Mission work in Honduras

A peek at the real world and "Hasta Enero!"

2010-10-15T23:25:00.000-04:00

Friday Oct 15

Today was my last full day. Sigh. Of all the days I have spent with the kids, this was one of them... So, the ENTIRE staff went off on a 2 day retreat leaving Diana Collins in charge of SBV with a group of volunteers from a church in the Teguc area...and me. Remember when you were in elementary school and you had a new substitute? Well, this was like the entire school, including the principal, being substitutes! At least they knew the "principal" Diana. Most of the others they had never met. Fasten your seatbelts...

The day got off on the wrong foot from the very beginning. We were taking the volunteers with us in the van. They were stuck in traffic so we were an hour late getting to SBV. There was a group from a different church there to lead morning activities that involved breaking the kids into groups and moving them from supervised station to supervised station. Unfortunately, the supervisors weren't there yet so they quickly adjusted and did everything with the entire group of 65 children! We moved from the devotional in Cottage 1 to the porch of the Chapel for some activities. That is where things started to quickly unravel. It was cold and the wind was blowing really hard. The volunteers put on a couple of "dramas" that the children enjoyed. It was mostly OK but some of the little boys were beginning to squirm, get restless, wander off. Someone was constantly going off to find a wandering lamb. OH, did I mention that some of the volunteer caretakers didn't show up?

After the dramas, the volunteer team tried to organize them into groups for games. I suggested to Diana that we move the group to the new courtyard because it was so cold where we were and the courtyard is much more contained. That was a bit better but the kids had had it with organized activities by strangers. The little boys in cottage 2 were veering out of control, led by Fernando. He wasn't alone... Ronnie, Kennet, and Jose Luis were being busters too. Bless Emanuel's heart. He was as good as gold. We finally corralled them for lunch. (Note: Make a prayer of thanksgiving for little boys' appetites...) They all ate a good lunch with minimal prompting. I had gotten these huge marshmallows as my dessert. I cut them in half except for one. I gave the whole one to Emanuel for being so good and then a half to each of the others if Diana judged them worthy. (She did!) After lunch was nap time for the littlest ones and some of the older ones who had been naughty. About that time Fernando started a full blown melt down. None of us really knew what to do or how to handle it. Understandably, he has serious anger issues. I want to talk to some experts when I get home about how to deal with that sort of situation. Ultimately, he took off towards the school. I knew I couldn't run after him but Reina showed up (thank you, God) and reassured me that he would be fine, he just needed to cool down. Sure enough, after awhile he returned in fairly good humor. He wouldn't speak to me but he was back to his cute self.

Paty, who hid in her room studying all morning, showed up and was a hero getting all three of the little boys to fall fast asleep. Finally, Diana and I had some quiet time to strategize about how she and the other volunteers would survive the next 24 hours and talk just a bit about the child sponsorship program. We made some headway which we will be able to continue via email. (One she has been released from the inevitable stay at the Funny Farm after this weekend.)

With equal parts guilt and relief, I kissed each of the children good-bye and bid them "Hasta Enero!" On the way back to Casa LAMB we stopped briefly at Suzy's to say hey to Franklin, Irma and toddler Evelyn. Then Jose David's van got a flat tire on the highway! As he and the male volunteer changed the tire, barely off the road, I stood by them in my red, pink and yellow Target pajama pants waving the cars to swing wide and avoid Jose David and volunteer. I am certain I am the topic of many dinner table conversations, "You won't believe the crazy gringa I saw on the side of the road!"

Safely home I have had time to reflect on the day. I think God scheduled this day this way on purpose. It was cold and very windy - a taste of weather to come, and the kids were normal kids - meaning they can go from adorable to naughty in the blink of an eye. I realized life here will not be all rainbows and roses. This is real life. It will be hard, frustrating, even maddening. And yet, all those naughty boys gave me big hugs and kisses when I said good-bye. Fernando even smiled when I kissed the top of his head. I see my time sort of like a marriage - for better, for worse... I will be faithful and give my love to God's littlest lambs.

Hasta Enero! (Until January!)

Peace, God bless you all, keep these beautiful people, young and old, in your prayers.

Devotional

Sweet Dunia and Yolani

These kids do chores without complaints!

Isac!

Any Notre Dame fans out there?

Volunteer, very funny drama

Good Fernando

Evelyn, not a baby anymore, with Irma - Franklin's wife

Irma and Franklin

How many days has it been since yesterday?

2010-10-14T23:19:00.001-04:00

Thursday Oct 14

Being in Honduras is like being in a time warp. I was in Roswell just a few days ago and yet I can barely remember it! On the other hand, I can't believe it is already almost time to leave. Each day is so full it seems like more and yet it goes by so fast. Today was definitely one of those days.

Sadly, the weather let me down and we had to say good bye to Pamm and Alex. David, Gladys, and Isidra and I took a long drive to visit a woman, Maria, who will be entering LAMB's micro-enterprise program. Oh my. She lives in a little tiny sort of house in the back of a rabbit warren of a building. She has a concrete floor and a tin roof courtesy of the mayor of her town. Some of the walls are solid, some are made of a patchwork of cardboard. Inside is a hodgepodge of furniture, two rooms - one bedroom for herself and 3 daughters still at home and a living room/kitchen. Her home was as neat as a pin (MUCH cleaner than mine)with pictures of her older daughters and their school diplomas framed and hung on the bare wood wall. Her 15 day old grandson was there while the new mother was at a clinic getting a check up. Maria has no legs. She lost them both in a train accident. She has an old rickety wheelchair. She sells sweets, apples, churros on the street to make a living. She wants a micro-loan to buy some produce and supplies to sell so she can save money to buy a sewing machine in order to start a sewing business. She makes curtains, bed linens, repairs clothes, etc. Unfortunately, she has not been able to sell much lately because she has just been diagnosed with stage 3 uterine cancer. She is so worried about what will happen to her 3 daughters still at home if she dies. But, she doesn't have the money for the tests (biopsy and something else I didn't recognize) she needs. How much are the tests? $75. I committed that amount from the Atlanta team on the spot. Please pray that she is healed. So she is telling us this, tears down her face, she can't sleep worrying about her children. She sighed and said, "This is just so much to handle." She suddenly brightened up and proclaimed, "I have no legs but that won't stop me!" Gladys and Isidra said they would make her the loan and provide her a sewing machine so she could get started on her new business. We prayed together and then left. Was that only half a day? There was so much to absorb -- to see the life she lives and the grace with which she lives it is overwhelming.

Then on to SBV! I got there and hung out in the library for a couple of hours. The entire time I had one little boy or another, sometimes two, climbing on my lap to listen to a book. Heaven. There were several other children in there all reading books sprawled out on the floor. Jimmy was carefully perusing the books for the older children. He loves to read. He would show me his favorite books or point out the favorites of other children. He proudly showed me the books his Madrina, Marilyn, has given him. It was wonderful.

Next I visited Sala Cuna to see the babies. I was captivated by Yolani who was listening to music and really enjoying it with her whole body during naptime. I couldn't resist so I tiptoed in to watch. Gabriel, one of the staff, followed and got Yolani giggling and then belly laughing. What a glorious sound to hear her laugh!

I moved on to Cottage 2 to put my things in the office. Guess who was sitting there with his own computer? JORGE!!! I haven't seen him in two years! He looks great. He is 16, handsome as he can be, deep voice, and sweet smile. He is living with his mother, whom I met, and going to school. I ran into Xiomara again so it really felt like old home week. We really have spectacular children there.

I played with the younger children for an hour on the playground and the slide. It was a non-stop flow of children down the slide as I horsed around with them. Mondo-fun but boy am I exhausted! My favorite moments were holding Paola's hand as she zoomed down the slide laughing hard and grinning ear to ear. She came to us from such a traumatic and violent environment. It has taken quite awhile for her to get over that trauma so it is such a joy to see her happy and just having a blast. God is good and God is most definitely here.

I am going to fall into bed as soon as I upload some pictures...

Hasta manana!

15 day old grandson of Maria

Maria's cardboard wall

Maria

Maria telling us about her cancer diagnosis

Maria holding her grandson

Playing with the puzzles from Alex's Eagle project

Caty reading - late for lunch!

Jorge

Reina, Margarita (their mother) Julio, Jorge and Jimmy

Noe

Isaac

Yolani

Soccer on the playground

Yolani and Ode to Joy

THEY'RE SO FLUFFY!!!!

2010-10-14T00:37:00.001-04:00

Wednesday, October 13

Have you seen the movie Despicable Me? If not, rush out and see it. A great line from the movie is when Agnes, the littlest orphan, shouts with joy when she got a huge new unicorn, "IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE!!!"   Well, we morphed it a bit to refer to the kids at SBV because they are so, so cute. Noe, Maria Mercedes, Fany, et al... THEY'RE SO FLUFFY!!!!

Today was a great day. We started out in Flor at the children's assembly. Always wonderful. Esli was leading part of the program. It is really awe inspiring to see how she has grown into such a poised young lady. I spoke to her quickly and she beamed when I told her that I was so proud of her and so happy that she now has Angelie, her daughter, with her. "Yes, I am so happy and I am with my mother too!" A happy ending thanks to God's grace and the loving staff at SBV.

I had a very fruitful discussion with Gladys, the Honduran Director of LAMB. Every time I speak with her I am more impressed with her dedication, competence, intelligence, and strength. I learned today what a visionary she is. She and I share many traits like that. I am very excited about working closely with her. She takes a holistic view of everything which is so grand. I also bought a car from her! Of course, I won't take ownership of it till January but that is one load off my mind.

We took a quick(ish) trip to Giancarlo's. Again I didn't spend all that was allocated! What a good girl am I!
We returned to Casa LAMB for a quick lunch and then to La Colonia, the grocery store, to buy ice cream for the birthday party at SBV. As Pamm was reaching for the vanilla, I redirected her to the chocolate chip. Of course. If given a choice, always go for the chocolate chip.

On to SBV to set up for the birthday party. We had two huge pinatas - Woody and Jesse from Toy Story 2 and 3.   Once school was out we got the children down on the field to do the pinatas. First the girls. It was hilarious. They all made a big circle around Jesse who was suspended from a tree on a line. One of the staff members would raise and lower it to make easier or harder to hit depending on the age of the child. They started with the smallest girls and worked their way up to the older girls. They excitedly cheered each other on, patiently waiting their turn. Who do you suppose had the final whack that broke open the pinata liberating all the candy? Gina. Who else! The girls fell on the candy collecting it as fast as they could.

Next it was the boys' turn. It was a riot. Literally. No carefully organized circle. No, it was more of a pig pile under Woody. Typical boys! But, the little boys did manage to go first and somehow everyone who wanted a turn got one before all the candy flew. Little Alex was hysterical holding his shirt out under Woody as the candy was falling to catch it before it hit the ground! A fun time was had by all!

Up we went to Cottage 1 for cake, ice cream, hats, and goodie bags. Before we sang happy birthday to the October and November birthday boys and girls, I made my announcement about living in Honduras. I was moved and delighted to say that everyone cheered!   We handed out cake and ice cream to everyone. I was disappointed to learn that the alleged chocolate chips in the ice cream were actually raisins! EWWW. I was surprised by a raisin and was not amused. Nevertheless, it was a great party.

Dunia was so dear. Before the party she made sure I added Sulay, her house mother, to the list of birthday people especially because today is her birthday. After the goodie bags were handed out she raced up to me upset because Sulay hadn't gotten a goodie bag! Not to worry, we had extra so Sulay got her goodie bag! How dear of Dunia to be so concerned that Sulay had the proper acknowledgement of her birthday. That's how those kids are -- so generous, so empathetic, so caring. I just love them.   THEY ARE SO FLUFFY!

We got back to Casa LAMB for another fiesta! A surprise fiesta as a going away party. Judy moved it from Friday to tonight because Pamm and Alex are leaving tomorrow. Gladys, Evelyn, and David joined us. We had such a good time. I was telling them about our family motto: Never be surprised by a raisin. David was confused about what I was trying to say. I explained that we bought chocolate chip ice cream but it had raisins instead. He clarified that what we bought was actually...wait for it... (remember, the ice cream was for 65 children) ...we bought RUM RAISIN ice cream for a children's birthday party! We all totally lost it over that. Although the week isn't over yet, I believe I am secure in my position of doing the stupidest thing of the week!

I am still hoping for a non-destructive but flight cancelling storm so Pamm and Alex have to stay longer....

Tomorrow I am going to meet a woman who lost both of her legs in a train accident. She has 3 children, lives in a hovel and refuses charity. She is joining our micro-enterprise program, getting a loan to purchase sweets, apples, etc. to sell on the street so she can ultimately purchase a sewing machine to start a business making curtains and bed linens.

Good night all... enjoy the pictures of the birthday party...

Awesome pink boots part deux

2010-10-13T00:14:00.000-04:00

Tuesday Oct 12

Recap from last night...
Alex: How do I turn off the computer (all text is in spanish)
Pamm: You don't have to. It turns itself off.
(Alex quizzical look)
Amanda: I turn it off
Pamm: No, it just goes off automatically.
Amanda: No, dear. When you go to bed it is still on. When I am ready to go to bed I walk over to the computer and actually turn it off.
Pamm: Ohhhhh.
(Alex shaking his head.)

Tues:

Well, we finished the bookshelves today! Woohoo! All 6 sanded, sealed, sanded, sealed, sanded, stain/varnished!

Finishing early gave us some time to play with the children but not too much because we left early to go to PriceSmart (just like Sam's Club.) Pamm asked Valerie what her heart's desire is and she immediately responded that it would be wonderful to have a TV and DVD for the school and a monitor for her computer so she can show the students educational video clips. "Done!" answered Pamm. So off we went to buy the items from the left over project and unspent Valle money (note...unspent valle money...)

When we got back to Casa LAMB we had another delicious dinner (once again I am thwarted in my hope for free weight loss in HN) and then got busy preparing goodie bags and pinatas for the birthday bash we have planned tomorrow.

We are glued to the TV watching the glorious rescue of the Chilean miners -- full of joy, hope, and prayer. What a moment it was when the first miner stepped out of the capsule into the arms of his 8 year old son and his wife. Thanks be to God!

Helpers Sergio and Yonibel walk my boot in!

Sergio, Alex, Alex

We're done!

Add caption

Yolani with her new toy

Aaron Joshue

Lester

Lovely Genesis

Genesis gets a ride from Elias Hernandez

Jose Santos

Pamm and Yolani

Masta Sandas... and Cumpleanos in Flor

2010-10-11T22:36:00.000-04:00

Monday Oct 11

If we weren't so tired Pamm and I would make up a rap about being masta sandas today along with AL'X. But no. It is comforting in this world of constant change to fall into a tried and true routine. In this case it is the routine of spending the first work morning bumping into walls. Our project is to sand and stain 6 bookcases to house the tons of books AL'X collected as part of his Eagle Project. David gave us very detailed written instructions about what to do. Step 1 was to bring toilet paper to SBV. Check. Step 2 was to find the bookcases in the school, with map to large hallway next to the only porch by the huge green door. Check. Step 3 had the list of supplies with multiple parts. Step 3.1 - Sand the bookcases with sandpaper # 100 and then with #120. This is where we messed up and sanded first with 120. We worked really hard getting all 6 bookcases sanded. Then we realized that we were supposed to start with #100. We had a brief discussion about whether we should skip it but guilt rules supreme in this group so we started again sanding all 6 with #100 and then AGAIN with #120. Sheesh. Check sortof.

Step 3.2 - Being the innovators we are we decided the bookcases needed to be wiped down even though it wasn't mentioned in our instructions. The thick layer of dust was a bit of a clue. We moved on to the task at hand which was to put sealer on the bookcases. First, the sealer had to be thinned using a precise recipe. I turned that responsibility over to our in house scientist who was doing high math to figure out how to get a 1.5:1 ratio going. At one point I heard her muttering about dividing by .33! The sealer looked like caramel and it was really hard not to stick one's finger in to taste it just to make sure. We didn't and got the first round of sealer done. Check.

Step 3.3 -3.4 CAUTION: PRIOR TO BEGINNING THIS STEP ENSURE BOOKCASES ARE DRY. (Hint. you can tell you touch them and they aren't sticky.) We repeated steps 3.1 and 3.2 except with sandpaper #400

Tomorrow we resume with step 3.5. :)

As we were cleaning up, Dilcia came along. Pamm asked me, "Should I take the C-A-N-D-Y down now?" We were bemused by the thought of Pamm spelling out an English word in front of a Spanish speaking child. I suggested using pig latin instead.

I was very hopeful most of the day that I would be able to wear my awesome pink rain boots. Sadly, the clouds cleared out for more sun. Nevermind, I was determined to wear them anyway so I did much to the kids delight! We spent the tail end of the day playing with the kids. I am always struck by how happy they are here. This is truly a place of miracles and joy.

Jan had the time of her life in Flor. Today is her birthday and the ladies threw her a surprise party complete with balloons, streamers, and gifts from each one of her dear friends. The best was the fabulous pen and ink drawing of a flower that Erlin made for her. He is really talented. Jan is talking to David and Isidra about getting him in art school. The festivities continued at Casa LAMB as Judy surprised Jan with a birthday cake!

Hasta manana!

Look at how beautiful Anita is!

Gina modeling her new hoodie

Awesome boots!

Xiomara in her school uniform. She is so lovely.

Tomasa and the gift from Elsa

Dunia - growing up...

Pancakes, joyful noise, more or less

2010-10-10T23:24:00.001-04:00

10-10-10

Starting out Sunday morning with pancakes...perfect. We headed off to SBV for church. Worship at the chapel in SBV is quite different than at St. David's! Oh, we have the acolyte, the clergy (Judy the deacon this Sunday) the choir, and the parishioners. And yet. So different.

Alex (the younger) led the procession with the cross as the Hondurans sang the processional hymn, a lively one full of rhythm. Judy, the Deacon who was celebrating, followed the cross singing and clapping to the beat with great joy and energy. The choir was an electric guitar, the new male weekend director Milton, Jonibel on bongo, Daniel and Sergio singing. The average age of the parishioners is about 81/2 yrs old! All were singing, swaying, and clapping with all the hymns. David read the OT lesson, Julio led us in the Psalm, one of the caretakers read the Epistle and our own Pamm read the Gospel. Judy preached a sermon exhorting us all to treat everyone equally, that God loves us all and that we should never look down on the poor. Keep in mind she was preaching to the Hondurans...we just happened to be there. It is always so humbling to hear a sermon like that in Honduras. By our standards, they are the poor - there is so much they don't have. They, on the hand, are so keenly aware of their blessings and how much they DO have, they pray for the truly poor. Wonderful, they are such great role models for us.

After church, we corralled the kids to take a new group shot in front of cottage 1! So many more kids this time! Little Maria Mercedes had patience for one shot and then she toddled off! Yolani was loving the excitement, grinning, holding her face up to the sun.

We headed back into town to have lunch and then go to Valle of the Angels for our requisite shopping trip. We had pizza! Pamm had a counter to one of Suzy's facebook posts saying, "My American son visiting in Honduras loved the Italian food!" Jan has been in seventh heaven since we got her because Erlin, her adopted son whom she met and fell in love with in June, spent the weekend with us. He is 19 and very sweet and a bottomless pit! He ate 2 pieces of pizza, a massive serving of lasagne, and a huge tub of ice cream!

Valle was hopping today because they were celebrating the birthday of something. Either of the city itself or Angels... I wasn't aware Angels had birthdays but I guess any excuse for a party works! There were street vendors everywhere and lots of Honduran families enjoying the festivities and the food. My friend and shopkeeper John decided that we needed a police escort since it was so crowded. We totally didn't but I didn't want to hurt their feelings. We felt so conspicuous and so GRINGOS... There was a band in the town square complete with a tuba! Bonnie will be so proud of me because I didn't even spend all the shopping money allocated for this trip! I am in charge of the money this trip which is very scary. So far so good. I haven't spent our departure tax yet.

Papusas for dinner. Yum. Perfect way to end the day!

Blessings to all, so wish you were here!

Wendy helping Yolani clap with the hymn

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig

2010-10-09T22:18:00.019-04:00

Oct 9, 2010

What a joy it is to be back in Honduras! Apparently, the old landing approach is back to because we had the exciting, count every leaf on the trees, say your prayers landing in Teguc! David and his two boys were there to meet us along with Jose, one of our favorite drivers. We were settling in at Casa LAMB when, to Jan's delight, Erlin and Isidra arrived. Erlin is the young man Jan adopted in June. What a reunion - tears all around! Off to SBV... The big news is that the courtyard in the middle of all the cottages has been beautifully landscaped! With grass and everything! Arely organized it. It is fabulous and really changes the look of the place.

So, we just played with the kids, checked out the progress of the boys' dorm, and got up to speed on the changes since we were here last.

Gina's siblings are now with us. Her little sister, Yahaira, is like Gina's mini-me. Her brothers, Tony (9) and Raul (12) also bear a strong resemblance. John and Deborah, the sibs have taken you both on as their Padrino and Madrina! The boys kept asking me when their Padrino was coming back. (Note: this time I didn't give them a date certain!)

Abraham, Elvira's baby, is finally with us. Andrea, his sister, who has been with us for a year has really come along. I can't wait to see how Abraham does. Their mother is a deaf mute who lives in a hovel in La Cantera. Abraham was in the daycare at El Cordero and the staff made sure he was clean and healthy but his home environment was very difficult. Andrea is beautiful and so happy now.

Yolani is going to a school for the blind once a week working on motor skills. Her baby sister, Maria Mercedes, (1 yr old) is walking now!

I saw Xiomara! She looks great and is so happy. She is doing really well at the private school in town. Thanks be to God for the angel who is paying the monthly tuition. It is definitely a great investment.

Arely wasted no time as the new director of the Children's Home in designing and having the courtyard transformed into a beautiful green space! It is fabulous!

Tomorrow I will write about dinner (yum) and what Jan did... we are all tired after a long but very good day.

Love to you all!

Abraham

Andrea

Dunia and Seydi took great pleasure in my anguish as I failed at jacks...

The Boys' Dorm

Isn't the courtyard beautiful?

Dunia and Seydi send their love to their amigas

Fany

Gina and her siblings! She is so happy

Joyous reunion with Isidra, Jan, and Erlin

Maria Mercedes

Yolani playing the tambourine...sublime

Heartbreaking Love

2010-06-26T08:30:00.000-04:00

Friday, June 25

The last day. We all dread this day. It is a good thing our clothes are already dirty from a morning of work because there isn't enough tissue in Honduras to handle our tears in the afternoon. All of us wiped tears on the sleeves of our shirts all afternoon.

We started the morning as usual at the work site. More shoveling, wheeling, dumping and tamping. Mary and Courtney unanimously won the title of "Tamping Queens" (sung to the Abba song, Dancing Queen). They tamped most of yesterday and all morning until it was time to say good bye to our Honduran co-workers. They tamped an entire room right up to the top of the foundation wall! We had a fun time working, sharing Tootsie Pops with everyone (funny sight to see all 20+ of us, North Americans and Hondurans working diligently with Tootsie Pop sticks hanging out of our mouths!), and generally joking around with N.Amer and Hondurans alike. It was sweet to see one of the workers be so gentle with Alex (young Alex - Pamm's other, Honduran Alex son) and Yonibel who wandered up to help. He was patient with them and showed them how to shovel more efficiently, etc. We were all sad to say good bye to each other. It doesn't take long, and common language is not required, to build relationships with the Hondurans.

At 2pm we joined the children in Cottage 1 for a "reunion" - Honduran word for final program. We look forward to it and dread it at the same time. It is always so sweet and dear but so very emotional knowing we have to say good bye to our precious children. (we have all adopted them all by that point) Gabriel, who provides an outstanding male role model and who works with the girls on microbusinesses, led the reunion. Gabriel is wonderful. He led us in prayer several times. He puts his heart and soul into prayer as you can see in the picture. Several groups of children got up and sang for us. I did alot of the translating and had my first emotional moment when I explained to our group that the song the children just sang said, "God is in this place, the Spirit is in this place, God is here with us." Truly, not just a praise song but an observation of what we all see, feel, and experience. Little Jocelyn, age 4, got up and recited (as she rocked back and forth with a huge grin on her face) the 23rd Psalm. After all the children performed for us, Gabriel called us all up to the front. He said the children were going to pray for us. Several children ran up to join us so each of us had our arms around a child, except Bruce who was holding Jocelyn! Then Gabriel asked me to explain to the team that we had our arms around the children the same way Jesus puts his arms around us. (sob) He and the children prayed so hard for us, thanking God for us and our presence, praying for safe travel, and praying for our families back in the US. All of us were sobbing and wiping our tears on our sleeves. He wanted to know if we had words for the children. I got up and in Spanish (!) told them how much we love them and that we don't want to go home but we must. I told them we will all come back because we, and Jesus, love them so much. Then I tried to get some of the other team members to say something. They all shook their heads no because they were crying so hard they couldn't speak. So I told the children that they couldn't say what was in their hearts because they were crying so hard. (giggles) I told them our hearts are breaking with love for them. Next Gabriel asked the staff to come up to join us. Amy, a teacher from SC who is spending the summer at SBV, led us in prayer for the wonderful staff. We are all so moved and impressed by these beautiful people who love and care for God's littlest lambs.

All too soon, it was time to get on the van and weep our way down the road and back to Erika's.

Meanwhile, Jan, Leamarie and Anne were in Flor del Campo. Leamarie and Anne are staying until Tuesday so didn't have the tearful goodbyes. Jan, on the other hand, did. She helped the ladies finish skirts (with zippers!) that a team from SC had started last week. Several ladies made Jan banners (beautifully made on the sewing machines) and they all cried as they shared their love for each other. Erling sobbed as he hugged his new mother good bye.

Anne and David went into La Cantera to see the results of the "chicken project." St. James sponsored two families to get chickens, the chicken houses (I know there is a farm-y name for where they live) and instruction on how to care for them. The families eat and sell the eggs from the chickens and, when baby chicks appear, they give the grown-up chickens to another family and continue to raise the chicks. Anne happily told Isidra that St. James sent down money for another family to join the program. This is major for the people in La Cantera who can't afford to buy eggs. Selling the extra eggs will be a great source of income. Gladys, the Honduran Director here in Honduras, had written a very well thought out, detailed, and professional grant request for the Chicken Project. Very impressive.

I guess one message I would like you all to get is that the Hondurans are great people. The teachers are providing an education that rivals the quality in the US. The Honduran administrative staff are hard working, professional, and very creative. All the caretakers LOVE the children. Every single staff member deeply loves the Risen Lord and considers every day an opportunity to witness to the power of His love.

So, packing, debriefing - discussing our impressions and preparing for reentry, planning our return to Honduras, Compline, and bed.

Blessed trip. Thanks be to God.

Donna joined us for our last day of hard labor This was right before

Bonnie tripped over the leveling string and dropped and rolled across the dirt! Courtney and Mary, Tamping Queens Group shot with our co-workers

Children seated and ready for the program

Gabriel praying fervently for us and the children The fabulous staff at SBV
The ladies and their new skirts
Sonya showing off her chicken area Sonya's chickens

Shovel, dump, tamp…repeat

2010-06-24T22:50:00.000-04:00

Thursday, June 24

We really earned our salaries today! We spent most of the day filling in the rooms of the boys dormitory. Here is the process… First you fill a wheelbarrow with sand, roll it to the designated room, dump the sand, tamp it down with a really heavy tamper. So we had several people shoveling, 3 people wheeling, 3 or 4 people tamping. All morning in the hot sun. By lunch time we were beat. (see pix) The construction workers were very patient and helpful despite our clumsiness! Mario, El Jefe, was particularly nice to us. He would adjust our techniques so that we could do more with less effort or avoid hurting ourselves! We all had a very still, quiet siesta (read we were all sound asleep) until we reluctantly got up at 1 to resume our labors. Thankfully, God is good and clouds rolled in. It was amazing the difference doing the same work without the benefit of the boiling sun beating down on us! We really made a lot of progress in the afternoon – much more than I thought we would. We broke at 3:30 (ish) to spend some time with the children. Pamm continued to deepen her bond with Yolani. By the way, Pamm has a couple of other monikers – “Not Amanda” and “Momella” The kids will see her from a distance and call, “Amanda!” When they see it is not me they say, “Oh.” and go on their way. Pamm has gotten into the habit of saying, “It’s ‘Not Amanda’!” Aaron Joshue, attempting to say Pamm or PamELLA, calls her Momella! So cute.

Donna, Leamarie, Jan, and Anne (aka Anita) spent the day in Flor. Leamarie moved her teacher workshops to El Cordero and the others worked with the CAP ladies making skirts with zippers! I asked them if they used the same technique I used to use: 1. Put zipper in upside down. Then rip out. 2. Put zipper in right side up and backwards. Then rip out. 3. Burst into tears, try again. “Um, no,” said the three expert seamstresses! They reported all skirts zippered properly by the ladies.

Jan had an amazing encounter with Erling. Turns out I was wrong. Isidra is not his mother, but has taken him under her wing. Erling told Jan that he was abandoned as a baby and has never had a mother. Jan told him she has two daughters but no sons so from now on, he is her son. He gave her a huge hug and rested his head on her chest. Later he explained that he was listening to her heart… Imagine that. I suppose he has never had the opportunity until now to just be held by a mother. Then he gave her a smalled stuffed animal – a tiger holding a baby tiger. He said, “the big tiger is you, the little one is me.”

As many times as I have been here, something always leaves me speechless. Time after time, there is an event that is indescribably beautiful. God’s love is absolutely tangible here. Honestly, if you want to experience an encounter with the Divine, visit LAMB.

I can’t bear to think about tomorrow being our last day. I have already been answering the kids’ questions about when I will be back. October is my plan. Anyone want to come?

Geoff...

El Jefe and "Jeferina"

Pamm with Yolani

Children with some of the books sent by Milton's Spanish Honor Society led by Mrs. Bush!

Leamarie leading a teacher workshop

Grace (and shopping)

2010-06-23T22:44:00.027-04:00

Wednesday, June 23

Today most of us went to Flor del Campo for a tour of El Cordero, the day school, and to meet with the CAP ladies. El Cordero now has two assemblies on Wednesday morning. The younger kids' assembly starts at 7:20 am (!) and the older kids start at 8:20. We got there for the tail of the first and stayed for the second assembly. The kids are adorable as usual. The character trait of the week is tolerance -- be tolerant of others but if things go too far, take a positive approach to stopping or changing the behavior. Be tolerant and be gentle and positive when correcting someone. Hmm. How many of us need to hear that lesson?

Jackie, the school director, spoke to us for several minutes. I was so impressed with her when I met her in February and am even more blown away by her now. Several pairs of eyes were flooded with tears when she explained that this is not a job for her, it is service to God. Her face was radiant as she said that. What a blessing she is. We asked about the 6th grade class - 8 students. We (and they) are worried about what happens next year. Right now, the school doesn't have any room for a 7th grade. WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO HAVE A 7TH GRADE NEXT YEAR. Get on your knees, put on your thinking caps... We need space and a teacher. Pray for a solution to this.

After a tour of the school, complete with performances by the tiniest in the daycare, we crossed the street to the LAMB office to be with the CAP ladies. I was thrilled beyond words to see my dear amiga Sonia. We all sat in a circle and introduced ourselves to the group. Petronilla started and added that she is 87 years old. Next was Susanna, 93. Everyone after that included their age. When it came to my turn, I introduced myself and announced I am 20 years old. The CAP ladies roared! Hey! Then Pamm and Jan also claimed to be 20. Great hilarity among the group! I wept as Erling, a young man of 19, introduced himself. He is part of the Alonzo Movement. He explained that he had dropped out of school, was getting into drugs and gangs. Now, because of the Alonzo Movement, he is out of gangs and drugs and has hope for his future. His mother, Isidra who is also head of the CAP program, described Alonzo Movement and said they now have 130 children participating. This ministry only started last December! Imagine that - in 6 short months 130 children's lives have been changed. I was sobbing by that point. If you ever doubted the power of God's love, check out the Alonzo Movement.

Jan had worked with the ladies yesterday making jewelry which they had on display for sale. Naturally, we oohed and aahed and bought tons. Erling had made woven bracelets, which the teens scarfed up before I could get over there! I managed to get one of the small ones. We bought everyone of his bracelets - the large ones are true works of art. After the sale was over, we brought out snacks for everyone. We were all milling around socializing when I happened to see Erling and Isidra in the most beautiful, intense embrace with Erling's face buried in his mother's neck. I can only imagine what their emotions were but it was truly a sacred moment. I will never forget it. It seemed like Isidra was overcome with pride for her son's success and relief that the Alonzo Movement had returned her precious son to her. It seemed like he was overcome with relief and joy from his unexpected success. Beautiful.

Reluctantly we left, shifted gears and headed off to our GianCarlo and Valle run. Yes. We bought them out! Lots of new, great stuff for the art auction this year! You may know that Carolyn is a picky eater. I am sorry for her to say she has been de-throned. Pamm now has the crown (or should I say tiara...) She ordered a chicken sandwich at the restaurant in Valle. After a long wait, they delivered two sandwiches on white bread. She immediately pulled them apart to examine the contents. To our collective surprise, the chicken sandwich included ham. I believe she touched every part of the sandwich before declaring it too weird to eat. My favorite part was when she sweetly offered her manhandled sandwich to Bruce, "Do you want my sandwich?" Bruce blanched but politely declined. The rest of us at the table aren't nearly as refined as he is. We turned inside out and screeched "ewwwww" at the thought of eating Pamm's fingerprinted reject.

When we returned home we reunited with Anne and Leamarie who spent the day at SBV. Leamarie is happier every day she spends out there. Heads up Holy Family: You will lose Leamarie to Honduras sooner rather than later. Have you ever seen her beam? There is nothing like it in the world. She lights up the entire room when she talks about the school, the teachers, the children. When we arrived she was nervous about the prospect of living here. The other evening we went to PriceMart (like Sam's Club) to buy bulk food for Carla and her baby. As we walked in Leamarie squeeked and exclaimed, "They sell flat screen TVs! Now I know I will be OK here." I really don't think she wants one, just the idea she could get one is enough! She delivered the books that Mrs Bush's students collected. The children were thrilled! I will have pix later as they are on L's camera and she has gone to bed.

Anne had a wonderful day with the teens sewing. From Monday to Tuesday lunch they made 10 chair bags. Today they made 16! Astrid, Reina, Paty, and Ela really have gotten the hang of it and have caught her enthusiasm. Anne, yesterday, delivered the gifts that the ECW from St. James sent to the children at SBV who had never received a gift before. Anne still gets teary telling us about it. We haven't tired hearing about it yet! As each child pulled out the surprises from their bags they were absolutely delighted. Every child picked something from the bag and ran to Valerie to share some of their gifts with her. Valerie was in tears, Anne was a mess -- these children who have nothing -- their first instinct is to share whatever they get. Amazing. Grace.

Tomorrow is back to work at SBV. I can't bear to think the week is coming to an end.

Wish I could share how wonderful this place is, this place of miracles, with each and every one of you.

Thanks be to God.

Sixth graders putting on a program for us during assembly

Wonderful Jackie, Director of El Cordero school

Toddlers performing for us

Carolyn holding the tiniest "student" at El Cordero daycare!

Erling, member of Alonzo Movement

Erling and his wares...now on the wrists of the teens and most of us!

Lovely Isidra, head of the CAP program

Melissa holding one of the things she made

Jan leading the ladies in the macarena!

Pamm's icky food

Rebar Olympics

2010-06-23T00:13:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, June 21

"I wish they had rebar olympics," Alyssa said wistfully. If they did, we would have a GOLD medal team. When we got to SBV this morning, El Jefe Mario, told us we didn't need to haul rocks but, instead, we needed to assemble more rebar. He had his workers making the twinkers (hmmm..) so we could focus on the rebar. We had two rebar stations and were going great guns. It is amazing how filthy you can get working with rebar... Bonnie raises filthiness (I mean dirtness) to a new level.

During lunch I realized how exhausted I was. My stamina isn't up to par yet and I really hit the wall. I decided to take it easy the rest of the day. I turned in my pinkers and twisters and invited a small group into renegade activity - trespassing on the neighboring property to see the beautiful view over the valley. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the children. You just can't get enough of that. Each one is so different and so precious. One day it is a baby who grabs your heart, the next day it is one of the little boys, then another day it is one of the girls, then, of course, there are the teens. The ATL teens are so good with the kids and truly love them. The children love them right back. It is a joy to see them all playing and laughing and hugging each other. What a gift.

Speaking of gifts... Anne and Donna and the Honduran teens finished the chair bags they were making for the 4&5th grade classrooms. Reina and Astrid in particular really took to the sewing. The chair bags are beautiful and fit perfectly. It was a delight to watch the children come into their classroom and see them. The boys raced over and were very seriously and carefully arranging and rearranging their things in the bag on their chair. Donna and Anne were so proud of the teens! Reina has announced that she is going to make a dress and will wear it the next time Anne comes back!

Jan had a great day again in Flor with the La Cantera ladies. They made several items that they are going to have ready to sell tomorrow when we get there. They were so excited and Jan is so proud of them. We gave each of our teens $10 so they could buy the things for sale tomorrow. How blessed we are to be a part of their lives and to see them learning skills that can earn money and improve their lives.

After a delish dinner and don-nut holes for dessert (I didn't want any but it would have been rude not to eat them... hehehe) Suzy came over for the evening. She brought her guitar and we sang several songs. She read some scripture, led us in prayer and then talked to us about listening to God and giving up anxiety and worry. In many ways I felt she was talking to me. I am so eager to move here but am anxious about how to get from where I am in my life to this life in HN that I am so hoping to have. I have to work on my listening skills.

Tomorrow is Flor del Campo and Valle of the Angels. Early morning, tired now so I will sign off. Thanks to everyone reading this blog and keeping us all in your thoughts and prayers.

Courtney with dirty face and hands!

Seriously? You should have seen the rest of her...

Fani with her new dress and pelucha from Auntie Kathy!

Rebar dream team

Astrid working hard

Reina and Anne

Showing off the finished product

Daniel and Alex putting their school things away in their new chair bags!

Conga lines, pinkers, twinkers, and more

2010-06-22T09:27:00.001-04:00

Monday, June 21

Our first day of work! Jan headed off by herself bravely in a taxi (David carefully arranged for the "LAMB taxi driver" so she was perfectly safe.) to Flor to begin working with the ladies on sewing projects. When the rest of us got to SBV, Leamarie headed off for the school and Anne and Donna started a sewing project with the girls. The rest of us headed to the building site. Our first task was a...CONGA LINE! We had to move rocks from a pile outside the foundation to piles inside the foundation. We were really going at it when Pamm, who was acting as photo historian, returned announcing, "Tengo HOMBRES!" and meant it! Behind her trooped 6 or 7 hale and hearty manly men working with us for the day from another team. Our own manly men (Bruce, Alex, and Geoff) were thrilled to see them. The new guys hauled the really big rocks and we conga lined the more manageable rocks, many of which we either named or identified as looking like a meer cat, a pizza slice, massachusetts, etc.

Mario, el jefe, sent many of us down to make pinkers and twinkers. (rough translation from Spanish!) We use those to manufacture rebar. Pinkers are pieces of thin rod and twinkers (see pix) are triangles made of thick rod. Carolyn, Geoff, Bruce, Courtney, Mary were expert at making them. Once we had enough we started assembling the rebar - long rods of thick steel threaded through the twinkers and wired on using pinkers. Then we twisted and tightened and trimmed the twinkers. We were cookin' with gas!

Meanwhile, Anne and Donna were making great progress with the teen girls making denim bags to hang on the back of the chairs in the school to hold books, pencils, rulers, etc. Reina and Astrid really got the hang of it quickly!

At about 3 we called a work stoppage to play with the kids. Pamm and I spent alot of time with Yolani. She is bright as a button and just adorable. The other children love her and are so affectionate with her. They will often stop what they are doing to run over and give her a hug or play with her. Yolani loves the breeze. Whenever a breeze comes up she stops, holds her little arms up and gets the most serene look on her face. Beautiful. Oh, that we all may find such joy from God's creation. Pamm and I took her on the slides. When they got to the bottom, Dunia came up and said, "Yolani" in this funny deep raspy voice. Yolani burst out into a belly laugh! Such a sweet sound that was! Later Pamm and Yolani were hitting the side of the slide. Pamm realized that Yolani would repeat the pattern that she was hitting! Amazing. She is only 18 mos old, blind from birth and has so much potential. Thanks be to God she is with us instead of the biological mother who gave away "this dog."

Pamm and Leamarie have been raving about the quality of the education at SBV. Pamm was looking at the projects the 6th graders had posted in the hall outside their room. She was truly blown away. Valerie said she could take them back with her to show her students next year. Pamm said her students don't do any better work and many not as good. Leamarie reports that the teachers are so enthusiastic to learn new techniques and how to use the materials she has brought. The school exudes joy and peace. What a gift this school is. Thanks Discovery Services Project, and all the people who have worked on it. (Renee, I remember the hall everytime I go in. It remains nice and clean.)

After a delish dinner, Anne, Leamarie, Jan and I squeezed into Danilo's truck with Erika and Andrea in the front. We drove a long way to go to the HN equivalent to Sam's Club. We bought alot of non-perishables to give to Carla and her baby. Her situation is grim. Valerie suggested that food would be better than money so we are loading her up for awhile.

Everyone was exhausted and fell into bed very early!

So off we go to a new day!

Seidy and Yolani The guapo (cute) workers!Anne and Reina sewing Mary and Bruce making pinkers

Twinker

Courtney's dirty face

Alex and Alyssa

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Demos gracias a Dios

2010-06-20T23:46:00.001-04:00

Sunday, June 20, 2010

The morning started with Morning Prayer led by Carolyn and Alyssa. After a simple breakfast we headed out, stopped by Casa LAMB to pick up Pat Cashman and have a quick tour and then on to SBV for church. I don’t think I will ever get used to the beauty of the Chapel. There is a special joy being in that sacred space filled with happy, squirmy children worshipping, singing, and praying. Courtney processed in with the altar party because she was asked to do the old testament reading. She read so beautifully, so poised. Suzy preached an inspiring sermon using a sailboat as a metaphor for our lives. We were encouraged to let the Holy Spirit be the wind in our sails. Bruce was the chalice bearer. There is a special type of joyful worship there in the Church of the Good Shepherd.

After church we took off for the park called Picacho aka the Jesus Statue park. We had a picnic lunch and enjoyed the fantastic view and the unbelievable statue of Jesus, arms outstretched over the city of Tegucigalpa. There is also a replica of a Mayan temple with a zillion steps. Jan and I climbed the steps to see what we could see and get a great shot of the statue. When we got down, Bonnie decided she wanted to go so up we all went again! Half way up are gargoyles. Bonnie, Jan and I posed with the gargoyle to the amazement of the Hondurans!

After the park we went to Chiminike – a huge and fabulous children’s museum. It was as cool as any children’s museum in the US and, really, bigger than any I have ever seen. It was full of really fun, hands on exhibits. One large room was dedicated to the human body. I think this room was my favorite. It had a “Vomit Center” that brought to life the process leading up to throwing up. There was also an exhibit of the various bacteria in our bodies, a huge intestinal system (I took a picture of Carolyn standing triumphantly in a colon) and a giant Operation game – just like the one we have all played as kids! Very cool. We took a group picture in the giant nose proving you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose… (you can fill in the rest…)

Home again to the most delicious dinner of enchiladas (we would call them tostadas) and brownies. The evening activity was sorting all the things we brought down, Alyssa’s getting to know you game, reflection and then Compline. Then bed!

It was a great day. Tomorrow, the real work begins. Can’t wait!

Amanda with Carla and her new son, Wilson Alexander,9 mo.

Leamarie and Elias reading the Bible

Mary and Julio horsing around (before the service started!)

Bruce and Jocelyn

Courtney reading Isaiah

Bonnie reading the Gospel

Bruce and Donna during Eucharist

Pat giving Bonnie and Geoff birthday blessings

Suzy and Jan in front of the great banner Jan made

Gargoyles...gargirls?

Picking friends

SBV Shenanigans

2010-06-20T09:55:00.001-04:00

Saturday, June 19

Finally, back at SBV! It looks just beautiful and the kids continue to be fabulous! After storing our things in the school, we trooped down to “Sala Cuna” – the babies cottage. They have moved the children around so only the tiniest children are there. They have 3 babies – Linda 10mo, Marie Mercedes 9 mo, and Yolani 18 mo. Yolani is blind from birth and thriving at SBV! We launched into an art project that got as much paint on us (yes, my pants are covered as usual…) as on the paper but it was great fun and we have some really cute art to bring home! I discovered that getting hand and foot prints from babies is really hard since they have no idea what you are doing. The toddlers were easier except getting paint on the bottom of their little squirming feet as they giggled was a challenge!

Next was lunch and then a tour of SBV. We hiked up past the water tower to see the site for the boys dorm. This is what we will be working on this week. This cottage is being built using the large stones on the property. It promises to be quite beautiful.

The next item on the agenda was the minute to win it games with the older kids. The grand plan included 3 teams moving in orderly fashion from station to station. Yeah, right. Instead it was barely controlled chaos but truly memorable for all involved, observing or even in the general area. The kids moved on their own from station to station as they wanted. The Nose Dive game was very popular as was “Suck it Up” moving the skittles from one bowl to another. A few brave souls mastered the spaghetti game. Junk in the Trunk was amazing. The first two kids shook the pingpong balls out the box in a matter of seconds. Ha. We figured out the box was too low on their backs. The rest of the kids had a harder (and funnier) time as we strapped the box higher up on their backs. The SBV kids are better than we are in almost any physical activity but I have to say, Alex remains the Master of Junk in the Trunk! (I will upload the video to FaceBook when I get home. Or maybe YouTube for maximum exposure…

By far the biggest hit of the day was Cookieface. Alyssa demonstrated how to move the cookie from her forehead to her mouth to a rapt crowd of all the kids and many adults - team members and Honduran caretakers. The poise with which she contorted her face sitting on a tiny plastic chair in the middle of the courtyard was impressive. Then the kids ran to take their turns. I will let the pictures speak for themselves… Jimy was very zen about moving his cookie carefully down his face! Really and truly we could not have had more fun.

We left SBV to go have dinner at Suzy’s house. It is amazing to be there with ONLY 5 children! The vans had taken us all the way down the um, rustic(?) dirt road. It started to sprinkle and David suggested we move the vans to the top of the hill while we still could. The drivers clarified the suggestion by saying they needed ballast in the back rows to have sufficient traction to get thru the mud. After a couple of attempts, with some ballast moving farther back in the truck we got the vans up the hill. We had pizza (we inhaled pizza) and some roast chicken from Café Sur and then headed home. Some of us picked our way up the hill in the rain by foot while Suzy drove the rest along the flat road in front of her house. There was a rendez-vous to move the ballast, I mean team, from Suzy’s vehicle to the van and we all got back to Erika’s, happy and exhausted as usual.

Everyone took showers…the lucky ones getting warm(ish) ones, the intrepid leaping in first getting the icy showers. (Note to self… the C on the shower knob stands for Caliente not Cold. So even tho the C knob is on the right like the Cold at home, use that one for warm showers…)

We did a lovely, turbo Compline then sang some of our favorite songs accompanied by the playlist Alex put together on his IPod. (Phillip Spofford – we need you!) Then off to bed. Pamm, Courtney and Alyssa had a new roommate – Sallie spent the night!

Wish you all were here. This is such a Spirit filled place.

Happy Father’s Day to the dads out there!

Saturday June 19

Suck it up game

Cookieface game

Jimi master of cookieface!

Nose Dive game

The boys dorm and our project

Courtney and the beautiful view from the chapel

This is not what it looks like. Geoff was NOT goosing me!

Jan helping Fani put her shoes on the right foot!

Hilarity in Honduras

2010-06-19T09:34:00.000-04:00

Friday, June 18, 2010

Bienvenido a Honduras! It is so good to be back in Honduras! Our team includes 3 new people (Yay!), 8 adults and 6 teens. Teenager #7 arrives Monday IF she can find her passport. (Pray with me to St. Anthony, Patron Saint of Lost Items that she does…)

We had a blessedly uneventful travel day with parents of the unaccompanied teens cheerfully handing them over to our care. (Hmm…why were they so happy??) The flight was pleasant as usual, customs and immigration a breeze and NO lost luggage! Woohoo! David, Suzy, Sally, and Lucy met us along with our van drivers, Hugo and Jose. We arrived in short order at Erika’s and took over the bottom half of the house. It was great be back in our old digs. We had a short planning meeting and then a well needed rest period. Our first dinner was delish with Andrea’s signature chicken and my favorite vegetable, pepian. Finally a wonderfully sweet cake that sent me into a sugar high that would make any toddler proud.

After dinner we reconvened to organize activities for tomorrow. After a tour of SBV and briefing by the chief mason on the work we will be doing, we will start our field day activities. First is an art project with the “bite size” and “fun size” kids (babies and toddlers) then more involved activities with the “snack size” and regular size kids. We are going to do an SBV version of the show “Minute to Win It.” If you don’t know what it is, google it and you’ll quickly get an idea of what we will be doing. We have a set of simple and silly tasks that the kids will have to do as part of a competition. Here is where the hilarity comes in. Amy Hill (here in spirit) put the supplies together for us but we figured we’d better know how each game works. Each game was tested by a team member. I really thought Bonnie was going to suffocate – she was laughing so hard for so long I worried about her oxygen sat levels!

Leamarie bravely volunteered to test the first game, Nose Dive. She had to stick a cotton ball to her nose (with Vaseline) and put it in a bowl of water. Naturally, she couldn’t use her hands! The first thru fourth cotton balls went pretty well, if you disregard the sight of Leamarie with a cotton ball stuck to her nose. The fifth one seemed to want to stay put so Leamarie had to wrangle that thing off by shaking her head with authority, the kind only teachers have. It complied and she was successful!

Alyssa was true to form testing “Face the Cookie” in which she had to get an oreo from her forehead into her mouth using only her facial muscles. “I don’t know where my nose is!” she cried… (Breathe, Bonnie, breathe!) One of our newbies, Donna from Holy Spirit, pioneered the candy elevator by pulling a pencil “elevator” loaded with skittles slowly up with strings held by her ears. Pamm conquered the game finally with her gecko like tongue action as it lashed out and snatched those skittles right out of mid-air.

Courtney, a newbie teen, had no trouble fitting right in with the crowd. Her task was to move skittles from one bowl to another using only a straw! She was so good at it I kept moving the bowl farther and farther away. No problem! I think she could have relocated the entire bag! We did agree that trying to balance a skittle on top of another straw exceeded our (no, I mean the kids’) capabilities and simplifying the game was in order. She had amazing concentration as she precisely placed a skittle on a standing straw – alas, unsuccessfully. So we abandoned that part of the game!

Carolyn invented a game in which she tied a balloon to her ankle on a long string. She had to break the balloon by stomping on it. Easy right? Carolyn looked like she was possessed futilely chasing and stomping air! She finally scared half of the sleepy group when she managed to burst the balloon!

Anne and Geoff worked on what seemed to be a very easy task – keep 2 feathers in the air by blowing on them. Anne went first and failed miserably. The feathers immediately plunged to the floor. Anne claimed shortness so Bruce (I think he is literally twice as tall as Anne) volunteered to give the feathers (or Anne) a head start by launching them way over her head. Nope. Then Geoff got up to try his luck. He used the limbo technique and bent himself over backwards so he could glare at the feathers and intimidate them into staying up. He had better success but there is no way one could keep 2 going! We plan on trying one feather tomorrow. I had to thread 5 penne pasta pieces onto a long piece of spaghetti only using my mouth. I found the best approach was to sneak up on the pennes and grab them before they knew what hit them.

Mary thought she was off the hook because she was taking pictures. Not so fast. She had to demonstrate the game in which 5 brown lunch bags of varying sizes (the last being just a couple inches tall) were placed on the floor. She had to move each one from the floor to the table using only her mouth and only her feet could touch the floor. I think she broke several laws of physics as she contorted her body to bite a 2” bag off the floor without her hands or knees touching!

Alex and Jan had the most…um…interesting tasks. Alex had an empty Kleenex box strapped to his back with 8 pingpong balls in it. He had to move and gyrate to get them out without using his hands. (Breathe, Bonnie, breathe!) Jan had a yoyo attached to her back like a tail. She had to do the Wonder Woman twirl to get the yoyo swinging and knock empty water bottles off the table. The variations she tried before she found the winning move were priceless. And I literally mean priceless since I have all of this on tape… How much do you think I can get for these videos? (100% of the proceeds go directly to LAMB of course!)

At 8:30 Honduran time (10:30 ET) we said the Lord’s Prayer and everyone scurried off to bed exhausted. Great first day!

(Dear St. Anthony, please lead Maddie to her passport before Monday morning.)

Heavy hearts

2010-02-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

Friday February 26, 2010

Our last day started out as all the other days had. Sleepy folks stumbling to get coffee and plopping down at a table in the courtyard waiting for the coffee to kick in. Fortunately, we don’t have any of those perky, whistley, “I just love the early morning” types. We are all pretty bleary-eyed when we get up. Morning prayer comes next and then breakfast. By then we are getting jazzed up for the day. Slowly reality began to sink in as Short Anne and Margot tearfully began to say their good byes. They had to leave a day early. Uh-oh. That would be us tomorrow. But, not yet!

Part of our group got on the van to Flor to finish painting the school and the rest of us loaded up to go to SBV. We stopped at Café Sur, LAMB’s new coffee shop on the way to SBV. It really is lovely. Then on to work. Marilyn and Leamarie headed up to the school to teach. Karen and I prepared to paint more pipes – red this time since they ran out of green. (I will pause while the mental image forms of my already green legs from yesterday and the potential impact of the red paint..) John, Al, and James when back to their sand and cement hauling.

Just about lunchtime, Suzy and Elsa showed up. They joined us as we shared our lunch with the Honduran construction workers. It was a beautiful day, sitting under the trees with a view of the mountains. Soon Gladys and Evelyn came by so John could take us, along with Suzy and Elsa, on a walk to see the prospects for wells, dams, and other possibilities for water. The solution to the water issue seems to be getting more concrete. Suzy told John that they were ready to do whatever he recommends. He is pondering the various options before declaring! Just about all of the options involve buying property to get us closer to either existing water or good well-digging spots. Pray that we are able to negotiate a fair price. Suzy and I were casually looking for a perfect site for the cabin I want to build on the property. I promised Leamarie that we would share the house. We may have to make room for Short Anne too!

The Flor team joined us after stopping for a delish lunch at Café Sur. We had some time with the kids before their program. As usual, the program was precious. First all the children sang us some songs and then each class sang a song. The first grade recited Psalm 23 in its entirety! Daniel gave his testimony and little Joselyn did too. I made a short speech entirely in Spanish! Woohoo!

We had a bit more time to relax with the children. I repeated over and over that I would be back in June. Evelyn graced me with some smiles. Jimy and Marilyn, our newest love story, were so sweet together – savoring every moment before it was time to go. All too soon, John was herding us on the vans. How I hate that moment. The only possible way I can leave is if I already know when I am returning – Junio. Regresso en Junio.

When we got home we cleaned up and began the packing party. We have so many beautiful things for the art auction. Pray they all get back to Atlanta in one piece! Pat Cashman, a priest who has been with us off and on all week, celebrated the Eucharist with us. What a wonderful way to finish the week.

So, tomorrow we rejoin our other world. We will be happy to see our friends and family but leave our beautiful Honduras and our friends and family here with heavy hearts.

Hasta Junio.

The 23rd Psalm

Evelyn smiles!

Pictures from Thursday

2010-02-26T20:17:00.000-05:00

Thursday February 25, 2010

Evelyn

Angelica and Mirza making necklaces... which you will see at the art auction!

Sleepy Fanni

Ladies Night Out:

Young Anne and Abraham

Beautiful women

2010-02-26T09:08:00.000-05:00

Thursday, February 25 2010

Thursday was a lovely day. Several of the team went to paint the school at Flor. The guys and I went to SBV. I painted the pipes that will hold the fence up. It was very windy and they dilute the green rustoleum paint so it was a little runny. So there you have the perfect storm – drippy paint, wind, and… me. Another way to imagine it is the “greening of Amanda.” I had drips of paint all over my paints. Paint that soaked through my pants so now it looks like I have a bizarre green rash. I had merianda (snack) with the younger kids. They handed me a mango whose peel I elected not to eat to their amazement. It was wonderful but I had mango hair in my teeth all day long! I also spent a lot of sweet time with the children. Evelyn, in particular, grabbed my heart. Her story is heartbreaking. She came to us when she was 10. (Hunter and I were at SBV for her very first day.) I learned this week that she has a recurring illness. One that no one would want but one that a young girl should NEVER have. She is sad most of the time. So I spent time with her, just sitting together. After a while a small tear rolled down her cheek. It took a while for me to find out what was wrong but finally she whispered to me, “No tengo una Madrina.” (I don’t have a Godmother – sponsor in our terms) I promised her I would find her a Madrina and then assured her that I am also her Madrina.

The team has had a number of conversations about the children. At the beginning of the week there were 3 teams here so lots of people. Many of the children had their Madrias or Padrinos here. A couple had more than one. But…some children didn’t have anyone. (except me cuz I am everyone’s Madrina) As a result, we decided that when we get home we are going to create a “shadow sponsorship program.” We will find a Madrina or Padrino for every child. This will be about relationships. If the person is moved to provide financial support also, thanks be to God. But the focus is on a sustained relationship with the child. The sponsors don’t have to go to HN but they will need to make a committed to connect with the child. They can send small gifts, cards, pictures of the child’s “American family”, pray for the child, etc. We can be surrogates for them when we come down on trips and deliver the mail and gifts. I hope people in the Atlanta area embrace this idea. Valerie and Suzy both thought this was a terrific idea.

Last night was Ladies Night Out. It is really so hard to express the joy it brings us and the CAP ladies. This was our third annual dinner so now we all look forward to it all year long. Several of the ladies wore the outfits that they had made this week! They made a skirt, a blouse and a matching scarf! They were so proud of their new clothes. Rosangel let a group game to reinforce team work. It was a hoot! We stood in a big circle holding hands. She put a hula hoop around my neck and the next of the woman next to me. We had to send the hula hoops around the circle without letting go of our hands! If the hula hoop dropped, we had to start over. By far the best part of that fun exercise was the reaction of the woman on my right. The belly laughs coming from her were wonderful. I just love seeing these women relaxing and having fun. They lead such hard lives – to see them laugh and smile is truly a gift from God. We served them a lovely dinner. Margot, Short Anne (Patrick), Leamarie, and Jan had outdone themselves with the planning and decorations. A very sweet but bittersweet scene was Young Anne( Rackley) holding Elvira’s 5th child, Abram, who is 2 yrs old. Elvira is a deaf mute who lives in La Cantera. We have her 4 older children at SBV – the oldest Elias,8, is my child. Social Services is scheduled to come get Abram this week and take him to SBV. It is absolutely clear that Abram needs to be with us but it is sad to think that Elvira will lose yet another child. We take her to get birth control shots every 3 months and worry that she will refuse after Abram leaves so she can have another child. Sigh. Please pray for her. Young Anne fed him and held him in her lap all evening. Soon he fell asleep and she held him and rocked him. So very sweet.

After many pictures and hugs, we said good bye to the ladies and stumbled into the vans. It was a very long day but such a blessed day.

Today is our last day at SBV. I hate that. (posting pix later. late for the van!)

News flash: Honduran economy rapidly recovers

2010-02-24T20:13:00.000-05:00

We had a very productive day shopping today. Almost all of my shopping was for the art auction to raise money for LAMB. We started the morning at the pewter factory, Giancarlo's. I tried very hard to rein myself in because Bonnie put me on a budget. James was assigned to keep track of what I was spending to make sure I didn't go over. He did an excellent job...at Giancarlo's. We stopped quickly at Erika's to unload which, it turned out, was very wise. If we hadn't someone would be walking home from Valle. I don''t think we could have fit one more thing in the van, especially after Jan bought 30 plants!

When we got to Valle we had lunch first in a cute restaurant right on the plaza. And, our driver, Hugo, parked right there! That was so convenient to have the van so close so we could drop off our packages. Hugo was a dream, following along to gather our purchases and take them back to the van. The lunch was delish! All our lunches included rice, beans and plaintains. YUM. Our first shopping stop was at my new best friend, Juan's. James was very good again at monitoring my spending. Next was a leather shop, James, ever vigilant kept track of my running total.

Then we got to my favorite shop. This is the one where the owner jumps up and gives me a hug whenever I walk in! I have to say, it is not my fault that I blew out the budget. James was worthless as my accountant. He was like a kid in a candy shop looking at all the beautiful crafts. Wily me, I took advantage of his inattention and went to town. He tried to redeem himself by attempting to keep me out of any more shops but that horse was out of the barn. It was exhaustion that finally brought the spree to an end. As we drove away, I saw them changing the name of the town to Valle de Amanda.

On the way back to Erika's we stopped at a nursery (floral nursery) so Marilyn could get an orchid, the national flower, to take to SBV school tomorrow for her lesson. Jan bought 30 small plants to put on the tables tomorrow night for ladies night out. I know the CAP ladies will be thrilled to have what will certainly be their first plant!

Tonight is the sorting night to unpack all the items from ingathering and figuring out where they go.

Hasta luego!

Cesia Maria - US bound!

The school at SBV

Outstanding Stewardship

2010-02-24T10:05:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

First – Thanks be to God! Cesia Maria is adopted by a lovely family from PA! Alaina, her mother, has been here for over a month working night and day to navigate the Honduran social services and legal systems. She had the crucial appearance before the decision making committee and after a grueling interview they approved the adoption! Now it is a case of finishing the paperwork and getting her US papers! Glory Hallelujah.

I spent the day with other members of the LAMB Board and several Honduran department heads who came to present reports about their departments. To sum it up, our support of LAMB is not just good stewardship, it is OUTSTANDING stewardship. I was so impressed by the intelligence, creativity, dedication, and spirituality of each person. There was a time when it was difficult to keep a consistent group of employees. Now, there is a group of people who are working at LAMB because they feel called to LAMB. They love their work and the children.

Jackie, the Director of the El Cordero school in Flor, told us:

“I feel I am doing exactly what God has called me to do. I love MY school! I tell everyone to come see my school. God has given me a vision of what will happen with the school. He has already answered many prayers. I believe my school is going to grow – more children, more buildings! The school is such a blessing for Flor, we do strong work, it is very challenging but the Word tells us we can do all things through Christ who strengths us.”

Toyita, who runs the toddler cottage and is the house mother for the teenage girls in SBV, is so inspiring. She noticed the teens were fighting with each other and had bad habits. (This set of teens came to us as older children from horrific circumstances. They were living in the main cottage with all the girls.) Toyita felt that God wanted her to take them into her little cottage on the property so she asked Gladys, the Head Administrator over all the operations, if they could move in with her and her husband Abel (Katie M – that is Matt to you!) She sat them down and said, You are now part of the Garcia family. I am your mother, here is your father, and you are all sisters. Here are the house rules (she listed them) and we will love and respect each other. The transformation of those girls is amazing!

I also learned that Yolany, the blind baby, is in excellent hands. When Lizeth, the administrator of SBV, learned she was coming, instead of being reluctant to take on such a huge responsibility, she was excited. “What a wonderful opportunity for us to learn so many new things through this baby!” They have arranged for Yolany to participate in a government program that works with blind children. They will even go out to SBV and teach the caregivers how to work with her! We have to prepare some space for Yolany and get some equipment and special toys and things. She goes every Tues from 8 -12 for this early intervention care. So, Lizeth asked them if she could also bring Melvin, one of the children who is blind in one eye. “Of course!” This is characteristic of the entire staff – finding ways to help the children.

Each of the Hondurans described their work with love and pride. I was so impressed with how things operate and the plans and vision they have for their area of LAMB. This is truly God’s work and I cannot think of a better way to be stewards for Him.

The others had a good day as well. Part of the team went back to SBV and continued work on the wall. Fr. Julio, Jan, and Margot went to the beach with 13 of the CAP ladies! They rode 3 hours on a bus to the beach (and, of course, 3 hours back!) and just had a blast. The ladies had never seen the ocean! They had a picnic, splashed in the water and generally horsed around, led by the Horsing Around Maven, Jan!

Suzy came by last night and we had a wonderful time with her singing and talking. It was the perfect end to a really terrific day!

Now – off to help the Honduran economy in Valley of the Angels!

Three Billy Goats Gruff

2010-02-22T23:03:00.000-05:00

Monday, February 22, 2010

There is a comfort that comes from predictability and routine. The SBV team entered into that zone of serenity this morning when we arrived at SBV for our first real workday. We stood around while John and the Hondurans examined the work site. Karen and I went into Sala Cuna (the toddler’s cottage) to see Yolany. Yolany as you recall is 16 mos old and blind from birth. Her mother scornfully said, “No one will want this dog.” Guess what. We do, we want this precious little lamb. Toyita was with her and loves her so much. All the children and caretakers do. I have the cutest video of Yolany “dancing” as Toyita sang a little song. Yolany is just about ready to walk!

We lounged so more as El Jefe (the boss) counted up the tools available to see if we had enough. “We have 3 trowels, 5 shovels, 6 wheelbarrows, only one paint brush…” Then there was the discussion about whether we would haul the many bags of concrete all the way from the farthest work shed to our worksite way below the cottages or whether we would use El Jefe’s truck. Seems like a no brainer, right? Not so fast. El Jefe said he didn’t have enough gas. OK, we’ll buy him some gas. Next, do we hand mix the mortar (a back breaking job) or do we get the cement mixer running? Well, it doesn’t work. Why not? It needs gas. OK. And oil. OK. So, we finally have our shopping list – 5 paintbrushes, gas and oil. Finally we are ready to start work – a typical Monday morning at SBV. We really wouldn’t know how to behave if Mondays were organized ahead of time.

We began the day hauling wheelbarrows of sand down the hill to the future location of the cement mixer. We had a nice rhythm going with a couple of people shoveling and the rest of us wheeling up and down the hill. When Jesus said that, with enough faith, we can move mountains, we didn’t realize this is what He meant. But, as good servants, move that mountain we did. (If you are dying to ask why they didn’t unload the sand where the cement mixer would be, don’t bother. It is an enigma wrapped in a paradox… We always are moving a mountain of sand or gravel from one place to another.) Soon, the cement mixer arrived and, natch, the rip cord (what you start it with) broke. No problem, you can tie it back together. But first, we need to find the tools to open the compartment. Off went Jefe to find it. We continued hauling until lunch.

We sat on the porch of cottage 2 to eat our lunch. Soon the children got out of school and joined us. We are strictly forbidden to share our food with the kids. So, I want you all to know I DID NOT sneak cookies and melon to the little boys. When I was done eating I joined some of the 9 and 10 year olds on the playground. When I was little my family and I ALWAYS played 3 Billy Goats Gruff anytime we were near a foot bridge. So the playground has a crawl tube as part of it. I decided it was time to play Tres Cabritos Malo. I explained (in espanol!) how to play and announced I would be the troll. I got in the tube as the first billy goat came across the top of the tube. “Quien es?” I roared. (Who is that?) A falsetto voice answered, “Estoy la cabritto bebe!” (I am the baby billy goat.) “Voy a comerle!” I shouted. “No, estoy muy pequeno. Espere para mi mama!” (No, I am too small. Wait for my mother.) “OK,” I answered. We repeated this with the mother goat and then came the father goat who challenged me to a fight. Out I burst to fight Alex on the tube. Just like the wrestling channel we had it out until he “hit” the fatal blow and fell to my death on the platform. Gales of laughter as the triumphant Billy Goat finished crossing the tube. It was lovely reliving this special memory of my childhood with my father and my mother, in whose memory our family built the playground.

Back to work. The cement mixer was working now and we alternated between hauling sand to the mixing spot and hauling the mescla (mortar) to the trench. Oh. I forgot to describe what we are doing. We are building a huge fence around the whole septic system and the pit that collects nasty water during the rainy season. I think it is “gray water.” Anyway, the Hondurans had dug a trench all around the area and now we were to fill it with rocks and mescla as a foundation for the fence. Some of our group painted the fence poles with rustoleum. It was hard work, very hot, but so much fun.

Other members of our team did other projects. At SBV, until about 2:45, Marilyn and Anne R. (known as young Anne vs. short Anne Patrick) worked in the school helping to assess math skills and handwriting. In first grade it was M day. Then they took them to the library where Marilyn read Goodnight Moon in Spanish. Anne was entranced but not so much the children. Tomorrow, they will be back in the classroom. Marilyn has an assignment to teach 4th tomorrow.

Several ladies went to Flor to work with the CAP ladies. They were joined by some women from the Sumter team. They had several sewing projects going and Joey was doing a bead project with them. A very cool project they did was part of the preparation for the Ladies Night Out dinner that has become an annual event, and one we all look forward to as a highlight of the week. Part of the event is creating an ambiance that the CAP ladies (extreme poverty) have no way of experiencing otherwise. We endeavor to have candlelight as part of it. The first year we used little tea lights which were impossible to keep lit because it is quite breezy in the evening in Flor. The next year we put the tea lights in plastic cups with a little water in them. It was virtually impossible to light them (didn’t have long matches) and then very hard to keep lit. So this year, in the spirit of continuous improvement, we will use luminaria. Anne (short Anne) was inspired to have the ladies think about their hopes and dreams and express them artistically by decorating the white luminaria bags. Then she had them interpret their drawings and she wrote their interpretations on the bottom of the bags. When they come to the dinner Thursday night they will see their dreams illuminated! Isn’t that cool? The things they drew and expressed are beautiful… Can’t wait till Thursday night.

Wheeler, his son Phillip and I had a lovely chat tonight. It was great getting to know another of his five children. All I can say is, Wheeler has good genes!

Honduras is wonderful, all is well here. I hope the same is true wherever you are.

Va con Dios. (Go with God.)

Yolany, 16 mos and blind

Maria Mercedes, 16 mos

Young Anne and Kenneth

Sergio

All I have to do is get close to pink paint...

'Nuff said...

Sacred space

2010-02-22T08:01:00.000-05:00

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Today we dedicated the Chapel at SBV. Our team got there early because we wanted to hang the Honduras Building Mission banner, designed and made by Jan Kramer, and we had dress clothes to give to the teenage girls. (Confessional moment – another reason I wanted to get there early was so I could be sure to get “my seat” – same relative seat as my seat at St. David’s! First row, aisle seat, Gospel side.) The other teams and many Hondurans started arriving. Wheeler was delighted that Raymond, the artisan who made the windows and doors, was there. His work is magnificent and it was a thrill that he could be part of the celebration. The children started wandering in, picking which lap they wanted to sit on or who they wanted to sit next to. I got Joel and Kennet! Marilyn had Jimy who fell asleep on her lap. What a dear sight that was. The service was delayed a bit because someone ate the bread Suzy had set aside for communion! Suzy had stored the bread in the pulpit the day before figuring it was safe… I guess a delicious looking loaf of bread was too much temptation to resist! Finally, more bread arrived and we were ready to start. Yonibel, in an acolyte robe, was ready to process carrying the cross. He was followed by a crowd of children and then 4 Episcopal priests. 3 were from the US plus Elvia, a Honduran priest. Suzy, Mari, Astrid, Reina led the singing. The most moving hymn was signing Amazing Grace in Spanish. We sang most of them in Spanish then in English. It was really cool to sing their hymns – praise songs along with them. A highlight was the “drama” the older children wrote and performed. They had created “Hell” in one corner and “Heaven” in another. Yonibel and Elias were angels guarding the entrance to heaven! One by one, someone “died” and arrived at the gates of Heaven to face judgment. Sadly, several of them were tossed by a very serious Yonibel into the eternal flames. A couple of souls were gently led to Heaven by a serene Elias. (serene and Elias is an odd juxtaposition of words!) After the drama, Mari explained each vignette to us. It was fascinating to get an insight into both their theology and their perspectives. One pretty rotten character was saved because at the moment before death he asked for forgiveness. His partner in crime didn’t and was escorted away by Yonibel… (and when I say escorted I mean hurled into the pit!) One of the sorry characters was a televangelist! (I think it was Julio.) This “televangelist” was stunned that he was welcomed into heaven with a brass band because, after all, he was a famous preacher on TV! But, replied “God” from behind the pulpit, “What about your family? You ignored your family and only cared about your fame.” Yonibel went to work again. Then Reina summarized the drama for us. This poised, beautiful 17 yr old girl who suffered unspeakable abuse and hardship before coming to LAMB hit us all between the eyes as she said, “Whether you go to heaven or hell is entirely under your control.” Then she paused and looked into our souls and asked, “Which will you choose?” Silence as her words and insight sunk in.

After the drama we had communion. That was so special to share Eucharist with Americans from several states, Hondurans, and the children of SBV in such a beautiful and sacred space. A final hymn and then the procession out. “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!” Thanks be to God!

Lunch was served on the portico attached to the chapel. The cooks from the Children’s Home catered the lunch. It was delicious! They really went all out. After lunch, we took a tour of SBV for the new folks and then back in the vans for a short tour of downtown Tegucigalpa.

Tomorrow begins the hard work… Several ladies are going to Flor to do projects with the CAP Senoras. The rest of us will be building a fence around the septic system. Very glamorous work!

Hasta manana!

Katharyn, Paty, Astrid

Fani and tummy

Angelica and Isaac

Karen with beautiful Cesia, pray for a good result at the final meeting at child services for Cesia's adoptive mother on Tues.

John and Gina receiving communion together

Serene Elias waiting to lead a soul to heaven!

Lucita, Jan, and Marilyn with sleepy Jimy Wheeler, Phillip Conkling, Barbara (founder of Discovery Services Project that built El Cordero and the school at SBV)

Jan and our banner

Anne with Maria Mercedes

More Friday pictures

2010-02-21T18:45:00.000-05:00

I ran out of time this morning and couldn't get all the picture uploaded from Friday. Here are some more. Later tonight I will post the Saturday blog.
Marilyn and Sallie after M put S hair in french braids.

Fanni Wheeler giving the benediction at the end of the celebration Sat. night.

Make a joyful noise!

2010-02-21T09:29:00.003-05:00

Saturday, February 20, 2010
The day began with pancakes – a harbinger of wonderful things to come. Sure enough, the pancakes didn’t disappoint. What a wonder-full day we had. Joey and I went to SBV in the morning to help clean the chapel for the dedication tomorrow. Our plan was to return to Erika’s for lunch to greet the rest of the team, and get ourselves ready for the celebration tonight.
We arrived at SBV at the same time as the Charleston team. Joey and I headed up to the Chapel and began washing the windows, inside and out. Those are BIG windows and a big job but it was truly worth it when the beautiful vistas emerged through the newly cleaned glass. Meanwhile, the Delta flight arrived with the rest of our team and the Sumter team and all the luggage. Well, not ALL all, really most all. We are missing 4 or 5 bags and the Sumter team missing several as well. Jose, our driver, was held up at the airport as they all sorted out what luggage had arrived, what was missing, and then filling out the paperwork. So, that left us “stuck” out at SBV. Oh darn. We had time to chat with the other folks, finish the windows, play with the children, and explore our work site. The only downside was we had no lunch! The other team, once they realized our predicament, gave us the remnants of their lunch – a banana and a lettuce sandwich. Needless to say, when we finally arrived at Erika’s we were starving! We snarfed down some of the world’s best potato salad, thanks to Erika, and then rushed up to our room to get cleaned up for the big celebration.
We arrived at El Cordero, on the soccer field transformed as party hall, at about 6:30. The party was already in full swing with lots of Hondurans and Americans. They had a band and a Christian rock duo who were really terrific. After a delish dinner (which included pepian, my favorite vegetable – sort of like zucchini) the band played and many of us danced. Wheeler danced with every woman within reach! Suzy was having a blast. What a joy it was to see her having so much fun! Then the formal program started. Several children from the dayschool, El Cordero, put on a program with singing and dancing. Next were children from the newly formed Alonzo Movement. (This is a grass roots movement begun as a response to the murder of Alonzo, a LAMB staff member. Alonzo was murdered two blocks from El Cordero because of a cell phone. Gladys, the Honduran operational director, was horrified that the young people of Flor were so lost that they would take a life over a cell phone. She conceived of a grassroots movement in Flor to provide early intervention in hopes of preventing the young people from taking such a destructive path as Alonzo’s murderers. Clearly, this concept was inspired by God because it took off immediately. They received seed money from a benefactor in the US. The most amazing and beautiful part was the immediate support of the neighborhood, local churches, etc.) After the Alonzo children’s performance, several SBV children performed. So cute!
The most moving part of the program was Esli’s testimony. Esli is a gorgeous 18 yr old who recently graduated from the Children’s Home and is now working in the day care at El Cordero. She told us about her mother marrying a man when Esli was 10. The step father began sexually abusing her almost immediately. By the time Esli was 14, she was pregnant. She ultimately found her way to Suzy, full of bitterness and hatred towards her mother, the fetus, and God. She gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Angelie. She realized Angelie was a blessing from God. Esli went on to tell us that now she thanks God every day for the gifts He has given her. She deeply loves Angelie, has reconciled with her mother and is deeply faithful to God. I couldn’t possibly convey the horror of her early life, the anguish she felt for so long, and the transformation she has undergone with such grace and maturity. Her story is yet another example of the miraculous work that LAMB does. I videoed her testimony and hope it turns out. It is really something to share. I am so proud of her.
We are all snug in our beds now, exhausted. Tomorrow is the dedication of the Chapel (with clean windows..) Another big day. The internet is fnally working so I hope to post every day so far in the morning.
Blessings to all.

Welcome to Honduras…Orientation Day.

2010-02-21T09:17:00.000-05:00

Friday, Feb 20, 2010
Today was James’ first full day in Honduras. James is a “newbie.” He and I worked together at IBM for several years before he retired. I have been hounding him to come to Honduras and, ta-dah, finally he joined our team. We are still without internet (country-wide issue) and there has been a drought so the cistern is almost out of water until tomorrow. Welcome to Honduras! Not to worry, internet will connect, cisterns will be filled, and God’s work will be done. We spent the morning in Flor visiting the school. As we visited classroom after classroom, the children shouted, “Wheeler! Wheeler!” This, of course, was after all the staff had showered him with hugs. What a joyous reunion it was. The school looks great, with 230 children. The soccer field now has basketball nets installed! The 6th graders were having a blast during recess. We visited the day care room. Wheeler was dancing with some of the tiny little girls! The man simply can’t resist a good tune and a pretty girl!
After our visit to the school, Rosangel came over to tell us that a family was on their way to see us. She had written me that a woman who worked as a street cleaner had been hit and killed by a car while sweeping the street. She left 3 boys, 17, 12, and 2, who are now being cared for by their grandmother. Rosangel had requested clothes and shoes for the boys. When we delivered these, she called the grandmother who immediately gathered the 2 younger boys and set off walking to meet us. What precious children, so dear. How heartbreaking to think they have lost their mother.
We got back to Erika’s for lunch and to greet Margot and Anne who arrived today. It was great to see Anne’s suitcase which we knew was filled with goodies including her famous “puppy chow,” the most delicious shortbread, chocolate chip cookies and more. Oh, yeah. It was great to see Anne and Margot too! We headed off to SBV to see the children taking a short detour to Ojojona on the way. Guess what we did in Ojojona? YUP. Shopping. This time it was Anne who was the shopaholic. At least she was the instigator. I bought the most, as usual. We bought several pieces of the beautiful, unglazed natural pottery. Anne started a tradition several trips ago that we all sign pots as a souvenir of the mission trip. We bought several in case the team members each want their own. We had a raucous signing party last year – everyone signing everyone else’s pot. Wheeler’s bottle of pepto bismol even got signed!
FINALLY – we got to SBV. The children were so happy to see us. Gina asked me no fewer than 15 times if her Padrino, John, was coming. 15 times I told her, “ Si, Domingo!” (Yes, Sunday!) She even got a bilingual staff person to ask me in English again! I love that relationship between Gina and John. Dunia came rushing up to give me a big hug and ask about her amiga, Meagan! I gave her the Barbie Doll from Meagan which made her so happy. Next I went to see the toddlers so I could give Fanni the gift from “Tia Kathy.” The kids were running up in twos and threes to say hello, get hugs, find out who was coming and when! It was sublime.
We saw Franklin, Abel, Toyita, Valerie, Francisco. All were thrilled to see Wheeler. There is a new staff member, a man who speaks great English. I have forgotten his name, sadly, and he might be Toyita’s nephew. Will find out more about that. He gave James an in-depth tour of SBV. We all went up to see the chapel. Breathtaking. I can’t wait for the chapel dedication on Sunday. The windows are done, the huge mahagony doors in, all the beautiful light fixtures hung, a mahagony pulpit and altar, the meditation porch on the side of the chapel, and a lovely fence to keep people from falling off the edge of the cliff! Finally, after oohing and aahhing over it all we went to see the bell in the tower! All of us, ALL of us (Wheeler too) climbed all the way to the top of the tower to see the bell and look out the windows. What a gorgeous vista from up there. Wheeler couldn’t stand it any longer and grabbed the bell pull and started ringing the bell! What a sight that was – he worked tirelessly for years getting that built and the bell was installed after he left. He couldn’t wait to ring it!
There are two new babies at SBV, sisters. Little Maria Mercedes is 5 months old and cute as a bug. Her 16 month old sister, Yalani (spelling) is blind from birth. So precious. What really touched my heart was how sweet and affectionate the children are with her. I had her standing between my legs as I sat with the teens. Kenneth, a little 4 yr old, came up and gave her a big hug and then whirled away. All the children truly love and watch out for each other. I just love how they are with each other.
We got back to Erika’s for a delish dinner, more sorting of ingathering items and then Compline. James brought his guitar and voice and we sang some songs along with the devotion. I am the last one up finishing the blog. I hope the internet is up tomorrow…
Sleep well, I sincerely wish you all were here. This is a place of wonder, miracles, and that peace that passes all understanding.

O Frabjous Day! Calloo Callay!

2010-02-21T09:05:00.001-05:00

Thursday, February 18, 2010
We are back! The flight to Teguci was uneventful , plenty of empty seats but not what you’d call empty. Wheeler and I had an empty seat between us. It seemed unreal to finally be on the plane to Honduras WITH Wheeler! For those of you who haven’t seen him recently, he ( very reluctantly and with a bad attitude!) uses a cane and walks with a slight limp. Other than that you would never know he gave us all such a scare. When the plane landed at TGU the flight attendant welcomed us to Tegucigalpa and “especially Wheeler Conkling!” As we deplaned, I think every single member of the ground crew was squeezed into the jet bridge to see the miracle on legs and the ground crew chief, Daniel met us in the terminal! Everyone was so pleased to see him.
Suzy, Lucy, and David met us along with Howard from Vermont (blue bus driving Howard!) who had just arrived on Continental. Hunter and Meagan – our driver and amigo Jose was there with the van too! We arrived at Erika’s to great fanfare as Andrea and Erika ran to meet us (and by us I mean Wheeler!) Maria was still in school and Danilo (drum roll please) is AT WORK!!! He finally has a job working in security for Pepe’s administration. Thanks be to God! Andrea is lovely as ever, studying hard as I write this for her medical school studies. Maria, in 6th grade, has shot up and is so grown up, as sweet as ever.
Suzy brought Mari, Sallie, Elsa, and Lucy by. What can I say except they are just as precious as ever. Grandpa Wheeler told Lucy that he had brought her a dress. Well, naturally she had to have it right then. Grandpa Wheeler, of course, complied and pulled out a beautiful white dress with pink decorations and a matching pink sweater. She was in 7th heaven, especially when Mari told her it is a princess dress!
Two pieces of news – Joey and I are freezing! (well, chilly) It is chilly here today. I doubt it will last so those of you packing for the Saturday travel, don’t radically change your wardrobe but do bring a jacket. The other cool thing is I now have a Honduran cell phone! It is really inexpensive to call the US from a cell phone here. The phone cost less than $20 and you buy minutes for it. I really needed a way to call my father every day which is why I got it. I think it will be a real convenience too with our team in different places. And it is red! Love it.
Joey and I are sharing Erika and Danilo’s room and have saved a bed for you, Marilyn. It is a huge room! There are two other rooms in the family house for us to use (I propose the house be the girls house) and 4 bedrooms off the courtyard. Erika and family are staying upstairs in a make shift room. They are so happy we are here and can’t wait for the rest of the team to arrive.
It is 5:30 pm, dinner is at 7 but the aroma of Wheeler’s favorite pork chop dinner is torturing me. The internet is down today so I hope to send this tomorrow morning. We plan on going to SBV tomorrow afternoon after we pick up Anne and Margot from the airport.
By the way, we experienced a first tonight. I suppose our (my) reputation is well-known enough that the shopping began last night when the shop came to us! One of the vendors from Valle, who makes beautiful and intricate wood products like the Noah’s Ark cross, brought by several boxes of items for us to look at. Not telling how much he left with…
It is so wonderful to be here. Already I feel the stress flowing out of my body being replaced by a peaceful joy. My prayer is that all of you can find that same peaceful joy wherever you are.

Crisis Response

2009-12-06T17:24:00.000-05:00

How does a ministry respond to crisis? On June 28, 2009, Suzy McCall and the rest of the LAMB staff in Honduras faced that very question. In the early morning hours, the President was removed from his home and exiled to Costa Rica. Some called it a coup, most Hondurans agreed it was the proper response to a unanimous congressional vote upheld by the Honduran Supreme Court. In truth, to the children of LAMB and the impoverished families supported by LAMB’s CAP program it didn’t matter. Escalating threats of violence mattered. Fear and uncertainty mattered. Drastic reduction of foreign aid and mission teams mattered. To Suzy and LAMB, continuing their service to God mattered. This is what they did:

They celebrated. Aaron Joshue, whom doctors gave up on as an infant, had his second birthday party. Xiomara, who marched into a police station at age 10 demanding to go to school, graduated from 6th grade at the LAMB school at the Children’s Residential Home where she has lived for the last 3 years. Franklin, a beloved staff member, got married at the newly completed Church of the Good Shepherd at the Children’s Residential Home!

They mourned. Alonzo Salgado, who worked in LAMB’s offices in Flor del Campo as an intern, was shot and killed very near there by a couple of thugs who wanted to steal his cell phone. Alonzo came up through LAMB’s scholarship program, and his internship was the last step in becoming a lawyer. He and his wife, Ericka, were in Suzy’s youth group years ago when she first started working in Flor. They have a little girl, Alejandra, who is in LAMB’s day school, El Cordero.

They acted. Within a week of Alonzo’s death, Gladys, one of LAMB’s leaders in Honduras, was moved by the Holy Spirit to start Alonzo’s Movement -- a street-by-street, grassroots movement focused on young teenagers. Plans include a soccer league, tutoring, music and art, and, of course, evangelism and discipleship; it would be a highly relational ministry for young people who feel disconnected from their families and churches. One month later, Suzy writes: “Tomorrow, the "Alonzo Movement" is graduating the first 24 volunteers from the training program for reaching children and young people in the inner-city for Christ. God will turn our mourning into dancing!”

They cared. They arranged for Jorge’s (age 14) lifesaving kidney surgery and nursed him back to health. They arranged for treatment for an elderly lady with a broken pelvis and subsidized the brace which will allow her to walk. Suzy took in two abandoned newborns, each under 5 lbs.

They prayed. For peace in Honduras, for our own Jackson Greene, for St. David’s, for their children, for water at San Buenaventura, in thanksgiving for God’s gracious blessings and for Jorge’s miraculous (per his doctor!) recovery. They praised the Risen Lord and prayed some more.

They built. Two homes for homeless people, a new roof for Oralia – the last wish of a dying mother to shelter her young children, moved a elderly woman’s home to a safe location, installed a bell in the Chapel bell tower, painted the school at the Children’s Residential Home.

They worked. They continued caring for 60 bright, happy children at the Children’s Residential Home – children who came to LAMB broken, abandoned, and abused. They provide a good academic and Christian education to 300 impoverished children in Flor del Campo. They provide food for 20 desperately poor families in La Cantera, they continue training young people to take the Good News of Jesus Christ out into the world.

On November 29, God heard their prayers and provided a peaceful election day, with over 70% voter turnout and a clear winner, recognized by the US and other countries as legitimate. Now that the crisis is over, what will LAMB do? They will celebrate, mourn, act, care, pray, build, and work in the service of our Lord. Thanks be to God!

2009-09-13T21:05:00.001-04:00

2009-09-13T21:02:00.000-04:00

Missing Honduras

2009-09-13T19:51:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note to say how much I miss Suzy, the children, the lovely ladies of La Cantera, the LAMB staff, Erika's family, and the beautiful country of Honduras. My prayers are with you all constantly.

Bom Bom

2009-08-08T09:13:00.017-04:00

I was up early today and was reflecting on the concept of abundance. It is such a relative term and depends entirely on the lens through which you view your life and the life of others. That lens is ground on the mill of values. What are the values that bring your life into focus? The children at SBV, by our standards in the US, have very little. To an uninvolved observer, one might say they have little to nothing. They wear used clothes, take only cold showers, they have very little to call their own, their diet is nutritious but limited, they don't go on vacation and rarely have outings. No one in their right mind would say they live lives of abundance. But, spend one day with them and a different lens brings clarity to their lives and to your own. Look past the mended, mismatched clothes and see children who love one another abundantly. Children who clamor for "bom bom" (chewing gum) but always make sure that everyone around them, including the caretakers, have a piece. Children who know first hand the value of a safe home, absence of violence, 3 meals a day plus meriando (afternoon snack), the privilege of schooling, the warmth of a hug and the comfort of a smile. Children who unconsciously look out for each other - wiping the nose of a tiny child, keeping a too small boy from climbing a tree, walking hand in hand, sharing everything with each other because that is simply what they do - no need to exhort them to share. Children who remind me to give a child two bom boms tomorrow because he didn't get one today. Children who live in the tangible expression of the love and power of the Risen Lord. Abundant lives? You bet. My prayer is that we would all live such abundant lives. More on this later...

We have been driving around with the crutches for the man on the road but had not seen him for several days. We were so disappointed yesterday on our way home from SBV when we didn't see him - our last chance. Jose, our driver, went above and beyond the call of duty trying to find the man. He asked several people who all knew who he was talking about but no one had seen him. We tried one more time, going the opposite way of Flor, to retrace our route, certain that we would see him in the morning. We failed. He wasn't there. Wheeler suggested that we give the crutches to Suzy who drives that route often. Such a disappointment.

Is it possible to be in a heart breaking and heart warming situation simultaneously? This morning we went to Flor because it was the SBV kids' visiting day with their families. They load all the kids, except the teens who have visiting day on Wednesday, on the bus and take them to the school. Visiting day is every other month. Their families meet them there for a morning of reunion. Tables were set up on the soccer field so each family unit could be together. I walked in just as a father caught sight of his toddler son. The father's face lit up as he shouted with joy and scooped the child up in his arms. The children climbed the stairs to see who was there to visit with them. I was able to meet many of the families and learned who the siblings are. Some I knew but others I had never connected as hermano o hermana. (brother or sister.) For example, I had no idea that Dunia, Yessenia, and Fernando were siblings.

So I went from table to table taking family pictures. I will have them printed and send down with the next person headed this way. The families brought small picnics and some brought gifts. Most of them seemed very happy to be together. Two obvious exceptions were Evelyn and Yonibel. Evelyn looked miserable and Yonibel grudgingly shoved a card he made at his mother and then turned away. She thrust a little bag of food in his hand which he immediately gave to someone else. Janet and Bonnie noticed one woman holding her toddler son. It was a heart rending scene. She had brought nothing to eat or play with. He sat sadly on her lap as she stared miserably off into space. Bonnie and Janet rushed down to our van and got their lunches for them. Suddenly, the mother's face changed completely as a look of joy and relief washed over her. Amazing what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can do. Not to mention the loving sacrifice of lunch by Janet and Bonnie. They truly were the church today.

9 of the children had no visitors at all. Some appeared unruffled by this and others were devastated. Dunia, Christopher, Yessenia and Yonibel (whose mother left immediately) were really upset.There is a YWAM (Youth with a Mission) missionary who works with the children some. She always takes the children with no visitors on an outing. We had to coax Dunia and Yonibel to come with us. Yessenia refused. We joined the group today and had a blast! There are some universal truths in the world and one is that every kid loves Burger King, especially one with a big play structure in it! We tumbled out of the van and into BK. The kids went directly to the playroom, which we had to ourselves. Hunter, Meagan and I conveniently couldn't read the rule in Spanish that said only children 12 and under allowed in the play structure. We had so much fun but we all agreed that the twisty slide was too twisty for us. (I nearly threw up!) We played tag and generally charged around laughing, hooting and hollering. We ordered the HN equivalent to a happy meal for 39 lemps each. As soon as we got the meals, the children scrambled out of the play structure and sat down to eat. I offered to get them all an icecream cone (9 lemps each - about 50 cents) but noooo they wanted chocolate sundaes. (Who wouldn't?) 18 chocolate sundaes coming up! I noticed that Dunia hadn't eaten her hamburger. I asked her why. "Es para Fernando. El es enferma." She was saving it for her little brother, Fernando, who was home sick in SBV. Her drink? "Para Yessenia." She was saving her drink for Yessenia. All she ate of her lunch were the fries so she could share with her siblings who didn't come. Gina saved her hamburger for Seidy, also sick at SBV. Imagine that. These children go to Burger King as a major treat maybe once every two months and they save the most substantial part of their meal for someone else. These are the children who have "nothing" -- nothing but abundance in love for one another. Dunia and Yonibel left the restaurant laughing and smiling. Quite a change from the trip over. Thanks be to God.

As we were loading the kids into the van, Jose the driver became quite excited. Hunter and Janet looked up to see what was going on. He found the man we had been looking for! We were really far from the his normal route but, lo and behold, just as we were leaving for good, there he was! Alleluia! Hunter took the crutches over to him and showed him how to use them while Janet snapped pictures. (I, of course, missed the whole thing. I was rounding up children in BK.) Hunter said that he had no idea what to do with the crutches until H demonstrated their use. It was an unexpected gift to find him after we had given up. (Is there a lesson there?)

We dropped the kids off at El Cordero and said our final goodbyes. I absolutely hate that.

We headed up to the mountains to see the huge Jesus statue overlooking Teguci. It is in a beautiful park and we had a very nice, relaxing time. Great views of the city, lovely gardens, and even a shop. (I didn't buy a thing...only cuz I had no money with me.)

Back to Erika's for another great dinner - pepian (a type of squash that is delish) barbeque chicken, rice, and rice krispie treats! YUM. Then the traditional packing party with yards of bubblewrap and counting people and suitcases and weighing and all that stuff.

So, this is it. Tomorrow we get on the plane to come home...and plan the next trip to Honduras.

Thanks so much for following along with us and for joining us in prayer for the children and for Honduras. Now, go in peace to love and serve the Lord. THANKS BE TO GOD!

I have everything I need now

2009-08-07T20:09:00.014-04:00

This was our last day at SBV. I always hate leaving on the last day. Bonnie and Janet spent the day at Flor with the ladies of La Cantera and with some of the school children. Bonnie's heart was really moved on Wednesday by all God's children, young and old, at Flor and she also wanted to sponsor a young school girl. She had asked David to help her with that and, as usual, he got right on it. He introduced her to Diana, an 8 yr old beauty. Diana lives with her grandmother who is terminally ill with cancer. Bonnie tutors a 9 yr. old girl in PA and hopes to get them writing to each other. Janet was really touched by going to visit Diana's grandmother and seeing their home. It is lovely to see people really bond with the wonderful people here.

Hunter, Meagan and I returned to SBV. Hunter (Cazador) spent the morning painting the hallway in the school while Meagan and I were scientists. We started the perc tests and also explored the plot of land next to ours. We hope there is water on that land since the owner has offered to sell it to us. I have no way of knowing but did observe it was much greener and lusher than ours. Surely that means something, right? Can you have that much foliage with no water at all? Say your prayers about that one.

After lunch, we did a little more work and then quit early to play with the kids. We had a contest for the kids to do the playground circuit. Carlos won with a time of 12 seconds to go up the ramp, across the bridge, across the monkey bars, over the bridge, through the tube, and down the slide. Gina, Yonibel, and Dunia were close with 13 seconds. Hunter demonstrated the course in 17 seconds and I was disqualified when I fell off the monkey bars. Well, it wasn't that I fell off, I just couldn't get my entire body back up on the platform. I could get my feet up but that part in the middle wouldn't cooperate.

At about 3:15, we went into Cabin 1 for a little program. The "medianas" (middle girls) did a cute dance for us. Then the middle boys did a great drama about not littering. Elias Hernandez, who has epilepsy and is quite disabled, was adorable trying to participate. The story was that people (played by Yonibel, the other Elias, Joel, Alexander) would just throw trash on the ground. Then Julio would come out and sweep it up, angry that he had to clean up for the others. The boys came back through throwing trash on the ground and Julio would pop out and exhort them, gesticulating wildly, to put the trash in the "basura" (trashcan)... A couple of these scenes were thwarted because Elias Hernandez would swoop in and "help" by putting the trash right in the basura before Julio could counsel the offender. It was so precious.

Next the little bitties got up to sing a couple songs and, true to form, Jocelyn was leading the pack, singing lustily with a huge grin on her face. Most of the others stood stock still staring at us. Not so different from the US!

Finally a couple of the girls got up to say thank you to us for coming, for helping at SBV and for loving them and giving them hugs. Gina, naturally, was one of them. Dunia (11 yrs) then spontaneously asked to give her testamony. Suzy told us later that she had never done that before. Dunia had fallen in love with Meagan, maybe that is what motivated her. Anyway, she told us that she and her siblings, Yessenia and Fernando, had lived in a terrible place in the city. They would roam the streets and no one looked after them. One day, their uncle "did something bad to them." Soon after, they met Suzy and came to live at Casa Hogar (SBV.) She is so happy to be there. "I have everything I need now. I have food, clothes, school, and people who love her." Dunia is so very dear. My heart breaks to think of how she had to live before SBV and my heart is filled with joy knowing that she is safe, happy, healthy, and loved now. Thanks be to God for all the wonderful people who care for those dear lambs.

On the way home we stopped by Suzy's house to see Aaron Joshue who wasn't there last Sunday. He really buzzes around on the tiniest wheelchair known to man. Tomasa gave him a buzz so he looks more grown up (at 22 months) than he did with longer hair. I must confess, I miss his full head of hair. Cesia looked beautiful as usual and Evelyn motored around in her little walker, despite being sick.

Tonight we went into Teguci to a really nice restaurant called El Patio. The food was plenteous and delicious. They loaded us up with appetizers - my favorite being the fried plantain. YUM. Then we all had "pinchos" or shish kebabs that were enormous. It was really fun - full of local color. They had this display as we entered of a man behind a plow pulled by two bulls. They were almost life size and made out of some natural material - kinda like the corn husks used for tamales. Meagan almost knocked the tail off of one! See the picture of her with one and notice how anatomically correct it is!

Tomorrow is the bi-monthly visiting day for the children. They are all bused into Flor to see their birth parents - if they show up. We are all going to Flor tomorrow to be a part of it. It is particularly important to us because several children, including Dunia and Elias Hernandez, never have anyone come to see them. Tomorrow, we will be their visitors.

I absolutely hate that tomorrow is our last day here. We were about to get stranded here indefinitely. We woke up to the news that the meteorologists were on strike and all the airports were closed. Officially I was very concerned and working with Suzy and David to come up with Plan B (bus to El Salvador, flight home) but inwardly I was jumping for joy. Sadly, oops I mean happily, the airports reopened this afternoon.

Sleep well... We will after our huge meal!

All 5 senses present and accounted for...

2009-08-06T23:32:00.007-04:00

Testing the functionality of the five senses:

Hearing - the sound of children laughing as Hunter tosses them up to "touch the sky": Check
Sight - the quiet dignity and strength in the faces of the ladies of La Cantera: Check
Taste - snarfing down vast amounts of Erika's delicious cooking: Check
Feeling - a child running full speed into you to give you a big hug: Check
Smell - working down by the cesspits in the full sun and heat of the afternoon: Check

So, today Hunter, Meagan and I were working on the tests John McKinnon gave us to do on the land around the cesspits. (I feel like there is a different word for them but I can't think of it now...) At 9AM it wasn't so bad. In fact, the area just below them is lush and green with lots of thick vegetation. Something that makes you go, "Hmmmm." Anyway, we had to dig 4 holes, each 3 feet deep, to do percolation tests on the soil. It takes longer than you think to dig holes in the dirt here. In fact, all morning. I must confess that at 11:57 we declared Hole 4 deep enough at 31 inches. It was either 5 more inches of digging or lunch. No contest. While we were doing that, Bonnie and Janet were doing yeoman's work painting the hallway. They got an amazing amount of work done. It was hotter and more humid today and the school doesn't have as much cross ventilation as you'd like. Nevertheless, they made huge progress.

After lunch, Hunter joined the ladies painting while Meagan and I recorded several topographical data about the land below the cesspits. She began pacing off the distance by literally going heel to toe, heel to toe, arms akimbo to keep her balance. I gently (when I say gently I mean laughing) suggested that counting the strides was probably good enough. "Ah yes," she remarked, "it's much faster this way." Then we took a video of the area as we made very scientisty observations about the terrain, vegetation, etc.

The most entertaining activity was figuring out the slope from the cesspits down to the little ravine. John had given us detailed directions, complete with illustrations. Sadly, he did not account for our nuttiness. Happily, though, Wilmer and Pedro came to help. We started tying the string John provided about 6” above the ground. We had to tie it to trees along the way, ensuring the string was level. The first tree was no problem. The next tree, a bit challenging, after that we needed a ladder. The final tree had Pedro climb up the ladder and into the fairly flimsy pine tree, scaling it higher and higher till we got the string level-ish. The string was 17 feet above ground! I have NO IDEA whether we did this right or not. Tomorrow we will do the perc tests because the pre-soak was slow. “Huh?” you might ask. “Beats me,” I reply, “ask John.”

This evening David joined us along with Erika, Andrea, and Maria for Holy Eucharist and then a delish dinner of papusas! We had the first rain storm of the week during dinner and it was raining so hard on the tin roof we had to eat in silence! You couldn’t hear anything! Soon it stopped and we had a lovely evening.

Joey and Alyssa - I made an executive decision that the peluchas you gave me to bring down would go to the newest children to welcome them to LAMB. The last picture is of Manuel, 6, who is Mirza's brother and arrived this week. I will give the others to Suzy to have on hand when she gets the other babies from Social Services. I hope that is OK.

Electricity is on and off so I will wrap up now. I can’t believe tomorrow is already Friday. Oh, arrgghhh, we did not see the man along the road today. Pray that we will tomorrow. Hasta manana!

Grace and courage, thy name is Sonia, Maria Christina, Carmen, Petronilla...

2009-08-05T23:36:00.007-04:00

Today was Flor day. We arrived at El Cordero, the day school LAMB operates in Flor del Campo. Flor is an extremely poor barrio on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa. The children's weekly assembly had just started. We watched as the first graders (it looked like) sang and then the third graders (I think) lead the school in learning a Bible verse...by yelling it out, taking turns with the microphone. This is sophisticated learning technique - teaching via multiple senses. The class stood together modeling the desired behavior, it was written in large letters on a colorful poster board, and if that wasn't enough...the volume assaulted the eardrums until the brain simply gives in and absorbs the material! We were introduced and the children all turned to wish us "Bienvenido," however it wasn't quite enthusiastic enough for the teachers so, once again with feeling, "BIENVENIDO!"

I delivered some of the tortuga peluchas (turtle stuffed animals) made by the St. Peter and St Paul VBS to the youngest children. See the very youngest Lamb with his tortuga! I also made the acquaintance of an adorable little girl, new since April, named Erika. Erika has Down's Syndrome and is just precious. I got a huge hug from her - a most sweet hug indeed.

After a quick tour, we went across the street to the LAMB offices to meet with the ladies from La Cantera. (See the picture of Meagan with Elvira. Elvira is a perpetually cheerful deaf mute. She helps around the school and lives in a house built by Discovery Service Projects. Janet was part of that team. Elvira is the mother of my sponsored child Elias. He and his sisters are at SBV.) La Cantera is the extremely impoverished squatters' village on the edge of Flor. The poverty is unimaginable. Unfortunately, we couldn't actually go into La Cantera because it is too dangerous right now - gangs and not enough police. So, the lovely ladies came to us. There were about 25 of them with a few of their children. We all introduced ourselves and then some of the ladies began giving their testimonies. You might expect to hear lamentations from these women who live the most difficult of lives. About half of them have no electricity. They live on a few dollars a day. Several of them live in "nice" houses built by LAMB - a nice house has 4 wooden walls, a tin roof, and a cement floor, holes cut in the walls for windows and a door that locks. The size is that of a very small bedroom. Often 8 - 10 people live there. One certainly would not blame them for a lamentation or two. But no, each one who spoke told us of the blessings in their lives. One explained she had gotten a bed to sleep in. That coupled with the wooden walls of her home, well, she was doing just fine. Demos gracias a Senor! (Thanks be to God.)

Another told us of an experience from this very week. Her refrain throughout the story was, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phil 4:13) She was awakened by some noise outside her door. She was frightened but (refrain) got up to see what was happening. She saw that her son's bicycle had been stolen. She was bereft but (refrain.) She had prayed for 5 years, since her son was 6, that he would get a bicycle. He had just won one at Children's Day as a prize and now it was gone. She couldn't believe this had happened so she prayed. Soon, she went out to search for the bike...and found it hidden in some bushes! At first she was afraid to take it, afraid the thieves would attack her but (refrain) she got a friend to go back with her and she retrieved the bike! Demos gracias a Senor!

I spoke on behalf of our current team and all the teams that have come. I explained how we pray for them everyday and admire their courage and strength. I went on to say how inspiring they are to us and how much we love them. It was truly a privilege to be the spokesperson for all of us who care for them so deeply. They send special greetings to Dorita, Margot, Anne and Jan!

Several of the women thanked us for coming despite the "problems" going on in Honduras. There was one man there. He had been shot in the head. He clearly had difficulty talking but was able to introduce himself. I learned later he is an artist. I have included just a few pictures of these women. Hunter filmed their testamonies. I hope to edit it into something I can post on YouTube and the LAMB website. Stay tuned.

We did our requisite run to Giancarlo's -- they have even more beautiful things... they have added some wood pieces. I did my thing, leaving the store laden with bags. Then, a delish lunch at Erika's. Janet and Bonnie were feeling a bit puny so they stayed home for the afternoon. Hunter, Meagan and I headed off to SBV for a short afternoon of painting (H&M) and scraping (me.) A bit playing with the babies, Meagan and Hunter playing with Gina, and then time to go. We searched the roadside carefully for the man with the stick because we now have the crutches for him. We didn't see him this afternoon so we will keep looking.

Tomorrow, Hunter, Meagan and I will do soil testing that John McKinnon has assigned while Bonnie and Janet paint. I hope to see Suzy to hear if there is any more news about the newborn, the twins, Mirza's youngest brother, or the boy attacked by dogs.

Love to all back in the US... We are all happy, mostly healthy, and very safe.

Just when you thought it was safe...

2009-08-04T22:59:00.007-04:00

...to enter a building without a scraper... Yep, you guessed it. We spent the day doing a little painting and ALOT of scraping. We scraped the floors (Bonnie is the expert) and we scraped the cinderblock walls preparing them for paint. In terms of dust and difficulty, scraping the cinderblock walls is somewhere between scraping the adobe walls pre-chicken wire and sanding the plastered walls in Cottage 3. We didn't emerge from a room completely gray from head to toe like the adobe scrapers nor were we able to zoom over a wall in a matter of minutes. "It's for the children, it's God's work, it's for the children, it's God's work" was our mantra. The hallway looms large as we began scraping it this afternoon. "It's for the children..."

This morning, after getting organized, Hunter and I met with Suzy in her office (the erstwhile Director's cottage) to discuss a potential microbusiness. John McKinnon had discovered a non-profit, FilterPure, that has created a portable ceramic water filter. They partner with other non-profits to build factories to manufacture and distribute the water filters. The idea is that we would build a factory with their help (expertise, some key materials, marketing help, etc.) and manufacture the water filters for about $20 each and then sell them for $30 each. Primary markets would be other NGOs and mission groups who want to provide clean drinking water. This would be a way to help LAMB become more self-sufficient financially as well as provide a source of clean water to Latin America. Please pray for guidance as Suzy and the LAMB leadership team discuss this possibility.

While we were meeting with Suzy, she told us that last night they got 2 more children, unexpectedly. They are Mirza's brothers, 2 and 6 years old. Their mother simply couldn't care for them any longer. There is a 3rd child in the hospital with pneumonia who will join the others at SBV as soon as he is well enough. Suzy is still waiting for news about the 15 mo old twins found abandoned in a pig sty. She isn't sure whether they will be able to go right into the Children's Home yet. If not, they will join the others at Suzy's house. She is also waiting for more information about the boy (2 years old?) who was mauled by a dog. She isn't sure whether he will be ready for SBV either. She was told that she will be able to pick up the newborn tomorrow (we hope) who will definitely go to Suzy's house. So, have you done the math yet? In just a matter of a couple weeks, the population at SBV and Suzy's house will increase by 7 children, most are under the age of 2. In the case of the twins and the boy mauled by the dog, Suzy read about them in the newspaper and she called Social Services to see how LAMB could help. God has been very good to His littlest lambs by putting Suzy here.

We took a break in the afternoon to visit the farm. The corn is as high as an elephant's eye and stretches as far as you can see! On the way, we met up with some goats. Meagan and Bonnie were particularly taken by the goats, but in slightly different ways. Meagan has established a relationship with one (sorry Billy, you've been replaced) and Bonnie... well, Bonnie, fresh from Heifer U., was seen fleeing from one of the goats. In respect for her dignity I will refrain from mentioning that the goat was tethered as she sprinted away!

Suzy came by tonight with Sallie, Elsa, and Lucy to have dinner and evening devotions. She played the guitar as we sang as best we could. We really miss the voices from the choir and from Camp Mikell! We sounded pretty pitiful singing "Humble thyself." I busted out the new video camera we brought down for LAMB and recorded the evening. We'll see. If it works out, I will post on the LAMB website.

Tomorrow we go to Flor del Campo to see El Cordero and the children's assembly. Then we will meet with several ladies from La Cantera. We can't go into La Cantera because it is too dangerous right now. Even Fr. Julio is meeting with them in Flor. (I forgot to mention that Fr. Julio arrived yesterday to spend the week doing pastoral care with the ladies of La Cantera.) After that we go to Giancarlo's for pewter and then back to SBV and scraping.

Some other tidbits...
Ana Karina's foot is all healed! There was a point we were very worried it was getting seriously infected.
Betsy - I stepped into the 6th grade classroom only to see the three older girls knitting!!!
Wheeler came home with a brand new pair of crutches for the man we see on the road. We hope to stop tomorrow to give them to him. Our plan (please pray about this for us) is to have Hunter teach him how to use the crutches. We figure that once Hunter shows him his leg, the man will understand that we want to help him by giving him the crutches.
I held Fany again this afternoon and today, to my great joy, she laughed!!! Fany has a very sad story and, at not quite 2, is a very melancholy baby. To see her smile and laugh stirs the soul in a particular way.
Jorge has started carpentry school and is very excited. He is living with his family and comes to SBV for school on Saturdays. I am very anxious to see him again. His surgery was stalled due to the political crisis but Evelyn has started working on it again. There is a doctor here who has all his test results and medical records. Pray for that too, please.

As usual, I am the last one up. We all crash early here. Buenos Nochas.

If it's Monday morning, it must be chaos!

2009-08-03T22:25:00.008-04:00

So, a small team works just like a large team. The morning of the first workday we spend a significant amount of time bumping into walls! But... we were at work by 10 or so. We took a few minutes to see the Chapel. WOW! Just when you think it can't get more beautiful and awe inspiring, it does. It has been painted inside and out, the floor tiles are in, and really lovely light fixtures installed. they are building a fence along the perimeter by the porch. Great idea since it is the edge of a cliff! The fence promises to be very attractive with lovely pillars and wrought iron fencing. To Wheeler's surprise and delight, we discovered Raimondo was on his way to begin installing the windows! He has hand made them all out of the most beautiful mahagony. By the end of the day, he had put one whole window in (minus the glass) and several of the others partially.

Our assignment is to paint the interior of the school. Most of the classrooms are already done. We are painting the kindergarten room, a bathroom, a storage room and the hallway this week. We made alot of progress on the kindergarten room...or I should say, Janet and Bonnie made alot of progress. More on what Meagan and I were doing later. As some of the teens from April know all to well, this is hard work on the cinderblock walls. They suck in the paint faster than you can get it on. Nevertheless, most of the room is done.

Meagan and I joined 7 of the girls on a walk up to the cell tower, along with Gil who is here for 6 months with his wife. This is the cell tower we look at across from the Children's Home on top of the mountain! I honestly didn't know you could get there from here but we did! The views were breathtaking. The little girls, of course, scrambled up the mountain like little agile goats. Meagan followed right on their heels while I managed to haul myself up in the most ungainly way possible. Nevertheless, we made it up and down with no mishaps!

The other cool thing to report is the extension of the kitchen/laundry building. The picture really speaks for itself but it is really great. Hard to believe just a few months ago it was dirt and piles of cinderblocks.

Suzy goes tomorrow, we hope, to pick up a newborn from Social Services. We don't know too much about him except that his mother is mentally ill and got no pre-natal care. He weighed 4lbs at birth. Suzy is hoping he might be up to 5 after a stay in the hospital. She is anxious to get him because she worries that he might not fare well if he stays too long with Social Services. Please keep him in your prayers.

Tomorrow morning Suzy and I will meet to discuss a potential micro-enterprise involving ceramic water filters. More on that tomorrow.

We saw the man I asked you to pray for again on the road. We are going to ask Rosangel to get a pair of crutches for him. We would really like to make his life just a tiny bit easier. I have one of those sport bags that you can wear like a backpack. I think that would be a good thing for him to have to carry things. Please pray that we are able to find him in a place we can safely stop and reach him.

Hope all is well back home. The weather has been glorious here and seeing the kids today was such an enormous joy.

Sabbath in Honduras

2009-08-02T22:55:00.013-04:00

We were all happy to get a good night´s sleep last night after the long day of traveling. We were all up and showered in time to have pancakes at 8! YUM. I only eat pancakes here because I am certain that we get a pass on calories during mission trips. well, not a whole pass but surely a discount, right?

Off to church we went. Connie, the priest, wasn´t there but her husband Luis, a deacon, presided. The SBV crowd wasn´t there because alot of the kids have been sick. There has been a spike in H1N1 virus in Latin America so everyone is very careful. Suzy was planning to lead worship at the Chapel for them. It was Meagan´s first experience at a Honduran church and she joined right in with the rest of us, stumbling and mumbling as we all tried to paricipate in Spanish. If only they would S L O W down we might be able to say a whole line in unison. I would get random words right on the button with the rest of the congregation and then lose it on the next one. Words like miseracordia and todopodorosa tend to tangle the tongue. The best part is passing the peace when we all get up and greet everyone. It was lovely being there with our Honduran parish family.

After church we rushed back to Erika´s to change and head off to Valle of the Angels. The ride up through the mountains is so beautiful this time of year. Everything is so lush and green. Turns out Valle is hoppin´on Sundays. Hondurans flock there to eat, listen to music in the plaze, and go to church. They had a service going on while we were there. Before we went shopping we stopped at a restaurant right outside Valle. We were the only North Americans there. The food was great. The frijoles were particularly good. I hope we can go there again with the teams next year.

Shopping was great as usual. We hit my favorite store first. Believe me, all the shopkeepers were delighted to see us. You can imagine the impact the political crisis has had. My pal in the store and I had a long conversation about the situation. He went to an English speaking International school through middle school and then went to college in Houston. He, as is everyone I have met so far, is in favor of the provisional government. He did say that when Zelaya was ousted everyone was thrilled and expecting the US to support the ouster. They were so disappointed when we didn´t. ¨How come Honduras is the only Latin American coup they didn´t support?¨¨ they all wanted to know. Irony.

After dinner, Wheeler, Meagan and I started playing Oh Hell. Meagan was winning every hand. Finally, Janet came up to join us and noticed that Meagan was not following suit! She didn´t realize you had to. She was wondering why we kept playing losing cards! We got a good laugh over that and immediately ended the game!

Tomorrow is SBV. I can´t wait to get there.

Sleep well, everyone!

Cristo Redentor

Prayer request

2009-08-02T08:37:00.003-04:00

I forgot to write about a man we saw on the road yesterday on the way to Suzy´s. He was on the other side of the road from us. He has one leg, looks to be an above-knee amputee. He has no prosthetic leg and he doesn´t even have crutches. He had a long stick that he held diagonally across his body to help propel himself forward. Every once in a while he would stop and poke around with his stick, maybe looking for something he could either eat or sell for food. We were travelling very slowly because of the traffic but the other direction was moving at a normal pace. There was too much traffic going the other way to cross the road so we couldn´t get out to help in anyway. We included him in our prayers last night. Please add him to your prayer list. I hope we will see him again. I would like to provide him with crutches.

Honduras safe and sound!

2009-08-01T22:16:00.003-04:00

Saturday, Aug 1, 2009

I am sure many of you are wondering what the situation is like here given the political shenanigans. The flight was practically empty (nice for the passengers!) and the TGU airport was very quiet. I expected to see lots of military or police. Nope. I didn´t see a one. The others saw a policman directing traffic. The streets were very quiet. We drove to San Vicente to see Suzy which is about half way to SBV. We got in a traffic jam because a water main had broken. Other than that it was the same as always. No greater presence of military, no disgruntled people milling around. If you didn´t know there was a political ¨crisis¨ you would have no clue. Boy am I glad we didn´t cancel the trip!

So, back to our day. Hunter and I were dropped off at the airport by Jess and Bonnie Underwood. Thank you to Bonnie for sacrificing a sleep-in Saturday for us! At the gate we met Janet Barrow and Bonnie Scarborough from PA. The flight was uneventful and we sailed thru immigration and baggage claim. There was a joyous reunion with Wheeler! We left Hunter, David and Danilo at the airport to wait for Meagan to arrive. The girls headed off to get settled in at Erika´s and have lunch. Meagan and I are sharing room 1 downstairs - the first room I ever stayed in. Janet and Bonnie are in the next room and Hunter is in the room upstairs by Wheeler.

About 3:30, we left for a visit with Suzy and her family. She has 10 children living with her right now and, likely, more to come this week. Cesia Maria has gotten SO big and has a head full of thick curls - so adorable. AJ wasn´t there today to our disappointment. BUT - we saw evidence of AJ because Margaret and her husband Turner built a ramp from the kitchen area down to the living area in Suzy´s house. AJ learned he can wheel himself up the ramp and immediately discovered the joys of zooming DOWN the ramp -- while Suzy and the older kids were having heart attacks!

Little Evelyn is there and so dear. I had a great time giving her horse kisses on her tummy to peals of laughter. Lucy is adorable with short hair. Mari was there with her boyfriend, Kelsey and Lety hanging out with them too. Sallie and Elsa were buzzing around. They were thrilled to see Cazador (Hunter) again. Meagan looked sublime on the sofa holding Cesia.

We returned home to a typically delish dinner and had compline. We are all tired and agreed that an early night was a wonderful idea. We look forward to pancakes for breakfast (did I mention you don´t come to HN to lose weight...) Cristo Redentor, then power shopping at Valle tomorrow.

Meagan and Cesia Maria

Lucy swinging on the hammock

Hunter and Evelyn

Sanctuary

2009-04-10T23:58:00.014-04:00

“…with thanksgiving
I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for you”

Yesterday was our last day. (again I was too tired to blog) It was a joyful day. We started with the second half of our field day. Amy and Joey had us all very well organized. The children were put into 3 groups – oldest (“king size”) middle (“fun size”) and the little ones (“snack size”) We had 3 stations – tie dying, egg hunt, and the Cha Cha Slide (a fun line dance.) I was on the team with the fun size kids that included Melvin. Melvin is a precious child who is severely vision impaired. He has glasses which don’t seem to help much but, for unknown reasons, wasn’t wearing them for the egg hunt. So when we let the children loose to find the eggs, I grabbed his hand to help him. He kept repeating in this tiny little voice, “juevos, juevos, juevos…” (eggs, eggs, eggs) So we came upon the first egg nestled in the pine straw. I said, “Melvin, mire!” (Look) Melvin peered down at the ground and picked up a rock. (My heart ached at that moment.) I showed him the egg and he figured out that the bright colored blobs were eggs. We kept going, me pointing out the eggs. Several of the other children would run up periodically to check how many eggs Melvin had and would hand him one. They had been told they could find 4 eggs. Melvin ended up with 6 because it was so dear how the children were watching out for him. They were monitoring each other’s cache of eggs to make sure everyone had their 4. Dilcia wasn’t doing well so they were giving her eggs too. Fernando had found 6 and the kids scolded him. He very tearfully relinquished two. It was so sweet how generous these children are with each other.

Casey and John led the Cha Cha Slide. The kids loved dancing with the teens and started to pick up the dance right away. The funny thing was that John was using hand motions to indicate to the kids what to do since they couldn’t understand the directions in the song. The kids picked up his hand motions as part of the dance.

The tie dying was great, led by Carolyn, Anna, Bonnie, and Amy. This was a great success. The teens had twisted and rubber banded the T Shirts the night before. All the children got beautiful shirts and were so proud of them.

Meanwhile, Renee and Leonard continued to work. They were determined to finish the painting on Cottages 3 and 4 – and they did!

After lunch we all just chilled with the kids until it was time for the various ceremonies to start. At 1:45 all the teams, staff, and several of the children gathered in the courtyard to dedicate Cottage 4 to Wheeler. He thought we were gathering to wrap up the week. But..no! Oeland, from the other team, played guitar while we sang, “Lord we lift your name on high.” Then Suzy led us in a prayer of thanksgiving. Next I got up and read a Resolution expressing thanksgiving for Wheeler and Bonnie read the words on the plaque that will be mounted in Cottage 4. Suzy invited the children to say something. Daniel, Jimmy, and Julio all did. They were so dear expressing how appreciative they are for these beautiful cottages. It was wonderful.

After the dedication, we all walked up to the Chapel for a Good Friday service. I cannot begin to describe how beautiful, moving, and inspiring it was to worship in that space. We sat there facing those large (still open) windows overlooking the absolutely gorgeous scenery. This is truly God’s house. We sang “Sanctuary” – must have been written for this moment in this space. Wheeler read the psalm and I read the Passion. Suzy preached a sermon. She is always able to reach out and touch each person’s heart when she speaks. She invited people up to receive prayers. Several people went up to ask for specific prayers. Suzy would pray over the person. Two people from SC also came up and prayed over several of their team members. The Holy Spirit was powerfully present with us.

After the service, the children arrived. They put on their program, emceed by Xiomara. Xiomara is 13 years old and so poised. The little bitties came up and sang a couple of songs. Just like our services a couple of the little girls, including Jocelyn with a wide grin, belted out the songs while a few of the children stood there and stared at us! The fun size boys did a wonderful drama acting out the Good Samaritan story. It was marvelous, especially seeing Daniel as the burro on all fours carrying Julio, the Good Samaritan. Sergio was the victim and at first lay there “beaten and robbed” with a big grin suppressing giggles. When Julio came upon him and ministered to him, he lifted up Sergio and plopped him, face down, on the burro’s back. We roared! The girls danced for us, Julio sang a solo. He has a beautiful voice. The teens acted out a drama to music about the temptations in the world and how Jesus is the answer. After the drama, Reina came out and explained to all of us what we had seen. We all knew that they are all children of people who had succumbed to these temptations. It is so emotional to see them act out their own histories knowing they all have very deep faith and find joy each day from their relationship with their Savior Jesus. There were several other dances. Julio was in every one of them. He is very talented. In the midst of the dances there were technical difficulties. So Suzy invited people to come up and give their testimony. The only person who did was our own Casey. There were 60 people there, 25 of them teens from our group and the SC group. It took such courage to stand up and tell everyone about the struggles he has had with colitis and how that has helped him become closer to God. At the end, just as Xiomara was about to dismiss us, Suzy asked her to give her testimony. No words can describe this but let me try… She explained that before coming to SBV she had lived in another children’s home, not a very nice one. At age 9 she had gone to the police herself and announced she wanted to go to school but her parents wouldn’t let her. She was placed in this other home for 4 months. She didn’t explain how she moved from there to SBV but she confessed that she was unhappy when she arrived. She explained that she assumed it would be just like the other home. Of course, it isn’t and she went on to describe how her life has changed since coming to our Children’s Residential Home. The strength, courage, and faith these children have are so humbling and inspiring to us. We have much to learn from them. It is so evident that God is present here with His great love and healing power. How can I leave here again?

We had long tearful goodbyes. Maddie was crying very hard as she hugged the children for the last time. Mary was also visibly upset at the thought of leaving. On the way home, just about everyone was talking about when they would return.

An update about some of the children I have written about this week. Wheeler delivered the neck collar to Victoria for her son Adam in La Cantera. We pray this has brought him relief. Anna Karina has crutches now and has been to see a private doctor about her foot. He said the black skin where the graft is is ok, it is a scab. We are still not sure about that but at least she is able to move around the property. Tatiana is still in need of prayer. She remains in the hospital. We heard yesterday that the nail had moved backwards and was in her small intestines. Please pray very hard that she doesn’t need surgery. Jorge still needs medical care. Things move much too slowly here, especially in Holy Week. I will continue to press for him to come to the US for treatment. Please keep Jorge in your prayers.

We reluctantly leave today. Be gentle with your missioner when they return home, especially those making their first trip. Reentry into our US lives can be very difficult and jarring.

Thank you for reading this blog, for your prayers and support. Stay tuned for the next set of entries when we return to this most beautiful and sacred place.

Hasta la vista! Bendigos de Dios!

Auburn preparing the egg hunt for the little bitties (snack size)

Mary doing the Cha Cha Slide

John leading the Cha Cha Slide

Karen and Genesis

The guys

Lovely Suyapa

Melvin

and they´re off!

tie dying

Fernando and his shirt

Dedicating Cottage 4

Suzy singing a praise hymn

The ¨victim¨

The Good Samaritan and his burro

Alex and Alex

Auburn and Alexander

Alyssa and Julio

Gina hula hooping

Xiomara

Seidy

Cindy

Elias

Mirza

Bonnie and Yonibel (Jonny)

Great day

2009-04-10T00:38:00.005-04:00

Today was our last full workday. I am proud to announce that Bonnie, Renee and I finished cleaning the school and the Chapel. We couldn’t have done it, of course, without Geoff, The Chunker King. Geoff chipped off all the hardened mortar and stray concrete – a huge job. Renee became the Threshold Queen, working diligently to reveal perfectly formed thresholds in doorways that looked like nothing was there. It was particularly inspiring to see her work in her TinkerBell top and pink bandana kerchief. Adrienne, her daughter, would be so… um… horrified. Perhaps I can talk Renee into wearing it to her high school graduation. Amy also wore a TinkerBell top. I was rather plain in my Construction Barbie outfit. Next year I am buying a Dumbo top. The windows on Cottages 3 and 4 are just about done – just a little bit of ladder work to do. The laundry/kitchen building is painted with two coats, as is the playground wall. The Director’s Cottage is done except for one room which another group will paint next week. There is a cement pad in the front of the school mostly finished thanks to Philip and the St. James team. John stepped in as a caretaker in the nursery because much of the staff is off for the holidays. Everyone was really working hard really focused on getting as much done as possible.

Please keep Tatiana, age 5, in your prayers. Some people from another team were working on the furniture in the nursery and a stray nail was left behind. Tatiana swallowed the 1 inch nail. She has been in the hospital all day under observation. We hope she will be able to pass it with no pain or damage.

I was so happy to see Esly again. She was there yesterday and today helping with the children. Esly is a beautiful young woman (18) who came to LAMB after having been raped by her step father. Her daughter, Angely, was born there. She has graduated from LAMB and is now on staff. Angely still lives with us but I imagine when Esly gets a bit older and able to support herself, she will take Angely home with her. We would all support that as she has always been a good mother.

We got back to Erika’s, cleaned up and went to Cristo Redentor for Maundy Thursday service. For once the North Americans were late! We thought the service started at 6:00 but it actually started at 5:30 which means it really started about 10 minutes before we got there. The North Americans outnumbered the Hondurans this time because all 3 teams were there – 51 of us. The service was lovely and very moving, especially the foot washing. Bonnie was deeply moved by it. She and I joined the Honduran Lay Leaders in washing people’s feet. It was a real joy and privilege to be side by side by our Honduran sisters. After the service, they served an Agape dinner. Although we had dinner waiting for us at Erika’s, we had no trouble snarfing down tamales and fruit they had prepared for us. Suzy had brought Cesia Maria and Aaron Joshue. They are so cute. Cesia has grown since March and is as lovely as ever. AJ is a pistol and knows it!

Back at Erika’s, all the gr’ups (grown ups) decided to turn the tables on the teens. We rushed into the food line first, then we took “their seats” at the long dinner table. (That really rattled them!) During dinner we sang loud, obnoxious songs and bumped them as we went back for seconds. Then we ran into the living area and draped ourselves over the furniture. The look of shock was hilarious. They did not recognize themselves at all. We absolutely roared. They finally caught on and started acting like us. Admonishing us for hogging the sofas, exhorting us to be role models, and announcing our bedtime was 10:30 – no exceptions. It was a blast. A great time was had by all.

The kids are preparing for our field day part 2 tomorrow. The adults packed all the loot we bought at Giancarlo’s and Valle. I don’t know about everyone else, but I am exhausted.

This has been a truly Holy Week for all of us. Thank you to all our family, friends, and parish families for your support and prayers. I hope we can bring back some of the joy and share it with you all.

Tinkerbell Renee

Esly and Angely

Frederik and Aaron Joshue

The CLEAN Chapel!

Pig pile

Bonnie and me moving furniture in the Chapel

Karen´s feet being washed

Foot washing with Wheeler

Renee and Cesia Maria at church

Surprise!

2009-04-09T00:26:00.013-04:00

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.

Amy, Clean up Queen

Karen´s window

Leonard scraping Amy´s shoe

Joey painting the window

Casey, Mary,Alex, Maddie painting the Director´s Cottage

Lovely Carolyn painting on the ladder

Bonnie passing a cinder block thru the Chapel window to Renee

Auburn and Anna painting the wall

Surprise!

Bonnie and Wheeler dancing to Mariachi Band

Chef making papusas a mile a minute

Birthday Cake!

The photo album!

BFE and GFE (Boyfriend, Girlfriend Emeritus)

Bonnie, Wheeler, me

Wheeler´s thanksgiving prayer

A day of contrasts

2009-04-08T08:00:00.007-04:00

This is Tuesday´s blog but I am writing it early Wednesday morning. I was just too tired last night...

Yesterday was a day of contrasts and emotions. We started out in Flor del Campo visiting the school, El Cordero. El Cordero in English is called ¨God´s Littlest Lambs.¨ Their are about 220 children in preK - 5th grade and 60 in the Daycare program. The kids are off this week so we missed seeing them and their assembly. I was sad the new folks couldn´t see that. Next most of us walked to La Cantera. 4 or 5 people stayed back at the school - La Cantera is a very intense experience. Some went last year and felt that was sufficient. Others knew they wouldn´t be able to handle it. Geoff, our youngest member, stayed back and managed to lose a tooth! (It was loose already, of course.)

We walked through the entrance to La Cantera. I was a little bit nervous because we had a black garbage bag (for stealth purposes) with 6 pairs of shoes for Sonia´s children. Leonard was carrying it and we tried to shield him and the bag from view. The entrance to La Cantera often has many men loitering there. They have never bothered us but we have never had anything of value with us. I was relieved to see 2 policemen there. Holy Week is the biggest celebratory/vacation week of the year so there are alot of policemen everywhere. We got to Sonia´s house with no problems at all. Another, smaller team was with us so our crowd was about 30 people. We had to go into Sonia´s house in shifts. I am sorry to report that her mother,Iris, is not doing well at all. She has terrible respiratory problems and can hardly breathe. She needs oxygen but there isn´t money for it. Nevertheless, she was very happy to see us. Sonia was thrilled with the shoes for her children and also a picture of one of her sons, Esteven.

The kids, especially Maddie and Mary, were visibly moved by Sonia´s life and the family living quarters. Sonia is the embodiment of strength, courage, and faith. She makes 1000 tortillas a day, puts them in a basket on her head and sells them in Flor. At night she takes a treacherous route to go to school. All this is to be a role model for her children and to give them a better life. She is always so sweet to us and welcomes us into her home with open arms.

Next we went to Victoria´s house. This left most of us in tears. She has such a sad story. She has cancer with little hope of treatment. Her son, Adam - about 13, was with her. The day before he had been repairing a fence and fallen. They live on a the edge of a cliff. He badly twisted his neck. He couldn´t straighten his head and was in agony. She took him to the hospital which involves standing in line all night long. The doctor told her that he needs a neck collar, which would cost $16. He might as well have said it cost 1 million dollars. So there was this child with this head cocked to the side in visible pain. We immediately promised we would get him a collar. It was heart wrenching to visit them and they ask for our prayers. The people we meet there, even in these most desperate circumstances, always ask us for what they value the most - prayer.

We returned to El Cordero to reunite with the rest of the team. It is at this point the day takes a sharply different turn as we head off to go shopping. We loaded up the van to go to Giancarlo´s, the pewter shop. We went to the downtown location because our normal spot is closed. We all got out except for Bonnie and Karen who went with David to find a medical supply store. Happily it was open and they bought a collar for Adam and crutches for Anna Karina.

We were productive in Giancarlo´s thanks to Renee who was helping us select items for the art auction. Renee is an extremely gifted designer and has a great eye for things that are unusual but also would be likely to sell. After Giancarlo´s we went to Chili´s for lunch. I know. Odd. Our lunch plans had gotten a bit discombblulated and when the kids saw Chili´s the die was cast! It was a fun and raucous lunch.

Next stop was Valle of the Angels. Off the kids went in packs to help the Honduran economy. Several of them were delighted with their purchase of a t-shirt that proclaimed them ¨100% Gringo¨! Bonnie, Renee and I made my favorite shopkeeper´s month. I walked into the store and announced, Ïm back!¨and he jumped up and threw his arms around me! After emptying his store and hauling it all to the van, we headed towards the square in search of ice cream. Boy did that taste good! We bought a few more things along the way but were severely hampered by lack of money! Oh, well, there´s always the next trip.

Last night we gathered with the other team staying at Erika´s for an evening with Suzy, the founder of LAMB. She was wonderful as usual. She read some Scripture and share her reflection on it and then patiently answered all our questions. We sang and laughed and had a great time. Afterwards our group met for a bit of reflection of our experiences of the day and the week. Wheeler told us about the newest CAP project (Community Assitance Project that supports the extreme poor in Flor and La Cantera.) A little girl, Priscilla, has been taken in by her aunt. Priscilla was abandoned by her mother and unwanted by her father. She is blind and the size of a two year old. Priscilla is 7. We are helping her aunt care for her and, in particular, providing a diet designed to promote growth so she can catch up. They are giving her Ensure and other high calorie, high protein foods. Of course, her aunt would never be able to afford that. Wheeler reports that despite her awful experiences she smiles and seems happy. She doesn´t speak but I don´t know if she is physically unable or just hasn´t had the care and nutrition. I am certain we will hear more about Priscilla as time goes on. Please add Priscilla to your prayer list.

It was a very long, emotionally draining day so I fell into bed. Today we return to SBV for more work and time with the children we all love. Tonight is a very special night... stay tuned for more about that!

Team Picture on the soccer field at El Cordero

Giving shoes to Sonia Teens outside Sonia´s houseBonnie and Maria LouisaChurch in La Cantera

Lunch at Chili´s

Suzy

Hard work with a capital HARD!

2009-04-06T23:59:00.007-04:00

Today was our first work day and, boy, did they get their money’s worth out of us… We started the day loading several suitcases filled with sorted donations for SBV, mostly school supplies. As soon as we got to SBV we divided into teams and got our work orders. One team went to fill in the hole at the back of the laundry kitchen building to prepare for a concrete floor. This is grueling work. It involves many wheelbarrows of sand, tamping the sand, mixing concrete (truly one of the hardest things to do in the world) and starting all over again. Frederik stuck it out all day to the admiration of us all.

Another team worked on painting the exterior of Cottage 4. They got almost the entire cottage painted in one day! And…they didn’t fling paint all over the place like someone who will go unnamed did in March. (By the way, my sneakers, now Cottage 3 Yellow are so stiff I will be forced to retire them this trip.)

A third team began painting the interior of the Director’s House, which is being used for school rooms now. This is a much bigger job than it seems because they are painting raw (?) cinder blocks which suck in all the paint as soon as it is applied. One classroom is done and looks quite nice.

A fourth team, Alyssa and Anna, sanded and painted the front of the laundry building. Looks great!

The fifth and final team, my team, worked in the school. We had to clear the rooms and completely clean the floors to prep them for tiling next week. That may seem like an insignificant task but… When we first toured the school on Saturday we all assumed the floors were just dirt. Turns out, there are concrete floors under about 2 inches of accumulated dirt, dust, dried mortar, and then tons of construction debris. This was very hard work (second to the tamping) and very dusty. We all wore bandanas over our faces or face masks but still all ended up with a snootful of dust – makes for a lot of excitement when one blows one’s nose! We cleaned 4 rooms and, as Renee would say, ¨Don´t forget the hall!¨

And did I mention it is HOT here? We were all pretty wiped out at the end of the day.

One bit of news… We made an executive decision that it is absolutely critical that the cottages have flushable toilets. It is very hard to keep the bathrooms clean and sanitary. The plumbing is in place and functional but has been turned off because water has to be trucked in and is expensive. BUT – we also learned that one tanker of water a week would be sufficient to make the toilets functional. A tanker of water costs $52 a week! We quickly did the math and decided that we would commit to raising the money for this very important function. Karen B. from St. Clement’s named it the “Flush-a-bye Baby” project! We felt it was safe to commit $3000 a year to ensure the health and safety of these precious lambs.

Another concern is Anna Karina and we ask for everyone’s prayers for her. When she was 3 her foot was severely burned – third degree burns. She did not receive any treatment and her foot became more and more deformed as she grew. A month ago, she had an operation to repair the foot. It is not doing well at all. They removed some bone and tissue and did a skin graft. Karen B., a nurse, looked at it and is now doing research on the internet. It is pretty clear the skin graft isn’t taking. I don’t quite know what to do next but she took a picture of it so we can take it back to the US for a doctor to analyze. At this point, prayer is the best thing we can do. I fear she may lose her foot.

Please continue to pray for Jorge who also needs important medical treatment. Getting him to the US and arranging for surgery is our hope. He is a stellar child and deserves every chance he can get.

Tomorrow is a very different day for us, especially the new folks. We do La Cantera and Valley of the Angels. Will say more about that tomorrow night.

We are all tired, many already in bed. I am watching the Tarheels … 1:34 to go! So far so good. Billy would not approve my making assumptions about the outcome so I will simply say, “Go Heels!”

Please keep Anna Karina and Jorge in your prayers.

The reading for this morning included this verse... ¨but this one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

We continue to press on with joy and much energy...

Hasta manana!

Classroom before we cleaned it...(thing in this picture are much smaller than they appear in real life!)
Anna Karina and the quilt Anne Patrick made for her.
Alex painting the Director's House

Renee chipping mortar (mescla) off the floor
Casey painting Cottage 4
Carolyn painting the Director's House
Flaked out (Karen, Joey, Renee)
Cleaning the room -- this only hints at how dusty it is in there

Me reading Juevos Verde y Jamon (Green eggs and ham) to Elias
Lovely Bonnie getting ready for the day
Suyapa opening a gift from the Buckners

Workout Casey making a bracelet for Reina!

Constucting the new kingdom

2009-04-05T23:51:00.008-04:00

Palm Sunday at Cristo Redentor. There were 51 American mission team members (3 teams, 7 churches, 2 states, Germany represented,) the SBV children, the Honduran parish members and a visitor from Washington DC whom we met on the airplane. We started out in the courtyard and, after the blessing of the palms, we processed in waving our palms and singing (in Spanish) All Glory, Laud, and Honor. I was belting it out in English… The service was the same as every Palm Sunday service in every Episcopal or Anglican Church throughout the world. Although most of us couldn’t understand the Passion as it was read in Spanish we could all follow it. Connie preached a powerful sermon about how Jesus rode into Jerusalem and towards the cross to construct a new kingdom. It struck me that, in many ways, at SBV we are helping to construct that new kingdom for those dear children.

Casey and Renee, our two latecomers, arrived at Erika’s right in time for lunch. Both were exhausted but ready to go to SBV. We loaded the 16 ceiling fans and light kits into the vans and off we went. When we got to SBV we unloaded the fans and took a picture with all the kids. The fans will really make a difference in their bedrooms. It is really hot now with still air. The breeze and air movement will make the rooms so much more comfortable.

Today was field day with the kids. Amy organized the afternoon and a great time was had by all. There were games on the soccer field (I use that term loosely,) Frisbee, Casey dressed as a long, thin clown, making bracelets out of embroidery thread and just general fun and games. I often observe that kids are the same everywhere. Once again it proved to be true. Some of the children couldn’t wait to have their picture taken with the clown (I still can’t remember what the Spanish word is) and others were scared to death! We were trying to get a picture of a couple of the kids. The only way we were successful was by having Casey stealthily scoot closer and closer to them on the patio steps. He was behind them so they were unaware of their impending doom! Our own Auburn admitted she too is terrified of clowns. She overcame her fear by applying Casey’s clown face.

The best game was freeze tag which elicited great hilarity from Honduran children and Americans alike. This is Renee’s first visit to Honduras so I gave her a quick tour of the site. We got waylayed when we went to the nursery, though. The kids were up from their naps and ready to play. At one point, Renee had a child on each foot and was stomping around the patio with them – muchas giggles! Then, she was lying down with a whole string of children on top of her. I would lift one off and another would jump on. They are all so cute and Renee was the woman of the hour!

By 5:00 PM we were all exhausted. We arrived at Erika’s dirty, tired but very happy. After another stellar dinner, the teens flopped around in the living room while the adults spent the evening doing the dreaded sorting activity. This is truly a heinous task – hot, tiring, and really tedious. We unload bag after bag of stuff – clothes, school supplies, fabric, you name it. But after 11 of us worked like dogs we got it all bagged and tagged. Phew. We joined the teens and flopped in the living room for a short reflection time and Compline, led by Wheeler. By far the two favorite activities today were church (several teens loved it) and playing freeze tag!

Tomorrow is our first work day. I implored all the kids to go to bed early… here’s hoping!

Hope all is well there. It is beautiful but hot here. Keep us in your prayers tomorrow as we get going on the hard work. You are in ours.
Palm Sunday at Cristo Redentor
Clown Casey
Chillin´with the clown!
Making bracelets on the patio
Jocelyn!
Freeze tag
Fans of the fans!
Clown shoes!

Karen and Julio - true love
Julio and the nose
John and his girls on the slide
Rony in the playground tube
Stealth clown
Renee stompin´with the kids
The Renee Train
Mary and a gift crown from Sunday School
Yarely
Maddie and her crown

Holy Week in Honduras

2009-04-05T09:40:00.002-04:00

This is my first experience spending Holy Week here in Honduras. It is already clear it will not be the normal Holy Week. At home, this is a somber time as we move, day by day, to the foot of the cross. Here…it seems impossible to be somber. I realize everyone has a different reaction to what they see and experience here but to me, our time is about witnessing fruits of the Resurrection.

But first…Our morning started very early – 5:45 AM at St. David’s to caravan (thank you Cottage School and Lloyd, Peter, and Mike) to the airport. Until you see 28 HUGE suitcases, 28 pieces of carry on, including a guitar, you have no idea how much stuff a group can haul around! Several of the suitcases contained ceiling fans (thank you Steve and the great folks at Progressive Lighting!) There had been many groans and complaints about the early hour. After we whisked through checking in and seeing the endless line of people waiting we all saw the wisdom of our early start. By the time we got to the gate, Philip had awakened enough to zip tie Carolyn’s backpack to the chairs. Um… no one has scissors, knives, etc to cut the zip tie on that side of security. While the grown ups puzzled over how to liberate the backpack, Carolyn, Mary, and Maddie found a policeman to help. He was very accommodating, especially when we all fingered the guilty party! Philip turned beet red as the policeman called him over. He received a stern “warning” with threat of intense interrogation if it happened again. (Not to worry, Hollie and Steve, the policeman was enjoying this as much as we were…)

The flight was comfortable, full, and uneventful. While we were waiting in the very slowly moving immigration line we suddenly heard a loud THUMP. Anna was on the floor! She had brilliant idea to sit on her roller bag forgetting about the roller part. As she sat, the wheels moved and WHUMP down she went. Auburn, in a display of Christian charity, immediately doubled over laughing! Getting through customs was no problem, although they did pick one of bags to inspect – the one with 93 beanie babies! “Por los huelfanos” (for the orphans) I piously said. They cooed over how cute the beanie babies were and sent me on my way.

After a quick lunch at Erika’s, we headed off to San Buenaventura. The people who hadn’t been there since last year were amazed at the changes. I was here 3 weeks ago and I was amazed at the progress too! The school roof is on, doors installed and window frames in. Toyita and Abel’s house, where the teenaged girls are living has been painted.We had a wonderful time playing with the children. The new folks are already in love with them. I will let some of the pictures speak for themselves.

We returned to Erika’s – a full house this time. There is another group of 21 (15 teens) here from S. Carolina. They are eating on the patio where we normally eat and we are eating in the lower courtyard. Right now, we are all hanging around the living room while Philip is playing guitar. We did a quick icebreaker led by Amy and then Compline.

So back to Holy Week here. Each day is filled with such joy, hope and triumph over the most horrific situations. In March, the teenaged girls at SBV eloquently communicated in a drama they wrote and performed for us that we must all put the past behind us...be thankful for our blessings...and trust in God. That is what we see and fall in love with here. The Lord is risen indeed!

Everyone is pretty tired,especially poor Fredrick who flew into Atlanta last night from Germany... Hasta la vista!Auburn and DilciaAnna with Dulce and Suyapa Amy and one of the precious nursery boys.Maddie and the kidsCool Cindy!Frederik and MiliedyTeens by the chapel (minus John who was looking for Cindy)Mary and Dunia John, his girl Cindy, and the kids
Me with Astrid, Reina, Paty, and Elias

Va con Dios (go with God)

2009-03-13T20:27:00.011-04:00

Friday...
I can´t believe today was our last day. On one hand it came so fast, on the other, my life back in the US is a vague memory. (I do remember I have two sons and a cat at least...) Part of the team went to Flor again. Leamarie spent the day working with the teachers there. (I haven´t seen her yet to tell her this but one of the boys spoke during the program the children put on for us at SBV and thanked her for teaching them math!) Margot, Jan K, Dorita and Julio spent the day with the La Cantera ladies. They had a wonderful day at a park up in the mountains. The ladies played and laughed which was a real treat for them

The rest of us went to SBV to finish painting Cottage 3. Remember yesterday when a little girl stepped in Minta´s yellow paint? Well, I poured yellow paint all over my right foot while trying to fill my paint pan. I am no longer allowed to do that. We got almost all of the cottage painted. There is just a little left for the next team to do. There is an outhouse triplex and the one on the far right is reserved for the teams. The children use the other two. Nuff said. So the other day the children were lined up to walk to the local store, called a pulperia. It sounds like pu-per-ia. Keith and I were standing there when the teacher asked me if we wanted to go. I turned to Keith and asked if he wanted to go to the pulperia with the kids. He looked at me in horror, NO! It turns out he thought pulperia meant bathroom! So, from that point on, our private bano was called the ¨Pooperia¨ Minta painted the name on the door today.

While we were painting, I happened upon a truly adorable sight. It was bath day for the little bitty girls. Their caretaker puts them in what we use as a storage bin filled with cold water. In they go to be rubbed and scrubbed. I walked in their room and there were 8 naked tiny girls playing until they were dressed by their caretaker. They could not have been cuter. The tiny boys were sound asleep in their cribs. As the mother of boys, it filled my heart to see these precious lambs sound asleep.

Great news for the St. Aidan´s folks! The windows for Cottage 3 arrived and are being installed! Thanks so much to the St. Aidan´s parish family for this wonderful gift.

The children put on a program for us. They sang some songs with great gusto. The teenagers put on two dramas. They were amazing. In the first one, Reina and Xiomara acted out the abuse so many of the children suffered before coming to SBV. The emotion on their faces revealed they were reenacting their own experiences. Then Paty, dressed as Jesus, came in and rescued Xiomara, the abused child in the story. Reina then explained the drama to us saying that they had all left their horrible pasts behind them and now look forward to a bright future because of the power of God´s love. Needless to say, there wasn´t a dry American eye in the house. Suyapa, a 9 year old girl, tearfully gave us her testimony. She described her life before coming to LAMB. She had no food, had to beg to get anything to eat, and had no place to sleep. Now she has all these things and so much more. She is Anne´s sponsored child. Anne was a puddle. These children are so eloquent in expressing how a life can be changed through the love of God and the people who serve Him. I feel so humbled by them all. Their strength and resiliency despite all they have suffered is truly an inspiration.

Tonight, our last night as a team, we had dinner and then celebrated Eucharist with Keith and Julio as celebrants. Our wine was sparkling grape juice! (Christians do not drink alcohol because alcoholism is a problem here. This was the wine Erika bought us to use!) Suzy and the head of the LAMB guest house joined us. It was very moving to share this with everyone. This is a very special place filled with unbelievable people. I feel so blessed that I am returning in April. My hope for all readers of this blog is that someday you have an experience as wonderful and miraculous as this.

Thank you for supporting us, praying for us, and following our antics this week.

Demos gracias a Dios! Thanks be to God!

Little Tatiana and Jocelyn
The children singing to us
Anne Suyapa and her brother Carlos
Our Pooperia!
Jocelyn and me - she is so precious. Always has a huge smile on her face.
Bill painting - no spot too obscure to paint for him!
Windows in Cottage 3!
Marie and Karen painting the green room.
Suyapa giving her testimony with Suzy translating
Roofing the school. The worker is standing on the beam with no scaffolding or any other safety net. Where is OSHA when you need them?
Precious lamb

Girls Night Out

2009-03-13T00:04:00.004-04:00

Today was a great day for everyone! I had the great joy of observing Leamarie teach children and lead a teacher workshop. She asked me to take pictures so I was able to see her in action. She is the quintessential teacher, ably assisted by Jan G translating. It was great to see how excited and engaged the teachers were as she was demonstrating teaching techniques and materials. What a gift she is to those teachers.

Most of us painted the living room, hallway and kitchen area in cottage 3. We had to so some sanding first of course. We have gotten much better at it so got that entire space done before lunch. We started the day, however, with another conga line. Al and Keith were at the front of the line getting the blocks from the pile to pass down the line. They kept count. Monday we passed 300 cinder blocks down the line, today a mere 200. While we were doing that a new (I think he is new) staff member, Juan, came up. He is responsible for the agricultural efforts at SBV. They are trying to get a farm started, they are raising chickens and goats, and they want to have a greenhouse. It turns out that Minta is a master gardener. Suddenly the two of them took off all over the property, Minta furiously taking notes about all the things she is going to research when she gets home. She has ziploc bags of rock and soil samples to have analyzed. It was hard to tell who was more excited, Juan or Minta. It was clear to all of us that this is why God brought her to Honduras at this particular time!

Speaking of Minta... she was working in the little girls room (aka the Pepto room) painting the trim yellow. While she was concentrating on painting it just so, one of the little girls stepped in the bowl of paint! She had paint up over her ankle! Then she took her foot out and started walking! Minta scooped her up and rushed her to the kitchen to get cleaned up. The saintly men cleaned up the mess for her. We all got a good laugh. My only regret is that I didn´t have my camera at the ready to snap a picture of a wild eyed Minta and a yellow footed but serene child rushing by!

We left SBV a bit early so we could quickly shower and eat an early dinner. We had to get to the school at Flor for Girls Night Out. Margot, Anne, Jan K, and Dorita spent all day there again. They worked with the La Cantera ladies all day sewing and having a spa day - washing and styling their hair and helping them with makeup. Then they transformed the upper playground (a concrete soccer field) into a beautiful dining room. The tables were beautifully decorated. Our first task was to light the tealights on the tables. Last year the tealights were blown out by the constant breeze as soon as we lit them. This year, they innovated and floated them in small plastic cups with colored water. Brilliant idea... but... they were blown out almost as fast. Keith and John spent a considerable amount of time engineering a method to keep them lit for a least a while. The ladies arrived, all looking lovely. They were not the slightest bit concerned about the tealights because everything was so lovely. Margot, Anne, Jan K, and Dorita joined their guests at the table as we served them a delicious dinner of rice, chicken, and vegetables. There was a tiny glitch in that we also served their drinks which had been poured and conveniently covered in foil. After we got them all delivered we discovered it was jello for dessert! Oops. Find the cups, ice, and soft drinks. Start again. Soon everyone had something to drink AND jello! Bill was seranading the ladies with his beautiful voice and guitar. John soon joined him to provide harmony. Later Anne made it a trio and then one of the Honduran women made it a quartet! Wheeler and Karen were the floor show, cutting the rug with their dancing!

The ladies from La Cantera are so gracious and lovely. They were having such a great time. This is the second annual Girls Night Out which, I suspect, will go on for many years. These women deal with unbelieveable challenges under the worst conditions imaginable. Still, they could not have been sweeter. It is a real honor to serve them. Marie told me this was the best part of the week for her. She has a real heart for this kind of work.

I was able to get the shoe sizes of Sonia´s 5 children. Shoes all around in April!

Suzy recounted a funny conversation she overheard her third graders have. One said, "Suzy invented the Children´s Home." Another said scornfully, "No. She is the BOSS of the Children´s Home." "No," piped up a third, "she owns the Children´s Home." Suzy laughed and explained that she didn´t invent it, isn´t the boss, and doesn´t own it. "Well, you made up the name of it!" Suzy agreed with that.

Tomorrow is our last day. We all have heavy hearts thinking about saying good bye to the people we love. The SBV children will put on a program for us. The teenaged girls have been practicing a "drama" for us!

Hope all is well there. Hasta la vista!
Leamarie and the teachers
Leamarie teaching 2nd grade
Girls Night Out
Wheeler and two of the ladies. I think the one on the right has a crush!
Wheeler and Karen dancing
Sonia -the picture doesn´t do her justice. She is beautiful
The famous Girls Night Out singers