I'm at that place in the trip where I don't know what to say. Have you ever been there? Have you ever experienced something so wonderful and yet so taxing that you can't begin to describe it? If you have, then you know how I feel right now.
I'm at Cafe El Gringo now, drinking a "sombra" (fruit smoothie). Libby says the brownie here is to die for and that I have to have one before we leave.
We're taking Sunday as sort of a Sabbath today. We've pushed hard for many days now and we're starting to feel it. So far we've completed 4 houses by ourselves. Our Mitchell/Washington Crew can really knock out a house! For those of you in Washington, you would not believe what Drew, Elmer, and Steven can do when they set their minds to it. Add B.A. from Mitchell and you've got 4 large men who dwarf all the Hondurans. Those 4 guys have been working their tales off and garnering a lot of respect from many different peoples.
Don't let my comments fool you, the ladies in our group are no slouches either! Midge sure can sharpen a chainsaw. Laura Barlow is a beast at anything she does. Jalayna and Libby's biceps have grown 4 inches from pounding who knows how many nails. Teresa is a marvel with the kids and is a great nurse for us on the trip. While we've had no major injuries, we've had some blisters, smashed fingers, scrapes and the like that have made us grateful for Teresa.
Something exciting that we experienced was the spending of two days and nights in Guajire. Mitchell COC has been working hard over the years to develop relationships in this little village. It's hard to describe Guajire. Ox carts, huts, and a plethora of mosquitoes were some of the distinguishing characteristics. We stayed the night in the church buildings and classrooms. Before you begin equating this to the 5 star church buildings that we worship in today, let me tell you that the Mitchell group built this box building a year ago. We locked ourselves in and between the roosters crowing and dogs barking our group of about 25 people put in a few zzz's. Allen and I were blessed to sleep at the door of the girls cabin since we don't snore. What was also interesting is that the closest porcelain to the church building was about 5 minutes walk away, which really made the trip exciting for the girls. Oh yeah, there wasn't running water or electricity in this area so I gained a lot of respect for the ladies who toughed that one out. We were the first missions group to ever "camp out" with the locals. As we were staring at the estrayas (stars) and the shooting stars at night, we felt very connected to you at home, knowing that you were possibly looking out at the very same stars as us.
Today is definitely a mixed emotion day. Our compadres from Baton Rouge left us this morning, which has left a void that's tough to fill. They are one exciting and fun youth group that we look forward to connecting to back in the States.
Church service with the Hondurans was a challenge as it was all in Spanish! I think even Allen Burris may have dozed off a little bit. Is it worse when a preacher falls asleep during a sermon? The Ojohana Church of Christ was very grateful for our presence and there was a lot of gratitude and welcoming attitude displayed. Ricardo preached his sermon today on the nature of the heart when giving coming primarily out of 1 Corinthians 16. It was a lot of fun to have so much in common with people whose lifestyles, language, and traditions are so different from ours! Yet we've found that the bonds of Christian love stretch well beyond these boundaries.
I thank you so much for reading this and praying for us. We ask that you continue to pray for us. We've still got 1 more house to go and a lot of other good work to do. Please pray for our safety and for openness in the people so that we can share about Christ in words as well as in action. Everyone here says "Hi." We look forward to our time with all of you soon.
Presentation and Prayer for Rosa's new home. Steven is about to hang the plaque.
House construction. Steven looks to be one of the locals he's so dark!
Guys working on the house!
Our group before we walked to a waterfall!
I would like to upload so many more photos, but it takes so long. I want to put up more of the Mitchell group as well. I'll work on more for tomorrow!
We had a successful day today as we finished off all the three houses we started yesterday. Families were so grateful and praising the name of God! (In Spanish of course!).
We're learning a lot of Spanish here being immersed in the culture. Believe it or not, Steven and Elmer have started speaking simple phrases to me in Spanish rather than English. (Muy Bueno) It's been so fun!
Every day we have had a different fruit of the spirit to focus on. We begin thinking about it during the day and wrap every evening devotional up with a thought on it. Today was focusing on and increasing the "Goodness" in our lives and in the lives in the Hondurans.
To catch you up on things we've done, We've visited the city in the dump, a children's home for the blind, a children's home for the homeless, some really rural communities, and some in the middle of the city (Ask Steven, Drew, and Elmer about the drive to that one!) We've built 4 houses since being here. Not much of a break, but it's been great! I'm going to include a few pictures for you now from Day 2 and Day 3 of our trip.
Ok, I take that back, I can't put up any pictures where I am, I spent all 18 minutes trying to upload one picture! I'll try hard to get some time in the city where the internet is stronger soon. We love you all and miss you! See you soon!
Hola from Honduras! Report 1!
Wow what a culture difference!
Things are so different here some in good ways, some in bad. From driving, dress styles, and food it is so very different. And yet some things are the same as well. A smile, and hand shake, and a hug can still convey so much needed communication that we are still very effective in our mission.
We apologize for not being able to communicate with you more. We have a lack of internet connection at our compound and in most of the places we work. Right now I'm sitting in a PopEye's Chicken restaurant sending you this message!
This day was great as we bonded together more with friends from Mitchell and met our accompanying group from Baton Rouge Lousiana. The airplane landing was something else! We cheered for our pilot when it was all said and done!
Did you know that running, working, and playing at a high altitude is tough? I ran 3 miles at 6:30am and thought I wasn't gonna make it! If you guys didn't know we're way up in the mountains. About the same height as the top of the Smokeys in Tennessee. Amazing part of the day? We built a 3 bedroom has for a family of 6 in about 4.5 hours! It was 18x18 feet, so the whole thing was smaller than some of our bedrooms in America. During the build we took time to make balloon animals, color, and sing "Jesus Loves Me" in Spanish with the locals. While very difficult and taxing, it was wonderful!
We visited the Dump today, or rather the city in the Dump. In a few minutes we're heading to the school of the blind. I'll have to write more later because I'm almost out of time, but wow, what a shocker. I have never heard of the poorest in America living and surviving like these people do. There's a whole city in the dump itself.
We're all doing well, and we feel very confident that God is using us to share and spread good things. I will share more later in the week when I have a little more time with the internet!
"Dios le benigdad!" means "God bless you!"
The view was tremendous as we flew into our Texas airport. We've landed safely in Houston.
But before we left Indiana we ran into some stragglers!
Now, after a great meal at Ruby's Diner we're waiting out the tail end of our layover together.
We just met up with our "quince" Casey Marshall! She came in on a different flight. Our group is complete!
Oh, and by the way, check out the new hat styles in Houston!
Pre-Honduras Trip - Who are we?
At 1:30am on Sunday July 8th, the 2012 Honduras Missions team from Washington Church of Christ will embark on a journey that will take them through 10 days, much sweat, many tears, and beaming smiles. As we join our brothers and sisters from Mitchell Church of Christ, let us join hands in unity is sharing the love and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
Thanks to our God who, through our church family especially, has given us so much support!
We're being led by our fearless leader, elder, and friend, Drew Myers. I believe this is Drew's third trip to Honduras. He brings a wealth of experience, wisdom, and handy talent to this crew.
Christopher Wiles has been overseas on missions going through Russia, England, and Germany. This is his first trip to a Central American country.