First Day!

We have safely arrived in San Pedro Sula-- travels were smooth. We landed around 2pm (we are two hours behind eastern standard time). Ruth Castro (executive director of CURE Honduras) and Alejandro (short-term trip coordinator) picked us up in the shiny new CURE van. Not a hint of political unrest.

The hospital compound is a short 15 minute drive from the airport. Waiting for us there were two medical students (Gary from Penn State and Jared from Vanderbilt), Cindy and Bill DeMuth (pediatrician and orthopedic surgeon from Hershey), Sally Green (anethesiologist from Atlanta), and Warren Terry (pediatric orthopedic surgeon whom I actually met in Kijabe, Kenya in 1997!). We all had lunch of rice, tortillas, chicken stew with corn, peas, and potatoes, pico de gallo, and watermelon-- and then had a briefing about the week ahead.

After lunch, Ruth took some of us downtown to do some grocery shopping. San Pedro Sula is the economic center of the country-- very cosmopolitan. Lots of Western chain restaurants-- and I

counted four Chinese restaurants. The city is nestled at the base of forrested hills-- with a Coca-cola sign on the mountainside. There is a cook who will prepare our lunches and dinners, so we were only shopping for snacks and for the fun of it all.

It was really great to see the city-- especially tonight with all the excitement from a World Cup qualifying soccer game in San Pedro Sula between the US and Honduras.

We are staying within the hospital compound which is protected by a high stone wall with barbed wire and two armed guards who are here night and day. Upstairs from the clinic and hospital, there is a large living area for short and long term missionaries. There is a large room with a big TV with cable, some exercise equipment, and a large table.

Two parrots who speak Spanish are also in residence in the big room. Here are the girls with med student Gary. The girls are so pleased to have lots of grown-ups with whom to play.

Coming off the big room are five suites of various sizes-- each with beds and bathrooms. The Bridgeman family room has five bunkbeds, two showers, two toilets, and two sinks. Lots of room for us to spread out. Our girls were ecstatic with the living arrangements. But, although they were immediately up the ladders and sitting on the top bunks, they are banned from being up there without grown-up supervision.

There is a small kitchen as well where we will take our breakfasts. This is Bill and Cindy and Ruth.

We ordered pizza from Pizza Hut for dinner and had dinner all together as a team. The girls tooks their showers and fell asleep soon afterward.

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Tomorrow morning there are 30 patients coming to the clinic to be evaluated for surgery this week. Jay, Bill, and Warren will make the surgery schedule for the week according to what they see in clinic. The girls and I will visit with patients and play while they wait for their appointments.

We are very excited about our week here-- and the girls are having a great time already.