Today is my last Monday here in Honduras and the countdown has begun. I have 3 more working days here and am beginning to really look forward to home. We have had a wonderful 10 days so far. Today I helped more on the gazebo here at the ranch, specifically putting the top on and beginning to put the benches in. We are very close to being finished and it is coming together nicely.
I am very thankful to be a part of this mission and thankful to have met so many great people.
The weekend was spent working on Saturday and a day of rest on Sunday.
We had a large crew move brick and begin mixing concrete for a church building in San Lorenzo. During lunch and while we took breaks, we were able to interact with many of the local kids. We gave them balloons, played soccer and had a great time. The work was hot but rewarding. The project won't finish while we are here, but maybe we can give them a great start.
Sunday was spent with the church in Marcovia and also back at the ranch. The children at church were beautiful and the enthusiasm in worship was amazing. The building is out in the middle of a cow pasture and has doors on all sides so you really have an open air situation to help with the heat.
In the afternoon I was able to tour parts of Choluteca where Mission Lazarus built many homes after Hurricane Mitch. That was really the genesis of Mission Lazarus all those years ago.
Also, I met some old friends of my friend Rich, who live on Choluteca. Wilson, the boy, was very sick when Rich first met him. The doctors thought he had AIDS. The tests were all negative and Wilson made a full recovery. Today, Wilson is all grown up and married! We met his wife and I met the rest of his family. Wilson, his wife Cindy, and his little brother Junior joined us here at the ranch after we stopped for a Frosty at the local Wendy's.
Well, a first for me today. Rich, our fearless leader, asked me at breakfast if I could drive a stick shift. I said yes, and my latest Honduran adventure began.
I drove three of our ladies to San Marcos to the school run by the mission. We picked up supplies for VBS and then walked up the street to the market to buy bananas. All in all it was a safe, uneventful trip. Driving in Honduras is an interesting experience. People walk in the road all the time and there are no rules on when to pass. Cars pass each other on double yellow lines, around curves wherever it is needed.
I only had a few miles to drive so it was a good experience to begin with.
The gazebo is really starting to take shape. Moat of today was spent beginning to put the wooden pieces together and anchor them to the slab. It was very warm and around 4 PM a rain shower brought our day to an end.
After dinner, a few of us piled into the trucks and went up the Pan American Highway into San Marcos de Colon. They have been having a festival that has lasted several days and we went into town and enjoyed an ice cream cone.
After that, a couple of us visited a boot maker who makes a lot of boots for the missionaries at Mission Lazarus. He measures your feet and so your boots will be made specifically for you. I ordered a pair that will be made of Honduran cowhide. He also produces some that are made from iguana and alligator. Very neat stuff.
Today was spent in the barn working on cutting the wooden pieces for the gazebo. As my friend Ken said, it was the largest woodworking project I have ever been on. I ran a table saw for the first time and managed not to hurt myself or anyone else! The day passed quickly and we made good progress.
We are now having a pretty hard thunderstorm here in the mountains at the mission. The air is cooling off, and some of us are relaxing with a hot cup of coffee before dinner. The posada is open on three sides so we get to see and hear the storm without getting soaked!
We went into San Marcos today to the school so that we could unload a container filled with supplies for the school and also for the mission. It was hot work but seeing the children and playing with them was awesome.
This afternoon we went to Jayacayan in the hills close to the mission to see the children there. We played Bible trivia with them and gave them many gifts. It was truly a blessing to be with them. I will post a picture of the school and also the church from this afternoon.
Today we poured the concrete slab for the gazebo. It was hard, hot work but very fulfilling. The ladies did a great job of smoothing out the concrete as it was being poured. I hope that what we are creating will be put good use. I have feeling it will. I will post more later, but sleep beckons after a full day.
What a day. The genuine passion in worship to God at the church in Choluteca today was incredible. I didn't understand most of the words to the songs but somehow that didn't matter. Carlos, the preacher, did not prepare a bilingual lesson but he stopped and spoke English during much of his speaking. He is a very talented and effective preacher.
Perhaps the most fun was interacting with the kids. We didn't understand much of what each other was saying, but the was community and friendship instantly.
I will post a couple of pictures from our day.
One other thing from today that was magical happened while we were putting away our tools in the barn. We could hear the laughter of the children as they played soccer in the courtyard outside their cabins. It was indeed beautiful music.
Today we began the work of building a gazebo for those who come to the mission to see a doctor. Often they arrive at the gates well before sunrise and if it is raining they have no dry place to wait. Our goal is to build a structure that will give them shelter from the elements.
Today we were able to get the forms in place to outline the structure and we also began to prepare the ground so that the slab can be laid hopefully on Monday.
We are looking forward to being with our brothers and sisters tomorrow in Choluteca to worship and praise God. He is doing wonderful things here and it is an honor to be a servant here.
I will post a picture of our work crew today. I also took a picture of a cliff close to our camp that reminds me of the background I chose for this blog.
Today we arrived at the ranch and prepared for tomorrow's work. We will be beginning construction on a gazebo that will serve as a waiting area for people who come from far away to see the doctor. Looking forward to getting started and posting pictures. The picture for today is one of the countryside as we drove from Tegucigalpa to the mission.
