Day 12 – August 6
Departure day from La Casa del Camino. During Gwen’s morning study the Holy Spirit moved her to write personalized notes of blessing to each of the boys. She wrote notes to the older boys first since she would see them before they left for school. She was able to give to each of six boys their note and, with some help, explain what it was. Lisa agreed to help them if they had trouble reading them. After breakfast and the boys’ morning chores, we took a picture with the older boys, and they headed off to a day at school.
Adults with nothing much to do revert to playing games – Skyjo specifically. After numerous hands, Gwen was again the victor. Mike is super competitive and likes to win, so this did not sit well.
We finished packing, had a bit of a break and Gwen went and wrote 4 more bits to the younger boys, loaded the truck, and Mike and Lisa took us to lunch at the only place in town with AC and a reasonable bathroom. Food was good. Then we headed over to the airfield to wait for our plane. 1:00 came and went and no plane. After waiting half an hour longer, we went to check on the status of the plane. Found out it was now expected at 4:20. So… we headed back to Mike and Lisa’s to wait for the plane in a more comfortable place… and play more games. The afternoon round of games ended with Gwen again being the resounding winner. Mike conceded that she was a gracious winner and that he was eating humble pie. (You have to keep in mind that the house rules at La Casa are different from how Kurt and Gwen were taught to play so the game is even more random, so it was not so much skill – limited skill – but more God’s providence and maybe a teaching opportunity in His part?)
We headed back to the airport at 4:00 and the plane finally arrived at 4:30. We said our goodbyes and crawled into the plane. Gwen discovered how they call this a 5-passenger plane. They load three people in the back seat meant for two people. And typical Honduran style – no seat belts. Gwen ended up in the middle, on the hump, sandwiched between two smaller people. Our flight had a stop mid way back and the man to Gwen’s right disembarked from the plane. The runway, if you want to call it that, was a narrow dirt/sand strip long enough to land a plane on. The “airport” at Brus Lagoon was a tin roofed, covered open area with two military men and a woman waiting to receive her husband and his luggage. There was brush and small trees all around the airstrip and the “airport building.”
After dropping off our passenger, we headed out for La Ceiba and arrived at 6:30. Waited briefly for our ride and headed to the hotel for dinner, a shower, and bed. So nice to have air conditioning.
Lisa had a chance to translate a few of the notes for three boys. Here is her comment: “Hi Gwen – I have read Sorianos’ letter to him, Cristian’s and Yoger’s. Thank you for taking the time to say the encouraging and beautiful words you said to each. We got interrupted when Pastor just arrived for the night, but the boys just beamed with those letters – holding them in their hands and staring at them long after I finished translating. So touching. thank you 💗”
It is good to follow the Spirit’s leading.
Keep praying for these boys! The 6 older boys have all made faith commitments – now they need God’s help to grow and remain faithful. I don’t know the status of the 4 younger boys. They have many good examples. Pray they make faith commitments as well.
Day 13 – August 7
Did we say how nice it is to have air conditioning? Gwen and Kurt both have ankles again. (The heat and the salt in all the food caused our ankles to swell up. Lisa said it is called cankles.) Anyway, we had reasonably good sleep and a nice breakfast. We had time to relax and catch up on the blog. We had a nice lunch and then the power went off (the city turns off the power in the middle of the day). Kurt asked the hostess if this happens alot and she said they turn it off every day. There is always some excuse – fixing something, or a transformer blew, or… it is just the way it is. (Reminded Gwen of China 30 years ago in the rural area where she was working – they said they were redirecting power for some other purpose.) We take things like power for granted in the USA. Not so in many other places in the world. No power means no fans and no air-conditioning. Kurt decided we should go to the airport earlier than planned. Sure enough… air-conditioning! So we are waiting in another airport. It is just part of the process. Today, we fly to Roatan for a few days of R-and-R before heading back to the hustle and bustle of our “normal” life. We are looking forward to the time when our “normal” can be more consistently focused on things that share God’s love and good news. We are thankful to have had a chance to come and help out in a small way and to be an encouragement to Mike and Lisa and to be a blessing to the boys, and the young family, and the church, and the larger community. It has been a good trip. Kurt wants to bring more people next time so others can see and catch the vision. Pray that larger flights are re-established so larger groups can come.