Elizabeth Cuba

Dear Saints John & Paul Parish,                                                                       July 2, 2018

I honestly don’t know where to start this letter.  There is so much that I have to say about this experience.  From the day that I signed up for the trip, I hardly knew anyone, I was very nervous, and for a couple of weeks, I was even hesitating about going! But if I’m being honest, I am so glad I signed up. The decision to go was probably one of the smartest  decisions that I have ever made in my life.

I have many people to thank in this letter.  First and foremost, Father Mac. I am going to miss him so so so so much and I really owe thanks to him because I know that he was praying for us when we were gone. I don’t want him to ever leave, but I know he will do a fantastic job at the new church that he is going to. Next, I would like to thank Doug because he did so much work at the fest for us, which was a huge part of the reason that we were able to travel to Honduras and have the delicious meals that we had. Then, I would like to give a big thanks to Soles4Souls because without those people working there, Tiffany, Kristen, Emory, Raul, Darwin, Romell, Cristhian, and all of our chaperones we couldn’t have gone on this trip.  Finally,  I would like to thank everyone at the church, my sister Erin, and my dad. I truly believe that they were all praying for us when were gone.

Now, the actual trip itself. I am not going to tell you all of the little details because that would probably take me about a week or two to write.  I’m just going to sum it up for you. At the first distribution, on the first day, I have to admit, I was pretty nervous.  I had no clue as to what we were about to encounter at this little Honduran school. Right when we got there and we were about to set up, there was a little girl who ran right up to me and said, “hola.” It warmed my heart because I didn’t think that that little girl would have such a mental impact on me. We actually had time to play when we were done distributing shoes to all of these kids at the school. I grabbed an inflatable bell and started  tossing it around with one child named

Marcus and the next thing I knew, there were four other kids passing around the ball. The happiness on their faces from just playing with a ball brought so much joy to my heart.  Then, we packed up and went to our next distribution.  It was a more African group of teenagers.  This community was absolutely amazing. As we were driving in on the dirt road, there were so many people waving to us with the absolute biggest most inviting smiles on their faces. I was sizing with Grace Lunak the whole time, we were having so much fun! We then started  painting the girls’ nails and playing basketball with the boys.

The next day, Sunday, we went to church where Tiffany sang, “How Great Thou Art” and sounded absolutely beautiful while doing it. Later that day, we took a two­ hour drive to a beautiful waterfall. We spent about two hours there, and then we got back to the hotel, changed, and went to Raul’s cross fit gym. An hour later, we went to dinner.

The next day, we went to our last two distributions  of the trip. The Malnutrition Center and Los Olivos. At the center there are about 20 children who had a bad nutrition so far in their life. The four women working there are saints in my opinion, and they deserve way more respect than I believe they are given. I really connected with a child named Anthony. He is only two years old as of today.  Even though he is so young, he has truly touched my heart and will always have a place in it. One of the hardest things that I have ever had to do was have the strength  to leave him. Later that day, we went to Los Olivos for one last distribution  and to eat lunch with the children. Then, when we were done eating and giving out shoes, we started  playing soccer with the kids. All of the Honduran children wanted to do a soccer game, Honduras vs. America. They obviously won.

The day that we had to leave, everyone was very sad and disappointed  about having to leave a country that captured a big place in everyone’s heart.  I am so thankful for having the opportunity  to go on this trip. It opened my eyes to what is outside our “perfect” lives in the U.S.  I am going to try and not take anything for granted anymore.  It was also amazing to see because even though they may not have as much material stuff that we have, they are such good role models on how to follow God. And yes, we helped them, but they gave us plenty more in return for the little deed we have done for them. Thank you God for keeping us safe and healthy in Honduras. This experience was by far truly the best five days of my life and nothing can, or will, ever replace it.

Love, Elizabeth Cuba