Thankful!!

Well, as Rob informed you, our luggage is now home and we are very thankful - it had more in it than we remembered.  But the reality was, if it had been lost forever we would still have so much here, it would hardly be missed.  Now that we are back home the reality of our “richness” starts to sink in - I pray it won’t stop.  Our first meal at the table yesterday at noon was a grateful one - from our big, strong table with four chairs, to the placemats, to the can of soup I got out of a cupboard full of food - we were reminded how rich we are.  We tucked our kids into their own beds, in their own rooms, on the third floor of our home!!  When I brushed my teeth in clean water and then drank from the tap - again I was thankful.  None of the homes we visited had water they could drink without boiling.

As we drove home from getting the luggage at the airport today Brett commented that maybe God allowed it to get lost to remind us that this trip wasn’t about us.  I don’t know entirely what his little heart and mind are thinking - but he is so right that it was nothing more than a slight inconvenience - nothing like the people in Honduras are dealing with!!  The wisdom of youth!!  Actually at the hotel each night as I washed undies and socks in the sink, I thought of all the homes we visited - washing by hand is all they’ve ever known - I definitely couldn’t complain in my nice hotel bathroom to be washing clothes!!

I am sending off tons of pics to superstore - trying to do about 50 each night.  I’m realizing that the pictures don’t do justice to the experience.  We can give you a glimpse of the external world of Honduras, but hopefully with words we can share the internal heart.  The love of the people at the projects and the heads of the churches reaching into these communities was incredible!! 

Well, thanks for joining us on the journey.

Julie

Luggage Woes Over

The prodigal luggage has finally chosen to return home 11 days after we last saw it. It has experienced places even unknown to American Airlines - if only it could tell stories.  All is intact and my kids can now where different clothes each day. I can now wear shorts - at least I could wear shorts if I so chose in this -10C weather. And I can power up my video camera so we can download the footage for you to see. So Yea - God is good! We look forward to sharing with all of you!

Rob

HOME

We made it home, though it was looking like we were going to be stranded in NY city at one point in the journey back. We were an hour late leaving Miami, but fortunately our connecting flight to HFX was also running an hour late so we so made it. Unfortunately, still no word on our luggage that has been touring the continent for the past 10 days.

We’re back and a little exhausted. As Ed mentioned, a few of us have not been feeling the greatest - thank you God for Pepto Bismal. But we’re all recovering fine.

Now the real challenge begins. What do we do with the knowledge we’ve gained? How do we help these project communities in a way that will make a difference? We have some thoughts and we would like to share those on April 12 at 6:30pm. We would also like to see more in our church sponsor children as they have many children needing sponsorship. Especially in light of the US recession, they are losing much of their support with people no longer being able to finance sponsorship. It is putting a huge financial strain on Compassion as they don’t feel they can just stop helping the children they have been working with. One project has about 15 children ready to sponsor, the same with the other, with the need for about another 50 by August.

Thank you to all who have been following this blog and praying for us. It was a very meaningful experience. I too want to thank Sherri for all the hard planning work into all this especially in light of the fact she wasn’t able to come with us. Dave, this blog concept works great. I’m surprised by all the people who have been reading this.

We’ve gained much experience in how to better go about doing a mission tour to Honduras. This was our practise run through, now we’re much wiser (even about luggage). So who wants to go next year? Max 14 people! It’s a life perspective changing experience!

Rob

Just the beginning

Hi all

Ed here.

We made it back, not without some drama.  We left Teguc on Saturday. At the ticket counter the agent was muttering something about our tickets had been changed. This led to some concern but she was able to get things straight.

We of course had a layover in Miami Saturday night. There was not enough time to do much of anything, so we stayed close to the hotel.  You really have a whole new way of seeing things after witnessing what we did in Teguc. And you also have an appreciation for things we take for granted - like lettuce!!!!  Many of us craved salad and milk since we had neither for an entire week.    Oh was it good - ummmmm

On top of that the hotel had these amazing machines - you put money in them and out pop candy bars, chips, cookies.  Wow. Needless to say we had to try it several times.

Sunday morning we made our way to the airport. Two hours in line ups to get to our gate. We originally were to leave Miami at 2:20pm but our flight was delayed until 3:15pm (At first)  That left us only 45 minutes to get to our New York departure gate for Halifax.  3:15 rolled around and they announced we were not leaving Miami until 3:45, therefore shrinking our connection yet again - at this point we were beginning to wonder if American Airlines was trying to get Rob’s luggage  on our flight, or even better if their luggage was going to get to Halifax before us.

We actually did not board the Miami flight until closer to 4pm and that meant our connection was going to be difficult if not impossible to make.  But we were not the only ones who needed to catch that connection.

We landed in  NewYork, 2 minutes before our connection - With Rob leading the charge we managed to trample a couple of passengers getting off the plane (ok, ok we really did not trample anyone, that was simply a statement for effect) But we did run through the building to get, of course, to the other end of the terminal (always the way). Upon getting to the gate (now more than 15 minutes late) we were told the flight we were to connect with still had not gotten in - phewwwww.

We were all very relieved to be able to get on our flight - although Lindsey was hoping to see the Statue of Liberty.

We arrived in Halifax, tired - no exhausted is perhaps a better word, around 11:45pm. It took another 40 minutes to get out of the airport.

We made it home before Rob’s luggage !!!! Which now only goes to show we did not need to pack as much as we did.  But in all seriousness we are also very disappointed the luggage never caught up to us as there were gifts of encouragement in it for some of the children we were visiting.

In my last blog I thanked a couple of folks for their hard work in planning this trip. I want to close this one off by thanking the team who was able to go. It was an honor to be a part of this effort and I look forward to the next opportunity. I was also so glad to be able to get to know Rob, Julie, Brett, Lindsey and Auntie Bev so much better. I cannot remember the words to an Arabic saying, but it tells how true friendships are determined in the journeys you take. I have enjoyed this journey - a lot. It was all the more better to enjoy it with such friends.

Folks reading this Blog - please remember one very very very important thing about this trip - it is not the end, it is JUST THE BEGINNING.

March 14th is winding down

Hey Folks  Ed here,

We had an amazing meal this evening at El Patio - a place that had been recommended by several folks and I see why.  A couple of folks in the team are still under the weather but they are in good spirits and are hanging in. Bev has a cold, as does Emily and both show moments of energy and then not so much so.  Lindsey has been beating off some stomach bug, but is still enjoying the pool.  I think for most it is a matter of tiredness and not so much sickness. Rob has had the stomach bug as well.  Brett has been eating us out of house and home (glad Rob has that bill to pay !!!!)

 It is indeed an interesting feeling to think this part of our journey is coming to an end. I think we all recognize however this is only a part of the journey and that there is more to come. God is not done with us as individuals nor as a church.  We need to pray fervently that He will show us clear vision and mission. Down here they work very hard to distinguish the two. The vision is one thing the mission is of course how we get the vision accomplished (man I hope I got that right !!!).

We have made many connections, but I want to extend a special thanks to Cherri for putting sooooooo much work into getting this project on the road; Cliff for his silent support (I really look forward to playing futbol here in the future with you); Dave for his leadership and in particular setting up this blog; and Shelly for her international travel insights and her ongoing encouragement. 

 I also want to thank all of you who have visited the blog and sent messages of encouragement. We hope you enjoyed the messages we sent - we certainly enjoyed reading your comments each day. 

It is an understatement to say that we have experienced a lot - but it is equally important to point out we have soooo much more to gain in experiences here. 

I really do not know what to think of some of the things that have been going through my head - the highs and the lows. I will be praying over all of them and will eagerly await God’s leading on each and everyone. We can get wrapped up in the excitement and sometimes can lose sight of the vision and the mission. What doors he will open, what windows he will close?  I do not know, but I am excited to find out.

I will leave you with one of my thoughts - it is a financial goal - I will not tell you what it is. I will tell you however that it involves corporate assistance. You think the Canadian Tire idea was a good one….I do not know yet how such an idea will will come about nor how we might see it flourish, but I did want to leave you with that positive thought.

We leave early tomorrow morning for the airport. Our blogging will likely be halted for a couple of days as the hotel we are in in Miami may have internet but I did not see a computer for use.  

Personally I will be back in Halifax only for a day and then it is back to Newfoundland (weather permitting).  I will not have a chance to catch up with the Lifebridge family for a couple of weeks.  I will keep checking the blog and may add additional thoughts as the days roll on. There is so much not yet said/shared.

Until later - as I have said in several of my other entries

Dios le Bendiga (God Bless)

Ed