July 2011 Mission trip Day Seven:

Friday was our last day working in Delicias Del Norte. We all worked hard to finish our projects. Those of us who were painting the church finished painting the outside lower portion while the boys did the high portion of the walls. Elaine and Marty worked on the lower outside painting. One of the boys told Marty it was too hot for her to paint on the sunny side of the church, so she moved to the other side in the shade. She thought this was being very kind and considerate. Stella took the tape off of the lights along the sides and washed all the globes, Fr. John and Judy painted doors. Small touch ups remain but we are confident the boys will complete our joint task.

I forgot to mention the boys and Irwin replaced the plywood panels on the ceiling above the alter. They didn’t have a scaffold so they took and extension ladder and braced it with a regular ladder so that it looked like a big upside down Y. Then the boys all braced the ladders so that Irwin wouldn’t fall. We all agreed that it was an OSHA nightmare but it worked. The ceiling looks great.

On Thursday, a little girl came and watched us paint, we asked her name she said it was Carolena. We asked her how old she was. She very readily said she was two years old. This child was obviously five or six. We were concerned that she didn’t know her age. Barbara explained to us that many of the kids do not have birth certificates because they were never registered. The mothers are not educated so they cannot count. They truly do not know how old they are. This becomes a larger problem when they are ready to go to school. This little girl was fascinated by Judy’s pink hat. We told her to come back on Friday and she could have the hat. She didn’t come and we were disappointed.

As the boys were painting up high at the back of the church, they noticed a bat sleeping under an eve. Being teenage boys, they were determined to get that bat. They sprayed the bat with something and dislodged it. Irwin finally cornered the bat and got it outside. They laughed and laughed it was a needed distraction from all of the work.

The men finished up their work on the pilas, stoves and latrines. When we passed by the storm damaged house that they were working on, the house walls had been taken down for total reconstruction, but there was a new stove, pila, and nice shiny new latrine. The family was very happy and appreciative.

When we were at lunch, Don Miguel gave us a beautiful letter thanking us for all the work we had done. It was very well written and sounded as if he was writing on behalf of the entire village of Delicias Del Norte. Don Miguel is the village mayor and takes it very seriously. We were all touched.

The women of Delicias Del Norte make tote bags to make money. For some, it is their only source of income. Esperonza, who is Don Miguel’s daughter, made bags for all of the women to take home, this is a great gift and a sacrifice for her to do this. We will never forget her wonderful gift.

When we left, we all felt a sense of accomplishment and a sense of sadness for leaving. As we drove away, the kids all gathered around waving. The kids have been a very important part of our mission. They are what drives these families and seem to have such great faith.

God willing, tomorrow we are off to Copan to visit the Mayan ruins. This will be the last blog for this trip.

God Bless, The Mission Team...