Today after a breakfast tortillas and beans (oh no Jimi) we went for an arduous trip into the mountains!  What started out to be an hour long trip to the village of Tao turned into a two hour adventure.  We thought the little taxi cars in Copan were scary ..... thank God for four wheel drive.  We even drove through a river just like on the truck commercials!  Lucky for us the "bus" made it there safely and we are all still in one piece.  Driving so slowly, we attracted a lot of attention ... or maybe it was because we were a bunch of foreigners crammed into a Toyota "bus"!

The school we visited today was "Escuela Del Carmen Pena".  This is a public facility that educates 130 kids in three classrooms (and three teachers to match - talk about overcrowding)!  We are charged with helping to build a fourth classroom to ease this overcrowding.  The kids were all in class when we arrived but had lots of fun watching us work. We all pitched in with digging dirt, shoveling, brick laying, carrying rocks and supervision as well as experiencing the sights and sounds of the area to include local vegetation (lots of corn there;)  Most of us have not worked that hard in some time!

We had local fare prepared most certainly in an outdoor kitchen!  You just can't buy that in Aiken.  Whole chicken was prepared for us (good thing they eventually cut it up as it is doubtful that many of us even know how to cut up a chicken ... except maybe Jimi but he eats squirrel) in addition to soup and rice ... and of course tortillas!

When school let out the kids were ready to play!  Thanks to Jeff and Michael we had lots of toys to entertain the kids.  The girls had an absolute ball playing with the jump ropes and the balls and Frisbees were a huge hit!  The squealing from the kids was evidence of their degree of excitement!  We are headed back their way tomorrow so we better take candy to step it up a bit.

Everyone barely had time to shower (never could get Leigh in there but it worked out as we made her sit on the porch) after we got back before it was time for dinner and a movie.  Several kids from the Agape Promises program joined us for the Spanish version of Shrek the Third and popcorn.  It is great to see all the Saint John's Youth interacting with these special kids!

Roz and Abby dig some dirt .... actually mostly rocks ... and we see who is working;)

Front of the school

Sydney is planning on trying out for the South Aiken track ... wants to throw discus

Amy rocks

Can we build it??  Yes we can!!

Abby get your swing on!

Dave trying to tutor Abby on how to swing a pick ax

Yay! Beach ball is a blast!!

The fish was enormous ... with huge teeth!

This is so much fun!  I hope we can find jobs doing this back home!

Ms. Reed where did you learn to spread mortar?

David, Abby, Kaylee and Allie

Our fearless leader demonstrating the finer points of robotics

Lunch Break!!  Sydney liked the chicken:)

Side of school - three classrooms are in this building

Allie is being recruited by Clemson

Jump rope was a hit! Michael wanted to jump but we needed a rope turner.

Jeff loves him some beach balls!

Kids loved the camera (the other one).

And that girls, is how you turn a cart wheel.

Cuatro

Day 4

Another early start to Santa Clara VBS at the public school (1^st grade to 6^th grade). 

We started with a lesson on brushing teeth and each child got a new toothbrush and toothpaste to take home!  Next was the fluoride treatment-  they were in a hurry to spit it out with priceless facial expressions. 

Then VBS began – same theme as Monday.

Today we had much more time to play games with the children – throwing beachballs, footballs, tennis balls and Frisbees.  The children today really interacted with us and answered questions about the storyline of Jesus being our shepherd and how God loves each of us.

Gloria and Sandra packed us wonderful shredded chicken sandwiches and PBJ’s – we got eat in the shade near a small stream.

Afternoon “fun” was helping to construct a wall around Roxanne’s soon to be orphanage.  We moved rocks, mixed concrete by hand, along with new Honduran friends, and laid the foundation for approximately 12 to 40 feet (depending on who you asked!).

Adios!

 

supermodel Rozzi passing out fluoride

 

David, Allie, and Kaylee killing the music station

 

making ovejas

 

Passing out goodie bags to the kids

 

Kaylee teaching kids how to brush their teeth

 

Sydney playing with the kids

 

do work son!

 

Jeff playing with the kids

 

making concrete Honduran style

 

Amy wheelbarrowin'

Fun With Sheep

Today, we went to the White Dove bilingual school in Santa Clara. Dave and Jimi helped with construction on a new office and computer lab for the school while the rest of the team conducted a bible school for the kids. The children were awesome and excited to learn. The theme was about how God is our shepherd and that he watches over us. The kids made ovejas (sheep) to take home with the 23^rd Psalm on the back.

Once we left the school, we stopped for some excitement at a rickety bridge. For dinner, we joined Reyna, a friend from past trips, for homemade pancakes and tortillas. We even received tortilla making lessons. We decided to rough it by watching the championship at a local restaurant with air conditioning. We also managed to squeeze in some time for soccer.

 

Jimi reading a math book???? And failing.

 

classrooms at the White Dove School

 

vacation bible school

 

building an office

 

arts and crafts

 

music station

 

swinging bridge

 

game time!

 

Rozy, the tortilla master

 

Reyna and her family with Michael

 

Allie ballin' on the futbol field

 

Go Louisville!

Touring with the Hondurans

Day 2:

Yesterday was an exhausting success on arriving in Honduras. That evening, we went to the city’s recreational center. While there, we enjoyed the games of ping pong, volleyball, and soccer.

Today we went to the Mayan ruins and a bird park in Copan. We brought along with us 15 Agape Promise kids. At 7 in the morning, we all piled into a school bus and rode two and a half hours to Copan. At the ruins, it was very hot. For lunch we ate at a pizza restaurant with the Agape Promise kids. The group of us headed off to the Macaw Mountain in the always exciting motor taxis. We got to see several species of birds and even got to hold some for a picture. Afterwards, we headed back to the bus for the ride home. About 30 minutes away from the compound, we stopped for some last minute shopping. Thanks for the prayers and we can't wait to see what God has in store for us tomorrow!! :)

 

Michael playing dirty at the rec center.

 

todos las personas

 

Rozy, the supermodel!

 

Allie, breaking it down on the ping pong court.

 

just another Honduran escalator.....

 

Two modes of transportation, the horse is safer.

 

And Abby is on the ground!

 

Start your engines!

 

our new amigo, Miguel.

 

 

Water in a bag, what???