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Waking up at 5:30am was sure not the most fun thing in the world but being greeted by friendly faces made it all worth it. We quickly ate our breakfast, then headed to the loading-bus to go grab all the supplies from the warehouse. Once we got there, everyone quickly formed an assembly line. Doing so not only made things run smoothly, but it brought everyone closer as a team.

It was a very difficult task considering how hot it was, not to mention the flies. Once done, we were on our way to a 4-hr journey - our destination. The drive was truly eye-opening and beautiful at the same time. One side was displaying the wonderous work of our Creator - the natural beauty of this place. The other was revealing an extreme degree of poverty. Regardless of the conditions, everyone was smiling as if totally content with the hand that was dealt to them.

We finally arrived at the hotel which looked more like a mini village than a hotel. It consisted of many small huts. Each hut was shared by three to four people. We were three boys in our group. After unpacking and settling down, we went to the site where the clinic had to be set up for the next day. Our plan was to set up everything by the night. However, we got the news on our arrival that the freight-truck broke down. Consequently, we had to return to the hotel. The plan was to wake up at 5am and be at the site by 7am.

This day presented an extremely laborious morning due to the broken-down truck the night before. We had to unload the broken-down truck and reload all the equipment on to the new truck, and then unload the truck on our arrival at the clinic. Though it required a lot of patience and team-work, the job was finally done beautifully.

When we reached the clinic, we were greeted by thousands of people with smiling-faces, ready to receive medical and dental help. I was in total awe to see the level of patience of these people and our assembly line. We had to set up the clinic, pharmacy room, medical room, dental room, church, the kitchen and the triage center. I had never done or witnessed anything like what we were able to accomplish in such a short period of time. Clearly, the power of teamwork was on full display.

In a matter of four hours, all the missionary volunteers (including my teen-team) transformed the site from a school to a mini hospital or medical plaza. I was totally amazed at not only the speed of this transformation, but also the level of knowledge of the helpers. Each one was a master of his or her own field of expertise. One fine example would be how the electricity was extended to the site from the nearby source.

I was in-charge of cleaning ears. My most memorable patient was a 7-yr old boy named Christopher. His chief complaint was that he couldn’t hear very well. Upon checking his ears, the diagnose revealed that he had a significant amount of black built-up of wax in his ears. After applying oil mineral to let soak in his ears, I had to let him wait for 5 to 10 minutes so that the oil and minerals can do their work. In the meantime, Christopher was in an extremely uncomfortable state and, therefore, was crying out loud. At the end, when the black built-up was pulled out, Christopher had the biggest smile on his face as he could finally hear everything. It was a new world for him. For him, it was miracle. There are no words to describe how I felt at that moment. I won’t even try!

I saw so many people walking in and out of the different parts of the clinic, they all had one thing in common – a smile on their faces. It made me realize that how small things made the biggest difference in their lives - things that we in America take for granted. It was one of my life’s most significant days. At that moment, I was even more curious as to what the next day was going to bring and I just couldn’t wait!

Today’s start was not unlike any other day – hundreds of people waiting in line to seek medical attention. To diversify my experience, I switched from clinic to pharmacy and triage. The pharmacy was very hectic yet a lot of fun. Mixing solutions, writing doses and packaging the medicine kept me busy most of the day. But there was one overwhelming feeling and that was that this medicine is going to make someone’s life a whole lot better.And then came one patient who needed an injection. I proceeded to take the patient to the clinic where a nurse would perform the injection. However, to my surprise, as soon as the patient heard the news of an injection, he disappeared before we realized that he was missing. I guess he was that scared of an injection! To this day, I wonder how badly he needed the medication and how he’s doing now. It made me extremely sad. I wish I could do something about it. I wish I could explain the importance of medicine to him.

The bright part of the day was when I met a nine-year-old boy named Elmer. Elmer ended up being my aspiration. No matter where I went, he was just glued to me. He grabbed my attention because of his sun-beam smile and words of wisdom. I discovered Elmer live by himself with a neighbor while his mother worked in another city to make ends meet. However, he taught me the definition of contentment. It touched my heart when I asked him what he wanted to be later in life. He replied, “I don’t know but God does.” Indeed, God does. A very profound statement from a nine-year-old!

Shortly, thereafter, it started to pour cats and dogs. The natives started dancing as it had been a long time since it rained the last time. We all joined in. Everyone was having fun. It marked the day unforgettable!

What a beautiful day it was. The sky was gorgeous. The mountain was perfect. I felt extremely peaceful. Since it rained the day before, our bus couldn’t make it down the valley due to the mud generated by the flooding. Therefore, we all had to walk from the main road to the valley. It was an experience not to be forgotten. Once we started walking, we bumped into a family – Sanchez family. They caught our attention because one of his young daughters was wearing an ‘Aggie’ t-shirt. We all struck up a conversation with the father. We found out that they had walked ten hours to reach our service as they lived on the opposite side of the valley. He was a single dad, raising seven girls. His wife died during the delivery of the seventh baby. His needs were different. He needed a new roof as it leaked during the rainy days.

My mom and I gave him whatever cash we had on hand - $200. It was amazing to see how everyone galvanized and the situation culminated into helping him with his roof situation. Everyday presented its own flavor of situations. One thing is for sure that I got to witness how God worked his magic through so many people in small ways. As the day was winding down, I started wondering what the next day was going to bring

This day was the last day of our mission. It seemed that the entire week was gone in a blink of an eye. I didn’t want it to end. Suddenly, a man walks into the clinic with a deep cut on his hand as he was cutting wood with a machete to prepare food for his family. I had a chance to help with suturing which came in very handy since my mom had taught me in the past because she is a dentist. I still wonder what he would have done if we were not there which is the case for 51 weeks of the year! All I could say that God bless these people.

That day absolutely changed my perspective. As Americans, we have taken so much for granted. It seems like we live on a different planet. What did we do to deserve a life which seems so much better than the rest of the world?

When it was finally time to go and loading up the bus, my heart was sinking. I was very sad to leave. I somehow struck a chord with these people. They all felt like my extended family. At that moment, I suddenly realized what my mom had always taught me. She has always engrained in my head that we are all connected. We all are one. The race, the color and the religion do not matter. The most important religion is humanity, above all. How right was she! God bless Honduras and its people.

Today is the last day – full of mixed emotions. I’m feeling determined to come back in 2018 with a solution to the biggest problem I witnessed. It was in the dental clinic. Witnessed, first-hand, kids as young as three-year-old with dental problems. Honduras, see you next year! You are now part of my life.