Home from Nicaragua - Holly's Final Thoughts

These final thoughts are from me ( Holly) on Monday now that I am home. Thanks to everyone who prayed for our safety and for the Lord to lead us in ministering to the people of Ometepe Island Nicaragua. Your prayers were definitely answered. Here are the numbers of what the Lord accomplished to bless the people of this volcanic island :

Over 200 people came to know the Lord or rededicated their lives to Christ. 34 of those were kids who prayed to receive Jesus for the first time in Bible school with Anne Corey.

Over a 1000 medical procedures were completed including  PT, primary care , general surgery, pharmacy, pediatrics, OBGYN

In PT we treated almost  150 people in  clinic and on out- reach home health.( I never knew you could do some many exercises with thera-band hanging from a mango tree in the middle of the rain forest).

I am so thrilled that God can use all of us in so many unique ways. The people of Ometepe are hardworking farmers who don’t retire as they age but cut crops using machetes several hours per day well into their 70s and 80 s. The women then come home and wash their clothes on a rock or wash board and cook dinner over an open outdoor grill without running water or electricity in most cases. They  have a lot of neck and back pain, shoulder impingement and knee and ankle problems from wearing sandals. I complain when I have to go to the  grocery store after a hard day’s work and come home and cook dinner in my air conditioned kitchen. How spoiled I am.

We are able to provide manual therapy, teach exercises, lifting techniques, as well as educate patient’s on how to take better care of themselves and their family members. PT provided equipment like wheelchairs, braces, canes, shoes etc. donated by our PT Pros clinics. Each visit ended with us praying with the patients for God to meet needs in their lives and huge hug from a grateful heart. The people of Ometepe are so loving and appreciative of the help to aid them in caring for their families and providing for their basic needs. The smiles and gracias were sincere reminders of their grateful hearts.

Lastly I got to share words of encouragement and Bible Study from  1 Peter  to 20 pastor’s wives who support over 30 churches on this Island of  Ometepe ( 40,000 people) as well as join with  43 other health care providers from across the US  and their families to serve the Lord and his people. It was a little slice of heaven to worship the Lord in this way.

Thank you all again for all the pray , love and support as you have joined with us in this ministry.

Holly

What day is it?

The past several days have gone by in a blur. We had several late nights and early mornings in a row, which left us with no down time for blogging, so i do apologize. Yesterday (Friday) was our last day on the island of Ometepe. There was something somber about going to the clinic for the last time, knowing that we would be leaving our new friends and the beautiful island all too soon. After lunch we closed up shop and said good bye to our new friends from Nicaragua. There were many hugs and tears, but as one pastor put it, "today we will say see you later and not goodbye, because we know that one day we will see each other again in heaven." After saying our fair-wells, we loaded the bus and drove several hours to the historic city of Grenada, where we are now. Today we will tour this beautiful city, which I am told is like the New Orleans of Nicaragua. I don't know if this is good or bad, but the people seem friendly. However, it feels odd that we are now all of a sudden in a modern city with running water, air-conditioning, and heated showers. It doesn't seem right that my friends from Ometepe are not here to experience these commodities for themselves. I would love to see that look on their faces after taking a nice hot shower for the first time in their lives. Thanks for reading. Sorry for the delay. Adios.

Nicaragua- Day 3

Buenas dias! I think it's safe to say that Wednesday was the best day yet! We saw over 600 people at our clinic. Holly spent the day in the clinic seeing over 30 patients throughout the day.  Anne Corey spent half the day in pediatrics and the other half at the bible school with her friend from last year, Indra. I (Josh) spent the day with an outreach team. We loaded up 8 people in the back of a small yellow pickup truck and toured the island, stopping at different villages along the way. I can't think of a better way to see this majestic place. We walked around the villages visiting different families in their homes, which consisted usually of a dirt floor, rusty tin roof and bamboo slates for walls. Each family greeted us with big smiles and hugs. The highlight of my day was getting to lead 4 Nicaraguans to the Lord. Hallelujah, gloria a Dios! Last night after closing the clinic we went to a local church service, held for our team in a park. Mimi, our friend from Harlan, gave her testimony. The locals loved her enthusiasm and Southern draw:) Somehow we southerns fit in pretty well around here. The night ended with good food and a refreshing rain that lasted till this morning. Today will be our last full day at the clinic. Thanks for reading. God is great.

Day two in Ometepe

Sorry for not posting anything yesterday. I was abducted by local aborigines and taken to the top of a volcano to be sacrificed in some crazy ritual... just kidding... there was no volcano. So, yesterday was our second day on the island. Holly went out with her interpreter, Juan, to reach those needing therapy who could not make it to our clinic. I (Josh) was at the home clinic with my good friend and physical therapist Joel. Together we saw around 35 patients. Anne Corey had a particularly exciting day counting pills in the pharmacy. Altogether they filled over 700 prescriptions...WOW wi wow wooo!!! Dad is still the head hancho in these parts. He strolls around looking like John Wayne making sure everything runs smoothly. And somehow it does. Yesterday around twenty people gave their lives to Christ. "Hallelujah, gloria a Dios!"My highlight was sharing the gospel with my new friends from Ometepe, Cynthia and Fransisco who are both 9. The first day i got off the bus, Fransisco grabbed my hand like he was claiming his new best friend. This morning, we awoke to the roar of about 10 howler monkeys. Can't wait to see what today holds. God is great. Thanks for your prayers. Adios. Hasta la vista baby :)

Nicaragua

Sunday the Johnson and 39 other team GHO members set up a makeshift medical clinic in an outdoor school building on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua. In addition to an outpatient PT clinic, we have a dentistry room, pharmacy, OB-GYN with ultrasound, internal medicine, pediatrics, lab, dietitian, an out reach team with a home health PT, and vacation Bible school. After setting up the clinic we attended a local multi-church revival service, where mom shared her testimony.  We turned in early to prepare for the busy day ahead.

Monday morning, we were at 5:30 to pack lunches, eat breakfast, and have team devotion. By 8:00 we were off to the clinic where hundreds of people awaited medical attention. Mom saw 27 patients in the PT clinic through out the day.  Josh helped in dentistry, Anne Corey helped the OB-GYN, and dad directed the entire clinic. It is safe to say that he was a sweaty mess the whole day! 

Go to Anne Corey's Facebook page to see pictures. (sorry, we can't figure out how to post them on here...) 

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