Dr. Seth Berl ’78 and Dr. Tom Sullivan ’78 team up again on medical mission trip in Honduras

In early March, Dr. Seth Berl and Dr. Tom “TSully” Sullivan, pledge brothers from the Gamma Zeta Class of ’78 reunited and traveled with a group led by Seth from his church in Moultrie, Georgia on a medical mission trip to Honduras. The following are some excerpts from TSully’s blog from this incredible trip…

Excited today as I travel back to Honduras with the Lantern of Hope Medical-Dental Mission team… can’t wait to see Dr. Seth again, and the incredible team of extraordinary people!! Fixin’ a few smiles… keep us on the prayer list…

Day 1 of patient treatment in Honduras… Here are some of the homes along the way to the village where we treated about 60 dental patients… Over 300 medical patients … A lot of tears today… But eventually happy smiles… Feeling blessed…

Day 2 of Clinic… Up in the mountains to Aqua Blanca, Honduras… About a 2 hr drive from the base camp in LaEsperanza… The strength, determination and beauty of these people is amazing… The children will take a piece of your heart… Imagine not ever having a toothbrush… Great day of treatment today… My friend and colleague Dr. Brad Barnes from Bloomington-Normal let me bring his portable dental unit on the trip… So for the first time we were able to FILL a few teeth rather than extract them !!

Thank God for little miracles…

Tomorrow’s post will feature some awesome friends… Old and new !!!

Day 3 in Honduras… Gotta show you some of the wonderful people who are here on the mission trip… 1st pic is my ATO fraternity brother from U of I …Dr. Seth Berl ..and Devin : Seth is leading our group, Devin is a pre-med sophomore at U of Florida… 2nd pic is Molly with two little Honduran friends: she is our sterilization expert, and is getting her masters in nutrition living in St.Louis… 3rd pic shows my assistant and interpreter for the week; Jonathan.. What a great kid… 4th pic is Dr. Michael Dent; an awesome dentist from Georgia.. Go Dawgs !!!

Last pic is our group of students from University of Florida: Devin, Casey, Hannah and Alex… Devin, Casey and Alex are in pre-med.. Hannah is in pre-dent.. Instead of spending their spring break on a beach somewhere, they chose to make this trip… They are the reason I feel confident about the future of the profession… These are just some of the team… We are all forming an inseparable bond that will last a lifetime… Tomorrow we’re back in action in another village…

Day 5 from Honduras : the community of San Jose welcomed us today… There were hundreds of little children running everywhere!! We had an audience of very curious boys and girls all day long… The crowd lessened after a few “screamers”.. But they all came back. I’m amazed at how cooperative, brave and stoic these little ones are… I guess when you go to bed in pain long enough, a little stick of a needle is nothing… Our dental team is now a well-oiled machine… Dr. Bob Wright, Dr. Mike Dent and I have an awesome group of assistant interpreters who are so willing to help.. I gave Jonathan an Irish Shamrock smock to wear today.. So he’s Irish Honduran for now !!!

Tomorrow is our last day of treatment … It’s really bitter sweet.. Although homesick for my family etc.. I can’t help but think of what we leave behind… Count your blessings all… We are all SO fortunate…

Here’s a few more pics… Check out “Running with the Bulls” Honduran style ….

Last message from this beautiful land, from the strong awesome Honduran people, and from our incredible team… On the bus trip to the village today, the landscape was breathtaking… A bit hair-raising also.. I’m very thankful it wasn’t raining… Cliffs are great to look at, but difficult to drive on narrow roads.. The cross and memorial mark a turn on the road that claimed the life of over 20 missionaries… The village was in dire need for dental help… Michael Dent, Bob Wright and I are standing at the entrance to the village… We extracted over 170 teeth just today… We could have stayed there for weeks… I couldn’t have asked for two greater colleagues… Finally, the lone cross marks the front of the church in the village… It’s good to know that God is alive and well here!!! In fact, God was alive in each person on the team…
And that’s what I’m taking home…