Thursday, January 30, 2014

Heading To Honduras!

Hello! Karen here. Greetings from the "warm south" where we had pipe-freezing temps of just 4 degrees last night! Some say we brought this cold weather with us from Ohio but I tell them we left plenty of it back there. One Ohio friend posted a picture of their thermometer the other day that read -21!!!! Yikes! I think we moved south just in time!

Rus Rus Hospital with waiting villagers

Two weeks from today I will jump from the frigid to the hot and humid quite quickly. You may remember I took a trip to the remote village of Rus Rus, Honduras for a medical brigade last February. MAG brought air service to the village so the medical clinic can be used once again. For several years now IHS has brought a medical team in February and we are so thankful! That has been the only medical care for some 25,000 people in that forgotten area of Honduras. I look forward to greeting our resident MAG missionaries once again and to reuniting with some of the villagers in Rus Rus. I've been listening to my "Coffee Break Spanish" on line hoping to be able to say at least a few words to the people there. MAG's Director of Pastoral Ministries, Carlos Paz, has translated a couple of lines for me that I particularly want to be able to say like, "So good to see you again" and "You have grown!" That will give me at least one thing to say to each child and adult who I see again! Keith has been very tolerant of my blaring Spanish lessons as I work around the house.

My travel plans are to fly on February 13th to San Pedro Sula, Honduras and fly back to Atlanta and then Raleigh/Durham on March 1. Sean Donnelly, MAG's CEO will be flying with me as well as many of the IHS team members. Wes will pick Sean and I up in the Cessna 206 and get us into Rus Rus as he did last year. When that happens will depend greatly on the weather.

Speaking of weather, I've got a pile of stuff getting ready to be packed to go. It's rather challenging to think of what to take with you to be comfortable in temps in the 90s when you're shoveling snow and running heaters under the sink to keep the pipes from freezing!

A most important need for me as I prepare and go on this trip are your prayers. Those of you who prayed me through this trip last year may recall how God answered those prayers in His overcoming many concerns for me. My fears were calmed. I slept well. I was safe and enjoyed the people. I remembered some of my high school Spanish and was able to use it. I stayed healthy before and during my trip. AND no creepy crawlies invaded my space while I was there! Some of that may seem trivial but they were real needs for me to make that trip and God answered my needs through your prayers. Would you please pray for me again this year?

Please pray for all who will be there. Wes and Denise (MAG's resident missionary/pilot couple in Rus Rus) have a lot on their plate for such a big event. 19 of us will be descending on them. That means preparing many things, not the least of which is finding places for everyone to sleep and flying in enough food and then preparing that food for all those extra people for a couple of weeks. No small task! Every meal takes much preparation and planning.

I hope to be able to send home some blogs while I'm away like I did last year. Keith and I will try and keep you informed!

Be Directly Involved!
If you'd like to help with the expense of my trip it would be a tremendous blessing. Please make the check out to "Missionary Air Group", designate it for "Karen for Rus Rus", and mail it to:

Missionary Air Group
PO Box 5160
Burlington, NC 27216

If you would prefer to give by credit card you may do so through our parent organization of Harvester's International Mission via "Network For Good" by clicking here. Please use the same designation of "Karen for Rus Rus".

Whether you give, pray or both, thank you for the blessing of your participation! If you want to be in further touch with me personally feel free to drop me an email at KarenSDodson@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you!


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Praying in Lancaster!