Honduras Mission - Again, Thanks For Your Support

Tasty Treatments!

Our mission projects have continued although we were not able to be there. In addition to providing the desks and benches that we have highlighted, the gift of a healthier life has been given to 800 elementary school children in Quimistan as they received fluoride and anti-parasite treatments. We are grateful for the generous financial contributions of the members of First Presbyterian and the assistance of local personnel in Quimistan who administered the treatments.

Honduras Mission -- Thank You For The Gifts

20 Desks and Benches Completed!

When the trip was canceled, there was great concern about the desk/bench project since the wood had already been cut and the rainy season was in full swing. Yovany, the local man who cut the wood, offered to assemble the desks and benches for a nominal cost. He assembled one, took a photo, the desk designer (Bruce Eberhard) gave a thumbs up and 19 more were completed. The next hurdle was how to transport them to the little mountain village of Teoxintales , a treacherous two hour drive from Quimistan. Yovany took it in stride, loaded them on his pick up truck and now they are stacked in the school's classroom ready to be painted. Story to be continued...

Honduras July 2009 --Eberhard Family Teamwork Gets the Job Done!

Working together, Bruce and Brian Eberhard built the model for the desks and chairs our team will be building in Honduras. They created step by step instructions, complete with photos, so this project will be one our handy team can manage. Beth, Brian and their daughters are leaving for Quimistan this Wednesday. While there, they'll be building a model so we'll have a sample to follow when we get to Honduras. We are blessed to have such willing, capable supporters for this project.

June and Ken Blohm

Honduras July 2009 -- Three Questions

Three Questions:

---What is your purpose and motivation for going to Honduras?

--- Recount a fearful time in your life. Did you feel God's presence?

---What is fearful about the mission trip to Honduras?

At our last meeting, we broke into small groups to answer these questions.

One person suggested if God calls, we go. Another person, who had been there many times, said that the people call him back to Honduras, particularly the children, who have very little in the way of material things but are grateful and happy in spite of everything. They also have unwavering faith. What can we learn from them?

Many people in the group expressed fears about the trip to Honduras. What to expect? Will we be able to accomplish the physical tasks of building a desk and chair? Will we be able to communicate although we do not speak much Spanish? Some even mentioned the fear of it being too hot! And this from a person who lives in South Carolina! We must remember that Jesus said "Do not be afraid, trust in me."

By being in these small groups, we were able to get to know each other and to express our feelings.

Carol Hidlay

Honduras July 2009 -- Gissel

Gissel is the reason I am so happy to be going to Honduras. She is a smart, beautiful girl who lives in Quimistan and is part of the Agape Promises Program. This program seeks to help children remain in school and graduate by finding sponsors who will provide funding and create a personal Christian relationship with the child. I have sponsored Gissel for two years and can't wait to give her a hug and tell her (in Spanish, I hope) how proud I am that she is doing so well in school.

Joan Graham

Honduras July 2009 - Have You Seen This Desk?

One of the team's activities is to build desks and chairs for the villages that First Pres had adopted. Bruce Eberhard volunteered to build a sample for us so we would know what materials to order plus to learn how to do this. Bruce and his son, Brian, built the sample last weekend. The unveiling will be this weekend at church. Where will it be?

Honduras July 2009 -- Who Are We?

As our mission team builds desks and benches for the village school who are the ones most likely to be:

* Organizing a work plan and assigning jobs?

* Rapidly assembling and building?

* Listening attentively to the team member next to them?

* Eying the wood scrap pile for marionette material?


Well, that might depend on who are the lions, beavers, golden retrievers and otters among us! At our meeting on April 29 we took a personality inventory to gain an understanding of the different ways we might carry out our various mission projects, recognizing that who we are is a gift from God and what we do with who we are is our gift to God.

-Holly Shoaf-OKula

Honduras July 2009 -- La Merienda, The Picnic

Team Hondouras met for a much-anticipated barbecue where we had a first-hand chance to put our Spanish lessons into practice, especially for eating. We enjoyed los frijoles, los hamburguesas, el pan, and la fruta. (There was more food, but we haven’t learned those words yet.) We all declared: “La comida era sabrosa (the food was delicious)!!!”

After dinner, we had our first hymn practice. Our Choral Director Katie played her guitar and we sang “Come”—or “Ven” in Spanish. There were some interesting accents to be heard. Fortunately, we have three more months to practice.

Your Spanish lesson: los frijoles (beans), los hamburguesas (hamburgers), el pan (bread), la fruta (fruit).

Lenaya

Honduras July 2009 We're Learning Spanish

Buenas tardes clase…and we’re off with more learning from our profesora Chris Kupcha assisted by Joe Kupcha.

Chris is teaching us how to handle situations such as meeting people and introducing one another. Recently our focus has been on meals and the foods we’re likely to encounter in Honduras.

The next team meeting on April 29^th includes a cookout so we’re going to have an opportunity to practice our new vocabulary…hamburguesas anyone?

Honduras July 2009 -- Getting Started

Those of you who were in church on March 29 heard the Minute for Mission on our upcoming Intergenerational Mission trip to Honduras. Also, a story was told about the role of the chicken and pig in a ham and egg sandwich. The chicken is ‘involved” but the pig is “committed!”

We now have our roster of 16 folks from First Presbyterian who are “committed” to go to Honduras They will be spreading the love of Jesus Christ to the people of Honduras from July 20 – July 27, 2009. The 11 adults and 5 young adults are:

June Blohm Team Leader

Ken Blohm Team Leader

Gerry Depo

Joan Graham

Katie Gray

Carol Hidlay

Sally Jenkins

Ryan Maddrey

Brock McLeod

Alan Moses

Holly Shoaf-O’Kula Team Leader Clergy

Lenaya Raack

Ashley Reid

Carol Ryder

Aubrie Salzman

Allison Shearouse Team Leader Youth

It is now the time for the remaining 871 members of First Presbyterian to get “involved” and support the mission team and the people of Honduras on our trip. A list of ideas is being assembled and will appear at month’s end on the blog and the Mission Bulletin Board. Be on the lookout for ways in which you can become involved.

You can follow the activities of the team on the blog as we meet each month to prepare for our trip. Please pray for us, that we may guided to do God’s will.

Blessings,

Allison, Holly, June and Ken

New Site for Honduras Agape Foundation blog

Our entry into the blogosphere last year was a rousing success. Interested readers are able to keep up with events underway in Honduras while the mission teams are there. Feedback has been positive and very encouraging.

It's time now to move the blog for Honduras Agape Foundation missions to its own site. The site we've been using will remain open and accessible for other missions of First Presbyterian, Aiken. The new site will be exclusively for Honduras Agape Foundation missions. Soon the old postings from earlier HAF mission trips will be deleted from this site; they have been moved to the new site already and will be retained there.

The new blog site is: http://HAFMissions.blogspot.com/

A Post-Visit Update

Here is how Mrs. Amalia's addition looked on Monday after the last team members left on Saturday. It's ready for the roof beams and tiles, the floor, and doors and windows. Wet weather has prevented firing the kiln to complete the roof tiles. A few days of uninterrupted sunshine will enable the builders to finish the construction of this addition to make it the showplace of the neighborhood!

Allen

Closing Impressions

We finished today in a grande celebración and fellowship with local believers at Iglesia La Cosecha (The Harvest Church) in Quimistán. This was an incredible experience to be welcomed by brothers and sisters in Christ and worship with them in honor of our Savior. We did not understand much of what was said, but agreed that God was honored by the worship service and our interaction with local believers there.

Earlier in the day, Karen and I returned to Santa Clara to spend a few hours encouraging our new friends. I was able to make a short video of the people working on Mrs. Amalia’s house and learned more about that effort. Later, I encouraged Arturo to provide a short tour of the brick manufacturing microenterprise that I also captured on video. We will try to post these videos in the near future for those who are interested.

Also during today’s visit to Santa Clara, Karen was able to spent time talking to Brenda, one of Mrs. Amalia’s daughters who wants to become a nurse. She had a wonderful visit with Brenda and was able to encourage her to pursue this goal even in the face of what may seem like overwhelming obstacles. Please pray for Brenda.

Other events of the day included: A visit to the Agape compound clinic to meet with Dr. Elsa; time with Letitia at the Quimistan health department discussing VBS materials and deworming treatments at local schools; and a meeting with Katie Wooten, the Peace Corps volunteer in Quimistán who, unfortunately, is returning to the U.S. soon but hopes this is only for a short time. Our attempts to arrange meetings with Pat from Cristo Salva or Rob Turner from Boise State University’s Clean Water Club were unsuccessful. We will continue these efforts later.

Thank you for supporting this outreach in Honduras. We have been able to join in a conversation God started with the people of Santa Clara many months ago. In my brief time here, I have witnessed the power of God’s goodness as He opens peoples’ eyes and hearts, and changes both lives and lifestyles. Santa Clara is a community in the midst of an awesome transformation, and we have the joy of playing a small part in the opening stanzas of a grand concert God has scheduled in this place.

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish. Matthew 18:12-14 (NLT)”

Ron L.

Living Water is On The Way!

A long-awaited day became a reality on Thursday as the Samaritan’s Purse pickups pulled into the Santa Clara school yard. They came to introduce the community to BioSand water filters as a major element for reducing diarrhea, worms, and other water-related diseases that are endemic to rural Honduras.

We had been told on Monday to expect a six or seven man team from San Pedro Sula, so we were amazed to see about ten guys pile out of the trucks and begin preparing for the 2 PM community meeting. We learned early in the day that the power in town would be out all day, and we knew the meeting was structured with a PowerPoint presentation and sound system. But not to worry—this team has obviously faced similar situations. They started their portable generator and got everything together and working right on time.

Invitations and informal chats across the fence had alerted every family in town of the meeting. Experience from earlier community meetings made us cautious; in a bold assessment, we were able to have faith that as many as 30 people--maybe 40 at most-- would show up within an hour of the announced starting time. But when the time came, we didn’t have 30 or 40. We had about 60. Within a few minutes, the crowd had grown to 70. Eventually the count was 92. Community leaders said this was a record turnout by far.


The presentation was an overview of the process used by Samaritan’s Purse of Canada when they bring BioSand water filters into a community. Their goal is to put a filter into every home in the community, and to get the residents of the community to build the filters themselves. This meeting was the first of a series, culminating in the beginning of filter fabrication by the community in July. Because of contributions to Samaritan’s Purse, they only ask for a nominal amount of money (40 Lempira, or about $2.21) for each filter.

Another interesting event in this meeting was the presence of Adolfo Leon Otoniel, Director of Community Health Evangelism (CHE) for Central America. Karen had arranged to meet him when we were in Copan last October, and followed up with arrangements for him to be in Santa Clara this week. As we talked with him Thursday morning we asked him if CHE has had any collaboration with Samaritan’s Purse. To our surprise, he told us that the CHE organization has begun evaluating possible collaboration, and that was one determining factor leading to his presence at the meeting. He had come earlier in the day to walk around the village in order to assess general conditions of the town considering the possibility of introducing CHE concepts of pure water, hygiene, and public sanitation—all within an evangelistic framework similar to that of Samaritan’s Purse. So this was an excellent merging of similar efforts, all aimed at improving the health situation in Santa Clara—both the physical health and the spiritual health.

Wednesday in Santa Clara

Another long day in Santa Clara with places to go and people to meet. The day started with the usual greetings from the children, who always come running to us as we get out of the cars, with arms open wide and smiles from ear to ear. Whenever I see them it reminds me of the joy our Father in heaven must have whenever He sees us running into His loving arms for peace, love, and security.

A couple of us went to the municipal office in Petoa to obtain a permit for cutting a tree to provide lumber for Mrs. Amalia's house. We had a chance to meet with the vice mayor to discuss the ministry of the HAF both in Quimistan and Santa Clara. This was a great chance for us to explain our vision of spreading the love of Christ by partnering with local leaders and facilities such as the Pueblo Nuevo clinic and Samaritan's Purse Office in San Pedro Sula.

After this visit, we took one of the children from Santa Clara to the clinic in Pueblo Nuevo to get some antibiotics for bronchitis. In this visit we learned that the doctor is on vacation for a few weeks. The patients who need a doctor's expertise are referred to the nearest facility, about 45 minutes away in Trinidad. Those who can afford bus fare can go, if they want to take the chance that they might or might not get treatment that day. That's the stark reality of medical care available in these small communities. Fortunately, the nurse was able to dispense the needed medications.

The rest of the morning was spent going door to door to all the homes in Santa Clara to pass out invitations to the community meeting with Samaritan's Purse on Thursday to discuss the upcoming BioSand Water Filter project.

In the afternoon, the men hauled bricks while I had an opportunity to meet with the women of the town to discuss health topics, sanitation, hygiened, clean water, and Justa stoves. While I had been told I would be talking with mothers of newborn babies, I ended up meeting with about 15-20 women of all ages. From that meeting, I learned that most of the women here believed their water was safe, so it was difficult to convince them otherwise. On a positive note, however, they all agreed that the respiratory problems of their community are largely due to their inefficient wood burning stoves and almost all of them were enthusiastic about the possibility of working on improving that situation by building Justa stoves.


All in all, I was pleased to see the response of the community members to this meeting and believe that it is during group interactions like this that community-wide change can have the greatest success.

Karen

A Day in Santa Clara

Today was 'bonding day' in Santa Clara. While Allen and Ron helped to move bricks from the brick factory to the house being built, Karen worked with several neighborhood children--coloring and just enjoying interactions. By noon, the bricklayers had completed the third course of brick above the top of the windows, and began the stepped brickwork on the two gable ends of the roof.

About mid-morning we walked down the long, steep hill to visit Rosendo and Reyna and their eight children including a 21-day old baby. We finished that three-hour visit with Karen and Allen sitting on the floor with five of the kids playing UNO. Neither of us won, but we celebrated with the winner.

The highlight of the afternoon was a meeting with students who will be able to attend school this year as a result of an anonymous donation to the foundation. The students range from 7th grade to 11th grade. One of the boys wants to become an engineer; one girl wants to be a journalist, maybe a TV newscaster. Another girl wants to study vocal music at the university, and a third who likes English was encouraged to consider becoming a UN translator. The oldest girl there, who had to drop out of school during the seventh grade because her family couldn't afford to keep her in school, expressed a fervent desire to become a nurse. She will talk more with Karen as the week progresses. But mostly we tried to instill in them a desire to do their best in school to prepare themselves as potential future leaders of the country.Front row, left to right, are Ruth, Paola, Nuri, Dalila, Julissa, and Estuardo. Back row, L to R, Francisco, Byron, Marlon, and Brenda. Carlos was away picking coffee; Bryan was making baskets; Esther and Manuel were unavailable.

The evening session of a home group with one of the community families was led by Ron, with participation by the assembled group as well as comments from Karen and Allen. Introductory comments from Rick Warren's book "A Purpose Driven Life" opened the discussion which evolved into emphasis on how our relationship with the Lord needs to be walked out in our relationships with our neighbors.

After the long day we wished the home group members a heartfelt "hasta mañana"

Allen

A Promise of Clean Water--Eventually

Folks in the Santa Clara community have been drinking contaminated water for many years, in the same manner as many, many other communities in this country. Those days should be coming to an end this year through the efforts of Samaritan's Purse and worldwide supporters of their clean water program.

Monday we met with Brad Phillips, National Director-Honduras, of Samaritan's Purse of Canada. Final arrangements were made for a meeting in Santa Clara on Thursday, when Misael Baquedan will bring a six-member team to the community to begin discussions.

The team will describe how BioSand filters will be made by the community members and installed in each home at very low cost (i.e., 40 Lempiras, or about $2.12 per family) to provide pure drinking water. Subsequent meetings through the next few months will be arranged with organized groups within the community to teach the importance of combining pure water with hygiene practices and sanitation to attain the full benefits--reduction of gastrointestinal problems from contamination by human and animal waste, worms, and other harmful things sometimes found in the water.

Earlier communications with Samaritan's Purse pointed to a March-April beginning of the work. But a different community already engaged in a similar program recently requested additional filters, so the timetable for beginning the physical work in Santa Clara can't begin before July. The revised schedule was a disappointment, but the potential improvement is worth waiting for after all these years.

The actual physical work will begin (in July?) when a team brings twelve filter molds to the community and trains the people there on how to fabricate the filter housings of concrete, how to set up the filters for operation with rocks, gravel, and graded sand, and how to maintain them to assure continuing good water supply. Perhaps our July mission team will be able to participate in this phase of the work, working side by side with the community members.

Following installation of filters in about 100 homes throughout the community, Samaritan's Purse will provide follow-up meetings at one, three, six, and twelve months to assure that the filters are continuing to perform as intended, and that families are well able to do the necessary maintenance of filter bed quality.

As a result of the contacts our translators made with Samaritan's Purse on behalf of Santa Clara, a neighboring community of Las Minitas will also be included in the program. That will add about 90 families to the group who will one day have pure water and--we hope--healthy kids.

This is just one more example of how we are trying to not only cure medical problems, but to avoid them in the first place. The approach also will encourage community self-help and cooperation as a way out of bad situations.

Allen

A Busy Day in the City

Monday's trip to San Pedro Sula brought us the new experience of traffic jam, Honduras style. But it was no match for our intrepid driver who boldly went where few dare go and delivered us to The Ark--a family ministry church where our translators worship when in SPS. The principal of the trilingual church school there described their mission and vision, and progress toward their goals.
The vision looked terrific except for the last line--conquer the nations. More Conquistadores? Actually, no. We had a very interesting discussion on the cultural differences in how this word is interpreted. In the Honduran culture, loving couples 'conquer' each other with their love and caring concern. There is no hint of violence or force; it's a process of wooing and winning. That's part of the vision of the school. Their goal is to woo and win the nations for Christ.

Karen struck up a conversation with some of the students who had returned from a two-week intensive training trip to Washington D.C., and was able to go far beyond just "Como se llama" and "Me llamo Karen." This place is a bright light in the country. You just might see some future leaders of the country coming from this Mennonite school that's supported largely by a major Catholic funding source. The principal is a man of God who began a ministry 26 years ago under a tree. Now in its tenth year, the school is building more classrooms in a three-story addition, This will allow them to add a 10th grade in 2009, continuing the plan to add a new grade level each year.

We also visited their day-care center that had 31 at-risk children of working mothers in a poor neighborhood. The kids there were like the others we've seen--hungering for a hug, a smile, a kind word from an adult. They get those at that place.

Allen

But Wait! There's More!

Seven team members returned home today, and one new member arrived. So until next Saturday, the team remnant here will be Allen, Karen, and Ron. The week's agenda is being finalized and will be concentrated in Santa Clara, where the house-building continues toward completion. We will attempt to carry on with updates on what God is up to there, recognizing that it will be difficult to fill Tommy's shoes as blogmeister. So check in tomorrow night or Tuesday for an update.

Allen

A Day of Reflection

As the sun sets in Quimistan and on our trip here these past 10 days, the team would like to thank all of our family and friends who have supported us in so many ways. I have asked each team member to briefly reflect in the final post for this trip on the many great experiences that we have shared together.

• You can see the hand of God was at work in the formation of the team as each member brought different gifts to be used in His service. - June

• We experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to spread the love of Jesus Christ by providing medical treatments to people in small villages, food to those who searched through the garbage, religious training to children, building new homes, and giving a loving smile to all we met. - Ken

• On our “to do” list was to fashion a protective cover for our auto-refractor instrument – so it was done. - Lee

• This has been a wonderful experience. It has shown what great things can be accomplished with prayer, humor, and dedication. - John

• God’s presence was ever-present throughout this trip, from forming the team to the changes that occurred while here, which opened new opportunities to serve the people of Honduras. - George

• Seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Worshiping together joyfully with fellow Christians in a foreign language I don't half understand. Working on a home which will help ease the strain on a very poor but loving family and joking with the workers and the family. Being able to tell the people with whom I work that we are here to show God's love to them all. Provisioning a home at the end of our stay and knowing we have made a major difference to that family. I thank God for allowing me to be part of all these things. - Jerry

• Jesus taught us “Love one another.” Honduras draws the love to the surface like cream, to be enjoyed by the people of Honduras. - Stephen

• Words cannot explain how much I’ve enjoyed the warm, loving Hondurans I’ve met, and the incredible Christians I’ve served with this week. - Claudia

• Smiling faces, hugs of joy, squealing children, tears of joy and sadness, God’s handiwork in the countryside, and a team of brothers and sisters uniting with the purpose of manifesting God’s love among the people of Honduras - - these are the treasures I carry with me as I move forward in faith along the journey God has placed before me. To God be all the glory for the great things he has done and will continue to do here in Honduras and in the lives of those who’ve been touched by the people here. - Karen

• Evidence of God's caring concern keeps popping up in new ways in new locations. The Foundation continues strengthening the medical and educational outreach in and around Quimistan as we expand our outreach to Santa Clara--building a house for a truly needy family while using bricks made in a new little village enterprise there, preparing to build fuel-efficient vented stoves to reduce respiratory diseases, and working with Samaritan's Purse to bring pure water to every house in the village. Mrs. Amalia was so gracious today, thanking God for bringing help to her family and village. The awesome part is realizing that God has chosen to work through us to bring hope to those who have felt abandoned. - Allen

• I am very thankful and humbled to have been a part of this well-oiled machine that has worked together extremely well as we shared Christ’s love with the wonderful people of Honduras. - Tommy

A Day of Reflection

As the sun sets in Quimistan and on our trip here these past 10 days, the team would like to thank all of our family and friends who have supported us in so many ways. I have asked each team member to briefly reflect in the final post for this trip on the many great experiences that we have shared together.


• You can see the hand of God was at work in the formation of the team as each member brought different gifts to be used in His service. - June

• We experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to spread the love of Jesus Christ by providing medical treatments to people in small villages, food to those who searched through the garbage, religious training to children, building new homes, and giving a loving smile to all we met. - Ken

• On our “to do” list was to fashion a protective cover for our auto-refractor instrument – so it was done. - Lee

• This has been a wonderful experience. It has shown what great things can be accomplished with prayer, humor, and dedication. - John

• God’s presence was ever-present throughout this trip, from forming the team to the changes that occurred while here, which opened new opportunities to serve the people of Honduras. - George

• Seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Worshiping together joyfully with fellow Christians in a foreign language I don't half understand. Working on a home which will help ease the strain on a very poor but loving family and joking with the workers and the family. Being able to tell the people with whom I work that we are here to show God's love to them all. Provisioning a home at the end of our stay and knowing we have made a major difference to that family. I thank God for allowing me to be part of all these things. - Jerry

• Jesus taught us “Love one another.” Honduras draws that love to the surface like cream, to be enjoyed by the people of Honduras. - Stephen

• Words cannot explain how much I’ve enjoyed the warm, loving Hondurans I’ve met, and the incredible Christians I’ve served with this week. - Claudia

• Smiling faces, hugs of joy, squealing children, tears of joy and sadness, God’s handiwork in the countryside, and a team of brothers and sisters uniting with the purpose of manifesting God’s love among the people of Honduras - - these are the treasures I carry with me as I move forward in faith along the journey God has placed before me. To God be all the glory for the great things he has done and will continue to do here in Honduras and in the lives of those who’ve been touched by the people here.

• Evidence of God's caring concern keeps popping up in new ways in new locations. The Foundation continues strengthening the medical and educational outreach in and around Quimistan as we expand our outreach to Santa Clara--building a house for a truly needy family while using bricks made in a new little village enterprise there, preparing to build fuel-efficient vented stoves to reduce respiratory diseases, and working with Samaritan's Purse to bring pure water to every house in the village. Mrs. Amalia was so gracious today, thanking God for bringing help to her family and village. The awesome part is realizing that God has chosen to work through us to bring hope to those who have felt abandoned. - Allen

• I am very thankful and humbled to have been a part of this well-oiled machine that has worked together extremely well as we shared Christ’s love with the wonderful people of Honduras. - Tommy

Big City Shopping Spree

As a treat for the AP children who helped make our VBS week a success, three team members and translators accompanied them to San Pedro Sula on Saturday for a time of shopping and lunch at the local mall. For many of these kids, this was a treat that occurs only a few times a year.

For those of us from the U. S., it served as a brief reminder of the things we take for granted - - shops full of clothes, books, specialty items, and food to suit any taste. Interestingly, when given a choice of food at the food court, most of the kids opted for Pizza Hut, Quizno’s, or Burger King. Pepsi was, of course, still the preferred drink of the day. The sights and sounds of our brief time there presented a stark contrast to the simpler village life we’ve become accustomed to since our arrival here.

Karen

VBS at Santa Clara

Our VBS week wrapped up in style, as we ministered to about 70 kindergarten and elementary age kids in the village of Santa Clara. Two of our AP kids, Carlos and Vilma, led the teaching time, and the children joined in enthusiastically as we sang, colored, made bracelets, and played outdoors.


This was an extra special time for all of the team members, both old and new, as we celebrated the joy and love of the Lord with the precious children we have come to love dearly in recent months. At the end of the program, the VBS kids and 20 additional children were treated to a special lunch prepared by members of Mrs. Amalia’s extended family.



At the end of our time, I felt the disappointment of realizing that the fun we had shared with the AP kids and village children all week had come to an end. Fortunately, I carry with me many fond memories of our time working together.

Karen

A Job Well Done

Yesterday (Friday) I completed construction of the auto-refractor transit/storage case. It is configured to restrain the instrument inside the plywood box, having dimensions of 18” by 24” by 27” high.


The case is fashioned as a box fitting over the instrument, and its supporting nesting fixture that fastens to the base with locking devices. Handles are on all 4 sides for convenient handling.

This task had its frustrations, due to limited material and tools, but it was quite enjoyable to do something I don’t often do.

Lee

The Village by the Road

On Friday afternoon, I met with our translator’s friend, Serafin Menjivar, who lives along the road. He has 4 children. His 2 older daughters were at the dump when we arrived, looking for 2 and 3-liter plastic bottles. They can sell 100 bottles and get 10 lempira (about 53 cents).

Serafin had 10-15 bags of empty bottles stacked beside his house. He built the house of adobe block as a squatter on government-owned right-of-way, as did most of the other families living there. He has water from the town of Quimistan, but no power. Water is only available in the evening and at night, and costs 30 lempira (roughly $1.60) per month. He lives in the third home on the left from the bridge. No homes above his have water, and no homes along the road have power. The homes above his on both sides of the road get their water from the river. Their biggest needs are food and medical care. Most of the children attend the school at Luz de Valle.

Serafin works part time at the brick kiln in town as a kiln firer. In fact, he has been hired in the past to work at the kiln in Santa Clara. He attends the Monday and Friday night services now and then. He says the services are usually led by a church member, not the pastor.

We went back later for the evening service. It was an amazing scene! Once everyone arrived, there were around 175 present, about 100 of them children. The church had prepared a meal, and after the service everyone was fed a small plate of rice, vegetables and chicken, with 2 flour tortillas and a drink.

The service was started by the youth/children’s director, then the pastor spoke for a while. The service concluded with an evangelist from El Salvador, a friend of the pastor’s. He closed with an altar call, to which about 40 children and adults responded.

WOW, what an evening to behold! The Lord was truly present there by the road. The light for the entire building was provided by a single Coleman gas lantern hanging from the edge of the lean-to porch /patio.

Praise God for small miracles! Everyone was fed a small meal, and Martha gave out small bags of rice and flour to every family present.

George

Impressions of Santa Clara

Thursday, Jan. 22

One my visit to Santa Clara Thursday, a few things stood out to me about the people. First, they are all very friendly, especially the kids. You can’t pass anyone along the street without saying “Hola!” or “Buenos dias!” They can find fun in anything, from watching the “gringos” beat up on a rock, to playing with their homemade scooters. How many of our kids or grandkids would be happy with a toy like this?


Also, they are very industrious. Most people I saw were either sweeping their dirt front yard, washing clothes or dishes, cooking or preparing food, or some other chore. When I checked on the progress on Mrs. Amalia’s house, I was pleasantly surprised to see at least four of the family members helping out, including two of the kids.


This family is very needy and very deserving of a new house, but they are not sitting there watch it happen; they are actually helping it to happen! Helping folks in the name of Christ feels great, but helping those who will pitch in and do what they can to assist us feels even better!

Tommy

VBS at El Pinal

Today was another great morning with the VBS Program. After a bumpy, windy, and at times muddy road trip up the mountain, we arrived at the community of El Pinal. We had the privilege of joining the AP kids in presenting the VBS program to about 69 elementary age children. They were all dressed in their school uniforms as they crowded into the classroom. Juan Miguel, from the AP program, took the lead teaching the lesson today, and did a fantastic job of presenting the material and engaging the children in the activities. The children were very enthusiastic and eagerly volunteered to help put the balls on the demonstration salvation bracelet, and perform the motions to the songs. As Claudia and I shared with each other, it seems the program gets better each day!

One special surprise of today’s program came toward the end, as the principal of the school. Jairo Alberto Enamorado, presented the Honduras Agape Foundation with a certificate of recognition for our collaboration to benefit the education of the children and youth of the community. As Jerry accepted the certificate, he reminded them all that we were there to manifest the love of Christ to the children and their families, and that all the credit for any work done belonged to God alone.

After the deworming medicine and the “swish and spit” fluoride treatment, we had some free time to play with the kids while waiting for our ride to arrive. We pulled out the bubbles, the jump rope, and the all-favorite, the digital camera, to entertain the crowd. A great time was had by us all. To God be the glory!


A special thanks goes out to the municipality of Quimistan for providing a driver and 4-wheel-drive vehicle to take half of our VBS team up the mountain safely.

Karen