Honduras Mission Trip 2004

Andrew Blasetti	Senior Civil Engineer	Yo! What a long day. I woke up to this country music stuff - sounded like a car running over a dog. Today was certainly the hottest day, and the most humid. By the end of it my t-shirt had the consistency of 'NewSkin'. Ubil, the foreman, thought it would be a good idea if we put up a stone wall. He also thought it would be a good idea if we used rocks the size of your computer monitor. Next time we'll leave room in our bags for a BOBCAT. The ME's can put it together. Talk to you later.
Carolyn Conlee	Senior Civil Engineer	Mom, Dad, Nan-Nan, Pop-Pop, and Sally: Having a wonderful time so far...today we only did about 4 hours of digging as opposed to 8. Got a good nap during the day and I feel really refreshed for another hard day tomorrow. We're also having a fiesta at night, so that should be a lot of fun. Love you and miss you all! Mom: Tell Nancy I said Happy Birthday...I got some great pictures for her Arash: It's so funny that you wrote me to tell me to take a picture of the kids doing the Philly come up because I already did! One of the boys had a Philadelphia Eagles T-shirt on, so I made him do the come-up and got a great picture you'll absolutely love! Make sure you check out Dr. Gross's message to you...i think you'll find it funny.
Liza Dhamer	Senior Civil Engineer	Sometimes you feel like a nut.... sometimes you don't! Hello everyone - today was interesting to say the least. The digging continued but it was HOT...we began to learn how to make a stone wall this afternoon. Despite the slow pace, we made it through the day. I can't believe tomorrow is our last day here.. it has just flown by! I hope all is well at home, love you all - thank you for your messages
Sarah Banas	Senior Mechanical Engineer	Today was definitely a much needed day of rest. We did do a good amount of work in the morning--hauling lots of rocks--but this afternoon we had a nice long nap and then didn't really do too much more. I am finally getting the boys' names down-pat, and I am surprised at how much spanish I've been able to pick up over the week. Thanks for writing, Jane :-) I can't wait to share the stories when we return--I can't believe we'll be back to Philly in 48 hours. Love you all!
John Boring	Senior Mechanical Engineer	Howdy!!! Figured I'd stick with the western theme I woke everyone up with this morning. It's getting towards my bed time 0200 so this might not make much sense. We finished up most of our digging today and moved a couple rocks, not much. But I also got to spend some time with Luisito and Alfredo up by the cross before dinner. It really is an amazing place. The boys here have been blessed. I think if you read some of the other messages you'll get a good idea of what else we did today, other than make a random trip to the river to get "shower" water because the power went out here. Luckily it came back on before we actually started showers. And now it's been another crazy night around here. Time for a couple hours of rack time. ~Love you all and God Bless P.S. LCpl Otis Spunkmeyer can come back on active duty any time as long as we are not ;)
Jeffrey Cook	Junior Civil Engineer	Hey everyone, thanks for all the messages. It is nice to see that everyone is following us down here. Say hello to Mrs. Tardive's third grade class for me. I am really enjoying the time spent here, and I feel that coming here maybe the best decision I have ever made. Each moment spent with the boys opens a new door of happiness and emotion that I never knew existed. Love, Jeff.
Elizabeth Kenyon	Junior Civil Engineer	This is tough work! Don't pick on me for sleeping... I'd like to see you all out there in the (85 degree in the shade, 106 in the sun) sunny weather. But beware ... if you wake me up while I'm sleeping my first sentence might just be "I'm awake I swear- I've been awake the whole time". Besides, I've been picked on enough this week... believe me. Today was another hot day but we did have a nice long break that was well needed. We moved large rocks and one in particular was honestly the sharpest rock I have ever come upon. My arm got cut as well as my leg.. through my jeans. I can't even remember the last time I've had so many bruises and cuts - and I'm really sore. Dad - You'd be proud of how dirty the work gloves are getting. Mom - Thanks for the really nice note.. the whole group really appreciated it. Can't wait to tell you guys all about this experience. These boys are so unbelievably great... and it's going to be a really hard goodbye. Oh yea... Mom and Dad?.... I have a Honduran boyfriend... he's eight. Sorry Dan. Miss you all.
Dennis Stefanski	Junior Civil Engineer	What's up everyone! I didn't know the whole Snyder family had the address. But its great to hear from everyone. Yeah, we do love digging down here cause that's all we do, but its unbelieable. The boys keep on smiling and hugging and I already know Saturdays going to be death. Anyhow, I'm keeping it short cause other people need it. Can't wait to see everyone we'll be back in Philly around 1 Saturday Night, I guess Sunday in the am. Whatever, love you all. PS Liz, we're going out Monday night. Miss you.
James Sutton	Junior Civil Engineer	Hello everyone, to answer a couple questions, the kids speak very little English and the food has been really good. Today we finished smoothing out the dirt and then carried a ton of rocks over so that we can make the wall. Other than that we didn't have a long day. I went to the river again today to fill up barrels of water for them to give to the cows and use for other things. We thought we were gonna have to use them to wash because the power was off all day, but luckily it came back on later in the afternoon. We also had barbeque chicken tonight (we brought down the BBQ sauce and Rob and Jeff cooked them) which was very good. That's it for today...talk to you tomorrow...Also see Dr. Gross' message
James Troise	Junior Civil Engineer	Hey everyone, thanks for all of the messages. Its great to hear from everyone. Today I am feeling much better although I could use those track spikes Blaich. We worked hard today moving a ton of rocks and more dirt and sand. I am getting a little sad about having to leave but I am looking forward to coming home getting a hot shower and fast food and a soft bed. Mom expect an early Sunday morning call from me (aka 1AM or so). Look forward to seeing everyone again. Love you guys!
Robert Guinivan	Sophomore Civil Engineer	Hey everyone, not too bad of a day today, only a little digging, but instead of moving tons of dirt, we moved tons of rock....that's pretty unawesome. But really, it is going well. I really don't know what else to say, same old fun stuff. Having a blast with the boys. Tomorrow should be fun, we will be moving the same pile of rocks, and then a huge birthday party for a few boys. See you all soon. Love and miss you all.
David Dinehart	Faculty Advisor	Matt, Shawn and Jen are coming to baby-sit next weekend when Mom and Dad go out to dinner. They want to square dance. Abby, be sure to have a hamburger and shake with that spaghetti. Thanks for the daily notes Shell. I'll see you soon. Stan, I know you'll miss Marge as much as me. JRY, you didn't give alienate the architects did you? Villanova, family, and friends you should all be extremely proud of this group of students. Parents, you have done an amazing job. Your sons and daughters are fully embracing the culture, people, mission, and experience. Thank you for the privilege of spending the week with them.
Shawn Gross	Faculty Advisor	Liz's Mom: Nope, the students are always in control. Kate M: I'd have rather had the root canal today. Nicole: No, we are just digging for the sake of digging. And, we really like it. Arash: Too bad you found that passport. Your girlfriend is seeing somebody on the side. He's a little 12 year old Honduran kid named Josue and she won't stop talking about him. She said she may move here permanently to be closer to him. Now, she's writing love letters in Spanish, too! Doc Punzi: Thanks for the update. Dinehart's been sitting in hammock all day preparing for the draft. He's seriously in mourning over the loss of Schottsie. Also, whatever you do, don't pass Stefanski and Guinivan! Lance Corporal Otis Spunkmeyer: Thanks for coming out of retirement and making the appearance today. Maeve: Christian is sick. That's why he isn't in many pictures. But, he'll still fit in a bag to take home and he still has the biggest tongue in the world. Dan M.: We didn't invite the locals to play soccer this year, so we split two games. Andrew really is mafia. And, Jim Sutton is currently stuck in the shower waiting for the water to come back on. Aimee: Feliz cumpleanos! To all of the Suttons: Thanks for single-handedly helping us to shatter the record for hits to the web site. 3300! And according to Jimmy, you guys account for 2300 of those. Matt Dinehart: Square dancing is cool. Your dad said he really really wants to dance with you when he gets home! Grammie: Thanks for the message. I am not getting in trouble. Mom: Sorry your sick. Hope you feel better! Jen: I love you and miss you. Can't wait to see you soon!