Honduras June 13

The team made it back to Atlanta safely.The impact on our lives and the lives of the people of Las Moritas continues.

Honduras Sunday

Today was a fruitful but sad day.  We got to experience Rudy’s other church in Reventon but had to say goodbye to the people of Las Moritas.  There were lots of tears from the kids, the moms and the NAPC Team as the good-byes took place. Tomorrow we fly home.

Honduras Saturday

Today, although we did not start in a positive light, we had a fabulous day at the park.  We were slowed down in the morning by an angry taxi driver, but we are thankfully all okay.  Celia, one of our translators, chose a great park for our field day experience.

We filled two large school buses with people from both North Avenue and Las Moritas.  We were so excited to have over 70 people from the village join us in our excursion.  We began the day by playing classic relay games such as Dizzy Bat, Leap Frog, and a Three-Legged Race.  The children as well as the mothers thoroughly enjoyed playing the games.  Probably the funniest was the Dizzy Bat, in which many people were spinning, running, and falling, and EVERYONE was laughing.  It was amazing to see the moms get really involved in the relays, and enjoy themselves even more than the kids were.  We have some great videos to share when we return!

Another meaningful part of the day was getting to enjoy a meal with the people of the village.  We brought rice, beans, and tortillas for all to share, and grew even closer to them through this time.  Later, we played many games of soccer and taught the people to make origami boats.  Our field day at the park was such a neat experience to be able to hang out and have fun with the people of the village as a group outside of Las Moritas.

Tonight we had more group bonding time as we enjoyed a delicious Honduran barbeque on the roof terrace.    Following our wonderful meal, we even had a piñata to celebrate our week, as well as all of the recent birthdays, anniversaries and major events.  Four of our group members leave in the morning, and the rest of the group will visit a local church service tomorrow, as well as go to Las Moritas for our final VBS lesson and church service.  It has been an awesome week!

Please pray for the people of Las Moritas for continued growth and community in Christ.

Kate Jinks and Frances Hicks

Group picture at picnic/field day

On the bus together

Sliding

Kate and Dariella ready for 3 legged race

Relay race (over, under and around)

Dizzy bat

Leap frog

Swinging

Jim takes a swing

Having fun posing for the camera

Honduras – Friday

Friday was a day off from the village. The team went to LaTigra National Park just outside of Tegucigalpa. Even though it was close as a crow flies, it was a 2 plus hour bumpy ride on a school bus to get there.  Once there, we chose to take one of the moderate trails with a trail guide to show us items of interest as we walked. The trails were steep and kept climbing for ever. We saw lots of unusual trees, ferns, mushrooms, an old gold and silver mine, and heard birds.  We didn’t see any animals since we made too much noise with 30 people.

Saturday is the field day.  We expect 60 from the village to come.

Group picture at LaTigra

Girls with $1 flowers

Honduras Thursday

Thursday was a busy day. Despite the forecast for heavy rain, we heard thunder but experienced no rain. This was our last full day in Las Moritas before shifting gears for a day of personal relaxation and reflection and community days with Las Moritas (more about these later).

The youth had serious discussions with the older children about following Christ as their Lord and Savior.  The response was favorable.  The youth also decorated the church benches that NAPC provided with scripture verses. Many they were able to quote from memory. They also did foot washing. Several tried to avoid it but seemed OK after it happened. All it all, it was a very meaningful day.

The women continued to show up to knit and crochet.  About 20 women participated today. In VBS the younger children love to sing, color, and play freeze dance. The children also did foot washing and then made a banner with their feet. The banner now hangs in the church.

Friday, the team heads to La Tigra National Park (rainforest) for a day of team relaxation and personal reflection. We have wanted to go visit for years and have never had the opportunity. Saturday we take the village to a local park for a field day. We don’t know how many to expect but we hope to have the women bring the men so that we can interact with whole families.  Please pray for this event as we seek to show God’s love and tell them about Jesus.

Thursday evening we met with the Episcopal Church leadership.  They have asked NAPC to consider working in other villages.  Please pray for this as well.

Frances playing guitar for devotions

Helen and Dariella

Jesus (Thomas) washes disciple's (Christina) feet

Mom's help paint feet for banner after foot washing

Youth decorate flip flops

Liam helps Heidi and Kate with shrinkydinks

Decorating the benches

The banner hangs in the church

 

Honduras Wednesday

Today was another big success and blessing. We got a lot of rain and thunderstorms last night that washes away the dirt road that takes us up the mountain. Thank God our bus driver is as good as he is! He laughs when we tell him we can just walk if we need to. VBS went great. The woman led a puppet show for the kids. Youth made friendship bracelets and gave them to someone they cared about. We also gave the kids bracelets we made. Jim and Jessica taught the kids all about Jesus and how much he loves them and wants to be there friend. We finished in prayer and the kids all shared something they were thankful for. The people of Las Moritas continue to bless us and are so rich in spirit. There are so many lessons to take from this. We also painted the new benches we had built for the church. They turned out great and it was truly a team effort. There were many hands that left with paint on them. We are going to wash the feet of the people in the village tomorrow as a show of Jesus love and to set an example. We are looking forward to another blessed day. Stay tuned!

Matt

See pictures below and at www.napc.org or http://www.flickr.com/groups/north_avenue_pres/

Jessica leads morning devotions

Jim and Carrie fashion the new trend of duct tape shoes

Margaret and Maddie lead the line during singing

Village women perform puppet show on Ruth for VBS

Jessica challenges Las Moritas youth

Jim tells his story to the Las Moritas youth

Matt and Alec pray with Yeison

Christina and Elizabeth prepare for crafts

Elizabeth with Anjelica

Theresa (angel), Haemin (donkey) and Sarai help act out Balem

Honduras – Tuesday

Today was a good day. Jo nah was the main subject for both groups of kids. We had VBS for the younger kids upstairs. I acted out the story of Jonah. We had a big fish made out of a cardboard box, and let the kids crawl through it. Some of them wouldn’t do it; others wanted to do it again and again! It was fun, and they really followed the story. We made fish out of used water bottles and introduced them to the game Freeze Dance. The youth had their own lesson based around the story and Micah 6:8, our verse for the week. I’m glad that we have some programming for the youth, so that the teenagers can come and not feel like they are too old to be there. Many have been coming for all these years and we can tell they want to be involved.

There were lots of women in attendance today also, learning to crochet and knit. Some of the girls we have taught in years past have started attending sessions with the women.

Another project we have undertaken is to have some pews mad e for the church. This afternoon while many of us played with the kids down by the river, others prepared the pews, so that they can be painted. It has rained each afternoon, but so far it has not impeded our plans really. We just finished our evening devotions on the roof of the Humuya Inn, and it has been pouring so hard that we could hardly hear each other!  As usual, one of the great things about these trips is that the youth and the adults have so much fun working and playing together, and getting to know one another.

 

Nancy Riggs

Nancy acting out Jonah

 

Edwin crawls through the whale

 

Frances and Pablo Joel

Thomas and Jose

 

Honduras – Monday

Hey guys! Katharine here! This is my third year in Honduras, and despite a clumsy fall on my behalf during a soccer game, this is looking to be the best of all of them. I’m very excited to have a bunch of youth this year—especially ones that can speak Spanish. It’s nice to have backup when the little kids are asking you a question that you don’t understand and looking up at you with their big brown eyes excepting an answer. Maybe taking French wasn’t such a good idea…

Despite the language barrier, it’s awe-inspiring to be here, in Honduras. The kids in Las Moritas are fun to hang out with and not afraid to jump onto your back when you’re least expecting it. Once you’ve made a connection with one of the kids, the others follow. They’re all connected in one or another so you could be helping a little kid with their craft in moment, and the next you’re chasing their cousin and brothers and sisters around. They’re always willing to help; if your load looks too heavy you’re guaranteed to have some ten year old helping you carry it up the mountain.

(And when I say mountain…I actually mean a half-a-mile up a 90 degree angle hill…complete with rocks just ready to make you slip.)

Unfortunately our trip to Las Moritas today was cut short because of a predicted rain shower. Usually they have afternoon showers that last a couple minutes, but according to some of the kids it’s been raining for hours the past couple of days. Once one shower ended, we practically ran up the mountain to leave the village before the roads got to muddy to drive. Tomorrow we’ll be there again, and I’m teaching the youth about the story of Jonah. I’m totally nervous because I’m not completely used to preaching….so wish me luck! (and of course, pray that it doesn’t rain again!)

A few pictures are below.  See more at www.napc.org.

Matt helping the youth

Carrie and Josue

Honduras – Sunday (a day late)

Delta on the tarmac in Tegucigalpa

Luggage in customs

Las Moritas welcoming committee

Haemin Lee helps Dr. Eliva and Rudy with service in Las Moritas

Greetings from Honduras!

Sorry for the delay for getting this posted.  The internet connection was down most of Sunday and is still down on Monday morning.

The flight was uneventful with a minor hiccup in customs when some of our craft material was confiscated. After checking in at the Inn we went to Las Moritas and arrived about 2:30.  The people were glad to see us but it appeared they didn’t know exactly when we were coming.  Only VBS made an attempt at doing a lesson which they did during the afternoon service. About 25 children showed up with lots more expected today. We saw a lot of other children as we headed out of the village.

We had to stop to get food for our lunches.  The grocery store was at the new Wal-Mart, which just opened last week.  The crowds were huge. Even though only a few went in to the store, it still took awhile.

During devotions, many stated they were challenged by the poverty and the lifestyle of the people.  It will be interesting to see how the team grows in the relationship to God during the week.

More to come later.

Honduras Team Arrives Safely

The Honduras Team arrived safely on Sunday. The internet has been down so we have not been able to post.  Today was our first real day in the village after a quick visit yesterday. Everything worked out even though not as expected. We had to leave early today due to the rain.

Pictures will be available later and we will catch up with the posts later tonight.