Kids, Cuspids and Cots

Hola!  The faces and sweet voices of children like the young girl pictured here certainly rank near the top of the reasons why we continue to press forward with our mission to the people of Nicaragua.  Pat continues to direct Caritas Granada in concert with Padre Francisco Solano, a priest from Granada.  He travels back and forth as necessary, and as a family we return as often as we can to assist with projects and maintain our connections with the people.  We just got back to Texas this month after spending a few weeks helping out.

This summer we put the finishing touches on a major renovation of a long abandoned dental clinic.   We hit many roadblocks while trying to find repair parts for dental equipment and finally cut through mounds of red tape to get water and electricity back to the building!  But all the hard work paid off as the clean, modern clinic in a very impoverished area of Granada now offers high quality dental care to many who have never had the opportunity to see a dentist.   When Bishop Jorge came to bless the clinic, he reminded the Caritas team that they are the face of the mercy of God.  He shared a personal story how he was visiting a remote community a few months prior, many hours down a long muddy road when he became ill.  The Caritas team happened to be attending patients at the local church, and he popped in unexpectedly to see Doctora Meyling.  He was so happy with his care that he is now one of our biggest fans, you can see him smiling above! At the new clinic, Doctora Anabell (pictured above) works alongside Marisol Martinez, our new dental assistant.  They both were elated with the opportunity to start a job to support their families in an area with severe unemployment.  To give you an idea on how dire the economic situation is due to the ongoing political crisis, we have been approached by many unemployed dentists, desperate for work.  In fact, a licensed dentist contacted Pat and offered to work for $5.00 per day - not $5.00 per hour, but per DAY.  When employment is so scarce, $5.00 at least puts food on the table. Thanks to your generosity, we also had funding to purchase a mobile dental unit.  The dental chair, complete with a compressor and instruments, allows us to offer dental care in the more remote, rural areas.  Above, Dr. Mario treats a patient in a small community outside of Boaco, in the northern region.  In the past year, the team treated 1247 patients with the mobile medical clinic, and we are excited to now be able to offer mobile dentistry as well! In an attempt to promote advanced planning and emergency readiness, Pat also worked to prepare shelters in two flood prone communities in Nicaragua, one along the Pacific coast, and another built alongside a major river.  The churches in these communities now have kitchens, bathrooms, cots and emergency food supplies on hand to take in and care for flood victims in the moment of crisis.   We have missed spending our Sundays out visiting the communities and attending to the pastoral needs of the people.  We had the chance to stop by to check on Doña Mercedes (pictured above) a few weeks ago.  She lost her husband last year, and Pat had the honor of officiating the burial.  She joked that she needs to pass away when Pat is in country as she wants him to bury her as well.  While it was touching, we convinced her to not rush things! Thank you for your interest and support!  Many blessings to each of you. Pat, Katy, Ben, Rachel and Rebecca Moran