Our last day has arrived! How has this week already gone by so fast?! How are we at our last day?
Today, the school celebrated Lempira Day, a celebration of the Honduran hero Lempira, an Indian who fought the Spaniards. Each classroom touted traditional outfits with a dance routine they had been practicing for weeks. The boys and girls looked “muy guapo” and “muy bonita” (handsome and pretty!) The teachers even participated! So many great performances that even included some of our own team members! Courtney, Doty and Lydia competed in a dance competition (Lydia won, rightfully so) and Robin danced with 6th grade teacher, Luis. She acted as “La Jelipita” and absolutely nailed the performance! It was special for us to see our students for the last time and to celebrate a fiesta for their country.
After a delicious traditional Honduran lunch at the school, the team (with Callie, the English teacher) visited Santa Lucia, a beautiful town in the mountains. We visited a coffee shop, Tres Puntos, which had a beautiful view of the Honduran mountains. Our interpreter told us that Honduras is the most mountainous country, and it was beautiful to enjoy it while enjoying each other’s company. Following the coffee shop, we traveled to an outdoor shopping area, Valle de Angeles aka Valley of the Angels, to peruse for souvenirs. Our team has made such strong bonds and our relaxing afternoon with one another enjoying the sights of the country was so enjoyable!
Our final fiesta of the day was a team dinner at a restaurant called Ni-Fu Ni-Fa (Neither This, Neither That). Our interpreters, cooks, and team all joined all together for a delicious meal. Our appetizer was a cheesy bean dip, salad bar with beets, pasta, plantain chips, and more! They brought three types of meats out on three types of griddles and boy-oh-boy was the food delicious!
We came back to the mission house after giving hugs and saying our goodbyes to some of our interpreters. We had our final evening devotion and prayer together, reflecting on our week. God has shown Himself in so many ways, big and small, throughout the week. We strive to continue to live out our mission when we come home. We are so grateful to have experienced these moments together and know that we are going to miss one another.
Thank you to all our family, friends, prayer partners, and church community members that have been praying for us during this time. We have felt so blessed during this time and know that these prayers have traveled from afar. We will see you all soon!
To the people of Honduras: Hasta la proxima! Not good-bye, but until next time…
July 20, 2022
Today was another amazing day in this beautiful country! We started our day teaching in Cuidad España, we’ve made so many new friends! Games are a big hit with this crowd! The children love playing Memory with notecards, matching English and Spanish vocabulary; the “fly swatter game”, smacking the whiteboards with English and Spanish vocabulary; even “Wiping Out” to the classic The Surfaris hit from 1963, practicing their directions in English. A major shout out to our amazing team member, Denise, for treating us to this “far out” activity! The women of the church treated us to a Central American delicacy, pupusas! Boy, were they delicious! What an incredible treat!
After lunch, we welcomed a mother whose son participates in the sponsorship program. Her appreciation for her son’s sponsor was overwhelming, reminding us how important it is to continue to support this mission. Every sponsor providing opportunities that may not be possible for families here in Honduras. Juan Wesley is a unique collaboration where compassion and empowerment collide, breaking cycles and growing possibility.
Our afternoon was filled with cement, sand and water. that’s correct, concrete volcanos! We continued projects at Dios Viviente. Our translator, Franklin, proved he had the skill and the muscle to help alongside our team! AKA, we are SO grateful for him!
Let’s taco about this evening! We were treated to tacos for dinner, but the very best part is that our translator, Bessy, gifted us with her homemade cinnamon rolls! BEST EVER! It was so fun for such a sweet treat to end our day! Our team continues to be blessed with friendship, teamwork and card games!
We thank you for your continued prayers; for our Honduran brothers and sisters, the Hondurans who serve along with us, to those who take care of us at the Mission House and those that we are here to serve. God puts us where we need to be, when we need to be and we are all grateful for the opportunity to be his hands and feet here in beautiful Honduras.
July 19, 2022
We have made it through another day and are feeling so much more comfortable as teachers with our students. The morning brought us a greeting with rain. The mountains can bring rain any time, any day. We made it to the school at the exact time the first session started because of traffic delays. Our first classes went well, and the students were ready for us. The sessions went well as the older students brought their family trees they had prepared with the Teacher Callie. They put a lot of time into these family trees with pictures and sentences, describing their family members. Like yesterday, the children continue to encourage and help each other throughout the activities. In between sessions, we saw the students practicing their dance routines for the festival on Friday. The women of the church made “semitas”, Honduran sweet bread, and we all were able to try some at the end of the day. What a treat!
We returned to the construction site at the church where we continued to chisel our way at the cement foundation. It is a good workout! Our grip strength and forearms are already feeling the workout! Prepare to see some muscles when you see us. The pastors continue to be gracious hosts and join in on the fun with us. Last night when being interviewed for the Bridging Cultures podcast, Pastor Celeste called us “angels on Earth.” The people of Honduras continue to show us that God is at the center, God is the reason we are here, and He continues to bless us every day.
July 18, 2022
Welcome readers!
Our team has had a full, fulfilling, and eventful day! Our breakfast was bacon, pancakes, and strawberries. We are so spoiled by Paola and Cindy.
Each team of 2-3 is assigned a younger grade and an older grade for teaching. We teach a morning session of group A and an afternoon session of group B, with each group containing a younger and higher grade (i.e. We teach one 3rd grade session in the AM and PM, and 8th grade in the AM and PM). We have amazing interpreters with each team who assist us throughout each activity: Franklin, Jorge, Leydi, Bessy, Maria, and Rigo. They are essential to our team, become our friends, and teach the kids just as much as we do. We are so grateful for them. They even get to join in on the fun as we go along.
The children impressed us from the moment we arrived at the school. We had a greeting group of ambassadors that escorted us from each classroom. “Welcome!” Upon entry, we were greeted with warm welcomes, songs, or cheers. They were well prepared for their guests. Today’s goal was to get to know the children and we played Jenga with them while practicing English. The children LOVE Jenga, and all knew how to play it. In the older classrooms, more confident students were encouraging the shier, less confident kids to participate with the activities. Our 45 minutes went by very fast!
After the school day was over, we drove high in the mountains to our construction site to a church where the two pastors greeted us with refreshments. This church was struck by two hurricanes in the beginning of the pandemic and continues to build community and faith, focusing on their children. Their next project is to build a kitchen to be able to feed the children. The last team here in June laid the foundation for the kitchen. Our job was to start chiseling through a doorway to prepare for doors to be placed. The rain delay stopped us only temporarily! Shoutout to our chiseling MVPs: Alan, Jerri, and Judith!
Honduran driving is not like driving in the US. Jorge and Milton are so skilled. No GPS, they just know where to go. On our first ride, Jorge told us, “Don’t get nervous unless you see me get nervous!” We all travel together to the school in the morning with the interpreters and learn from one another. Various subjects about culture, language, and our lives. Lots of fun and laughs! Today, Leydi, taught us that a dog says “gwow gwow” instead of our “woof woof.” We played Phase 10 during our break time. The competitive side of some of our team members comes out with a fire! The team blends well together and knows how to have a good time.
Other important highlights: our team members, Aubrey and Alan, decided today to sponsor the education of a child in most need. They are hoping to meet his family later this week! The pastors from the church were our guests at dinner. The lights came back on last night, but today’s struggle is a shower that wouldn’t turn off. Luckily, Franklin and Jorge, lovingly called the “Wet Bandits” came to our rescue.
Sunday, July 17, 2022
“Get your swords, children!”
Today was a special, first full day for our team. We were all able to sleep in, have breakfast at by our amazing cooks, Cindy and Paola. As they told us last night upon our arrival, they cook each meal with lots of love for us. Delicioso!
We left the mission house to head into Ciudad Espana for a special Sunday service at Iglesia Metodista Cristo Resucitado. We were able to attend a service with 100 children and 20 adults from the community with the Sunday school teachers. Today’s lesson was on breaking down the wall of Jericho. We were able to march around the church with the students and watch the “wall” break down they set up in the middle of the church. It was amazing to see the children engage in the story and participate in their faith and worship. During the service, there was a time for children to come up and say what they are thankful for. The children spoke of graciousness for what they have, their families, and the community around them. Some of our team members also shared gratefulness for the abilities to return to Honduras!
Each member of the team was gifted with a handmade item from a member of the congregation, Dilcia. What a special gift to have a received to say Bienvenidos! (Welcome!) Following the service, the team members ate lunch with their sponsored children and families, as well as the teachers. It was a special time to visit, build relationships, and continue growing connections with the community.
The afternoon and evening we spent preparing for the week ahead of us with shopping and lesson planning. We purchased school supplies, food, candy, and chairs. We are going to be creating goodie bags for teachers who will be lending us their classrooms for the week. Each teacher will also be given a new chair for their classroom. Our last stop was getting local Honduran coffee at Cafetano. Yum! After another delicious dinner of fried chicken, French fries and corn salsa, we prepped for our classrooms. Team member, Jennifer, prepped us lesson plans, games and a ton of supplies! While lesson plans are muy importante, it was most entertaining running though these plans in the DARK! Yes, the dark! Darkness cannot stop all the fun and learning we’ve got planned this week.
The countryside views have been beautiful and mountainous. It’s been a great first day, and we are excited to meet the kids tomorrow. Hasta pronto! (See you soon!)
