Welcome to Honduras: find the beat

After our third day in Honduras, one thing our team has come to know and love is the "Honduras beat." It's present in the Honduran songs that our bus driver lets us listen to as we go gallivanting around the city (unless, of course, he is in the mood to listen to 80's/90's love ballads. Whitney Houston, we will always love you.)

This morning we all packed into our little bus for another day of service. Day three... and the beat goes on. Today, our task was to bring Christ's love to the village of Nueva Oriental, a small community outside  Tegus. Our team of 26 split into two groups for the day.  

Mike's team played with the village kiddos. The day was filled with soccer, serving lunch to about 300 kids at a local feeding center, more soccer, creatively reenacting Bible stories (including the Christmas story, where Mike and Kyle starred as the left and right sides of the manger), and  even more soccer...did I mention that we played soccer? 

Mike's team also prayed for the children of the village in small groups and gave out toys. It seemed like no matter how many toys we had, there were never enough for the amount of kids that continually flocked into the feeding center. We're learning that the need here is tremendous, and to appreciate small successes-- bringing a smile to one child's face. 

Ashley's team built a house for a village family. Before today, the family of 10. Mom, Dad, and 8 kids had been living on a queen size mattress with a tarp around it. The building site was in a tricky location. We had to build around a cliff on one side, a rock wall on another, and a barbed wire fence on the other. Oh, and we had to carry all the building supplies from the road to the building site down a 400 meter rocky, hilly path. But, what else would we expect? This is Honduras. 

At the end of the day, seeing the eight children dance around in their new home with smiles on their faces was totally worth it. The mother told us "this will be the first Christmas we spend in our new house." What an amazing Christmas present our team and all of you supporting us were able to give.

Our team really felt like we'd served and been served by the people of Nuevea Oriental today. Mother Teresa once said, "it is in giving that we receive." Our team's focus for the day was giving to kids who were hungry for food, love and attention. We were determined to give a home to a family that desperately needed it. But in giving of ourselves, we received so much at the same time. The opportunity to be here this week has already been an amazing experience for all of us. 

Please continue to pray for our team... that God will give us the strength to serve selflessly, and the humility to receive at the same time.

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand."

-1 Chronicles 29:14

playing duck, duck, goose

Riding in the truck bed on the way home

We like hanging out and having fun at home after a long day of work!