A remarkable day!

Of all my time spent in Honduras and Guatemala over the past few years, I've had some pretty good days. I can honestly say, however, that today was one of the best days I can remember.

This morning Sammie and I were very touched, as was the rest of our group I'm sure, by Sylvia, a member of a Common Hope affiliated family who has been receiving help from Common Hope since 1998. At that time she was a single mother who was struggling to provide for her family. She applied to become affiliated and quickly worked the 300 hours of sweat equity necessary to receive health care and eventually a small home. Because she proved herself to be a very hard worker, eventually Common Hope hired her on as part of the cleaning staff. Now she is thriving, able to care for her children and her grandparents, and looking forward to seeing her children graduate from high school. She has persevered through very difficult circumstances and has come through on the other side of it a very strong woman. She was more than impressive.

Later, Sammie, Betsy, Ashley and Steph helped out at the preschool/day care while Andrea, Mitch and I worked with Pablito and Miles doing some construction prep. We put together probably a dozen or so wall panels and helped the large work crew unload what seemed like tens of thousands of concrete pavers from a very long flatbed truck. The physical work was fun and quite rewarding. I love pounding a hammer. Some day I may even become good at it!

The afternoon brought two very special events. One was the blessing of the home that we had helped to construct during our time at Common Hope. We said some words to the family, took some pictures, ate cake and horchata, and visited with the children. Mitch said a prayer, Steph spoke eloquently on our behalf, and Betsy led us in a song. Sammie and I presented a gift from all of us to the family. Sammie got very emotional, as did I. The most rewarding part for her was the connection she made with the little four-year-old daughter of the family, Alejandra. When it came time to say goodbye, Alejandra gave Sammie and big hug and whispered to her "adios." It really touched Sammie's heart.

The other event this afternoon, the one I'd been waiting all week for and the one that was worth the price of the entire trip, was our meeting with Jackeline, our sponsor daughter. During the past year she and I have been exchanging letters. She has been on my mind a lot because I met her during a social work visit on our trip to Guatemala last year. I couldn't wait to see her and the visit did not disappoint. She is such a smily, happy, positive girl and it was a true joy just to spend even a short amount of time with her. We talked about her school, her favorite music, soccer, her family, Minnesota, and much more. Her mother, Rosa, was also there along with her younger brothers Jose and Eswin. We laughed a lot and even ate fruit from a pomegranate tree they have in their courtyard. Their house is simple, just three bedrooms and they have a difficult life - Jackeline's mother works six days a week, about twelve hours a day, leaving the children home alone for much of the day. I feel so fortunate to help out with Jackeline and her family. My only wish is that the visit could have lasted longer. I can't wait to come back.  

The day ended with a terrific little closing ceremony where we were all thanked and given small, woven tapestries with our names woven in them. After that we did a final reflection with Lys and headed into Antigua for a very cool dinner where we danced, listened to marimba, and watched some dancers perform a Mayan ritual dance. Quite a finish to a completely remarkable day!!!