Precious Children

Luke 9:2 "and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick"

This is the mission statement of Predisan, a Georgia based Christian organization, serving the health care needs of rural Olancho, Honduras

I spent 10 days over spring break last month on a nutrition trip in Honduras. My class from OHSU went with our nutrition professor. This was her third trip to Honduras. The local organization sponsoring us was Medical Teams International (formerly known as Northwest Medical Teams) and Presidan was the partner organization actually running the show in Honduras. I was excited for this trip for several reasons

1. I love traveling, particularly to Latin American countries

2. I got to incoroporate nutrition with my Spanish skills and gain experience i n that arena. 

3. I was excited to traveling with a Christian organization where people were  kingdom focused. 

Many people have asked me what we actually did on the trip. Here is a brief overview:

1. We visited several rural health clinics. At each clinic, women and chiildren from the surrounding village gathered to listen to our talks. We gave nutrition presentations on prenatal nutrition, nutrition during pregnancy, nutrition while breastfeeding, infant nutrition, and early childhood nutrition. The focus of our presentations were on prevention, signs, and symptoms of deficiencies. Key nutrients of interest were Vitamin A, Folic Acid, and Iron

Here is a picture of me giving one of these talks.

2. We also spent a lot of time playing nutrition games with kids and playing with the kids in general. Here are some photos of us teaching the kids

Here are some photos of us just playing with the kids:

Here is a cute video of me with a kid

What did I learn on this trip?

My Spanish certainty improved. I realized that this is a critical part of who I am and something that I want to use throughout my career and life.  I was reminded about the poverty that exists in our world and how the love of Jesus is the only thing that sustains. I had an amazing time and I cant wait to go one other trips like this in the future!