Connecting with Strangers....

It has now been 2 weeks since our return from Honduras and I am still as excited and encouraged about my time there as I ever was.  Many of the people on the trip and that were following our time down there were not aware of a special friendship that had been brewing while leading up to this trip.  This is Reina and Andrea.  At 12 years old, sweet Andrea is a star student at Flor with a spirited personality.  (Though she was a little shy when we first met, it's probably the beard....)  What you wouldn't notice about Andrea is that she has Cystic Fibrosis.  Not to get into the details, but in a nutshell, CF is a retched disease that affects the respiratory and digestive systems.  With only one CF doctor in all of Honduras, you can imagine how limited the resources are...

A few month ago, I was put in touch with Reina and Andrea as Lynne and I have had a passion for the CF cause for quite a while.  Over the course of a couple short weeks we reached out to our community here in Charleston to see if anyone could help with medications and supplies for Andrea.  The response was AMAZING.  I was contact by CF families, random doctors and complete strangers that were willing to help.  An amazing contact was also made with a board member of a LARGE medical supply company that will also be helping.  I was able to meet up with these sweet people and collect enough medicine to help Andrea for almost 6 months!!

On Monday night of our trip, Reina and Andrea came to Casa Lamb to meet us and to get the medicine.  I had been super excited to meet them but also nervous because, well, I'm a crier.  And boy did I!  Reina took time to share with us their story of where they live, the hardships growing up in Flor and the struggles for them with such limited resources.  As she began to thank us for for the medicines, her eyes filled with tears and that was it...... 

What was amazing about our time together as how Reina went on to explain how beneficial this medicine was also going to be for OTHER children with CF in Honduras!!  Now, picture it, you have a child with CF.  You have VERY LIMITED access to medicines and life saving supplies.  You then received a gift of supplies to help you........I don't know about you, but I am KEEPING those supplies for my child.  Not in Honduras.... 

My friend Amanda Scott wrote and AMAZING blog about this very topic.  They truly are amazing people.  Pictured here is Raul who is 1 year old and has CF.  Andrea's generosity will help Raul live healthier and longer until we find a cure for CF.  Here is Reina's thank you to all of you that contributed.

I don't know why the lord puts certain people in our lives, but he surely does.  My experience in Honduras with the student team was already amazing, to have this new friendship with Reina and Andrea was just another way of reminding us to be the light, regardless of our situation.

Thank you SO MUCH to all of you that helped with these supplies.  They are grateful beyond belief!