Saturday, January 17, 2009

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

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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

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dear team members,
I am happy to hear that you are on target for God's agenda and nor ours. He will make a way for each of you to do all that He has planned for you to do for His glory.
Sam and I regret not being with you but we are using this time to be prayer warriors for you.
Keep us posted on your activities and may the sun sign in the morning.
Love, Roxanne