"A SMILE IS THE PRETTIEST THING YOU CAN WEAR"

As I write this, I am reflecting on my time in Honduras with so much gratitude.  First of all I am so very thankful that David, our son-in-law, asked me to be a part of his dental mission; I would never have known how amazing the people are of Honduras had he not.  I am so thankful that God allowed me to go; God affirmed my decision to go with the Foster's from the beginning.  There is nothing better than watching your children be so giving and caring to people of another country and using their talents to change the world; for this I will forever be grateful and feel so blessed. I am beyond thankful for those who supported me to be able to go; for the Trenary's and the Kahn's financial support and to all of the countless people who sent over 300 toothbrushes!  We received toothbrushes from as far away as Germany (the Stuprich's).  Lastly, there are not enough words to express the gratitude in my heart for the smiles on the children's faces after we polished their teeth!  My heart is steeped in gratitude!

Yes!  "A smile is the prettiest thing you can wear."  God allowed us to treat 200 children in 4 days with the amazing help of Allison Brown as our translator and "right arm".  We couldn't have done it without her.  For those who know me, you know that I don't speak Spanish, but there was one word that I needed to learn, and I needed to say it to every child, "BONITA" (beautiful)!  I only had a few minutes with each child and not knowing Spanish can be very frustrating.  After I finished polishing teeth, I decided that I would get really close to each child and grin really big so that they would grin back at me and when they did I would say, "BONITA!"  I so wanted them to know that they were beautiful and that they were treasured.

Our 4 days in the dental clinic went too quickly, but it is a time that I will never forget.  It is my prayer to return and continue to help David and Colynn give dental care to the children of Mission Lazarus.  Let the Spanish lessons begin!

"Una sonrisa es la cosa bonita que tu puedes usar!"