Guest Blog…a nurse’s heart…

30 Oct Guest Blog…a nurse’s heart…

Wow where to even begin.

Before going on this medical trip, I had a feeling that something was missing from my life. Now… only being 24 years old that might sound dumb. I have everything I could ever want in life at this age- a great job in an amazing city with the best friends…however something just seemed off.
From the start, I had an amazing feeling about this trip and Hearts2Honduras. I can’t explain it really, but how everything came together just seemed so right. From the moment I stepped foot in Honduras, I knew my life was going to be changed forever, instantly clicking with each member of our team and feeling connected to them in some way that is unexplainable.
If I close my eyes I can still see the beautiful faces of Utila and Camponado, I can hear the sound of innocence through heart-warming giggles. I can even hear the sound of the rooster in the morning as the waves crashed and golf carts drove by. Everything about that place is magical to me. It’s a feeling that is so hard to explain, a feeling of warmth, and home, and love. Each and every human in that village is beautiful.

There’s something to be said about 100 people getting their teeth pulled (sometimes one tooth, most of the time more) and not one person screaming or even grimacing. These people are strong. They are proud. This was the impression I got on our first and second day of clinic.

It wasn’t until the end of the third day when I went with precious Dr. Riley to do a house call that my eyes and my heart were opened WIDE. We left the church in our cart and began to drive through the village of Camponado. As the smell got increasingly more pungent, so did the sight. We drove in silence in absolute shock as to what we were seeing. I couldn’t grasp that the hundreds of people I had seen the previous 3 days lived in these conditions. It was as if the entire village was slowly sinking into the mud, with trash and debris everywhere we looked. When we arrived at Rosas home, Dr Riley and our two interpreters, Alex and Walter, walked up to the house in complete silence. It’s truly so hard to even describe what we were seeing. I had a flood of emotions come through me as tears began to stream down my face. We very quickly placed an IV in Rosa and began giving her medications and fluids, still in silence. It was 100% the most humbling experience of my life. I never would have known that the beautiful and strong people I saw the previous days lived in such terrible conditions. Before we left, Dr. Riley prayed over Rosa. This was the first time I realized something bigger than all of us was there, and it had been there with us since the very moment we arrived. As Dr. Riley prayed an overwhelming feeling of spirit surrounded us.

I knew at that very moment exactly what I had been missing. That void was immediately filled and the very next night solidified at a very special church service with Pastor Juan. For whatever reason, I had lost Faith many years ago. The people of Utila restored my Faith. Our wonderful and loving team restored my Faith. H2H restored my Faith. It’s a trip that will forever be in my heart… Every single face will forever be in my heart. So when people ask me how my trip to Honduras was, it’s something I truly can’t even begin to explain…Because it’s an experience that is so powerful that only those who were apart of it can understand. The best thing I can say to explain it is that it made me believe again. I went there to help the people of Camponado, and they ended up saving me. I can’t wait to walk back into that village in 6 months and see all of those faces… To hug my sweet precious little Princesitas Osiri and Jessica… To hear the laughs… To Serve… To Love… To Believe.