So far, my experience in Honduras had been mostly ‘private’ ministries. They were a blessing for sure, but I did tell God that I wanted to experience visiting the local people also.
Friday morning, an opportunity opened up for me to go with Diana and Raquel to Talanga to tell people about the clinic that we would have there on Monday. I was so happy for this opportunity I felt like jumping around. “That’s the best part,” Ronny said, “make the bread [of the Word of God] tastes sweet in people’s mouth.”
I finally got to ride in the back of the truck. We left with the medical team to La Ermita, then someone would take us to Talanga. The view was marvelous and I was just a happy girl having a grand day.
View from the truck
We helped set the clinic up in La Ermita and then Stephen took Diana, Raquel, Naderi (sp?), and me to Talanga. We went to a pretty big shop owned by a relative of Carolin, VIDA staff, whose family was going to help direct us to certain areas. They were not Adventists, but they were very willing to help. It turned out though, that they had connections to a local TV channel in Talanga. When they learned of the medical program that we would hold, they suggested advertising it on TV. They called the TV people right away to interview and videotape us.
A young girl with a handycam from the TV channel came and we moved upstairs. They lived above their shop. We, and by we I meant the Spanish-speaking girls in the group, i.e., everyone excluding me, talked with the TV girl and one of the family members, let’s call her Ana (I didn’t catch her name), on what Diana and Naderi would say for the clip. It turned out that this was one of the most popular TV channel in Talanga, and they would play the advertisement that night, on Saturday and Sunday for the Monday event.
So basically, our faces were on the local TV channel.
Not only that, upon learning more about VIDA and GYC, the TV girl was very interested that she taped another clip just for the VIDA mission school and its partnership with GYC. “So people can know where to find this school,” was what she said, in Spanish of course.
But that was not it. Ana had a cast-type thing around her neck. As we talked more about health and natural remedies, we found out that she had been suffering from many medical problems. She had migraine for 3 weeks straight and she couldn’t do much because she was so weak. Diana and Naderi were able to talk to her about natural ways to improve her health and refer her to the Adventist health centers in the US, since her family could afford to travel. We spent all morning at her house and prayed with her before we left.
On TV
So we did not exactly go door-to-door, as I had expected. We were just going to tell people about the clinic and many would probably forget the information right away. But God had a much better arrangement that pretty much reached many more people than we could ever reach. We were actually a little worried if too many people would show up.
We took the public bus to go back to La Ermita. As we waited for the bus, I looked around the streets of Talanga.
Talanga is more city-like, relatively safe, but walking around with a camera is not a good idea. It’s always good to keep a low profile, which means that you’re less of a crime target.
After being in Buena Vista for a few days, it felt weird being in a city. People were honking and shouting, either to sell things or to shout out bus routes. It was dusty and the air mingled with exhaust gas. People probably stayed indoors more, since it wasn’t very pleasant outside. I thought about the grand mountains in Buena Vista and compared them to the low ceiling houses with no yards or trees in Talanga. The quality of life just seemed lower there, and yet this was considered…development?
A little boy and girl came to us selling some fruits packaged in transparent plastic bags. Raquel bought one from each. They were 5 lempiras ($0.25) each. The kids saw us holding half-drunk Fanta bottles that the family at the shop had given to us and they wanted them. We gave them away.
The bus ride was chaotic.
Back in La Ermita, it was time for lunch. The medical team left to go back to Buena Vista at about 3:30 PM, except for those who were supposed to be in La Ermita for the evening meeting. That included me. Janelle and I walked around for a little bit. There was a Chinese restaurant nearby. We came back, played with the kids at the church, and I prepared for the health talk I was going to give that night. Sabbath was drawing near and it had been a very happy week.
