Kudos for the Kids

It has been a privilege to work alongside your kids these past few days. We knew they were an awesome group of young people before we left, but having the opportunity to be with them affirmed how great thery truly are. There love of Christ continues to be a beacon of light for all they encounter.Thank you for sharing them with us.

A few observations:

Witt - One of the few who can keep up with the Hondurans.
Jake - Discovered his voice! Considering dropping football for Fine Arts.
Nicole - Age is not a barrier for her when it comes to making friends with all Hondurans.
Katie  - Lulls us all to sleep with her giggles.
Jay - The kid magnet; can create a game out of nothing.
Caitlin - Renewed old friendships, including updating Elbe and Alex on Liam.
Jordan Miller -  Family comes first for Jordan, remembering and praying for her cousin, who was making her First Communion.
Elizabeth - Needs to use every fiber of her being not to pet the darling puppies.
Tessa - If she ever needs a babysitting job in the U.S.A., she passed the test in Honduras.
Dani - Thanks to her artistic gift, a part of our team will be remembered forever through the beautiful mural she drew.
Jordan Stratman - The children are intrigued by her; she is as fair as they are dark.
Dom - Heart the size of Honduras.
Rylee - Tiny, but mighty.
Kia - The girls scream for her at the sight of a snake...for that matter, the boys do, too!
Catherine - Her Espanol helped immensely in bridging the communication barrier.

Today was a great day for all! Very hot, but that did not slow us down. We picked, dug, carried pipe, layed pipe, and last of all, covered it up! We were also able to deliver another truck load of our donated items tostampe Las Uvas, a neighboring community.  Like the feeding center we were welcomed with open arms.  As Dani put it when the kids came running it felt like the buffalo stampede from them Lion King. We are all so ready to reunite with our families, but leaving will be bittersweet. Tomorrow, our last work day, will be only 2 hours. Following work, we will have our last celebration of the Eucharist with our Honduran friends. The music is getting more beautiful and lively everyday and tomorrow will be a joyful time. The ladies of the village have fed us well and are incredible cooks. They do so much with so little.

Beings our time is coming to a close, we were able to thank our incredible support team that we have grown to love. Our three cooks, Julio, our gurardian angel, Angel, the engineer of the project, and of course, Frank, who has a heart of gold. They loved their rosaries, STM shirts, colorful aprons and the thank you speech delivered in Espanol by Jordan S., Elizabeth, Catherine, and Dom. They joined us in a rousing rendition of "Alabare a mi Senor!" What a joyful sound it was! Clapping, dancing, laughing, and tears made it a memorable evening. God has blessed us through them and we will miss them all.

Until tomorrow.......

Barb, Karrie, and Mary

Hey everyone! As you probably read yesterday we went shopping and I got everyone their awesome presents! J It was so much fun to see the town and all the shops. It is crazy to think I only have two days left here and it makes me sad to leave all the people we have met and worked with. I am ready to be home and shower for more than one minute! Haha Today we worked digging trenches again and it was actually soil and not rocks so it was a good change of pace. Also we brought along the donations from everyone to a nearby village FULL of kids! We stopped at a “daycare” and showed them the vitamins and shampoos when all the sudden school was out and about 30 kids came running down the street. Luckily I was standing by the bag of toys….(sarcasm) they all came running to the toy bag so excited to receive a new item to bring home. They were all full of smiles with hands reaching out. It was good to know all the toys, clothes, vitamins and shampoos are going to some wonderful kids who really needed it. While Dani and I chose the lucky numbers to get to drop off the bags all the other kids were still working hard in the dirt. We are all now getting packed to go home and waiting for dinner. Over all a great day! Tomorrow will definitely be hard for a lot of us but we are all thankful for our time here. Love you all back home and miss you! <3 (MICHELLE AND LIZ never fear I got your presents! J) Love you see you soon!

----Rylee

Hola!  Sorry to my family that I haven’t blogged in a few days!  Yesterday we went shopping in Valley of the Angels, and I bought some pretty cool stuff for all of you, so get ready.  Valley of the Angels was CRAZY with bright colors everywhere, vendors, and the store people were so nice too!  They would even say “Gracias, God Bless!” as we were leaving the store; how awesome is that?!  Today, we went to Picacho and continued to dig trenches.  Rylee and I picked the lucky number to go to another village with Mrs. Casey, Tessa, Frank, and Julio to deliver all the goods we packed in our black bags.  We brought them to a little school where a few kids and two teachers there.  Frank explained how to distribute the vitamins, how to use lotion, etc.  We brought out the toys to give to a few kids, and suddenly, like a herd of buffalo, around thirty school kids come sprinting down the hill to get toys…WOW!  It was very overwhelming, but so rewarding!  I just got back from the local store where I purchased a mango fruit bar for about 25 cents!  I am going back tomorrow to buy some candy and goodies to take home!  I have a hard time thinking out us leaving Honduras, especially the kids here (I want to take them home…yes, Mom and Dad? J)  I am also so excited to see everyone!  I miss you all lots and lots!

Lots of love, Dani J

Hola Miller family!! I am so sorry I haven’t blogged in a few days, too busy!! Saturday we worked, we dug and started laying the pipes! It was a long day but we got through it, we had Mass and I can’t remember what else happened because it was too long ago. Yesterday morning we said goodbye to Carolyn and Linda, which was kind of sad, so we are kind of on our own now. We had our 3 hour bus ride to the Valley of the Angels. Shopping was awesome! It took a lot out of me! I am glad to say that I will be coming home bearing gifts!! We were exhausted when we got home and then later we said the Divine Mercy Chaplet. This morning we got up to work again! It is sad to think that tomorrow will be our last day working and then we will never get to see these kids again. L We dug more trenches today , surprise surprise and they were uphill today so it was more difficult to dig! We had Mass there and ate lunch there again today also! We started teaching them some songs and they were singing and playing music on their phones while we were working which seemed to pass the time! We got back and then we needed to start packing what we were going to give away and what we were putting in our carry-on and what we were putting back in our black bags. I struggled with that and managed to be the last one to deliver her stuff. Also, today a bird flew into the dining room as Caitlin and I were reading and talking to Mrs. Duffy. All 3 of us were sitting under the table while Jake, Witt, and Mr. Dobesh thought it was the coolest thing. The bird landed and Tacha managed to catch it with her bare hands and throw it out the door. We will just have a normal night again and I am going to try and make a bigger dent in the first Hunger Games book. Wish me luck! See you Thursday!! Love You! ---Jordan M.

Hey its jay! Second to last work day, we had some intense work today. Have gotten within the last mile or so of a near seven mile trench and it feels so good. Just one more work day and ill be on my way back. I miss u all so much, love u! :)

-Jayshawn Cooper

Well hello again! You can’t get on me for not writing now, Mom! ;) Today we went back to Picacho. We really have lucked out with the weather this whole trip. It’s hot, for sure, but not as hot as it usually is (so we’re told). Today Rylee, Dani, Mrs. Casey, and I got to go with Frank to Las Uvas (a village about 20 minutes away from Picacho) to deliver a lot of toys, vitamins, and other things to a day-care type place. We started handing out toys to the 15 kids at the day-care and word must have spread because they let out school and probably 40 more kids came herding to the day-care with their hands outstretched for toys, stickers, and anything else they could get their hands on. They were all so excited and it was extremely overwhelming, but it felt good to share something that we usually take for granted. Then we headed back to Picacho for the last hour of work before Mass and lunch. I immediately found my little friends and got to playing. I pulled out my journal and pens and let them have at it. They loved it. They wrote their names and drew lots of pictures of cats, houses, bunnies, and trees. We, once again, took lots and lots of pictures. I can’t even stand how cute they are. I feel like they are my little babies and leaving them tomorrow is going to be so hard. I try not to think about it too much. After work, we had Mass and lunch at Picacho. We hardly eat though, because we usually grab a kid, have them sit on our lap, and let them eat the food we get. It’s too hard not to. When we got back to the compound, we showered and packed up the stuff we want to leave the people of Picacho tomorrow. Then we headed down to the store to get ice-cream and lots of candy to take home. It’s really hitting me that this trip is almost over. I really don’t want it to be. At the same time, though, I can’t wait to be home and share everything with you guys. So many stories to tell you. Love and miss you all!

-Tessa Pesicka

Hey everyone! It’s Jake. Working today felt like it took an hour. It was so fast. We got a ton done and I finally had a full convo with a Honduran. Somewhat I guess. So it was a pretty successful day in my mind. I just got back from the store with a HUGE machete for grandpa.. but don’t tell him. It’s so big. But now I’m relaxing and reading the 2^nd book of the Hunger Games. I can’t put it down. These books have definitely made me love reading. Well see you guys soon!! Love y’all lots!

-Jake Sully

Hello Family and Friends! Yesterday I didn’t get to put my name on my blog, but it was the last one.  So today while working Fr. Jim and I were working with a very old looking man.  He talked to us and tried to teach us some Spanish words (I’ve found that “pala” (shovel) and piocha (pick axe) are two very useful words for this project). Then he told us that he is 74 years old and has a hernia, but doesn’t have enough money to pay for surgery that he needs.  I was so humbled because this guy was working just the same as I was… only his condition was much worse.  It’s just one of the many cool things that I’ve seen on this trip.  I can’t believe tomorrow is the last day here…I don’t know if I am even ready! I know that we have made a difference though and that the people are so grateful.  Well goodnight for now and see you in a few days Rapid City! Love you!

-Elizabeth

Good Afternoon South Dakotians! Today was probably the hottest day so far, so it made work a little more tiring today. Our main job of the day was to dig the trenches up this giant  hill, which I am pretty sure I slid down at least 5 time, and to fill in the dirt after placing in the pipes. For me it was a pretty hard working day. Sleeping seems to be the norm as you can all probably tell from all of the pictures posted! Riding on the bus for hours at a time just seems to take it all out of us! Today we are packing up all of our personal items that we want to give to those in Picacho, since tomorrow is our last work day L I am  so sad to leave this town since we have become like family with the kids and adults, but I am incredibly excited to be able to see the people’s faces when we hand them our clothes and other donations.  Tomorrow will definitely be a day to remember, because none of us will ever let go.

P.S. Grandma good luck and be strong tomorrow, you are in our prayers every day and I can’t wait to see you first thing when I come home! (The people loved the prayer cards and medallions that you and Aunt Lorie gave to me! ) Lots of love to all my family and friends, Catherine G.

Hey mom, dad, and Cassidy! Sorry it has been so long since I last blogged, it has been busy! Yesterday we went into the Valley of the Angels and got to shop in the tourist shops. We had the best pizza ever for lunch! Muy deliciosa! I got presents for all of you, but you will have to wait in suspense until I get home to see what they are! The team worked in Picacho again today laying pipeline and digging MORE trenches! We are all getting really close to the people of Picacho, especially the kids! Everyone was joking and teasing each other today even though we can’t all speak the same language. The language barrier is definitely still there, but it isn’t as much of an obstacle. I am missing all of you, but loving the no school lifestyle ;) It is going to be really hard to leave on Wednesday. I hope all is well back home! All my love

-Jordan S.

P.S. Cassidy, we should definitely name the bottle calf Carlos after our awesome bus driver here in Honduras! Tell dad thank-you for riding Ginger for me, and I’m sorry Molly is being a hassle!

Hey everyone! Today was a great day at work in Picacho. We dug ditches, hauled pipe, and covered the trenches after the pipe was laid. We walked down to Mass in the school room feeling very accomplished. We came back to the compound and began packing and sorting—preparing for our trip home (can’t believe it’s already here!). It will be very hard to say our goodbyes to the people of Picacho tomorrow, but we will always have a connection with them and a hope that what we accomplished will affect their lives half as much as they have affected ours. We are missing all of you and are getting very excited to see you! Brendan, Liam, Ciara, and Aislinn, Caitlin is almost finished with the Hunger Games- and she started it yesterday!! God Bless you all. Love, Mom and Caitlin