The work continues...when can I go?

Special Update Spring 2020 (Corona Virus)

Health Talents International

We Are Adept at Adapting

In this season of pandemic concern and hysteria we want to assure you that Health Talents International is “adept at adapting.” In 1981 our first mission team working in Las Cruces, Guatemala was forced to flee during the civil war…four years later, we shifted our work to Belize before returning to Guatemala in 1989. We adapted!

September of 2001 found us with a surgical team in Chocoloa when the US was attacked on 9/11. Though traumatic and stressful for the team in Guatemala, all made it home safely.

We evacuated Clinica Ezell in 2005 due to hurricane Stan, altered our plans in June of 2018 when Fuego erupted and lived to serve another day. Whether it be mudslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or civil war, we have not wavered; only adapted.

The decision to suspend future trips for now and cancel the April surgical trip was not easy. We grieve knowing that patients already scheduled for surgery must now wait and for some, that waiting means suffering.

As our Board of Directors and ministry leadership respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, please take comfort in knowing how these decisions are approached. Prayer is paramount and we seek to be Spirit led. We are less like a corporation making business decisions and more like family, or shepherds protecting their flock as portrayed in so many Bible illustrations you can find. (Psalm 23, Luke 16 for example.)

Many of you are entrusting your children to us and that responsibility weighs heavy in our decisions. You are trusting us to keep you safe and assist you in the delivery of physical, spiritual, emotional and mental care to those we serve. You are a treasure, you are family and we need you next week, next month and next year.

So we adapt and we remain faithful to our calling. We are imperfect people making imperfect decisions in an imperfect world.

We are grateful that we were able to complete our March 7-14 Eye/Ortho surgical trip prior to suspending future trips. Ninety-six surgical patients had sight restored or improved; others are able to walk again, to work again and provide for their families.

More are waiting for our return; they are waiting for you. When the time is right, we’ll be there, serving with you and doing our best to care for those entrusted to us…you and those we serve.