Mission work in Honduras: Almost there

Our last full day of work and a long, hard, productive one it was. The sun was out all day (natch, the only day I forgot sunscreen...) so the ground dried out and we had no unscheduled delays. We got started on the first slide which was a bear. One of the screw casings was put in funny which made it very difficult. I got busy with David digging holes again - this time for the slide footings - smaller and shallower than for the beams. I managed to escape the concrete mixing this time although I did shovel and cart a wheelbarrow full of gravel to the playground. Here is an interesting insight in the event anyone ever builds a playground in the future. It makes it much harder when the construction experts have never actually seen one! Franklin had never seen monkey bars before and he has agonized about them all week! He kept wanting to put them about 3 ft off the ground or putting them higher with a bridge underneath. We kept trying to explain how they were used. Franklin was frantic about the children falling off. Hunter would then act out how they would only fall a couple of feet onto their feet. Anyway, I think he finally gave into the crazy American volunteers. I suspect he secretly planned to come back and take them down after we left! Happily, we managed to get them up and he could finally visualize how the children will play on them.

The children can really see the playground now and the buzz around the edges is getting more and more excited. The little boys can barely contain themselves. Little Daniel happened to be in the right place at the right time. No one was around so I lifted him up onto the monkey bars. He immediately took to them! I imagine he is boasting about it tonight in the boys bedroom! The next to try them out was Wilmer! I don't think he had ever seen them either! The other piece of equipment that is totally baffling to them is the climbing coil. Fortunately, just in the nick of time, Hunter explained how it should be placed, just as the concrete was hardening around the bottom. We were able to reorient it - phew. Again, I think there is alot of skepticism. The tube remains the biggest mystery. I imagine that will be quite a production tomorrow. The climbing wall is the other piece still unattached but that shouldn't be too tough to do.

All that is left one those pieces are taken care of are the ramp/steps to get onto one platform and the railings around each platform. That is simple carpentry so should go fast.

At 3PM Cazador and I were called into the main room of Cottage 1 for a joint "farewell party" and birthday party for Gina and Kathy. Each age group had a program for us, Daniel spoke for a long time (Paty gently had to give him the hook or he would still be going!) there were child led prayers (very sweet) and the teen girls brought down the house with their "beauty pagent." (see picture!) Most of the children wrote letters, cards,or drew pictures and they, to my surprise, gave me a gift of 3 decorative pitchers! After our program it was birthday time. The birthday cake was beautiful and huge (so many cake eaters there!) and the girls each got a gift. Gina got a new jumprope and Kathy a stuffed unicorn. Great fun was had by all!

Cazador and I returned to the work site to finish up the day. I filled deep puddles with dirt to even out the terrain a bit and removed rocks and construction detritus.

On the way home, Cazador and Wilmer had a high time in the back of David's jeep. They were talking a blue streak, all in Spanish! Hunter was explaining how to make a prosthesis and then they roared at Wilmer's attempt to say prosthetist, especially when Hunter pointed out how they sometime joke and say "prosthetute!" They sang La Bamba together, compared notes about girls and who knows what else!

Tomorrow is a half day of work and play time with the kids. It will be so hard to say goodbye...

Prayer request: David's 8 mo old baby has had diarrhea for 2 weeks and is quite ill. They are very worried about Jonathan and are taking him to a gastroenterologist tomorrow. There was a healing service for Betsy tonight... She has stopped cancer treatment in favor of deep faith and prayer.

Beginning of day 5: