DOMINGO

Sunday, April  20, 2015

Today was our first morning in Honduras, there is a 2 hrs time difference here so I naturally awoke around 5am which is 7am our time.  No need for a morning alarm as the wire mesh window screens carry in the lovely songs of the tropical birds, matched with the beep beeps of a few horns and the brewing buzz of traffic.

We eased into the morning with a walk over to the dining hall and enjoyed hot dark roast coffee, pancakes and sweet cantaloupe.  A yummy and satisfying start to the day.  An hour later we were picked up by Raul and all 14 of us including Erika packed in the service van for a trip to Santa Maria de los Angeles Catedral Episcopal.  Church was lively and at the same time peaceful.  I could understand parts of the service, especially the prayers prior to communion. Claudia, the Director, had asked some of the children to sit with us to help us navigate the service, we had Moises by our side smiling and pointing to the words quite often.  It was wonderful to start interacting with the kids, as the night before was very limited.







 Moises is ten and had earned a spot on the children’s bus for church this morning, followed by a special lunch out at Pollo Campero (a fast-food fried chicken restaurant). 




The children who went to church / lunch were rewarded for good behaviour, and also were child sponsors of St. Luke's church. 

Pollo Campero had a play space and after lunch the kids (and Erika) got a chance to climb around the colourful tiered play area.   The smiles on their faces were precious and you got the sense this outing was special and worth it. 

After lunch we drove back to El Hogar and prepared for playtime with the kids.  Frisbee, soccer(Rick and Tom getting ready with the new soccer balls), colouring and tennis ball basketball (I hung a basket in a tree and we bounced or threw it in).  The game was fun and tricky, similar to a game perhaps at an outdoor carnival – you know the one with the springs under the apple baskets.  Carlos mastered it in about a half an hour, and was getting the ball in the tree basket in no time.  Fun!  While we played Ros and Lynn sorted and divided up the donations of necessities (meds, hygiene items) for the 4 centres- Agriculture school, Technical school, High School, and El Hogar Elementary school.  Great team work by all!  After working up and appetite we enjoyed  cheese tortillas and salsa for supper.  At the end of the night we collected our thoughts, shared some stories and ended our day in prayer, followed by a solid nights sleep.  Amen.

Posted by Carolyn