March 2002, Honduras
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
In 2002 we were joined in Honduras by a team from Quenton’s home church. The team included two medical doctors, Dr. Spencer and Dr. Pratt, plus their family members and a nurse. Their initiation into missions with Quenton was similar to ours. Quenton had all of us pile into the back of his truck to head into the mountains. What was unusual was that we were joined by police officers equipped with assault weapons! Where were we going that the super-confident Quenton felt the need to bring three policemen with serious fire power? It could be anywhere as we were serving in the “wild west” of Honduras! Quenton had previously told us that one Sunday in the middle of their church service he had looked out the open door of the church and witnessed a man being killed with a machete. Running out of the service, he chased the murderer (who was still clutching his machete) until he lost him! So far, God had protected us from being a part of any of these horror stories.
It turned out that we were going to a small village in the heart of a drug running area. We had never felt at risk in any of our other locations but that may have been sheer ignorance on our part. The presence of the police seemed to indicate that this new village might be especially bad.
We arrived at our destination without incident, although we did pass a stopped Coca-Cola truck being guarded by two men with rifles. Now we were even more concerned!!!
At the village Jack and the two doctors began treating what seemed like never-ending lines of patients. The people’s teeth were in incredibly bad shape. Their discomfort must have been intense. That probably accounted for our patient line stretching around the building and down the street! The doctors finished way before we did and unfortunately we held up the team when everyone was ready to leave. It was a great feeling though to know that we were being guarded by the police in this rather dangerous area and all we had to focus on was ministering to these physically hurting and spiritually needy people.
Sometimes perception is reality but that day it wasn’t! We thanked Quention for providing the security for us while we worked and he said, “Next time, I’ll hire military protection. I forgot that the police are often “bought” by the ones who pay the most.” We had put our trust in unworthy people that day when in reality, it was the Lord who was our protection. The police could have easily become partners with the drug runners, making us vulnerable to kidnapping, but the Lord did not allow that to happen.
Another perception problem that we have to remind ourselves of is, that no matter how bad the people’s physical problems are, that is not their most important need. The condition of their soul is. We love being able to relieve people’s suffering but as medical/dental practitioners, we are only tools that God can use to point patients to their lack of salvation. If their physical problem is addressed but they enter eternity without their sin problem solved, we have only helped them a little. This is why we always team up with a gospel sharing missionary, who speaks their language. The patient is made aware that we all must stand before a holy God and one day give an account. What have they done with Jesus’ sacrifice of His life to pay for their sin? Are they trusting in themselves or in God’s remedy for sin? That is the question!
We headed back to Limon and had a wonderful meal at a restaurant. That night, Jack and Dr. Spenser’s son got sick. Their symptoms were similar but Jack’s were worse. He wasn’t able to go to the next village in the morning, one located at the top of a mountain. It started raining as the others drove and even with chains on the tires, they couldn’t make it up the mountain. So everyone had the day off. The next day they tried to get up to the top again but had to come back in defeat. Jack and Dr. Spencer’s son were getting worse instead of better. Suspecting that their illness was from the food, probably E. coli bacteria, at the restaurant, Dr. Spencer started them both on an antibiotic and the improvement was remarkable.
The next day we all headed out again and made it half way up the mountain, where we encountered the mud once again. No matter what Quenton tried, chains, rocks under the tires, people pushing, we could not get any further. Why could we not get up there? Spying an unused clinic building by the side of the road, we decided to see if we could work out of it instead. Permission was given, the local people we very excited to accommodate us, and we were soon setting up in the village of Agua Calliente. No one had used this clinic for a long time but soon we were ready to see patients. And how the word had spread so quickly that we were there we didn’t know, but there was soon a crowd at the gate of the clinic, each one waiting for their turn.
We had only been working for a short time when a youth was brought in with his arm packed with dirt and moss. He had a machete wound to the bone and had lost a lot of blood. We could only wonder how this happened, but the dirt and moss were to keep him from bleeding out. Unfortunately, it presented quite a mess to have to clean out, before Dr. Spencer could address the wound. We were in another room treating dental patients but could hear what was going on. Dr. Spencer called to Dr. Pratt to help him with the daunting task of cleaning out the wound and we thought we heard Dr. Pratt, a pediatrician, say “Okay, but you know I don’t do well with blood!” We thought we must not have heard that correctly and kept working. Five minutes later, one of Dr. Spencer’s son’s called out “Dr. Pratt is on the floor!” Jack went in to check if everything was all right, not understanding what was going on. Dr. Pratt indeed was on the floor, he had fainted!!
Finally, after what seemed like hours and maybe was, Dr. Spencer was able to clean out the wound, repair the spurting artery and stitch the boy up. Dr. Pratt was awake and feeling better. He shared that he had never been able to tolerate the sight of blood! We asked how he ever made it through medical school and he simply said “Yeah, that was really tough!”
We weren’t supposed to be at that medical clinic that day, but if we hadn’t been there the boy with the machete wound could have had a far worse outcome. We realized we were participating in the sovereign plan of God and were so thankful to be able to be in the “right place at the right time.” It is an amazing thing to realize that our very steps are being ordered by the Lord, to provide help for those in such need. And what a great opportunity to share with this boy, his more important spiritual need!
The next day we drove to the village at the top of the mountain, our original destination, with no difficulty. The Lord had prevented our going until the boy with the machete wound got the help he needed!
We were late arriving in this mountaintop village by three days. As we drove in the people cheered and began chanting the Spanish word for molars! We laughed so hard! What a greeting!
Although this is our last story of our ministry in Honduras serving with Quenton, there were other trips there. Some were work team trips with members of our home church and there were other trips that included the team from Quenton’s church. On one trip a farrier came, to teach the pastors of some of the very poor Christian churches how to shoe horses, so they might have an income. A veterinarian came as well, to vaccinate horses and provide care. It was a blessing to see how God can use people with a wide variety of talents to help bring people in contact with the gospel!
We were very thankful for what God allowed to be accomplished through the dental and medical ministries in Honduras. The people in these remote mountain villages have many physical needs. As such, this opened the door for many wonderful opportunities to share with them about a wonderful Savior who cared greatly for them. We miss those mountains and those people, but we do not miss the mud!