Welcome to Honduras

Hi All,

Our trip from Houston to Honduras was fairly uneventful. All of our baggage arrived; a rather new experience for me. Sr. Val and Marny met us at the airport and we all headed for Leslie's Place, our bed and breakfast.

It is a little toasty here, but not too bad. It is definitely cooler than when our team was here at Easter time for the water project. AND, we are staying in comfort for the first three days as our room has air conditioning!

Our first project was to visit the Sisters of Charity and their orphanage (as well as a place for sick elderly people and pregnant teens). We toured the facility, visited with Marta, who supports the orphanage, discussed our continued support through our food packing programs and plumpy nut, and played with the children for a bit. We then took an eye-opening ride to a place called "the hole." I have been many places in Honduras, but this place was still something new for me. There is a school that is run pretty much by volunteers from both Honduras and Spain. They run a before and after school program. The teachers there give them more instructions and they are fed a small mid-morning or afternoon snack as well as a lunch at noon. The children who attend morning public school come to this school in the afternoon. Those who attend afternoon public school come in the mornings. It keeps these children from roaming the streets and gives them a better overall education. I am glad we had the chance to see it.

After returning to our hotel, we prepared for Mass. This was a Mass for the little 4 and a half-year-old Illich, who died on June 10. The family was in attendance and many friends, as well. We gave them a DVD of photos of Illich and a Shutterfly book full of pictures of him. We hope they will treasure these keepsakes. Seivert gave a nice speech to let them know how special Illich was to all of us. He will never be forgotten. And his Aunt Marny also expressed how Illich will live on through the Illich Foundation, which will help many other young children with special medical or other needs.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Burger King and ate like Americans. PLUS, Linda had a chance to get her ice cream fix. With the travelling both in the air and on the busy, crowded, bumpy streets of Tegucigalpa, we are all ready for a good night's rest. Our saga continues tomorrow.

Hasta mañana!
Carolyn