Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Sue's Reflections
As I reflect on the experiences of this week Psalm 100 comes to mind. "Make a joyful noise to the Lord. all the lands! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!" In the midst of the poverty this week I found joy, hope, love, peace, gratitude and anticipation of things to come. I heard the joy in the sound of children's voices, the singing, the instruments playing and the laughter. Looking into the eyes of your children Lord opened my eyes so that I can see You more clearly. I am thankful that our team had the opportunity to touch peoples lives and make a difference. We came to bless but we were blessed. As I journey home I will continue to hold all of the people I met close to my heart and in my prayers.
You guys are fabulous!
I get to see many people take time out of there busy lives to come and help the Honduran people several times a year, but this time they were different. First of all, they are all young and full of life, compassion, and long-suffering. We woke up early everyday, worked hard all day long in the hot sun, went to lunch, went back out to another location to minister to fellow communities and churches, went to dinner, went back out to participate in a church service, then came back to the hotel only left with enough time and energy to debrief, brush their teeth and go to bed. Now during all this time, all throughout the week, did I hear a peep or complaint from any of them. Not one. Only endurance and willingness. This is what I was most impressed by. I look forward to working with each and every one of them again in the future. Thank you and may God bless! Your sister in Christ, Stacy
This afternoon we went back to Bella Vista which means beautiful view. The children were waiting for us and they were proud to perform a couple of songs for us. We passed out coloring pages and made a joyful noise to the Lord with the maracas we made with them! The children enjoyed the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches we brought to share and the donations that we passed out from our family and friends.
Mission Accomplished at school!!
Today we were up and at the school site by 8:40 a.m. Our friends were waiting for us as we pulled in. Today our goal was to sift and lift the reamaining pile of sand to the second floor. With teamwork and determination, despite the heat, the last bucket of sand was hauled up at 12:10 p.m. A loud cheer broke out from our team for a job well done!! As you can see from the picture a lot was accomplished over the five days. About 1,000 cinder blocks and many buckets of sand were hauled to the second floor. Praise God for strong backs and teamwork!!
Sock Dolls
The sock dolls that were made by the 6th graders in Mrs. Gasparti's art class in Bridgewater, MA were given out in many villages in Honduras. This is a picture of a young boy receiving one of the dolls at Bella Vista today.
Kathryn's thoughts...
We've often heard that love is the universal language. I've even used that saying myself. But the phrase has taken on a totally new meaning for me during our stay in Honduras. Despite the differences in our languages, our cultures, our expressions of worship, and our economic situations, the love that's been exchanged between the members of our team and the Honduran people with whom we've worked and played and worshipped has allowed us to communicate in surprising and deeply moving ways. We've discovered meaningful ways to say, "I love you," as we've shared smiles and laughter; exchanged touches and hugs; learned names and family connections; and simply found joy in spending time together. One of the things I will take home from this amazing experience is a renewed sense that God has created each of us to give and receive love and that we are at our best as humans created in the divine image when we do so. I am grateful to the people--and especially the children--of Honduras and the members of our team for sharing that gift with me.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tory's View
Coming to Honduras for the first time, I was expecting to be moved by the poverty, but I really wasn't prepared for the culture shock. Besides getting used to the food, I had to comprehend the idea that these kids who were so happy and joyful, live in shacks made of next to nothing. The littlest things make the children smile, such as when they were given a piece of candy or a half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It makes me wonder how they can always be grateful when their situation is exceptionally worse than those who are considered poor in the United States. Today to celebrate Jeff and Beth birthday, Nubia provided a pinata filled with candy. The kids were excited as we expected, but many mentioned today, that for the first time we felt as one big family. While cheering for the kids to hit the pinata and finally knowing each of the kids names, it was a joyful time which everyone seemed to enjoy; but the fun didn't stop there. During our afternoon we enjoyed shopping either for our sponsored children or browsing the nearby markets. Dinner was filled with more laughter than the whole trip combined and the laughter echoed throughout the lobby after dinner when we played a board game. I hope that our last few days we be continued to be filled with many laughter and smiles. As we say in Spanish, Buenas Noches!
Enrique and Stacy Newman have been missionaries to Honduras for the past two and a half years. Enrique serves as the assistant director for Iglesias Comunidad De Amor International. Enrique and Stacy recently planted a church in their garage and just recently rented a space at a strip mall for their church services. For more information about Mission Honduras visit their website at www.hondurasmissions.org.
Dr. Hector Newman and his wife Nubia serve as missionaries in Honduras. Dr. Newman is the executive director of Iglesias Comunidad De Amor International. Mission Honduras has many ministries encompassing 23 churches, a school and a future orphanage.
Pastor Wendy's Ponderings
Day 5 at the work site. The children run toward the bus when they see us approaching looking forward to the fun they will have with the team. The laughter and singing are a joyful sound as the children and team run around the school yard playing all sorts of games. Although we are here to help build the school, sharing our love with the children is just important for we are building relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The worship services have filled our souls with the Spirit of God. Last night we worshipped at Bella Vista which means beautiful view. The church has a tin roof and a few light bulbs, but no walls. The children there felt free to walk around and play as we sang songs of praise to the Lord. Stray dogs wandered through the worship space. Neighbors looked on from a window of an adobe home that was very close to the church. As I preached the Word of God, the people responded with clapping and loud amens. I felt as if I had a taste of what the Church may have been like 2000 years ago. Friendships have deepened on this, my 3rd trip to Honduras. I give thanks to God for allowing me to experience the Kingdom of God in this environment.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16th
We were up bright and early again this morning and at the work site by 9:00. We sifted and lifted many buckets of sand and water for the cement that was being mixed on the second floor. Several of the team members made an assembly line and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the children's lunch. We used five loaves of bread and had enough for all of the children and for the workers as well! We did not have cloud cover this morning so it was very hot.
In the afternoon we traveled to the site where the orphanage is being built. Hector and Enrique gave us a tour of the land. Two building are now standing and it will be a blessing to watch the project through its completion.
In the evening we traveled back to the church next to the school for a worship service. Pastor Wendy gave the message and Mike, Steve, Gracie and Britt provided music for the service. It was a full but amazing day. We have a wonderful team!
Wednesday February 17th
Good Morning Amigos! Today we continued our work on the school. We moved 500 cinder blocks to the second floor and sifted and lifted countless bucket of sand. For the second day we made PB & J sandwiches to bring to Los Robles church to share with the kids later that day. We sang with the children and sang a lot of songs both in English and in Spanish. While at Los Robles (where the tile floor was put in with our donation), we made musical instruments, gave out bracelets, and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. In the evening, we enjoyed a church service at Bella Vista church with Pastor Bonifacio. Everyone is well, tired, and blessed that God is using each one of us to contribute to the people of Honduras.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Pictures
Pictures above are of the airplane flying into Danli and the mission team with some of our friends in front of the church. Jeff our photographers new nickname is Nikon we are blessed to have him with us!!
Monday, February 15th
We were up and at breakfast on Monday morning at 7:30 a.m. and we were at the work site by 8:30 a.m. It was a cloudy morning- great day to work!! We moved 250 cinder blocks to the roof for building. Sifted and lifted many buckets of dirt and water for cement and we are well on our way to adding the second floor.
After we worked we took a tour of the community. We were all touched by the poverty of the people in the village. Many people have humble living quarters although they are very proud of what they have. Few people have running water so many of the women wash their clothes in the lake nearby. Some of fortunate enough to have money to buy bottled water others use the same water from the lake and boil it for drinking.
We went back to have lunch then returned to the school site. About 80 children greeted the van as we pulled in. We spent the afternoon playing with the children. Pastor Wendy gave a short message then the children colored for awhile. We also brought beads and the children had a wonderful time making necklaces and bracelets!! They are also enjoying the bracelets that the children made at Central School. We also played music, tag, football (Dave was throwing the ball from the roof) we had a great time!!
We also gave out some of the supplies that were given and sorted the rest to go to area villages during the week. The diapers Joni gave were greatly appreciated by several of the moms with infants.
We went back very tired and hot because the sun had come out but grateful for a wonderful, productive day!! We returned to the church next to the school after dinner and several of the school children put on a presentation for us.
We were back to the hotel by 8 and I believe everyone was in bed by 9 resting up for another day!!
We are here!!
Enrique giving the mission team a tour of Honduras
We are here in Honduras. We started our trip at 2:00 a.m. on the 14th and arrived at our destination in Danli at 5:00 p.m. We have a wonderful team of 22 people all with different gifts and talents.
After arriving on Sunday evening we had dinner and came to a worship service next to the school we will be working on all week. The youth on our team participated in the service Gracie gave a message, several of the youth participated in a skit and Mike, Steve, Gracie and Britt provided a couple of songs in Spanish. For those of us traveling back for our second or third mission trip it was wonderful to see old friends. We got back to the hotel around 9:00 debriefed and we were all happy to get some rest so we could be up bright and early to begin to work on the school.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
We are packed and ready to go!
Thank you to our family and friends for the many donations that were given for our mission trip. The donations have been sorted and packed. Clothing, toiletries, diapers, school supplies, baseball caps, toys, flip flops, beanie babies all fit into our extra luggage. Many people will be blessed by your generosity!
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