Tuesday, Aug 9^th:

7:30 am meet for breakfast

8 am – Bible study/worship

8:30 am – leave for work

9 am – arrive at daycare and work

12:30 pm – lunch break

4 pm – finish up work and head back to the hotel

5:30 – 6 pm meet for dinner

8:00 pm – debrief meeting

From Marna Zok -

Good morning.   Finally, this is Marna.  The key board here is very different!  so I will do the best that I can. . .

The visit so far has been amazing.  This area of Honduras reminds me very much of a cross between Hawaii (the vegitation), Italy (the construction and buildings) and the Bahamas (heat and humidity!)

The trip was long.  I was seated separately from the rest of the group (3+3+3+1) and sat next to 2 aging "caballeros"  men who looked like cowboys with short, wide stature, stiff new blue jeans and long sleeved shirts with cowboy hats.  They were headed home for a visit to El Salvador.  In addition, I struggled with the weight of my bag and the duffel bag of toys.

Sunday, as I am sure you have heard was amazing and inspirational.  another long day, even before starting our work.

Yesterday, we began our work, scrubbin all of the baseboards of drywall mud so that we can begin painting the walls, and painting all of the downstairs ceilings.  With the heat, it was exhausting.  I was happy to be of assistance in providing saline the Nicole and Alex and care for small cuts to Renee and Richard.  My supplies have been on target.

several of us have been greatly affected by the heat.  Cathy was the worst, sick all evening,  i ended up with a migraine, but much better today other than aches.

We are now off for another day of painting.  I can not wait to tell you about the day care center plans!

Agape,   Marna

From Cathy Little -

Hi everybody!

I had a rough night.  Don´t know if it was the heat, or something I ate or drank but it got me bad.  I´m much better now.  Actually, it was all a ruse so I wouldn´t have to work today!  I`m glad I finally have some time to write to you all.  I saw the gang off on the bus this morniing at 815.  (BTW, the time difference is 2 hours in the summer and 1 hour in the winter.  They don`t do daylight savings.  So it´s 9:40 here, 11:40 at home.) 

It was in the 90`s all day yesterday.  We`re lucky we`re "indoors", that is, out of the sun.  We were all soaking from tip to toe by mid morning.  But that´s pretty much like Virginia right now.  We are pretty acclimated to it but it´s a long day when you´re working! 

I am so awed by the hard work everyone is doing.  Everyone`s gifts really come out.  What a wonderful nurse Marna was to me last night even though she wasn´t feeling well herself.  Renee was a sweetheart and I know everyone`s prayers made all the difference. 

We are all so happy and grateful to be here.  We are delighted by your emails!!  It is so awesome to be able to share this with you in real time, before we forget the details.

The people here are so wonderful.  We gringos stick out like sore thumbs but everyone is patient with our language barrier and curious as to why we are here.  They were especially curious when we got off the bus yesterday afternoon to go into the hotel!!  I´m sure the hotel staff was wishing we´d used the back entrance as we were a pretty motley crew!

The countryside is lovely.  We´re nestled in the mountains with tropical vegetation all about.  I asked Nicole what she thought of Villnueva (where we`re working).  She said "It looks like a movie set."  Dirt roads, children and dogs running in the street, mountains towering around us, red-tile roofed buildings. 

The first night at the airport we were amazed when about a dozen kids climbed into the back of a small pick-up truck with a cab.  We couldn´t believe they all fit!  In nother small open truck several lovely young ladies climbed in the back with their luggage.  Richard, Nicole and Alex were hoping they could have that experience since it isn´t allowed at home!

That´s all I can think of right now that the others haven´t already told you.  I would just say, anyone who has ever considered doing this, DO IT!  It´s the experience of a lifetime.  Margarita needs our support in helping the children here.  She has done great things but there is so much more to do!
God bless you all!  Cathy

From John White -

Hola--a todo el mundo--another great day in Honduras:  the drive from San Pedro Sula to Villanueva lasts about twenty minutes along a divided highway teeming with poverty, barrios, people, traffic, life, all kinds of small businesses, for sale signs everywhere, for rent signs, signs on buses, people at bus stops in large numbers, street vendors, police with rifles, police stopping our bus and checking An`tonio`s credentials.  Ã�t could be anywhere in the United States, just poorer economically, and seemingly richer in other ways.  Today, again, we worked like a fine tuned painting machine.  The acoustics in the center--at least right now--are ideal for singing while we paint.  We`re all drinking about a gallon of bottled water a day.  Cathy "goldbricked" and got well today.  The General is the general, and very good at it, cracking the whip, keeping track of the time, negotiating with workers in Spanish, with waiters in Spanish, and trying to wear Richard out with rolling paint.  The gerente or jefe of the site work, Carlos the Pied Piper, shows everybody what to do and when and how.  Alex and Nicole worked hard on two ceilings, painting them completely, Rene and Andrea also worked hard throughout the day doing the "cutting in", and Marna (recovered from her headache) and I did the same in different rooms.  A real sense of being able to "see" the fruit of this labor before its completed.  

The "moment" for me was during lunch at the Cantina behind the local church where Margarita worships.  A screened, very basic, food place where we eat each day.  As we walked in, a woman was seated alone next to a table with items of embroidery.  I introduced myself, sat down and we talked for almost an hour.  Her name is Flor.  Flor has 12 children and laughed when I said "solamente doce?" (only 12).  She has 18 grandchildren.  Flor used to live in Santa Maria de Chasnigua at the top of the mountain where the we visited until her husband died about four years ago.  She was unaffected by Hurricane Mitch because, she told me, she was up .  She is middle aged and cannot get a job at one of the many "maquilas" because she is "too old".  Her most treasured book of the bible is the gospel of Mateo.  She sells embroidered images of the stations of the cross, and I will probably buy one tomorrow.  Gotta go due to time.  Love from us all John White

From Renee Geiger -

Dear friends and especially Bill- We were hard at work today at the center.  It was 93 degrees in the shade and the humidity is identical to Virginia.  Needless to say, we all sweated together, some more profusely than others.  We were all so encouraged to see the walls turn from gray cememt into blazing white.  Unfortunately, àt first, we were unable to talk the paint lady into the best kind  of cement paint, which Charlie had said was a must. That is until  Margarita stepped in and told her "yes, you will get us this paint, and immediately." It's amazing  how different the new paint was from the paint we had used the preceding day, relatively speaking, the difference between painting with milk and marshmallow fluff.  We will need far fewer coats of the new paint.  Yeah for Charlie`s expertise.  Às for your questions, Bill, and all others wondering, Margarita needs about $20,000 to finish the daycare center.  Still to be done is finished electrical, cabinetry, air-conditioning, finished plumbing and basic equipment for the classsrooms.  Trust us, the need in the community is extreme, and the quality of the day care she envisions will make a certain impact on it. I will ask her what the actual running expenses will be, tomorrow when we see her again.  She has asked that we sing and pray as we work to bless the walls with the joy of the Lord.  What a wonder it is to be the hands of St. Peter`s working for Him.  Thank-you everyone who made this trip possible. PS Bill, can`t wait to taste that blue fish.  I`m so glad you all finally had a sucessful fishing trip.