Something to Be Thankful For

Delmis and Baby Kensy

Delmis and Baby Kensy, October 10, 2023

“We are so grateful for the help we received because our baby would have died that October day if we had not taken her to PAHS. We sold some corn to have bus fare and traveled a long way down our mountain to get to Peña Blanca. The people of our village talk marvels of this place and say that you are lovely people, so I told Kensy’s dad, “Let’s take her there. I know they can help our baby girl.” A kind neighbor lady came with us to show us the way.

Delmis and Baby Kensy, October 23, 2023

When we arrived on the PAHS campus, we were attended to by the Nutritionist in charge of the Rehab, he then took us to the nurse and then to the pediatrician of the town. After the pediatrician examined our baby he said it was an emergency since besides the malnutrition that weakened her body (because of a lactose intolerance), both her lungs and her stomach had a viral infection, and we needed to get to the Hospital in the city right away. The driver from PAHS kept on telling us the whole drive down to the Sula Valley: “Don’t worry, your baby is going to be alright. Just trust in God.”

When we got to Pediatric Emergencies at the government hospital, the doctors and nurses started to work on our baby girl immediately and they told us she had an 80% chance of dying that night. They gave us very little hope. But thanks to everyone who helped us we still have our baby and she looks healthy and beautiful. We are very thankful for the special lactose-free formula you helped us buy. And we are so thankful to all of you for all of the support you gave us! Everyone there — the health staff, the cooks, the office staff, the drivers — treated us so kindly. We are very, very grateful!”

Lucas Martinez - Father of Vocational School Graduate

Andres At GRaduation Dec. 2022

“I am so thankful to God and to the Vocational School for the opportunity that my oldest son, Andres received. By graduating from the PAHS Education Program his entire life and his future have been positively impacted.

Our family struggled to get Andres educated as an Auto Mechanics Technician at the (Dr. Stephen Youngberg Technical) Vocational School. Although there was no tuition it was very hard to come up with bus fare for his transportation to Peña Blanca.

Thanks to God and to Andres’ hard work as a student he was able to receive a job offer immediately in the place where he did his one-month practicum at the Ford dealership in the city of San Pedro Sula. His supervisor and the manager of the dealership both praised his work to me and to the Vocational School staff. As his father that makes me very proud!

Now that he has a good job, he is able to help support the family as we educate his younger siblings."

Tiffany Perla

Dr. Tiffany on Graduation Day July 25, 2023

“My Mom is a single parent. She raised my older sister and me alone, providing for us by preparing food over a wood-burning comal in the early mornings, then she would carefully place her preparations in a tub and hoisting it upon her head, would go through our town selling warm tamales and other foods door-to-door, as well as to people on the street.

My father left the family before I was born, however, he did help my older sister get her education up until graduating from high school. At that time I was finishing 9th grade, but I was heartbroken when he let us know he would not be helping with any more education. My mother, our only provider now, was very sad also, because she could not afford to help me go further in my schooling and she knew how badly I wanted to follow my big sister’s example and get a high school diploma too.

I really wanted to help my Mom, because I saw how hard she worked and how tired she was, she had started to suffer from terrible headaches after years of working over a hot wood-fired stove, and then carrying hot tubs of food on her head under the mid-day sun. I wanted to help her and my sister to give us all a better life and I knew I needed an education for that.

The pastor of our local church, Herminio Colindres, came to visit us just to see how we were and asked if there was anything we needed that he could help us pray about. So my Mom shared my deep desire to keep studying. Together we prayed that God would provide help for me to continue my education.

One Sabbath afternoon the pastor visited us and told us he knew of two places where we might receive the help we had asked for in prayer; one was a Christian boarding school and the other was PAHS. Together we went to both places, the first was the boarding school, but the second place we went to was different… I felt at home upon arriving.

I recall that it was the Christmas season when we went there for the first time. We were greeted with kindness and I was interviewed briefly, then given an application to fill out and told we would receive an answer soon. My Mom and I went home with the faith that God would help open the doors so I could go to school.

About two weeks later we received word to come back for an answer. That time we spoke to Anita and she gave us the marvelous news that I could come to PAHS to continue my education.

Tiffany in 2006 as a High School Student

PAHS is a warm welcoming place and I felt at home from the moment I arrived with my Mom to ask for help. I really felt like I was a part of PAHS from the start, even before I was accepted as a student. People are especially kind there and spending time on that beautiful campus was a blessing. I learned more about God and His great love, and I met many new friends among the volunteers who came from North America to work in medical brigades or in construction and maintenance crews on the PAHS campus.

A few years later I graduated from a private academy as a computer technician, and my great desire was to continue on in University although I was unsure of what I wanted to focus my studies on. My family and I prayed again that God would work another miracle so that I could study and also that I would know what to study.

I had a dream one night. In my dream, I was very happy and taking care of dental patients in villages, while my mother taught the people - who were waiting their turn to be treated - about Jesus. When I awoke I shared my dream with my Mom and big sister and they both said that was what I should study, as it was the answer to my prayer for guidance.

A few weeks later I was notified that I had passed the entrance exam of the National University of Honduras and was granted admission to the School of Dentistry. I was so happy to see God’s Hand guiding in my life!

With the help of several friends whom I had met during my high school years at PAHS, I was able to attend the National University. It was not easy and many times I didn’t know how I would go on, however, I did not stop praying and I received great support from several American friends who sponsored and inspired me.

The day before my birthday in July 2023 I graduated as a doctor of dentistry. I love my profession and feel it is a gift from God. My mission is to spread smiles wherever I go.

God has a perfect plan for our lives. He works in miraculous ways and He knows our needs. He also knows the right time to act.

God bless all the people who visit PAHS and all who know about this wonderful place and help us from afar because they are angels sent by God!

Even if you don’t know it, God uses you and your generous and good heart to bring blessings to us all in moments when we most need it. Thank you!”

Please consider supporting our mission today!

Something Of Value Newsletter Fall 2022

Dear Friends and PAHS Family,

As temperatures begin to cool up north, extra heavy rainfalls are causing trouble in Honduras. Although lots of rain regularly falls in this beautiful tropical country, the loss of too many large trees to recent development activities on our mountain, added to the extra rainfall from passing tropical storms and hurricanes have sent torrents of water to places it shouldn’t be. A torrential river moving huge rocks overflowed, uncovering, and smashing the PVC pipes that bring our water supply to the campus; this has happened five times in the last six weeks.

The unusual rainfall led to widespread flooding all over. Adding to this upheaval, an earthquake of 5.1 magnitude shook up the Sula Valley recently. These seem to be signs of the times reminding us that Jesus is coming back soon! We praise God we have a reserve water tank for our kitchen and childcare areas and that here on our campus we have all remained safe. The lack of water in the rest of our campus faucets, at times, has reminded us of our need for an updated water system not so vulnerable to the whims of nature.

Monse and Isaias

As we deal with these waters rushing around us, our hearts break especially for the tragedy of one humble mountain family whose malnourished child is in our rehabilitation program; sweet little Monse’s mother drowned on Mother’s Day trying to cross the Rio Grande illegally into the USA. Grandmother Maria tearfully told us the story, emphasizing that she had not wanted her daughter to go on that treacherous journey, “I told her that I raised her and her siblings making just a little money cleaning houses and eating very simply with beans and rice. I told her she could do that too! But she wouldn’t listen. Her children’s father had left, and she was worried about feeding them, and about my health too. She thought she could make money to help me and herself. I didn’t want her to go… Oh, how I wish she would have listened to me! How am I going to raise her two little girls with my legs in this condition?” she asked, pointing at painful varicose veins. Monse’s big sister, 4-year-old Leticia, looked on stoically as her Grandmother wept.

Sixty years ago, as our campus was taking shape, a visitor reminded us that each person who walks the two-blocks from the road toward the clinic is accompanied by a guardian angel hoping they will feel the love of God and hear words that will give them hope on their pathway to Eternity. For decades now, this has been our prayer: May each person who comes feel the love of Jesus shining from the hearts of our staff. The task humbles us as God has placed us strategically where many hurting people can come for support in times of crisis. Grandmother Maria and her two little girls’ tragic situation reinforces the need to redouble efforts to provide this generation of young people with hope … hope that there is a way to a brighter future right here in this country without leaving home, exposing themselves to grave dangers on a journey north; a journey that ends tragically for too many, leaving thousands of children without parents and robbing Honduras of many of its best and brightest minds. 

It’s a joy to watch lethargic malnourished children transform into happy healthy little ones! Over the last year we have come to love sweet Isaias. For 15 months now Isaias has been giving lessons in kindness and inclusivity. This sweet boy had debilitating diarrhea for 2 years before he came to us with his hemoglobin dangerously low. All the money the family could scrape together had been used taking him to one doctor after another and for purchasing the formula and medicine they prescribed.Nothing had helped his diarrhea. His increasing malnutrition was overlooked until a local clinic sent the family to us.

From his first day, even though Isaias was weak and thin, he exhibited kindness and was uttering words that seemed too mature from a tiny boy. And even though he was “the new kid” he still included others; when asked if he wanted to eat, he chirped: “She does too”, pointing at the child sitting next to him. Often, he seeks out the sad or lonely, and if one starts to cry he is the first to reach them with a comforting gesture.

  Isaias’ eyes sparkle with joy when talking to us, and they shine as he asks questions. His thoughtfulness is endearing. He sports a quick smile and now has enough energy to run around with a little posse of friends seeking out new adventures on the playground or in the ward. Both his uncle and mother come regularly to visit.

Thank you for providing for Isaias and his friends as they gain strength and vigor to return home, where their parents are preparing to receive them. Our staff teach parents, among other things, how to prepare nourishing meals from the foods available to them.

All of us are grateful to have the wonderful partnership of your kind hearts which makes us able to help families who reach out for support. We wish you could hear children and staff as they lift you up before God! It is a blessed and joyful experience to hear their gratitude expressed in prayers. And we now pass it along to you.

With Love,

Please donate to help more children like Monse and Isaias today!

Meet our “songbird”

Blind from birth, Belen joyfully touches her grandfather’s face. This precious five-year-old has not let the darkness quell the songs in her heart! Our Nutrition Ward is brightened by her sweet voice which resounds with hymns and choruses she seems to memorize instantly. She quickly learns new songs and then sings them out with a clear, confident voice. She and her little sister, Marbella, also blind, came to us after 3-year-old Marbella became seriously malnourished. Marbella has recovered well and now hums along softly while her sister energetically serenades us all. The girls are attending classes for the blind at a special school near our campus, and their family comes to visit them regularly. Belen is clearly delighted to “see” her grandfather! 

Thank you for helping us help families, giving these special children a better life!

Support Our Mission

An Abundance of Hope

Life offers many forms of personal growth. This has been my thought since the day that I was extended an invitation to participate with Servicio Pan Americano de Salud/ Pan American Health Service, Inc in hosting a visiting Medical Team to serve in field clinics to the mountains.

From this experience, I noted that many times our own pride and other sentiments related to greed and envy hinder us from seeing that even the air that we breathe is an enormous blessing since it is, after all, indispensable to life. We believe that all things are given to us “JUST BECAUSE” and we never stop to think about why we have them.I had the opportunity to see, indeed to palpate the hunger, the despair, the pain, and to experience the feeling of being forgotten. Even though I see many people in our cities daily living in total poverty, I can assure you this was my first experience in experiencing utter misery. I also experienced an abundance of HOPE that exists in this measure of poverty.

And it is in this hope that we are all called to participate in with our full energy, with our all for a childhood free of abuses.It is striking to observe how in our classic families the brand of our shoes, our clothing, and our toys dominate our existence. I ask myself: Are we really educating our children for Life? Are the children we gave life to conscious of what the World is living outside the windows of our warm home?

Time to go home

One of the most satisfying feelings you can experience while doing a job like this is that moment when we finally takes one of our little patients going home.

the happiness reflected on the parents faces to see their little baby going home with them, healthy and happy.

50th Anniversary of our Children’s Nutritional Rehabilitation Center

Dr Youngberg and His Wife Verlene in Front of the Nutritional Hospital in the 60’s

On this day, February 3rd, fifty years ago, Dr. Stephen Youngberg and his wife, Verlene Youngberg, RN opened their Clinic up to three severely malnourished children in critical condition, to give them special care. On that day February 3, 1965 in an old military tent serving as the first facility the Nutritional Rehabilitation Hospital was brought into existence. Of those three critically ill children only one survived the crisis produced by their lack of nourishing food. Sadly help arrived too late for two of the children who died in the first day of treatment. Too weak to continue their fight, the loss of their lives was a grim reminder of the importance of good food and the urgency of working on the prevention of the deadly illness produced by hunger. Fifty years have passed since that first Admission Day in 1965, and thousands of lives being stalked by hunger have been saved from a sure death.Today, February 3, 2015 our Nutritional Rehabilitation Center has 15 little children in various stages of recovery from malnutrition – children who have been given a second chance in life – whose joy and smiles foretell a bright and promising future for the country of Honduras. As we look back at our first 50 years of serving children, and as we stop to count the multitude of blessings we have received in transforming many lives, we appreciate the fact that this has been a team effort between Pan American Health Service, the Providence of our Divine Creator, and the support and trust of thousands of people who donate for our mission. Today, with joy and thanksgiving we celebrate an important milestone in our history, the 50th Anniversary of the Children’s Nutritional Rehabilitation Center. Thank you for being part of our success!

Counting Our Blessings...

At Thanksgiving here thinking back over this fading year, we stand in awe at God’s ability to preserve, protect, and provide.

Just a few of the blessings we are thankful for:

Andrews University School of Architecture and Design’s 15 graduate students who are working on a Master Plan for our 100+ acre campus that will strengthen our mission: “Breaking the cycle of poverty and ignorance through nutritional rehabilitation and education.” For 40 years our village has been pressing in on one side and in the last 5 years it has engulfed us. Praise God for creative expertise!

Bountiful bean crops – 3 crops this year!

Children’s ward, nearly ready for up to 48 malnourished 1 to 8 year-olds, after 6 years of being in the playhouse while we rebuilt on the old foundation. Tropical winter storm bring bone-chilling humid 50 degree temperatures that can cause respiratory distress among little ones recovering from malnutrition.

Diane Ward, long-term volunteer whose work for 4 years has improved the quality of care for the children (usually between 15 to 32 little patients) in nutritional rehabilitation. She has helped implement procedures and protocols, so her influence will continue to be felt.

Eco-tourist accommodations in the rain forests near the top of 9000 foot Mount Santa Barbara that rises near our campus. Courses to train young people to be guides through the forest and provide services for tourists will be given at USAID-built Stephen Youngberg Vocational School.

Finding land in the hills for agricultural, forestry, and hydro-power that is now under option for us to buy to generate sustainable income and expand the agricultural course at the vocational school

Graduates from the PAHS Family this year include: Arturo, Kevin, Miguel, Sam, Emily, Jansen, Daisy, Elias & Alejandro.

Honduras’ nutritional crisis having finally been recognized by World’s health organizations… They state it has the highest percentage of malnutrition in Latin America among children under the age of 5. Dr Stephen Youngberg suspected this back in 1960, but there were no statistics to confirm it.

Investments you have made in the lives of these undernourished children that provide evidence that childhood deprivation does not permanently relegate these children to poor performance academically, or failure in adult life, nor inferior progeny. Among the PAHS family there are many with excellent grades, and a growing community of professionals providing services to their fellowmen with merit.

Jesus – who is coming back soon to put an end to the suffering and misery that selfishness and self-serving has brought to this hijacked planet.

Kindnesses we see the children offer to one another, especially to the weak and handicapped

Loma Linda University’s SIMS (Students in International Mission Service) outreach team who is planning its annual New Year’s trip to celebrate with the children and meet dental and other health needs.

Medical Mission groups from Central Texas Medical Center and Helping Hands as well as other individuals who give of their professional skills to helps us bring health and healing to our community.

Nourishing food – though low at times, never ran out!

Our Father God, who reminds us that He regards all members of the human race as One Family.

Prayer that sustains our hope and re-affirms our faith in our mission to God’s less fortunate children even in tough times. Staff members’ united prayer continues each morning steadily yielding answers.

Quality care, which you help us provide to malnourished children, that has been acknowledged by visiting health care workers who report: “We were told that your center is able to recover children from malnutrition in half the time of any other rehab center” – Praise God!

Regulation by new Honduran government entities that provide both challenges and new opportunities.

Scripture memorization, with its re-creative power, which is to be implemented into our educational scholarships program at every level, from kindergarten to university; we are very excited about this new program!

Teach A Man To Fish, who recently completed a 2-year in-residence consulting period with PAHS. The vocational school advanced from 30% sustainability of operating costs to now covering 57% of expenses while serving 201 students from our community studying auto mechanics, carpentry, elementary and high school for adults, sewing and woodcarving.

Universidad Cristiana Nuevo Milenio which has opened a branch campus half-a-mile from our front gate, making it possible for many more of our students and staff to attain higher education.

Volunteers who are very important to our under-staffed mission; they are a great support and encouragement!

Willing hands, so vital to all campus activities – the willing hands of volunteers hauled cement and laid blocks for our new buildings; willing hands bathe, diaper, give water, food, and medicine to the children; children’s willing hands sweep, mop and loving care for each other; the willing hands and hearts of staff in the offices, on the farm, and in the classrooms and study halls make this family possible.

“Xceeding great and precious promises” (II Peter 2:4) which are our most valuable asset. Our Almighty Provider is anxious to answer our request for “daily bread.” He chides and goads our faith by telling us, even when our hands are empty, that the hungry “need not depart; Give ye them to eat.” (Matt 14:16)

Your help, which has been essential! Thank you for joining the effort to offer nourishing food and a loving spirit to perishing little ones, and to help satisfy the thirst for knowledge among the poor.

Zeal of the many helping do this work!

A Girl Named Dilia

Dilia and her mother, the day she came to the Casita Feliz

La Casita Feliz – the heart of the Pan American Health Service Nutritional Rehab Center – is decorated for Christmas. On the wall is a mural where Santa Claus is pulling a sleigh filled with presents… except these presents are the photo of each of the 32 children who are patients receiving nutritious foodand tender loving care. What a precious gift each childis!

This Christmas is a particularly special one for Dilia – the most fragile patient to be admitted to Nutrition Center in 2013 – it will be her first away from her family however it will be a happy one regardless, for she has received the gift of life and restoration of health. In her short 13 years this very small teenager has experienced the extreme effects of hunger in ways that few can survive. Dilia arrived at la Casita Feliz on October 31, 2013 having been referred to the PAHS program by another nutritional rehab program in the city of San Pedro Sula.

Dilia’s medical treatment had begun sometime in late September when she was admitted to the acute care government hospital in the city with third degree malnutrition – extremely swollen and bloated by the protein deficiency in her body. Additionally she was profoundly anemic and presented with a parasite infestation. Worst of all the nutrient deficiency had an effect on her neurological health and she had cerebral atrophy and the motor and verbal skills of a one-year-old baby. The medical personnel knew she would need long-term care and they eventually found placement at PAHS.

The irony is that Dilia’s struggle for survival was waged on the fringes of the most prosperous city in Honduras – its industrial capital, San Pedro Sula – on the edges of the river where thousands of families, seeking a way out of extreme poverty, gather in hopes of finding a better life for themselves and where in many cases their misery grows instead of dissipating.  Such is the story of Dilia’s mother, a woman who collects plastic bottles and aluminum cans from the garbage to sell in order to have money to feed her three daughters. She relates that many days she would return home empty-handed and experience the pain of watching her children suffer hunger pangs just like herself.

To make matters worse Dilia suffered from a speech impediment and although she had been referred to therapy which was free of charge her mother could not manage the logistics of transportation when she could barely feed her children.

Dilia smiling after two weeks in our Campus

One month after her arrival at the PAHS Nutritional Rehab Center in Peña Blanca, Dilia – who had been getting around in a wheelchair – took her first steps unaided. The love, good food and motivation received from her caretakers have made a profound difference in her life. Her mother came to visit shortly after Dilia started walking. Hardly able to believe what she was seeing her eyes filled with tears as she repeated: “She’s walking”.

Dilia’s speedy recovery is miraculous and a joy to behold. Perhaps soon she will be able to be more self-sufficient and be able to enjoy a childhood which hunger has stolen from her.

“Mommy”

“Mommy, I want a baleada,” (the Honduran version of a “burrito.”)“Mommy, I want to jump on the trampoline.”“Mommy, I want juice. Mommy, I want candy.”I looked down into the faces of 6 little girls surrounding me at their school Open House. Instead of feeling annoyed at the whining sounds directed at me, I felt pure joy!

Our family was just finishing up a month of volunteer work supervising children’s activities at the PAHS campus. We had become acquainted with the children when we came as part of a volunteer building team months before. Why was their whining sweet to me? Because you cannot whine with that intensity at someone you don’t love, someone you are not 100% sure loves you back unconditionally. Their whines meant one thing to me -- they truly meant “Mommy” when they called me that! People ask me, “What do you do in Honduras?”They want to hear about some amazing building project, a medical/dental clinic that helps hundreds of people a day, or at the very least an energetic vacation bible school in the evenings. These important activities God has called others to do.

What He called our family to do is very simple and may seem unimpressive….to model and provide the love of family and a home for these beautiful children who are separated from their own parents and homes for a variety of reasons.No, it is not impressive. It is not the type of calling that fills one with pride in the re-telling of mission stories when returning home, but it is a calling of deep joy and immense satisfaction: I am called here to be “Mommy.”Our days are filled with homework, applying band-aids accompanied by hugs and kisses, attending school functions, fixing healthy snacks, playing -- and just plain being there. We have had many children sitting around our table at night, learning (hopefully) manners and how a family functions in a home. We have been able to enjoy the normalcy of life…baking a cake to take to a class party, watching “our kids” play soccer, seeing “our kids” in the school program, talking to the teachers to know what is happening at school and how the grades are going.

No, it is nothing extraordinary, but it is the very “ordinary-ness” of it that makes it so special. Sometimes God’s greatest gifts come in very simple packages….and that is what He has given us here in our Honduras home.“As far as lies in your power, make a home for the homeless,” Ellen White reminds us. “Let everyone stand ready to act a part in helping forward this work. The Lord said to Peter, ’Feed my lambs.’ This command is to us, and by opening our homes for the orphans we aid in its fulfillment. Let not Jesus be disappointed in you.”I am honored that God has called us to serve by just being a family.

I am honored to be called “Mommy”. 

They are not different, they are special

Keny sees a world that is completely different than what most of us perceive. His reality has given him much bigger obstacles with a higher degree of difficulty than most of us have. Why? The circumstances of his birth took him to a group that is different, and special.

The innocence of his condition helps him to see the good side of life in spite of his condition. It was a privilege for us to lend our services in support of a Medical Team from Michigan, organized by Brad Alcorn, who every year brings physicians and nurses to our area to lend a helping hand to improve the health of our communities. Around 60 people, the majority of them children with disabilities, were transported by our bus from the community in which they live in Las Vegas, Santa Bárbara so that they could receive attention from the Medical Team that was kicking off their week in Honduras by holding a clinic on our campus. They attended to 130 patients.

It was a beautiful thing to watch the marvelous care that these compassionate physicians and nurses gave each of these special children. They always started with a prayer and shared words of encouragement and a warm smile besides providing them with their professional medical services. These special children had a wonderful time on our campus as they soon discovered the playground and set out to explore and take advantage of its location near the health team. One by one, each of them was taken to see a physician. Some could not talk, however, their eyes communicated what words could not express and were filled with life and love. Some could not hear, but their smiles showed their gratitude. Some could not walk, and yet their parents were there to carry them. For others it was mental slowness or Down’s Syndrome that affected their bodies but not their ability to smile. The conclusion I came to is that we should give thanks in everything for everything that we have that perhaps others do not have. For many of these children who have apparently so little it appeared that they do have a better capacity to be grateful than those of us who appear to be well.

• It is estimated that 14% of the Honduran population has a disability.• A disability is considered to be anything that is a deficiency that limits the ability to engage in activities and restricts participation in them. It is a complex thing that reflects an interaction between the characteristics of the human body and the characteristics of the community in which it lives.

Alicia's first Christmas

Alica, 7 years-old, has been in recovery from malnutrition for two months. When she came to the Nutrition Rehabilitation Program she was ill, tired and sad. Little did she imagine anything like Christmas on October 28. That day she was merely fighting to survive her hunger and the sickness it had brought her. Food was probably all she could dream of. Toys, Santa Claus and angels singing songs were not even a possibility.Now imagine her delight at the sounds, smells and sights of Christmas!Fresh-cut poinsettias, pine branches, candles and lights decorated the PAHS Chapel on Christmas Eve. The teens and staff of the PAHS Home had prepared an original Christmas program to tell the Story of Jesus’ birth. An angel choir sang, shepherds with live lambs appeared to see a real “Baby Jesus” played by Elizabeth, 16 months old, a patient from the Casita Feliz, who quietly peered first at “Mary” then at “Joseph” then at the angels, shepherds and wise men, peacefully taking in all the sights and sounds.On Aileen’s lap sat Alicia who, not knowing any of the songs the choir was performing, joined in singing at the top of her lungs in sweet sounds only she understands. What a joyful sound it was! What a delight to see this precious child, who just nine weeks ago was suffering Third Degree Malnutrition, joining enthusiastically in the festivities and throughly enjoying herself.“That is the most beautiful Christmas program I’ve ever seen. That was really special,” stated volunteer Rachel Pratt at the end of the Christmas program. How fitting that this is Alicia’s first Christmas celebration!On Christmas Day, Alicia got to sit on Santa’s lap and with a beaming smile received her gift. The sparkle in her eyes and the smile on her face were priceless.Alicia represents many children whose lives are touched by your generosity. Thank you for being part of the team that provided her with food, shelter, love, a Christmas sparkle in her eyes and the opportunity to keep on singing!Perhaps next Christmas she will know the words to the songs and she too will be dressed in a white angel’s robe in the choir; perhaps she will even know the alphabet by then. Thanks to you the possibilities are endless.

Thankful for the Father Who never Abandons Us

As Rosita swings on the swing set, the soft breeze tousles her curls while warm rays of sunshine bathe her surroundings and whisper to her of a Father she is just getting to know. There in the back and forth of her swinging this small child is removed from the extenuating circumstances that are the reality of her short life. She is the youngest of seven siblings who recently came to live in the PAHS Home.

These children’s lives recently were a nightmare. Four hours travel time away in the capital, Tegucigalpa, their mother is dying of a lung disease and only a miracle can save her. Two months ago, as the children lay sleeping, their father disappeared during the night. “When we woke up in the morning he just wasn’t there anymore. He left without telling us goodbye”, Rosita remembers. At the age of six, she already is feeling deeply the repercussions of abandonment.“Before coming here we lived in the city with an aunt. She took us to live with her when our older sister went to be with our mother in the hospital. She locked us up and then brought us back to our house. We were alone and scared. There were many men close to our house and my siblings and I would hide.

When someone would knock on our door we would be very still and quiet so that they would not know we were inside”, Mercy tells us.  At the age of fourteen, she became the primary caretaker to the younger siblings in the absence of their oldest sister, 17, who has gone to be at the bedside in the hospital to care for their dying mother. Now the fear that these children lived in has been left to one side, and in its place, they now get to enjoy the company of other youngsters who they can talk to and play with. They get to eat three meals a day and live in a room that was specially decorated just for them by Gary and Jennifer, a couple whom God used to remove them from the nightmare they were living in. Part of a visiting group who stayed on the PAHS campus while they worked construction at a nearby site, Gary and Jennifer came across the abandoned siblings when they were out distributing food baskets to the community.

Observing the conditions that Mercy and her younger siblings lived in they decided to intervene and find a safer situation for the children. Safety, now they have it. There is no more fear. And even though they are not fully aware of the seriousness of their mother’s struggle to live their little hearts are with her and their hope is placed in the Father-- their Heavenly Father--  they have just come to know.“I didn’t know any songs before, but we just learned ‘Let us give thanks to God’. We feel that there must be Somebody who loves us so much to provide us with all of this. And you say that Jesus loves us. Well I am thankful to know this Father that will not abandon us”, concludes Mercy.

Meanwhile, Rosita jumps off of the swing set and runs to the arms of her older sister. The smile on her face is evidence that just like this sibling bond of love held them together in the dense darkness of the trial they have come through, now they have the security of that Heavenly Father, they are just getting to know, who will always be with them just like He always has been before they knew it. Thanks to a visiting volunteer group and the watchfulness and concern of one special couple, the siblings are now adapting to their new home at PAHS.

I Have No Food For My Children

In the Bible, Jesus asks: “ Which of you knowing your children are hungry and asking for bread would give them a stone instead?” He goes on to point out that if people who are imperfect know how to give good things to their children, then imagine how much more our Heavenly Father can give to those who ask Him. This is the only hope that the little Muñoz siblings have as the conditions in which they have been living are far from what would be considered appropriate.

Six of the seven children in this family were admitted to the Nutritional Rehabilitation Hospital. Maryuri and Xiomara, the two youngest ones were admitted on Friday with a diagnosis of Third Degree Malnutrition. Doctor Maldonado had to count their teeth in order to determine which one was the oldest sister. Later the family returned to the Nutrition Hospital with the four older children who were also admitted for treatment of their malnutrition. Their parents were accompanied by the pastor from their community church in Yojoa, 50 kilometers from Peña Blanca. This good man had provided the desperately poor family with a humble amount of food and a place to stay, and in spite of the charity of the pastor, the situation for the family remained disheartening: an unemployed father, a mother caring for a newborn, without food or a roof of their own.

All these circumstances have reduced these parents to a painful existence of watching powerlessly as their children grow weak and ill as a result of the scarcity. Mahatma Gandhi once said: “There are people in this world who are so hungry that God can only appear to them as a loaf of bread”.  Indeed this seems to be the situation for this particular family. In spite of the extreme poverty from where these siblings have come, it is admirable to witness the protective instinct these little ones have for each other. In their short stay, we have noted that Maria, 9, the oldest sister, automatically takes charge of the two youngest ones. It is evident that she has been the right-hand helper of her mother, and one can imagine what she has endured in her short life. Shortly after her arrival Maria picked up both little sisters, one in each arm, and did not want to put them down. One of our Staff Nannies came close and said to her: “We will take care of them now. You can go play”.PLAY? That was not a word in Maria’s vocabulary... but now it is. There are so many new things to be experienced! Like the flavor of a warm bite of food, eating three meals a day, the feel of a new pencil between her fingers, and the ability to doodle on a piece of paper -- up until now she has never been to school -- the feel of a warm blanket on her skin on these cold and rainy nights. We are conscious of the fact that for these parents it has not been easy to leave their six small children with us.

They have done so with a new faith in the God they are just getting acquainted with; a God who has now provided them with a new home, health care, and adequate living facilities for their children.

God sent us to get you

Alicia and Nellie

I entered the Casita Feliz on a special mission. A joyous place, filled with happy voices, smiling little faces and tiny hands reaching out to be squeezed, the “happy little house” is the new dwelling of Alicia, 7 years old,a waif brought to the Nutritional Rehabilitation Center four days before by a Medical Team from Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos, Texas. I wanted to see how she was feeling today and assess the recovery progress she was making.

Having been a photographer for the Team on the last day of Field Clinic, I had developed a special bond with Alicia which started when I was asking her to stand closer to her mother for a picture while they waited to be seen by the doctor. My hand brushed her very taut belly and my eyes immediately fell to her feet to confirm what I suspected – Alicia was in a state of severe malnutrition - her feet barely visible because her long dress was swollen, peeling, and raw, the secondary effects of not having enough protein and vitamins in her food. My heart ached as I looked through the camera at her sad brown eyes. Her demeanor spoke of a life of pain, indeed the struggle to survive. My gut instincts told me this was the child we had come to the mountain village of Santa Rosa de Bacadilla to retrieve. She was the reason we were right here, right now. Reflexively I felt a deep gratitude and sent up a prayer to God for having sent us, for the privilege of being part of this Medical Team … today.

My heart quickened as I saw the family enter the humble little structure that usually serves as a one-room school but today was a one-room Clinic filled with Doctors, Nurses, Support staff, and Patients. I quickly followed knowing I would have an important role to play in the treatment of this particular family. My fluency with the language, my profession as a Registered Nurse and a lifetime living in these mountains and watching malnourished children recover give me a unique perspective and skill set that would come in handy. As they sat before Dr. Ivery - a pediatrician - and her translator, Paul, I hunched down next to the mother.

Then, for what seemed like an eternity but was probably a little less than an hour, we coxed and cajoled the mother to allow her malnourished seven-year-old daughter and three-year-old son to be admitted to the Nutrition Program at Pan American Health Service in Peña Blanca.  The father – who it turned out is Alicia’s stepfather – was convinced much sooner than her mother that this was a good idea. Her mother kept repeating, “I don’t want her to be brought back to me dead” and “I don’t want a dead child”, while all the time resisting her consent for her children to be treated and restored back to health. At some point, I glanced over at Dr. Ivery, a mother herself, who had tears streaming down her cheeks. With a lump in my throat, I said to the mother, “See, the doctor knows how seriously sick your little girl is and it makes her sad.  And she is a mother too and knows how hard it is to think of being apart from your children”. At this, I saw a ceding in the mother’s manner. Tears started to well in her eyes as she said: “Ok, but tell the doctor to stop crying”.  I breathed a sigh of relief as I knew Alicia was on her road to recovery.

Having the consent of Alicia’s mother for her and her little brother to be admitted to the Nutrition Rehab I stepped out of my role as translator/nurse and resumed my photography job.   The next time I looked back at Dr. Ivery and Paul’s medical station my heart was warmed to see Nellie, a nurse, and Karen, a respiratory therapist and the leader of this Medical Team gently washing Alicia’s swollen and peeling feet. After softly bandaging her feet up with Karen, Nellie scooped Alicia into her arms and tenderly carried her out of the one-room, make-shift Clinic, up the trail to the vehicle that would transport her to a new life.  I was transfixed as I snapped photo after photo, my mind reeling at the miracle I was witnessing, my heart full of a knowing that Alicia’s life will never be the same again.  I was struck by the symbolism as Nellie carried Alicia up the path … up and out of her life of pain.

Four days later, I am in the Casita Feliz on a mission. I am here to see how Alicia is feeling today. My heart leaps as she responds in a one-syllable chirp that sounds like a little bird: “Bien” (Good) to my question of “Como te sentis hoy?” (How do you feel today?).  I feel deep gratitude and great love for this child bubbling up in my chest and impulsively, without thought, I blurt out, “You know, God sent us to get you. Did you know that?” Instantly her face lit up, her eyes sparkled and joy radiated from one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen. That moment was a clear confirmation for what I knew in my gut when I first took her picture: God sent us to Santa Rosa de Bacadilla to get Alicia.

He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives - a place in the sun! ~ 1 Samuel 2:8

Up until now, God has helped us

Linares Family

I had the opportunity to attend the Convention of Adventist Services and Industries (ASI) in Sacramento, California this past August. I witnessed how God continues to give food and support in these times of crisis. As I walked the aisles of the Exhibit Hall, I found myself standing in front of and photographing the booth of Gospel Ministries International directed by David Gates. Previously I had had the privilege of meeting him when he visited Honduras a few years ago, where I had also heard him talk about his ministry. 

I later learned more about his missionary work through his two books which narrate some incredible miracles that God has manifested in the life of this man. I was in awe of the simple and extensive faith that connects Mr. Gates and his family to God as they have witnessed miracle after miracle expanding their ministry, and similarly, all those missionaries who with the help of Our Lord left behind the comforts of “The Land of Opportunities”, strike out on the adventure of cultivating souls for Christ. Reflecting on this I thought of two couples whose presence and testimonies have blessed me. During ASI, we had the opportunity to meet up once again with John and Cathy Sage Linares, who we had the pleasure of meeting in February when they came to the Pan American Health Service Campus as part of the Oakhurst Seventh-Day Adventist Church Mission Team from California.  John and Cathy felt moved to sponsor two of our students to give them the opportunity to receive an education according to Biblical Principles.

Both, John and Cathy, were impressed by our mission in Honduras and they have expressed their intention to visit once again next year to carry out a special project. Cathy - a Speech Therapist by profession – plans to have special sessions with the children of the Casita Feliz to give extra support to those who are a little behind developmentally because of their malnutrition.

Another faithful couple, Paul and Kay Newby, participated as part of the Mission in Motion medical team of Central Texas Medical Center in May. They also brought us good news and reminded us of God’s promises for these difficult times. Paul, a pastor and paramedic, felt the call of God to give of his time for missionary service on our campus and in the mountains surrounding our Peña Blanca Community. He and his wife, Kay, have witnessed God’s providence as others in the Dallas area have been raised up who wish to support the construction of a Fire Station and  Emergency Medical Service in our community. They also wish to support the training of young people who would staff such a facility.

Through these two couples with missionary hearts, we have been able to confirm that God still works miracles for us as well, and in the same way that he has manifested amazing miracles in the life and ministry of David Gates, providing millions of dollars as well as security, He is also doing great things for us. We depend on You Heavenly Father!

Our experience

We are two girls who have graduated high school this last year, and we wanted to take a break before heading off to college.  We heard about Pan American Health Services, and loved the idea of helping at an orphanage.

One of our first challenges we faced was the language barrier. We had taken two years of Spanish in high school but because we hadn’t used it much, we found ourselves at a dead end when trying to talk with people. It was very difficult for the first few weeks, but were getting used to it and learning little by little.

Our project here was to start up a pre-school for the kids in the Casita Feliz, because by the time the kids were old enough to go to school, they were very behind because they didn’t have the preparation that parents usually give at home.  It’s also difficult for some of the older children in the Casita, because sometimes parents come to take their kids back into the mountains, so they can’t go to school for a consistent education.  Therefore, our preschoolers range from 3-10 years old.

Before we came we had no idea what to expect or how primitive it was going to be. Lucky for us we were able to talk with a family that had been here recently. They gave us advice and told us what to expect. Although it was really helpful, we still had a few surprises when we arrived.

The food here is very basic, because the mission provides food for all the residents in the orphanage, all the workers, and also other people in the community who need food.  A typical breakfast consists of bread, beans, and homemade cheese or eggs.  Lunch is rice with lentils, beans, and tortillas. Dinner is sometimes leftovers, or sometimes beans and tortillas. There’s the occasional vegetable as well, and we’ve been lucky enough to have oranges for dessert as well! It took some getting used to, but since we eat the same thing every day, it didn’t take long for us to grow accustomed to it! Sabbath is the best day, because we get to eat spaghetti, Honduran style! Also some days they add variety and serve different rice with chicken. We live for those days!

We were happy to discover, when we arrived, that they have internet for certain hours of the day every day of the week. It’s so nice to be able to communicate with our friends and family.

We stay in the dorm with the girls. It’s really great; sometimes we forget it’s an orphanage because it seems like a regular school dorm. The only down side is that the showers are freezing cold, but that’ll be nice during the hot months and we hear that it gets blistering hot.

One of the professors in the Adventist academy recently offered to tutor us in Spanish.  Classes are going great; we get tutored twice a week.  We also are starting up guitar lessons, taught by our Spanish tutor’s friend.  They are both very generous and kind; they’re doing the lessons for free!

The people here are very open and friendly, very willing to help you out in any way and are very personable. The people make everything worthwhile and we love it here because of them.

Lauren and Rachel

“To him who believes all things are possible”

Suyapa and Ingrid

As we move farther into the beautiful mountains of Santa Barbara, (located in Northwestern Honduras) I can’t help but admire the natural beauty of this place; beautiful pine forests, refreshing streams, the impetuous Ulua River and extensive hilltops that merge to form a magnificent landscape.

Without a doubt this is one of the most pleasant journeys I have taken, excluding the atrocious state of the “road” we are traveling on which has been washed out by the rain in which diches and uneven surfaces are the predominant, a fact that has our driver making a thousand maneuvers just to stay on course.

Any lover of nature and photography would be ecstatic to have this experience, however, my thoughts go beyond the natural composition, since our mission is to locate Ingrid, a girl who is suffering one of the worst cases of malnutrition I have ever seen in my life, Grade III Marasmus. At nine years of age, this deplorable illness has had its way with her, and as if this was not enough she also suffers from a mental health problem that limits her ability to live a normal childhood.

Her twin brother did not have the same fate, and here in front of us can be seen the contrast between a child who is well and the ravages that malnutrition can make in a young life. This is the reason we are here… if they cannot come to us, we will go to them. The famous saying with my own modification goes: “If the mountain cannot come to PAHS, then we will go to the mountains”.The extreme poverty that sails the most remote communities of Honduras does not permit its poorest inhabitants to seek the help they need; to go