Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
back home
I’m back! I got home yesterday evening around 8. I had a whole welcoming crew at the airport! My mom and younger sister, Anna, my older sister and her fiancé(both of whom I haven’t seen for more than a year!), the Genovas, and Elena and Cassie (two of my best friends). It was funny because the flight was just a tiny flight of about 50 people, mostly flying domestically from Houston. No one else really had anyone to greet them, and I had a whole crowd! It was a lot of fun.
This morning has been nice. I slept in a little (it was nice to sleep in my own bed!), then had a lovely breakfast with Natalie, Rl and Anna. I think what has struck me the most about my 15 or so hours of being home, is how normal everything is. It’s like my life paused for 6 weeks while I was in Honduras, and now has started again. It’s like I’m having trouble fitting my time in Honduras in with my day-to-day life here. It’s hard to explain, because I don’t even know what I’m feeling. I haven’t really noticed too much culture shock being back, but it seems to hit me later than most people. It was kind of odd not being slightly nervous to brush my teeth with tap water, but that’s about the only time I’ve really noticed feeling weird about something normal for here, so far anyway.
Thank you for all your prayers for safe travel, everything went smoothly on my flights and through customs. I’ll do my best to update some as things settle down and I start feeling the difference between life here and life in Honduras in the next week or so.
Here are a couple more prayer requests:
-praise for safe travel!
-Nicole as she continues her work with the ministry in Tegucigalpa for 6 more weeks
-thank God for the generous and wonderful Martin family!
-that I will not simply move on with my life but keep in mind all the people I met and the poverty I saw in Honduras
ps- I don't know if you remember, but in one of my first posts, i made a comment about the blogger website being in Spanish in Honduras, and that it threw me off for a sec. Now it's back to English and i think it looks weird!
This morning has been nice. I slept in a little (it was nice to sleep in my own bed!), then had a lovely breakfast with Natalie, Rl and Anna. I think what has struck me the most about my 15 or so hours of being home, is how normal everything is. It’s like my life paused for 6 weeks while I was in Honduras, and now has started again. It’s like I’m having trouble fitting my time in Honduras in with my day-to-day life here. It’s hard to explain, because I don’t even know what I’m feeling. I haven’t really noticed too much culture shock being back, but it seems to hit me later than most people. It was kind of odd not being slightly nervous to brush my teeth with tap water, but that’s about the only time I’ve really noticed feeling weird about something normal for here, so far anyway.
Thank you for all your prayers for safe travel, everything went smoothly on my flights and through customs. I’ll do my best to update some as things settle down and I start feeling the difference between life here and life in Honduras in the next week or so.
Here are a couple more prayer requests:
-praise for safe travel!
-Nicole as she continues her work with the ministry in Tegucigalpa for 6 more weeks
-thank God for the generous and wonderful Martin family!
-that I will not simply move on with my life but keep in mind all the people I met and the poverty I saw in Honduras
ps- I don't know if you remember, but in one of my first posts, i made a comment about the blogger website being in Spanish in Honduras, and that it threw me off for a sec. Now it's back to English and i think it looks weird!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
My Final Weekend
I meant to do at least one other post this week, but time got away from me. I'll write about it when i get home maybe. I leave in the early afternoon Tuesday to return to Kansas City.
This evening we got back from our weekend visiting the Mayan ruins at Copán. We went along with Francis' brother, Rufino and his family, and their mom, Blanca. It was a lot of fun. I'll post some of the roughly 200 pictures i took on facebook later this week probably.
It's late, but i wanted to share a little about this evening. Because we missed church this morning, Jim wanted to do a short family devotional this evening. It was so nice to sit and discuss our favorite passages and thoughts. We heard more of the Martins' family story. They have truly lived by faith and relied completely on God. It sounds silly, but I was amazed to hear of their lives before they were, what we call, "missionaries." They were just normal people, working way too many hours but barely making ends meet, and relying on God's day-to-day provision. Their lives make it clear that when you give God room to work, He does. They have multiple stories of extra money appearing in their bank accounts when they needed it most and the paperwork for Andrea's passports working out when it seemed impossible. I am so privileged to have spent the summer here, learning from these amazing Followers of God. I appreciate them very much,and thank God for them each day.
Prayer Requests:
-God's continued blessing on Honduras Ministries and wisdom as they seek to follow His will
-for the Martin family and their encouragement
-safe travel on Tuesday
-praise for safe travel over the weekend!
This evening we got back from our weekend visiting the Mayan ruins at Copán. We went along with Francis' brother, Rufino and his family, and their mom, Blanca. It was a lot of fun. I'll post some of the roughly 200 pictures i took on facebook later this week probably.
It's late, but i wanted to share a little about this evening. Because we missed church this morning, Jim wanted to do a short family devotional this evening. It was so nice to sit and discuss our favorite passages and thoughts. We heard more of the Martins' family story. They have truly lived by faith and relied completely on God. It sounds silly, but I was amazed to hear of their lives before they were, what we call, "missionaries." They were just normal people, working way too many hours but barely making ends meet, and relying on God's day-to-day provision. Their lives make it clear that when you give God room to work, He does. They have multiple stories of extra money appearing in their bank accounts when they needed it most and the paperwork for Andrea's passports working out when it seemed impossible. I am so privileged to have spent the summer here, learning from these amazing Followers of God. I appreciate them very much,and thank God for them each day.
Prayer Requests:
-God's continued blessing on Honduras Ministries and wisdom as they seek to follow His will
-for the Martin family and their encouragement
-safe travel on Tuesday
-praise for safe travel over the weekend!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
During my time here in Honduras, I've spent a lot of time with Jim's wife, Francis. I really didn't know her at all before I came here, only having met her twice (i think). She is an amazing woman who truly loves God. The more time i spend with her, the more I admire her desire to live as God would have her live. Whenever she makes plans, she is quick to mention, "God willing," as she seems to always remember He is in control. I noticed this more as we made plans and they didn't work out for reasons beyond our control. Every time we leave the house, she prays as we sit in the van before pulling out. She prays frequently throughout the day. It is wonderful to see her sitting in the corner by the window in the living room each morning, reading her Bible and reflecting on what she reads. When we visited the villages bringing foods, it was amazing hearing her reminding each family we were only working as the hands of God, that he is the Provider. She loves those people very much.
She's told us about her life growing up, her life before she was a Christian, when she met Jim, and when Honduras Ministries was first beginning. She is a very strong and wise woman. She works hard to save money so they can continue in their ministry. She works so hard for hours each day to keep their property clean, I don't know how she does it each day. She is a fantastic example for her daughter, for me, and for all Christians. i appreciate her so much, and will remember her example always.
Thinking about the example Francis sets for me reminds me also of all the other Christian women that i look up to and appreciate so much. My mom also works hard to take care of us and has given up a lot for her family and to continue to minister where she is needed in the church. My grandma works hard always to take care of my grandpa worked with him in churches and at a church camp for many years. She is prayerful and cares deeply about everyone she meets. Two women I've known all my life, but really only started to appreciate in the past few years, and certainly still don't appreciate enough. Thank you for the example you've set.
There are countless other women who have encouraged me and whose faith i have admired. So many of the ladies at LifeSpring have set examples for my sisters and I and encouraged us. The friendships they have, and how they live life together is so amazing to see. We've known Jennifer and Ashlie almost since we moved here and as i get older, i have seen what amazing women of God they are. There are also many Godly women in Joplin, like the dorm mom from my freshman year, Mama Judie (who raised her kids on her own after her husband left her), my life group leader, Linda Lawson (who was crazy busy during the school year, but made time to cook for us and with us and to encourage us. Even more, she is currently battling cancer, your prayers are appreciated!), women at C0llege Heights (my church in Joplin), Katie (who knows how to live in community just as in the Bible and work to reach the poor), my current RD, Susan (who was an RA for years and has so much insight into serving and encouraging girls) and all the girls in my dorm who encourage and love each other so much. Marisa and Lauren and my roommate, Tasha, have all encouraged me, listened to me vent, and prayed with and for me when i need it.
All of these and so many others (i keep thinking of more, their are too many to list!) have impacted my life greatly and driven me closer to God. Again, i want to make it clear, that, while i admire each of them so much, the most important thing is that their lives point toward God. Their lives give Him the glory. And that makes me admire them all the more. Thank you for the example you have set and be encouraged that the way you live your lives gives God glory!
One last thing. When i first came here, i was reading (well, sorta. more like listening to, it was an audio book)the book Forgotten God by Francis Chan. One quote has become my prayer each day. He wrote, "I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit." As i follow the example of these amazing women (and i only listed the women, there are many men whom i admire greatly too), I grow closer to this goal.
This is kinda long, maybe slightly random, but i figured i kinda have a captive audience, so i might as well write what i have been thinking. Although, you're not really captive, because you can choose to read it or not. Anyway, just some thoughts.
Prayer Request:
-encouragement for each of the women who set such Godly examples
-that i can show my appreciation for these women who i so admire
-that i can grow live my life in glory of God as they have.
She's told us about her life growing up, her life before she was a Christian, when she met Jim, and when Honduras Ministries was first beginning. She is a very strong and wise woman. She works hard to save money so they can continue in their ministry. She works so hard for hours each day to keep their property clean, I don't know how she does it each day. She is a fantastic example for her daughter, for me, and for all Christians. i appreciate her so much, and will remember her example always.
Thinking about the example Francis sets for me reminds me also of all the other Christian women that i look up to and appreciate so much. My mom also works hard to take care of us and has given up a lot for her family and to continue to minister where she is needed in the church. My grandma works hard always to take care of my grandpa worked with him in churches and at a church camp for many years. She is prayerful and cares deeply about everyone she meets. Two women I've known all my life, but really only started to appreciate in the past few years, and certainly still don't appreciate enough. Thank you for the example you've set.
There are countless other women who have encouraged me and whose faith i have admired. So many of the ladies at LifeSpring have set examples for my sisters and I and encouraged us. The friendships they have, and how they live life together is so amazing to see. We've known Jennifer and Ashlie almost since we moved here and as i get older, i have seen what amazing women of God they are. There are also many Godly women in Joplin, like the dorm mom from my freshman year, Mama Judie (who raised her kids on her own after her husband left her), my life group leader, Linda Lawson (who was crazy busy during the school year, but made time to cook for us and with us and to encourage us. Even more, she is currently battling cancer, your prayers are appreciated!), women at C0llege Heights (my church in Joplin), Katie (who knows how to live in community just as in the Bible and work to reach the poor), my current RD, Susan (who was an RA for years and has so much insight into serving and encouraging girls) and all the girls in my dorm who encourage and love each other so much. Marisa and Lauren and my roommate, Tasha, have all encouraged me, listened to me vent, and prayed with and for me when i need it.
All of these and so many others (i keep thinking of more, their are too many to list!) have impacted my life greatly and driven me closer to God. Again, i want to make it clear, that, while i admire each of them so much, the most important thing is that their lives point toward God. Their lives give Him the glory. And that makes me admire them all the more. Thank you for the example you have set and be encouraged that the way you live your lives gives God glory!
One last thing. When i first came here, i was reading (well, sorta. more like listening to, it was an audio book)the book Forgotten God by Francis Chan. One quote has become my prayer each day. He wrote, "I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit." As i follow the example of these amazing women (and i only listed the women, there are many men whom i admire greatly too), I grow closer to this goal.
This is kinda long, maybe slightly random, but i figured i kinda have a captive audience, so i might as well write what i have been thinking. Although, you're not really captive, because you can choose to read it or not. Anyway, just some thoughts.
Prayer Request:
-encouragement for each of the women who set such Godly examples
-that i can show my appreciation for these women who i so admire
-that i can grow live my life in glory of God as they have.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
5 weeks can sure fly by...
Well, my last full week is here. I have 9 days left in Honduras before I head back to KC on August 3.
This week has been pretty quiet, going about our normal routines. I’ve been going through the medical inventory, trying to make sure it’s ready for the team that comes in September. This week, I have bagged literally thousands of pills of acetaminophen and ibuprofen into baggies of ten pills. But I feel like I’m being more useful, so that’s good. This week I plan to continue going through everything, making sure pills are bagged for the health clinic’s pharmacy and making sure the counts taken in April are still accurate.
This past weekend, we had been planning on going to the Mayan ruins of Copan with Juan Carlos’ family. However on Wednesday evening, Francis got the call that his 10-year-old daughter, Daniela, was being taken to the hospital because they were afraid she had Dengue, a fever carried by mosquitoes that can be fatal. I guess the hospital released her that night to be cared for at home, then we didn’t hear anything for the rest of the week. This morning after church Daniela came up and gave me a hug, and said she was feeling better. She still looked pale and very tired, but she was smiling her and acting like her normal self. Thank you for your prayers for her, she is a very special girl and I thank God that she is okay!
Thank you also for your prayers for my encouragement, especially on Sundays. This morning was better than the previous two Sundays have been. I was still ready to go back to the house after spending more than two hours trying to understand Spanish, but I was not as overwhelmed and sad as I had felt before. Thank you for all your prayers.
This week Jim comes back and we will hopefully got to Copan with him this weekend. I might also have the opportunity to go with my friend Kystelle (a friend from OCC who is also in Tegucigalpa this summer working with a ministry) for a day and work with their ministry. I also want to finish the medical inventory stuff, and achieve some of my goals for Spanish-learning for the summer. I think the week is going to fly by. But I’m going to try and do a few more updates this week to get all my final thoughts out. I’ve been thinking about the poverty and the different cultural differences the whole time I’ve been here and finally might be able to put together my thoughts and feelings and other reflections from my time here. I was going to in this post I thought, but it is longer than I expected it to be.
So again, thanks for your prayers, keep them up please!
Prayer Requests
-Jim’s safe travel to Honduras
-Daniela’s continued healing and recovery
-that I will be even more productive for the ministry this week, and serve the God’s purpose for bringing me here this summer, learning everything He has for me to learn while I’m here
here are a few of my favorite pictures from the past couple weeks:
Nicole, Andrea and I in a huge tree in a small town called Ojojona
sorting and bagging the medicine for the medical clinic
Krystelle and I, two gringas in Tegucigalpa!
This week has been pretty quiet, going about our normal routines. I’ve been going through the medical inventory, trying to make sure it’s ready for the team that comes in September. This week, I have bagged literally thousands of pills of acetaminophen and ibuprofen into baggies of ten pills. But I feel like I’m being more useful, so that’s good. This week I plan to continue going through everything, making sure pills are bagged for the health clinic’s pharmacy and making sure the counts taken in April are still accurate.
This past weekend, we had been planning on going to the Mayan ruins of Copan with Juan Carlos’ family. However on Wednesday evening, Francis got the call that his 10-year-old daughter, Daniela, was being taken to the hospital because they were afraid she had Dengue, a fever carried by mosquitoes that can be fatal. I guess the hospital released her that night to be cared for at home, then we didn’t hear anything for the rest of the week. This morning after church Daniela came up and gave me a hug, and said she was feeling better. She still looked pale and very tired, but she was smiling her and acting like her normal self. Thank you for your prayers for her, she is a very special girl and I thank God that she is okay!
Thank you also for your prayers for my encouragement, especially on Sundays. This morning was better than the previous two Sundays have been. I was still ready to go back to the house after spending more than two hours trying to understand Spanish, but I was not as overwhelmed and sad as I had felt before. Thank you for all your prayers.
This week Jim comes back and we will hopefully got to Copan with him this weekend. I might also have the opportunity to go with my friend Kystelle (a friend from OCC who is also in Tegucigalpa this summer working with a ministry) for a day and work with their ministry. I also want to finish the medical inventory stuff, and achieve some of my goals for Spanish-learning for the summer. I think the week is going to fly by. But I’m going to try and do a few more updates this week to get all my final thoughts out. I’ve been thinking about the poverty and the different cultural differences the whole time I’ve been here and finally might be able to put together my thoughts and feelings and other reflections from my time here. I was going to in this post I thought, but it is longer than I expected it to be.
So again, thanks for your prayers, keep them up please!
Prayer Requests
-Jim’s safe travel to Honduras
-Daniela’s continued healing and recovery
-that I will be even more productive for the ministry this week, and serve the God’s purpose for bringing me here this summer, learning everything He has for me to learn while I’m here
here are a few of my favorite pictures from the past couple weeks:
Nicole, Andrea and I in a huge tree in a small town called Ojojona
sorting and bagging the medicine for the medical clinic
Krystelle and I, two gringas in Tegucigalpa!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Hello friends! I just realized I haven't updated this week, so i don't know that i'll get 3 in, sorry. This week has been kinda slow ministry-wise. We've had mornings full of Spanish lessons and afternoons full of errands with Francis, so not a whole lot of free time.
I've been working a little with the medical inventory, organizing, bagging pills for the pharmacies they run with the medical brigades, and checking the count. It's been kinda slow, but at least i have plenty to do! I've gone through all the big stuff and have mostly pills and small items left. Nicole takes a break from her stuff to help me sometimes, so that's nice too.
Francis got a call this evening from Juan Carlos, saying they had taken his 10 year old daughter to the hospital because she had a fever. There is a disease here carries by mosquitos call "Dengue" that starts with a fever and is potentially fatal. I'm not sure about the treatment for it, but i know there are two different kinds and one is more dangerous than the other. Juan Carlos was concerned that his daughter, Daniela, has Dengue. Please keep her in your prayers. She is a happy, funny, sweet little girl. I have gotten to know her since i've been here because she speaks very good English, and she is amazing. And she comes from a fantastic family that is the perfect example of a Godly family.
Daniela, getting ready to eat her massive taco when we went to lunch with her family last week. And she ate almost the whole thing!
I've been working a little with the medical inventory, organizing, bagging pills for the pharmacies they run with the medical brigades, and checking the count. It's been kinda slow, but at least i have plenty to do! I've gone through all the big stuff and have mostly pills and small items left. Nicole takes a break from her stuff to help me sometimes, so that's nice too.
Francis got a call this evening from Juan Carlos, saying they had taken his 10 year old daughter to the hospital because she had a fever. There is a disease here carries by mosquitos call "Dengue" that starts with a fever and is potentially fatal. I'm not sure about the treatment for it, but i know there are two different kinds and one is more dangerous than the other. Juan Carlos was concerned that his daughter, Daniela, has Dengue. Please keep her in your prayers. She is a happy, funny, sweet little girl. I have gotten to know her since i've been here because she speaks very good English, and she is amazing. And she comes from a fantastic family that is the perfect example of a Godly family.
Daniela, getting ready to eat her massive taco when we went to lunch with her family last week. And she ate almost the whole thing!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
week 4 is over already!!
Sorry I'm kinda late on the week wrap-up post this week, i had a busy day yesterday. I can't believe i only have about 2 weeks left here!
The rest of the week, after the food distribution, was pretty laid back. I’ve put the finishing touches on the Twitter page for the ministry (HONMinistries) and posted directions on the previous blogpost for how to get the text message updates. I’ll work on tweeting more once a day or so to keep people updated about Honduras Ministries. If you have any other good ideas about how to get the word out about us, let me know!
Sundays seem to be getting harder for me. Church services are nice but they are long and I don’t understand very much. Francis and Andrea translate the general idea, but it is still kinda hard. Getting to see people is fun, especially as I know more of them, but there are still few that speak English. Church is sometimes when I get really homesick, because I miss my home church very much and can’t wait to talk to all of them about my experiences. After church we usually go out to eat them sometimes do other things, when what I’m really ready to do is go home and relax. But overall, I’m doing ok. Since I got used to the language barrier, I haven’t felt as stressed. Some days have been harder because I’ve missed some family get-togethers and getting to see Nathan and Erin (my brother and sister-in-law) and Natalie and Rl(my sister and her fiance). But, like I said, I’m doing pretty ok. I haven’t felt as homesick or out of place as I thought I might feel coming to a place I don’t know for such a long time. I also got to see a friend from OCC that’s here with another mission yesterday, and it was really helpful to get to talk to her. I haven’t said much about how I’ve been feeling since I’ve been here as I’ve been going through these feelings, so I thought I would let you know, since you’re my prayer network! Thanks so much for all the prayers, I appreciate them so much!!!
Prayer Requests:
-the little homesickness to subside so I can enjoy rest of my time here (especially sundays)
-the families in Tegucigalpa and Lepaterique that we brought food to this week
-Jim, as he is still away in the States getting his hand taken care of
-safe travel this coming weekend, we get to go the Mayan ruins of Copan!!
-that I will be helpful to this ministry and the Martin family while I am here, I feel like this week especially I haven’t done as much as I should
Thanks again!!!
The rest of the week, after the food distribution, was pretty laid back. I’ve put the finishing touches on the Twitter page for the ministry (HONMinistries) and posted directions on the previous blogpost for how to get the text message updates. I’ll work on tweeting more once a day or so to keep people updated about Honduras Ministries. If you have any other good ideas about how to get the word out about us, let me know!
Sundays seem to be getting harder for me. Church services are nice but they are long and I don’t understand very much. Francis and Andrea translate the general idea, but it is still kinda hard. Getting to see people is fun, especially as I know more of them, but there are still few that speak English. Church is sometimes when I get really homesick, because I miss my home church very much and can’t wait to talk to all of them about my experiences. After church we usually go out to eat them sometimes do other things, when what I’m really ready to do is go home and relax. But overall, I’m doing ok. Since I got used to the language barrier, I haven’t felt as stressed. Some days have been harder because I’ve missed some family get-togethers and getting to see Nathan and Erin (my brother and sister-in-law) and Natalie and Rl(my sister and her fiance). But, like I said, I’m doing pretty ok. I haven’t felt as homesick or out of place as I thought I might feel coming to a place I don’t know for such a long time. I also got to see a friend from OCC that’s here with another mission yesterday, and it was really helpful to get to talk to her. I haven’t said much about how I’ve been feeling since I’ve been here as I’ve been going through these feelings, so I thought I would let you know, since you’re my prayer network! Thanks so much for all the prayers, I appreciate them so much!!!
Prayer Requests:
-the little homesickness to subside so I can enjoy rest of my time here (especially sundays)
-the families in Tegucigalpa and Lepaterique that we brought food to this week
-Jim, as he is still away in the States getting his hand taken care of
-safe travel this coming weekend, we get to go the Mayan ruins of Copan!!
-that I will be helpful to this ministry and the Martin family while I am here, I feel like this week especially I haven’t done as much as I should
Thanks again!!!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
how to follow Honduras Ministries through your cell phone
If you'd like to receive text updates from Honduras Ministries on your phone, follow these directions to receive our Twitter updates.
1.Text “follow honministries” to 40404
2.If your cell phone is not already associated with your own Twitter page, you will get this response: “Welcome to Twitter. Reply with ‘signup’ to begin. Already on Twitter? Reply with your username instead”
3.If you don’t already have a Twitter, reply “signup.” You will technically be signing up for a Twitter, but it doesn’t mean really anything. The only notifications you will get will be from Honduras Ministries unless you add others.
4.The response will be: “Great you just need a username. This is how you’ll be known on Twitter. Reply with the username you want to use”
5.Reply with the username you choose. Anything really works, as long as it isn’t taken. If it is, it will ask you to choose something else.
6.You’ll get a few text messages in response, including the latest Tweet from HONMinistries. Then you’re done. You’ll get a text each time HONMinistries updates Twitter.
1.Text “follow honministries” to 40404
2.If your cell phone is not already associated with your own Twitter page, you will get this response: “Welcome to Twitter. Reply with ‘signup’ to begin. Already on Twitter? Reply with your username instead”
3.If you don’t already have a Twitter, reply “signup.” You will technically be signing up for a Twitter, but it doesn’t mean really anything. The only notifications you will get will be from Honduras Ministries unless you add others.
4.The response will be: “Great you just need a username. This is how you’ll be known on Twitter. Reply with the username you want to use”
5.Reply with the username you choose. Anything really works, as long as it isn’t taken. If it is, it will ask you to choose something else.
6.You’ll get a few text messages in response, including the latest Tweet from HONMinistries. Then you’re done. You’ll get a text each time HONMinistries updates Twitter.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
More Food Distribution (40 families is a lot!)
We've gotten the rest of the food bags taken to their homes in the past two days. Yesterday Joel, the pastor for a church in Choluteca that lives here in Tegucigalpa, drove us to the homes of 2 more families that Honduras Ministries provides food for and we dropped 9 bags off at the church offices to be distributed from there.
Today Juan Carlos drove us to a small town about 2 hours from Tegucigalpa (with another name i can't spell) to bring food bags to 2 more families. The roads were rough, but the view was beautiful. Both families had gardens full of banana trees, coffee plants and more. We came home with a grocery bag full of big limes and a bag of huge, delicious blackberries. We've met with 4 very nice families in the past two days. It is so amazing that i get to be here, meeting these people, being used to bless and serve them. I'm so grateful to be part of God's family and family in Christ with the people i have met!
Lolita and her husband with Nicole, Francis and I. They are so sweet. Lolita is almost blind, so her husband takes care of her each day.
bringing food to Doña Victoria today
praying before we left to head back to Tegucigalpa today. It is powerful to hear Juan Carlos pray. I can even understand some of it!
Prayer Requests:
-thanks for our safety in travels while delivering food
-thanks for drivers willing to take time to help us distribute the food
-the families we've delivered to, that they know we are simply tools God uses to provide for them, for their health and safety
-also, i've been kind of discouraged lately. Sunday i was really missing everyone at LifeSpring and wishing i could be there. I would appreciate prayer for encouragement and remembering that i am here doing God's work
-today marks the half way point for my time here. Please pray that i will continue to help the ministry here and faithfully do what needs to be done.
Today Juan Carlos drove us to a small town about 2 hours from Tegucigalpa (with another name i can't spell) to bring food bags to 2 more families. The roads were rough, but the view was beautiful. Both families had gardens full of banana trees, coffee plants and more. We came home with a grocery bag full of big limes and a bag of huge, delicious blackberries. We've met with 4 very nice families in the past two days. It is so amazing that i get to be here, meeting these people, being used to bless and serve them. I'm so grateful to be part of God's family and family in Christ with the people i have met!
Lolita and her husband with Nicole, Francis and I. They are so sweet. Lolita is almost blind, so her husband takes care of her each day.
bringing food to Doña Victoria today
praying before we left to head back to Tegucigalpa today. It is powerful to hear Juan Carlos pray. I can even understand some of it!
Prayer Requests:
-thanks for our safety in travels while delivering food
-thanks for drivers willing to take time to help us distribute the food
-the families we've delivered to, that they know we are simply tools God uses to provide for them, for their health and safety
-also, i've been kind of discouraged lately. Sunday i was really missing everyone at LifeSpring and wishing i could be there. I would appreciate prayer for encouragement and remembering that i am here doing God's work
-today marks the half way point for my time here. Please pray that i will continue to help the ministry here and faithfully do what needs to be done.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Food Distribution
We distributed food on Thursday! We went to Choluteca, La Fortunita, Los Humos and Cerco de Piedra. It was fun getting to talk to a few of the families and very interesting to see how they live. It looked exactly like the commercials you see on tv for charities or pictures from World Vision or Compassion International. When I started to think about how they live everyday, it is so different from my own life, here in Tegucigalpa and in the US in KC and Joplin. They have small homes with dirt floors, no running water, no electricity. I wish I could have spent a little more time in each place getting to know people, although I couldn’t do much since I didn’t speak their language. Here are a couple pictures and the stories of people in them:
This is one of the ladies Honduras Ministries provides food for in Los Humos. I don't know much of her story, but I will remember her forever i hope. When Francis said we were going to pray before we left, the woman began to walk towards the church building, apparently thinking that was the only place we can pray. Francis call her back and explained to her that God lives in each of us, not in the church building. The church is a house where we meet, nothing more. God is in us always. The whole day, it was awesome to hear Francis explain more about the character of God to people so they could understand how he changes lives.
This is the site in La Fortunita that Honduras Ministries currently owns and is fundraising (i believe) to build a church on. They have already built a beautiful church in Cerco de Piedra, wired with electricity so the church can worship at night too. The people in La Fortunita have not place of their own to worship, but meet outside, unprotected from sun and rain.
handing out food in La Fortunita
Us with Umberto, the first person Honduras served in the Choluteca area. They have been bringing him food for 10 years. He is blind and makes beautiful hammocks for a living. He is a wonderful, prayerful man. He told Nicole and I that he has two new people to pray for everyday. He loves God very much.
Prayer Requests:
-the people that we brought food to, that it would nourish them and they would know, as Francis explained to each person we talked to, that it is from God and only through God are we able to do what we do. That each person would would truly know God and His love
-for Umberto, who is having some health problems with his hear, if i understood correctly
-for Francis, she has had a stressful week, between getting the van fixed, multiple problems with the water system here at her house, and Jim being gone so she has to take care of everything. She is an absolutely amazing, Godly woman who works very hard to serve people. I respect and admire her very much. And that Nicole and I are able to help her out in any way she allows us.
-for Jim as he is in the US, that his hand can heal, and he can come back soon
and the continuing requests that i can be useful and serve God well here in the Tegucigalpa and serve the ministry well, and for language learning!
This is one of the ladies Honduras Ministries provides food for in Los Humos. I don't know much of her story, but I will remember her forever i hope. When Francis said we were going to pray before we left, the woman began to walk towards the church building, apparently thinking that was the only place we can pray. Francis call her back and explained to her that God lives in each of us, not in the church building. The church is a house where we meet, nothing more. God is in us always. The whole day, it was awesome to hear Francis explain more about the character of God to people so they could understand how he changes lives.
This is the site in La Fortunita that Honduras Ministries currently owns and is fundraising (i believe) to build a church on. They have already built a beautiful church in Cerco de Piedra, wired with electricity so the church can worship at night too. The people in La Fortunita have not place of their own to worship, but meet outside, unprotected from sun and rain.
handing out food in La Fortunita
Us with Umberto, the first person Honduras served in the Choluteca area. They have been bringing him food for 10 years. He is blind and makes beautiful hammocks for a living. He is a wonderful, prayerful man. He told Nicole and I that he has two new people to pray for everyday. He loves God very much.
Prayer Requests:
-the people that we brought food to, that it would nourish them and they would know, as Francis explained to each person we talked to, that it is from God and only through God are we able to do what we do. That each person would would truly know God and His love
-for Umberto, who is having some health problems with his hear, if i understood correctly
-for Francis, she has had a stressful week, between getting the van fixed, multiple problems with the water system here at her house, and Jim being gone so she has to take care of everything. She is an absolutely amazing, Godly woman who works very hard to serve people. I respect and admire her very much. And that Nicole and I are able to help her out in any way she allows us.
-for Jim as he is in the US, that his hand can heal, and he can come back soon
and the continuing requests that i can be useful and serve God well here in the Tegucigalpa and serve the ministry well, and for language learning!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Food Ministry
So I guess I’m supposed to post here about three times a week. I’ll try to do that. But honestly it might end up being more like twice. I’m really going to try for three though, even if they’re short notes with a few prayer requests.
The van is broken again. There is something wrong with the alternator and the electric locks. The locks just make a whirring noise when you try to lock them, then pop back up. It’s a good five minute battle for each lock to lock. Jim thinks that is what is wearing the battery down so that we have to jump start it every time we use it. He said if we can get that fixed, the alternator will be able to wait until he gets back in a few weeks. Having no vehicle right now is inconvenient because we’re trying to get the food together to bring out for the food ministry. Francis’ brother took us this afternoon to buy food, but he has a small car, so we had to make 2 trips. If the van isn’t back in working order by Thursday, we’ll have to borrow rent a car to go to Choluteca.
We’re getting ready to bag up the food to bring the families now. We had 4 carts worth of food! It will help feed 40 families for the month. It was a group effort finding all the food and getting checked out, and I think they were probably happy when we left. All that food (again, enough to help feed 40 families), and it was less then $500 though. Not a whole lot when you think about it. Nicole said it came to around $13 per family. It’s very cool that we’re able to do this for them, but also sad that they can’t even afford so little.
So that’s what we’ve been up to today, besides the normal Spanish lessons and such. Spanish lessons are getting harder because we’re learning more about how you use each word. Some of it involves verb tenses that we don’t use in English or one verb in English is two words in Spanish that you use at different times. It’s all very confusing.
That’s all I have for today. Here are a few prayer requests:
-the van is fixed and able to make the drive to Choluteca and the other towns to distribute food, or for other means of transportation to be provided at a reasonable price
-the families that we’ll distribute the food to, for their health and safety
-safety in our travels this week
-Extra help for Nicole and I to understand those speaking Spanish to us
I also have some ongoing requests that I listed on the last post and will list again:
-that God will use me to do His work while I’m here, especially when it isn’t glamorous
-that I will be useful to the ministry and worth everything they’ve spent on me
-thank God also for the generosity I have experienced from Honduras Ministries and the Martin family who have taken very good care of me!
-that Nicole and I will not be overwhelmed by learning Spanish, but able to learn it relatively easily
-for Honduras Ministries ability to reach Hondurans with the love of God
Thank you all very much. I will do my best to keep you all updated as often as possible!
collecting the food
buying enough coffee for 40 families
all the food, waiting to be bagged for the individual families
The van is broken again. There is something wrong with the alternator and the electric locks. The locks just make a whirring noise when you try to lock them, then pop back up. It’s a good five minute battle for each lock to lock. Jim thinks that is what is wearing the battery down so that we have to jump start it every time we use it. He said if we can get that fixed, the alternator will be able to wait until he gets back in a few weeks. Having no vehicle right now is inconvenient because we’re trying to get the food together to bring out for the food ministry. Francis’ brother took us this afternoon to buy food, but he has a small car, so we had to make 2 trips. If the van isn’t back in working order by Thursday, we’ll have to borrow rent a car to go to Choluteca.
We’re getting ready to bag up the food to bring the families now. We had 4 carts worth of food! It will help feed 40 families for the month. It was a group effort finding all the food and getting checked out, and I think they were probably happy when we left. All that food (again, enough to help feed 40 families), and it was less then $500 though. Not a whole lot when you think about it. Nicole said it came to around $13 per family. It’s very cool that we’re able to do this for them, but also sad that they can’t even afford so little.
So that’s what we’ve been up to today, besides the normal Spanish lessons and such. Spanish lessons are getting harder because we’re learning more about how you use each word. Some of it involves verb tenses that we don’t use in English or one verb in English is two words in Spanish that you use at different times. It’s all very confusing.
That’s all I have for today. Here are a few prayer requests:
-the van is fixed and able to make the drive to Choluteca and the other towns to distribute food, or for other means of transportation to be provided at a reasonable price
-the families that we’ll distribute the food to, for their health and safety
-safety in our travels this week
-Extra help for Nicole and I to understand those speaking Spanish to us
I also have some ongoing requests that I listed on the last post and will list again:
-that God will use me to do His work while I’m here, especially when it isn’t glamorous
-that I will be useful to the ministry and worth everything they’ve spent on me
-thank God also for the generosity I have experienced from Honduras Ministries and the Martin family who have taken very good care of me!
-that Nicole and I will not be overwhelmed by learning Spanish, but able to learn it relatively easily
-for Honduras Ministries ability to reach Hondurans with the love of God
Thank you all very much. I will do my best to keep you all updated as often as possible!
collecting the food
buying enough coffee for 40 families
all the food, waiting to be bagged for the individual families
Friday, July 2, 2010
My first week and a half
Hello! Sorry it’s been awhile. To be honest I haven’t had too much to report. But when I think about it, I can still tell you guys what we’ve been doing (although it isn’t action-packed) and list some prayer requests.
Our days are pretty much the same each day. Get up early, go walking with Luz (our neighbor across the street/ Spanish teacher), come back around 7:30 (yes, that’s what time we get BACK. I’ve been getting up early!) and clean up, eat a delicious and nutritious breakfast and do some last minute Spanish studying before Luz comes back for our Spanish class at 9.
We study with Luz for two hours a day, 5 days a week. I think this week we learned more than 50 new verbs and learned 6 new tenses/ways to form verbs. It’s been intense. To be honest, Spanish is what has caused the majority of my stress thus far on the trip. Stress when I’m in an environment where everyone is speaking Spanish to me and stress as I learn Spanish because it is very hard to learn in such a short time! But I have already learned a lot, Luz is a good teacher.
After Spanish lessons, Nicole and I do some work for the ministry. She has been working on writing for some grants and some budget information. I put together some volunteer opportunities to be posted online at www.volunteermatch.org and we’ve already got a hit! If you’re looking for pretty simple ways to contribute, check them out! Search Honduras Ministries when you get to the site. We’ve also set up a Twitter for the ministry (HONMinistries if you want to follow. Soon I will post directions to get updates to your cell phone through text message.) and plan to look at the Facebook pages already established for ministry and narrow it to one that we will keep updated.
In the afternoon we either relax, do a little more work or Spanish homework, or go out. We’ve gone to the mall a ton, lol. I’ve been to the mall here more in the past week and a half than in the month I was home before I came. The grocery store is inside the mall and we’ve also had to go there to try to figure out how to get the iphone set up with service down here. So far we’ve had no success after visiting cell phone providers at least 5 or 6 times. Jim really would like to be able to update Facebook and Twitter from his phone, but right now there is a block on phone so it con only be used in the US.
I met several of the people that our team in April met, but only real fast Sunday after church. I was able to give Santos’ daughter Alison the gifts that Jennifer G sent down, and she loved them. She had a bunch of friends with her so they took everything out and looked at all the pictures. They had so much fun, and it was really cute to watch. Today we went to see Juan Carlos and got to see the youth center they have over there. I think it is an after school program. I really liked getting to see that. Tomorrow we’re going to see the family of the little girl that Don Hanson will be supporting.
So I guess I did have a lot to update you on. I need to write more often! Let me finish off with some prayer requests.
These first ones are kind of ongoing ones, that I would appreciate continual prayer for, but will probably not list each time:
-that God will use me to do His work while I’m here, especially when it isn’t glamorous
-that I will be useful to the ministry and worth everything they’ve spent on me
-thank God also for the generosity I have experienced from Honduras Ministries and the Martin family who have taken very good care of me!
-that Nicole and I will not be overwhelmed by learning Spanish, but able to learn it relatively easily
-for Honduras Ministries ability to reach Hondurans with the love of God
Here are a few that have come up recently:
-for Juan Carlos, who has been sick
-for the youth center that we visited
-for Oscar, the father of Honduras’ Ministries 40th family to support through their food ministry. We met him yesterday and brought him his food. He is a very kind and friendly man who is a new Christian that has overcome drug addictions and is letting Jesus change his life.
-Jim returns to the US Sunday to have the pin taken out of his hand and for some physical therapy. Prayers for his healing and also for safety on his trip back would be great.
Thanks everyone. I’ll try and update more frequently. I’ll post a couple pictures here, and more on my facebook in the albums (I’m having problems accessing the Honduras Team facebook page, so I’m not able to put them there). God bless!
Nicole, Andrea (my host sister, Jim and Francis' daughter) and I
Francis and Oscar
Our days are pretty much the same each day. Get up early, go walking with Luz (our neighbor across the street/ Spanish teacher), come back around 7:30 (yes, that’s what time we get BACK. I’ve been getting up early!) and clean up, eat a delicious and nutritious breakfast and do some last minute Spanish studying before Luz comes back for our Spanish class at 9.
We study with Luz for two hours a day, 5 days a week. I think this week we learned more than 50 new verbs and learned 6 new tenses/ways to form verbs. It’s been intense. To be honest, Spanish is what has caused the majority of my stress thus far on the trip. Stress when I’m in an environment where everyone is speaking Spanish to me and stress as I learn Spanish because it is very hard to learn in such a short time! But I have already learned a lot, Luz is a good teacher.
After Spanish lessons, Nicole and I do some work for the ministry. She has been working on writing for some grants and some budget information. I put together some volunteer opportunities to be posted online at www.volunteermatch.org and we’ve already got a hit! If you’re looking for pretty simple ways to contribute, check them out! Search Honduras Ministries when you get to the site. We’ve also set up a Twitter for the ministry (HONMinistries if you want to follow. Soon I will post directions to get updates to your cell phone through text message.) and plan to look at the Facebook pages already established for ministry and narrow it to one that we will keep updated.
In the afternoon we either relax, do a little more work or Spanish homework, or go out. We’ve gone to the mall a ton, lol. I’ve been to the mall here more in the past week and a half than in the month I was home before I came. The grocery store is inside the mall and we’ve also had to go there to try to figure out how to get the iphone set up with service down here. So far we’ve had no success after visiting cell phone providers at least 5 or 6 times. Jim really would like to be able to update Facebook and Twitter from his phone, but right now there is a block on phone so it con only be used in the US.
I met several of the people that our team in April met, but only real fast Sunday after church. I was able to give Santos’ daughter Alison the gifts that Jennifer G sent down, and she loved them. She had a bunch of friends with her so they took everything out and looked at all the pictures. They had so much fun, and it was really cute to watch. Today we went to see Juan Carlos and got to see the youth center they have over there. I think it is an after school program. I really liked getting to see that. Tomorrow we’re going to see the family of the little girl that Don Hanson will be supporting.
So I guess I did have a lot to update you on. I need to write more often! Let me finish off with some prayer requests.
These first ones are kind of ongoing ones, that I would appreciate continual prayer for, but will probably not list each time:
-that God will use me to do His work while I’m here, especially when it isn’t glamorous
-that I will be useful to the ministry and worth everything they’ve spent on me
-thank God also for the generosity I have experienced from Honduras Ministries and the Martin family who have taken very good care of me!
-that Nicole and I will not be overwhelmed by learning Spanish, but able to learn it relatively easily
-for Honduras Ministries ability to reach Hondurans with the love of God
Here are a few that have come up recently:
-for Juan Carlos, who has been sick
-for the youth center that we visited
-for Oscar, the father of Honduras’ Ministries 40th family to support through their food ministry. We met him yesterday and brought him his food. He is a very kind and friendly man who is a new Christian that has overcome drug addictions and is letting Jesus change his life.
-Jim returns to the US Sunday to have the pin taken out of his hand and for some physical therapy. Prayers for his healing and also for safety on his trip back would be great.
Thanks everyone. I’ll try and update more frequently. I’ll post a couple pictures here, and more on my facebook in the albums (I’m having problems accessing the Honduras Team facebook page, so I’m not able to put them there). God bless!
Nicole, Andrea (my host sister, Jim and Francis' daughter) and I
Francis and Oscar
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Some Initial Thoughts about Honduras
So here's some random thoughts that have come to me in the past two and a half days. (sorry there hasn't been too much action in my entries so far, it's been a pretty low-key few days)
1.In case you were wondering, the blogspot website is in Spanish here before you sign in with an account set to English. It makes sense, but caused me a little confusion at first.
2.It is ridiculous that there are more Dunkin’ Donuts in Tegucigalpa than Kansas City (Yet “America Runs on Dunkin).
3.Seeing armed guards patrolling neighborhoods and standing outside stores and pharmacies is very odd.
4.Honduran drivers are absolutely crazy. I have already feared for my life (and the lives of pedestrians) many times since being here.
5.Why do I still have to spend hours on learning Spanish each day after taking 4 years of Spanish in high school? (thanks NKCSD, but I can pronounce items on a menu at a Mexican restaurant, kind of.).
6.Pandora doesn’t work internationally. Huge bummer.
7.Seeing metal Pizza Hut delivery containers attached to the backs of motorcycles, weaving in and out of traffic (see #4) makes me laugh.
8.In the States, we can’t have gas put in our car and the opportunity to buy a bootleg copy of Toy Story 3 at the SAME TIME, lol.
9.I think I need a jersey for the Honduras soccer team, I feel left out because every Honduran has one.
10.In Honduras, you can buy cotton candy while you’re waiting in traffic. Just what rush hour has always needed, I think it would make everyone a little happier, don’t you?
1.In case you were wondering, the blogspot website is in Spanish here before you sign in with an account set to English. It makes sense, but caused me a little confusion at first.
2.It is ridiculous that there are more Dunkin’ Donuts in Tegucigalpa than Kansas City (Yet “America Runs on Dunkin).
3.Seeing armed guards patrolling neighborhoods and standing outside stores and pharmacies is very odd.
4.Honduran drivers are absolutely crazy. I have already feared for my life (and the lives of pedestrians) many times since being here.
5.Why do I still have to spend hours on learning Spanish each day after taking 4 years of Spanish in high school? (thanks NKCSD, but I can pronounce items on a menu at a Mexican restaurant, kind of.).
6.Pandora doesn’t work internationally. Huge bummer.
7.Seeing metal Pizza Hut delivery containers attached to the backs of motorcycles, weaving in and out of traffic (see #4) makes me laugh.
8.In the States, we can’t have gas put in our car and the opportunity to buy a bootleg copy of Toy Story 3 at the SAME TIME, lol.
9.I think I need a jersey for the Honduras soccer team, I feel left out because every Honduran has one.
10.In Honduras, you can buy cotton candy while you’re waiting in traffic. Just what rush hour has always needed, I think it would make everyone a little happier, don’t you?
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
I made it!
We're here! Nicole and I got to the airport in Tegucigalpa yesterday around 11:30am (local time, which is one hour behind central time in the US. It might be called mountain time or something, i don't know) and made it through immigration and customs without any problems. Thanks for all your prayers for travel safety! Lus(their neighbor, Francis is pretty sure that's how it's spelled, lol) and Andrea(Jim and Francis' daughter) picked us up and brought us back to the Martin's house where we mostly relaxed the rest of the day. I learned how to play Wii and even beat Andrea in baseball, so it was a pretty productive evening :). Their house in beautiful and I'm really enjoying spending time with everyone.
Today we got up early and went for a long walk with Lus and saw some of the houses of people who have more money (Lus said the drug dealers and government workers). They had armed guards walking around to scare off any troublemakers, that was pretty different from in the States. After we cleaned up from our walk, Lus came back over and gave us a 2 and half hour Spanish lesson, leaving us with another 2 hours or so of homework. (So by the time i leave, i should hopefully have a pretty good grasp of spanish!). We ran some errands and got to see a little more of the city this afternoon (Honduran drivers are crazy!).
It's been a pretty uneventful couple of days--relaxing and good for transitioning to life here. I haven't had too much culture shock. Maybe after hearing about it from the team that was here in April and seeing pictures prepared me so i knew what to expect. If i get the chance, i'll try to take and upload some pictures of the Martin's house and the city.
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Nicole and I as we get to work on our To Do List for our time here. We will be getting things like the Facebook page updated and looking into other sites to get information to people and make them aware of the work of Honduras Ministries. We also plan to apply for grants for the ministry.
Pray for us as we get used to life here and learn the language.
I would appreciate prayers that I can learn about and better see the work of the Holy Spirit around me, and be more in tune to what He is saying.
Thank you so much for all your prayers so far. It is absolutely awesome to see comments from people all over that have said they are praying for me. I can't even describe how amazing and encouraging it is. I love seeing the Body of Christ at work and i know that it can do miraculous things!
I'll do my best to update everyone frequently and put pictures up when I can, so check back a few times a week!
Tina
Today we got up early and went for a long walk with Lus and saw some of the houses of people who have more money (Lus said the drug dealers and government workers). They had armed guards walking around to scare off any troublemakers, that was pretty different from in the States. After we cleaned up from our walk, Lus came back over and gave us a 2 and half hour Spanish lesson, leaving us with another 2 hours or so of homework. (So by the time i leave, i should hopefully have a pretty good grasp of spanish!). We ran some errands and got to see a little more of the city this afternoon (Honduran drivers are crazy!).
It's been a pretty uneventful couple of days--relaxing and good for transitioning to life here. I haven't had too much culture shock. Maybe after hearing about it from the team that was here in April and seeing pictures prepared me so i knew what to expect. If i get the chance, i'll try to take and upload some pictures of the Martin's house and the city.
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for Nicole and I as we get to work on our To Do List for our time here. We will be getting things like the Facebook page updated and looking into other sites to get information to people and make them aware of the work of Honduras Ministries. We also plan to apply for grants for the ministry.
Pray for us as we get used to life here and learn the language.
I would appreciate prayers that I can learn about and better see the work of the Holy Spirit around me, and be more in tune to what He is saying.
Thank you so much for all your prayers so far. It is absolutely awesome to see comments from people all over that have said they are praying for me. I can't even describe how amazing and encouraging it is. I love seeing the Body of Christ at work and i know that it can do miraculous things!
I'll do my best to update everyone frequently and put pictures up when I can, so check back a few times a week!
Tina
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Almost time to go...
Only 3 days left!
My flight leaves at 6:10 on Monday morning for Houston, then on to Tegucigalpa. We’ll be there before noon! I met with Jim and Francis Martin this evening to talk about some final plans for my time in Honduras with Nicole. We don’t have an exact schedule for out time, but we’ll work on doing inventory of medical supplies, writing for grants, getting some administrative work done for the ministry, and various other projects. It looks like we might even get to do some sight-seeing while we’re there too! I’m getting super excited for the summer.
Some prayer requests before we leave:
-low-stress during last minute preparations (especially for Nicole, who will be there through the middle of September)
-safety during travel
-our Spanish-learning skills! (our neighbor across the street in Honduras is already making plans to teach us)
-a smooth transition to life in Honduras
-for God to prepare us for the work we will be doing throughout the summer and the people we will we meet
Thank you for your prayers and your support! I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated on our activities throughout the summer!
-Tina
My flight leaves at 6:10 on Monday morning for Houston, then on to Tegucigalpa. We’ll be there before noon! I met with Jim and Francis Martin this evening to talk about some final plans for my time in Honduras with Nicole. We don’t have an exact schedule for out time, but we’ll work on doing inventory of medical supplies, writing for grants, getting some administrative work done for the ministry, and various other projects. It looks like we might even get to do some sight-seeing while we’re there too! I’m getting super excited for the summer.
Some prayer requests before we leave:
-low-stress during last minute preparations (especially for Nicole, who will be there through the middle of September)
-safety during travel
-our Spanish-learning skills! (our neighbor across the street in Honduras is already making plans to teach us)
-a smooth transition to life in Honduras
-for God to prepare us for the work we will be doing throughout the summer and the people we will we meet
Thank you for your prayers and your support! I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated on our activities throughout the summer!
-Tina
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Our Friends Are Safe
Tropical Storm Agatha was very hard on Central America, especially Guatemala. I spoke to Jim Martin a few minutes ago and learned that all is well with his family and the people who involved with Honduras Ministries.
Francis spoke to the leader of the La Fortunita community and learned that the waterways all around Choluteca are swollen, but all their homes are currently safe. Thankfully, the weather forecasts which called for three more days of rain proved to be in error.
Jim has left a message with the medical organization Heart to Heart to inquire if there is anything Honduras Ministries can do to be of assistance.
Though the people we are connected with are safe, let's keep pray for the relief of the entire region. Reports are that 145 people have lost their lives due to this storm, and thousands of people have been forced out of their homes.
Francis spoke to the leader of the La Fortunita community and learned that the waterways all around Choluteca are swollen, but all their homes are currently safe. Thankfully, the weather forecasts which called for three more days of rain proved to be in error.
Jim has left a message with the medical organization Heart to Heart to inquire if there is anything Honduras Ministries can do to be of assistance.
Though the people we are connected with are safe, let's keep pray for the relief of the entire region. Reports are that 145 people have lost their lives due to this storm, and thousands of people have been forced out of their homes.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Positioned For Exponential Growth
The strongest lingering impression I have from our team's trip to Honduras is that the ministry of Jim & Francis Martin is poised to expand very rapidly in the next few months. It reminds me of the term "exponential growth." I first heard that term in the training materials distributed by the Saddleback Church, led by Rick Warren. The idea was to go beyond dreaming about, praying for and planning growth of 10% or 25% or even 50%. Warren and his staff suggested that this type of thinking could actually limit the potential of a ministry. Instead, they talked about the type of growth that expanded a ministry by as much as 10 times.
Jim is currently in the US building his network and reaching out to recruit additional partners/supporters for his work. I've been blessed to sit in on some of those conversations. According to his calculations, Honduras Ministries is currently impacting approximately 1,200 lives. As outstanding as that fact is, I deeply believe that within a very short time Honduras Ministries could be in a position to impact 12,000 lives!
That is an exciting and somewhat frightening thought. It means that the organization of the ministry is going to be stretched intensely. It means that many more people need to make a decision to become involved. Statistics indicate that ten people must hear about a ministry in order to find that one person who will make a decision to become involved. So that means many, many more people need to hear about Honduras Ministries.
The bottom line is that if Honduras Ministries is going to grow exponentially in impact, then the support for and involvement in Honduras Ministries must grow exponentially as well.
How will that happen? Maybe all of us that currently support Jim & Francis can increase what we are doing a little bit. Yeah...that might help some. But the real need is to increase the nunmber of people involved. To do that, we have to increase the number of people who are hearing. So, I guess the best thing to do is share this opportunity with the people you know. Invite them to become fans of our Facebook page and/or subscribers to this blog. Invite them to visit the ministry's website, www.hondurasministries.org.
I'm very excited about a new video is now available to help with this. Ultimately, it will be available at the ministry's website. But right now, you can find this video at http://ovcinc.com/honduras_ministries. Take a look at it and share it with all your friends. Perhaps several of them will become involved with this exciting work!
Jim is currently in the US building his network and reaching out to recruit additional partners/supporters for his work. I've been blessed to sit in on some of those conversations. According to his calculations, Honduras Ministries is currently impacting approximately 1,200 lives. As outstanding as that fact is, I deeply believe that within a very short time Honduras Ministries could be in a position to impact 12,000 lives!
That is an exciting and somewhat frightening thought. It means that the organization of the ministry is going to be stretched intensely. It means that many more people need to make a decision to become involved. Statistics indicate that ten people must hear about a ministry in order to find that one person who will make a decision to become involved. So that means many, many more people need to hear about Honduras Ministries.
The bottom line is that if Honduras Ministries is going to grow exponentially in impact, then the support for and involvement in Honduras Ministries must grow exponentially as well.
How will that happen? Maybe all of us that currently support Jim & Francis can increase what we are doing a little bit. Yeah...that might help some. But the real need is to increase the nunmber of people involved. To do that, we have to increase the number of people who are hearing. So, I guess the best thing to do is share this opportunity with the people you know. Invite them to become fans of our Facebook page and/or subscribers to this blog. Invite them to visit the ministry's website, www.hondurasministries.org.
I'm very excited about a new video is now available to help with this. Ultimately, it will be available at the ministry's website. But right now, you can find this video at http://ovcinc.com/honduras_ministries. Take a look at it and share it with all your friends. Perhaps several of them will become involved with this exciting work!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Tina's First Post...
Hello friends!
As you know, our church has been able to work with Honduras Ministries over the past year, and was able to send ten members on a short term mission trip in April. I have the opportunity to continue with their work in
Through Honduras Ministries, it is possible to provide school supplies and uniforms for school-age children, a monthly supply of food for families in poverty, and small medical clinics for Hondurans. If you are interested in donating to the ministry, you can visit www.hondurasministries.org . The board of Honduras Ministries has been very generous in providing for my travel expenses and living expenses while I will be in the country, I would like to help them by gathering some donations to help out with the cost.
Because I will be gone most of the summer, I will not be able to earn money towards my school bills this fall. I am looking for opportunities to do odd jobs and baby-sitting in
Lastly, but most importantly, I am writing this note to ask for your prayers. Please pray for the Honduran people and for Honduras Ministries’ efforts to reach them. Please pray for financial provision for the ministry and for the board and missionaries of the ministry. Finally, I would appreciate your prayers for me as I prepare for my trip. Please pray that I can transition as smoothly as possible to life in
Thank you for all of your support and prayers! I will do my best to keep the blog and Facebook group updated while I am in
Tina Ohmart
Friday, May 14, 2010
The Next Chapter...
When we set up this blog, we were thinking ahead. Even before we went on our trip, we sensed that our work in Honduras would extend beyond April 2010. As always, God moves in surprising ways.
At the most recent board meeting of Honduras Ministries, Natina Ohmart was invited to travel to Honduras for a summer internship. Very soon, she will begin sharing her experiences on this blog. (If you are a "fan" on our Facebook page, you have already seen a couple of comments she has posted about leaving on June 21st. She is also looking for some opportunities to earn some money...just in case you live in Kansas City and need some odd jobs done!) Over the next few weeks, Natina's role in the ministry will be clearly defined. She will travel to Tegucigalpa with Nicole Morrow, a member of the board of directors who will also be working in the mission this summer. Tina will be returning to Kansas City during the first week of August.
It is exciting to see the partnership between LifeSpring and Honduras Ministries continue to strengthen. I believe this mission is getting ready to expand exponentially over the next several months, and God is blessing us with the opportunity to have a part in it.
So strap on your seatbelt...lean forward in anticipation...and enjoy the adventure!
At the most recent board meeting of Honduras Ministries, Natina Ohmart was invited to travel to Honduras for a summer internship. Very soon, she will begin sharing her experiences on this blog. (If you are a "fan" on our Facebook page, you have already seen a couple of comments she has posted about leaving on June 21st. She is also looking for some opportunities to earn some money...just in case you live in Kansas City and need some odd jobs done!) Over the next few weeks, Natina's role in the ministry will be clearly defined. She will travel to Tegucigalpa with Nicole Morrow, a member of the board of directors who will also be working in the mission this summer. Tina will be returning to Kansas City during the first week of August.
It is exciting to see the partnership between LifeSpring and Honduras Ministries continue to strengthen. I believe this mission is getting ready to expand exponentially over the next several months, and God is blessing us with the opportunity to have a part in it.
So strap on your seatbelt...lean forward in anticipation...and enjoy the adventure!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Post-Trip Debriefing
We've been back home almost a week now. I think most of us have been trying to catch up with all that happened back here in KC while we were gone. Plus we've been trying to get back into the rhythm of our routine. Or maybe we're trying to figure out how to keep from getting sucked back into the rhythm of our routine that prevailed before we went to Honduras.
Naturally, our thoughts are turning to how we should follow up on our experiences. Our team will meet tomorrow after worship to talk about our presentation to the LifeSpring church family. It's impossible to share the full impact of the trip on our lives, but we do want to communicate what happened to the degree that is possible. Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend and hear what we have to talk about.
I spent some time just now posting pictures regarding some of the medical work we did on Facebook. We attempted to share some pictures in the blog during the trip, but this format does not really give us a good format to offer you very many visuals. If you have a Facebook account, be sure to become of fan of The Honduras Team of LifeSpring Christian Church (if you haven't done so already). If you don't have a Facebook account...well, at the moment, that is the best format for us to share pictures. I'm going to be looking into a way to put the presentation we share on May 2 online, but right now I don't know when or how that will happen.
So stay tuned...we will continue to process all the information we would like to share. That includes what we sense God might want us to do next in the lives of the people we met in Honduras.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
A Strengthened Faith
Well I am back into my routine, going to work, going to the gym, mowing the lawn, etc...but I can't get the trip to Honduras out of my mind. The people of Honduras taught me a lesson about life. They lack some of the basic technologies and entertainment devices we have come to know and love in the United States. But we lack core family values, respect for each other and a willingness to extend ourselves for others' needs. I left Honduras feeling like the United States could benefit from a visit by a mission team of Hondurans.
Honduras has it's problems, wide spread poverty, difficulty getting water safe to drink (even water not safe to drink at times), drug dealers and a crooked government...but all of those problems were not able to overshadow the kind warm hearts of the majority of the people. Families living in a 12x12 house who eat one meal a day opening their home to us and offering us what little food and clean water they had.
We stayed most nights in the home of Jim Martin and his family in the capital city of Honduras. Jim heads up the Honduras Ministries and is the person who extended an invite for us to come visit. The capital city had a large population (I was told at least 2 million). We held a medical clinic in the city for two days. We also traveled to small villages and held a couple of medical clinics at those locations. In all we evaluated over 630 people, mostly children. We also did some bible school activities at the med clinic locations while the children waited. The children were amazing. They love soccer and we were able to take about 50 soccer balls with us to hand out.
The men in our group spent 2 days on a construction project. A family in the capital city had a roof that was in poor shape due to termite damage. The family of five lived in a 13x13 foot home. We removed the old roof from the house and put a new one on with a gutter system that allowed them to channel all of the rainwater into a drum so they would be able to use it. We also tore down the old kitchen, which was attached to the house, and built a new one. The Lord provided for us and allowed us to get the roofing materials at half the cost we had planned. That allowed us to do the kitchen as well as provide the money for a new mud stove. The construction project was nice because we had people from the church Jim Martin is affiliated with helping us. Even though they spoke no English and we spoke no Spanish we were able to get everything done and have a good time.
The woman of the household that got the new roof cleans the church in the capital city part time. Her husband, Jose, goes out each morning and finds whatever labor job he can for the day to provide for the family. Jose's wife attends church regularly but Jose did not go with her. Upon completion of the construction project Jose thanked us and told us he knew that we were there on behalf of the Lord. On Thursday night we all went to the church in the capital city for a night service. It was absolutely amazing, we walked in to 300 people singing along with a church band that was no less sophisticated then ours. They were even singing the same songs we sing each Sunday, just in Spanish. While we were singing and enjoying the service I looked to my right and saw Jose and his wife worshipping. I knew at that point that if we accomplished nothing else on the trip we had opened the door for Jose to find the Lord and that made it all worth it.
I often wonder what it would have been like to be able to witness Jesus in the flesh and hear him teach. To witness even one of his many miracles. I have wondered what that would have done to strengthen my faith in him. In the book of ACTS when Jesus was getting ready to leave the disciples he told him he would send them the Holy Spirit. He told them the Holy Spirit would be even better for them then he was able to be because he could only physically be in one spot at a time but the Holy Spirit could be with each of us all the time. I saw the Holy Spirit at work first hand when I watched Jim Martin. Jim served the Lord everyday from sun up to sun down. And watching him do it was awesome because I was able to see a man that was genuinely happy. He was living his life in the way that the Lord asks us to. And he was reaping the reward of happiness that the Lord has promised each of us. Seeing Jim strengthened my faith in God because it just confirmed that God always keeps his promises. I am very thankful to the Lord for introducing Jim into my life.
This is a long post and I still can't describe everything we did on the trip nor can I describe the entire impact the trip had on me. I want to thank everyone that helped make the trip possible. You have made the Lord very happy and he will reward you for it. Also thank you to the members of the team. It was a pleasure sharing everything with all of you.
On a more comical note we need to pray that the people of Honduras learn traffic laws. Everyone does whatever they want on the road. You can be traveling down a major roadway and someone coming off of a side street (with a stop sign mind you) will enter the intersection at 35 mph with no intention of stopping and then have to slam on his brakes to avoid the near death collision.
God Bless You,
Mike
Saturday, April 17, 2010
THANK YOU
I would like to thank GOD and all the people that allowed me and my daughter to be apart of this WONDERFUL experience. It is amazing that a small church of approximately fifty AWESOME people in Kansas City, Missouri impacted thousands of Honduran people this week the way we did. Words can't describe what I am feeling. This is an experiance that I will never forget.
As you all know we repaired the roof for the lady that cleans the church. Her husband does not believe and he refused to go to church with her. They have been trying to get him to go to church for sometime. Once we completed the project he told us it was amazing that people from the US would come to his house and repair his roof. We told him that GOD made it happen. The next day he was at the Thursday night church service wearing his Kansas City Royals shirt, Darren gave him. Here is just one example of what we experianced here. I could type several more, but I would be here all day typing.
Once again THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!
Mark
As you all know we repaired the roof for the lady that cleans the church. Her husband does not believe and he refused to go to church with her. They have been trying to get him to go to church for sometime. Once we completed the project he told us it was amazing that people from the US would come to his house and repair his roof. We told him that GOD made it happen. The next day he was at the Thursday night church service wearing his Kansas City Royals shirt, Darren gave him. Here is just one example of what we experianced here. I could type several more, but I would be here all day typing.
Once again THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!
Mark
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Real Legitly Awesome
Anna: Yesterday Amber, Lexie, and I did our own laundry... by hand!!!! It was really awesome but hard. It took forever. Having to rub on the soap, flip the shirt over and rub on more soap, then put soap on the inside. Having to rub it up and down on the bumps and rinse it out. Then we had to ring out all the water before hanging it on the clothes line. It was crazy. But real awesome.
LEXIE!!: ok. so i would call this a major culture shock. having to do a washing machines job was hard. i will forever feel bad for the washer. but that's not the point. I apparently wasn't doing it right because andrea had to keep doing it haha(: but i think i did ok. ha! we had to hang them on the line. and with our luck, it rained that night. so we all had to run out and get our shirts. ha(: my dad got really into it. he about rubbed a hole into his shirt. (not really, i'm being dramatic....yeah i said it.) francis and her mom were laughing at him. he legitly scrubbed. his shirt was whiter than it was before he got it dirty. ha! that's only because francis did most of the work. haha guys will never change(;
AMBER!!!!!!! (lexie loves this chick):
Uhh, okay. So I was being nice and let the other girls go first on writing on this. But they covered most of it. Well, what they didn't get was my side, the best side of the story. After watching Mark do his shirt, I thought, "OH. This will be easy enoughh!" Yeah, it wasn't. It really worked your arms! Andrea had to do my shirts because I guess I do it wrong! I thought I did pretty good. The soap was the hardest part because it got all slippery and stuff!! It was insanely difficult to keep the soap in your hand when washing it!! Not very fun. It also hurt your back bending over like that for a long time. I couldn't even imagine doing that for a whole family!! I couldn't even do 2 shirts right! Man, it really showed me how lucky we are to have all the stuff we have. Like dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, CLEAN, RUNNING water! Everything. I'm so lucky. And I have a new appreciation for the things I own. Man, I'll never look at a washing machine again and think "LAME! I have to put stuff in the dryer! Or washer!" Now I'll think, "YES! I have a washer and dryer to put my clothes in!" And I thank God for all this. :)
The Finished Product (roof)
By Dale OhmartThe roof is done! Here are some pictures of the finished product, and also some pictures with the family we were helping, Jose & Merian Reyes, and their three sons (Ezekiel, Homer and Esteve). Jose is an incredibly hard worker!!! The older boys would run and get water for us whenever we needed - doesn't sound like much, but the climb up and down was 100 steps, ascending at an angle of approximately 60%. The youngest boy would grab a hammer or a shovel to try to help out whenever he had an opportunity. We will be able to share more information about the family 
and the project at our presentation on May 2nd, at our regularly scheduled worship service (10am).
The young man on the roof is named Santos. He met us at the airport with Jim when we arrived, and has been a very, VERY valuable help during our work. On the first night, Santos taught me a new song - Victory Is Mine - and I have really fallen in love with it. Santos is very talented musically (voice, guitar, keyboard, drums, etc) and as a worship leader. On Thursday night, he has invited me to play in their worship band and Jim has arranged with the pastor of the church for me to preach. He speaks some English, and he is helping us learn some Spanish. We celebrated the 13th birthday of his son, Zabdiel, tonight at dinner. His son plays drums for the worship band, so I will get to play with him, too.
(Also, here is a look at some of the "experts" :D on our team. Apologies to Darren...didn't have anything from the front, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew he was with us.)
and the project at our presentation on May 2nd, at our regularly scheduled worship service (10am).The young man on the roof is named Santos. He met us at the airport with Jim when we arrived, and has been a very, VERY valuable help during our work. On the first night, Santos taught me a new song - Victory Is Mine - and I have really fallen in love with it. Santos is very talented musically (voice, guitar, keyboard, drums, etc) and as a worship leader. On Thursday night, he has invited me to play in their worship band and Jim has arranged with the pastor of the church for me to preach. He speaks some English, and he is helping us learn some Spanish. We celebrated the 13th birthday of his son, Zabdiel, tonight at dinner. His son plays drums for the worship band, so I will get to play with him, too.
(Also, here is a look at some of the "experts" :D on our team. Apologies to Darren...didn't have anything from the front, but I wanted to make sure everyone knew he was with us.)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sunday and Monday
Well, here it is Tuesday morning. The past two days were INCREDIBLE!!!! On Sunday, we got up early and headed out to Circa de Pedro for a morning church service. Circa de Pedro is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Tegucigapa. Now let me tell you, when I say 3 1/2 hours, it is not just a lesiurly drive on flat highway. It is a very beautiful mountinous two lane road where tractor trailers routinely are passing each other and cars are often running three wide. When we arrived at Circa de Pedro, we attended the church service of the church that Jim and Francis planted. Church was an incredible experience. Even though we all didn't speak the same language, it did not matter because we all were worshiping the same God and that was Glorious! Dale gave a great sermon, which was translated to the locals, and Cindy, Jenniferand the girls all conducted a Sunday School class. I think that it is safe to say the we all had a wonderful time and learned a lot.
After church we head to La Fortunita to participate in another service. La Fortunita is a small community without any running water or electricity. This service was a little different as we conducted it outside in a small group setting. Once again, language was not a problem as we all enjoyed worshiping our God together. After service, we stayed and visited with the people and passed out soccer balls.....which usually starts a small riot :) The kids love soccer and we passed out over 25 balls the past two days which made many people happy.
We stayed at a local inn in Circa de Pedro on Sunday night and on Monday morning we headed back out to La Fortunita to run a medical clincic. The medical clinic was a very rewarding experience for all. We treated over 150 people from several small communities in the area. We had paitients as young as 2 months to as old and 79. It was wonderful being able to help so many. During the time that we were conducting the medical clinic, the girls did an wonderful job of teaching the local children and playing with them.
I think that these past two days will be an experience that we will all remember forever. We made so many new friends, worshiped our God together, and were reminded that we are all just people who want many of the same things in this world....we just happen to live about 2100 miles apart.
We will post pictures later tonight.
Darren
After church we head to La Fortunita to participate in another service. La Fortunita is a small community without any running water or electricity. This service was a little different as we conducted it outside in a small group setting. Once again, language was not a problem as we all enjoyed worshiping our God together. After service, we stayed and visited with the people and passed out soccer balls.....which usually starts a small riot :) The kids love soccer and we passed out over 25 balls the past two days which made many people happy.
We stayed at a local inn in Circa de Pedro on Sunday night and on Monday morning we headed back out to La Fortunita to run a medical clincic. The medical clinic was a very rewarding experience for all. We treated over 150 people from several small communities in the area. We had paitients as young as 2 months to as old and 79. It was wonderful being able to help so many. During the time that we were conducting the medical clinic, the girls did an wonderful job of teaching the local children and playing with them.
I think that these past two days will be an experience that we will all remember forever. We made so many new friends, worshiped our God together, and were reminded that we are all just people who want many of the same things in this world....we just happen to live about 2100 miles apart.
We will post pictures later tonight.
Darren
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Eye Opener
The title of this post is both literal and ironic. The night before our flight to Honduras I lost a fight with Mark's 8 month old son and he managed to scratch my cornea with his finger nail. As a result I spent the night before the trip in Liberty's ER. I still can't open my right eye, it is extremely painful and swollen. I feel somewhat useless here other than giving the other team members something to make fun of. The teenage girls on the team have given me many nicknames to include The Pirate, Patches and some Veggie Tale character. My eye is better today then it was yesterday and I am hoping to be able to open it in the next day or two.
Last night was a lot of fun. We all sat around with our host family and some local church members singing christian music in both Spanish and English. We then shared our thoughts and prayed together. It reminded me of scenes I've read about in the book of Acts. It also showed how powerful a group of people all serving the same God can be even though our lives are so different.
Today we toured the sight where we will be building the new roof. Seeing the conditions people are living in is an eye opener. The children were playing with rocks and old balls. They still figured out how to have fun though. The people in Honduras are no less important in God's eyes then the people of the United States. It feels good to be a part of this trip and bring something from God to such needy people. In return these people are giving me a lesson on life and and they help me realize what really matters in life versus the material things we are so accustomed to.
I'm excited to see what the week holds for us. Thank you to all who gave medicine, it took all day to sort it out since we had so much!
Mike
Last night was a lot of fun. We all sat around with our host family and some local church members singing christian music in both Spanish and English. We then shared our thoughts and prayed together. It reminded me of scenes I've read about in the book of Acts. It also showed how powerful a group of people all serving the same God can be even though our lives are so different.
Today we toured the sight where we will be building the new roof. Seeing the conditions people are living in is an eye opener. The children were playing with rocks and old balls. They still figured out how to have fun though. The people in Honduras are no less important in God's eyes then the people of the United States. It feels good to be a part of this trip and bring something from God to such needy people. In return these people are giving me a lesson on life and and they help me realize what really matters in life versus the material things we are so accustomed to.
I'm excited to see what the week holds for us. Thank you to all who gave medicine, it took all day to sort it out since we had so much!
Mike
Mark Spiegel here.
I never thought in a million years I, Mark Spiegel would be here in Honduras on a Mission Trip. I always thought my sister was crazy for going on Mission Trips to a Third World Country and I never knew why she loved them so much.
At first, I was all about the Mission Trip. When the trip was originialy scheduled for Feburary, I picked up the phone to call the team to back out. Something told me to hang up the phone and I did. After hanging up the phone, I prayed. A short time later, I reciecved a phone call from our team leader who advised me the Mission Trip was postponed to April. At that time I knew that GOD wanted me to come and assist the team with spreading his word. Now after being here for two days, I am exited about being here spreading HIS word. I could not have done this without the power of prayer and my wounderful family.
I don't know if I will ever have the great opptournity for a second Mission Trip, but I do believe everyone who belives needs to go on at least one. For those of you who think I am crazy, don't critize my last sentence because words can't explain what our team is experiencing right now.
At first, I was all about the Mission Trip. When the trip was originialy scheduled for Feburary, I picked up the phone to call the team to back out. Something told me to hang up the phone and I did. After hanging up the phone, I prayed. A short time later, I reciecved a phone call from our team leader who advised me the Mission Trip was postponed to April. At that time I knew that GOD wanted me to come and assist the team with spreading his word. Now after being here for two days, I am exited about being here spreading HIS word. I could not have done this without the power of prayer and my wounderful family.
I don't know if I will ever have the great opptournity for a second Mission Trip, but I do believe everyone who belives needs to go on at least one. For those of you who think I am crazy, don't critize my last sentence because words can't explain what our team is experiencing right now.
Roof Project
Here's some pictures of the roof that we are going to construct Tuesday through Thursday.
Our first days
Good morning or is it afternoon? The Honduran people are not as concerned with the clock as we are. This has already been a blessing to many of us, even myself! Our first 24 hours have already been amazing. We have already made new friends that have taught us so much.
We are busy today preparing medical and food supplies for the days ahead. Cindy will be working with a couple of doctors at a medical clinic. We are hopeful that at least 150 people will be seen each day. We will also be distributing food to 38 families in the next two days.
We continue to think of all our friends and families back home. We miss and love you but are truely enjoying our time in Honduras. We are excited to be able to share so much with you while we are here. Written by Jennifer Genova
First picture- Andrea(Jim & Francis Martin's daughter, Lexi, Amber & Anna
Second Picture- Darren & Mark with Jim Martin & Santos at the store(like our Walmart Supercenter)scooping beans and rice for the food distrubition.
Friday, April 9, 2010
My 2 cents worth
I am so excited, I,m jumping out of my skin. Everyone we've met is so friendly and welcoming. I hope to bring them as much joy as I feel just being here. The area is beautiful. All the homes have flowering vines flowing over their courtyard fences. There are fruit trees everywhere. I can't name all the fruits, but I have seen them in the grocery store. We have grocery shopping and menu planning to do today and prep work tomorrow. it looks like a full and exciting week after that. Keep praying that God's Spirit goes before us to prepare the hearts for our feeble efforts.Partner in ministry, Cindy Ohmart
We have arrived...
As Dale wrote, we arrived safely and are settling in at Jim & Francis Martin's. What a beautiful home and how welcome they have made us feel. Something I am amazed more and more by is the relationship we share as Christian brothers and sisters. How wonderful it is to be so far away from home and feel so loved. The joy the Martin family had when they saw us.
I find it hard to describe the feelings I had when landing in Honduras. Mountains surronded us like in TN without the green, homes appreared to be a few feet from the runway and the streets were busy with activity. Quickly I was reminded we were not in the states anymore. The thing that did come to mind that this country, this land and these people share the same Creator as we do. This is His land and we are here to share His love! A phrase we say together during service that is one of my favorites, God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Now I hear the guitar playing, enchiladas cooking and singing. I must join the fun.
I find it hard to describe the feelings I had when landing in Honduras. Mountains surronded us like in TN without the green, homes appreared to be a few feet from the runway and the streets were busy with activity. Quickly I was reminded we were not in the states anymore. The thing that did come to mind that this country, this land and these people share the same Creator as we do. This is His land and we are here to share His love! A phrase we say together during service that is one of my favorites, God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Now I hear the guitar playing, enchiladas cooking and singing. I must join the fun.
First Words from Honduras...
HOLA...we are on the ground. And guess what the first thing was that we did. WE STOPPED AT BURGER KING!!! I'm not kidding. We flew hundreds of miles to go to Burger King.
Well, no, that's not why we flew the miles, of course. But we needed to grab some quick food, and Burger King was convenient.
So we just finished our orientation meeting with Jim, and we are going to have a lot to do. And we are already learning lessons about how we can do our next trip better.
We'll probably write more later today. But we wanted to let you know that we have arrive! A limited amount of pictures will be added along the way.
Well, no, that's not why we flew the miles, of course. But we needed to grab some quick food, and Burger King was convenient.
So we just finished our orientation meeting with Jim, and we are going to have a lot to do. And we are already learning lessons about how we can do our next trip better.
We'll probably write more later today. But we wanted to let you know that we have arrive! A limited amount of pictures will be added along the way.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Really Cool News...
Just a quick report on a blessing. Part of our plan to is print some of the pictures we take to leave for the people of Honduras as gifts. Early on, we asked Jim Martin to tell us what type of print cartridges we would need (after all, we don't want to use up his ink for our idea). Today, I took that information to the shop where I get my print cartridges...Cartridge World, near the I-29 / Barry Road intersection. I've been doing business there for awhile, and the owner knows that I'm a pastor. So I was telling him about the trip, and when he brought out the cartridges - three color and one black - the only charge was for the black cartridge! HE PERSONALLY DONATED THE THREE COLOR CARTRIDGES FOR OUR MISSION!
Needless to say, I recommend his shop very highly!!!
Sendoff Praise and Prayer is tonight at the church building. Dessert afterwards. Then on the plane tomorrow. We will share as much information as we can over the next week.
Lord, may the humble efforts of our team be transformed into miracles by Your presence and power working in us.
Needless to say, I recommend his shop very highly!!!
Sendoff Praise and Prayer is tonight at the church building. Dessert afterwards. Then on the plane tomorrow. We will share as much information as we can over the next week.
Lord, may the humble efforts of our team be transformed into miracles by Your presence and power working in us.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
from Don
I just finished packing for our Honduras trip. I believe everything is in order. This will be the first time I ventured this far away from the continental USA. It seems to be harder to pack for as you don't want to forget things that you might need as it seems like it may be harder to purchase in a country that you will be dependent on interpetors and transport from others.
Besides getting everything packed trying to get the things done around the house that is required such as the grass cut, IF ONLY IT WOULD STOP RAINING LONG ENOUGH FOR IT TO DRY. Also making sure that I have the bills that will become due, sent in befor I leave so that they do not become delinquent. Well I believe I have everything in order stay tune for further updates from myself or one of our team members.
Besides getting everything packed trying to get the things done around the house that is required such as the grass cut, IF ONLY IT WOULD STOP RAINING LONG ENOUGH FOR IT TO DRY. Also making sure that I have the bills that will become due, sent in befor I leave so that they do not become delinquent. Well I believe I have everything in order stay tune for further updates from myself or one of our team members.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Last Minute Details...
I've spent the last several minutes making a list of all the things that have to be done before we get on the airplane. Where will I find time to get it all done???
We often think that in the regular routine of our lives, don't we. On many occasions - even when I am NOT heading out of town on a trip - I catch myself saying, "If only I had a couple more hours in the day..." Of course, it's a mirage. Staggering through the wilderness at the end of our most precious resource (time), our minds trick us into thinking that everything would be just right if someone only gave us a little more than we have. Time, that is.
A few years ago, I read through a study designed by John Ortberg...something about spending an ordinary day with Jesus. When I'm being seduced by that "If only I had more time..." thinking, I am reminded of a lesson from that study. John points out that in the ancient Hebrew culture, the day began in the evening. As in the phrase repeated throughout Genesis 1: And the evening and the morning was the first day. To summarize the insight Ortberg is offering, we begin the day sleep...as if we are shutting off all the switches in our mechanism and trusting God to take care of the situation. So what if you've got a lot to do. It's almost as if nature itself is built around the idea that we should lay down our burdens before we even pick them up. Jesus says, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
We will always have times when we feel there is more to do than we have time to do it. I think that will probably be how we feel about the trip to Honduras. But we'll do what we can do, and trust that God will take care of the rest.
We often think that in the regular routine of our lives, don't we. On many occasions - even when I am NOT heading out of town on a trip - I catch myself saying, "If only I had a couple more hours in the day..." Of course, it's a mirage. Staggering through the wilderness at the end of our most precious resource (time), our minds trick us into thinking that everything would be just right if someone only gave us a little more than we have. Time, that is.
A few years ago, I read through a study designed by John Ortberg...something about spending an ordinary day with Jesus. When I'm being seduced by that "If only I had more time..." thinking, I am reminded of a lesson from that study. John points out that in the ancient Hebrew culture, the day began in the evening. As in the phrase repeated throughout Genesis 1: And the evening and the morning was the first day. To summarize the insight Ortberg is offering, we begin the day sleep...as if we are shutting off all the switches in our mechanism and trusting God to take care of the situation. So what if you've got a lot to do. It's almost as if nature itself is built around the idea that we should lay down our burdens before we even pick them up. Jesus says, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
We will always have times when we feel there is more to do than we have time to do it. I think that will probably be how we feel about the trip to Honduras. But we'll do what we can do, and trust that God will take care of the rest.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Don Hansen
Hola from Don.
I can't believe that I finally was able to get on this spot and start typing. GOD must be at work so others can see what's going on with our trip to Honduras.
Well It seems like it's been close to a year when Jim came to speak with us about the Mission in Honduras that he works with. I never really thought about doing a mission trip befor but he had my attention right away all though I really did'nt think it would happen. The next week at Church I found out that others in our Church Family were also intested in going as well. We began organizing and with Jim's help and guidance and alot of meetings and prayer as well we are making it happen. Ten (10) memeber will be leaving on the 9th of April for a week. On the 8th of April which is this Thursday we are meeting at our church located at 6101 N. Topping if any one is interested in attending a send off to help encourage and pray for us. Yes there will also be Coffee and deserts.
GOD knows I need the prayers especially since I do not really enjoy flying, although I have several times but the last time has been at least 10 years.
When we started the letter writing campaign for donations I was surprise at the response that I peronaaly had in people sending in donations. I'm not sure but maybe they just wanted me out of the country, (HA, HA).
Actualy the example that we recieved for the letter writing campaign work just as the person givng the advice suggested it would, although I did write a lot of letters. For all of you who have supported this cause so that we may be able reach out to others and maybe help them to learns aboute JESUS thank you very much.
Stay tune for updates and GOD BLESS.
I can't believe that I finally was able to get on this spot and start typing. GOD must be at work so others can see what's going on with our trip to Honduras.
Well It seems like it's been close to a year when Jim came to speak with us about the Mission in Honduras that he works with. I never really thought about doing a mission trip befor but he had my attention right away all though I really did'nt think it would happen. The next week at Church I found out that others in our Church Family were also intested in going as well. We began organizing and with Jim's help and guidance and alot of meetings and prayer as well we are making it happen. Ten (10) memeber will be leaving on the 9th of April for a week. On the 8th of April which is this Thursday we are meeting at our church located at 6101 N. Topping if any one is interested in attending a send off to help encourage and pray for us. Yes there will also be Coffee and deserts.
GOD knows I need the prayers especially since I do not really enjoy flying, although I have several times but the last time has been at least 10 years.
When we started the letter writing campaign for donations I was surprise at the response that I peronaaly had in people sending in donations. I'm not sure but maybe they just wanted me out of the country, (HA, HA).
Actualy the example that we recieved for the letter writing campaign work just as the person givng the advice suggested it would, although I did write a lot of letters. For all of you who have supported this cause so that we may be able reach out to others and maybe help them to learns aboute JESUS thank you very much.
Stay tune for updates and GOD BLESS.
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