Our Mission Begins

Time until we are in Honduras: 13 hours, 50 minutes

What a gorgeous Send-Off ceremony Seivert put on this afternoon! Everyone who was there had to get some sense of the importance of our mission - bringing clean water to the village of La Florida. Sara sang beautifully. Watching the kindergarten group carry in the cross and the senior and junior students bringing in the rest of those bags and placing them around the cross was quite touching to me. In fact, I was so entranced by what was happening in the moment, that I forgot I was to start the group moving our bags inward to the cross. It was just a super beginning to our mission.

We've have since loaded the bags onto the trailer and ridden the bus to Omaha. We ate supper at the Golden Corral, eating American for the last time until our return to the States.

After returning to the hotel, Seivert had a meeting to go over all the last-minute details of our trip. There are so many things to remember, but we always seem to pull it off. The students have been polite and attentive. I look forward to working with them over the next ten days.

We all have 3 a.m. wake-up calls. That call is going to come very soon. We'll be at the airport by 4 and in the air by 6. (Aaron is watching to make sure I make no errors.) Hopefully, there will be someplace I can blog tomorrow, but if not, a call to Seivert will have to suffice. He will carry on the blog for us.

Please keep all of us in your prayers.

Last Night at Home - for a bit

Time until we are in Honduras: 1 day, 12 hours, 33 minutes, 29 seconds

Holy cow! We'll be on the ground in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, probably gathering our bags in just 37 hours! It seemed like forever until we reached Send-Off Day, and now it's just around the corner. I know I'll have trouble sleeping tonight; I can hardly control my excitement. I also can hardly wait to see the difference this trip will make for you.

Francis has been quite busy during his time in Honduras. With the help of our Honduran friends, he has everything ready for our arrival at our 'home away from home' in Esquias.

Tomorrow I ask that you totally immerse yourself in the beautiful Send-Off ceremony that Seivert has spent weeks preparing. Really listen to what he has to say, tune in and focus on the words of the music selected just for the Send-Off (including our 2010 mission theme song), look at all the photos on the 2009 Student PowerPoint presentation, and pray for everyone involved - both Honduran and American. I have to admit that it will be the best Send-Off ceremony I've ever attended - and I've attended quite a few of them. ALL the missioners will be present but Francis, since he is already in Honduras.

Remember to leave your electronic devices with your parents when we head for the bus after the Send-Off. Our hope is that you will spend the time without those earpieces connected to your head socializing, meditating, and truly seeing the world around you.

I hope you spent a little extra time with your family tonight. Students, thank your parents for allowing you this 'chance of a lifetime' experience. I'll see you at the Send-Off.