Silver Anniversary

Dave and I started off our summer by celebrating our 25^th wedding anniversary!
Although our anniversary is in late December we chose to wait for a better time to celebrate it as Mariah was home visiting us during Christmas. Dave asked me, “Where in the world would you like to go?” with the caveat that we had around 10 days to do it in. I have always wanted to go on a cruise so that is what I picked. We enjoyed a relaxing 5 nights of cruising the Caribbean. Wow. Sure do love that guy! Here are a couple of pictures:

Mariah Comes for a Visit

After our cruise we had another great visit from Mariah during spring break. While she was here a couple of her friends from TN visited, she spent some good time with her best friends, led worship, spent quality time with the family, and ate a lot of home cooked meals! Here’s some fun pics:

An Update from Dave

I want to share a couple of stories with you that highlight some of what I do at Loma de Luz that isn’t IT related but has to do with the other two departments that I manage, Hospital Security and Medical Equipment.

The first has to do with a burn victim that arrived at our hospital in the middle of the night a couple of months ago. Although he was unable to tell us much about what had happened to him I did learn that he was a U.S. citizen. The severity of his injuries was such that he desperately needed to be airlifted to a burn center in the U.S.  For reasons beyond our control we were, unfortunately, unable to get the patient to the lifesaving care that he needed. There is a really beautiful part of the story that is told in the current version of the Cornerstone Newsletter. I won’t retell it here, but do yourself a favor and click on the link and read the story – it is well worth your time. 

One of my responsibilities, as head of security, is to be sure that we can get the help we need when we need it. I try my best to interface with law enforcement and resources from the local level all the way up to the US Embassy.  Several years ago, I became a Warden for the U.S. Embassy for the North Coast of Honduras, which is where we live. A Warden is a representative of the embassy that acts as a liaison for U.S. citizens when they need help from the American Citizen Services section of the embassy. I did this primarily so that we have a direct line into the embassy if any of the missionaries here were ever to get into trouble and need to be evacuated quickly or, say, in the case of a natural disaster or civil unrest. Yet, because our patient was a U.S. citizen, I found myself, for the first time, able to act in the capacity of a Warden to try and arrange medical evacuation for our burn patient. I also found myself coordinating a security presence with local law enforcement and the Honduran military when we found out that this particular patient might have ties to a drug cartel. You can read more about all of that in the Cornerstone Newsletter at the link above. I am so grateful that this patient found the redeeming love of our Lord and Savior before he died.   

Fiber Optics and EMRs

There are two big IT projects that finally look to be coming to fruition this fall: the fiber optic infrastructure project and the new Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system implementation. The fiber optic infrastructure project is one where we are taking our internet signal and delivering it out to all of the houses and remote campuses via fiber optic. For years we have delivered this via wireless, but the signal can no longer penetrate the ever thickening jungle canopy. We’ve been transitioning to fiber for some time. My first crack at it, in early 2015, well, wasn’t the best. We put in the wrong kind of wire with too many junctions and while it worked, it hasn’t really stood the test of time. We are about to install a new fiber optic “trunk line” that will be much more durable and give us plenty of room for expansion. It will cover one half of the existing structures that need internet with a second line planned for later this year or early next year. Please pray with me that this will be the answer to the intermittent issues that slow our communications down. The internet is a vital lifeline for us missionaries back home and is used for everything from talking to family to home schooling, from medical collaboration and research to, yes – even, watching  the occasional movie on Netflix. 

We are also just on the verge of implementing our new Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system at Loma de Luz. This is a project that I’ve been working on for a couple years now. We’ve had several starts and stops and one complete reversal of direction, but now we are finally on the right course. We are beginning to train our users on the new system and are well on our way to implementation day. Almost daily, I work with the system’s programming team located in India. I am so grateful for our hospital staff here. They are already overworked, yet are willing to take on even more work to be able to put the new system in place. Please pray with me that the Lord would enable our efforts, training goes smoothly and quickly, and also that the core service that we offer at Loma de Luz would be vastly improved by this new system. 

Porch Time

Perhaps you've sat out on our porch in Honduras and shared one of Marinajo's famous spaghetti dinners with us?  If you have, you know that we live in a great house in a beautiful location. The longer we stay with Loma de Luz, the more our hearts turn towards wanting to share with others the mission and vision of this incredible place - from the school, to the children's center, to the hospital. One way that we have done this is by inviting teams up to our house for supper and if weather permits that meal is eaten out on the porch. We've been so blessed to literally have hundreds of visitors over these last 8 years. We would now like to try and develop that part of our ministry more by continuing to invite teams and groups up to our house for dinner to share the mission and vision of Loma de Luz. We would like to cover our porch to allow us to create an outdoor space that can be used for cooking, sharing a meal or an iced coffee year round. Some of you have encouraged us to put this need out in our newsletter and ask for support. Thank you!  We anticipate these changes will cost approximately $6,000 to pour the new columns, construct the roof supporting structure and purchase the clay tiles needed for the roof. Would you consider a one-time gift to us to help us offset the costs of this project? 

We are very grateful for your support and we thank you!

The  Eyeglass Clinic at Loma de Luz

This summer the Eyeglass Clinic at Loma de Luz has stepped things up with clinic being held two mornings a week to accommodate an increased client load. Two things have contributed to this: 1. Loma de Luz has opened their doors to patients from outside of our area and 2. The word has got out that we have an Ophthalmologist coming regularly who is performing surgeries.

Also this summer the glasses inventory has begun an overhaul that will take at least a year to complete. With the help of some wonderful visitors, the process for locating the best pair of glasses for clients will be much more streamlined and efficient. The reading glasses have also underwent a reorganization which makes them easier to access which in turn makes the process run more smoothly. Although the larger clientele, inventory overhaul, and the reading glasses reorganization are all good things, they have created a need for more donated glasses.

Eyeglasses Donation Program
I, Marinajo, am in the development phase of an Eyeglasses Donation Program. This program, designed for youth groups, will encourage team work, leadership, community, and service. My hopes were to have it ready by the school year so that youth group leaders could implement them into their fall programs. Unfortunately, and yet not so unfortunately, the summer schedule filled up with other ministry opportunities. I hope to launch the Eyeglasses Donation Program as soon as possible with a few of the churches that have partnered with us as well as with Loma de Luz. I will keep you informed as I know more.

One-Time Funding Opportunities

1. Reading Glasses: With the increased clientele at the Eyeglass Clinic at Loma de Luz there is a need for certain magnifications of reading glasses.
2. Eyeglasses Cases: Whenever it is possible an eyeglasses case is given to a client who receives glasses. Although we do receive donations of these, our inventory is very low.
3. Sunglasses: The one complaint that I receive most from my clients is that their eyes burn and itch all of the time. This symptom is caused by sun damage, which without surgery is irreversible. The sun’s ultra-violet rays cause a scar-like growth on the eye. On average, 1/3^rd of my clients have this damage. The culture in rural Honduras has not embraced sun-glasses. I am about trying to change that one client at a time.

How has Mariah's summer gone?...

During the summer Mariah's internship with Community Servants at Wherry Housing puts on a whole different look. Wherry summers are filled with short term work-teams from around the country. "This summer at Wherry I learned so much about leadership as I was helping lead short term work- teams. We did a lot of different types of manual labor: landscaping, painting, remodeling, replacing ceilings, and much more." There was no sleeping in for Mariah this summer. From 7:30am intern devos to long hours in the hot Tennessee climate, to working at her part-time job in the evenings and weekends, she worked and served hard. "The Wherry Housing Community benefits greatly every summer from the service of the short- term teams. They help to provide safe and comfortable homes to low income families and refugees."  As a Community Servants intern, this summer "...has been one of the most rewarding and refining seasons of my life. I couldn't be more grateful."

I want to assure you that she's had a lot of fun this summer as well.  She has made plenty of time for social events. She's taken in a few concerts, gone out to eat with friends, had more than a few cups of coffee, and just hung out with her friends and fellow interns.

And what about Ben's summer?...

Benjamin is officially a freshman in high school now! He finished the school year well with "As" in Ancient History, Writing Fundamentals, General Science, and Pre-Algebra. We are thankful that this summer has been filled with work for Ben where he has learned so much about himself. Every Monday morning Ben joins Marinajo in the Eyeglasses Clinic to learn the skill of interpreting from English to Spanish in real time. This is a skill that he wants to hone as he has opportunity in the future to interpret for visiting doctors. Marinajo is also teaching a formal Spanish class to Ben (and a couple other missionaries) this summer and into the next school year to help him sharpen his grammar and conversational Spanish. A couple mornings each week you’ll find Ben working in the Hospital Comedor taking care of the customers and manning the cash register during the busy morning rush. He is so good with people but this opportunity is teaching him a different set of people skills that he will take into his future. Lastly, Ben works with Mr. Mike Yost, Loma de Luz’s Maintenance Manager, doing all kinds of manual labor. From breaking up concrete to learning the basics of welding, from helping a visiting team mix concrete by hand to helping hang doors, Ben is learning the value of hard work.

Ben received a wonderful gift as well this summer. His best friend, Phillip Pirkle, and his brother accompanied their mom for a ten day visit to LDL. They hung out every afternoon after Ben worked and had sleep overs nearly every night while they were here. These boys have grown up together. This picture shows them finally fitting into the adult size camo that they have donned over and over again throughout the years. I searched in vain to find a “before” picture of these boys wearing them. But picture the ending scene from the movie “Big” except there are two boys with BB guns. Ha!