A Partial Day Off

We got off to a little earlier start this morning (5:45) so we could be on time to Mass in Santa Lucia. It was nice to watch Fr. Doug concelebrate with the Honduran priest. The priest’s homily actually focused on our mission group. He told his parishioners they needed to be like our mission group and help the poor. He said it wasn’t enough for them to give money; they needed to go out to places like Nueva Capital and work with the poor people of their country.

Attending Mass at Santa Lucia, built in the 16th century

After Mass we visited a beautiful oasis created by Marta’s brother. He has a large acreage with various plants, including trails on which to explore the area. He even provided us with a couple of his college students to take our missioners on a tour. Then we had a Honduran sandwich with food prepared by Marta. The sandwich had what she called stewed chicken, which tasted a little like barbecue to me. Then she had sliced tomatoes, shredded cabbage, and shredded beats you could put on the hoagie bun. We also ate banana chips, watermelon, pineapple, and mango – all fresh and delicious.

Fr. Doug concelebrates

Then it was off to Valle de Angeles for our tourist shopping day. The missioners were given almost two hours to find the perfect souvenirs for their families. We also got to eat ice cream! I believe most missioners took advantage of that chance.

Starting to fill the first of 25 gift bags

As soon as we arrived back at the compound, the group went to work building bunk beds. Bruce put everyone on a special job, and it looked like an assembly line. Though the crew was unable to finish them tonight, bunk bed work has been added to the work schedule over the next four days.

Wood measuring and cutting crew

Tomorrow’s goal is to get Paola’s house painted, wired, and roofed. Then, as soon as Pat’s crew gets the doors on, it will be completed. Hopefully, there will be a finished house photo on the blog tomorrow night.

Frame-connecting crew

Here are the latest missioner messages -

Molly Suntken

            Hey family! I love it here! I am having a great time. It’s been hard work, but I am so excited to finish the houses and let the families move in. Today we went shopping, and I got a lot of cool souvenirs for you guys! See you in a few days. I love and miss you all.

Rachel Kellen

It’s so amazing here. I’m having a great time here, even with the hard work. People became smart after watching me struggle with the first nail. In total I have now hammered five nails. Instead, I have been carrying boards and holding them in place. I am excited to start painting. This is such a fantastic experience. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for letting me go! Love you bunches!

Mary and Nathan Klein

Hi, Jim, Emily, Michelle, Matt, Becca, Marilyn, Vince, and friends!  We are doing great here!  We have one house almost done, and the other two have all the walls up.  We are getting a lot better at using a hammer. J  It’s been really fun to meet the moms and children who will be getting the new homes.  One little boy (Javier) said his new house was so big!  One of the bedrooms is bigger than his whole old house.  The poverty is very hard to see, but the people are so beautiful.   We hope you are all doing great, too!  We definitely miss all of you and will be very anxious to see you when we get back.  We love you! 

Brittany Schmit

Hey, Everyone! Everything is going great. I am having an amazing time down here. So glad you gave me the opportunity to come. All the Hondurans are so welcoming. Not to mention I’ve become a pro at hammering nails. Can’t wait to tell you guys all about it. Miss you all!

DJ

Thanks for the UNI updates! I heard Wichita St. won too, MVC baby!! I can’t wait to hear how they do in the upcoming rounds. Glad that the kids miss me along with Emerson. I miss you guys too. This trip is exceeding my expectations. I can’t wait to see you all and talk to you. Lastly, shout out to all the Iowa St. fans who said that ISU was better than UNI - haha!! Also Ryan Stoll haha Kansas lost to a team UNI beat. Love you guys and miss you all!!

David “Dizzy” “Sure-Foot” “Google” Puhl

Hi, Mom and Dad and the sibs! Thanks for the (unhappy) updates on the tournament. It’s been amazing to work on the houses and learn how to use power tools and hammer nails (even if some of the kids are a lot better than me).  I’ve loved getting to know the kids and have fun with my fellow Missioners.  Love you guys and miss you all!

Ashley Schmit

Hello to everyone back home! I miss you all, but I am having a great time down here! I can’t wait to tell you all of my stories and hear about all of the things that I missed! I hope that Mom and Kaylee had fun in Chicago and that the boys survived at home alone. Also happy birthday to Cody on Tuesday! Special shout out to Mrs. Lehmann’s first grade class. - I miss you guys and can’t wait to get back into your classroom when I get back! Bye for now!

Keith and Michaela Bretey

Greetings from nearer the equator! We are happy to inform you all that the farmers’ tans have set in. They represent hard work and good times under the hot Honduran sun! But even more, they represent a labor of love for our Honduran brothers and sisters. We’ve made lots of friends here, and Keith’s Spanish vocabulary has expanded exponentially under my influence, as I attempt to serve as an interpreter for my work crew! I was sure glad when Kathya (Carlos’ daughter) came on Friday afternoon and spoke English well!! We’re having a great experience; all is well.

Jackson—loved your act of solidarity in sleeping on the floor like we are. Mom and Carlyn – we miss you tons! Love you lots.  CBY

P.S. Bruce and J.D. have been assigning nick-names, and today I was dubbed “fork lift”… coulda been worse….

Abigail Chagolla

Hola familia!!!! Los extranos mucho, cada dia pienso en los dos. Me estoy divirtiendo mucho en Honduras. Estoy bien quemada, pero bien contenta. Hoy fuimos a misa y empeze a llorar por lo hermoso que estaba el servicio. El coro la mejor parte de la misa, porque cantaron canciones que conocia. Solo los queria decir que los amo y los extrano a ti y a papa.

Slat installer crew

Frame finisher/mover crews

Getting Down to Business

Our day began at six again. Breakfast was pancakes and fruit. After breakfast there was a mad scramble to wash dishes, brush teeth, fill water bottles, organize tools, etc.  Each group was delivered to their work site and the building continued.

Javier watches Molly nailing on a board

Pat’s house progressed quickly and painting began right after lunch. Almost all interior walls are done. Our hopes are to finish painting the interior walls shortly after we start on Monday and then get the outside painted while Dennis is doing the wiring. Pat will also get the doors in place.

Dave's crew with their house

Dave’s house is also in pretty good shape. No houses have roofs on them yet. All walls are up. One window is in place and the other has been cut out. The door openings are also cut out. On Monday they’ll put the roof on. Painting will hopefully begin on Monday.

J.D. prepares a board for their house

Bruce’s house has all walls up. The interior walls are 80% complete. Both doors have been cut out. Thanks to the help of all the neighborhood boys much progress was made. The crew is looking forward to getting back to work on Monday.

Pulling down the warped board

Tomorrow we’re going to church in Santa Lucia and spending some time in Marta’s brother’s “oasis.” Her mother is making Honduran sandwiches for us. Marta is bringing Honduran rice pudding. We’ll walk the trails on his property, which has a fountain, benches, and hammocks that can be utilized to enjoy the surroundings. Then it’ll be off to Valle de Angeles for our souvenir shopping.

Mass in the compound

We had an outdoor Mass for the missioners tonight. Supper was enchiladas, one of Linda’s favorites. We had a couple of entertaining moments toward the end of tonight’s junta. DJ entertained us with his song and dance from math class that he usually does with Carli Bollin. Carter Davis read the following poem, which he said I can share with all of you.

Carter reads his first rap about DJ

Coming on this trip
Has made my stomach do a real flip.
Coming to this country has really changed my life,
As I look at Honduras and see of it its strife.
This whole situation has got me gassed up
‘Cause they don’t got clean water to put into their cup.
Their houses are all run-down
In this giant poverty-filled town.
These people greatly need our help.
How do I get your attention? Do I yelp?
No one realizes
How bad these people live.
When they come and see for themselves
All they want to do is give.
I can sense all of the love,
Despite their grievous situation.
That’s why I put on my gloves,
So I can help this stricken nation.

Playin’ soccer at night
To forget what we heard and saw,
For example, the gangs controlling the transit buses
And how people don’t care about the law.
As I watch them play this game,
I can tell it keeps them sane.

I wrote this rap for my mother
‘Cause she believed in me and I miss her like no other,
‘Cause it’s her that keeps me goin’,
So the rhymes I rap keep on flowin’.

Thanks to Carter for sharing this with all of us!

Sharing at nightly junta

 Miranda, good to hear from you. Thanks for keeping me posted with what is happening back home.

Brittany and Caroline show off their window

The Houses Take Shape

Parents, you should be proud of your children. They are doing every job we ask of them; they pitch in wholeheartedly and never complain. They’re taking advantage of every single moment in their mission. They’ll have lots of stories to share with you when they return.

Once again we seemed to get off to a slow start – gathering together tools and supplies needed at each work site. Bruce’s work crew left for their crew first; the bus then took Dave’s group to his site, where we offloaded more wood; finally Pat’s crew was dropped at their site. All students on the work crews had the chance to help in the building of the house where they were working. Sometimes that meant fifty taps on a nail with a hammer, but the job got done. Much pride can be felt by all for the work they have put into the houses so far. Amazingly, the houses continue to progress quickly. Tomorrow Pat’s crew will most likely finish all the walls so we can call in the paint crews for the afternoon. That will be exciting for Paola because tomorrow is her fourteenth birthday, so she will actually get her completed house on her birthday. There will still be finishing touches possibly – like painting, putting in the doors and windows, etc.

The English teaching students reported no unruly students today. When they go to the classroom doors, all the children want to learn English with them. They use Go Fish to teach numbers to the young children. You can also hear them singing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” as they learn their body parts. 

The neighbors watch the work progress

Tomorrow we’ll continue building houses. Since there is no school on Saturday, all students will be working on houses. We hope for a cooler day tomorrow – but not too cool. Many of us felt the heat today!

Ali, thanks for the update on the dogs. I see the horrible conditions of the animals here, and it makes me miss them all the more. I also miss all the kids – and you adults also. Seventh graders, thanks for praying for us. I hope you’re working hard while I’m gone so I don’t have to work as hard when I get back. I’m glad Mrs. Christoffel is allowing you to read our blog every day. 

Carrying siding to the work site

Please keep reading for messages from many of the missioners…

Janessa

Hi, Mom and Dad, just wanted to let you guys know that everything went well, and I’m loving it here. Don’t worry about anything! Love ya.

One wall almost completed

DJ

Thanks for the news about Iowa St. I’m waiting to hear about the best team in Iowa, aka UNI. Everything here is great and my strep throat hasn’t affected me at all. Love you and miss the farm with my chickens!

Working with a little help from a friend

Lucas

Hi, Mom, I haven’t seen J.D. like at all; not really sure where he is, but I think he’s somewhere in Honduras. But I really enjoy it here. It’s amazing, and I miss you all.

Everyone pitches in

Melissa

Hey, Mom. Hope you aren’t missing me too much! If it makes you feel better, I haven’t really seen much of dad so far. I survived my first plane ride, and I’m having an amazing time. We’ve met so many wonderful people. We’ll be home before you know it! Love you! 

Morgan

Hey, everyone! All of us missioners are safe and having a great time! Mom and Dad- I miss you! Tell Marcus and Miyah I love and miss them too! 

Running the drill

Josie

Hello!! I’m having the most amazing time! The people here are so full of love and appreciation for what we are doing! I miss you guys sooo much! Give Evie A TON of kisses from me! 

Walking up the wall frame

Sydnee

HOLA family!  Well, I survived my first plane ride, and I’m having a wonderful time here! I miss you all! Tell Jacey I miss her the most! Love you all! 

We Lay the Foundation

I have just returned from our nightly junta. It’s almost nine o’clock, but I wanted to get back on track with the blogs, which I’ll usually do at night. If time permits, I’ll try to also do one earlier in the day. However, that is a much busier time for us, and it might now always happen.

Missioners with Dilcia and Javier

I’ll try to get the highlights of the day. I obviously cannot be everywhere during the day, but the impactful things always come up at our juntas.

Building picnic tables

Today the group has already finished the three picnic tables for the school, transported most of the wood to two of the house sites, taught five sessions of English, built the frame for one of the houses, repaired some of the wiring at the school, attended our first group liturgy, and attended the school’s Father’s Day ceremony. In between all of that, there was still time to play with the children.

Carrying wood to a house site

 The three head builders – Bruce, Pat, and Dave – along with Carlos, Julio, Frank, Fr. Doug, and I visited the three house sites to check out how everything was going to work. At each site we met the mothers for whom we are building. Lots of emotion was apparent when we met Dilcia. Dilcia is the mother of Enrique, Paola, and Javier, the family we met living in dire poverty last year when delivering gift bags. She started to cry as soon as we arrived. Thanking us over and over, she told us that what we were for them was an answer to her prayers. She told us she now considered us family and always would. Every time she sees us she thanks us, as do all of the children.

Teaching English lessons

Much of our junta discussion centered around poverty and how Honduran poverty compares to what we see in the States. Though all agreed there is poverty in the States, now that we are witnessing Honduran poverty, we realize the difference. The missioners know that the luck of where a person is born truly has a bearing in his lot in life. All of us on this mission trip are so blessed.

Sorting items in the library

OOPS! We just had a lot of excitement here in the compound. One of the young Honduran students who lived here was unfortunate to have a birthday today. His “friends” decided to turn him into a birthday cake by carrying him outside and dumping eggs, flower, and water on him. We enjoyed the excitement and sang Happy Birthday to him.

Framing a house

Hopefully, everything will settle down here shortly so we missioners can get some rest!