EMAIL FROM OUR YOUTH IN HONDURAS

It's our second day here and it's so hard to believe. The days go by fast yet we all feel like we've been here for weeks. The flight from Miami to Honduras was amazing. I got to sit by the window & I took plenty of pictures :) The drive was about two hours on a school bus & I would have to say that it was the best bus ride of all of our lives. It's a real culture shock. This morning we woke up to chickens, roosters, & ginnies at 4 in the morning & they don't stop til about 10. We split up into groups & walked across the street to invite people to come to church tomorrow. (Each group had a translator that was our age.) I was so surprised at how welcoming & friendly the people are down here. They are very patient with the language barrier. The first house we went to I cried. The people were so friendly & welcoming. They wanted us to stay & talk with them. The man asked if he could have a bible to read to his children & to share God's word with others. We were supposed to go to the park after lunch but it rained most of the afternoon. It rains a lot here. They say almost everyday but most of the time it's just small showers. I am very excited for the rest of the week & I can't wait for the new adventures along the way.

Charley Simpson

Today was only the first few days. I have learned so much just interacting with the locals here.  You start to realize how blessed we truly are.  With the exception of an occasional shower the weather here actually really isn't all that bad.  The food here (my favorite part) is surprisingly great. The drinks like; Pepsi, Sprite, etc. have a very different taste. The only soda we have found that tastes the same is Coca-cola. I could go on for hours about the food here but I won't. No need to worry 'rents we are all loading ourselves down with sunscreen and BUGSPRAY!!! Tomorrow we are singing two songs at the church here on the campus. The hosts here allowed us to use the drums and plug into their system. Alan B., Zach R., Andrew H., Caleb H. and I are all going to show the locals here some Americano music!  We are all also going to do a children’s program after the service with games, music, and a puppet show! The language difference is pretty hard to get used to. You want to just talk to the people but you always have to have the middle man. (the translator) The people here really amaze me. They are in very high spirits when they talk to us even if they are deep into poverty. The houses these people live in are about the size of my room at home. There are anywhere between 3-8 people living in each these houses. The traffic here is really an interesting experience. There are motorcyclists weaving in and out of tons of honking cars. The cars here are interesting also. There are about 3 trucks here that they do not have in America. My personal favorite is the Toyota Hilux. It is basically like a Titan on steroids! Well I will say goodbye now! Adios! 

 God Bless, Cora Macko

Ola!

That is about all of the Spanish that we know, and that makes communication with everyone very interesting.  I think we entertain the kids when we try to carry on conversations with them.  God has opened our eyes to many different things here in Honduras.  Huge beetles in the bathrooms, geckos in Sara- Bethany's bed and hard core games of Ponta Ponta Gonso (which is duck duck goose in Spanish) are just a few of them. On a brighter note, everyone is so friendly and happy here. The kids got really excited when we gave them the simplest stuff like pipe cleaners.  Everyone keep praying for us and our safety!

God bless, Olivia

Sunday, July 15 2007

Today has been the most enjoyable day so far.  After waking up to a wonderful pancake breakfast we all attended the church here at the mission complex at 10 a.m.. I was very enthused to see that most of the people we invited to come yesterday actually attended the service this morning.  People down here are so much more tolerant and receptive then what we are accustomed to in America. The service was in Spanish of course so we all just smiled and attempted to clap on beat for about the first 15 minutes of the service.  They then took the offering as we made our way to the front of the chapel to sing a couple of songs. After the singing, which went very well, they dismissed the children and us to Sunday school. I was in the group that was in charge of the music for the children.  We sang a couple of songs in English and we all learned "I've got the joy, joy, joy joy down in my heart," in Spanish.  We started the first group with our Spanish song and they were not very excited. I soon found out that they in fact enjoyed music in English more than they enjoyed it in their own language. They especially enjoyed watching us flailing around attempting to sing "Father Abraham".  When the children left after the service we all went back "home" to eat and rested until about 3 p.m.. At 3 we all traveled up a mountain in a school bus on unpaved roads. I know it sounds terrifying....because it was! We finally got to the church where the service was yet again in Spanish. After about 30 minutes we were again dismissed to play with the children.  We sang to them again and then played Duck, Duck, Goose.  We all found out that watching someone fall is funny no matter where in the world you are. The children loved the games but then we had to come back to camp for dinner.

Today was lots of fun.  The people here are so very enjoyable.  It is amazing to see how much alike they are, coming from a world so different from our own. Probably the most amazing thing is to see the faith and love in people...to see there quality of life surpass that of there belongings. They really have nothing down here, but at the same time, they have so much peace and a joy in Christ that nothing else matters to them.  I think we have all been humbled greatly to discover that as much as all of us own...that they are in so many ways still richer than we could ever hope to be.

Caleb Hamilton

This is the most awesome trip that I have ever taken!  It is an adventure and yet so sad too.  What's amazing to me is how happy the people are with so little.  I'm going to be more thankful and humble when I get home.  I miss you all... see you soon. 

Love, Hanna

This trip has been a huge eye opener for me personally.  When we first got here, everyone was looking at us like we were from a different world.  In the U.S., we're all pretty use to seeing foreigners... but these people are so isolated that they aren't use to seeing white people at all.  The bus ride on the first day, which turned out to be very exciting because of the way these people drive (no rules at all on the road), we got to see a lot of the city and where people live.  There are thousands of little houses stacked right next to or on top of each other all over the mountains and valleys.  Most of the homes are made from whatever the people could find and there is no organization as to how they are placed.  It really made me think of how fortunate even the poorest people in America really are and how we take our open minded culture for granted.  Today is Monday, so we've only been here for four days and already I've helped build trusses and cross beams for the roof of their new shops, I've been on a two-hour trip up a mountain that would test the finest 4x4 trucks.. in a 40 passenger school bus with about 60 people on board. We got stuck 100 yards from the top and 6 or 7 of the guys had to get out a push.  I burnt my arm a little on the smoke stack exhaust when we were pushing.  The children are amazing and the older people do all they can to help us adapt, even though we're here to help them.  It's all very humbling.  Several of us played "duck, duck, goose!" with some of the children on the mountain and I happened to slip and fall in a puddle and everyone laughed hysterically.  For the rest of the week I've got plenty of construction work to look forward to and lots of pollo (poy-yo) or chickens to chase.  Lots of love the family and everyone else in the states.  David and Sara Bethany would like to say hey to their parents as well.

Alan B.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

This trip has been absolutely amazing! We have had a blast ever since we got here. The trip here was great.. although the bus ride was freezing & a few of the first-time flyers weren't to excited, it went well. The view from the plane before we landed in Honduras was absolutely beautiful. After the 2-hour busy ride, and the culture shock, we got settled into our dorms. Our living conditions are very nice. It's not home, but it's so much better than many people have here. We also have possible the best view I have ever seen with all the mountains around us. Our first day we ventured into the village across the street and invited many people to come to church the next day. Some people had so little and it was very sad to see; however, although they had almost nothing they were so much happier than we were about things sometimes. The next day we went to church here on the grounds and sang three songs for the congregation. After the offering we were dismissed to play with the children while the adult were listening to the sermon. I never knew so many kids could be so excited by bubbles and pipe cleaner! Personally, I worked the puppet station with Olivia, Chelsea, Jackson, and Cora. Needless to say, it was very interesting! Afterwards, we played outside with the kids. They were so happy, and definitely full of endless energy. That night we visited a church up in the mountains. The bus ride up the mountain was, um, interesting- to say the least. We got to work with the children again while the adults were listening to the sermon, and Duck, Duck, Goose was definitely the favorite game to play as we all tried to play in Spanish. The past two days we have been visiting a school in the morning and the afternoon, as well as visiting the daycare here on the compound. The kids are absolutely adorable! They are so patient with the language barrier, as we have interpreters to help us wherever we go. However, we have said "Ola" more times than we can count! We have had such a blast. We get to spend time with adorable children all day, then we come back and spend time with each other as well. It's amazing! Anyway, I am sure the rest of the week has many exciting things in store for us as well. God Bless, & we will see you all in a few days!

Megan Grantham

To My Family and Friends Back Home,

HOLA! Como esta? Translated.......Hello! How are you? I hope this note finds all of you at home doing well. As for myself here in the mountains of Honduras, I am doing wonderfully. As our trip here is coming to a close, I find myself both a little homesick but also I find myself wishing that I had more time to make a larger difference. The things I've seen and experienced here are unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Teaching crafts to the school children at several area schools was, simply put, a joy to my heart. I loved every second I spent with those children and if I had it all to do over again, I would not do anything differently. But, out of all the things I have done while in Honduras, the most heart breaking thing I had to was going to play with the children at an orphanage today. It truly broke my heart to have leave one little boy. As soon as I walked in the room, he took my hand and he spent all of my visit by my side. When it was time to go, I had my translator, Jamie, tell him that I wanted a hug before I had to leave. He clung to my neck as tightly as I was clinging to him. Before I left, I wanted to get a picture with him. But, no one could get him to smile for the camera. He was so sad that I was leaving that he would not smile for us. And, he was not alone in his sadness. Although I am smiling in my pictures, I had tears in my eyes from the moment I was told it was time to leave. That was one of many unforgettable experiences that I have had while I was here. I want to thank each and every one of you that supported us with our monetary needs. You helped give me the opportunity not only to help change lives for Christ here in Honduras, but in turn, to have my own life changed as well. I would also like to thank everyone that has lifted both me and our group up in prayer. Those prayers have helped me keep my strength and courage up, as well to calm all my fears of traveling to a different country. I hope you all will continue to pray for our group in our last days here, as well as for our safety as we travel back home on Friday. Thanks you again to all of you that made this trip possible for me. I will see you all soon.

Adios! Translated..............Bye! 

Much Love from Honduras

Alayna Lopez

Hola! Boy, this has been one interesting trip!  We have been to so many different schools and seen so many different people and places and experienced many unforgettable things.  We have been to four or five different schools, the nursery on campus, and a Christian orphanage across town.  The kids have all been so understanding and loving to all of us.  They have all been attentive and kind, not only to us but to the teachers at the schools and any other person of authority.  It's amazing at how nice they all are to one another!! It amazes me that they are so understanding when they can't understand us.  They've tried to teach themselves English, as we're trying to learn Spanish (which has been quite unsuccessful)!  We have the interpreters, but they can't be around everyone at the same time.  It's definitely been amazing to see and witness the things that we have this week.  For God to have allowed us to come down here and be safe the whole trip (knock on wood) is amazing.  The scenery here is absolutely breathtaking.  The mountains of Honduras are more beautiful than I can imagine.  All of the youth, and even the chaperones, have all gotten much closer to each other.  The guys and girls dorms are separated by a wall, that doesn't even reach the ceiling.. so we can definitely hear everything that is said.  At any point in time.  So it's definitely been interesting, to say the least.  We miss everyone back home though!!  Mom and Dad, Stephen and I both miss you very, very much and can't wait to see you Friday night!!  We hope all is well back home, and don't worry about us over here, we are doing spectacular!  Tomorrow is shopping, so that should be fun! Adios!

Terah Phillips :)

First off I would like to say that if anyone is looking into adopting a child I found 406 for you to choose from. One especially is on eight year girl named Wendy. Now let me back up just a little. Today we went to Emanuel orphanage. We got off the bus and immediately all of the kids stopped what they were doing and ran to us, not just to "hola" like most of the kids here, but to hug us and cling on to us for the rest of the time we were there. It had to be one of the saddest things that I have ever seen. Even though they had nicer things than most of the children in Honduras ( such as playgrounds and clothes ) they were very attention deprived. Wendy is the girl that found me and we stayed together the whole time we were there.  She was very shy and didn't talk much (but even if she did I wouldn't be able to understand her) but she stayed latched on to me the whole time. We played hand games ( in both Spanish and English) and I taught her how to say colors in English (she especially like Blue). I wanted to take her home So badly! So if anyone wants to adopt her... i will baby-sit ALL THE TIME!

Anyways, on to different things. This place is so neat! It's really cool to be able to step in other people's shoes for a week. Even though these people would be considered poor in the US, I like it better here. There is nothing to worry about. None of the petty things that we base our lives around in the States. Even not having AC isn't that bad. You really can't even tell. I met a cool guy named Julio (it's pretty neat b/c we almost have the same name.) He is way better at soccer than me!

The hardest thing about being here is not being able to understand what they are telling me. It is hard to tell people about Jesus... or anything really... without knowing what they are saying. But, people like Hulio make it fun by using sound effects and hand motions to help me understand.

I think that God is really using us here in Honduras, but I hope that when we get back home we can still be the missionaries to Ozark.

Thanks for all of the prayer and support!

Julia

Ola!!!

I can’t believe our week in Honduras is already over. It has been a week I will never forget. I have gained so much from being here and spending time with the people here. This has to be one of the most beautiful countries ever. During this week we spent time going from house to house inviting people to church and going to schools and spending time with the children. The children here can teach you so much, even when you can not understand them. They make you look at life differently. When you see how much joy and happiness they can get out of just the simplest things, it makes you appreciate what you have so much more. Yesterday we went  to an orphanage were about 400 so children lived. When we stepped off the bus they just came running. They would grab hold of your hand or waist and not let go the whole time we were there. It was the warmest feeling to know that you could make their day by just spending a little bit of time with them. Being here I have learned to just be so thankful for what I have and am given. One of the houses we went to there was an older woman that lived there with a baby. The home was about the size of my bedroom and the floors were made of mud. You would think that she would be so unhappy but she greeted us with a big smile on her face and laughed and talked with us. I will miss Honduras and the wonderful people here but what I am taking back home with me is something that will be with me for all my life.

Adios!!

Chelsea Lopez

To all

Here is my brief recap of the trip.  We started on a good note with Ronnie Kelley getting out of bed to take us to the airport.  After stumbling through a couple airports we arrived in Honduras and amused the immigration people immensely.  When we exited the airport building we were swarmed by money changers and then it got exciting.  The trip through the city on the big yellow school bus was like being in a demolition derby.  We arrived in good shape and immediately set to work.  Saturday we found out what "rainy season" means in Honduras.  I'm sure the US customs people won't take long to look at our bags after they get a whiff of the aroma.  I was given the opportunity to arrange the construction of 40 foot trusses for a new storage facility on Saturday morning.  Some of the challenges we encountered were, 1 builders square for the project, 2 hammers, several monsoon rains and various other obstacles.  I must say our "speed crew" consisting primarily of Tyler, Nick, Wade, Steven, Jackson and Travis took it all in stride and we completed the task Wednesday afternoon just as our Honduran leader pointed to the western sky and said, rain coming very fast!  I've never seen a group of young men put so much effort into something they knew absolutely nothing about.  We have some very accomplished "nailers" in our youth group now.  We had full days every day, from 7:00 am devotion on the deck overlooking the valley to the 9:00 pm bible studies.  From labor to bible school to pushing the bus the last few yards to the top of the mountain to attend and participate in Sunday evening church services in a coffee and lumber community were the new flooring material was dirt.  We have learned much and appreciate more.  This is a trip everyone needs to take at least once in a lifetime.

Alan R

A Contemporary Worship Service 
in our Family Life Center

 Followed at 10:00 by Sunday School classes and Bible studies for Children, Youth, and Adults.
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