Honduras Summer 2011 Day 4

August 1, 2011

I learned a new Spanish word today - Lodo! It means mud, and mud was the theme of the day. We made our way out to our focus village of Guajire. Guajire is 5400 feet above sea level. Today the rain clouds were making their presence known. It is the rainy season here, but the rain usually falls in the afternoon and evening. Today it started in the morning.

Our mission today was to build a church classroom and another house. A team from Nashville worked with us today. They were planning to build the house; we were going to build the classroom. Things often change in Honduras, and today was no exception. I’m not sure how it came about, but we ended up putting the two building together, making a 16 X 32 structure which is now going to serve as a new church building. The church has 50 adults and 40 children.

The build was very challenging. Mud! The main road was so muddy that we had to park about a half mile from the building site. The lumber truck also had to leave all the lumber for two houses at a great distance from where it was needed. The boards are heavy! We started carrying them in, and then suddenly life got much better. A pair of oxen and a cart showed up. First they pulled the lumber truck up the muddy hill, and then, making multiple trips, hauled the lumber to the work site.

The build was fairly slow, due to the mud and other challenging conditions. It rained on and off during the day as well, slowing us further. It was a great experience however. The best part was meeting members of the church. One of the founding members of the church has a few children. Three of them, later in their lives, have developed some kind of neurological problem. They are wheelchair or bed bound. The woman has remarkable faith and joy in the midst of all her struggles. She touched us all.

I left the build site before it was completed. I went to help unload a container full of rice. That was quite an experience and quite a workout! I got back to mission house after 7 p.m., and the rest of team got back at the same time. They were actually detained by the police for about 15 minutes. The police stopped their van and told the Honduran driver that all the gringos need to have their passports. It was a bogus statement designed to get some bribe money. It did not work. The policeman gave up after a little while. This kind of thing is not uncommon.

Steve and Riley did not feel well today and stayed at the mission house. I think they are OK now. We missed them out in the field today. Tomorrow we are planning to build two houses. Keep praying for us please.