Hurricane Eta foreshadowing a new catastrophe for Honduras

Up to 35 inches of rain may fall through Friday in Nicaragua and Honduras

• Hurricane Eta is forecast to produce catastrophic flooding in parts of Central America.

• Flooding from Hurricane Mitch in 1998 killed thousands in Central America.

• Eta's forecast has some things in common with Mitch.

Hurricane Eta's potentially catastrophic strike in Central America is stirring memories of another deadly storm 22 years ago: Hurricane Mitch, which claimed thousands of lives in Honduras and Nicaragua.

After its Nicaragua landfall, Eta is forecast to move very slowly through Central America much of the rest of this week.

This slow movement over mountainous terrain could trigger catastrophic inland flash flooding and mudslides. Up to 35 inches of rain may fall through Friday in Nicaragua and Honduras, according to the NHC.

While each hurricane and its impacts are unique, this forecast has some unsettling similarities to one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes on record.

In late October 1998, Hurricane Mitch exploded into a Category 5 hurricane in just four days in the western Caribbean Sea north of Honduras, holding onto that intensity when it was as close as 60 miles north of the Honduran coast.

Then Mitch slowed down.

Mitch's intensity plunged from Category 5 to Category 1 before its Honduras landfall. But it took two days for Mitch's center to drift south and make that landfall, pummeling the coast and offshore islands with destructive winds, surge, waves and torrential rain.

Eta has the potential to slow down near or just after its landfall and could lash the coast of northeastern Nicaragua Tuesday longer than usual for a landfalling hurricane.

There's no guarantee Eta will end up being nearly as deadly as Mitch, but some resemblances are certainly disconcerting.

Source: www.Weather.com

#hurricaneeta
#Honduras
#hurricane
#Centralamerica

Helping in times Of Crisis

Stephen working and getting some basic grains to the most needy during these trying times.
A day worker makes a couple dollars a day, they were unable to buy food to last them durning the quarantine time.
Visit our web site to help feed more families Prayers for all in need.

PAHS attending GYC Conference

Volunteer Meeranda Beermand and Dago Fernández, IT Web Master,  hosted  the PAHS booth at the #GYCconference at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, the first week of 2014. They focus on Volunteering this year, and many people sign up to receive further information to become  volunteers in our Honduras Campus.

SIMS '13

A student from LLU during the medical brigade

The dental and medical Students from Loma Linda University, CA, along with Dr. Tom Wieg and his family spent their New Year Holidays attending more than two hundred patients in the dental clinic and the remotes villages that they visited, El Dorado, La Fe and Los Caminos.They also participated in our celebration for the new year. Thank you so much LLU students for putting your energy, talents and love for our People in Honduras! We greatly appreciate it!

Christmas Time

These last days have been full of activities and holiday spirit in our Campus. Our Children and Staff prepared a beautiful program which was held in the church where many members of our family gathered together from far and near to celebrate Christmas. We also received the Christmas gifts that were sent from the Oakhurst and Mariposa Church in CA, that were specially prepared for our Children! And with them the special visit of Dr. Tom and his family, as well as the SIMS group from Loma Linda! Happy holidays to you!

College Graduation

This past weekend Sherly Mendez, Katy Mendez and Patty Avila, graduated from Nursing and Psychology, respectively, at the Adventist University of Central America, UNADECA in Costa Rica . We feel very proud to share their accomplishments Congratulations!

Happy Thanksgiving from Honduras

On this cold and rainy Thursday - Thanksgiving Day - we had a delicious bean soup served steaming hot with rice and corn tortillas. We are grateful for good food to eat and for our friends across the miles. We wish you a LOVE-FILLED THANKSGIVING DAY

Dilia, a miracle girl

Dilia, 13, was admitted yesterday after spending four weeks in San Pedros Sula's Hospital Due to severe malnutrition, she and her mother were remitted to us for her nutritional rehabilitation. please pray for Dilia so she can regain her health and we can see a smile on her face soon.

A day in black and white

This is an artistic black and white representation of what a normal day in our Campus looks like. Photos were taken by Pebbly Erazo, a volunteer from TX, photography student and a very helpful person.For a full photo gallery please follow this link

One Nation One Day

This past Sunday 2000 Missionaries from the United States arrived to spread the love and good news of Jesus Christ through all 18 Departments (a political division like States or Counties) of Honduras. Some are evangelists and teachers, but most are here to minister with hands and hearts to the health and needs of the people, as they unite in prayers of faith to intercede for Honduras. Groups of local pastors, health professionals and students have been organized and assigned to work with those who arrived on Sunday. One Nation One Day Centers are set up in the largest educational institutions in each departmental capitol, bringing hope to this country which is said to have the highest homicide rate in the world.  The principle objective of the initiative is to rescue youth who are being coerced by gangs into a life of delinquency.  Violent gangs and trans-national crime have stirred up high anxiety among the Honduran people. Please join us as we pray for the climax of this effort which will be held on July 20^th.

A new school for our neighbors

The dream of a new school became a reality for more than one hundred little ones who have been meeting in a temporary lean-to for several years in the near-by communities of Las Palmas and La Torre.  Pan American Health Service donated a lovely hill-top site for an architect with Schools for the Children of the World of Mears, MI,  to coordinate and assist the efforts of the children’s parents, the Yibrin family and our local municipality of Santa Cruz to build the three-room school.  Construction began in February with the students and their families providing the unskilled labor.  Working together, the school was finished and inaugurated on July 12, 2013.

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Education

After watching them grown through the years, our hearts were filled with pride and great joy to witness Patty, Ana Elsi and Dinora receive their university degrees in Nursing. Ana Elsi completed her degree with a thesis to become a licenced nurse. Having achieved her dream of becoming a profesional nurse she is now joining our work team at Servicio Panamericano de Salud (PAHS Honduras). Meanwhile Patty and Dinora will return to their university in Costa Rica, UNADECA, to complete their degree to be licenced nurses also. We are deeply grateful to all our supporters who have made this great achievement possible for our girls! A special thanks to those who sponsored their scholarships Mend a Child Foundation, Dr. Larry & Jean LaClair, Paul & Sheryl Selivanoff, Dr. Carlos & Graci Japas and John Beldin.

The Technical/Vocational School graduates 70 young people

Seventy students graduated from the Dr. Stephen Youngberg Technical Vocational School on December 6. The graduation ceremony took place in the lovely facilities of the local university campus of Universidad Cristiana Nuevo Milenio. The graduates received certifications and diplomas in Auto Mechanics, Sewing, Wood Carving, Wood Working and the EDUCATODOS program - 6th and 9th grades. The joy and pride of the students and families was a pleasure to behold and it fills the PAHS team with great satisfaction to know that we are helping to break the cycle of poverty through education.

New Graduates

It is a great source of joy to witness the graduation of 6 of our young people! Thanks to our alliance with the Mend-a-Child Foundation, PAHS has the honor of seeing Josue, Johana, Yeimi, Stephany, Gaby and Yini receive their secondary school diplomas on 24 de Noviembre from Centro Educacional Adventista. They are now eligible to enter University in search of their dreams. Josue will pursue a degree in theology, while all the girls wish to pursue careers in the medical professions:  Johana and Stephany want to be nurses; Yeimi wants to be a dentist and Yini wants to be physician. We are sure they have what it takes to succeed in their chosen fields!

HSBC Employees bring an early Christmas to the Casita Feliz

Christmas arrived a month early for the little ones of our Casita Feliz Nutritional Rehab Program thanks to a group of employees from two different HSBC locations, one in San Pedro Sula – Primera Avenida - and the other of Villanueva. This generous and loving team of givers – some of whom brought their own children along - shared presents and supplies along with a wonderful spirit of joy and love. Seated around the Central Plaza’s Christmas Tree the children’s faces lit up as one by one they were called by name to receive a beautifully wrapped gift. The fun continued with a hot lunch and a delicious cake which the team served the little ones. It was a lovely and unforgettable gesture of love which filled our hearts with gratitude and happiness!

CARE and Cargill of Honduras share of their bounty

A partnership of CARE and Cargill of Honduras in support of a group of Agriculturist in various development programs made a generous donation of food and produce to PAHS/Servicio Panamericano de Salud in an event which took place on Friday November 8 on our campus. It was a time to get acquainted and to become familiarized with the work to expand and support agriculture in Honduras and for our benefactors to see first-hand what PAHS does to support the most vulnerable of the population.  The donated food items will be used in our Nutrition and Home programs. We are grateful to each of these groups for their great generosity and for being socially responsible companies that share of their bounty with our children!

Professional Practicum completed

Johana, Josue, Yeimi and Gaby

Johana, Josue, Yeimi and Gaby completed their professional practicum or internships after finishing their course of study for secondary school which included a technical specialty in computers. The young people spent six weeks at different companies in San Pedro Sula, learning about what it takes to be a professional on a team and to be a part of the work force. They were successful in meeting their objectives and received good reviews and a few even had invitations to join the permanent staff. We are proud of each of them for setting a high standard and for the great impression they left at their respective places of practice.

Found by the Angels

Maria de Los Angeles (Mary of the angels) is a fitting name for this young woman – the single mother of two boys, ages 6 and 15 - who probably did not imagine that her life could change so much from one day to the next. Thanks to some “angels” disguised as physicians who showed up in a medical team in the small mountain community where her mother lives, Angela received a second-chance at life in May 2012. First examined by Dr. Gretchen Whisenant of the CTMC medical team, Angela explained she had seen many specialists and had undergone multiple tests and all assured her she did not have a chance to live long because of thyroid cancer that had spread and grown throughout her neck and upper chest. Dr. Gretchen’s husband, Dr. Dewey Whisenant, envisioned this young mother having a good prognosis if she could have the appropriate treatment and together the Whisenants came up with a plan to support Angela in fighting for her life. With the assistance of PAHS and Central Texas Medical Center a team of volunteers from the CTMC May Mission Team put together a larger support system to have Angela travel to San Marcos, TX for a life-saving surgery. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to witness this miracle.

Central Texas Medical Center - a blessing for Honduras

The Central Texas Medical Center (CTMC) arrived with a well organized Medical Team for the second time this year in October 2012. Teaming up with PAHS/Servicio Panamericano de Salud, they treated over 1,500 people during the week in four communities: San Antonio de Cortés, Concepción del Sur, Canculunco and Peña Blanca. The 18 professionals that made up this team traveled back to their homes in Texas happy to have had an experience of serving those in need and making new friendships.

Independence Day Celebrations

September 15 is a special date for our country, Honduras, as well as for all the Central American countries as it commemorates Independence Day.  This is why our children dressed in patriotic fervor, took to the streets in an organized parade hosted by their school to celebrate our nation’s Independence Day.  Set to the cadence of their school’s Marching Band our children of all ages participated in different squads all with the intent to commemorate this special season as they wore the pride of their country on their faces, pride at being born in such a beautiful nation as Honduras!