Our wednesday report

We are halfway through our trip and have met our goals this far.

Our vbs group had another good day. They had over 90 children again today. They are getting into a rhythm with their helpers and with the kids. We are also considering conducting the program for a nearby orphanage on Sabbath.

We got the roof on both classrooms and half of the siding on one of the rooms. We also got half of the stall walls completed today. Unfortunately, we only got two courses done on the middle section. It is the most difficult block laying because of all of the plumbing. As my luck would have it, the walls weren't plumbed and laid out precisely, so we had to do a lot of cutting. Ray Wolff and I spent most of the day getting just those two done. However, the tough part is over and we should be able to move more quickly tomorrow.

We had all of our team back today after one was sick yesterday. Thank the Lord that we have been injury and sickness free!

Here are a few pictures of our progress.

A rainy third day

We had a great day, albeit rainy. We did get all of the outside block walls up and grouted! It was a lot of work and we stayed late to get it done. The team did a great job and stayed in there! We had about a 30 minute period of heavy rain that stopped our progress. Unfortunately we don't have the roof on yet, so we had to huddle in a tool shed till the heavy rain passed.

The vbs crew had 104 kids today. They had the same rain challenges we did, so they had to adapt and conduct some of the program inside the church. They did a great job and the kids are enjoying themselves immensely.

We have a picture of the completed outer walls. We have a lot of work still to do, but have a great halfway point.

Second work day report

We had a great second day of work and first day of children's ministry. The team had 82 kids for their first day and will surely have a lot more tomorrow. They have great helpers from the church and all of the kids enjoyed themselves.

We made a lot of progress on the jobsite as well. We got all done with the eighth course and halway through the ninth! We also got all of the trusses on one schoolroom and ready to set on the second. We are on schedule at this point.

Our group is meshing well and everyone is getting to know each other better. We have a good group that is willing to pitch in to get the work done.

Here are some pictures of our progress.

End of Monday photos

Here is our progress at then end of day two. We got the trusses set for one of the classrooms and ready on the second.

We also completed all of the eighth course and half of the ninth for the bathrooms. We are making great progress!

Laying down on the job

Gino, Ray and Claudell laying down on the job. Sometimes the jokes just write themselves........

First day successes

We had a great start to our work week. We got four courses of block done on the bathrooms, tied the rebar and poured the concrete. Tomorrow, we will set up the scaffolds and start laying more block.
We got all of the trusses made and the wall structures in place for the classrooms. They made great progess today.

The weather was great today. Not too hot and we had a nice breeze all day. We only had one injury. Roxie Wolff slipped on a block and fell. Nothing major, but she has sore ribs. Her two sons are taking good care of her!

Our childrens ministry team met with the local church members and are organized for tomorrow. The church is very energized and ready to go.

Glenn Pringle arrived safely AND he was able to get Barbaras bag from the airport. A little scary that he could just walk out with it, but she is glad nonetheless.

More to report tomorrow.
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Fast start to the week

We had a great start to our work week. We got four courses of block done on the bathrooms, tied the rebar and poured the concrete. Tomorrow, we will set up the scaffolds and start laying more block.
We got all of the trusses made and the wall structures in place for the classrooms. They made great progess today.

The weather was great today. Not too hot and we had a nice breeze all day. We only had one injury. Roxie Wolff slipped on a block and fell. Nothing major, but she has sore ribs. Her two sons are taking good care of her!

Our childrens ministry team met with the local church members and are organized for tomorrow. The church is very energized and ready to go.

Glenn Pringle arrived safely AND he was able to get Barbaras bag from the airport. A little scary that he could just walk out with it, but she is glad nonetheless.

More to report tomorrow. The pictures are of our progress today.

Sabbath at the school

We arrived at the hotel on Friday at around 4 pm. After we got everyone to their rooms, we all went over to the school and viewed our worksite. It had a nice breeze, so we hope that continues! They already had the steel up for the bathrooms, so we don't need to do that on Sunday. The other two classrooms are right next to it so we are all in the same area. The Maranatha foreman is Edward. We worked with him last year and in Chile, so we know each other well.

After we viewed the site (and Gino and Claudell helped unload sand) we headed to the hotel and had dinner. We had worship and then went through introductions. We have a mix of veterans and first time missionaries. Part of the trip is to get to know each other. Our stories, our faith and our experiences will help build each other in Christ.


We all had a good nights rest. We went to church at the school. We had a great bible study. We were fortunate enough to have one of the teachers translate the sermon for those of us that don't understand spanish!

After church, we ate with the students in the cafeteria. Afterwards, the manager, Henry, gave us an overview of the school, its ministry and future. The school is celebrating 50 years of existence in July. They have 485 students and are overflowing. The work we are part of will allow them to double their capacity and extend their ministry.

The school is very excited to have us there and is willing to help however they can. We have three of their bilingual students that will help with translations for the childrens ministry.

We are at the hotel now and people are relaxing, getting ready for the children's ministry or enjoying the hotel grounds.


The pictures are of our group heading to the job site and of Henry.

Safely in Honduras

Our team arrived safely in San Pedro Sula and we are on our way to Pena Blanca. Everyone got the luggage except for Barb, who didn't get one of her bags. They say they will deliver when it arrives.

The day is beautiful and we are on our way!
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On our way to Honduras

Our groups are all in the airport and ready to go--except one. Glenn will join us on Sunday as he had an emergency he had to take care of.

The rest of us are in Houston and Atlanta airports ready for our mission experience. Old friends meet and new friends are made awaiting for the trip to begin.

Please keep the group in your prayers for safety and for God's leading on this trip. I will do my best to keep updates on the blog.
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Pena Blanca Honduras Mission trip Information

We are about to embark on our next Mission journey.  On February 24th, 28 volunteer missionaries will travel to Pena Blanca, Honduras to help with expanding a school campus and conducting children's ministries in the town.

The school currently is out of space and doesn't have enough room to accommodate all the students who want to learn.  The entire project will double their existing capacity and help kick-start their bi-lingual educational program.

We will be the first of many groups there.  The way that the campus will expand is with a series of what we call One Day Classrooms (ODC for short).  A picture is included.  We will construct 2-3 of these ODS structures during our time.  In addition, we will construct a room that EVERYONE will use.  What is the one room that EVERY child will use every day?.........

That's right, we get to build one of the bathrooms!  Our group will build the block structure that will house the bathroom for one of the groups of ODC structures.  Not glamorous, but will be used every day.

In addition, we have a group that will lead out in a children's ministry outreach in one of the neighborhoods near the school.  This outreach is always very impactful and helps build the community and tell the children about God's love for them.

We will do our best to update this blog on a daily basis, pending internet or cell phone connection availability.  Please keep the group in your prayers as God is leading and working through us.  None of us our professional construction workers, but with God's help, we will accomplish our goal.

Thanks!

Final day of work

We completed our work on the job site, dental/medical and VBS on Friday. We completed all three of the metal school buildings and got the frame up for the fourth. We completed the bathrooms and did some other concrete work.

We completed the work around two and then took pictures with the kids and the Maranatha crew on the jobsite. Some of our group took donations and bought some clothes and shoes for the kids hanging around with us all week. They we so happy because for them it was like christmas and birthday wrapped into one!

Our dental / medical team had a good final day with over 50 patients treated. The dental chair didn't make it though--it will remain here. Not even duct tape could save it.

Our vbs team had over 300 children for their last day! It was an amazing finish. We had four of our volunteers decide to help out with that ministry on Friday and they were definitely needed.

When we returned and had dinner, the principal from the school came and thanked us and presented each of us with a gift of a Honduran flag. It was very special and they stayed to have dinner.

We had a great worship again and completed the week.

Ray and Ely Don were late to the bus this morning, so they had to reenact a skit from the bible. We choose Balaam and his Donkey. Ray got to be the donkey.

We are conducting the church service tomorrow. Our vbs group taught the entire team two songs for us to present, hand motions and all. A great way to end the day!
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Dedication day

We finished the back wall and completed all the block on the school today that we are scheduled to complete! The team did a great job. We will help with a few other items tomorrow and clean up early.

We completed the music room today and had a dedication of the room. We are dedicating it to Rachael's mother and had a nice service.

The vbs group had a great day as well and had over 200 kids. The medical team had an interesting day. Dr dewar has been sick and had to take some time today to feel better. They still saw 70 patients. However during the next to the next to last patient, the dental chair broke! Doc had to finish the surgery on his knees! They taped the chair up and had the last surgery. We will send some duct tape tomorrow to fix it.

Claudell is leading us out in a game of Mafia again tonight.
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Dwindling numbers

We have had a number of folks get sick this week. Today we had two more get sick from the heat in addition to the three at the start of the day. However they are all better and should all be back tomorrow.

Our vbs crew had over 200 children and had a great day. Our medical team is dealing with some sicknesses of their own but had another good day and saw over 70 patients.

The construction crew completed all of the interior walls and one of the school buildings. We are almost done with another building and have the roof on the third. We got 6 courses on the back and are on target to finish by Friday.

We are having a traditional Honduran dance group at the hotel for a little cultural experience tonight.

We had an interesting experience today. The government has decided to privatize the schools and have the cities pay the teachers. All of the mayors were meeting in our hotel today and the teachers decided to strike here! Some of our team had to walk back mid day because the roads were blocked! We had a lot of military around as well. No issues, but interesting nonetheless!
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Tuesday's report

We had a great day today. We finished the front wall and got four courses on the back. The second interior wall has 12 courses and they might finish tomorrow.

We have one of the one day schools completed and the other one will be done tomorrow. We are making good progress on the third.

Our dental and medical team had another good day and saw 60 patients. They are getting more organized as the week goes on.

Our vbs team had 180 kids today! They are still getting their volunteers organized, but are doing well.

We have been having great worships this year in the evening. We have all been very blessed each night.
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Day 3 and a miracle machine

We had a good day for all three teams. We got seven courses on the front wall--leaving us three courses short of finishing. We have to get that done in about an hour to finish the entire building. We made good progress on the interior walls and are close to completing one building. We should complete two of them tomorrow and get all three done this week.

The dental and medical group had a great day. They got a generator which made their work MUCH easier. They did 6 teeth cleanings today and 6 surgeries. They saw 60 patients today and really had good help from the translators. One of the other groups here at the same time had some people helping out which was a blessing.

Our Childrens Ministry team began their program. They had 18 volunteers which was the most we have had and they are mostly youth. They got there and only had 4 participants! So the volunteers went out and rounded up 150 kids and they had a great program!

One of our team members taught a program in the school regarding drug abuse. He had great response and will be speaking all week.

Claudell is leading us in a game of Mafia tonight which is always amusing!
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Day two and a close call

We had a very action packed day at the job site. We got another five courses on the gable end and almost completed one of the interior walls. The metal school buildings are taking shape. We have the roof and half the sheeting on one and have the trusses and walls done on the other two.

David Spencer gave us a thrill today. He was stepping down a wooden ladder and the third step gave way. Luckily his brother Dale was there and caught him in midair. Only a couple of scrapes so he was very lucky. Now we are going to throw everything at Dale because he has proven he can catch everything!

The medical/dental team had their first day as well. They have some challenges with the amperage and the equipment doesn't work very well. We are hoping to get a generator for tomorrow.

The VBS team spent the day organizing and working with their volunteers. They start tomorrow.

We are having a good evening playing uno.
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And a child shall lead them.......

We had a great Sabbath day. We went to the Los Colinas church where the medical and VBS are conducting their work during the week. It is the week of prayer for the youth so the children conducted the entire service. A nine year old girl preached the sermon and did a fantastic job! We were calling her the femaile J-Fiah.

After lunch, the majority of the group went to the beach for an excursion. The rest of us stayed back, took a walk and relaxed.

We had a very nice worship and then played our traditional mission trip game, Uno. A lot of the newcomers had a baptism by fire and lost big!
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Day one in the books

We just returned from the jobsite and had a successful day. It was very hot but there was a nice breeze all day.

We had a slow start which is expected for the first day at a new site and with a lot of first time missionaries. Once the teams got rolling, they made great progress in the afternoon.

We were just short of completing four courses on the end wall. We completed seven courses on the classroom wall. The one day school team got the latest start because we were waiting on the Maranatha crew to complete some items with the other group. They got half done with the framing.

We had a special treat today with a performance by the schools band! They came by in the afternoon and performed two songs for us. It was very much appreciated and the principal expressed her thanks for what the group was doing at the school.

The medical and vbs team spent the day organizing and shopping for supplies.

I have include some pictures from my phone.
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Safely in Honduras--for the most part

Well, we have made it in and are on the bus now. We had a good flight in.

However, one of our team members, Danielle Hinds had an issue with her passport and had to remain in Houston. She has gotten her passport fixed and will fly in tomorrow. Her husband will wait for her in Honduras

We also had three bags left behind because the plane was too full. Those bags will arrive tomorrow as well. So, it may have been providential that she had an issue so that they could stay to get the bags!

Everyone else made it and we are on our four hour ride to the hotel. We have food, water and an air conditioned bus! Everyone will be wishing for the AC once we hit the jobsite tomorrow.
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Honduras Mission Trip Information

It is hard to believe it, but we are about to leave on our annual mission trip this week. This year, we are traveling to Choluteca, Honduras to help build a school complex. The school campus will center around one large 80’ x 144’ school building with offices, ten classrooms and a gymnasium. In additional to the central building, the school will have 30 other free-standing classrooms. We are the last of six volunteer groups that will participate in building the campus.

Our group consists of 47 volunteers. Each person had to pay their own way or receive donors to sponsor their trip. We have a core group from Houston, with additional friends and family from Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Tennessee, North Carolina, Denver and Washington.

When putting together our final trip information, I did some research on the composition of our group. I had always known that once people go on a trip, that the majority of them are hooked and go on future trips. This year’s statistics bear that out. Of our 47 missionaries this year, 30 of them are repeat volunteers with 17 attending their first trip. The breakdown is as follows:

First trip – 17 volunteers
Second trip – 4 volunteers
Third trip – 8 volunteers
Fourth trip – 4 volunteers
Fifth trip – 5 volunteers
Sixth trip - 1 volunteer
Seventh trip – 4 volunteers
Eighth trip – 2 volunteers
Ninth trip – 1 volunteer
Eleventh trip - 1 volunteer

Our group leaves on March 10 and will return to the US on March 21st. God willing, we will complete the block construction on the school and complete three or four of the stand alone school buildings during our stay there.

We will do our best to post on a daily basis. Feel free to leave comments for any group members you wish to communicate with and we will do our best to get the message to them. Please keep the group in your prayers as well.

Our team is listed below.

Barbara Battistone
Bobby Battistone
Joshua Bourgeois
Ron Dethlefs
Ed Dewar
Billy Gager
Nathalia Gager
Nicole George
Esther Gottfried
Eric Griffin
Mayra Griffin
Ryan Hambley
Greg Hatch
Rachael Hatch
Linval Henry
Jean Henry
Sara Hernandez
Andrew Hinds
Danielle Hinds
Richard Kay
Robert Mathador
Geneva McCallum
Ezequiel Perez
Robin Pimentel
Samantha Pimentel
Stephen Pimentel
Twyla Luke
Walter Grant
Gricelda Ramia
Eliel Reeves
Maurice Reid
Lovely Samson-Lagazo
Michael Lagazo
Ely Don Lagazo
Renata Santos
Renee Gonzalez
Ernie Schirra Jr.
Neale Shields
Thelma Slater
Danae Spencer
David Spencer Jr.
Dale Spencer
Jacqueline Tavares
Claudell Wilson
Gino Wolff
Ray Wolff Jr.
Roxie Wolff