Saturday, July 9, 2011

Friday -- July 8


We have been so incredibly busy, especially today as we are trying to finish our daycare project, the Week of prayer and also the Evangelistic series, as well as VBS. Thank the Lord we were able to finish the daycare! We had the kids from the community in Santa Barbara over for lunch and had games and crafts for them. They loved the new look!
The Evangelistic meeting went very well. Several people have already dedicated their lives to Christ and want baptism! Today one lady made the decision! Praise God!

It´s awesome how God works! I had to tune a piano, it was hard! I could have finished it by Wednesday but a string broke, fear came but God gave me courage and enough energy to tune that piano at midnight! When a string breaks in your life don’t freak out you still have 250 more string tat will help you play the melody of life. ---David

Hi everyone, I’m still sick but I am doing better. Sorry to my family for calling them when I was crying. I am looking forward to coming home and eating American food, that agrees with my digestive system and seeing my family But at the same time I never want to leave. ---Catherine

My favorite thing about this week was watching all the children go from very shy to not shy at all. They all know your name and run to you when they see you, it the sweetest thing ever! ---Laura

Hello everyone back home. I’ve been having a really blessed time here. The one thing that is really evident in the people here is they have nothing, but they are happier and warmer that we are. At least that’s what I’ve been noticing. ---Jeremiah

Today, Friday, has been the last day to finish one of the projects we have come to do in Honduras (El Hogar). The group that painted the daycare did a pretty job. When we arrived there around noon they were putting on the finishing touches on the walls. Jeremiah gave me a brush and paint so I could paint some of the figures. I was very pleased to do so, because I now know some of my work will be around for some time to come. I thank God for taking care of us and helping us. I also thank him for permitting me to help the people in the group who got sick and I pray that with  his help they will arrive healthy to their homes. ---Celia

Friday, July 8, 2011

Well...finally a little time to update!

We have been so busy these last few days we haven´t had the time to stop and write in our blog. I´ll try and give a short summary of each day gone by.

Monday, July 4
We began the week of prayer with High School and Middle School...around 290 kids! Pr. Steve preached about Grace and Nelson translated. The real highlight was the music.
At the daycare we began (finally) putting on our background color on the walls (blue).
The dental team opened the clinic ar the Hogar to the community. They served around 30 people. They´ve been working so hard, they´ve barely had time to stop and eat!
That evening we had our Evangelistic meetings. The lights started flickering, but thankfully they remained on!

Tuesday, July 5
Week of prayer -- Nelson preached on "Who am I?" Presented the story by Max Lucado of  Bob´s many coats.
Celia, Jen, and Edith began working at the school. Jen helped teach 5-6 grade ad Edith and Celia with 1st grade.
The dental team (men only) went to the prison in Santa Barbara. They discribed it as looking like a city square surrounded with small houses (with bars). Nothing like our prisons.
In the afternoon we got to hang out with the kids at the Hogar. A lot of playing football (soccer), swinging the kids by their arms, painting with them, etc.
That night it rained cats, dogs, and I´m sure a few huge toads...(as we´ve been seeing them around). The electricity went out! Thankfully someone found us a generator for the main building so we were able to have our Evangelistic meeting. VBS had to be moved to a small room and have a car shine its lights on us. Along with a few candles (although we were cramped and very noisy), we were able to have the activities for the kids! They are always so excited about coming to VBS! We don´t even anounce for the kids to leave the meeting, they watch us like hawks, when they see us walk out, they all stream out after us!

Wednesday, July 6
Daniel Silva (Nelson´s brother) preached  about how to discover God´s will (for our Week of prayer).
The painting team finally began putting details on the underwater sea design for the Daycare building.
The dental team continued at the prison until noon, and Jen, Celia and Edith were at the School again.
We have had several of our team fall ill this week. It began with Tina (she might have picked something up during our trip here), then Helda. Tina felt much better quickly. Pr. Steve fell very ill as well. He is doing well now. Helda is also doing well. Yesterday, Jen got very sick. By this time we had all the meds we´ve needed, so everyone feels much better after they´ve stayed home a whole day and rested. Last night Catherine started feeling bad, but she seems to be doing better this morning.
Wednesday afternoon the whole team took off  to downtown Santa Barbara to tour and get some ice'cream and eat lunch!
That night, the electricity went out....again! Thankfully it didn´t rain, so were were able to have our meetings and VBS at our regular places with flashlights, candles and lights from a car.


July 5 ---I am really enjoying the Semana de Oracion in la manana, despite the fact that its so early in the morning. It has been such a blessing preparing for it and learning new songs. This morning, when we finished, a guy named kent came up to Tina dn I and told us how much he´s enjoying the music and apoligized that people here are more conservative but there were some who wanted to do it but were scare. He didn´t want us to be discouraged or disappointed. It was really nice to have this little boost of confidence. --- Jen

July 6 ---Yesterday and today some of our team members went to primary school. They are wonderful kids. They all wear uniforms. The school is beautiful. In the afternoon today visited the downtown in Santa Barbara, we all had ice cream. Many people in the streets walking and visiting with another. ---Edith ps. miss everybody. 


July 6 ---It´s very reassuring to know that in our time of need, the team or group that you´re with is willing to help you and take the time to cre for you. While I was sick, Abuelita (Raquel Vazquez) took care of me and asked for tea and other things I needed. I love that everyone in the group is a family and we get along so well. God is so good! ---Tina


Today I had the opportunity to help the Ingles teacher in 1st, 5th adn 6th grade. I taght the kids "This Little Light of Mine" and the chorus of "Over the Sea". The kids are doing such a great job singing and reading English. Actually, some of these kids read English better than some of my students back home. As I observed the teachers, I noticed that we all share some of the same classroom management techniques. Names written on the board for warning and marks for who doesn´t go to recess (sin recess). There´s the classic, wait until there is silence. I was able to stay in the 4th grade classroom to observe. The teacher encouraged parner work as well as small groups, just as we do in the States. The kids work well together and didn´t complain when paired with a random person. Boy-girl or whatever, there was no fighting and voices were kept low. --- Jen

People I´ve met (by Raquel Vazquez)
Elsa Munoz, an 11 year old girl is in the 2nd grade. She arrived at the Hogar 2 or 3 months ago. The police brought her because her dad beat her. She lived with her aunt, uncle and father, and the three of them beat her a lot.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Sunday, July 3


This morning began with a miracle. After arriving at the Hogar, breakfasting and gathered to have our morning devotions, Dr. Corn announced that they didn’t have the needles necessary to be able to extract teeth. He was completely confident, however, that God would provide. When they asked (Chus—Maria Jose, the “mother” of the Hogar) if she had any idea if they might have some needles, she said, “hmmm, it seems I’ve seen some needles somewhere.” She found some, but was hesitant to even bring them to Dr. Corn, as they didn’t look like regular needles. When she did, we were all amazed at God’s working, as they were the exact ones to fit Dr. Corn’s equipment. The Dental team worked tirelessly all day on the kids of the Hogar, cleaning their teeth, and sometimes, extracting teeth. The rest of the group went to begin working at the Day Care (start prepping the wall to be painted). In the evening we had a marvelous Evangelistic meeting where we began our Vacation Bible School. The local lay workers mentioned that we got a LOT of visitors, so we were really happy about that! The kids seemed to really enjoy the VBS activities of crafts, stories and songs (last night being about Naaman’s transformation).
That night we fell exhausted, yet renewed, into our beds. During the night we had some unexpected visitors. We got an army of ants swarming through our building, marching militantly through most of our rooms and, in some cases, congregating under mattresses….fun! haha…not! Helda and Laura had to move to another room for the night. But all these things are bearable and taken in the spirit of adventure as we let God lead us in this work!
We really appreciate your prayers, your letters, your support. May God bless YOU as you continue doing his work.




































































Today was SO awesome. Not only did I get a really cool birthday card, but I got to be the “nurse” for the dental clinic. Which entailed helping dentists by cleaning his tools, etc. and bringing comfort to the little ones who did not understand what was going on. J ---Catherine

I’ve been having an awesome time here. I thing, out of the many blessings I have received, the greatest one has come from he children. They’ve been the ultimate Spanish teacher. And it’s surprising how small a language barrier can be once you start doing stuff with them. ---Jeremiah

Today was a very productive, yet uneventful day. We spent the entire morning cleaning our “dorm” house form top to bottom. I discovered a bit of an engineer in me when I set out on a missions to fix the fan in Dr. Corn’s room. I took the blade off a fan with a broken motor and replace the 32.5 bladed fan in the room. With the “men” help from Daniel, David and Jeremiah, we were able to do it! Yay teamwork (trabajando en equipo)!! ---Jen

People I’ve met (by Raquelita Vazquez):
 I met Bertha Lopez, a 17 year old girl. This August she will have been at the Hogar for 10 years. She is in 3rd grade of High School (10th grade). Her father lives in Honduras and when he comes to see her about 3 or 4 times a year, he brings her around 300 Lempiras. Her mother is in Guatemala and hasn’t seen her in 6 years and hasn’t communicated with her. She is a beautiful (inside and out) girl.

Today was an uplifting and inspiring day.  During worship Dr.  Corn shared with us that after preparing for several months he could not locate hiss needles.  He asked for prayer and before we  prayed he said God will provide.  After we prayed and dismissed, the dental team continued to prepare for work.  As they were preparing needles were found at the Hogar.  The amazing thing is that they were the needles that he needed.  We serve an awesome God.  When we ask we must have faith and believe in what we ask God for He will provide.  ---Helda

In setting up the dental clinic today, we with horror realized that an essential item had been forgotten.  The needles, necessary for anesthetizing our extraction patients, could not be located anywhere in the luggage.  We immediately gathered as a group, prayed for God’s intervention, and praised Him for His providence.  As He has on so many other occasions, God came through again with stunning precision as not one, but two boxes of needles were found among some miscellaneous supplies at the Hogar de NiƱos.  What are the chances that a small orphanage in a remote town in Honduras would have two boxes of not just ordinary injection needles, which being of a larger gauge would have been very painful, but the exact dental needles we required in the clinic?  Within a span of 15 minutes, a mistake, which could have been tragic, turned into a triumph of prayer and faith.  By the omnipotent grace of God, we went on that day to treat 43 patients, a staggering number for any team, despite the inferior conditions.   But one questions hovered in the back of our minds.  How long had those needles been in that back closet?  Had a previous mission team left them there after visiting?  Or did an angel sent by God deliver them straight from the parcel post of heaven in the exact hour of need?
~ Isaiah 65:24 ~
Before they call I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear. ---Bobby

These kids are awesome! They just broke my heart, it’s hard for me to hug people I don’t know, or do not know for a long time; but when the kids see you, they run to you, and hug you as if you are their father! Today Cindy came to me, stood on a bench (‘cause she is half my height), hugged me and whispered to my ear “I love you.” That made my da, after working the whole afternoon with the Dentistry team all what you is “my tooth hurts,” everything is complaints, anyway, which kid likes the dentist? Or his team? So when someone comes and whispers to your ear “I love you,” the only possible answer that my lips can pronounce when the words are breaking you heart in a million pieces is: “I love you too!” Time stops, and you are standing in the middle of the universe with a kid hanging from your neck and everything, it’s….just perfect.
I just arrived, and I wanna come back! ---David