Children's ...

Well, folks, if you're still hanging in there, hang on to your seat because this post may be lengthy but it is sure to be SO SWEET with LOTS of photos!

Many children are brought to the 'Brigades' whether to be seen by the medical, dental or optical areas OR because they came along with a parent seeking treatment.  We try to make sure that every child comes through the area that is set up just for them.  

We take the children in groups ... enough to fill the chairs/spots that have been allotted to us.  Shortly afterwards, we give each child a beaded bracelet...

...and we also put stickers on their faces and/or hands.

We tell them the "Salvation Bracelet" story ...

... we can do this in a variety of ways ...

We use Story Cards ...

... and we use puppets!  Meet Poncho and Poncha!  

Poncho wanted to know why Poncha had a 'bead bracelet' 

and what the beads meant.

Poncho learned, for the very first time, about Jesus; he accepted Jesus as his personal Savior and then he got a bracelet too!  Hooray!

... and we even did a skit once.  

The kids all chose who would be the various characters.

Here I am ... can you guess who they picked me to be??

And then He rose from the grave, conquering sin and death for all mankind!!!

(that's my favorite part!!)

There were a few occasions where some of us, ...ahem, ... got really wild and crazy ... all in the name of Jesus!!!
Woot Woot, dear-sweet-husband!!

After sharing the story with the children, they would be checked for lice.  

Those who were found not to have lice would immediately be taken to have their hair washed and styled.  Those who did have it would first receive lice-treatment.  They would have to wait ten minutes so while they waited, they could have their fingernails painted, the girls that is.  

The girls really liked being able to get their nails done!

It was a blessed time of making these little ones feel special!

Some of our team members even had their nails painted by the children ...

... and not just the female team members!!  

That's the spirit, Bob ... ALL for JESUS!

Having their hair washed is not only a positive physical act for the child's hygiene but it is also a valued token of affection.  

We especially like for the men to do this portion of the ministry as these children rarely receive physical contact or affection from males ... 

... this is largely due to the absence of fathers, father-figures and positive male role models in their communities.

Ben's giving me THE "Mom, can't you see I'm working here?" LOOK ...

I even had the opportunity to wash one child's hair.

In between groups of children in the story area or the hairwashing area, we had time to get-to-know and play with the children.  This is a truly wonderful part of the whole experience.

This is my friend, neighbor, teammember Jen ... with Enrique ... whole stole her heart!!

The children are just as excited to be with us as we are with them!

This little boy in the next several photos was such a delight to meet!  He was with us for MOST of the day as were many of the children.  Once they came through, they really didn't want to leave.  Many of them hung around and soaked in as much attention as they could. 

What was so funny about this little guy is how we discovered what his name is.  Now several of us thought we could speak basic Spanish phrases pretty well but not so ... according to this cutie-patutie!

We'd say, "Como se llama?" (What's your name? - or literally - What are you called?) And he'd respond something that we just could not understand!

He seemed only slightly frustrated that we continued to ask him the same question about a half dozen times when finally we called upon one of the translators to decipher for us.  Well- we certainly were asking the right question as the translator repeated our question with a few additional Spanish words ...

... but this time this boy just sort of let some air blow out between his lips and then he rolled his eyes in the cutest way and replied that his name is 

Fer-NAN-do (lots of emphasis on the 'NAN').  

We just cracked up!!

I don't think I will ever say the name "Fernando" quite the same again.

I had the opportunity to play with this little guy too.  He was one of those that hung around a lot.  He happened to have a little toy dump truck with him so we played with that.  I picked up a few small rocks from the ground and we filled the truck and then drove it around ... then backed it up (making the beep-beep-beep noises for effect) and emptied our load.  I hadn't realized it at the time but this little boy lives in one of the houses that received a new cement floor!  I thought that was pretty special.  

Don't you just love his hair?

We danced with the children ...

...somehow, that turned into teaching them the "Chicken Dance".

There were many children who came through at both of the churches.  That was a lot of hair to wash and style but we had many workers up to the task ...

The children don't even complain about the cold water that is used to get their hair wet and rinse out the shampoo.  They are so cooperative and even eager to have it done. 

There are several washing stations as well as styling stations ... 

For some of the children with lice, especially those with a lot of hair, it was a challenge to comb through their hair, wanting to get out every last nit or sign of lice, knowing that our efforts would provide only temporary relief.   

The children definitely enjoyed having their hair done.

All the boys wanted the "Shark Fin" style for their hair!

And we're pretty sure that all of our customers went away each day with a smile on their face, feeling happiness in their heart and a certainty that they had been tended to by God's angels.

I'll end this post with an encore of this great get-up!

What a super-trooper dear-sweet-husband is ... again, ALL FOR JESUS and totally worth it!!

Another View of Honduras ...

The following post is from one of our team members, Barb, and how she spent her day when many of the rest of our team went to the park and shopping in Valley of Angels.  I asked this team member about including her story in this blog because it is bittersweet; it is delightful and yet depressing ... a rose among thorns, the reality of life in Honduras.

In January, 2013,  I began my sponsorship of a sweet little girl named Fabiola.  She lives in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and she happens to be from the first church we served during our time in Honduras last year! From the moment the sponsorship was started, it was my intention to meet this child if the LORD would allow.  Since January, we exchanged several letters, mostly written by her mother (as Fabiola just turned 5) but accompanied with beautiful drawings! In June, I began the process of filling out all of the proper forms to arrange to meet Fabiola during the time that we would again be there on mission.  The meeting would be planned for October 2nd, 2013.   Fabiola and her family were not made aware of my visit until five days beforehand!

October 2nd arrived and precisely at 8:30 in the morning, I was picked up at the mission house by a Compassion host/translator named Carmen. We took a 40-minute van ride to the inner city of Tegucigalpa. The humble homes lining the dirt road added to the heart-breaking work that God began in me during the previous year.

We pulled up in front of a modest building that was covered in layers of cyclone barbed-wire. There was a group of roughly 30 young children in crisp looking uniforms outside and I wondered aloud, "Is that for us?!" Carmen smiled and said, "Let's go!" I wasn't ready for the moment that I stepped out of the van and a chorus of little voices greeted me with a song! The children began clapping and continued singing as I looked on through a torrent of tears. Carmen pointed to a little girl in pink near the end of the group closest to us and said, "That's her! That's Fabiola!" I had figured as much but it was so surreal to see her in person after having only one fairly old photo of her to look at for the previous nine months!

After the singing the children were ushered inside and Fabiola was pulled aside so we could share our first 'hello' and a long awaited hug. We were both clearly nervous and somewhat shy. I could barely muster an "hola" through my tears and the only words that came to me were, "Oh my goodness!" Carmen took over as photographer for the day and invited us to hug as she wanted to capture this moment for me on camera. 

That photo has become my favorite.  Fabiola wrapped her arms so tightly around my neck. I didn't want to let go of her!  We toured her student center and I had the honor of seeing where all of the correspondence between the sponsors and the children are translated. I also had the privilege of seeing other children in the process of writing to their sponsors! It made the entire thing so real to me!

After touring the school and seeing Fabiola's classroom, we boarded the van for a short (and bumpy) ride to her home. We were greeted by her mother, Patricia. She was a tired looking woman with an inner beauty that shone through her gleaming smile. She too hugged me tightly and I didn't want to let her go either! We all sat together in their modest sitting room and talked for quite some time. Questions flew back and forth between Patricia and I as she told me about her family and I told her about mine.

I had been enjoying the company of Fabiola and Patricia in their home for about an hour when suddenly a volley of automatic gunshots rang out from what sounded like maybe 300 feet away. My eyes naturally grew wide as I looked at Patricia and then to my host. On our way into this area of the city, my host told me, "I don't like this neighborhood, I don't go into this neighborhood ever, unless I need to." I could understand why now. She spoke rapidly to Patricia and during the commotion, our driver came rushing inside speaking rapidly and nearly out of breath. I asked my host if we were safe and she translated for Patricia who said, "We're safe, it doesn't concern you, you're inside. This happens day and night. It's life for us." She didn't even get up to shut the door. Fabiola was unphased. My eyes welled with tears and my heart was pounding so hard in my chest. I had never experienced anything like this before and I struggle with knowing that this is how they live every day.

I then had the honor of presenting Fabiola and her family with gifts that I had brought. A whole duffle bag full, to be precise! Several friends and family members had given me special things and practical things to give this needy family. My favorite gift to give however, was a very special doll that I had been so blessed to find back in June! Upon presenting her (Marvelous Maria, as she was named) to Fabiola, her mother began to cry as she explained that Fabiola had wanted a doll for so long! Fabiola was beaming and said that she would take Maria to bed with her every night. This filled my heart, and my eyes, to overflowing!

Soon we were back in the van and headed to lunch at KFC, Fabiola's choice! It was a sweet time of fellowship and delicious food! Fabiola played on the play equipment for a while before we took off once again in the van. We had about an hour to spend at the local mall while we waited for the Chiminike Children's Museum to open. We visited Wal-Mart and I bought Fabiola some things for her new doll including a stroller. She was thrilled with this and pushed the doll all over the mall and later, all over the museum!

We made it to the museum and I had so much fun playing with Fabiola at the many interactive exhibits! There was no translation for the laughter and smiles that all of us shared. We went from being nervous and shy to chattering and hand holding as she took me from one exhibit to the next! I never wanted the day to end but I knew that this was our last activity during the visit.

On our way back to Fabiola's neighborhood there was a hold up of the traffic. We soon noticed about 20-30 police officers gathered on the side of the road ahead and an equally large group of bystanders standing about five feet from the police. My host suggested that a motorcycle accident had occurred. There was some conversation between our driver and my host who quickly translated that he thought that perhaps someone had been shot. We pulled up alongside the scene but I couldn't see anything. We had to make a u-turn to be on the side of the divided road that led to Fabiola's street and upon passing the scene (this time on Fabiola and Patricia's side of the van) I sat up and looked out to see what had happened and there in the middle of the road a man was lying, shot to death. His entire body was visible except for his face which was covered by a handkerchief or a cloth of some sort. There was a very large pool of blood around his head and people were snapping photos of the gruesome scene. Though I was absolutely jolted by what I had just seen, it was much more disturbing to see that Fabiola and Patricia didn't react. Neither of them flinched. Fabiola didn't yell out. Patricia didn't rush to cover her eyes. Death and violence are such a normal part of their lives - it seemed as typical as it is for us to see someone walking a dog or jogging in the park. It was beyond difficult to know that I would be saying goodbye and leaving them to this depraved life. My heart was so heavy and I turned away from them to look out the window and hide the tears that quietly streamed down my cheeks. 

Goodbye came sooner than I wanted, of course. It's amazing to have only spent one day with Fabiola and Patricia but to feel such sadness upon parting. All of us cried now. Tears also require no translation. I hugged Patricia and she thanked me and told me that she loves me so much. I then had to say goodbye to Fabiola and it broke my heart. I held her close and cried, telling her that I love her and will think about her and pray for her everyday. She told me she loves me too and that she can't wait to see me again! I kissed her forehead and she wiped a tear from my cheek and said, "hasta luego" which means "see you later", not "goodbye".

I'll remember this day for as long as I live! I can't wait to return and hug them both again! Last year, I left a piece of my heart in Honduras but not this time; this time I left the whole thing there.

Concrete ...

What kind of house do you live in?  

Does it look like this?

How about this?

There are some very lovely homes in Honduras ...

... but most of them look like this.

And what if this was all of your belongings?

and this is what you slept upon?

The majority of the Honduran population live in homes that are the size of a typical U.S. bedroom.  This home for which our team poured a concrete floor was about 14x14.  The floor was, as you can see, was dirt and rock.   

The walls and ceiling were covered with plastic to help protect from rain. There's no central air, heat, plumping or electricity.

Some homes may have a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling.

 A concrete floor may not seem like enough ... many of us yearn to be able to do so much more than that ... but it is a definite improvement from the current condition. 

Brian was in concrete on Tuesday helping with one of the homes.  Ben was involved on Monday and Thursday; Ben really enjoys working in the concrete ministry.  He sees it is a tangible way to serve the LORD and the people.  It is a ministry that provides visible proof that a difference was made ... and that provides for a good feeling.

As you can see from the photos below, I also worked in Concrete.  I didn't have my turn until Friday (thank the LORD and my dear, sweet husband ... in the event that it totally wiped me out, the end of the week would be better for that.)

So, to pour a concrete floor, this is what we do ... first, we start with large piles of sand and rocks ...

Depending on the size of the floor to be done, buckets or wheelbarrows are filled with the sand and rocks until the appropriate amount is obtained.

For us girls, we either filled the bucket only half way (so that the bucket could actually be lifted) ...

... or two of us would carry the bucket together ...

We did the best we could do; it was hot and those buckets were heavy.

Two homes were done during the first two days of 'Brigade' (the first church) and the floor of a multi-purpose building was completed during the second two days of 'Brigade' (the second church).  The building in the photo below is separate from the church building but on the same property.  We were told it would be used for Sunday School, Children's Activities and other Events.

The sand and rocks are put in a large pile resembling a mountain.  Bags of cement mix are added and then the mixture is turned over and combined using the shovels.  

For larger floors, such as the area in the building mentioned above and below, two piles are made, like twin mountains.

The mounds are then separated and hollowed out to form what was called the "bathtub".  In the photo below, after the water was added, you can see why the formation is called that.

The wall has to be kept intact while we continue to build around it, allowing the water to be absorbed into the inner walls. 

Everyone takes turns with the shovels ... 

The mixture is then completely mixed together, by shovel, so that it becomes the proper consistency of wet cement.

And you thought the buckets and wheelbarrows of sand and rocks would have been heavy!  WHEW!  Trying to shovel wet cement is like mixing chocolate-chip cookie dough with a teaspoon.

Once the cement is in place, it is leveled first with a long metal bar or a 2x4 with a person on each end moving it back and forth over the cement. 

... then it is smoothed with a hand trowel, like frosting a cake, they say ... 

So nice to see Ben working so hard...

After the cement is smoothed by hand, Jonathan (pictured below) finishes the surface with the larger trowel.

Jonathan is employed by World Gospel Outreach.  He is Honduran and he loves his country and his people; he desires for them to live a better life and like Paul wrote of God to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:4, "wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 

He is a great Christian man with a BIG HEART for people and the LORD. 

He didn't even freak out when this little girl came barreling through the building and went right through the just completed, smooth-as-glass cement.  Her flip-flops ejected as she injected foot-shaped craters into the fresh dense substance.

I nearly caught her in mid-air as if she had been a shooting star going right by me.  I quietly carried her to a bucket of water to clean off her feet, her embarrassed mother aiding in the process as Jonathan repaired the divots.

I helped the little one back into her flip-flops and all was well again.

 This church family now has a multi-purpose area ...

... and two families now have a solid floor beneath their feet.

Those who worked in 'concrete' felt accomplished and rewarded ... humbled to be part of serving in such a way.

You don't have to be skilled or strong to participate in 'concrete' ...

You just have to be willing ... and that's really all you need to do great things!