A Special Mass

What an impactful day for all! We hopped on the bus for El Guante after our breakfast of pancakes and fruit. We enjoyed the different views along the way and arrived after a 2-hour drive.

Todd, Lisa, Desiree, and I immediately went into the compound to see if anything had changed. Although there wasn’t nearly the foliage that was there during our different mission trips, it looks almost the same. Everyone shared their memories of their various mission trips. Francis discovered the chapel built with money from his and Richard’s parents still looks beautiful. The plaque is still on the wall where it was originally hanged.

The mass for Paul was a combination of Spanish and English. The music was played and sung by the people of El Guante, while all the speaking parts were in English. The exception to that was the Our Father, recited by all in their respective language. It was so cool to hear everyone reciting it together like that. The sign of peace was a bit different for us also. In Honduras no one stays in the pew to give the sign of peace. They go wherever they wish to give hugs and handshakes in a sign of peace.

Just before mass ended Lisa asked everyone to think of someone who has been with them in good times and then to think of someone who has been with them in times of trouble. Everyone in the church was given a candle to light in memory of those people. As music quietly played, all at mass filed forward to light his/her candle.

We did photos of Karen and family in front of the altar in San Rafael. It was this church where Paul worked with Scott, Todd, and others to lay the tile that you can see in the picture of the church. Then we moved outside to take a group photo in front of the church.

We next stopped at the clinic, which was funded by Mission Honduras LeMars for the village of El Guante and surrounding area. It is still in use and looks to be in very good condition.

Our buses then headed for Valle de Angeles and a relaxing day at a restaurant on a Honduran resort. It definitely was enjoyed by all. Some missioners decided to stay at the resort for the afternoon, while others headed into the village of Valle de Angeles for some souvenir shopping, or in Scott’s case, to find things to “special up” his team’s house. It’s a bit hard to believe, but the adults might be even bigger shoppers than the students.

We arrived back at the compound by 5:45. Some missioners continued to relax and others played an exciting game of soccer.After supper many missioners climbed to the top of the compound and looked at the beautiful night view of Tegucigalpa.

 Everything is coming to a close very quickly. We deliver our gift bags tomorrow and finish painting and wiring the two homes that need it. Tuesday morning is to be used to add character to their team’s homes, and Tuesday afternoon we’ll have our home blessing ceremony. The homes will be blessed, the cross/plaques will be hung in each home, and the keys will be ceremoniously turned over to each family as the legal papers are signed.

Back to work tomorrow!