I think I lost about 10 lbs today.... from sweating.

Last night I was on call, and my normal black cloud did not follow me. The only call I got was at 2am, and the nurse said there was a patient in labor (I got this much in Spanish over the radio). However, when I came out of my room to meet my interpreter, he said, "Did you hear her say that the head was already out?" "No," I say, "We need to go now!" We rush down the hill to the hospital, but thankfully, he had heard wrong. She was crowning with a big, bulging bag of water. She was there with her "partera" or Honduran midwife, and the story is she had been laboring for 2 days straight. Either way, I called in our OB back-up so that we'd have a doc for baby and a doc for mom, pop the bag of water, and out comes crying baby. I know you are all tired of delivery stories, but I LOVE THEM!

Well, this morning, Rimas, our missionary sponsor, offers to take us on a hike through the mountains. Of course, we say, "yes." I don't have clinic, because its a holiday here in Honduras. (They have alot of holidays around here- 3 just in October.) We hiked up a mountain to a peak that overlooks the ocean (see pic below) then down a "trail" (i.e. wherever we decided to walk and move branches out of the way) to a river where we walked several miles along a riverbed. We finally saw white-faced monkeys (though we didn't get a good picture). We also saw bugs, flowers, and birds. All in all, it was hot and exhausting but well worth it, and I believe there has to be something cleansing about sweating for 4 hours straight. Gross story, but I sat down on our couch when we got back, and when I got up, there was a Nancy-Hart shaped sweat stain on the couch. Disgusting. (TMI? I'm trying to compete with Josh's TMI "safe zone" post from a while back.)

Rimas, our awesome trail guide, climbed a tree to pick a cocoa fruit. This fruit contains the seeds from which chocolate is made. But what I didn't know is if you pick the seeds out and suck on them, and it is a delicious, mid-hike treat.

This is at the river bed.

Nice pic of a dragon fly

This was the overview from the highest point of the hike. See all of those buildings down below? They are from the "Canadian Project." Apparently a while back, a bunch of Canadians decided to come down and build vacation houses here using the benefit of the fact that the hospital had already brought power and clean water. It is a gated community, and I have actually never seen a person in it. Hm..... maybe there's more to that story.

This is my Honduran hermanita. Her name is Patricia, and she works with the hospital's midwife, John. I got to know her throught the remote OB clinics we have done together. She is 17 years old and currently in nursing school. She loved it when I let her find fetal heart tones and measure bellies. Every time I have seen her since then, she has brought me a little present..... a hairy crab claw, a piece of quartz crystal, and a piece of coral with the word "amiga" written all over it. I had her over for tea the other day, and we had a good time talking about our families and such. Strangely though, she walked right into my kitchen and started washing my dishes. I was like, "STOP! What are you doing? You are my guest." She finally did stop when she could tell that I was serious, but it was still a bit odd. I will be going on another remote OB clinic tomorrow with her.

Little tidbit from the Word. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. As I think about my future, I sometimes feel anxious that I may not end up doing the things that I am passionate about and somehow waste my life. Now, I know this is silly for He continues to provide me with opportunities to serve Him through medicine time and time again both in Greenwood and here in Honduras. This verse reminds me that, unlike what I sometimes think, God is not out to get me. AND if I am delighting myself in Him and following Him wholeheartedly, I will not live a wasted life. I am reading along with the women's bible study John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Life." Piper reminds me that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." May we all continue to seek Him and be satisfied in Him. On a side note about the future, I think I may have a plan for a future medical practice. All I need are 3-4 other like-minded physicians...... ask me about it later.

More to come.

NH

P.S. YAY for our good friends the Hanna's who finally got their court date to finalize their adoption. Praise the Lord.