Missioners Hammer Away at House Building Preparation

3:15 a.m. Yes, all missioners were to be showered, dressed, and in the breakfast room by that time. It was obvious that all missioners were ready to go because everyone was awake and eating breakfast so we could head to the airport by 3:45.

All fifty-eight 49 pound bags were carried in from the trailer and lined up in numerical order for the United Rep. to process them. He efficiently scanned all passports, distributing boarding passes as quickly as possible. There were a few little hiccups going through TSA, but everyone arrived at the gate in plenty of time.

They de-iced the plane and then we sat for 30 minutes. The flight from Omaha to Houston was uneventful and many missioners took advantage of a little nap time. We arrived in Houston on time, actually 3 minutes early. After walking from terminal C to terminal E, we met James, who had flown in from Denver. As soon as Fr. Kevin joins us tomorrow afternoon, our team will be complete.

As is usual in Honduras, not everything goes as planned. The good news is: all the bags arrived with us! The bad news is, apparently the military lost their orders to pick up the bags at the airport. Francis sent us to Nueva Capital while he and Julio waited with the bags – for 2 ½ hours! In the meantime, we ate lunch (rice, tortillas, scrambled eggs & green beans, beef, and 3 kinds of fruit), sorted wood into house stacks, and organized our rooms.

Project Paul drives through Nueva Capital on the way to Santa Teresa de Jesus School

Our duffle bags arrived from the airport at 4:30 and were quickly carried into the library for emptying and sorting. Marta gave us the list of families who will be given gift bags. 42 large gift bags were assembled and labeled for later distribution.

Carrying in the duffle bags

Frank and Julio took the house team leaders to survey a couple of the house plots so they could make plans for Friday’s building. The remaining missioners walked to Paola’s house to check out the workmanship of the 2015 Gehlen team. Everyone had a chance to see what we’ll be tackling over the next few days. We also walked to the top of the long flight of stairs we climbed twice a day last year. No one was willing to make the trip all the way down and back

Chicken tacos and fruit were enjoyed for our supper tonight. I believe the missioners are already enjoying Honduran food.

We wrapped up our work day with a little junta, which gave everyone a chance to share their thoughts. For our first night, all those who wanted could share their stories about Paul. It gave me a wonderful chance to learn about Paul, since I am the only one who is not a relative or good friend of his. I learned tonight just how much of an impact Paul had on every single person who is on this mission trip. He would have greatly enjoyed being a part of Project Paul – Pay It Forward, especially as this team plans to NAIL IT for him!