Honduras Missions

Day 7 ~ Shelter

2011-06-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

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Well, our last full day in Honduras was a busy one. Today was a full on build day. We spent our day in a community just over the hill from the Tegucigalpa dump. We split into three teams and set out to build three homes today. Due to the large number of mission teams in the area this week, we had a long wait for lumber. One house was started on time and the other two had to wait for hours to begin. We had lots of time to paint nails and bowl with stones and empty gatorade bottles. Many times, the existing house had to be torn down to rebuild it Ours was one of those. This house was made of particle board, cardboard signs, and palettes, We literally ripped the sides of the house down with our hands and it was completely gone in about 45 minutes. Their new home (16' x 16') took 3 hours to build.
It was beautiful and they were so very proud. Two couples share this home. A few minutes after we left the neighborhood, it poured the rain. How awesome to know that these people will sleep in a warm, dry home tonight. So cool.
We met up with the Los Pinos church tonight at El Picacho, referred to as the Jesus statue. It is an amazingly huge statue lit up on the top of a mountain overlooking the city of Tegucigalpa. We worshiped with the Hondurans, singing along in Spanish and in English. This worship service is a favorite to many of our team. It wrapped up our week perfectly.
A huge THANK YOU to Jen and David who opened their gorgeous home and understand that the home God gave them comes with the understanding that it will be shared, (with 40 some people!) The work that you're doing here is huge, honorable, and life changing. THANK YOU to Sandra and all of her cutie helpers who fed us most delicious meals all week long. They have gone above and beyond by washing clothes for us and taking such sweet care of anyone left behind due to sickness. THANK YOU to Matty K, Garrett, Jen, Colby, and Brianna for preparing for us to come and serve and dealing with so many of the details needed seen to before we got here. THANK YOU to Nathan and Melissa for doing the exhausting job of translating for 40 or so people for 7 days. You were all such a blessing to us and were all such a sweet part of our week together. THANK YOU and WE LOVE YOU!!!
A couple of weeks ago I heard something in a sermon that has stuck with me. "God's will will be done no matter what. It's our decision whether we want to be a part of it." Thank God that so many wanted to be part of his will being done this week. Please, friends, remember the people of Honduras in your prayers. They are a precious people and our God is working here.
Goodnight!!!

Day 6 ~ Clothing and Feeding

2011-06-14T23:04:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends! We started out our day with the instructions to pack a full backpack. We were told we would be gone all day and it was true! Early in the morning we split into two teams.

Team one was returning to community that we distributed food in yesterday. The house being fixed was on a very steep hillside. They reinforced the wall and dug a trench to keep the water and mud from running in. Steps were cut out of the hillside to make it easier for the family to get up to their home. Finally, a bunk bed built by Kestner and Garrett was brought in to make some space on the floor. We are returning tomorrow to take them a mattress. Two less babies sleeping on the floor. :-)

Team two visited the hospital. This particular hospital is, let's say, not for the rich. They have separate units, however many children share a room. We split into 5 teams with at least one spanish speaking member and were set loose to visit. Our group was stopped immediately by a woman telling us she was a Christian. She wanted us to pray with her about her grandchild was in need of a surgery.

I know the cancer ward, the maternity ward, the burn unit, and the ER were all visited. We were given the opportunity to smile to, hold the hand of, rub the cheek of, pray with, sit with, and hug, many, many, sick children and healthy parents with broken hearts. Most times while we held their hands and prayed with them in English, they were simultaneously praying in Spanish.

Next we headed up to a school in Valle de Angeles to do a clothes distribution and to make a soccer field for the school children. The road up there was VERY rough and narrow and our busses wouldn't make it. Some rode in a truck and some of us walked up. When the first of our team arrived at the top of the hill, the children were just getting out of school. They were chanting and cheering because they were so excited. We were the first team to come here for something other than feeding them. The clothes were set up in a room in huge piles. They were to form a line and 5 at a time given 12 minutes for 20 limps ($1), and were allowed 20 items. We would help them hold their items while they frantically searched for items. We helped many children get to choose for the first time items that they would LIKE to wear. So special. Extra special was helping little boys shopping for their little brothers.

While half of us were doing the "yard sale", the other half were working on a piece of land that the kids like to try to play soccer on. It had a nice size hill that needed leveled out before we could add the goal posts that we brought along. The tools available were post hole diggers, spud bars, and several hammers, as our shovels were still being used on the house site. The field is done and goal posts are up and the kids that helped had visible pride in the project that they worked so hard on.

We had 1 hour to speed race through the shopping village in the Valle de Angeles. We are, as it turns out, seriously good speed shoppers. We had a blast and we're bringing you home some goodies, well, some of you. :-)

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Las Tejas.

We left here and fed at the homeless shelter in downtown Tegucigalpa. A young precious girl named Amber has made a life here providing for the hurting, hungry, and homeless of this town. They are fed 3 hot meals a week here. The smell of....I don't even know what, was coming off of these poor people. Many have turned to smelling fumes of some sort to take away their hunger pains. God is working wonders through Amber who not only feeds them but provides shelter when they are sober and love always. Please keep her ministry in your prayers as it is one that reaches so very many people here.

We're tuckered out but VERY blessed by what God has done though us and with us today. Our last full day is tomorrow. We'll be building 3 houses in the dump community if all goes well with getting wood. Please remember us in your prayers. Goodnight!!!

Day 5 ~ Emotions

2011-06-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

Today was spent experiencing heart-rending scenes of surreal poverty, but also sharing and receiving the joy that service brings.

We started out the day returning to the community where we passed out food bags yesterday. We ran out of bags before we could get one to each family, so we had promised to come back. As we descended down the trail, familiar faces started to appear. There were games of hacky-sack, nails were painted, toys and stuffed animals were given out.

We also spent some time talking with Mothers in need of new houses. One house was comprised of a concrete block wall from another house that simply had a structure of wooden frame and tin attached. We are always amazed at how these sweet people can take whatever they have at hand and make it work, but in this case, the tin was all recycled from other houses, and had many holes for rain to poor through. Another remarkable thing about this community is the fact that last year their small church house was rebuilt. It was obviously the pride of the community and they were excited to open it up and show it to us. These mothers and families had chosen to ask for a new place to worship before new homes for themselves.

Next we went into the Tegucigalpa dump to serve lunch. It's so hard to try to describe with words or even pictures what it's like in that place. Swarming hordes of vultures, flies, cows, dogs, people, trucks, and bulldozers shock your senses as you drive in. We got off the bus, and several of our team passed out a meal of beans and tortillas, while the rest of us took bags of pure water and handed them out. We shook hands, played ball, and did our best to bring the love of God. After we got back on the bus, it was pretty obvious that we as a team needed to take some time and process what we'd just experienced. We sang in the echo of the basilica, and then talked about how the dump impacted each of us. Some described it as Hell on earth, and wondered at how these people have the courage to continue living there. We were encouraged by Jen as she told the story of Hagar when she was pregnant with Ishmael and she'd been kicked out of Abraham's camp by Sarah. God took care of Hagar's needs and Hagar named that place Beer Lahai Roi, saying "You are the God that sees me." God sees those people's struggle and we did too. We know that other teams like ours will continue to return to remind them of that.

Our afternoon was spent walking in the community of Los Pinos and carrying food bags to the families there. Los Pinos is a place that we've returned to many times over the years, and there were many happy reunions! After handing out our bags, we gathered with the people in the Iglesia courtyard to share popcorn and cotton candy.

In the evening we enjoyed a delicious meal from Taco Loco, then crepes belga from La Creparia! Our team is seriously committed to serving the people of Honduras in the name of Jesus. Almost as serious is the commitment that some of our team members have to playing soccer, which was proved as more than 15 went to play indoor soccer at 11:00 PM! No broken noses or busted lips this year, so it was a definite success.

P.S. forgot to mention that we spent part of our afternoon yesterday touring the campus of the wonderful Mi Esperanza ministry. Mi Esperanza operates under the assumption that if you put tools in the hands of women to enable them to care for their children's needs, then those children will be healthy, happy and educated, and that's a powerful way to affect change in Honduras. Mi Esperanza teaches computer and business skills, sewing and beautician classes, and also provides micro-loans so that graduates can start their own businesses. They support the ministry with a shop stocked with purses, skirts, dresses and other things produced by the students. So our team had a blast shopping with purpose!

Day 4 ~ Worship

2011-06-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

Our team worshipped this morning in Santa Ana, a beautiful tiny town with quiet streets and some very beautiful gardens. Our service was held in a small building with concrete floors, metal chairs, and puppies running in and out every few minutes. Definitely not the kind of church service we are used to, which made it all the sweeter. Worshiping beside these people was so cool. Matt Bortell led us in English worship songs. The Honduran children singing the name "JESUS" at the top of their lungs when we sang "Firm Foundation" was a highlight for many of us. Someone is obviously teaching his name in this place. There was a song leader for the Spanish speaking as well. We had a guy translate the lesson for us, a very good one on wisdom. At one point, we were all singing the same song, at the same time, in our own language, to the same God. Amazing.
After church we went to an orphanage called Casa de Esperanza, or House of Hope. The kids were so excited play with us. They had all been in worship service with us that morning. All of the little boys were given Matchbox cars, which they played with all day. The girls got stuffed animals and were really sweet in their sharing. For lunch, we had a pizza party with them. We even got to look around in their little shop, where several of us laid down some cash.
:-) Jen showed some of us that had never been there around. She explained a little about how things work here. WE heard a few of the childrens' stories and I can't really even express how much these kids need and deserve the love, attention, and support that they get here. We would love for you to take some time to look at their web site, www.cdehonduras.org.
We had a bit of down time this afternoon and many of us napped! YAY! Then we put those big bags of food to good use. We went to a very depressed neighborhood and passed these bags out to the families. I have posted a couple of pictures to TRY to convey the devastation here. They don't do it justice. In order to keep order, we walked to the bottom of the long hill that was crammed with homes. We started at the bottom and worked our way back to the top. We gave them food, a Bible, and told them "God Bless You". There was a little boy, very little, whose house we passed at the top. He ran through the crowd till he got to the base of the hill and was speaking desperately to Lacey. "My daddy has ulcers on the bottoms of his feet. He can't work, he can barely walk. Please can we have some food." We had passed his house. He thought he was forgotten. Too many are. Ugh. Bless his daddy, whom we met. Bless his heart for caring for his family. We're returning tomorrow because many saw us but we ran out of food. We'll spend time with them tomorrow, sitting on their door steps and holding their children.
Please keep us in your prayers. Tomorrow we will do one of two feedings at the dump. We are all having a wonderful time and LOVE spending so much time together in Jen's beautiful home. Love from Honduras to home!

Day 3 ~ Visiting

2011-06-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day here today. It was packed full of time with kids. We spent the majority of our day loving on children who need time with people who show them that someone cares.
This morning we headed out to Good Shepherd. This is an orphanage up on the most beautiful mountain. The owners teach these children how to care for all of their own needs. They farm, wash their own clothes and take care of the animals. There is a different feeling here. The kids are very well cared for and seem happy. That is definitely not to say that they didn't eat up our attention. They ran to the bus to greet us and get to spend some time with us. The girls were pretty much immediately getting their nails painted and their hair done. They were very patient and graciously accepted anything that we wanted to share with them. On the other side of the field there was a massive soccer game. The kids had such a blast and even got to play in jerseys that we were able to share with them.
This afternoon was a bit different. We went to an orphanage that is a boys home. The boys here are basically jailed. They are kept behind bars because if they were not, a life of gangs,drugs, and murder is almost impossible to escape. We were told that last year this visit was just so heartbreaking and desperate. This year was a little better. The owners have added fencing in the back so that the boys are finally allowed to be outdoors some. There is a large wall on the outside, within the fence. Nathan, a Honduran friend and artist, kindly drew a mural on this wall to add some variety to what they see. Our job today was to paint the mural. It is very good. The colors are pictures were bold and beautiful and the message even more so. "Jesus is Everywhere." The boys were invited to help us paint and they very much enjoyed this. They were calm and peaceful even for just a few minutes.
Meanwhile, several of our guys were making another long term difference. They brought lumber and spent 2 or so hours teaching some boys how to build a table and stools. These were needed for the home anyway but those boys LOVED learning to do something with their hands that produced something so awesome. Our guys were so patient and kind with them.
This evening we returned for some delicious dinner and then moved immediately out to the garage to begin the job of making food bags. The process is really something to see. Rice, beans, salt, coffee, chicken bouillon, lard, tomato paste, spaghetti, sugar, and flour are bagged up and an assembly line is made to add the items into a large sack. Sometime this week our team will go into the mountains to deliver these amazing bags of food to families that have no idea where their next meal will come from. We will hand them their food and we will hand them a Bible. That is where their next meal will come from, from their God who is working hard through this team this week.
Lane and Luke are doing better. Thanks for the prayers.

Day 2 ~ Build Day #1

2011-06-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

We're not wasting any time here in Honduras. Today was our first build day. The Nashville School in The Valle de Angeles was in need of some classrooms. That was our single job for the day. The project was one 16x16 room for the kindergarteners. The other was 32x16 for the high school students. It was huge undertaking and a learning experience for many of our team that have never had the chance to build a Honduran house. It didn't come easily however. The day was long (8 a.m to 8 p.m.), and wasn't without incident. Although he's fine now, a hammer fell from a roof beam onto Luke Davis' head. He has a pretty nasty cut and did pass out but his mom is taking good care of him. :-) A pretty huge storm came through as clean up was beginning. The job is almost finished. Just a few finishing touches.
The kids were amazing here. There were about 200 students there for their last day of school. We took the popcorn maker and the cotton candy machine. This is a bilingual school and the kids are encouraged to use their English with us. They were very mannerly and were so thankful and excited to get some gifts and some time to play with our team. Tomorrow, when I can track down the right cords, I'll post some pictures of them.
We knew going into today that building these rooms would benefit the children for years to come. We were aware that the director of the school, Miss Valerie, would be so grateful. What we didn't expect was how showing up would affect, Cesar. Cesar is one of the owners of the school. He was aware that we were coming but had forgotten. When he pulled up to the school, he was stunned at how many of us there were. He was humbled and embarrassed by the fact that he had nothing to offer all these people. He didn't have food or money to offer our team. He was told that there was NO expectation from us at all. We were doing it because we love our God and want to help the school that helps so many. Cesar, who apparently shows little to no emotion, broke down in tears. He asked, "what would make someone care enough to come out here and do this without pay?" Miss Valerie shared Jesus with Cesar today.
Please keep a couple of specific things in your prayers for us. Obviously, Luke's head. We want him to heal quickly and not have any trouble with it tomorrow. Also, my 11 year old, Lane, came down with strep throat yesterday as we were landing in Tegucigalpa. He is quite sick. We stayed home all day today. He really wants to work alongside the rest of our team. Please ask God to heal him quickly, too.
Thank you!
Goodnight!

Love Out Loud ~ Day 1 ~2011

2011-06-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Dearest friends and family,

My name is Jenny Bortell. This is my first time in Honduras, my first mission trip. I'm here with my husband and 3 kids. My daughter, Lacey and I will be putting together some blogs for you all at home to share in our daily experiences. So, on that note:

We are HERE and we are safe. Our traveling day was just wonderful. We had no problems at all. Everyone arrived when and where expected, we were on time, our flights were perfect, our luggage arrived, in other words, God was working in every detail. Jen and her interns have given us a welcome above all others. We have such a beautiful and comfortable place to base our week and to renew ourselves.

We visited Casitas Kennedy today. It's an state run orphanage that is the first stop for all orphans needing to go through processing. These sweet kids need some loving and we were there to shower them with it! There was popcorn, cotton candy, and of course, some soccer.

Tomorrow, we will fill you in on some more details but tonight, some sleep is on the menu. Thank you all for your prayers and you support getting us here. We will hit the ground running tomorrow at 7 a.m. to build some classrooms for some very special students. :-)

Goodnight!

Day 8- Saturday 12- KNOW & BELIEVE

2010-06-13T07:09:00.001-07:00

Hello Friends and Family,

This is Donna. First off, thank you to Andrew for the blogging this week. He did a great job of conveying our week to those of you who followed along with our journey. Please be aware that your money, your prayers, and your love make you an integral part of this team and we come to Honduras representing Our God and Our Jesus with your strength in Him. Thank you.

Secondly, thank you for all of your prayers. I am thankful to report that it wasn't the Honduran water that took me down on Friday, but it was a nasty virus that lasted for about 12-16 hours. Yuck. The virus had been travelling through the other mission team at Villa Gracia and only infiltrated into ours by taking down Joe early in the week and me on Friday. It was miserable while it lasted but after my fever broke late Friday night, I was all better, just exhausted. Thank you for your prayers and concern. I am certain God worked this to His glory reminding each of us that He is Lord and reigned in the work done on Friday, using our sweet Anna as His vessel. She stepped up and honored Him with her leadership, and we give glory to God for His work through her and the team on Friday.

Saturday morning we slept in a little and had breakfast at 7:45. After loading our luggage onto the bus- half as much as we brought with us because we left the rest on the mountain as shoe and clothing donations- we sat on the "deck" under the tree and had our final team devo. Our Theme this year is KNOW & BELIEVE, and so in the midst of our worship, we wrote out on card stock what we know and believe after this week of God's service in Honduras. Below is what God has revealed to our team as written on our devo cards:

I KNOW that God provides for us even in the worst situations. I BELIEVE that with God all things are Possible.

I KNOW that God answers prayers BIG and small. I BELIEVE God is good.

I KNOW I have sisters and brothers all over the Globe!That makes me happy. I BELIEVE in the HOPE of Jesus!

I KNOW the God of my heart is the God of the dump and He is FAITHFUL, regardless of what my human eyes can see. I BELIEVE Jesus will come again and make all things right.

I KNOW that injustice is everywhere; both here and around the world, BUT I BELIEVE that God will lift those people from that curse... whether here or upon His return.

I KNOW a little faith goes a long way! I BELIEVE He rains many blessings in Honduras.

I KNOW Jesus is all we need. I BELIEVE in the power of prayer.

I KNOW Roy is all that is man- Our team is awesome. I BELIEVE God takes you just how you are and uses you.

I KNOW that only GOD is GOD- that there is joy & peace in serving Him- it is a delight to serve Him together. I BELIEVE we can do far more than we think we can- in His strength.

I KNOW God is good! I BELIEVE He is here.

I KNOW that everywhere I may go in the world that I have a family made 1 in Christ. I BELIEVE that through God, nothing is impossible.

I KNOW that many still need God. I BELIEVE that God uses a few to change the world and give God to many

I KNOW I need to learn Spanish- so I can share the words to give birth to faith. I BELIEVE hearts have been opened of those in Honduras & those returning to the States.

I KNOW that poverty is real. I BELIEVE God is mighty to save.

I KNOW God has created & can see the big picture. I BELIEVE He has a plan.

I KNOW God is healer. I BELIEVE He uses His people to bring the healing.

I KNOW that through God all things are possible. I BELIEVE prayer is one of the most important parts of being a Jesus follower.

I KNOW God is love. I BELIEVE loving is the best way to show them God.

I KNOW that this country has forever changed me, my heart, my life, my faith. I BELIEVE that we make a difference, one person at a time.

I KNOW God loves all of us- Hondurans and Americans. I BELIEVE God has a plan & a hope and a future for all of us.

I KNOW in times of great change & growth, satan attacks are very often. I BELIEVE if God is assisting with the change then the result was His plan and the attacks strengthen us.

I KNOW God is with us always- Jesus is with us no matter how bad things may get. I BELIEVE we all have a purpose- God sent us here for a reason.

I KNOW that God blesses those who bless others. I BELIEVE that we have been richly blessed this week.

I KNOW my God is alive and active. I BELIEVE He works through us to be one.

I KNOW Christians are humans too. I BELIEVE that hard work makes you stronger even when you're tired.

I KNOW that this week we have done God's will and people in Honduras have seen how good God is. I BELIEVE that people have been touched this week by the work that we have done. We brought them hope, happiness, smiles, food, encouragement, and a roof over their heads that brings honor and glory to God.

I KNOW God lives in me. I BELIEVE we can make a difference.

I KNOW He is alive in all of us. I BELIEVE all can be done in the Lord.

I KNOW I climbed the wall faster than Carlos. I BELIEVE that God wants me to be here.

I KNOW God is amazing. I BELIEVE that we have forever changed the hearts of these people.

I KNOW God has plans to PROSPER all people, to give EVERYONE Hope and a future (Jer. 29:11). I BELIEVE it is a blessing to be a blessing.

I KNOW that God is with me wherever I go. I BELIEVE we can make a difference in Honduras.

I KNOW that this is what God has called me to do, serving His people. I know that God will continue to show love and mercy here. I BELIEVE God is faithful.

I KNOW people need hope. I BELIEVE God is the only hope.

I KNOW that my God is bigger than I am- more than I can imagine- capable of more than I give Him credit. I BELIEVE He can work miracles.

God, we give you all glory and praise and honor... You are worthy of it all. Continue the work you began in us in Honduras and the work you began among the friends and "family" that we now have in Honduras that you called us to serve in the name of Jesus. May we all KNOW that you are the LORD our God and may we all BELIEVE in Jesus that we all may have life, now and later, and may we share that hope and that power with the world. Through the powerful name of Jesus, we boldly, and gratefully pray. Thank you, Father.

Day 7 - Friday 11

2010-06-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

Countdown is over. Today is the last day. Today is our last chance to build for these people, and what better place to build than the dump. The dump was the most shocking thing we have seen; these people live in a place you wouldn't want to drive by because of the smell. A place you wouldn't want to walk through because of the filth. What better place to build and establish stability. They truly need.
Our day started with news that Donna was sick. Donna is sick! What can we do? Is everything canceled? No, Anna to the rescue. We have two group leaders for a reason. You've heard the expression “When you mess with fire, you're going to get burned.” Well, in Honduras, “When you mess with the water, you are going to get sick.” Donna was down for the day, but the show must go on. The mission must be completed. These people living in the dump must see Jesus today.
We left for the dump early in the day. We also repacked all of the food bags (about 300 of them) into the bus. We were going to do a food distribution in the dump community. Once the bus was ready, it was back to the place I will never forget. Back to the place that will forever remind me of how blessed I am. We are going back to the dump.
The dump community we were building in was off to the side of the dump. It was separated from the hills of trash by a hill of grass. That barrier really kept the smell out, which was awesome. I don't think I could have taken that smell for a whole day. It really is debilitating. We were building two houses today within two hundred feet of each other. It was nice to be close to everyone today. Usually, the groups are so spread out that we never see each other. Today was different. Today was a group effort to accomplish something special.
There were two sites: a mud site and a rock site. I got the rock site, and, let me tell you, I definitely got the best site. The mud site was nasty. It was a pool of mud and filth. The posts dug for the houses itself were sitting in pools of tepid water. Each site progressed well, though. Through the obstacles, we finished them in record time and without incident. We did, however, experience our first day of rain. It did hold off until we were almost done with the second house, though. God is amazing, and he has given us the best week of weather imaginable. The rain could have prevented us from finishing today, but God held it off for us. God is faithful and God is kind.
With both houses being completed, we were ready for the food distribution. It was a different experience because it was raining. We were forced to give the food out of the back of the bus. We returned to the bus after the build to see a line of 100 to 125 people – all waiting for their food. They knew why we were here. They knew we would give them food. Through the rain, we handed out as much food as possible. Each family received at least one food bag. When that was done, we headed back to the mission house. Commence operation “Get Me Out Of These Wet Clothes.”
Dinner today was a treat. We went to Jen's house (the missionary we've been working with all week) and ate Taco Loco. This is the coolest business I can imagine. You plan a party. You hire Taco Loco to come to your house and prepare their food. They bring their own stove and food. You watch as they get ready to rock your taste buds. They make a platter for each person. Each bite is better than the last. I had to sit down because my knees were getting weak. I needed resuscitated because my pallet was in shock. I loved it.
Now that the week is over, I totally enjoyed myself. The trip was worth it. The trip was needed. It was my first mission trip, so there were many things I needed to learn. I feel like I needed to see these things. God brought me here to show me I am not alone in this world. There are billions of people in this world that need Christ and are screaming for his peace. There are millions of people in Honduras that need Christ and are yearning for his forgiveness. I needed to see that. God is bigger than I am. God is bigger than my problems. God is bigger than my bad days and bigger than my addictions. God is massive, and he is capable of so much goodness.
Thank you goes out to all the members of the GC team. Thank you for working hard and giving of yourself. Thank you for taking time of your schedules to give to people in need. Honduras is not the same because you came and sacrificed. People in Honduras will never forget the things we have done for them. They will never forget the love and care that we showed them. Children will grow up remembering how we treated them and loved on them. They will remember our example for forever. Many kids need us. They need to see that they aren't alone. They are forgotten. They are completely abandoned. Someone, even if it is a stranger, cares for them. Cares for them so much they would give of themselves for them. Cares so much they would sacrifice for them. Thank you for making a difference.
Thank you to God for this opportunity. Thank you to God for pushing me this week past my comfort zone. Thank you to God for putting me somewhere in desperate need of disciples of Christ. Thank you to God for never leaving me when I felt overwhelmed. For never leaving me when I felt in despair or heartbroken. Thank you to God for being with me every step of the way and giving me strength.
God, you are my everything. God, you are worthy of a lot more than a week of my time. You are worthy of my life. Everyday is yours, God. Take from me everything. Strip me from my selfishness and pride. Take all the obsessions and addictions from my life. Leave me with nothing but your love and grace. Help me to remember the things I've seen here in Honduras. Never let me forget your love shown here. I want to live a life more worthy of you. I want to give as much as I receive. I want to be a servant – someone who will wash another's dirty arms and legs. I want to be a giving person – someone who will give of their last possessions. I want to be Christlike – someone who will love and hug the unlovable and the unhuggable.
God, thank you. Thank you for everything. Thank you for my blessings. Thank you for my struggles. Thank you for my ups and my downs. Thank you for this week. Thank you for your Son, most of all. His life is worthy of all of this. His sacrifice begs me to do the same.

Andrew Moore

Day 6 - Thursday 10

2010-06-11T06:17:00.001-07:00

Two days left – today is the easy day of the two. Tomorrow will be an all-out building day...today is a laid back shopping day. Are you cheering? It seems like every time someone here says “shopping day,” the girls all cheer. If I know anything, I know ladies love shopping. It is my job, as the male, to hold her stuff. I am getting pretty good at it, actually.
We started the day with two mission-related stops. Our first stop, after sleeping in until 7:45, was to a boys' home. These kids have been rescued from the streets. Some boys aren't too happy to have been rescued. I guess “rescued” is a relative term. We see living on the streets as a bad thing. Scavenging for food as a bad thing. Wearing what others have thrown away as a bad thing. But, if it is all you know, it is hard to pry it away from some of them. We were warned, over and over, that these boys will try and escape. They will say anything to get out.
One of the cool things about this boy's home was they are able to earn money. They all are given some yarn/string and are shown how to make bracelets. These bracelets are sold for fifty cents to a dollar. I know it doesn't sound like much, but this money gives them such a sense of accomplishments. They are making money – maybe a sensation they have never felt before. They can use this money to buy food or drinks. The money is like a debit card for them; they don't deal with cash. They are awarded the money when they need it.
The bracelet selling was crazy. Once it was time to start buying, the swarm of kids was out of control. Every child wanting you to buy their bracelet; it was easy to get lost in the hubbub. For only the cost of fifty cents, it was very hard to say “no.” The smile they got after earning money, any money, was worth it.
The next stop was a senior citizens' home. This was one of the hardest stops for me because almost all of them had dementia. There wasn't much I could do to connect with them. It was very touching to see them and feel that helplessness. The story behind the home is amazing. A dentist saw the need for the home. A dentist, a man who made good money at a respected profession, gave up all he had, bought a building, and began to minister to these elderly people. He saw a city full of homeless elderly people and his heart broke. They could not fend for themselves. They could not protect themselves. They were left alone. Most of the old folks were abandoned by their families because they could not care for them anymore. The only option they thought they had was to drive them downtown and kick them out of the car. Leave them to die. Let the streets take care of their “problem.”
The dentist saw this injustice and opened his home. He takes in elderly people, most of whom have serious problems, and takes care of them. He has given his life to help people in the last stages of life. His story and his mission is incredible. He does something most people would absolutely flee from. He also feeds the homeless of the community lunch every day. He was an inspiration to me. He is an awesome servant of God.
Now comes the shopping portion of the blog. What can I do to get you into this beautiful purse? First, we went to Mi Esperanza. This organization was created to help mothers learn an occupation. It is one thing to hand out food, it is another to teach them how to earn their own food. Mi Esperanza has business classes, computer classes, sewing classes...a little of everything. If a woman is interested, it is free for her to learn a trade that can feed, clothe, and send her children to school. Do you want a purse now?
We then went to a huge Catholic Cathedral for a little worship. This building was nothing short of awe-inspiring. The grandness. The shear volume. The intricate detailing seen all over the building. We all agree that the Catholics have a great grasp of the “holiness” of God. We miss that sometimes. They see him with reverence. They see him as the diety worthy of our fear. I'm not saying we don't do that, but they seem to have a great handle on it. The church itself is a monument, a testament, to how great and awesome he really is.
We spent some time singing and worshiping God. I have never been so moved as when we sang in this building. The acoustics were unbelievable. The sound resonated in such an awesome way. I really wish we could have sang all day – listening to God being praised in this astonishing place.
Our last stop was the Valley of Angels...another shopping place. We had some time to walk around the shops and support the local vendors. It is nice to see local people producing local products. We definitely found some cool stuff. We then ate our one meal on the town. We went to a place called Las Tejas; it was very good. I loved finally eating some local cuisine, and it was awesome. I loved every bite I took, and that was a lot of bites.
God, thank you for a day off from physical labor. Thank you for letting us experience heartbreaking images. Thank you for uncovering social injustices. Help us to see these things and get angry. Help us to see these things and not be OK with them. God, help us to be your hands and feet and fix things when they are broken.
God, I pray a special prayer over our team. We are experiencing heavy illness and the whole of Villa Gracia is being effected by it. It is now reaching into our team and dropping us like flies. God, keep us healthy. Keep us safe from illness. God, take this sickness away and help us to continue in your work here. God, we love you for who you are. Not because you give us gifts. Not because you grant us our wishes. We love you because you are God and you deserve it. You are worthy of all our thoughts and praise. You have unlimited power. You have unimaginable strength. When you say things, they become. God, because you are God, you deserve monument after monument, statue after statue. You deserve my time and my effort. You deserve my all. Help me to give with no hesitation.

Andrew Moore

Day 5 - Wednesday 9

2010-06-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

Back to the grind today. Back to what we do best - build. Today was a day to clean up loose ends - we went back to previous spots and finished projects that we had already started. Two groups went to finish the two houses started on Monday, and one group went to finish the repairs that were started on Sunday. Everything thing turned out fine...eventually.

My group was able to return to our initial project from Sunday - the renovation of part of a house. We began this task thinking it was going to be a piece of cake. Let me rephrase that; we began this task thinking it was going to be a piece of mud. We were scared half to death with stories of how muddy this job would be. The name assigned it was “the mud site,” for goodness-sakes. We had now returned to finish what we started. The Mud Site 2: Revenge of the Underlying Rock Layers.

Our job was simple: Finish one wall and complete the other two. Complete the roof. Job...complete. That doesn’t sound so bad, now does it? When we had left the site, we had left quite a mess. This wasn’t a mess we had created, though. The mess was this lady’s livelihood. She collected sand, gravel, stones, you name it. Her collection is apparently how she makes money, selling these objects is how she makes her money. The area we had to work with was full, FULL, of this stuff. One hundred pound bags of sand. Huge rocks. It was full of some heavy and hard to move things. We were able to work around most of it on Sunday, but the task was going to get increasingly more difficult.

When we arrived today, we saw the area had been cleared. Bag after bag, mound after mound had been moved. The sigh of relief had to have been heard from miles away. She told us she had worked and worked to get this area ready for us when we came back. She didn’t even know if we would ever come back! She had faith we would return. Until the other day, we didn’t even know if we could make it back, but she knew.

Another thing that made this site impossible was the amount of shoveling and digging involved. The room we were building was on a slope. The slope was made of stone. “You can’t build a room on a slope,” you say. You’re right; you can’t. That means we had to level it. After working on it on Sunday, it seemed like no progress had been made. We had to do it...again...until it was done. Finally we can get the boards going and raise the walls. What’s a room without walls?

As the roof was being placed, the walls were being finished board by board. Once we ran out of wood (meaning we didn’t get to finish...again), the last step was the open the room with an internal door. That wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever seen done. Through the complicated mess, it was finished. She now has a working room that will not flood every time it begins to rain.

One of our tasks today was the find out the story behind the woman we were working for. When we asked her, she told us a story that would make anyone’s heart break for her. She told us she is married. She used to go to church. A couple of years ago, her relationship with her husband took a turn for the worse - he married another woman without divorcing her! Her husband feels no remorse for this; he even lives with both of them. Some time with her, some time with the other. He does nothing to help with raising their kids. He comes and eats her food. He comes and uses her resources. He leaves without so much as one cent or lifting one finger for the little kids. She is forced to do it all and is struggling to keep her head above water.

Knowing these back-stories is so valuable. It puts a face to the work you are doing. It gives motivation. It makes you want to help more and more. I want to give my all for these people who have been wronged. I want to help these kids that get mistreated for no faults of their own. One of her daughters was constantly by our side, both today and Sunday. She was the sweetest girl you could ever meet. Even though our languages kept us from communicating much, her smile said enough. Every time you looked at her, a huge grin would come to her face. She was so sweet and gentle - she was the kind of girl you just can’t help but want to rescue. Rescue her from any pain. Rescue her from any hardships she might have to face. I wanted to save her from a life full of abuse and starvation.

Some of the things she did were astounding. I told you about her writing notes to us on Sunday. It just got better today. She wrote a couple more notes - these notes being much longer than the first ones. They were well written compositions saying such kind things. I couldn’t believe some of the things she said. She praised us for our service. She praised God for bringing us here. She told Brenna that she wished she and Brenna were neighbors, so they could be best friends. She said some truly touching things.

There was one instance that blew me away. I was shown Jesus today by this little girl. My wife had gotten some dirt on her arm. No big deal. Happens all the time. The girl had mentioned it, but, since it was in Spanish, my wife had no idea what had been said. The girl left, and my wife thought nothing of it. Minutes later, the girl returned with a wet cloth and began to wash the dirt from the arm. I’ve never seen Jesus so vividly before. She washed the dirt from my wife’s arm without wanting or needing in return. She placed herself in the position of a servant - only wanting to serve. My wife could do nothing but turn her head and hold back tears. This girl who has nothing, who goes hungry very often, longs to be a servant still. A few minutes later, she brought the cloth back out and helped me wash dirt from my legs. What a beautiful gesture.

From there, we handed out food bags. We walked down the very same street and stopped from house to house giving out free food. The faces on the unsuspecting families were awesome. They were exhilarated to be receiving such a great gift. For no reason, they got enough food to feed their family for two weeks. Once they saw 35-40 people and a big red truck pulling down their street, they all rushed out to see what was going on. My wife also began the ballyhoo which is giving out toys to a group of kids. Once one toy appears, the kids multiply. Word travels faster than the speed of light, and, pretty soon, you can’t keep up. Kids all around you with their hands stretched as high as they can stretch them. Everyone wants something. Everyone wants anything. Living in these conditions, a pen or a pencil is a luxury. Kids are denied schooling all the time because their parents cannot afford to buy them supplies. Things like that blow me away - pens and pencils are a huge deal. Objects in which we place no value are treasures to these people.

After some shower time, we headed to the Jesus Statue for a fellowship with area churches. We provide the meal, pizza and pop, and we share in singing and praying. Looking around me, I saw so many fellow Christians. People from a world away worshipping the same God I worship. How cool is that? When we began to sing, I could see their hearts and feel their words. I don’t know what they said, but praise to my God is music to my ears. I love to know that the world is full of disciples. We are not alone. Everywhere in the world, Jesus is being preached. Everywhere in the world, God is being proclaimed and exulted. God is at work.

God, thank you for the gift of today. Thank you for every great thing that has been given to us. Thank you for safety on the trip so far. Thank you bringing us to the people in Honduras that need us. Thank you for directing our way and speaking through us. I love to see you at work in this country. Through all the bad and scary things we witness here, you are at work. Your glory is shouted from street corners and orphanages. You are the God of this city. You are the Lord of this nation. Help us to show it every day and in every action we make. Help our group to remain focused for our last days. Help us to remember the mission.

God, a special prayer for what you have shown me this week. Thank you for tearing down certain walls that I have put around me. I have always seen you as my God. I have always seen you helping and solving my problems. You are great to me - that isn’t the issue. The issue is You are so much greater than I am. You are so much bigger. You are here in this country. You are in the lives of all the homeless and poor. You are in the lives of the orphans and the single mothers. You are in every whore-house and dump. God, you are not just at work in me. You are everywhere and in everything. Thank you for making that evident to me this week. Help me to share you and your power - keeping for myself is not an option. You are for all. God, thank you for being bigger than I am.

Andrew Moore

Day 4 - Tuesday 8

2010-06-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

Today was not the usual. Today required no building what-so-ever. Today was all about visiting those in need of visitation. Building or no, 6:45 was still breakfast time...and the rooster didn’t let up either.

Our first visit was to a free hospital downtown. Although admission and basic treatment is free, more complicated surgeries and extended stays are still rather pricey. Just like the majority of people we deal with in Honduras, this hospital is for the poor and desperate. A lot of the people we talked to traveled hours to get to this free hospital; it was their only hope.

We split into five different groups; each group having its own translator. Our group went to floor two. First stop - the brain injury ward. Having seen just about everything this week, or so I thought, I thought I was ready for this. I thought I could walk in and not be stunned. Our first room was not too bad - we met children ages six to eight that had been admitted with head injuries. One child had been attacked by a dog while he was riding a bike. When he bumped his head, he created a tumor. He has now gone through multiple surgeries with no success. He was up for another surgery today. They were all thrilled to see us and loved the small gifts that we brought. The children’s faces were great - equally as great were the faces of the mothers. Some of the mothers spend all their time with their children, probably getting no visitors and slowly feeling more and more alone. They loved that someone cared enough to come and talk to their sick child.

The next room was where things started to hit hard - the infant portion of the head injury ward. Each child was suffering from some life threatening head injury or abnormality. Most kids were struggling with fluid in the brain. The look of these kids was startling. Their heads were swollen, and the mothers were left helpless. What could a starving, poor mother do for a child with a serious health defect? She was left with no other option than to sit in the free hospital and wait. Each story was full of pain but our message resounded with hope. Each prayer we offered dealt with God’s grace and his healing power. We prayed for miracles. We prayed for healing.

After visiting a couple more rooms, we headed out to the special needs home. This home is for kids who cannot be cared for in shelters or orphanages. They were handicapped in some way, most mentally handicapped. My first thought was how beautiful the facility was. It was a large building with clean and polished architecture. It had plenty of space and many luxuries. After seeing the outside, I, once again, thought I knew what to expect. Upon entering, I was wrong again.

Seeing handicap kids anywhere is heartbreaking. Seeing them struggle with the most basic of functions is horrible. It is hard to watch. But, but, we weren’t there to watch them. We were there interact with them, and show them people still cared for them through their differences. We were there to show love - nothing more. The sadness was short lived because every child forced a smile when some of the toys began to surface. Every child found something they could do. They have joy where others don’t. They find happiness in the simplest of things - that is something I admire in them. Thank God for bringing me to this place and pushing me through my fears. Thank God for me showing me the goodness inside of everyone.

The third stop was definitely the most shocking. The third stop is what everyone talks about when they talk about seeing it all in Honduras. The third stop was feeding at the city dump. Nothing can prepare you for what you see there. I’ve been told many times what happens there, but my jaw hit the bus floor when I saw it. Acre after acre of trash. Miles of people refuse thrown away only to become someone else’s home. People’s leftovers. People’s garbage. Things people can’t stand to keep in their house because of stench and uncleanliness. I watched hundreds of people dig and sit, stand and eat, lay and sleep. I watched hundreds of people run for the bus because they knew we there to feed them. The pushed and shoved to get closer. They formed their own lines (knowing the protocol by now) to get their piece of the meal.

When we left the bus, the smell was overwhelming. Many times I felt myself losing my breath because of the power of the smell. We began to walk around but found ourselves overwhelmed - where do you start? Who do you talk to? What do you say? These people have been living in the city dump - what hope can they have left? I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in a situation in my life. These people have nothing. All they have is what they find in the mounds of trash. Talk about eye-opening.

We watched child fight a buzzard for his meal. We watched handfulls of people leave the line for free food, free and fresh food, to run to a dump-truck emptying it’s load. They have been conditioned to grab opportunity - a dump-truck brings new trash which means new food/clothes/etc. They left the line for pizza to run to a new pile of trash! Poverty has never seen lower depths. Do they need loved? Yes. It is awesome to know that someone is doing it for these people here is Honduras. The state is even building showers for the people of the dump.

The fourth stop of the day was my favorite. Not because of comfort or cleanliness - because I met an angel of a girl who loved to be around us. Her name was Brenda, and she was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. She was a natural wonder, I tell ‘ya. She lived in a state funded orphanage created to get kids out of unhealthy situations. She was a non-stop smile machine, and she made my day. Thank you, God, for sending us Brenda today. Be with her. Keep her safe.

The end of our day was full of packing food bags. That is something that needs to be experienced to be believed. We over two hundred bags full of rice, beans, spaghetti, lard, sugar, salt, sauce, bullion cubes, flour, and coffee. Our two hundred, plus two hundred from last night, will feed over four hundred families for two weeks. We also packed a Spanish Bible in each bag. These people will be sustained by the love of Christ. They will see first hand what love and forgiveness is like - they can actually taste it!

God, you are amazing. Your grace is unbelievable. Your power is unfathomable. Thank you for giving us chance after chance. Thank you for rescuing us from hopeless situations. Although our problems are different than the ones here in Honduras, they are still there. Although we struggle, you receive us back happily. Thank you for never leaving us alone. God, never leave me.

We pray a special prayer for the kids we met today. Seeing grown-ups struggle is hard - seeing children suffer is sometimes unbearable. God, heal them. Take away their afflictions. If it is possible for them to be made well, we pray that is done. God, provide comfort for all the families faced with dire situations. Grant them patience and understanding to deal with what life throws at them. Help them to see they are never alone. Help them to see that someone is always around who loves them. Someone can redeem them. Someone can give them salvation from a life that sometimes seems to much to take. God, be evident in Honduras.

Andrew Moore

Day 3 - Monday 7

2010-06-08T05:47:00.000-07:00

6:45 comes early, let me tell you. 6:45 means breakfast time in Honduras. 6:45 also means time for good food. The food that Via Gracia makes is wonderful. Every meal we eat here (breakfast and dinner) is awesome. I definitely look forward to it - if you can look forward to anything at 6:45.

Today was our first building day which means hard work. When we say building, we mean b-u-i-l-d-i-n-g. From the ground up, the house begins to take shape. It is a very exciting thing to see. We supply the materials. We supply the labor. All we need is the location. That has been a slight cause for concern this year but never enough to stop progress. Today, we broke into three different teams building three different houses. From nothing to something in a few hours - it was awesome to be a part of.

The day started with carrying lumber again, which is the hardest part of the mission trip so far. We carried...and we carried...and we carried. The first four hours of the day were spent carrying and preparing the first site. It required all thirty of us to get the job started. Once the job was underway, our team left to build on another site. Before I move on to our site, there is a cool story that goes with site number 1 and 2.

We had begun moving lumber for site 1 yesterday. We carried it as far as we could go but could go no further because of the high grass. We dropped it, all of it, enough for one whole house, in the middle of this path. The owner of the “soon-to-be new house” was to stay and watch it all night - in Honduras, if something is left unwatched, it is in danger of being stolen. He had to stay and watch. Not only that, he had the chore of clearing a path for us with his machete. Today, when we arrived to unload the second truck full of lumber for the second house, we found the first pile of wood had been moved. It was no longer where we left it - it was now where we needed it to be. We were told quickly that it was the man whose houses we were building. He, in between guarding wood and hacking down grass, moved every piece of wood by himself. By himself. It took 30 of us well over an hour to do it half the way down the hill. His first words today, “I’m sorry I can’t help you any more than that.”

The houses we were building on the first site were for him and his family. He had thirteen people living in his 15x15 home. We were able to provide a Christian brother with room - something he has had none of. While work was being done today, he dug out stairs for our workers, so they wouldn’t fall like he did the day before. His love and generosity is absolutely overwhelming. A man with nothing at all, gives his everything for some strangers. He exerted every ounce of himself to make work easier for us. I came into this trip feeling like I was here to help them because I had it together, and they didn’t. I had money, and they didn’t. I am finding out rapidly that these people are head and shoulders above me in selflessness. Personal comfort means nothing. Exhaustion means nothing. I am over and over again being blown away by generosity from people with nothing to give. Amazing.

Our site was a breeze today. No hang-ups - no set-backs. Other than Joe Spivy being locked in the bathroom for thirty minutes, everything was smooth sailing. Another cool story from today that just has to be told: it was mentioned in our morning devo about kids and their lack of father figures. We were told most, as in 80 to 90 percent, are without a male role model in their lives. If you have the opportunity, be a role model. Show them how to swing a hammer. Pat them on the shoulder. Do something to show them you care for them. My wife prayed for God to put someone into our lives today that we could be mentors for.

From the very moment we loaded the bus in the morning, there was a strange face among us. He was only ten to twelve years old, but no one recognized him. He loaded the bus like any other member of our team, and we set off. After helping in the lumber carrying process I described earlier, he reboarded the bus and came to my site. He spoke no English; he seemed to just want to help.

As the day wore on, he started to show a comfort with me that I hadn’t seen coming. He began to smile at me. He began to tap me as we passed ways. He showed me an ornery side that none of us knew he had...frankly because none of us knew him. I couldn’t communicate with him verbally, but I could in other ways. I knew his name was Mannuel; that was enough. Even later, when we came home for dinner, he sat right beside me. We later found out that his mother works at Via Gracia, where we stay. He asked his mom if he could come to work with her and spend a day with a mission team. He did - he boarded our bus - he joined my team - he attached himself to me. God is amazing.

The last thing we did today was a new feature of our mission trip. We were going to feed the homeless. Homeless life is always a challenge to work with, but, here in Honduras, there are added challenges. We were warned sternly about the dangers associated with going downtown at night. Crime is high. Drug use is high. This wasn’t building a house for a member of the local congregation.

We met up with the founder of the mission, Amber. She ran us through the ground rules, and we were off. We were to complete three different stops with the food that she had prepared and feed up to 100 people. We were told that one thing will stick out - hopelessness.

Through every stop we made, the hopelessness of these people stuck out more and more to me. They were without food. They were without water. They were without home and shelter. The worst part - they were without love. They had no one to run to. No one to ask for help. No one to pick them up when they are at their lowest point and turn them back around. They had no one to love them. It was heartbreaking to watch. How do I interact with a nineteen year old drug addict who’s been living on the street for five years? What can I say to this kid? The most we could do is put our hand on their shoulder and show them we love them. When seemingly no one else in this world cares for them, we do.

The experience of this particular mission was eye opening. Seeing grown people, living a life of a homeless drug addict, hugging our group members and pouring out their soul was nothing short of intense. I praise God that I have hope. If my everything in this world was taken away, I would always have a hope for something better. These people need Christ as much as anyone I’ve ever met. They are no less worthy - they are screaming for it. They need a way out of this hole - Jesus is the way out.

God, thank you so much for being my father. For giving me life. God, thank you for being with me through everything that I experience. Having you with me is a comfort and a source of strength. Whether it is moving crazy heavy boards or meeting Spanish-speaking homeless people, you are always with me. What can I fear if you are with me?

Lord, work through us this week. Speak through us to people who need to hear. Lead us to the ones who you have chosen. God, you are our everything. All my faith is in you. Take all of me, God. Leave nothing for me - take it all. God, help us to serve you tomorrow with all of our hearts. We love you.

Andrew Moore

Day 2 - Sunday 6

2010-06-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

On to day two - new day, new challenges. My first cognitive memory of the day was special; I was woken up by something - something I don’t get to hear ever. A rooster. A rooster woke me up. You might be thinking that, “Hey, that sounds pleasant.” Well, you would be half right. I would have been nice had it not been four in the morning. And then again at 4:15. And then again at 4:30; you get the picture. That was certainly an interesting way to get things started today. Believe me, it didn’t ruin a great night of sleep. The team was exhausted from being up for 41 hours straight (give or take a few). I slept very well.

Day two started with, “Now today is a busy day.” I am beginning to believe Donna when she says things like that. For the first time, we were not able to wear nice clothes to church because the work began before and continued immediately follow services. We ate breakfast at 6:45 and packed the bus for a hard day’s work. Today was “Community Repair Day.”

Instead of building homes today (which there was a little of), we worked on improving homes of local church members. On the way to church, we stopped twice to unload wood for work to be done later. The first site was interesting. We were going to fix the wall and roof of a lady’s home...but the home was straight up a steep hill. With nothing like stairs, the climb was treacherous. Carrying a fourteen foot 4x4...the climb was a little more than treacherous. What I saw was awesome - thirty group members formed work line and passed the wood up the steep hill. What would have been a near impossible job for one turned into a little job for thirty. How great teamwork can be!

The second site was even crazier - we formed a work line, but the distance was too great. We were needing to carry enough wood to build a small house 1/5 of a mile (the distance was never measured so that is a guess). The line was saved by the fact that the last half of the path to the house was under four feet of weeds. The wood was taken as far as possible with the intent of finishing the transportation of wood tomorrow.

Finally, we were able to go to church. We attended the South Israel Church of Christ. The congregation was small but very loving. Most of us attended services while a small number of us held a VBS for the kids. The service was great. I have never witnessed anything like it; it was awesome to see brothers and sisters from so far away sharing in the love of Christ. God’s love covered all of that ground. God’s love is the same for them as it is for me. I need to be reminded of that constantly. He doesn’t love me any more than He loves them. I am no more worthy of His grace. God has protected and blessed the small congregation of South Israel. God is working in the church. God is evident to these people.

My favorite part of that church - they are all about helping their community. Every word they spoke was about going out into the city. Every prayer they prayed was about strength and courage to change the people around them. They truly, truly care for the people of Honduras. I admire that about them - in a world of poverty and hopelessness, they stick out and ask what they can do to help.

After church was over, the repairs began. We split into different teams; my team got “the mud job.” With a name like “the mud job,” my expectations were pretty low. The hike to get there was long and steep. Upon arriving and see what we were up against, things got a little hairy. We could see the end product in our minds, but we had to figure out how to get there. Three new walls needed erected and part of the roof needed redone. With close to five hours into the house, we are nearly done. We had to stop short of completion but hope to get back soon to finish the job.

The job felt...great. I loved seeing the woman and how grateful she was for our help. I loved seeing the children’s faces on seeing strangers help with their home. The home they live everyday in. The home that floods every time it rains. Knowing that someone cares enough for them to do this - nothing could be more valuable. Nothing could show Christ’s love to them more than giving of our time - forgetting our comfort and thinking of someone else’s. Christ was there, and Christ was evident.

We were extremely touched by a few of the little girls that lived there. They were quick to show us their appreciation. They were quick to speak to us and share with us. They were thrilled to see people, people they didn’t know, want to spend a little time talking to them. Over and over again - people want to be loved. My wife and Brenna got very close to one of the girls. This girl spent all day with us: talking, drawing, and writing thank you notes. Before we left, she gave out her gifts. Instead of being happy with our gift to her, she wanted to repay the favor. Not having a lot of money or resources, she gave of what she had. She gave two small stuffed animals; maybe animals she keeps close to her heart. Maybe something she cherishes. She gave a lot of thank you notes to us - all with personal messages of how grateful she was. Lastly, she gave one half of a best friend necklace. To someone she just met today, she gave one half of her best friend necklace. Something most people would be slow to give, she gave with no hesitation. Christ was there, and Christ was evident.

God, you are amazing. The world you have created is inspiring. The world I saw from the airplane is indescribable. Thank you for your hand and your willingness to give this world of yours a try. Thank you for creating all of this for us - all of this so we can see and share in your glory. All of this shows us how awesome you really are.

God we especially pray for strength in the days to follow. We pray that we keep our energy up and spirits high. We pray for your hand to hold us and keep us from harm. God, hold us close to you. God, never let me go. Help us to see the need around us. Help us to withhold nothing and give everything. Give all of ourselves for these people who desperately want to feel loved. God, I want to be more like your Son every day. I want to embody true love for the people around me.

Andrew Moore

2010 Day 1 - Saturday 5th

2010-06-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today is my first day on my first mission trip. Every experience is a new one. Every sight is a new vision. I really had no idea what to expect; I still feel as though I haven't seen anything yet.

Our morning began...early. That is the best way to put it. We met at GC at 12:30 this morning. After a great pep talk and some devotional time, we loaded our bus and started our dark journey to Columbus. My wife will let everyone know how cold it was on the bus; she is not afraid to tell it like it is.

Without incident, we arrived at Columbus. Without incident, we checked our luggage. Without incident, we boarded our plane. Without incident, we switched planes and did it all over again. God has set a clear and problem-free path for us so far. We cannot thank Him enough for His amazing role in our travels. Horror stories always surface when people speak of international flights - we won't be joining in on the stories this year. Thank you, God, so much for being with us and being evidence on our trip. Without fail, God, you are faithful, and you are merciful to us.

Once we arrived in Honduras, we headed out to the Good Shepherd orphanage where over 200 children have found a loving and caring home. These kids have come from all kinds of living arrangements and all have different stories of what got them to Good Shepherd, but one thing is the same for all of them - they are loved.

Upon arriving, hearing the kids' screams of excitement, the energy became infectious. Their smiles led to smiles from our team. Their joy led to joy overflowing from the sliding door of our yellow bus. The best thing about these kids - they wanted nothing from you but a little attention. They didn't want you to sweet talk them. They didn't want your money. They didn't desire anything but a little love. Seeing them attach themselves to a group member was amazing. Whether it was playing soccer (and I don't mean recreationally...I mean all-out), coloring in a coloring book, or making paper airplanes, these kids were happy. They were content. It wasn't about their horrible past family life. It wasn't about their one-time life on the streets. It was about here, and it was about now. How awesome to see God in those little faces.

It was hard for me to find my place at the orphanage. I don't speak Spanish and most of them speak no English. We are lucky to have some Spanish speaking members, so the obstacle is not impossible. No matter how hard it was for me to speak to a child in whom I have no connection, no shared memories, no common bonds, all they wanted to know was that I love them...even for just that one second. Even if it was only a trading of names, there was love shown. Even if all we did was pass the soccer ball back and forth with them, there was love shown.

God, you are awesome. Your works are as great here in Honduras as they are at home. Your love is just as evident here as it is back in Parkersburg. Thank you for not forgetting about these people. Thank you for being with them through all they do. Thank you for changing a country in need of change. Thank you for bringing me here - for showing me so much in such a short time. God, break down the walls I have around myself - take away all selfishness I have inside of me. I want to live for you this week. God, you are everything.

Andrew Moore

Adios Honduras Mission Team 2009!

2009-06-15T17:29:00.001-07:00

Friday pictures

2009-06-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

Thursday Build pics

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Wednesday Pics

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Jesus Statue devo with Los Pinos Church

2009-06-15T15:16:00.001-07:00

Tuesday dump pics

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Tuesday pics

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Monday Pictures...a week later. :)

2009-06-15T14:08:00.001-07:00

Friday

2009-06-13T05:42:00.000-07:00

After a long day on Thursday, we woke up and had breakfast. After breakfast we put together clothes bags. We put 2 pairs of shoes in each, one men’s outfit, one women’s outfit, and one kids outfit. Then we loading the bus, not only with us but with food and clothes bags. We fed and gave clothes bags to the people that live under the bridge. They were excited to get the clothes bags, they knew they were getting food but were surprised when we had clothes bags. The people that arranged for us to go there and feed the people. It was a sister and brother they have lost 5 people from there family in the last few month, but they are still making sure that other people that are suffering the same way that they do.

We had devo on the bus on the way to another children’s home. We played more soccer with the kids and gave them toys to play with. We gave the owner the remaining clothes bags, and then headed off to our next destination, the hospital. When we got to the hospital we split into five groups with at least one Spanish speaking person in each group. Each group took a floor and passed out stuffed animals and crayons to the kids that were either waiting on surgery, or recovering from it. The hospital is good because it is free, but if they kid neads any special medicines or equipment, the family has to buy it.

After we were done at the hospital we went shopping at the valley of the angels, where we bought souvenirs and more. They had cute little shops all around the blocks. After everyone bought all of the souvenirs, we headed to dinner at Los Tahos. It was very good, it was like fahita’s and rice. After we were all stuffed from the food, we went to the oldest standing church in the western hemisphere. Which was really neat to see. That is where we had devotional tonight. We had our “Where did you see God today” time and a lot of us were crying. Then we had a time of worship, which Matt Bortell led wonderfully. It sounded so beautiful in the big room of the church. Then we headed back to the mission house and had a birthday party for all the birthday’s that were this week, last week, and next week.

Tomorrow we are coming home! We are excited to see our families, but at the same time during these ten days this team has become a family and we are not ready to leave this place that has so much need. Well I am falling asleep. We will see you all tomorrow!

Thursday...

2009-06-13T05:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late post! The internet was acting up again last night...here are some new blogs to make up for it...I also want to say a serious thank you to E.J. for finishing Thursday's blog and completely taking on Friday's blog. I am pretty sick...head congestion, sore throat, misery kind of thing and she saved my life last night by letting me sleep!!!

I forgot to tell you something we did on Wednesday, and it was a really cool thing too! I felt like I blogged forever last night and then as soon as I closed my eyes to go to sleep, I remembered that we went to a place called “the junk cross”. It was a large cross in the middle of a hillside that was made entirely of used car parts. It was beautiful and we met the kids from Casa de Esperanza there and had a devotional time with them at sunset. It was beautiful.

Now, on to Thursday:

Thursday we woke up bright and early again and had another devotional on the rock, then we loaded food bags on to the bus, along with tools, and headed to our buildsite. We had two sites in the same community; the dump community. Not inside the dump, but right outside of it. Some people went to pick up our new friend, Brian. Brian is a young man we met when we went to the dump. He speaks English as well as you or I and has a pretty heart wrenching story of how he came to be in the dump. It’s a very long story to tell on here, but please ask one of us when we get home because you will surely be touched as were by it. We definitely wanted to get to know him better after meeting him and working with him in the dump, and we thought the best way to do so was to invite him to a worksite to help us and fellowship with us throughout the day. Once we were all at the site, we started demolition on the houses we were replacing. The first was for a man who is a single father, raising a little baby girl. His wife left one and never came back. This is very rare to find a father raising a daughter here. It is far more likely for the father to turn the child over to an orphanage, or to abandon them and let someone else turn them over. The other house was for a family with several children who lived in a house made of cardboard pieces, some wood as a frame, and billboard signs for siding. The wood for the second house had to be carried up a really steep hill, and proved to be yet another challenge for the team building skills! However, we worked very well together once again. I’m so proud of everyone! The houses were finished in one day and we had enough time to have a Bible study at the first house with all of the neighbors, it was meant to encourage them in their faith, but once again we found that we were the ones being ministered to.

During the day, some of the group split and visited a special needs orphanage. We were only there for a short while, but we had so much fun with the kids. Some of them were in wheel chairs, so we pushed them around and played with them. We brought bubbles for them and that was a big hit. A youth group from Nashville showed up and were also helping us have an impact on the kids. Then we went back to the worksite and helped finished up the last house.

After we finished the two houses a group of boys took brian out to burger king, while the rest of us went back to the mission house to eat dinner. Then we had the choice of either going to play soccer at the university, or going to Le Creperia and eating Belga’s. A belga is a crepe with white chocolate and strawberries. They were so delicious. The people who went to play soccer took brian with them. They lost him for a while though because there was a waterfall near by and he wanted to take a shower. When they were finished they gave him money for a cab so he could get to his aunt’s house. We were all stuffed and tired when we got back to the mission house so we hit the hay pretty hard.

Jill is not feeling good at all and is going to bed, so I(E.J.) will be writing Today’s blog. She has done a wonderful job on this blog. I can only hope that I can write up to her standards.

Wednesday...

2009-06-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was a great day. After our usual 6:30am breakfast, we had a sweet devotional on "the rock" which is on the edge of Villa Gracia and overlooks the countryside...very beautiful. Then we headed to the food bags we had prepared on Tuesday and tucked Bibles into 100 of them and loaded them onto the bus; everything assembly line style. God has brought together such a good group of people and we work so well together. I literally have not heard one complaint the whole time, and we have been WORKING HARD!

Once the food bags were loaded onto the bus, we were off to Mi Esperanza, a center dedicated to the empowerment and education of women. They offer classes on computers, sewing, salon, and pinata making. It is a wonderful opportunity for women that otherwise have a pretty bleak future ahead of them. The vision and opportunities for expansion at Mi Esperanza are incredible and I am very excited to hear about future endeavors there. I guess maybe I enjoyed it so much because there is tangible change there, the proverbial 'give someone a fish'. There is always a waiting line for classes and they are hoping to start doing remote classes so they can reach out to the people in the community and relieve some of the burden of transportation to the school.

After Mi Esparanza, we headed to Casitas Kennedy (I'm sure I spelled that incorrectly) to have a VBS and pizza lunch with the children who live there. This visit was a little rough in that Casitas is the very first place children are sent when they become orphans, rather by their parents not being able to care for them any longer and leaving them there or somewhere, or because their parents have died, or whatever the circumstances may be, the children go to Casitas before they can be transitioned out to other Childrens Homes. The children here are pretty rough. They have been picked over and not chosen and have a strong history of sexual abuse. This was obvious in the way they interacted with us. Most were starved for our attention, but some were very reserved; it seemed to be one extreme or the other. They all called me Tia (Aunt) and were constantly asking for things that we had, bubbles, crayons, playdough, etc. It was so hard to refuse them but it was in their best interest to not keep giving them things, as it puts them at risk when they go back to their rooms for violence from the other kids. I do believe that most of the children received some small gift from our visit and the most important thing is that we spent time with them. We put on a VBS there and had a skit and a craft to go along with it. We presented the story of Jesus and the apostles and feeding the 5000, and Nathan was gracious enough to translate to the kids. They seemed to be pretty receptive, some of their little faces were very engaged and it was heart-warming. I mean, just if they get one thing...if even one child gets one glimpse at who Jesus is and how He loves them, that's what it's all about.

After Casitas, we headed to Casa de Esperanza, a privately owned childrens home. Going from Casitas to Casa was like night and day. It was such a stark difference. For one, there are less children, but also it's like a giant family. They children are so well taken care of and loved and it was a positive note to round out the visits. While we were in Santa Ana (where Casa is located), we drove up into the mountains to deliver food to people. The area itself is gorgeous. The mountains and views are breathtaking, but its rural and the people are definitely in need. We met one family in particular that were so welcoming and receptive of the food bag and had at least five little ones running around in the yard. The father was expressing his gratitude and again telling us how faithful God is...um, aren't we the ones supposed to be encouraging him in HIS faith? And here is, yet another example of how their faith far surpasses mine. He prays for his family and God provides. End of story. He expects it. He believes it. He trusts in it. And this day when he asked God for provision, a group of people brought his family two weeks worth of food, and he was gracious and thankful, but not so much surprised. Because he prays to the God of provision, and he knows that his God will provide. Amazing.

After the visit to Casa and the delivery of the food bags, we shopped a little in the small business are of Santa Ana and then headed to Sam and Jen's for Taco Loco...um, in a word? Delicious. It was a very authentic catering of tortillas, rice, beans, chicken and salsas. And I could probably eat it every day for the rest of my life. It was a nice time of fellowship with the group. It was one of the first times we have let loose and just hung out and watched a little bit of a soccer game on tv and ate. It was very relaxing and needed.

After dinner we headed back to Villa Gracia and went to sleep! Which is what I am about to do now, because I am worn out...why am I worn out? Well you'll have to check tomorrow to find out all of the craziness that went on today...and it was a FULL DAY!

Keep the prayers coming! Remember God said that if His people would humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, He would hear their prayers from heaven and HEAL THEIR LAND!

Mucho mucho mucho love!

Tuesday...

2009-06-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a hard day...mentally and physically, but primarily mentally. We woke up around 6 and ate breakfast, then we split into two groups again. Some went to finish the building project and the others proceeded to make food bags. I was not on the buildsite so I know less about what went on there...I do know that a very sweet lady with an amazing faith in God, who has been ailed with diabetes which has greatly affected her ability to walk (she can still walk, but with difficulty) now has a safe, warm, bug-free home with a wonderful set of steps that allows her to walk down a mountain with much more ease than she had before.

The food bags I know more about...a ton more about...actually more like 3 tons more about. That's right, 3 tons of food...well that's what we're figuring. My math is as such: We made 400 bags which weigh about 15lbs each, so 6000lbs of food=3tons. We had huge bags of rice, beans, flour, and coffee 50 or 100lbs each. We then divvied those into smaller bags to the tune of 400 each. We also had boxes of spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, boullion cubes, salt, sugar and vegetable oil. We had some serious teamwork going on for all of this...for the bagging of the rice and beans and flour and coffee and then the mass bagging of all of the items to make the 400 bags. It was chaos and tedious and fun all at the same time and in the midst of it we had our devotion/worship time and it was very sweet.

After the food bags were completed, we loaded onto the bus and headed to the elderly home, which I don't remember the name, but it is one of the most amazing places I have ever been, not structurally or aesthetically, but the amount of heart and soul that the Senor has put into the place is incredible. The man who runs the home has been serving since he was in his 20's and now has this home where he cares for the elderly, and not just any elderly, but the ones who have been forgotten by everyone else, who have been on the street and abandoned. He takes them in and rehabilitates them and cares for them and gives them dignity and peace for their final years. The establishment is humble, but very nice and the men and women there seem to be very happy. It was unlike most elderly homes that I have visited, in that the residents were sitting all together in a multi-purpose area that serves as their dining room and entertaining room, rather than just laying in beds. They seemed to be pretty involved in their surroundings, but that doesn't mean that they weren't delighted to see us. A very moving sight was to see our teammate Judy and a lady that she immediately took up with and the two just held onto each other the whole time we were there, even when the woman was served her lunch, she had Janet feed it to her so she could still be in Judy's arms. They couldn't understand the language the other was speaking, but they just sat there and laughed and smiled and held each other the whole visit. It was heartbreaking to say the least. After we served the residents, we served the people in the street who had gathered in their usual spot for their lunch. These people, we are told, started out as one person who came as an addict that no one wanted to help and the Senor did not turn him away, but served him lunch. That person told other people (mostly alcoholics and addicts) that he knew a man who would not turn them away, and so more and more came, and now he serves between 20 and 30 each day. The man's heart has touched these people in such a profound way that when they return their plate from their meal, they thank the person who served them, and thank their God for providing it, it's very precious.

After we peeled Judy and her friend away from each other, we headed to the dump...with a surprise...we had to make 400 sandwiches on the bus. AHEM. ON THE BUS. Ha! If you haven't experienced Hondurian drivers, then you might not understand the full effects of this task. If you have experienced Hondurian drivers, then you will surely sympathize with us when I say huge tubs of mayonaise and slimy bags of bologna and some...bumps in the road. Aye aye aye. Somehow, by the grace of God, we were able to set up three stations on the bus to complete the sandwich process...one bread hander, one mayo spreader, one bologna stacker, one cheese placer, and one sandwich bagger and we were one well oiled sandwich-making machine! The sandwiches were finished and we were on our way to the dump. Hmmm...what to say about the dump...there really aren't words. It is, well, a dump. A huge landfill full of the trash contents of the city, and among the huge mounds of trash were hundreds of people, children, cows, dogs, vultures and trucks. Some of the people live there and some of the people work there. When I say work, I do not just mean they work for the city and bring trash, I mean that their livelyhood is founded on how many plastic bottles they can pick out of the trash (which contains everything you can imagine and worse) and gather to sell to the recycling companies. We helped a man dig through the trash to find bottles for his bounty and asked how much he would get for them...$2 is what it converted to in American dollars. His bounty was 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide...an entire days work for $2. Mind-boggling. The entire experience was humbling. Picking through trash to help people earn a living...flashing sandwiches and water and oranges at people who normally fight with vultures for a meal, and asking them to form an orderly line...? Trying to play games with children (like we had been able to at the worksites), and witnessing them have no idea what we were trying to do. They are workers. They help their parents dig through the trash. That's what they know. They don't know our games.

As a parent, I can't even tell you what that does to me.

ugh, just writing about it stirs up the same emotions I felt yesterday. It was a HARD DAY.

When we arrived back at Villa Gracia, we were told that three people needed to go with the bus to the neighborhood of Los Pinos and the Iglesia de Cristo to pick up members of the congregation and community who would be joining us for a pizza dinner at the Jesus statue (for those of you who do not know what this is, it is exactly what it sounds like: a giant statue of Jesus which overlooks the city...it's breathtaking). I was fortunate and blessed to have the opportunity to be one of the three to pick up the people, and after the elderly home and dump, it was a moment of refreshing that God provided in his infinite wisdom. We arrived at the church and 80-ish men, women and children piled onto the bus with us...piled on. We were packed.. three to a seat, and some in the aisle. It was hot, it was tight, it was sweaty, there was horrible traffic and many sudden stops and bumps and do you know what? These wonderful, beautiful, amazing people started singing. Singing their hearts out to their God with huge smiles on their faces. And not just the children, the women and men also. All of them just singing and clapping and smiling, while I cried like an idiot in the aisle and they gave me concerned looks. But it was a complete and udder joy that overtook me. A reminder after an extremely depressing day that our God is faithful, and the joy of the Lord IS OUR STRENGTH.

The evening was as beautiful as the bus ride. All of our new friends were so gracious and thankful and welcoming and it was beautiful to be able to share a devotional/worship time with them again. I suspect in the end that they are the recipients of only a tenth of the blessing that they have given to us.

It was a hard day, followed by a sweet night of refreshing. An awesome reminder that our God is our comforter, our deliverer. He is mighty to save. He makes all things new.

Until tomorrow...love to all.

Pictures..

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Scroll down to see some pictures from saturday and sunday...tomorrow we'll try to post monday and tuesday pictures. ;)

Buenas noches!

y mas....(and more)

2009-06-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some day-late details about our Monday activities, and hey, it's only 9pm and I've been up and working since 6, so I might decide to write about both days...we'll see.

Breakfast on Monday was served at 6:30am and was delicious as usual. The women who work in the kitchen are wonderful and work so hard! After breakfast, we had a group devotional on the deck of our dorms, then we headed back to Los Pinos and separated into two groups once again. One group headed back to a project that was started on Sunday and also build a house. I hear they had some difficulty with their house, as the walls were so close to the side of a mountain on one side, and directly against a neighbor's house on the other, that they had to build their walls from the inside out! While they were at their site, the other group was building a house for a sweet elderly lady, Aurora. The buildsite was once again down a steep mountain (par for the course these days) and we carried down all the materials for the house...lots of wood, shovels, massive buckets of nails, chainsaws, etc. etc. etc. Again there were a ton of children around the site, and there is a serious lack of wide open spaces to play with the children here, so we were on a rooftop and tucked into the side mountain in spaces to try and keep the children far away from the chainsaw! The teams once again worked in perfect unison and harmony and God was the ultimate build lead on each site, coordinating everything beautifully, including the weather! I am so grateful for the expertise and manpower and 150% effort of every person here. No one is ever too tired, too worn out, or too busy to help with someone. I haven't heard, "no" one time since I've been here when anyone has been asked to do something. It's a blessing to work with these people.

At the end of the day we had two almost-completed houses. We have to leave the sites each day by 5 or very soon after because it gets dark here so early and it's not safe for us to be on the mountain after dark...don't worry about this, our leaders are very, very, very mindful of our safety and well-being. So, anyway, we were so close to being finished with both houses, but decided it was for the best if we sent people back the next morning to finish. So we gathered all the tools and headed back to the truck, where people had stolen the lamina (roofing) out of the back and told us it was because we left it there...left it in our truck...but that's the mindset here sometimes, if it's ungaurded, it's fair game. We were all safe though, and left without a struggle so it was all bueno.

Some very cool things happened at Aurora's site, the neighbors and children came out in mass droves and they helped! It was crazy to see how they just jumped right in and wanted to help us, and the children are always a blessing (precarious and rowdy as they may be sometimes). Please ask us about the different ways were blessed here, there are a ton of stories, and also from the other site, I don't know as first hand about that site because I wasn't there, but I've heard some awesome stories!

One hilarious note from Monday: When we had finished the floor of Aurora's house, Donna yelled up the mountainside to Aurora (and about fifty of her neighbors-seriously) "tienes bruha?", because she wanted to sweep the floors and make them nice for Aurora...well, Jen starts yelling at Donna, "no! no! no! YOU ARE ASKING IF SHE HAS A WITCH!" needless to say, uncontrollable laughter ensued with the whole group and the Hondurans on the hillside just sat staring blankly at Donna. We have yet to let her live this down, and encourage each of you to ask if she has a bruha the next time you see her!

Ok, guess what kids...you will have to wait until tomorrow to hear about our Tuesday activities, for I am once again exhausted!

Much love to all! I was so encouraged when I read the blog comments from yesterday, thank you so much for your prayers and keep them coming! Their effectiviness is felt and seen. God has been with us every step of the way and it is evident in everything we do!! We are here to serve Him and His people and He is honoring it in so many ways. Thank you again for your love and support and prayers, you have no idea how much it paves the way for our work here!

Hasta manana!

More from Honduras

2009-06-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hola! We are here! We're in Honduras! I think Donna already posted that, but I just wanted to reiterate that we did in fact survive our travel day and we are here, safe! Thank you, Lord!

I'm going to break down this blog into a few parts to tell you about the last few days. We'll start with Saturday...(side note: I apologize for the delay in updates, but the "rainy season" has hindered our internet access a bit...also, it has caused us to drive through torrential rain runoff in an old school bus, calm down, we're okay!)

Saturday was our travel day and most of us had been awake since early morning Friday, so by the time I went to sleep on Saturday night, I had been awake for something like 39 hours, and I'm pretty sure that was the case with most. It was well worth it though. When we arrived in Honduras we were picked up from the airport and immediately wisked away to Good Shepard Children's Home, which is an amazing home for children. We were greeted at the gate by armed gaurds, which was a bit of a shock for me, but they let us pass and the fun began! The guys with us, especially those who had visited before, were so excited and ready to play soccer with the kids, and the kids were equally ready to play! Those of us who did not want to play were busy coloring, making bracelets and playing other games with the children. We were not able to stay at Good Shepard long due to our travel day agenda and we loaded back onto the bus, said "adios" to our new (and old) friends and headed off to Villa Gracia, our home for the week.

Villa Gracia was more than I could have expected, considering the homes I saw on the way up the mountain, it truly is a haven; safe and beautiful. We ate a wonderful meal, received a quick orientation, had a group devotional and WENT TO SLEEP! I have never slept so soundly in my life...(until Sunday night! ha!)

Sunday morning started with an amazing breakfast at 7:30am, followed by a group devotional, and then church at Los Pinos. The church service was primarily in Spanish and we were blessed to have Nathan and Janet translate some of the service for us. It was beautiful to have the mixed Spanish/English congregation and it was evident that we were all there praising the same God. After the service we had an opportunity to play with the children from the congregation and community for a while and then we headed to our first worksites of the trip. We split into two groups for three projects. Some of us headed to a house near the church building where we built a complete roof. The second project was digging into the hillside to create a foundation bed below a house that was beginning to slide. The dirt was very sand but was mixed with garbage, clothes, and other waste (if you know what I mean). All of this had to be carried in buckets up steep steps (we were on a mountainside). Side note: also mixed into the dirt was a GIANT tarantula...yep...tarantula. Third project was to start the corner posts for a new house. However, it was located down a muddy trail, one hundred feet below the nearest walkway. All of the material had to be carried down the steep slope. I cannot begin to tell you the hardwork that the team put into these projects. We were absolutely exhausted; the travel day exhaustion turned out to be light in comparison. But it was all worth it and it was evident that God was providing strength that we did not have on our own. Second side note: at the same site as the tarantula, I overheard some little girls yelling, "serpiente! serpiente!" and let me tell you, even to those of us who don't speak or understand a lot of Spanish, THAT translates! However, it was just a tiny baby snake, so all was well.

The projects were so rewarding and the people we were helping were so grateful and adamant that God had sent us as a miracle. They are all affiliated with the Iglesia de Cristo of Los Pinos (the Church of Christ in Los Pinos) and have been recommended for help by the Preacher who has been helping as at almost every site. The faith of these people is incredible and has touched my heart profoundly. They have so little and we have so much and yet their faith far surpasses mine; it's truly amazing.

Please know that the we have done so much and met so many amazing people and played with children who are loving and sweet and absolutely filthy and I'm sorry that this is somewhat lacking in detail, it would take weeks to give every wonderful detail and we are exhausted! Please take time to sit with us when we get back and look at our pictures and I'm sure we will all want to share the intimate details of the ways and specific people and children and experiences that have profoundly touched our hearts.

Tonight, however, we are going to sleep! ;) Love to all, tomorrow we will write about today's experience, we'll probably always be behind...lo siento!

Saturday and Sunday pics

2009-06-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

We made it!

2009-06-07T07:39:00.001-07:00

Hello All! Just want to let you know that God faithfully brought us safely to HondurasJ Our time in the country has already been eventful- soccer with the kid’s at Good Shepherd, driving through rivers of water running through the streets from yesterday’s rainfall, a surprise gift of watching the US vs. Honduras soccer game and devotional before falling into bed and awaking to a beautiful sunny Sunday. Can’t wait to see where God leads us today! We’ll write more later. Just know that we are safe, we are blessed, and we are delighted in the ways God is being revealed and how He has graciously chosen us to be a blessing- making a difference in the world in the name of and through the power of Jesus.

Pictures from Friday

2008-06-18T07:42:00.001-07:00

Pictures from Thursday

2008-06-18T06:58:00.001-07:00

Pictures From Wednesday

2008-06-18T06:28:00.001-07:00

Pictures from Tuesday

2008-06-17T14:54:00.001-07:00

2008-06-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

June 13, 2008

Friday

We started our last full day in Honduras by filling clothing bags to distribute among the people of Honduras who are in the most need. Then we hopped on the bus and rode to Hogar Bencaleth, the special needs children’s home. We sat among children with various needs, laughing with some, coloring and blowing bubbles with some, and just holding or sitting alongside others. These are the places where it seems the easiest for our team to “let go and let God.” We simply go and let God work through these bodies.

From there, we went to the dump. Earlier this week we had only taken part of the group, but this time we took the whole bus. The front of the bus was loaded with the clothing bags and the back of the bus was loaded with about 250 food bags. So we stationed a few big guys at the front door of the bus and few big guys at the back door of the bus while some of the other guys and gals in the middle passed bags and prayed. The 1200 people who live in the filth of the dump have been blessed by a local church and so they are somewhat used to people coming into where they live to help them. They form 3 lines; 1 of women, 1 of children, and 1 of men. They wait fairly patiently and the women and children are always served first. On Monday when we were there, they had asked us for water and so we took water as well. It was heart-wrenching for all of our team and especially, those who had not yet been there. There was so much to take in. It was overwhelming and again we find ourselves wondering where God is in this mess. There were lots of tears and lots of people amazed at how terrible it smelled. And so we prayed before we got there, and prayed while we were there… and we’ll continue to pray for people who have nowhere else to go and find themselves digging through disgusting piles of trash, surrounded by flies and vultures. And so for today, we are thankful to be the hands and feet of Jesus to people who so desperately need someone to look at them as a person and not as a problem. And I do not know how many times it took for people to look the other way before 1200 people ended up living in such a vile and horrific place.

God, May we never turn our heads from the people who need You most. May You open our eyes to see needs that You’ve prepared us to meet. Please, protect us from the “comfort” of home and keep us willing to serve . Let our lives reflect Jesus- His love, compassion, kindness, and service. May our lives be all about bringing the hope of Your Son to the lost and dying. It is through the powerful name of Jesus that we pray.

We sang all the way to the dump, but it was pretty quiet as we left. We then drove to Didasko, a Children’s Hone of about 23 children that is run by Jorge and Rosa. They are the only 2 people caring for these children. They have 1 gal to cook Monday thru Friday and one to clean and then a groundskeeper. That’s it. And they just found out that Rosa has a tumor in her brain. It is benign, but it has begun to affect the feeling in her face and also her walking. They gave up everything to be parents to these children and they love them as God loves his own children. Beautiful. And so he requested prayers from our team. Please join us as we pray for them. They have options and my favorite option is the one he mentioned first and that is a miracle from God. So let us pray for that. And if God would have it another way, please let it come clearly and quickly.

Then we were off to the Valley of the Angels, to shop for some souvenirs and boost the Honduran economyJ After an hour of that, we went just up the street to eat dinner at “Las Tejas.”

After dinner, we visited the oldest still-standing church building in the Western Hemisphere in Santa Lucia, Honduras. We held our devotional there and our voices reverberated throughout the building… it was so beautiful that a woman who does ministry in the city with street kids came inside to meet us because the singing was so beautiful and she wanted to know who we were because she just wanted her kids to hear us sing. God be glorified through our singing, and we were edified among each other. Worship is such a gift. It was such a joy to be together singing to the God who had strengthened us for this work and for this difficult and yet important day. God is so very faithful.

2008-06-13T07:54:00.001-07:00

June 13, 2008

Thursday

Today we divided into 2 teams to build homes for people who lost their homes in hillside fires during the dry season. Again, 1 team went down a steep hill and the other went up, this time they went up 183 stairs to the top of the mountain. They were steep, but we are reminded that if we do not build homes for these people who have difficult sites, then who will? God has given us time energy and resources and we seek to be good stewards of them.

As team 2 waited for their ride to their site, we saw a man working alone on a house for his uncle. He had supports underneath, but he was building a wall so that he could put dirt underneath as a foundation. Our team, who was simply waiting seized the opportunity that God had provided to serve this man on the side of the mountain. They were literally moving mountains because it matters. And so the hands of Christ were felt by a man who was working alone and in a matter of moments was surrounded by the loving helping hands of Christ.

There were lots of children again and we played and laughed and worked alongside them… It is amazing how much is translated in love when you have no words.

God, please continue to bless us and strengthen us. You are faithful. We are Yours. It is through the powerful name of Christ that we pray.

2008-06-13T07:42:00.001-07:00

Wednesday June 11, 2008

Hola! What a day it has been. We got up this morning and had our devo on the bus so we could get to the community where we were handing out food bags. Each food bag that we hand out contained enough food to feed a family for 2 weeks. And each truckload of food that we purchase makes 200-250 bags of food. Last year it cost us about $1200-$1300 for one truckload. This year the cost has increased to just under $1800. That changes our budget, but that changes life for the people of Honduras. In the U.S. it means we have less money to go to the movies and less money to buy ice cream. Here in Honduras it means that there is no food for days at a time. So we set out and drove to the place that we would distribute the food and then split into 3 groups to walk the mountain and deliver the bags of food. Children came from everywhere to join us and play with us, but the thing that is most humbling is that they come to help us… and we thought we were here to help them. And so our teams walked among the mountain, with children helping carry food bags so that our arms were free to carry children J Their clothes were dirty and their hair was full of lice. There was trash all over the ground and the children ran through the dirt streets without shoes. And they were filled with joy spending time with us, holding hands, singing, and laughing. God be glorified through the innocence of the children. We handed food bags that contained Spanish Bibles to the people on the mountain and spoke God’s blessing over them, but it is always amazing to me that they offer God’s blessing over us and our entire team. One sweet grandma of a child who was with us gave us some homemade rings of bread after we had given her a bag of food. And again we came to give and in the end found that we had received so much. God is so faithful to His word in Isaiah 58:10-12 where He tells us that if we give ourselves to the hungry and afflicted that we will be like well-watered streams in scorched places. We are certainly refreshed in the midst of this desert. From there we went to Casitas Kennedy, the state run orphanage. It was lots of fun having a pizza party with the children and then having VBS with them. We did the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho falling and reminded them that God is faithful to His word. And we laughed and played and hugged their necks and reminded them that they were loved even though they felt quite alone. Then we came back to the mission house and filled more food bags to distribute on Friday. Then a handful of folks loaded the bus and went to Los Pinos to bring people from their church and community to meet us for a pizza dinner at the Jesus statue. Since we will be traveling all day on both Sundays of this trip, we decided to gather some of our brothers and sisters from Honduras together to worship with them. There are no mid-week services here in Honduras, so we created our own and fellowshipped over pizza and pop and then worshiped God at the foot of the Jesus statue overlooking all of Tegucigalpa. It was so very encouraging. We had a beautiful service with some songs in Spanish, some in English, and some in bothJ Church makes so much sense after working hard together and suffering with the hurting all week long. It makes sense to gather together and remind each other that God still faithful and that Jesus brings us strength for today and hope for tomorrow. It is an encouragement to press on even when life is difficult. So I’d pleased to share that we encouraged the church in Honduras today, but I will tell you that they encouraged us more than we have words to describe. Amazing. We are reminded over and over this week that, just like a tiny drop of water is the start of many ripples, our actions make a difference and what we do matters. May you be reminded of the same thing as you go about your days and night in the States. Thank you for your prayers. Please keep praying us through.

2008-06-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

Tuesday

June 10,2008

This was a thought shared with us at devo yesterday morning. It was so appropriate for the day we just had and the day we were getting ready to begin.

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppressions, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done,
To bring justice and kindness to al our children and the poor.

Amen

We left the mission house after devo and headed to Good Shepherd children’s home. This is one of the most beautiful places in Honduras, from the landscape to the people. It seems in such a desperate country that the Lord has placed His hand over this place and poured out His love over these children who have been abused, neglected, abandoned… but in this place, you would never know. They are taught of God and loved by Him through His people. The children are kind and Christ’s love that has been shared with them in their moment of deepest need, is shared by them with those of us who visit. God is certainly present in this place and respected as Lord. With 230 children living at Good Shepherd, our team of 35 had plenty of children to share their love with. Many of our girls sat and colored with the kids, blew bubbles, and played with toys. Many of our boys played soccer with some of the older boys… this is such a blessing for the boys… Healthy interaction with our young men is such a gift to these boys who can easily get overlooked when people come to see cute little kids. These boys had a full day of interaction that they will not soon forget. We had some returning boys on our team who were anxious to play the Hondurans in soccer again after an embarrassing loss last year. But they found their win this year on the field. They played hard and we had 1 injury to one of our boys- Evan Davis- his mom, Jama, is on the trip with us and so we took him directly to the clinic on the grounds of Good Shepherd where his leg was stitched and bandaged. He is doing quite well nowJ Please pray that he continues to do so well as we finish our week of service. Also join us in prayer for the places like Good Shepherd that are literally God’s hands in this country that has so much need. Greg and Eva, the couple who run this children’s home in obedience to God giving full glory to the Father. It is beautiful.

After Good Shepherd, we loaded the bus and went to Hospital Escuela. This is the free hospital in Honduras. It is were the people who have no resources will take their sick if they can get transportation to the hospital at all. It is not very clean. It is not well stocked as far as supplies. It is dark. I know that many of us in the States do not like hospitals. This gives me a whole new perspective on places that people go to be healed. We split into 4 groups, each one containing a person who could speak Spanish and we walked among and sat among the suffering. We visited the cancer ward where children were undergoing chemo while their mothers sat by their side. We visited children who were sick and children who had been injured. One little boy had been hit in the head with a machete and a little girl who had been shot in the head with a pistol… and each of them were alone. We visited with some sweet gals and their newborn babies, and we visited with a sweet lady who had miscarried her baby and had not yet delivered the baby. Her name was Teresa. She was a single mom and only 27 years old. She had already been in the hospital for 9 days and they had not yet told her how long she would have to wait for the operation that she needed. So while she waited and suffered, she did it all with a woman who just had a healthy baby in the very next bed. It was tough to be with them as they suffered but we sat with them and talked with them. We gave them small things out of our bags. And, the thing that seemed to bring the most comfort to them, whether big or small is when we gathered round and joined hands or put hands on them and prayed for them. And so through God’s strength, this team stepped into rooms of grief and brought hope and peace to the afflicted… and for a few moments there was Light in the darkness. And again, God is faithful.

Then we came back to the mission house and filled 250 food bags to distribute on Wednesday! Our hearts and bodies worked hard this day, and we are so blessed to have opportunity to be here as the body of Christ. Please keep praying! You are carrying us with your prayersJ

Pictures from Monday

2008-06-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

2008-06-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a day of firsts for many of our team… first time to build a home for a family in need, first time to ride a TORCH bus, first time to kneel beside a Honduran child and play, first time to feed people living in a dump (literally a dump) first time to have their heart captured by the people of this place… And even for those of us, who’ve done them a time or 2 before, you cannot help but be touched and changed in deep places by the God who brought us together for such a time as this.

We started our day by dividing into 2 teams to build in Sector Ocho, a community outside of the city of Tegucigalpa. Team 1 climbed down a steep little bank into a crowded space to build a home right beside a creek. They didn’t have much space to work and there was less space to play;) But they did both of those things and at the end of the day, there was a new home for a family who needed oneJ

Team 2 walked a little further to the foot of the mountain that they climbed to their building site. They built for a grandmother and her daughter and 2 children. The grandma, Florentina, showed us what it means to work and to serve. She labored right alongside the team, in flip flops and without gloves, digging in the dirt, sometimes with her hands. We could not help but be amazed at her strength and her spirit. At the end of the day we gathered around the family and prayed and she looked at team 2, thanking them over and over again. As we stood in the house that was not much bigger than my bedroom at home, Florentina thanked us over and over again and told each of the members that they were always welcome in her home. Amazing that those who have so little are so willing to share the little that they have. And so we learn first hand, that it is more blessed than to receive. God was glorified among the Hondurans and the Americans as we stood there together and hugged our good-byes between people who are no longer “us” and “them”… we are now brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you, Father.

Team 1 finished early and so we had the opportunity to take 50 pizzas to the city dump and feed some of the 1200 men, women, and children who lived there. This was one of the most difficult things we’ve done. Flies and buzzards swarmed around us. Cattle and dogs live among the trash as well. The people there literally dig through every bag of trash from every garbage truck to find scraps of food and hopefully some hidden treasure that they could sell. They formed a line and came through over and over again, we looked at their filthy faces and placed pizza in their dirty, stained hands. One woman sat in the garbage heaps, away from the crowd and attempted to wash off the filth with a little bit of dirty water. And I cannot tell you today how any of that makes any sense, and I don’t know why at the end of the day our team gets to come back to a nice mission house and take off our dirty clothes that wreak of the dump and get all cleaned up to sleep in soft beds with warm blankets after filling our bellies with a hot supper. I don’t know how you look at that woman who was trying to get clean in the middle of the filth and tell her that God is good…. I just don’t know… At least for this one night they were touched by the hands of Christ and didn’t go to bed hungry. And maybe if enough of Christ’s body, the church, keeps coming to this forsaken place, then the kingdom of God will be realized and we will see God’s truth shine because we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living- Psalm 27:13. Until then, we wait for the Lord. Our hearts take courage and we wait for the Lord- Psalm 27:14.

God has given us strength to do the work, and courage to face fear. He has provided homes for the needy, food for the hungry, and love for the lonely. He has worked through us to do the work He has called us to and has blessed us as much as, if not more than, He has blessed those He’s called us to touch. He is faithful.

We Made It

2008-06-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

After traveling all day, we are finally here safe and sound. God is faithful! Thank you for your prayers, and please continue praying for us throughout the week.

Another blog will come soon :)

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

2007-06-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday

Its Anna and Sam, so the days are running together..and as far as we can tell..we went to Jimmy Hughes Thursday morning...theres a chance that we did something before that..but..well its getting late..and we cant remember..

So anyways..Jimmy Hughes was a great facility, the kids were awesome. They showed us the rehab center, and we met Salvador, who has an amazing testimony about being brought to Jesus after a life of drugs and violence, and at the end he rapped for us!! After that Jimmy Hughes talked with us, and shared his story with us, and talked about the childrens home and rehab center.

A little later we headed out for Didasko Orphanage. This orphanage has been struggling financially, because they had lost some of their main support, so our team raised enough money {$3000} to give them, which will feed these amazing kids for another month! God is awesome, and faithful!!

We then went to Valle De Angeles to do some shopping, eat dinner at a nice restaraunt with amazing food, and then went to Santa Lucia. In Santa Lucia we went to the oldest Cathedral in the Western Hemisphere that is still standing. There we had our devo and the singing sounded amazing in this place!!

Friday

Friday morning we split up our team into three groups, and headed to Santa Ana to build 3 houses. BUT...Welcome to Honduras..the wood showed up to only one of the three house sites..so while that team built in the pouring rain ALL DAY, the rest of us helped out with the 15 kids at Casa De Esperanza. Once the whole team got to Casa we had a baleada dinner, and played with the kids until bedtime. We spent the night at Casa.

Saturday

When we got up we played with the kids at Casa, and had donuts for breakfast. About 10 people on our team got up early and went to finish the house that was started yesterday, and built another one. This group endured working in the extremely hot weather, and then of course the rain. The rest of our group loaded up the bus, and went to Ojojona to do a little more shopping. After that we went to Casitas Kennedy, which is the state run orphanage. Our team has seen a lot of things on this trip, but this place could possibly be the worst we've seen yet. These kids have had the worst of the worst life. Many of them have been abused, abandoned, and neglected for much of their short lives. So we spent some time playing with them and letting them know that they are loved and havent been forgotten, we also had a pizza lunch with them, which they enjoyed a whole lot!!

Then we went to Hospital Escuela and split into 4 groups, and went from floor to floor playing with some sick kiddos, and just being with them, because many of them were alone for whatever reason. This hospital is a free hospital, so the poorest of the poor come here because they have no where else to go. This hospital is very run down, and they dont have all the luxuries of medical technologies that we have in the states. One little girl that some people on our team got to spend time with was abused by one of the nurses on the staff, and something happened with her bones that causes her to shake all the time now. The nurse didnt even get fired after this incident with this young girl.

We all ended up back at the mission house for an amazing dinner, then some people went to play soccer, while others went to the pulperia for crepes.

Tomorrow we will get up early to have our last devo at the Jesus Statue, and then we will grab a fast food lunch, and get on the plane to head home! Please keep us in your prayers as we travel!

Much Love

Anna & Sam

P.S-- Rachel, I'm not dead. =] Anna

Thoughts from Wednesday

2007-06-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

It was a busy day today, and we are very tired, so here are a few of things that we did today. This morning 6 or 7 members of our team left at 6:00AM to go finish building a house that was started yesterday. The rest of us loaded 250 food bags onto the bus and headed out to distribute them under a bridge in Teguc. All 250 bags were sent home with hungry families. After finishing that we went to Nueva Oriental which is a feeding center that feeds 300 kids per day in a room that is about the size of half of our fellowship hall. Some of us helped feed the children, while others sorted clothes for the clothing distribution. Part of our team built a house for a family who desperately needed a dry place to pillow their head every night. This family of 7 children, ranging from teenagers to one year old, was sleeping in a “house” {made of pallets nailed together, with plastic lining the inside “walls” in attempt to keep water out.} There was one mattress that was on the ground, and when it rained the water ran straight in and covered the mattress that these 7 children shared. The youngest of the children has been in the hospital fighting pneumonia from sleeping on a wet mattress. So our team did an Extreme Makeover on this house, we completely tore down the old one, and built a new one that would keep the water out of the house, and the family off the wet ground. We also bought two sets of bunk beds and a hammock to put in the house so all 7 children wont have to share the same bed. Tonight it is POURING the rain, and as we lay down tonight, we know that there is one more family that won’t be sleeping on a wet mattress, and one more baby who won’t be in the hospital with pneumonia. In the afternoon as some of our team was finishing the house, the rest of us were working at the clothing distribution where there was nothing left to give at the end of the day, and a few of us did a VBS with all the kids whose parents were shopping for new clothes. Around 6:00PM we headed back to the mission house where we had a devotional, and ordered in pizza. God has blessed all of us in so many ways today! Please keep us all in your prayers as we visit some orphanages tomorrow!

Another day in Hondo :)

2007-06-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hi friends, this is Summer. I just wanted to send a quick update of today's happenings. We had a few "welcome to Honduras" moments today, but it ended up being an awesome day, full of God's blessings! Our plans got flipped around, but let me tell how amazing this team is!! They just rolled with it!

Our morning started off by filling food bags. We will be giving these food bags to 200 hungry families tomorrow. We were told that this was one of the fastest food bag preps. We all had a good time, singing and filling bags of rice.

We split our guys and gals for the rest of the day. Our guys went back to the same build site, to build another house. We were told that the wood would be there by 9, but we weren't too surprised that it didn't show up until 1. Our guys were very patient, and got some good soccer in with the locals.

Our ladies had a very emotionally trying day. We started the day off at Mi Esperanza, a place that helps impoverished women, by teaching them trades so that they can feed their families. The ladies served Our Father by getting manicures and pedicures. :) These services were done by women who have gone through Mi Esperanza. It really was nice to relax, but also awesome to be able to help them.

After spending time with Mi Esperanza, our ladies went to a very poor neighborhood to spend time with the children. God really is using our team in so many ways! I love watching everyone disperse, and find their group of kids. We had people coloring, singing, tracing hands, playing baseball etc. Near the end of our visit, Jen was approached by Noah, a local to this village. Noah is living in a house that TORCH built. He told us that there is a family in great need of a home. The team leads went with Noah (and probably 25 children) to see the existing home. I have seen poverty before, but have never seen anything like this. This home was built of wood scraps, probably 7x7, had only one twin mattress on the floor. This house is home to a mother and her 7 children. The youngest child is now in the hospital with pneumonia. The mattress in the house gets submerged every time it rains. This man went out of his way to ask if we could build this family a house, because he is concerned for them. We prayed about it, and Lord willing, we will be building there tomorrow.

The ladies then headed to Hospital Esquala, which is a free hospital. Most of our team went to visit with children in the cancer wing. Our ladies truly let God work in and through them. They were such a blessing to these kids and their families! We then went to see the malnourished children. This hospital visit was very taxing on all of us. It was hard to see so much pain and anguish, but I know that our ladies brought so much joy!

God is so evident in each member of this team! Please keep praying for us. Pray that we will be able to accomplish as much as God has marked out for us. Pray that fatigue wont overcome us. Pray that we will continue to receive opportunities, and that God will continue to bless this nation through us.

Keep posted for more updates. I would love to share more, but we have a long day ahead of us. Love to all!

HEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whats up everyone, whats going on? I hope all is well with you all and that you guys aint worrying to much about me because im fine, for real im fine. I hope everyone is praying for Team Honduras because God is doing his thing out here. He is real if anyone thinks hes not make sure you tell him he is real. Yo, I learned some new words like much love which is mucho amor and the kids are having a blast out here because I told them my name in Spanish which is cuu the letter Q, I think that how its spelled. Yo, Tell moms that I am good and tell the kids at the club to stop running in the gamesroom. I hope everyone is doing good and I kind of miss you all and I do love you all. I really thank you all for all that you have done for me because I know I shouldn’t even be alive to type this but it wasnt my decision to keep me alive it was my fathers and everyone one of yall no that. If anyone gets a chance please tell my brothers (twins) to make sure they eat and shower. Oh yeah tell them to not play video games for more than 1-2 hours. Aiight I wont stop praying if yall wont and I love you all. Much love to all my family and friends and loved ones. Africa (as the kids call me in Honduras) signing off

Caleb Canton
AKA Q

Marty, Luke, and Ryder,
Hi all my boys---I love you so much.
Evan really really wants to know if you got ahold of his coach about next week—going to Austin’s. He wants to make sure it won’t mess up his chances of playing varsity or anything else. If it’s ok with his coach he wants to go if you can arrange it—Regina or someone will know their number or how to get it.
Everything is going great here. Maybe next summer we can all come. It’s unbelievable---everyone needs to experience this.
Keep saying a prayer for us everyday.
I miss all 3 of you so much and can’t wait to see you.
Kisses…hugs
Evan has been playing street soccer with Hondurans—it’s a mission for the older boys. Evan has also been sick. He hurled in the middle of the Honduran wilderness---on a 6 foot long machete. Oh the stories we have. Say a special prayer that he’ll feel better.
Hi to everyone else—see you soon.
By the way, no more fear of airplanes—the buses here are…………wicked. The Beast X 10.
LOVE, Love, love you guys,
Jama and Mom and Momma

Mom, and Dad
Im having a great time here and its really a life experience. I really wish you could have come with me but you can come next year with me so start saving. So many stories. Talk to you soon.

love Dustin
Hey Everyone!
This has been so amazing so far...this is truly what IT is all about. I can’t wait to share all my stories…I’m still trying to figure out how to put a little nine year old boy named Jimmy in my suitcase…he was at our worksite and he kept coming over and wanting to hang out with me…it was awesome. By the end of the day we had bonded quite a bit…when we had to leave he told me ‘good bye’…we had worked on that one all day…and then he really stole my heart when he said…in English… ‘I love you’…that was soooo sweet.
Today we visited a feeding center and I played baseball…it was fun...I made a double play! We also went to a childrens hospital and visited with kids there...a lot of the time we just sat there and rubbed their arms and legs…it was pretty difficult.
Oh…I also want to bring back one of our Honduran cooks…they are amazing…the dinners here are deliciouso!
Alright…my time is up. Abby is going to give me a haircut! Good night! I love you bunches! Chris, I should be calling home tomorrow evening…so answer your cell!
Thanks for the email Papaw! J

Erica

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to write and say that everything is going smoothly! I am having a great time. This is an experience I will never forget. If someone in my family is reading this, we get to call home tomorrow so make sure you answer the phone if you don’t recognize the number. Love you all.

Miranda

Hi Alan, Grant and Alana,
I sure hope you were able to figure out how to get on this blog. The trip has been quite something so far. We built two houses yesterday. The boys built today and the girls did some other things. We will have lots of things to tell you. Hope you guys are okey, we miss you and we love you. Love Susan(Mom)

Hello Everyone,
I’m not even sure that I have words to describe our experiences so far. Hannah and I are doing well – tired, but ok. We helped build a house yesterday, literally on a mountainside that we had to hike up the hill to. It poured the rain, but we sang “Lord Reign in Me” – not “rain on me”. Anyway, it was a great experience. Today we went to a feeding center – the kids constantly bombard us wherever we go. We then went to a state run hospital and visited the pediatric oncology ward and the malnutrition floor. I do not have words to describe that experience. You all would have been so proud of Hannah – she went to the sickest (sp?) child in the oncology unit and sat there and rubbed his arm and talked very quietly to him. It moved me to tears. Last night we went to the “Statue of Jesus” for our evening devo – a huge statue that overlooks the city of Tegusigolo (sp?).

Time to go to bed – others are waiting. We love you all and miss you. Oh by the way, Hannah is married – to Walter Guerra! Just kidding – he was protecting her from the Honduran boys at our work site yesterday. Don’t be scared Dad – she was fine! They just thought she was pretty. Love you all bunches and miss you. Rachael, Q says hello.
Hi Mom – doing fine! Love you, Becky and Hannah

Hey! Gotta make this quick, but I love and miss you all : ) Things have been difficult yet so amazing. I can’t even believe all that’s happened. I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Please continue to pray for me and the whole team. Like I said, I love ya!
Abby Miller, Xenia

MILLERS (Marietta)
Hey I am the last to go and we are already supposed to be off of here so this must be quick. Things are still going great. I am enjoying myself and changing more with each experience. I have so many stories to tell you guys and pictures to share with you, but I will Never be able to explain this experience to the extent that you would understand. I am sorry this is short, but I love you guys so much, and appreciate the cards you sent. It is really helping me through this trip. Miss you guys, can’t wait to see you!! By the way, we should get a chance to call home tomorrow, so bring your cell phone with you Mom, I will call it. Love, Abby

Climbing the Mountain (Day 2)

2007-06-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the group was divided into two teams (dingo & fuerte, dingo is an inside joke). Both groups were taken as far as the bus could travel (much farther than most bus drivers in the US would dare go--the rides remind you sometimes that we are always near to eternity).

One team (fuerte) went to a church that works on one of the mountains. They interacted with children and adults, helped build a classroom for the church, and found the people to be helpful. The team did more they had imagined they could (as builders) and God used them in building his kingdom through showing Jesus and seeing him and his work in the world.

The other team (dingo) came to the bottom of a hill covered with houses, looked up a path, and were told they had to take the tools up to the work site. No problem. Then they learned they had to take the lumber to the top... Eventually the team got everything in place just as the rain storm came they were putting the roof and the finishing up the fourth wall of the house. The family who would live there came in as the wife and husband, dressed in their Sunday best, helped with the finishing touches and cried.

Last night our devotional was on the top of the Mountain where a large statue depicting Jesus is erected so it can look over the city of Tegucilgapa.

God bless.

Welcome To Honduras

2007-06-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!

We had a "Welcome to Honduras" moment when we tried to post to this blog last night and this morning and didn't have any internet connection! So first off, let me tell you that we are all safe and sound. You all should be so proud of those you've sent to work this week in Honduras. Today was our first full day and let me tell you they already have hearts fully invested in the people they've met today.

We arrived yesterday on time, but not all of our luggage made it- and again "Welcome to Honduras!" Thankfully most of us packed our clothes in our carry-ons and for those who didn't, it's ok because their luggage arrived and we'll pick it up in the morning. Went across the street after we got here- just crossing the street in Honduras can be an adventure- and went to see Jen's kids from the Casa de Esperanza children's home. Hugged them and then went back across the street to get on the bus and head up the mountain to the mission house. Orientation was with Mark Connell, a delightful man of God who has been leading TORCH teams to Honduras for years. He brought us up to speed on what to do and what not to do while we're here. Had dinner, met for devo, and moved some suitcases around before we headed to bed, tuckered out from our travels.

This morning we were up early, had breakfast and devo and loaded the bus to go to church at Los Pinos, which is a mountainside community that opened our eyes to an entirely different way of living. Many in our group witnessed for the first time what life looks like in a third world country and they were overwhelmed to say the least. Next we were blessed with the privilege of praising God with the church meeting at Los Pinos. Their hearts were evident in their faces as they worshipped and as they shook all of our hands when the service was over. What a joy to worship alongside the brothers and sisters of that community. It was a lovely lesson in the unity we find in Christ.

We had a little extra time before the Good Shepherd's childrens' home was expecting us so we called another childrens' home, Jovenes en Camino, "Children In the Way," and asked if we could stop in for 45 minutes. They said ok! So we visited there and were able to love on some of those kiddos and remind them God loves them.

Then it was time for Good Shepherd. This is one of my absolute favorites, and became a favorite for a lot of our team today. This place is run by a couple who heard God's call years and years ago to come and do a childrens' home in Honduras. They said yes and now years later, after expanding over and over, they are now parents to 223 chilren. I say the word parents intentionally, because they are. They know all of the children by name and love each of them as if they had them themselves. Our entire team was greeted at the bus and each had 4 or 5 children with them most of our visit. We colored, jumped rope, made jewelry, played soccer, and gave away little toys to the kids we were with. It was beautiful to see the hearts of our team connect to the hearts of the children so quickly. We do not know all of the stories of the children that we encountered, but we know that many of them had rough, awful lives before God rescued them and they found a place to be cared for physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They are always reminded that they are loved and that God loves them. They are being raised to be followers of the Way and we were blessed to be among them today. After quite a few tearful good-byes, we were on the bus and headed back to the mission house.

We had dinner and the power went out "Welcome to Honduras!" - but it came back on after 5 or 10 minutes and all was well! We had devo and remembered that we wouldn't be here representing Jesus if it weren't for those of you who have prayed, financially supported, and are continuing to pray us through. We come are here representing Jesus above all else, but we also come representing you. And let me tell you, friends, the group made you look good today:) You truly would be so proud.

Tomorrow we will be building 2 houses in a community that we're told is the poorest of the poor. Please continue to lift us in prayer. The work is physically taxing, but our hearts also pay quite the toll. But let me guarantee you this, our team is here to work and they are delighted to serve and love even when it's hard and it hurts. Jesus shines in them and it is beautiful to witness the love of Christ being poured out on the Hondurans through this team.

We have been blessed that we may be a blessing. Please continue to lift us in prayer. Our God is so faithful.

Here are a few words from your loved ones!

June 10 – Blog Notes

Hi Mom, Dad, Ris, And Jenna,
We arrived safe. Having a wonderful time so far. I will have lots of stories and pictures to show you. I love you all and miss you.
Miranda

Hey “Madre”
I love you and wish you where here today with me so you could see the smiles on these kids faces and the love and trust in these kids hearts and the fact that they can trust you immediately with no previous relationship. It’s a phenomenal feeling inside it’s where I’m coming when I graduate neways love u lots call you when I get back. Wish you where here.
Luke Webster

Hola Familia,
Well I am here in Honduras and the airport in Houston Texas has failed to put on some of our luggage and it happened to be one of my suitcases which is the one that had all my personal stuff in. So yea I have no clothes except for what I had in my carry on until tomorrow hopefully. This place is amazing and reaching out to these kids and showing God’s Love is so humbling and it’s awesome. Tomorrow we are building houses for one of the poorest towns around here. I am so blessed to be here. Well I will blog another time we don’t have much time to blog so I will blog tomorrow or another day God Bless familia and see you soon.
God Bless,
Me llamo Daniel`
MILLER FAMILY AND ALLTEL FRIENDS,
Hey guys!! We made it to Honduras, all in one piece!! Just so everyone knows, I cried a little before the first flight, but was fine from there on. Words can not express the amazing experience I am having, and it is only the end of day one. I have cried, and laughed, and seen Jesus in SO many places. I have been humbled and reminded over and over how amazing God is. I will no doubt, come back to you all a different person. And honestly, I think I will have a hard time leaving this beautiful place. I have fallen in love with this place, and Mom WE are coming back next year. Actually, I think the whole family should come, because I will never be able to communicate in words what this is like. I can not wait to come home and show you all pictures and tell you all the amazing stories that I will have. I love you guys so much and I appreciate the fact that you are continually praying for me. I know you are because all the things I feared are nothing to worry about. If I can I will write again, if not see you when I get home!!!Love, Abby

Hola Clark Family (Peter and Rachael) and Haugh Family,
We made it!! It is an amazing place, difficult to describe in an email and put into words. We are having a great time – we visited two children’s homes today and fell in love with several kids. Sorry Rach – no little ones coming home in a suitcase – but we’ve got lots of pictures! Our church experience was amazing this morning – worshipping with our Honduran brothers and sisters will be a highlight of this trip. Tomorrow we build our first houses in “the poorest of the poor” areas. Should be heart-wrenching, but wonderful. We love you all and miss you bunches. Keep praying for our team.
Love, Mom and Hannah. This is from Hannah- It is sooo amazing here!! I am definitely in love with this place!! We went to a children’s home today and some of the girls there stole my heart! It was so hard to leave all of them! Church service this morning was just amazing!! Well people are waiting in line so I better go! I love you all very much!!

Hello Alan, Grant and Alana, Just wanted to let you know we made it. It has been quite the experience from the time we left home. Seth is good. We visited two children’s homes today and went to church on the side of a mountain. The bus ride to and from the church gave me a few more grey hairs. We build tomorrow. Pray that we have physical and mental strength. We love you. Hope you are doing okey. Eat a piece of pizza for us at the porch. Love you.

Hola Everyone!
Today was amazing. We visited two children’s homes today and just spent time hanging out with the kids. Donna kept telling us to ‘get ready to love on some kids’…Well, we didn’t really have a choice. They gathered around the bus and chose us by grabbing our hands as we walked off. It was so neat having a perfect stranger just automatically loving you. We also went to church and worshipped in Spanish…that was cool. The people there lived in shacks on a huge mountain that I would’ve sworn a bus could not get to…but I now know otherwise. After church they announced that we were going to be building houses for people whom were very poor and that what they had was luxurious compared to what these other people are currently living in…wow…and I thought they were living poorly. I miss you all and can’t wait to show you all my pictures. I love you Chris. Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite…… I love you all.
Erica

Hello all,
We arrived safely in Honduras around 3:30 Saturday. Honduras is such a beautiful country – very mountainous. Today we went to a Spanish church and visited two orphanages. Hanging out with the kids and playing with them was so much fun! We went there to love and embrace the kids but they really loved and embraced us. It was very rewarding and hard to say goodbye to them. Tomorrow we are going to build houses on the side of a mountain which should be quite an experience. Well, it’s getting late. Hope to write more later ~ Beth

Wow… How do I begin? I’ve been having an amazing time here in Honduras, and that means I’m safe so, Mom, you can stop worrying : ) My first flight was interesting, and the second soon followed it. I decided something though while on my first flights; that God allowed us the intelligence to be able to fly so we could know how small we really are, and how great that makes him. Everything like I said is going well and we were able to visit two orphanages today. The children there just touched my heart, I was so sad when I heard their stories that I started to cry. They’ve all been treated so unfairly, yet they smile and hug you like they had never been hurt in the first place. I had the privilege of holding a small girl named Raquel, she is five years old, and knew very little English and had some trouble with some Spanish things. She had reached out for my hand the moment I stepped off the bus, and didn’t leave my side the rest of the time I was there. She was so shy at first, but near the end of our time together she had me holding her in my arms, squeezing me tight, and smiling so sweetly at me. I miss her so much already. Thank you so much to everyone who has made this trip possible for me, because I never could have done it on my own. Thank you also to everyone back in the states who’s praying for me and my team, I miss you all ; ) This trip is going to be amazing. I just hope that I can be used and grown by God in ways I could never imagine possible.
Abby

Marty, Luke, and Ryder,
Hi!!! I miss you guys very much and love you very much too!! We made it here safely, everyone’s fine and we’re having a fabulous time. This is a trip that is going to be really hard to explain. It is very sad, and poor. The children are adorable. I wish we could bring some home with us. I can’t wait to see you all and tell you all about it. We all need to come back sometime. It is definitely an experience that will change our lives. I have to go, but tell everyone we’re fine. Evan played soccer with kids at 2 different orphanages today. The boys loved it and it was great to see. Love you guys---and mom and dad if you read this—you too.
Love,
Jama

Hey there Ma and Daddy and, my faithful prayerful friends,
Derek and I are doing great- you’d be so proud of him. Today at Good Shepherd he loved on those kids and spun them in circles and played soccer with them. It was good to watch him with them. I hope you’ll come see it first hand sometime. I got to see Lupe, the little girl that I held the entire time I was at Good Shepherd the first time I came to Honduras, and she let me hold her again this time. Her smile is one of the most beautiful things I’ve witnessed this far in life. I feel like I could live most days, just to see my four-year-old Lupe smile. We’re blessed. We truly are. Can’t say it enough. God is using this team in big ways and he’s changing us all along the way. Thank you for praying. I love you all dearly. See you soon!
In His Shadow,
Donna

Honduras Car Wash Fundraiser April 28, 2007

2007-05-19T17:16:00.000-07:00

Car washes take faith... that's all there is to it. I didn't realize how much it would build the faith of this team, but let me tell you the rest of this Honduras mission trip will be much easier knowing that God will provide because we've seen Him provide richly for us one Saturday in April.

So let me set this up for you. We scheduled the car wash months ago and started making preparations with WalMart and our team to show up between 9am and 6pm Saturday, April 28. We had the buckets and the sponges, the hoses and the towels. We had the soap and the signs, the people and the place. All we needed was the sunshine. Now our team had been praying and Grand Central church was praying and it was a week before the event and it was calling for rain on Saturday. And so we kept praying.

And it was 24 hours before the car wash and the forecast was still calling for rain. And we wondered what to do... and we thought about calling it off and we thought about rescheduling and we didn't. We kept praying, trusting that God had all this planned out long before we did and that He would bless it- maybe not how we had expected- but that He would bless it.

So, I woke up to meet Sam and Summer on Saturday morning and just before I walked out the door, I pulled up the weather forecast on the internet, just to see what we should expect. And still it said sprinkles all morning until around noon and then we should expect showers for awhile and then more sprinkles until 7pm when it was supposed to be sunny again. Oh dear! I put on my "faith" pin which has a mustard seed in it and walked out the door, believing God was looking out for us and that we would see mountains move, or at least storms. We started setting up at 8:30am and were ready for business at 9am and it was cloudy and ominously dark. But was started washing and the team was showing up in full force to wash cars. And so we washed away under the cloudy sky.

And then it happened- if you'd have been there you would have wondered at the display too. We looked up and right above where we were washing it happened... the clouds parted and the sun peeked through and then shone so brightly over us that we all took a moment to laugh and giggle at God's goodness to His children. If you'd have been there you'd have heard some shouts of joy, a few "Hallelujah's" and more than one "God is good!"

We washed and washed and the morning clouds broke and gave way to blue skies. It got cloudy again for a little bit around noon but not a drop of rain fell on us- not a single drop. People who traveled to help with the car wash said they drove through rain, but not a single drop fell on our heads that day and after lunch the clouds gave way for good and we spent the rest of the day washing cars in the beautiful sunshine and blue skies that we'd petitioned God to send. He is so incredibly faithful.

There were tons of other blessings that day... donuts and cookies in the morning, cars from the community, cars from Grand Central Church members, cars from Belpre Church members, and cars from people who were taking their kids to the Jr. Youth Rally at Grand Central. We even washed one of their people-movers:) We exceeded our goal of washing 100 cars and were blessed with many donations for our free car wash! That's right, folks. We didn't charge a dime for the car wash but accepted donations and were blessed in rich ways! God is faithful and we will testify to that over and over.

Thank you to those of you who brought us your dirty cars and donations. Thank you to those of you who worked hard to was cars here, so we can work hard building homes, loving orphans, feeding hungry, and sharing Jesus with folks in Honduras. To those of you who spent time on your knees asking God to bless us, we humbly thank you for your faithfulness. Know that your prayers were heard and answered.

And all I kept thinking was, "This is just the beginning." We saw God move storms for our car wash in Vienna, WV and we have no doubts that He will move mountains in Honduras. Be prepared to be blown away by God's goodness over and over again, friends.

This is just the beginning!

Money, Passports, etc.

2007-04-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying the weather! Thank you to everyone who helped with the Car Wash!! It was a huge success!! We raised a lot of money from this, but we are still behind. We have planned a lot of great stuff for this trip, but all of it requires money, so we need to remind everyone that, ALL MONEY IS DUE WEDNESDAY! This is the deadline for the final payment!! This is extremely important. Some of you have all of your money in, and we are very thankful for that, and we ask that you continue to pray for those of us who dont have all of it in. For those of you who dont have it in, we REALLY need your money this week or you may not be able to go.God is faithful and he will provide! We need to hear from everyone who doesnt have their money in by this week! Please talk to Donna, Sam, or Summer about your plan of action!! This is not an option!

We handed out luggage tags at the meeting on Sunday. One of them needs to go on the suitcase you turn in for us to pack, and the other on your personal suitcase. We also handed out the stickers for your passport. We will be keeping your passport for you while in Honduras, so when we need to hand the passports out, the stickers will make this process much smoother! So if you werent able to attend this meeting, make sure you get these items from us! We also need copies of your passports! If you dont have you passport please let us know! *If you dont get a passport you cant go on this trip!!!*

Here are the luggage requirements for this trip:

Checked luggage- 62 linear inches, and 50lbs MAX!!
Carry-on items- 51 linear inches and 40lbs MAX!
* Your carry-on items should include your personal item which should be a backpack.

Also, just a reminder about clothing for this trip. We need to be modest on this trip, we are representing Jesus, and we need to do that well. So NO tank tops, and your shorts must be to your knees. You also must wear tennis shoes, sandals cant be worn during the day. Although you can wear them while we are at the mission house in the evenings.

We are also starting to prepare for our Yard Sale on May 12th, so if you have items to donate, please bring them to the church ASAP! We hope everyone is planning to attend this event!

We are all getting very excited for this trip! The planning team is so excited that each of you is a part of this! God has big plans for our trip! Please continue to pray for the funds, passports, and a successful yard sale! And please pray over everyone going on the trip, and for the trip itself. It will be here before we know it!

We Need:

-The rest of your money!
-Passport copies
-Suitcases
-Yard Sale items

Thanks! Have a wonderful day!

More Announcements!

2007-04-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

We have lots of things going on right now that we want you guys to be a part of if you can.

First of all, we have a dinner on Wednesday evening that starts at 5:30 and your help would be greatly appreciated!! After the dinner we will be meeting as a team to pray at 6:45 and we would really like everyone to come and be a part of this.
We would also like to start collecting suit cases to start filling them with items to take down to Honduras with us, so please get those to us as soon as you can.
We are collecting items to fill these suit cases with so if you have anything{clothes, toys, shoes, etc} you could also get those items to us soon.
We are having a Car Wash on April 28th in the Walmart parking lot, we need lots of helpers for this, so if you could come it would be great! Please pray that we have good weather for that day also, and that we wash lots of cars!! Dont forget to start getting your sponsors for this event too! :)
Our next team meeting is April 29th, which is a Sunday. We will meet after morning services, and we really need everyone to attend, so please plan to come!

Our trip is getting close and we're getting excited!! I hope all of you are getting excited as well! We will have lots more announcements as the trip gets closer and closer!

Announcements

2007-03-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

We will be posting lots of announcements about upcoming fundraisers, and possibly trip details as well, soon!