Arising early for the pre-dawn view of the sunrise over the northeastern mountain range from the veranda just above the covered soccer court was a sight to behold. The beauty and splendor of this magical land of Honduras never ceases to amaze me… Even at this early hour the locals are traveling via an plethora of motional forces… by foot, bicycles, horse, and on the occasion a motor taxi. As the sun begins to crest the summit of the mountains… the coruscant of light that twinkles thru the trees reminds me of the blessings we are given everyday. Everyday is a gift and should not be taken for granted… We are not promised another day, but we are called to glorify our Lord in all things. After a brief moment of clarity the reality set in that I had not slept all that much in past few nights… So crawled back into the bed to nap before breakfast.

We left the compound around 7:30 local time with a new driver be hide the wheel… Memo was his name and “git r dun” was his game. Memo was a man who was rejected from F1 not because of his lack of ability or reckless driving… contraire he was just to good for them… the corporation deemed it necessary level the playing field and therefore, they pulled his licenses… So he came home to drive for Mario Francisco’s microbus taxi service… SPS to Penalajo was his specialty. Like the veteran that knows the maximum one can push the mechanical limit of his machine he also knows the track or the road he must travel… every bump twist and turn is burnt into his DNA. Daniela was asked how long until we arrived at the beach, he replied 2 1/2 hours… Memo did it in 1 hour and 50 minutes. Never, and I do mean never have we every arrived on time as described by Daniela… much less to arrive ahead of schedule! Memo is the MAN!

Our first stop of the day was in the city of Omoa which is sandwiched between Puerto Cortez and the Guatemalan border on the Gulf of Honduras. We toured the Spanish Fort San Fernando de Omoa that was built in the 16 century to defend the sea port from the soddy English and the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow and the merry band of Pirates of the Caribbean. Back to the microbus and off to the beach… upon our arrival a Vina del Mar; a semi private beach front restaurant and full service wait staff, we were escorted to a cabana near the ocean, and the wait staff took our orders and served us … I never knew how the other half lived, that was some kinda nice.

Several folks to a swim in the Caribbean… some walked the black sand beaches searching for treasure… while others practiced shade squatting under the cabana, practice makes perfect. We first sampled some sea food prepared in the traditional Omar gastronomy that consisted of conk meat and picante sauce followed by a combo tray of surf and turf items that included fresh fish, beef ribs, pork chops, shrimp and sausage… o my goodness, taste and see that the Lord is good. After playing awhile longer we loaded up and headed back to Qumistan. The drive was even more exciting than the trip earlier in the day, Memo had heavy traffic to contend with…he was courteous but passively aggressive… he passed frequently… he passed often and some of the time he  passed aggressive, even to the point I thought he was going to pit a taxi driver in San Pedro for cutting him off. I wish that I had a go pro to capture the events from my perspective in the front passenger seat…

Arriving back at the compound just in time for supper, thank you Jesus it was a light supper of tacos for I was still full from the primo meal served on the beach earlier. We fill bags full of beans and rice to take up the mountain tomorrow and pass out to the families in the community.  The hour is late and my eyes are heavy… until a predisposed time shall we blog again.

For most of us the technology bug has bitten most Americans to the point that patience is not a virtue but simply a metaphorical afterthought… Our society… so smitten and reliant on techno buzz… it is inconceivable for some if not all that simply performing a math problem without the use of a technological device is possible. How could I reach the thousands upon thousands of viewers in the Blogsphere without the aid of this computer… Internet… or electricity for heavens sake. Now for those who came here to read about the daily mission team events from Honduras… to which I will get to in a short matter of time… remember to have a little patience, for that all you need. I offer these words as a precursor to make you think of how all of the gadgets… gizmos and other devices actually control your lives rather than only assisting you on your daily walkabout. Some of the team members paid to have an international plan added to their cell phone service so they could stay connected to the outside world… friends and family or worse Facebook status updates. I myself included… added such plan to my phone as well. My wife likes live updates throughout the day and most of the time I can stop and chat with her for a few minutes while living large in Shade Squattersville. None the less, when we lose the ability to communicate so freely… we almost feel powerless, even helpless. As it is we have been working in a community where the cell phone service is spotty at best and non existent is the norm…

Having been on a mission team in Honduras for many years I am amazed at the labor intensive yet time honored traditions the Honduras people use in the construction process. Mixing Mook on the ground… rather than using a cement mixer. Hewing a piece of lumber out of a fallen tree… rather than buying one at lumber yard. Using the item available from a stick to a piece of paper is the norm, not the exception. Certainly poverty can and possibly does contribute to this, but I also think that tradition, craftsmanship and even a little rage against the machine factors this mind set.

Over the years my cohorts and I have learned that you cannot simply go to the local hardware store and pick up something to the job, some times you need a little patience and craft it from whatever you can find lying around. The team has bought into this concept over time… Things such as mixing mook would cause us to grumble because it is hard, sweaty and tiring work… and now we relish at the opportunity to grab a shovel to lift, sift, turn and make the key ingredient for all Honduran construction. Today we used our knowledge and these traditions to continue to build the kitchen at the school.  The walls arose another 3 layers of block and by Monday we should start to form the upper bond beam for another concrete pour.

We had planned on a short work day at the job site in order that we travel over to La Montinita community and visit our friends and serve ice cream to the children. Thanks to Maynor for arranging that for us. It was a smash hit with the kids and adults alike. They scarfed down all of the ice cream down in about 20 minutes and the smiles abundantly flowed every where. Following the candy induced mosh pit we visited Swanna’s home and dined on some traditional Honduran food and sipped coffee in the sitting room. She spoke to the group at length with the aid of Daniela translating about the needs of the community and a future construction project at the school. We finished our visit in the community with a stop at our adopted family’s home… Ms. Rosa. Hondo presented a couple of new books to the children and gave some gifts to Rosa as well. I showed the newbie’s, Body Pump and Selfie, around the home and talked about the improvements that was made to her. The thing that gets to me is that when we began working on her home 5 years ago, she looked as if the world had beaten her down, and in truth it had. She had basically nothing to her name except the clothes on her back. The community had built her a small adobe home, but her and her children slept on the floor. She was living in a hopeless situation at best. Thru our efforts and support of others as well, today she is beaming full of life… that is what hope can do. We came to build a pilla and bathroom at her house but what we brought… not knowing was hope for her and her family. She has become a vital and accepted part of the community now. That is our purpose on these trips… bringing hope to a people that have been forgotten by most of the world and yet valuable in the sight of God.

Our evening was completed as we returned to the compound and dined on some tilapia and celebrated Senor Mater and Hondo’s birthday.  Tonight we rest for tomorrow we venture off to the beach for a day of fun and sun. Until then stay tuned in for another adventure.

 

Marco Francisco Valle Valle

Today was a typical day in the mission field for our group. We returned to Terre Amarillo and started to lay blocks for the new kitchen at the school. We made a lot of progress along the way… There was a whole lot of mook packing going on in them hills folks. I calculated that we laid over 350 blocks today! In between to mooking fiesta there was time to play with the children, the Gals passed out dresses to the girls that had been made and donated by the women’s group from Wilkesboro. They finished painting the door and thankfully the Leatherman all purpose tool stayed in the sheath all day.

Sometimes one can best survey their surrounding by simply remaining quiet and observe others. I look at our group, a cross section of Americana with multi generation members that include: Traditionalist, Boomers, X’ ers, Generation Y and a couple of iGens also… For each one brings their own brand of personality that blends together to form a tight knit group willing to abort the national pastime of Slacktivism… Rather than promoting a cause or seeking to bring change. such as signing on-line petitions, or posting a meaningless rant via Facebook which only requires minimal effort and low risk involvement… they do something about making change! They are the hands and feet of Jesus… They are making a difference in His name.

Through all the blood, sweat and tears of the day, suffering the sweltering heat and sun that Honduras can offer, the greatest event of the day occurred as we were packing up and preparing to catch a taxi to the top of the hill… Senor Jefe began to talk to some young men from the community and passed out some Gospel tracks to them. The Holy Spirit moved one of them to accept Jesus as Lord on the hill side, that is why we are here! Building a kitchen is but temporary in this life… Building the Kingdom is eternal. Sometimes we loose focus on the goal, or at least get distracted from it, but as Paul wrote that we must keep pressing towards the goal… Facebook will not do it, Your government will not do it, Only you can press towards the goal and share the Gospel.

 

Marco Francisco Valle Valle

Glad to say I slept better last night… no scorpion sightings to mention but still waiting for breakfast in bed. We gathered in the mess hall as a group to pour some groceries down our neck all the while creating small talk around the table about the job for the day and looking forward to a hopefully short day… wishful thinking.

Good news of the day spread quickly… we will have a taxi awaiting at the drop off point to take us down the yellow brick road rather than lugging all our equipment down the trail of death. A quick trip to the hardware store to pick up a few needed items to attach the forms to the walls so we can pack some mook between the gap.

The ride up the mountain was uneventful due to the fact we were traveling at a pace that would on only bruise a bug! All was going according to plan after our arrival… the guys were making a special wire ties to join the boards together… the gals began to paint the doors on the new bathrooms and collectively we was in a particularly festive mood because the locals were mixing up one of the largest piles of mook… how much mook you ask… a corner stone of a large skyscraper could be set with it. Another load of block arrived on site and was quickly unloaded and stacked up. Suddenly… without warning… it began to rain green coconuts! One of the delivery drivers decided that he wanted a coconut tip for the speedy deliver service and hazardous duty compensation for driving a 2 ½ ton delivery truck down the yellow brick road! So he shimmed up the tree just above us and started dropping coconuts to the ground.

They kindly shared the spoils of their success with others standing around, gringos included. Sipping on the sweet nectar and digging out the fruit of the with pieces of shell or a handy Leatherman all-purpose tool. Once the siesta was over we quickly returned to complete the forming process because the mook was beginning to spoil under the sweltering heat. Without warning we heard a clamor near the block pile… One of our team members had injured themselves with the previously mention all-purpose tool. Hondo to put on his fireman’s hat to give some first aid. Arrangements were quickly made and our friend transported to get further medical assistance. We gathered together to lay hands on them and pray for safe passage and for healing to the injury… both prayers were answered!

Nothing like seeing one of your friends get injured to bring you down… what a buzz kill. We continued to work on the project and yet I know that everyone only had one thing on their heart and mind… our comrades’ wellbeing… that will always come before a Mooking fiesta… any day. A couple of hours passed before we received word that they were ok and the injury was not as serious as first thought. Praise the Lord… Thanks to Hondo and Selfie for taking care of our team member… Thanks to the unknown driver who rushed them down the mountain… Thanks to Daniela and Maynor for communication with the medical staff and helping get the attention our friend needed!

By the end of the day the team was beginning to smile, laugh and pick at each other again like normal… As much as we like to cut-up with one another, we do have a sensitive side as well. I could have written a typical easter egg filled post and no one would have ever known what happened… I may even be writing in vain… I might not be able to post it because the Scrapemaster 3000 seems to suck out all the jazz from the internet connection here… But I tell the story to show that God is with us… in the good, the bad and the ugly that life can throw at you.

The pour was a success and tomorrow we will start laying blocks for the new kitchen… Here is to a happier day tomorrow.

And now a word from our sponsor: Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me”

 

Marco Francisco Valle Valle

The day began early… or shall I say earlier than normal. I went to the restroom around 12:30 this morning and lo and behold I saw a scorpion curled up in the corner of the room just minding his own business. I really didn’t get close enough to see what gender it was, I am making a generalization in that statement. I placed a cup over it for keep sake to show the others when they were awakened by the glorious singing of the birds that sit outside of the windows. They start to harmonize at dawns first light… which is about 4:15 am local time. Senor Jefe the Scorpion King was given the opportunity to redeem himself for the post traumatic and epic fails over the last 2 years regarding scorpion sightings… Alas he chose to follow the catch and release program, no sacrifice was done… bummer!

After a simple breakfast consisting of various choices that included a mixture of eggs and who knows what else to which I opted out of in favor or refried beans and corn tortillas, none the less it did the job and everyone was ready to venture up the hill for another day of service in Terre Amarillo. Our transportation accommodations varied drastically today opposed to yesterday…. Yesterday there were two vehicles, one truck and one van. The truck had a dual-purpose role… to carry the tools from the Federation Headquarters to the job site and secondly ferry the team down the yellow brick road to the village… and I do mean downhill… like a 90-meter Olympic ski jump! The van carried most of the team to the top of the jump. Today one van, extra people, no room to carry provisions, some water was left behind… communication error or conspiracy theory… You smell what the Rock’s cooking?

After riding up the lunarscape roads for about 50 minutes… that converts to 30 minutes Honduran, we arrived at the drop off point on top of the hill… To our surprise, distain and dis belief we were told that we would have to march down the yellow brick road… Battan Style! The air was filled with groans of distain and yet everyone pitched in to carry the supplies needed to survive in the jungle, water coolers, ice chest, food and tools. Several people took turns carrying the heavy items, even switching sides to relieve the throbbing and burning sensations in their muscles. After scaling down the mountain side for 15 minutes we finally arrived at the base camp to start work… only after we took an extended break to catch our breath and work the numbness out of our limbs!

The construction phase of the day was very simplistic… finish tying up the re-bar frames while the locals set them in the footings and poured the mook in the holes. Hunterzilla was given the opportunity to run the machine that makes the square shaped rings… 150 were going to be needed later in the day. The time had come for the Wilkesboro team to do what we do best… Pack the Mook! Blocks were laid and blazing pace… and some were taken up just as quickly once some errors was found in the height of the foundation. The problem occurred because the foundation had 3 steps poured into it to make up for the slope of the ground. None the less we overcame all the obstacles placed in front of us and we completed our assigned task.

As evening drew nigh we gathered and stored our tools in preparation to leave… all the while dreading every step of the gauntlet before us in the midst of our life sapping fatigue. Suddenly there arose a clamor in the village… we heard the delicate sound thunder as a Toyota truck emerged from a dust cloud! Prayers answered! Shouts of Acclamation!…a local had volunteered to drive the team back up the cliff free of charge… Dios es Grandeoso! Our spirts now lifted we awaited the command to climb aboard and relax on the magic carpet ride to the top.

Our evening was capped off visiting Gloria at her home. She is a former Federation employee who now works for Uncle Sam and Roxanna at their children’s home. We dined on a delicious spread of chicken and pork chops with all the Honduran trimmings of goat cheese, beans and jalapenos followed up with ice cream. During our visit, some of the team members surveyed her home, recalling stories of the work they did there several years ago. Back to the compound for shower baths and to prepare for another day, hopefully the watch tower group will see favor upon us tomorrow.

 

Marco Francisco Valle Valle

 

A generic and oft used expression may best describe our first day in the newly sponsored Federation outpost of Terra Amarillo… which roughly translates to Yellow earth. All of the troopers slept well I think, certainly Senor Mater did; I thought he was going to crack the foundation of the building snoring so loudly. Breakfast came early with pancakes, fruit and a lot of paperwork to be done before the journey ensued, or maybe endured up and down the mountain trail. If the author was to give directions, I would simply say this; turn left at the end of civilization, go about 10 miles in the heart of nowhere, then turn right onto goat path lane… If CA-4 is the road to perdition then the yellow brick road leading down the mountain side could paint a graphic photo of the steps that Christ had to travel into Hades to free the souls of Noah’s the day after the crucifixion! It was so rough and steep the invincible Auto bus could not pass… The team was ferried down to the village via Honduran taxi… a Toyota pick-up capable of carrying up to 22 Hondurans in the bed at once. Applying our technical math skills we deduced that equated to 3 Hondurans and 10 gringos was a safe load to transport down the treacherous path.

We were greeted by a friendly crowd of locals with a hopeful gleam in their eyes. I heard one shout, ”The gringos are coming, the gringos are coming!” Construction master Daniela and I surveyed the pre-work and measured for accuracy. Once all parties agreed the foundation was up to spec, the back hoes came roaring to life and the soft loamy soil began to fly so the new kitchen would rise soon… Meanwhile on the other side of the coin, several of the other team members, led by Hunterzilla and the former Blogmaster named B-Rad scaled to the top of the old kitchen and began to disassemble the roof panels quicker than a 72’ El Dorado left parked in Harlem overnight. Quanda, Que Pasa, Body Pump AKA Tori and Selfie AKA Madison assisted in debris removal sometimes guided by – possibly misguided by our very own Hondo the magical musician. Within an hour, the building that had withstood 12 years of children and severe weather was lying in a pile of rubble. Leave it to an incited group of zesty Americans’ to bring down a viable and useful structure.

Quietly, in a somewhat concealed location, Marco Francisco was building the sacred machine to bend the steel rods needed for the steel support system used in the typical Honduran construction. This design has been passed down through the generations. A tradition so guarded and secretive that family ties have been fractured by passing it along to others with tribal approval. I am honored to have been given the algorithms to build this machine and took an oath under the penalty of persecution and volcanic sacrifice to never release the plans.

After lunch the Hondurans began a Mook fiesta… without inviting the Gringos to play the Mooking games… Alas We were saddened by this event of miscommunication, but remember what goes up, must come down. We gathered around the makeshift work benches (Stacked Blocks) and began to assemble and tie the re-bars together to form the structural load bearing components that will ensure that the next time they want to tear this building down, it will take much more effort and considerably more time to destroy!

At 4:30 we gathered all the tools and prepared for the ascension up the goat path to made our way back to the Federation compound where a hot meal of pork chops, rice and beans awaited to nourish our famished souls. After the meal, Hondo led the group in a wonderful musical selection and Senor Mater proclaimed the Word for us. Special thanks to Senor Jefe for leading the group and barking out the orders likened to that of Senior Drill Instructor Hartman… All while never leaving the sanctuary of his shaded pulpit. Goodnight Blogosphere, tune in tomorrow for another gut-wrenching episode of how the Blog is Done!

 

Marco Francisco Valle Valle

Our day began in the wee hours of the pre-dawn rising. A group of 10 eager Gringos… Veterans and Newbies alike Packed, Stuffed and Crammed ourselves into a small caravan of 2 automobiles and sojourned onward as Christian solders to battle the steely beast, whose sole purpose was to devour all creatures, both animate and inanimate that would bravely venture into the belly of the winged beast.

A 39 minute hop, a minor layover with breakfast from Arby’s, followed by another flight on the aluminum Condor across the great Pond of Mexico… We safely arrived at our destination San Pedro… Customs went smooth… NO visit to the darkroom required! Awaiting the weary travelers just beyond the glass doors was our old friends Maynor, Daniela and the ever effervescent driver Mario Andretti Valle Valle!

A brief but adventurous journey up highway CA 4 aka the road to perdition, we arrived at the Federation Compound Villa Celia Delfina. A wonderful lunch was prepared by Sandra y her new helper Miss Lupie. We dined, we unpacked and then went on a tour of the minor Federation extension outpost of Tranqulidad and her construction progress. We were hosted by Roxanna y her comedian husband Uncle Sam. After the extended visit with family and friends we returned to the compound and for some of the luckier ones, we got a shower bath before the evening meal… the rest waited until bed time.

I am thankful for the opportunity to once again venture to the land south of the border and spend time with old friends and I look forward to making new ones in the Terre Amarillo community tomorrow. Good nite blogosphere and always remember… “Resist”

 

Marco Francisco Valle Valle

Today was the final dental clinic day for Honduras children. The dentists treated about 18 Agape Promise students from Quimistan, 9 from the remote mountain village of Los Panales, plus a couple of other people with dental needs. Today, the dental treatments lasted from 8:00am until about 4:00pm. Then we began taking down the clinic, inventorying the supplies, cleaning the equipment, and transporting all the dental equipment and supplies back to Martha’s compound. We completed all of this by about 6:00pm.

We had wonderful guests for dinner tonight. Roxanne and Sam Turnipseed from the Tranquilidad Foundation here in Quimistan (former residents of Aiken, SC) came to eat and spend some time with us.

After 3 long days of dental treatments, the dentists and the rest of the dental team are physically exhausted. However, they all are extremely grateful for these last few days of being able to serve the wonderful children in this area of Honduras. We are all very blessed to be able to come and serve. Thank you God!

We leave Quimistan immediately after breakfast tomorrow morning for the San Pedro Sula airport to get our flight back to the USA. Please pray that everyone will have a safe trip back home! We hope to return again for another dental mission trip in March of 2018.

God bless!

 

 

Today was our second dental clinic day for Honduras children. After morning devotions and breakfast, the team arrived at the dental clinic about 8:00am. Today was a very full day for the dentists who worked until nearly 7:00pm with just a short break for lunch at about 2:00pm (lunch was late due to some very complicated treatment for children just before lunch.

We truly appreciate the 4 dentists that came with the team (at their own expense). The dentists on the team include:

Dr. Randy Shelley from Aiken, SC. Dr. Randy has been coming on Honduras Agape dental mission trips for well over 10 years. THANK YOU DR. RANDY!

Dr. Charlie Wyont also from Aiken. Dr. Charlie has also been coming on the Honduras Agape dental mission trips for well over 10 years. Dr. Charlie’s wife Karen also comes with Dr. Charlie. THANK YOU DR. CHARLIE!

Dr. Patty Schnur from Bradenton, FL. This is Dr. Patty’s 4^th Honduras Agape dental mission trip. Dr. Patty 2 older children, Ben (age 15) and Sarah (age 13) are with Dr. Patty on this mission trip. THANK YOU DR. PATTY!

Dr. Clarissa Schmidt from North Augusta, SC. Dr. Clarissa has been on many dental mission trips with other groups but this is her first mission trip with our Honduras Agape Foundation. THANK YOU DR. CLARISSA!

Today we treated children from 2 remote mountain villages (Teo and Arena Blanca) plus several students in the Honduras Agape Promise group here in Quimistan. The dentists also treated 2 other children from this area that had emergency dental needs. Below is a picture of the children from Teo and Arena Blanca, the adults that brought them to the clinic, and the dentists on our dental mission team that treated them.

Question: How many dentists does it take to extract a tooth? While the normal answer would be one, today there was one EXTREMELY DIFFICULT extraction on a young girl. The condition of one of her molars was so bad that the roots broke off when the top part of the tooth was initially extracted. With the limited dental equipment we have here, THREE of our dentists then spent an extended amount of time to get the very, very difficult roots out. We all were saying prayers that they could satisfactorily complete this procedure.

Today, after the children from Teo and Arena Blanca completed their treatments, they were given some clothing and shoes that various people from Aiken donated for the children here in Honduras. Some of the items donated included fancy flipflops that the ladies of St. Paul’s UMC in New Ellenton, SC decorated for them.

Later in the day, one of the Agape Promise students (Aura) received a new bike that was donated. Attached is a photo of Aura and her USA sponsor (Sarah) with the new bike. Aura was all smiles.

In summary, everyone is physically very tired after a long day at the dental clinic. However, everyone has a very uplifted spirit after seeing all the wonderful children that came to the clinic today. Thank you God for such a great blessing today!

Today our mission team started the dental clinic portion of our trip. The small rural hospital here in Quimistan gives us two rooms in the hospital for seeing dental patients. After breakfast, the team arrived at the dental clinic at 8:00am where we found children and some parents from the remote mountain village of Tierra Amarilla already there. They had come down from their village over an hour drive away via extremely poor, steep roads, in the open back of a small truck. They had wonderful smiles on their faces and were happy to see us. There were also several Agape Promise students from the local area awaiting treatment by the dentists.

Tommy was amused this morning when he asked the first 2 patients he met how old they were, in Spanish (Cuantos años tienes?) and separately they both responded, “Eleven”, in English. 😁 The kids are so much fun, and the language barrier isn’t really much of one. When not being worked on, they had fun with balloons, coloring books, balls, and other diversions.

After prepping the dental equipment, the 4 dentists started the treatments on the children. The age of the children seen ranged from a 6-year old boy up to high school students. On many of these children there were multiple problems that needed to be treated requiring an extended time to complete the treatment. A dental cleaning was also provided for each of the children. Although we have no trained dental assistants on the mission team, team members from age 13 to 74 assisted the dentists.

During the day, the dentists did have some problems with the portable dental equipment, but worked around these issues to treat the children.  Please pray that these machines will continue to operate well enough for us to complete our work.

The total children treated today was 25. Of these, 9 children were from Tierra Amarilla mountain village, 15 were Agape Promise students, and one was a small child from Quimistan. The dentists also treated 2 adults including Dr. Tino (the doctor that assists the Honduras Agape Foundation by making medical visits to the various mountain villages for our foundation), and Daniel (the Spanish-English translator that assists all our HAF mission teams).

In summary, it was a wonderful first day of dental treatments for our mission team. God was certainly with us today! A few samples of our day are in the following photos: