More hard work was done today, all houses have exterior siding and all but one have the interior siding completed. The roof trusses are up on one house and we have started on the second. Kids were perfecting their hammering skills as well as their Spanish speaking.
There were many children and some adults around the worksite today and it was nice to see work being done, but also time taken to form new friendships. There were a lot of laughs and games being played, as well as a little swing dancing (Derek).
We delivered the first sets of gift bags to homes, and were greeted with overwhelming gratitude and kindness. Several people expressed how much Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras means to the school, the community, and the families that we are lucky enough to meet and serve.
We had another delicious set of meals today. We are spoiled by Marta and Heydi, who work all day to make sure we have plenty of delicious Honduras meals. We also were excited to open some wonderful letters of support from our 5th graders, thank you so much!
Included in our new friends are the giant pigeons who frequent the women’s dormitory. We are hopeful they find a new place to visit…like maybe the men’s dormitory.
We read the blog comments to the group tonight after junta. We had so many laughs during our meeting, and it was the best way to end the night reading the words from loved ones! Please keep reading and commenting, it truly gives joy! Some of the students wanted to write messages back to you, enjoy.
Miyah: Thanks Mom for all the prayers and support! Tell Marcus he might have some new sisters because there are 3 girls that I think I can fit in my suitcase. Give Milo many treats, the dogs here make me miss him more and more. Love you
David: Good to hear all is going well. Thank you for all the prayers. The weather hasn’t been too bad. I definitely don’t miss the snow. Keep me posted on the rabbit situation. Everybody loved your guys’ comments so keep them coming. And Tessah, you can have the Pringles. I love you all very much! Love, David
Jenna: Trevor says he misses the boys a lot and he misses everyone else. He wants dad to tell him if he missed anything big (as in fire calls). Sami, I’m glad you didn’t run anyone over. Jason and Justin’s responses are expected and I love you and Jerry K. Mom, I miss you and your snuggles. Bob, I can’t wait to come home and get a big hug. Be ready because I’m going to jump in your arms. Love, Jenna
Zayne: Good to hear from you all, love and miss you! This has been an experience I’ve never had, it is so rewarding and the best days. I’ve made some new friends and wish you could meet them. Also, got Quade’s letter he wrote me and yes, he is my favorite ‘sister’. Love, Zayne
WOW...you guys have been busy! Weather looks nice as well. We have snow on the ground, again. Nevaeh, looks like you were able to put your organizing skills to use one day and your carpentry skills the next. Looks like you even made a couple new little friends today:)
ReplyDeleteBlue is missing you!!! Sage doesn't think much past self so she seems fine. Drake dislikes his new Uber driver so he is looking forward to your return! I pray for you and everyone you are there with daily. Miss you of course! Happy to see you doing such good works!!! Can't wait to hear all about your mission. We love you!!! Love- Mom
Wow! Progress I will say you are all doing amazing work! God is definitely shining down on each one of you and the good you are making in the Hondurans' life.
ReplyDeleteDavid your carpentry skills may come in handy with some barn work in the future.
Another day for the rabbit, yay for him! Tessah was very happy to hear that she gets to eat the Pringles! She will be sending you anther message today!
Keep up the awesome work! We love you very much!
Love,
Mom
DAVID I KNOW THE PASSWORD FOR THE IPAD I WILL TELL YOU THE PASSWORD WHEN YOU ARE HOMEI WILL BE SUPER HAPPY WHEN YOU ARE HOME DAVID I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH DAVIDI HOPE YOU ARE HAVING FUN
ReplyDeleteLOVE TESSAH
What wonderful progress you are making! Trevor as I am sure you heard, it snowed 3 inches, be glad you could sleep in there in Honduras and didn't have to move snow this morning! Hopefully its the last snowfall of the season! Jenna, Bob said, "I am proud of you little human!" We love you both and continue to make a difference❣️
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ReplyDeleteHi Isabelle! Makes my heart happy to see your smile on the pics! I bet you are loving all of those little kids! Looks like you are working hard and perfecting those construction skills. Might get hired by your dad yet! It's super boring around our house without you! I've been checking your snapchat for you. I've only scared away a few of your friends! Hope you are enjoying your time. Can't wait to hear all about it! Love you so much!! 😘
ReplyDeleteJenna, you look like you're having a lot of fun making new friends. I hope you remember to continue to wear sunscreen because you're starting to look a little burnt already 😉.tell Trevor a hog confinement caught on fire outside of town on Tuesday and that's about all he's missed that I know of. Keep being the amazing and strong person I know you are! I love you and miss you so much!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWOW, great work team, looks like you have accomplished so much already. I'm so proud of you Zayne and it makes my momma heart so happy to see you smiling and having a great time. I would love to meet your friends, I hope you have taught them the griddy like Q requested;) Quade said, "I knew I was his favorite sister!" Not sure he will continue to be your favorite anymore as I had to go downstairs to turn the TV off this morning and of course couldn't find the remote. He said mom, tell him that I actually turned off the TV for once and I said no, you better find it before he gets home!!!!! Joss wants to remind you she wants a shirt and if they don't sell that, she will take any other souvenirs. She is super sad, as Arkansas got destroyed last night, not a good game at all. Kansas State won in OT 98-93, was a great game. FL Atlantic pulled it off again and won, which hurts my bracket again, ugh. Gonzaga beat UCLA by 3. There are more games tonight, I will let you know how they turn out. You were winning at Four Bros, I'll have to check that out for you. Ava is finally going to get her room painted, so she may have to crash in your room, which I plan to start cleaning tomorrow for you. I can't wait to hear all your stories, keep doing great work. We love you so much!!!!
ReplyDelete"Trust in the Lord with all your Heart and lean not on your own Understanding." - Prov. 3:5
ReplyDeleteHey everyone, I am so happy to hear your trip is going so amazing. It is really special to see and hear how well you are progressing on the projects and in your connections. Remember it is scary to make those connections because you only have so many days but "trust in the Lord," He has a plan. Give those kids and families big hugs from all the past missioners back home!
Chris and Jack: I hope you are not causing too much trouble again, and if you are, knock it off! LOL! I hope you are connecting with old friends and not missing us to much! Nash(our family dog) Waits for both of you to come home and has been waiting at the window each night. Otherwise all is well on the farm and Cody is keeping everything running smoothly. Love you both!
Keep doing God's Work,
Love
Isabelle Schmit
It is awesome to see the progress you are making each day. Keep up the great work. There is so much to do in such a short time. I hope Jayden shared her construction mishap from her COVID project that she did with her grandpa as an example of what NOT to do.
ReplyDeleteJayden it looks like you have made lots of little friends. We love seeing your smile in the pictures. It looks like you are having a great time. Dawson is not minding being the only child at home, but I am sure he will admit that it is quiet around here. We will be sure to kick him out of your garage spot before you get home. Valentino is doing well also. I am helping to make sure he gets fed. I hope you have eaten more than just PB&J! The golf course is once again covered in snow so practice outside is still aways away. Dad and I watch for the blog updates daily and are so proud of you. Love you lots!!!
McKenna – we hope that you are enjoying your time in Honduras and the letters that we gave you before you left. We will be going to flu shots tomorrow and I am sure that we will be sharing the pictures of you and Shayla from the blog. The other day I was listening to a podcast saying that we should try to leave this world a better place than when we found it. That is what all of you are completing in Honduras.
ReplyDeleteWe miss you and look forward to seeing you next Thursday.
Love Mom, Dad and Micah
Brynn - I have yet to see any photos of you working on the houses, hope you are helping and not just hanging out with the kids. However, I do understand wanting to entertain them, they are too cute.
ReplyDeleteIs the food as good as your remember?
Since you're not here, the lights continue to remain on in the basement as the boys can't seem to remember to shut them off. They are on now. I could easily walk down there and shut them off, I just choose not to.
I have actually started entering addresses into Access for your graduation invites. Hoping to have those mostly entered by the time you're back.
The boys and I went to Scheels on Tuesday to finally get Cooper his track shoes. The lady helping us was being polite and asked when track was supposed to start. You should have seen her face when I responded "yesterday" :D She found out real quick I'm not too on the ball with things.
Jason - the baby chicks are getting big. I already had to cover the rest of the tub so they wouldn't start flying out. I used that chicken wire you had by it, which wasn't that easy to do. It did not want to unroll and it was jagged, I stabbed myself with one of the pointy wires sticking out. Other than that, Cooper is doing a good job keeping them all fed, watered and eggs picked up each day. We are consistently getting over 30 eggs a day now.
You're lucky I forgot to stop and Bomgaars yesterday to see if they had any Americana's left, otherwise there would have been more added to the flock, because you know... chicken math.
Syd and Molly miss going to work everyday. They think my desk job is boring and I wish I would remember to let them out more often.
Gabe - I knew your "no messing around and do whatever it takes to get the job done" attitude would be very welcome down there. Hope you are enjoying it enough to continue going with Jason in the future. Doesn't have to be every year, but whenever you're able to.
Ron and Tom - Hope you you're enjoying your time there. I'm sure your skills and talents are being put to good use. Thank you for choosing to go on this trip with Brynn and Jason, without you both there would likely be one less house going up this year.
Hi Trevor and Jenna,
ReplyDeleteWe all sure do miss you guys. Can’t believe how quickly you guys are making progress on everything. So proud of you both and the team. Keep up the amazing work! Jenna it looks like you have some rosy cheeks! I’m sure they will be nice and tan before you leave. Keep hydrated and wearing that sunscreen! Trevor, Dave thanks you for letting him occupy your room while he is here. It’s strange hearing the pager go off and you not calling Dad right away asking what the call is about. Anyway, keep working hard and enjoy making new friendships. Oh and yes Mother Nature is still making up for our lack of winter last year. Luckily it’s March so it’s usually here and gone the same day. I hope you are both trying the food and that you might find something you didn’t realize you might enjoy. Rachael and the boys hung out with us the other night and as always they keep us smiling and laughing. Can’t wait to see you both and get some long overdue hugs. Stay safe and keep doing the Lord’s work. All our love, Dad, Danielle, Beau, Carter and Dave
Hi Leah! We miss you so much but we are so happy that you are answering God's call to help others! We had Thirsty Souls last night and Ashley was one of the speakers. The room was packed and she was so inspiring. It's going to be a quiet weekend for us here. It is way different with just one kid in the house. I am outnumbered with guys! Keep smiling and enjoying meeting all the kiddos and people there. I am sure you are loving it! See you soon! Love, Mom
ReplyDeleteI waited up last night until the blog was posted. I compare it to staying up until you are home when you are out with friends, usually driving home from Sioux City. Once I read the post and saw what you were up to for the day I was able to go to sleep.
ReplyDeleteNew sisters.............hmmmm!!! Wouldn't that be fun. Remember the picture from when Morgan was there? She told me the little girl's name was Celestia. She also said that there was a little guy named Oscar. I bet they would be teenagers now. Wouldn't it be fun to meet them? What amazing things you and the team are doing. My students want to know how big each house is compared to my classroom.
Marcus is at his 5th day of track practice. He sleeps hard at night and does not want to wake up in the morning! But his water intake has increased. Crazy huh! Dad has back to back track meets today and tomorrow. I am going to Omaha to the one tomorrow and taking Michael's dogs home. His knee surgery went really well. He will start physical therapy on Monday.
Enjoy the sunshine! Let your heart and soul be filled with memories that will last forever and a desire to continue God's work back home. Love, Mom
Miyah -
ReplyDeletePreston asked me to put this message on here for you. For some reason his Google account is being weird and it will not let him post on his phone or the computer.
"Hey Miyah, I miss you so much and I hope you're doing good. You're looking pretty swole, have you been lifting?"
Dear David, I hope you are having lots of fun helping the boys and girls in Honduras. I can't wait to see you again. Everyone misses you. I really can't wait till you can come home and play dark hide and go seek with us. I love you so very much I can't wait to see you again. When you get home, I will be thankful to talk to you again. I went to a pool party at the YMCA it was really fun, I know you would have really loved it. I love you so much I can't wait till you get home.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Emma your favorite sister
Hi missioners! Your progress so far on the houses is incredible and all of your hard work is really inspiring. The changes you are bringing to the community will change their lives. Mom (Amelia) we miss you so much but we know you are happy living out one of your dreams. Many prayers and well wishes for the group.
ReplyDeleteps. Lunch break is not the same without you!
Hola misioneros! Su progreso en la construcción de las casa es increíble y todo el esfuerzo y trabajo que están haciendo es verdaderamente increíble. Lo que ustedes están haciendo les cambiará su vida. Mami te extrañamos mucho pero sabemos que estás viviendo el más grande de tus sueños. Seguiremos teniéndolos en nuestras oraciones y díganle echando muchas ganas y buenos decesos para todo el grupo.
ps. Salir a mi hora de comer sin ti no es lo mismo! Te amamos.
Diana, Nolan, Juan, Jessica, David, Dan, Nancy and Nallely