Honduras Day 3 (Tuesday)

Today we gave out shoes to many of the neighboring families. We set up 4 footwashing stations, and it was a little bit of a circus as we tried to match up shoe sizes with foot sizes. There were many memorable things that the mission team recounted at the end of the day. Here are just a few of them:

First, two local police, a male policeman and a female policewoman, came in the afternoon to keep order for the people lined up at the gates. They were invited inside and they got to pick out shoes for themselves and have their feet washed as well. I suppose one could say it was good politics, to keep the police on your side. But then, they surprised us by enthusiastically joining in and helping us to wash the feet of the neighborhood people. It was quite a sight to have the local police washing feet!

Second, there was a toothless grandmother, 79 years old she said, who Mama Doris invited to pick out shoes for herself. The lady said she had never in her life had a pair of tennis shoes, so everyone joined in to find her a pair that fit. The smile on her face after she got up was priceless, as she proceeded to dance, and Pastor John joined in with her.

Finally, there was a woman for whom we struggled to find a pair of sandals that fit. Out of the blue, Mama Doris took the sandals off her own feet and gave them to the woman. The sandals were an absolutely perfect fit.

Like every day here, we ended with play time with the kids, and lots and lots of hugs. The kids are so loving, and so trusting, that it has given new meaning to me of what it means to have "faith like a child". Saturday is going to be an emotional day- it is going to be incredibly difficult to leave....

David & Carolyn Duda