Honduras Part 2

As I was giving this post a title, I realized I have no idea how many "parts" there will be to this Honduras trip! Hopefully I don't bore you. I'll just keep the talking to a minimum and let the pictures speak for themselves.....that is, unless they really need an explanation!

These are pictures from CEREPA, an alcoholic and substance abuse rehabilitation program that Predisan runs. It is an enclosed compound where patients stay. They have weekly meetings with the doctor to keep track of their progress. It is voluntary admission, but once they are checked in, they have to stay there until their psychiatrist believes they can handle the outside environment. An employee of Predisan gave us a tour of the CEREPA grounds:

Mother's Day is a huge holiday down in Honduras. We saw signs everywhere wishing mother's a happy mother's day. There were also many gifts like fake flower arrangements that were on display for the holiday. 

Not sure that they would have been thrilled to know I took a picture of their laundry, but I thought it was  a nice shot.... :)

TONS of mangos on this tree!!

There was a lot of fruit on the grounds!!

Kyle (from Predisan), giving us a tour. He was showing us the cashew tree. It was so strange. There was a fruit part attached to the nut that held the cashew.

...this is it. And notice the bee....

The bees liked the fruit more than we did....

As you can tell by my face, it was....interesting! Strange texture and somewhat chalky.

Sorry the picture is focused on the cage. But those are chickens in there. The patients at CEREPA help keep the chickens; it's sort of a project to help occupy their time while they are there. 

And they had pigs, as well....

Just posing with some pretty flowers at Predisan's main clinic in Catacamas. The flowers were beautiful down in Honduras!

The following pictures are from when we first got to the mountains just outside of Catacamas. We worked in the clinics (small clinics under the administration of Predisan) and schools. 

Really tiny kitten!! Looked scared almost. Ha ha

He fell off the mama's back lol  So cute that it almost made me like cats ;)

I'm so happy that the footbridge held us....!!

Stay tuned for part 3!!! 

HONDURAS!!

So it's been a week since I've returned from Honduras and I realize that in this day and age that is a very long time to wait until posting any pictures. I apologize. But as you can imagine, there were many pictures that I had to go through!! 

First, I just want to thank everyone for your support. You supported me financially, you supported me emotionally, and most importantly, you supported me in prayer. Thank you so much; your generosity blew me away and I was really encouraged by the outpouring of love. So with that said, I am very excited to share some pictures and stories with you about my first medical mission trip! 

The journey to Honduras: it took approximately 4 hours in-flight total to reach Tegucigalpa. We flew from OKC to Houston, then Houston to Tegucigalpa. 

Ready to start the trip!! 

.....keep in mind we had to be at the airport at 4:30 a.m!!

But they still look so pretty! :)

The view flying into Honduras.

So happy to have made it! Apparently the Tegucigalpa runway is one of the most dangerous to land on.....glad I did not know this before we took off! It's tricky because Tegucigalpa sits in a valley and so the surrounding mountains make it difficult to maneuver. Our pilot did a wonderful job, though. 

The plane we flew on.

Such tourists....we pull out our cameras as soon as we step outside the airport!

Liz, one of our instructors, helping arrange our baggage. That was the hardest part of the trip there...transporting all the baggage! 

Our choices for lunch at the airport: McDonald's or a place called "Healthy Food." Obviously our nursing background influenced our decision! ;)

In case you were wondering, it's a unisex beauty salon!! Haha 

A beautiful sculpture outside the airport.

It took a van and a truck to carry all of our stuff (we each had a suitcase with our personal things, as well as a box of medical supplies). 

The traffic around Tegucigalpa was crazy. Not sure there are any traffic laws/rules! 

Making a rest stop on the long drive from Tegucigalpa to Catacamas.

Trying her first bag of water. It's cheapest to buy bags of purified water than bottled purified water and was perfect to fill our Nalgene's with! 

We often indulged in ice cream :)

....and tried new drinks (I didn't try this one but heard it wasn't that bad). 

Beautiful sunsets :)

We finally made it to the hotel we stayed at in Catacamas! The employees of Predisan (the church-based medical organization that we worked with while down there) were amazing. So nice helping move us from place to place, as well as our ridiculous amount of baggage!

Well that was our long journey to Catacamas, Honduras. I think the longest part was the drive from Tegucigalpa to Catacamas, not the flights! But all the traveling was well worth it! 

Stay tuned for the next part of the trip!! 

Wait, what?

So it's just now hit me that I'm leaving in less than 48 hours and I have to pack for Honduras. I'm excited, don't get me wrong, but the packing is stressing me out. There's so much to do to prepare for a trip like this and I just can't wait until I am on the plane, sitting in my seat, my headphones in, hopefully with some coffee in my hand. :)  I'm taking my camera, so when I get back, I will post a ton of pictures on here so that I can share with all my generous and loving donors. Everyone was so helpful. I am so appreciative of everyone's prayers and donations. The only way this is possible (that I am getting this opportunity to go) is because of you and your support. God bless! One more prayer request....please pray this isn't me tomorrow:

Hopefully I'll be like this:

But we'll see..... haha

Puppies!!!

All I can say is, I want I want I want.

First Day of Finals: OVER

I am done with Medical Surgical Nursing and this is all that goes through my mind:

TGIF!

This week has been beyond stressful and there are no words to describe the roller coaster of emotions that I've been through. BUT, it's the end of the week and I am here! I made it!!! And I am so happy. God knows I've only made it here because of him literally carrying me through the week and every stressful moment that has arisen. So yes, God is the obvious reason I survived "dead" week, but He also sent help. So, I'd just like to take the moment to thank Sabrea and Griselda for helping me get through this crazy MedSurg exam week. You guys make me laugh so hard; I can stand weeks like this in nursing school because of you!!! And Janel, you have been amazing. I'm so glad we both love Bethenny...Ever After so much!!! You were great that night. Can't wait for Monday!!!!!!!!!!  And of course I couldn't have gotten through without Benjamin. I won't get all mushy, but you're my best friend and I love you. And you're a bear. 

But another thing that really gets me through the stress is...........PUPPIES!!!  I love love love puppy dogs and many of you know I have a bad case of puppy fever. Looking at pictures like this make me happy:

This is Oliver. I know he's my future puppy dog because I met him at a Starbucks. I mean, what a perfect fit, right?? We were meant to be. I know many girls/women (am I allowed to say that? Am I a woman now??!!) my age dream of meeting "the one" and then (maybe more than meeting "the one") planning their dream wedding, but......I'm dreaming of when I can go out and get Oliver!! Just gotta get through this last year of nursing school, pass the NCLEX, find a job, get an apartment, and then go searching for my little maltipoo!! And live happily ever after :) 

Middle of "dead week"

So nothing too crazy happened today, but I did take my last exam in MedSurg!!!! Plus, I got my prescription for my malaria pills for Honduras. Getting so close to being ready to leave!! It's hard to believe that I only have 2 more days of school, and then 2 finals before the semester is over. It's crazy. I'm excited for the break and that my friend Griselda may be staying in Oklahoma with me!!! I'm gonna be pretty busy, but at least I'll have a friend to hang out with when I do have time to kick back and relax :)  Ok so that's it. Yey over halfway through the week!!! Si se puede. Oh and p.s. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SABREA!!!!!