Day Five (Wednesday, July 9)

There is something very familiar about this place... like the distant smell of a mother's perfume from childhood. Even though this is the first time I have been to this Olancho district in eastern Honduras, all day today I've felt strangely connected to this place. It feels like I've been here before. On the ride home, I placed the connection. The boys and girls we have seen around us for the past few days were me as a child living in Puerto Rico. I lived there from age 5 to age 10. I saw myself years ago in these children. Brown-skinned, dark-haired, barefoot and running free through the neighborhood. Adventurous. Excited about new things. Tropical foliage everywhere. Warm weather with winds blowing constantly. It was a good feeling.

I also pondered the smell of the land today. One needs to be here to fully appreciate the smells. I mentioned this today to a few others and their first reaction was to laugh. Let's just say that horses and cows leave a special odor of their own on the streets of the village and ranch. It makes me think again about how nasty foot-washing was in Jesus' day. But the smell is more than the smell of manure. Much more, in fact. It smells like an old land. Ancient. It is a pervasive, pungent, dank smell. Like a primeval forest with rich soil, innumerable trees, decaying foliage, and a moist, heavy air. The smell opens a memory of the garden God planted in the beginning of all things.

Today was another day of pouring concrete and VBS, but two powerful experiences were part of the day. The first involved a villager. For several days, we have heard about a woman who is dying in the village. Today our entire team went with the local pastor, Antonio, to her home to pray for her. Her name sounded like Felicity with a Spanish accent. She is in her 20s and has throat cancer. Her large eyes stared up through a gaunt face and seemed truly glad we were there. We sang Amazing Grace. Antonio read from John 3 and reminded her that her suffering was not a test or punishment from God. He reminded her that Christ himself suffered and as we suffer in this life, even in our dying days, we are participating in the life of Christ which makes us fit for heaven. We prayed the Lord's Prayer with the locals. They prayed it in Spanish and we prayed in English. Our unity in Christ was as visible as our broken hearts for this woman and her family.

The second experience involved a project. Later in the day, we went to the top of the village. The view of the mountains from this high point in the valley was spectacular. There, we worked on a water project that has been years in the making. The lack of clean water is a constant health problem for the villagers. What we found at the top of the village was a new 10,000 gallon water tank for the village. The source of the water is a mountain 17 miles away. For years, volunteers from the village have been digging trenches by hand and laying pipe up to the tank. They are half way through the pipeline. We filled in the trenches where pipe had been laid leading up to the water tank. This project is a labor of love that will serve the villagers well and we got to be a part of it.

We travel to and from the village for an hour and fifteen minutes each way. We travel in Toyota Land Cruisers. We need this type of vehicle because of the rugged terrain. There is even one point where we cross a river with water about two feet deep. Mostly, we drive over potholes on the gravel roads. We decided today that if any of us was constipated, had kidney or gall stones, or needed to deliver a baby, one of these twice-a-day trips would take care of business. Yes, we've gotten to the point of such conversations. It didn't take long since we are all living together. Just like family.

The team members range in age from 14 (a girl who reminds me of my daughter, Madison) to 83. Our 83 year-old is amazing. Her name is Shirley. She is one of our translators, went to Haiti on another mission trip in April, keeps up with everyone else on the team and is an inspiration to all of us. So all of you who say you are too old for this, take note!

Enough for now. It takes me 30 minutes to log on to the internet, bring up the web page and send this email. And that is not counting writing this update. I'm off to do that, then take a shower and hit the hay.

Today and always, you are much in my thoughts and prayers.

Buenas noches.