Mission work in Honduras: Surprise!

Back to work! We were all happy to get back to SBV and make progress on our various projects. Leonard, who had been ill on Monday, returned to work with gusto. He joined Frederik finishing the laundry room floor. This is grueling work and the two of them were tireless. This is important because late in the afternoon I found Leonard daintily scraping bits of paint off of Cottage 4 patio. I announced I was going to take his picture and did despite his objections. I am certain that he did not want the first picture of him working being that instead of the muchas macho work he had done all day. Right after taking that picture I snuck up on him and snapped him scrapping paint off of Amy’s shoe. Score! Bwa-ha-ha-ha.

This was the day that things clicked for everyone. It always happens on these trips. You start out on day 1 kind of bumping into walls. The work is slow and you feel really awkward doing it. Because of this, it doesn’t feel like you have made much progress and there is a slight sense of disappointment. But then, you figure it out. You get into a rhythm, the work flows and you can quickly see the fruits of your labor. The other thing that clicks is why, in a very deep way, we are here. That turbo charges everyone and, wow! It was so cool to hear the teens burbling on about how hard they had worked and how much progress they made. They were very serious in discussing how much more needed to be done and how they would manage to get it all done before we left. They are kids on a mission… Very cool.

Geoff, our youngest member, was a real star this morning. He painted the bottom half of Cottage 4 – all 4 walls! Then he came back to the school to resume his role of “Chunker King” by chipping hunks of concrete and mortar of the floor. Karen, Joey, and Amy painted the windows of Cottage 3 a beautiful red. Amy became the Clean-up Queen. Their paint rags were used hand wipes! (ewww) John, Auburn, and Anna put a second coat on the playground wall. I was particularly moved at how important this was to John because, as he said, “My dad had a lot to do with getting the playground built so I really wanted to be a part of it.” Indeed, Jess did have a lot to do with it. I had tearfully called him and asked him to help me get the equipment shipped. He took over that entire task which was extremely difficult and time consuming. He was a Godsend to me and the children who now so enjoy the playground. Carolyn, Casey, Alex, Maddie and Mary made great progress in the Director’s House painting it a lovely yellow. Alyssa and Pamm got the treat of going to Suzy’s house to babysit the children all afternoon. Because this is Holy Week, everyone is going on vacation, including Reina and Tomasa who help take care of Suzy’s 9 children.

Bonnie, Renee and I worked in the school cleaning the last of the rooms. Of course, the workers are still plastering and putting on the last bits of roof. Just as we declared victory in a room, they would come in and start slinging mescla around again, dripping globs on the floor, etc. Sigh. We did all we could and then moved up to the Chapel to clean it up for Friday’s service. That is where we will go tomorrow.

We rushed back to Erika’s and everyone quickly showered so we could meet in the living room for Reflection from 6 – 6:30. This was a change in our normal routine and necessary because we had to keep Wheeler away from the upper dining area during that time, because…WE GAVE HIM A SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! 89 years old this month! Both teams in house joined together for this joyous event. Erika had arranged for a taco bar which was wonderful. (Papusas – YUM) Of course we had a cake and cards and a gift. The funny thing was that I had to get the team up to the dining area first and give them time to get in place. So, as everyone was filing upstairs to dinner I, with a somber face, told Wheeler that I needed to speak to him and Bonnie. This was a total ruse so naturally I couldn’t think of a single thing to say. Wheeler was worried there was a big problem and Bonnie was baffled as I rambled on. So, when I figured they had enough time to get set, I said, “Oh never mind. Let’s eat.” As we walked towards the steps, Wheeler groaned because all the lights were out. Of course, the electricity goes out regularly here so it was entirely possible that it was a blackout. Bonnie and I escorted him the steps so he could deal with the problem. As we got to the top of the steps, the lights flipped on and 40+ people jumped up and shouted, “Surprise” and immediately sand Happy Birthday! He was speechless – truly surprised. Dinner took a long time because everyone went back for seconds or thirds on the papusas. The chef was frantically patting them out as the line of hungry teenagers grew! Papusas are sort of like quesadillas. We had birthday cake, singing once again, and then our team presented him with his gift – a photo album chronicling his life since coming to Honduras. We had such a wonderful time going through each page with him. This was a labor of love created by Renee, Joey, Bonnie, Karen, Anna, Alyssa, Amy, and me. Each page he would exclaim, often reminiscing or telling us a story. I can’t wait for his family to see it and hear him explain each picture on each page. At the last page, he spontaneously begun to pray a prayer of thanksgiving which was so moving for all of us.

Another big day tomorrow…God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for this wonderful place and all these lovely people. Amen.