Viva Picacho……Viva St. Thomas More!!!

That’s our theme for the day.  We had a joyful day filled with tears, hugs, kisses and gratitude as we said good bye.  As you’ll read below, it was very powerful.  Tears were shed by both the Hondurans and our team.  They truly did not want us to leave, which made it more difficult.  The immense sadness we felt was a sign of the wonderful relationships that were built.  You could have heard a pin drop on the bus as we drove away from the village. 

On the way home Frank informed us that there was a bridge out so we had to take a detour.  Our spirits were uplifted when we discovered it was really a surprise party thrown for us by what would be the equivalent of our governor.  We were treated to a fantastic lunch and a touching thank you speech. Gifts of t-shirts were presented to each of us as they called us up by name.  Once again we were brought to tears.  We are very humbled by their outpouring of gratefulness for the little we felt we have done. As we have been saying all week, they do so much with so little.  Yet this in no way keeps them from being joyful.  We were able to share our love, and received theirs in return.  Bishop Gruss told us at our send off prayer service this would happen.  He was right.

It’s been a long emotional day and we look forward to sharing our experiences with you when we return.

A Honduran adios for the last time in 2012……..  Good Night from Honduras.

Our love to all,

Karrie, Barb & Mary

Hey!  This is Dani.  Today was a very rollercoaster emotional day for almost all of us.  Today was our last working day in Picacho, and after Mass in the school house, we brought out all of our stuff to give to them.  They absolutely LOVED IT, and there was some pushing and grabbing involved, but it was so awesome to see how excited and grateful they all were.  Then, it was time to say “Adios.”  There were kids from the village starting to cry, and I felt the tears coming.  What made the water works start was when an elderly lady from the village grabbed me; I bent down to hug her, and she started kissing my cheeks saying some Spanish with tears in her eyes.  Later, I found out that she was saying, “Thank you for everything you have done; God bless you forever.”  I hugged the kids so tight while bawling my eyes out.  I didn’t know how to say, “I love you forever” in Spanish so I signed it to a girl, and she said “Si, Si” and gave me another long hug.  I’ve never been so overwhelmed with happy emotions for the memories, good times, and everything we have shared with Picacho, but I couldn’t bear to think that I could never see these people and kids again.  I couldn’t bear to think about their lack of opportunities and how much potential they all have.  I wanted to take them with me so badly it kills me just to walk away.  I know we did what we could to help, but this was the most difficult, yet rewarding day.  Tomorrow we are flying to the USA…hip-hip-HORAY! (Yes, that was intentionally rhymedJ)  I’m sad to leave the people, amazing food, and incredible landscapes, but I CANNOT WAIT to see everyone again!  Two more days!!! Lots of love—Danielle

Mark here…Theresa, how did it go for your mom today? Hope all is well – really been a great trip. All our love. See you Thursday = we’ll call when we get to Miami.

Hola for the last time from Honduras!! Today was a rough day. We woke up and went to work again, but only for 2 hours. We worked, and then went to Mass and then gave our stuff away. Saying goodbye to the kids today was one of the hardest things that I have done. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. The one family in particular that made a good amount of my pictures was the hardest to say goodbye to. The two older girls, Sarah and Hannah were crying, which caused me to start crying. The two little boys whom I got closest to were the hardest to say goodbye to, Joel who is 3 and Emerson who is 5. I gave them both hugs and put them down and told them that I had to go back to my house in the U.S., which I think that is when they understood that we weren’t coming back to work anymore. After I told them that, Joel started crying, which is the first time I had ever seen him cry, which made me cry harder. Emerson followed as he started to see Joel crying. I have pictures with them both so don’t worry! They became my children for the week. When we left, our bus had a flat tire so we stopped in a village for lunch while it went and got fixed. The place we stopped at ended up being a tourist restaurant/karaoke/pool place. They had really good avocados. We then made it back to Esquias and looked at the church there! We went and played at the park for a while. There is this boy there named Dennis who is probably like 8 or 9 who was the bully of Esquias we decided. He would steal everyone’s things and run away, making us chase after him. He drove all of us crazy, so he got the name “Dennis the Menace”. Now we are just trying to survive the heat here and we are waiting for dinner! We have an early morning tomorrow! See you guys Thursday!! Love You!! –Jordan M.

 PS. I did give Sarah a shout out on her First Communion, it was just attached to Bez’s blog post because I didn’t get a chance to blog that day!! That’s all!! See you soon!

Good Evening Everybody,

A boy who cries becomes a man; a man who cries has a heart. Today I tried not to cry when saying good bye to all of my new friends. When my friend Philippe said good bye tears were impossible to hold back. He said good bye my brother in English. Tears flowed because I know I will probably never see him again and I did so little and yet had such an impact on this boy’s life that he would call me brother. These tears of sadness kept coming as more and more kids ran up to me and gave me hugs and said good bye, calling me “Loco” because that was my nickname from the first night. Soon after words my tears turned into those of Joy. I will be home in 2 days, and able to see all of you that I love so much. As I sit here writing this the tears continue to flood my eyes, but that’s ok because I was once a boy crying and this trip changed me into a man with a heart.

God Bless, see you Soon!

Dominic

Witt and Chris here. Can’t wait to see the family and friends when we come home. Be back real soon to tell you all about the trip.

-Witt Dobesh

Last Hola to everyone back home! Tomorrow we will be leaving, and soon we will see you guys for the first time in 10 days! Super excited even though my heart breaks when I think about all of the new friends we have made here. One thing that I cannot express enough is the fact of how close our group has grown together. We seriously have become one family, and are bound in a way that can only be expressed through service and sacrifice. Love you all, and for the last time in Honduras, Buenos Noches! –Catherine Gibbens

Jay speaking. Pretty emotional day today, had to say goodbye to all the kids I made a relationship with. But that means im just a day away from seeing you all! Just a couple plane rides away. Im so anxious to get there because despite the amazing experience ive had on this trip I still want to get home more than anything. Love you dad mom Kelly kaci and kaylee and ill see on Thursday. Oh and by the way I just finished the hunger games and I need to go the movie Friday night if any of u want to come! See u soon.

-Jay Cooper

Hey guys.. Jake here. I’d have to describe today with one word: emotional. I can’t even begin to explain how tough it was to say goodbye to all the kids I’ve made relationships with over this past week. It was so hard trying to explain to them that I was leaving and wouldn’t return. Especially when some of the kids touched the left side of their chests saying “you will always be in my heart and I will never forget you.” It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Also, I’ve become extremely close to these 2 brothers that live by our compound, Felipe and Josue(jo-sway). Today as it was getting dark I was out with them and I wrote them a little note and they wrote me one. As I was leaving and told them adios amigos and that I’d never forget them, they took my hand and said “brothers forever.” All I could do was hug them and walk away. I now know why our theme is “won’t let go.” I can’t and I will never let go of the memories I had while in Honduras. I am so grateful I got this opportunity. Thanks to everyone who helped me and to my family. I love you all, and I’ll see you soon.

Much love – Jake Sully

Today was our last day in Honduras. It began with two hours of hard work in Piccacho and a very emotional goodbye.  We have built up so many friendships with the people here that for most of us it is hard to leave, especially, with the project not fully completed.  For most of us we left the village in tears with the realization that we will most likely never see or talk with these people again, but they will forever remain in our hearts.  Words cannot describe this experience, and it was a wonderful end to such an amazing trip.  In the words of Mr. Dobesh, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”  Yes, it may be some very cheesey advice, but that was enough to remind us all what we came here for, and that we left with so much more.  See you all soon! Muchos Amor!

--Katie Kusser

When the team was preparing for this trip, I was beyond excited. However, when people would ask me how I felt the only true answer was surreal. It was beyond my comprehension that I would be away from my family, in a different country, speaking a different language, and building relationships anyway. But that is exactly what happened. We all experienced the initial difficulty, awkwardness, and frustration because we couldn’t speak to the people of Honduras, but as the days went on, we learned to communicate in different ways. We played and learned new games with the children, and we knew enough Spanish to ask the people we were working with how they were. A simple question that conveyed much more than the outer lying meaning. Today was filled with joy because we were able to give gifts to the needy, strong, enduring, and proud people of Picacho. It was touching to see grown men looking for small shoes or little clothes for their families. We all got teary-eyed when Emerson and Joel, two little boys that we had gotten very close to in Picacho, began crying when we said good-bye. Now, as we prepare for our journey back to what had once seemed familiar and necessary to everyday life, I find that THIS journey feels surreal as well. I probably won’t be fully adjusted to the comforts and regular tasks and hours of home for at least a few days. Everyone on this journey brought something different and unique, which made this trip a once in a lifetime journey. I feel sad saying good-by to the people of Honduras and the friends we have made here, and I feel anticipation to be home and see my family and friends again! Most of all, I feel blessed that I was able to show the Honduran people God’s love through my work and see it through them because of their joy, gratitude, and familial love. Our mission trip theme has been extremely fitting because no one on this journey will ever let go of our experience here.

--- Sincerely, Jordan S.

Hey its rylee! Just wanted to say hi. Cannot wait to see everyone in two days! I can’t believe the time has flown by so quickly! Like almost everyone said above, today was a very emotional day. It is so sad to know today was our last day. We said goodbye to everyone we worked with and the friends we have made. I am so excited to tell you all about this amazing experience when I get home! Words cannot decide how amazing this trip has been. The love of all the Hondurans will stay in my heart forever. This trip will never fade in my heart or memory I love everyone here! Miss you all and love you! Can’t wait to see you! Goodnight!

---Rylee

Elizabeth here! I love reading these blogs, and I can’t wait to see everyone! Today’s goodbyes were hard.  I tried to stay strong, but I broke down once I saw Ingrid Johanna trying to hide her crying.  It made me realize they were sad we were leaving, and they trusted and loved us for us, not just another mission group.  I won’t forget the bonds, and I will treasure our pictures we have taken forever.  I think the hardest thing about this trip is going to be trying to tell people about it… I’ll start thinking now! I miss you all and love you and see you soon!

Love Elizabeth