MISSION HONDURAS

The Floyd's take over Honduras!

2009-04-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

Family Pic: Holy Thursday

Riding Honduran Style in the back of the truck!

Teary-eyed goodbyes!

Holy Week Team!

Greg&Dave with the kids!

So I had been begging for ANYONE in my family to come visit! And as Dave said “it’s so YOU Therese to get appendicitis the week we surprise you and come visit!” But needless to say I think My Dad and the boys had an amazing week. Of course I wanted them to visit because I missed them, but there was so much more to it. For the past year I have been living this life, loving and being loved by these people…I needed for the one’s who know me the best to see my life down here. It changes you, and I need to be held accountable to the fact that I can no longer live the same, take the same things for granted, or forget the poor that I call my own. It completed something in my heart to have them come here, stay with the Friars, experience community life, FINALLY meet Carol (the Leader of the Mission) and see our life here. My plan to show them around would have been a lot different, but God knows. For some reason He wanted them skinning sheep with the Friars, helping out with the AIDS kids at the Missionaries of Charity House, doing live Stations of the Cross, and taking care of me.

It was so hard for me, who as a nurse am so used to caring for others, to be cared for myself. I wanted to be up and entertaining them, and caring for them, but instead they were helping me out of bed, talking, laughing, and crying with me. I talk about my family a lot. I am so proud of the parents God gave me, and of us 9 kids, if you talk with me for more then 10 minutes you’ll have at least heard one Maria Floyd story (she is our baby)! These weeks after surgery I have heard from so many of the people in my life here how touched they were by my Dad and brothers. Someone to listen to them, a joke shared, or how they just entered into life here. I needed for the people here to know them, and for them to know my family here. In return, they were changed too. How can you not be when you come face to face with Christ in the poor, there are no facades… I thank God that He had His way… somehow this was the week He planned for them to be here… it is unreal to me that they were with me through surgery and brought me home, and just loved me. We were able to spend Holy Thursday and Good Friday sharing in the beauty of our faith along with the beautiful liturgies at the Friars. It was an experience I will never forget…so if you ever doubt that God has a bigger plan….remember the appendix!

Holy Week: Appendicitis!

2009-04-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

ST. pADDY'S dAY PARTY!

My Irish IV

Br. Damiano gave me his hat and shades for the 1 hr. after surgery pic! Such a Nurse thing to do!!!!

Thanks Dad! Right after surgery!

Never a dull moment!

I love Dave!

I love Greg!

Seeing my Dad... I thought my heart was gonna burst!

Monday April 6th started with a 4 hour trip up to the mountains to drop a team off for Holy Week. I felt a little queasy that morning, but nothing that would have stopped me from going. About 2 hours into the trip I began to vomit uncontrollably for the next 4 hours. This pain started that felt like a really bad flu…but got consistently worse as the hours went by. I was determined to make it to drop off the team, and then return home, but as we got about 4 hours away it was clear that I was getting worse and worse. Carol found a way to get the team the rest of the way, and we began our descent home. Unpaved roads, in a bumpy truck, vomiting every 20-30 minutes…I’ll leave it at that! We were in contact with Dr. Eleana, one of the AMAZING doctors I work with at San Benito, and she had suggested we stop in Marcala which was ½ way between where we were and home, and go see a doctor. Being a nurse, I began to do all sorts of tests on myself….including the rebound test which states appendicitis, but the pain was not at all localized….at least not yet!

After a very unhelpful trip to the hole in the wall clinic, we finally make it back to Comayagua. I went for all different sorts of tests and came to the hospital to see Dr. Eleana, where after looking at the tests she told me she had called the surgeon because she thought it might be appendicitis! I had never had an IV before last month, let alone surgery, so to say I was fearful and anxious was an understatement! But God is SO much bigger then me! I walked out of the room to go into her office and as I opened the door, sitting there were my Dad, Greg, and Dave! I BURST into tears! Ha…to which David’s response was “Geez…we thought you were gonna scream because you were so happy to see us!” They had been panning to surprise me for a few months, and happened to arrive the day before I had surgery! To be comforted by “my boys” the three most important men in my life was unbelievable…literally. I said the only thing that would have beaten that was my Mom!!! They kept it real…squeezing my IV bag so it would “go in faster”, and just being them!

Because I never spiked a fever, I had to spend the night without pain meds, to make sure the pain got worse and worse every hour, and if in the morning my white count had not dropped (which as 16,000 2x the normal value) then they would do surgery. It was a night I would like to forget other then knowing it was Holy Week,,, and I guess if I could choose, there really is no better week to remember suffering then that! Tuesday morning brought a definite diagnosis of appendicitis and FINALLY some pain meds before surgery! My Dad was with me (Greg and Dave were killing a lamb with the Friars for Holy Thursday dinner!) and the last thing the Doctor said to my Dad was “25 minutes and we’ll have her out! It’s a really short Laparoscopic surgery!” Well, a little over 2 hours later they wheeled me into the recovery room. As it turned out he started Laparoscopically, and it became evident on the first incision that it had began to rupture. He quickly opened me old fashioned style (a nice 4 inch scar to accompany the other 1inch one!) and had a few difficulties after that, and then had to do a lavage (pretty much washing out all your organs). When I woke up he asked me why I had to be so complicated! So a one day hospital stay turned into 3. I am still trying to figure out the why’s and how’s. There weren’t pain meds like we have at home, and it was a really hard week. So many moments of thinking I just couldn’t do it…feeling so helpless on top of the pain.

I can’t thank God enough for sending my Dad and the boys, Carol, MJ, and Cecilia (the other Missioners) who could not have taken better care of me! Dr. Eleana who is so much more then my doctor, but dear friend cared for me as if I was her family! It was non-stop visitors between my crazy family, the Friars (Br. Paul decided since I’m Irish we should have a St. Patrick’s Day party…and brought pins…decorations etc! Picture to follow of my “Irish” IV bag…all that was missing was the green beer!), the Missionaries of Charity, the WHOLE staff at the hospital I work at, and a number of close friends of our community. I was cared for so well. Thank-you all for your prayers, love, and phone calls! In each moment of desperation, it was those very things that enabled me to keep going. Every time I see this scar I will not only remember the fear and pain, but more so the faithfulness of God. A week after surgery the incision re-opened, and they were going to have to open me up again, but thank God they did not have to. The surgeon commented to me how “lucky” I am, how many other directions this could have taken. It has nothing to do with luck. Nothing short of all your prayers and sacrifices…I thank God for showing me the fragility of the lives we are given. I am determined to continue to live my life that is on loan to me as fully as possible!

Domingo Ramos

2009-04-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

Walking up the mountain...

Me and the Girls

Br. Mateo and the girls

How is it Palm Sunday already? Having lived in Mexico, I LOVE Holy Week and Easter in Latin America! The beauty of the Catholic culture really shines through in the way people venerate and honor Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection! Today we had the procession for Palm Sunday. All the families from our parish took a “pilgrimage” up the mountain, we lined the streets waving our palms, old and young alike, awaiting the passage of Fr. Armenio on the donkey as he reenacted how Jesus went through the streets of Jerusalem. It really spoke to me the people I passed as I walked up the mountain. First I saw Br. Mateo walking in front of me: he took the baby of one mom who was struggling with the hot sun, and the weight of carrying her up the mountain, and next to him were two little girls holding on to his rope tagging along. He was Jesus carrying us up the mountain. Next along the way I saw some of the girls from our neighborhood, two came over to walk with me and hold my hands as we all walked forward… God always sends someone to accompany us along our journey. While continuing upwards, a man in his eighties was walking slowly with his cane, the little kids surrounded him, and in some sense pushed him forward… never leaving him behind…
How beautiful to see a small representation of how we are all called to help each other along the way. At times some are weak, and some are strong… we need that hand offered to continue up the mountain. When the old slow down, the young come to help and to learn from them. We arrived at the top of the mountain to have mass, people were standing outside it was so packed. It was beautiful to end celebrating the most central act of our faith, the holy sacrifice of the mass. There is such inclusion in this catholic culture. There is such deep meaning in the “body of Christ”, you may not know the person sitting next to you, but you are their family because you share the same faith. The kiss of peace reminds me of a family reunion…ha the kids run to make sure they get everyone; including the HUGE line for the priest…it’s quite a show….but beautiful in the way people extend a hand! It was a beautiful Palm Sunday to begin what I hope to be a blessed Holy Week! May we enter into His passion and death…and await His Resurrection!

Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun!

2009-03-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

Cristina and Me <3

Princess Angela

Izara

Sisters <3

Just a really quick story! I was at work today and Lidia one of the nurses I work with (the one with 6 kids who had the C-Section a while back), was telling me a story. She has a daughter Izara who is 5 years old. She told her mom all she wanted for her birthday was High Heels… “Mom I NEED these!” There is not money for beans and rice let alone high heels for her birthday. So Lidia was thinking about how she can figure this one out, and get these heels. Well, thank God for kid’s imaginations! Izara came running in the room the other day to show me her NEW heels! Her normal school shoes had ripped, and the sole was falling off. So when she walked they went “clank-clank” she told me “Therese they sound JUST like high heels!” As she paraded like a princess around the room!
I was in awe at the simplicity of the joy she found! I was in a store a few days later and saw a little Hula skirt and crown; I figured that for a little princess who can make a broken sole into high heels, she needs a crown to go with it! They came to visit when Cristina and her Mom were here, and they had brought them lip gloss to top it off! I felt right at home with all these girls! Not matter what culture, or level of income….little girls will be little girls! We had a blast dressing them up, and playing princess! I love seeing the simplicity here, and that no matter what kids will be kids! Here are some pictures of the Beauties!

“I am espoused to him whom the angels serve; sun and moon stand in wonder at his glory.”

2009-03-27T07:42:00.000-07:00

Fr. Bernard, Fr. John Anthoney, Fr. Juan Diego, and Fr. Gregorio CFR
Con-Celebrating the Mass at the Cathedral

I threw a "Bridal Shower" for all the girls! :)
Carol and Me

Missioners of Christ: Past & Present!

Carol Restaine: Consecrated to the Order of Virgins

This past Wednesday we celebrated the consecration of Carol Restaine, our community servant to the Order of Virgins. It was a beautiful mass held at the cathedral in Comayagua, celebrated by our local Bishop Roberto Camilleri. To explain what exactly a lay consecrated woman is within the context of the Catholic Church follows:

“God has called them to be more closely united to himself and to be dedicated
to the service of the Church and of mankind. Their consecration is a call to
greater fervor in spreading the kingdom of God and in giving to the world the
spirit of Christ. Think of the good they will accomplish by their prayers and
good works, and the abundant blessings they will obtain from God for holy
Church, for human society, and for your families.”

Having worked with Carol in this mission for the past year, I have seen first hand the fruit of her “YES”, her Fiat to serve Christ and His people. Her mission field: Both the materially and spiritually poor of Honduras and the crazy group of missionaries she receives each year! (I’m not sure which one is more challenging!) Her commitment to Christ and His church is an amazing example to me of selfless love. Please keep Carol in your prayers as she continues to live this call to be Christ’s bride, and serve His people!

"Receive the ring that marks you as a bride of Christ.
Keep unstained your fidelity to your Bridegroom,
that you may one day be admitted to the wedding feast of everlasting joy."

Learning to Give and Receive~

2009-03-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

My boys Cristian & Tato

One of the little girls from the orphanage!

My buddy Michael...I loved him!!!!!

How cute! Right before surgery- Jaxon

One of the Dona's!

Every week these days brings something different! A “normal” week is something of the past! This past week we had another surgical brigade with Light of the World Charities. I once again worked recovery, and had an amazing team of experienced ICU nurses to learn from! Tip #1: For a strong cough at night: Putting Vic’s Vapor Rub on your feet before bed will stop the cough! Just one of the many amazing tips of advice from these ladies! We had a whole array of patients this brigade, but for me it was a pleasure to take care of 6 of the boys and girls from the orphanage we work with every week. My kids! Out of the six kids, three of the boys have Down’s syndrome, and have such a special place in my heart! I saw them the day of surgery, and they came running down the hall up to me…there little backsides sticking out of their hospital gowns yelling Tia Tia! (Auntie Auntie!) fighting to get the first hug! They couldn’t wait to get in there! (Unfortunately, they didn’t feel the same when they woke up!)
Each child we operate on gets toys, stickers, tattoos, and fun socks etc. these kids thought they one the lottery! It was so fun to sit and play cars and stuffed animals with them before surgery, and then to be the first face they saw when they woke up! I was able to hold and care for the kids who didn’t have a Mom to come hold them when they woke up. The week went by beautifully, and Thursday night I went to bed ready for the final day of the brigade to come! Unfortunately I spent the night with incredible abdominal pain, that led to a whole bunch of blood tests etc… and I ended up being the patient in the hospital Friday at 6am!
I was sitting in the hall of the hospital waiting for the nurse to put in my I.V., and I may have had a tear or two running down my face! As I was sitting there, Rosie, one of the little girls from the orphanage who I had taken care of the day before came out of her room, and just climbed up into my lap. She started to rub my face, just smiling at me. I was so touched by this little girl! She is 5 years old, she saw a need, and responded in the way she knew how. I was thinking… it’s really that simple. We all know how to respond to suffering in different ways, we all have something different to bring to the table; it’s all about being in the moment we are called to be in…and living it!
I can only say I received the BEST care! The doctors and nurses who were in from the States were competing with the Honduran doctors to get me everything I needed. At one point I looked around the hospital room, I was in the bed and around me was Judy the team leader from Light of the World, Lydia and Dr. Eleana from San Benito, MJ one of the girls I live with, Br. Damiano (who got to return the IV favor I gave him a while ago!) and Fr. Juan Diego! Talk about being well cared for! So don’t worry Mom! Thank God after a few days of antibiotics my intestines are going back to normal! I can’t really have expected to be living in a foreign country for a year and not catch something! This is a mild price to pay! I am loving it here! The fear and apprehension I had starting out with, and making the decision to come here, were totally worth it for the peace I feel in being where I am supposed to be. God is so good! Sometimes I feel like my heart is gonna burst! I pray that in each decision I make in my life I find this same joy and confidence! I have one life…I might as well open up all the doors possible and trust that He will lead me! Please know you are in my prayers each and every day! Love~ Therese

We may not speak the same language, but your music brings us together!

2009-02-28T12:09:00.000-08:00

TiTi & MoMo... Maureen and I with our new names the kids gave us!

Mable: Before she left for the hospital...

The little girls in their uniforms!

Love the SMILE!

Two beautiful sisters: The one who is 78 takes care of her sister
with polio who is 72 and in the wheelchair!

Jinotega, Nicaragua!

Well I was up for a little change of scenery, and I got it! This past week I found myself in Jinotega, Nicaragua! I was invited to meet up with Hope Clinic International for a 2 week long Pediatric Medical Mission to the poor of Nicaragua. Through the connection of Dr. Anderburg (otherwise known as Claire’s Dad) and Sherry Snyder, a nurse who is part of the community I grew up in, I was connected with this trip! It was an amazing experience! I was only able to go for the first week, which proved to be great because week two I ended up back in Honduras caring for one of the Friar’s who had a pretty serious accident!
In Nicaragua we worked with the St. Vincent DePaul Society, and they made sure to get the word out about the times we would be running the clinic. We saw more then 500 kids in the 5 days we were there! Having been doing this work now for 7 months, there is a sense of burn-out at times. I truly believe that this week rejuvenated my spirits; and brought me back to the backbone of why I am serving here. To see the hope and freshness of the medical team from the states was contagious! There was no “NO” for an answer, everyone was there to serve, and they would do no less. By the end of my week I was physically beat, but spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically renewed! I worked with the most wonderful people! I am always amazed that you meet some of the people that become closest to you in the oddest places! For example during the 3 or should I say 6 hour bus ride Maureen Berlucchi and I had each others life stories, and found crazy connections in our short lives so far! The beauty of shared experience turning into friendship! I have no doubt that some of the friendships made this past week will continue to grow, and hopefully I will continue to work with this organization in the future!
One of the patients this week was a little 9 year old girl named Mable. Mable came in and her entire body was swollen. She was nine years old, but so severely malnourished she had stopped growing. The reason for the edema (swelling) is called third spacing. Third spacing can be seen in severely malnourished kids. Third spacing is the mobilization of body fluid to a non-contributory space rendering it unavailable to the circulatory system. This puts the child at risk for hypovolemia. In other terms, it is a very serious and life threatening condition. The father of this girl had no idea why she was so swollen, and even though she ate it didn’t help her at all. She was no longer able to absorb vitamins. We sent this little girl to the ER because she was beyond our care. In the ER's here patients need to bring their own bedding and food, but the medicine is free if they have it in the hospital at the time. More often then not the medicine is unavailable. I talked with the local pediatrician after, and she told me that malnutrition is the LEADING cause of death in pediatric patients in Jinotega! She has begun a program to try to target the issue, but it is a huge struggle given the lack of public funding, and the poverty of the town.
It was eye opening once again to experience the suffering of another culture and people. The people of Nicaragua were so open to receiving all we had to offer. One other family that touched my heart was a small young girl and her Daddy. They were a poor humble family from the mountains, but what struck me was the rarity to see a young Dad with his child. In the poorer populations male father figures are slim to none. It is “culturally acceptable” or should I say “permitted” for a guy to get a girl pregnant, and leave for the next town. A large number of these men/boys take little to no responsibility for their children. The village I live in here in Honduras is 90% single mothers. So to see this young man with his daughter was so encouraging. I began to talk with them, and he told me that they were a family from the mountains and they had traveled hours to get to the clinic. They had no food, and when I asked diet information (because the little girl was in the 3rd percentile for weight), he said that the days they can afford it he tried to give her beans, but they could never afford both rice and beans.
It was obvious in the way this Dad spoke that he did everything for his daughter first before thinking about himself. We had been seeing people like this all day long, but I could not shake how my heart went out to these people specifically. While writing out the prescription for the doctor, I added on beans and rice and any clothing we had, so that those in the pharmacy could give them whatever we had. An hour or so later I was able to go give them the instructions for the medicine etc. When I went into the pharmacy to get the meds I told one of the nurses about how touched I was by this Dad. She immediately out of her own pocket gave me something to give to them. This is not something I normally agree with, because the money can get spent on all sorts of things, but somehow I knew this Dad was trustworthy. I went out to give this family there things, and they could not have been more grateful. I asked if I could pray with then, and I was stuck that as we said the “Dios te Salve” the little girl knew all the words to her prayers. Even though this Dad had so little to offer her materially, he still gave to her what is most important. His love and protection as her father, and passing along to her, faith.
As they began to leave I handed them the money from the nurse, and both of us couldn’t stop the tears. I told him what an example he was for all the young guys around the village to see a man who takes responsibility for his actions, and his children. He said there were so few like him, but I told him how important it was for him to be there for his kids, no matter what others did. I saw a living example that day of laying your life down for those you love in this young man, I can only hope to love and give with that same selflessness!
My time in Nicaragua ended with a Pan de Vida retreat with the CFR’s (the Friars) in Matagalpa. It was awesome! Once again to see people’s lives transformed by Christ, and for them to walk out changed! I sit and marvel at the ways in which I am able to learn these days… each day brings its new challenges and new joys… I am just trying to be present to each moment!

The gift of life

2009-02-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

Ceasar Josue!

Patty and her new baby boy!

My goal was to write much more frequently, but these weeks have just not permitted it! Things are great! Non-stop and crazy, but so fulfilling and wonderful all the same! How February is almost halfway over is a mystery to me, where did the time go? This week held a lot of ups and downs as always. On Tuesdays I spend my mornings doing home visits with Dona Sagrario the social worker. The reason is to visit the homes of the mothers in our group, to do home assessments, and see how they are doing. We also go and pray with them and “estar en sus lados” be at their side. This was one of the most fearful things for me when I first began. The places these women live, and some of the people they live with are “fear invoking” to say the least. But I am beginning to decipher between legitimate fear, and uncomfortableness, I have realized my initial fear was more not wanting to realize and accept that people really live like this. It was a choice to open my eyes, and try to enter into the lives of these women.
Tuesday mornings are now one of my most blessed times here in Honduras. This past Tuesday I went to visit Patty and Maria and their mother Dona Eugenia. This was the first family I met here in Honduras, and it’s amazing to look back at my first blog, and see their picture, and know how much has changed in their lives! Patty is 16, and her sister Maria 13. Patty came home one week a few months ago and told her mom that she was pregnant, to be followed a day later, by her sister Maria saying the same,16 and 13 years old. These girls come from a home where a very abusive father has hurt both them and their mother. They experienced very little love from their father, and have said that they were enamored with the attention and love that they felt from the boys that are now the fathers of their children. They quickly fell into the cycle of so many before them. It is a harsh reality, but not a hopeless one. A life is a life, and no matter the circumstance, someone to be welcomed. I came to the house to find Patty in bed with her beautiful new baby boy Cesar Josue, cute as a button! Lying next to her was Maria, 13, having been having contractions every hour for a few days now. She later went to the doctor and was told that her body had not developed enough to support having a baby, and after 3 days of strong contractions delivered a baby boy Jose Andres by C-section. The boys are beautiful! (And thanks to Margie and Kathleen, they had beautiful clothes and baby blankets to come home in!) When a few days later I came by the house to meet Jose, she quickly put him in my arms to feed him his bottle. I fell in love! (What’s new?) He just snuggled right in, and I was content for the next hour!
The truth is that there is a very hard life ahead of these girls. It breaks my heart. I see the faces of my little sisters in these girls and choke up with tears for the decisions they made and were pressured to make, and the consequences their actions carry. But the beauty and worth of these babies is undeniable. The girls told me that since the babies were born their father has begun to change. They see him go crazy over the babies, wanting to provide for them etc. Something they themselves did not experience for him as children. These boys are here, and for a reason! This is the story of so many girls here, and they all end differently. There is no quick fix. What are the tools that we need to teach young girls here? They need to know about their self worth, their dignity, and self respect. They need to know WHO and WHOSE they are. It is worth it to spend time and effort and energy to help these girls see that God created them unique, and for greatness, no matter what they were born into, their identity doesn’t change.
I have been able to experience and see girls who have taken on this challenge. To commit themselves to living up to something that is so different from most girls around them…CUESTA! It COSTS! To work with these girls and see them overcome or acknowledge abuse, fears, self hatred, addictions, eating disorders the list goes on, and decide to move forward is unbelievable. The strength and beauty in these girls is tangible. I sit there, and look at what color’s their lives, and there are many nasty and scary colors. But the difference between them and so many others is that they have chosen to love and to hope. They have chosen to hope in a future where there is something greater and bigger then themselves and the tragedies that have happened to them. To no longer be the victim, but to sacrifice and work to gain a greater good. Their priorities lie in God, their families, school, and to change the cycle! I have been filled with a new hope, that as these young girls take hold of their lives, they will begin to change the culture beginning with our small barrio here in Comayagua, Honduras, and hopefully much farther. I am privileged to work with these women.

Ella es la alegria de la familia!

2009-02-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

Kathy and I blowing out our candles!

Taking a swing!

Dr. Izaguirre and I...and the icing!

Angel!

Weeks 1 & 2! How fast time fly’s by! As I was landing back here in Honduras, I couldn’t help the feelings of excitement and nervousness of being back! It has been like I never left! Thank God it has been a smooth transition back into life here in Honduras. Integrating back into life here is summed up perfectly by something that happened yesterday. I was walking around Casa Guadalupe preparing for our single mother’s meeting. I looked over and saw Angel who is 3 years old and one of the kids from our Mom’s group! He RAN over to me and just jumped up into my arms and wouldn’t let go saying Teresa Teresa!!!! Ha! Oh how I love these kids! Just when I think my capacity to love is dwindling…one of these moments makes you realize what a gift it is to be able to LOVE! Ah! Looking around the circle at the 50 or so moms we work with I realized how much I love this! They walk in and we know their stories, we have visited their homes, comforted their children, listened to their hurts, and been lifted up and encouraged by their faith and hospitality! Our bible study was on Rebecca, and the trust she had in God. One of the questions we asked was how did you choose the fathers of your children? Did you choose them? Was God part of the equation? The stories were heart breaking and beautiful. Some didn’t choose them, which is the harsh reality. But oh how these women love their children no matter how or by whom they came to be! One woman spoke of her child whom she didn’t want; she was in a bad relationship and was heart broken at the thought of a child. Now, she said this little girl has been her saving grace, she will never question again if God knows better then she does! She lifted her out of a terrible depression. This little girl goes to bed and wakes up laughing! Ella es la alegria de nuestra familia! She is the joy of our family! It is sometimes so hard to get the women to speak about themselves, whether it is intimidation, or the fact that MJ and I are two young girls from another country, but this time each and everyone had a story! I was thinking about the sudden change, and I realized something. So often we are trying to give them something either about their faith, or their worth as women etc. but this topic… of being mother etc… MJ and I had no idea! We don’t have kids and are not married, and these women saw that they had something to give us! It was beautiful to see these weathered women give us their pearls of advice! This is what God wants for these women, to see their worth and to see there identity and their strength, and that YES they have SO MUCH to give and to share! We were even joking around about setting up coffee pots and going on for hours! There was such a barrier broken that day! Gracias a Dios! For me I am constantly learning to give and to receive, to teach and to learn!
On a side note, life always has it’s humor! My first day back at the hospital was my birthday! They made a big cake and sang etc. at the end of the song they started chanting “Mordita” which means little bite… and I was like uhh I don’t get it…you want me to bite the cake?? This was met by screams and yells saying Yea Yea! I am slow on the uptake OK…you can imagine as I bent my head down to take a “bite” Dr. Carlos smushed my face in the cake!!! It was funny and I had icing all over my face even in my eyelashes! Then at home they had a nice dinner, and even made a piñata! Definitely a birthday to remember surrounded by so many I have come to know and love so much! Thank God for another year of life! I can’t wait to continue to see what this year holds!

2008-12-31T13:34:00.000-08:00

Floyd Family Christmas!

SPO Formal

The Girls!

This last day of 2008! What an amazing year this has been! I have lived life so fully and intensely! Ah! Where to even begin thanking God for all the opportunities and decisions He has placed before me, and then the free will to choose them! Home again in New Jersey after the past 5 months living in Honduras! Home, Family and Friends…there is nothing like it, and I am so blessed to have such deep and real relationships! It has been such a transition coming home, and readjusting to life in the United States. I have been struggling with trying to figure out how in my daily life here I can still serve, and make what I have learned and experienced part of my daily life. I was at church very late one night this past week. It was just me and an elderly woman in the church. She was obviously homeless, surrounded by bags, and sleeping on the back pew. I was watching her, and realizing that wherever we are, there are people in need. As I was thinking this a young man walked in, he walked over to her with soup and coffee and sat down with this woman. I heard him say to her “I told you I would take care of you”. Here were two people, different ages, different colors, different living situations, but one reaching out and helping the other. I was brought to tears, and felt so strongly that service, humans caring and serving others humans will and should ALWAYS be part of our lives! We can do this from wherever we are!
Much to my surprise, I am going back to Honduras! My plan all along has been to return home after 5 months in Honduras. But what was my plan…was not God’s! I am not done being taught, and am not ready to say good-bye yet to the Honduran people! I will be there until May, so please keep me in your prayers! I am so excited for this next step, and I have no doubt it is where I am supposed to be! So fear not! Many more funny and real stories to come! Thanks for all your love and support!!! Voy con Dios! Dios los bendiga!

A tough week...

2008-12-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

Life is full of ups and downs, and this has been a week when I recognized my own mortality. This past Thursday we were walking home from mass, and we saw our neighbors were all gathered around in a circle. As we approached we were met with the news and the sight of the body of Osman, a 22 year old that is on the Friar’s food list, and from a neighboring barrio that was shot and murdered and his body dropped on our road. There he was lying on the ground, and I was overwhelmed with such a weight and anger at the senseless violence that happens so often. I saw myself, I am 22 years old. I am just beginning to live my life… he was in front of me dead. It isn’t fair or right or just, and I realized how easy… and quick one life can end on this earth. It isn’t fair, and I was enraged as I stood by his sister who was wailing over her brother’s dead body. Lord Jesus take him home… May he rest in peace. We assume it was gang related as his brother was killed the same way two years before, but regardless another young life was taken in such a horrific and demeaning way. Fr. Gregorio who was with us prayed a telling and heartfelt prayer… in it he said “God is enraged at this injustice, he is angered that His children being so filled with anger and hatred take the lives of others… this is not OK! But the Lord also brings peace…healing and hope…go home and pray with your families that the violence stops here! Do not carry it on to the next generation! ” I am realizing that I can not make sense of so much of what I am experiencing. I can not make it OK…it is not OK… nor may it ever be on this side of Heaven. Experiencing the death of Osman, the readings of the past week at mass, and it having been Johnny’s baptismal day, I can not help but be reminded that I do not know the day nor the hour. What is my life worth? If I were to die tomorrow, what would my regrets be? And how can I start to fix them or begin to start working towards them today…NOW? It has been a sobering week. My heart is heavy with the grief this family carries, and all I can do it give it back to God, and trust that He will carry them in and through their grief. Please pray for the soul of Osman, and that each of us may be ready in each moment. Life is short, and from some taken without a moment’s notice… right your wrongs, and let the people you love know it. I know I am seeing life in a different way. Pray for me as I am always praying for each person who reads this.

May the souls of the faithfully departed rest in peace. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Dinner! Honduran Style!

Ricardo's Mom came to visit!

Etel~*

MJ and Fr. Juniper!

Rebecca and Bridget came to visit!

Where did November go?!?! I feel like I just got here and in two short weeks I will be home for Christmas! Happy Thanksgiving! It was definitely different being here in Honduras with 40 teenagers during a formation training week, rather then at home with family and friends eating turkey! And at the annual Floyd/Clemente Turkey Bowl! Thanks for the call guys!! But we were still able to steal away from the craziness of this week, and share our customs and give thanks to God for all He has given us! This week we have 40 young Hondurans staying with us, and receiving a week of training and formation before going on two weeks of mission. It has been amazing! As always… when I am asked to give a talk etc…God always ends up teaching me more then anything! I gave a talk on conversion on Monday night, I was having a hard time coming up with a way to convey that aspect of God’s unconditional love, and God gave me a great example to use. I called home the other night to talk to my Mom and thank her for sending me all the necessities of life (Halloween candy… sweatshirts…cards from the girls etc…:) ) afterward my Dad got on the line and we were talking about a lot of things, and ended with talk about me coming home. As we were about to hang up the phone he said “Therese I can’t wait to see you coming down from the airport and I’ll be waiting there with open arms!” I am so blessed to have people who love me so unconditionally in a human way…and I was able to say this is how God waits for us. Now matter how long we have been gone for… He is waiting with open arms. And to kids who are so broken, in need to love, and most who lack a father figure, it was able to hit home for some. This Thanksgiving I had a new gratitude to God for what He has given me. A family that loves me and waits with open arms is just the beginning… I am so blessed. I hope your Thanksgiving was blessed, and that each and every one of you can see how much you have been given. I thank God for each one of you, and the impact you have made on my life.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” - John F. Kennedy

The small things...

2008-11-22T13:37:00.000-08:00

"Dear Jesus...take the ball off my hand!"

Dr. Becker and I getting ready for the Honduras vs. Mexico game
...I didn't know who to cheer for!

...Jonathon...cleft palate repair...

I loved this guy! Smiling after surgery!

Recovery Room: Renamed: Marvelous Mark and the Blue Eyed Babes!

Well Angela Maria was 7 pounds of adorable! Pictures to come! I wasn’t able to attend the C-Section due to being sick and getting IV’’s myself! But I was able to go see her soon after and both Mom and Baby are doing well! Thanks for all the prayers! This past week we had another medical brigade with Light of the World Charities! The three surgeons were General, Plastics, and Urology! It was a great but incredibly draining week! I can’t believe the growth and change I am able to see in myself in the 6 weeks since the last brigade. On the level of being comfortable working on my own as a nurse, and on the other hand translating for the doctor’s! It is so great to finally be able to sit with a patient and speak to them in Spanish and feel like I am getting somewhere! I was realizing what a gift it is to finally be able to communicate with them when the following happened… We had a little 5 year old girl who was having a cyst removed off her hand. She came in after surgery and after recovering her for a while we went and got her mom to come be with her. I was sitting there taking her vital signs and the Mom told me that this morning her jumped out of bed…got on her knees and with eyes squeezed shut and hands folded she prayed: “Dear Jesus…when I leave the hospital PLEASE let the ball on my hand be gone…I love you Jesus!” Haha…so beautiful! I love being able to be a bridge between the patient’s here and the beautiful doctor’s and nurses from home who don’t speak Spanish but their actions show so much love and care! It’s truly a gift! I realized this past week what an amazing community surrounds me. Coming home after 15 hour days some days…and having 18 other people there to share your experiences with and learn from their’s is so necessary and humbling. I love with the most genuine people. I was stuck by one of the other missionaries MJ this week. She was on “Evangelization”, going out and talking to and praying with the patient’s and their families before surgery. The fear level here is incredible; most patient’s having never taken pain medication let alone put fully under anesthesia! I watched as she listened and held person after person and just stayed with them. Giving them consolation… listening to their stories…and praying with them. The things that go on behind the scenes are the foundation that holds up the other work we are able to do. We have lost in our world so much of the human touch. And as I see so many patient’s come with ailments that do or do not exist, I am convinced often they just want someone to listen, someone to touch them, hug them, or somewhere safe to rest. I am constantly learning to just love… as long as I am doing that I am helping someone. You are ALL in my prayers… and your prayers are what keep me moving forward! Thank-you!

Patient Advocate:

2008-11-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

Cristina! I love you!

The signs of HOPE
This is out our front door

Beauty: On a particularly difficult day I walked outside and saw this...

How many times did I hear these words repeated over and over again during my 4 years of nursing school? These words hit home in a new way this past week! I had two opportunities to push and flight on the behalf of two of my patients. What is a nurse’s role as patient advocate? Patient advocacy refers to speaking on a patient's behalf in order to protect their rights and help them obtain needed information and services. Scenario one of this week took place when a young mom I have come to know and love hit rock bottom, and decided to try and end her life. Thank God the pills she took did not have their desired affect, and the right people got to her in time! One of the other missionaries MJ and I spent the night with her and her 4 month old baby until she became stable. Here in Honduras there are not many Psych hospitals, especially not for the poor, and there is usually not much distinction between a psych ward, and a jail cell. It is so different from the states, but we were so able to really be present to her in this time, and speak the words of encouragement and positive thinking that she needed to hear to come out of this stage of depression. MJ and I looked at each other many times throughout the night as the baby got up to eat…and said to each other ‘I guess this is what it is like to be a Mom!” To all my friends who are Mom’s…especially the one’s who just had your new babies! You are WONDERFUL! She is doing much better now, and has returned to her baseline. The hardest part is that as far as future planning goes, there are not many options, and the one’s that do exist are not desirable. Our hope is that she stays on her meds, and if she is in this position again she will call for help for her own protection and that of her baby. Another woman and her young son crossed my path this week. I was working at the hospital, and I noticed a woman who looked to be about 7 month’s pregnant quietly crying in the corner. I felt compelled to talk to her, and she began to tell me that she was not pregnant, but had a hernia! She was hoping to be able to have surgery next week when we have another Medical Brigade coming. This woman was from the mountains and had no money. After a whole chain of events I ended up taking her from hospital to hospital over two days to get the necessary ultrasounds, blood tests etc… to determine her candidacy for surgery. It was a great experience to take a patient all the way through the process from initial consult, through all the steps, to confirmation of a surgery date! It will be beautiful to see her all the way through surgery and recovery next week! Pray all goes well, it will be a big surgery! Even though I am not working in any “specific” field of nursing, I am learning SO much! Today Cristina, my partner in crime and dear friend left! Part of the beauty of living in “community” here is you develop such strong relationships by living together, and sharing in so many of the same profound experiences. She’s on her way back to NYC to see what next step awaits her there! I know this is the beginning of a life long friendship! One of the beauties and hardships of life down here are all the hellos and goodbyes! But each person leaves their footprints! Tomorrow I am going with one of the nurses I work with to have her baby! She is having a scheduled C-Section at 7am tomorrow morning! I can’t wait to see this baby girl! Pray for the delivery! Until next time… Dios los Bendiga!!

From Nicaragua to the Flood Zone!

2008-10-31T19:24:00.000-07:00

My lovely roomate:)

So cute!

My buddy Kevin

Mama and her daughter

Me and Fr. Anthony!

I feel like every time I sit down to write I talk about the crazy weeks, so I am beginning to accept that this is just life here as a missionary nurse! Two weeks ago I found myself in Matagalpa, Nicaragua the home of Ave Maria University. These trips across the border are never as uneventful as one could hope, and as we got to the border we found out that our other car (the one with ALL our stuff, and 4 other missionaries) could not get through because of the name on the registration of the car! So we went to do a mission 2 missionaries and a truck load of stuff short! But it was a great week! We were with Fr. Anthony and Fr. Augustino from the CFR’s, so it was a lot of laughs to say the least! It was so beautiful to work in a different country, so close but yet so different. We worked with a young priest Fr. Edgar who is 29 years old, and in charge of 5 HUGE parishes! We were working in one of his barrios, and it was so beautiful! I would have to say my highlights were the little kids and our time at Ave Maria University. These were some of the cutest kids I have ever seen in my life! And SO open to learning about the saints, creation, and each little project we did with them! These little kids would go home from the programs and invite and bring back their parents to mass that night! It was so beautiful to see! We were able to spend a night at Ave Maria with the students there. These are students from all over Latin America, and a few from the states. It was a stark contrast from the poor we were serving in the towns, and this big American university that we were at not more then 2 doors down. As the night went on, Cristina one of the missionaries from NYC got up and began to speak. She spoke about a lot of things, but one of the most powerful things she encouraged these students to do was go OUT and meet their neighbors. These “poor” live right next to you! She said… it does not have to be a “mission trip” experience where you meet the poor! We can do it everyday! The response was amazing! The students were coming up to talk to us after wondering how they could help! Where are our poor? Our goal is for Hondurans here to join us in serving their own poor. Where are the poor in our lives? Are we searching them out to extend a hand? A lot of times we can not change their situation or their economic status, but we can surely feed them with our time and our interest. I was thinking about this, this past week. We have had torrential downpours, and the main bridge to leave the city collapsed! This left entire towns destroyed. I walked downtown last Sunday to see the damage, and it looked just like Katrina. Having been down in New Orleans the Thanksgiving after Hurricane Katrina, I was looking at those towns once again. We had to respond. The Friars opened up Casa Guadalupe, and there we cared for and housed 200 people who had lost their homes. It was truly an amazing experience,. For people who have so little to start with; to have EVERYTHING taken was devastating. I was working as the nurse, and as I set-up a little nurse station, the people kept coming and coming! One of the most impressionable moments for me was when I was able to leave for a day to accompany the doctor up to a mountain village that had access to no help thus far. We went up to bring food and clothing and offer medical consults. I had been sick the whole week, and was feeling like I could not move another step, but I was the only nurse able to go, so I went. It was one of those moments where I said God, if you want me here you need to give me the strength! We got to the village and it was devastating. We started the consults, and patient after patient I could not help but notice the growing joy that started to take over my heart! It was one of those times where you KNOW you are in the exact spot and place in time that you are supposed to be at…and God just kind of smiles down on you! It was so humbling for me to see how MUCH God does…and how little it is of me! Please pray for these families. Having been able to live with them for the week, you are able to see and hear their brokenness (and I’m sure my own) become so much more visible. I pray that through the week they spent with us, they were able to bring back hope to their homes. Thank God the rain finally stopped and last week the families left to rebuild! I am truly spent, but what a feeling to go to bed EXHAUSTED yet fulfilled! Thank God!

I LOVE this pic! Br. Mateo and the little girl holding onto his rope!

Some of my new patients:)

ARMY taking people back to their homes

The Floods

My first REAL LIVE I.V. and some Florida sun!

2008-10-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

The Victim
My work of art!
My partner in crime!

What does it mean to lay down your life for a friend? Well…I had a small taste of it the other day! I was having a conversation about I.V’s, and I had said that I didn’t have much practice putting them in, because as a nursing student it is out of our scope of practice. I have taken then out, drawn blood, given I.V. meds… but never put one in! Later that day Br. Damiano came up and asked me if I wanted to put in my first I.V…. i was SO nervous but I said sure! Jumping at the chance! Little did I know he was sacrificing his own veins! He told me that I needed to practice, and I could use his arm! So… step by step he coached me on his technique of putting in an I.V.- and any of my nursing professors who are reading will be happy to know… I got it on the first try! Now that’s a servant! Haha! This past week Cristina (one of the other missionaries from NYC) and I found out we needed to renew our VISAS, and to do so you need to leave the country! We found the cheapest flight possible, and ended up in West Palm Beach and Miami for a few days! Thank-you to Theresa Banks and Oki and Denise for hosting us! It was a relaxing break in the midst of all the craziness of life here! But I have to be honest… by day 3 I was really missing life here in Honduras, and it is great to be back! I have truly begun to find a home here. Tomorrow I am going up to the mountains with the staff from San Benito to do a medical mission, and Monday we leave for a week in Nicaragua doing an evangelistic mission in the aldea’s there and at Ave Maria University! I’m really excited! Say a prayer for our safety and a blessed trip! Until my next free second…which could be a week or a month… God Bless!

"It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing."

2008-10-10T14:43:00.000-07:00

My first OR patient!
The best patient I EVER saw wake up from anesthesia!
<3
One of my favorites!!! 3 months old!
It was her birthday! So we wrote it on her head!

What a week! A 21 person team of doctors and nurses from the states came to do a surgical brigade last week here at San Benito, the hospital where I work! The non-profit organization that they work with is called The Light of the World Charities, http://www.lightoftheworldcharities.com/ . I thought I would just be doing translating stuff, and working on the recuperation side, after patients came out of the recovery room, because they already came with a full team, but I was pleasantly wrong! At the last minute one of the recovery room nurses could not make the trip, and they asked me to do it! With much trepidation, and a lot of encouragement from Br. Damiano (who is also a nurse) I said yes! It proved to be one of the most educational and stretching weeks, but I LOVED it! Being such a new nurse, it was amazing to use all the skills that I don’t use everyday in the clinic here. Things like IV meds, suctioning, foley’s etc! To all the non-medical people sorry, but these are some of the things that make healthcare professionals tick! I grew so much in my confidence! One of my patients was Kaidey, she was a 2 year old cleft palette patient. Her surgery went well, but afterwards she spiked a high fever, and was having trouble breathing. What we later found out, and this happens frequently, is that the parents always will say that the child has not had a cold or fever, even if it’s not true. The parents are not educated enough to know the dangers of doing surgery on a sick child, and all they know is that they have waited so long for this, and they won’t have this opportunity again. I can’t imagine what I would do as a parent, especially seeing this surgery as her only chance for repair. For Kaidey, after many hours in the recovery room, she began to perk up and we put her in a regular room. But by the end of the day, it was obvious that she was getting worse, and she needed a chest X-Ray to check for pneumonia. It was now past hours, and most of the team had left except for 5 of us. I was so touched by Dr. Carlos who is the chief of medicine at the hospital. He told the parents what was going on, and what Kaidey needed. We then got in his car and took this little girl for all the tests she needed, and then Dr. Carlos personally cared for her for the night! His shift was over at 5pm, and at 10pm we were still getting blood tests! I see here everyday how blessed I am to work with people who truly care for these individuals, sacrificing there own preferences to help one little girl. Another highlight of the week was working with Dr. Steve, a GYN surgeon from Ohio. Just watching the way he worked with each patient, without even being able to speak their language, he put them at peace, and cared for them so beautifully. This Doctor talked so beautifully about his wife and children, it was so encouraging to work with a man of such dedication and integrity. I could write about Jeanne, Mark, Arnold, Kathy, Judy…the list goes on and on… To come across people who are so genuine, and authentic has truly been one of the greatest gifts here. After talking to Theresa Banks, the President of Light of the World, I am now a part of the team! I am looking forward to the next brigade in November, and many more to come! Each day brings new lessons, and new challenges, I am striving to live moment by moment. Keep the prayers coming, I need them! You are in my prayers as well!
God Bless~

Therese

Guajiquiro

2008-09-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

Our tableclothes!!!
Me falling!
Muchas Gracias Mark for getting this on camera!

Haha Sleeping in the FREEZING mountain weather!!!
So beautiful!
My little friend :)
The view from the top of the mountain!
5am veiw...nice alarm clock! I can't complain!

Where to even begin!!?? It’s been a month since I last had a free second to post! It’s been crazy! But AMAZING! Last week was a life changing experience! I went with a team of 6 other people up to a place called Guajiquiro. It’s rumored among my housemates that this was the most “rustic” mission yet, and I use the term loosely! We were up really high in the mountains and it was FREEZING! Even during the day!! You can see from some of the pictures, I pretty much wore all the clothes I brought for the week TOGETHER! This village had no running water or electricity, the people put buckets out to catch the rain water to boil to drink and bathe etc. We were with Fr. Juan Diego CFR, and he was able to celebrate mass in a different aldeas (small towns) everyday! I had the job of giving talks….in SPANISH…on Marriage and Family Life! Yes…I was laughing as hard as you are right now…neither being married nor having kids… but I was able to draw from many of your experiences…especially my parents! It was a stretch, but in these villages where there are no clear lines of who and what family is because the pattern is for people to live together for years and years without ever getting married, and having many partners. The kids sometimes don’t even know who their siblings are, and if I could tell you the number of homes I went to visit, where the women just cried and cried because they were left with hungry mouths to feed and a father of their children who found another woman. Yet, even in all this, these people realize their need for something greater then themselves. The church was PACKED everyday; our kids and teens programs were overflowing the space we had! The mission ended with a Healing Vigil. We had tried to help these people this week, medically, emotionally, spiritually… but as they saw Jesus face to face in the Eucharist they could not look away. They know their need for a Savior, because with each and every hunger pain, abuse, and suffering they face, they know this can not be the whole picture. I was reminded of a quote from my Freshman English class by Anne Bradstreet:

Pilgrim I on earth perplext,

with sinns, with cares and sorrows vext,

By age and paines brought to decay,

and my Clay house mouldring away,

Oh how I long to be at restand soare on high among the blest!

These people live for something more! Of course the mission did not fault in humorous moments as well! My favorite being the day I got to go with Fr, Juan Diego and Mark, one of the other missionaries to the aldea that day to give talks and have mass. We started driving in the POURING rain! We got to a small town where we were supposed to pick up a woman who was the “delegate” of the town. Because a priest here is responsible for 24-60 parishes, he only gets to each town every few weeks or months, so the delegate is someone who organizes bi-weekly sessions where they read the gospel and pray together. This delegate was a tiny little woman who when we showed her to the car she said “Oh No! The bridges are out, and the town is not reachable by car!” HA! It was POURING…and we had no rain coats! So off we go to the town square to try to find something water proof…all we could find were pink, red, and orange table clothes! Which neither of the guys were to happy about! We then walked up the mountain for 45 minutes to reach this aldea! At one point Fr. Juan Diego almost slipped… and for those of you who know me…LAUGHING at inappropriate moments is one of my Forte’s! Well… he then told me he always has the last laugh! And he did…that night after getting back to our base, we were walking out to the car to get our sleeping bags… and of course I was SO tired and eager to get to sleep and I WIPED OUT! Completely feet out from under me on my back! It was one of those moments where you laugh or cry…and I sat there laughing for a good 5 minutes and I have the bruises to prove it! And who was the first person to see it….Fr. Juan Diego! All in all it was a life changing mission. Thank-you all for your prayers and letters/packages! I have felt so loved and cared for! Next to come… the INCREDIBLE medical brigade we just got off of today! I’ll keep you posted! ~Therese

Home Visits

2008-08-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

3 beautifully painted girls!

Selvin one of the PT patients with CP and his family with

Marylee one of the other Volunteers

One of the Mom's in our group!!

One month down! It’s has crawled and flown by all at the same time! It is a great feeling to be a bit settled, and have a feel for what is expected of me, and how I fit in. This past week was a crazy week of getting a lot of things ready for the team of new long term volunteers that is coming in next weekend. We had the job of painting a whole house!!! As I was teaching some of the girls the art of “cutting in” all I could hear in the back of my mind was my Dad forcing us to do it well! And me arguing the fact that I wouldn’t need these skills in life! OK Dad…you were right and it was worth the life lessons! But, it was quite a tedious job that ended in not only a beautifully painted house but 3 beautifully painted girls from head to toe as well! We had some fun with it! My highlight of the week was being able to go do home visits to the sick with the Friars. They go every Sunday to the sick who can not leave there homes, and give them communion. The people are so beautiful that we went to visit. One woman who looked to be somewhere in her upper 80’s was very disoriented when we came to her room. As soon as Fr. Juan Diego started the mass parts she came to it and recited all the parts. After receiving communion she started singing this beautiful song (that went on for about 5 minutes ! ) but it was so beautiful!! She started to say how she suffers so much, but receiving Jesus gives her so much hope. It was a very intense experience for me; it made Jesus so real to be able to see the change and comfort in this woman. We are looking to form some kind of home healthcare system here. There is a need for this because what happens is that here at the mission we don’t hear about how sick the homebound are until they are critically ill, and then it is an emergency situation. A few weeks before I came there was a young girl of 14 who went into labor during a big storm. Because she lives with and takes care of her blind grandmother there was no one there to run and get us, or for someone to take her to the hospital. She delivered the baby on her own, and the next morning sent someone to our house to help her. When they got there she had a terrible fever, and the baby wasn’t doing well. They got them to the hospital, and she was treated for a terrible infection and the baby as well. Both are now doing well, but these are the situations home heath care and the prenatal program will hopefully be able to help prevent. There is no lack of need, I am just trying to figure out where I best fit, and what I can do here that can be then continued by the Hondurans long after I go. So pray for direction and the resources to keep moving forward! I miss you all!!!

Settling In!

2008-08-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Another week has flown by! This week was full of meetings and appointments to get a feel for what goes on around here on a daily basis. I was able to go to San Benito for the first time, which is the hospital that the CFR’s run. My first visit was SUPPOSED to be as a nurse going to meet the Doctor, but I came down with a terrible allergic reaction, and ended up there as a patient! But all is well, and I was able to meet the staff and they are amazing! The hospital is beautiful, and only serves the poorest of the poor from Comayagua, and the surrounding mountain villages. It is an outpatient hospital, and there is no charge for visits or for medication. It is completely funded by benefactors’ from the USA, and some Hondurans as well. There is a beautiful chapel in the hospital, and the view of the mountain is literally breathtaking. From the sound of things (and it can change day to day, I’m REALLY learning to be flexible!) I will be working with a nurse there who runs a prenatal program. The women come from the mountains, and we do fetal movement assessments, and give estimated due dates. I will be doing a lot of teaching on diet, newborn care, parenting etc. I am really excited about this! I met with the Executive Director of the hospital, and I am going to have the opportunity on weekends to go on mountain medical brigades to visit the homebound! I am nervous, but really excited to start entering more into life here! One of the other programs I will be working with is for abused mothers. The hardest thing is that this includes a majority of the women here. I have really come to know a lot of them since that first day here, and they are so faithful and so beautiful! Yesterday I went to the meeting, which is partly a bible study, and a time to get help for whatever their needs may be. There were 40 women there, and I felt so honored to be able to listen to them, and be uplifted by their strength. It is a hard reality, and I know I have not even begun to scratch the surface. I am also going to be doing home visits with the social worker, and a team of these mom’s to the women who can not get out for the meetings because of one reason or another. The social worker is amazing, and the purpose of doing these home visits is to be able to talk with these women and show them and help them understand their value. Self esteem and knowledge of self worth are two things that are hard to come by in these women. They have lived this cycle for a long time, and are very broken. The goal is to give these women formation, and bring them together to be able to support one another. These two programs as of now will be my main focus and these next weeks I will see where else I am needed. I am nervous/excited! Please keep me in your prayers, the Spanish is hard! Having lived and learned Spanish in Mexico, my new nickname is “Mexicana” because I speak like a Mexican! But each day I am able to communicate more and more! I am settling in, yet each day finds something new to learn! I miss home a lot… but I know I am where I am supposed to be!

Not for the Squeamish!!!

2008-08-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

The Pig

The Bladder:)

Br. Damiano and I
disecting the Heart!

Fray Mateo :)

Look @ the tongue!

Jaguars!!!

2008-08-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends!
It is so good to hear from you all through e-mails and posts etc! Things are going well! We just got back from 2 days of R&R in Tela which is a beach about 4 hours away from where we live. It was BEAUTIFUL! There is a slide show of some of the pictures. The last 10 days have been really hard trying to see where I fit in, and where my place in the team and mission are etc. But this time away with everyone gave me the opportunity to get to know them, and really see the beautiful people they are! I have the grace for each moment, and only each moment! But, at every turn God gives me some little bit of comfort. For example, the missionaries were singing high school musical the other day in SPANISH, it’s my little sister’s favorite music! It made me laugh! So, for some excitement! We went on this all day safari/boat trip up the Northern coast of Honduras. Imagine us a whole group of Hondurans and Gringos in flip flops (because we didn’t know we were going into a safari) trekking through this BEAUTIFUL jungle! All was going well until the guide gave us one “small” piece of advice…that if we saw any JAGUARS that we should not run, but rather look them in the eye so they know who’s boss! Ha! Forget about dogs…and cows…now it’s JAGUARS! We didn’t see any, but we saw monkeys, and all sorts of amazing things! At one point the guide showed us this little cave that we could jump and swim though, it was one of those split second decisions where if I thought about it I would have never done it, but it was AWESOME! The trip ended on this little island inhabited by two African families who came over escaping slavery. They cook a traditional “pescado” meal for all the people who come, and it was great to take a nap on the beach in a hammock! It was a beautiful two days! I will update you soon on the other more regular/weekly things I will be doing for the next 5 months, when I get a better idea of it this week! Please keep me in your prayers, and know you are in mine!

2008-08-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful Mountains!

Our suitcase

"pharmacy"

Our Medical Team!

Medical Mission Brigade

2008-08-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Wow! Like I said before I went to Buen Pastor a town up in the mountains this past Thursday. The trip up the mountain was enough to write about! It is straight up with no such thing as paved roads! At one point myself and Tracy (the fearless driver and missionary from Ireland/Scotland) pulled over to put chains on the tires as we inched up to the summit! It was one of those times I couldn’t help but laugh and say I wish I had a video camera because this is just unbelievable! Mom don’t worry we were “safe” the whole time!! :) We came to the town, where I met Dr. Will a doctor from Virginia, and some of his family members who were helping him out, some of the other missioners, along with a physical therapist from Boston! We are never as alone as we think because we quickly realized that Laurey the PT is part of a group my Uncle Paul runs up at BU, and Will and I have a number of mutual friends! We opened the doors to see people lined up and down the road waiting to be seen, As you can see from the pictures we had our meds in suitcases, and our “private room” was just a sheet hung on the wall. Most of the people had rashes, scabies, asthma, and common cold and flu, but there were a few interesting cases! One woman came in with what looked like gangrene on her ankle, I asked her if she had diabetes etc, and she did not. Dr, Will and I took her to the back to clean her wound and I asked her what she had been using to keep this clean, Because I was speaking in Spanish, I was almost positive it was a translation thing when she said serpent fat, but NO! Apparently the fat from snakes works as some sort of salve to prevent infection! You learn something new everyday! But as the day came to an end a mother came in with her 6 year old daughter, From the initial look at her it was obvious she had some sort of congenital disorder. The mother explained that she had just begun to walk this past year, and had yet to begin to talk. She was asking Dr, Will to help her little girl who had never seen a doctor before. It was so hard to see him have to explain that this is a congenital disorder, and this is how she will live the rest of her life. There was nothing medically that we could do for her, but that wasn’t the end. They then sat down, and he prayed with her that she would have the grace to care for this little girl, and that she would have hope. It is something that I have been thinking a lot about. I am realizing that the tools these people need to be given are tools to live there lives. We can not help every person, nor change every situation, but what can I give to help lighten their load? For this woman we were not able to cure her daughter, but able to give her some seed of faith. And I can only pray that that seed turns into consolation and hope for this woman and her daughter. To see faith and works go hand and hand is beautiful. People are coming with such need and vulnerability, and openness! it’s truly amazing to see through the different missions how God can transform lives! There have been about 120 volunteers here from California, Texas, and Michigan this past week. It has been awesome to be able to work with them, and see how much has been given to and learned from the Honduran people! Everyday I see more and more how small my contribution is, but how much it means added to that of so many others. To end: no more crazy cows (I’ll try to get a picture next time Margie!) But I DID slaughter a pig with the Friars, and Br. Damiano (who is also a nurse) and I took the heart and gave the kids an anatomy lesson on dissection of the heart!! To only be matched by Fr. Juan Diego turning around and placing the bladder in my hands to “just hold for him” ! Those pictures are still to come! Never a dull moment! Please keep me in your prayers, and you are all in mine!

Day 1:

2008-08-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well I got here safe and sound thank God! A bit of an eventful trip en route to Houston with some tropical rain storms coming and going! I got into Tegucigalpa a few hours late, and then it was an hour and a half car ride to Comayagua where I am now staying. Comayagua itself is a larger town; there is even a Dunkin Donuts! But where I am living is a small pueblo on the outskirts. I live in a house with 9 other women, and then there is a guy’s house across the street with about 8 guys living in it. They live in Casa Guadalupe which is also the main center where many of the programs are run, and sick are taken care of. The CFR’s called here “Los Fray” live around the corner! Culture shock does not even begin to describe it. Today I went with one of the other missionaries who works with a social worker for the women of the town. (Each missionary works in whichever field that closest meet their training) She is leaving this week, and has been working with these women for the past year. She needed to go around a say some goodbye’s, and invited me to come along. I was not prepared for what that held. These families, mostly single mothers with their children live in 2 room mud huts. I have never in my life seen such poverty. I don’t even know how to describe it. The kids run around without clothes on, and the most lacking is food and medical attention. 2 young girls were losing there eyesight day by day, the doctor said if they increased there Vit. A intake there was a chance they would be able to see again. The missionaries here who sometimes make meals for the people saw to this need, and within 2 weeks both girls had their sight back. Simple task, just no means to do it by themselves. On a lighter note, we were walking through the streets and got chased by a COW! It was HUGE! Haha! There are animals everywhere, (…some of you know how much I “LOVE” dogs so just picture this!) I just walked outside our gates to get something and there were 3 wild horses on the front lawn! Tomorrow I leave to meet a Doctor from the states in a small town called Buen Pastor, he saw 150 patients by himself today! I will be there until Saturday! Please keep the prayers coming, I’m taking this moment by moment :S Until then God Bless!

Therese Floyd RN, BSN

2008-07-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

As of today at 8am I am officially a Registered Nurse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I passed my NCLEX!!! Truly a great feeling!!! Thanks again for all the support and prayers for the NCLEX and also over the past 4 years of nursing school!!!!

My next step...

2008-07-01T11:14:00.001-07:00

I am setting up this BLOG to keep you all updated on a great opportunity that I have been given to serve God and His people for the next five months. As you may know I graduated from Seton Hall University this past May with a degree in Nursing, and I am now a registered nurse! As graduation approached I began to get caught up in the job hunt, and as I wrote resume after resume I could not shake the feeling that this would be an ideal time in my life to give back. I began to search for different mission opportunities; ones which would allow me to use my medical training as well as share my faith with others. During my search I came across the Missioners of Christ a group of lay missionaries who serve in Honduras. As I researched the Missioners’ program and their idea of service it became very clear that this was the program for me. It offers a balance of prayer, service and formation and a safe environment where I can use my medical training. While there, I will be working with the Missioners of Christ and the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, both communities that have established a permanent mission in the Honduran town of Comayagua.
As you may know, the already poor country of Honduras was ravaged by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. More than 10,000 people were killed in the storm, and tens of thousands more were made homeless and/or orphaned. Honduras is still rebuilding from this tragedy. The Missioners have been serving the people of Honduras since this time, forming partnerships with both the Diocese of Comayagua as well as the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, in a joint effort to implement basic needs and discipleship programs for the impoverished youth and young adults in the local villages. While in Honduras, I will experience the life of a missionary: living, working, teaching and serving the poorest of the poor at these different missions. The mission has the twofold purpose of serving their material and medical needs as well as evangelizing young adults through retreats and simply sharing with them the love of Christ. As a nurse I will be assisting at the medical clinic established there. I will also be going on many of the mountain medical missions with other Doctors and Nurses from around the United States who come the volunteer in the week long medical/surgical missions.
So, please keep me in your prayers on this next part of my journey!!!! Thanks!!!!
Therese:)