ML Nutshell

Here's a nutshell version of the trip:

My "I'm here!" face

Friday: Woke up well before the crack of dawn to head to the airport with part of our team.  Everything went very smoothly all the way to Mission Lazarus ranch.  It's a very long day of travel, but well worth it!  I was ready to see my hubby by the time we got there!

My perspective all day

Saturday: Our first work day.  We worked at the ranch helping to build a warehouse for all of the supplies the mission uses and also the offices for the Hondurans who work there.  The weather was so mild that we were almost chilly when the breeze blew.  My hubby was in charge of wiring the building for power, so there lots of people up on ladders that day.  I had the very important job of holding the ladder. :)

Sunday: Our day off and the day to worship with our Honduran brothers and sisters!  My husband, our BFFs, and our nephew went to Cedeno for church.  I understand just enough Spanish to catch bits and pieces of the sermon.  There are a few songs that they like to sing a lot, so I was able to participate in worship here and there.  Cedeno is a small fishing village right on the Pacific Coast.  There are also many shrimp farms there.  We went to a restaurant that is right on the water and had the BEST shrimp of my entire life.  Oh, and some fish that was just barely dead!  It was a lovely day! 

Monday: This was my first day as a crew leader in Renacer Marcovia.  I've written a bit about this experience in this post. We started the day with enough food and clothing to visit with 12 families.  We finished by lunch, so my co-leader went back to San Marcos (the temporary storage in the church) and got 12 more food bags and clothing bags!  We visited 24 families in just the first day!  Usually 12 is pushing it.  God took care of us :)

 

Tuesday: Our second day in RM.  I was excited to see the same locals there - including the children.  I had a different team of North Americans with me this time, so it was fun to introduce my new friends to everyone.  The children were excited to have some new teenagers to play with as well.  We visited so many families again that day. 

Wednesday: We went to a town about half a mile down the main road from RM to deliver food and clothing again.  This time, we were delivering to people who are just beginning to learn about Jesus.  Santos spends his Thursdays going to this village to preach and then have church in the afternoons.  He takes his job seriously and is passionate about sharing the GOOD NEWS.  It was an awesome (I really mean that word) experience to witness his preaching in another language and be able to understand what was going on.  

Got my hubby with me that day!

Sweet Genesis was so sleepy.

Preach it, Santos!

Thursday: My last day with my new friends and forever family in RM and LP.  It was so hard to say goodbye to those people I had worked so closely with.  We didn't understand most of what we were trying to say to each other and we only spent a few days together, but I just couldn't say goodbye without sobbing halfway back to the ranch.  I can't wait to see them all again!

Precious 84 year old sister

Sweet man with a traumatic brain injury

Natalia!

Friday: SHOE DAY!  The whole Crossbridge crew finally got to work together that day.  We loaded up several trucks and headed for Cedeno and Monjaras to pass out new shoes to every person in the families that had received food and clothing earlier in the week.  We also had dresses and shorts that had been lovingly made by women from Crossbridge.  On the way to distribute shoes, a couple of trucks got to stop in Limon where our friend Socorro teaches school.  We had a huge surprise for her - a truck load of school supplies including TVs and DVD players!!!  The teachers and kids were all so excited.  Tears were flowing! 

Our dear friend.

Nina made a book of Socorro's son's baptism pictures.

 
I love shoe distribution because you get a few minutes of one-on-one time with the children.  They have no idea what I'm saying and I usually can't make out much of what they say, but we have so much fun!

 

 

The whole gang!  What a motley crew.

 

Saturday: Sad day.   Time to go home.  The loooooooong day of travel started before the crack of dawn.  Everything went pretty well and we all made it home safely.  We are still trying to catch up on rest...and laundry!

Thank you, Lord for your providence, your little surprises, and your sense of humor!