2023 Team

2023 Team
The 2023 Team

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

We Have Arrived

After a beautiful Send-Off ceremony, we missioners climbed onto the bus and headed for our hotel in Omaha. We enjoyed our last taste of American food for 1.5 weeks by eating at Golden Corral. Then it was back to the hotel for a meeting to explain how everything would occur on Wednesday morning from the hotel breakfast through our arrival at the compound, Santa Teresa de Jesus School in Nueva Capital.

The first glitch happened for those of us who waited until 2:30 a.m. to take a shower. As we turned on the water to take our last hot showers for the next ten days, we were devastated when no water came out of the spigots. NO water! Some even had to use bottled water to brush their teeth! No toilets would flush. It was the third day of work for the lady at the desk who had to deal with hotel desks who could not shower.

Bag unloading at the airport went exactly as planned. The only problem there was difficulty with my credit card, which had been flagged for fraudulent activity and thus turned off. Thankfully, Mark could use his card and pay our baggage fee.

The flights all went extremely well – no problems at all. My excitement was when a priest told me that his name was Fr. Jim Sichko. He was carrying Pope Francis’s skull cap on his way back to Rome to work with Pope Francis. He wanted to know about our group and to take a selfie with me – showing our mission shirts. I gave him our MHL pamphlet and Seivert’s business card, which Fr. Jim promised to pass along to Pope Francis! And he said I could include our selfie on the blog.

Everything went great through immigration and customs. All bags arrived. However, the truck to haul the bags had a flat tire on the way to the airport. We didn’t wait in the front of the airport for long, though. The missioners loaded the bags onto the truck as soon as it arrived; then climbed onto the buses for our drive through Tegucigalpa to Nueva Capital. Once here, we began the process of unloading bags, setting up sleeping areas, unpacking the black duffle bags, etc. We stopped long enough for a meal of beefsteak, tortillas, scrambled eggs with green beans, and fruit. Bruce led some of the missioner through the process of sorting the wood that will go to the house sites in the morning, and the rest of the missioners emptied all the donated items from the black bags.

The students even had time to play with the school children outside. I saw some soccer games, and a game that looked like duck-duck-goose. There were plenty of hugs and students practicing their Spanish. It was a nice introduction to the school.

Supper consisted of chicken tacos, cabbage salad, and fruit. We had our junta soon afterward so everyone could get into bed early. Many missioners didn’t sleep well for various reasons. I think most of them were filled with anticipation and a bit of trepidation of the days ahead. We want everyone to be as rested as possible heading into our first work day in Honduras.


Remember, we look forward to your comments, which are read aloud to the students each evening. Please keep us in your prayers throughout these ten days. We hope you’ll enjoy following us via the blog. 















12 comments:

  1. Bruce: Since you gave me and my team a 2 hour handicap in last week's mission trip, I think it is only fair to give you something for this trip. If you do 20 push-ups at each of the 3 houses each day I will donate $1 for each push-up (total of $60 per day) - BUT - each missioner working at that house needs to do 10 of them with you. Since my team only took 1 day and a half to finish our house, I will only make you do push-ups for a maximum of 4 days. I would need proof of these push-ups on the blog with a video. If a video is not doable, will need Carolyn to follow the truth oath from last week and verify these were done to standard.

    In all seriousness - wishing all missioners a safe and rewarding trip. Be good to the kids at the compound ;)

    Jeremy, Jackie and the family

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anthony wants to know what his dad and the boys were doing while the girls sorted supplies? The 3rd-graders loved looking at the pictures this morning and seeing the familiar faces. You are in our daily prayers. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad everyone is safe. The hallways are very quiet at gehlen and my classes seem to be missing some laughs. (@Amanda) Reanna I've been saving things I find on twitter to make you laugh when you get back. :) we're praying for all of you and good luck!
    -Cady

    ReplyDelete
  4. We are proud of you Ralph and miss you a ton already! Just not the same without you at home. You think its tough for you without social media, you have no idea how many times I have gone to my phone to text you, then remember I cant!! I bet the kids love playing with you! How is the food....sounds really good so far! How about the 6 am wakeup call, every day.....we should have warned the rest of the missioners that you LOVE to sleep. How is the weather? Looked like 75 for a high this week? Sounds pretty comfortable. Can't wait to hear all about your trip. Love you Ralphie - stay safe!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bruce - just to encourage you I will do my 10 push-ups in solidarity with you and your crews. I noticed it did not specify that you had to do all 20 at once which is good as that is likely beyond you.

    I'm keeping you all in prayer. I so wanted to climb on the bus with you on Tuesday and take Fr. Tigges' place. Following on the blog is the next best thing to being there and gets me excited to arrive with the Kuemper Catholic group shortly after you all return.

    Soak it all in as it goes by quickly. Welcome to the Mission Honduras Family.

    Fr. Doug

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love seeing the pictures. Very emotional as a parent to watch. Thank you for the updates. So proud to see my family in this team. Hope all is well with everyone, again god bless you all in your journey!

    ReplyDelete
  7. We are praying for you at the beginning of class. Be safe and change lives, yours and those you serve. Mrs. Kellen and your classmates!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The pictures are great. Madison looks like u r working real hard. Brenna asked if her tent was still up in the basement I had to tell her u took it.down. She may be mad at u for awhile. But she will get over it. Love u and miss u wow the house is quiet.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is so exciting to watch and read about your trip! I look forward to hearing your stories when you return as well! You are all in our prayers!
    - Mrs. Schilling

    ReplyDelete
  10. Carolyn- You and Mya are officially famous with making the front page of the newspaper! I have had lots of people comment how precious the picture is and can see the bond you two have. It is the one of her blessing you. I have a copy of the newspaper for you and will be buying the picture from KLEM to frame for the both of us. Hope you have a safe trip and the kiddos can't wait to get a call from you!

    P.S. The Hawkeyes won the basketball game last night. So, I have a few more days of Drew not being grumpy yet.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Im officially addicted to the blog & pictures! It gives me peace...and joy! Looks like everyone is doing their part & working hard! Reanna your hair still looks good! I showed Grandma& Grandpa how to follow your journey. They send love & prayers. Dont expect messages from them though as it was enough for them to get on the website! Haha. Everything good here...except Posey...I think she is emotionally eating & not in a good way! :) I miss you so! Keep smiling & working hard! And dont forget the HUGS!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. You would be in the siesta pic Michael! Hope you enjoy every minute! Say hi to Hannah, Haley and Catherine!
    Lisa Plendl

    ReplyDelete