Ally was one of the many people that we met when the Christian Medical Response Team (CMRT) went to Honduras as part of the relief effort for the Hurricane Mitch disaster. Officially classified as a Category 5 hurricane, Mitch was one of the most devastating hurricanes of this century. Mitch hovered off the coast of Honduras and for five days overwhelmed the country with 25 inches of rain per day! In the United States, where 2-3 inches of rain in one day makes headlines, we cannot begin to comprehend the terror and destructive force of such raging water. The river swelled from 60 feet wide to over 600 feet wide and rose to a height of over 50 feet. Destroying buildings, trees, crops, and even entire villages that got in its way, the river became a turbulent and brutal death trap for anyone drawn in. The river was relentless and unforgiving. Many underestimated the impact of the coming waters and mistakenly thought they could survive by staying in their homes. In one village we talked with people whose friends thought their house was strong enough to stand. Believing they had a safe sanctuary, they gathered their family and friends. About thirty people sought shelter in the home and as the river began to rise, they were confident the foundation would hold. By the time the water was coming in the house, it was too late to escape: they had become an island in the middle of a river that hurled rocks the size of watermelons. The people climbed onto the roof and screamed for help. The river continued to rage as the villagers, standing helpless on the bank, watched in horror while the water swallowed their friends.

The Christian Medical Response Team, founded in 1994, is a non-denominational group of physicians, nurses, paramedics, other health providers and support staff that is based in Kitsap County. It is the only medical disaster team affiliated with the State of Washington and one of the few local-based medical disaster teams in the United States. In addition to serving as a disaster team for the County, CMRT maintains its readiness by providing medical coverage at large crowd events such as Kitsap's Endfest and Seattle's Bumbershoot. Last year CMRT responded to Hurricane Pauline in Mexico. When Hurricane Mitch escalated to a Category 5 hurricane, CMRT went on standby. Because our funding is very limited and we value having a strategic partner "within country" to guide our efforts, we seek to offer our services to other organizations when we work outside of the United States. Five days after going on standby we received word from World Vision, the largest private relief agency in the world, that they wanted to send in a medical team. We had just 48 hours to get ready.

It truly takes a community to send a team. As our team scrambled over the following two days to prepare and pack, it would have been an impossible task if not for the hundreds of people that worked behind the scenes to help us get ready. Harrison Hospital donated supplies. Kitsap County's Department of Emergency Management provided our team with military "meals ready to eat" (M.R.E.s). Group Health donated Typhoid vaccine for those few team members that needed last minute protection. The Mountain Shoppe helped us with survival supplies. Eddie Bower gave us a discount on gigantic duffel bags because the airlines allowed us each to check only two bags. A friend was gracious enough to move into our home to care for our three children. The Doctors Clinic gave Doug Felts, MD and Dan Diamond, MD the time off without warning. The untiring office staff at the Doctors Clinic rescheduled hundreds of patients. We were extremely grateful for the support and encouragement of our very patient patients.

Unsure what we might encounter, with little sleep we boarded the redeye flight to Honduras and arrived the following morning at 9 AM. Opening only the day prior, the airport buzzed with activity as relief teams arrived from around the world. It had been seven days since the Hurricane but we were among the first teams to arrive.

Since we had no idea what conditions we would face or what our jobs would be, while we were still in the United States, our team made it a goal to be flexible and maintain hearts of servants. Within a few minutes of our arrival, World Vision asked the ten of us to divide into two teams of five. Eager to get to work, we strategically divided our supplies and repacked so the first team could leave just three hours later. We would not see each other until the night before our departure two weeks later.

Little did we know it then, but the destruction of the country's infrastructure would significantly influence our plans. Roads, bridges and communications collapsed under the weight of the storm. Each team feared for their lives as their four-wheel drive pickup trucks went places too scary for words. Not only can each truck carry up to twelve people by hanging many people off the back; a good truck does not even need anything resembling a road. On one occasion our truck conquered a rock wall and dug in to climb up the side of an embankment. After the first failed attempt, afraid for my life I felt compelled to get out of the truck to offer "expert" advice from the safer vantage point of the hill. Although helicopters flew overhead, since they were obligated to fly food supplies only at first, we were not able to get a ride until our second week.

Our teams each had a variety of life-changing experiences. For the most part, we worked in rural settings. We set up "clinics" in the villages and worked only during daylight hours because electricity had not been restored to many areas. Using medications we brought and medications we gathered in Honduras, we treated a variety of illnesses. Diarrhea, dehydration, respiratory illnesses, fungal foot infections and conjunctivitis (pinkeye) were very common. We also saw cases of Dengue Fever ("Break-bone Fever") and Malaria. Malnutrition affected many people. Many of the crops washed away. People ate only rice and beans. Fruit and vegetables were nearly non-existent. In Tegucigalpa, the Capital, we saw two young boys, seven or eight years old, that had been shot by a man fighting in line waiting for water. One of the boys had died while we were there. The other was still being ventilated by hand because a ventilator was not available. He died that day shortly after we left.

We thought we might be seeing acute injuries but most of those patients died before we arrived. Although we cared for only few critical patients, we touched the lives of many people. The people of Honduras were extremely appreciative of our efforts. We shared with them that we were only a small representation of the many people from our hometown that cared. We are grateful for the help of our community: thanks for being part of our team.

Unfortunately, it will take Honduras years to recover. Roads and bridges need to be redesigned and rebuilt. Crops replanted. Communications reestablished. Homes reconstructed. As they head off daily with their shovels and picks, each one committed to rebuild their country, please remember to pray for the people of Honduras.

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