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MISSION PREDISAN • CATACAMAS, HONDURAS • WWW.PREDISAN.ORG
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SUMMER 2010 NEWSLETTER
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NEWS FROM HONDURAS AND CENTRAL AMERICA
PREDISAN VIDEOS
LANDCRUISER FORDS RIVER, MISSION PREDISAN 101
PREDISAN PHOTOS
STAFF FAMILY PHOTOS, TRIPS AND EVENTS
PREDISAN NEWS:
THE FOUR WALKS FOR HONDURAS - MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
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WELCOME MIKE MILLER TO PREDISAN
Join us in welcoming Mike Miller as Predisan-USA's new Chief Executive Officer and Chief Development Officer. Mike brings a distinguished career in ministry leadership and development. Karen Rhodes, Mike's executive assistant, will also join the staff of Predisan-USA. Welcome Mike and Karen!
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HOPE FOR THE SIX BENITEZ CHILDREN
Within three years, six children lost their parents and grandmother, but Predisan and their remote community are filing the void.
 In the remote community of Montana Verde live the six Benitez children who no longer have a mother, father or grandmother.
Paulina, 14; Jose, 12; Elmer, 11; Elsa, 9; Julio, 7; and Rosa, 5, all of the same parents, are in the care of distant relatives, members of the community and the Predisan staff. At left, Rosa, Paulina and Julio.
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CHILDREN'S KITCHEN PROVIDES FOR AT-RISK CHILDREN
A desperately poor Catacamas barrio is now home to the “Children’s Kitchen,” a small building next to Predisan’s Bella Vista clinic, which was dedicated in February by representatives of all the groups that brought it into being. The facility has a kitchen and dining room for serving daily meals to malnourished  preschool children. Predisan and many local community partners came together to help children identified as having low growth and development rates. Each child is monitored for six months, and the children’s mothers prepare and serve the meals. Left, mothers and children served by the center.
Each day for more than nine months in 2009, 19 mothers participated in the program, cooking for their children and learning about nutrition and a balanced diet. Under the supervision of Predisan nurse Elena Andrade, 13 of those 19 returned to their proper weight and height. This intervention brings together the need to educate parents, improve nutrition, and integrate habits of basic hygiene in families and homes.
The kitchen was made possible through many different donors who gave a grain of sand. They included the municipal government, Predisan's board, the health committee of Bella Vista (the community where the health center is located), the local forestry agency, the El Sembrador School (a boarding school with vocational degrees including woodworking), the Catholic Church, local hardware stores, the mothers in the program who gave many hours of labor, and Predisan employees. The dedication ceremony was a moment of celebration that brought a feeling of solidarity and unity to the community and the health center’s outreach.
MOBILE HEALTH TEAM HELPS WITH BLESSED SURPRISE
Thirteen communities Predisan serves were visited by Predisan Mobile Teams in February, and one visit brought a wonderful surprise and chance to serve.
The Mobile Teams take healthcare outside the walls of the health centers and enter even the most remote communities in Predisan's service area where 7,500 people have no healthcare other than what Predisan provides.
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When Predisan driver Juan Fernando Zelaya decided to be baptized in the mountains, members of the Quail Springs church, Oklahoma City, and local citizens were there to support his decision and to sing in joy. Read Robb Miller's account with photos.
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 Everything in life has been difficult for this Predisan scholarship student, yet she persevered and is planning for college.
Eighteen-year-old Susy Gabriela Matamoros is pretty and smart, but her appearance doesn’t reflect the life she’s lived. Her mother abandoned her. Her father and grandmother died in the same year, and that was just the beginning. Yet she didn't give up on life.
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MTI COORDINATES FIVE VISITS OF STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONALS
 Five trips by medical professionals and students coordinated through Medical Teams International (MTI), Portland, Ore., brought medical care, healing, teaching, training and partnership to Predisan this summer. Many thanks to MTI and all the volunteers who served!
Left, Volunteer Jessica Gutsgell teaches children about healthy eating.
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A SAD FAREWELL TO SANTOS ESPINOZA
Santos Espinoza, director of spiritual development, who has dedicated seven years of service at Predisan, has made the decision to leave the ministry and move back to serve in Nacaome, Valle, in Southern Honduras,  his family's home.
His wife, Jessica, and their three children served along with him in Catacamas in sharing the gospel, sharing the love of Christ, and joining the Predisan family in growing closer to God.
READ MORE AND SEE PHOTO GALLERY
GOODBYE TO YESSENIA
Predisan is saying goodbye to accountant Yessenia Hernandez, left, who is entering another chapter in her life. She is expecting her first child, and as she  launches into motherhood, she plans to spend more time with her new baby and pursue other employment opportunities. Yessenia had worked with Predisan since 2002, beginning as a high school graduate. During her time with the ministry, she often edified the staff through her singing talent in addition to her work as an excellent accountant. Yessenia obtained her college degree in business and got married while part of the Predisan family. We wish her the best in her next steps walking with Christ and trust that God has an awesome plan for her family.
GRATEFUL MOTHER PROVIDES RADIO SHOW
After her daughter found recovery from addiction at CEREPA, Martha Elena Rubi, left, decided to give back and help others. Rubi’s daughter is now completing her third year of law school, and the mother owns the local radio station Radio Juticalpa. She decided to provide weekly air time to educate families about substance abuse and about all of  Predisan’s work. Radio Juticalpa has the widest audience of any radio station in the department of Olancho.
Julio Benítez, CEREPA director; Dr. Amanda Madrid, Predisan medical director; and Karla Posantes, CEREPA psychologist, have all spoken about how to get help, about what help CEREPA provides and about how families can help in their loved ones’ recovery. They participate in calls-in shows, interviews, and education of the audience.
CEREPA’s recovery program has gained more and more credibility on a national level. Many patients come from large cities and even from international locations. The need is great, as the state of Olancho, a rural province of about 500,000 people, has an extreme lack of knowledge about the opportunities to find treatment for a loved one and together seek wellness and hope.
A DAY IN LOS EJIDOS BARRIO: Predisan staff goes to the need
Predisan nurses, dentist, drivers and community volunteers loaded up in a trusty Lancruiser at mid-morning on a day in late February for a 15-minute drive through downtown Catacamas and out to the edge of the town. Their destination was the poor barrio of Los Ejidos, and a small church made of adobe blocks with open doors and windows.
The purpose of the expedition was to provide dental screenings for the students in a nearby school, blood pressure screenings for adults, and education on blood pressure and diabetes by Predisan nurses. What began as a trickle of students and local residents picked up speed and soon the small building was packed with potential patients of all ages - babies, young mothers, school children and the elderly. Often it's hard to persuade residents in outlying areas to come into Catacamas to the Good Samaritan Clinic for preventive care. So the Predisan staff went to the need.
Below, a group of school children waiting for dental screenings, framed by the doorway of the small church with the mountains as backdrop.
BERTHA'S STORY: Help for a single mother of five
Bertha Euceda was gravely ill, and this single mother of five (below) found medical treatment and love at Predisan.
A surgical brigade from Jackson Healthcare, Atlanta, performed surgery on her for a malignant tumor. They also took Bertha into their hearts. One Jackson volunteer, Ed McEachern, arranged for a prayer shawl to be made for her.
Below, Bertha proudly shows off the prayer shawl with her children around her.
BRINGING LIFE-GIVING WATER TO WASPARANI:
Dr. Amanda Madrid at the inauguration of a new water system in El Porvenir in Wasparani. She is presenting Don Celsor Flores, town council president, a portion of a ribbon from a ribbon cutting.
CALENDAR • DOWNLOAD TRIP FORMS • CONTACT US
NEW CONGREGATION IN TULIO MOYA
This young boy lives in Tulio Moya, a very poor barrio outside Catacamas. Last summer, Santos Espinoza, director of spiritual development, and his family began a new congregation there. It meets twice weekly under a spreading tree next to a small home with a dirt floor. Today, through Predisan's work, this boy has access not only to medical care, but to the story of Jesus.
ENRIQUE WALKS AGAIN!
HONDURAS, KENTUCKY, ATLANTA: It truly took a village of Predisan friends from all over to save Enrique Pagoada from a life-threatening infection and help him walk again!
Enrique Pagoada's long journey began when a drunk driver hit him on his motorcycle in Catacamas. His leg was crushed and broken, and lack of sufficient care resulted in the amputation of his leg below the knee. But with that, Enrique's troubles had only begun.
READ MORE: ENRIQUE WALKS
MORE NEWS AND YOUTUBE VIDEO COVERAGE
KEYDY'S FAMOUS SMILE
PREDISAN HAS BEEN BLESSED BY THE WORK AND SPIRIT of longtime employee Keydy Flores (left), who was baptized this spring as part of her growing life of faith. Keydy Flores arrived at Predisan's door in 1998 as an 18-year-old in order to complete a required month's practicum for a vocational degree as a bilingual secretary. A year later, a secretarial position in Predisan was open and Keydy was hired as the new secretary.
READ MORE: SPOTLIGHT: KEYDY'S FAMOUS SMILE
YURI'S STORY: Her life began with a mother trapped in drug abuse
FOR THE FIRST SIX YEARS OF HER LIFE, Yuri Faviola Hernandez was raised by a mother trapped in drug abuse, alcohol use and prostitution in Honduras' capital city, Tegucigalpa. Eventually, her aunt, who lives outside Catacamas near Predisan, interceded and took Yuri to raise in her own household. But it, also, was fraught with trouble.
REACHING THE POOREST OF THE POOR: Santa Rita Barrio
A pilot program in Santa Rita barrio trains local leaders - from a patriarch to a bright teenager - to identify the sick and refer them for medical care. (Above, Predisan nurse Frank Lopez leaves the last training session.)
ALL ARNOLD WANTED WAS A BETTER LATRINE
His desire was to have a better latrine for his family, and a Georgia church and new friends supply that and much more.
OUR DAY IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH KYLE
The day started very early for the five gringos heading to the mountains with Kyle Huhtanen, Predisan missionary and leader in Predisan's growing Healthy Communities Program.
It was an early 6 a.m. when Kyle Huhtanen and trusted driver Don Gil Martinez loaded us up, and we began our bumpy and winding journey across hill and river. Kyle was generous to share his day with us, visitors from Oklahoma City and Atlanta.
Our Land Cruiser stopped often as he greeted community leaders, consulted quickly with mountain residents or checked on work progress. He is viewed, obviously, with affection and respect.
So what did we do that day? We stopped early at the Las Cabas mountain clinic, and met nurse Marlen Soto as she walked up the hill to open the clinic for the day. Then we were on to CEDECO, Predisan's mountain work center, where a delicious breakfast was waiting.
We spent a large part of the day at the Froylan Turcios elementary school where nurse Irene Ramirez, Predisan health worker Alvaro Escobar and others were involved in the Healthy Schools Program. Each child received a fluoride treatment, a basic physical exam and a height and weight check, plotted on a growth chart. Local mothers prepared the daily snack, a vital supplement to the children's diet.
Later, Kyle led some of us on a narrow path uphill and down to the home of a woman renown for her clay pottery. Kyle hopes to help her market it as a source of much-needed income. We saw latrines and other projects Predisan and local citizens have partnered on, and heard about the work of Bernardo Cobos, Predisan's new mountain chaplain.
As we rode along, Kyle talked and we listened. His passion for the Healthy Communities Program - a collection of initiatives that partner Predisan's people with local citizens to bring physical, spiritual, and economic health to the 49 communities Predisan serves - is great. We were inspired at his commitment and his ability, with the Lord's help, to make wonderful things happen.
We returned to Catacamas, dusty, sore, tired and deeply thankful that Kyle had shared his day with us. – Lindy Adams
Above, Kyle at the mountain school with Irene Ramirez, one of the first nurses Predisan trained for the mountains. Kyle is supported by the Northlake church, Tucker, Ga.
To donate by Paypal or Credit Card, click below.
Mail checks to Predisan-USA, 1625 Cooledge Road, Tucker, GA 30084.
DONATE ONLINE HERE
Executive Office:
Predisan-USA, Inc.
2100 RiverEdge Parkway, Suite 1170, Box 39
Sandy Springs, GA 30328
770.955.1512
Mission Predisan • Catacamas, Honduras
In 2007, Predisan provided more than 42,000 health and educational contacts through our nine clinics and health centers.
We thank God for all of you whose donations and sacrificial service have sustained us!
Martha Rivera, executive director
Doña Doris Clark, founding missionary
Dr. Amanda Madrid, medical director
Kyle Huhtanen, missionary, and director of international relations
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