Lessons from a Translator ... What kind of faith do you have?

Because Honduras is a Spanish-speaking country and most of us on the mission team are not fluent in Spanish, all of the work that was done during our week there was done through translators.  Most of the translators are paid staff members of World Gospel Outreach and most are Honduran and ALL of them are Christians.  During our week, we had the opportunity to meet and to get to know many of the translating staff ~ and they were GREAT!  This is their job; they know what they are doing and they do it really well!!

                                         Cristian and Stefany –

 They worked in the children’s ministry and they are PERFECT for that area!  They are so wonderful with the children!

Alberto –

 He worked in Pharmacy and although he could act really silly and goof around a lot, he was serious about assessing whether or not what was prescribed was appropriate and explaining the medications to the people.  In this photo he is holding an 11-month old baby who, after being examined by the doctor, is believed to be Type 1 Diabetic, which is very serious and could be life-threatening if not treated appropriately. 

Ricardo and Lorena –

 

They are so wonderful!
They currently work in Evangelism during the Brigades but shortly, they are going to Cuba to be full-time missionaries!

Do you ever meet someone and in the first minute or two of speaking with them or listening to them you just know that you are really going to like them?  Ricardo and Lorena are THOSE KIND of people.  On our first day of Brigade, the bus that we were on made several stops to pick up multiple translators and Lorena sat directly behind me and Brian, with Ben, because he was a “single rider”.  It was so easy to get to know her and have a conversation with her.  As soon as I found out she was a translator for evangelism, I asked her if she would be MY translator!!  Brian felt the same way about Ricardo!  On the bus ride home that day, Brian and Ricardo had the chance to sit together and Brian really felt the two of them just clicked together!  So, of course, Brian asked Ricardo to be his translator if he was assigned to Evangelism too, which he was ... later in the week!

I had the opportunity to talk to Ricardo later on that first day of Brigade.  We shared a bit about the Honduran people we met that day and we talked a bit about the "people who don't accept the LORD".  I was so impressed and encouraged even by something that he told me about a time that he was serving in Evangelism.  

He said that he and 'the North American' he was paired with had been talking to a man, a gang member, for quite some time and they had kept hitting a 'brick wall' with this man and he just was not interested in coming to Jesus or turning from his wayward life.  Not wanting to concede and just throw a soul away, Ricardo took over and really tried to get through to the man who was smug and obstinate and unwilling to budge.  Finally, Ricardo said to the man, "Fine!  I don't care!  You know, one day, I'm going to leave this earth and I will be in heaven with God and He isn't going to let me be sad for you; I won't even remember you or this day!  But you, ... when you die, your soul will forever suffer in hell and you will always remember me and this day and you will forever wish that you could go back to this day and do it differently!"

The gang member stared at Ricardo in silence for a long time, eyes wide, mouth gaping ... finally, eyes slightly welling with tears, he asked Ricardo, "Is this true?"

Ricardo said, "YES!," and really, what would he gain by LYING?

That gang member surrendered that day ... it was a difficult battle, but Ricardo persevered and he rejoiced as he welcomed another member into the family of God.

I think it was Cesar that I was MOST impressed with and moved by …

On Thursday, Ben, Brian and I had the opportunity to ride to the Brigade site, not on the bus, but in Jon’s truck.  I was really excited about this because I’d be much closer to the road and what we’d be driving by.  Riding in a bus is very inhibiting when you are trying to get a view of things and take photographs.  During our conversations with Jon, which were many because of the insane, bumper-to-bumper, slower-than-a-snail’s-pace traffic, we actually heard an amazing story about one of the translators that Jon interviewed and eventually hired.  He said his name was Carlos and he told how usually when he interviews a potential translator, he asks a lot of questions and the interviewee answers them and each question lasts maybe a couple minutes at most.  He likes to get a feel for who they are, what experiences they’ve had, but most of all, where they are with Jesus.  Jon told us that after asking the first question, Carlos was still doing ALL the talking thirty minutes later and that Jon didn’t dare stop him because he was amazed and inspired by what he was hearing! 

It turned out that the man that Jon was talking about wasn’t named Carlos; Ben had said that he was pretty amazed by another translator who had a rough exterior but would get teared up just by singing the worship songs at Brigade.  Ben said, “his name is Cesar.”  Then Jon said, “OH!  That’s who I’m talking about!!  It’s Cesar, not Carlos!!”  Cesar was born in Honduras but as a little boy his family went to live in the United States and as he grew, he became a gang member and was involved in a lot of really bad things (yep, folks, right here in the USA) and he was ultimately sent to prison.  While he was in prison, he came to know about Jesus and he surrendered his life to Him, professing Jesus as Lord and Savior.  And then an amazing thing happened.  The officials said that they would release Cesar from prison but that he would have to be deported back to Honduras.  He agreed to it!

Readers, this man is still a very young man.  He has been through so much, he’s seen the worst and he’s BEEN the worst!  And he has been transformed by the Grace of God and the Salvation of Jesus, a modern-day Saul turned Paul.  It is so cool to see this guy do what he does, especially after now knowing what we know about him.  All that he was and who he is now is used in service to impact and change the lives of his fellow Hondurans!

The best part is what happened the next day.  As we were driving to our final day of Brigade and as we picked up our translators along the way, when Cesar boarded the bus he sat next to Ben, directly across from me and Brian.  From day one, Cesar and Ben had gotten along really well (though I think it was quite a shock for Ben to find out Cesar’s background) so it wasn’t unusual for them to sit together.  But now, picture in your mind, this guy … he gets on the bus and sits next to Ben and immediately (and for the rest of the 20-minute or so bus ride) he was telling Ben about his Bible reading from that morning, quoting Scripture, asking Ben Spiritual questions, making phenomenal statements – I sat there completely amazed and soaking it all in!  I was listening to every word that Cesar was spewing and hoping and praying that Ben was realizing the mini-sermon that God was giving him through Cesar that morning!

And I gotta tell you ... you know, I was having a great week!  I was seeing amazing things done!  People were getting medicine for their ailments and antibiotics for their infections; they were having problematic and rotting teeth removed and receiving simple hygenic care.  Tangible and visual needs were being met!  And I can honestly tell you that after having done this, even if this mission trip had nothing to do with trying to win souls for Jesus, I would still participate because of the physical needs of the Honduran people that our human abilities were able to meet! 

But Cesar hit the nail right on the head and burst that bubble I was in when he brought me back to the real reason that we were there when he said, “Jesus didn’t come to heal people!  What good is it to be healed if you aren’t saved?”  Think about that for a minute ... yeah ... that was pretty sobering!

Thankfully, in addition to providing the physical care that we did [we touched 3,601 people in just four days!], there were so many people who turned to Jesus for the first time and it was so uplifting to be a part of the experience.  We told them about the love of God and the Salvation that could be theirs through Jesus and they responded, they accepted, they shared with us their brokenness and they left us peacefully WHOLE!  Why doesn’t that happen here?   I know SO MANY people, loved ones, relatives, acquaintances, friends and co-workers who cringe at the name of Jesus, use His name in vain, repel the mention of church, retaliate against the invitation, debate the validity of Christianity while promoting Allah, Buddah and the Dalai Lama and just plain ignore the Gospel Truth!  (**hint-hint - the beauty of absolute truth is that there can only be one right answer; I'm sorry to say that all the other answers then are not true - but that's another post).  But why? ... Why is it that I can share my beliefs here in the USA over and over and over without making a saving bit of difference but I can go to another country completely different from the one I'm from and tell what I know to total strangers and they will BELIEVE and BE GRATEFUL!!

Ricardo and Lorena said it … When these two prayed, it was all about the level of faith!  "What do you believe God can do?"  I mentioned this in a previous post but this was challenging to me to go into prayer ... completely trusting that God had already taken care of the thing which we were asking for.  They referenced verses from the Bible such as Matthew 8:26, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” and Matthew 17:19-21, Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”   “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."

Cesar asked it … quoted it to Ben as he was talking about his reading on that morning bus ride … “Why do you have such little faith?”

When he said that, I wrote the following in my notebook: “Because we don’t live like they do.  We don’t feel we need the help; we feel secure and self-sufficient and we’re not looking for the miracles the way that they do!”

We sure experienced a week of miracles … SO MANY … but we are just people, weak and limited.  The miracles were not at all because of us who were there serving.  We were just fortunate enough to have been looking and to witness the hand of God upon the lives of so many Hondurans, as well as our own.  Maybe it’s tucked inside God’s great plan to allow us the opportunity to find within ourselves the part of us that belongs to Him.  We do this when we respond to the needy instead of turn away, when we comfort the hurting and the helpless instead of dwell on our own difficulties, when we share all that we have instead of keep it all to ourselves. 

In the USA we have GIANT houses and all the latest technology ...

... yet we complain when our cell phones lose reception; we complain when our internet connection lags; when the lines are too long, when our space is infringed upon, when fast food isn't fast enough; we want our BIG MAC, fries and Coke super-sized, the NEWEST version of iPhone, the LATEST flat screen television the size of our living room wall …

... the people in Honduras, the people in 67% of the world for that matter, don’t live with the ability to have those demands. 

And they don’t look like this! 

They look like this!  

And this!

And they live here ... 

Since returning from Honduras, I'm basically still the same person; I still have the same interests, likes and dislikes but maybe, I've changed in the way I think about things.  I might be a little more resolute in why I don't need what I don't have.  I am confirmed a little more in that I already have more than enough.  Even my simplest living exceeds theirs in its highest extravagance.

 … why should I be allowed to continue living my life with all of the BIG, the NEWEST, the LATEST and GREATEST, … what if lessening my expectations and reducing my comforts in this life could enhance their enjoyment and ease their burdens. It’s not their fault they were born into poverty. Likewise, it’s not our fault we were born into prosperity but in the great picture of life, wouldn’t it be better for everyone if there was more balance? hmm, ... something to consider ...

In the meantime, I'm working on planting mustard seeds and enhancing my faith! 

                                          

It’s not what you are that hurts; it’s what you fail to become ~Jon Hovestol

Things I'll miss about Honduras ...

Evening tea time with my girlies ...

Living the life of a dentist ...

The best chips and salsa ...

... and the insanely yummy oatmeal!!!

(thank-you for the photo, Paul!)

Every late afternoon around the same time, a storm would come, the temperature would drop and it would rain ... I love rain!  

Then at night, even though I was away from home and not even in the same room as my husband, as I slept on my top bunk next to the curtainless window, the Lord lulled me to sleep with the sky's lightening show above and twinkling city lights below. 

!!... Baby Time ...!!

Feeling like I REALLY CAN be a teacher!!

... Seeing this ...

... and this ...

... and this ...

Openly praying for those who need it ...

Only 331 days until we go again!! 

Is This the End?

Now this is not the end.  It is not even the beginning of the end.  But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. ~ Winston Churchill

So, maybe this is my last post … what do you think?  You participated in this mission with us; you played a part in serving God whether you intended to or not.  After reading the many stories about how “WE” served the LORD in Honduras and made a difference in the lives of many people, are you willing for the completion of this blog, of this mission, of this ministry and your participation in it?  Perhaps some of you are … you’ve seen enough, you’ve read enough, your inbox has been inundated by “Mission to Honduras” emails … you did your part and now you’re done.  Some of you have NOT read the posts or the emails, maybe even deleted them as soon as they entered your inbox (… tsk, tsk, tsk …) but some of you … well, maybe you’ve really enjoyed being a part of this mission and receiving periodic posts and updates about the training, the preparations and the incredible things that were done in Honduras.  And maybe, just maybe you felt the difference that you truly made!

 

You helped this young man to know the Truth ...

You helped to give these precious children a month’s supply of vitamins ...

– look how happy they are!

You made it so that these people no longer live on a dirt floor!

You made a difference because this young man has hope ... 

You helped to make this little girl feel like a princess ...

You made a difference because you gave these three the opportunity to physically serve and spiritually grow in a way they never had before.  

We thank you!!  We really cannot express enough how grateful we are for the experience, for the opportunity to partner with you and to share with you how so many lives were touched, including our own!  And these stories that have been shared with you, to try to give you a glimpse into the work of the LORD that you supported are only the stories from the perspective of myself, Brian and Ben.  There were 44 other North American team members as well as the Honduran translators and the staff of World Gospel Outreach who worked with us each day … and they all have something to share from their perspective too!  Their lives were touched as well!

When I'm serving God, I feel like I can do almost anything and that is when I feel my BEST!  I can get up at 5am and NOT be “Crabby Abby”; I can stand in front of a crowd and pray or give a speech and shout out my love for God and NOT CARE what anyone thinks; I can hug and cuddle children who have lice; I can brush my teeth from a plastic cup; I can keep my mouth closed in the shower and only have the water on to get wet and to rinse off; I can encourage and comfort, and even assist, people who have teeth removed in a hot, stuffy room as I watch mouths fill with blood and sweat pours from my body … And at the end of the day, I can be grateful for having had the experience and gaining new perspective.  I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. (Philippians 4:12b-13The Message)

Imagine what we ALL could do each day, the things that could be accomplished, the satisfaction we would feel, … knowing that our day belonged to God and that all we did was for HIM!  

We ARE grateful that we were given the opportunity to serve the LORD in Honduras, but for me, ... it felt like it wasn’t enough ... the time went so fast and I still wanted to do more, see more, experience more, help more, love more … and it doesn't feel right to only do it once.  And I'm not the only one who feels this way.

This is the part where I tell you, dear reader(s), that Brian and I have decided to go back to Honduras next October, to serve the needs of the Honduran people and to care for the poor.  And not only have we decided to go back, we will be stepping up the adventure just a bit as we share the role of team leaders for a team that we hope the LORD assembles from our church. 

As a matter of fact, there are even several members of our team who are already preparing to return to Honduras in March, 2013, to serve at the World Gospel Outreach Ebenezer Ranch!  That is totally awesome!!

So, while I may not be posting very often for a while, I will continue to post.  I still have a few things I'd like to share about our experiences in Honduras, I have a few devotions up my sleeve and several photos that I can still share.  However, I do not wish to overstay our welcome!!  While I have enjoyed knowing that I have so many readers (yes, I'm blushing...) and we have been encouraged by many of your positive comments, notes and emails regarding blog posts, your continual participation is not mandatory.  Therefore, going forward, if you would like to continue to read posts pertaining to our mission trip to Honduras, general devotional thoughts I might have, or our future plans to return to Honduras, you can do so by one of three ways:

1) Send me an email letting me know that you would like to continue to receive emails/posts related to the Mission to Honduras blog (prenderbergs@gmail.com).

2) Receive automatic updates each time a blog entry is published by completing the following steps:

• Go to http://www.fromwisconsintohonduras.blogspot.com
• On the left side of the blog scroll down to where it says "Follow This Blog By Email"
• Type your email address in the box and click Submit. 
• You will be sent an email asking you to confirm that this is what you'd like to do.   

3) At your leisure, go to http://www.fromwisconsintohonduras.blogspot.com to catch up on any posts you have missed.

There is still so much work to do and many are still waiting in Honduras, around the world and even in the United States.  We are eager to be busy for the LORD!   

We hope and pray that GOD will lead many of you to continue to follow along with us, share with us, encourage us, pray for us and yes, even financially support us again what you are able, ... we are excited to have you continue with us on this great, Big, GOD Team providing for the needs of others and sharing the Love of Jesus with those who live in Honduras.  Until then ...   May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

Friday, October 5 - Final Day of Brigade, Part Two

 Ben was assigned to Concrete on Monday but he was also assigned a second time for Friday, which he was very happy about.  I think that truly, he was relieved that he did not get assigned to Evangelism on any of the days, which for many was nerve-wracking and anxiety provoking, especially for those of us who didn't have a lot of experience sharing our faith.  

On the first day, many of us had the opportunity to walk to the home that was receiving the concrete floor during our lunch break.  I was very eager to get to walk through the neighborhood and get a close look at how most of the Honduran people live.  On our walk there, I spotted this sign that was posted letting the people know about the Brigade.   

We walked along narrow pathways between buildings where people live ...

This is the entry way to the 2-room house that was receiving the concrete floor ...

It was a very narrow and cluttered entry, likely because the family had to remove everything from inside the house.   

This is some of the family members; the woman is the middle of three generations living in or having lived in the home.  This area that they are in is basically their kitchen with the sinks behind them and the cooking area is in front of them (what would appear left in this photo).  

The "kitchen" is completely outdoors and mostly open, with only a partial covering over the cooking area.

The photo below shows multiple team members who worked on the concrete floor in this home, as well as our team leader, and seven members of the family who lives in the home.  The woman in the center of the photo in pink scrubs, holding the shovel, is Susan.  She was not one of the members of the concrete team, however, she was the primary reason that it was possible to put in concrete floors in three homes.  

Here is a photo of the mounded sand, rock and concrete that is gathered together before sticking the shovel in the center and adding water (as was described in an earlier post).

Rick, one of our team members who was with Ben on concrete on both Monday and Friday, again, wanted to take the opportunity to share the Gospel with the parents in the home, Mr. and Mrs. Zapata.  The parents were not believers and  Rick spent the time with them and he carefully explained the TRUTH about Jesus.  The way that he tells the story is so amazing and I wish that I could share it with you the way he shared it with the rest of us!  The details are not as clear to me, though.  I can tell you that what several of us did not realize is that two of Mr. and Mrs. Zapata's daughters were workers at the church where we were having Brigade.  

The daughters, Susan and Sharon, were already believers and had been praying for their parents and their family for quite some time.  It was a beautiful miracle to witness the revelation that Mr. and Mrs. Zapata had conceded and accepted Jesus as their LORD and Savior that day.  The announcement was made at the end of Brigade and their was great joy amongst everyone there!  We all prayed for and over the Zapatas and it was a great honor for Rick to be at their side through that special moment.  

Then an extremely emotional moment occurred ... and, of course, I had to capture it as best I could.  One of the daughters who was a church worker that had been praying for her parents to come to a knowledge of the TRUTH came over to her parents and collapsed into their arms in heavy sobs.  She was so overwhelmed with JOY and RELIEF and AMAZEMENT and before 15 seconds passed by, many of us were also in tears!    

Three generations of Zapatas have lived in this 2-room house and as was told by the parents, they had lived there with a dirt floor for 35 years!  Their home now had a cement floor ~ but the BEST truth about that is that before Friday, October 5, 2012, they had always lived on a dirt floor destined to sink into the murky pit of hell, but on that day, they went from dirt floors to cement floors with an escalator up to the golden streets of heaven.  What an amazing exchange and transformation for them, both physically and spiritually! 

And one more really beautiful, unexpected segment of the day was ... well, remember how I said that Ben was relieved to have made it through the week serving the LORD not in Evangelism?  Well, lo and behold, ... we found out later ... that Ben ended up sharing the Gospel with several of the family members, using the Gospel bracelets that we made and also giving his own to one of the children.  With Rick to translate, Ben explained the Gospel of Jesus to several of the Zapata family members, older and younger children alike. Ben didn't have enough bracelets and so at lunch time, he collected more bracelets from the stock and in the afternoon he made sure all who were without a bracelet had one.  

He said that as they left that day, more and more relatives were showing up!  No one had realized but it was later discovered that the houses on the "block" surrounding the house that received the cement floor were all filled with Zapatas, relatives to the Zapatas we are speaking about in this post!  The last thing that Ben saw as they were leaving the house, having completed the cement floors that day, was the few family members that Ben shared the bracelets and Gospel story with, sharing the same with other members of the family who had not been present when Ben originally shared.  

When sharing this story with others, Ben got really choked up and began to cry ... (so bittersweet for a mom) ... because he had actually witnessed the impact telling one or two or even four can make ... and we are confident that ALL of the Zapatas, and there were many, heard the TRUTH about Jesus.  The ripple effect was evident and Ben, and all of us, were so grateful to actually get to see it as it was happening!

 God bless the Zapata family with all its members and may their new Faith reach out to those in their family, their village and their community ~ for the Glory of God, AMEN!

Friday, October 5 - Final Day of Brigade, Part One

So, I don't know what to share with you first ... it was such an exciting day and a great way to finish up our Brigading Experience!!!

Brian and I were assigned to "Dental" ~ Woo Hoo!!!  I quickly pounced on the station that Ana Lucia was at because I had heard stories of her questionable mental state ...(okay, people basically said she is CRAZY!)... and I had also witnessed a few fun things in her area during the previous days of Brigade.  I am not ashamed to say that I wanted in on the "action"! And let me tell you ... ACTION is exactly what I got that day!!

We started out the day with a quick run-through of instructions as to what my responsibility would be.  For each patient, I would prepare the tray and provide the tools needed for "extractions", which is Ana Lucia's main role during Brigades.  After each patient, I was to quickly wipe down the dental chair with a sanitizing wipe and prepare the next tray.  Things needed for the tray included a section of paper towel, the appropriate tools which were, in most cases, a tool labeled a "calpule", which was basically an old-fashioned syringe holder for giving the Novocaine injections, a "thin elevator" (used for ... well, there's just no other way to put this ... digging the tooth out from the gums) and then also a wad of gauze pads. 


Some patients had difficult-to-remove teeth and then she would need a tool that looked like a pliers.  For those patients needing stitches, I had to retrieve two types of scissors, one called hemostatic and the other just labeled as scissors.  Some tools were simply named and labeled with numbers, such as the #1107 and the #151-S.  There was also a #151 and if I remember correctly, the difference between the #151 and the #151-S was that one was for children, while the other was for adults.  It was VERY interesting and educational!   

The photo below shows the dental tool sterilization area!!!  The tools would be cleaned in a sudsy, bluish water/liquid and then placed into the toaster oven!  Don't you just love it?  Primitive ... yet effective!  Not everything has to be difficult!

I think that in Honduras it is probably the same as in the USA - "nobody loves going to the dentist!"  I certainly don't!  But after spending time with Ana Lucia, I really wished that she was MY dentist!!  Ana Lucia is an amazing dentist, originally from Nicaragua, and we were allowed to administer care at the Brigade under her dental license.  When children would come to her chair, only needing a cleaning but terribly frightened, a song was sung, accompanied with some fun motions, and by the end of the song, the children would have huge smiles on their faces.

Then they would let her do her work ...

 ...and when she was done they'd have a smile on their faces!

                                   

The other dental stations mostly did teeth cleanings, fillings, and other miscellaneous dental work with a few extractions (but I don't think they had nearly as much fun ... shhh!).

Well, except this one time ... hahaha ... no, really ... at Brian's station, a 4-year-old boy was brought to his station for extractions.  The boy's two front teeth were so rotten that they were basically GONE other than the roots still within the gums.  I found out from Brian afterwards what had happened; apparently the boy was so frightened that he was screaming and crying and they were having a very hard time keeping him still.  

There were a total of four dental stations and there were two stations between Brian and me.     

I don't remember what patient we were with at the time but I remember being really distracted by the crying and I kept looking back towards where it was coming from.  Even Ana Lucia was getting distracted.  The crying that this boy was doing was SO distressing that I finally stood up and shouted out at the top of my lungs "PRAY".  I think I got the attention of several people and with a few nods, I am sure that many started to pray because the boy suddenly calmed down.  But then, after a few more minutes, he began to cry again and the dental technician who had been trying to extract his teeth gave up and it was decided that his teeth would NOT be extracted.  Poor kid!

Interestingly, that was one of a string of incidents that happened that day that we are convinced was part of the Spiritual battle taking place in and around our area(s) of work for the LORD.  More on that in a minute ...

What do you think of the photo below?

WOW, isn't that tooth amazing??

Ana Lucia was called over to the station just next to ours for assistance with an extraction ... and this is the tooth that was extracted!  Ana Lucia said that the size of the tooth and especially the diameter of the roots is very unusual!  All I can say is "OUCH!"

Another incident that I am confident was an attempted "hit" from Satan but was beautifully intercepted by "the good guys" was as follows: Our chair was a revolving door; when one patient was complete, the assistant would shout out "extracción" and the chair would be filled. Well, at one point, ...strangely..., we had no extractions.  We were just sitting there with an empty chair and no one to fill it!  That was odd!  So, I stood up and decided to look around, maybe take a few photos, when all of a sudden, Gabriela, one of our Brigade Coordinators, fainted!  She was just a few feet from where we were and she was slumped in a chair, about to go to the ground!!  Several of the staff, including Ana Lucia, pointed towards Mike, our Team Leader, ... I even think they shouted out "BIG MAN", which in retrospect is rather funny but definitely appropriate for the situation.  I quickly shouted his name and pointed to her and said "our chair is empty" and without any other words Gabriela was very quickly laid in our dental chair.  One of the nurses came over to assist along with the other Brigade Coordinator.  Gabby was really upset and confused but within about 15 minutes,  her status had improved and we were able to move her.  Now how many of you realize that God kept our chair open for a very good reason??

Next, you need to know that the church building that we were in was much smaller than the church we worked at earlier in the week and it was very hot that day; with the number of people that were inside the building, you can imagine what it was like.  There were some good fans in most of the areas, except the back of the building ... where we were.  So, it was REALLY WARM!  This was likely the cause of the fainting per the medical staff (after running Gabby through a gamut of questions).  However, the "hits" kept on coming and the attacks were strong that day!  A while later, still without a fan in our area, Ana Lucia had dealt with a few difficult extractions, which obviously exerted quite a bit of physical effort and she seemed to be feeling unwell.  A couple of times she appeared to be dizzy or losing her balance.  Finally, the toll had been taken and as soon as she finished with a patient, she excused herself, running out of the building to a location where she could "be sick".

A short while after that, one of the other dental technicians somehow had a drop of anesthetic get into her eye!  I have no idea!  But after her eye was flushed, I'm sure she had a Coke!  It's a little bit of happiness, I tell you!

I am happy to report that Coca-Cola is the universal "CURE-ALL" as it was given for fainting, vomiting, headache, fatigue and mood enhancement!! 

This little girl's name is Elsa.  She came for a quick cleaning at the end of the day but as soon as she got into the dental chair, she got really nervous and was about to cry.  Out came the "festive tooth song" and voila`, she was much better!

She was thrilled even ... plus, I think the inside of her mouth was a bit ticklish!

She was a REAL cutie-pie!!

The most difficult, yet amazing patient of the day was Karla.

If I remember correctly, Karla came to our chair right around the time that Ana Lucia excused herself when she wasn't feeling well and the other Assistant/Translator was away for a bit too.  What I do remember is that Karla and I were alone for a few minutes.  She looked only a little nervous ... I patted her arm ... we smiled at each other. 

I said, "Cristo te ama!" (Jesus loves you!)

She said, "Jesus loves you too!"

SURPRISE!!  Karla spoke English!  I wasn't expecting that ~ but interestingly, Karla was in front of me at the time when I did not have a translator and we were able to communicate with one another!  Coincidence?  I think not ... God knew what He was doing!  Karla has a great love for the Lord, Jesus, and she knows that He is always with her! 

What I didn't know at first and found out after Ana Lucia and the Assistant returned is that Karla  only had seven (7) teeth in her mouth!  The ones she had were the ones in the center of her bottom jaw, six incisors and one cuspid; she had no bicuspids or molars on the bottom and she had NO top teeth at all! 

After Ana Lucia spoke with Karla for a moment, it was told to me that Karla had her top teeth removed last year, at a Brigade similar to this one.  She had no money to pay to a Dentist.  Her remaining teeth were in really bad shape and there was risk of infection and other serious problems.  Normally, this extensive of work would not be done on Brigade, however, Karla would not be able to receive this care anywhere else.  It was decided that her remaining teeth would be removed.  Ana Lucia was very gentle with Karla and she talked soothingly to her and asked her multiple times if she was uncomfortable at all.  Each time, Karla would raise up her finger and wag it back and forth slowly as if to say, "no, no, ... I feel nothing."

In the photo of Karla and me together, the white that you see in her mouth is gauze.  I told her that I would be praying for her and would always remember her.

All in all, everyone fared well and kept going ... even me when I was asked to wrap my arm around a patient's head and clamp my hand around her jaw while Ana Lucia worked really hard to remove the tooth!  WOW!  I felt like I had the woman in a head lock!  And then when Ana Lucia was stitching up the woman's gums which were pretty tore up from the extractions, she had me hold the tool in place to keep the woman's cheeks back and as I watched her do the stitching, she struggled a bit with the last one because of the extent of the gum-tearing.  She attempted to go through the gums four times before I began to think to myself, "hmm, that doesn't look so bad, maybe I ought to ask her if she needs a hand?"  ... NO REALLY, that is what I was thinking!  The CRAZY was contagious  ... and I LOVED it!!!  God was definitely with us throughout all the chaos and the crazy, the scary and the silly, the heartfelt and the hopeful! 

It was amazing to be able to hold the hands of these people, to smile at them and assure them with my eyes that everything was going to be okay.  Several of the patients asked if I would pray for them before the procedure and I did as I held their hands tightly, sharing the power of the Holy Spirit with them to give them courage and strength.  On one particular patient, I could see that Ana Lucia was having trouble getting a tooth to come out and I prayed, "Just pop it out, LORD, ... just pop it out ..." and "POP" it went!  Imagine!  It just POPPED out!  Serving the LORD in "Dental" is something that I could do AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN!