Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Day 7 - 2013

It is truly hard to believe that our trip is quickly coming to an end. I do not believe that our time here could have been any better. No one got sick, everyone seemed to have a great time, and we managed to accomplish all that we set out to do. I pray that we made some difference in all who's lives we touched this week. I would encourage anyone who has never been, to come to Honduras. It is a life-changing experience. It is hard to realize how richly God has blessed us until you see how some of the rest of the world lives.

In years past, the most touching part of the trip for me has been handing out food bags. Nothing warms your heart quite like giving food to the poor. This year was no exception. Always before, we have just driven out to poor areas and handed out the food to random people that we encounter. This year, Carlos wanted to try something different. He had the families in the congregation hand out tickets to people that they knew would benefit from the food. The ticket holders were told to come to the church building at 9:00 this morning to hear a message and pick up their food. I'll be honest, I had my doubts as to how well this way would work compared to what we normally do. But, I was totally wrong! It worked out great! There was already a line when we arrived at the buildings his morning. 
And they just kept coming! I quit counting at 215. We probably had close to 250 including children. 

Here is Carlos leading a song at the beginning of his message. 




























Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Day 6 - 2013

What?!! It can't be day 6 already! Our time here has flown by and is quickly coming to an end. While I'm sure everyone in the group is like me and ready to see their families, it is a little sad to think about leaving so soon. Like always, I think the blessings that we receive by being here far outweigh the work we do. Again, it is hard to put into words, but I can easily see why people like Ricky come back year after year. The Honduran people are so warm, welcoming, and appreciative of any help we offer. While most people we encounter have so few "things" by U.S. standards, they make the most out of everything that they do have. They inspire me to be less wasteful but most importantly more content and appreciative of the gifts that God has given me. 

We started our day today by finishing up construction on Yobani's house. Our team made quick work of the roof, electrical, concrete, and finishing touches. 
Here is a picture of the proud family with their new home. Oh, and to clarify yesterday's post, Yobani only has 9 kids not 12 :)
Once again, the family generously provided lunch for all. Today's meal was tamales - they were great!
After lunch, Carlos took us to an old gold mine close to the Valley of the Angels. I think I understood that it stopped production sometime in the 1950s. We drove a couple miles up the mountain and then hiked for another quarter mile or so. The road was extremely rough, but the scenery was beautiful! It reminded me so much of hiking to some waterfalls around Gatlinburg. 
Tomorrow morning, we will meet with Carlos to determine how we will distribute the food bags. Then, we will start making preparations for the trip home. 












Monday, July 15, 2013

Day 5 - 2013

It has been another long but productive day.  This morning we started a house for a Gentleman from the church congregation. I have no idea how to spell his name correctly, but it's sounds like Yobani.   I think I understood that he has 12 children.  This is him showing off one of his many pets.

 The building site was absolutely gorgeous! This picture does not do it justice. How I would love to wake up to this view every morning!
Even though we were pretty much hanging off the side of the mountain, the site itself was in great shape. The walls went up very quickly and were pretty much finished by lunch. 
Speaking of lunch, we were once again treated to a delicious meal, prepared by the family. 
After lunch, we put the finishing touches on the walls, hung the door, and started working on the roof. All we lack for tomorrow is putting metal on the roof, running the wire for electricity, and pouring the concrete for the floor. 
Tonight, we visited the public hospital here in Tegusegalpa. Emily and Nahum had left the construction site early to help the ladies at the clinic prepare 500 meals for us to carry to the hospital. These were given out to patients, people waiting to be seen, and family members. 


Words cannot describe this experience. Honestly, I had been dreading it because of memories I still had from the last time I was there. Perhaps one of the Hondurans with us said it best " it is really an awful place...".  I just cannot imagine having a sick loved one and this be my only option to get help for them.  We are so blessed to live in the U.S.  Any concerns of worries that I thought I had before seem quite petty now. I don't know what an impact 1 meal will have on their lives, but I pray that it helped to ease some suffering for at least 1 night. 











Sunday, July 14, 2013

Day 4 - 2013

I know It sounds like i keep repeating myself, but we have been so blessed with yet another wonderful day here in Honduras. It is hard to put into words how warm and welcoming the Honduran people are. We are truly treated like family by our brothers and sisters here.

Sunday morning worship in the Valley of the Angles is always one of the best parts of the trip for me, and today was no different. Again it is hard to express with words, but the worship service here is always so joyful and uplifting. I tried to capture a couple of the songs on video - hopefully the sound quality is ok.



Ricky gave a great message this morning! He had just a little help with translation from our friend Nahum. It was hard to tell which one of them was most nervous!  

We were all very excited when a lady from the congregation responded to the message! Plans for her baptism began right after service was over. Ricky and Carlos drove to a nearby swimming pool while lunch was being prepared to make sure that the pool would be suitable for the baptism. Speaking of lunch, we were once again treated to a delicious meal at the church building! 

After lunch Ricky met with Carlos and some of the ladies from the congregation to discuss some improvements that they would like to do to the building. The rest of our group hung out and played with the kids for awhile. 
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The ladies of the congregations also took this time to go through the eyeglasses that had been collected at Washington St. Out of 50-something pairs that we brought down, over 30 were distributed. 



Finally it was time for the baptism. We were met with more good news when we arrived at the pool. On the drive over, another lady had decided that she too wanted to be baptized! For the second year in a row, Ricky was chosen to perform the baptisms. Once again, he braved the cold water for the privilege to baptize these young women into Christ.
We finished the day off with a little souvenir shopping in the Valley of the Angels and some more good old American fast food.
I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds, but it's hard to imagine it getting much better!









































Saturday, July 13, 2013

Day 3 - 2013

Tonight I will let the pictures tell most of the story. We have had another incredible day! We were able to finish the classroom building at the church (including concrete and electricity), were treated to another delicious meal prepared by the ladies of the congregation, played a little soccer and basketball with the local kids, and ended the day with our traditional meal at El Patio.  Can't wait to worship with our brothers and sisters in the Valley of the Angels tomorrow!  

Friday, July 12, 2013

Day 2 - 2013

What a great day we had!  We are all exhausted but also feel that we accomplished a lot.   Our morning started a little before 7 with breakfast at the hotel and then we were off to the clinic to pick up our tools. We finally made it to the church and got construction on a new classroom building started around 9. We had lots of help and the building site was in good shape so we were able to make quick work of raising the walls 
Sand was added to level the ground in preparation for concrete tomorrow. 
 The highlight of the day was being treated to a delicious lunch, prepared by some of the ladies from the congregation. 
The roof started going on soon after lunch. Ricky probably would have finished it, but he ran out of screws with just a few pieces left to go on. 
Tomorrow we hope to finish the roof, door, and windows.  Also, pour the concrete floor, and run wire for electricity. Hopefully we will again be blessed with beautiful weather and lots of help.  I'll close with a few more pics from around the worksite.