Last post while in Honduras

There is only a few minutes before we need to head out to our last work sight.  We have a had SO much rain each day while in Seguat, but it has not stopped our work.  Just come back to camp very wet and frequently muddy--especially yesterday when some of us were working to clear grass from a terrace area in the biligual school.  Torrential rains fell as we dug and hoed, creating lots of mud puddles, lots of mud, lots of splashing mud as we worked, lots of tired workers, lots of flying mud.....you get the picture :  ) 
Speaking of  pictures, we have mucho, mucho but not the capacity with the current computer to upload  any so sadly, they will have to wait till we  return.
One of our teammates had to leave yesterday for a family commitment but the rest of us 16 are all doing well, already missing Orica and our Honduran friends.  Here in Siguat, we have been serving organizations that serve the Hondurans so we have not been able to work along side our friends as in Orica.  But we are all looking forward to getting home and seeing you guys!
See you back home....

Written by Peter Rodgers.

As you may know from previous posts, we are now staying at a camp in Siguatapeque that is very different from where we stayed in Orica.  Even though this camp has amazing facilities and God has blessed this camp with lots of resources, there are many things I miss about Orica.

The thing I probably miss most about Orica are the kids and just hanging out with them pretty much all the time.  Here is a little story about them.  On the first day of our work on the playground, there was a large gathering of families and children there to watch us work, and in some cases, help us work.  The kids were rewarded with a meal if they chose to help us work, so many of them were eager to help.  It was a great expereience to be working alongside the kids, whom this playground is for, and practice the little Spanish I know with them.  Soon, the kids decided to give me a nickname.  I told them my name was Pedro, and after working with them for a while, they started calling me Pedro es Camoso.  I wasn't quite sure what this ment, but the kids seemed to get a kick out of it, so I was just fine with it.  The next day, this nickname persisted and even more kids were calling me by this new name and soon enough, even my group members from Madison were calling me this.  Later, I found out through one of the translators that this is a name of a famous Latin American soap opera star who dances and is quite good with the ladies.  I thought it was hilarious.  I was told it was a connection obviously because of my name, but because of the hat I wear that resembles a cowboy hat.  All of the team members now want to google this guy when we get home to see what this guy actually looks like.

The kids of Orica made a great impact on me.  They live in such poverty, some not knowing if they are going to eat that day or not, most barely wash at all.  Yet, the kids are joyful and love us so much.  I know now that they are the reason I went to Orica, to serve them, and I hope this playground we helped to complete is enjoyed by them and generations to come.  They deserve it.

Goodbye Orica, Hello Siguatepeque!

Today is the final day we spent in Orica. We had our last breakfast at 7am and headed back down to the park at 8am to finish painting the last few fences and distributing as much sand as possible at the base of the playground so that it was at least safe for the kids until we can come back. We were able to get what we needed by 10am and headed back to the house to load up the bus and say our goodbyes to our great friends here in Orica.

As we loaded up the schoolbus with all of our luggage, we made our rounds with the people who came to say goodbye to us. Its hard to believe that we were able to build such strong relationships with these people in such a short time when most of us don't even speak the same language as eachother. These people have really have touched my heart and I cannot wait to return to this place next year. We got on the bus and headed out of town to head to Siguatepeque. It was hard to see some of those faces, especially those of the children, as we left until we see them again next year.

We got on the road and reached Siguatepeque approximately 6 hours later after a short lunch in Tegucigualpa. Definitely a much more developed city than Orica. From what we are told, the approximate population here is 80,000 opposed to the 6-8,000 in Orica. The roads are paved rather than dirt and there are street lights and consistent traffic with stop lights. Things we havent seen for a while.

We arrived at the camp that we are staying at. It's amazing! Definitely not a place I expected to find in Honduras. Were set up on top of a hill that overlooks the city of Siguatepeque. There are multiple showers, you can flush toilet paper down the toilet, and you can even brush your teeth with the faucet water! We can all tell you the details and show you pictures when we return, but for now I will just let you know that the difference is night and day but I wouldnt change a thing about our time in Orica

Samanta's View

          Hola desde Orica! This is our last day in Orica and I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say how sad I am that we are leaving tomorrow morning. I wasn't sure how I would assimilate to a foreign city since this is my first time traveling abroad, but the people of Orica have been so gracious and welcoming that it's going to be very hard to say goodbye. I have loved all of my experiences here and witnessing a new culture has been extremely eye-opening. It amazes me how the people, especially the children of Honduras overcome obstacles. They are so resourceful, everything can be used in some new way. Observing how the kids adapt to the changes in their lives is simply amazing. Some of the kids have told me their stories of adversity, and how they take care of their younger siblings because a parent had died or was killed and yet they still run around the park with a smile on their face.
          Before coming on this trip I had taken a several years of Spanish classes so I was excited to practice the language, and being surrounded by Spanish speakers has improved my understanding of the language greatly. Being able to hold a conversation with a local has been one of the most gratifiying experiences for me here. I am now contemplating taking Spanish as a second major along with Landscape Architecture. This trip, for me, has been life changing. I hope to come back next year and return to all of the smiling faces.

From the Studio of Kathy & Sarah

After several days of life in Orica, we've noticed that we really need nothing more than what is in our suitcases. Six shirts and laundry in the river--that's really sufficient.

People here are so very resourceful, and it seems they have more opportunities to enjoy spending time with each other. We love how Oricans sit on the patio, converse, and enjoy simple pleasures. It seems that when one is less preoccupied with his or her possesions they have more time to be aware of their surroundings. They know their community, and seem to acknowledge being a part of something larger than their immediate circumstances. It's appealing.

More thoughts to come...

Shanice´s POV

Hola from Orica, Honduras. I still can't believe I'm here! This place is beatutiful with lots of different types of vegetation just lying in the backyard. The church, Alpha y Omega has been nothing short of amazing! Like Palul, I'm experiencing the grace of God through a people who may not have much, but they give us everything they have. It's been an amazing experience.
The playground is going amazing. The last parts arrived on yesterday after being in route for 2 years. WOW! God is good! But we've extended our stay in Orica in order to finish the playground. The children are loving it. It's been amazing to be a part of what God is doing in this place. We've been here for five days, and it's going to be hard for me to leave.

Dave´s Post

First of all, I am having an awesome time here.  The food is incredible, the people are wonderful, and the work is greatly fulfilling.  It will all be missed.  I don´t really know what to write about so I will describe an image that has been engrained in my mind.  Two days ago, while walking to the house, I saw a little boy going to school.  He was wearing his school uniform and was carrying is backpack.  He also was carrying a machette.  To me, this boy perfectly illustrates the challenge of imposing well meaning, but foriegn concepts (universal primary schooling) onto a developing country.  This strange juxtoposition shows why reaching the UN Development Goals (one of which is universal primary education) is so difficult. 

Curt is now honorary mayor of Orica!

We are all currently at the municipal building for a reception put on by the mayor.  And Curt now holds the keys to the town of Orica!  As we are enjoying delicious Honduran tacos, I hope to get more teammates to post.  We got a huge chunk of the play structure up and many more sections of the fence!  All is well here :  )

We have power again!!!!

Yesterday we finally got on the blog after nearly 30 minutes of navigating with the internet here to add a post and we lost power, until now :  )
Shortly after we lost power yesterday a MAJOR storm blew through with SO much rain for over 2 hours of heavy, heavy down pour, lightening and thunder.  Some of the team just made it up to Alpha y Omega for a prayer service when the rains hit.  Since there was no power, we sat in a circle with candles and a couple of headlamps.  With the tin roof, it was near to impossible to hear anyone, but God heard :  )
Thankfully, the rest of our team was back at the pastor´s house as the deluge of rain came correning down the road right into some of the ladies bedroom.  They ended up digging trenches in the down pour and stopping and diverting the couple inches of rain in the bedroom.  Only a few pieces of clothing got wet.  It could have been a lot worse as there were several suitcases on the floor.  As we walked home from the church, we waded through the rivers or roads back to the house.  We had no power through the rest of the night but had a lot more rain.  We all stayed dry once we got to where we were going-home stays and the pastors house.
We received word this AM that the play equipment had just arrived!!!!  Only took 10 months from the time it arrived at the port!  We are making great progress in setting it up, and thankfully, we have not needed electricity for any of that work.  But we have not been able cut the steel, polish the ends or weld for the fences until now but we are at a critical juncture with the structure of making and pouring the cement around the poles.  When I left, to come use the mayor´s office to post this (the only place with internet--that is when there is power), many hands were working on that and planting plants all around the playground.  It is shaping up to be quite something! 
I see more rain clouds moving in so I must conclude though there is much yet to share.  And oh, I wish I could post pictures, but TOO much for right now:  )
Just know that we are ALL well and having a great, hot and wet time but we are making progress.  Love you all and thank you so much for your support.  Our Honduran friends have been SO helpful.  It is awesome to work along side each of our team members and our friends of Honduras!

A Few New Friends - Tyler

We arrived in Orica two nights ago and were met by quite a smiley group of locals.  I have about five and a half years of Spanish that I have studied and it´s been quite a while but I decided to try and start up a conversation over dinner.  I had pleasure to meet a woman named Estela.  She was very good at helping me work through my broken Spanish to communicate and told me I speak "bastante bien", which was polite to say the least.  We had a nice conversation, you know the regular stuff, I asked about her children and grandchildren, and she asked how old I was and if I was getting married.
The following day I spent working with cement with Estela and her son in law David as my partners.  I think Estela worked harder than I did, I was surprised.  She taught me how they lay blocks and mix their cement.  She´s quite the mason.  We also all had a good laugh when they tried to teach me how they fling cement against a finished wall like stucko.  I threw it everywhere.  Walls we weren´t working on, the ground, basically anywhere but where it was suppose to be.  It´s a lot harder than it looks.
I am certainly learning a lot, both about the people, and the very different way that they live.
To Pat: Curt says hi
And to my mother: I have not contracted any mortal illnesses as of yet :)

-tyler

One and a half work days completed

We arrived safely to Orica Monday evening to a warm and colorful welcome by our Honduran friends.  They fixed us carne rellena, a wonderful new dish we had not had before. 
Tuesday we began our work on the park sifting sand, digging holes for the post of the play equipment we are still waiting on (they promise it is coming tonight !) with a soft rain in the am and hot sun in the afternoon.
Today, we were able to access the internet for the first time.  This AM we have been cutting steel, welding bars for fences, mending the mosiac, clearing the grounds of invasive and thorny plants, digging trenches for tires soon to be cemented in, "shifting" sand, making benches in the elcoves with more to come in the hot, hot sun :  )

Leaving in just a few hours!

Packing party was a success!  After having prayer with two of our elders and one of their wives, we proceeded to stuff 16 bags up to 50# each and only had a few pieces of clothing and some medical supplies (that surely the medical can take :  ) left over.
Time for a little R&R before beginning our trek with a drive to Milwaukee to catch a 5:50 flight.  We should arrive in Tegucigalpa a little before noon.

Getting geared up to head south of the border

Seven students involved with CAM-college age ministry, two leaders and seven students from the UW, most involved with Landscape architecture with two professors have met once as a whole team, met once separately, will meet again as a large team, and meet one last time separately. Then off to Tegucigalpa, Honduras May 17th. From there we bus two hours north on some paved and some gravel roads to our first destination, Orica.

 Here we have been partnering with a church called Alpha Y Omega for seven years. We are in the midst of building a playground there, where everything is done by hand from clearing the land, digging post holes, mixing cement, cutting and assembling re-bar for the cement foundation, collecting and sifting sand, building half walls and benches, cutting and soldering fencing, to maintaining the play equipment. I'm sure I left out some important step, but suffice it to say, it's hard and heavy work, but also loads of fun! The Honduran people of all ages love to help!

Our next stop is Siguatepeque, a four hour trip down around the mountains where we are assisting the municipality and an orphanage with landscaping projects.

We are getting so excited! But first our students (and professors) need to finish out their semester- a minor detail : )