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MISSION PREDISAN • CATACAMAS, HONDURAS • WWW.PREDISAN.ORG
PREDISAN UPDATES ON POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
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Contributions may also be mailed to: Predisan-USA, 1625 Cooledge Road, Tucker, GA 30084
All newsletters 2007-2009, including our most recent, Spring 2009

ENRIQUE WALKS AGAIN!
HONDURAS, KENTUCKY, ATLANTA: It truly took a village of Predisan friends from all over to save Enrique Pagoada from a life-threatening infection and help him walk again! Enrique Pagoada's long journey began when a drunk driver hit him on his motorcycle in Catacamas. His leg was crushed and broken, and lack of sufficient care resulted in the amputation of his leg below the knee. But with that, Enrique's troubles had only begun.
READ MORE: AN AMAZING STORY OF HOPE: ENRIQUE WALKS
MORE NEWS AND YOUTUBE VIDEO COVERAGE

KEYDY'S FAMOUS SMILE
PREDISAN HAS BEEN BLESSED BY THE WORK AND SPIRIT of longtime employee Keydy Flores (left), who was baptized this spring as part of her growing life of faith. Keydy Flores arrived at Predisan's door in 1998 as an 18-year-old in order to complete a required month's practicum for a vocational degree as a bilingual secretary. A year later, a secretarial position in Predisan was open and Keydy was hired as the new secretary.
READ MORE: SPOTLIGHT: KEYDY'S FAMOUS SMILE
YURI'S STORY: Her life began with a mother trapped in drug abuse
FOR THE FIRST SIX YEARS OF HER LIFE, Yuri Faviola Hernandez was raised by a mother trapped in drug abuse, alcohol use and prostitution in Honduras' capital city, Tegucigalpa. Eventually, her aunt, who lives outside Catacamas near Predisan, interceded and took Yuri to raise in her own household. But it, also, was fraught with trouble.
PREDISAN NEWSLETTER: SPRING 2009

Congratulations to Predisan's CRYSTAL GLOBE HONOREES!
Doris Clark and Dr. Amanda Madrid honored in Dallas by Mission Resource Network for their lives of service leadership in missions
In mid-April, Doris and Amanda, left, were honored by Mission Resource Network (MRN) in Dallas with the 2009 Crystal Globe Award for missions.
More than thirty Predisan board members and friends heard both Doris and Amanda speak eloquently about their roles as servants in Honduras. Martha Rivera, Predisan's executive director, was introduced to a receptive crowd of more than 500.
The Mission Predisan and Predisan-USA boards met in Dallas for the first time in order to participate in this inspiring events which celebrated MRN's 10th birthday and the send-off of an MRN mission team to Angola.
WINTER 2009 NEWS: Predisan People and Events
REACHING THE POOREST OF THE POOR: Santa Rita Barrio A pilot program in Santa Rita barrio trains local leaders - from a patriarch to a bright teenager - to identify the sick and refer them for medical care. (Above, Predisan nurse Frank Lopez leaves the last training session.)
ALL ARNOLD WANTED WAS A BETTER LATRINE
His desire was to have a better latrine for his family, and a Georgia church and new friends supply that and much more.
In 2008, groups from nine U.S. churches and one school
traveled mountain roads and forded rivers to build a deeper connection with God's people in remote communities. The experience of the Potter's School offers one rich example.
PREDISAN NEWSLETTER: WINTER 2008
MICHELE'S STORY: 132 HOUSEHOLDS, 30 QUESTIONS, 9 WEEKS OF MY LIFE!
Michele Gourley, an M.D./M.P.H. student at East Tennessee State University, spent 9 weeks in the mountains studying malnutrition in children. She shares her work in this article, excerpted below.
Usually my learning has come from studying books, spending hours in a classroom, and carefully darkening a series of circles on a piece of paper.
However, this past spring my classroom was the mountains of Honduras and the houses of the people who live there; my notes were the surveys I completed; and my circles were the marks made in response to the answers of the survey questions.
As part of the requirements for the Masters in Public Health Program, I spent nine weeks working with the staff of Predisan and the Healthy Schools Program, researching the possible causes of malnutrition of children who attend school in the mountains by visiting their homes and surveying their parents.
132 surveys, 132 households, 30 something questions, 9 weeks of my life. Several hours under the Honduran sun and several miles walked. 14 schools. 3 communities. And what did I learn from all this?
After a five-year tenure, marked by important achievements,
Robert Dotson leaves Predisan in April 2009.
PREDISAN NEWSLETTER: SUMMER 2008:
Walk for Honduras!, Water Comes to Luis Romero, Michelle's Amazing 9 Weeks, A Special Baby Shower!
PREDISAN NEWSLETTER: SPRING 2008:
Thank you Larry and Gail, Other News and Highlights ! CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE NEWSLETTER
OUR DAY IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH KYLE !

The day started very early for the five gringos heading to the mountains with Kyle Huhtanen, Predisan missionary and director of Predisan's growing Healthy Communities Program, in early March.
It was an early 6 a.m. when Kyle Huhtanen and trusted driver Don Gil Martinez loaded us up, and we began our bumpy and winding journey across hill and river. Kyle was generous to share his day with us, visitors from Oklahoma City and Atlanta.
Our Land Cruiser stopped often as he greeted community leaders, consulted quickly with mountain residents or checked on work progress. He is viewed, obviously, with affection and respect.
So what did we do that day? We stopped early at the Las Cabas mountain clinic, and met nurse Marlen Soto as she walked up the hill to open the clinic for the day. Then we were on to CEDECO, Predisan's mountain work center, where a delicious breakfast was waiting.
We spent a large part of the day at the Froylan Turcios elementary school where nurse Irene Ramirez, Predisan health worker Alvaro Escobar and others were involved in the Healthy Schools Program. Each child received a fluoride treatment, a basic physical exam and a height and weight check, plotted on a growth chart.
Local mothers prepared the daily snack, a vital supplement to the children's diet.
Later, Kyle led some of us on a narrow path uphill and down to the home of a woman renown for her clay pottery. Kyle hopes to help her market it as a source of much-needed income. We saw latrines and other projects Predisan and local citizens have partnered on, and heard about the work of Bernardo Cobos, Predisan's new mountain chaplain.
As we rode along, Kyle talked and we listened. His passion for the Healthy Communities Program - a collection of initiatives that partner Predisan's people with local citizens to bring physical, spiritual, and economic health to the 49 communities Predisan serves - is great. We were inspired at his commitment and his ability, with the Lord's help, to make wonderful things happen.
We returned to Catacamas, dusty, sore, tired and deeply thankful that Kyle had shared his day with us. – Lindy Adams
Above, Kyle at the mountain school with Irene Ramirez, one of the first nurses Predisan trained for the mountains. Kyle is supported by the Northlake Church of Christ, Tucker, Ga.
FREDY LOPEZ'S AMAZING STORY
Fredy Lopez, Predisan's associate director in Catacamas, has an amazing story to tell.
Born along with 10 siblings into abject poverty, he went to work at age six picking wild fruit and selling it to neighbors.
When he wasn't to be allowed to attend an honorary event because of his shabby school uniform, Fredy, characteristically, went to work to change things. He never gave up, even though his father's battle with addiction robbed the family of almost all resources.
Fredy's determination and grit have brought him many achievements and much happiness, which he quickly credits to the Lord. For ten years, Fredy has shared his talents and abilities with Predisan, and few are more committed to the ministry's work and mission. Above, Fredy and his wife Delsy with three of their four children.
Click here for FREDY'S first-person STORY.
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Mail checks to Predisan-USA, 1625 Cooledge Road, Tucker, GA 30084.
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Mission Predisan • Catacamas, Honduras
In 2007, Predisan provided more than 42,000 health and educational contacts through our nine clinics and health centers. We thank God for all of you whose donations and sacrificial service have sustained us!
Martha Rivera, executive director
Doña Doris Clark, founding missionary
Dr. Amanda Madrid, founding medical director
Kyle Huhtanen, missionary and director, Healthy Communities
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