St. Michael the Archangel Honduras Mission Project

Day 7

We picked up the girls from the orphanage and walked as a group to the Cathedral for Mass.  Mass in Santa Rosa is always a unique experience and considering we don’t know the language, it is very filling spiritually.

We came back to the orphanage to spend time with the girls and took the younger girls out for ice cream.  Upon our return we played Bingo with the girls, they were very excited to receive the prizes!

We returned to the Senior Center for lunch with the nuns from both houses.  We ate outside in the courtyard and were treated to a couple songs from the jovenes (teens) who work in the elderly home. They often sit out in the courtyard, play guitars and sing…it’s a beautiful thing to come upon. The Sors spoke to us and told us how much St. Michael’s means to them and presented our team with gifts. It started raining so we all scattered, the team went to practice their skit we had planned to surprise the girls with that evening. Then it was back to the orphanage for more quality time with the girls. Now that our time was growing so short, we all realized the importance of each moment.

Before we knew it, it was time for the show prepared by the girls. This is a tradition performed for every travel team on their last night. They performed skits, songs and dancing and we enjoyed the entertainment. They presented gifts to us along with a short speech about each of us that truly touched our hearts. Then it was our turn… We performed the nursery rhyme “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly”. Greg was the old lady of course and we all played our parts of our various animals. The girls giggled and laughed at our silliness and enjoyed being entertained. After our performance, we distributed gifts to each girl from St. Michaels.

Justin spoke to the girls in the orphange about his calling to the priesthood and how this trip impacted him.  He told them that he was a witness all week to God’s love by observing the nuns in both homes. He told them he would continue to pray for them and hoped to make it back again.

There were journals to be written in, hugs and kisses to be given and goodbyes to be said. As our time drew to a close we all agreed how much our lives had been changed. We thought we were coming to Honduras to serve and make an impact and found it was just the opposite. The girls and elderly touched our hearts more than we thought possible. We all were leaving filled with a greater passion for those in need in Honduras. We all were leaving with hearts filled with such pure joy, although there were tears in saying our goodbyes.

As always, please keep the people of Honduras and those in need throughout the world in your prayers.

Gracias,

Lynn