Rain or Shine God was Glorified
March 26, 2026
Engineering Team HOI
Day 1
We started off the morning early by arriving at Fields at 1:30 AM. We loaded up the bus and headed to the airport. When we got to the airport, the counter was closed, so we couldn’t check our bags. While we were waiting, we joked about playing spike ball in the airport lobby. We eventually got our bags checked and through security. Then, we got on our flight.
Our first flight landed in Miami where we had a four-hour layover. One member of our team, Will, lives in Florida, and he met us in Miami to travel the rest of the way with us. We ate lunch and marveled at the size of the airport. As we were landing, some of us saw that Air Force One was at the Miami airport. After we got breakfast, a group of us went to a part of the terminal where you could see Air Force One really well and take pictures of it.
Our next flight was from Miami to Comayagua. We landed and made it through customs smoothly. The HOI staff was there to meet us. We also met up with another mission team that is traveling with us and staying on the ranch at the same time. We got on a bus to go to the hotel where we would spend the night. The bus ride was several hours long. A lot of us slept on the ride or, when we could stay awake, did things like read or chat.
We had a brief stop at a gas station to use the restroom and buy snacks if we wanted them. We got to the hotel around 8:45. After receiving our room assignments, we put our stuff in our rooms and headed to dinner. We chatted, enjoyed delicious chicken and veggies, and experimented with drinking a carbonated drink out of a bottle with a straw. After dinner, we had a devotional about service to remind us of the reason we’re here. Finally, we headed to hit the showers and go to bed.
Day 2
Hey everyone! It’s Luke, and I’ll be kicking off our blog for today. We started off the day with a fantastic traditional breakfast at our hotel before driving the last leg of the journey to the HOI ranch with a quick stop at a supermarket to pick up some snacks. I was personally on the lookout for some Cremar chocolate wafers that I had in Mexico a few years ago and was very excited when they had them here too. The ranch is beautiful, and enjoying the mountainous scenery both on the drive and at the ranch has been one of my favorite parts of the trip so far.
After settling into our rooms, we had about an hour to rest and enjoy the sunshine. We have a great view of the mountains from the porch, which can conveniently be enjoyed from the peace and comfort of the several hammocks that are hung there. We also took a few minutes to appreciate the local wildlife, including several iguanas, the ranch’s cows and dogs, and one of the longest lines of ants I’d ever seen carrying leaves through the grass.
Tanner and Caleb both graciously sacrificed some of the space in their backpacks to bring a Spikeball set, and we played a couple rounds of Spikeball before eating lunch in the dining hall with Mercy, the other group who is here serving on the ranch this week. Also, Ja’Michael won’t tell you this, but he’s a lock-down goalie in soccer. That’s all from me, passing it off.
What’s up, guys! This is Ja’Micheal, and I’ll close us out with the last bit of the day. Lunch was great! They served chicken and rice which was amazing!! They also put grapes in the salad which was different but surprisingly really good!
After lunch we played more Spikeball. A little while later, we had a meeting with the HOI coordinators and then went on a walk to the river down the street from the ranch.
Afterward, our team checked around certain areas of the ranch to get a plan of what all needs to be done. We then met some of the local kids of the ranch. They were really nice and we even played soccer with them. It was definitely an experience trying to communicate with them, but their English was pretty good! We all definitely need to work on our Spanish, though.
We finished off the night with a devotional about quiet time with God which was really impactful during this busy time of our lives. Some of our team members want to wake up at 4:00 AM to milk cows, but not me! Goodnight!!
Day 3
For a select few, our day began at 4:45 AM, at which point we quietly crept out of bed and made our way across dew-covered fields. Before long we arrived at the dairy barn, and soon thereafter we were tugging udders. With our curiosity satisfied we returned to the dorms and waited for the 6:15 AM breakfast. We had avocado, eggs, toast, fruit, and sausage. Afterwards we joined staff and the Mercy team in singing and prayer.
In preparation for solar panel work, we scouted the clinic and made note of constraints. Our original plans for panel/cable orientation shifted slightly in light of unexpected changes. As our team prepared for hands-on work, Will worked on an additional project with HOI staff trying to understand where the water enters the kitchen/dining room and how best a UV water filter could be installed in that water line.
In our travels around the ranch, we had the moral support of Missy the Cat and the dogs “Black” and “White.” Around 10:00 AM we began measuring and testing the placement of brackets on a roof tile. Before lunch we put together a tent with the help of the ranch director, José.
As we headed to lunch, it began to rain, which provided a nice ambiance for our meal. We had a wonderful lunch of kebabs with chicken, beef, sausage, and veggies. It was the perfect way to get us ready for the afternoon’s activities.
We were slightly delayed getting back to work in the afternoon due to the rain. After the rain subsided, we began preparing the brackets and marking the roof at the points where the brackets would be affixed.
Though it took some time, we succeeded in working together as a team to mount the first three solar panels! Through the process of getting these three panels on the roof, we figured out how best to do it, and we are confident we can get roughly fifteen put up tomorrow.
After work was finished for the day, we had a few minutes to decompress before another wonderful dinner of chicken, rice, and veggies. We also had some very tasty pineapple to go along with it.
After dinner we had devotional time, which was a great reminder of how God is with us through thick and thin. Then it was time for showers and cards before we all hit the sack. All in all, it was a productive and hugely enjoyable day spent enjoying each other’s company and God’s amazing creation. The mountain views never get old!
Day 4
Due to the rainy dry season, it began to rain around breakfast time, which forced us to hang out on the porch for a bit while the sun dried the roof. Then, the team began to place the brackets on the bottom layer of the roof.
Soon after, Dr. Elrod had the electrical engineering majors of the group—Jake, Tanner, and me—work on our own while the remaining team members continued to press on. We began by preparing the wires for the batteries and the inverter while listening to Jake talk about his six-book fantasy series that he’s been writing.
After that, Ja’Micheal joined our crew as we began to prepare the remaining buckets and lids that would be used to build water filtration systems. By lunch both groups had made a lot of progress, with the solar panel team finishing installing the first group of nine on the roof.
After lunch the crew continued drilling, sorting, and deburring until we were done by 4:30. From there we went over to help the rest of the team finish installing the last four panels for this section of roofing before dinner.
For dinner we had some delicious tacos and then had a devotional on Revelation 4, where we discussed the worthiness and nature of God. Afterwards, a group of us played Spicy Uno, which is just normal Uno with a lot of extra rules, and that was a lot of fun.
Hopefully we will be able to start work on the next section tomorrow and/or change the water filters.
Day 5
Wednesday morning started with a late morning for a certain few. Tanner, Luke, and I had a difficult time waking up and arriving at breakfast on time. However, the news of pancakes and eggs had us quickly up and moving at dangerous speeds towards the dining hall. At breakfast we encountered and met a new friend, Grasshopper the leaf bug. Breakfast conversation consisted of many stories of Lipscomb’s beloved math professor Dr. Hall and many other miscellaneous topics.
After dining on a delicious breakfast, it came time to check the second roof’s construction progress. As of Tuesday it had yet to be completed. By 8:00 AM the roof wasn’t ready for the second set of solar panels to be installed, so instead, we planned on routing conduit for the already installed panels.
Our plan for routing conduit was to find the simplest path with the fewest sharp bends and turns. This led to routing underneath the purlins along the edge of the building. After the routing plan was completed it came time to cut and measure sections of conduit for installation. With help from Blanco the Dog and Missy the Cat, we cut our wires and conduit sections carefully.
While we were cutting, Dr. Elrod and Will made a brave expedition to the hardware store in San Esteban for supplies for both the solar project and the UV water filter project. When we finished cutting the wire and conduit sections, we then installed them using clamps that were screwed into the purlins.
Around 11:00 AM, Will and Dr. Elrod made it back from the hardware store and brought us some delicious helado (ice cream).
Before we were able to finish installing the conduit, lunchtime came around, although I was feeling quite tired and exhausted. Once I heard lunch was fried chicken and fries, I gleefully made my way on to lunch. On the way to lunch, there was a horse just walking around the field beside our dormitory. Hunter even tried to touch the horse, but, alas, the horse wandered away.
Lunch consisted of many stories, but the team favorite was Mycah’s cockroach debacle. We also saw an orange tanager bird perched on a tree outside the dining hall. After consuming the delicious lunch of fried chicken and fries, we got back to work at installing conduit.
While one team was working on conduit, the second roof had been completed enough for another team to start installation on the next set of eighteen solar panels. When it came time for mounting the last clamps for the conduit, the team had to band their limited knowledge of Spanish together to communicate with the construction workers that we needed to share the same workspace.
As we finished installing the conduit leads, the solar panel team swiftly installed the first three of the eighteen planned to be on that roof. Before we could hit a flow state in installation, unexpected rain storms put us into a forced break.
While waiting for the roof to dry, we talked about more stories, another one of our favorites being Meg and her ravenous consumption of three pounds of carrots per week. We also discussed the results of Meg’s and Will’s second speed walking race, with Will being the victor and Meg still claiming her position of being the better distance speed walker.
While discussing these stories, a truck hauling a load of plantains passed by, captivating our attention and signaling our love of plantains. Since the rain made it too slippery to place panels down, we instead installed nine more sets of brackets ready for panel placement first thing the next morning.
While we were working on the conduit and solar panels, Will, Ja’Micheal, and Luke figured out how to implement and install the UV water filter into the kitchen’s water supply.
After they finished that, the dinner bell rang. Dinner consisted of grilled fish, mashed potatoes, the usual watermelon and pineapple, and, lastly, a salad of broccoli, green beans, and various greens.
After dinner it came time for devotional, but frequent power outages made it difficult for some of us to shower and get ready for the evening. Luke and Paul ran the devotional with Luke leading us in worship as we sang three songs: Holy, Holy, Holy, Open the Eyes of My Heart, and 10,000 Reasons, while Paul read excerpts from Matthew 6 and James 4 pertaining to God always providing for us and trusting His will for us.
While Luke prayed us out, Blanco was kind enough to translate our prayer into barks for the other dogs of the valley to hear.
After devotional was complete, Dr. Elrod revealed the long-awaited mystery of the identity of the elusive Don Gato. It turns out it was a song! The song was about a cat, Don Gato, who was in love with another cat and fell off of a roof. I’ll leave the ending a mystery as it spoils the fun of the song.
While hanging out in the dark, Tanner began swinging Caleb on a hammock very high whilst another group found an orange frog, thus named Naranja (orange in Spanish). Right before it came time for bed, the power finally came back on, and we went to bed getting well-deserved rest before our final day of work. The scenic sounds of nature make a great night’s sleep.
Day 6
We kicked off the day with a wonderful egg casserole, which Blanco the dog happily joined us for. After breakfast, Dr. Elrod, Will, and a few others installed the final piece of the UV water filter and tested the whole system to make sure it worked. The rest of us headed back to the dormitories to get ready for our final day of work on the ranch.
Soon after, we regrouped and headed over to the clinic. The roof was still a bit wet from the foggy morning, so we decided to finish the wiring on the first roof while the second roof dried.
Once the wiring was completed, the roof had dried enough and was ready for more solar panels. While some people continued working on cables for the second roof, the rest of us mounted six more panels on the brackets we had installed the day before.
During all of this, a few of us spotted a snake, and Paul managed to snap a photo. The panels went up smoothly, and before long we were ready to head over for lunch. Lunch consisted of some delicious beef, baked potatoes, rice, and salad.
After eating we returned to the work site and continued working on the solar system. We hooked up the first set of nine panels and confirmed that they were fully functional.
As the heat of the afternoon began to rise, we started mounting brackets for six more panels. We were only installing six at that time because space was needed on the roof before the final three panels could be mounted.
Work continued throughout the hot afternoon, but we managed to stay cool and avoid getting burned. At one point Will and Jake began debating who was faster, so naturally a race was held to settle the question. Will narrowly beat Jake, and the debate was officially settled.
After a bit, all the wiring and panel placement that could be done at the moment was finished, so we took a reinvigorating break while the last section of the roof was prepared. Once everything was ready, we quickly mounted and connected the final panels, bringing the total to thirty-six.
With the job completed, we headed over to the kitchen for our final HOI dinner of the trip. Dinner included rice, beans, beef, and some plantains.
Before leaving dinner, Carlos from HOI let us know that there would be a fiesta on the soccer field. We headed over and watched a group of local dancers from San Esteban perform. The show ended with the dancers inviting a few people from the crowd to join them.
After the fiesta wrapped up, we headed back for a devotional led by Jake and Tristen. The devo focused on II Corinthians 1:3–4 and how we can share the comfort that God gives us with others.
Once devo concluded, Will had the brilliant idea for a group of us to go try some peppers. Several of us gathered around, and each picked out a pepper to eat. At Will’s countdown, we all chowed down at the same time and were immediately met with what felt like fire in our mouths.
We powered through the heat, and once the laughter and heat subsided, we called it a night and headed off to bed.
Day 7
We awoke early this morning to finish packing our bags for our trip home. At breakfast, we were greeted with one last taste of HOI—beans, eggs, cantaloupe, and fried bread (a healthier donut).
Then we had a farewell devotional with the Mercy team and all the HOI staff. We sang some worship songs and received an encouragement to walk in humility. The HOI staff thanked us and shook all our hands as we prepared to head off.
We loaded up the bus, where we spent most of the rest of the day. We stopped at several places along the way, including a gas station for snacks and the Mennonite Cafe for lunch, where Hunter took pictures with fans who thought he looked like Ed Sheeran.
After about six hours of driving and many a game of Spades, we arrived in Comayagua to our hotel, La Posada de mi Viejo Hotel. We spent the afternoon relaxing and playing some intense games of knockout in the pool. We got ready for dinner and had a wonderful meal at the hotel.
After dinner we had our final team devotional led by Hunter, who led us to reflect on all of God’s blessings throughout the trip. We talked through all we had accomplished and how thankful we were for each other and all God worked over the course of the week.
We sat in awe of all He had done in us and through us. Full of joy and peace, we capped off the day with some Giant Spicy Uno and then headed to bed with full, grateful hearts.
Day 8
We started our day off with a late breakfast at 8:00 AM at the hotel. We had several breakfast options, and they all looked delicious. We then went on the bus and rode to the airport.
Carlos from HOI brought a bag of the spicy peppers we ate last night on the bus ride. Several of us and one person from the Mercy team ate them and suffered all the way to the airport.
We had some time once we got to the airport, so we played some card games like Egyptian Rat Slap and Hearts. We then had some Domino’s for lunch and took our first flight.
Our first flight went smoothly, but we only had about an hour layover, so we had to rush to our next flight. The Miami airport was huge, so we had to walk about twenty minutes to customs and security, then another twenty minutes to the gate. We all made it to the gate with four minutes to spare before boarding.
Our final flight went great, and we all made it home safely.
While traveling, I had a lot of time to reflect on the trip. There were so many places I could see God on this trip. I saw Him in the amazing wildlife and pets we saw. I saw Him in the beautiful sunsets and mountains at the HOI ranch.
I saw Him in the perfect circumstances that allowed us to finish our work just before dinner on the last day despite so many delays. I saw Him in the amazing staff that helped support us this whole trip.
I saw Him among the great people with whom I journeyed. I saw Him in all our safety as we traveled. I saw Him in the hard work, the laughter, and the deep conversations that filled the trip.
God has truly blessed this trip beyond our own comprehension.
Not a Trip
Category: Student Life