Just a quick note to show you how we ended our day on Saturday. This is the group after dinner having dessert at Shirley's, the top night spot in Quimistan!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Saturday Night
Hi all,
Just a quick note to show you how we ended our day on Saturday. This is the group after dinner having dessert at Shirley's, the top night spot in Quimistan!
Just a quick note to show you how we ended our day on Saturday. This is the group after dinner having dessert at Shirley's, the top night spot in Quimistan!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
A Day of Adventure
Saturday morning the Vacation Bible School student volunteers and Reyna Suyapa, our Bible study leader for Agape Promises, met to receive training on how to conduct the VBS sessions.
George Dewhirst and Andrea, our translator, led them through the creation of the Salvation Bracelet. Father John demonstrated the very large beads. The color of each bead has a significant biblical meaning, i.e. yellow is Heaven, black is Sin, red is Jesus blood, white is cleansing our sins, and green is growth in faith. We practiced each of the songs, which accompany this project, and read the Bible verses. Andrea continued to keep us all honest on what each of the colors represent. This is a great project with meaningful messages for their spiritual development and growth. The team is off early Monday morning to visit the first school.
On Saturday afternoon, Ken and June, along with Maynor, our local HAF administrator, went to see one of the villages, Teoxintales, which First Presbyterian Church adopted for 2009. It took about 2 hours to get there over winding mountainous roads, which were muddy from an early morning rain. It was truly an adventure!
The village has approximately 300 people, which include 100 children in school. There is a three-room school there that educates children until the 6th grade. Since the local Junior High school is too far to commute, this is all the education the majority of the children receive.
It is principally a farming community whose products include coffee, cardamom, corn and beans. We had the opportunity to meet several of the village townsmen, who gave us a tour. They also invited us to have a cup of their homegrown coffee, which was excellent.
The medical brigade, doctor, nurse and medical supplies, which we sponsor, visited this village in November. There had been no medical support there up to this time. With the donation from First Presbyterian Church, the medical brigade will be able to visit the village every two months at no cost to the people.
Ken & June
George Dewhirst and Andrea, our translator, led them through the creation of the Salvation Bracelet. Father John demonstrated the very large beads. The color of each bead has a significant biblical meaning, i.e. yellow is Heaven, black is Sin, red is Jesus blood, white is cleansing our sins, and green is growth in faith. We practiced each of the songs, which accompany this project, and read the Bible verses. Andrea continued to keep us all honest on what each of the colors represent. This is a great project with meaningful messages for their spiritual development and growth. The team is off early Monday morning to visit the first school.
On Saturday afternoon, Ken and June, along with Maynor, our local HAF administrator, went to see one of the villages, Teoxintales, which First Presbyterian Church adopted for 2009. It took about 2 hours to get there over winding mountainous roads, which were muddy from an early morning rain. It was truly an adventure!
The village has approximately 300 people, which include 100 children in school. There is a three-room school there that educates children until the 6th grade. Since the local Junior High school is too far to commute, this is all the education the majority of the children receive.
It is principally a farming community whose products include coffee, cardamom, corn and beans. We had the opportunity to meet several of the village townsmen, who gave us a tour. They also invited us to have a cup of their homegrown coffee, which was excellent.
The medical brigade, doctor, nurse and medical supplies, which we sponsor, visited this village in November. There had been no medical support there up to this time. With the donation from First Presbyterian Church, the medical brigade will be able to visit the village every two months at no cost to the people.
Ken & June
A Day of Planning and Change
Friday started with a typical short-term power outage, and the weather cycled several times between drizzle and partly cloudy. Some things did not go as planned. The Internet service here was not available all day. Much was accomplished, however, in terms of meeting with local personnel and checking on facilities for information exchange and strategy. A box for housing and transporting the auto-refractor was designed, and most of the materials were procured. Hundreds of brick were transported from the Santa Clara brick-making facility, in preparation for the house construction project being started a few hundred yards away.
The evening was concluded with a very lively, 2-1/2-hour worship service in a local Quimistan church.
We know we will get done what God wants of us, because we know He is still in charge. I was reminded of that this morning as I focused on the very center of the picture above, taken Friday morning.
Tommy
==============================================================
Friday was a day that dominated our need for flexibility, because very little happened as planned. It was raining hard in Santa Clara, so the plan for a large group to go work on Mrs. Amelia’s home did not happen.
Tommy and Lee worked to design and procure materials to build a transport and storage case for the auto-refractor. Father John Keeler, Ken and June reviewed the Agape Promises Bible study program with it’s leader, Reyna Suyapa Castillo and Maynor, our administrative Assistant. They also discussed how we can provide academic support for students struggling in school .
Jerry and George went to Santa Clara with our translators , so that Jerry could review construction progress on Mrs. Amelia’s home. The second objective was to help transport bricks from the brick kiln to the work site; about 450 bricks were moved. (Stay tuned –pictures of that to follow.)
In mid-afternoon, Arturo got a call requesting a Honduras Agape Foundation (HAF) representative for a live TV interview to discuss the our mission, with a focus on the Quimistan Valley Scholar (QVS) Program. They were really looking for the initiator of this program, Sam Turnipseed, who was to be on our team, but George filled in for Sam. The interview covered a brief history of how the HAF came to Quimistan, along with what has been accomplished in the area in home construction, school physical plant improvements, and efforts to improve the health of the children. Next, George discussed the background of the QVS program, stressing that it was a combined effort of the local community and HAF. Scholarship recipients are selected locally. Funds provided by HAF are matched by money raised locally dollar for dollar. He also pointed out that the program was to help out the brightest, but very poor young person who would not, without this scholarship, be able to attend university. George also emphasized it was important for all the children to work hard in school to obtain a good education, thus improving their lives in the future.
Following the TV interview, George also gave a live radio interview on a local Christian radio program, covering the same subjects.
George
Thursday, January 15, 2009
2009 HAF Mission Season Off to Good Start!
Greetings to our friends and loved ones back home!
This morning, the first contingent of the January mission team, consisting of George Dewhirst (of Beaufort, SC), Lee Coulter, John Keeler (of Elberton, GA), Jerry Taylor, and Tommy Thompson, left Aiken about 4:30 this morning for their 7:15 flight out of Columbia. They were met in Atlanta by Ken & June Blohm. After a slightly bumpy flight, but otherwise uneventful trip, we all arrived safely in Quimistan around 3:00 p.m.
The second part of our team will arrive Sunday afternoon.
Following greetings by old friends and new, we got down to planning our work projects. Check the next installment for a progress report on Santa Clara, where we plan to go to work in the morning.
Today’s 12-hour trip, following a short night’s sleep, has been physically draining, but we are emotionally and spiritually pumped, and look forward to doing God’s work in the coming days. We miss you all, but are glad we can keep in contact this way.
Keep praying!
Tommy
This morning, the first contingent of the January mission team, consisting of George Dewhirst (of Beaufort, SC), Lee Coulter, John Keeler (of Elberton, GA), Jerry Taylor, and Tommy Thompson, left Aiken about 4:30 this morning for their 7:15 flight out of Columbia. They were met in Atlanta by Ken & June Blohm. After a slightly bumpy flight, but otherwise uneventful trip, we all arrived safely in Quimistan around 3:00 p.m.
The second part of our team will arrive Sunday afternoon.
Following greetings by old friends and new, we got down to planning our work projects. Check the next installment for a progress report on Santa Clara, where we plan to go to work in the morning.
Today’s 12-hour trip, following a short night’s sleep, has been physically draining, but we are emotionally and spiritually pumped, and look forward to doing God’s work in the coming days. We miss you all, but are glad we can keep in contact this way.
Keep praying!
Tommy
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Another attempt to post
Here's something I put together Saturday evening. Unfortunately, the internet connection was intermittent, and after three unsuccessful tries I decided to go to bed. So read this as though you had seen it Saturday evening.
Allen
Wow! Overload city! The conference closed about 4:30 this afternoon, ending three heavy days of presentations, lots and lots of Q&A, and many side discussions. Now the question is this: "What do we do next?" The posting Thursday night mentioned a meeting with Adolfo Leon to discuss the CHE program. Here's a photo showing Karen at the left, Suyapa and Arturo across the table, and Adolfo the the right side of the table. 
Thinking about what we have learned will need some soak time before we're able to report many specifics. Each of us will have picked up concepts, impressions, and guidelines that need to be shared among our team to consolidate our thoughts. For tonight, I'll just jot some thoughts that struck me as important. Some of them were confirmation of what I had thought previously, and some were new.
One overall bit of advice is that we need to remember we are not in Honduras simply to help Hondurans. We are there to help Hondurans help themselves. We're in Honduras not to lead programs, but to support them. That's a big difference in approach. We're pretty good at deciding what problems they have and how we are going to fix them. The problem is that our fixes might not really be what the Hondurans want or need. A better way is to first ask the Hondurans what things they think would make their lives better, what stands in the way, and whether and how we might work with them to improve their situation. The fixes need to be theirs. We can offer support, but they need to own the solutions. That stands the best chance of imparting a new sense of accomplishment and overcoming a history of powerlessness and hopelessness.
When we can live with the families in their conditions, and work alongside them to help them make their lives better, we will begin to understand the meaning of a mission trips as a vocation rather than a vacation.
Changing the cultural norms of the society won't happen any time soon. The adults generally are firmly entrenched in "the way things have always been." As bad as we might think things are, these folks are survivors.
They know how to get by. They have learned to accept things as they are. They know the familiar; they have learned to fear the unfamiliar. So why change?
Education of the children is probably the most promising way to impart a gradual shift of values and behavior. Often that requires that the children first have food so they can think about something other than constant hunger. They also need to be healthy--free of parasites and infections. There won't be quick fixes; we're looking at small improvements occurring over a period of several years, probably with many failures and disappointments as we go along. So we need to be alert for small victories in the lives of the people we work with. Here Karen and Arturo are discussing how we might do that.
The levels of violence, drug use, alcoholism, spousal and child abuse, and homicide have been on the increase in Honduras. Poverty is increasing with the general increase in food costs and other expenses. So hopelessness continues despite many years of intervention by hundreds of organizations who have sent thousands of people in teams to Honduras to help. If we are able to benefit from the partnering we can do through improved communication of recent years, maybe we can learn from each other's successes and failures.
That's a dump of thoughts in my head this evening. By morning maybe they will have taken some shape. Tomorrow we will drive back to Quimistan and begin the rest of our lives. During the week we will do several on-the-ground activities and compare notes to develop a coherent picture of some next steps.
We are hopeful that we'll have internet access there; last week we were not able to establish a connection that was possible with our summer teams. If you don't see entries on the blog, that will be the reason.
Thinking about what we have learned will need some soak time before we're able to report many specifics. Each of us will have picked up concepts, impressions, and guidelines that need to be shared among our team to consolidate our thoughts. For tonight, I'll just jot some thoughts that struck me as important. Some of them were confirmation of what I had thought previously, and some were new.
One overall bit of advice is that we need to remember we are not in Honduras simply to help Hondurans. We are there to help Hondurans help themselves. We're in Honduras not to lead programs, but to support them. That's a big difference in approach. We're pretty good at deciding what problems they have and how we are going to fix them. The problem is that our fixes might not really be what the Hondurans want or need. A better way is to first ask the Hondurans what things they think would make their lives better, what stands in the way, and whether and how we might work with them to improve their situation. The fixes need to be theirs. We can offer support, but they need to own the solutions. That stands the best chance of imparting a new sense of accomplishment and overcoming a history of powerlessness and hopelessness.
When we can live with the families in their conditions, and work alongside them to help them make their lives better, we will begin to understand the meaning of a mission trips as a vocation rather than a vacation.
Changing the cultural norms of the society won't happen any time soon. The adults generally are firmly entrenched in "the way things have always been." As bad as we might think things are, these folks are survivors.
They know how to get by. They have learned to accept things as they are. They know the familiar; they have learned to fear the unfamiliar. So why change?Education of the children is probably the most promising way to impart a gradual shift of values and behavior. Often that requires that the children first have food so they can think about something other than constant hunger. They also need to be healthy--free of parasites and infections. There won't be quick fixes; we're looking at small improvements occurring over a period of several years, probably with many failures and disappointments as we go along. So we need to be alert for small victories in the lives of the people we work with. Here Karen and Arturo are discussing how we might do that.
The levels of violence, drug use, alcoholism, spousal and child abuse, and homicide have been on the increase in Honduras. Poverty is increasing with the general increase in food costs and other expenses. So hopelessness continues despite many years of intervention by hundreds of organizations who have sent thousands of people in teams to Honduras to help. If we are able to benefit from the partnering we can do through improved communication of recent years, maybe we can learn from each other's successes and failures.
That's a dump of thoughts in my head this evening. By morning maybe they will have taken some shape. Tomorrow we will drive back to Quimistan and begin the rest of our lives. During the week we will do several on-the-ground activities and compare notes to develop a coherent picture of some next steps.
We are hopeful that we'll have internet access there; last week we were not able to establish a connection that was possible with our summer teams. If you don't see entries on the blog, that will be the reason.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Greetings from Ninth Conference on Honduras
We're late checking in, but finally we're on the blog.
Sam and Roxanne arrived in Quimistan Monday afternoon and immediately proceeded through a whirlwind list of TO-DO items---some personal, some representing the Foundation. For example they visited Sra. Umanzor to thank her for the support she gave us this summer by providing us the use of her kindergarten for the eye clinic. They also visited with the Quimistan directors of the Quimistan Valley Scholar program, discussing the protocol we will use to provide the matching funds as they receive local funds from the community.
One unpleasant surprise was to find that the teachers across the country are on strike because they have not been paid in the last six months.
Karen and Allen arrived on Wednesday, and the four of us with Arturo and Suyapa all drove to Copan to participate in the Ninth Conference on Honduras. The overall theme of this three-day conference is "Building Gobal Partnerships" . . . the idea being that if groups and individuals working to help Honduras learn to work together closely, coordinate, and share information and ideas, then many of the solutions to core development problems and issues will more easily, efficiently be realized.
For more information about the conference, go to projecthonduras.com.
The kickoff speaker for the conference was Ambassador Hugo Llorens of the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He expressed great appreciation to the tens of thousands of individuals and thousands of groups involved in volunteer, humanitarian, and development efforts to support the people.
The first day of the conference was exactly what we have been looking for. We located many other individuals and organizations active in medical, educational, agricultural, and children's homes. The format of the conference encouraged a lot of interaction allowing identification of who has what experience over the broad range of developments.
After the sessions we were able to spend about an hour in discussions with Adolfo Leon, who has responsibility for the Community Health Evangelism program across all of Honduras. His insight regarding the effectiveness of different approaches to development will be helpful to the Foundation as we consider possible new directions in the coming year.
For those of you who have sweated through our summer trips to Honduras, you'll be surprised to know that the conference center today was air conditioned. Roxanne was actually cold enough to return to the room to gather up sweaters so we wouldn't all be freeze-dried by the end of the day.
More tomorrow.
Allen
Sam and Roxanne arrived in Quimistan Monday afternoon and immediately proceeded through a whirlwind list of TO-DO items---some personal, some representing the Foundation. For example they visited Sra. Umanzor to thank her for the support she gave us this summer by providing us the use of her kindergarten for the eye clinic. They also visited with the Quimistan directors of the Quimistan Valley Scholar program, discussing the protocol we will use to provide the matching funds as they receive local funds from the community.
One unpleasant surprise was to find that the teachers across the country are on strike because they have not been paid in the last six months.
Karen and Allen arrived on Wednesday, and the four of us with Arturo and Suyapa all drove to Copan to participate in the Ninth Conference on Honduras. The overall theme of this three-day conference is "Building Gobal Partnerships" . . . the idea being that if groups and individuals working to help Honduras learn to work together closely, coordinate, and share information and ideas, then many of the solutions to core development problems and issues will more easily, efficiently be realized.
For more information about the conference, go to projecthonduras.com.
The kickoff speaker for the conference was Ambassador Hugo Llorens of the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He expressed great appreciation to the tens of thousands of individuals and thousands of groups involved in volunteer, humanitarian, and development efforts to support the people.
The first day of the conference was exactly what we have been looking for. We located many other individuals and organizations active in medical, educational, agricultural, and children's homes. The format of the conference encouraged a lot of interaction allowing identification of who has what experience over the broad range of developments.
After the sessions we were able to spend about an hour in discussions with Adolfo Leon, who has responsibility for the Community Health Evangelism program across all of Honduras. His insight regarding the effectiveness of different approaches to development will be helpful to the Foundation as we consider possible new directions in the coming year.
For those of you who have sweated through our summer trips to Honduras, you'll be surprised to know that the conference center today was air conditioned. Roxanne was actually cold enough to return to the room to gather up sweaters so we wouldn't all be freeze-dried by the end of the day.
More tomorrow.
Allen
Friday, August 8, 2008
We've Seen Jesus
Our journey is coming to an end. Following services at the Agape Church and ice cream at Shirleys, we are in for the night and enjoying refreshing showers and conversation on the front porch. Earlier today we asked each team member to spend some time in reflection. We asked them to consider how they saw God at work in Honduras. The following words are just a few of their thoughts.
…….I saw God at work today in Suyapa and Arturo’s school in Santa Clara. I saw hope for the village because they are there to help the people. The visual image that will always stay with me is seeing the love and happiness in little children’s eyes. I saw hospitality today when Janice bought ice cream for the children who live on the highway.
…….All of the physical possessions that we gave away during the trip cannot even compare to the gift of blessings that I have received from the people of Honduras. Even more than this, the gift of Jesus Christ and His love that we have passed on will never compare to any of the physical possessions that anyone could ever give.
……..The Lord has been near to me this week with little blessings. The cool breeze in the morning and the evening, the clouds which provided cover at Copan, His hand of grace that held back the storm until the team could complete the celebration of new family homes. God our Father has enjoyed teaching me how to be more like His Son and His daughter in Christ.
………I’ve seen Jesus in the faces of the children, through the love the mission team has shared with the people and with each other, in new friends, in answered prayers, through the generosity and kindness of the local people, through the hope of the poorest of the poor, by pushing people out of their comfort zones and achieving what they set out to do.
……..I’ve seen Jesus in flowers bright and butterflies and in the sparkling of the children’s eyes. I’ve heard Jesus in fast paced tunes and clapping hands of songs and words I can’t understand. I’ve felt Jesus in handshakes and hugs- both strong and mild and in the caress of the fingers of a Honduran child. I’ve witnessed the generosity of Jesus in North Americans giving a little and getting back joy and trust and then seeing the hand of poverty turn around and give back to us. In EVERYTHING we’ve been told or shown that my Jesus has made His presence known.
……….This is a difficult question for me because I saw Him everywhere from the beautiful children with their gorgeous dark hair and sparkling eyes to the giant 300 year old Kapok trees. God surrounded us with so many opportunities for Him to work through each of us to witness and help the sadness, neglect, and cruelty here in Honduras. As we leave tomorrow, I will take this knowledge and experience to share with those at home so they may try to understand the needs of these people that can only be met through God.
………I have seen Jesus in my Honduran brothers and sisters in Christ who minister to the poor so compassionately everyday.
………Where did I see Jesus? In the morning sunrise, in the still muggy night, in the uphill climb to Pinal, in the joyous sound and wide smiles at Pinal, in hearing 1,2,3,4,5, in looking for rocks with Randell, in the laughter of good friends sharing a joke, in meals with the group, in Wilmer, in the faces of my family in photos from home, in Arturo and Suyapa, in faces covered with filth, in the outcast of society, in hugs and tears, in new and old friends, and in places like you see Christ at home.
……..I saw God work everyday on this trip. It’s amazing how our simple plans for the day can turn into a miracle for the people here. I have so many stories about the hope in people’s hearts in Honduras. We were sent here to spread the Word of Jesus, but the amazing part is that the people here are actually teaching US the “word”. Everyone is so appreciative of anything we give them, but mostly they simply enjoy our presence. The smiles of these people are strong enough to touch your heart instantly. I will always remember the children who greeted me with open arms. I WILL be back to visit Honduras in the near future. Mississippians think that they are hospitable, but they have nothing on the people of Honduras. These people trust us; they hug us. They shine with the light of the Lord. In Honduras, you are never lonely, hungry, or unhappy. They would not be like this without their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. He is among these people. This experience will stay in my heart for a lifetime.
……..In the eyes of four recently orphaned children, I saw Jesus. They are His children whom I have known and loved for several years. I could sense their pain in the loss of their mother and have love and compassion for them by the power of the Holy Spirit. I have seen Jesus in each team member as each responded to the unbelievable needs in this place. I have seen Jesus working to bring forth truth in a place of lies and deception. It is not difficult to see Jesus here. Everywhere I turn, I see Him.
We are so grateful to all of our family and friends for sharing in our journey. We have felt your prayers and have been strengthened by your daily encouragement.
To God be the glory,
“Jim” Jeff, Janice, Justin, Anne, Donna, Emory, Callie, Andrew, Randell, Cameron, Marquita, Ashlee, Avent and Jack
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)