BBQ at HOLLY SPRINGS BAPTIST CHURCH - FRIDAY,APRIL 30th., 2010- PLEASE STOP BY FOR GREAT FOOD and FELLOWSHIP

BBQ Lunch / Dinner
FRIDAY APRIL 30, 2010 from 12:00 until 6:30 pm
HOLLY SPRINGS BAPTIST CHURCH
304 Raleigh Street ( Can be seen on Main Street across from the Town Hall )
Holly Springs, N.C. 27540
(919) 552-2591
Plates are $7.00 each and include:
BBQ Pork
Coleslaw
Potatoes
Bread
and Dessert
Proceeds go to help support us as we continue to serve as Missionaries here in Honduras

Very soon we will mark our second full year of service here on the mission field in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It has been the most amazing time of my entire life. As some of you might know we serve with a Christian Ministry that provides basic medical, dental, optical care, and medicine to Hondurans that live in extreme poverty. I would say "I Love My Job", but to me it is not a job at all. Every day God richly blesses me by allowing me to go out and serve Him. I see more and more how all of my life God was preparing me to be here, now. The talents, gifts, and life experiences all combined to make me ready to finally submit to God's Plan for my life. Serving Him here in Honduras.

God has been Calling me to do more than just the concrete floors I install through the ministry I serve with. In 2010 I am trying more and more to make myself completely available to God for anything and everything He leads me to do. I try to do all that God will do through me, say all that He will use me to say, go wherever He wants me to go. Without hesitation. My goal is to get to the point where every day I will get up and spend the entire day doing, going, saying, anything God will use me for that day.

We do many small things, but a big step was to make a commitment to help a young girl be able to go to school. Odalis is eleven years old and is at the third grade level. She is the oldest of five children. We had installed a concrete floor in her Home when we had a medical brigade at her Church last year. It was so nice to visit with them when we went back for another brigade this year. Odalis had not been doing good in school so her family no longer sent her. Most children in Honduras don't go to school at all. And most of the ones that do go, only complete the 6th grade. Most that don't go, don't go because their family can't afford the required school uniform and shoes. I felt we were supposed to help Odalis. First we took her to the medical brigade to see the optometrist. It turned out that she needed reading glasses. After getting her glasses, we got her school supply list and went shopping. We were able to buy everything on her list, shoes, and two sets of school uniforms. She enrolled in school and started the next Monday. I go back every couple of weeks and check on her progress. Odalis is a great example of someone who "took the ball and ran with it". She is doing great in school and loves it. She likes all of her classes, but mathematics is the hardest for her. Later we were able to get her a required physical education uniform and shoes. One day when we visited, she told us of how she was being so careful with the pair of glasses we got her before. She loves school so much, and she was afraid her glasses could get broken, and then she would no longer be able to see well enough to study. Next visit we took her two more pair. The last photo at the beginning of this article is of Odalis and her family in their Home. Odalis is in the brown and white stripped shirt. So far we have spent approx. $100.. I know she will need a few more items, maybe another pair of shoes, etc., but can you imagine your child not being able to go to school because of the lack of $100.? For the entire year?

This past week we did not have a medical brigade so I spent my time working on other projects I felt God leading us to do. We went to the Home of Odalis and installed a concrete floor in another small room that they added on to their Home in the past year. All together eight people live in the Home that measures approx 20' X 10 '. One of the walls in the newer section is cardboard. Odalis has a sister that could start school next year. A little more than $200. would make it possible for them both to be in school next year.

Another project was to build what is called a Pila. It is an open topped tank made of concrete. A washboard is built into one end so they can dip water from the tank and wash clothes. And that is where they store all their water. Many people we help only have barrels to hold water. There is no water system in that neighborhood and people get water from trucks that come by and sell it. The lady of the house is Jackie Patricia Rodriguez. She is a 37 year old widow with NINE daughters. Ages are 18 months to 20 years old. Her husband and father to all of the girls died ten months ago from cancer. I was so touched when I went into her Home to install a concrete floor. I knew God wanted us to do more. A Pila is a prized possession here. For a typical family with a barrel, that means having to wait for a truck every couple of days to buy more water. If the trucks can't drive to your home, you need at least two barrels. One out on the street to put the water in when you buy it. And another barrel at Home. The truck fills the barrel on the street. Then you have to carry the water to your Home in buckets, by hand. Not to mention you had to carry the first barrel out to where the truck could get to it. Then carry it back Home empty after you have carried all the water Home. That is if you have money to buy water. Many people carry it from streams, creeks, or rivers. Trucks can get close enough to Jackie's Home to reach her new Pila. We built it big enough to hold SIX barrels of water. That means instead of having to go out to get water every day or two, she and her daughters have the peace of mind of knowing they have enough water to last them several days, even if the trucks don't come. Also with the washboard that is built into the Pila, she no longer has to wash her clothes on the big rock that she used before. The second and third pictures above are of Jackie with her girls, and one of the Pila as it is almost ready. The 15 year old in front with the pink shirt is Kenya. Kenya is physically/mentally challenged. I love how she always looks into your eyes and smiles so beautifully. I feel I am looking into the face of an angel when I see her. There is still work that I would love to do at their Home. We already installed a concrete floor in part of the Home, but it would take approx. $300. worth of materials to finish the whole Home.

The Pila was our most expensive project so far, at just over $300. We learned some valuable lessons on this, our first one, so I know we can do others for less.

Another family I felt lead to help lives in one of the three worst Homes I have been in in Honduras (as far as living conditions). They were using the bathroom in a bucket or newspaper, and throwing it out with the trash. A sewer pipe went into their Home, but they couldn't afford the plumbing, toilet, etc. to be able to use it. This past week we purchased and installed everything. Including having to raise the floor in that area approx. 12" to cover the plumbing. In their neighborhood they only receive water every third day. They only have one barrel and because of where the house is, there is no room for another barrel. I would love to be able to put a raised water tank there for them so they could have water every day (water for everything including being able to flush the toilet). It will probably cost close to $250., so we can't do that right now. But I hope we can in the near future. We also installed some new tin on an area of the roof to help keep it from raining in the Home. The top photo is of the family.

For every person Called to the Mission Field, God also Calls those who are to support them. Every project above was made possible by people who answered Gods Call to them to help spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in Honduras. And to help demonstrate Gods Love through fellowship, and works.

After months without updating here, there is much more to tell. I will work on it more this afternoon, but need to go for now. Please keep us in your prayers. Thank You.

Relationships are a big part of life in Honduras. Good relationships are very important. We see it every day as whole families work togethe