So the founders of the building we now use in the garbage dump showed up last week to inspect the premises. The guy in charge is just a humble contractor from Minnesota who has been coming to Honduras since the early 90's. He built the current structure years ago and turned it over to a local pastor and a local missionary but comes back from time to time to replace stolen parts or do repairs. There had been a break-in back in August and Al wanted to replace the current double-doors with one strong, reinforced door so he spent about 3 days tearing out the old one and giving the building a new door worthy of Fort Knox. I actually got a call yesterday from his assistant asking me if I would be willing to get a group of kids together to paint the entire place if the paint and supplies were donated. I agreed...and am crossing my fingers that all will go well.
dino was an ever-present observer over the course of the 3 days that al and his assistant reinforced the front door.
al asked if i knew anything about construction and i wanted to say yes, having lived with bill keiser all my life i should. but honestly i can say that i'm good for hauling things, holding things and following orders...don't ask me to hang doors though.
10 Years In Honduras
My good friend Jessiel Rivera reminded me the other day that it was 10 years ago this month that I arrived here in La Ceiba. I remember my arrival here from Costa Rica fairly vividly. I had been getting teary-eyed on the plane from a combination of sleep deprivation, my longing to remain with my friends in beautiful San Jose and some sad indie music on my iPod. It was a hot and terribly humid Sunday afternoon when I landed in the La Ceiba airport and when I stepped off the 10-seater hotbox of an airplane onto the tarmac I was sweaty, bleary-eyed and disheveled. I looked like a typical gringo backpacker except for my mountain of luggage that I had in tow. Two members of the Central Mennonite Church picked me up in their car; how they knew I was the Gringo they were supposed to collect was beyond me but they got it right. I remember them remarking on the number of suitcases I had brought (3) and their heaviness (maximum weight allowance); and the resulting weight of embarrassment I felt ...
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Anyway, is that Al VanGorp? I can't fully tell from the photos but it looks like it could be. If so, he goes to the church my three sisters attend in western Minnesota. I know Al goes to Honduras but I thought it was closer to SPS where he went.
If it is him, he is such a GREAT guy and servant of God. He's an expert at everything he does in the construction world. I hope he's enjoying a little break from the winter weather in Minnesota.
I'm sure whatever he is doing and has done it's done with excellence! You are blessed to have him a part of your ministry.
May God continue to bless your ministry!