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

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

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

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!

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

“…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

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