Thursday, June 30th Dedication Day

This morning we finished up the roof  with Scott, Mike, and Pastor Carlos laying tin.  At the same time Pastor G and several men were pouring concrete for the floor.  The house was completed by noon.  The water for mixing the cement had to be carried about 100 yards from the community well.

As everyday we were greeted with smiling faces from the neighborhood children.  Amanda had a great time playing with the children using bubbles, balloons and playing soccer.  After lunch Amanda, Gaby, and Egla taught the kids how to play kickball.  We all had a great time cheering them on.

At 1PM all of the team and the family of Ms. Hilana went inside of the new home to dedicate it.  It was such a moving Godly experience.  Ron presented her with the lock and key to the home, Scott presented her with a prayer shawl, and Lori presented her with a hand crocheted cross bookmark and a special Bible that we all had signed.  Pastor Richard read scripture and shared a prayer of blessing for the new home.

Some of the workers and Pastors stopped to have a photo op of them and their new sunglasses.

A new beginning, the witnessing and prayers and especially God led several of the children to accept Jesus into their hearts.  With such a wonderful opportunity, they were baptised in a local stream by Pastor Richard and Pastor G.  What a blessed experience for the team and community.  God is Good!!!

As this week comes to an end, here we are celebrating with the week of many blessings with our friends.  This will be our last blog as we will be heading north to the Valley of Angels to shop and  relax before our flight home.   Many thanks for your thoughts, support, and prayers .  Once again God is GREAT.  See you soon.

Buenos Noches and Adios !!  from Lori, Scott, and Ron.

Honduras Mission 06/29/2011

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Today Pastor Richard, Egla, Arnold, Beth and Mike visited the Garcia's.  They delivered hygiene kits, clothes and other useful items.  This is the home that the youth mission team built last week.

Today at the eye clinic we saw 39 people, many whom had cataracs and other eye diseases, but we still brought sight to many.  One lady even crossed over the mountains seen in many of the pictures to come see us.  God has truly blessed us by giving us the oppurtunity to help so many people.

At the construction site we remained on schedule completing all the block work and preparing for the roof as well as the floor.  Pastor Richard and Pastor G fellowshipped with local Honduran workers and explained baptism to the children.  The day was truly a blessing.
By Amanda and Jon Rossi

Honduras Mission Tuesday the 28th

Started the day cutting a channel through 60 blocks to allow re-bar to be placed on the 11th course.

As the courses rose less of the workers could be seen from the outside of the house. At the same time the temperature also went up. With little effort every worker soon was soaked with persperation.

The eye clinic was very busy helping 33 patients with exams, prescriptions were written and filled.

At the clinic salvation station 5 Christians requested baptism and 10 accepted Christ as Savior. Praise the Lord for His mercy.

Some of the children played ball. Lori was a big hit sharing the balloons with the children. Ron showed them what fun it was to blow one up and let it go to fly away.

Clinic workers walking back to the construction site with a new friend.

Our day was cut short by heavy rains about 1:00 pm.Though we were very wet from sweat and rain, the shower was a very welcome relief. Mike Green, Pastor Richard, Arnold and Beth took the clothes to the Garcia's house that the Youth group built last week. They were so excited! Thanks again for the hard work of the Youth Team. After dinner we went to Maxi Bodega (Honduran WalMart) for some shopping, then to Wendy's for a little refreshment.
By Jerry, Scott and Lori.

Eye Clinics Start/Construction Continues

This is a picture of Oscar, the first person to accept Christ during the Eye Clinic

Our day began early with the setting up of the Eye Clinic at the school in Las Cabezas.  The teachers of the school helped with registering the people who came for an eye exam.

Next the people moved to a waiting line where Mrs. Ginger reigned supreme.

Next they joined Lois and our translator, Gaby, to have their eyes checked and to address their eye concerns.  They addressed several cataracts, as well as some pterygiums and pingueculi.  This demonstrated the true need for sunglasses in this country as much more than a "cosmetic" treatment.  Please pray that these people can someday seek the treatment they truly need and be able to afford the surgery required.

Every person who came to the clinic was able to receive either glasses, sunglasses or eye drops to address their personal need.  The people who could benefit from glasses next joined Beth and Amanda to receive their glasses or sunglasses.

Finally, they went to the most important station, the "Salvation Station," where Sandy and our translator, Egla, told them about the love of Jesus who can help them see spiritually in the same way that glasses help them see physically.  We were overjoyed that 4 people came to know Jesus today and one more who already knew Him asked to be baptized too.  It was like Acts 9:17 in which Ananias says, "Jesus, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."  It was amazing!  We hope to see these and others be baptized in the local stream later this week!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, err construction site...

The rest of the group had been hard at work in the VERY hot sun continuting the work on the house (under the temporary supervision of Lori, since Sandy was at the Eye Clinic).  A lot was accomplished today. More than 9 rows of block are now up and they installed the windows and doors as well.  Mike and Ginger say that we are on target to finish the house as planned. 

We ask that you pray that this symbol will shine in this community in a tangible expression of God's love.  Also, please pray that the good weather will continue, although we would appreciate a little cloud cover.  Thank you for your prayer support.  It means so much to us as we continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Honduras.

Adios!  Beth (aka "Belita")

Sunday Services in Honduras June 26,2011

Today a first happened here in Honduras as we held church services in the yard of the family we are building the house for because there is no church in the area.  We arrived around 9 AM and loaded into the Toyota 4x4 because of the muddy road. 

Inspecting yesterday's work before the services began.

Our translators, Gabby and Egla taught the children simple songs in Spanish and English like Jesus Loves Me with the hand signs to go with it.  They helped translate the entire service and did a great job.

Scott read the scriptures Psalms 100:1-5, Lois did the children's sermon about the Eye Clinic on Monday and how she explained that before you have Jesus in your heart your vision is cloudy but after you accept Christ your vision is clear, and Arnold and Beth gave their testimonies.   

Pastor Richard gave the sermon from Luke about parables of saving the 1 lost of 100 with Egla translating.  We observed that the people were very observant during the sermon.  We started out with a few but as the service progressed it grew to about 80 people.  Richard commented that this was the first time that he preached from a cinder block.  God is Good! 

The children all had a great time singing songs, and interacting with the team.

After church, we all went back and changed clothes and headed to the beach for lunch and relaxation.  The food was great but it started raining during the meal and never stopped.  On a clear day you can see El Salvador and Nicaragua. 

Also for any family members expecting a call, due to telephone issues, we are unable to call for a day or two. 

Adios from Lori and Scott

Saturday June 25-New Day

Psalm 119:33 "Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statues!"

We were all very excited to start the new project with the new team today. We were up early and drove about half an hour to the worksite. We were greeted by broad smiles. Teamwork and flexibility were the words of the day. The small truck had to go back and forth down the bumpy mud road to bring the blocks,sand and mortar to the worksite. We started working by unloading the blocks from the truck. Great teamwork!

We let the lady of the house lay the first block. Beth Lockamy said the prayer of dedication. It's such a blessing to be a part of helping this lovely lady have a new home.

We started to work and everyone pitched in and worked very hard. Egla, one of our translator, was great at instructing all the newbies in block laying. We are blessed to have a new translator with our team her name is Gabby. She is along to help us in the eye clinic next week. Gabby went above and beyond the call of duty. She jumped right in and was awesome at laying block, smiling the whole time. Ron Miller was also right in there working away. Arnold Stoots carried the heavy buckets of mortar over to the construction site. Everyone had an opportunity to lay block. It was very rewarding to see the progress of the house. It was quickly coming together, then the time for flexibilty arose. We were out of blocks and waiting on the delivery. It turned out to be a great opportunity to explore the beautiful country side. Everything is beautiful and green. We also took a walk down a path about a mile to a beautiful stream with the mountains in the background. The children jumped in and enjoyed a nice swim. On the way back we took a short cut through a pasture with cattle, sheep and horse.  Sandy Tapley had a photo op with a beautiful little girl. Again it's such a beautiful country!

We also had a lovely and  flexibity time getting to know the children. I can hardly wait to help the children in the eye clinic on Monday. We were treated to lots of smiles this afternoon. The truck finally arrived with the blocks after Mike Greene tracked them down. We had a great start today with all of us newbies. We are looking forward to returning to Las Cabezas tomorrow for our outdoor church service in the morning. Keep us in your prayers as you are in our prayers!