Hola friends and family,

Thurs.  This is our last day to work on the park and everybody was feeling the pressure to get everything done.  We hung the gates, the last fence replacements and also had to get them all painted.  We were blessed that several members of the community came and helped us to finish up.  After our devotional time, several ladies of the team and the church had a clothing sale from the donations, which went very well.  After dinner, Pastor Luis had a prayer service under the "BIG tree" with a band (so much like Blackhawk).  We had so many people from the village, it was standing room only.  And we experienced a little rain and we moved to the patio of the pastors house.  Most everyone attending  stayed until the church service was completed.  After the rain stopped the band played for quite a while.

Fri.  5:30am Anne took 10 team members to the top of the mountain overlooking Orica.  It was a 2 hr hike for them up a very steep incline, but the view was spectacular (pictures to come).  We then had to say our good-byes to the Pastor and his family, the cooks, several children that had been hanging around with us all week, and many members of the church.  We were all so sad to leave them as we prepared to head back to Tegucigalpa.  11am We made a stop at AFE (Amor, Fe, Esperanza (Faith, Hope, Love)), a non-profit org. that helps improve the lives of the families that live in and near the dump in Tegucigalpa.  They provide housing, health care and education for the families.  5pm We arrived at Barb and Barry Hess' to drop our bags and head to the Vega's for delicious pupusas'.  Luis' wife, Etelia and her mother spent a lot of time preparing this homemade meal for us.  We were enjoying the company so much we got in pretty late. 

Sat.  Because we were going to miss Easter services, we had our last devotional with communion and prayer time, followed by the "washing of the feet," which was very powerful for our team.  For our last day in Honduras, we spent the day in Siguatapeque at the plaza, did some shopping and sightseeing at the botanical gardens.  We ended the day with a meal at Freddie's with Pastor Santana and his family, many of the translators, and friends so we could say our good-bye's.

We head out early tomorrow morning for San Pedro Sula airport.  Hasta Luego.

Hola Families and Friends!

We are still experiencing internet problems but here is an update on what has been happening the last few days.
Sunday- During our morning church service we broke up into four Life Groups which included both members of our group and the Honduran members of the church. Both Hondurans and group members shared our experiences and it was a very rewarding experience. We are very blessed to have had the opportunity to share our experiences with them. The evening service was performed by the members of our group where two members of our team gave their testimonies. Our brother Barry gave the sermon which touch all of our hearts.

Monday-  We got up bright and early and began our work projects. We split into three groups- the welding team, the park clean up crew and the Vacation Bible School team.  The welding team worked on the steel gates and  fencing. Some members of the team had never welding before and learned very quickly the art of welding, including Pastor Luis of Alfa y Omega! The  park clean up crew worked on cleaning up the park, pouring concrete and preparing the fencing for painting.  Children from the neighborhood attended the Vacation Bible School. We had more than 20 children the first day! We taught them a Bible verse, sang songs, played a game and then they colored a picture to take home with them. It was a very successful first day!!

Tuesday-  We woke up early to another beautiful day! After another delicious breakfast we continued with our projects with some rotation of members to each team so we could experience different  tasks. The welding team had a little bit of difficulty with power outages but managed to accomplish the tasks they need to for the day. The clean up crew did a great job laying brick and preparing the fencing for painting and sifting sand for the sandy area.  The VBS team had another great day with more than 30 children attending. They learned a Bible verse, sang songs and made a cross out of popsicle sticks and yarn. Pastor Santana joined us for our evening devotional. Pastor Santana was the pastor in Orica when Blackhawk first built a relationship with Alfa y Omega ten years ago. He shared with us what he has been doing and how God has been with  him in his journey and protected him and his family.

Wednesday- Rise and Shine to another beautiful day!! We continue with our projects again today. The park is progressing beautifully!! The members of the church and the children have been joining us and helping with the projects. It has been a blessing to have them share in the project and share their stories with us. Each day we have a devotional that includes the Hondurans. Sharing our faith with each other we are all realizing that even though we live so far apart we are all the same. We still have a lot of work to do the rest of the week. Tomorrow we will be having a clothes sale to sell  the 14 suitcases of clothing we brought. We have to finish welding the gates and fences so we can keep the burros out of the park.

We will not be able to blog from Orica anymore as we will be leaving Orica on Friday. We will be going to Tegucigalpa and then to San Pedro Sula. We will spend a day with Brother Barry and Sister Barbara who attended Blackhawk.

The Internet has been too slow to upload pictures but you may click on the picture tab in case we are able to. We will try to blog again but if not, we will see you when we get home on Sunday. Please pray for our safe travels.

Llegamos!!!!

We are having a such great time that we forgot about you !!! Just Kidding!!! Internet is not available but we Thanks the Mayor of Orica for letting us use his office to connect with you.


Friday:

We arrived in Tegucigalpa around noon, grabbed lunch, and then headed to Orica via van and trucks piled with our luggage. We were warmly welcomed by the church community and enjoyed a traditional Honduras meal of Nacatamales. !Deliciosos! It had been a long day of travel, so after dinner we settled in for a good nights sleep.


Saturday:

We woke up to a great breakfast and a beautiful 80 degree day! we then took a walking tour of Orica which included the town square, health center, the playground that Blackhawk has constructed (and which we are hoping to complete this trip) , and the elementary and middle schools.
After our tour we were blessed with another delicious homemade meal prepared by women of the church. next came a meaningful time of devotions shared with some of our new Honduras friends.
Now we are working on preparing crafts for the upcoming week of  VBS, fixing and improving bunks beds, and bonding with new team members who just arrived from Siguatepeque.

Thank you for your prayers for our safe arrival and adjustment to new surroundings and culture. Please continue to pray that our hearts would be open to Gods calling and that we would be able to partner with the Honduras to pursue opportunities that God has presented to them. He is at work here and we are excited to be part of it!



Sunday and Monday:

There are so much to tell you about how God is working in our lives and the lives of  our Honduras brothers and sisters in Christ. Unfortunately the Internet is too slow and limited so we wont be able to post pictures and probably wont be able to post anything for the next couple days but we want you to know that everybody is doing great, we are working hard in our projects, and we are having a blast.
We hope to connect soon.




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WELCOME TO OUR BLOG!!! THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ OUR STORY.  AS OUR MISSION IS TO HELP OTHERS WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SHARE OUR EXPERIENCES WITH YOU!  THANK YOU FOR VISITING AND PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO POST, GIVE FEEDBACK OR ASK ANY QUESTIONS!!!

Hola everyone,

We are excited for our upcoming trip to Orica, Honduras. For most of us this story began from the announcements at church and after praying and asking God for the privilege to go, here we are counting the days. We’ve been preparing for this trip for the last three months, doing activities such as individual fundraising and team meetings at least twice a month. In one of our meeting we visited a Hispanic church in Sun Prairie called Nueva Vida, which was an excellent experience and a great opportunity to interact with the Hispanic culture here in Madison.

 Another interesting activity we did as a group was to read two great books that we recommend.

When Helping Hurts is a book that provides foundational concepts and clear principles for helping the poor without hurting them.

Enrique’s Journey  this book is the astonishing true story of an unforgettable odyssey of a Honduran boy who braves unimaginable hardship and peril to reach his mother in the United States.

We have one more team meeting left (a packing party) and then we leave Mar 30^TH. The Internet access in Honduras is limited but we will try to keep you post it. Please continue praying for us, to be useful, build strong relationships, complete our projects, grow in our walk with Christ and to stay safe and healthy. We are coming back April-8 but please join us for our Show and Tell Sunday, April 15. 9:30 to 10:15am at the Fireside Room (201) Blackhawk Church, Brader way.

Thank you and May God bless you.

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