Dear GAS folks,
Delayed by a day of bad weather, which grounded their plane, Abbe with the Saint Louis continent of the "medical mission" crew returned a day late on Monday. She was tired, felt very good about what they had accomplished on the trip, and in her computer mailbox there were 1,365 emails (I don't know how many she had at work). On this trip there were no fewer than 28 people in the brigade (as they call it), including dentists and optometrists. A second village, perhaps poorer than the one they had been serving, was served also. Plus they provided a new service which appeals to me: A benefactor came forth not long before they left and donated four-grand to buy food, reasoning that providing medical care to people who are starving is kind of doing things backwards. That money went a long way toward buying beans and rice in bulk from a supplier "over there," which then was put in 10-pound bags. Each needy family got a 10-pound bag of rice and a 10-pound bag of beans, and families with many children got a double helping. That may not be a lot of food for a year, but it's nice to know that people so hungry and malnourished got to have a respite.
I must here reiterate my thanks to the people of GAS, both for your monetary support and also for your moral support. (Dave Sheckleton even phoned me twice while Abbe was abroad to see how she was doing. I nominate him for Saint-of-the-Month.) And believe it or not, the day after she was back, Abbe was already making plans for next year. It truly is a huge job. Raising the money, and what is perhaps the biggest part, getting many tons of medical supplies packed and sent over to The Honduras. For me their actual mission seems almost anti-climactic, but I know it doesn't feel that way for the people who go there. The days are long, the mountainous roads are treacherous, and the people's needs seem infinite. And then at night the mission people sleep on cots in a hotel that isn't really a hotel given that it lacks what we would call basic amenities. Apparently many of those people are getting pretty ripe by the end of the trip.
Thank you again for everything. Abbe has many times mentioned to me how generous the GAS people have been, and she feels that the fund-raising event at Dave's place not only was fun but also involved meeting many interesting people.
So on her behalf, on behalf of the people in the two villages, and from the bottom of my own heart I extend my thanks to everyone!
Just a Missouri boy,
Francis Baumli
