Words from Jack Dyer...

(copied from old blog. entry dated: 11/24/2007 4:18:00 PM)

Inauguration OF THE RIO VIEJO HOSPITAL      9 N0V 2007

We came there to acknowledge the happening of a major event.   It was not something that had come about like a flash of lightning but more like what happens when water drips on a rock; the water always wins if it stays at it long enough.  This is exactly what had happened; Dr. Martin Williams and his wife Wendy had endured.  When they left Gainesville those many years ago they could not have imagined what God would do and it isn't all being told here.  But on this day formal recognition of a major accomplishment was made.  The Hospital in Rio Viejo, Atlantida Honduras was officially opening for business.  Friends came from all over to share the joy of this day with them.  It rained as usual and the road was a sea of mud but for those who braved the trials it was a blessed time.  There were enough speakers to amply fill the allotted time, each recalling significant events as they remembered them.  Theirs was a futile effort, trying to verbally reconstruct what had brought us here.

Life cannot be reconstructed and condensed into words.   To arrive here lives had been lived, sacrifices made, victories won and horrible defeats suffered. Irreplaceable time was spent, decisions made, resources expended, all for better or for worse.  On this day we stood shoulder to shoulder praising God for His grace and great mercy that had led us to an end of sorts; we were agreeing together that this was “good”.  However, all of us there who had walked the road of life for a while knew that nothing more than a new door had been made and was being opened to new opportunities.  It would lead to more trials, more hills and valleys, victories and defeats more time and resources would be spent and we would all grow older.  The only thing that really mattered was whether what we had done, was doing and would do was for the glory of God.  He must be and will be the final judge.

Matthew 25 describes clearly what we hoped we were doing; we continue to hope we are serving the least of God’s children; the ones who cannot care for themselves.  He tells us that when we serve them we are serving Him.  He is no longer here in a physical body and since we live in the physical realm we cannot heal His wounds; the ones He suffered for us or sooth the pain He feels for us but He has told us that when we care for our fellow humans in their time of need, minister to their suffering and do it in His name we are ministering unto Him.

We have dedicated this place to Him; He will be ministered to here!  This hospital is His and what is done here is done in His Name and for His Glory alone.

AMEN!

Ribbon cutting to officially open the "Dyer Rural Hospital of Rio Viejo" on November 9, 2007



Jack & Shirley Dyer standing in front of the plaque dedicating the hospital in their honor.

The Countdown...

(copied from the old blog. entry dated: 11/1/2007 7:01:00 PM)

Well we are one week from D day, dedication day.
November 9th, was so far away, when we prayerfully scribed it onto our schedule, way back in the beginning of the year. Now we are 7 days away, and so much has happened, but so much more has to happen. To say we have been busy is an understatement....

Pat and Leslie have been so very busy, and are a God-send, we could not have done without them. Those of you who are coming for the dedication ceremony, we are looking forward to hosting you and cannot wait to share this wonderful event with you. Those of you who will be keeping up with it via the internet: keep reading the blogs and celebrate with us.

On Wednesday October 31 we had two lady doctors from the Ministry of Health Department who carried out a preliminary inspection of our facility. Their purpose was to look us over and assess if there were any obvious shortcomings. We informed them beforehand that we were not equipped yet and all we wanted was for them to see our building and listen to our vision and scope of service to the community in short-, middle-, and long-term objectives. We had asked several people to be praying about this meeting. God is so good to us, the two health inspectors were well pleased. Licensing and certification can be tedious and difficult to acquire from the health department. Remember we will be delivering babies, which means we will be witnesses to new Hondurans being born and will be certifying this event many times. Unfortunately we will also be witnesses to deaths and will also be certifying this. The legal implications are very significant.

Short-term includes enabling only out-patient service where I will be seeing patients during regular work hours. Mid-term objectives will include enabling emergency services especially on weekends when many of the violent incidents occur: machete cuts and hackings, fractures, stabbings and shootings. And long-term objectives include labour and delivery, neo-natal care and scheduled surgeries in which specialists will be visiting our centre on a regular basis. Our responsibility will be to have the patients ready for their surgical procedures. The specialists will be doing this pro-bono, which will be a big blessing to any patient who happens to benefit from their services. Many of these specialists have been my instructors and have expressed to me how much they have been wanting to do this for the people but have had no way to accomplish it. We are so glad that we can bridge this gap.

In the background of all of these events, we have been involved with construction of our dormitory. And after only two months we are almost finished with the first floor. God has been right on time, many times over, as funding comes in for the next phase as phases go by. At the same time, there has been painting inside and outside of the clinic building. You will remember when Sam and I swapped in a motor for my truck, well, other components from the donor truck will be swapped shortly, but those items are out of the old truck and not yet on the functional truck. So we are juggling truck components. Just recently we did a bit of landscaping on the courtyard and it looks wonderful. Needless to say, there has been much activity, and we are almost ready for our first guests who arrive in just two days!

We are so excited to finally be to this date. We recall the feeling when we went off to Tegucigalpa. I remember my first class in Medical School, and how distant graduation appeared. And, even farther than that was the initiation of this project. Over the years, God has been more specific as to the scope and vision of our Rural Hospital. November 9, 2007 is a landmark date and brings many of those dreams to completion and others to initiation. It is a day that will be highlighted in the minds of many of those who helped to build this building, to others who birthed the vision and to others who will take part in seeing it become all that God has planned. The dream and vision in our hearts is great, and it will take many hands and hearts to bring it to full completion. We thank you for being a part and for your support of this vision. We look forward to seeing those who are flying in to take part in the ceremony and we look forward to reporting to those of you who anxiously await photos and reports of the big event. What a day it is sure to be! We thank God for bringing us this far and for His faithfulness through it all.