Patriots Do ... Good Work!

Day 2 - Patriots Do ... Go Work!

Jimmy Buffett once famously sang 'Come Monday... It'll Be Alright' and indeed he was correct.  
Monday morning greeted us with a blaring hot equatorial sun, the chatter of little children off to school, and the promise of a day full of work wrapped up by a night full of play.  
And it was all alright!

We started our day with a more official tour of the Children's Home and ground from Mr. Orsy.  It really is amazing what they have done with such a small space for so many little ones.  The 'home' is dotted with touches of individual personality and a sense of love to say the least.  Orsy proudly demonstrated all the ongoing projects as well as the ones recently completed.  

For those on the trip last year ... the mosaic play room wall that we completed has sprung birth to a

mosaic hallway upstairs and a home full of new color schemes.  We also got to see the mahogany trees we would soon be planting and visit the children's dormitory as well as school building.  The lesson of the tour was it is not about the age or the condition of a place that matters.  Rather, the love that has been put into building it and maintaining it along with all the memories that are made in it - is what really counts.  

Before long, we work off to work, today's project plant 38 mahogany trees in a ground that seemed to offer a formidable challenge when it came to giving up it's insides.  Working in 90 degrees and moving timber, concrete, and dirt isn't glorious - unless you pause to think of things from God's perspective.   


 
  

A few years ago Mr. Johnson's emails often ended with a quote ... 

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” (Nelson Henderson)

 Truly, this can be a great summation of service ... and our service today.  What do 39 mahogany trees mean ... well nothing right now, yet everything.  There was no promise of future riches (though the hope is that once fully grown in 15 years or so the trees will be an income source for the Children's Home).  And even the free benefit of shade won't be realized for many years from now - long after our students have spent their sweaty days on the open field here.  

    

Yet, through the labor of these 17 Patriot Seniors - they have demonstrated their love for others.  And I couldn't think of a more perfect analogy for both the children of the Home here and our Patriot men and women than a tiny sapling that someday will grow into a strong and beautiful tree that provides for others.  

After our work all day in the field, we enjoyed another one of the delicious and authentic Honduran meals whipped up by Blanca and her team of young ladies in the kitchen.  I overheard one of the students say ... "everything just tastes 'fresher' here, I love it" - so true!  You haven't tasted a pineapple until you have worked up a sweat all day and there is a juicy cold bright and shiny piece of Honduran pineapple resting on your plate.  Enough to make anyone a foodie for a day! ... And after the boys did the dishes (we all rotate turns), the ladies - lead by Holly and Alex Shippley treated us all to one last fun activity of the evening - the chance to create some beauty through art.

The simplicity of drawing, coloring, and creating 

 some origami and bracelets was the perfect end to the perfect night.  The students paired off around the room while a cool breeze came off the ocean to fight the warmth of the leftover humidity of the day.

Bodies sprawled everywhere - coloring, cutting, and creating - while soaking in the last few minutes of the day seemed to be just what everyone needed and wanted.  

  

   

We finished the night holding hands in a circle and being reminded that as the bible says in Ephesians 2:10 that WE (both student and child, both    

American and Honduran, both tiny and tall), WE are God's work of art and we have been created in Christ's image to do good work!  

I think it is fair to say that there was a lot of good work done today.  Patriots do ... Good Work!