As I open the Bordega of knowledge acquired from our travels today, I was reminded of the difficulty that Jesus must have endured as he went in to His Fathers creation to bring hope into the small communities of Israel and Samaria. Jesus simply did not stand on a corner or remain in a synagogue preaching, He interacted with those whom came seeking Him and even those He reach un-expectantly… He offer a commodity greater than all the gold in this world, he offered hope through a new beginning…

The more time I spend in this beautiful land, the more I realize the importance of sharing the mission of Jesus Christ. Today the Lord blessed our team with pleasant weather and maybe most importantly no rain. We traveled to 3 Federation mountain outposts. Teo, Arena Blanca (White Sands) and El Venado (The Deer) was the scheduled visits for the day… I am a bit out of my comfort zone on this trip because I have not mixed any Mook, broke any scaffolds or listened to the crunch of Doom blaring in the background, but what has improved this trip is my communication skills and getting a first-hand look at the scope and body of work that the Fine folks of the Agape Foundation plan for those willing to serve the Lord and the people of Honduras.

After we ate our pancake breakfast, we settled into the little red war wagon with Pablo Francisco jamming gears and sliding sideway through the muddy roads to make the long and difficult journey above the clouds… We arrived at Teo in the midst of a grand celebration. This community finally has electrical service… It is 2014 and they have been given a 19^th century utility. I must reiterate the fact that they did not simply receive this… They, the community worked together to help build this system. That is why they thrive, even in the middle of nowhere. We need to consider what they do together, it is not about keeping up with the Jones, because they are a true community and care for one another much in the way that the Bible teaches… I have often described this section of Honduras in this way, ‘Once you leave the pavement, you enter a different world and Teo close to the edge of it…

We met with several students and updated their progress of higher educational The Patronado’s requested additional medical supplies and the church leaders asked for continued support with Sunday school supplies. There were a few suggestions for improvements to the school. A new class room was added in 2013, but with the introduction of electricity we may consider adding lights and fans to the school. After the meeting we were invited to eat B-B-Que chicken and beef for lunch at Juan Jose home.

We began our trek back down the mountain and stopped at Arena Blanca to get updates on the projects there. The leadership told Daniela and Mynor that their major need was a new water system because the community had grown since the Foundation built a water collection system a few years ago. They also need a new roof installed on the community/kindergarten building. From there we completed our goal for the day by visiting the El Venado community. They have three churches in this community and all requested bibles and supplies for worship. They also discussed a need to repair the water system and replace some deteriorated pipes.

We arrived back at Villa Celia Defina by 5 pm just in time to clean up a bit and go out to our favorite local restaurant and eat some fried chicken with Sandra and Gloria as our guest. They always do such a wonderful job of serving us meals, washing laundry and keeping us stocked up on our favorite drinks. I love to go into the dining hall early in the morning while they prepare the food and dance with them. I have heard them call me a ‘loco gringo’ but I have so ‘Mucha amor para ellos’ it does not matter what they call me. I am off to bed now. By the way this is not DeeDee, it is Marco Francisco from Wilkesboro, who was trained in the blogosphere by the one and only Blog Over Lord B-Rad Tripplet.

Today was much dryer than yesterday.  I am amazed at how fast the water disappeared!  I mean we were REALLY flooded last night!

We began the day in La Mountaninia.  I sure hope that I am spelling all of these names correctly!  Michael Norton has left me with the blog and gone off to bed; so I have no way of knowing!

We met with the community leaders in La Mountaninia as well as representatives from the Assembly of God, the local Catholic Church and the Source of Love church.  The team was able to learn about their construction needs for the coming year as well as check in with them about supplies for school and church.  We also discussed the medical needs of the community.  We toured their new water purification facility that was provided by a Presbyterian church from Kentucky.  Very nice for the community!  It also providers them with a way to make a little extra cash selling the water!  The team enjoyed the donuts and café provided by our hosts.

Next we visited the The Three Presidents school and reviewed their request for a new school building.  They are predicting an influx of children next year due to a large neighboring squatter community.  The are running out of space and are in need of an additional classroom.  Adjacent land has been purchased by a group of folks from Pennsylvania that plan to install a large playground for the children.

The team then visited Jardin de Nino Ricardo Majuro.  This kindergarten is in need of screens on their windows.  They have had break ins and have snacks, food and supplies stolen.  They also want a fence to keep out animal, electricity and a pehla.

Off to Los Hors we went.  The school currently serves160 kids and conducts one of its classrooms outside.  This is very hard during the rainy season.  They would like to build an additional classroom and a Principal’s office.  The school has plenty of land for the project.

We ended our day with the Tejaras church service.  Pastor Wilmer did a fantastic job with the sermon!  It was great to see the roof, floor, and electricity in the building. It looks so different from when I was here in April!  Screens are still needed and some paint and a sign for the outside; but what a wonderful place for the people of Tejaras to gather and worship!

 

 

 

The October Team of Michael Norton, Tom Britt, Deedee Vaughters, and Mark Reavill arrived in San Sula 11:30 am and were greeted at the airport by our old friends, Maynor, Daniel and Pablo.

No rest for the weary (all of which had been up since 3:00 am); we zipped off to buy bibles at both the Catholic and Protestant book store and also to check on hymnals. We found the Catholic book store closed for lunch until 2:00; but the Protestant book store (best air conditioning in Honduras) was open for business. We bought what they had to offer and scooted back across town to the Catholic book store. They sold us the five bibles that they had in stock and promised that more were at the printers. They were unable to give us a timeframe as to when those would be ready. Ah…..life in Honduras!!

After our shopping excursion we were back on the move. We visited Anna at her new school Reparacion Escuela Urbana Mixta Soledad Fernandez Cruz. Anna showed much promise as a student in the mountain village of Teo. She has received a sponsorship and is following her dream to become a teacher. We toured her school which has 1, 050 students in the 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grades all studying to become teachers.

No time for lunch….the team stopped for chips and a much needed Diet Coke for me and Coke for guys. We then headed to the village of Penales(means bee hive) to meet with the community leaders about building a kindergarten building at their school. Penales has 19 to 25 age eligible children that are in need of a kindergarten. They currently have no facility and are unable to provide these children an education in advance of 1^st grade. Interestingly…..we learned that yes there are lots of bees in Penales and lots of bee stings; but no one has developed an allergy to the bee stings.

Finally….FOOD! Our old friend Rana had us over for our traditional dinner of pancakes with her. She makes the best beans ever!!! It was great to see Rana again.   She is always such a wonderful hostess.

The day ended in a horrendous downpour! I have heard of the rainy season…but this was incredible. Rapidly moving water was over a foot deep throughout the town. The van stalled multiple times. Mark and Pablo worked to get the battery working and got soaked in the process. The team finally made it out to Gary and Martha’s compound after a new friend, Wilmer gave us all a ride in his Nissan pick up truck. The pick up truck almost became a submarine; but we made it!!!

We ended the day laughing….the entrance to my room was flooded and had to be swept out. Most of our luggage was wet. In the end…..we were all safe, fed and happy to be in a safe place for the evening! God is good (and even a bit of a prankster!)

 

 

It’s hard to believe that today is our last day here in Quimistan.  An emotional day for us, excited to know that we will be joining our families back in the United States, and yet saddened to know we have to leave our new found friends and the gracious hospitality of this village.  Today started off by loading up the van with supplies and 14 people and going to a school in Los Panales.  It is a neat village in the fact that it has no electricity and most of the houses are built out of wood and not concrete.  While we were there, we did the hygiene clinic and eyeglass clinic.  After lunch, we did our VBS presentation.  Lots of playing with the kids took place also….(since that’s what we really do best)

Because there is no electricity in Los Panales, there is a small solar power system set up at the school.  The system was in need of repair.  The 2 oldest batteries were replaced and the corroded terminals were cleaned.  However, the power inverter was found to be inoperable due to 2 blown fuses.  System operation was verified by borrowing a inverter from a resident.  The teacher plans to take the defective inverter to San Marcos to have the (soldered in place) fuses replaced to see if this solves the problem.

At 3:00, we went to Tejeras for our final VBS trip.  The attendance was almost 70 people!  The kids really enjoyed the “ocean in a bottle” craft with wide smiles on their faces.  We finished up there by giving them cookies and soda.

We made it back to the ranch, giving the youth and our help enough time to play some Uno and Skip-Bo.  Once again, the Americans win!!!!!

Next stop was Reyna and Edwin Castillo’s home for dinner.  We had a traditional Honduran meal of tortillas, beans and eggs and of course the best pancakes ever!!!   Their house is always over-flowing with love and generosity for all of us.  And I do have to say while we were there, we saw our first limon chicken tree.

The evening has now come to an end.  Our rooms are picked up and suitcases are packed, and I don’t know about the rest of the team, but this is the hardest part of the trip for me, knowing that its come to an end, and that it will be a whole year until I can come back.

Authored by Barb Mahannah with excerpts by Tommy Thompson

Sunday’s are the best! We get to sleep in an extra hour! Once we began our day we headed to Tejeras to watch Sandra give her bible lesson and afterwards we helped pass out meals to all of the children.

Then it was back to the Villa for lunch. We had fun teaching Daniel and Mario the card games Uno and Skip-Bo; they are quite competitive.

At two o’clock we headed to the nearby kindergarten to visit and play with the AP kids one last time.  Then some of us rode home in Louis’s motor taxi.

Since today is Tommy’s birthday, Gloria and Sandra decorated to celebrate his and Jeff’s birthdays.  (Jeff’s was earlier this trip)

Our evening was spent with José, Louis, Daisy, and Sadby preparing for our VBS lessons tomorrow! Off to bed we go, for we have a VERY busy last day tomorrow.

We are supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves, so that’s what we did today. We started off the day at Tranquilidad, a future children’s home that our friends Roxanne and Sam are building. The jobs ranged from weeding the pineapple patch to applying a sealant to a picnic table. The single shade tree on the property served as an oasis for us when we needed a break.

After a nice lunch provided by the lovely Sandra and Gloria, we headed off to Manantial del Rey to pass out lunch to the children and play with them. The group had a blast with Frisbees and footballs flying everywhere.

The crew had a delicious meal at Goyita’s restaurant and we were serenaded as we ate. To burn off all of the calories from the fried chicken and French fries, we joined the Hondurans in a soccer game. Needless to say, the Hondurans’ skill levels far exceeded our own.

Off we went again! This time to Jicaro for a day full of activities. Our main mission today was helping many locals regain their sight by holding an eyeglass clinic, which included an eye test followed by a trial and error hunt for the best fitting glasses for each patron. Without proper equipment and doctors it was quite the challenge, however, we were able to find a pair that worked well for everyone! One elderly man was lucky to receive a pair that included attachable sunglasses and we saw him later happily strolling through town showing all his friends. It made the hours of hard work and tedious process worthwhile. My heart was filled with joy.

Following our eyeglass clinic, our troops took off on a mountainous hike to a nearby waterfall. Avoiding cow poo patties and the uphill climb were our biggest challenges, yet all very worthwhile. Breaths were taken away by the beauty of the monstrous, multi-tiered waterfall that was cascading down the luscious mountainside before us. The water may have been cold, but that didn’t stop us from jumping right in, splashing one another, jumping from cliffs, and playing water football. It was definitely an experience I’m sure none of us will forget.

While the “younger set” (under 50) went to the waterfall, Tommy visited the medical clinic being held at Maynor’s office. They had a brisk run of business, with about 30 patients being seen by Dr. Tino in 2 hours. Then Maynor, assisted by Itsa, filled their prescriptions. The office addition used by the doctor allows private consultations, and has proven to be a great asset to our medical program.

Our final excursion of the day was to a local church to the Friday night service. Although the entire service was in Spanish and none of us quite understood, the atmosphere in the church and among the locals was heartwarmingly satisfying. It was an eye-opening experience to participate in a church service of another people. The faith among the Hondurans is incredible. God bless all.

Today we trekked to a new place, Arena Blanca, which was located high up into the Honduran mountains. Once we had arrived it was clear that these people were in need of our help. The school house consisted of two classrooms with a washing station out back, as well as a second building where the newly constructed Justa stove was built. We began our day with a hygiene clinic, treating the twenty seven students for worms, taught them to wash their hands, brush their teeth, as well as provided them with a fluoride treatment.

As the hygiene clinic was underway, Daniel gathered a few team members to begin construction of a Justa stove for the school to use to cook their lunches and possibly other food/meals with. Following the hygiene clinic, the students had their daily break from school, beginning at 11 and ending at 1. During this time only laughter could be heard and children were seen playing soccer and coloring with HAF team members. Honduran children sure do know how to play, for the pouring down rain didn’t stop their happy souls!  Eventually the rain passed and the children returned to their classroom only to participate in a vacation bible school program we had prepared for them. With the help of two AP girls, Brenda and Marleni, the children were taught the lesson of Jesus calming the seas. However, it was made rather exciting by adding motions for the words Jesus, disciples, boat, waves, and wind. Our homemade streamer sticks couldn’t have been more fun and have done a better representation of the wind. The bible school lesson concluded with the making of the “Ocean in a bottle”, in which the children added a variety of jewels, glitter, and beads to blue-dyed water filled bottles. For me, this was the highlight of the day. The children had fun not only constructing their bottles, but also watching their magic in a bottle whoosh back and forth, like an ocean filled with treasures. 

Shortly after the VBS lesson had concluded, so did the construction of the brand new Justa stove! Smiles were seen on all faces as they thanked and hugged us for all of our generosity and help. Today was a great day for all.

We woke up excited and ready to go on our largest project of the trip, only to find out this was a true job for the local laborers. We were able to help deliver dirt for the leveling of the floor. After that, the locals took over with their cementing skills obtained from previous jobs. With the help of the cement mixer, we were able to go through roughly 22 bags of cement, each weighing approximately 80 lbs. The job was finished by 3:30 this afternoon. While the locals contributed to the construction, we entertained the children with balls and coloring books. There was laughter from all around. 

Our day concluded with a trip to the souvenir shop and an excursion to the “San Francisco Bridge,” as Daniel calls it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rise and shine and give God the glory! After a wonderful breakfast prepared by the awesome Sandra and Gloria, we loaded up for the new church in Tejeras. Our mission today was to chisel out channels in the walls and pick axe trenches for preparation of electrical wiring and to dig a ditch to supply water to a spigot. Some of the group worked under the shade of the church’s roof, while the rest played with balls and bubbles with the sweet children of the area. It is always humbling to interact with these kids and watching their faces light up as you hand them a cracker or a tennis ball.

 

After another delicious lunch, the crew headed to Goyita’s business to watch the USA fight a valiant battle against Belgium in the quarterfinals of the World Cup (at the Hondurans’ request) 🙂 

As we walked back to the ranch, we were awestruck by the fame of Barb in the village of Quimistan. People flocked out of their homes to catch a quick glimpse of her. “Hola Barbara” echoed through the valley! One day, I hope I can be as popular as the Great Barbara!

This blog was authored by:
Abby & Nate