Monday, July 28, 2014

A Lesson From Daniel

This morning I read the first four chapters of Daniel.  A story I have heard in Sunday school since I was a little child.  I know it by heart, but I really read it this morning. 

The story says as soon as the people heard all kinds of music, they were to fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  And those who refused would be thrown into a fiery furnace.  Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego (when I was a little girl, I thought that was To bed we go) refused to bow down to anything or anyone but their God, the one and true living God.  When Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he was furious and demanded the three men be brought before him.  He was so furious that he ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were bound and thrown into the furnace.

These three men should have died almost instantly.  But instead, the king could see not just three men walking around in the furnace, but four.  And the king knew it was their God protecting them.  They were removed from the furnace and not a single hair was even singed and they did not smell of smoke.

I am walking through the fire right now.  I wish I could say that I would not even be singed.  I just hope everyone around does not catch on fire.  I know my God is leading me through this.  I hope that people can see my God walking with me and holding my hand.   I may be singed and charred, but He will not be.


Sunday, July 27, 2014

Starkville Group

The group from Starkville, Mississippi is here.  I love the Starkville group.  Really, I love all the groups.  Someone from Starkville has been with us every single year since 2001 except 2009 during the political crisis when no one came.

Starkville has built some houses, been to the dump and to Casa.  One thing that Starkville does that no one else does is go to the prison.  They did that on Friday.  Yesterday, they worked all day long at Casa.  Some of them worked on the wall and some began painting the outside of the buildings, a much needed.  I was a bit jealous, as I love to paint.  At times,  I wanted to go yank one of those rollers from someone's hands and start painting.  A great stress relief.

A few of them patiently taught the kids how to scrub the wall and/or paint.  I was most impressed that someone would let Maryuri near bleach or paint.  Most of the group left for lunch at the cafe.  But four of them stayed to finish painting what they had begun.

At the end of a hard day's work, they took the children down to the fair.  The kids were so excited.  The group even rode the rides with the kids.  Perhaps, more of a labor of love than painting in the hot sun.

As usual, it has been a great time with Starkville and a lot of things have been accomplished.  But, it has been a hard week for them as well.  Thursday, there was a chainsaw accident and Parker cut his leg.  Nicole called me and said it wasn't too bad and the leg would not have to be amputated or anything like that.  It did require 40 stitches though.  And, then last night, after I crawled in bed around 11:45, my phone rang at 12:00.  It was Wesley saying Tony had had a seizure.  I jumped up and dressed.  I was picked up at the back gate and we rushed to the hospital, after to make our way through the late night rowdiness of the fair.

We arrived at the hospital at 1:00 a.m.  As always, we were seen immediately.  Around 2:00, John left and found us some Dr. Peppers in the middle of the night.  Was I ever glad for that.  Wesley and John and I dozed on and off through the early morning hours.  After an IV all night and a CT scan at 6:30 this morning, it was deemed we could come home.  Tony was to rest, take his medication, and not watch TV.  Since there is no TV in the mission house any way, this is  kind of a mute point.

It was a long, long night.  I was glad to get home and get some coffee, a shower and some clean clothes.  But, more than that, I was thankful that Tony is okay.

The Starkville group has three more days here.  Please pray for their safety and protection.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Ladies' Classes

Many exciting things are happening this summer while groups are here.  One thing that I am excited about is some ladies' classes and Bible studies.

Vickie Cubillos recently did a ladies' day in the churches in Los Pinos and Ojojona.  Both were well received.  The class in Ojojona was small because it was on Monday morning.  Even with the small numbers, Vickie was excited.  She said there was time for interaction from the ladies attending.

Some of the ladies' groups are starting a Bible study by our friend Michelle Goff called "Humano Y Santo".  The preachers' wives and other ladies are excited about  these studies beginning. 

There may soon be some other exciting ladies' events on the horizon.

My prayer is that many ladies will get to know God and each other better.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Haley's Big Day

Yesterday was Haley's birthday.  Five years old.  Seems like it was just last week that I was in Baton Rouge helping take care of her and her mommy. 

We had a full day of birthday partying.  Nicole told me to come to her house at 8:30 so that Haley could open presents before church.  At ten minutes before eight, my phone rang and Haley says,"Grammy, where are you?   I am ready to open presents."  I said , "Mommy told me 8:30."   I could Nicole in the background saying I did say 8:30.

Grammy arrived promptly at 8:30 and the birthday girl was ready to go.


 New gardening tools



 All my granddaughters like all things sparkly.



Emma's birthday was last week.  I decided to give my presents to both Emma and Haley on Haley's birthday.  I bought them carry-ons, or bags to bring to Grammy's house when they spend the night.  I was sure Haley would love hers.



I was surprised how much Emma loved hers.  She grabbed it and said, "bye-bye" and she was off.


Nicole told Emma she could not take it to church.  And Haley replied with, "why can't we take them to church?"  Nicole won that one.

Haley had to try on the new soccer shoes, soccer socks and shinguards.

Ready for the first soccer game, I mean church.  Haley won that one.

After church we went to Casa y Campo for a delicious lunch.









Nicole took Emmy home and put her down for a nap and then she came to Casa and started decorating for the party.  Haley wanted a Miñon party and thanks to many of our friends in the states, she had a huge Miñon party.  People brought Miñon plates, cups, table cloths, banners, games, everything.  Haley thought it was just perfect.



Then the party began.

There were miñons everywhere.






 A game, Tape the pocket on the miñion.


And then, the piñata.  Everyone got a turn at the piñata,


even the little ones.

The big kids swung hard.

 Mr. Miñion was pretty beat up and still would not turn loose of that candy.

Brayan went for the bottom of the piñata. 

Nicole put 13 pounds of candy in the piñata.  When it broke, candy went every where.  And, so did the kids.


Candles, cake and coke.  A great way to finish a special girl's birthday.

Emma had so much candy, I was sure she would never go to sleep, but tired won over candy.  Haley had a great day and was exhausted.




Thursday, July 17, 2014

Brayan Is Home

Brayan came home yesterday.  Praise God.  Thousands of prayers have been answered.

Friday evening when I saw him and heard the sounds he was making and saw him fighting for every breath, I was not sure I would ever see him smile again.  He knows us, talks to us, know he has a project due.  He not only is alive, there has been complete healing.  I cannot thank my God enough for this.

He was in pain last night and did not sleep well.  He was up and about more today.  

Friday he placed on oxygen and transported by ambulance to a Tegucigalpa hospital.  He was in the emergency room with three or four people at a time working on him.  He was in ·ER for almost five hours.  There were chest ex-rays, blood work, catheters, etc., etc., etc.    There were all kinds of meds and more chest x-rays and more oxygen.  There was a room from Friday night until Wednesday afternoon.  In the United States, this bill would have been astronomical.  In Honduras, it was well over $3000.00.  That does not sound so terrible.  But, we are a children's home without much reserve.  No one has ever missed a meal or not had school supplies.  Utility bills are always paid, but we operate from month to month.  And on a lot of faith.  

A $3000.00 medical bill is not ever in our budget.  And, trust me, we would have paid twice that to have Brayan home and healthy.  Just as God answered our prayers for healing, He will also answer our prayers to pay for it.  If you would like to help with Brayan's medical bills, no matter how large or how small, please send a check to Casa de Esperanza  P.O. Box 9222   Columbus, MS 39705.

I am already praising God for taking care of this.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Nicole, The Translator

We are having a great summer.  Different, but great.

All of us have had to step into roles to which we were not previously accustomed.  And, in most instances, that has gone well. 

Nicole speaks Spanish very well.  One role she has had to fulfill several times is that of translator.  Sometimes this is planned and sometimes she is the only one available and has to translate at the last minute.  Whether planned or not, Nicole has done a great job translating.

She has translated in clinics.  She had the opportunity to translate for our good friend, Billy Ferguson, at Lomas Diamonte.  One of our interns, Danny Jones, led the youth group in Santa Ana and Nicole got to translate for that.  She got to translate for Trey as he led a class on marriage in Ojojona. 

The summer is not over yet.  Who knows where else, and for whom, she might get the opportunity to translate.


Sunday, July 13, 2014

June Newsletter

CASA De ESPERANZA
Making a difference, one child at a time
P.O. Box 9222
Columbus, MS 39705
cdehonduras.org/casa.acklenavenue.com


Amigos de Casa,

Groups are coming and going weekly. Most of the kids love the groups. Our first outing was with Mike and Katy's group. They treated us to pizza. It was Fernando's birthday and he was treated to the dessert of his choice.

He was quite proud of himself for eating the whole thing. I was happy no one puked in the van either way.

Other groups have been hard at work on the property at Casa. From a picture, Timoteo and Luis drew the plans for an awesome playground. And, an awesome playground it is, indeed.


All of the kids are enjoying the new playground.

Other groups are hard at work on a new wall. Both TORCH and Honduras Hope groups are working on this wall. The old rock wall has to be torn down and the rocks hauled to another part of the property. Trees have to be cut down and stumps removed. This is often the most challenging part. Footers have to be dug, concrete mixed and block laid. This is a slow and laborious process. We can see progress each week.


 From both side of the gate, progress is being made. This project may have to continue through next summer.

In addition to the groups working on the property, some individual have been here to work with the children. Donna Griffith returned to teach some more sewing. All of the girls got to make headbands or bows for themselves. The older girls got to start using machines. They learned to make a pattern out of newspaper, use the machine, and sew a simple garment for themselves.

Katy and Lupe making headbands. 
 Reina wearing the finished product.
 Rosy pinning her pattern



  Ana cutting, sewing, and holding a finished garment.

A great big thanks to Donna and to Mi Esperanza for allowing us to use their sewing center.

Another area in which the kids learned something was gardening. Phoebe Cunningham and Cinthia Andrade taught the kids how to plant a garden.


Dorian fenced the garden and squash is already growing.

It is a pleasure for us to be here watching how God is growing this little garden of 23 children. He is doing amazing things in their lives.

If you are here building playgrounds and wall, teaching gardening and sewing, loaning a sewing center, or if you are praying for our kids, sponsoring them financially, or encouraging us and/or the children, we give you a great big thank you. We could not do what we do without you.

Please remember to pray for our children and for us.

If you have any questions concerning Casa de Esperanza, please email me at terriltindall@yahoo.com

Sincerely,


Terri Tindall