile wade / swim across the swollen river to try to get a dory to carry the gear across. It was much too heavy for us to carry. He found a gentleman who lived on some high ground at river’s edge named Mr. Rax (rash). Mr. Rax had an eight foot dory and he came for me and the gear. I waded in until I was thigh deep and then climbed into the dory made of a single mahogany tree and hewn out to perfection about a foot and a half wide and one foot deep. I rode lying down in the bottom of the dory until we reached thigh deep water, then I got out and waded the rest of the way. All in all it was approximately three miles. I took the opportunity to immerse myself in its cool waters before reaching dry ground. True to Marcela’s word, her eldest son Thomas and her son-in-law Vicente were waiting on the other side. We loaded up and the rest of the journey was easy. Marcela had a delicious meal waiting for us when we reached Punta Gorda with another typical Kekchi meal of corn tortillas, ground meat and a wonderful, tasty green jungle herb. Tortillas serve as edible dinnerware. They never use flatware to eat with.
I paid Thomas four hundred dollars Belize (two hundred US) for the trip in to Dolores and for picking us up from the River Jordan. I paid Pablo $100.00 US for his services. And then Thomas brought me to the Seaside Inn where I took a much needed shower and for the first time in three days a private toilet with a flushing commode! No more going out into the jungle to do my “business”.
Now I am waiting for a good night’s rest in air-conditioning comfort. In the morning Mr. Bochub, a Kekchi taxi driver and friend of the Thomas Cal’s will pick me up at 6:50 and take me to Pablo’s house for breakfast and devotions with his family before I leave Punta Gorda on Tropic Air at 9:40 am on board the single engine Cessna. My Delta flight #314 will leave Belize at 1:21 pm and arrive in Atlanta at 6:23 pm.
Much love,
Richard
