Honduras Mission Update - 5/24/10

I have been very busy planning for this trip! There are only 3 days left! This has been incredibly taxing and stressful, as I have so much to organize beforehand on top of my regular schoolwork and job at Panera. It's OK though, I'll manage, and I know that this journey will not only be beneficial for my mental health, but for young orphans as well.

Today I received the clothing donations from Natalia, my Spanish tutor. She gave me a wealth of girl's clothes, which will be very helpful to give to the orphanage. There were some boy's clothes thrown in there as well. I spent tonight selecting the items of clothing that were in the best condition and packed them all into one suitcase. There must be over 5o things in there. It was a time consuming process, and I still haven't even packed my personal belongings.

After school today I went shopping for toys for the orphans with Sarah and Hyanna. We first went to AC Moore to buy good acrylic paints for the mural. I don't know what size exactly the mural will be, but I think we bought enough paint to complete it. Afterwards, with still over $100 left to spend on the orphans, we went to Ocean State Job Lot, where we knew we could get cheap yet still fair quality toys and games for the kids. We made sure to get a wide variety of items, ranging from lacrosse sticks to princess coloring books. Each kid will definitely have access to something, due to the massive amount of items we bought. We did tend to get toys that young boys would prefer, simply because the vast majority of the clothing that Chandler and I are bringing down is for girls or babies. After buying the toys, I stopped at Barnes and Noble and bought three books in Spanish for the kids to read: Harry Potter 1 and 2, along with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

So as of now, everything is prepared that can be. I'll pack my clothes soon enough, but that doesn't matter nearly as much as getting ready for the visit to the orphanage. My tickets are printed, travel arrangements are set, and a vague itinerary has been outlined. I don't think I'll plan the mural until Saturday or Sunday though, in Honduras, so that I can get input from Chandler and Mafer.