Smiles For Central America

   After several years of my family & friends encouraging me to start a blog, my daughter Kristy finally sat me down & set one up for me. I can tell it's going to take some practice to get this down. Maybe this will even be the journal I'm not keeping!! I might have to go back and post a few posts from the past month or two just for journal keeping sake. Hope you enjoy it!!

I just returned from Nicaragua last night with my son Jared on a Humanitarian trip.  We went down with 130 other people from all over the US and did physicals and dental work on 600 youth to help them prepare for a mission. My assignment for the week was to take pictures and video of the whole trip & put together a video that everyone will receive. It's a great job because I got to go on all 8 of the Humanitarian excursions while we there along with documenting what everyone's job was at the clinic (at the church).

This is the cultural hall at the church in Managua that was set up as

a dental clinic. We had around 26 dentists there and 7 oral surgeons.

Jared assisting Matt from Utah.

While we're there we go on several outings to help local people.

This was an orphanage with mentally & physically disabled kids & adults.

This cute little guy was 5 years old.

This was one of the "home visits" we went on where we brought  

 basic food supplies & other things we thought the family could use. I love the "home

visits" because we'd sing a hymn with them & many of them would bear their 

testimony & then a few people from the group would also. I would always feel better

after going to these humble people's homes. Many of their homes had dirt floors & no windows 

and the bare necessities yet had strong testimonies of the gospel.  

We were at a fireside Sunday night & Jared spotted one of his companions

from his mission. I wish I could have filmed them running into each

other's arms. They were both so excited to see each other.

Here's a few of the awesome ladies I rubbed shoulders with all week.

Another humble "home visit"

We went to a hospital and gave out newborn kits, blankets & stuffed animals to the 

new mothers. This was a large room where all the mothers would come to nurse their babies.

We also visited some smaller children who were sick. I brought 25 of these stuffed

animals with minky blankets attached. This little girl loved this one I gave her.

Here's Jared and I on our last night in Nicaragua. We had a great week & it was 

fun to hang out with him.