Work Day #4

Monday, April 03, 2017 before breakfast

It’s Monday and the missioners are wondering how the time is going by so fast. We have a lot yet to accomplish but are ready to jump back into completing our projects. Today we will begin painting on house one and a crew will wrap up construction on house two. We hope to begin delivering the gift bags. The missioners are excited to share all the donations donated by you all. Another crew will stay at the school and will bounce between building bunk beds and visiting classrooms. They’ll be teaching some songs in English and Spanish. “He’s got the whole world in his hands” and “Pan de Vida” (Bread of Life).

Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful and we started off with a wonderful Mass outside in the school compound. We were reminded that Christ unites us as one Body, together as a mission community, and with all of you back home and with our Honduran brothers and sisters. Deacon Murphy pointed out to us again that Jesus indeed has the power to raise us up as he did for Lazarus. He raised up the poor and the sick in his time and commissions us to raise each other up and to be the hands and feet that help raise up the poor we encounter here. Jesus also raises us up when we reach out raise others up. We certainly have experienced this from the many Honduran children and adults we have met.

We have asked a lot of our missioners in both work and many new experiences. They were ready for a day off and there were tired people and some queasy stomachs. All missioners felt good enough to go on our excursion. We made our pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Suyapa. Our mother Mary is a great source of strength and comfort to the poor and downtrodden as well as to ourselves. We had a chance to offer our prayers to her intercession.

The trip to the village of Valley of the Angels allowed us to see some of the beautiful Honduran countryside. We had a nice lunch of pizza before heading out to do some shopping. They did a good job of supporting the Honduran economy. However, it was noted that a lot of purchases were gifts for family members and there are some very unique gifts coming back to Iowa.

Back at the compound many extended our Sunday rest with a siesta. Our nightly “Junta” gathering allowed us to process our experience and to share our thoughts and feelings with each other. Afterwards the student missioners had the character building experience of doing their laundry by hand the Honduran way. Many of them wrapped up the evening by helping the youth who live here with their English.

Some words from Mac:  Carolyn Bickford, and Dick Seivert set the stage for us to be here.  There are countless resources at our deposal because of many years of work.  Thank you to all that came before us.  We are humbled to follow in your footsteps.  Marta, our Honduran go-to for everything connection, Frank Seivert our “boots on the ground”, and all of the Gehlen people that support this Mission; I give a big thank you.  Thanks to all that support this Mission in prayer, financially, and in any way shape or form.

We will continue to do our best to keep your kids safe, do the work of our Creator, and be to the Hondurans what God calls us to be.  It is with the love of God that sustains us here.  Please continue to pray for us!

I am truly humbled.   Mac

Lauren Promes

BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT to my oldest sister Kenzie! Wish I could be there with you but you will see me in 4 more days and cant wait to see and hug everyone!!

Allison King

Happy Birthday mom! Hope you have a great day. Don’t go out to eat until I come back. The people here are awesome but, I can’t wait to come back home. Please bring me sweatpants, t-shirt and sweatshirt on Friday. Thanks! Love you all!

Kate Tom

Happy Monday! I am sitting outside at 6:30 in the morning watching as kids are coming in the gate to go to school. It is amazing to me to watch the excitement of these young ones to be here; especially this early in the morning.

We have a busy week ahead of us with finishing the two homes, building bunk beads, teaching in the schools, and delivering all of the care bags to the 31 families that are really poor. We are going to start delivering the bags today. It is like Christmas in April. I am excited to go a long and open the bags with them!

Hey Kuemper, please pray for the forest fire that is currently going on to be extinguished. This is not a normal thing for this area. Water is sparse to fight it with. Families are starting to lose their homes. It is awful. Please also pray that those families that have lost their homes will be able to find shelter.

Mom, please give big hugs and kisses to my babies. I miss them so much. I hug a lot of kids here, but nothing is like holding my babies at home. Have a good time with them. Please tell dad that he doesn’t have to worry I have touched a tool yet. LOL!

Love to all,

Kate

Jessie Eischeid

Hi family – miss you! But - am having an incredible experience here. Brandi and I are heading out this morning with some others to deliver bags of items to families in the area. The mission adults and students are so great to work with and the Hondurans couldn’t be more welcoming. No worries, I even have coffee every morning so that helps me be a nice person and I am actually enjoying the hot weather, the evenings are cooler and comfortable. Love you always!!

 Ed Heim

Hi to my fellow Americans, family and friends from down here in Honduras.  What a experience this has been, and what a eye opener.  It has been rewarding and heart wrenching at the same time, we are so fortunate in what we have in the USA.  People here are friendly and appreciative of what we do, but we definitely stand out in a crowd. Miss you all, wish you could be here to see it, and to my family and especially Karen  te amo

Mike Schulte

We took a trip to the Valley of the Angels today.  The arid air and smell of cedar, reminded me of an old tourist town in Colorado or the Black Hills.  Things are going well, the homes are square and plumb. The first house has the roof and is totally framed.  We are hoping to be at the same point by end of day tomorrow with the second home. The kids are learning a lot and are very interested in doing the work.  This is a good crew.  The lack of infrastructure in this area is tough to comprehend, and is something that we can take for granted.  Joanie, missing you a lot, but you would be proud of Katelyn, she’s doing well.  Mitchel, I think you would have a good time working here, the boys here like digging-in and seeing the fruits of their labor.  Amy, miss you and hope you have a great birthday Wednesday, in case I don’t speak to you by then.  Luke, you too would have a good time playing soccer and basketball with these kids, they are very friendly! See you later.

Dave & Janet Klein

Things are going very well.  Enjoying the Kuemper Mission Honduras Team  – they are a great group of people to work, play and pray with. Work is going well and the team is doing a fantastic job of building relationships with the Honduran people.  The weather has been fantastic warm and sunny each day with a little breeze.  See you soon.  

Great Day!

Sunday morning

Sunday, April 02, 2017 before breakfast

Good morning all!! Here in Honduras the sun comes up early and is full light by 6:00am. We are easing into the day a bit as it is Sunday and a day of rest and relaxation. We will be celebrating Mass with our group at 8:30 this morning here in the compound (Fr. Doug presiding and Deacon Tim with the homily). What a blessing to have the Eucharist as it is the source of our mission and binds as one with Christ and all of you and our brothers and sisters here in Honduras.

We had a long lunch break yesterday to allow time for a siesta though most of our young missioners took time to play with the kids. The afternoon was productive as the 30 gift backs are almost completed. A crew started building some of the 15 bunk beds we plan to give out. Another crew went back to the house sites. House one is built!!! (all siding, interior walls and tin roof are complete) House two has all the exterior siding on and windows and doors hung. We are set to start painting on Monday and should be able to get house two completed as well. We are at a great point to have a day off from the work sites.

It is so great to see ALL the missioners not only working hard but also entering into the spirit of the mission. They have been forming relationships with the Hondurans that we interact with on a daily basis. I know that the children in particular have made their way into their hearts. Comments are already being heard such as, “I’ll be ready to see my family but I don’t want to leave.” We have been getting to know our families at the house site. A couple of the older boys have been jumping in and helping with the hammering. The little girls lift us up with their smiles. The women are so appreciative of all that’s being done for their families.

Back at the compound we had more free time today as Mass is Sunday morning. Some of our students even invited the local military volunteers to join them in a “friendly” game of soccer. [We are fortunate to have the assistance of a local military unit who provide us with some personnel and the military truck that transports our building supplies to the house sites each day.]  We had an early Junta gathering tonight to allow everyone to have a relaxed evening visiting with each other and some of the Hondurans.

After Mass we will visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Suyapa. It is a shrine dedicated to the image of our Lady discovered centuries ago by a Honduran man. She is the patroness of Honduras and very much revered. We will then go to Valley of the Angels and enjoy some pizza. It is a quaint village where the missioners can do some shopping for their families. We will return to the school to enjoy the rest of our day off.  (Blog post by Fr. Doug)

PS. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Kessenich family. Mass this morning will be for Carol (and Kenneth Ricke).

Katelyn Schulte

Hello everyone! I miss you all a lot! We are really busy, but are having tons of fun. Mom, Mitchy, Amy, and Luke we miss you all very much! Dad says he loves you! (He doesn’t want to write one) J See you soon, Dad and Katelyn

Deacon Tim Murphy

Hi Murph Clan and Kuemper Family, It has been wonderful being apart of this first Kuemper mission trip to Honduras. We’ve kidded Mac that he exaggerated on the conditions here to prepare us. Relationships have been a central part of our mission from team building to getting to know the residents.  I like adventure but it is nice to sleep in such a safe place, not have to worry about the food, and have so many building supplies and procedures set for us. The school compound is a wonderful oasis for 1500 children to daily escape the horrible situations they live in and learn how to make a better life for themselves. Thank you for your support and your prayers.

EVAN SCHETTLER

I’m having a great time in Honduras; the days move slow but the week is just flying by. The people here are easily my favorite part, with their infectious enthusiasm and seemingly endless cheer. The way the kids all charge into school in the morning grinning from ear to ear really makes me remember how Kuemper students tend to just trudge in clutching a cup of coffee. It’s a very different experience, and I hope I can bring some of that enthusiasm when I come back. To my family, I love you guys and I think about you a lot. Hope you’re having fun with your Evan-free week!

MiKayla Blum

Hi family! I am having a really great time in Honduras. The kids here are so friendly and are always giving hugs. Yesterday, I got to pack bags to give to families here, which was a great experience. Today we get to go shopping, which I am excited about.  I miss you all so much. I love you guys and I am thinking about you guys all the time.

Brandi Eischeid

Hello to everyone! Our mission trip is amazing. We are always busy working on the houses, packing bags for families, or playing with the kids. The weather is great here, even though my ears disagree. Today we are going to the Basilica and going shopping. Thank you everyone for all the prayers and support!

Jordan Wittrock

Hey Mom! Just wanted to say hi and that I miss you guys a bunch. This trip has been amazing and I’m super happy I bugged you enough about it to let me come!! Tell Brad he still sucks and I’ve thought of a billion jabs to make at him when I get back. J And to Shawn, tell him I’m sorry he’s sick and I wish I could be there to help take care of him!!

I miss you guys so much and I can’t wait to get home to tell you guys all about it! Love you all!

P.S. Grama, I’ve been watching over Papa like you said

Work Day #3

Saturday, April 1, 2017 Noon

Hello and thanks for continuing to follow the blog and keeping us in prayer. We appreciate the larger community supporting all that we do here in Honduras.

Friday after lunch a new crew stayed at the school to continue packing the gift bags to take to families. The rest continued working on the houses. Doors and windows were getting framed in as crews continued to put on siding. At times there was quite a cacophony of noise as some 8-10 were hammering at a time. We had one house almost finished and two plus sides done on the other.

We got back by four to have time to get cleaned up. Many of the missioners took advantage of a little extra time to go out and play with the kids as they were ending there day of school. There are about 2100 students at the school. They have one bunch who attends in the morning session and a whole new group comes in the afternoon. It is quite chaotic as they come and go each day but it is a joyful noise.

We had an early supper of quesadillas in order to be able to attend a special mass with the students from the night school. Padre (Fr.) Patricio comes once each year to have a mass with them. He is the priest who founded the organization behind this school and four others as well as a total of 42 projects helping the poor in Honduras. The students who come at night are those who for one reason or another cannot attend during the day often because they need to work. Fr. Patricio asked one of the young men his schedule. He gets up at 4:30am to catch a bus for an hour ride to the city center. He works from 6am until about 4:30pm and catches the bus back in order to attend class from 5:30 – 7:30pm. Then he can return home for a bit before starting all over the next day. These young people are there on their own initiative as no one really encourages them to go to school. Rather, they often receive discouragement. “Why go to school? That’s a lot of work.” However, they know that it is their only chance for a better life. Padre Patricio commented to us, “Thank you for taking care of your young people. Too many here have no adults to care for them and show them the way.” He also commented to me, “These young people are like sheep without a shepherd. Many have had little formation in the Christian faith.”

Though Fr. Doug tried his best to translate, it was a challenge for our missioners to understand, due to the Spanish, the poor sound system and a lot of noise from traffic outside the windows. They were real troopers as the mass and program went over two hours in a crowded and somewhat stuffy room. Still we were impressed with the enthusiastic mass, awed by Daniel the blind boy who provided the music and the dedication of the teachers and students of this school.

We ended with our junta where we had some good time to share the joys and frustrations of the day. We are really growing as a cohesive mission community. It’s been only two full days but it’s amazing all that has occurred so far.

This morning was more work on the gift-bags and houses. One house has interior walls and rafters and we’ll begin installing tin this afternoon. The other house has all exterior walls almost finished. It has been hot and we feel the effect of the sun but frequent water breaks has kept everyone doing well. (Blog post by Fr. Doug) [More pictures will be posted tonight.]