Time Is Flying

People say "how time flies, when you are having fun."  If that is the case, I must be having lots of fun. 

Someone asked how long Marc and I had been in Honduras.  I answered 5 years.  Actually, it is a lot closer to six than five. 

This morning as I was giving the 6:00 a.m. medicine, I started to write 6: a.m. June 14.  How did it become July 1 and where did those two weeks go?

I am having fun, even with weeks like last week.  I love being a part of these kids' lives and I love having groups here.

Time is flying.  I hope we all make the best of every day and every opportunity before it flies right past us.

Shattered Lives

I was not, or am not, a perfect parent.   I am not meaning to judge because I have not walked in everyone's shoes.  With all my imperfections, I cannot understand a mom who would abandon two daughters and show up nine years later, only to say ,"I'll not be back.  I have other children to take care of."  I cannot understand a grandmother who allows her boyfriend to rape a 12 year old granddaughter.  I cannot understand a mom who abandons a 4 year old daughter and 2 slightly older sons and leaves them living by themselves for 6 months.  I cannot understand a dad, after his wife dies, selling his three daughters.  These children are shattered and broken. 

God, please pick up the broken pieces and put them together again.  Fill these lives with your cleansing and presence and power.  And, help me to love these children with patience and kindness.  Help to never become hardened to these stories.  There are so many.

Church Week

Last week was house week.  Fifteen houses were built.  Meaning fifteen families now have a roof over their heads.  A few houses are being built this week, too.  But this is church week.

The floor in the Ojojona church was very uneven and broken.  There were many places you did not want to put your chair because the chair could not sit on a level place.  Sunday afternoon the old floor was torn out. 
Monday some more work was done, but in true Honduran style, most of the day was spent waiting on the concrete, which never arrived.

This morning rebar was tied and laid.

A couple of hours later the concrete was being poured.

I hope to have a picture of the finished floor later in the week.

In the two hours in between the these two pictures, I drove to El Aguacatal, where a new church building is being built this week.

The church in El Aguacatal has been meeting outside of someone's home.  After Sunday morning services are over in Ojojona, Richard drives to El Aguacatal and has church again.  Matt has been helping him for the last several months.  They also visit and study up there on Thursday.  Bibles and Sunday school material were purchased recently.

It is about 45 minutes from Ojojona to El Aguacatal.  Forty five minutes over a bumpy, dusty, mountain road that climbs high above Ojojona.  I put the windows down and thoroughly enjoyed the bump, dusty mountain road with the wind blowing through my hair.  It was just what  I needed.

As I drove the views were spectacular,

and, perhaps, a bit unusual.

 Poor old horse.  He had quite a load.

Some of the switchbacks were a bit difficult to negotiate.

Not an Illinois cornfield, but a cornfield.

I realized why Matt does not get back on Sunday evening until 6:00 or later.  It was a long way up there.


One of the paradoxes of this country is that the beauty of the land hides the ugliness of the poverty.  But, you don´t have to look too far or too deep to find the ugliness of the poverty.

Finally, I saw a sign welcoming me to El Aguatacal.

And, then I soon saw the church building being constructed, three walls and a floor complete.

It will have a gabled roof.  And there will be Sunday school classrooms.

I am so thankful for Richard and Matt sharing the gospel in this mountain community and I am thankful for those building this church building.  I pray the people in El Aguacatal bring honor and glory to God's name.

Deaf Church

I love church.  I love to sing.  I love the fellowship.  I even love sitting with 23 kids.  But, as I enjoy worship, I watch Rosy.  She can´t understand one thing that is happening in church.  And, she is usually bored.  She is receiving no spiritual instruction.

I have been thinking for quite some time about taking her to town once a month to the deaf church.  I finally acted on that this morning and she and I left for church at 9:00 this morning. 

I am always impressed when anything in Honduras starts on time.  The singing is always very expressive in sign language.  I watched Rosy and she really got into the singing, much like I do when I am in church where I can sing.  People who are deaf don't bow their heads and close their eyes to pray.  The person praying does, but no one else would know what was being said if everyone shut their eyes and bowed their heads.

Almost every church in this country is full of women and few, if any, men.  This church was different.  It was full of men and few women. 

I know no sign language.  Therefore, I was quickly bored, as Rosy must be in church with us.  It is essentially silent.  The room is warm.  And, I haven´t had enough sleep in weeks.  I might have dozed off.

Rosy enjoyed church this morning and I am glad for that.

I can never go to town without needing to do a couple of errands.  Today was no exception.  From past experience, I know Larach and PriceSmart are the busiest places in town on Sunday.  Those are two places I had to go.  That took a while.

I really hope I can maintain the monthly trip to town to allow Rosy to worship in her language.  If she has to sit through our church 3 times a month, surely I can sit through hers once a month.

House Building

Karen, Nicole and I do not get to build many houses.  We stay plenty busy at Casa de Esperanza.  Today was Nicole's day off and she decided to take the girls to a job site.  Nicole knew she would not build much, if any. 

Emma Kate charmed everyone with her toothless grin.  Haley enjoyed the children that were hanging around.  Haley also got to hammer one nail as Poppy gently showed her how.

Isn't that sweet?

Haley never admits she is tired, but tonight she said building a house sure made her tired.  I think there might be some other tired people, too.

Week One Is Almost History

Week one of summer groups is winding down.  The first 13 leave tomorrow and everyone else leaves Friday.  It has been an amazing week and, I am quite sure, all the others will be just as amazing.

Groups from Texas, Oklahoma and Ohio have been.  Forty nine people have just about filled the mission house.  Fourteen houses will have been built.  Yesterday the groups from Oklahoma and Texas went on a field trip and built 3 houses down near the Nicaraguan border.  They left early, returned late and the temperature was hot.  And Matt lost a tire of his truck.  While he was driving it.  Praise God, Matt and John are ok and the car was repaired the same day.

Everyone went to the dump today, many for the very first time. 

The Casa kids were spoiled with Kentucky Fried Chicken and a movie.  Randy spoiled Fernando in a big way.  The Santa Ana youth group was treated to lunch and then played soccer with the Ohio group.  The hospital and blind school were visited.

And the ice cream in the store was huge hit.

Praise God for the work that was accomplished in his name.  

Terri

Break Time

Just because we opened the new mission house last week, does not mean every single detail is complete.  Friday night as it was time to open the store, sidewalks were being poured.  We used boards to get across.  Many other little details still have to be done. 

Today, the first ice cream order arrived.  I went to Ojojona and saw we had a small problem.  There was scaffolding in front of the store and the men were working on the ceiling of the porch.  When Dorian arrived, he told the men we had to get in the store.  They took enough of the scaffolding down that we could get into the store.  Then they all sat down.

I bought a whole freezer of ice cream and the guys on the ice cream truck loaded it in the freezer.  They slowly and carefully broke down each box.

After the freezer was loaded, I bought Haley an ice cream and I locked the store.  I politely said thank you and the men got up and began to reassemble their scaffolding.  I hope I made their day by allowing them to have an extra break.