"Hey everyone, this is Luke Johnson
writing to you from our hostal in Honduras on Wednesday afternoon. Yesterday, we woke up
to some disappointing weather. It was supposed to be our big work day, so we
were hoping for some sun, but for it to be not too hot. We got quite the opposite. When we
looked up at the sky, all we saw were huge, grey, mushy clouds that they could
begin to soak us with rain any second. Our work that day took place at CDI (the kid’s
school/church), and consisted of building a giant canopy, giving medicine to people
who needed it, and simply chilling with the kids. I mainly played soccer and
Frisbee with the kids, which was a blast. After we all got exhausted, Connor
Chenault had the brilliant idea of starting to carry the kids on his back like
a horse, spinning them around by their arms, and lifting them up over our
heads. Little did he know, that once he started doing this, the kids wouldn’t
let us stop. They began to swarm me and the five or six other guys that were
out there, Repeatedly yelling “levantame” which means “lift me up”, or “Caballito”
which means “horse”. As you can imagine, this made us extremely exhausted.
Eventually, we couldn’t go anymore. We started saying things like “No puedo” or
“Estoy Consado” meaning “I can’t” or “I’m tired”. One five-year-old girl named
Jessy in particular, continued to push us way beyond our breaking point. We did
the best we could, but in the end, we were no match for her superior persistency... and cuteness. We kept lifting her up, and swinging her around,
till sweat was dripping from every part of our body. We all lifted her at least 40 times each. I feel bad saying this, but we were pretty stoked to say goodbye
to this kids for the day.
When we got back to the hostal, we
were relieved to hear that we had a long break, then we were off to play some
soccer with the locals. By the time we started playing, it was drizzling, and
then a little bit into our game, the downpour started. We were all soaked in
minutes, but it was so much fun that we didn’t care, we were playing on a very
nice turf field, with fake grass, so it didn’t get muddy. Everyone was slipping
and sliding everywhere. The Honduran team beat the American “dream team” by a
slim margin, but easily could have destroyed us. After the game, we sat down on
the bus and died in our seats. We had to wake up early this morning, so we all
went to bed earlier than usual (11:30).
Even though the day had sapped the energy right out of our bodies, it was without a doubt, my favorite day of the
week (so far)."
My favorite part of this trip has been watching the Grace Point Students own every moment with these kids. Tonight we went to another church service where I got to share about Love. And how Paul challenges us to love with all out strength. I knew that as I was sharing, I was "preaching the choir" as this group has shown me what love is. This trip is so amazing.
Lastly, a little update, as some of you have seen that a tropical storm has hit the coast of Honduras. We are quite a way inland, and all that we encountered was a few hours of moderate rain last night. Nothing to worry on, and most of today was clear. God has given us a very simple trip, with little to no problems. Even the dreaded stomach bug that most people encounter internationally hasn't hit us hard at all. A few of us have felt queasy, but to get a little pg-13 for a minute, no one has thrown up or otherwise. We are healthy, happy, dry, and ready to finish this week out strong. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, and we can't wait to share our stories when we get back.
much love and stoked feelings towards you all.
-Kyle Colin Kerchner
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