Monday Afternoon

After lunch, we left Teo to visit the village of El Venado (The Deer) and met with 30 or more of the residents (including several kids) to determine their primary needs.  Their biggest concern seemed to be a very large bridge that was badly in need of repair.  It still gets a lot of use, but I certainly did not care to cross it!

   

 

I had my usual fun with bubbles, while George favored stickers.  Karen was a big hit “face painting” balloons.

  

 

We finished up a very full day by celebrating Jerry’s 65^th birthday.

Tommy

Assessment Team Off to Good Start

Sunday

As most of you know by now, the Assessment Team, consisting of Jerry, Allen, Karen, George, and Tommy, arrived safely on Sunday afternoon, settled in and discussed our plans and goals for the week.  The Internet connection was very slow or non-existent for the first couple days, possibly caused by the rain, clouds, and fog.  We will try to catch you up to date in the next day or two.

Monday Morning

Our first stop was Teoxingales, or Teo, for those of us that have problems with Spanish pronunciation.  We have accomplished much with these people, and we discussed future construction needs.  The main water line requires a special tool for repair, and numerous homes still require latrines and Justa Stoves.  These needs and other work were discussed with Juan Jose Carbajal, the head of the Patronato, at a meeting in the recently upgraded lunch room.  The attached picture shows Juan in a child’s school chair.  The other picture shows Janet, the school teacher with two of her students in front of the kitchen stoves. 

George

While at Teo, Karen and Allen led a second meeting to evaluate community needs for Bibles and Sunday School literature.  Several pastors and teachers were in attendance.

 

Later, we toured 3 of the churches in town, and finished up with coffee and sweet rolls with Juan Jose and Vilma, where we also shared the PB&J sandwiches that had been packed for our lunch.

 

We also noted the new pila was working very well.

 Tommy

 

 

    

Day 10-Macaronis

Today was our last full day in Honduras and our final blog! We headed out early to La Moñtanita, after a breakfast of toast, eggs, and bacon. At La Moñtanita we finished the railing and gave the rest of the children de-worming medicine and fluoride. After going to Juana’s house to eat our sandwiches, we headed down the mountain. On the way down, we stopped at a poor family’s house and gave them clothes and balls. Jeff and Maynor also gave the 6 children and the dad de-worming medicine and fluoride. Before heading back to the compound, we stopped at the supermarket to pick up some macaroni and cheese to take back to the United States. Unfortunately they didn’t carry it. We arrived back at the compound and picked up Martha to go to the grocery store. There we bought food for 3 families, and we delivered it to the families. They were very appreciative of the food. Then we went to check on the progress of Sandra’s new house. Progress had been made. We helped shovel dirt in the backyard, until the rain came. On the way back to the compound, we stopped to pick up Topogigios (Honduran popsicles). We came back to the compound for our last dinner. We had chicken and beef enchiladas and macaroni and cheese. After dinner we said goodbye to our new friends on the compound and Sandra’s son Abner. Now we are all packing to go home tomorrow. This trip has impacted us in many different ways. We now appreciate more what God has given us. It has opened our eyes about how blessed we are. We hope that we carry our experiences back home and help others find God’s love. We hope you guys have enjoyed the blog. Look forward to hearing from us next year!

Abby brushing her teeth.

The finished rail at La Moñtanita.

The house people we delivered clothes too.

The two families we delivered food too. 

Abby and Anna eating Topogigios!

Abby & Anna

Day 9- Buenas Noches

This morning we woke up and had breakfast. Abby requested flour tortillas so that was part of our breakfast. We then left to go to Martha’s Sunday school. After listening to Martha teach, we helped hand out lunch to the children. When they all finished their lunch, we played with them. Jeff played soccer with them, and Abby and Anna had children fighting over holding their hands. They all wanted some attention from the visitors. Then we all played 3 different Spanish games, which the teacher taught us. We are all sad we won't be there again next week to see the new friends we made.We went back to the compound for a quick lunch of spaghetti before going to the AGAPE Promise Sunday school. There we served a snack to the children and went into the courtyard and played with them. We left to go to Tijeras. Once there we delivered a ball to Kevin, a little boy who was badly burned while collecting bottles at the dump. Abby and Anna stayed and played with Kevin and his brothers, while Daniel and Jeff went to deliver beans and rice. On the way back to the compound, we delivered books to the hospital in Quimistan. Daniel stopped and bought us popsicles. We had a dinner of beef and fried plantains before heading out to the AGAPE Church. As the service was ending the power went out, but the Pastor continued on with his prayer.It was a different experience than back home!

Rixie and other girls praying at Martha's Sunday School class.

Karen singing at the AGAPE Church.

Nellie's daughter Jenny with a homemade dress from St. John's.

AP student Kandy is proud of her new dress from her sponsor.

Kevin with his new book and ball!

"I wash you car!"

Today half of our group left to go back to the United States. Now it is just Abby, Jeff, and Anna. After dropping Annie, Melanie, and Bob off at the San Pedro Sula Airport we went to Puerto Cortez and Omoa. The girls and Jeff went swimming. It was cool that we could swim and see the mountains at the same time. We returned for dinner and had fried chicken and rice.

Anna, Abby, and Jeff

Day 7-"Is that chocolate!?"

 

This morning for breakfast we had eggs, ham, beans, and pineapple. Then we left to go visit people’s houses. We visited houses that were built by previous groups, and we delivered beans and rice and clothes. Again, we were amazed that small bags of beans and rice could bring such gratitude. We went back to eat lunch, enchiladas. After lunch we went to Compassion’s after-school program for children. There we all played with the children. Pablo (Bob) blew up balloons and blew bubbles. Annie and Jeff played football. Abby and Anna played volleyball. Melanie painted the girls’ finger nails and colored with them. Then we went to the Tijeras’ feeding. Gloria cooked fried chicken pies for them. At the end, we helped hand out cookies and tennis balls. We were all moved by how patiently the children waited even though we know many of them were hungry. They also helped their little brothers and sisters.  We hope that we have learned something from these children. Returning home we were greeted by the children of the compound. We played with them. Then Sandra’s children and grandchildren came over so we played with them also. For dinner we had whole fish and Anna’s and Abby’s special macaroni and cheese. 

Abby & Anna

With editor Pablo's assistance!

Day 6-“We fly high!”

Today Melanie went off to visit some people while the rest of the group went to Copan. The drive there was the scariest one we have had. We went over many bumps, and Abby hit her head a lot. Once there we bought out tickets and met our guide Tony. We were very impressed that our guide could speak 5 languages, having lived in Honduras all his life. We visited the Mayan ruins, and then went in the tunnels. The tunnels were actually not made by the Mayans, but by archeologists.

After touring the ruins we went to lunch. Then we went souvenir shopping. There were little kids trying to sell dolls to us. Anna bought one because the little kid was so cute. He got 20 lempira (approximately $1) for it. When he walked away, he was smiling really big then started jumping up and down happily. This is an example of how appreciative the people in Honduras are. Anna felt good that she helped the little boy and his family.  Giving is more blessed than receiving!

We arrived back at the compound for a dinner of beef and fried plantains. Then we walked downtown for ice cream. Rafael tagged along with us. We had an adventurous motor taxi experience on the way back. The adults rode together in Juan Pedro’s taxi and the girls and Rafael rode in Carlos’s taxi. The driver was not used to people from the United States looking as old as they are because he thought Abby, 14, was 25!  

Group picture minus Melanie at the ruins

Abby, Anna, and Annie with Tony

Abby, Anna, Carlos, Annie, Juan Pedro

Anna, Rafael, and Abby walking to get ice cream

Annie, Anna, and Abby at lunch

Abby& Anna 

Blog from Melanie

My day in Quimistan was busy and blessed.  What a joy to visit old friends!  Tony who lives here on Miss Martha’s ranch was my translator.  Those who have been on previous trips will remember some of these friends.  On the way to visit Alexis we met Ernestina walking up the street.  Her smile is just the same. Her father who is 98 lives with her.  Found that Alexis is living with her mother, so Ernestina got in the motortaxi to show us the way.  Alexis looked better!  Cecilia and Kenia are in first grade!  Since they were in school (praise the Lord) I returned to visit the girls in the afternoon.  Several times during the day, I stopped the motortaxi driver so a little handmade dress or beans and rice could be given to a family in need.  Tony and I had a delicious lunch at Shirley’s.  Shirley was there with her baby.  Visited with Jenny Suyapa and a compassion child, Wendy  Sanchez.  Spent some free time talking with Sandra and Gloria.  Then happened to meet Americus with her 3 sisters who were visiting Martha.  Seeing God’s love through old friends: a wonderful way to spend the day.  Thank you Lord for Your many blessings!

Alexis with her girls

Shirley with her baby and dad

Melanie with Ernestina

My new dress!