Tuesday April 8
Today was a full day of very hard work. We learned a new skill today. (I am using the royal “we” here since I didn’t actually do this work.) The cottage walls, made of the adobe blocks and mud mortar, need to be made fairly flat and smooth to prepare for the plaster. As you can imagine, making adobe bricks is an inexact science and placement is not as precise as you would like! So, several members of the team, kids and adults, spent the day chipping and chiseling the lumps and bumps off the walls. This is exceedingly difficult and messy. The “wall scrapers” were completely covered with dust – and I mean completely. Brown hair became gray, facial features were indistinguishable, clothes layered with dust and more dust. It is also really hard work, especially as the scraping moves up the wall towards the top. Not only are they struggling to knock off the chunks of adobe, but dust and adobe are raining down in their faces. Nevertheless, they did their work with dedication and good humor! The other work was more of the same – mixing mescal (mortar) and concrete, delivering wheelbarrows and buckets full to the plasterers and the concrete beam makers, sifting sand, making rebar, tearing down and rebuilding scaffolding as the work progresses from one room in the cottage to another. All this is done under the guidance and supervision of the Honduran workers. They are so patient and kind as we stumble and bumble around. We get to thinking we have really mastered a task only to see a young Honduran zoom past us with heavier loads, zipping up the most rickety ladders you can imagine!
We still had time throughout the day to play with the children. Our teens are so impressed with how well behaved the children are! The children are so affectionate and are always ready for a hug. They are well cared for and loved at San Buena Ventura but the staff is always busy and not always available to give a hug. That, I believe, is one of the most valuable things we bring to Honduras – the unconditional love and affection we shower on the children. I spent about 30 minutes during lunch with the 4 yr old boys in their room. We had brought 15 Hot Wheels cars and a Hot Wheels track. They were delighted with that as any self-respecting 4 yr old boy would be. Pretty soon we had just about all the boys in there playing with cars. Except for the language, I could have been in the US with a roomful of little boys playing with cars.
So yesterday I mentioned that a trip with teens is very different than with adults. And so it is and continues. There is A LOT more energy, noise, giggling, and silliness. But I am here to tell you, the future of our nation and the world is in good hands. These teens are terrific – hard working, good natured, kind, loving and a whole lot of fun. Thanks be to God!
Something else I neglected to mention yesterday was my reunion with the kids. What a joy it was to see them again, especially so soon after the last trip. We hugged each other, hooted and hollered, laughed, and teased each other mercilessly. The smaller children were equally delightful. Elias, the 4 yr old boy our family sponsors, came running up and jumped in my arms! He asked where Billy was and was disappointed to learn he wasn’t with me. I spent quite a bit of time with the teenage girls teaching them American teen slang. We struggled over “whatever” - I had a hard time putting it in context for them and they worked hard to pronounce it with the right inflection but they finally got it. Of course, the lesson included making the W with thumbs and index fingers. Now, whenever they walk by at a distance I am likely to get a W or an L on the forehead (“loser”) flashed at me! The US teens, by the way, observed my lessons with great hilarity. There must be something surreal about watching an adult of a certain age teach Honduran teens how to act cool like American teens…. Carolyn, one of the US girls, proclaimed my efforts cute!
Tomorrow is LAMB day – we go into Flor del Campo to the LAMB Institute school, visit the nursery, and tour La Cantera. After lunch is…you guessed it… Help Honduran Economy afternoon! I can hardly wait to do my part!
Hope all is well there. I can only hope that your days are as fulfilling as ours are here.
God Bless,
Amanda
