My Mission Lazarus Story: Days 6 & 7

Day 6, Thursday, June 10: I was awake at 3:15 a.m. but lay in bed relaxed and rested until 6:30 a.m.After breakfast I walked to Pride (Prayer) Rock and then on to the Ranch offices.I spent the next couple of hours cleaning up my emails and catching up some on Facebook. Cameron then gave us a tour of the Children’s Home and the rest of Mission Lazarus. A few went horseback riding.After lunch we were to leave for San Marcos. This was delayed nearly two hours because of the tardiness of a man from the other group that had arrived Tuesday from Texas – Allen was delighted. Finally we made it down the mountain for the last time and on to San Marcos to see the house they had bricked last year.We next went to and toured the Early Childhood Learning Center that we were supporting for the next month. This center feeds the neediest of the needy children two meals a day and engages them in fun and educational activities. It was a public school holiday so only a few children were present.Upon leaving the center the SUV David was driving bottomed out in a rut (just one of many) and something sounded broken. A tire looked low and there was a grinding sound for awhile. As we entered the town of Choluteca for the final time, a passerby motioned that we were smoking from the right rear of the vehicle. We had broken a seal and bearing and were not going very far in that condition. We limped into the parking lot of the Pizza Hut a block away. God moments were soon to begin. It just so happened that the Mission Lazarus mechanic was in town on errands and only five minutes away. While we spend the next two hours in the Hut, a team of three fixed the SUV in the pouring rain in the parking lot. To save the luggage from being soaked in the back of the 4-wheel-drive 4-door pickup trucks, all that had been stowed in the cabs as we went indoors. We ate supper and waited while the lightning flashed, the thunder rolled, and the lights dimmed and flickered numerous times. Another God moment was that the market in the same parking lot had large trash bags so we could wrap the exposed bags for the several-hour trip to Tegucigalpa. We were to stay at the Clarion and catch our flight back to Atlanta the next day around noon. It was a rather harrowing trip through the dark and the rain on hilly, curvy roads to the Honduras capital. Once uneventfully there we had comfy rooms (first time Chuck’s ankles didn’t stick out over the end of the bed). I was in bed by 9:30 p.m. Unfortunately the events of the day precluded our enjoying two final highlights of this trip: visiting the children's hospital in Choluteca and seeing Espartaco one more time to bid him a very fond farewell (he was an incredible help). Hopefully those will both be on the agenda for next year.
Day 7, Friday, June 11: I awoke at 3:38 a.m. but went back to sleep until 6:35 a.m. After a shower and packing, I went to the restaurant for a delicious buffet breakfast. The travel home was wonderfully uneventful. We actually landed 45 minutes earlier than scheduled in Atlanta; but we lost that time and a little more waiting for Chuck’s last bag to show up on the carousel. Seems there was a security question which shall remain a mystery. The drive home found us at West 7th just before midnight. Marty dropped me off at home. After unpacking and unwinding, I passed out on my pillow about 1:30 a.m. It was a great trip!

My Mission Lazarus Story: Day 5

Day 5, Wednesday, June 9: I awoke at 4 a.m. and thankfully was able to rest in bed until 6:15 a.m. Breakfast was our second meal of French toast with bacon and a banana. Then it was off to Namasigue for the final day of work. On the way we passed a truck that seemed to have two dead cows in the back. Team members in trucks behind us said they saw them move. The morning was a little different as we only had a few bags of food to deliver. At the first home we met an older lady who was a Catholic. At first she refused the food gift, a first for us. Finally she was convinced that it was a gift with no strings attached, simply love from Christians wanting to help.The next home had four good prospects (a mother - I believe the sister of the lady in the first home - and three daughters); they were very receptive. After some persuasion they decided to wait until they could have more study. Though three of the four could possibly have been persuaded on the spot to be baptized, our team agreed it would be best to allow the local minister to follow-up with more intensive study later.The next home found a mother of four young children. This was what I termed our Relay for Life (named after the cancer survivor celebration that was in full swing as we departed for Honduras five days before just after midnight. The first leg for the relay team was delivering the food and making introductions. Photos were taken and candy and stuffed animals were given to the ever-present and ever-smiling children. Allen ran the next leg of the relay going through about a dozen scriptures with Espartaco interpreting. The 3rd leg of the relay was taken up by Taco adding to the momentum begun by Allen’s scripture-fest. After another 15 minutes or so, Taco was at a loss as to how or even whether to proceed with the persuasion. She was shaking her head no. She had indicated that her children were attending the church of Christ service on Sunday, but that she was attending a different church. Then came the anchor leg. The local minister Javier stepped onto the track. He had appeared to me not to be paying much attention to all that was being said. That was certainly a mistaken conclusion on my part. He began a very convincing 30 minutes of teaching Jesus to this young mother.After that time we were headed down to the river. The baptism followed. It was truly a joyous celebration. Thank you, God, for allowing me to witness this true Relay for Life.At the final home we said our greetings, delvered the food, and departed quickly through the small opening in the barbwire fence. It was a strange visit for reasons that eluded me. My curiosity must not have been aroused; perhaps I was hot and tired or still excited by what I had seen minutes ago at the river. For whatever reason, I didn't inquire about why the short visit.
Back at the work site, the team assembled in Javier’s house (on the property) for a tearful farewell. His father was facing a chemotherapy treatment the following week that “only” cost $200 (instead of the thousands it would have cost in the States); we were glad to supply that amount from the church at West 7th.We later had a similar farewell for the other local preacher who had served as interpreter all week, Marvine.Then we returned to Mission Lazarus for Chuck’s BBQ dinner. It was amazing.After ice cream and sharing time, I was in bed by 9:50 p.m.