Honduras, pt 2

----------------------------Nov. 4

I didn’t realize it was Sunday today until 8pm when someone mentioned it and I whispered to Jether “Is it really Sunday?” We got up around 6am and had quiet time, reading Bibles and praying and journalling. After a while we went to a nearby house and ate breakfast: pasta and beans. After breakfast we walked to the water source, around 2-3 km I believe. It was very fun walking and talking. We got to the source and it rained some while we were there. We prayed a blessing over it and started walking back. We stopped at a house and talked and ate some fruit; star fruit and tamarand. We got to the village and I, Jether and Braden started kicking a ball around with some of the kids. After a little while we started on the path back, loaded up with tools. On the way down we stopped at some wild coffee trees and ate a few berries, and I dipped with some coffee leaves. They contain a higher percentage of caffeine than the beans. 

We got back and Jether, myself and one of the teenagers, Olin started throwing water bottles around to each other. It was a fun game. After we finished the game we ate lunch, rise and beans. I am really enjoying the food here, albiet the saltless corn tortillas are a little bland on their won. After lunch we went down to a small soccer field and played soccer. I did surprisingly good as goaly. The game was really fun. After soccer we came up and did a childrens program. We colored plastic stainglass crosses with sharpies, and sang/taught them songs. For the final activity we got a parachute and had fun putting squeaky chickens in it, everyone at the edges of the parachute shook it up and down violently. A hilarious game. After the childrens game we did something for the adults, Brian gave a little sermon and we sang a song we knew. Jether played the guitar and I played the case for a drum. After the program we settled into little groups to talk or play. We talked a lot (me, Jether and Lynnea) with Olin, which was cool. We ate supper, which it was pretty dark at that point and hard to see much. We ate and then talked, shared a little about our highlights of the day. Then we meandered to the house where we were sleeping at. We talked with one mother who said her daughter had diarreah, and I mentioned I had charcoal, which is good for something like that. Her daughter is 3 months old and some people on the team weren’t sure it was good for her to have it. I’m not sure if it would be bad, it doesn’t really have any bad side affects, and I’d be more ready to give that than any drug. It’s hard not having access somewhere to instantly find the answer to, like on google. 

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Just read the last part of Joel. It is so awesome! 

 “Eygpt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Juda shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the Lord dwells in Zion.” 

Beautiful; the love that Jesus has for us, his people.

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The bond that you feel between two people is amazing. Even though I don’t understand the language very well I’m still able to communicate fairly well, especially with Olin, the 16 yr old from here. He is pretty cool and is very fun to hang out with.

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Noah’s Ark is a symbol of symbol of the final coming. When Jesus comes back the door will be shut, and only those who are inside and put their trust in Jesus, will be saved. Only those who were in Noah’s Ark were saved. All those outside died. 

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This is to the least of these. This is serving the poor. This is living a life of serving to those who are in need. Helping them, serving them. This is the life that I want to live. One of satisfaction. Obedience to God’s word. Serving the least of these.

-----------------Nov 5

I slept very well last night. I slept in a hammock, I was surprised that I slept so well, because it’s been such a long time since I’ve slept in one. Yesterday we got up aorund 5:30am and got dressed, read our Bibles and made ready for the day. We got together with the locals and paired off with them as work partners. I’m getting a nice tan here. We all filed off to where the water tank will be and started trenching. We sectioned off around 30ft per section, and dug it out to around 20” deep. Once you were done a section you would move on to the next section. We ate breakfast around 9am and lunch around 1pm. Around 2:30pm we stopped digging and started backfilling over the newly layed pvc pipe. We had around 40-60 people working and we got a lot done. I’d say a good 1200ft of pipe done, which is quite impressive. 

After work we came back and hung out for a while, I played soccer, or more like kicked around the ball doing tricks with it. After that we went to the other house where we have meetings and had a met together. 

After the meeting and some songs played by Jether and I on the drums we ate supper. Rice and beans with some cheese! After supper I talked as best I could with some of the kids around my age. We wrote down each others names on our hands. While I was digging the trench I came across this huge taranchilla. It was at least four inches long and a couple wide. When we were first starting the day this 79 yr old chick came by to help out. She said she’d walked an hour from her village and she was working working just as hard as the next person. She said the kitchen was too boring. haha

I can’t get over how beautiful this place is! Surrounded by mountains, beautiful sunries and sunsets. Deep in the heart of Honduras, doing God’s work.

How blessed I am to be here on this trip. Definitely harder than other mission trips I’ve been on. If you want to experience third world povertty, get to know the people, and work hard, go on a water project. I had a good time hearing Jay and Brian talk.

Jay has done 18 water projects and has lived here for 2 years. He’s planning to eventually move down here.

Right now what I really want to do is learn spanish. More than anything else right now. I want to do what Londa is doing. I want to learn spanish so badly right now. I want to learn spanish and then come and live in Honduras for a few years doing ministry. I’d love to work with street boys, but also up in the mountains with the locals, farming. 

A rooster just crowed directly at me. 

English Vintner