The Adventures of Team D.E.E.T.

(Dental Expeditionary Team)

  Arriving in Tegucigalpa, Honduras! The Military walking around with M-16's gave it a real homey feel.
 

First impressions:

A poster in Spanish with a cute picture of a cow foaming at the mouth(?).

Members from the local church enthusiastically greeting us as we arrived.

Old school buses, with no exhaust system, being the common form of public transportation. The local church owned the one we used all week.

People walking up and asking for "one dollar", probably the only English they knew.

Abject poverty and shopping malls within a mile of each other.

  Our Team of physicians, pharmacists, dentists and translators arrived in Honduras for a 9-day stay near the capital city of Tegucigalpa.
  My wife, our son and I worked in a makeshift dental clinic and saw a huge number of children.
  The children were incredibly poor yet as polite and thankful as anyone I have ever met. Malnutrition was a major problem, particularly among the children. This often led to serious dental problems which have been left untreated.
During our stay, we visited the homes of the people in Tegucigalpa. We were amazed by the condition of the houses. It took a great effort just to walk down the streets and paths to the homes where people lived.
  During our stay, we also visited an orphanage and children's hospital which were both overwhelmed by the needs of the population.
  My son, Ken, worked with a construction crew to rebuild a widow's home which was literally on the side of a mountain. Her husband had recently been killed in a robbery and she was left alone with three small children. The local church was helping by bringing her food as she was literally penniless.
  Amidst the poverty and devastation, it was encouraging to see the local church flourishing and growing daily. We were blessed to witness several baptisms while we were there.
  This truly was an adventure we will never forget. A short visit to a third world country makes one realize how blessed a people we really are and how fortunate we are to live in this great country.