Team Ellis

Team Brown

Hump Day

After dinner last night, Ginger announced that we had made it through Hump Day.  We were confused because it was Thursday.  She explained that she meant we had made it through our third day of work --- and what a day it was.  We have completed all the walls, windows and doors and  over half of the gables.  A lot of work was up on the scaffolding, laying block and pouring concrete – finishing the last two courses of block.  Those on the ground spent the day lifting block and five gallon buckets of concrete overhead to the people on the wall. Kristen spent most of the day singing a song entitled “Arroz con Pollo!” – her own composition.  She even had the little ninas singing it by the end of the day.  She and Rachel spent some special time with Berta and the ladies cooking lunch for the Honduran workers.  Kristen even got to make tortillas (video is coming).  Needless to say everyone was exhausted at the end of the day.  We took the rookies to the bridge to see the view, and then, Rosa’s chicken and rice.  Sorry, Tomas --- no pictures.  When that lid came off the pot, it was a feeding frenzy; but we can’t wait to hear next week about how you kept your teammates from dinner while you were taking pictures of the food.

A shout out to Dudley, our wounded warrior.  We miss you, too, and look forward to your return to health and return to Honduras next year.  We will give your message to Pastor G this morning.

A special thanks to all of you who post comments on the blog.  We have been slower posting this year because of changes in the web connectivity and Kevin’s need to do his homework in the evening.  Your comments are one of the highlights of our day.

Orfilio just blew through on his way to the seafood market.  Fresh camarones tonight! Boiled shrimp and shrimp and grits.  The staff here is doing their usual wonderful job of taking care of us!

We purchased a futball at the Maxi Dispensa yesterday and will find a "campo desportes" today.  Mario, Berta’s teenage son has made it clear that he is a futball player.  We are counting on Kevin and Philip to do us proud!

We pray that God go with you and us today.

The Guiding Hand

Each of us comes to Honduras for variety of reasons, but all come because we are following.  When Jesus called his first disciples he simply said to them, “Follow me.”  He didn’t explain to them what they would be doing, where they would be going, how they were to live.  Instead, when they inquired of such things, he responded, “Come and see.” 

Those who come to Honduras for the first time come here not really knowing what to expect, and with some apprehension.  Those of us who come back, come back expecting more of the same and are often surprised at how different each trip turns out to be.  But that is the adventure followi ng Christ:  stepping out in faith, pushing past our fears and insecurities, shedding our expectations, and opening our eyes, ears and hearts to the things our Lord will show us.  But in every trip the constant is His guiding hand.

Yesterday, as we arrived at the job site for our second day, we fell into the rhythm of our work.  It was predictably hot, dry, and dusty.  But as often happens on the second day, the Hondurans we are working with began to open up to us, wary grins turned to full blown smiles, and the sound of the children’s laughter rose above the whine of the saw and the bustle of the work.  Breaks became time for laughter and getting to know one another better.  As we fell into the routine of our work, it was easy to forget that we are still following and being gently guided.

Last night, at devotion, as we reflected on our day and shared we discussed  Pastor G, our work foreman.  If you came to the work sight, you might not notice the short, wiry man working away on the wall.  But if you focused closely on him, you would see him pause in his work, survey the joy , move quietly to someone’s side and  with a smile point out a better way to do the job, a mistake that needs correction, or a different task that needs priority at that moment.  You would realize that any time a problem or question arises he is the one whose name is called.  You would see him work with the rookies, sizing them up, teaching, pointing them to where they are needed.  You would see him, stopping a veteran with a gentle touch of the hand to say that it is time for a break, to stop and get water, to break for lunch, or to simply end the work day.   And you would realize that on the work site he is the face of Jesus to us and he is our guiding hand. 

Our First Work Day

The first day of work on any mission trip is always an adventure, but today we arrived in the Arenas neighborhood of Choluteca with a little more uncertainty than usual.  We had a smaller team by our standards --- only eight gringos, and two of those were rookies.  Several of us had expressed our nervousness before we got here regarding how we were going to accomplish our usual work schedule with such a small group.  Even last night after a long, successful day of travel, and an amazing and emotional devotion time, we were still expressing our concern.  We did take some consolation in the fact that six of us had a combined 33 trips under our belt.

When we arrived at the site we got to meet the family for whom we would be building the house.  Those of us with experience quickly went to work setting up the job site.  Kevin and Philip, our rookies, went to work making mezcla with Jose, the hardest job on the worksite --- two young, strong backs.  Soon it was time for one of our favorite moments on any trip, the laying and blessing of the cornerstone block.  As we gathered around, Berta, the grandmother of the family lifted the first block over the rebar supports and slid it down to the foundation.  She began joyfully thanking Jesus that she was going to finally get the house she had been awaiting since 2008 when she was put on the list.  Kristen followed with a beautiful dedicatory prayer, and the work began in earnest. 

What followed was one of the hottest days any of us have experienced in Honduras.   Everyone worked diligently, but without the army of villagers we had helping last year and with the heat, we were flagging by mid-afternoon.  Yet somehow at the end of the day, exhausted, and owing much to the steady guidance of Pastor G., our Honduran job foreman, and the prodigious block laying skills of Egla, our interpreter, we completed our goal of five courses of block laid, with one of the doors set.   

As we gathered for devotion in the courtyard of the mission house after wolfing down a delicious dinner of Rosa’s beans, rice, tortillas, and plantains, several of the veterans reflected on our groundless concerns about being shorthanded, and thanked God for giving us just enough strength to achieve our goal for the day.  But as Ginger Greene reminded us of Berta’s joy this morning, it occurred to us that the strength which God had supplied us today had been His answer to Berta’s prayers, not our own.    We are humbled, moved, and so, so grateful to once again to be the instruments of our mighty God in this hot, dry, poor, beautiful country.

La Familia

Evelio (brother), Gabriel (husband), Daniela (daughter), Mario (son), Norky (granddaughter), and Berta Cana de Riviera.

Laying the First Block

Berta, the mother and grandmother of the Riviera family, laid the first block of the house they have been waiting on for 5 years.  Kristen gave a beautiful prayer of dedication.