Hello to all who helped make this such a wonderful and successful trip. From all the team members that went, we want to say thank you. In addition we have a straw pole going to decide if the name of the trip should be changed from "The River Trip" to "The Remote Trip." It has never been more evident that God puts us where we are needed. His will not ours. This being the second attempt; the first in September 2010 and the latest this January 2011, to travel to San Andreas on the Rio Coco. September 2010 saw the Rio Coco river flooded, as with large portions of the country, making the river unsafe to travel. January saw the Rio Coco in drought and too low to travel. But God had great plans for the team and we had the opportunity to serve an area of Nicaragua that Quick read more or view full article had not seen a medical brigade before. We arrived in El Bote, being asked by Nicaragua's Minister of Health to help that community. We were greeted with open arms and soon discovered that we would be helping more than just the community of El Bote. In fact, by the end of the week we had served 17 different communities. As always our partnership with Benny Baker and Mission Para Cristo, a team of wonderful, hardworking, caring and loving translators, the tireless and God serving Nicaraguan preachers and God's guiding hand made this trip possible.
We had the clinic Monday thru Friday till about noon. During this four and one half days we saw 1677 patients (1285 medical and 392 eyeglasses). The communities of El Bote, Bambu, Plantelito, Bosque, El Carbon, Santa Martha, Lana Central, Casablanca, Balla Los Cruces 1&2, Corintios, La Pioja, Yahoska, Santa Maria de Tazuas, Viernes, Cuyes and Galope all made difficult journeys to come and receive help from the Olive Branch team. Nearly one third of those that we saw requested to sit and pray with the Nicaraguan preachers before or after they had been seen in the clinic. Many bible studies were held and several residents of El Bote came and joined our nightly devotional. In addition the cooperation and welcome that we received from the Vice Mayor and the director of the school was incredible. Mission Para Cristo is looking forward to working further with the community and the school.
As I said before, God puts us where he needed us. We saw many sick people, and some that were in desperate need of medical attention, and were able to make a difference. This team of 8 Americans knew when they signed up that the "River Trip" was arduous and always and adventure. Without exception they adapted to the last minute change of location and made this an incredible mission trip. They worked long hours, traveled extremely rough roads, stayed up late preparing for the next days clinic and never complained. I would like to thank each and every one of them and look forward to many more trips with them and Olive Branch.
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Paul Taylor Read Less