Monday...

Our first full day of work was very productive, from digging trench for a new sewer line for two houses where younger boys live to helping gather eggs from their chicken house.

The day here begins early, and some of the teen girls on the trip, Jessi Simmons, Ashby and Lexi Kernea, helped wash each egg off before stacking them carefully in crates. Orphanage Emmanuel  does what it can to be self sufficient, and they also have a house for fryers and raise pigs for meat.

Many of the women worked in the toddler house Monday, helping with the babies and little ones, they put on the skit of the Good Samaritan twice, once for girls and once for a group of loud and muddy boys. I am not quite sure why so many of these angels with dirty faces got so muddy yesterday, but we men who were working on trenching passed them as we walked to our house, and many of them were as crud-covered as we were. It may be just a by-product  of the rainy season and being a 6 or 9 year old boy, or maybe an impromptu wresting match or two had broken out, but as we walked by them with tools over our shoulders they looked at us and we looked at them and I’m sure both groups were thinking the same thing: “How did  those guys get so dirty?”

Anyway, we were both soon headed to our respective showers and hot meals.

David Martinez, the Californian founder of Orphanage Emmanuel, dropped by in the afternoon for some idle chatter, and it’s always wonderful to hear the stories of the trials and triumphs of his work here. There are some in the world who respond to God’s calling with wild abandon, he is one of them and inspires us all to work hard while we are here and challenges us to consider the calling of God on all our lives.

There is more work today for Hillside Team Honduras on the business ends of picks, shovels and with the kids. Keep us in your prayers.