Preparing for Trip #7 to Honduras!

In a matter of days, Jason and I leave for Honduras! I'm excited, but I haven't even started to think about packing. To be honest, I have bags in the closet of the things I normally take to Honduras. There's a zip lock in the bathroom with Imodium, Tums, bug spray, spray sun block, allergy medicine, band-aids, chapstick, etc. I also have a supply of large zip-lock bags in the bathroom for other items. My summer clothes all in one place, so those are ready to be rolled up and packed into 2-gallon zip lock bags. I just grab and go, it's like packing to go see my Florida parents.

However, this trip is like no other trip we've ever taken. We booked our own plane tickets, we booked our own hotel (actually, bed & breakfast), and other than the trips to go see our sponsor children, we'll be planning what we do each day in San Pedro Sula. Honduras has become like a second home to me and I'm so excited to do more exploring this time, instead of being part of a trip that's pre-planned by someone else. We have two friends coming with us, whom I met on my last trip to Honduras last October. Martin is from Pennsacola, Florida, and Chris is from Chicago. We're meeting in Atlanta and then flying into San Pedro Sula together. (They're also staying at the bed & breakfast.)

The first full day we're there, we'll meet Jason's sponsor child, Henry Enok, for the first time. He's six years old and we may be his first sponsors. We're already picking out toy cars for him. We'll take him and his family to lunch and then go to a mall that hopefully has an arcade where we can play for the afternoon. He's at HO-329, where we were last October. Martin and Chris are coming with us and we're hoping to see some of the other children who grabbed our hearts 6 months ago. (I have a balloon pump and balloons for Bayron.)

After we leave HO-329, we'll take a quick trip to HO-372 to see a well in progress. Not just any well, but a well that the team from our October trip, along with our churches and families, raised over $10,000 to help build. We fell in love with the children and the staff at HO-372 and wanted to do what we could to make sure the kids have clean drinking water. It'll probably just be a hole in the ground, but we'll be pretty excited to see it.

The next day Jason and I are going to HO-334 to visit my sponsor girl, Ana Melissa who is 13 years old. I got her first letter since I met her at the water park last October and she feels bad that she was so shy and didn't say much. I want her to know that I got to know so much about her in that day at the water park, and that's what means the most to me. I'm sure she'll be more comfortable around me this next time and we'll have a chance to talk more. We'll also take her family to lunch and then go visit another mall. Taking a 13 year old girl to a mall is completely different than taking a 6 year old boy. :)

Martin and Chris will go visit Martin's sponsor child and then take him to Zizima, the water park we went to last October. Chris' three sponsor children will meet them at Zizima that afternoon. Jason and Ana aren't water park people, so that's why we chose to do the mall instead. (And I'll be happier away from the bugs that got me last year at Zizima.)

The next day we're hoping to go out to Copan to visit the Mayan ruins. The day after this Chris and Martin go back to the states and Jason and I are planning on going to a Baptist church in San Pedro Sula. I'm looking forward to singing well-known hymns in Spanish. We have the rest of the day together to do some shopping, or who knows what trouble we'll get into. Ha. Actually, I'd like to visit an orphanage while we're there, but I'm still not sure how to set this up. Transportation and communication are still issues for us. Touristy stuff is easy to arrange, trips to places with more poverty, not so much.

So here's the reason for this blog... we're looking for donations to take to the projects we're going to visit, and also gifts for Henry and Ana and their families. Here's a list of suggested items for the projects:

Crafts:

Construction paper
Crayons or colored pencils
Glue sticks
Small children’s scissors
Drawing Paper
Lots of stickers
Photocopied coloring pages
Bubbles
Balloons

Toys/Games: (gently used or new is great)
Long jump rope
Balls (soccer, basketball, tennis, inflatable beach balls are great too)
Pumps, extra needles
Frisbees
Memory

Uno
Flash cards (math or English/Spanish)
(If you want to buy a game other than those listed above, make sure there's instructions in Spanish.)
Cars
Trucks
Books (with pictures or very easy English words)
Puzzles

Anything else you might think of would be great. Send me a message if you'd like to drop off any items or I can come pick them up. We have time to run around and pick up items this Saturday, May 4th, and Monday evening, May 6th.

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement!!

Stories from Honduras - Part 3

This is the story that is probably the hardest to tell, and yet, the one you've been waiting to hear. Everyone wants to know what happened when I met Ana, my sponsor girl. Well, I had imagined it would be all smiles, hugs, laughing, and lots of chatting and getting to know each other. I didn't expect Ana to be the most incredibly shy 12-year-old I've ever met. She's absolutely beautiful, and she's taller than I expected! And she's creative, and talented, and so incredibly sweet. But she's not a talker. And she's not  goofy/dorky like me. And saying goodbye wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. But we made a connection, and I feel much more attached to her than I did before I made the trip to meet her. And for that it was worth it.



Inside the water park

Let me start at the beginning. We met at Zizima water park in San Pedro Sula. There were 36 sponsors meeting 40+ sponsor children, plus one of their parents, their project director, and anyone else who may have traveled with them. And then everyone got a translator, and those with several sponsor children (and family and project directors) got several translators. So basically there were around 200 of us at Zizima.
So how do you pair up the sponsor, with their sponsor children, the people who traveled with them, and the translators? One at a time.


Taken from inside the bus. I see Ana!

We all sat on the buses (two of them) with a huge group of people out in front of Zizima waiting on us. They called out the child's name, then found a translator, then they would come on one of the buses trying to find the sponsor. As we got off the bus we'd hand our camera to one of the leaders and they would take photos of us meeting our sponsor children - most of us for the first time.


So one by one we watched our new friends be able to finally hug the children they had been writing to and praying about for so long. And I kept watching and taking photos, and watching and taking photos... and I started to realize that I was going to be one of the last to meet their sponsor child. I wasn't last, but I think I was next to last.


Do you see Ana? She's way in the back in the middle wearing a black and pink shirt.

Finally the moment came. Poor Ana looked so overwhelmed by everything. I gave her a quick tight hug and then we headed into the water park.



Meeting Ana.

I see a smile. :)

The shirt I'm wearing is Ana's artwork.

Ana didn't say much that day, but I could tell she was trying. Our translator, Maria, was 15 years old (16 in November) and a High School student. (They had to find over 50 translators and so they found High School students who were fluent in English.) Maria had never translated before, but she did a great job and Ana definitely trusted her. I think it helped to have someone close to Ana's age.


Ana, me, and Maria

The three of us hung out on the lazy river, floating in tubes, and then went to the wave pool and hung out there too. In the afternoon we played volleyball for awhile. Ana said she liked volleyball, but Maria didn't really know how to play. There were seven on our team, and four on the other and we still didn't do very well. But we laughed and had a great time.

Part of the lazy river.



The wave pool.

I got to talk to Ana's mother and her project director and ask questions about Ana progress. They both told me about how incredibly shy Ana used to be and that's she's really come out of her shell. Really? The phrase "painfully shy" comes to mind. It meant that much more to me that Ana was asking me questions and answering my questions.

Ana, me and her mom.

At the end of the day it was gift time. I had some items for Ana, her mom, her dad and her brothers. I gave her a photo album with some pictures of Dayton and some bits and pieces of my life. I wrote out my favorite scriptures in Spanish and put them in the photo album too. And then I told Ana that I love her, I care about her and she's important to me. I told her that I think she's very creative, that I believe in her, and that I want her to dream big dreams. That is the one thing I really wanted her to know.

And then they left. I hugged them all and said goodbye and they left the park. As I was standing there by myself I watched as other children were crying and clinging to their sponsors. I felt like I did something wrong, that maybe I should have asked them to stay longer, or maybe I should have tried harder to connect with her so she wouldn't have left so quickly. Honestly, I was disappointed and I started questioning if we even connected at all.


Most of the group. (Several families had left by this point.)

 Once we got back to the hotel I had some time by myself to reflect and think about the day. When I finally stopped comparing my experience to everyone else's I started realizing that I had a wonderful day with Ana. That she's 12, incredibly shy, and that just hanging out talking about our favorite music, our favorite food, our favorite colors, etc. was probably the best way to spend time with her. I look back at the pictures that were taken and I see Ana smiling in most of them. That means the world to me.

I think it was more difficult to get some of the older kids to open up. Several other sponsors with older kids voiced the same concerns that I did. That's when I have to remind myself that it's not about what *I* get out of the experience, it's about showing them love, giving them hope, and helping them succeed. I intend to continue to pursue a friendship with Ana and get to know her better through letter writing. And hopefully when I see her again, it won't be so overwhelming.

A moment comes to mind... later in the day Maria told me that I was a lot of fun. Maria told Ana what she said and Ana agreed. I guess goofy/dorky can be translated. Having a 12 year old and a 15 year old tell me I'm fun feels like a win.

I've posted some of the photos I took while waiting on the bus. I was sitting in the front and thankfully I got to snap some photos of sponsors meeting their children. If these photos warm your heart, maybe you'll consider sponsoring a child? Start here... http://www.compassion.com/

Becky meeting her girl.

Dianne and her sponsor girl.

Brenda meeting her sponsor child. They played volleyball with us too.

Brenda and her son's mom.

Mac with one of their sponsor kids.

Lisa with another of their sponsor kids.

Shelly meeting her sponsor girl.

Cat and her sponsor child.

Todd and his sponsor boy.

Joan's girl couldn't even wait for her to get off the bus! :)

Stories from Honduras - Part 2

(Part 1 can be found here: http://cyndidee.blogspot.com)

In Part 1 I mentioned a game we played with some kids. I forgot I have it on video! Here it is...

I want to tell you about Bayron. When I was balloon twisting Bayron came up to the table and watched me make a dog and then a sword. He told me (through the translator helping me) that he knew how to make a sword. So I blew up a balloon and handed it to him and he made a sword.

Bayron with the balloon dog I showed him how to make.

I asked him if he wanted me to show him and another boy how to make balloon dogs. So I handed both of them balloons and walked them through making balloon dogs. And then they gave the dogs they made to the children standing around watching.

The boy in the middle is the other one who made a balloon dog.

Then Bayron told me he knew how to make a different type of dog. I asked him where he learned how to make his dog and he said he watched a man on TV. He did a great job making his dog, even down to measuring all the parts of the dog so it would come out even. I heard someone say "he's going to be a clown when he grows up." I corrected her and said "no, he's going to be an engineer."

Bayron helped me make more swords and balloon dogs. He always waited for me to blow up a balloon and hand it to him. He also helped the children decide what balloons they wanted. I was really impressed by Bayron. By how quickly he picked up ballooning, how he calculated the parts of the dog so they'd come out even, and how polite and helpful he was.

When I saw him later, I found a translator to help me to tell him something. I wanted to tell him that I was going to try to find his sponsor and tell him what a great kid he is. And tell him about how much he helped me and how smart he is. And then I told Bayron that his sponsor would be so proud of him. He gave me a hug and thanked me. He was definitely excited.

Bayron with some friends. He's giving me a peace sign. :)
(Click on the picture to see it larger.)

Only 1% of sponsors visit their children. My girl, Ana, is one of the special few who get to meet their sponsor. Bayron may never meet his sponsor, but Bayron got to meet me. For all those children who don't get to meet their sponsors, I want to be a surrogate sponsor. I wish I could contact all the sponsors of the kids I met and tell them how amazing their kids are. And I hope every child I met knows how amazing we think they are.

One of the things I told Ana before we had to say goodbye was that I love her, I care about her, and she's important to me. And that I believe in her and that I want her to dream big. I wanted to tell her so much more, but in that moment, that's what was in my mind. I hope my words sink in, I hope she believes them. I hope they have an impact on her life. I hope other sponsors can tell their sponsor children the same thing, whether in person or through a letter.

When I left HO-329 I wasn't sure I would ever see Bayron again. He touched my life and I won't soon forget him. I'm going to try to write to him, but it's a little more difficult since he's not my sponsor child. However, something amazing happened after I got back home from my trip. Jason has decided to sponsor a boy in Honduras. He's chosen a boy in the same project as Bayron. Which means that when we go to visit our sponsor kids next summer, I will hopefully see Bayron again. And this time I'm bringing balloons and a pump for him.

Here's the video of Bayron and his balloon dog. (If you've made balloon dogs, you'll notice his is different.)

Compassion Trip to Honduras - Part 1

I got back from Honduras just over a week ago and I'm still being blown away by the experience. I've been to Honduras five times from 2006 to 2010 with Heart to Honduras (hth.org). This time I traveled with Compassion International (compassion.com) on a group trip for sponsors to meet their sponsor children. And this was a COMPLETELY different trip than those I've taken before!

With previous trips we did constructions projects and medical clinics. With this type of work we were pushed for time to complete our projects. When children would come visit us, we would ask them to stay out of the way out of concern for their safety. We were also asked not to give them any sort of gifts  but we would sneak them candy sometimes.

However with this trip the focus was on children, and it was suggested that we bring gifts not only for our sponsor children, but for the many other kids we were visiting. So I packed two suitcases (one large, one small) full of gifts for my sponsor girl, Ana, her family, and also for the different projects we would visit. (And yes, I packed clothes and personal items also.)

The first day we got to play with the kids from our first project (HO-328) was a national holiday (Columbus Day for us) so the kids were out of school. Many children showed up to play, not just the children from the project, but many more.

They warned us to only give out stickers around small groups of children. I tried this, but the moment I got out stickers, the kids would start pushing forward trying to get to the stickers. Our trip leader, Brad, rescued me by taking the stickers out of my hand and putting them away. Other times we would try, and we would say "una fila por favor" (one line please) but they'd keep pushing. Roxana (most awesome roommate ever) separated them into boys (ninos) and girls (ninas) and they were a little better at getting into a line. There was still cutting and pushing going on.

The crowd around Roxana grew as the children realized she was giving out stickers.

I got frustrated and in my mind I kept thinking "this isn't what they really want." I put my stickers away and started to try a hand-clapping game (like See See My Playmate) but the girls didn't seem to understand what I was doing. However, they showed me a game they play (with the help of one of our translators).

I'm not sure how to describe it but everyone stands in a circle with their right hand on top of the next person's left hand. Then my left hand was under someone else's right hand. They would do a sing-song chant and clap the hand of the person to the left. This would go around the circle a couple of times, and then they would start counting in English. On "ten" they tried to slap the hand in their left hand. If they got the person, that person was out. If not, then they were out. Then the circle would get smaller. We played this until there were one child left. We had a great time. And it was much better than trying to hand out stickers. ;)

Helping two girls with their stickers. 

However, I started to notice something that surprised me. When we gave them stickers, they'd give them to the other children, and back to us - by sticking them on our cameras and name tags. I'm not sure if they were being generous or if they just liked sticking them on things (and people). Regardless, they didn't try to hold on to them, they wanted to share them.

Showing my name tag with stickers on it. 

I have to mention another story that I, unfortunately, didn't get to witness. Several times that week we split into four different groups and would do home visits of sponsor children (all of whom are living in poverty). We got to see what their houses looked like and could ask their family how Compassion has changed their lives. It was a great experience. One of the other sponsors handed a little boy a sheet of stickers. He looked at the stickers and then he started crying. It seems that he was that overwhelmed by the gift of a sheet of stickers.

One of the home visits I was part of.

The next project we visited was a little different. On our second day we had a VBS setting with face painting, balloons, crafts, and a Bible story (Noah and the ark) with stickers. Most of the children there were from the project and we didn't see quite as many kids. I did balloon sculpting and was ready for a rush of kids wanting dogs, swords, butterflies or hats. I taught a few of the other sponsors how to do balloon dogs and swords and at one point we had several on the table waiting for kids to come up and want one. (The rush for balloons never happened.)

I noticed something amazing. The children walked around to the different tables and took turns doing crafts, getting their faces painted and getting balloons. They didn't push, they didn't cut, and they didn't whine about having to wait. In fact, one boy came up and asked for a second sword. When I asked where his first one went, he pointed to a little girl who was playing with it. So I made him another sword. This actually happened a couple more times with other kids.

Making a sword for the boys. (Photo by Tom Baer.)

Time and again these children surprised me. My expectations of how they would react when we gave them stickers, or balloons, or candy, other little gifts were blown apart. I thought they would be greedy for something they didn't have. I thought they would want to hold onto the items and not let them go, because who knows when they would ever get another one.

Instead it was like they enjoyed the moment so much that they wanted to make sure their friends experienced it also. And maybe when we enjoyed giving them the item, they enjoyed it as much when giving it to someone else. Is this the mindset of children who have grown up with very little? Is it because these children have listened to their lessons about love, kindness, sharing, and giving? I'm not sure, but I hope to someday find out why these children are so different from my previous experiences.

Saying goodbye to the kids at HO-329.

I have so many other stories to blog about, but I'll take a break for now. I also need to share my meeting with Ana and her mom, about an impressive boy named Bayron, meeting Heart to Honduras people from Arizona with a ministry we might be interested in, and of course all the crazy awesome things God was doing behind the scenes. I need to do this quick though, before I start forgetting details.

What do jewelry and children in Honduras have in common?

So excited! This excitement came out of nowhere after I stressed for so long, so I thought I'd blog it. Because I have a feeling that the stress (and freaking out) will return at some point.

As you probably very well know, I love going to Honduras on mission trips! I've gone six times but the last time I went was in 2010. Quite a bit has changed since then. The church in Honduras that we visit has a new pastor (and a different congregation from what I understand), the ministry we travel with (Heart to Honduras) has changed quite a bit, and Jason and I attend a different church now. (We're at Crossroads Vineyard, a church plant of the Dayton Vineyard.) So I wasn't sure if I would go back to El Quebracho, this year or ever.

I prayed about it and decided to go to Honduras with Compassion International this year. It was a difficult decision but after I put my deposit down I felt a peace about it. Compassion International works with Heart to Honduras, so I'll still be part of that ministry. However, my focus this time is visiting my sponsor child (Ana Melissa) and assisting with the programs in Honduras that reach out to the children.

I'm traveling in October, though the exact dates seem to change with each email I get. And the remaining amount of money is due in June. My usual means of funding my mission trips is through income tax return (already spent) or savings (needed for other things this year). I've also decorated cakes, done clowning, and odd jobs for friends to raise the money. It's all a bit sporadic but God never fails to surprise me with how the money will come in.

And this year is no different. I've decided this year that I'm going to raise money to go to Honduras by selling Premier Jewelry. I've tried other multi-level-marketing companies and so I'm very aware of what I'm getting into. (Honestly I never thought I'd do another one. Especially with my busy schedule.) However, I love playing with jewelry. I've had several very successful parties, and therefore quite a bit of jewelry. And it really seems low risk (after doing Mary Kay anyway).

I had a jewelry party in January and did really well. (I think I got $400+ in free jewelry.) Several work friends ordered items from the catalog and when I brought in their orders I asked to see what they got. We all stood in the hallway while each woman opened their boxes and showed off their pieces of jewelry. Each box held something beautiful and we all oooh'd and aaaah'd over what was inside. It was like Christmas. Quite fun! (Even for those who didn't order any jewelry.)

(I think from now on I'm having a jewelry pick-up party so everyone can see what the other ladies ordered. Seeing the pieces in real life is always so much more impressive than seeing a flat photo in a catalog.)

Anyway, all of this is falling into place. I feel like I'm a couple steps ahead of where I should be because I'm so ready to do this. (My upline, Stephanie, has been answering questions from me on almost a daily basis. I know I'm not driving her crazy, yet, but I'm sure I will soon.) My goal is to hold 10 parties by the end of June. At that point I'll reassess if I want to continue doing this or if I want to take a break until my next mission trip.

Any encouragement is greatly appreciated, whether it's through praise, prayer, parties, or purchases. (Oooh, I like that.)

What do jewelry and children in Honduras have in common? The love of one will allow me to love on the other. :)

Compassion for the Children

Tonight I went to the Rock & Worship Road Show at the Nutter Center (at Wright State, my alma mater). So we're talking some loud, rockin' music by The Afters, Thousand Foot Krutch, Matt Maher, Jars of Clay and Mercy Me. Amazingly it was only $10 to get in, so you can imagine the huge groups of teenagers that were there. The energy was amazing and the woofers (speakers, not dogs) were thumping out of control. We're all going to be deaf and hoarse tomorrow. But that's the fun part about loud concerts. ;)

However, I wasn't there for the music. (Though that was definitely a perk!) I was asked to work at the Compassion International table. (Their website is www.compassion.com.) I'm a sponsor of 11 year old Ana Melissa in Honduras. I've really enjoyed the letters we've exchanged and getting pictures from her that she's drawn. I look forward to developing a relationship with Ana and hopefully one day will meet her.

So this evening I got to help people pick out children to sponsor and fill out forms. It got a little overwhelming at one point - not because of the number of people asking questions or needing help, but because so many children who have been waiting for sponsors now have sponsors. It was like when you're watching Extreme Home Makeover and you get a bit choked up when you realize how much their lives will be changed.

Of course the cherry on top of this awesome evening was getting to see Jars of Clay perform Flood and Dead Man (Carry Me) live. We didn't stay for Mercy Me though, my feet were killing me and we had been gone all evening. Btw, Jason loved Thousand Foot Krutch and we'll be buying their newest CD soon so we can kill our ear drums while listening to it in the car. (It's loud, which is why he liked it.) ;)

I have to tell you two random things that happened while we were there.

First, a man came up to the table and wanted to sponsor a child in Honduras. Long story short, he's a Youth Pastor who takes groups down to Honduras with Heart to Honduras (the same group we travel with). Then we tell him we go to the Vineyard and he asks which campus. (Seriously, how many people know there are two campuses?) We tell him we were attending the Dayton campus, but we're part of the church plant in Huber Heights now. So he says he was at a party for a friend at the Dayton campus - Jeanne Lowe. I couldn't believe it, I was part of the planning for that party. I told him "oh hey, I was the one with the microphone who got everyone to sing Happy Birthday!" His response was "no wonder you look familiar!" Dayton is so so so small town!!

Second, while waiting for the elevator to go to the back parking lot of the Nutter Center (where the pep band would park) a couple of guys behind me started singing a Jars of Clay song. They hit a high note and didn't hit it very well. They explained to me that they're in a battle of the bands but they only do Jars of Clay cover songs. I asked where this battle of the bands was (in Dayton???) and they explained that they were roadies for one of the bands and all the roadies have this battle of the bands. Whomever wins gets to perform at the last concert. How cool is that? About that time the elevator stopped and we were getting off, so I had to tell them good luck and keep practicing. They laughed, thankfully.

It was just that kind of night. :)

Memories from Honduras

There are a few moments from our week in Honduras that keep going over and over in my mind. I thought I'd put them here to hold on them - and to share them with you.

First, every person's mission trip experience is different. Each of us have stories about what touched us and what we thought of the trip. Even if we were all in the same spot seeing the same thing, we all have different stories about how God spoke to us in that experience. (I'm saying this because I've heard people say "were you on the same trip with _________??? They didn't mention that at all!")

Second, when you've gone multiple times, you start to expect certain things. However this year some of the things I was assuming to be a certain way turned out completely different - in an incredibly wonderful way. I love it when that happens, it's like you're experiencing your first time there again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The first night was probably my worst night in Honduras, ever. I was dehydrated and with a thunderstorm coming in, I ended up with a horrible headache. The four of us ladies from the Vineyard shared a small room the Casa de Esther that night. I had stayed in that house before, but it was hot and muggy that night and we were in a small room with 2 beds and a bunk bed. Due to drinking so much water, I asked if someone else could take the top bunk. (With me being the youngest of the 4, I figured I'd get voted to be up there.) Gratefully Joyanna offered to be on the top bunk and I took the lower bunk near the window. Kathy and Darleen were across from us. Kathy had brought a small fan which we put in front of the window so thankfully we had a little bit of air flow.

(photo courtesy of Darleen)

After getting up three times I checked my clock and it was only 2am. My head felt like it was going to explode and I struggled to not start crying. Crying would make my sinuses worse which would just feed the headache. My Tylenol was in the bottom of my empty water bottle, with my other prescription bottles on top. The problem was that the 2 prescription bottles had gotten wedged in the water bottle.

(Please don't ask why I put them in there. It was taking up space in my bag and it was empty. I couldn't find anything else small, so I put all my pill bottles in there. Never again.)

All the shaking and shuffling of bottles wouldn't release any of them. And there was my Tylenol stuck at the bottom. Once again I was fighting back tears. About the time I was considering taking the bottle outside and bashing it with a rock, Kathy woke up. (I'm sure it was all the pills being shaken but she said it wasn't.)

I explained the situation to Kathy and she gave it a try. After much shaking and poking she got no further than I had. Unfortunately I think we woke up Darleen and Joyanna about then. (We were starting to giggle a bit about the stupid water bottle.)

I thankfully had a brain storm and took the top off the one bottle that wasn't child proof. I was then able to pull that bottle out and get the others out. Success!! By then Darleen and Joyanna were up and we were all chatting.

They suggested I turn around so that my feet were by the window and my head closer to the door. They were right, this helped with the air flow. I had also (thankfully) bought a travel pillow in the airport and using this I could elevate my head, which helps when I have a headache. Also, the donut shape of the pillow helped relieve the ache in the back of my head.

Then the best part, we all started giggling about silly stuff. I was afraid we woke up the girls in the next room but they swear we didn't. Around 2:30 am we finally got settled down and I was able to fall asleep. Really asleep. I woke up 4 hours later feeling rested, and without a headache. I was so grateful for those wise, wonderful, silly women. Laughter with girl friends definitely relieves stress and helps change your mood. Thank you Kathy, Joyanna, and Darleen. Love you so much!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I had no idea that taking a camera on a mission trip would be an outreach tool. There's always a group of kids that hang around our work site and watch us. They love having their picture taken and then looking at the photo. This would probably go on for hours if I didn't quickly tire of it. I just worry about all those little fingers all over my camera, sometimes yanking it back and forth, putting finger prints on the lens. So I've learned when to call it quits before they start getting too grabby. 

One day on the work site I was taking pictures of the kids (and they were trying to be gangster, too funny). One of the kids, Kaylie Paola, asked if she could take a picture of me. I had my camera on a lanyard around my neck, so I let her turn the camera around at me and snap my picture. 

You can see Kaylie (and my camera) in the reflection of my sunglasses. :) I'm also making that face because she's pulling on the lanyard which is around my neck... you understand.

Later her cousin, Alexander, asked to take some pictures with my camera, and I let him. Kaylie unclicked the lanyard (which made my heart stop for a moment), I put the strap around Alexander's wrist, and he took off to take pictures. The pictures were great and will be the subject of another blog post. :)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Thursday night was the fiesta! We made 700 meals and then showed the Jesus film (in Spanish). There were some challenges which included starting late (Honduran time), the electricity in the village going out several times, the DVD skipping, and a storm threatening to hit at the end of the movie. However, we made it to the end of the movie and prayed for people when it was over. 

There were a lot of children who came up for prayer. The interpreter asked what they needed prayer for and they just smiled and stood there. I think they were just curious as to what was going on, so I started praying for some of the girls that were standing near me. I prayed for a few of the other kids and then they started asking for their photos to be taken. (At this time I was carrying the church's video camera and my little camera was around my neck. I just screamed "CAMERA GIRL.")

After taking a couple of pictures of the kids, they started saying "con usted, con usted." With me? This surprised me at first, the kids have never asked for ME to be in the pictures with them. So I sat down on a step and had the kids gather in around me and tried to take a few pictures by holding my camera out.

These kids in the village, Valle de Angeles, just grabbed my heart. There was something about them that will stay with me for a long time. When I left I realized I may not see them again and it just broke my heart. I continue to pray for them and hope to see them again someday.

Allie, me, Natalie, and Jason

Ruth, me and Allie (photo taken by Natalie)

Look how those girls were hanging on me. Miss them.

By the way, these last three girls (who stuck around until we left) were the first few girls that I prayed for. I hope to see them again. Someday. :)

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The next day we drove to San Pedro Sula and had lunch at Power Chicken. We do this every year. The meal is served family style and we get to try several different kinds of meat and sides with flan for dessert. What doesn't getting eaten gets divided up into to-go containers, which we give away. We drive to a part of the city where the glue boys hang out (they huff glue) and then hand the meals out through a window in the van. The food is usually gone pretty quick and then we head to the Bed & Breakfast for the night.

This time it was different. When we found some of the glue boys they were pouring water over one of them that seemed to have paint all over him. We were confused at first as to what was going on. We weren't sure if they were helping him or making it worse. Jason pointed out some painters nearby that must have thrown the paint on the guy. His friends were trying to help him by pouring water over his head and helping him get the paint out of his eyes.

When they saw that we had food they ran to the van and took the containers. They then ran back to the one with paint all over him and set their food down and continued to help him. This was like a shock through my heart.

Normally they devour the food after only taking a couple of steps away from the van. Sometimes they follow us begging for more food. This time though, their friend was more important than their hunger. I guess you don't have much else when you live on the streets.

There was something about that that just spoke to me. That showed me how different my world is from theirs. Here I'm thinking "look how much love we're showing you by giving you a styrofoam container with food in it." And yet greater love was shown by the friends trying to help each other. I enter their world for just a moment and then I'm gone, forgotten. I can make such a bigger impact on the world I live in on a daily basis - the people I have contact with each day. And yet it seems so much harder to do this at home with the people you know than it is to go on a mission trip.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The last memory that I want to share was our last morning in Honduras at El Meson Bed & Breakfast in San Pedro Sula. The couples got to stay together, so we asked if we could have the bigger bed. (The other couple aren't quite as big as us... so they agreed.) The room we ended up in had a king sized bed and a gorgeous tiled bathroom. 

I got my first hot shower that week and finished getting ready with some David Crowder Band playing in the background. I could hear the ladies on the other side of the wall making our breakfast. They keep the windows in the bathrooms open, so you have to keep the door to the bedroom (with the A/C) shut. The rain was falling (the beginning of Hurricane Alex) and it was cool and humid in the bathroom. It's a moment in time that I want to hold onto for awhile. I guess that's what I think it would be like to live down there.

Thoughts after 5 days in Honduras.

First, I just posted this on facebook, and I thought I'd repeat it here. To set the tone or something. 

"Day 5 in Honduras, day 5 of cold showers. It's an elusive thing here at the hotel and I've given up hoping it's my turn. It's like pool water and feels good after being out in the sun and humidity, so it's not so bad. However, if I see another spider crawl across my bed, I'm going to lose it. (Yes, I have another weird spider bite.)"

I'll live. I just really got eaten up by... somethings the last few days. I'm thinking they're probably fire ants, not mosquitoes. And spiders are also a possibility. I have a weird bite on the back of my arm that is all bubbly. It's crusted over at the moment and sorta looks like poison ivy - which I've never had. We're thinking it might be an allergic reactions to something - maybe even a plant. 


It was a rough start at the beginning of the trip. I wasn't feeling so great before we left and my doctor told me to just take it easy and get lots of water. We landed in San Pedro Sula around 1pm on Saturday and the headache hit not too long after. I may have been dehydrated, but with our travels it wasn't going to get any better. 


We made it to the Heart to Honduras compound in Canchias right before dinner and we were really the only ones there. Right before we were going to head to the cabins and call it a night, the rain started - and didn't stop for quite awhile! Some of us went outside and saw a few large frogs jumping at the bugs that were flying around under the awning. The medium sized one was about the side of a softball. If it wasn't raining on me, I would have loved to have gotten video of that. Amazing!


The rain made the night very humid and our little room that the 4 of us were in was stuffy. We had the window open but the air wasn't really moving. Thankfully Kathy brought a small fan and offered to share it with us. I didn't fall asleep easily and by 2am I thought my head was going to explode. I was horribly hot and my head hurt so bad - I was almost in tears. I woke Kathy up trying to get some Tylenol and then our talking woke Joyanna and Darleen up. We started goofing around and I ended up laughing so hard. Around 2:30 I fell asleep and slept so soundly the rest of the night. It's amazing what friends and laughing can do for you. 

The next day, Sunday, we made our way to Comayagua and went to church that night. The children sang a song for us and passed out postcards that had flowers or hats made out of construction papers. We loved them! Pastor Roberto skipped the sermon, and we ended up going to an er at a local hospital to give out tamales and hot coffee. 


In the past month, both Pastor Roberto and another church member, Carmen, have had to go to the er. Sitting there and waiting, they noticed so many hungry and hurting people. They started taking oatmeal to the people waiting and praying for them. So on Sunday we joined them while they served tamales and coffee to the people waiting. Several people asked for prayer, but most of the people just smiled and looked really surprised. The best part is that we were helping them with an outreach. It just really felt like a win.

Sunday was a long day, so Monday was a short day. We worked on the house until 3pm, then headed back to the hotel to relax. We went to the square in Comayagua that evening, but unfortunately the fountain wasn't on. We did go to Baskin Robbins afterwards - always a treat. :)

Tuesday was another long day. We worked on the house until 2pm or so, then loaded as many people as possible into our van and went to a neighboring village where we'll do the fiesta tomorrow night. It started to downpour as we arrived in the village, so we had to wait awhile for it to stop. Then we split up into groups and walked around the village handing out bottles of water and fliers about the fiesta. The village is quite large, which took us awhile to get all the way around. We didn't end up getting back to the hotel until 5:30, which is when we eat dinner. So showers came after dinner - then off to church!

I loved the church service last night. First we did testimonies and (after 5 years, finally) I shared mine. (That's another blog I believe.) It wasn't as nerve-wracking as I thought it would be. It really just felt like talking to family. Then Darleen shared her testimony and two ladies from the church shared theirs. There was a common theme to our 4 testimonies - healing, from the inside out. Very appropriate since Gregg was sharing the Vineyard 5-step prayer model that evening. 


However, before Gregg spoke, the church members asked us to come up one by one and draw a name out of a basket. When Pastor Roberto called the name, they came up with a gift for us. It was so much fun and we felt so loved on! I ended up with a beautiful pot, which was just perfect since I wanted to buy one this year. Jason got a pad of paper and a pen in a wood holder. I really wish I would have gotten pictures of everyone with their gifts - they were just perfect for each person who got the gifts. 


After Gregg shared the 5-step prayer model, people came up for prayer and we got to pray for them. It was really just a great time of praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ. It was hard to leave last night and I just wanted to hug everyone!


Today we finished the house and have some free time this afternoon and evening. We're planning on just hanging out and maybe playing some card games. It hasn't been a difficult trip, but it has been quite hot and humid out and shade hasn't always been easy to find. (And I sorta missed the back of my right arm while putting on sun block, so it's stinging a bit right now.) I'm thankful for some time to reflect on the week so far.

Btw, Jason, Gregg, Joyanna, and several ladies went grocery shopping for the fiesta tomorrow and they haven't come back yet. Dinner is in about an hour, hope they come back soon. (Not that Jason will miss out on a cold shower or anything.) 


Tomorrow we'll be preparing food all day for the fiesta tomorrow night. I'm not sure how many they're expecting, but I would assume at least 500, maybe 700? We'll hand out the food and cups of water, and then show the Jesus film, en Espanol (in Spanish). We're starting earlier this time, so hopefully we'll make it to Pizza Hut tomorrow before it closes and get some dinner. (We'd rather give out the food we prepare than eat it ourselves.)

Friday we say goodbye to Comayagua and head to San Pedro Sula where we fly out Saturday morning. Hopefully along our drive to San Pedro, we'll get a chance to meet our Compassion International child. :)

Ready for another great adventure!

It's my pleasure to introduce to you the June 2010 Honduras team! From left to right - Jason, me, Gene, Caleb, Kyle, Kathy, Joyanna, Darleen, Rick, Mark and Gregg. Not pictured are Ron and David.

We've only gotten together a couple of times, but we've had a lot of fun each time. I think this is going to be a great group to spend a week with! We have high expectations of God doing great things and we share the excitement. :)

Please be praying for us as we build a house and reach out to the people in the area. We've done so much in our village that we're now helping our sister church reach out to the communities around them. It's been so awesome to see the church and the community grow - and to become part of the church family in El Quebracho, Honduras.

Here's some pictures from July 2008 when we built a house for a family that was about to go homeless. I believe the pictures are self-explanatory, so I'll limit the comments under the pictures.

 

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua 24:15b

 

Pastor Roberto and the family that lives in the house.

Please pray for Jason and I as we go on our next great adventure. We've had some additional challenges come up recently that will make the trip a little more difficult. We believe that God has gotten us to this point and He'll get us through! Please pray for strength and wisdom for us - for all of us going on this trip. 

Thank you! Dios le bendiga! :)