A group from Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas arrived prepared to share their professional and technical skills to bring healthcare and assistance to members of our extended community. The 27 member team worked hard in teaching children more about the Bible, working on the Boys wing and second floor details of the New Children’s Home and bringing health care and medication to over 800 people who live in remote areas.

Pathfinders from Sunnydale Academy in Missouri who came with Jeff Needles group, helped our children prepare for the annual camporee by getting them the much sought-after Pathfinder Honors patches for their uniforms. The children drill and practice faithfully under the watchful eye and motivation of Ian Haylock.

A Christmas Eve feast was cooked up for the older children. We are grateful for our visitors this year Elizabeth and Jenica Robles, sisters who were part of the SIMS group from Loma Linda University who spent Christmas 2006 with our kids last Holiday Season. Christmas presents will be given at the New Year celebration due to shipping delays. The special presents were put together for our children by the kind members of the Oakhurst SDA church in California. THANK YOU to all involved!! 

Huguley Home Health Agency employees unanimously agreed to adopt PAHS as a Christmas project this year. The employees of Huguley Home Health Agency gave of their Christmas funds in lieu of gifts to each other this year, to help bring Holiday cheer to our children in Honduras. We are most touched at their lovely idea and their great generosity! 

The annual Holiday trip to Pizza Hut – means lots of pizza and soda pop, but what is most exciting for our children is the large play-room that includes a miniature soccer field and a giant climbing maze where they have a blast! This year following the pizza feast and play festival the children were taken to see the giant tree under which Santa Clause sits and where tens of thousands of white lights cast a soft glow on a snowy village – which only exists in the imagination in this part of the world. The outing was lots of fun and is something that our children look forward to each year.  

Eight-year old, Maria Carolina, was brought in to the Nutrition Rehab by her father. She is severely malnourished, loosing her hair and is showing signs of profound anemia. She has been taken to the government hospital in the San Pedro Sula for a possible blood transfusion, and will return to our facility when her condition is medically stabilized. 

Johny and German realized a life-long dream as they became university graduates receiving their degrees from Universidad Adventista de Centro America, in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Johny holds a degree in secondary education with an emphasis in mathematics, while German received his degree in elementary and secondary basic education whose interest is science.

A reception was held for all the graduates at the home of Aileen. Cakes, made by Nellie, were decorated in the shape of mortarboard hats and were served with a fruit dressing and punch, followed by opening of graduation gifts. Ana Ruth, who grew up in our Home and is now married with two children, graduated from the public school with two degrees, so she joined Ana Elsy, Meylin, Shirley, Tiffany and Lester in the celebration as they complete their secondary education. All of them obtained a degree with emphasis in Computer sciences.

Shirley, Tiffany, Lester, Meylin and Ana Elsy graduated from the Adventist academy – Centro Educacional Adventista – in a very dignified and elegant graduation ceremony. It was a wonderful surprise for the younger “siblings” to see Meylin and Ana Elsy as the only two graduates with an Honors ribbon and then later to hear them announced as the graduates with the highest grades. Meylin holds an average of 95% and Ana Elsy one of 93% throughout their secondary education. We are very proud of these young ladies’s academic accomplishments.  

Our children were exposed to the concept of Thanksgiving Day, thanks to a group of families who came to spend their own Thanksgiving break with them. A Thanksgiving meal was prepared at Aileen’s house and was later served in the Chapel as all gathered before our Creator to give thanks for His many blessings and the answers to prayer that the children have been experiencing this past year. The team of visitors and administrators served the children and then sat down to enjoy the food with them.

Adelaida and Franklin graduated from Kindergarten and Stephany graduated from sixth grade at the same ceremony marking the end of the year for Escuela Bilingue Bertha DeWitt. The children’s excitement and pride was palpable and it gave their mentors and caretakers a great feeling of pride in their accomplishments; the children are looking forward to several more graduations in their future! 

Pete and Karen Weber, from Alvarado, Texas, organized a group of friends to come to the PAHS campus for an intense week of construction and maintenance work, women’s health clinics and playing games with our children. The group worked very hard, all day and most evenings late into the night to get the roof on the mid-section of the new building. Dr. Darrell Bowyer held a women’s health clinic at the local community health center and performed 65 pap smears and 20 pregnancy visits in two days, also stopping on his last busy day to suture a little boy’s hand. Karen Weber held vacation bible school for all the children, and the teenagers in the group played games with the older children. The children loved having our visitors here and asked them to return “all together again”.  

Nellie Youngberg-Haylock arrived to take a position as the on-site health manager for both community health and the nutritional rehabilitation services. Nellie, a registered nurse, previously was the PAHS Texas Office manager and a nurse on the Progressive Care Unit at Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Nellie is Aileen’s daughter and grew up on the PAHS campus. She brings with her a valued background in the nutritional rehab as she was usually at Dr. Stephen’s side as a child helping him treat patients in the Clinic and Hospital. Along with Nellie come her husband Ian Haylock and their daughter, Fern.

A team made up of ministry, medical and construction professionals from Adventist Mid-West Health System, organized by John Rapp, arrived to get acquainted with our community and its needs to help better prepare them for a trip which the Health System – based in the Chicago area – will make in January. It was a treat to become better acquainted with them and our community eagerly looks forward to their return.

A team from Metroplex Hospital in Killeen, Texas organized by Chaplain Jaime Guajardo, assisted by Joan and Barry Seibenlist - who arrived a few days prior to the rest of their team - came to spend time volunteering their time and talents on our campus and in the community. The group performed health visits to mountain towns and helped out on campus with the children and with the new dorm building. We are grateful for their time with us.

Larry and Jean LaClair of  Brunswick, Maine came to bring cheer and lend a helping hand on our campus and in the mountain communities nearby. The little children in our Casita Feliz loved the cuddling, and the older ones appreciated the shoes the LaClairs brought for them. All enjoyed their visit and as well as their enthusiasm for helping in any way needed.

National Day of Children brought visits from local high school kids who brought pinatas, treats and toys for small children of the Casita Feliz. The teens hosted the pinatas, and held and played with the children who greatly enjoyed the extra attention from all their newest friends. The older children did what they love most: they went swimming in the lake water that runs through the nearby Canal.

New hospital patient, Keylin from Siguatepeque.  Neglected by her mother and poorly cared for by her grandmother Keylin is very anemic and shows signs of protein deficiency. She remains smile-less for now, but we hope to soon see her smiling.

Todd Lien and Diane Ward volunteered their time in March and have returned to be our neighbors! They brought back many very thoughtful gifts from their family and friends in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Among the gifts were beautiful new handmade dresses, shirts, shorts and pajamas for the Nutrition Hospital children made by Todd, Diane and members of their families during a family “sewing bee.” Also among the gifts were hand knit booties, soft fleece blankets and new underwear and socks. The caretakers were touched and very happy to receive these gifts along with the love these bring from far off Canada. (Thank you to all involved for your loving gifts to the children!)

Julie, a doctoral student from Virginia Tech, arrived for a two week visit to our campus. Julie is here to get to know our children and to play with them, get acquainted with our community, gather information and take many pictures to take back home.

A group of sixteen volunteers lead by Elaine Fox from the University of Central Arkansas volunteered for an arduous day of labor cleaning out construction debris at the new Girl’s Dorm. The group cheerfully did their part to prepare for the next onslaught of construction to start in two days. We are grateful for their visit and their valuable effort to assist the advancement of this very large building project.

A resident physician from Loma Linda, California this is Shelia’s second trip to our campus. She came as a medical student in 2001 the first time and had always hoped to return. She brought pictures from her first trip to reminisce with the girls who were much smaller back then but who have now turned into young ladies. She also had activities for the girls each night. She treated pediatric patients during Field Clinics with the Huguley Hospital group and she also helped with the medical care of the Nutrition Hospital patients.

Two year old Rosita was admitted today suffering from 2nd degree malnutrition and scabies.  She weighs a scant 17 pounds and has a hematocrit of 23, when it should be 30.  Rosita's father has left the family and her mother has been unable to care for her or feed her properly.