Today we felt like dignitaries. We also felt like we had never been treated so special.
The staff and students of John Wesley delivered a beautiful, touching presentation to share their culture with us. Traditional Honduran food was prepared for our enjoyment. We enjoyed tamales, corn on the cob, tostadas and a del
icious variety of sw
eets. For our part, we dressed in outfits that represented our favorite sports teams. Charlene was a hit with her authentic Minnesota Twins Jersey a loan from her cousin back home. We also brought with us some hometown Kansas City treats for the students and staff to enjoy. The program began with a sack race contest followed by a hoolahoop exhibition by the younger students. Next, the older students performed three traditional dances in beautiful native costumes which was beautifully executed. After their performance we were invited to try the dance with the dance team as our partners. Needless to say, our dance was not nearly as well executed.
The next treat was a dramatization by older students. Their skit was a folktale reminding students to truely obey their parents. Following that, two staff members performance was very funny. It had all of the students as well as us in stitches. Three students competed in a sack race. Again we were invited to partake. Adam and Michael quickly volunteered. Adam was the champion, Following their team spirit, Jane and Charlene tried it. Charlene couldn’t even get both legs into the sack and Jane only made it halfway before calling it quits. We had lots of laughs and the students appreciated our willingness to participate.
If all of the wonderful entertainment wasn’t enough, we were called forward, thanked and given Honduras t-shirts. We were all very touched. It was an overwhelmingly, humbling experience. Thank you God for giving us this experience.
For lunch, we were treated to more authentic celebration food. The staff served us lunch and joined us in enjoying the marvelous fare.
We visited awhile and then headed off to paint the last wall of the second computer lab. We have really jelled as a team. We got the job done in an hour. Sadly we loaded into the van and drove out of the Wesley campus for the last time for this mission trip.
We arrived back at the mission house to relax. Sandy gave us a tour of the house and told us a some of the history. It is so hard to believe how much work has been done, mainly by volunteers. since 2012. Dinner was wonderful as usual and it was a little bittersweet to think it was our last supper together at the mission house and with Adam, since he will be leaving with Paster Daniel tomorrow.
Mary Beth led our devotion and debriefing with a wonderful story that gave a us great insight for having an open mind, especially our view of God’ s children. We spent the last part of our night trying ways to share pictures, talking and laughing. We’ve said it before but it bears repeating we are so blessed to have met each other and firm these relationships.