Honduras - Day 6

Today is our last day in Honduras. We went to the Valley of Angels to do some street shopping. It was fun. We ate at an outdoor restaurant and Shelley, our host, ordered fish. The plate came and the whole fish, tail and head and eyes laid across her plate. I had a shrimp and rice that was to die for. Our drivers never sit with us and most of the time sit outside what ever building we are all in. Melvin and Jose. They are wonderful and so faithful. They treat us like royalty.

It was interesting to go to some of the different places around the city and then into the country side. The mountains are amazingly beautiful. There are some signs of a middle class trying to emerge but for the most part, there is the rich and then the poor. You see them everywhere. You will drive by some incredible mansion with high walls, barbed wire and guards and just down the road will be some shacks with dirt floors, tin roof and wash bins in front. Megote is the poorest of the poor. That is where we spend our days and where the mission is. This morning was our last morning to be at the mission and play with the children. I could not wait to see Kimberlyn (correct spelling of her name) and tell her I had worked it out with Senora Shelley to sponsor her. When I got to the mission, she was waiting for me at the gate. I got out of the van and she hugged me. She had a paper in her hand. It was lined school paper folded into a little make-shift envelope and glued at each end. On the front of the little envelope were the words, "Te quiero mucho" ( I love you very much) I already began to cry and hugged her. I opened the envelope to read another little note in Spanish full of love and a picture she drew for me. It was such a joy when Senora Shelley told her I wanted to sponsor her. Kimberlyn is very quiet. I don't hear her voice very often. It was nice to hear her voice when she was answering Senora Shelley the questions she was asking. Senora told her that back in the states I had to work very hard for my money and if I wanted to share it with her so that she could go to a good school and have food and clothes, was she willing to do her part to work hard in school? Kimberlyn said, " I will work very hard". We smiled at each other and gave lots of hugs. As you can imagine, there were many tears from the whole team as we got into the vans to leave. Kimberlyn kept hugging me and her eye filled with tears. I told her, "No mas manana." (No more tomorrow) She knew I was not coming back the next day, that is why she wrote the note. I told her I would be back though. And I will. I plan to bring whoever wants to come and engage in a life change by serving the Lord and being the hands and feet and heart and arms and eyes.....of Jesus.

Honduras - Day 5

The picture is of us delivering food to the houses on the mountain. Wet, clay like dirt hills. Very steep. Some slipped and fell on their bottoms on the way down.

A quieter morning. Wes found an app on my phone that will translate English into Spanish. It has been helpful. I will get out the Roseta Stone Spanish lessons I ordered three years ago and start learning as soon as I get home. I DO plan on coming back to Honduras.

This morning five of the team left to go home early. Four of them were the Pastor and his family from THE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH in Austin. The pastor is Donny. What a funny, funny guy. We call him Rodrigo for fun because he knows NO Spanish. Everything has an EL at the beginning of a sentence or an O at the end and he just hopes the people understand him. His sweet wife, Christina, use to be youth leaders before he became pastor of the church where they are now. He and his wife are great with all the kids here. The other person that left today is Tina. She was my roommate and is from Oklahoma. She is head of the technology department at the University of Oklahoma. What a great roommate to have! She is who showed me how to get the pictures to you all. She and I had our tears this morning!! The five had to get back to the states but the rest of us are here till Sunday.

At the mission this morning, we all played with the kids in the street our front of the mission. There is always a guard with a gun there and he watches every move. He is friendly to us but very firm with who can and cannot come into the mission. I will be buying a hand made leather purse from the ladies that do leather work here. They will make them how every you want them and all the money goes to them. That is great because that is how they support their families. Watching how these people live make us appreciative to live in the states but also so aware of the waste of so much stuff we accumulate. I talked with Shelly, the head of the mission, about supporting Kimberly. She is going to track down her family tomorrow morning and bring them to the mission to tell them of the support for her. I cannot wait to tell Kinberly. All the people at the mission says she is a sweet girl but her mother has not shown interest in getting education for her. That is usually their only ticket out of Magote. I worry about Kimberly as the gangs are bad in Magote and one mother's two daughters were shot and killed in front of her house during gang violence. Please pray for Kimberly and her family.

After the mission we left for the pewter factory. I was amazed!!!! It is awesome. To watch the pouring, casting and hand polishing of the pewter was so interesting. Then to go into the store was even more amazing. It is full of beautiful pewter dishes, crosses, candle holders, jewelry, ect. There money exchange is one of our dollars to 10 of theirs. So.....I could buy a beautiful dish or hand polished pewter that was marked 200 limps and pay $10. It is scary to see a bill for 2,350 limps. But.......When you do the exchange, not so bad.

The we went to the big city mall for lunch. All our fast food places were represented there. At every doorway and inside the mall are guards with BIG guns. Not little hand guns. BIG guns. Shot guns kind of guns. Even our drivers carry guns. Barbed wire is at the top of each building and you see guards with guns at the dirve up lanes for the banks. Another world....

We came back to the hotel for some downtime. We will have three hours before we go to dinner. Man, they eat a lot and often here. I am feeling like a blimp! The problem is is that it is all sooooo good. At the mall, one of the other team members and I had a big salad. We both needed vegies. As we were eating the salad, we realized the lettuce was washed and still wet. YOU DO NO DRINK THE WATER HERE!!!! Even brushing our teeth, we use bottled water. Taking a show.....You need to keep your mouth shut and not drink any of the shower water. So.....We were concerned about the lettuce. Well.....If you don't see either of us coming home with the team, you may know why. We will be suffering from Montezuma Revenge.

Back at the hotel Wes and I got to talk to and see Elizabeth, Tripp and Tate on Google View. We warned them that they better have the washing machine ready to do a lot of work or be ready to burn clothes. We are running out of clean ones.

Tonight we will go to dinner as a group and then back to the hotel for devotions. We have as a group each morning and evening. It is wonderful because each person takes a turn. The devotions are to be about what God is showing them while here in Honduras. We are all learning so much and our lives are being changed forever. I never thought I would say this but I am going to start a Face Book account just to for future Honduras trips.

Blessings to all of you! I feel like Moses coming off the mountain. There are no words to express our experience here.

Honduras - Day 4

We all arrived at the mission in the morning knowing it would be a very full day. All the rice, corn and pasta we packed the days before were to be delivered throughout the colonia. In the colonia we were delivering to today, there are about 10,000 people. We cold deliver to only about 400. We walked the dirt roads and Jose', one of the men that works for the mission, would call out to the families to come to their doors for food. It was mostly women, grandmothers and children. It was sad and wonderful at the same time. The faces on the people were mostly smiles. We would say, "God Bless you" in Spanish and deliver the food to their door ways. A number of the local children wanted to help us so we let them carry some of the bags too. My little Kimberly, (it is Kimberly) walked with me and helped carry the bags with me. We walked up the side of the mountain and through the village area. It took all morning. We were hot,tired, sweaty and thirsty by the time we got back to the mission. It was soooo worth it. What a joy!!

We return in time for lunch. Every day...Rice, beans, tortillas, meat, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, fruit and cookies. We are stuffed and fattening up everyday. It is all so good and fresh. The picture I am sending you is of Francis. She is the head person in the kitchen at the mission. We all love her. The kitchen women are the sweetest, happiest people. There is Norma, Betty and Francis. I have learn to cook beans, rice and salsa like they do. Yum!!!

After lunch we all went to the house blessing for Luis. He has worked for Senor Ron for about three years. He has learned how to build houses from Ron ( mission head) and the church I came with has given the money to have a house built for Luis and his family to live in. This is the 190th house Luis has built. Our team helped him to build it, furnish it and bring tress and bedding for him and his family. It was a celebration full of tears for all of us.

After the blessing of Luis' house, four of us women joined the ladies Bible study back at the mission. There were 37 ladies with children and babies. The songs and prayers were wonderful.

After the Bible study we went back to the hotel for showers so we could go to Ron and Shelly's home up on another hill, for dinner. When we all got to our rooms, we realized the hotel had no hot water. We all had to take cold showers. I think our team got ready to hit the vans faster that any other day. Man that was a cold shower. A pipe broke on or floor so the whole floor was not getting hot water. After spending the past four days in Magote, the poorest part of Honduras, we could not complain. We were grateful for the water, which is not easy for the Magote colonias to come by.

The big problem is that we don't want to leave these people. We have come to love them and they have blessed us so much more than we could bless them. God is so Good!!

I wish you all could be here. Truly! It is life changing!!

Honduras - Day 3

Sending a picture of Kimerly. I think she is 8. I am looking into sponsoring her.    Each day is amazing!! So many stories; funny, sad, interesting and most of all....great God stories!  Can't wait to share but it would be impossible to explain to you all I see and have learned here.

Blessings on you all!

Honduras - Day 2

Hope you got the one picture I sent. Will need to get more on my phone tomorrow. Can't get them off my camera. The cord is not working.

Today was even more wonderful. We bagged five pound bags of corn and rice yesterday and today we bagged (in one plastic bag) two pound of spaghetti, a small container of tomato paste, a two pound bag of sugar and one stick of butter. The people make spaghetti sauce out of tomato paste, butter and mayonnaise. On Thursday we will go up and down the dirt roads and call out to the people. When they meet us at their doors, we will give them one of each bags of food. (Corn, rice and spaghetti) This happens every Thursday. The feeding of the children happens Monday thru Friday. The mission cooks for the school children each day and some of the local moms come help to cook. Today we met a number of the moms that go to the Bible study at the mission. We were in the streets playing with the children when Bible study let out. The mothers were wonderful. We have a few on our mission trip that can speak Spanish so the helped to interpret. The mothers wanted to know all about us. We communicated the best we could about how many children we had and the ages. Many of the women in the colonia have six to 12 children. Even as poor as they are, they seemed pretty happy. Two mothers sat next to me on a short wall, nursing their babies while pointing out which children were their's in the street. We laughed and talked and I showed them pictures of my family from my cell phone. They thought all my daughters were beautiful and my sons, handsome. I showed them pictures of the snow and they could not imagine what it was like to live in snow. The climate in Honduras is pretty much the same all year long. Tropical. We get a little sweaty by not too bad.

We had a great lunch again and I am learning all kinds of great foods to make. Then a few of us ladies hung out at the leather workshop where two women make purses and ladies leather goods to sell. The work is amazing. We walked through the colonia to see the house that our team is building for one of the mission workers. It can hold up to nine family members. A bunch of big rocks are placed to fill a squared area of about 12x16 feet. Cement is poured over the rocks to make a foundation. The framing goes up, the drywall, framed windows (no glass) and a door. A gutter is put on the house to catch water from the rain. A PCP pipe runs from the gutter and drains the water into the Pela. (Water storage) A big, square cement box. From this they use the water to wash clothes, take baths, do dishes, etc. They do not drink it. Drinking water is more expensive than pop or soda so they buy and drink mostly soda. You can imagine the teeth. Beans, tortillas, rice, spaghetti and what little meat they get is their diet. The homes may have dirt floors and one room for many but the children are clean when they go to school and have clean clothes and hair done. The people take pride in themselves. Can you imagine your whole house being a 12x16 one room? I tried to take pictures from a Realtor perspective but the onle exciting pictures was of the guys putting in the outhouse.

My little Kimerly (not Kimberly) showed up to play again and looked for me. I think she is eight. We played the whole time (2:30 -4:00) and I am getting very good at the clapping games and songs. As we go faster, Kimerly wins every time as I make mistakes. She laughs and set my hands back up into position to play again. We gave the kids bubbles (baboosa) sp? today and my little miss Kimerly did not want to share. I told her I could not play the clapping game with her if she did not share the baboosa. So........She held the bubbles but walked around and let the little ones blow the bubbles from the ring. She would share but not let go of the bottle. When it was time to go, she did not want me to leave. She practices my name over and over and says in Spanish, "you come tomorrow"? Soon there will not be another "tomorrow" and I already am sad to know that day will come. This is not easy but what an amazing blessing. These people have so much more than we in the states do. We have busy lives full of "stuff". They have rich relationships and community and have to depend on God. We take HIM for granted.

I learn so much from them.

Till "tomorrow".  Love you all

Honduras - Day 1

Well....It is the end of day one. There is so much to take in and to talk about that there just isn't enough time.

We all ate at the hotel and then loaded up in the vans for the hour drive from the city to Mogote. That is where the mission is. We were all given assignments or the day. I was to help walk the streets with a team of eight, giving food to just the children. The food consisted of one tortilla per child, filled with an ice cream scoop of spaghetti and a chewable vitamin. We had our mission kids give the vitamins. Two of the local area men that live in the area and work for the mission, (Mario and Jacob) carried the big pot of spaghetti and we helped pass out the tortillas. We would walk the broken up dirt roads and stop and different corners. Mario would yell out in Spanish that we were there with the food. From up and down each road little children would come out of shacks with plastic bowel or tin bowls. A scoop of spaghetti and one tortilla was put in their dish and they were told to open their mouth so our children could put a vitamin in their mouth. Some of the children would bring two dishes to get food for other children in the family. Street after street, shack after shack, we walked all over the colonial. That is what each area is called. There are 30 colonials in the area of the mission. Some of the people have electricity. Many have a Pela ( a cement or metal water station. Water gets delivered there from a truck three times a week. Some of the children were so little they were just walking and were brought to us for food by an older sister or brother. Dirty, many shoeless with mommies standing in door ways waiting their return. I fell in love with them all.

We went back to the mission and the secured area and helped in the kitchen. I helped to slice plantains (bananas) and put them in oil to fry. All t00he food is made fresh every meal. The women that work in the kitchen had all of us helping to chop, clean, cook and set tables. The food was wonderful.

We helped with the little children in school (about 50 four and five year- olds) and then went down stairs to see the 60 to 80 children that are tutored after school hours. We spent much of the afternoon fillind 5 lb bags full of corn, rice and spaghetti and tying them off. We will finish tomorrow and then deliver them through out the homes on Thursday. There will be about 350-400 bags to deliver.

Most of our men folk left to build a home to a man and his family. The homes for a family of 6-10 people is about the size of a bedroom. They all live there and if they are fortunate, they can save enough money to have a concrete floor instead of dirt.

After we were done with all the work, the mission gates were open by the two men that stand guard, (with guns) and we brought out jump ropes and soccer balls to the streets. The children all slowly started coming to join us. I connected with a little girl named Kimberly and she taught me a number of patty-cake songs and how to do the clapping to the song. We swirled around, played "who can push who off a cement block" and she smiled and let me take pictures of her. I think she is about 8 or 9. When we had to load up the into the vans to go back to the hotel at the end of the day, she stood by my window and we continued to play the patty-cake game through the window. She and I both said monyada (SP) meaning we would see each other tomorrow and play again. As we drove away, she ran after the van waving. I would love to bring her home with me.

We were all filthy when we got back and sweaty and went to rooms to take a shower. Met for dinner and talked about all our experiences. What an amazing day!

The poverty is unbelievable. The spirits are beautiful!

Love to all! Who coming with me next years???

Honduras - Arrival Day

We are here!!!! Wow! Words cannot describe. The area where the mission is is in such a poor and tough area. You need 4 wheel drive to make it on the roads. Little shops are all through the village selling fruit, shoes, beans. I will take pictures and send them. I think only they can really paint the picture. The mission has barbed wire all around the top for security.

There are two security people that carry a hand gun and a rifle. They are locals that are paid to protect the mission. The elementary school looks like a deserted building. The houses are old shacks with water holding tanks, if the people can afford to buy one and out houses. The drivers are crazy, like in Korea. Death is common among the village due to poor health and no one having money for care. There are very dangerous areas around us and we are warned to stay together and only in secure areas. What another world. There is a big statue of Jesus on the hill that has a light on it at night. The safest thing for the people to drink is Coca Cola and there is a huge sign on the hill, just under Jesus that advertises the drink.

What a place to love the people. I am so looking forward to doing so starting in the morning.

Got a little ahead of myself.

We arrived at the airport, went through customs and then out front to get into the vans waiting for us. There are 22 of us. About 8 are children that have come with their parents. Two or three are 13 years old. The others are from 8 to 12. As soon as we walked out of the airport, there was a young girl with a sign asking for money. I could not read the sign since it was in Spainish but realized the girl was deaf. Can you imagine!!! So.....I asked her her name in sign and it was all over from there. She clung to me and continued to follow me and sign. I go to a Spainish speaking country and run into a deaf girl . Amazingly enough.....We could communicate.

After going to the mission, we all went out to eat with our host family. We are now at the hotel and going down to the lobby for devotions. We will get started early in the morning at the mission and prepare to walk through the village serving food. Will check in tomorrow.

Love you all - I want to bring home all these people. So sad.