Honduras Mission Team from SUMC

God's timing is always perfect.

2011-07-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Thanking God! I just got news from the doctor that the 3 year old girl that came to the clinic near death - that we prayed for in San Jose, and paid for her transport to the city hospital, is home and doing well. I was just typing up a summary of our mission for the church website when the doctor got online and responded to my inquiry. Thank God we were there the day she came to the clinic, Thank God we had the funds with us to use, Thank God she made it to and from San Jose safely, Thank God there is a competent Doctor at the clinic, Thank God for all those people that supported us so that we could be there to help, Thank God we live in the USA where we don't have to cook over wood burning stoves with no ventilation and have to endure ashma in order to eat, Thank God for a room air conditioner so that we don't have to endure the deadly heat wave we're getting, Thank God for clean tap water to stay hydrated. So many reasons to be thankful today and every day.

Back in the comfort zone

2011-07-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

From Mike:
It's been almost a week since I got home. Nothing's changed. The bills need paid; the grass needs cut; all the things need doing that make life normal. But I'm changed. It is true that we do take a lot of needed things to the people of San Jose. And we do a lot of things to try to help them and to improve there lives. But it's equally true that they give us many things that we need and they help us to improve our spiritual life. I return with such pleasant memories of the interaction that we had with them. Particularly with the children. And I have great admiration for their simple piety and religious convictions. It make me realize how lacking I am in these same areas. But going there always renews me.

I wonder, and hope, that the hygiene and clean water demonstations we did have an impact on the cleanliness and the health of the village. I know they appreciate and use the Bibles we gave them. That they have made clear to us. I remember what work and fun it was building the labyrinth and how much the children helped us then ran through it time and time again. And I will always remember the concert we did.

Most of all though, I think of the children. They are so different from our children. They have so little, but take so much enjoyment out of what they have. As one boy said, "We don't have food and we don't have water, but we have paper airplanes."

Anyway, I'm back in my comfort zone, but not all the way back. The San Jose memories take a long time to fade.

Day 2 - Home

2011-07-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how easily I jumped back into my routine. Waking up with the girls, and starting breakfast, and dress-up routines, it felt like I never left... I took the girls swimming, and we were back at it, the 3 Musketeers. Then I realized, on my way to VBS at the church, that I should be WALKING... not driving to church, and sweating ridiculously, not lapping it up in the luxury of air conditioning!

I started thinking about Ilsa, the little girl with asthma, and how I have a breathing treatment machine in my closet for Willa, her mom had to walk from miles away to get her treatment, and it wasn't even helping. I started thinking about Ludwin, and if he was still drawing his beautiful dragons, and reading the English books we gave him. I also told Jason about how much I wanted to adopt him. Bring him to the states, where he could study art and photography.

And, as my kids start whining about what they want for breakfast or that they won't brush their teeth, I'm smacked back to reality. We have so much, the San Jose kids have so little, and they complain about nothing. I even fell into it. I have so much, am blessed with so much, and find things to whine about. My house is too small, but I have a refrigerator, air conditioning and more than I could need!

Alisa and I got to visit two homes on our last day in the village, and both families welcomed us in with open arms. They offered us chairs, and coffee. Luis was telling us how he built his home from the bottom up, and he was proud, as he should be. We thanked them for inviting us in, and he thanked us for visiting him in his home. Even as we sat there with chickens walking in after us, and seeing the pig walk through their kitchen, you can feel the love and the warmth (no pun intended) in their home, with their children's (6 or 7 kids) diploma's hanging on the wall.

We also got to visit Ludwin's home, he lives with his parents and his 6 siblings, and his niece and nephew. Yes, 11 people in a 1 room home made of mud, on the side of a mountain. Literally, there is a cliff out their back door. And again, no complaints! Ludwin's mother was telling us how he was named after Ludwig von Beethoven, which explains Ludwin's love of music and knowledge. Smart kids!

Such small things as a headlamp and t-shirts, used soccer shoes and books made a huge difference in the lives of the people of San Jose. They treasure these things as we never do. So, thank you to all of you reading this who donated anything... every little bit helps.

This experience will stay with me forever. And if you see me and I'm complaining about something silly, just give me a little reminder of my time in San Jose. It's so easy to fall back into that kind of a routine, and I hope it makes me more appreciative of what I have.

I said "I" in this post a lot, and I'm sorry for that... I need to remember the "Me third" portion of our team pact, especially now that I'm home. Team Members, I love you and will treasure our time in the little village of San Jose, del Negrito, Honduras.

And, if we ever get that chihuahua, I'm still naming it Don Fidel!!!
Love,
Kelly

Home again...

2011-07-05T04:25:00.000-07:00

Ahhh the comforts of home. The biggest thing that hit me this time was getting into the car (instead of the back of a pick up truck) and realizing how cushy the seats felt - not to mention them not being covered with a fine layer of dust from the road. Then after a brief welcome home chat with the girls - they tell me to turn up the volume on the movie they were watching in the car...back to reality. Now to the task of getting everyone's pictures together so I can put a presentation together for the church...my job isn't done yet. We have some incredible pictures to share and awesome memories. Our work in San Jose was really great and went pretty much as planned with no major disasters - God must have approved of our plan this time.

Concert

2011-06-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
This is Chris, I have not blogged yet so I figured it was my turn to give everyone the scoop on whats going on.
Tonight we had our concert for San Jose. It was an absolute hit. There had to have been 300 people there from all over to come see the gringos play their instruments. I was told that people were even coming from different villages and even up from the city (which is by no means right down the road). It was stunning to see the turn out of this event and how much an event like this meant to the community. I have not read the other blogs so I'm not sure if this has already been covered or not, but we were able to get the equipment for this concert yesterday. To our suprise two of our interpators happen to be very musicaly inclined, so we had one play keys and another play guitar. It might go without saying, but equipment we got was not exactly top of the line. However, in the end none of that mattered. The people of San Jose were absolutly blown away by the fact that they havce a full band with a sound system in their town. I can say with almost certainty that this was the biggest event to ever hit San Jose, and that was evident just by seeing the facination of happiness in these peoples eyes. There were other acts as well, there was a grounp of three women dressed in costume who danced to a song. A trio of little girls who sang, and another man and woman who sang as well. Things got interesting when an older woman came up on stage and asked my Dad to play guitar to her song. So he went up there with not prior knowledge of this song played to it. It went very well and the woman was greatful. The last one was another dancing performance with these people in costme. One person was dressed up with a scary holloween mask black robes (representing the devil) and others dressed in white (representing angels and Jesus). They preformed to a song that was completley in spanish so I cant tell you what it is about, but it was something along the lines of getting rid of the devil becasue by the end of their performance the devil was on the ground being kicked by the other people. They were also throwing glitter in the air and other things of that nature. Seeing that was amazing, alot of people in this village dont have shoes to wear or a change of clothes let alone costumes, masks and glitter to throw. It really hit home to how big of a deal this was to everyone. By the time we were on our last two songs, everyone was on their feet with their hands in the air. Words cannot describe the power and dynamic generated in the yard of a clinc in the rainforest of Honduras.
I did my best to describe the concert, it is impossible to put tonights events into words, and the whole trip for that matter. Tomorrow is our last day of teaching at the school and then, sadly, we leave on Friday.
Unti next time folks

Roosters

2011-06-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Hi. This is Tonya.
I have an idea. Let's round up all the roosters from around the world and move them 3 time zones to the west. Then they will cock-a-doodle-doo at 6am instead of 3am.

20 minutes till our concert. I don't know if anybody blogged this yet. But our translators are very talented. Carlos is an awesome keyboardist. Johanna has a great voice and Memo plays the guitar really good too.

The water is so cold in the shower. Plus we usually don't shower till after 9pm. So it is dark. You take your flashlight in the shower, and that is your light. Today most of us showered before dinner. So it was light. Finally I could shave my legs! :)

Speaking of showers I have a very funny story. Last night Johanna, one of the translators and Solange were taking showers at the same time. (2 different showers) So they were discussing which shower was better. I overheard this, and pointed out the geco that was in Johanna's shower. (Alisa and I had taken showers in the same 2 showers.) Johanna totally freaked out. She kept saying that the geco was looking at her! Haha

Post 70 by Carole Ford

2011-06-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!!
We are doing great work here. Today we had our education projects at the school
It was very sucessful. From our teachings in the past we have seen changes for the better. While here my very good friend Carol Cooper passed away and today is the third anniversary of my husband's death. So at times my heart is heavy, but we are so busy and the people are so wonderful that I can't be sad for long. Y The kids are my favorite---they are so cute and love us being here. Our mission grp is known as Grandma's Recipe ----many talents mixed together. We also have learned why the chickens cross the road----to get to Mike Swaney. It is most definitely rainy season... I have never seen it rain as hard as it rains here. If it rained this hard in Sewickley the trees branches would be falling left and right I hope all is well at home. It is so hot here. Love to all, Carole & grp

2011-06-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hello. This is Tonya.
Yesterday a little 3 year old girl came to the clinic with a bad ashma attack. Her mother had carried her several miles while her 2 year old brother walked. The doctor was giving her the breathing treatment for quite some time, and it just wasn't working. The doctor said she needed to go to the hospital. The mother said she didn't have money to get down the hill. She was going to walk. It takes more than an hour by truck! The little boy was obviously malnutritioned. It was heartbreaking to watch this situation. We paid for her and her children to go to the hospital, stay the night, and get some food. What if we hadn't been here? I am sure that happens from time to time. What about all the people who are sick, and can't make it to the clinic? I never knew people lived like this! When we walked to the school I saw several houses with children who were not in school. To go to school you need to have shoes and a uniform. Some people can't even afford that. Many of the people only eat 1 meal a day. They can barely afford that. If they don't get an education, there is little chance of them getting a job that pays well enough to get out of that cycle. As a parent I can't imagine... One woman gave birth to a Down Syndrome baby. She was not feeding him, because he wouldn't be a productive worker. She had 8 other children. They convinced her that he could be a productive worker. So she started feeding him. Some don't have enough food to feed the whole family. How do you choose which of you children to feed? He can't go to school if he doesn't have shoes. Also they get the parasites from bare feet. Do you use the money for food or shoes? I can't imagine having to make such decisions! These people work so hard for what little they have.

But even though they have so little their faith in God is soooooo deep! In America we have so much food and stuff, but not so much faith.

Another quick post

2011-06-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

It's my turn and I only have 2 minutes to blog before lunch - we just returned from the school. Our education day went really well. The 7th grade experiments only took half the time we thought they would - the class time was almost half what we expected. This has gone by fast - can't believe the concert is tomorrow - our equipment is supposed to arrive this afternon. The Labyrinth has been well received, we are going to paint the bricks with the youth at 4. Music practice afer lunch and a church service after dinner at 7. We had a wonderful sharing last night during our debrief. It has been a very emotional time so far with one of our interpretors finding out that his best friend was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday morning, then Carole's best friend of 47 years passing away from cancer on Sunday, then the little girl about to die from ashma right in front of our eyes. Praise God we all together to support each other. Love to all, miss you.

Samstag

2011-06-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Buenas Dias, from Sam! It's raining in bucketsfull! But that's life in San Jose in the rainy season. Fortunately, it waited until we had finished our outdoor work, and we could be under the roof cover. We've worked most of the day at recon and planning for the education effort the next three days and walked the school rooms and yard to plan the classes. We've practiced the lessons and divvied up the work. Now it's just up to the Lord to help us to do what we have planned as El Senor would want. The late afternoon brought us an emotional all too familiar prayer opportunity. A little girl was brought into the clinic with extreme respiratory distress. Asthma is common in the land of wood-fired in-house ovens. But moist breathing treatments were not helping and the outlook is dim. We gathered around and prayed for her and her mom and obviously undernourished boy. We contracted with a local with a truck to get her and the family to the city where we hope the hospital will help. As we are unable to follow her case well, we leave them in the hands of the Lord to do what He will with them. We will continue to pray for them and hope for their safety.
Tomorrow we hit the ground running, and get an early breakfast. Then it's off to school to teach about environmental stewardship and hygeine. We see lots of positive changes since our 2009 mission, and this gratifies our hearts! Thanks for following our mission and thinking and praying for us! We love you all for your assistance and prayers for our mission. In His precious name, Sam Prepelka

Hola from Honduras

2011-06-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Mike says:

Things could not be going better, We went through with the village adults yesterday what we plan to do with hygene enducation at the school and esplained the labyrinth to them. This morning we went over to the school and spent about half an hour with the principal and the teachers and they worked with our education committee on how we can set up tomorrow. We're all set.

The reaction to the labyrinth was interesting. It really looks great as the pictures we took will show. We could not believe how the children helped. Digging, clearing. carrying and laying out bricks. The adults seemed bemused by the idea of labyrith as a worship tool. But Gladis walked it and seemed deeply affected. She spoke to the other people in very emotional terms about how she felt walking throogh it. We hope this will convince eveerone to keep it ad use it.

All is well.

Mike

Quick Post

2011-06-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

It is not my turn, but I just logged on to get it ready for the next person. We now have a laptop b, borrowed from the clinic since it is open for business today. They have seen their first patient - Chris Bartley - since he got an earplug stuck in his ert last night - Dr. Hurst took care of getting out, Dr. Castillo check it and it's just irritated. Love to all, thank you for your prayers, they are being heard and answered.

Sunday June 26

2011-06-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

Hello. This is Tonya. San Jose is so beautiful the mountains all around and the trees with such colorful flowers. There is so much vegetation here. We are near the top of one of the mountains. It sort of feels like we are right next to heaven!

Alisa lost her luggage on the way here. We were all loaning her clothes and and stuff. But Medardo took her to the airport yesterday, and there it was! Our prayers are answered!

Yesterday we made a lot of progress on the labyrinth. We got the land mostly level and cleared off the rocks. The bricks are all buried on the outside perimeter. And we started on the inside bricks. Then there was a big heavy rain while we were eating lunch. It showed us where our low spots were. Also the water routed itself straight towards the bathroom at the clinic. Chris figured out the problem, and we dug a trench to make it go down the hill. Thanks God it rained so much! If not they might have had a big problem when we left.

Today we will go to church at 9am. Then work on. The labyrinth in the afternoon and show the interpreters what we plan to teach at for education this week. At 4:00 the adults will come to learn about the labyrinth, hand-washing, and watershed models. Then at 7:00 is church again (a different church).

Last night some of us went to a concert at one of the churches. And guess what we saw on the way back? A tarantula! It was right in the middle of the road. How awesome!

I miss Joe and the kids so much! Tell Delaney they have beautiful umbrellas here. Some people carry them when it is sunny to keep the sun off them.

Safe arrival!

2011-06-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone this is solange.
I don't have too much to say because I am typing this from Hurst's cellular. Haha. Anyways, we are SAFE! We arrived in san Jose after a couple plane flights and a long ride up the mountain the back of medardo's truck. The view was incredible. On the way there we had to stop because cows kept getting in the middle of the road. It made me laugh because it made me think about how at home we have to worry about deer, not cows! Once we got to san Jose we realized that Alisa lost her bag. We are still trying to figure out where it is. Even if it was left at Pittsburgh. It is very weird.

One week before take off

2011-06-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

We're leaving....on a jet plane! But, we know when we'll be back again. 11 days. Tomorrow night we pack up our supplies and weigh/mark the luggage. We've done all of our planning, raised all the funds, prayed and prayed and prayed. Now, it's in God's hands. Well, it always was. Here's a quote I found on a friend's facebook page today who has lived with ALS for 18 yrs; "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can." - John Wesley (Founder of the Methodist Church). This describes how our week will go - it'll be intense and exhausting - but it will be exactly this quote - early mornings, long days, late nights in intense heat - but it is one of the best experiences you can ever have. I'm looking forward to working with the team and getting to know them and our interpretors and meeting some new friends in San Jose. Here we go!

Another surprise blessing

2011-01-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

I have said this before, I am constantly amazed at how God works through me. Here I am on vacation in another country on the treadmill checking emails (when I can get a connection) while everyone else is sleeping in. And Jibbigo (a company that produced a phenominal translating tool) offers a poetry contest to win their Spanish/English app. I am completely in love with this technology because I don't speak Spanish and I am always frustrated when I want to ask questions in bible studies, for example, during mission trips. These kinds of questions are not in common traveler's phrase books or dictionaries. I don't need to know how to order a beer in a hotel restaurant - there isn't one for miles - a two hour drive away! I want to know their theological beliefs! Even our intrepretors that have grown up in bi-lingual schools sometimes can't translate things for us because they are not versed in bible terminology. I don't even own a mac or an i-anything, but I have seen doctors use it with their patients and it's incredible. So the contest is announced on facebook and I'm already 15 hours behind the posting and it's to go to the first person who writes a short poem including the word Jibbigo. I don't consider myself a great poet, but I couldn't let this opportunity go. So I quickly submit one anyway to take a chance at it, just in case all 365 of their followers missed the posting. Here it is:

Jibbigo will help me so
I studied German instead of Espanol
To be able to speak to friends I've made on mission trips
Would be the greatest joy and oh so hip
To bring hope and health to the people I meet
Is the mission I'm on, it can't be beat
Thank you Jibbigo for such an invention
It's the answer to prayer for a Word intervention

A week later, I get a message from them that they had already given away the prize, but that they liked my poem so much, they decided to have two winners. Praise God! He always fills my needs - it's truly amazing. And on facebook I mentioned to Jibbigo how desperately the doctors need a Creole to English translation for the work they are doing in Haiti. Since that language is so specific to that location, they needed someone who spoke the language and I just happen to know someone who is working on that already with teaching CDs - and we might be able to get Jibbigo together with them to work on it! What a blessing...Thank you God and thank you Jibbigo. So now I am praying someone on the team has an i-anything that they can bring on the trip!!

God works in mysterious ways...

2010-12-21T13:57:00.000-08:00

I am so amazed at how God works in my life. This is truly incredible. I'm looking on Craig's list for an item for Christmas and I end up talking to a guy that is also a methodist from the Southside that works in the town next to where I live. He plays guitar and it ends up he has 20 guitars that he purchased for a school that didn't end up needing them and after I tell him about the mission, he says - Can you take a couple of these down with you? Awesome, just awesome. Just so happens we have three guitar players on the team this year. What a blessing. Praise God. Merry Christmas Everyone and here's to an incredible New YEAR! If you are in the area and can make it, save the date of February 11th - we are having a Fashion Show FUNdraiser - it's going to be great.

Back in the Saddle Again

2010-10-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

I'm baaack! It's been too long since I've visited this blog. At last night's team meeting I shared a theological statement from my UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Missions) training manual that helped me refocus on the upcoming mission. Our team is shaping up and our fundraising plans are underway. We have a great mix of new people and returning San Jose Alumni for our next adventure to the rain forest in June 2011. I feel so blessed to have such a talented group willing to give of their time and energy for such a great cause. It's great to start forming our plans for ministry in the village. Among other details, we were trying to describe the experience of taking an ice cold shower to one our new team members. Hard to imagine temperatures so hot that a cold shower is actually a relief. I can't wait to go back. What does the Lord have in store for us this time? Bringing a science fair and music ministry to the people is thrilling. Praise God for His word that can bring hope and inspiration to so many. It's my honor to fulfill this calling and I pray for the Lord's guidance and strength to get through these next 8 busy months. It's exhausting, but so worth it in the end. God's gifts, priceless.

Wow, what a rush!

2009-07-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hola! Amigos y amigas. We were ahead of the soldiers through the airport as they were deployed to protect their borders but enough of our "escape" on the wings of the Lord! The mission was an unqualified success. SOME of the highlights: We gave out 250 Bibles, and the crowds of kids and families were still in line for more. It broke our hearts to turn them away, but the demand exceeded our supply. We began building flush toilets and a side bathroom off the kindergarten to replace the pit toilets in the back of the schoolyard. We had the new paint delivered to the clinic so that the kids could paint. It looks great! We taught several hundred 1st through 7th grade students about hand washing, germs and how to avoid spreading colds, swine flu, etc. We brought microscopes to the 7-9th graders and showed them how to use them, and left all the supplies, laminated posters and equipment for the teachers, and much more. They were thrilled! The village spokesmen surrounded us before we left to tearfully thank us for "springboarding" their health educational program years into the future from what they could have done alone.

For me, it's all about the kids. They are the future of the country, even the world, and they have so little opportunity to get an education and be contributing members of society, not helping in some way is to me just unthinkable. I still have tears in my eyes when I remember their hopeful faces, the sweet eyes. They followed us like puppies and appeared like magic every time we came out of a building. We taught them to play Uno and soccer, and hugged them. The mothers and fathers were every bit as thankful and affectonate. The "Village Health Committee" came to wish us goodbye and thank us, and we all were overwhelmed by love and gratitude. Even the "macho" men of the village hugged me back. I daresay we took back full hearts to take the place of the hundreds of pounds of supplies and Bibles we brought. It was our gain. Again, my thanks to you all who prayed for our safety and supported us. They told me it would be a life-changing experience. I was skeptical, but they were right. Seeing God's plan in action, and experiencing true worship with folks who had church or prayer meetings EVERY evening, was an extraordinarily humbling experience. They said they were privileged to worship. My heart is full.....Vayo con dios! Br. Sam.

Hard to Leave, Good to be Home

2009-07-01T05:29:00.000-07:00

On our last morning in San Jose, I was feeling so excited to get home to see my family. I missed them terribly and thought I was ready to go home, but as we took off driving down the mountain in the back of the pickup, a great sadness overcame me. I thought of all the people I was leaving who I wouldn't see for at least 2 years. I thought of all the projects we had started - the bathroom, the painting, the bible studies - and wondered how they would turn out. I expect that we will get to see pictures from other people, who knows how long that will take. And hardest of all, I didn't get to say goodbye to my little friend Lilian. Lilian was a 10 year old little girl who seemed to especially like me for some reason. She came to the clinic almost every day and we colored together, played clapping games and even sang songs together. I became very attached to her as well and was expecting to see her on Thursday night or maybe even Friday morning to say goodbye, but she never came. I will miss her most of all - my little shadow. I'm getting teary-eyed now just thinking about it.

So here's my goodbye to Lilian, even though I know she won't see it. "Adios Lilian, mi amiga. I will think of you often when I am back at my home in America. I can't wait to hear your giggles again when I come back to San Jose someday. I will be praying for you and your family and I hope you will pray for me too. Via con Dios! Love, Susana."

Thanks to all the other team members and our translators who made this such a wonderful experience. I'm so thankful to be home, but I miss everyone already! I can't wait to see all the other pictures and re-live our week at the reunion.

God Bless,
Susie :^)

Good old fashioned revival meeting!

2009-06-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Some things no one mentioned in the blog before because they happened on the last night and final morning before we left San Jose. After that we had no access to the internet as the hotel in Tela as we had expected (it was out of order). On Thursday night all four church's congregations gathered at Gladis' church for a guest speaker from the Dominican Republic. He and his entourage took "the stage" (actually the back yard of the people who live next to the church). It was incredible how they transformed the front area of the church into an outdoor ampitheater atmosphere, they brought giant speakers from somewhere and strung a couple of lightbulbs across the yard. They had a microphone and keyboard hooked up to an amplifier (all run off car batteries) and the place was packed! With about 15 rows of benches and plastic chairs - obviously borrowed and brought over from all the churches - there was standing room only. Had to be at least 500 people there. We sang, we prayed, we heard testimony, hands were waving, people of all ages - it was awe-inspiring. I especially enjoyed seeing some of the bibles we donated being waved in the air and WWJD bracelets on the teens in the crowd. It was supposed to start at 7, but actually didn't start until 8 and by 9 we were exhausted and ready for bed. People could still hear the rejoicing through their ear plugs (too keep snoring and rooster noise out) at 10 p.m. It was neat. Friday morning before we left, the youth bible study class from the Catholic church came to meet with us and discuss questions they had. We both sangs some songs for each other and then said our goodbyes to the health committee and other kids that were hanging around to see us off. It was a great way to end our time in San Jose.

Mike returns to his flood damage and is thankful.

2009-06-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

Yes we're all home. Back to our familes and the lives that we left before San Jose. I've been home by myself all day, doing laundry and cleaning up after my flood. There are still many boxes of things that are wet and I'm trying to decide what to save and what to pitch. But the experience of San Jose is still very much in my mind. I keep wondering how far along they are on the toilets and sink in the kindergarten, whether the children are washing their hands like we taught them and whether the people we gave bibles to are using them. I think about the children, wondering what Eddie, Stephanie and Belke are doing. I think it will be awhile before the time we spent there fades from my constant memory. I hope it stays for awhile. Thank you all for a wonderful and rewarding week. We did a lot and I can only wish that it will make a difference. We go down their to give our time and our talents and hundreds of pounds of needed materials, but it seems as if we leave with much more than we took. Hope to see you all at the get together. Mike

Please pray for the Honduran Government

2009-06-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Hopefully you have all heard the news by now that the Honduran Government is experiencing a coup. It began on the morning we left. We were aware of the unrest most of the week thanks to to our Shoulder to Shoulder coordinator having a cell phone and getting reception up on the mountain. Praise God we did not run into any delays due to rioting. The people there are very concerned over this and ask that we pray for their leaders to uphold their constitution which the president was trying illegally to change. It is a very scary situation, their future is at a terrible risk. I am praying for the democratic process to work as it should and for peace among the people. Their country seems divided between the "rich" and the poor. Unfortunately, the president spent much of their money that was to be used for desperately needed infrastructure on campaigning for his cause. Extremely sad, they have so many needs. Especially in light of the recent 7.1 earthquake that happened last month. Recovery is extremely slow.

Eye surgery news...

2009-06-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let everyone know, that we have been praying about helping a little girl we met last time (in 2007) with crossed-eyes. And our prayers were answered on the last day in San Jose. We found her mother and got permission to pay for the surgery. It will happen on August 4th when a Opthamologist Pediatric Specialist will be visiting the city at the base of the mountain (El Progresso). Unbelievable, the surgery cost is $250.00 Praise God. Special thanks to Dr. Bower for his referral and for all the surgeries he performed in El Progresso last week while we were at work in San Jose.

Home again

2009-06-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos! Well, I remembered a little spanish and learned a few more words too. It's good to be home. First stop, the ice cream shop. There was a great surprise warm reception at the airport by our pastor and a family members with signs and flowers - really nice. And Sandra Lane was late and missed us at the airport - so met me at the ice cream shop with her sign and pom poms - simple adorable as usual. My favorite part was that in her excitement, my scrabble queen friend spelled mission wrong - misson on the sign. And she is NEVER late - so it was perfect as everything in Honduras is late - we call it Honduran time. It's hard to adjust to, but after a week, you get used to it. So it was no problemo for me. I just logged on to read the blog and the comments from friends. They are great. I'm so proud of the team and all the hard work that was done. It was worth every bead of sweat. I'm relieved we all made it home safe and am looking forward to next time. Now, it's picture sorting time and presentation preparation getting into action. The pastor mentioned we are already scheduled for July 19th - GREAT! Time for bed, I'm exhausted.

2009-06-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

I just heard from Susie. They are in Houston, ready to board the flight to Pittsburgh, which is on schedule. They should be arriving about 8:45. In case any of you have heard about the coup in Honduras this morning, there is no need to worry. There were members of the Honduran military at the airport to ensure it stayed open, but they saw no other signs and had no difficulty.

Jack

2009-06-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Susie asked me to let everyone know that they are in Tela. They don't have Internet access at the hotel, so they haven't been able to post or send email. Susie found a wifi network with her iPhone while they were having lunch and was able to get a short message out to me. We won't likely hear anything else until they reach Huston tomorrow.

Jack

2009-06-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hola, Amigos! Wow! What a week! It's hard to imagine the emotional rollercoaster that this week has been. From the worshipping from the heart and the sharing, loving right-in-God's-arms highs to the utter nothingness of the peoples' possessions, and from the absolutely Godliness of the faith and generosity of these amigos, to the sad, sad plight of the ones who have little access to health and welfare assistance.

To have a house here is a blessing, but one room with open doors and windows and no furniture, personal space or posessions to put in it seems spartan. And children everywhere. Smiling, shy, beautiful, scrubbed, hopeful, wide-eyed faces that steal your heart away. My instinct is to gather as many as I can fit in armfulls and hug them. If anything will bring you back to San Jose it will be the memory of those beautiful faces.

Tonight we had spindown and my stone in the circle was Hope. As long as we remember that Jesus has sent us and we are His hands, we feel hope, Amen. We met with the Health committee and they said "Thank you" and we said "No, Thank YOU"!

See you soon,

Sam

2009-06-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

This morning we did the community cleanup. Finally! My Mom's been talking about it for at least a week. Now she's talking about the Tayla or at least what we'll do there. Anyways, the community cleanup went muy muy bien (very, very, very well). The entire place looks cleaner! I got bitten by at least 10 bugs, so I had to quit, unfortunately. At lunch we had noodles. They were so good, I had 3 helpings! We later found out they cooked the noodles in chicken broth (hint, hint, church cooks). The kindergarten was the best behaved bible group we ever had! Everything went smoothly. Some of the things we did were sing and sign Jesus Loves Me, read a couple of books, and even a puppet show! There were about 30 kids there and a couple of parents too. The teacher was very appreciative, and the bathroom we started on Monday, the community construction workers have almost finished - amazing.

Good night,

Bo Lenhardt :-)

2009-06-25T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone back home,

What a terrific day we had!!! As usual we were up early for breakfast and hurrried up the mountain to the school----had to be there by 8:00 AM. We set up stations in the play-yard. One station was for teaching about bacteria & the proper way to wash hands, another was placing fake bacteria on their hands---viewed it with UV light--then had them wash their hands to rid the bacteria---viewed their hands with UV again---surprisingly most of them were successful with hand-washing. Susie & others had students looking at bugs & bacteria via microscopes. Genevieve and others demonstrated how water becomes contaminated and how to prevent such. The kids were really interested. The children here have very little but they are typical kids; boys teasing girls, running playing tag, girls telling secrets. Our children have it so nice---they have no--- idea how these littles ones hike a gutted,dirt road far up a mountain to get to school. They look much nicer attending school then our kids: they wear uniforms, which generally are neat and clean. They are respectful and helpful. Before we left the school six children---three girls and three boys in native dress performed dances of Honduras. A long hike back in the hot, hot sun for lunch.

After lunch we hiked to the Community Center for elementary children's Bible study/ministry. The building is hot as blazes and nearly 200 children of different ages came; mothers with babies and most of us.

They learned the Ten Commandments with finger/hand signing-----they did great. Then we had them make bookmarks for their Bibles---they loved that---what a job that was!!! Next we had them do Ten Commandment puzzles. We only had 60 Bibles to give this group---we tried to give to family groups, but we had no idea if they were family or not. At the end 80 children were lined up out on the road hoping to get a Bible. We had a raffle for the last seven Bibles. We gave 57 Bibles to teenagers the day before and on Monday gave almost as many to adults. Seeing all these children anxious to do whatever we had for them to do, was heart warming.

I know as a fact that I have never sweat so much in my life---water poured down my face like many steady streams/a flowing brook. Our clothes get soaked. Oddly enough, even though the natives feel that it is hot---they perspire very little and seem to tolerate the greater than 100 degrees in the center with no problem. The kids are active and happy---never complain of the heat or how many miles they walk/run. They gather around us in flocks; smile and wave as we walk by their tiny, plain homes. We see them sweeping the dirt in front of the houses. They love candy just as our kids do---get a little money and go to a tiny store to buy candy---they ask for "shicken". At last I bought a Pepsi yesterday.

This evening we were invited to a prayer meeting at a woman's house---Esther----she is one of our cooks. You would not believe the terrain we hiked--it is so exhausting, but we made it----saw a coral snake on the way---Bo was excited.

The house was so small yet it was packed ----they permitted women and children in the tiny room along with the men who were leaders and our interpreter. It was a very moving service---they were so thankful to God for us and all we have done for them. They read several Bible verses. prayed and sang songs. They sing with such gusto especially the little children. They are wonderful people/children of God.

We are now back, enjoying the most beautiful starry sky---sweating again. Must go----the bugs are attracted to the light of the computer and driving me nuts.

Keep us in your prayers as we do you. This is a wonderful, successful mission.

God Bless!!!

Carole

2009-06-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hola amigos in Pittsburgh. I bet you wish you were here. I clock the roosters each morning...seems to differ by how wet or dry they are??? On wet nights (we're talking thunderous rain), they have squawked as early as 12:30 am, and definitely by 2:30 am, but on dry nights, they usually give us until 3:00 am each morning. Then we are treated to a scene not unlike 101 Dalmations, with the dogs howling across vast distances...only it's with roosters, hundreds, across these mountains...an incredible and unbelieveable sound (especially when using the outdoors bathrooms in the middle of the night, and one squawks right behind you!) It is a wonderful experience, really, to hear, and they make all kinds of sounds, with a rare "cock-a-doodle-doo" thrown in. Their sounds continue until the sun is up....and by then the pigeons roosting outside our door and the birds are chiming in, as well as village dogs, goats, and whatever else is wandering around.

Today, we ate breakfast quickly, and rushed on the rocky village road to get to the school early (by 7:45 am), so that we could set up 4 stations, 2 with Henry the Hand for handwashing techniques, and 2 with microscopes to see germs. We "ran" many grades today, first, second, third, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, with grades three, four, and five scheduled for tomorrow. The older students saw photos of bacteria, with teaching from our wonderful minister Medardo, who doubles as interpreter, teacher, custodian, and driver, who is passionate about cleanliness due to the swine flu pandemic here (over 1,000 cases) which their government is doing nothing about. We had teams of 4 at each table, with our wonderful Honduran teen interpreters helping, as usual, with everything.

We worked until noon, then had a program from a few students, celebrating their culture through dance. Can't wait to show you all the pictures of this week. After lunch, a walk back (I call this the Health Spa...walking up and down rocky dirt roads in sweltering heat, sweating profusely all day long...checked on the scale, and I have lost 4 pounds so far!!!), we had a great lunch, a beef soup with bananas, yucca, and carrots, with lime juice squeezed into the sauce. A quick lunch, then a race back to do the next program at the local community center, where we were conducting a bible lesson (10 commandments with hand signs for each, a puzzle game of the 10 commandments, a bookmark craft, and a bible for all).

A joy: Sharing art, a universal language, with the students, first coloring books, then liquid acrylics on paper to train for the mural, and then, after questioning the principal for interest and desire, a wall mural on an outside wall of the school, depicting a rainforest scene with animals. I brought over enough supplies to paint the entire length of the building with many scenes from a book called "The Umbrella" by Jan Brett, which the interpreters are translating now, to be presented tomorrow for the school's library. The second grade teacher loves art, and is excited to take on the project which we started. I was able to draw one mural (14 feet by 10 feet) and with the help of Bo, and 3 of our 5 teen interpreters, make a good start on the drawing...always surrounded by crowds of curious students.

A sadness: passing skeleton dogs on the streets, and around every building, with heads down, eyes averted, searching endlessly for food on the ground... They often meet with harsh words, kicks, or stones, and I have never seen anyone show kindness or pet a dog yet... they breed unwanted and unloved...so different from many dogs in our country.

Carole will tell you about the incredible afternoon!

See you Sunday night, Barry and Rebecca!

Love to you all,

Andrea

2009-06-23T18:13:00.000-07:00

Lesson number one learned in San Jose: Don't play cards with children who will play better than you. I just lost seven times in a row to a girl who had only seen the card game played once, yes once.
Lesson number two learned: Don't take out your camera unless you want to be trampled by a stampede of children. (Don't underestimate them; they can be just as frightening as a real stampede.) "Take my picture! Genny, take my picture! Can I take the picture? Let me do it!" You also have to show them the picture after you take it or else you'll be stalked until you show them.
Number three: Taking showers in the rain is possibly better than the ones you take behind doors.
Number four: The people here are the nicest strangers you'll ever meet. Their smiles are as frequent as the rain.
Number five: I'm debating telling every modeling agency in the world that if they're looking for a person who is drop-dead gorgeous, knows how to work a pout, and has got attitude and facial expressions that will strike them blind, they should go straight to San Jose.

This place is beautiful and so are the people that spend their lives here.

No te creo!

Genevieve

2009-06-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Today my daughter, Genevieve, and I are in charge of sharing the news of our Honduras mission activities. Yesterday, Monday, several of us took the long, rocky road to the school - just a short distance past the center of the village. We were greeted by the principal - Melida Argentina Lopez - a gracious, dedicated woman who has been in charge of this school of 380 students - grades 1-9 - since 2005. We arrived during recess, and there were students running and playing everywhere in their navy blue and white uniforms. We discussed how best to set up our educational activities - all focused on the importance of keeping clean and drinking clean water. We plan to practice handwashing, demonstrate how germs can be spread, and talk about the good and bad practices that affect water quality. We'll also be setting up microscopes - some with prepared slides and others for observing known objects from their everyday life. Andrea worked out the details of painting a wall mural with some of the students, depicting the plants and animals of a rain forest. The principal could not have been more accommodating, even going so far as to give us a set of keys to the school grounds and to her office, so we can set up in advance and keep donated supplies and equipment in her office. As we walked amongst the students, all of whom were friendly and polite, we recognized many of the children who join us for fun and games at the Clinic. There is something so special about that spark of recognition and the big smiles after just a few days here. On our return, we stopped to see the progress of the new bathrooms at the kindergarten building. The teacher came out to ask if there were any way we could come to visit her students. This morning is our only free time, and she rearranged her entire schedule to make this possible. We'll read stories and do our handwashing demonstration, leaving her lesson plans and soaps for the students.

Today is also the day for painting the walls and columns of the Clinic, but as I write I can hardly hear myself think as the rain drums like thunder on the roof. This is the rainy season, so important for the growth of their crops. They dealt with a draught in May - hard to even imagine - that set back the plant growth. I am certain that draught is over now! The Honduran people that we have met - both children and adults - have a way of making us feel so welcome. There are no doubt many reasons for their kindness and friendliness, but after observing them at their Church services and at our adult bible study yesterday, I would say they are truly filled with faith and are living out their faith in their treatment of us and in their treatment of each other. It is very impressive, especially in light of the difficulties of everyday life here. It makes me want to re-examine not only my way of life, but the depth of my own faith. God bless you all and keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Diane

P.S. To all of our family - we send our love. You seem so far away, and yet still so close.

2009-06-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hola Family and Church Family and Friends!!

Rain Rain Go Away!!! It has rained every day we have been here and Thank God!! The only way we could get clean was to shower in the rain. Since the water at the Clinic was not working we had to improvise someway. Today all of our prayers were answered, it did not rain and the water was working. Madardo (not sure of the spelling) was the miracle worker for getting the Clinic water working!

Enough about the Water but of course, that is what our mission is about "Sweet Water". Let me get on to how our day went today. A crew of us worked at the kindergarten getting the ground dug and preparing it for a bathroom addition to the Kdg building. The remainder of the crew went to visit the school and make all the arrangements for our education part of the trip, teaching the students about cleanliness and clean water. It was a very busy morning and by lunch time we were all HOT and exhausted!! We had more work to do though after lunch. All but Hurst, John, Sam, Gus and Airon made our way up "Heart Attack" hill to the community center. There Carole, Mike and Josie presented a fairth service and participation to the adults of the community. We were very happy to have a turnout of 40. Actually, we praised God for the turnout. They are such polite and caring people and take their faith seriously. We gave them all bibles to take home. They really love getting the bibles. To end the program we sang their favorite song, "Alabare" It was great to see the Joy on their faces, while they sang.

While we were at the Community Center, "The Guys" worked with the contractor, Felix, on the kindergarten bulding. In all ways, it was a very busy and gratifying day. I thank God that I have this opportunity to "Pay Forward". If you read the Upper Room Meditation for June, you will know what I am talking about.

To all that went on the Mission Trip 2 years ago, the Community Center has not cooled off!!!! , MACANUDO 2007 Team!!!

To all families and friends, God Bless you and we all send our love.

P.S. Kuriger Family, at least I do not have to see the kitchen for 10 days and I know you tried your best!! Love ya Always, Mom AKA Gram.

2009-06-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

Hola Everyone,

We are having a great time here and the people are wonderful. Yesterday was marked by torrential downpours and since it was our second day without water we were actually pretty happy about the rain. Nearly all of us put on our bathing suits, grabbed some soap and took a shower in the water that was pouring off the tin roof of the clinic. What fun that was! It was like being a kid again.

Today we are breaking ground on the new bathroom for the kindergarten here. This morning we met the contractor at the kindergarten and decided on the plans. Originally we were planning on rebuilding the existing out house and fitting them with proper flush toilets and a sink. Some of the tear down work was supposed to be done by the local contractor prior to our arrival but when we got here we found that this instruction had been lost in translation. This turned out to be a blessing because when we met with the kindergarten teacher she asked if the bathroom could be attached to the school building because she is not able to look after the kids when they leave the school building to use the outhouse and this has always concerned her. Of course we were happy to oblige and asked if she would like a door opened into the school building so that the kids would not have to go outside to get to the bathroom. She was very pleased with this idea and gave Alisa a hug. We then gathered our tools and began working. If not for the miscommunication the kids would have a better outhouse but it would still be an outhouse. You can't tell me God isn't at work here. How wonderful to be able to provide this to the community! We will have pictures of the construction when we get back. Everyone there can be proud of what your support in prayers and donations has provided to these people.

That's all for now, love to all back home and to Diane & Chris, I miss you.

Love, Hurst/Dad

2009-06-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

As I sit here right now, the only word that comes to mind is AMAZING! We have been here since Friday afternoon and all is well with the team. We are safe, eating well and blessed. The faith of our host village, San Jose, is apparent in many ways and denominations. It is truly a blessing to have been called to participate in this mission and we are looking forward to the week ahead. We will be doing some construction on the outdoor toilets at the kindergarten, painting the medical clinic and spreading the Word through bible studies for various age groups. It seems strange to be sending this via blog from such a remote area (solar energy and satellite) but we want you to know that your support of this mission is reaping benefits. I cannot wait to share everything upon our return though I am excited about everything that is yet to happen in the week ahead. The weather has been nice as far as I am concerned...it has been 80-85 degrees and overcast daily and seems to rain on the mountain nightly. Daylight is 5:30 am and it is dark at 7:00 pm. We have already attended several services and the faith we have observed is incredible...we are learning from the Hondurans, as I anticipated.

God bless and keep us in your prayers,

John

2009-06-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day yesterday with a lot of down time where we could play with the local children. It amazes me how we can be sitting on the porch for 5 min and suddenly have 15 kids grouped around us waiting for something to happen. We painted with them yesterday and even got them to sing along with us as we practiced a few songs. The best activity was after dinner when one of the girls asked if I would play with her. We sat down and I was trying to remember the words to a clapping game when Andrea came over and got us started on "Waliata" (I have no idea how to spell that!). The kids thought this was hilarious and we continued with Mary Mac, A Sailor Went to Sea, etc. Then we moved into songs like the Chicken Dance, Hokey Pokey and the Bunny Hop. It was so much fun and the kids just laughed and laughed. It was hard to stop when it was time to go to church.

We attended a service at Gladys' church last night that was very moving. It's wonderful to see such dedicated, passionate people who pour their whole heart and soul into serving God. They asked us to sing 3 songs which they seemed to really enjoy even though we really only had 2 ready. I guess it's not the qulaity of the singing, but the intention of the singers that makes the difference. One of the bible readings was Psalm 23 which really spoke to me. "The Lord is my Sheperd, I shall not want..." Even here where we don't have running water or air conditioning, the Lord provides for our wants. He sent us a wonderful rain storm to cool and cleanse us yesterday. I felt like a new person after that, both physically and spiritually clean. What a blessing for us all.

This morning we are off to a service at the Catholic church, then we are going to work on getting our bible study and educational materials ready for the week's work. I can't wait to see what else the day brings.

God Bless

Susie :^)

P.S. Hola, Genevieve and Felicity!

2009-06-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. This is Mike. As Hurst said yeseterday, we all arrived safely. We collected our bags, met our interpreters, piled into the back of three pickups and headed up the mountain. The ride was a steep, bumpy and long as we returnees remembered, but we all got here in one piece.

After getting settled, we ate dinner and were in bed by about 8:00 PM, our time (two hours behind your time.)

Today, we all walked to town to explore. We went to the kindergarten and it looks like we'll be able to do the needed plumbing work. Hurst and Sam think we can replace the old poorly functioning toilets with new ones. They are sorely needed.

The kids, as before, are everywhere and we attract them like magnets. They are a joy to be around. Yesterday, Andrea went through picture books with them and, today, they drew pictures and painted.

Our only problem is the clinic didn't have water for awhile. It's Saturday evening and we do now, but before that we relied on the rain. It's rained hard twice and the cisterns fill easily. This afternoon it poured and some of us took advantage of it by showering under the cold water rolling off the roof.

It was great fun.

Tonight we go to church at the small church across the street. We've practiced two songs to sing to them and we sound pretty good.

We are all well and excited to begin completing the mission tasks we came here to do.

We love hearing from all of you.

We are here

2009-06-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hurst signed in under Alisa letting everyone know we are in San Jose safe and sound but have no phone access. Trip went without incident.

Gotta run.

Blessings,
H

Two Weeks and counting!

2009-06-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family! At this time, in fourteen days, our team will be finishing up lunch in the village, getting to know new friends and for a few of us, reuniting with old ones. A year of planning is coming to fruition. Everything it getting kicked into high gear! Education and ministry are in a flury of activity and we need your prayers. Our final class/meeting will be this Sunday, we have our packing party and send off dinner next Friday and our send off/commissioning service will be on June 14th. Thank you for all for your support. Daily updates to this blog will be starting on June 19th for 10 days. Enjoy! Have a great day.

Fundraising Goal reached!

2009-04-27T12:05:00.001-07:00

Our Bunko event was a great success! We raised $900 thanks to many generous donations and lots of players. Fun was had by all and we're ready to roll again next year. Biggest winner of the night was Maggie Wilkinson and biggest loser went to Jack Moffett. Who incidentally rolled the first Bunko of the night - on his first roll! We appreciate your continued prayers over the next two months as we continue to work on our ministry, education and construction projects. I can't believe we only have 7 weeks left to go. I'm so relieved that thanks to many private donations from friends and family members of the team, we filled in the gaps where we were lacking in our monthly goals over the past 6 months. Time has gone so fast. I am so looking forward to seeing my team working together and experiencing life in San Jose. God is good.

Bunko!

2009-03-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

Our April FUNdraiser is coming soon! If you are in town - join us for this fast paced dice game. Saturday, April 25th. Doors open at 6:30, Games begin at 7:00 p.m. $15.00 donation with a reservation, $20.00 at the door. If you are interested in donating a prize for the chinese auction or need to get your reservation in, let me know! Alenhardt@hotmail.com

We are just $1,700.00 shy of our $5,000 goal. Please help us, help others. Funds help buy supplies needed for our community projects, bibles, and education materials.

Keep the UPMC medical team in your prayers - they left today. Have a great day!!

March 09

2009-03-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

Our special offering was a wonderful surprise. We collected $535.00! With our economy as it is, I was worried about our only fundraiser not bringing in much. I am so thankful. Hurst did a great job putting a video together and Susie, Sandy, Mike, Bo, Hurst and I shared information about our objectives and explained our reasons for choosing water quality as a theme. You can see a copy of it at our tangle.com site. Our next FUNdraiser is Bunko - so we are working on collecting prizes for the chinese auction. Keep praying for the mission, just three months to go!

February FUNdraiser

2009-02-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

We have great all-occassion note cards featuring the beauty of San Jose. 3 different sets of 8 each. "San Jose Flora and Fauna", "San Jose Scenes" and "San Jose Neighbors". Make a donation in honor of a loved one and send them a note telling you did with these great cards - great for Mother's Day, Father's Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Sympathy, Get Well, Thank Yous, or just to say - I'm thinking of you. They are beautiful and feature photos taken by members of the mission team. Go to www.sewickleyumc.org for the church's contact information. Thanks for checking out our blog! Peace!

January 2009 - I'm energized!

2009-01-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

It's a new year, with a new president. I'm feeling encouraged by President Obama's call to service for the nation. It's a great start to his term and I am praying for his success improving our nation and the world it effects.

Our fundraising is well underway. In December, we had a wonderful response to our Singing Christmas Cards (like a Caroling Telegram). Thanks to the leadership of Susie Moffett and the support of our team and congregation, we raised $750 of our $1,000 goal. Our January fundraiser is to purchase bibles and so far we have raised enough for 70 of our 200 goal. It is such an amazing gift to give a bible. Lifechanging. For most, they do not own a single book and if they are going to have just one book in their house, we want it to be a bible. Something that can sustain the entire family for generations to come. I'm also feeling encouraged by the efforts of one of our team members, John, who emailed 170 of his friends about our bibles sales and he's has some response. It's great that this mission reaches beyond the walls of our church.

We got great coverage about our mission in the local paper and are planning for our next Fundraiser in February - an alternate gift giving campaign. We're making note cards out of our photographs from past trips to San Jose. We're asking people to make a donation in honor of a loved one, in leiu of or in addition to, candy and flowers for Valentine's Day.

There is still loads of planning to do and June will be here before we know it. There's snow on the ground here and I'm trying to think of the tropics. Team members have their passports in order and are getting immunized....we're planning our education plans, our bible study, our Sunday School classes and our music. We are also looking forward to some spanish lessons taught by a special friend this Spring. Keep praying for us! Have a great day everyone.

Team Assembled - FUNdraising begins

2008-12-10T09:05:00.001-08:00

I am praising God for calling 12 talented individuals to our team. We have met a couple of times and will meet just 6 more times to discuss our mission. In between our meetings, we will see a lot of each other when we work on our FUNdraising efforts. Our projects have been zeroed in on. In addition to our ministry work, our focus is on water quality. We have asked the health committee in San Jose for recommendations on how we can help them. They have identified issues with the facilities at their community center and asked for some help with other community projects that are in need of repair. A wall securing the school is broken and they desire some painting to be done at the school. We will also be organizing some education on basic hygiene for the school, focusing on ways to prevent contamination of their drinking water and a community clean up. One of the negative effects of our culture on them is the pre-packaged snack foods. There is no waste management for their community, so the introduction to inexpensive unhealthy snacks is having a adverse effect on their health in multiple ways. Trash is a water quality issue, the plastic (baked and broken down by the sun) leaches chemicals into the ground water and effects their watershed. So, we are going to designate one afternoon to collecting and burning the trash that has been left behind by the packaging.

Our FUNdraising is underway to help purchase the much needed supplies. Our overall goal is $5,000 ($1,000/month). December we begin with Singing Christmas Card (like Caroling Telegram), January we will be collecting money to buy bibles in Spanish, February will be an Alternate Gift Giving campaign, March will be a special offering day and April will be Bunko.

Feel free to contact the church at 412-741-9340 for more information on how you can help.

Mission 2009 - Sweet Water for San Jose

2008-07-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to announce that the Sewickley United Methodist Church council just approved our first official UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission) mission trip. We will be assembling a team for June 19-28, 2009 to return to San Jose! Our focus will be on water quality. Sweet Water is what the Native Americans named our town - Modern day, Sewickley. Looking forward to more blogs by future team members.

Amigos - the words

2007-12-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

AMIGOS by Rommel Osmani Ramos

(Verse 1) AMIGOS YO LES QUIERO CANTAR
Friends, I want you all to sing
ESTA CANCION PARA PARTICIPAR
This song to join in
LLEVANDO ESTE MENSAJE A LOS AMIGOS
Carrying this message to friends
QUE TODOS JUNTOS LUCHEMOS POR LA PAZ
That all together, we fight for peace

(Coro.) POR QUE ESTE MUNDO ANDA DESCONTROLADO
Because this world spins out of control
NO HACEMOS NADA EN BIENESTAR COMUN
And we do nothing for the common good
PORQUE LAS DROGAS LOS TIENEN ATRAPADOS
Because many are trapped by drugs
Y ES IMPORTANTE QUE NO TE METAS TU
Its important you don't let that happen to you

(Verse 2) TANTAS OFERTAS QUE HAY SE NOS PRESENTAN
With Composer, Hurst BartleyMany temptations are presented us
A MAS DE ALGUNAS TU TIENES QUE LLEGAR
Many more will you have to come
PUES REFLEXIONA ANTES DE QUE LOS ACEPTES
But think carefully before you accept them
Y YA NO PIENSAS IGUAL QUE LOS DEMAS
And don't think like all the rest (Don't always follow the crowd?)

(Verse 3) FELICITO A TODO EL GRUPO DE JOVENES
I congratulate all the youth group
PORQUE ESTAN TODOS COMPROMETIDOS CON DIOS
Because the are all in relation with God
Y ES UN APOYO PARA TODA LA IGLESIA
And it supports the entire church
Y SON EJEMPLO PARA TODOS LOS DEMAS
And is an example for all the rest

(Coro.) POR QUE ESTE MUNDO ANDA DESCONTROLADO
Because this world spins out of control
NO HACEMOS NADA EN BIENESTAR COMUN
We know nothing of the common good
PORQUE LAS DROGAS LOS TIENEN ATRAPADOS
Because many are trapped by drugs
Y ES IMPORTANTE QUE NO TE METAS TU
It’s important you don't let that happen to you

(Verse 4) AMIGOS YO LES QUIERO INVITAR
Friends I want to invite you all
A UN RINCONCITO AQUI EN MI CORAZON
To a little corner here in my heart
ORANDO POR TODOS, TODOS LOS QUE SUFREN
Praying for all, all who suffer
Y VAN POR LA CALLE CON GRAN DESILUCION
And take to the streets with great disillusionment

Reflections

2007-12-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

As this year comes to a close, I am reflecting on the impacts our mission team had on the community of San Jose. We have had the chance to present a review of our mission twice to our church and once to another church with future presentations during the upcoming lenten season also to another church that is going to send a team to San Jose in 2008. Bringing the word of God to our focus group - the teenagers of San Jose, was a challenging opportunity and completely rewarding experience. God's plan was far greater than our own and was clearly working in this community before we arrived. We came up with this idea of holding a religious lip sync contest and it blossomed almost majically into "Evento Musical Cristiano" - which was grande by the way. The organizer from the community posted a sign at her home store that said - [Attend without Fail] - and they did! 200-300 Daily for 5 days in horrible (to us) heat. It was amazing to meet the boys that were touched by the word of God and attending church with them. To see the community supporting each other - across the board - all the different Christian faith churches. Chatting with the leaders of the church's and hearing about the challenges they face in their lives. Exposing children with talents that no one knew they had - giving them a forum to express their beliefs openly and honestly in such a creative manner. Being invited to pray WITH people in clearly desperate situations, praying for people that asked us for needed prayers, praying for people that didn't know we were praying for them. The connection to Christ was clear in the lyrics that were submitted to us by teens - most of them tell their own stories of how the Lord helped them or how they searched for and found Him. Sharing our testimonies and encouraging everyone that attended the daily events to look to the bible for answers to the most difficult times in our lives. Leaving behind 200 bibles for their community. During the week, we were emphasizing the promises of God: God loves you, knows you, is with you, treasures you, and forgives you. It will truly be a week that none of the teenagers, their family and friends or our team will ever forget. Experiencing the love of God is everlasting.

Bill

2007-07-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well, he did not drive to Honduras, but he is heading for another very hot and humid place for basic training. We're thinking of you! You should at least be able to drink the water this time.

2007-06-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

Im driving back to Honduras tomorrow...anyone wanna come?
We can take Kel's jeep. that should make it up Mt. Killatoyota.

Excerpts from my Journal

2007-06-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

After being back a week now I'm back into the routine of working etc. and Honduras seems really distant. Like it happened a much longer time ago and not just last week. Its ironic to me because when I resolved to go on the mission originally I thought I was doing it to reach out and help the people there and maybe to teach them something but in the end it was I who learned from them and from the other members of our team and what people are capable of when put in unusual circumstances. The people of San Jose live under conditions that we would certainly consider harsh. Most live in hovels with dirt floors, no plumbing, no electricity, inadequate health care and limited opportunities for education. Yet I can tell you that God is unmistakably present there. I don't think I have ever felt as close to God as I did while I was there. The people of San Jose are aware that they don't have the advantages we do yet they don't complain and they support one another and they are very closely knit. I almost envy them their innocence - their unguarded openness and their lack of pretensions. I am not naive, I'm sure there are bad elements there as there are in all places, but I can say that whatever there is that is bad there is overwhelmingly outshined by the kindness and generosity of the majority who we came in contact with.
Following are some excerpts from my journal from day one. I will try to post excerpts from the following days as I have time.

DAY ONE - Friday 6/8/07
This was going to be a long day! Up at 2:30 to catch the flight to Houston. We arrived at the airport at 4:00AM. I can't remember if we ever had the entire team assembled in one place before but here finally was everybody together. Alisa, Dave Dellinger from Bellefield Church, Mike, Kim, the Kuriger contingent - Sandy, Ashlea and Billy, Erik, Kelly (who had received here passport only hours before and of course yours truly. Also there was Irene Frederick to help us check in. What a pleasant surprise! Before we went through security she led us in a heart felt prayer. Isn't it funny how all feeling and emotion is magnified when you know you are on the verge of something extraordinary? That's how that prayer felt to me. Thank you Irene.

I will not bother with details of the flights. Suffice it to say that it was a long ride. When we arrived in San Pedro Sula we were in another world. No one spoke english and our contact was not to be found. We hauled our 1000 pieces of luggage to the front of the airport and started looking for Medardo, our contact from Shoulder to Shoulder. We finally connected with him and started our ride up the mountain to San Jose. Here was our first contact with the Honduran people. Accompanying us were our translators whom we got to know very well. Johanna- Medardo's daughter, Gabriella (Gabby), Yudi, Carlos and Paolo. All aged 14 except for Johanna (18). Also accompanying us were 2 policemen with machine guns. It was a long, hot, bumpy ride up the mountain and our truck kept breaking down but we were all exhilarated so it didn't really matter. Finally our truck would go no more so we went to switch trucks and Kim took a little tumble. She was scraped up but in one piece so first aid was administered and we continued on our way. There was no place for 10 people to sit so Mike, Kelly and myself stood up the rest of trip up the mountain holding on to a rail attached to the cab of the pickup truck, facing forward and yelling "Ola" to countless Honduran children we passed on our trip up. I think somebody has a photo of Mike with his arms outstretched doing his Leonardo DiCaprio "I'm the King of the World!" impression. (You had to be there). It really was a surreal experience sailing up the mountain bumping and bouncing around that dirt road. Kind of like the Steel Phantom at Kennyood but without the harness. Then all of sudden there we were at Shoulder to Shoulder Clinic just like in the pictures. We had our carryon bags but all of our luggage was still in the broken truck and did not arrive for several hours. When it finally came we all set up our beds and then gathered at the picnic tables along the side of the clinic where we were soon joined by several local children. Sandy, Kelly, Ashleah and Alisa started drawing pictures with them and more kids kept coming in. I think we had at least 20 or more that showed up. Where were their parents? This turned out to be a common sight. The kids just roamed freely at any age and whoever was in the vicinity would look out for them. Some of these kids would turn up in the talent contest later in the week. We also met Don Fidel that night, the president of the health committee. I had the guitar out and he played it a little. He spoke no english so I tried to talk to him in Spanish. I think he might have actually understood some of what I said. Either that or he has mastered the polite smile while thinking "what is this crazy Gringo trying to tell me?"
I was really feeling sticky so I went to take what would turn out to be the coldest shower of my life. How can water be that cold and still be flowing? As soon as it hit me it knocked the breath out of me and I gasped hard thereby introducing some of the dreaded local water into my mouth! We had all been vehemently warned by Dave and Alisa not to let any of the untreated water in our mouths or eyes. My natural way of taking a shower makes this kind of difficult, especially when the water temperature is approaching absolute zero. However I did eventually attain some semblance of cleanliness and so I returned to the porch where we had a sleepy debrief and all turned in. We had been up for 20 grueling hours. Since there was no electricity and therefore no light, we all wore these LED headlamps that strap to your head. They look pretty goofy but work great. I climbed in under my mosquito netting and tried to go to sleep although it was still pretty warm and Carlos and Paolo were chattering in Spanish. I got some earplugs from Dave which helped alot and proceeded to get a pretty good nights sleep - until the roosters started crowing at 3:00AM.

Next Post - Day two

Post Honduran Thoughts!!!!

2007-06-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

I was, speechless, to say the very least when I returned. I was shocked at how we live as Americans, as I think alot of us were.
When we first arrived in San Pedro Sula, I was initially fooled by the selfishness of some of the people. (I.E. the people helping us move the luggage) It didn't really help much of anything when I realized we were being escorted by 3 or 4 police with m-16's. Needless to say, I doubt anyone even THOUGHT of robbing or kidnapping us. Goodness, I was a good guy, and I was still scared to look the wrong direction. However, we arrived up the hill...haha hill...I mean mountain, I learned very quickly how amazingly sweet the people are (and how beatiful they are too!!! I got back to pittsburgh and I was like dang, we just got smacked by the ugly stick...twice!!!)
As soon as you arrived, they were at YOUR service, and thought nothing of it. We actually had to be very careful showing our appreciation. Three measly dollars to Americans is 57 of their dollars (which are called Lempiras). So, while, with laundry for example, we had to watch ourselves, to not actually give much of anything for a tip, because they would actually get OFFENDED by it, you will never find that in America. We have more, but never the less, we want more too. One thing that I personally need to work on, and honestly WANT to work on, is just being happy with what I have. My measly salary at Starbucks, is amazing amount of money to alot of them. (If I were in Honduras, I'd be making 6 figures...what now?! hahahaha)
Basically, we have alot to learn from the world. Alot of Americans think we need to run around and change the world and make life better for everyone else, but really, it ends up being the other way around. They change OUR world and make OUR world better.
And coming from a music standpoint, the vocal talent down there was decievingly high. I saw the town at first, and honestly, I did not expect too much true talent to come out of there, but if they were in America, there voices would take them very far.
So, to the amazing people of Honduras, Thank you. They can't read that, but, nonetheless.
Once again, i'm crying. haha.....

But as I said earlier, (or meant to, not sure if I did) None of this would have happened if Alisa hadnt gotten the fire started.
Alisa, God Bless her, no matter how many times she makes this trip, I dont think she humbled any less, quite the contrary actually, I think it humbles her even MORE everytime she flies down. I am impressed by her true devotion to God, and the community of San Jose. We all made connections with the community, but she truly is an honorary member of that impressive community, and you can tell anyone who has met her, just adores her. Its amazing, walking down the street with her hearing..."ALISIA, ALISIA!"
There is one girl, however, who truly loves her, Rosario. With Alisa's help, and support, in just one year, she has truly come out of a shell, and just sang her heart out at the contest. I could see Alisa crying as she performed. Good Gravy, Im sitting her crying just THINKING about it.
Alisa, Thank you for your help and support, Gram said it the best as she called you our fearless leader. Love ya lots, Alisa!
So for anyone in the church who was skeptical about the trip, or thought it wouldn't work, take it from me, this trip was hands down THE MOST amazing experiance ever, and so much more was accomplished than we could have ever imagined, and believe me, we didnt do the true life changing. We provided alot of Material items, and we helped provide spiritual help too, but when it came to true spiritual moving, they did all the grunt work, and I am going to try my hardest to go back to Honduras next year, and who knows, maybe I'll expand and go other places, but theres alot of good that I can do, but at the same time, there's alot of good that the "misfortuned" can do for me.
Gloria a Dios, and God Bless all of you.
All my love,
Bill

Day Two...back in the states...

2007-06-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos,

I'm much better today, a good night sleep did wonders for me - making coping with the kids "overall loudness" much easier. Yesterday was a very bad day, ending in tears over the fact that Ross announced after he got home that they moved my beloved elderly neighbor to Chicago - no opportunity to say goodbye. A call to my Mom for support (yes I'm 40 and I still need Mom - I'm so blessed to have her) and all is well and back to "normal".

A little girl (about age 7?) with down's syndrome made herself at home on my lap today for about a half hour while at the YMCA, she was just full of love. Reminded me of the potential of the little down's syndrome baby that came to the clinic struggling for life last week...thank you God for that reminder - to keep praying for the mother of that little 6 pound, 2 month old - half the size it should be - praying that formula came and he's gaining some weight. The mother is trying to keep him alive, it's a good thing. God bless Carmen, the nurse, who is looking after that child and his mother as well as the health committee.

There are several others for people to lift up in prayer. One woman that Sandy mentioned in her blog was asking for prayer for her two son's - one whom left is wife for another woman and another that left home with no reason. Another woman came asking for help for her sick father that needed to get to the hospital, needing food and overwhelmed by the recent death of her mother. A drunk teen that showed up at the first day of our music ministry, the son of an alcoholic and one of the 11 brothers of the down syndrome baby. The men that stole one of our mission supply bags and for the former "bad boys" of San Jose, that they continue their faith journey started just about two months ago with the idea of our music ministry/festival.

Thanks to all that prayed for our mission team, they were heard, answered and felt. - Alisa

Wow

2007-06-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

Give me a few days, i want to post, but I am still speechless and emotional...

"Re-entry" Experiences

2007-06-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigos and Amigas!

Mike said it well, that we needed a good "decompressing" after our emotional long days and short nights during the mission and going to Copan was certainly a great start, got us about half way home with some of the comforts of home, and we had a lot of laughs in those last two days - mostly remembering funny things that happened during our attempts at speaking the language. The humor of our team members got us a through a bit of tension over being in such close quarters with each other (especially a brother and sister) and I really appreciated everyone hanging in there and coming up with some great "one-liners" that we'll not soon forget.

Now we get back to reality....Riding home in the plane yesterday, I was already noticing all the abundance we have in the states. Coming home after an experiences like this makes you think a lot about the differences we have in our lives versus the people of San Jose. We were about to land in Houston, so we could see the layout of the land pretty well and I was struck by the number of pools in the backyards of every house in the "cookie cutter" communities. What a shame it seemed to me that their "communities" enjoy their privacy so much that they can't share a community pool, and instead fence themselves in and built each their own private pools - eliminating the communication of neighbors and friends - so unlike the community of San Jose, where there is no privacy and they all interact with their neighbors daily and take care of each other's needs and share their lives. Makes me sad to think in my own community I barely talk to some of my own neighbors. I felt embarassed that none of us could remember the last name of one of the girls at our church - that wouldn't happen in San Jose.

Ashleah pointed out to me the big screen tvs in the airport advertising tourism in Pittsburgh - things we really don't "need" - excess. I told her she will be noticing a lot of stuff like that in the coming days and weeks. We have too much, they have too little. All of the team hopefully will be acutely aware of their surroundings and feeling very blessed to have been born in the United States. There will be all kinds of emotions we will be feeling, so continue praying for our mental state. Dealing with feelings of sadness, guilt, shame, missing our new friends we have just made and longing to go back when in reality it may be a very long time and for some of us never. Thank goodness for our happy memories and pictures and being able to communicate over the internet.

It almost seemed strange to me as I drove Paige to a check appointment for her ear surgery this morning at 9 to get in my car (after not driving for 10 days) and then go through an automatic car wash and return home and use the automatic garage door opener. we have life so easy here. simple things, like drinkable tap water and hot water to wash your hands with - awareness and appreciation - it's a good thing. It's fun to get to share stories with family on our cell phones again and we'll be exchanging photos soon and putting a slide show presentation together for the church on July 1st, so this mission is not over, the message continues and there is more work to be done. We have 9 more songs to have music composed for - it's exciting - the future...we're all thinking, "What else can we do to help now?"

My happy reunion with the kids this morning was short lived. Allison was first to come into my bedroom at 7:30 and showed up with eyes swollen shut with crust - nurse Mom and dr. Dad to the rescue...never a dull moment at our house. Then after several long loving hugs and lots of kisses, Dad was off to work and trinkets were given, next we were off to our routine of getting to a doctor appointment at 9 a.m.

The most trouble I had to today was at lunch when familiar attitudes began..."I don't want to eat that!" Then the lecture...there are starving children who would be very happy to have food on their plates followed by more complaining and whining....I'm so disgusted with their spoiled comments that I leave, I come back to find the food has been scraped into the garbage can - anger sets in - WASTE on top of complaints! Being yelled at disrespectfully after not having been for 10 days is like a slap in the face. "Welcome back Mom/Hurray! Our short order cook and maid is back!" It's like finger nails on a chalkboard to hear the kids fighting with each other. Bo yelled so loud at Paige walking out of the hospital that a woman commented that it hurt her ears! How embarassing. So much for peaceful surroundings. Makes the children of San Jose seem like angels (and I believe they are). Ugh...where did I go wrong? I love my kids, but it's been a trying day. Just part of "re-entry".

Behind all those hard feelings are great ones of how amazing God's plan was for our mission - far greater than our own. Trying to keep life in perspective. Love to all - Alisa

Morning in Copan

2007-06-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

Buenas Dias Todos! I have picked up a few phrases in Spanish and am trying to use them as often as possible. I've definitely nailed, Hola, Si and Adios. It's 7 a.m. in Copan, I'm so used to this routine, that I can' sleep in. Traveling to Copan from San Jose was uneventful, we were dropped off at a souvenir shop and said our final goodbyes to the health committee members after a tearful goodbye to the ladies and a few kids from San Jose as well as the interpretors. I think we all bought something. Then MC Tours picked us up in an AIR CONDITIONED van! Wow, did that feel good. We have done a complete 180 and are feeling a little guilty and spoiled. I keeping thinking of all the things we did the last week and how much fun we had - the truly special times. The hotel is beautiful and the weather is cool and a little rainy. Dinner last night was delicious and all but Kim went dancing at the discoteque - it was a lot of fun - everyone got on the dance floor - including Erik - who we love to call Enrique. Looking forward to seeing the Mayan Ruins this morning and learning more about the amazing history of the people here. Love to all and I can't believe I am saying this, but see you tomorrow! - Alisa

Copan, Continued!

2007-06-15T23:24:00.001-07:00

Hey all!
Just finished up most of my last full day in Copan! It's a beautiful little town, however, it is very crowded, and drivers apparently dont understand that if peole are in the street, you need to stop!!!
But other than that, we are all having a great time. I've started to collect crosses from down here, they stuff they make by hand is just beautiful.
We spent most of this morning in the Copan Ruins. It was pretty interesting, and very hot. Apparently the Mayans forgot to put shade into their vast domains! None the less, though, they were beautiful. They didn't have any metal tools, but the designs were amazingly detailed...i was dumb founded...After that, we all just walked around the town of Copan, had a nice Lunch, and bought stuff!!
All and all, this trip was the most amazing experiance I've ever had, and it ended up being alot more fulfilling, and sucessful than I ever could have imagined. I thank God for this oppertunity and cannot wait until I can come back. I feel like I am a part of that community, and leaving was the hardest part of the trip, and certainly the most tearful!
Its also amazing how close this team has gotten. Sure, being that it is close quaters we got irritated, but all and all, we are SOOO close, and I really dont think I could have asked for a better team.
So, now, Im just hanging out in the hotel, and relaxing until dinner.
Hurst sends his love, and Alisa, Kelly, Erik, Dave and Kim are about to go swimming...in the rain....Hay Locos!!!

Once again, thank you all for your prayers, thoughts and support, This team loves you all very much.
See you all tomorrow night....
Gloria a Dios!
Bill

Copan!!!!

2007-06-15T23:24:00.000-07:00

Hola!
This is Bill, Erik, Alisa, Dave and Kelly.
We are all sitting around here blogging on my account.
Basically, We arrived in Copan, around 5:00. And we had the coffee tour around 1:30. Being a coffee master, I loved it!!!
Copan and the rest of honduras is VERY beautiful, and we miss everyone very much.
Jason, Kelly says she loves you, and she can't wait to see you on Sunday, and she misses you a whole lot....*Muah!* (that kiss was from kelly, not me, i swear!!)
Ross, Alisa says she loves and misses you and the children.
Pam, Erik misses you and sends hugs and kisses!!!!!

Flight Information

2007-06-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

This is Mark Benjamin posting under Kim's login
(when I checked the blog at home it was still logged in as Kim-giving me posting power)

The flight information I have is:

San Pedro Sula, Honduras to Houston
CO 763 arrives in Houston 3:47 PM on Sunday

They leave Houston at 4:25 PM arriving PIT at 8:32 PM on
CO 2021

Spreading God's Word Through Music

2007-06-13T18:08:00.000-07:00

This is Ashleah and Sandy

There is a beautiful little girl that has been at our musical presentations everyday. I have just fallen in love with her. She has stolen my heart because she is cross eyed. I pray and wish that God would help me find a way to help her. Also a women named Gladys Matel has asked us to keep her sons in our prayers. One has left his wife and the other has left home. She has no idea where he is butwants us to pray for both of them to return home.

The impact we are having on the people here is becoming more apparent everyday. Because of our music ministry two boys that were once town rebels are now on the verge of becoming Christians. The children in the village love us. There is a twelve year old little girl who gave Ashleah a braclet that was a gift to her and she follows Ashleah everywhere.

Now on to the less serious!!! There are dogs everywhere including church services and all of our music events. It would not be the same without them. You know how much I "LOVE" dogs!! We are supporting the local stores by buying their pepsi and Ranchitos (another version of Doritos).

We are now preparing for our last full day in San Jose, which is tomorrow. We will leave here Friday morning. Then we are off to Copan.

Please keep all the people of San Jose in your prayers and for our safe return home.
Love to All - Thanks for checking our blog every morning Kara and Gram.

Touching Lives

2007-06-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

This is Hurst signed in under Dave. We are all doing well and having a great time. We really have not had any significant difficulties although as I sit here I can hear that the boys have discovered a giant spider in the boys dorm. They want me to come chase it out but since I am posting I delegated the job to Dave.

What an incredible experience this has been so far. We have all been moved by the sensitivity and passion of these people. The music ministry has clearly made an impact on the community and its obvious that this program has been a big deal here. The youth of the town have spent a lot of time practicing their pieces and they are all hugely talented. It has been so much fun that our interpreters want to form a group and participate on thursday.

This morning 3 women who have been cooking for us and watching pur practices and prayers asked if they could sing two hymns to us. One of them, Alejandrina, said she had been thinking last night about us and found the two hymns, one a salute to missionairies and one about the importance of families and relationships. they sang them to us and they were just wonderful. They sang unhesitatingly, clearly with passion and confidence. We can all learn something from these people because although they are not rich in a material sense they show a spiritual and familial contentment that transcends the physical and sets an example for all of us. They care deeply about each other.

So much for the philisophical. We are having fun and adjusting to the heat and lack of creature comforts quite well. There has been no real complaining. The kids have been great and our interpreters a blessing. Thats all for now. See you all back in Sewickley.

Hurst

Greetings from Honduras

2007-06-11T16:28:00.000-07:00

This is under Kelly's blog, but Mike is sending it.
First we apologize for not sending more frequent blogs. We planned to send two a day, but because of limited computer availability and our busy schedule ( and I mean this), we just haven't been able to. We have a couple evening church services and have to shut down the computer by 8:00 PM because of the noice the generator makes. But we will blog when we can.
Today we had our second music ministry event. It was great, better than yesterday for a lot of reasons. Mostly because we actually know what we're doing and also because we feel more comfortable with our surroundings and the people. Because of advanced notice by Gladys, a local church activist, each day this week we have a two hour show at the local community center. Five groups and five individuals from the five local churches, lip sync to music. We are to judge them and we hand out prizes. We also do our own music with Billy on keyboards and Hurst and Kelly on guitar. Our interpreters also join in. We also read scripture and give a little testimony. Yesteray was OK, but today we seemed to be a big hit.
Our group, despite it's eclectic makeup really functions wonderfully as a group. I think the big surprise for us is that our interpreters, five kids aged about 13 to 17, have become a close integral part of our group. They are great kids, a lot of fun, help us enormously and make us all laugh. They have really taken to Billy, Eric and Ashleah.
We are all working hard, very hard on our Spanish song lyrics, but having fun doing it.
We are all well; no injuries; and no illnesses, particulary internally which we were all worried about. We all miss you but none of us have any regrets about coming to do what we are doing.
We have found out from Gladys that our presence and our music has actually had a positive influence on the youth of the community, which makes our mission successful.
We are all thinking of you.

Mike Swaney

First Day of Music Ministry

2007-06-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!! This is Erik. After a two hour church service last night, I was skeptical about going to another this morning, but it was a lot shorter. The real news is our first day of Music ministry was today. I think it went extremely well; the different groups and soloists were amazing. It was so hard judging the groups on their performance. I'm looking forward to the next few days of seeing the different performances. Today the whole town seemed as though they were packed into one room. The heat was almost unbearable.--------Erik

Hondurus....holy crow!

2007-06-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

Hey All!
It's partly through day two, It's about 12:30 here, and I just woke up from a nap after our lunch, and I have been recording notes all day to do for this blog.
So, everyone hears about roosters on the farm and all that jazz, but you dont really know how annoying they are until you wake up to them at 3:30.....3:35, etc, etc....Get the picture?!
6:20 Rolled around with Erik trying to get me to go jogging. The night before I totally had every intention on doing it, but, 6:20 rolled around, and...yeah, that didnt happen....
So, I finally get out of bed because breakfast was at 7:00, and I wanted to be clean...
So, I got into the shower...Man alive, if that doesnt wake you up...you're HOPELESS....The water is freezing.....it would have been warmer to have bathed in the sink!!!!
So, I went through the cold shower extravaganza, and jump out, hoping to get dried off...I look out and see an older lady just standing tehre sweeping.."Bueno!" she calls out! then from me you hear..."GOOD LORD!" as I fumble back into the shower. Apparently, privacy is nothing here haha. Although, I do hear talk of Mike ENJOYING the cold showers?
Now, breakfast, Pancakes, and pineapples, Ok, Scott Family, and Jason, Listen to this...kelly LOVED the pineapple down here. News to you guys too?
Not much happened throughout the rest of the day until now, Erik and I have been walking into town a couple of times.
This is something Alisa wrote up about the lip sync contest we were hoping to produce:
"Great news about the "Lip Sync" contest - the community loves the idea - they prepared stuff for every day for us and have 5 teams of ten people each - one from each church doing two songs each - they are the main attraction and we are the intermission act - We are thrilled - some of the kids don't even attend church - we are praising God!"
Thanks Alisa, for writing that up!
Thank you all for your support, and prayer. I miss everyone and cannot wait to see all of you next week!!

Billy

Clarification

2007-06-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! We're all enjoying the sights and sounds of San Jose. Excited to share our experiences. Just a quick comment, Kim did not exactly spill from the truck, it was stopped and we were unloading everybody and she lost her footing on the road after she got off the truck - but all is well. Love to all. - Alisa

We've Arrived...safe and sound!

2007-06-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your prayers for our safe trip. All went well, the flights were great and customs wasn't bad either! It's been a long day though... we're all pretty tired from getting up so early and traveling.

Once in Honduras, we were greeted to hot weather with our interpretors and our trucks waiting for us! We all hopped into the back of a pick up truck, with our luggage in another! This is where our trip truly began!!

The trip up the mountain was beautiful...hot, but beautiful. Our truck however, had some clutch problems.... we had to switch trucks with our luggage truck, and it just arrived during dinner....and by the way, dinner was awesome! Already we feel so welcomed by San Jose. Everybody was waving as we pulled up. The women of the village were cooking when we got here, and we've already met, and have been playing with the kids, learning their names and getting to use our 'rough' Spanish!!!

Kim had a bit of a spill from the truck, but is doing just fine. We cleaned her up and she is back on her feet. Not to worry Mark, she's in good hands, scraped knee and elbow, that's all! She got up off the mountain laughing!

Keep praying for our mission team. We are ready willing and able to get in touch with the San Jose residents!

Monday Ashleah, Sandy and I (so far) are going to school!!! We asked the girls if we could go with them and they agreed!

Take care in los estados unidos!!! We love you all!! It's going to be a great week!!!

J- Have fun at Kenny Chesney!! Miss you already and love you bunches!

Love,

Kelly

keep those prayers coming!

2007-06-05T11:05:00.001-07:00

No passport yet... Hopefully tomorrow. There is still hope!

Yes, I am the problem child who still doesn't have her passport...

But, beyond that, I am so excited to be missioning with this group from SUMC, and Bellefield!! I feel so blessed to be able to go, and that I have such great support from my family and friends. I'll take lots of pictures to share when we get back.

This has been an amazing 5 1/2 months, between deciding to go, raising money, spending time at fundraisers, learning so much about my team, and myself, and now I just can't wait to get there!!

San Jose or Bust!!!!

2007-06-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

So, Im volunterring at the library, and Im a little bit bored......
So, I just wanted to take this oppertunity to thank everyone involved with this trip. Whether you are going, or if you are helping here on the "home front."
Every little bit helps and I feel alot closer to the church again.
So, Thank you all again, and I love you all very dearly. Except Kelly. She's mean. haha joking, Love ya kels!

Holy Crow! I'm goin to Honduras

2007-06-02T10:08:00.000-07:00

So, wow, I'm going to Honduras. Who would have thought that a guy from Suburban Pittsburgh would be going to do such a huge thing, in an even smaller town than Sewickley. Smaller than Sewickley? Whoda-thunk it?!
In the US, we gripe about everything, Gas Prices, prices of food, Gas prices again, what we look like...more gas prices....(seeing a trend with the gas)
When you think about it, yeah, gas prices DO suck, but at least we have cars to cruise around in, and we have jobs, and amazing chances to make GREAT things of ourselves, and we can travel, and we can eat, and drink (non-alcoholic drinks!) as much as we want. However, we are about to be thrown into a culture where, it isn't like that at all. We can get into our cars, or jump on the bus and go downtown, out of our area as much as we want, They however cannot. Everyone who goes to town, gets in a truck crazy early and gets back around dinner time. Please, don't think I'm bashing the people from Honduras, quite the contrary, we have gotten so used to our pampered lives, that, a lot of us, (me included) cannot function without our computers, or our cell phones, or our cars. But they do. Im not positive, but I don't think it really bothers them all that much at all. They don't think about it. Granted, I will most likely never completly change my ways, but I am SO excited to finally get a shot at making so much better of a person out of myself.
Wow, I dont really know where that was going, so, yeah, I'm gonna peace out for now and get ready for shift two...gahh!
See ya!

Packing

2007-06-02T06:49:00.000-07:00

Last night we packed up our supplies in 10 bags and trunks of 50 lbs each. We're taking a whole bunch of spanish bibles and children's books. Also toothbrushes, combs, first aid kits, fingernail clippers, tweezers (can you imagine trying to get a splinter out with a machete? -- they do that!) , sunglasses, bandanas...and more! So many little things we take for granted are hard to come by there. Thanks to everyone who donated and helped us purchases these things.

Honduras Mission Team Member Thoughts

2007-06-01T04:39:00.000-07:00

Hello!! My name is "Funky" Sandy Kuriger, a member of the SUMC Honduras Mission Team.

I just wanted to let everyone know how excited I am, along with our team, about going to Honduras. When we first started planning this mission, six months seemed like a life time but it was actually like a "blink" of the eye. Our team has worked very hard preparing for this mission. We did alot of fundraising and I would like to thank all our family, Church Family and friends for all their generous support. We have a "fabulous" music ministry prepared for the young adults and hope to touch their hearts.

We are going to be faced with alot of "unknowns" in another culture but we are sure God will be with us and use us as a tool for him. We have a "fearless" leader in Alisa Lenhart, who has gone above and beyond to get this mission off the ground. Thank you Alisa!!! What more could you ask for??

This has been a dream of mine, it seems forever, to be a part of a Mission Team. Now, that dream has come true!!!! I hope and pray that I can live up to God's expectations of me on this mission.

Please keep the SUMC Mission Team in you prayers.

Welcome to our Blog

2007-05-31T09:03:00.001-07:00

Thank you for visiting our Blog spot. We have been preparing our mission for 6 months now and have been very busy with planning and fundraising. I'm so excited that we will be in San Jose one week from tomorrow. Just a little background, doctors have been visiting this village every six months for 9 years, beginning the year that Hurricane Mitch nearly wiped San Jose off the map. A Presbyterian Church group from Oakland has been visiting once a year for the past 4 years. This is the first time a group from our church - The Sewickley United Methodist Church has ever visited this village.

Our focus group in this small village of 1500 is on the young adults ages 16-24. We have prepared a music ministry with daily themed music and scripture to share. Our overall program consists of presenting God's promises: God Loves You, God Knows You, God is With You, God Treasures You and God Forgives You. During our God Treasures You themed day, we are taking on the challenge of teen issues like those of teens here in the United States - I like to call it "Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll". Basically educating them about the dangers of self destructive behaviors from a Godly perspective.

Our team consists of one organist, two guitarists and a total of 10 singers willing to share a part of their lives in an effort to bring the youth of the village to Christ. We've made a tremendous effort to learn close to 30 songs in Spanish and are fulfilling God's commandment to "spread His word to all the nations". In some cases we may help renew their faith and give them support and strength to carry on in their impoverished village. We are like the third leg of three legged stool. The doctors from UPMC that come every six months take care of their bodies and minds (see www.shouldertoshoulderpgh.org for more information) and we are here to give the support needed by the holy spirit to be complete.

We will also be doing some construction work and learning a lot about a completely different culture. San Jose a place without clean water, plumbing or electricity, but filled with beautiful people who are kind enough to welcome us into their world.

Visit our blog for daily updates from our team members, two people each day will sign on to give an update. Please pray for our safety, guidance and strength to get through what will be an exhausting week.