Networking...The Key to Business

9/1/09
We once again had the chance to sleep in a little bit this morning as breakfast was not being served until 08:30, followed promptly at 9:00 by, what we hoped to be short, a talk by Sister who started “Sociedad” the organization that oversees all a number of orphanages in Honduras, including the one at Nuevo Paraiso. Her story was wonderful. Knowing at the young age of six, after seeing some German Sisters and a priest arrive in her hometown, that she was being called to be a “religious”, she journeyed from her aunt and uncle’s home in pursuit of some Franciscan Nuns at the age of nine, which inevitably lead her to live in an orphanage where she helped out in a hospital, doing all that she could to help everybody around her and continue her pursuit of the sisterhood. Eventually she was sent to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (this is no joke), to become a nun and learn English in, what was at the time, a predominately German and English speaking area with no Spanish speakers anywhere. Sister told us about the first snow fall she ever witnessed and how she had replied to her Mother Superior “I wish you the same” while she was being scolded for turning up late to the talk because she had been outside taking in the snowfall with all of her senses. The Mother Superior, “a strict German Nun”, was unable to uphold her stern act and burst out laughing at Sister’s reply and conveyed the humorous transaction to the audience of Nuns. Sister returned to Tegucigalpa and her work in the hospital, this time as a nun herself. However, she did not forget what she had set out to ultimately accomplish…founding an orphanage that was not just a house for children who had lost their parents but rather a home for those lost souls. She did just that and to this day, at age 83, still oversees the multitude of orphanages in the area, continuing to help raise her family of thousands.
Upon the completion of her talk, the Marquette Global Brigades gathered for a group photo, and then we took off to meet Andreas. We were already running late and did not want to make our Swiss-born leader wait too much longer. Joy and Andreas lead this meeting, during which we rapped-up the week with a bit of reflection and took a look to the future of GBB and Marquette’s role in the organization.
Running on “Honduran-time” and with our work complete for the week, MUGBB headed to Juan & Elvia’s Casa for one last lunch with the members of “Rosquillas del Valle de Zamorano” and some music and dance. Even though we were behind schedule, we still managed to stick to the two-hour time frame we had set for ourselves previously and did not lose too much more time before heading to see a memorial to the Mayans and the 30-odd-foot Christo statue in Teguci, followed by a short trip to Valle de Angeles for souvenir shopping, and then capped the networking-filled day with a Honduran meal at the home of Sandra’s aunt’s sister and her two children. The food was absolutely delicious, and definitely one of the best meals we had this week. A wholehearted “Thank You!!” from us GBB’ers to Sandra’s family.