Last year Arthur "Artie" Flanders, a Wiscasset High School graduate, spent most of the year in Honduras as the United Church of Christ Coordinator for volunteer groups in Honduras. He used his own funds to get there and was paid a small stipend while he was there. First Congregational Church of Wiscasset did solicit donations for his support.

Saturday night, February 16, a pot luck dinner was held to welcome him back and to listen to his tale of adventure illustrated by his own slide show. It truly was an adventure and Artie saw a good deal of the country and some neighboring countries. But he saw more then that. He saw the people and saw how they lived and what their everyday life was like. He made friends with volunteers and natives alike and lived mostly like an ordinary person.

Honduras is the second poorest country in Central America. Haiti is the poorest. There is a small wealthy class that controls most of the country and is involved in either security or the drug trade. Everything is fenced in and many have guns to protect their belongings. But on the other hand, there are a good many people who were willing to help them whenever they needed help.

He and his group purchased two chickens. Everyone had chickens and they ran everywhere. There were exotic toads, frogs, lizards, scorpions and even a beetle that had been thought to be extinct. Bananas grew in his yard along with other tropical fruit.

The typical local adobe house is small with just a fireplace for cooking but no chimney. Many suffer from asthma because of this. There is a very involved process to be allowed to cut wood in the forests so wood is scarce for building. So many trees have been cut in the past that roads are frequently washed out when heavy rains come. Now the forests are protected by government troops. Every license plate has a state motto that translates to we protect our forests. There is public transportation but the vehicles being used are old discarded U.S. school buses.

Many rivers are polluted and public water and electricity is inconsistent. Mail doesn't seem to work well and Artie found that internet or cell phone communication was the only way to communicate with the outside world.

Perhaps the one thing that impressed most in the audience that Saturday night was the compassion and concern that Artie had for the people that lined up for medical attention at the clinic where Artie was assigned. It was not uncommon for 75 people to be lined up when the clinic opened. Many had walked for hours to get there.

An interest and a desire to help is more important than formal training and Artie worked as a pharmacist, giving out drugs and explaining how to use them. He was also involved with organizing the dispensing of drugs and record keeping for the clinic. Drugs like antibiotics are sold without prescriptions in Honduras. People buy what they can afford and think might help, and Artie and the clinic had to deal with getting the right drug in the proper dosage to the patient. Many are also illiterate, so explanations of how to take medications had to be given several times to be sure the patient understood. They also used stickers showing a sunrise or sunset to explain when to take a medication.

Artie sure had an adventure but also had an opportunity to learn about and understand what life is all about. This adventure will provide a good basis as he pursues more formal education.