Monday, July 24, 2006

Time flies...

Since the last post we have been very busy with team stuff, projects, and allowing the interns to get an even better feel for the culture.
I realized that despite the interns work in the community, they still couldn't completely understand how a lower class Honduran family functions on a day-to-day basis. I talked to the interns and one of the workers at the project and the decisions was made for his family to take in our interns for a short period of time. They arrived in the afternoon, experienced a typical Honduran dinner, and spent the evening with the family. Going through all the normal chores and daily activities, the interns got a glimpse of what its like. It was a huge learning experience for all of them, and even though they didn't get as much sleep as they wanted, they definitely appreciated it.



We only have one LeaderTreks team with us right now. They are from Indiana and we are enjoying getting to know them as always. This weekend was exciting as we took them to the waterfall and then enjoyed dinner at our favorite local restaurant. They have been working hard at the worksite, conducting VBS, and embracing the Honduran experience. They also did a great job at our small soccer tournament that we played out in the community. This team will return to Indiana on Friday and we’ll be getting two more team on Saturday. They are only weeklong teams and they will be the last two student teams for the summer.
The interns are busy with their projects and are focusing on a strong finish. They fly home on August 7th, exactly two weeks from today. It is so hard to believe that the summer is almost over! The time has flown by but God has done some amazing things through both the celebrations and the struggles.
That is all for now
With love,

Alfredo Cerrato

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

A Relaxing Mini Vacation


On June 31 we said goodbye to two teams, one team from Benttree and another from Baylife. It was quite a treat to interact and work with each of these teams. We didn't have any new teams arrive, but we did get to welcome Amanda to the family for two weeks. Amanda just graduated from high school in The Woodlands, TX and plans on attending USC in the fall. She was apart of the last two medical teams that performed multiple surgeries in Tegucigalpa. This time she is just here on an individual basis to visit before she heads off to school.

Since we had this two week break, we decided that it would be a good opportunity for "the family" to relax and enjoy the country. We boarded onto the Providence bus Wednesday morning with the ten of us, Mizael (the architect at the project) and his family of four, Mr. Alfredo (the bus driver) and his family of three, and Douglas (the accountant). Yes you gotta it there were a total of 18 of us, all of our luggage, and enough food to feed the group for four days.

Our first stop was at Lake Yajoa where we enjoyed a peaceful afternoon filled with swimming, riding horses, and playing soccer. Thursday morning we took a boat ride on the lake then packed up and headed to Tela for some fun on the beach. We arrived in Tela around three o'clock, relaxed at the pool and on the beach, and then had a nice group dinner at the strip on the beach.

Friday we had an amazing tour around Punto Sal, which is a small island that was about a 45 minute boat ride away. We got to walk through this national preserve and view all the different vegitation and animals. Our tour guides were amazing and they showed us many interesting sights while on our boat ride, they also let us swim through a small cave on the way to the beach for lunch. We had fresh fish on the beach for lunch and then spent the rest of our time snorkeling, playing in the water, and napping in the hammocks. A few interesting highlights of the trip.....we saw monkeys, ate termites straight from their nest, and had coconuts and almonds right off the tree.
Saturday morning we enjoyed a little more time at the beach and then packed up and headed home to get things in order for the start of this week.
Sunday we attended church and then had a small house party while we watched Italy win the World Cup.
Now it is Monday morning and we are all working hard to make the most of the second half of the summer. We will follow normal routine this week and then welcome another team on Saturday.

Thanks for checking in with us and keep looking for new updates!

Alfredo Cerrato