Our First Day Out and About

Loading up for our first day

Today we split into three teams with two construction teams and one evangelical teams. Our construction teams would like to finish roofing seven roofs by the end of the week. God willing, we will make our goal. The houses are all far up in the mountains, an hour drive from Casa Guadalupe. It’s a beautiful area and a scenic drive.

Up in the mountains

Navigating the Honduran countryside was fun!

Despite the "offroad" ability of our vehicles, they were still not up to the full task against the Honduran roads. We ended up hauling the sheet metal and beams by hand the final uphill mile. One team got to the house, only to realize that we were missing a crucial welding component. They came to help with the other construction team, where we tore down a house made of wood and tarp to make room for a larger roof. We also prepared a second location for putting up a roof tomorrow by tearing down the old structure. We were blessed to have a lot of help from the local Hondurans.

The original family home was composed of sticks and tarps

Meghan and Joe tearing down the old frame

We had a lot of help from locals

The evangelical crew started out the day by doing Communion calls then in the afternoon went to the market. One of the things you get accustomed to in your normal life is just as I said: NORMAL. Going on the Communion calls today was an eye opener to Claudia and I, seeing how people live their life in some of the most terrible ways, but they can be so humble and grateful for even being alive, something we sometimes take for granted. We visited 3 people who are mainly bed ridden: Noe, Doña Ilda, and Alicia (aka Reyna).

Walking to Communion calls

Noe is 28 year old who was shot and paralyzed from the waist down as the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, along with Alicia. Alicia was a rebellious child before ending up with the same fate as Noe: being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alicia and Noe have both turned their lives to God, as a result of making the best out of the circumstances. Noe is currently studying psychology, and Alicia has changed her habits and starting to go by her middle name Alicia rather than her first name Reyna, saying that “Reyna is now gone, and I’m growing into the Alicia I am meant to be”.  Doña Ilda is a woman who is in her mid 80s who is bed ridden and cannot speak. Doña Ilda lives with her daughter who is, fortunately, a nurse. In the marketplace, we went to evangelize to some vendors who allowed us to read the gospel and give them and their blessings.

Brother Michelangelo, Briana, Claudia, and Noe

Even though this is our 3^rd day here, coming here has been such a humbling experience to be a part of. When we are living our everyday lives, we can forget about the crippled and disabled, the ones who make everything out of what God has given them while we are complaining about what we want and don’t want for lunch. The beauty of Honduras can be seen in the mountains or the ocean, but what is most beautiful to me is the simplicity of the villages, the humbling smiles of people passing you in the street, and seeing the children make the most of playing around. It’s the little thing in life that we need to consider, and the people down here have already started to make the most of life.

In Christ,

Briana, Meghan, and Colin