Day 3 in Choluteca from Jay

Here is a post from Jay from the June 1 team.

The install team this week really worked well as a team. As we prepared for the week, I think each of the men on the install group felt the fiesta as the mission segment of each school visit. What we found as we completed our three schools is that the installation of the solar is as important to the mission message of God's love as is the fiesta.

On our final school at Emilio Cubera we had a difficult drive because the normal route to the school was washed out. That made the secondary road our only option. There were several places where a barbed wire gate had to be opened for the vehicles to get through. I was in Pastor Caesar's SUV going through the one gate the SUV slid sideways into the gate post. Fortunately, Pastor Caesar got us moving again and the post really only brushed his mirror. When we arrived on the site at approximately 10:20 am the children had lined up on both sides of the entrance to greet each of us with a curious and somewhat shy "Buenos Dias". The school was all decorated with blue and white flags and balloons as well. The inside of the classrooms had all the tables covered with tablecloths and the principal wore a very nice suit and her best high heels. This school had gone all out to prepare for our arrival. Of course there were more Government officials for this school than any of the other two schools.

Allen decided that for this install that Sady and Maruicio trade roles so they could learn another responsibility, so the workers had a new leader. We also had the unusual challenge of one building being about 100 feet from the main building with a huge Acacia tree in between the two buildings. No problem for this team.



Jay and Mauricio got to work on the charge controller, Juancho, Marcus, Luke and Caleb began wiring the rooms. Phil, Sady and Jeff began assembling the solar panels and rails to the pole while the local men began digging the hole for the pole. Of course Gigi and Andrea Bustillo kept us all in good communication as our translators for the install team. As each team began to wrap up thier segment we gathered and raised the pole. Even after two previous schools, it is still exciting to see the pole go up and the local adults are always standing in awe.

Once the rooms were wired, a crew began stringing wire through the Acacia tree to connect the furthest building to the charge controller. Luke got to play the monkey while other team members held a ladder against frail limbs.

They successfully strung the great distance and connected the wire to the other building, only to discover that we had a short somewhere. Sady found and fixed the problem, but it later haunted us again during the ceremony. The tables in the classroom filled with adults and officials as lunch was served. Of course that made working in the rooms a little more challenging but most of the work was already finished inside those rooms.

We ate in shifts and were ready for the ceremony at about 1:30. Allen instructed the principal and the teachers how to use the charge controller and then went over to the children to give his usual speech about why we were here. I stood behind Allen and watched the children and their parents as he spoke. Seeing their reaction never gets tiring. Then they moved to the main classroom for the dedication. It took awhile to move the tables out of the way, but we got all the children into the room. Jay gave a dedication speech to explain why his friends and family would donate the money to buy equipment and now it was no longer ours or SonLight Power's equipment but it now belonged to Emilio Cubera School.

A fifth grade student named Judy gave a speech to us from memory and finished by saying all the students in the school gave us a hug.
Jay caught her as she turned to walk away and hugged her and then Allen did also. There were speeches by at least four or five officials most of whom were trying to get re-elected and we received a song composed and sung by a former student.
The accompaniment, the content and the gusto of the performance conveyed their appreciation. Clouds seemed to be gathering so we began to rush the loading process to get out before it could rain. The adults and the children wanted us to stay longer as they had a whole afternoon program planned for us. Allen prevailed in getting us out of there for the 2 1/2 hour drive back to the hotel in Choluteca.

As we drove away, there was a mixture of joy in completing our three schools as well as a little regret that we could not do another school or accomplish more. It was a great evening capped by a trip to the Choluteca Wendy's restaurant where we watched the Honduras National Futbol team defeat their neighboring rival El Salvador in the World Cup elimination round on a projection screen in the restaurant. No NFL team has ever had as rabid a fan base as we witnessed in that Wendy's. The building was shaking for the whole game.

What a day and what an evening. We even had a couple of Hostess cupcakes with candles for Jay's birthday which our three young fiesta translators arranged as a surprise. Jay emotionally proclaimed it was the best birthday he could remember (but at his age he just might be getting forgetful). A great day doing the work of our Awesome GOD!!

posted by SolarAl @ 7:21 PM