Our paths first crossed with Ned in Kijabe, Kenya in November 2000 when we were assigned to share a house on our month mission trip. We heard all about Ned's dream of building a pediatric orthopedic hospital in Honduras; he was in Kijabe to observe and serve at the CURE's very first pediatric orthopedic hospital. And Ned heard all about our dreams of serving as overseas medical missionaries; we were there to serve for one month--Jay as a medical student in orthopedics at CURE Kijabe and myself as an attending at Kijabe Medical Center in internal medicine. We didn't know then that our dreams would intersect many years later, but we did end up in Hershey in 2001 for Jay's residency with Ned's encouragement.
Jay and I continued to feel called to serve, particularly to return to Kijabe. In the meanwhile Ned built his hospital in Honduras in partnership with CURE. He and Bunny signed on to be the first medical missionaries there-- and always made it clear that they wanted us to succeed them in San Pedro Sula, though they understood our desire to return to Kenya. When we finally finished our training in 2008, we let CURE know our intentions of going-- and they asked us to consider Honduras rather than Kijabe where we were not needed. After a scouting trip in 2009 with our whole family (Jay had been down with Ned previously in 2004 as a resident), we felt that God wanted us in Honduras. Although the medical teaching component is still developing, it was a good match for our skills, our gifts, and our hearts. It is also located geopraphically closer which allows us to continue to be more available to help with our families. Our children loved it there. The community and medical center where we have spent the last ten years are both very supportive of CURE Honduras because of Ned's work cultivating that relationship. All of these are very good reasons to go to Honduras.
It is with great sadness that we go without the continued presence of Bunny at the hospital. But we are thankful for the foundations that she and Ned have laid. We are proud to be the Schwentker's hand-picked successors and hope to live up to their hopes for our work.
Bunny's celebration was also a wonderful opportunity for the gathering of the people who hold CURE Honduras near to their hearts. Jay was able to spend some time with pediatric orthopedic surgeons from Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Seattle who have all committed to making CURE Honduras a success. We also had a chance to see our friends from CURE Honduras who traveled up for the service: Dr. Gustavo Vasquez (medical director), Ruth Castro (executive director), and her husband Danny Castro (recently retired spiritual director). Here we are with Ruth.
As we continue in our preparations, I want to make sure I remember all the ways in which God is showing His faithfulness to us and confirming that He will provide for us as we follow His call. The girls have been talking more about moving with excitement. Even Lillian often tells us, "I moving to Honduras." It's great to see God preparing their hearts for the big transition which we already know will be both exciting and sad.
A few weeks ago, I realized our car seats and boosters seats were expired. When I looked at replacing them, I also realized how expensive they are. So, I wrote to several companies to ask them to donate seats to CURE for our children's use since missionaries are most in danger of the effects of a motor vehicle collision. To my joy, Clek responded immediately with an offer to provide seats for our children and any other CURE missionary kids in need of new seats!
We have also received several offers to purchase our cars at exactly the time when we will no longer need them. One is a family who moved from the Hershey area to Seattle as we left there-- and they are now returning to PA and will need transportation!
We are still trusting God to provide just the right renters for our house. Someone who will appreciate and care for our very special home while we are away-- and can help us cover our mortgage and taxes during that time. We are praying for our God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills to provide for us out of His unlimited coffers. We know He is able to do it-- but may ask us to trust Him by taking a loss in this area. We do not plan to sell the house at this time as the market in our area seems saturated with houses listed under market value. We have two potential renters visiting the area this weekend-- so pray for us.
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