'Spotlight Promotion from Charleston Habitat for Humanity ReStore'

'Spotlight Promotion from Charleston Habitat for Humanity ReStore'

If I can summarize...

It was a lot harder for me to use the internet than I thought while we were on our trip...so here are some pictures...you can go to my facebook page to see more.

We had 5 build days and 2 days off. I also had the opportunity to stay for several extra days and travel around Honduras and Guatemala.

We passed and carried lots of bricks...laid them...sifted and mixed mortar...shoveled, then shoveled more!

We had two awesome friends drive us around all week....Aldo and Oscar!

On our last day, Aldo showed me several homes that Habitat had recently completed in the area! Very cool to see the finished product!

 

After our last build day, we had a dedication with the families we built for/with. Habitat provided the food and the family was able to prepare it for our team. We played with the kids, gave them a Spanish/English Bible we all signed, gave them tshirts. Mrs. Rufina (the grandma) said a prayer over all of us, and even Willmer (the uncle) who didn't speak a word all week, stood up and brought nearly everyone to tears with his kind and humble words.

These are the faces of those who will soon have a new home.....

Kenya, Herbert, and Herbert Jr.................Rufina, Willmer, Mia, Armando, Oliver, and Michelle

  

  

Oliver and Michele showed me their guns =)

So, in summary, I think 2 Corinthians 9:12 says it best: "This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God."

Humility seems to be on my heart as I think of this trip....

Phillipians 2:1-3 says "Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves."

These are some other gifts I had on this trip....could just sit and look at these for hours....truly beautiful!

          

The Lord really protected us. We were at the Pacaya Volcano last Tuesday...we were so close we were roasting marshmellows over the lava....and it erupted 2 days later! It had been over 40 years since it had any activity. Can't tell you how small I felt standing there at the bottom. God is so big and so powerful!

Last but not least, just want to say thank you to everyone who supported this trip and was praying for us!

 

Mucho Caliente!

We arrived in Honduras Saturday! I'll let this blog serve as a little picture story of our trip so far!

-this is me with Nury and Luis when we arrived at the airport in San Pedro Sula. Nury is our AWESOME translator while we're here. I've learned so much from her...such a cool lady! Luis is the guy I coordinated everything with.

This is Rumbatan....we bought bag fulls of this fruit from ladies on our 3 hours drive to La Ceiba! Soooo yummy!!!

This is the beach front in La Ceiba....3 blocks from where we are staying. Apparently this is not a nice beach, but I was pretty impressd! Beautiful!!!!

We arrived and had dinner and then walked around town.....there was this huge stage set up and they were doing these cultural dances. After being there only a few minutes, they had half our team up on stage....more or less making fools of ourselves and our "gringo" moves. Yes, even me! Nury got in trouble for this one! =)

 

This may not be a good picture to show for it, but we went rafting (couldn't really keep my camera on us). We jumped off some pretty darn high cliffs too! We also went on a canopy tour ( zip line)....crossing off that fear of heights now. I'll save the mud bath pics for another time. =)

 

Our team this  morning with the local Habitat saff. It was so great meeting everyone who does similar things to me, but in Honduras! They were all awesome! Thanks Bernardo for putting up with me on our trip to buy more tools/supplies. Neither of us spoke well of the others language, but it worked out..and we got at least half of what was requested!
 
 

Here is a brick wall I helped build! Yes, we sifted sand and made our own cement! It was so different from anything we do in Charleston...which is obvious....anyways....just tired and rambling! It was some serious hard work!
 
Have I mentioned how hot it is?? Not sure if/when I've ever sweat so much!
 
Internet is slow, so more pics is not going to happen right now. More to come...more to be thankful for....much more!

Off we go

 

Here are 12 of the 15 going to Honduras! We leave this Saturday!

• Jeremy Rees (bottom left)...a bff from ATL that I've known since I was....13-ish? He did a tour in Honduras when he was in the army, so he'll be really helpful getting around and hopefully still remembers some Spanish.
• Next to him is Casey Davidson and Amanda Epps. They are bf/gf...Amanda's mom does my job at the Dorchester County Habitat affiliate. She just graduated from CofC so this trip is sort of a graduation present.
• Next to them is Meredith Gerber (her husband Frederick is in back row upper left). Meredith has volunteer with Charleston Habitat for a while...I remember meeting her first about a year ago. She works at CofC as a counselor. Her husband Frederick is from South Africa (love his accent!) and does construction as a trade/job here, so I'm sure he'll be great!
• Next to Meredith is Nancy Roskam. Her and her daughter Amanda will be coming on the trip. Amanda lives in CA so none of us have met her yet. Nancy and her husband Craig live in Charleston from about October - April every year. They are both retired and live the other part of the year in Vermont. They both volunteer with us regularly while in town!
• Up next to Frederick in the back row, is Kathryn and Keri Jennings (sisters). They're both pretty new to Habitat but came out a couple times to help build with our most recent construction project, and this was just another way they wanted to help out was going on this trip. They both seem super-sweet and I'm excited to get to know them more!
• Then we have Bob Day in the middle back. Bob I would consider a good friend. He volunteers on our construction site every Thursday! He always makes me laugh and I love hanging with him and our Thursday Crew every week!
• Then, Rae Hunter, my sweet dear friend....she is part of our Thursday Crew as well. We'll be sharing a room together in Honduras...can't wait! She's one of those people I know would do anything for you!
• Then me!
• And to my right is Cindy Helton. Her and her husband John (not pictured) are coming on Sunday....they couldn't leave Saturday with us but we'll rendezvous (sp?) and join us soon! John has volunteered with us in Charleston with the Coast Guard for years. We're glad he's bringing Cindy along for this trip too!
• The only other person is Bill Buchanan from Atlanta. He's a good friend of Bob Day. Back in the day, they apparently worked and traveled around Guatemala (and maybe Honduras too)....but that was a looooong time ago...they're old! ;)

I started to post this cheesy video of me saying thanks so all of you who have supported and been praying for our team....but after watching it again.....just felt a little ridiculous posting it!

 

We take off Saturday morning for Honduras! Please continue to pray the Lord will use us to bless Him and all those we come in contact with!

Thank you and I love you all!!!!!

Ode to roommates

Speaking of community....I'm on the search for a new roommate. Here we go again! I just tried to count...and let's see...I can count 17 different roommates I've had in the last 9-10 years. That's not counting families or random places I've lived for just a couple weeks/months at a time. Some were okay...some were disturbing...some were amazing! I've had great roommates my last 2 rounds...Stacie, Ashley...I love you both. Am I really fortunate enough to find someone else as great? even half-as would do!

So, here's an ode to my roommates good and bad:

Thanks for the fun, memories, and love

Living with some of you, fit like a glove.

I can't count the late-night talks at our pad

You're the sisters I never had

Dinners, dance parties, and chick-flicks -

Locking me in the bathroom to make me crawl out of the window in my towel was not that funny of a trick

You cheer me up when I'm down

Usually, by getting us to act like clowns

When it came to rent

you always paid your half

You never fell short on making me laugh

Sixteen candles, turbo jam, and falling star

Treasured most, you know who you are

But to all those in between

those who never met a mop,

A broom or mr. clean

Not flushing the brownies is just plain mean.

Wipe your hairs out of the sink

off the mirror and shower walls

I always wondered, how are you not bald?

60 in the summer, and 85 in the winter? Something is wrong

I can already tell, we won't last for long

Words that come to mind - lazy, slob, loud, and bipolar

Some of you have problems, you see

there is no shame in therapy!

Who's your neighbor?

so I got into this discussion with some of the families going through our new homeowner partnership. They all put 500 hours into building their future home...but also other partner family homes. Above, you see 4 future homeowners helping build Stacy's house (far right).

They are a silly group of gals, to say the least....

But we got in this disucssion about neighbors and if you like to actually know...or have a personal relationship with your neighbors. Three of these ladies are going to have their homes built on the same street, but they had opposing views on if they wanted to actually live next to each other. Some thought it would be great to be neighbors since they've spent so much time together, but some thought it would invade their privacy....their personal space.

Now, I'm not picking on any of the ideas or thoughts they had about this, but at first, I thought...I like my privacy too. I wouldn't want someone knocking on my door every time they're bored or need something. I'd want to walk to my car without having to run into someone and make conversation with them.

But is there something flawed in that thinking? Why do we seek "privacy"? What happened to community? Living together...helping each other out...i'm not talking about being needy and expecting others to take care of you...but just being available for others....and here we are avoiding even being seen. Now that I"m thinking of it...I don't really know my neighbors. I recognize a few people that live in the same complex, but I don't know anyone by name. Is that messed up or what?

silence...remembrance...and peace

Today is going to be a pretty busy day for me. I was so tired when I woke up this morning, but I finally dragged myself into the office, coffee in hand, and sat at my desk. I was the first one here. I like to not turn on the lights. It feels quieter without those flourescent boxes shining their fake light on me. So, I just sat here for a few minutes, enjoying my peaceful silence....listening, praying....then I started making a list of everything I had to do....and the lights came on =(

So, I resolved to turn to my computer, and today's date flashed up....March 25th. Today would have been my Papa's 94th bday, but he went HOME almost two years ago.

Happy Birthday Papa! We miss you!

So, before I get started with work, just want to remember him and what a great grandfather he was! There is so much peace in knowing we'll see him again soon!

Walk for Water

Charleston has tons of nonprofit organizations and charities....which means there is always a "cause" to walk or run for. I remember going to "Walk for Life" marches with mom when I was little, but I've never really had much interest in doing them since then.

This Saturday, a few friends and I did decide to participate in the Walk for Water to benefite the mission of WATER MISSIONS INTERNATIONAL. I've met a couple people who work for them and several volunteers and I'm impressed...not only with their organization...but with the simple yet huge needs that exist!

•  One out of every eight people in the world, roughly 884 million, lacks access to safe water. (WHO/UNICEF)
• At least 2.6 billion people, about 41 percent of the global population, do not have access to latrines or any sort of basic sanitation facilities. (UN WATER)
• 1.8 million children die every year as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation. This amounts to around 5000 deaths a day, one every 20 seconds. (UNDP)

I know there are tons of needs and "causes" out there, but this still amazes me! And to think how often I let the water run while I brush my teeth. And for all you cynics, yes, I realize that water I wasted would not be given to thirsty children had I saved it...but that's not the point! In today's world, we are not that separated from the poor. We can get anywhere in the world in less than a day! We have more than we need of EVERYTHING and we take it all for granted! How can we be okay with the above stats? There are so many needs it can become overwhelming, but we shouldn't let that stop us from starting somewhere, right?

So, Saturday, we walked 3.5 miles around downtown Charleston carrying big water buckets....and halfway through the walk, we filled them with the unsanitized water that most of the world drinks (and we sometimes refuse non-brita water?!) and had to carry it back the other half of the walk. It was pretty cool. Not that thiis answered the world's thirst problems, but it was a step in the right direction....haha...no pun!

Check out Water Misson's Website - they're awesome! http://www.watermissions.org/statistics-and-links

"but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." - John 4:14

Matrix it out!

It's March madness, right? We have our own version at Habitat! We host week after week of college student groups who spend their spring break building with us. These groups raise money to donate to us, then on top of that pay for their travel to Charleston and instead of laying out on the beach all week, they build with us! Amazing kids! (yes, I'm old and call college students kids now) And so much fun!

These guys exemplify what service should be like....fun! Yes, we work hard, but as they put best, "we like to party"....


From PA, to OH, to IA, to WI...they travel and we do our best to make sure they have a great experience!

Last week, we were going to grill out at Waterfront park with the group from BGSU in Ohio...well, it rained hard ALL DAY....so we were stuck having dinner in our office building. We thought it was going to be a total bust, but they got to meet the family they were building for....they played hide-and-go-seek with the Hudson kids....some played cards.....it was fun!

Do you really give a.....?

I read this really aweome blog this morning http://www.relevantmagazine.com/worldview/features/19766-a-world-divided.

It got me thinking....in two weeks I'll be in Honduras building with Habitat. I know our mission is amazing and I believe our work will truly benefit one family in particular and hopefully the community as a whole. But what will the impact of our trip really be? Are we actually narrowing any gap between poor and priveledged? Do more trips need to be taken? Or are these trips actually being effective? Are we going just to ease our conscience and feel like we've made and effort to give to the poor? So we can return home and live comfortably with all our wealth thinking we can have both. "I'll enjoy all God has blessed me with as long as I take a trip to help others every so often (not to mention enjoy some new cultural experiences)." Or "I'll make a donation and even give over 10%. (which won't sacrifice any standard of living I'm accustomed to (but it's over 10% so I think that counts)." Or, "you know some people need to be givers, no goers. I'll just give and hopefully my money will give food or clean water to a family."

These aren't all bad thoughts...but they're not good...and they certainly are not solutions. It seems like we just make excuses in our heads to somehow rationalize our own way of living. It seems weak! Obviously, one person can't end poverty, right? So, we'll do what we can and hope for the best?

And why is it that we give when big things like the Tsunami in SE Asia or the earthquake in Haiti or even Hurrican Katrina happen....but on a daily basis, we ignore the needs of those that live in the same neighborhood as us? Do we only give when it's convenient? Only when we have a structured schedule for volunteering or a payment plan set up for us so all we have to do is click "submit."?

Maybe what I'm getting to is that we do give....in many ways with money, time, sweat, etc....but is any of it a sacrifice? Sure, I could save money and go lay on the beach for a week instead of building in Honduras with Habitat, but what am I actually giving of myself to do this? I'd say most of us are going for culture and travel experience just as much as our desire to give to these people. Not to mention, why does it bother me a little when people come back from mission trips...and they always have a picture with one of the poor kids in the community....proof or something? Just look at google images for mission trips and you'll see what i'm talking about:

No answers. Just thoughts. And wondering if we really do everything that we can?

Read the blog...it's good!
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/worldview/features/19766-a-world-divided

Healing through Service

Last week, I got to meet about 15 high school students and their leader from the NYC area. They are with a group called Tuesday's Children - all the students lost a loved one on 9/11/2001. The whole theme of their annual winter break trip is finding healing through service. SUCH a sweet group!

What a great example though...most people go through tough times and sadly become even more self-involved than we already are. Think about hard times and how it really makes you focus more on yourself...handling how you feel, figuring out how you will get through it, feeling down just doesn't allow room fore much other consideration. I think it's pretty admirable that these high school students know the importance of doing things for others, and in turn, actually feel closer to those they lost while doing this service to others.

This video makes me laugh...the last line is the best:


Each day someone donated lunch to them, then I would convince Koren and Michael to give a motivational speech to get everyone going again for the afternoon.

Here is Koren about to draw some tears...she's good!

Here a link to read about Live5's coverage of the group: http://www.live5news.com/global/story.asp?s=11993734