Would you believe....?

Today has flown by. We worked about half a day on the job site, then retired to the hotel for lunch. After a bit more luxurious break than normal, we returned to Shimishal for a soccer match between the Hondurans and the Americans.

Our match took place on the army base next door to Shimishal, on a soccer pitch that was, shall we say...interesting. the goals were a steel cage with no net, and the pitch itself sloped at least 15 feet from one end to the other. Not only did the area around the goal have no grass, it seemed to be sunk into the ground a bit as well.

We lined up fully expecting to get spanked. Our opponents were the very same masons and other laborers we had worked with shoulder to shoulder all week. Not only that, but the very mason who had taken me and my compadres under his wing -- Fernando -- was playing wing on my side. Turns out he´s a pretty darn good soccer player.

To make a long story short, we went into halftime down 0-1, which was not too bad considering the Catrachos were playing downhill and with the wind. After halftime we acquitted ourselves well, tying the game at 1-1, then 2-2, and finally 3-3, the final score. Andrew was a star, but went down with a tweaked hamstring midway through the second stanza. Our main mujeres, Molly, Kate and Megan played outstanding soccer, every bit the equal of the Catracho hombres on the other side. We were in the middle of sudden death overtime when we finally had to leave for the celebration that officially closes the week at the site.

When we rolled in there, would you believe that we were greeted by a high school band of about 20 kids, plus about 40 various homeowners and laborers. After the party they threw on Saturday night I should have been prepared, but it was still incredible. The homeowners gave us our diplomas and a couple of small gifts, and we reciprocated with gifts of Habitat hats and bandanas. There were speeches and songs, and throughout Molly was a stalwart, translating on the fly. She has worked really hard this week as interpreter and served us well.

Then came the goodbyes. For me this gets harder each year, as I get to know these people a little better, and the bonds of friendship become tighter. I could tell some of the other team members felt the same way. How is it that you can develop such affection, such love for people you didn´t even know a week before? Only the Holy Spirit can pull that off.

We had another good devotion-reflection tonight on the whole week, followed by a really nice dinner at The Gondola, an Italian restaurant that was really pretty good, especially since it included a few bottles of good wine.

Now some of the group are watching the Carolina game, and others have sacked out. We leave around 7:30 tomorrow for the town of Copan Ruinas to tour the Mayan ruins, ride the zip lines, and visit the Red Frog Tavern. Tomorrow is about fun and reward, but tonight I´m still in a pensive mood, thinking about the people I love that I am leaving behind. A piece of my heart will still be here when I leave.

I can´t fully explain to you what I am feeling right now, but it is intensely bittersweet. This is a great group of people, and it has been a great week together, but I know it´s winding down. There´s so much that´s happened this week that I literally have not had two minutes to process or think about, and maybe it will take me another year to sort through it. But underneath it all there is immense satisfaction and great joy. Something special has happened here this week that is like a pebble thrown into a still pond that will send out ripples in people´s lives, and no one but God knows what those ripples will cause to happen in the future. My own presence here as the leader of this group is itself because of one such ripple.

Margaret Rubiera told me a year ago I should consider leading a group down here. I told her no way, I wasn´t ready. But four months later the Holy Spirit told me otherwise. Ever since that time, whenever I needed information, money, team members, encouragement, courage, or anything else, I have received exactly what I needed when I needed it. It wasn´t always easy or fun, but I guess tonight more than any time in my life I feel that God has really taken me by the hand and led me through. And what an incredible blessing that has been.