round 2

I got off of my soapbox a couple of days ago. Thanks for all of the compliments on the article but I am not planning on getting in the pulpit any time soon. I believe some of the best sermons are preached by simply getting out there and living your faith. We are living testimonies of who we are and whose we are. What we say, how we say it, where we go, what we do, how we react, you name it, a sermon is being broadcast in living color. Sermons of this nature are not bound by gender, age, skin color, education level, or ethnicity. Preach away, your audience awaits you.

OK, round 2 begins. Round 1 was collecting the 1st payment for the trip (deposit), applications, and making deposits at the various hotels and lodging facilities we will be using this summer. To date we officially have 167 people on our team. I am still awaiting applications from just a few people that are from Costa Rica... and a couple of stragglers who shall remain unnamed. We have 9 people from Costa Rica that will be traveling to Honduras this summer to work with us as interpreters. I am excited to meet this group and work with them because I am quite sure we will be working with them again in 2011 on the Torch trip to Costa Rica. As of right now I think we have 20 interpreters on the trip, the largest number we have ever had on a trip.

Now begins the task of sending out and collecting the next round of paper work. First, I will be sending out the Torch rules sheet this weekend. The rules sheet must be signed and notarized and sent back to me. This is a very important document and everyone has to sign one. It is very important that a team this large be aware of the rules and procedures that will be used for the trip. Everyone, including adults and team leaders, will be held to the same rules as other team members. Second, I am sending out the Spanish release form. This form is for anyone under the age of 18 who will be going on the trip. Those under the age of 18 are considered a minor and we must have written permission for you to travel out of the country with our group. This form, written in Spanish, must also be notarized. An English translation form will be sent along with the Spanish form so that parents will know what the document says. the English translation sheet is NOT to be filled out or notarized. Third, I need a photocopy of your passport. A color copy is best but black and white is OK. Once we arrive in Honduras passports are collected and stored away in a safe place for the duration of the trip. We carry the photocopies with us as we travel about the country. This is to insure that passports will not be misplaced or lost during the trip. If you do not have a passport yet, or are waiting for your passport to come in, please remember to send a photocopy to me as soon as soon are you receive it.

Our container is scheduled to be packed and leave Nashville next week. All supplies must be in Nashville no later than Thursday. The container is going to be full of supplies. We have collected a lot of stuff from tools; chainsaws; clothes; shoes; medicines; toys; stuffed animals; cooking utensils; playground equipment; and more. Although we have not received everything yet, I am estimating that over 500 boxes of supplies will go on the container. This will not include supplies coming out of the Keys in Florida, where Ken Haab's team will be packing their collections up and bringing it down in their baggage. Last minute supplies will also be brought down by various people when they fly down to Honduras.

After the container leaves Nashville a lot of the stress of the trip will be gone for a while (of course it will not be completely gone until I know it has arrived in Tegucigalpa and unloaded into the warehouse). Tasks at hand are dividing the main team into the Alpha and Omega teams. Fund raising continues and plans are still being shaped as to what our specific projects are going to be for the trip this year. As always, the amount of money we have in the work fund will determine how many houses we build and how many food distributions we will be able to do. I hope everyone of the team will dedicate efforts to bring money for the work fund. To show the power of a large team, if everyone brought just $20 with them to add to the work fund we would be able to build 2 additional houses or 1 extra food distribution to feed 300 families!

Please do not hesitate to email me if you need any additional information or have any questions. If you are not in a group or do not receive an email with the rules sheet and Spanish release form, get with me right away so that I can send it to you. 69 days and counting! Getting excited? Getting nervous? Getting ready? I can't wait!!! More news to come soon. Stay tuned....

Terry