Day Five

Wednesday 7/15/09
But those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves shall be exalted. (Matt 23:12 NLT)
Another venturesome day in Honduras as we again worked on building or improving villager’s homes, providing health assistance, participating in VBS, and administering/refereeing the soccer tournament. The soccer tournament is indeed a success, uniting many villages for competitive fun and Christian fellowship.
Two homes were “mudded,” which means we worked alongside village residents and used our hands to place mud into house walls formed from a matrix of split tree limbs and woven branches, held together by vines used as twine. Talk about a very messy task, but then the results are wonderful as the proud owners posed for pictures in front of the finished project. A blessing was also said, seeking God’s continued presence and placing a spiritual emphasis on everything. At two other locations, we dug or filled lengthy trenches to enable water lines to be brought to villager’s homes. In one case the trench went up and down a hill for a distance of more than two hundred yards.
Our VBS activities included having more than 100 students create a craft project consisting of a model house made from a paper bag, decorating it, placing in it paper hearts with messages written on them and also the letter to God written yesterday. It was thrilling to see the children proudly carrying their craft homes later in the village.
A delightful break from our normal evening routine occurred when we went to a restaurant about seven miles from the ranch and enjoyed a pleasant meal of either fish or chicken. Indicative of the relaxed gregarious state our group has reached, upon leaving the restaurant and as we boarded them, one of our two vehicles experienced a cabin gaseous intrusion that led to several occupants quickly exiting the vehicle. Although surprising, it was not serious and order was soon restored and several local residents seemed amused by the visiting “gringos.”
Not surprisingly, we still experience God’s presence in surprising ways and know that will continue.
Written by Norm and augmented by Marcia.