Day 1 & 2        Feb. 10-11, 2008

Our bus departed Appleton at 11:30 p.m. to Chicago O’Hare. My husband Nick and I were on our way to our Honduran adventure with the Northeast Wisconsin Missions group.  Our 6 a.m. flight from Chicago to Miami was smooth without delay as was our Miami to Tegucigalpa flight. We were met at the airport by a wonderful character, a Texan named Jerome, who was the Honduras Missions director. He helped us exchange our U.S. money to Lempiras, had our luggage loaded onto a bus and then we embarked on our first experience of the beautiful Honduras countryside. We had about an hour and a half of a bus ride from Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, to El Conejo, Comayagua. Although the actual flight time was only about four and half hours, when we arrived at Casa de St. Therese de Lisieux, our new home for the next two weeks, we had been traveling for about 15 hours.

I’ve always been a person who feels like she is “one” with nature and prefers the outdoors rather than the indoors. But being a girl from Wisconsin, I am not used to lizards. Our room was pleasant. Nick and I had our own room which consisted of three bunk beds. There were two bunk beds that ran parallel from each other so Nick and I decided those were the beds we would choose to sleep on. We picked the top since Nick is tall and would have probably hit his head every morning otherwise. While going to bed that evening, Nick asked if I would sleep on the bunk bed that had a wall adjacent to the bathroom because that one seemed wobbly and he thought that it may not hold his weight. As I was setting my bedding up, all of a sudden a gecko dashed up the wall next to me and sat there on the wall. I said, “Nick! There’s a lizard on the wall.” The gecko’s coloring was gray like the cinder block walls and Nick wasn’t wearing his glasses. Nick looked at the wall and said, “Where? I don’t see it.” I kept on pointing it out so Nick put his glasses on. The lizard came into his view and Nick got on my bed and chased it away. But the damage had been done. In my minds eye all I could see was the lizard on the wall. I couldn’t sleep in that bed anymore.

I am proud to say that a few days later I laid down to take a nap and a lizard was on the wall next to the “new” bed I was sleeping in. Nick was on the opposite bed and I said to him. “Nick, there’s a lizard on the wall above my bed.” He said, “Do you want me to chase it away?” I said, “No. It’s fine.” I had gotten used to the lizards. About 10 minutes later I opened my eyes and the lizard had changedpositions so now it was looking down at me. I said to Nick, “OK. Now he’s staring at me while I’m sleeping. I’m not that used to lizards.” Nick proceeded to chase the gecko away. But I was able to stay in that bed the rest of our stay.

Day 3   Feb. 12, 2008

In the morning of our first full day at Mission Honduras, we went to Margarita Cook. As Nick describes it to our local equivalent, it’s the Harbor House of Honduras. It’s a group of duplexes on the same grounds we were living where mothers who were abandoned or abused live with their children. While walking down the path to the mothers’ homes a boy started to run toward us. My husband and I were walking in front of the group of people we were with and I thought that the boy was headed for Jerome, the director of the mission, who has lived there for the past three and a half years. So I moved to the side to let him pass but the next thing I know he had jumped into my husbands arms to give him a big hug. This greeting would be the first of many we would receive from the children at Margarita Cook. The children were adorable and would give away as many hugs as you wanted. We made our way to our first project. The newest mother to the community was getting a fresh coat of paint for her new home.

The day was thrilling. The children were wonderful and would hug us often without hesitation. They especially got a charge out of Nick. They would try to rub off his tattoos and would pull at his earrings.

That evening we played with the children. I met a little girl named Isabelle who befriended me instantly. I would later meet her sister Heymi who would befriend me as well. I jumped rope with the children and tossed the football with Nick and some of the boys. Isabelle and I sat in each other’s quiet company. She’s a very gentle child who seemed to enjoy watching everyone more than participating.

Day 4   Feb. 13, 2005

We painted another house at the mother’s project. She has a beautiful two-room house and a bathroom. One room seemed to be used for sitting and eating while the other room had three beds for her and her four children. We painted the walls blue and it looked great next to the tile and woodwork that was a redish-orange. I could picture myself living in one of the homes set amongst a mountain backdrop.

The children like to try to help us paint. It’s hard to say no to such beautiful, smiley faces. The mother’s youngest daughter, Anna, who’s about 2 years old, got a big splotch of blue paint in her brown curls when she got a hold of a brush and was trying to help us out.

In the evening we went to Guadalupe, the girls’ school. It’s just up the hill from Margarita Cook. We played games like jump rope and soccer. We also made necklaces and drew. The girls are quite exceptional artists. I found out that my friend Isabelle was not a girl from the mothers’ project but a girl staying at Guadalupe. She has been at the school for about a month now. The girls seemed to enjoy the attention and I can imagine why. The children at Mission Honduras boarding schools on average get to go home only once a year and the parents visit them about two or three times a year. There is one house mother for about every eight girl.

Isabelle and I shared a bit together but another girl named Rosa vied for my attention that evening. Rosa enjoyed drawing. I showed her the only drawing I learned from a drawing book – a  flamingo. She drew a flamingo too and then colored it with bright colors. I then drew a cylinder with a drop shadow. An old art class project that I remembered. I gave her my drawing as a present and she wrote me a note.

Day 5   Feb. 14, 2008

We went back to Margarita Cook to finish up a second coat on the mother’s house we started the day before. As we started painting, our little friend Mario started to mimic me. I would say a word and he would repeat it. I had him say, “I am sooooo cute,” because he was very adorable.

That evening we went to the girls’ and boys’ junior and senior high schools. Like Guadalupe most of the children board there but some come from the town across the street named Las Flores. There we met Juan an up and coming artist who has been invited to Canada because of his painting skills. We currently have his and Emilio’s (another artist from the school) paintings for sale in our store.

Day 6 Feb. 15, 2006

The teachers at Guadalupe became aware of our presence and our willingness to paint. The children start another session of school on Monday and there’s nothing like a fresh coat of paint to help learning along. My friend Leeanne and I painted a boarder around the classroom floor in order to give it a finishing touch.

In the afternoon my throat started to hurt. Everyone who was on the trip was wonderful and gave me their home remedies to try. I’m very thankful to everyone and their efforts to make my sore throat go away.

Later on in the afternoon we went to San Antonio de Padua. It’s Mission Honduras’s elementary school for boys. I took photos of the new boys for Betty. Nick played soccer and football with the children. Sometimes he played both at the same time. Kicking a soccer ball to one child and throwing the football to another. The surrounding mountains at this school are breathtaking.

After playing with the children, we walked from the boys’ school to a bus stop. Along the road was an aqueduct system that ran water down from the mountains. Many of the Honduran people who don’t have running water take baths in these systems and wash their cloths

Day 7   Feb. 16, 2008

Unfortunately my sore throat turned into complete sickness. Instead of working or sightseeing that day, I stayed back at the mission in order to try to wean myself back to health. That day the group finished up painting, installing ceiling fans and other maintenance for the classrooms. They also went to La Paz – a town that is just west of the volunteer center where we are staying. You can see the lights of La Paz at the base of the mountain at night. My husband Nick is such a sweet man. Instead of heading out with the group, he stayed behind to help nurse me back to health. I slept most of the day away.

Day 8 Feb. 17, 2008

Still feeling a bit under the weather but not wanting to miss anything else, I went into Comayagua for Mass. We went to Santa Maria where Bishop Norbert Malta said Mass. It was quite an experience and the Mass was lovely.

One thing I had never experienced before was how Bishop Malta gave his homily. During the reading of the Gospel, an alter boy set out a chair. After reading the Gospel, Bishop Malta sat down in the chair, took out a few sheets of paper and proceeded to read from them. Since my Spanish is very limited, I didn’t understand his homily but was told by a Spanish speaking member of the mission group that his homily was about change. I entertained myself by listening to the melodic tone of him speaking Spanish. I was told by a member of the mission who was timing his homily (she says she times all homilies) that his lasted for 26 minutes. Deacon Bob told me that this homily was probably average. That many people come from far away so it’s customary to give a longer homily.

After Mass we had time to shop at the souvenir stores in Comayagua. Nick and I also sat in the court yard outside of Santa Maria and took in the views and people watched. We ate at a restaurant that was attached to the church. There we passed around five different traditional dishes so we would all get a taste of each.

Day 9   Feb. 18, 2008

In the morning some of the people at the mission worked on plumbing, electrical and painting at Margarita Cook and Guadalupe. Still feeling a bit under the weather I stayed behind to rest but felt a little restless so I helped a few of the women put together Bienvenidos (Welcome) cards for the new students at the schools. The cards included a picture of themselves (one of the reasons I was taking pictures of the new students at the boys’ school). Most of the children at the Mission Honduras schools love to have their picture taken. One of their favorite things to do with the American visitors was to pose for a picture and then to have it shown to them on our digital camera screens.

After we were done with the cards, we went up to Guadalupe to pass out presents to the teachers for their classrooms. It was the students’ first day back of a new session. They looked so adorable in their school uniforms.

Day 10 Feb. 19

We went for our longest ride in the Honduran countryside. We took a six hour bus ride to Copan. Our tourist trip of the two weeks we are in Honduras. In Copan there are Mayan ruins. In order to get there, we went through winding mountains that were two lane highways where it is common for drivers to make it into a three to four lane highway often passing around blind corners. It’s odd on how I got used to the driving. I quite often get motion sick in mountainous areas but I had complete faith in our bus driver Hector and didn’t feel ill very often.

We arrived in Copan around 1 p.m. and decided instead of going straight to the ruins to use our first day in the city to shop and check out the cafés. Copan had a very Madison feel to me.

Nick and I were hungry so we decided to get something to eat. We stopped at a café that had a choice of three dishes: a curry dish, quesadillas or a vegetarian platter which consisted of hummus, bread and veggies. Nick decided on the curry dish and I went for the veggie platter. After ordering we realized that we didn’t exactly go for a Latin America specialty which Nick and I usually are good at immersing ourselves when we are in a different culture. So we were glad when one of our friends, Karean, decided to order the quesadillas and gave us a taste. It was allvery tasty. The women who served us was from England.

While in Copan, we met an artisan coop owner from Germany, were told of another coop owner from Canada, a gentleman from the Netherlands, a gentleman from Belgium, Jim a Texan who was owner of a Pizza joint bearing his name and various artisans from Honduras. Copan had a very diverse population and it was interesting getting to know their perspectives of Honduras. That evening I met with the owner of Asociacion Nacional de Artesanos de Honduras (The National Association of Artisans of Honduras).

Day 11             Feb. 20, 2008

We went to see the Mayan ruins. We had a wonderful tour guide that taught us a lot about the Mayans. One factoid is that the upper class had a flat head that they would form at birth and had tubby bellies to show that they were fed well. We also found out that the Mayans buried their city each time there was a new ruler. So there are caves that archeologists dug so as tourists we can go through and see what they’ve excavated of the buried cities. We also found out about a game that the Mayans would play where the winners would have the honor of being the sacrifice. That’s sure to be one game I would lose on purpose.

That afternoon and the early part of the evening we had our six hour ride back to the Mission Honduras volunteer center. In the evening we gathered for the rare treat of witnessing an eclipse of the moon. It was a delight that fit very well to our journey that would be ending in just a few days.

Day 12             Feb. 21, 2008

Hector gave us a ride down the street and then we walked from there to La Villa. It was about a mile walk to this town from where Hector dropped us off. The town seemed magical. In some ways it was the town that my American mind would have dreamed up of Honduras before I came. There was a beautiful church and a gorgeous adoration chapel. Like in Europe, dogs were accepted every where. In fact there were a couple hanging out in the church. I’m a dog person and love to see one of my favorite creatures being allowed anywhere. Amongst the traffic, there were people traveling down the streets on horses. Betty bought us some water-in-a-bag to refresh ourselves and when Hector picked us up, I got to ride in the truck bed. Riding in a truck bed is something you see people doing regularly in Honduras. I hadn’t done it since I was a child since it’s understandably frowned upon here in the states since it is dangerous. But I thought when in Honduras … In the evening we went to Margarita Cook to play with the children for one of the last times since the next day we were scheduled to help clean the volunteer center. We gave the mothers’ a farewell gift of some cleaning supplies and shelving for their homes.

Day 13 Feb. 22, 2008

In the morning, I stayed at the volunteer center and helped clean all of the windows in the back of the rooms our group was staying in. I also packed our bags which was a little more difficult and a bit of a jigsaw puzzle since buying presents and items for the store. Nick was at the school diligently working on getting last minute projects done including some electrical work and putting more fans in classrooms and houses.

My friend Leeanne had wanted to check her e-mail since she hadn’t spoken to her husband or daughter in the two weeks we had been gone so I told her about the internet café I had seen in La Villa. So we set out for the two and a half mile walk to La Villa with our friend Karean who knew the most Spanish in our group. It was the day before we left and we all got an e-mail off to our families telling them that we were having a wonderful time and couldn’t wait to tell them more about our trip. We all took a bus ride back to El Conejo. It was a nice little last adventure.

Day 14 & 15 Feb. 23-24, 2008

We left at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 23 for our flight out of San Pedro Sula a three hour drive from our mission home in Honduras. Hector got us to the airport safely and our pilots got us to Miami and Chicago without delay. Our bus driver from Chicago to Appleton was a very kind man and got us home safely as well. When our bus arrived at about 4 a.m. in Appleton we were all surprised to see the “mountains” of snow that had formed while we were gone.

Our last day at Mission Honduras was difficult for me because a large part of me wanted to stay. I appreciate all of the people I met and the time that I got to spend with them. I thank them for the experience and the acceptance of letting me have a window to a life different from the one I experience in the United States. The lifestyle I lived in Honduras was one of simplicity and that simplicity made me very happy. What I missed the most at home were, of course, my friends, family, hot showers and my own bed. The question is, would I go back again? The answer is, in a heartbeat!

If you would like more information about Mission Honduras, please go to: www.missionhonduras.com

If you would like more information about Northeast Wisconsin Mission trips, feel free to contact Cal Martin at 920-766-5704 or joyce.cal@juno.com

If you would like hear more about my trip with me, feel free to call, e-mail or stop by the store: 920-993-9980, genelle@globallysound.com or Globally Sound – Fair Trade Imports, 326 E Wisconsin Ave, Appleton.