Month: December 2013

I have a dream!!!

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Haha there is a lofty tittle!!!

I do not claim to be anything like MLK, his spirit and amazing oratory skill is something I will never have.This is not a post about civil rights or MLK´s legacy , even tho I am a part of that legacy.
From what I´ve read about the march on Washington and MLK´s famous ¨I Have a Dream¨  speech, it was not the exact speech MLK had carefully prepared for the occasion, but as he got near the end of his prepared speech, Mahalia Jackson cried out ¨Tell them about the dream, Martin!¨ 

And today I want to tell you a little bit about my dream or myself from a different perspective. See in my last post I told you a little bit about myself about where I come from, and why I consider everyday I have a gift. About some of the adversities I´ve faced even as a baby, and the principles that guide my journey. How my mother taught me to work hard and dream big. I would like to share with you in this post where I´m headed, and share with you a little bit of my dream. 

A little over a month before I moved over to Tegus, my aunt Mavis, the sweetest little lady you´ll ever meet, fell ill and was interned in the Roatan public hospital, my aunt had struggled with heart problems and had been interned in the hospital several times and would always recover, but this time it was not so. I remember looking into my aunt´s face as she took her last breath and watching as the Dr tried to resuscitate her (I was allowed to do this because I worked there) , and thinking about what I was signing up for. Did I really want to become a doctor?
About three weeks later and less than a month before I was scheduled to start, I came to the hospital for work, and found my sister crying near the entrance, I tried to find out what happened but she could not talk, someone else told my sister (half sister on my father’s side) had a heart attack and had died. I ran into the morgue and saw her body, I could not believe this had happened and was overtaken with grief( she was younger than I am). See I hardly knew her, we grew up in separate homes and I have very little communication with my father´s family. that´s a long story and hard to explain.
Anyway, I touched my sister´s face and she was still warm. Her mother lives in puerto castilla and I and some of my family took her body over to puerto castilla for burial. We rode in a car with her casket for 5 hours. I keep thinking do I really want to be a doctor?

When we got there it was amazing the streets were covered with people, so much people! They kept trying to touch the casket as we passed by and hugging us and stuff, everybody kept coming up and talking to me at her wake because they had not meet me before, They were telling me all these stories about how my sister was so loved, and the many little things she had done for so many in that little town. As I listened I kept thinking, I did not know this person at all and she was my sister!!! All these people had all these stories, she had touched so many lives in the little time she had here. I did not know her! I did not have any stories!  That made it even harder to deal with.

I remember one of my pastors asking me a while back ,¨what is your plan? where do you see your life in five years from now?¨ That question keeps coming back to me a lot as I go along.

I want to touch as many lives as possible folks, I want to be a positive influence in the lives of all I meet. I want to change the World.
When my story is told I do not want it to be a rags to riches story, I do not want it to be about this baby that was born in the worse of circumstances and came up to have a lot. That is not my dream, not that I have anything against that, in fact I admire the people that have those stories.
My mother always told me it is better to give than to receive, and to work that I might have to give to those that need. I was not raised nor came into this world to be a taker, while at this point in my life I am definitely a taker, I look forward and dream of the day when I will become a giver, it is what drives me to keep going.

I dream of the day I will graduate and once again become a productive member of society. I look forward to working with patients , I look forward to the day I can use the skills I am learning, to ease human suffering. I look forward to being able to contribute back into Sol foundation, especially their scholarship program. I dream of the day I will be able to fully assist in Sol´s projects here on the Island. I look forward to the day I will be able to contribute to the Rotary club of Roatan and hopefully become a Rotarian. I dream of the day I will be able to help my mom and sisters. I dream of the day I will become a giver!!!
That is my dream to help people, to help the sick, the needy, the poor, to give time ,skills and money to making my community and the world a better place. I want to help other students and young people not have to go thru the many difficulties I´ve had to.  I look forward to making sure ( my kids if I have any) have a father, a good father, not at all like the one I have.
When my journey is done be it a year from now or 60 years from now, my heavenly father and all those that know me can look on and say WELL DONE. 
I dream of positively changing the world of all those I come into contact with, and starting a ripple effect that will go on for a long time after I am gone. This is a long journey, becoming a doctor is a long and difficult process. But, I believe this is my calling and the best way I can serve both God and man, And I appreciate all the support I am getting from Rotary, Sol Foundation, and all of you.
Can you Imagine the day I get to maybe help some of my donors, that will be a very good day indeed. For me at least! not so much for them, because they will have to be sick for that to happen right?

As I read this I know it sounds very cliche, but friends that really is my dream.

As you know I’ve started a fundraising campaign to help cover cost for next year, there is no way I could do this without your help. I am looking to raise 1500 dollars for next year. Class starts on January 23 so I have about four weeks to do this. I would really appreciate it if you would click on the link below and go over to Sol Foundation and make a donation of any amount, to help me reach my goal, remember all donations are fully tax deductible. Make sure to type Natan Webster in the dedication line. Also consider sending me an email, commenting, following my blog, or sharing this with your friends, help me get the word out and follow my long journey, I need you. I have a dream and I want you to be a part of it.

https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1441500

 

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May God richly bless you and cause his face to shine on you.

Thank you for all your support.

 

“The life of a man consist not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service”- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

 

The odds are against me!!!

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Having finished this semester( referring to 2014 semester, currently I´m in my second 2015 semester) and now back on the Island for a few weeks, Thank God!!!
I have a little time to relax and unwind, this semester was pretty tough and filled with many unexpected and unplanned events. But certainly one filled with many valuable life lessons.

One thing that I have been thinking about a lot the last few days is something that someone said to me a couple weeks ago. This person looked me in the face and said “You do know that the odds are against you right? The odds of you finishing this program are very low, and frankly I would be very surprise if you do.”
Now before you go all judgmental on this person remember I am not providing much context here, and I believe the person was not trying to be mean or anything, just stating a matter of fact, and get into an interesting conversation.
Also if you just look at me, This person was absolutely right. I am an african latino dude dude, raise by a single mother. I was born and have grown up poor, and I´m the product of the public education system in a Honduras (arguably one of the worse in the civilized world). Yep the odds are definitely against me!!!!
Alas what am I to do?

Well there is a hymn that I love it says ” Count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done, count your many blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

See the odds have always been against me. I have defied the odds and continue to defy them with my very existence. My mom did not have me till she was 24 years old, that was not by design. My mom had been trying to get pregnant for a long time, she thought she was unable to bear children and sought the Lord and begged him for me. See I was not even suppose to be here in the first place.
When time came for me to be born my mother was taken to the hospital where she was told I was too big and she would have to get and emergency C section immediately, seeing as there was no way she could have a natural birth. My mother was afraid and decided to run away from the hospital, she took a cab home, where my grandmother found her lying in bed with a 9 and a half pound baby . My grandmother then become my mom´s midwife on the spot, full disclosure my grandmother had some experience with these situations before. Yep, I came into this world with the odds against me. I was born in an old beat down house with no medical help and no preparation, my umbilical cord was cut with an unsterilized pair of scissors, and clamped off with clothespins that had been used to hang the laundry, no pots of boiling water, no doctor, no nothing and still here at 26 healthy as a horse and big as a hipo.

When I was a over a year old my mother had left me in the living room playing with a toy and was in the kitchen preparing a meal, she heard a noise as tho I had fallen which caused her to run into the living room, sure enough I was lying on my back, but my mother was alarmed when she saw me frothing at the mouth. She immediately took me to the emergency room, after the doctors did whatever it is that they did. The referred her to a pediatrician which explained to her that I was way too overweight and would need to go on a special diet immediately, They said too much fat was covering my heart, and if it had taken her 5 minutes longer to get to the hospital that day I would have died. Yep the odds were against me, did I mention I´m 26 years old!!!!

When I was old enough to go to kindergarten my mother enrolled me, to her education was very important.She was not able to get very much herself, and she wanted make sure I got as much as I could. I went to kindergarten one day and never went back, because the teacher sent me home that day with a note to my mom. I have never been a troublemaker and while I do not remember that day very well, I do remember hoping I had not gotten in trouble, because I liked kindergarten very much. The next day my mom took me to kindergarten the teacher explained to her I was too smart for kindergarten and for her to keep me there would be a waste of time, I was then matriculated in first grade. Yep I passed kinder garden in a day. The school year starts in february and finishes in november. On a day right after my birthday in august the teacher, this time my first grade teacher, gave me a second note to take home, this time to my grandmother ( she was taking care of me because my mother had to work).My grandmother took me to class the next day where the teacher explained to her that she was moving me to second grade, because I was way too smart for first grade I was just wasting time. Yep I´m the only guy I know who did three grades in a year. My whole family could not be prouder, and I grew up all my life being told how smart I am. You wouldn’t know that from my english spelling and grammar ha?
But alas the odds have always been against me!!! See I was top of my class all the way thru elementary school, but by the time I got to high school my mom had three children ( me and my two sisters) and there was no way she could afford to keep me in school, and as is the case and tradition in all poor families especially single mother homes, my mom needed me to get a job. She did not want me to help pay the bills as is expected of most boys who are the first borns, she just wanted me to get a job so I could afford to keep going to school. Well she got me a job, I started working during the day and going to school at night. But the odds where still against me, there were times I had to drop out of school because even having a job, I couldn’t afford to keep going. Which resulted in both my sisters graduating high school before me, the genius in the family. By the time I graduated high school I was just glad to get thru it, and had a job in the local public hospital that I loved.
So when the Lord called me into medicine I knew that wasn’t going to happen, one my upbringing, and the odds where against me! ME getting to do something like that was impossible.There was no way I could afford it, there was no way I would leave my job, my family, my church, my girlfriend, move to one of the most dangerous places on earth, there was just no way!!!
When the Lord started opening the doors in the amazing way I have described in a previous post, I and everyone that knows me was just amazed. I am now completely done with first step( seventeen classes at the university), and will be starting at the faculty of medicine next year. Yep with the odds still against me!!

The odds have always been against me folks, from day one, Oh the stories I could tell, I suffered things that an adult should never suffer worse so a child, but I’m still fighting, fighting to survive, fighting to make my mark on this earth, I believe I was born for a purpose and I believe God has keep me here this long, yes even with the odds stacked high against me, to fulfil that purpose. I believe I have been blessed and highly favored.

I worry about the odds sometimes I must admit. I worry that the funding will dry up for this program. I worry that I will not be able to raise enough money to cover the cost for next year. I worry about the high crime rate in the capital and pray I am not a victim before I´m finished. I worry about my heart, it already almost gave out on me once. I worry about my mother, she is getting older and needs me to help her financially rather than her still having to help her 26 year old boy go to a fancy medical program in the capital. I worry about my sisters. I worry about the odds.
But I know that the same God that has brought me so far, and has placed many good people in my life, will lead me till my journey here is done. The best thing that God has given me is my mother she is the strongest woman I know, she taught me to work hard and dream big. She taught me to keep fighting and to never give up no matter how hard it gets. She always tells me I am a blessed person, and I believe her.

Next January I will be starting in the next step of this journey, and I would like to know I have you in my corner, share my blog with someone, make a comment on here, send me a message, anything you can do I greatly appreciate.

As I have mentioned before I am only able to continue on this journey because of the generous support of people like you, I would really appreciate it if you would go over to sol foundation website and make a donation of any amount to help me thru next year and to help me complete this program. I assure you I will honor that donation in loving service, and by making sure I am doing everything I can to pay it forward. Just make sure to type “Natan Webster” in the dedication box. Every penny sent to sol with the dedication line Natan Webster is administered to my scholarship Program, and is a foundational stone in helping me become a doctor with a message and a mission in Honduras.

http://www.solsite.org/

Every donation made via SOL is tax deductible
If you have any question please feel free to contact me.

Thank you for your support
This Hymn has been on my mind a lot lately, thought I would share it with you.

Life is like a mountain railroad, with an engineer that’s brave;
We must make the run successful, from the cradle to the grave;
Watch the curves, the hills, the tunnels; never falter, never fail;
Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.

Blessed Savior, Thou wilt guide us,
Till we reach that blissful shore;
Where the angels wait to join us
In Thy praise forevermore.

You will roll up grades of trial; you will cross the bridge of strife;
See that Christ is your Conductor on this lightning train of life;
Always mindful of obstruction, do your duty, never fail;
Keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eye upon the rail.

A view from the capital.

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Well this is one for the history books. a historic amount of Hondurans. more than 3 million, went out and made their voices heard in the 2013 general national elections, and for the first time in at least 32 years of our democracy the national party( conservatives) will retain the presidency for two consecutive terms. How in the world did this happen in a center left country such as ours? As you all know I am a political junkie so let me school ya´ll a little bit.

The short answer 2009. See in 2009 the conservative wing of the liberal party did a very stupid thing. In an effort to save the party from the ¨far left¨ which they believed was sinking the party and the country. The president of congress Roberto Michelleti ( leader of the conservative wing) assisted by the military carried out a coup (yes that´s what it was) that rocked the country and reshaped the political landscape forever. The real conservatives (national or blue party) were smart enought to stay miles away from this ill advised move.

President Zelaya was a direct product of the Huelga bananera of 59 and surprisingly became the leader of the the left wing of the party, for the first part of his presidency he basicly stuck to center left policies and tried not to rock the boat tomuch, it was near the end of his term that he took a hard turn to the left, making a lot of moves that scared the heck out of the ruling class in this country. Micheleti who loose the primary of 08 to Elvin Santos also a product of the far left in the party became alarmed and did what would ruin the party´s chances of winning the 09 elections and the 2013 elections and many elections hereafter , in my opinions.

See he decided the onliest way to save the country from the socialist policies and soon to come dictatorship of zelaya was to remove zelaya from power. He believed that in order to save the constitution he had to unconstitutionaly remove the duly elected president from power and get the military to appoint him president ( way to go democracy).He was supported by the military and the conservative wing of the party. The chaos that ensued stirred up and angered the left wing of the party the felt like they had been betrayed and that Zelaya was only been removed from power because he threatened the powers that be. Zelaya then left the liberal party and he and his wife became leaders of the resistance officially named Libre, this party is mostly formed by people that left the liberal party after the coup. Becuase the constitution barred Zelaya from running for president again his wife ,Xiomara Castro, was unanimously nominated to run under the newly formed party banner.
The liberals in order to save their party and stop the bleading from the left rank nominated Mauricio Villeda, Villeda was also a leader in the left wing of the party and was the son of ex- president ¨pajarito¨ as he was nicknamed by the left who saw him as a hero back in the day. This was not enought Libre already had the ear of the people and the bitterness and resentment of 09 proved to be tomuch for him to overcome.

This lead to what has been a historic election, that featured two new political parties, one lead by a woman, and the other by a tv entertainer. The conservatives despite having ruled to country for the last 4 years, despite bearing the blame for high unenployement, high crime rates, deep corruption, won the election by at least 6 points. Keeping the reins of government for two consecutive terms. It is worth mentioning here that if you add votes won by the Liberal party and Libre, they would have won the election by a landslide.It is clear to see that liberals have paid a high price for 09. AS THEY SHOULD!!!

So is it over?
Not by a long shot both Xiomara and Nasralla have made allegation of fraud. Xiomara has declared herself the duly elected president and has called for her people to head to the streets to demand…… I´m not even sure what it is that she is demanding. But here in the capital where people love to protest that was not a call they would ignore. She has a pretty large following at the university which caused the university to close down for a week after the took over the university and faced off with the police.

The real news tho and the place to watch in the coming weeks is congress. See, Libre took 39 seats, The liberal party took 26 , PAC took 16 and the national party took 49. The national party which has been running the congress for the last 4 years have said that they believe they should have control after winning the majority of seats. The liberals are seeking to make an alliance with Libre to take control away from the conservatives. Libre has said they will absolutely have no alliance with the liberals. And the conservatives are seeking to make an alliance with Pac to maintain control of the legislature. As you can see this is shaping up to be quite a mess and will be a headache for the new president.

Xiomara is making a lot of noise and will probably keep doing so for a while, but my eyes will be on what happens in congress. There has never been this much diversity in there before, have you seen that congresswoman from the 5th sector in S.P.S its hard to believe she was even old enought to run.
We over in Roatan elected a liberal congressman and liberal mayor, so I am hoping that the liberal power will be able to form some alliance to control the chamber, seeing as that will give our congressman more power and influence in the legislature.

Anyway, we are told in the bible to pray for our leaders that we might lead peaceable lives. I for one will be praying and I hope you do too.

Good luck to Jery Hynds as he joins that clown show in congress, and Dorn Ebanks as he takes over the municipality of Coxen Hole.