As Mother Theresa said, "Give of your hands to serve, your hearts to love."  This is the essence of what parishioners do on St. Michael Mission trips.  Bilingual, Spanish-speaking skills are very helpful but definitely not necessary.  Travelers need to be flexible, open to changing plans and daily schedules, adaptive to different accomodations and foods, and willing to pitch in and help with a variety of projects.  As those who have gone on past trips can attest, a week spent in Honduras is a life-changing experience and despite all we offer to those there, we come home receiving more than we give.

Mission Trip Blog:  www.smahonduras.wordpress.com

Travel Arrangements:

The travel team will take an early flight, typically around 6:00am, and fly from KCI to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, changing planes in Houston.  Each of the two legs of the flight are between 2.5 and 3 hours.  After arriving in San Pedro Sula, the team is greeted by the nuns, has a quick lunch in the city, and begins the 3 hour drive up into the mountains to the final destination of Santa Rosa de Copan where the orphanage and elderly home are located.

Meals and Accommodations:

The travel team stays in the elderly home.  Each guest room is clean and has two twin beds, two small night stands and a private bath.  On some trips, travelers have their own room and on other trips two travelers share a room.  Breakfasts are eaten at the elderly home while lunches and dinners are alternated between the orphanage and the elderly home.  The travel team eats wtih the nuns at each home, rather than the girls or the elderly, as special attention is given to the preparation of the food for the travel team.

Preparation for Traveling:

Travel to Honduras requires a valid passport that does not expire within 6 months after the trip dates.  Visas are not required.  For recommended immunizations, please visit the Center for Disease Control website (www.cdc.gov) or check with your personal physician.

A Typical Day on a Mission Trip:

The travel team begins the day with morning devotions and review of the itinery and goals for the day, followed by breakfast with the nuns in the elderly home.  Each day ends with travel team members gathering for a reflection.  Between these beginning and end-of-day activities, there is tremendous variety.  On past trips, travel team members have:

• participating in cultural activities: celebrating quinceaneras and the Feast of St. Anthony (namesake of orphanage)
• worshipping in solidarity: attending Catholic Mass at the orphanage or elderly home chapels or surrounding villages
• completing hands-on work projects: painting and simple maintenance
• celebrating daily life: helping the girls with daily chores, playing games and making craft projects with both the girls and elderly
• supporting education: leading book clubs, walking the girls to school, touring the Catholic high school, hosting career fair
• venturing out on "field trips":  accompanying the girls to surrounding villages, a local pizza restaurant or ice cream store, the crying Mary statue, a park