Monday was a day of praise and thanksgiving! We felt truly blessed. Prior to coming to Honduras one person told me that they were ready to get baptized. The number slowly increased throughout the week as God worked meticulously in people's lives. Four people showed up at La Tigra planning to take the plunge (no pun intended, well maybe a little). Jairo opened the time to share with us the history of the property Iglesia Transformacion owns and baptism. The four people (Christi, Kate, Julie, and Pat) planning to get baptized shared with the group their reasoning. It was a very touching and emotional time between the members of the group and Jairo and Lourdes. Then, a fifth person, Mary Lynn, frantically raised her hand and asked Jairo for permission to also be baptized. She had put a lot of thought into her decision and shared what it meant to her. Jairo's answer was, “how can I say no?” The baptisms were a time of celebration and as we shot photos of the excited women about to begin their new journey, we sang “This is the day that the Lord has made”.
La Tigra is a beautiful place. A jungle-like place in the middle of the green, lush Honduras mountains. The property has a ropes course and a beautiful waterfall where the baptisms took place. While many of the team challenged their bodies with the obstacles in the course, some of us stayed back to lay in the sun, take advantage of opportunities to hear wisdom from Jairo and Lourdes, and write in journals. The time was a fresh breath of air.
We made dinner for the girls at the refuge and it went as well as we could have hoped for. The girls were dressed up and their babies were wearing clothes we had given them. They all smelled fresh from their baths and I could even smell the Bath and Body Works lotion we had given them. They loved their spaghetti dinner and each K2 member doted on the babies one last time. We had cake for dessert and one of the girls kept telling me, Que Rico, (how delicious) over and over again. The girls from the refuge prepared a game for us to play. They were so excited.
There was so much love in the air, the whole evening together with them. We were able to give one last gift. Hand-made quilts and personalized cards for each of the girls with a photo of them and their baby.
This will probably be the last post as we head home today. Yesterday was a very emotional day for most. Many people are melancholy at the thought of leaving this place that has so deeply impacted their lives. The prayer now is that they will continue to hold this feeling close to them as they return and re-integrate into their North American lives. We are all coming home healthy, praise for that. A lot of emotional healing has taken place on this trip, proof that a change in your life could be the best medicine. I am almost at a loss for words of how to describe yesterday, a time to rest and think and inch closer to God. We went to a HUGE Jesus statue that watches over the city. Jairo and the team prayed for the city, the things we have seen and those that remain unseen. The hurting, the lost, the sick, the poor.
We will be flying into Salt Lake this evening. One last logistical prayer, no problems with passports or flights. I'm sure that some of you will be hearing from us when we get to Houston as we beg for rides from the airport. A joyful reunion, I'm sure... because now we get to share what God has done! Amen.
On behalf of the sixteen other ladies and myself... thank you for everything.
Love, love, love,
Holly and the K2 Honduras Team August 2008
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