Shop Till You Drop!!

Before we "shopped till we dropped," we were sad to say good bye to Carolyn and Linda.  You can see them below with the rest of our support crew.  The entire Mission Honduras group are amazing people who have dedicated a good portion of their lives to this program.  They take our saftey and our experience very seriously.  We see God working through them continually.
We had a blast pumping our money into the Honduran economy. For lunch we were treated to Honduran style pizza and ice cream. Like everything else, it was delicious. Leftovers, which we Americans take home and usually throw away, were gathered up and given to those whom our bus driver Carlos, one of our Gaurdian Angels, felt were in need. One happened to be a young boy walking down the dusty, dirty road. The picture below tells it all.
The second group picture below is of the team and Julio, another one of our Guardian Angels.  The kids have commented on how safe they feel with him around.  We wanted you to look into  the loving eyes of Julio, whose very poor tribal village,Montana de le Flor, will receive the food that we packed at our Packing Hope day. On behalf of the entire mission team we want to thank you for your generosity.  We are seeing first hand the difference YOU made by following Gods command to feed the hungry.

It was fun to hear the kids talk about and shop for you all. The thoughtfulness that they showed as they shopped told us how much they love you......then they dropped!!
Off to bed. Back to work tomorrow.
Barb, Mary and Karrie

PS  Bill, I'm excited to share with you how much I saved by shopping in Honduras.  And Carol Cooper.....are you working or blogging?  :)  Barb

PS2  Dan, I wasn't able to come up with 75 pounds of coffee....just 50.  Bag weight limit.
Get the machine ready. The team is all coming over for lattes.  Karrie

PS3  Bridget, thank you for insisting I buy that HUGE package of batteries.  I'm almost out!!  Mary/Mom

PS4  Bill and family, are you breathing?  Anyone home?    Mary & Karrie

Hello! Jake here.. Today was really fun because we got to go shopping and best of all I finished the Hunger Games!! Can’t wait to start number 2!! Everything here is going good. The days are going by so fast, but I am excited to come home to my wonderful family!! JonPaul- don’t worry buddy, I’m coming home soon and we can play xbox and guts all you want. I miss you so much and please don’t run away again because I want to see you! Skylar- I will definitely crack your back when I get back. I got you a sweet knife. You’ll love it. Just don’t stab me. Haha Jed- I might get grandpa a big machete so you can have the one I got for him. It’s really cool. Savannah- well, I guess I forgot to get you something.. haha just kidding. Mom & Dad- I can’t wait to see you guys. I just hope I have a clean room to come home ;) And I’ll be in “yard work” condition, so be sure to take advantage of it while it lasts. Well, everyone is wanting to blog so I better let them. Love you guys so much. Miss you even more. 4 more days!!

-Jake Sully

Hola again! Sorry I haven’t been writing often, there’s just so much to do here! I’ve either been playing cards, playing with the kids in the village, or singing. Last night we got all the boys to do some duets with us and we recorded them so you’ll see them when we get home! The day before, we visited a “soup kitchen” type of place for about 30 kids in one of the poorest villages in Honduras. The kids just clung to us. We brought them lots of toys, hair accessories, and vitamins. They went crazy. I’m pretty sure almost every kid had at least 10 stickers stuck to their faces. When we left, each of them came up to us and gave us huge hugs and just didn’t seem to want to let go. Today we went shopping at Valley of the Angels. We had pizza and ice cream and I got everyone some souvenirs. Then we came back to the compound and played with some kids from the village. They sang and dance some songs they knew and we did the same. A couple of the girls know a little English, so it’s not too hard to communicate. Tomorrow we go back to Picacho to work. Well, I won’t be working, I’ll be taking pictures and playing with my favorite little kids Jolé, Emerson, Fernando, and Ingrid Johanna. I really can’t even begin to imagine leaving these kids. I’ve spent so much time with them and I’ve become more than attached. They are the sweetest, funniest, and absolute CUTEST kids I have ever known. (Don’t worry I have LOTS of pictures of them to show you.) So don’t be surprised if I come home with a few of them. It’s just so hard to think about us going home to our lavish lives and leaving them here. I can’t help but think about what their lives would be like in the States. For now, though, I will enjoy my last two days with them. It’s so crazy to think that this amazing adventure is coming to an end soon. I want to stay longer, mostly for the kids.  I miss you all. I can’t wait to show you pictures and the things I bought today and share my many stories with you.  Much love!

-Tessa Pesicka

Buenos noches! Witt and Chris here had a great time buying all sorts of gifts in the Valley of the Angels. That is pretty much all that happened so see you all soon enough! Just three more days!

-Witt Dobesh

Hey its jay, sorry I missed yesterday, ive come down with the malaria…haha just kidding-knock on wood. Today we went to the valley of the angels where we basically shop all day long. It was some crazy stuff but I managed to get u all the stuff that u will love! Just two days til I can come home. Love u mommy daddy Kelly kaci and kaylee and ill see u soon :)

-Jayshawn Cooper

Hola it’s Nicole and Dad (Tony),

Sorry guys we haven’t been writing we are so intrigued in our card games and I can’t believe I am saying this but our books. Yes, we are actually reading! Everyone has a book at all times. Today we went to the Valley of Angels it is similar to a Keystone and has many shops. Dad and I spent ohhh enough money, but can’t wait to give you your gifts! We had pizza at a pizzeria and it was delicious! We traveled again through Talanga on our way today and witnessed more poverty. Words really can’t describe it. What is Sheldon and Stephanie up to? How are Grandma Julie and Grandpa Ed? Mom have you gotten my hair appointment for prom all figured out? If not it is no worries don’t stress over it. Miss you guys! Love you.

Hola fellow Kussers,

Today was another adventurous day in Honduras.  Today we went to the Valley of the Angels and we were swarmed by vendors and shops.  Everything there was crazy cheap and I made off like a bandit.  We are now back at the compound relaxing and playing cards.  We all have really grown together as a group.  We have two more hard days of work tomorrow and Tuesday, and Tuesday we will be delivering our clothes and left over toys to a village nearby Piccacho.  I have had a wonderful time so far! Lots of Love!

--Katie Kusser

Hey Bradfords and Everyone else, sorry it has been awhile since the last time I blogged. I am having such a great time! Today we went to Valley of Angels and shopped, I hope you like what I got you. Unfortunately I was out 20 bucks before the day even started; in the third store we walked into I bumped into a vase and broke it How has the baseball team been doing? I am getting a mad farmers tan! And I haven’t shaved the whole time, starting to look like a barbarian. I honestly am having such a great time it is going to be hard to come home, but I miss you all so much that I am starting to feel like I need to be back.

Love you All, God bless and good night

~Dom

Hi everyone! Today was a nice and relaxing Sunday for us; today we went to Valley of the Angels to shop! Mom and Jen, Dad and I got some cool things for you guys and I can’t wait for you guys to see them! All of the jewelry and wood carved items were gorgeous! And Mom I am really jealous of the potato pizza! Since it’s my favorite and all :/ We will have to get it when Dad and I come back! If anyone at school is reading this blog I miss you guys, but still not quite ready to leave here yet! It’s so amazing all of the experiences I am been able to have, and the different change of pace. Love all of you and good night and God watch over us as we sleep!

P.S. Jen tell Ry-fy that if there are not any cookies when I get back he’s going to get a talking to!

Catherine G.

Hello! Today was a busy day, but different than usual.  We went to Valley of the Angels and got to go shopping! It’s more crazy than anything there…But it’s an experience I wouldn’t have wanted to miss.  Family: it was almost like shopping in Cozumel or Jamaica! I got to wear my dress today! For lunch we had awesome pizza and I had mango ice cream too.  I am still learning  on my pitch strategies and I’m getting better! One of our Junta questions was how do we think the Hondurans are rich.  I believe they are rich in pride.  For example, driving by many villages with poverty, you still see women sweeping broken down steps in front of a shack with a broom made of a tree stick with leaves.  She has enough pride in keeping those steps clean that she still sweeps them to present her house as best she can.