The villages we served were in areas of sugar cane and banana plantations. The owners of the large plantations have used herbicides and pesticides for years--and the results now are apparent in the health of the residents in the adjoining villages. Most employment in these villages is in the fields, with wages being $3-4 daily. The plantation owners take no responsibility for any health problems, nor do they provide any medical care. Our clinics were the first free clinics offered to these poor people.

Housing was poor--with chickens, dogs and pigs running throughout the same dirt floors that small children played on, and in areas where meals were prepared. As a result, parasites were common, and we brought enough medications to give "contra parasito" treatment to everyone who came to our clinic. We also gave everyone a supply of vitamins. While some may view this as just "short term treatment" to the problem, it gives relief from the discomfort and health effects, and affords the opportunities for these small bodies to grow and develop as they should for a period of time. It makes a difference.

We set up clinics in schools and churches, and as we arrived at each of the five villages daily, the people were there ahead of us. They were lined up before we arrived, in anticipation and in need of medical care. We usually worked 12-hour days as they continued to come. We saw between 1,700-1,800 patients in these five villages--people who walked and rode horseback for miles to come for health care. Some couldn't walk, so were carried to the clinics by their families. There were many stories....one elderly man in his 80s walked miles with his cane so that he could get medications for his bedridden wife at home. Hope came to him with medications and vitamins for both of them, and a ride home from our host pastor. Another man with Parkinson's shuffled in with family assistance. He left with hope-- the hope that comes when a nurse gave up her shoes so he could have shoes to walk better, and two physicians took money from their pockets to ensure he would receive Parkinson's medications for the next year.

One young mother wondered how she could improve her supply of breast milk for her toddler and baby. Upon further questioning, she revealed she had no food in her house. Hope came to her with a collection from team members, and a visit to the grocery story to supply basics to this family. A 28-year-old woman came with a goiter so large it was starting to block her esophagus, and her ability to swallow was becoming more and more compromised. The surgery to correct this was only $200, but she had no money, and her future looked dim. Hope came to her as team members gave the money needed for her surgery.

Our team brought more than 400 pairs of glasses to the clinics-- and this was met with great enthusiasm. Hope came as they could read again, do stitchery and just feel better with improved vision. With hope, the smiles were bountiful! The stories could go on and on.

Large and small, the miracles happened daily. Our host pastor told us upon departure that one of the biggest difference he noted was the way we treated the people. Even if these people had any rare past opportunity for medical care, they were often treated with disdain, and sometimes even called names. He thanked us for treating each person we met with dignity and compassion--which, he said, gave hope to these wonderful warm people.

I love it when we sing in church, "I want to be His hands, I want to be His feet. I'll go where He sends me." As I gazed around at my fellow team members on those busy days in Nicaragua, I didn't have to look far to see HIS hands, and HIS feet moving to help HIS children.