Honduras Recap - Day 3 (Transportation Edition)

I'm beginning to realize that I won't be able to recap each day I was in Honduras in a single post. I took a ton of pictures! So, I will instead have several posts to recap one day....so without further delay - here's some photos from Day 3. We had two main modes of transportation from the complex where we stayed to the site where the church was being built. It was a pretty treacherous route - up and down mountains, over rocky terrain, around numerous curves. It took us about an hour each day (one way) to go roughly 10 miles.

Here's one of the vehicles - it's called a "Rhino" (it's kinda like a glorified golf cart with a LOT of horsepower).

Here's a view from along the road in the Rhino

Our other mode of transportation was a pick-up truck with a railing system installed in the back. This is apparently a very "Honduran" way to travel as we passed several trucks like this along the road (although the ones we passed usually with about 20 more people piled into the back and hanging on the sides, etc...) Whether rain or shine, this was the transportation.....we had many rainy days too....

Honduras Recap - Days 1 & 2

Here's some photos from my first two days in Honduras. The trip was from June 10-18, but could have been much much longer if it was up to me!

On the plane leaving Kentucky

At the Airport after arriving in Honduras

Our ride from the airport to the complex where we stayed

Where else does a Kentuckian eat for the first time in Honduras?

How about Kentucky Fried Chicken?

We stopped at a Fruit Market along the road

Honduras has the best pineapple I've ever had!

The family we stayed with all week (L-R):

Gabriel, Keith, Tanner, Joanna, Reina and Any

Our Entire Group (L-R): Jim, Grant, Myself, Joel, Shannon, Sam, Rick, CJ & Josh

CJ, Shannon and myself shared this bedroom

Three of the girls that live on the complex where we stayed:

Yolanda, Anheleina and Daneila

Felipe - this boy smiled non-stop and would answer "si" (yes) to any and every question you asked him. The first morning we were there, we did a craft with the kids at the complex (these kids are all orphans). We decorated water bottles with paint pens.

Gabriel wanted to do one too. Joanna stripped him down to his diaper so he wouldn't get it on his clothesBut it didn't stop him from getting it ALL over himself!

After spending the morning with the kids that live at the complex, we headed to the site where we would build the church.

This is the view from the site where we built the church.....the fog had drifted in during a morning down-pour.

This is the site for the church...the outline was already complete when we got there

This structure was built to keep the rain off the bags of concrete mix. It also served as a shelter for one of the Honduran men to sleep in at night. He would stay there each night to make sure the building materials were not stolen

The rain finally cleared off it turned out to be a really gorgeous day

We hiked down to visit the homes of two of the men building the church

Jacqueline and Brenda - two girls from El Zapote (where we built the church) who came to see us every day

Not sure what kind of plant this is - but it was really cool and really big!

This is a family that lives right in front of the complex where we stayed. Keith and Joanna are helping them to have a better life

One major thing they are doing is building them a shower/sink/toilet.....right now they do not have one

That's the gist of Days 1 & 2 - June 10 & 11....thanks for recapping my trip with me - more to come!!!

Back in the USA

Thanks to everyone for praying for my trip to Honduras! I loved every minute and honestly was not at all ready to leave when the time came. I am going to rest up this weekend and post some pictures soon from my experience. Happy Friday everybody!!

Please Pray!

Please join me in praying for the village of El Zapote in Honduras. This is the site for the new church "La Iglesia de Vista de Valle" or "Valley View Church."

The Daily Grind

This is where I spend my weekdays - my home away from home. It's a little nicer than a standard cubicle and a little roomier for that matter. Up until about 2 months ago I sat at a different desk with a view to the pond outside. But, then they decided to play musical desks and moved us all around. So, now I have to scoot my chair back about 6 feet to be able to see outside.

Here's one of my cube-mates. Meet "Doppler Dave" - named so because he has constant knowledge of weather-patterns all across the globe. He loves Barry Manilow and the Muppets and keeps watch over the many generations of Ducks and Geese outside our building. Dave loves the chocolate chip cookies I make, so for his birthday I made him special "DAVE" shaped treats.

I also share the space with Ken. He is into sports and listens to ESPN radio most of the day. This picture was taken after he refused to look up from the Sports section. Although it is undiagnosed by anyone but my friend Andrea and I, Ken suffers from a mild form of Restless Leg Syndrome. His constant leg-motion is very subtle - sometimes rattling a piece of paper - but it is slowly driving me out of my mind.

All in all they are pretty good guys though and if nothing else they sure help to make for some interesting days here and there. Besides, everyone has their own quirks - right? I'd hate to see their lists about me! :) Thanks for stopping in on my work week and meeting my cube-mates!

Tiny Hobby House

Okay, this goes into my "dream house file!!"

Click here to see this tiny little hobby house that looks like it would spark creativity every time you step into it.

I would love to have a little house like this that is for nothing else except crafting, sewing, scrapbooking, quilting and creating!! I LOVE it!!! (Maybe this would also satisfy the desire I have for a tiny house that I mentioned in a previous post?) I especially love the different "non-traditional" things she uses for storage such as the wooden doll house to store her fabrics - so cute!!

Post from Weeks Past

So, I've been kinda behind on getting some things blogged, so over the course of the next couple weeks, I hope to go back and write some posts, but I want them to fall in order of when they occurred, so I'll be adding links when I post them so you can go back and look at them. Here's one from a scrapbook retreat I went on: http://castingmycaresonhim.blogspot.com/2009/05/spring-scrapbook-retreat.html

When Pain Brings Strength

We've all heard the phrase "No Pain, No Gain" usually associated with working out - typically meaning, if it doesn't hurt then you're not exercising hard enough to make a difference. Makes sense right? If you're not giving your muscles a good enough work out to have some pain afterwards, then you probably won't see results from your efforts. When we actually use our muscles enough to have pain and soreness after we finish our workout, the result will be stronger muscles. But how can pain bring strength?

Basically when we work out we cause "tiny microscopic tears" in our muscles. "After the workout, the muscle begins to rebuild itself...the rebuilding process creates new muscle that is bigger and stronger than before. In other words, your muscles are growing." (exerted from dailymuscle). The pain we experience is simply our muscle growing!

So, even though we are, in essence, inflicting pain upon ourselves when we work out (or most often felt a day or two after the work out), we know the eventual outcome - we know that we will become stronger as a result of that pain. Our muscles will be bigger - we will be able to lift more. We will feel healthier, better. We will have more energy, more stamina. We will be able to work out longer and harder as our muscles grow. We take on the mindset that we can survive the pain that comes now because of the growth/benefits it produces later and in some cases, we welcome the pain because we look forward to the growth.

Just like pain in our muscles brings strength, even though sometimes it never really feels like it, emotional pain and struggle brings emotional strength. And just like our muscles use pain to produce benefits, so must our Heavenly Father sometimes use pain to produce spiritual benefits. He lovingly allows us to go through things that cause us temporary pain because He knows that later we will have grown from it. We will be strengthened. Just as we survive the pain from using our muscles so that we will be stronger, God let us survive emotional pain because He knows it will help us to be spiritually stronger.

So, the next time you are in emotional pain, stop and ask yourself - could this pain be making me stronger? Is the Lord allowing this in my life so He can grow me? Is He trying to teach me something through this pain? How can I learn something and grow despite the pain I am feeling right now?

My hope is that each time we are handed something in life that does not seem to be what we asked for and does not bring joy, but seems to only bring sorrow, is that we will look past that pain to the future and to what God is trying to do with it. I can guarantee you that nothing is a coincidence when it comes the God...and if you let Him teach you how to find purpose in your pain, He will do it!

Ollie Burger, Extra Sauce Please

I was introduced to a new "delicacy" today....the Ollie Burger....which comes from this tiny little place right in the heart of the Ville - Ollie's Trolley, I have passed by this place on several occasions in my lifetime - seeing it as a Louisville Landmark - but never stopping for a taste. But today - that all changed. One of the partners at work is semi-retiring and we had a little celebration of sorts for him. He loves the Ollie Burgers and so someone made a run for lunch and brought back 25 of them! We walked into rather smelly conference room (think White Castle) and each sat down to a greasy brown paper bag. It's contents - one Ollie Burger, Extra Sauce and one helping of Ollie Fries. The Ollie Burger surprised me with it's goodness. It wasn't the best burger I've ever had, but it definitely secured a spot near the top of the list. The Burger was covered in "Ollie Sauce" (a special sauce that is something similar mayonnaise infused with thousand island dressing) and a piece of melted mozzarella cheese. The Ollie Fries were covered in a special blend of spices that were so yummy I ate two helpings! All-in-all, I would definitely recommend Ollie's Trolley and am glad I finally had the chance to try it! If it sounds so good you can't resist, it's located at 3rd and Kentucky, open weekdays 10:00-4:30.....but make sure to take cash - they don't accept anything else.

Feeling Better

Shoo-Whee!!

I had a pretty ugly match with a stomach bug last week! I feel like I dropped off the map for a few days. But, I'm back and feeling better - even braved Mexican food for lunch today!

I've been trying to blog more, so hopefully this week will bring lots of new posts, especially since I'm feeling back to my old self.