February 18, 2009 - Fútbol a Hogar de Fe

Pics of both teams from the end of the game and a pic of Rodney and Brad bowing down to the winners. Their punishment for all the trash talking they had been doing leading up to the game.

February 18, 2009 - Fútbol a Hogar de Fe

Pics of the game. Yes Brad almost scored a goal. It took a great save by their keeper - se llama Victor (the enemy). Brad also was not afraid to resort to some "questionable" tactics when it became obvious the old guys couldn't keep up with young ones.

February 18, 2009 - Fútbol a Hogar de Fe

Today was the day of the big game. The Tios (house dads) and the gringos against the teenage boys. All of Faith Home was out to watch as we destroyed the jovenes (teenagers) by a score of 8 - 3. Oh, wait, maybe they had 8 and we had 3. Yea, I think that's the way it was. Sorry for the initial bad report on the score. Here are pics of both teams before the war begin.

February 18, 2009 - Firewood

Today our teammate (Sid) tells us about an incident that occurred earlier in the day. Sid was over at Saul's house and had parked his truck in front of the gate leading up the road to the Bible Institute - blocking the road to up to the Institute. While he is talking with Saul a white truck pulls up behind his truck and begins honking for Sid to move his truck. Sid didn't think they were honking at him because he didn't recognize the truck and therefore didn't think they would be wanting to drive up the road on our property.

A neighbor comes over a tells them that the guys in the truck are wanting to go up the road to the Bible Institute to get some firewood. Sid tells Saul he doesn't have a problem with them getting firewood. Saul says he doesn't think that would be a good idea because the guys in the white truck are SAME guys that stole the doors from some of our houses last December. The same guys the police arrested. Now that's some confidence. Coming back to place you got arrested for stealing from and just going to drive up the road as if you own it. !Muy interesante!

February 17, 2009 - Police Checkpoint

When you leave El Progreso to return to Faith Home they have a police checkpoint that you must pass through. They set up cones in the road and make you weave around the cones to get through. They seem to change the setup from day to day. This forces the vehicles to slow down and the police can flag the ones down they want to check to pull over to the side of the road. The other night as were passing through the obstacle course set up by the police David Willis (our teammate) and Brad decided the obstacle course is really the police's way of efficiently checking for drunk drivers. If you knock one of the cones over you have had too much to drink. No need for them to give you a breath test or walk the line. You've already been busted. Maybe the police in the States could look into this. It sure takes a lot less man power.

February 17, 2009 - Dolls

Today we went to El Progreso to check on some medicines that we will need for the medical clinic. The farmacia is owned by the doctor who we joined on the medical clinic a couple of weeks ago. It's in business district and when we FINALLY found a parking spot it was right in front of a place selling used baby dolls. Cindy loves baby dolls and has been wanting some for the house so when the girls come to the house they can play with them. We wound up paying 240 limpiras for two dolls. That's about $6.50 for used dolls. As we got in the truck we were commenting on the price being a little more than we expected. Then Cindy says "Well, at least were supporting the local rip-off economy." Probably had to be there to appreciate the comment. Sometimes, we wonder, who can afford to pay some of the prices we see? How can these stores sell enough stuff at some of these prices to survive? We weren't shopping where the gringos normally go to shop.

February 16, 2009 - Thoughts

Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-26 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

He also said in Matthew 10:37-39 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Man, so easy to read. So easy to say “yea, that’s what it’s about.” Then why are we hurting - missing our children, missing our granddaughter? Concerned about how they are doing. Concerned about missing their lives. Not being there for them.

How does this work with Jesus also saying in Matthew 11:29-30 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” At the moment, can’t say that we’re experiencing the easy yoke and the light burden. Seems to be just he opposite at the moment.

Denying yourself, taking up your cross, losing your life for His sake, loving Him more than your family, children, and grandchildren is not always easy. Perhaps that’s where these other verses come in:
Isaiah 26:8 - God's Name and Renown are to be the desire of our hearts
1 Corinthians 1:19-20 - As a Christian, we don’t belong to ourselves anymore but to God
2 Corinthians 5:15 - As Christians we are to live our lives for the one who gave His life for us and not live for ourselves anymore

Can’t say these verses are making it any easier, but they do make it more understandable.

February 15, 2009 - Results of Food Distribution

Tonight, at the service at the church in Tacamiche, a man was at the church who has only been there a couple of times before. He came to the food distribution at the church this past Friday and came back for the church service tonight. By the end of the service he became a new believer in Christ.

February 16, 2009 - Gate Duty

Ahhh. Life at Faith Home. This is Jose Pacheco (another of our teenagers) working as the guard at the front gate. It’s a tough life for them here - as you can see by the strenuous working environment our kids must endure here at Faith Home. He is also known as “Michael Jackson” to us because he likes to sing and one day was wearing a glove - only on one hand.

February 13, 2009 - Technical Assistance

Honduras or the States, it’s the same, the young kids teaching us older people how to use technology. Here is Jose Ricardo helping Cindy (and Brad but he was taking the pic so he couldn’t be “in” the pic) use bluetooth to transfer some pics from the computer to his cellphone.

Here is a short video of the food distribution at the church in Tacamiche. We had the people come to the church instead of going house to house. We did this because those who really needed the help were scattered throughout the community and going house to house would have been difficult.

February 13, 2009 - Food Distribution

Today we took the team to hand out some beans and rice in the communities around two of our churches. The pic with the group standing is actually at our church in Villa Italia with Pastor Raul (second from the left). The team went house to house giving each house 4 lbs of beans and 4 lbs of rice.

The other pics are from our church in Tacamiche. We did this a little different. The people came to the church where the gospel was presented and then the team handed out beans and rice to each family that was there.

February 12, 2009 - Movie Day

Another movie afternoon at the house. Today we had casa 5 over for a movie and snacks. They have never been to our house for a movie and one of the girls asked Cindy earlier this week when they could come over. Today was the day.

In the boys pic they are, sitting on the truck, from left to right: Javier, Dago, Christian (looking between the heads), Dixon, Victor(in the back), Carlos, Franklin, and Rahim (standing in front making the peace sign)

In the girls pic from left to right: Estefanie, Isabel, and Vanesa

February 12, 2009 - Jose Ricardo

This is Jose Ricardo. He is one of our transition kids (teenagers). We have a team here and they are short of help in the kitchen so Jose helped them one day. He thinks he wants to be a chef and really enjoyed helping prepare some meals for the team. Here he is with one of the desserts he made. Yes, we tried it, and it was very good.

February 11, 2009 - Med/Den Site

This is the pastor of the church on the left (Pastor Jorge Luis Trejo) and Dr. Reyes on the right.

February 11, 2009 - Med/Den Site

The church also has a school close by and they feed the kids (and some family members) who need help at this kitchen. They really seem to have a heart to help others. They told us they stopped feeding the kids for awhile because they didn't have enough money. But they felt they should be feeding them and so they began asking others to help support them and are now feeding them again.

February 11, 2009 - Med/Den Site

This the door to Dr. Reyes' clinic.

February 11, 2009 - Med/Den Site

This pic is Cindy and Saul negotiating for the use of the building. We got the price down to $5,000 and we can use the building for up to four days. Might need to increase the med/den team budget. (ok, maybe they weren't really negotiating - more discussing how the clinic will work best).

February 11, 2009 - Med/Den Site

The bottom pic is a separate room where we will probably have the children's church. The rest of the pics are the large room where the rest of us will be except for adult church which will most likely be held outside the building.

February 11, 2009 - Med/Den Site

Today we went to look at a the site for the Spring Medical team. It's at a local ministry in El Progreso. It is the place where one of the doctors from the medical clinic we went to last Sunday has his own clinic. It's a little different from what we normally do but we are excited to be establishing a relationship with and helping support a local ministry who has a heart to reach those who need help.

We are going to be one big happy family because it will be held in the church. The church is in a building that used to be a bakery and the church has moved in and torn down all the dividing walls in the church.

February 10, 2009

Pics from the birthday celebration in casa 3. Sorry didn't have the camera for the activities during the church service. The two girls in the pic being goofy are Luisa (on the left) and Suyapa (on the right). Two of our teenagers.

February 10, 2009

Today was Brad's birthday which he was trying to keep low-key. We have a team here so last night the team and the rest of the gringos went to the church service with the kids at Faith Home. Somehow the Tios (house parents) found out it was Brad's birthday. They made him come up front while they sang happy birthday to him. While they were singing happy birthday to him all the children and the house parents came up front and each one gave Brad a hug. It was really special.

After the service, house #3 with house parents Javier and Maria Jesus had us over for a little fiesta (celebration) for Brad's birthday. They had a small table set up with a table cloth, a plate of cookies, pepsi, and music. It was so nice. We celebrated with all the girls and the house parent's son Jessel. Once again, it was so special.

Here is a short video of the festivities.

February 8, 2009 - Medical Clinic

Sorry, forgot. Here is a short video of the clinic. All the sights and sounds.

February 9, 2009 Pastors Trip

They had to navigate some very muddy and difficult roads to reach one area. The other is just a pic of the beautiful scenery in parts of Honduras.

February 9, 2009 Pastors Trip

Arnaldo had never seen the ocean. So they took about a 45 minute detour to show him the ocean. He loved it. Miguel is on the left and Arnaldo is the right. Miguel also had the opportunity to show off his horse handling skills.

February 9, 2009 Pastors Trip

The pastors had a great trip visiting and encouraging the pastors in other areas of Honduras. Here are some pics. The church services and distribution of clothes, Sunday School materials, and candy.

February 8, 2009 - Medical Clinic

The people then went to the next available doctor. The gentleman in the red shirt with his back to the camera is Dr. Reyes. In the other pic the gentlemen in the white shirt seated on the left of the table is the another doctor (didn't get his name). And then Cindy with Dr. Galo.

February 8, 2009 - Medical Clinic

The lady with the microphone would call the next name on the list they along with their family members would pass through the curtain into the waiting area with the chairs.

February 8, 2009 - Medical Clinic

When we arrived at the church the church was already full of people and they were signing in by giving the man seated at the table their name and age.

February 8, 2009 - Medical Clinic

Cindy had made contact with a local Honduran doctor through Juan Bendect at the wood factory (for those who have been here you will know what we are talking about). Juan also owns the television station in El Progreso and the doctor has a show on the station. We had watched the doctor's program and on the show he seemed to be very nice and wanting to help people in the community. Cindy contacted him and he came to Faith Home and picked up some stuff we wanted to donate to someone who could use the stuff to help the community.

The doctor, Dr. Galo, invited us to come with him on the medical clinic he was holding in a local community on Sunday - which is today. So, we were excited to go and see what they do.

We arrived at his house about 9:00 am and waited for him to return from a local clinic where he was picking up supplies. While we were waiting two other doctors arrived along with a nurse (we think she was a nurse). A little later Dr. Galo arrived and a few minutes later another doctor arrived.

We loaded up in four vehicles (every doctor had their own vehicle because they each had to leave at different times) and off we went. We rode with Dr Galo and his body guard who was carrying both a rifle and a pistol. Another of the doctors had a body guard also. This is the life of people here who are successful financially. They are targets of kidnapping to be held for ransom. So, many have personal bodyguards that go with them everywhere they go.

We were curious to see how they ran their clinics and compare it to the way we do our clinics. It was interesting. It was held in a church. The church had a curtain hanging in the middle of the church to divide it into two sections. One section where the people would wait and the other section where the people would be seen by the doctors and receive any medicine the doctors prescribed.

Dr. Galo was in an area enclosed with sheets and the other three doctors just sat at tables in the middle of the room. The people sat at the tables with the doctors and the doctors tore off pieces of blank paper to write prescriptions. The people than took the paper to the table with the medicine. Got their stuff and left. The women were also able to see Dr. Galo as he is a gynecologist.

Cindy spent the day working with Dr. Galo and Brad observed how they did it and played with the kids.

February 5, 2009 - Preaching

Tonight, Cindy preached for the first time since we've been in Honduras. She did some in Spanish and some in English. Last Saturday one of the local Pastors asked Cindy if she would speak to the women in his church. Cindy wasn't real excited about speaking in public in English or Spanish, but agreed to do it. Later she realized the night he had asked her to preach was the a night when they have regular services. She would be speaking at a regular service. Now, she really wasn't happy.

The pastor and his family had us over for supper before the service - beans (frijolitos), eggs, crema, and fried chicken. It was good. Then we went to the service where Cindy did a great job. Saul was there to help interpret when Cindy was speaking in English.