Serving with Love and Laughter

Today, Monday, right after breakfast, our team headed to La Provenier Kinder. All the children gathered outside while we told the story of Jesus falling asleep on the boat while the disciples were afraid when a sudden storm appeared.  I told the story with an interpreter while our team acted out the story. The disciples and Jesus were dressed in Biblical times, and we made the story come alive with interaction from the kids (wind blowing, hand made rain sticks for the rain, and a water bottle for water coming into the boat). The children were very attentive and engaged during the Bible time. Our main focus was, "Jesus gives us peace." There was a time for kids to share things that made them scared, sad, or afraid. We shared with them that Jesus gives us peace in any circumstances. After the story, the children broke into four groups, and we rotated with a craft, color sheet, playdough, and game time (parachute etc.) We also help serve the children lunch before they left to go home. It was a very enjoyable time. I loved working with the craft group because the children all wanted to show me their excellent work. Thankfully, I was able to tell them in Spanish what a good job they had done.

Once we finished at the kindergarten, we headed back to the ranch for lunch. As soon as lunch was over, we went straight to Tranquilidad Foundation to continue working on the beautiful tables that Stephen and Daniel had started. We only had to build one more but needed to add another coat of shellac to the finished tables.  Some of us played with the children in the home and also on the new playground complete with swings, slide set, movable wooden letters, and a tire tower. The playground looks so good, and we are truly grateful our team was able to be a part of something that the children there will enjoy as well as the children that will be coming to Tranquilidad.

Dinner was yummy as always. We have three meals a day. The ladies in the kitchen take very good care of us and are excellent cooks. We are so grateful for Gloria, Leti, and Sandra. They are amazing, kind, and so loving to all of us.

Roxanne, our missionary decided to play a card game with us after dinner. She had never played before so we decided to teach her how to play Nertz.  All I can say is that we all laughed so hard that we almost....well, you know. It's hard to explain what happened but you can catch a glimpse of a video on Facebook with all of us dying with laughter. After a while, we continued to play but started speaking with an English accent. Proverbs tells us, "A cheerful heart is good medicine." I can tell you that all of us at that table got a wonderful dose of it.

-Shanda



The mission team from CRA just before Stephen left early to return to the US and work responsibilities.



 Jesus and his disciples.





So much fun to play with these precious children!

A House Divided

On this lovely Saturday morning after eating breakfast our team went in two different directions.  Part of our team went up to TQ to work on the playground.  The children really enjoyed playing on their new slide, swings, tire tower, etc.  The rest of the team stayed in the villa and packed book bags for the children at Tejeras.  We had about seventy book bags packed and full of school supplies.  That's a lot of school supplies!  We had lots of fun listening to music while we joyfully worked before the group at TQ returned for lunch.  After we ate our midday meal, the group split again and three of us stayed behind to work on the craft for vbs while the rest went back to TQ.  The few of us that stayed behind also worked on a "Feliz Cumpleanos" banner for Bessy, one of our cooks daughters whose birthday we will celebrate tomorrow.  The group that returned to the Hogar continued working on the tables for the playground!  I missed seeing the kids at the home today as they got to play on their new playground for the first time, but I loved seeing pictures of their smiling faces.  Thanks for praying for the health and safety of all our team members.  Everyone that wasn't feeling well is slowly but surely getting back to 110 percent!
Packing the book bags.

Trunks full of backpacks for the children at Tejeras.






A verse about God supplying for our needs was included in the bags.

All five enjoyed their first swing together at the "Area de Recreacion"!

Making something beautiful

Today was a productive day! One of the tables has been put together and will be stained and varnished tomorrow.  The chalk board on the porch area is almost done and Joel has had a fun time drawing on it as well as on himself!  The wind chime was finally completed and hung.  It was made out of things that we would consider "trash" in the US.  The cans were old rusted formula cans that were spray painted different colors and designs. The bottom five cans have all the children's names on them. The cans were hung by fishing wire and tied to bicycle rims and a fan cover.  It is a reminder to me of how God takes something old and broken and makes something beautiful!

  The table put together. 

The children's new chalkboard. 

 The cans with names of each child.

Trash turned into beauty! 

  

Please continue to pray for our health and safety as we are being the hands and feet of Jesus here in Honduras.

Love in Christ, 

Hannah 

 

And Then There Were Seven

    We started the day with a devotion from Stephen then, we hit the town running at 8:30. The well-members of the team headed off to the kindergarten to share with the children (through the interpretation of the story of Jesus calming the storm) how God gives us peace. We colored, laughed, crafted, and ate alongside the kiddos in the heat of the morning. At noon, the team departed for a scrumptious lunch back at the Villa.  After lunch, we proceeded back to Tranquilidad to complete the previously started projects (tire tower, wind chimes, play area sign).  In the midst of these tasks, enjoyed a restful afternoon playing with the children at TQ.  Around five we headed back to the compound for dinner and to check on our members not of good health.  Please pray for the continued safety and health of our team in your prayers!



Emma & Mckenna working/sweating on the sign
begun by LFUMC which will now read, " Area de Recreacion!".

God gives me peace!

The simple joys of play!

in peace, Emma & Mckenna 

2nd Work Day at Tranquillidad

Today we continued to work on the project we started yesterday.  Our four deep holes now have cemented poles that are awaiting the brightly colored tires.  The tabletops are beautiful even in their unfinished state.  Some of us rocked and fed babies while others started to make wind chimes.  In this beautiful setting only God could have designed and created and with His Spirit engendering peace and harmony, we had a small taste of the heaven to come.

This afternoon, we went to Tejeras and participated in the feeding of 70-80 children of all ages and their mothers.  A very simple meal was provided and these children ravenously inhaled it.  Rampant poverty and many medical needs were obvious but these children were thankful, sweet and are totally loved by our Father.  It is heart breaking to compare their needs with our plenty at home.

 A busy, thought-provoking day.

Tomorrow we will teach VBS and continue our projects.

First Work Day at TQ

It is amazing, and it shouldn't be, when our Heavenly Father brings people together from varied locations, backgrounds, personalities, and skills forming a unified team.  On day 1 we saw God get us out of our normal roles somewhat.   The ladies rallied together to dig four 2 foot deep holes in rocky ground.  I saw those same ladies help to nurture the children we came to serve.  We saw progress on the playground that was started last week by another group not at all different from our own.  We saw table tops start to come into shape.  And we prepared a wall space for the chalkboard that will come tomorrow.

As my pastor says when he gets up every Sunday, "God is good!"  All the time, God is good!!!  

The following pictures show some of what was done.

Some of the girls feed the 3 littles at TQ!  How can you resist those sweet faces!!!

These giant tree cookies is being turned into table tops for the picnic area.

The ladies who take such great care of us while we are here receive a gift from the team!

This is only a portion of the painting that went on; besides the tires seen here, some of the playground  equipment and the chalk wall were worked on.

MORE TO COME TOMORROW!

July 6 (Wednesday) by Roy Bassett 

The last day, last blog of a mission trip is always bittersweet.  Of course we're happy to be headed home, but we're sad to have such an amazing experience come to an end.  We'll miss this place that has come to mean so much to us.

I don't "journal" very often...which is to say, not at all.  I didn't even know you could use journal as a verb until very recently.  However, my daughters gave me a nice journal for Father's Day, specifically for this trip.  So I felt obligated to give it a try.  Here's what I wrote my first morning here.

"Who would have thought I'd feel most at peace in a 3rd world country with a somewhat violent reputation?  I know there is violence in this land, but it seems so far away as I sit on the porch with a cup of coffee enjoying the cool of the morning.

Hummingbirds flit among the flowers.  The birds chitter to each other.  Gloria, Sandra, and Leti have a constant dialogue as they make our breakfast.  I catch a random word, but have no clue what they're talking about.

I know they're happy.  In a hot kitchen, cooking food that will likely be cold before they eat...they're joyful.

It's infectious and a good reminder that joy is where you choose to find it.  Even in a 3rd world country."

If you're reading this blog and have been here, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  If you haven't been here, I truly can't adequately describe it in words or even pictures.  You need to come experience this place and the sense of fulfillment and peace that you get in helping these people. Even more, you should experience the gracious hospitality they extend to all visitors.  

If you can't come experience it for yourself, I can think of no better way to spend your money than to support the amazing work being done here.  Lives are being changed in tangible ways.  The love of Christ is being spread daily.  People are being saved physically and spiritually.  Be a part of it.

Our last day was spent putting the finishing touches on the playground tower and slide.  It had its challenges...mostly the Honduran standards for lumber that meant a 2x4 could be anything from 1.5x4.5 to 2.5x3.5! A straight board and a "square" corner were almost unheard of...at least in the hands of these Norte Americanos!

But, at the end of the day two important things were true...the work was completed and Joel couldn't get enough of it as his smile blotted out the sun!  It's likely that's the first playground he's ever experienced.  The younger children will be joining him before he knows it.

When not helping with the tower and slide, the girls did an amazing job painting slabs of wood and then painting the letters of the Spanish alphabet on them.  As Joel and the other children step from piece to piece, they'll be learning as they play.  All in all, it was a job well done and will last for years and years.

Stanley and his crew will quickly complete the covering over the playground.  When that's done, there are swings we brought with us that will turn the space into a real playground.  They will hang from the rafters of the covering.

While the guys put the last few finishing touches on the playground equipment and cleaned up the tools and scraps, the girls spent the last of the afternoon making one last visit to the roadside feeding program.  Many of the children there have already learned names and asked about their favorites.  It's a vitally important mission and truly life or death for many of those children.

So, tomorrow morning we'll pack our suitcases and make our way to the airport.  It will be good to be home, but we will all see things differently as we go.  This place is not easily left behind.

From left to right: Daniel (translator); Stanley (construction foreman); Mario (driver)

Cooks (Gloria, Leti, Sandra) 

Bailey and Joel

Dr. Brooks Rogers evaluates the children from la Tranquilidad 

Joel on the slide 

These girls are riding on top of the car! (just for a short distance, moms!) 

Our playground. 

Keith was our playground champion. 

The girls painted these letters on cross sections of a tree trunk.  Each section is about 2 feet across.  

this group is awkwardly close

July 5 (Tuesday) by Makenzie Manning

Today we started out with a tour of the White Dove School in Santa Clara. It was inspiring to see the children learning in such a fun, disciplined environment. Every child in the school is trilingual; they know English, Spanish, and French. They all were so excited to be at school, and we could just tell that they truly enjoyed learning. The teachers were asking some of the fifth graders history questions that even I wouldn't be able to answer (A&M, please don't take back my acceptance). They were all so kind and hospitable and they answered all of our many questions.

 This is their mission statement that was recited to us by a fourth grader in all three languages. It was really neat to see these children taking the steps necessary to become leaders in their community and work towards making their country as a whole a better place.

 Sam arm wrestling two of the kids in the fourth grade class. The two little boys had superman strength and came back to beat him at the very end. ;)

 The prep classes in their computer science class. I was very impressed by the fact that this school is teaching the children how to use computers and technology because they will need this to continue their education after high school and eventually get jobs.

 The principal's daughter poses with her completed fourth grade multiplication problem. Bailey wanted to know how White Dove fourth graders compared to American fourth graders when it comes to math. It was good for all of us to see that they are still learning to multiply the way all of us know how and not the new American way.

 Bailey showed the students exactly where we were from with the help of the map hung on the wall. The teacher even commented, "Wait, you are from Texas? I never would've guessed! I don't hear an accent at all!" There is always a first time for everything. #yall

 The group of 6th graders played "Time to Say Goodbye" on their flutes for us in a mini impromptu concert.

 Lexie, Makenzie, Madeleine, & Jamie gather for a quick pic in front of the adorable mural on the side of the White Dove building. It was refreshing to see that these children start every day with a devotional and their education is centered around Jesus. 

 Some of the children playing at morning recess.

 Arturo, the founder of the school with one of the children. We could all tell he genuinely cared for each of the children; he knew each of their names and would ask them questions about things that he taught them earlier in the school year.

After lunch we headed back out to Tranquilidad to start finishing up the playground. We started on the ladder that will attach to the structure, and we painted soooooooooooo many tree stumps to be used for the Spanish alphabet.

 Lexie, with Tory in the background, show off their work in painting 29 tree stumps to be used for the Spanish alphabet to go around the playground. This will help the children to be active in learning their letters and eventually spelling words when they get older.

 Makenzie in the process of painting one of the 29 tree stumps for around the playground. 

Keith paints the top posts of the playground structure while Roy and Matthew discuss the best possible way to put the stairs on.

Gloria, Lettie, & Sandra, our wonderful cooks, and the sweetest ladies on Earth, show off their FUMC to Honduras shirts that we ordered for them and the other awesome workers that have graciously served us throughout the week!

ps. mom, I promise I've been wearing my sunscreen but I might be a light shade of pink when we come home...........ooopss.......love you lots :)