FBC Raleigh Honduras 2013: 02/05/13

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Team Two Departs

Team Two departed RDU at 6:00 AM Wednesday morning. Buenos Dias Honduras!
(Feb 6-13): Bob Kimball, Jeremy Petty, John Baldwin, Greg Clary, Bob Matthews, Eddie Sasser, Rick Price, Tom Childrey

Reflections on Team One's Trip

Highlights and reflections on the last few days of our trip

Finishing the job:

- Pastor G and Steve reached an understanding: while Steve was more than willing to cut any block that could be cut on the ground, he was happy to cede to Pastor G the job of cutting the notches on the gables with the block saw while standing on the scaffolding approximately twelve feet above ground. Steve told Pastor G that God had built him close to the ground because he intended him to stay close to the ground. Joel told Pastor G that had Steve responded any other way, Joel would have been required to block any attempt by Steve to climb up on the scaffolding with the block saw, since he was the one charged by Regina with bringing Steve back alive. After a lot of laughter, Pastor G cut the notches.

- Kevin and Philip manned up and put the roof on the house with Mike’s direction; a strong and exemplary rookie performance

- Because of her dedicated, persistent, and excellent service in cleaning the joints between the blocks, the tool formerly known as a convex jointer has now been officially named by Team On as the “Rachel”. You go, girl!

- We realized about Thursday that when the family and their helpers prepared the foundation of the house they had filled it to the rim with rocks sand and gravel requiring removal from the house before the floor could be poured. As we began to remove it from the house on Friday, Pastor G directed us to spread it around the outside base of the house so that during the rainy season the family could walk on it without sinking into the mud. This cosmetic touch along with the work of Rachel, Kristen and others cleaning the joints made for an impressive finished product.

- We had two complete block left when the house was finished; nothing was wasted.

The dedication and delivery of the house:

- By midafternoon on Saturday, the house was finished, the site was cleaned up and it was time to dedicate the house and turn it over to Berta and her family. For the second year in a row, the team invited the family members, Pastor Andreas, and the men and boys who had helped with the construction to sit down on a long bench beside the house. Egla then read John 13:1-5; 12-17 in Spanish, and we explained to all of them that we intended to wash their feet as Jesus had done for his disciples and as he had commanded the disciples to do for one another. Later that evening at devotional, Kevin remarked how he had been nervous about doing this, and how the family and workers had at first seemed unsure and unsettled by us doing this, but that once the scripture had been read and they understood that we were really going to do this a quiet and humble reverence had fallen upon them and on us. Beautiful and holy.

- After the footwashing, the team, family, and workers placed their hands on the outside wall and and shared a prayer of dedication

- Next, the door was locked and Berta was presented with the keys to her new house. She and the family then unlocked the door and entered their completed house for the first time. The team presented the family with a lovely framed cross as a house warming gift; Berta pointed out where she wanted it to hang; Philip, who had donated the cross, drove the nail in the selected spot; and Mario, the fourteen year old boy who would now live in the house, hung the cross in its place. Words cannot describe the hugs, smiles and tears which followed.

A reunion + birthdays + many reunions = a glorious finish!

- Saturday evening, after our workday and dinner, we loaded into the van, and headed north out of Choluteca. Along the way, we stopped and picked up Orfilio and his wife and daughter. We continued north until we reached the police checkpoint on the Pan American Highway and then turned left. Three miles later, we came to a small church nestled in the foothills, surrounded by people. We had arrived at the buena reunión, an evening of worship attended by the members of six churches. A stage was set up on a flatbed trailer parked in the churchyard. Over a hundred people sat in chairs or stood in the yard waiting for the service to begin. On the stage, Saul Herrera and the praise band from the church at Colonia Unidas were setting up for the service. The band had grown from when we met them two years before when we built a Sunday School building at their church. Five young men played instruments, including Saul on the keyboard, Nelson on the bass and Bryan on drums, with four female and one male backup singer. After greetings and hugs with old friends, including Pastor Amado from Colonia Unidas, we joined in an hour and a half of joyous singing, preaching, and praying under a beautiful, starlit Honduran sky. We even saw a shooting star! A new, glorious experience for the team. As Ginger and Mike Green, our mission coordinators often remind us ---- God is good; all the time!

- Sunday was Kristen’s birthday, and Team One geared up for another Kristen birthday celebration in Honduras. But nothing prepared us for the unexpected celebrations. We arrived at Saul’s new house in Colonia Unidas (located right next to the futball field) where we met Saul’s new wife, Gabrielle (Gabi), looked at wedding pictures, shared memories with Saul and Nelson, were treated to a private performance of Saul unplugged, and learned that it was Gabi’s birthday as well. That meant Saul had to lead is in the Spanish Happy Birthday song, followed by the English Happy Birthday song (the Spanish is much better) for both Kristen and Gabi. It was a special time with dear friends. We then proceeded to the worship service at Iglesia Roca de Salvacion where Kristen was again serenaded by the congregation with the Spanish Happy Birthday song. During the singing all of the children in the church came up and hugged Kristen as she stood at the front of the church, followed by the women of the church, followed by a solemn procession of the men of the church. Kristen was laughing and crying at the same time. Finally, after our traditional Sunday night dinner at El Torito, we returned to the mission house for birthday cake purchased at the bakery next door and decorated specifically for our Kristen. Based upon the festivities, if we keep going back during the week of Kristen’s birthday, it will soon become an official Honduran national celebration day!

- On Sunday afternoon we returned to the village of El Carrizo – Reynaldo, Fransisco Sr. and Jr., Roxanna, Paster Mejea and Claudia, Jose Augusto, and the Flores family – joyous reunions!

- A glorious finish to another glorious trip in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! Join us next year; and as Jesus said as he called his disciples: “Come and see.”