George Meets God at the Dump

Last Saturday I discussed with Martha Thomsen the situation at the dump. Many children and adults scavenge through plastic bags, looking for food scraps and other items of potential value. I expressed to her that we have a strong calling to provide help to these people. She said that she was also concerned about this problem, and had gone to both her cousin the Commissioner and the Mayor to ask that the dump be fenced in and access-controlled. Since she then went back to Nebraska for a time, and nothing has been done in this regard.


It was determined that it was now time to revisit this issue. She called a minister friend who came by, and we discussed the problem with him. He agreed to meet at 10:00 a.m. today (Monday) at the dump to assess the situation first-hand.

When I arrived at Martha’s home this morning, she had assembled not one, but four pastors to visit the dump. We prayed before we left, and such a prayer I have never experienced! There was a Power present in the room with us, as Martha, the four pastors and I were praying. We went to the dump and no one was there except for the dump keeper. He said people usually arrived later in the day, between 11:00 and 1:00, when the big dump trucks from the factories came to dump their stuff. He opined that most of the people who come live by the road between the dump and the bridge.

We left with a schedule to return at 11:45. When we returned, they were only 2 boys there, and they confirmed that they lived by the road. One of the boys mentioned that a pastor came and met the families on Monday and Friday evenings. One of the pastors with us knew him and called him. He arrived about 10 minutes later. He is the pastor of the Assembly of God church in Quimistan. He also has Sunday School for the children by the road, about 60, on Sunday morning.

He also is a dentist, and has a practice in Quimistan. His dental clinic is next to the church, and a block from the HAF office.

We have a meeting Tuesday at 5:00 to discuss how we might partner to help these families. PRAISE GOD, a ministry and a dental contact in one meeting!

George

Agape Promises Reception

As is our custom during our mission trips, we have a reception for all of the AP students. Today, we had 41 of the 47 attend. The primary purpose of today’s activity was to celebrate our 2 recent high school graduates. On behalf of the foundation, they were presented with Spanish language copies of Rick Warren’s, A Purpose Driven Life.


Each of the graduates spoke about their experiences as part of the Agape Promises program. They thanked God for His help in completing their course work. They also challenged their fellow students to trust in God, work very hard, so that in the coming years they will be receiving the same recognition.


The missionaries put together their theatre talents and presented a HAF version of the Good Samaritan. The children really enjoyed the “drama”, especially the part where Jerry was beaten down by the robbers. All appreciated a wonderful lesson on God’s love and caring.

The missionaries served a delicious lunch to the children, including a very special dessert.

Ken & June

A Day of Praise and Thanksgiving

Today was a busy day! Following a start to our auto-refractor training video, we attended Sunday School held this morning by Martha Scarlett Thomsen here at Delfina Village. Over 50 children took part in the singing, praise, and worship service, which included a snack. Among other things, Martha also shared her testimony, and her nephew Abner gave the message.


Following lunch, we went to the weekly Bible study held for the Agape Promises children at the kindergarten in Quimistan. The younger children met in a classroom, while the older ones met outside. After the study was over, we brought all of the children back to the Village to spend some time with us. (More details about that tomorrow.)


We were also thankful today for the safe arrival of the rest of team, Allen and daughter Karen Livingstone, Claudia Meadows, and Stephen Burdette. The day concluded with a welcomed first glimpse of the sun since we got here.


Good night.

Tommy

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A visit to Little House of the Roses, an Episcopal Group home in San Pablo. The house was started by Dianana Frade, wife of the former bishop of the Diocese of Florida.

There are 50+ girls, ranging in age from pre-k to high school. The girls attend either local schools or the international school, where instruction is in English.

At present, 13 graduates are in college, with one about to finish dental school. An impressive record!

The school provides the services of a social worker, a psychologist, and a chaplain. There are also enrichment classes in dance, arts, & crafts. Some of the artwork is sold to help support the school.

In addition to the group home, there is a clinic, a food ministry, an intensive residential language school, and a retreat center, due to open in March or April in Pueblo Nueva.

It was an informative and uplifting trip. The Holy Spirit was present. Thanks be to God!

John Keeler

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!

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

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

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