Friday, July 20, 2012

Buenos mornings, good dias!

Sam here. Apologies for our lack of blogging for the past couple of days - we've been ocupado with working hard, eating a lot of delicious Honduran cuisine, sleeping (as much as possible), and having buckets of fun. Oh, and we had a splendid skype date with some of the parents on Wednesday night, so it felt like we communicated with all of you. For those of you who have been sitting at your computers pressing the refresh button since our last post, this will be a rapido attempt at recapping the last couple of days. (Additionally, I apologize for my occasional spanglish... it's pretty early in the manana, so I'm having some challenges separating the two languages.)

Wednesday. We divided in three groups for the morning: AFE, the house construction site, and a painting crew. The AFE squad had a blast playing with kiddos, decorating drawstring backpacks, and talking about the prodigal son. The house constructors rocked it, finishing putting up all of the walls and the roof... and moving a ton of rocks/dirt. The paint crew had a dusty time at the seminario (a building attached to the church that will be used for teaching and training future pastors), sanding concrete walls and then applying a creatively distributed layer of primer. By the end of the day, we were all ready for showers and sleeping.

Thursday. Our last day in Tegucigalpa. I'm sure other folks will have buckets more to say about this, but I'll just give you the brief overview. We were all together at the construction site in the morning, finishing up windows and moving still more dirt. Seriously. So. Much. Dirt. A small contingency of students have a shot at winning America's Got Talent with their bucket-tossing skills. Really impressive stuff. They rock my socks.
We went back to AFE for lunch and were blessed with a presentation by all the students at the school, thanking us for helping this week. Songs were sung and handmade cards given, and the time culminated in small prayer groups and then an enormous group hug. We all got WAY more than our seven required hugs for the day. Happiness. After lunch, we headed back to the work site to finish up the house. More dirt. More wood-cutting/hammering things. (I'm actually a professional construction worker - that's why I can use so many technical terms here. I would add a glossary at the end to help you out, but I'm running a bit short on tiempo.)
One of the highlights of the trip for many of our students occurred later that afternoon, when we participated in a home dedication ceremony with the 21-year-old mother who now owns the home we helped build. Powerful experience - more on that later.

Thursday night included a delicious dinner and some debrief time with Adam... and then the exhaustedpants crew went to sleep. Today we're headed for our final debrief location in Omoa... but on the way we get to go through Siguatepeque (where I lived at the beginning of this year)!!!! I'm really excited to go 'home,' if only for a brief time.

Okey dokey. I've talked long enough, and have to get my suitcase packed up and ready to go! Hasta luego y Dios les bendiga!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Greetings and Salutations from the JessieOlan superhero squad!

We are learning so many great rhymes from our wonderful friend Luis Vega - "Hannah, banana, campana, maƱana." Or consider this catchy phrase we've very recently acquired: "Don't let the bedbugs bite. And if they do, squeeze their necks 'till they turn blue!" Blown away. :D

Our team has been splitting up into two separate teams in the morning; one team continues house construction and the other does VBS type programming with the beautiful children of AFE. Thank you to Carol Fricke and Blackhawk Children's Ministries for lending us such wonderful robes and beards. The fro wig has proven to be quite useful, especially with our skits involving Jesus, Zacchaeus, and a multitude of fantastic disciples. :) The Lord is breathtakingly evident in the smiling, goofy faces of our audiences. Leily (a student from AFE) reminded me (Olan) today that "The Lord already has my heart" when I half-jokingly suggested that I should give the peeling fabric heart from my "I [heart] NY" T-shirt to God. Why was I surprised to hear such truth coming from a young peer? I shouldn't have been, especially in light of the child-like heart that God calls us to adopt. Our rotating AFE teams have been bracelet making, Duck-duck-goosing, water bottle decorating, Sharks-and-Minnowing, and soccer-playing their hearts out! So much success, so little preparation. It looks like the hand of God once again! Praise the Lord for our translator and fellow Honduran teammate, Nancy, for carrying the AFE teams on her back. Honduras would fall without her. It's true.

Up in the Dump community, the other incredibly important part of our team has been learning how to build a house. Yesterday, we finished three out of the four exterior walls. Today, we worked on the interior walls and moved a whole lot of dirt! It's been amazing to see unexpected construction abilities blossoming in our unlikeliest of teammates; Jessie, the one who was intensely afraid of sanding off her fingers in middle school wood shop, is dominating the chop-saw. Sin Miedo. Without Fear! Others have been hammering up a storm, despite bent nails, split wood, and incorrect form (I didn't even know that existed). Shoveling was also big part of our agenda as we tackled some piles of debris to clear out important areas. Tomorrow, we will hopefully get started on the roof!

Today, we were pleasantly surprised by a strange phenomenon to our fellow Wisconsinites - RAIN. We could actually see the rain clouds moving towards us over rolling Honduran mountains. It was like, no it was. the rain APOCOLYPSE...even though it only lasted around five minutes, we managed to transport tools to safety while squeezing in a gnarly dance party. Thank you Matt Berry for bringing back that excellent adjective (gnarly).

Throughout both the AFE and construction experiences, we've been immensely blessed to be working alongside the world's coolest Honduran personas. We know not how to build a house, communicate in Spanish, or how to properly cross a Honduran street (these have proven to be three invaluable abilities thus far).

Thank you for bearing with our, hopefully informative, several day synopsis. It's getting far too late for coherent sentences, so we send you off with the great words of Matt Berry: "Thank you Twizzlers, for always being there."

Buenas Nachos!!

Love, OlanJessie

Monday, July 16, 2012

Selected Photos (from team photographer, Linda)

Photo credit: Linda Hershberger
Captions: Matt Berry

 Tegucigalpa outside our hotel
Jed's secret entrepreneurial project? 

Trash Dump Community - families living in places like this are often those receiving new homes through AFE (like the one we're building this week)

Megan in her natural habitat

Charles... they love this guy

One of the many boys living in the Buen Samaritano Village where we are building the home (he also is a student at AFE)

 View of Teguc we see every day to/from our hotel (on the edge of town) to AFE (just outside)

This is what we looked like from the perspective of Jesus (the statue at Picacho, overlooking Teguc)

Oh yes

The hike up to Buen Samaritano Village from the road

Smiles are universal

Some paint, some play - we all have our roles

Now, if we can find a way to teach them how to properly use these tools...

The ladies of the Azul Room, attempting to paint with an angry duck present

"Can you hear me now?"

 Mom's give great hugs!

ditch dig: mission accomplished

 Sunday after church

Introducing Professor Cheddar Chucks & Dr. Scoops

Honduras is beautiful.


Jesus and the disciples (obviously)

Jesus loves the little children

Andre showing off the guns

 "Matteo muy locco"

Jesus also loves sharks & minnows

 Abby & another little cutie

"This is gonna be GREAT! This is AWESOME!"

Yikes - Dan, about to build a house

Too cute! Come on...

 Hard work never stops - but check out the view this home has!

Nuevos Amigos

Day 1 Homebuild - 3 exterior walls up

Team Mom Update

Hi Families - Linda here!
I'm here to report from the "mom" perspective; however, most times, I feel like one of the kids - working down here will keep/make you young!  I'll try and put my MADRE sombrero on and see what flows.  And btw, TEAM MOM includes: Samantha (Sam) & Heather - pouring out the mom-love to whomever needs it.

First of all, the chavos (Honduran word for kids) are all safe and healthy and having the time of their lives.  Thank you for letting them come [great parental decision].  I feel so blessed to be able to be here with them and share in this experience.  

Health-wise, we've had a few tummy rumbles, but no one has been inflicted with "the stomach bug" yet (keep prayin').  We're doing our best to keep them fed & watered regularly.  Our big boys have done a great job of cleaning everyone's plates - no wasting food around here.

Safety-wise we are in such good hands that I worry more about our laughter-overload than of our safety.  Our hotel is amazing - it is a VERY nice place.  It is not super fancy, but we are comfortable and secure here (at the hotel) - we are not feeling confined, as we're super tired when we return each day & don't want to move much AND it has an outdoor pool in its courtyard.  It's been sweet relief as we come home hot and sweaty each day (lots of cannonballs today) - - and yes, don't worry - we have our own lifeguards (Abby V. & I are certified!).

The hotel also is set up with some great amenities for our large gatherings.  There is a "couch room" for lounging and "doing logistics" (more on that later) & eating birthday cake.  They have an outdoor courtyard with lit-up trees which has set the mood for team-sharing times at night.  And to top it off, there is a roof space that is perfect for night worship under the stars.  We can see all around Teguc from there - so cool!

I know it will make you feel better to know that Heather put together great first aid kits and we take them where ever we go.  It is fun to be the supply wagon.  Today I got asked for (not all at the same time): sun screen, hand sanitizer, kleenex, pepto-b, pain reliever, aloe, & saline.  If I didn't have it on me, Sam or Heather did.  Team MOM is keeping us all one happy/healthy family unit! 

We love your kids as our own - lots of hugs going around.  God is soooo good - - no worrying, but keep on praying!
XOXO,
Linda, Sam & Heather


P.S.  We plan on skyping with anyone that wants to see our faces on Wed. PM at 7pm (at Blackhawk) - - "see" you then!



As requested, a post about food. Sort of.

It's Monday in Honduras and I am Taylor Molitor! And in the spirit of all days, allow me to say that it's Monday, Monday, gotta get down on Monday. Lief has been reading all of your comments and text messages at our nightly meetings, and we have heard a number of requests for a blog post about food. I shall strive to remedy the lack of food posts here. Our evening meals have been as follows:

FIRST NIGHT: We took the team bus to a open air food court, and ate "baleadas," a delicious combination of beans, rice, cheese, plantains, beef, pico de gallo, and other things that were delicious but that I can't remember. The name "baleadas" comes from a story that may or may not be true. A woman was making tortillas with beans, rice, and cheese, when a shooting took place, and she was tragically and accidentally struck by a wayward bullet. From that point forward, people would say that they should eat at the place where the "baleada" had been shot. Thus the name was born.


SECOND NIGHT: The team journeyed to a Chinese restaurant, and supped upon delicious Asian dishes, served family style with fried rice, and a delectable soup in which corn floated. Matt Berry may or may not have described the soup as "rustic." In the words of Charles, it was "marginally decent, marginally decent." Grape soda made an appearance.

THIRD NIGHT: We stayed at the hotel, ate  grilled (?) chicken, beans, rice, and a Honduran version of summer squash, all wrapped in house made tortillas. Ben and I ate a prodigious amount of said summer squash. Much water and watermelon juice was consumed by all.

FOURTH NIGHT: We partook of incredible tacos. Meat options included chicken, carne asada, pastor, beef, chorizo, and pork. Sauces were legion, and limes were also present. Jamaica and lemonade was consumed. Slight stomach issues were had by some, though not because of this meal. Paul's logistical skills were praised and IT WAS NANCY VEGA'S BIRTHDAY!!!



So that's all of the dinners we have consumed so far! Today we split the team into two groups: one that stayed at AFE, and one that headed to our building site where work was begun on a lovely frame house. At first there was some concern that our group of 16 people would not have much to do, as los jefes, our bosses Don Pedro y Don Raul, were incredibly efficient. After about ten minutes however, they finished the technical elements of one wall, and we set to work nailing planks to the exterior.

Time flew by, and before we knew it, we had been joined by the team from AFE, and together we built the third wall of the day. The team at AFE had a wonderful time playing with the kids, and Matt and Andre were a hit in their beards and wide necked robes, respectively. We stopped after raising the third wall, and headed back to the hotel. It was an excellent work day, with few if any accidents, and a wonderful team ethic both at AFE and at the work site. I am excited to hear more stories from the AFE team, many of which will be provided by Linda, who will be next to post on this blog. I think. A quick shout out to my family whom I miss and love very much, and to my splendid housemates, my family away from my family.

Updates from Day 3 (What we did on Saturday)

Greetings earthlings,

We are reporting from day 4 here in Tegucigalpa. Yesterday we started at Piccacho, otherwise known as the Jesus Statue. There we saw an amazing view of the city and and got the chance to pray over all the people of Teguc. The statue was a good physical embodiment of the fact that God is looking over this city, but He doesn't just look from above as the statue does, He works in every life on a personal level.

After lunch in the beautiful gardens surrounding the statue we headed for the house we will be working on this week. The house is in a "dump community" and is home to many kids that attend AFE and their families. When we reached the jobiste we split into two teams- one to shovel and move gravel and one to paint the interior of an existing house that had been built by an AFE team in the past. The home was a short walk through the neighborhood called the Good Samaritan Neighborhood - a walk up a steep, steep hill just down the road from the dump/AFE... the neighborhood consists of small wooden homes/shacks joined together by narrow and uneven rock roads - poverty everywhere you look  - overlooking one of the most beautiful mountain vistas you can imagine. Community in this neighborhood was everywhere - people sitting together outside their homes, kids running everywhere!  The family that lived in the house we painted had a number of kids running around, all of whom were related in some way if not immediate family and most of whom attend AFE.

When we walked into the house to find the rooms we were to paint we saw two pig pens directly across from the bedrooms and one of the littlest sons, Daniel, was standing completely naked right by the pig pen! Definitely not something we'd ever seen before, but there have been a lot of firsts here. Even though the house seemed really dirty according to what we're used to the family was so happy and so grateful that we were there.

While we were painting the house was filled with the sounds of children squealing and laughing as they climbed all over our team... such was an awesome atmosphere. The children were so joyful both at the worksite where we are building the home and where we were painting. Even before we even learned each others names, they would give you the biggest hug you'd ever had, and start to play and dance with you. Their childlike enthusiasm helped empower us and made us more excited for the week to come and the relationships we would build with them.

It was an amazing day and we can't wait for the rest of the week!:)

Love,
  Becca and Avery 



Sunday, July 15, 2012

Day 4 Shoutouts (blogs about Sat-Mon coming soon)

Shoutouts:
Heather to Sarah, John, Carolyn, & Julia (and Charlie): thanks for letting is use your watch- its keeping us on time. Love you so much.

Taylor to Paul: you are a champion of logistics and warrior against chaos.

Majestic Turtle Bell to Bananas: thanks for always being there.

Chev to The Crew: 16, don't forget.

Jessica Sarah to The 'rents: Hope you don't miss me too much, it'a good practice for college. P.S. Lexi, stay out of my closet! LotsofLove.

Abby-girl to ams: so proud you finished the 10k!! You and me together would have been 1st tho lets be honest. Tell Eric and Emily I'm so happy for them and wish I could've been there! Miss you so much imagine my face in a selfie right now:)

Abby to mom and dad: miss you guys soo much! I hope everything is well there. Love you guys<3

Katherine to Emily: Hope you had a blast at camp! I love you!

Hannah to Sammy! And I guess Josh and mom too :) Hope that all is well at home! Joshua, you had better NOT be tormenting my puppy!!!!!!!

Charles to Michaela: Hey Michaela. How you doin? Thats great. Say hi to your mother for me.

Matt to USA: You have nothing on Honduran pancakes.

Mom to Jessica watts: woke up this morning thinking about you, wishing I could see your face. Love you do much!

Linda to Jean & Grant Hartman (Linda 's mom & dad): Honduras reminds me of you & MX - wish you were here! Ben says hi too - XO