Last Day Adventures in Faith for Orphanages

Today was a hard day. It was the third and last day of our Faith programs with the village children and orphans, as tomorrow is a major holiday in Honduras. Our practice paid off - this was the best day of all. Todays theme was the Nativity. The team first did the skit with Maria narrating. Afterwards, the children reenacted the Nativity with lots of angels and sheep. It was a touching moment to watch.

When it came time to say good-bye, we thought our hearts would burst as all of the children hugged and kissed us. Our momentary glimpse into their life is over. We wondered what the future would bring each and every one of them.

One of the Franciscan Friars who has been in Honduras for several years joined our discussion group last night. He observed that the recent political plight of Honduras has been very difficult on the poor, but the cycles of "brokeness" are much more deeply rooted in this country. Recognizing the magnitude of political reform and cultural evolution that must occur to make a long term difference for the majority of the people here, these Friars tirelessly work to accomplish what they can day by day. "Each small candle lights a corner of the dark," as a well-known songwriter once said. Here, the Friars burn those candles brightly for those they serve. Our contribution has barely been a flicker by comparison.

We were also blessed by a talk from Carol Restaine from a lay group in the church called Missioners of Christ. She is a consecrated woman who has dedicated her to working with the Honduran poor. In her eight years here her work has centered on working with the poor of Comayagua and surrounding areas. She said that even in the most challenging and difficult circumstances her faith in Christ always guides and sustains her. Her relentless energy and efforts bear that out.

We had breakfast today with Toni Sacca and Laura Deas who are here this week filming a mini-documentary. Dr. John Kelley has commissioned this documentary in order to raise awareness of the poor pre-natal and maternity care for women in Honduras. Up to 70% of poor women in Honduras are victims of sexual abuse before the age of 15. Toni and Laura interviewed a 21 year old woman yesterday that just had her third child. Her oldest is 10. The purpose of this documentary is to raise money to open a birthing center in San Benito which is a medical center that the Franciscan Friars operate.

While there is much good work going on here, there is so much more to be done. We thank you for your support in our mission.

Steve and Cathy Reilly

PS This evening we did our annual talent show. We laughed and were in awe at some of the people and their talent. Tonight we also celebrated David and Joe´s birthdays with cake. Br Matteo also bought some snacks for us as we watched a comedian and then fireworks from the third floor roof of Casa Guadalupe.

Happy New Year. Tomorrow we are going to some waterfalls to have a picnic. We will bring 25 Honduras with us. We are all looking forward to a relaxing day.

A Day in the Life

We thought that you might want to know what our day is like. It usually starts with waking up around 3:00 am to the sound of a bazillion chickens crowing. Add to that some dogs barking along with an occasional fire cracker. There is a gentle breeze going through the windows as we sleep or try to sleep in our bunk beds. By 5:00 am the 354397593 birds who live in the tree in the courtyard of where we stay start chirping.

We rise at 6:00 am (well actually the teenagers of the group seem to wake up at 6:25 and roll out of bed). There is no hot water so only those brave enough to take a shower in the morning do. We start the day in the chapel at 6:30 with morning prayers and then pray the rosary. After that we have Mass with one of the Friars celebrating the Mass. Fr Dye says the Mass in the Friary for the Brothers.

Breakfast is at about 7:45 to about 8.30. We have had pancakes, fried pancakes, scrambled eggs, bananas, and oranges throughout the week. A local Honduran woman, Alba, does the cooking for us. We take turns cleaning up. Today the fathers and daughters did the clean-up.

At 8.30 the work crew leaves for La Granja, about a 20 minute drive. We rented 12 passenger vans to get around. At about 8:50, the Adventures in Faith (AIF) team leave for the Mary Queen of the Apostles parish (about a five minute drive). The AIF team stays there until 11:30 and then come back to Casa Guadalupe for lunch and to prepare to do the next program for the boys and girls of the orphanage from 1:30 - 3:30. Alba prepares a hot lunch each day for the AIF team. The work crew has had sandwiches each day. The teen age boys are eating a TON of food!!!

The work team stays until about 3:30 and then comes home to clean up and rest and wash their clothes in the pila.

From 5-6 we all meet back in the chapel for a holy hour with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The Friar Brothers lead us in song and meditation.

At 6:00 we go to dinner. Besides for rice, beans, tortillas, and eggs, we have also had some amazing plates of chicken and salad.

At 7:00 we typically have an activity and then have some time in small groups, sharing our day, our observations and impressions. At 9:00 pm we have night prayers and then get ready for bed. Lights out at 10:00 pm....only to hear the chickens start crowing at 3:00 am again.

Wednesday, December 28

Dear Friends, Families and Benefactors,

Last night we had some sharing about our day and some of the comments were about how simple and yet how happy the Hondurans seem. Some of the teens, Chris and Michael were amazed at how little the boy orphans had (a small bed and a small box of their things under their bed) and how much they had bac in their homes. No toys were noticed even though there are 80 boys living at La Granja. Lindsay was surprised at how the children of the Adventures in Faith program were happy doing even the simplest games, even though some of the children were a bit older.

Today the work team finished the yellow paint on the four dorms and kitchen building at La Granja as well as the brown paint below. The boys of the orphan eagerly watched and waited for a chance to help. Len and Hernan noticed how the boys just loved having an opportunity to show how hard they can work and that they can help.

The team also started digging the footers for an outdoor kitchen. This is no small feat because there are so many rocks. Again the boys of La Granja waited nearby until a shovel or pick ax was available so they could start working. These boys work very hard and our teen boys were humbled by their work ethic.

Patti

The Adventures in Faith team´s theme for the day was The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth. The day started with a skit of the Visitation during the opening rally and songs about the joy Jesus brings. Hondurans are quiet, peaceful, and somewhat shy. Many of the songs had gestures and dance movements which helped the children shed their shyness and put them in a happy and excited mood. For example, the women were happy to see each other and John lept in the womb of Elizabeth. The children were divided into three groups and rotated through stations of crafts, games, and a lesson. At the local parish, Mary the Queen of the Apostles, the children made little people out of craft sticks with felt clothing so the children could act out the joy of a visitation with a family member or close friend. The children cooperated together to toss a ball along a path of blankets symbolizing the rocky journey Mary took to visit Elizabeth. At Casa Guadalupe, we started constructing a nativity out of craft sticks and played a parachute game where children took turns "visiting" each other as the parachute went up. In the third group at both locations, Brother Paul reflective discussion centered around a masterpiece of the Visitation. It was a joy to watch the older children assist the younger ones and guide them through the activities. All were so proud of their craft and can´t wait to put the final touches on tomorrow! We are becoming quite attached to the children now, and they to us. Several made us promise to be back tomorrow, and we were showered with hugs as they departed.

by Jennifer and Lindsay

Day Two: A Haiku

Work hard at Granja,
Paint and move rocks and dig holes,
Happy for group nap

--Ian and John

Tuesday--Day One of Work

Dear Friends, Families and Benefactors,
It´s Tuesday afternoon and we are all tired! It´s been a great first day. We started the day with prayers and Mass with Fr Juan Diego (Fr Dye celebrated Mass for the Franciscan Brothers in the Friary). We ate pancakes with bananas and watermelon for breakfast.

The Adventures in Faith team drove over to a neighboring parish, Mary Queen of the Apostles. There were 35 children sitting and waiting for us.

Within a few minutes of us starting we had 75 children. Today´s theme was the Annunciation of Mary. Stan and Kate did the skit of the annunciation and then had two of the children repeat the skit. They also made a bracelet and played some games lead by one of the Friars, Br. Juan Maria. The Adventure in Faith team headed back to where we stay, Casa Guadalupe for lunch and to prepare to do the same program for the children of the boys and girls´orphanage.

The work team decided that the whole team would start sanding and painting the four dorms at La Granja (the farm which is the boys´ orphanage). Some of the orphan boys helped our team out. With such a large team, the painting was almost finished today. The Honduran people are so beautiful inside and out! The children are so filled with enthusiasm for the Lord, and interest in their strange looking visitors. We sang, we danced, we laughed, we hugged and communicated whether we spoke Spanish or not! The Friars added their special talents in game making and music making to the program which was a great success. The men commented that the Honduran boys are some of the hardest working people they´ve ever seen. The young men left some paint bruhes out while they broke to eat lunch, and when they came back from lunch the whole side of the wall was finished and the paint was all gone! We´re off to such a great start. Thank you for all of your prayers. The Mary Our Queen Mission Team.+

We Arrived!

Everyone is settling into Casa Guadalupe this evening as we have arrived safely in Comayagua. We all met early this morning at Mary Our Queen and had some parishoners drive us to the airport (Thank you!). The flight was uneventful, except for the landing. Tegucigalpa has the shortest runway for a major airport in Latin America.We had pizza for lunch as we left our American ways and headed to Comayagua. As we left the city we were soon met with the reality of Honduras; we had to slow for a cattle crossing and other slow vehicles. The friars met us for dinner after Mass and gave us our orientation. Dinner was eggs, beans and tortillas, our staples for this mission.Tired and happy we are all heading to bed to prepare for tommorrow´s activities.
WE are praying for you, so please keep us in your prayers.
Len Savini

Advance Team Arrives and Commissioning Mass

Dear Friends, Family and Benefactors,

The advance team of Kathleen, Tom, Paul, and Stan left Atlanta early this morning and arrived safely to Tegucigalpa. They were met by Fr Juan Diego and Br Paul at the airport. The six of them went to Honduras' version of Home Depot to buy supplies for the building project.


The rest of the team that lives locally met at Mary Our Queen for the 11:00 am Mass. At the end of Mass, Fr Dye gave us a missionary blessing and sent us forth. It's hard to believe that we are finally going after such a long delay from this summer and then not knowing if the Honduran government would settle down in time for us to go. We all are very excited and doing our last minute packing and preparation.



Please keep us all in your prayers and thank you for your support. The rest of the team leave early tomorrow morning.

Mary Our Queen Mission Team

Preparing to go

Dear Friends, Family, Neighbors and Benefactors of the Mary Our Queen Mission Trip,

As most of you know, we were scheduled to go on our mission trip to Honduras last July. Unfortunately, the week before we were to leave, the political situation became unstable and it was unsafe for us to travel to Honduras.

We rescheduled for December 28 through January 3. Paul, Tom, Stan and Kathleen will leave a day a head of the group to set up the work projects and buy supplies.

We collaborate with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal who have lived there since Hurricane Mitch to work with the poorest of the poor. In addition to the Friars who live there all year long, we are bringing Br. Paul, Br Peter and Br. Pascal (who live in a Friary in New York) to help us.

We have 40 people going. Half of the team will be doing work projects around the boys’ orphanage (painting the exterior of their dorms, building

a pavilion for shade, and rebuilding their barbeque pit). The other members will be doing a vacation bible school at a local parish (Reina Maria) in the Comayagua in the morning and then the same program for the boys and girls in an orphanage that we have worked with for the past 3 years.

Please keep us in your prayers as we do our final preparations for the trip.

The Mary Our Queen

Mission Team