Honduras 2017

Our mission trip was amazing, beautiful, tiring, emotional, taxing, fun, and busy.  We love the country and all our dear friends down there.  This was my 7th or 8th time to go in the last 10 years.  Its always a blessing to me and a humbling experience.

Here are some pictures of our journey ~

our kitchen for the week ~ we prepared food for 25 people + extras for church folks

Our sweet Mirna with the quilt I made for her little baby son

Gregs cook station for the week

delicious fresh fruit in January

Austin and Amy got up and worked in the kitchen for Breakfast and then went our with the medical team for the day....every day!

My awesome chef at work

Amy & Mirna

Me and Glinda ~ the church housekeeper

young man who cooked our chickens one night!

This dear lady was lightning fast with the tortilla making

the pharmacy staff at work at one of the churchs ~ Amy's first time with a medical team

Austin worked in optometry

I started to crochet one day and ended up making many single crochet bracelets and hair ties

my favorite drink ~ Pepsi needs to sell it here

Floor to ceiling fabric at the local store ~ spent $23 and came home with 9 unique yards of fabric

Made up a new dish ~ Mexican Lasagna ~ layers of grilled chicken, tortillas, ground beef and lots of cheese and salsa

presunburn picture at Telamar on our resting day before travel home

I could sit at the beach and listen to the waves crash for hours!

Thankful for ~ 

*another opportunity to serve the Lord in this wonderful country
*sweet visits with most of our friends down there
*feeding our medical team
*a walking buddy (Greg) thru town (about 7 miles logged on our fitbits daily)
*delicious cantaloupe and watermelon in January
*watching Amy and Austin work together
*the premarriage counseling they received while on the trip
*a relaxing time at the beach on the last morning
*Wonderful hugs & a few tears
*God's protection as we walked to and from the church each day (5 blocks each way)
*for the internet (spotty at best) to hear about the inauguration and the Falcon's win and going to the Superbowl!
*for serving the Lord with our mission team friends again

*and really thankful that I have a home with no staircases to climb multiple times daily ~ climbing to the 4th floor to our room was not fun everyday.
*thankful for clean water and warm showers
*for being able to shop locally without heavily armed guards in the stores
*for the quietness of my home
*for the opportunity to see that Lord at work in other parts of the world

Beautiful Country

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Mission trips are lots of fun.  They have lots of challenges.  They can be extremely difficult in that you are in a different situation, a different culture & with many different personalities.  Its important that you are going for the right reasons & that you are very flexible.  What you plan, may not happen.  If you go with your own agenda ~ you will be disappointed.  Mission Trips are not about ourselves, our agendas, our wants, our comfort.  They are all about what the Lord wants to happen, where he wants you to go, on His schedule & timing, and where he wants you to Minister to His children in His Name. 

The Good ~
We were able to minister to hundreds of children at 5 different locations over 4 days. On Thursday we had 87 children in the morning and 106 in the afternoon. Our ministry was made easier by our awesome interpreters ~ Mirna, Sharon & Amanda!  Those girls are great!  Lots of music, hand motions, Bible events retelling, love, candy, rainbow loom bracelets, hugs, crafts, smiles & waves.  These children and their families are precious.  They live in circumstances and areas that most of us know nothing about.  We are all so spoiled and like all our comforts & don't know what it means to scrimp & scratch out a meager existence for our families.  We all have clothes, food, a roof over our heads & the blessing of electricity.

The Bad ~
Going to an impoverished country on a Mission Trip is a challenge.  Our container with supplies arrived in the country on Oct. 29.....its still being held in customs.  We didn't get any of it.  So that meant a lot of scrambling, improvising, and making do for Vacation Bible Schools.  There aren't big box craft stores down there you can go into to buy new stuff.  We were able to get crayons & paper. We also had some craft supplies with us in our luggage.  And what happens to that shipment?  Well, the new government took control this week & the new President was sworn in ~ he is making a clean sweep of the old regime and putting in his own folks.  Our shipment may be sitting there complete & untampered with ~ or it could have been opened & ransacked before the old guys left.  Whatever is left will one day be released and the stuff gotten to where it needs to be. 

The Ugly ~
I haven't been on a Mission Trip in recent years where Ugly didn't show up.  Ugly is how the enemy works to carve out division in the group, to cause dissension, to interrupt the ministry.  Ugly comes in many different forms ~ inflexibility, selfishness, not a team player, complaining, tears, attitudes, words, etc.  Ugly happened. So what to do when Ugly rears its head ~ you can try to talk & reason, you can pray, you can ignore it, you can "build a bridge & get over it".  Ugly also makes a fun time seem like work, and a chore/challenge to everyone else who is around the Ugly. It is not a person ~ its an attitude, a spirit, a working of the enemy.  It can happen to any of us & affect everyone around us ~ including the children you were to minister to.  Ugly likes to use words like "I",  & "me". 

We prayed for months about this trip.  We were definitely out of our comfort zone with going out with the VBS team everyday ~ twice a day.  But we were blessed by the children ~ their love, affection, joy, and enthusiasm is contagious.  We, as parents, were blessed to see Amy work in these situations and love on these precious little children & form fast, tight bonds with our interpreters ~ especially Mirna.  We love walking around town and talking with the shop folks that speak English.  Greg was able to hand out many gospel DVD's.  We are talking & praying about next year already ~ as Amy said only 51 more weeks.

Romans 5: 1-5
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character and character, hope, Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the who Spirit who was given to us.

Amy had just given Mirna her rainbow loom & rubber bands to keep!

Denia, Amy, Mirna & Sharon

Greg gave Mirna his MSU hat to keep!  She kept swiping it all week!

I drank 2 this week!  Lovely, orange Mirinda!  Wish it came in light/diet!

Our last night ~ Denia, Mirna, Amy, Sharon, Amanda & Exdi ~ just missing Sonya!

AWESOME Time!

We are having an awesome time in Honduras.  The weather is hot, the bugs are biting (guess who forgot the bug spray?  Made a trip to store this a.m. for it), the work is happening, the children are laughing & singing, new friends are being made, old friendships being re established, lots of water being drunk, Bible events being retold, beautiful voices being lifted in song!  I don't care whether we don't speak Spanish or they don't speak English ~ love, smiles, hugs & friendship bridge the language barriers! 

We LOVE it down here ~ Amy has already asked to come back next year!  I think she and Mirna have decided to adopt each other.  They are having so much fun together.  Mirna is our interpreter, along with Amanda, and they are doing a fantastic job. 

This morning at VBS we had 34 children ~ but almost 50 folks when you add in the teens, adults & babies that stayed for the fun.  This afternoon, at a different location in a much smaller community, we had about 10 children. 

Amy is doing her part at spreading the love ~ she brought a bag full of rubber band bracelets she had made on her rainbow loom and is giving them away.  I think tomorrow, Mirna will get a bracelet making lesson if there is time.  The kids all loved their bracelets and most picked bracelets that matched what they were wearing ~ even the boys.

At the afternoon location, Greg got to help the construction team with their project.  They were mixing cement the old fashinoned way, with shovels and building a 6 foot wide x about 20 long concrete pad in front of the church.  Tomorrow, another 6 foot section will be added.

Here is a few pictures (out of the tons we took)

music time

Greg as Paul & Silas' Phillipian Jailer

helping with crafts

shovel work ~ Carl & Greg

bracelet time ~ Amanda, Mirna & Amy

All in a days work~

If I can't get on here till late tomorrow, I want to wish my awesome husband a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The Adventure Begins

Hi from rainy, loud, beautiful El Progresso, Honduras.

We arrived last night after a very long, exhausting day of lines, weather, travel changes, and lack of sleep.  We were supposed to be at our local airport for a 6 am flight, we got there about 4:30 (after waking up at 3 and not being able to go back to sleep).  Our flight into Houston was delayed for 2 + hours because of the winter weather.  When we got off the plane, the steps and handrails outside the plain were covered in ice.  The bad weather caused their skytram that took folks from one terminal to another not to be safe.  They were taking the passengers to the terminals by bus ~ they only held 18 people at a time, so it took quite a while.  As we were waiting for the bus, our plane took off. 

A nice gal at United Airlines, worked very hard to get us a flight to Miami and then connect to a flight to Honduras.  When all was said and done ~ we were in airports or planes from 4:30 am to 8:30 pm ~ very long day!

Unfortunately, the rest of the teams flights aren't being at all cooperative ~ their Friday flights out of New Orleans were completely canceled.  They did get to Houston this morning but missed their flight like we did yesterday.  They are stuck in Houston till tomorrow and will hopefully be here around noon.

Greg, Amy and I donned rain jackets today and hit the streets, taking Amy to our favorite stores in town.  We brought some Gospel DVD's and Greg gave one to our fabric store guy (who speaks really good English).  He was thankful for the dvd and said he was going to hook it up to the stores pa system and play it.  He also asked for one in English to play for his kids and help with their English skills. 

My sweet Honduran friend Mirna came to the airport last night to see us.  She is such a doll ~ she is 18 now and I've known her for about 7 years.  I've always referred to her as my Honduran Amy, as their personalities are similar.  They took us to dinner last night and came and got us for lunch today.  Tonight Greg is going to a Mens Church Meeting with Mario (Mirna's foster dad) and tomorrow we are attending their church. 

Here are a few pictures of our day!

Veiw outside our hotel window ~ look at that mess of electrical lines!

guard stand outside hotel across the road

huge Honduran grocery

Vanilla!  Haven't been able to find it without water as the first ing. though.

lots don't have power here ~ so dairy is sold In small bags they would use in a day.

floor to ceiling fabric stacks ~ making the most use of available space

he's got some cotton now ~ I see a quilt coming!

we love this one

a Cookies & cream stuffed Oreo ~ this doesn't make sense!

edible gummy penguins ~ took this for Allen!

lotsa hot sauce down here!

my sweet buddy

cupcake Amy holding store bought Honduran cupcakes!

our favorite drink ~ Orange Mirinda

We had decided to eat our Atkins for breakfast & lunch and eat a regular dinner while here.  So we brought all our goodies ~ ran out of our carry on goodies yesterday while on our trek here (airlines now just serve a drink ~ no peanuts or pretzels, you have to buy snacks).  I was looking forward to a Mirinda ~ till we read the nutrition information....33 carbs for 1 serving and that bottle Amy was holding was 2 1/2 servings.  Argh!  We both drank 2 sips of hers but that was it.  Those sips were great!

We are ready for the ministry work to begin ~ hopefully tomorrow everyone will be here!

I am thankful for ~
sweet hugs from my buddy
air conditioning
packing a raincoat
getting here safely
re-establishing some friendships & contacts
2 sips of Mirinda
walking around town with Greg & Amy
diet coke & bottled water
the camera Angel gave me to use!
comfortable tennis to walk in
an internet connection
encouraging notes from back home!
prayers from friends & family