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.

My Mission Lazarus Story: Day 4

Day 4, Tuesday, June 8: Awoke about 4 a.m. but just lay there and relaxed until about 6:10 a.m. That’s something I seldom allowed myself to do at home or on vacations. It was peaceful listening to birds chirping outside the cabin. Fortunately I didn’t heard any scorpions scurrying inside the cabin. Temperatures have been great for sleeping. In spite of the daily heat and humidity, the temps on top of this mountain where the ranch is located are ideal for cabin sleeping. Last night I even needed to pull the blanket on in the morning’s wee hours. After breakfast I prepared to give away the remainder of the caps I had packed for that purpose. The remarkable thing about that was the woman who checked me out at Goodwill, a month prior to this trip, asked me what I wanted with so many caps, so I told her. I had only the yellow tag ones as they were the 50% off color that day. Marked $1.49, I was well-prepared to pay 75 cents apiece for the 26 or so I had selected. I was also buying a belt and three pairs of cotton pants that I intended to wear on the work days and then leave at Mission Lazarus to be washed and given away. That is what they suggest and are glad to do. I went with two suitcases, but for the trip home I put the smaller inside the larger and only had one checked bag. Gave away all the rest. The “God moment” came when I got home from Goodwill that day and glanced at the receipt. The lady had charged me for one cap at 75 cents. She also gave me an additional 15% off my entire bill. I got 26 caps, three pairs of pants, and a belt for $11.38.Back at the well work site, I gave out all the caps to the eager, smiling (always smiling) children and joined the evangelism team. Today Allen was our leader and he did an amazing job at the homes. We delivered the food, took photos, sang, read scripture, and prayed. We delivered 12 food sacks before lunch.We ate lunch back at the work site with kids all around. It was easy to share the Doritos and cookies with them. A spontaneous soccer game broke out with Tommy giving a great imitation of a hot goaly. The clouds were appearing stormy. Perhaps we would actually get a taste of this “rainy” season that was supposedly upon us. Afternoon rain would certainly have a cooling effect on this stifling heat.At about 1:30 p.m. we journeyed back to Choluteca to worship at the men’s prison. Our passports got us in and an arm stamp would get us out. The entire group was only allowed to take one camera. David took his video camera. The rest of us got to take some photos before entering and then when we left and went to the site of the church they were building. A short walk through the general population of the prison brought us to the worship site already in progress. The singing and enthusiasm were incredible as we were greeted warmly and given the first two rows of seats. After a few songs we were welcomed and applauded publicly. Then came the surprise – we were asked if someone from our group would like to deliver a message. After some brief misunderstanding about not just reading a scripture, Allen stepped up to the podium and, with Espartaco translating, did an amazing job of extemporaneous preaching. It made us proud and inspired the listeners. After worship we toured the general population of the prison. It was not someplace I would have wanted to be any longer. It was very strange to see where they lived and cooked. There was clothing hanging everywhere; prisoners constantly offered to sell us their “crafts” – we had been warned about this and to keep our hands off our wallets. After exiting the prison and retrieving our passports and cameras, we were allowed to enter a different gate to the church building site. It actually rained while we toured the prison. Perhaps this really is the rainy season after all.Our next stop that afternoon was at Espartaco’s home above the church building (from Sunday’s worship) in Choluteca. We had and amazing time of fellowship and cake with his family.We returned to the ranch at 8 p.m. for a steak supper, sharing time, and then in bed by 9:30 p.m. A bull frog even came to visit our cabin porch that evening. It had been a full and rewarding day in Honduras.