Well, I got back from eleven days in Honduras yesterday.
There are a lot of things I can say to describe the trip, yet none of them really cover how wonderful and new and touching and overwhelming and ugh just everything that Honduras is.
This trip was completely different than last years trip. Last year we had to leave early and while we were there we could not leave the mountains because of rioting and things like that.
This year we got to go all over--Didasco orphanage, Mololoa to take the kids to play soccer and do a "Princess Day", to the hospital to visit the kids, to a small village in Choluteca, to the famous Jesus statue, to Santa Lucia, and to many other places.
In every single way it was a completely different trip and experience, it doesn't even compare to last year.
The first full day of our trip I joined a group and we were dubbed The Patch Adams Crew. We went to the hospital dressed in clowns noses, leis, oversized glasses, and wigs with one mission: to bring laughter and hope to the people of the hospital.
First, we visited the day treatment cancerward where I held some of the sweetest kids ever. We tried to go to the other cancer ward were the prognosis is pretty much terminal, but they had a really bad off patient and we weren't allowed in.
We visited the broken bones unit, and next we went to the Hydrocephalic (I hope that's right) ward, which is what my photo is of. The babies retain water in their heads. It's a really scary and sad thing. The mothers have uncomfortable chairs to sit on and that's it. They wait day and night with their poor babies.
It was so hard to see the condition of the hospital: the mold along the floor, the lack of airconditioning, and the IV's were primitave. It made me realize how lucky we are to have the health care that we do. We are blessed with the hospitals and doctors and medicines that we have.
One of my very favorite days was a day when we went to a little orphanage named Didasco. Not all of the kids that live there are orpans, some come from abusive homes.
I was in a van with seven people, and the rest of the people were on a bus...which broke down. So, I got there about two hours earlier....but, I got more time with the kids and so I was happy about the fact I got in the van.
Two girls that I met first were Ada and Maria (pictured left). These two sisters immediatly came up to me and grabbed my hands. They showed me their bunks, and told me about their favorite foods and colors and about how they didn't have their dad anymore.
Ada had burn marks all up and down her right arm...I was tempted to ask how she got them but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
These girls are so full of joy and happiness and laughter, even though they have seen so much and been through so much. I had to choke back tears when I hugged them good-bye. What I wpuld give to have them with me everyday. To have them holding my hand everyday and have them chattering away about everything to me everyday.....I saw Jesus in the smiles of these beautiful girls.
Sunday night we went to the Jesus statue.
When you are up that high you can look down and see the lights of Honduras. Someone said that when you look down at Honduras at night you don't really see Honduras because you don't see the poverty and hurt and dirt and sadness.
I want so much for Honduras to constantly be the night Honduras, full of life and light.
I know that the statue is just cement, but I know that the real wonderful Savior has His hand outstretched over Honduras.
I heard a lot of people saying that Honduras is changing, and I don't think that they just mean the politics.
One of my other favorite days was when we all loaded up in a bus and went down to Mololoa. The guys filled up a bus of local boys and took them to go play soccer at a nice field. The women and a few gentle and kind hearted men stayed and had Princess Day.
We washed, combed, and braided hair. We washed feet and painted nails. The cutest part was when we dressed up the little girls in princess costumes and took their photo. Jake Lovell brought a portable printer so we could print off the photos of them. For most of the families, I would guess that it was the only photo they had ever owned.
One little girl that latched onto me was Madolin or Melanie (she told me Melanie and Brandon Madolin....so I never really figured out which was right). She gave me a Zanyband of a shoe. I couldn't believe that she wanted to give it away, so I said no. She told me she had a lot more and held out her little wrist. There were three more. I know that out of the very little she had, that it meant a lot to her to reach out to me and give me something. How could I say no?
I wore it on my wrist for the rest of the week, then passed the little shoe onto someone else.
The second to last night of the trip we went to Santa Lucia. Santa Lucia is the oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere! How cool is that?
I was standing down at the bottom for worship when Justin motioned for me to follow him. So Rebecca, Darci, and I followed him to this doorway that led to a pitch black rock staircase.
Creepy? Yes. I think I yelled up at him, "Are you sure we should be doing this?" Well, we didn't die. We ended up in the loft above. It was amazing. All the singing rose up to us during worship, it was one of the most astounding thing.
There is so much more that I could write about my trip...but I don't have much more time.
So, tomorrow I will write more. I still have to write about Choluteca! That was a really big part of my trip.
Well...I guess hold out for more my friends!
To be continued.....
