day 1: Santa Lucia y La Valle De Angeles (Valley of Angels)

from what i have been told, i had an incredibly crazy and interesting first day in Honduras. i was on a house building crew, and we were to build a house in a village outside of Santa Lucia. one of the things i learned very quickly is that just when you think a Honduran road has to end, it doesn't. the roads go on and on and up and up and around, getting narrower and narrower, which of course presents some problems. One of these we encountered immediately, which was that the school bus we were riding and that was carrying our tools would not be able to make it to the site. so we hailed down a small pickup truck off the highway, offered to pay him, and loaded our supplies and people into the truck. the first hill was so steep that he stalled out, and had to back all the way down and try again. we continued up the road, going on and on for what we were told would have only been a 25 minute walk. not true. it was about a 25 minute drive. we finally made it up to a steep, sharp curve that would have been impossible for the truck to pass. so he started to back down, and sent his back wheel into a 3-foot ditch on the edge of a cliff...to the point where the axle was about to break. so we unloaded all of our tools and tin and lifted and pushed the truck. after several frustrating tries, we got the truck unstuck... a few of the crew had continued up the road by foot to scope out the sight where we would be building. they returned, telling us that it would be impossible to build there because it was just a sheer cliff. all our efforts had essentially been wasted. frustrating? oh yeah. i wish i could have taken pictures, but i was a little preoccupied with, well, everything. i can't even explain the shock i was experiencing about what i was seeing. it is still hard for me to digest all of it. so onto our 2nd site, which was also in Santa Lucia. we again went up a very high hill (um, there's lots of them here) and walked out until it looked like our next step would be a freefall off the cliff. here we found a man pointing to an 8 ft x 10 ft space where he wanted his house. the problem: we build 20 x 20 houses. this sight wasn't going to work for us either. after a few phone calls and alot of waiting in a bus, we were given a third site for the day. upon arrival, we were told that it would be a short walk, about 100 ft, to the site. wrong again. the hondurans definitely measure differently. it was about 3/4 of a mile walk along a very uneven road...luckily the truck delivering the wood hauled our tin and tools for us. we were finally able to build...third time was a charm for us. i found myself incredibly useful in hauling wood, but not so much with hammer and nails. i mean, one or two nails, yeah no problem. 50 in like 10 minutes, um no. the day was very frustrating for all of us. but when i thought about it, i realized that two different people, a man with no hands and a man with several children thought they were getting a house today, and didn't. my frustrations about not being able to hammer a nail fast enough or build a house where it was needed were nothing. the expectations, the hopes, of these people were dashed with one look at their property. God knew what He was doing to us, as usual. what a humbling experience....and despite our setbacks it was still incredibly rewarding when we helped a 70-year-old man and his wife who had been living in a hole in the side of cliff into their brand new house. as the frail woman gave me a grateful hug, i knew that all of my sweat and blood (the thorns are killer here) and frustrations were so worth giving this couple, who had lived in terrible conditions all their life, a new start. God was given the glory as we finished up the house on friday, and we really didn't feel the need to mention the trials from the day before. it has been a great two days...i am so tired, i have blisters, a second knee-cap on my right leg from a nasty bug bite, greasy hair and terribly sore muscles...and tomorrow we go right back out again. i thank God for the strength He has given me to complete the tasks laid before me and the rest of the crew. tomorrow we go to a children's home to make lunch for them and play for the day...i am so excited. i will try to keep you all posted. God bless! (and i promise some pictures tomorrow!!!)