Working As A Nurse Practitioner!

Dear Family and Friends,

I, Sharon, am writing to catch you up on what’s been happening since March. I’d like to start by thanking the many of you who are praying for us. Those answered prayers help sustain us!

A lot has been happening with me over the last few months. In February, Dr. Judy invited me to work with her at Project Hope Clinic, a ministry of Adventures in Missions located in Cacao. It is quite a distance from us here in Urraco, but I have been longing to work with an experienced medical provider to learn and grow in my knowledge. I set up a meeting with the director, Florence, and it was like a match made in heaven! In April I started working alongside Dr. Judy every Tuesday for about 4 hours. Because Dr. Judy is a pediatrician, we only see children. For the first several weeks I simply observed, and then I started seeing the older kids and now I’m seeing the babies! I pretty much take the lead on all patients, and she jumps in when I need her. At this point she is always in the room, reinforcing the things I know, teaching me things I did not, improving my Spanish, and telling me when I do a good job. Being back in the clinic setting has been a HUGE blessing and my confidence has grown considerably. I love being a nurse practitioner and seeing patients! I have been longing to grow in my skills for years and I find this work to be very fulfilling.

Another recent development that I am thrilled to tell you about is getting dental care for our kids at the same clinic where I work! When I met with Florence and found out that the clinic has a staff dentist two days per week (one of those days being Tuesdays:), I told her about the desperate need for dental care that we have. She immediately offered to help us! You see, for the most part, the only dental care our kids get is when dental groups come from the United States. They usually only offer two things: cleanings and pulling teeth! That’s it! I desperately want to save teeth, not remove permanent teeth in teenagers! So, I met with the dentist, Dr. Sevilla, and he agreed that we could bring two or three kids each Tuesday. Well, I started with the kids that I thought were our worst cases…and was I ever right! We have a 14-year-old who is getting four root canals and has 12 cavities too! Also, there is a 15-year-old who had 12 cavities. That’s 28 teeth that have been saved in just two kids! And because this clinic is a ministry the price is literally 25% of the going rate. The dentist does the work at the same time Dr. Judy, and I are seeing patients, so the timing could not be better! My goal is to get each child and parent at GH2Ks evaluated and treated. Thankfully, Dr. Sevilla is big on educating them about lifestyle changes that need to be made to maintain good dental health.

The only downside to all this wonderfulness is the long commute! <see map below> But even that is the absolute best it could possibly be, at 2 hours each way, because our road is in incredible condition right now! The upper half of our road, which had not had any maintenance in years, received a fantastic repair job earlier this year. So, my commute is currently as short as it will ever be. After working at the clinic, I drive back to the city of La Ceiba with my dental kids to grocery shop and do errands. When I make it home at the end of the day, I’ve usually driven around 5 hours and I am absolutely exhausted!

Chris’s days and weeks continue to be quite full. He is planning to write our next update, so you will hear all about it then!

We are thankful for:

• The great opportunity for Sharon to serve and grow as a nurse practitioner.
• Having a car which makes these new opportunities possible.
• Kim and Alaina both having successful surgeries.
• The faithfulness of so many people praying for us and these ministries on a regular basis.

Please pray for:

• Sharon’s general health and energy levels.
• The Sanchez and Johnson families as they join the GH2K ministry team.
• Kim and Alaina as they recover.
• A smooth transition as one kid’s home family is moving to the second property (from Urraco to Roma).