Final Day

Dear Friends, Family and Benefactors,

As our final day here in the mission, the construction crew (which today was only Br Dismas, Paul and Matthew) put up chicken wire on inside of the house to prepare it to put stucco on it.

They bought 15 bags of cement to use to stucco the house. Each bag weighed about 80 pounds

Putting chicken wire on the house

The old house on the left and the new one on the right

Side view of the new house

The others went to the Missionaries of Charity house. They take care of elderly men who have no one to take care of them (they call them the abuelos) and women and children with HIV or AIDS. We went there to play and visit with them this morning.

Br Ignatius

Meghan

Scott

Ben

Brandon

 

Alan with the abuelos

Jasmine with the abuelos playing catch with them

Fr Dye

Sandra

Sarah and Taylor

Mary

In the afternoon, Fr Francis Mary took us into the city of Comayagua to see the Cathedral and walk around the town square.

A view from the bell tower of the Cathedral 

The Mission Team

Fr Francis Mary with Patti, Meghan and Paul
Tonight, some of the Friars and local people are having a special dinner (paella) along with 34 people who are serving with the Missioners of Christ) for us as well as a music extravaganza with Br Dismas, Ben, our long-time friends Wilmer, his sister Deena, and Cecilia.

We leave very early for the airport tomorrow.

We are tired but happy. Once again, thank you for your continual support!

God bless, The Mary Our Queen Mission Team

Almost Done

Hello from Honduras! The house mudding and roof are on the house. The Mary Our Queen team worked hard, along with some local Hondurans and Br Dismas. Today, Saturday, the team will finish putting up chicken wire in order to stucco the house (after we are gone).

Matthew and Sarah looking out the window with their muddy hands

Br Dismas, Wilmer and Paul installing the window

Paul and Br Dismas installing chicken wire

Almost done!

Peace Offering

Today (Friday) was my last day, after four days, at the work site. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to all the kids who came and helped throughout the week. Before leaving I was still determined to make friends with the daughters of the house, Santana and Magdali. They are clearly afraid of people, and they hid in their house all day and didn’t say anything to us all week.  So throughout the day, when I was packing or scraping mud, I would stick my head through the door to their current house and make eye contact with them and wait for them to run away, my first ‘peace offering’ of the day. Then, at lunch I brought them some beans and leftover breakfast food, my second ‘peace offering.’

Sarah and one of the relatives of the Honduran who is helping

They then began to play the game back, waiting for me at the door and when I looked at them, they would smile and run away. After Meghan and I were done mudding, I decided to make a little clay doll out of the drying mud (with help from Meghan), and then I sat by the door saying “Hola Magdali, Hola Santana.” They knew I had something in my hand but weren’t sure enough of my presence to come and get it. So I set it down on the floor, and within one step away, the doll had been snatched up and all we heard was laughter, loud laughter, and whispers coming from the girls for a surprisingly long time; my third ‘peace offering.’

The doll

After I finished working, I decided to make a boy doll for them to play with along with the other. Again I left it at the foot and I began to hear the feet pattering before I had fully turned, my fourth ‘peace offering.’ Then I sat down and watched the men put up the chicken wire and heard a knocking coming from the square boards they use as a window. So I again yelled “Hola Magdali, Hola Santana” again I hear them running back to their mom giggling. Of course they continued this until we had to leave, which was their own peace offering back to me.

Then as we left I stuck my head in and said adios to them all and as normal they both hid but as I walked to the far side of the house I heard the knocking again. Bur this time I knocked back saying “Adios” “Adios” and it went back and forth for a while with a few guys joining my knocking, but as we turned to leave I said adios with one more knock and as our side of the window went quiet and turned around to leave we hear a quiet “Adios Gringa” coming from the house. By this time we were at peace, that was the last offering of peace needed. As we left we heard increasing confidence and loudness in the “adios’” coming from the girls in the house.

“His love never fails and never gives up.”

Sarah

More blessings

Dear Friends, Family and Benefactors,

Today, along with the Missionaries of Charity, and the Friars, we went to the aldea of Cebracha to celebrate Mass and then bless the houses. 

A typical scene during Mass....we also see dogs and other animals wander in

In our America efficiency, we wanted to split the families into two groups. One group would have Fr Dye do the blessing and the other group would have Deacon Alan Sims. It took quite a while for them to organize themselves until somehow, it was decided that they would all go to all of each other houses. When they heard this news, they cheered and were happy to be able to visit each house.

Walking from home to home

It's amazing how many people can fit into these small homes

Br Ignatius with Fr Dye blessing the grounds of a home

Brs Diego and Ignatius with Fr Dye 

As their picture of the Sacred Heart was hung on the wall, everyone clapped. At some of the houses, the families set off fireworks!

Kim holding a baby while a house is blessed

Fr Dye, Scott, Sandra, Taylor, Kim, Alan, Jordan, Jasmine and Ben with some local children

Thank you again for your support. We are praying for you each day.

The Mary Our Queen Team

Deacon Alan Sims

Our dear friend, Alan and his wife Chris were long time parishioners at Mary Our Queen until a few years ago, when Alan retired and he and Chris moved to Missouri. 

Deacon Alan Sims

Alan was in the deaconate program in Atlanta and had to switch to another deaconate program in Missouri. He was ordained last year and this is the first time we have had to opportunity to be with him as a deacon. He led us in prayer, holy hour and did some of the house blessings. 

Deacon with two sisters

Blessing a house in Cebracha

Benediction

We were blessed to have his presence with us as a deacon!

Observations from the Third Floor (Beauty and Wonder Amid Poverty)

In Casa Guadalupe – the Friar retreat center where we stay in Honduras – there is a steep metal staircase leading to the roof.  It provides an expansive view of the surrounding countryside and also allows you to observe life going on down below in the local neighborhoods.

The sunrise from the rooftop

The scenery is breathtaking and one cannot omit God’s Glory in his creation.  Tall, rugged mountains rise up on either side of the valley where Comayaqua is located.  It is easy to see why it was the capitol of Honduras back in colonial times; it is well protected inland and there was an abundance of mahogany and banana trees.  However, the mahogany is gone.  Land has been stripped of good soil after years of exploiting the natural resources, which is common in many countries in Latin America and Africa.

The mountains where we have been working all week

As I look down below, I see striking juxtapositions. Boys washing themselves (and their bikes!) in the nearby stream; women doing laundry; delivery men carrying chips to the “pulperias” (corner stores with snacks and soda); and men on bicycles balancing loads of sticks on the handlebars.

Grazing horses early in the monrning

All around us, vultures fly and wait.  The rock-hewn roads with gulleys and weeds are littered with trash.  The smell of burning garbage permeates the air.  Burros and bulls wandering looking for something to eat.  Yet the beauty of the tall ficus trees, small colorful wildflowers, and sincere friendliness of the Honduran people compete for your attention.  Roosters are crowing, day or night, somewhere in the distance.  Geckos chirp like birds.  Grasshoppers (locusts) so big they would not fit into your hand.

As I gaze out into the landscape, buzzards by the tens wait in one particular dead tree (how fitting).  They wait with their wings open to stay cool.  Dogs chase them like squirrels.  No barking, just a playful romp and the buzzards flap, hop in the air, then land in the same place.  The vultures and dogs compete for the same food, whatever it is.

The oxen cart passes by.  Sometimes old noisy trucks drive by with wood or fruit.  Women walking with bags of (?) balanced on their head.  It is 6 a.m. and the day is well underway.

Typical scene

The distractions of daily life in the U.S. do not follow us here.  We are amid the simple, and often times, cruel life which poverty can bring.  But the joyfulness you encounter with the Hondurans is not based on how much they have or size of their house.  For most, their house is a simple mud or adobe brick, one-room home with a cooking pit outside. 

From the roof top

The Hondurans we meet have a simple and almost child-like joy of Faith.  We in the U.S. have everything but many do not have that spiritual joy.  So is poverty based in lack of material goods and daily needs or an emptiness of spirit?  What is your poverty?

Mary

                 

He Has A Plan

Right outside of Comayagua on a mountain top, we are building a house for whom Father Francis Mary called “The poorest women he’s ever met.” This includes the mom, Juanita, the “mute” son, Erminio, from whom a few of us have gotten simple one word responses to questions, and the two daughters.  All of the kids have been said to be mute and mentally ill by the mother, although their whispers suggests they may be able to speak a little. They are also severely malnourished.

Sarah with Erminio

When I first saw them in church on Wednesday, I went over (not knowing they were the people for whom we are building a house) and squatted down to the older girls’ eye level. They were dirty, but beautiful, because of their huge eyes and wonderful smiles like Erminio’s. Along with being dirty, they also looked very skinny, but I dismissed it because almost everyone here in Honduras is.

Then, today, Thursday, I went to the door of their house determined to become friends with these girls who refuse to come out as we work. I was joking around, pretending to guess their ages, “Uno? Dos? Tres?” but the highest I ever guessed was ten because the older daughter, Santana, was only a little taller than my waist.

After I finished joking around, Brother Dismas came up and asked me if I really wanted to know how old she was, of course I said I did and he said she is 14. That’s only one year younger than I. We would be in the same grade, yet she appears to me as skinny as an 8 year old. This difference between us consumed my thoughts for a good hour until Brother Dismas came up and, seeing me troubled, asked if I was “still thinking about the girl.” I replied that yes she had been on mind, and he simply said:

The two girls of the house

You should be thinking that God loves both of you equally, maybe her even a little more, but look at your situations; she’s here [malnourished in a falling down house] and you’re in your own situation. But God loves both of you, and God has a plan.

Maybe part of God’s plan for her was to teach me how I am incredibly lucky even with the occasional troubles in my own life. I have food, I have shelter, I have a safe place to live, and I am greatly loved by my family. It made me reconsider what is really important in my life and made me even more thankful for everything I have.

“Hallelujah to the Lord of Heaven and Earth”

Sarah

We just wanted to give everyone a short update on our house project (this is actually from Wednesday but I couldn't get access to the internet until today, Friday). The last two days were all about mud—yes, mud! We put up the horizontal wooden slates earlier in the week. The next step is to fill the wall between the slats with mud. This is an incredibly tiring and filthy job.

The crew that worked Thursday...Sarah, Meghan, Kim, Taylor, Ben and Br Dismas

Several people work pick-axing and shoveling dirt from the side of a nearby hill. Then, using a wheel barrow, they bring the dirt to a spot just inside the house where two Honduran men, who are helping us, mix it with water using shovels and/or their feet to make the mud. Finally, about four more people grab handfuls of mud, compact it by rolling it on the ground, and then smash it into the wall space (framed by the wood slats) to build the walls. 

Local Hondurans who are helping...notice that the roof is on

When it is all done and dry, the last step (after we are gone) will be to stucco the outside and inside walls. The stucco will help keep the bedbugs from making holes in the walls and then biting the family when they sleep at night.

Sarah and her friend Erminio

Meghan and Sarah coming home after mudding all day!

You would be surprised at how much mud is needed for a very small house and how heavy wet mud is after doing this ALL day! The soil here is as red as Georgia clay so it makes quite a mess, but with a little scrubbing with detergent and a scrub brush, most of it comes off your clothes. Our shoes….well that’s a different story!

The shoes!

God bless!

Matthew       

The "Essentials"

Often at home, I am lured into needing “the essentials” in order to live a good life. How could I not have a cell phone and computer? forget not having a car! Air conditioning…a must!

Today as I walked through the mountain village with a delegato (a lay person who is assigned to a mountain parish) 

Florentino

by the name of Florentino, I noticed a few things. The purpose of the day was to interview the families to see if they qualified for the Friars food program. 

Br Ignatius with Scott and Matt interviewing a family

Scott playing with the children while the parents are being interviewed

Before I tell you what I experienced, I wanted to tell you that in Honduras, a parish priest often has one main parish and then is responsible for 60-70 small mountain parishes. These parishes might have Mass once a month or maybe even just once a year! We need more Catholic missionaries evangelizing the Catholic people and pray for more vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life!

Florentino was in no rush. As we walked up and down the mountain (and there were certainly lots of them),

Going down

one of the views

 he was in no rush. He stopped to explain things about the area, the vegetation and things that he thought important to tell us or was proud about.

Florentino explaining this plant

Florentino gave a hello and wave to everyone and he often stopped to talk to the person for a few moments. He cared about people in his aldea (there are about 1,000 people and they are all over the mountain).

The Team for Thursday with Florentino

One of the homes we visited

We hiked through these mountains visiting families

So after being in the mountain village for the fourth day, and being here for five, I need to question myself as to what is really essential. Florentino seems to have it right….people, relationships, living in the moment, and soaking up God’s beauty in mountains of Honduras.

Thanks for your support!

Patti

PS It’s not really that bad without air conditioning!