Day Six (Thursday, July 10)

Today was perhaps the hardest day. Today we said goodbye to the villagers. The village of El Quebrachal has 400 people in about 90 families Most of them came out to a party-a fiesta-we held for them. There were speeches by village leaders and our leaders. They sang their national anthem to us and we then tried not to squeak during the high part of our national anthem that we sang back to them. We even had a mini-worship service in which the pastor of the village was supposed to speak and I had an on-the-spot message to deliver. And then it was time for the party.

We exchanged gifts with them. We gave each of the families in the village a first aid kits, gloves and candles. We gave the teacher hygiene kits to give the children. We also gave about eight suitcases full of school books and supplies for the school. I wish you could have been there to see the joy on their faces as they gave gifts to us. Their gifts were a labor of love given out of their scarcity. This is a poor village and it was overwhelming to be given something from them. I was given a clay bowl made by a girl named Yoselin Romero. She is a student at the school. A young girl name Carolina Isabel stitched a beautiful linen cloth with her name on it. It is such a humble and beautiful gift of love.

The party...ahh, the party. We had two pinatas. One for the boys and one for the girls. They were a big hit. You should have seen the bodies diving in as the goodies spilled out. What fun! These were pinata professionals. We also bought 35 watermelons and served them while the music played and the dancing began. Several of us grabbed partners and began to dance with young and old alike. One woman, Greta, from Grace church pulled an elderly man onto the dance area. He must have been a popular man in the village because everybody yelled and laughed with approval. This happened several times, including the time when, upon request, I asked a woman named Norma to dance. Much laughter.

One of the village leaders told us that the annual visit by mission teams is like Christmas and Easter combined for the villagers. Think about that. Think about how much attention and effort and anticipation goes into Christmas and Easter. Our visit meant much to them. The leader said that for many this is the happiest week of their year. Some even take off work for it. Amazing. We feel like we didn't do enough to relieve their lives and yet they feel like our presence and work gives them help, joy, and more importantly, hope.

This afternoon we went to the Olancho's district's main city of San Esteban. They call it the "wild west" of Honduras because it is like the old west of the U.S. In a previous email, I said this place feels like Little House on the Prairie. The wild west of the 1800s is a better metaphor. Today, however, we didn't experience the rugged part of this district; we went to a 7-12th grade school where the award-winning dancers of that school danced for us. Seven pairs of boys and girls danced traditional Honduran dances wearing bright and colorful costumes. I felt like an honored guest in their country getting a command performance. The music was upbeat, the children beamed as they danced and we were all grinning the whole time.

This will be my last update. Tomorrow we leave for the capital city of Tegucigalpa. Then on Saturday we fly home. We will be home Saturday evening and I will be back with you on Sunday morning. You should know that all are well and the most we have dealt with for health issues has been stomach problems, none of which were serious. That is an answer to prayers.

Remember that God loves you and so do I.

Buenas noches.