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For other pictures, click http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024031&l=2801d&id=156800196
Hi! It's very exciting to write my first update from Rancho Ebenezer. I would first like to say thank you for all of the prayers and support that has brought me here. I have seen over the past year God take all of the worries I had about being able to come, put them in a box, and throw them out the window. He has taken what I thought would be such a difficult thing for me personally, and has since used people from all over to make this happen effortlessly, as it now seems. Leaving everything behind, letting go of old responsibilities and taking on new ones seemed so uncomprehendable, but now, I sit here in the reality that all things are possible with God.
I had been warned numerous times about the landing in Tegucigalpa, and I tell you that nothing can prepare you for what is definitely the most exhilirating airplane ride and landing anywhere in the world. Our plane literally circled the city about 3 times, getting closer and closer to the ground, and as we were still making our last turn into the runway, the plane touched down. Immediately the brakes hit, thrusting us forward in the seats, and for what seemed like an eternity, we stopped. As I had been told, you can look down from your window and see the end of the runway as the plane turns to taxi back to the gate. As I was clapping like the other Hondurans for our safe landing, I was thankful that the trip had been without accident.
I, along with two other of the new teachers, made our way off the plane, through baggage claim, through customs, and out the door. I quickly realized just HOW difficult it would be not knowing a lot of Spanish. Thankfully, I now have some cd's to use and learn from. The first two people we meet were the ranch hostess and the spiritual leader of RE (rancho ebenezer). They helped us exchange some cash for lemps (lempiras), and proceeded to take us to a local chicken place for lunch. We had a nice time chatting over lunch, and at the same time I was anxious to see some of the surroundings and make it to RE.
The ride up and over the mountain to RE was not as treacherous as I had expected, which was wonderful. The road actually travels pretty well, except that it is a one lane road and sometime passing can be interesting. After our arrival at RE, we had most of the afternoon to unpack and unwind. I am very happy with my room. It is very nice. The houses here ALL have tin roofs, which is wonderful, because it rains alot, which makes for very peaceful nights sleeping. The Schultz family invited us for dinner at their house, and we ate wonderful Ravioli with sauce, along with a great salad. I also played 'in house' soccer with their son. They are a great family and I'm looking forward to working with them.
Friday, my first full day on the ranch, was a little busy. We had a meeting most of the morning with one of WGO's advisors, then after running some errands around the ranch I rested. Some of the other teachers hosted us newbies for dinner. They are wonderful to get to be around and no to mention great cooks. They made us pizza, and was some of the best pizza i've eaten. Afterwards we played a game called Apples to Apples. It was a lot of fun.
I forgot to mention earlier that while at the Schultz's house, the transformer that feeds electricity to the ranch blew. Apparently that happens a lot here since they started to run the generator within minutes after the outage. We were phoned to let us know that the generator would be shut off at 930 until around 7 the next morning, and it has been that way so far. So nevertheless, the ranch has had a built in "bedtime alarm" for several nights now.
Saturday I went with some other guys and a couple of the ranch kids to the city to a local church. One of the guys from the ranch was asked to play trumpet in a concert to raise money for that church. They had a lot of setting up and preperation to do, so the day was kinda slow, but it was all very much worth it. The concert was all in Spanish but I could not have cared less. The music and singing was phenomenal, and the instrumentalists pulled off an amzing concert. I also got to hang out with a few of the ranch kids during the day and the concert, and that was really fun.
Yesterday we went to Union Church in the city. It was a very nice church and I enjoyed getting to meet a lot of new people. It is fun to see a lot of missionaries come together from alot of different ministries to the same place. I even met a couple that are here for a week from Dothan, AL!!! After the service we went to a local mall. It was a very nice place with a LOT of American influence. Actually, most of the city has evidence of American culture on almost every corner. A lot of WGO staff met their together, and we had a great time eating and chatting. After lunch we got to go on our first shopping experience. The grocery store was actually very nice, and had a pretty good selection. I got to shop with a couple of the other new teachers and we had a fun, yet interesting time strolling the aisles looking for items. We made it back to the ranch safely, and after unloading my things, I made my way to the soccer field to watch a game between the ranch players and the visiting american team here for the week. Needless to say, the ranch players usually beat the americans, as was the case.
Last night I had a great time hanging out with the other new teachers and watching a movie. And as usual, at 930 it was time to go home for the power to be shut off. I have learned to carry my flashlight with me when I go out for the night. It's not that far walking from house to house, but in pitch black it helps to have the aid of a light.
I have heard that most of the power in the area has been restored, but that they are having to do some work here on the ranch itself before we'll have it back on for sure.
Some of the most fun I've had so far is taking pictures. There have been a lot of great photo opportunities and I have done my best to get some good shots. Today the new teachers and I took a pretty good hike to a pond nearby. The hike wasn't as far as it was steep. The others were very patient with me getting up there, but it was well worth it and I thank them for their patience. We saw a lot of beautiful plants and flowers and wildlife. I'm putting some of those pictures on facebook, and will post the link to view them at the end of this post.
This week doesn't have a whole lot of things planned, as our teacher training doesn't start until a week from today. I'm thinking we'll have lots of movie nights and adventures around the ranch.
I will say that I am having a blast. Getting to know the others and getting oriented with the city and the ranch is a lot of fun, along with learning some more spanish. God is already teaching me so much. We are lucky enough to have running water and electricity here, and even internet access to an extent. However, there are so many things that it is exciting to learn to live without. I can see already how much I am going to learn from the others here, and how much closer to God I will become, and am already becoming.
I've read Galatians a few times over the past couple of days. One of the main emphasis in Galatains is Paul warning them about false teachings, and how any other gospel than the one he has shared with them is not the gospel at all. There is a lot of that here in the city. SOOO many people seem to have misconceptions about who Christ is and what we as Christian witnesses are trying to teach. Please pray for the people of this city and this area that their hearts will be softened and open to the truth.
There is so much work to be done here and I am excited to be a part of it. I want to close with thanking you also for your prayers for my family dealing with the loss of my grandmother. I think I have handled it well so far, but the reality of it still catches me every now and then. I know my grandfather is devestated and is in need of prayer.
To all of you- family, friends, supporters, churches- I love you all. Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to do so. I will be excited when I will have more news about people's lives being changed, but I can tell you mine is already being affected. God is at work and I am blessed to be a part of this ministry.
Here are some pictures I have taken over the past few days. Enjoy!
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024031&l=2801d&id=156800196
With love,
Jesse Tiner
I had been warned numerous times about the landing in Tegucigalpa, and I tell you that nothing can prepare you for what is definitely the most exhilirating airplane ride and landing anywhere in the world. Our plane literally circled the city about 3 times, getting closer and closer to the ground, and as we were still making our last turn into the runway, the plane touched down. Immediately the brakes hit, thrusting us forward in the seats, and for what seemed like an eternity, we stopped. As I had been told, you can look down from your window and see the end of the runway as the plane turns to taxi back to the gate. As I was clapping like the other Hondurans for our safe landing, I was thankful that the trip had been without accident.
I, along with two other of the new teachers, made our way off the plane, through baggage claim, through customs, and out the door. I quickly realized just HOW difficult it would be not knowing a lot of Spanish. Thankfully, I now have some cd's to use and learn from. The first two people we meet were the ranch hostess and the spiritual leader of RE (rancho ebenezer). They helped us exchange some cash for lemps (lempiras), and proceeded to take us to a local chicken place for lunch. We had a nice time chatting over lunch, and at the same time I was anxious to see some of the surroundings and make it to RE.
The ride up and over the mountain to RE was not as treacherous as I had expected, which was wonderful. The road actually travels pretty well, except that it is a one lane road and sometime passing can be interesting. After our arrival at RE, we had most of the afternoon to unpack and unwind. I am very happy with my room. It is very nice. The houses here ALL have tin roofs, which is wonderful, because it rains alot, which makes for very peaceful nights sleeping. The Schultz family invited us for dinner at their house, and we ate wonderful Ravioli with sauce, along with a great salad. I also played 'in house' soccer with their son. They are a great family and I'm looking forward to working with them.
Friday, my first full day on the ranch, was a little busy. We had a meeting most of the morning with one of WGO's advisors, then after running some errands around the ranch I rested. Some of the other teachers hosted us newbies for dinner. They are wonderful to get to be around and no to mention great cooks. They made us pizza, and was some of the best pizza i've eaten. Afterwards we played a game called Apples to Apples. It was a lot of fun.
I forgot to mention earlier that while at the Schultz's house, the transformer that feeds electricity to the ranch blew. Apparently that happens a lot here since they started to run the generator within minutes after the outage. We were phoned to let us know that the generator would be shut off at 930 until around 7 the next morning, and it has been that way so far. So nevertheless, the ranch has had a built in "bedtime alarm" for several nights now.
Saturday I went with some other guys and a couple of the ranch kids to the city to a local church. One of the guys from the ranch was asked to play trumpet in a concert to raise money for that church. They had a lot of setting up and preperation to do, so the day was kinda slow, but it was all very much worth it. The concert was all in Spanish but I could not have cared less. The music and singing was phenomenal, and the instrumentalists pulled off an amzing concert. I also got to hang out with a few of the ranch kids during the day and the concert, and that was really fun.
Yesterday we went to Union Church in the city. It was a very nice church and I enjoyed getting to meet a lot of new people. It is fun to see a lot of missionaries come together from alot of different ministries to the same place. I even met a couple that are here for a week from Dothan, AL!!! After the service we went to a local mall. It was a very nice place with a LOT of American influence. Actually, most of the city has evidence of American culture on almost every corner. A lot of WGO staff met their together, and we had a great time eating and chatting. After lunch we got to go on our first shopping experience. The grocery store was actually very nice, and had a pretty good selection. I got to shop with a couple of the other new teachers and we had a fun, yet interesting time strolling the aisles looking for items. We made it back to the ranch safely, and after unloading my things, I made my way to the soccer field to watch a game between the ranch players and the visiting american team here for the week. Needless to say, the ranch players usually beat the americans, as was the case.
Last night I had a great time hanging out with the other new teachers and watching a movie. And as usual, at 930 it was time to go home for the power to be shut off. I have learned to carry my flashlight with me when I go out for the night. It's not that far walking from house to house, but in pitch black it helps to have the aid of a light.
I have heard that most of the power in the area has been restored, but that they are having to do some work here on the ranch itself before we'll have it back on for sure.
Some of the most fun I've had so far is taking pictures. There have been a lot of great photo opportunities and I have done my best to get some good shots. Today the new teachers and I took a pretty good hike to a pond nearby. The hike wasn't as far as it was steep. The others were very patient with me getting up there, but it was well worth it and I thank them for their patience. We saw a lot of beautiful plants and flowers and wildlife. I'm putting some of those pictures on facebook, and will post the link to view them at the end of this post.
This week doesn't have a whole lot of things planned, as our teacher training doesn't start until a week from today. I'm thinking we'll have lots of movie nights and adventures around the ranch.
I will say that I am having a blast. Getting to know the others and getting oriented with the city and the ranch is a lot of fun, along with learning some more spanish. God is already teaching me so much. We are lucky enough to have running water and electricity here, and even internet access to an extent. However, there are so many things that it is exciting to learn to live without. I can see already how much I am going to learn from the others here, and how much closer to God I will become, and am already becoming.
I've read Galatians a few times over the past couple of days. One of the main emphasis in Galatains is Paul warning them about false teachings, and how any other gospel than the one he has shared with them is not the gospel at all. There is a lot of that here in the city. SOOO many people seem to have misconceptions about who Christ is and what we as Christian witnesses are trying to teach. Please pray for the people of this city and this area that their hearts will be softened and open to the truth.
There is so much work to be done here and I am excited to be a part of it. I want to close with thanking you also for your prayers for my family dealing with the loss of my grandmother. I think I have handled it well so far, but the reality of it still catches me every now and then. I know my grandfather is devestated and is in need of prayer.
To all of you- family, friends, supporters, churches- I love you all. Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to do so. I will be excited when I will have more news about people's lives being changed, but I can tell you mine is already being affected. God is at work and I am blessed to be a part of this ministry.
Here are some pictures I have taken over the past few days. Enjoy!
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2024031&l=2801d&id=156800196
With love,
Jesse Tiner
3 comments:
Glad to hear things are going well Jesse. We miss you and love you! Read Galatians at least thirty days in a row, over and over. Thats my challenge to you...love you man.
Jesse,
I glad things are going well. Good Luck, and our prayers are with you daily.Do you need any Band Uniforms? I have some I can send ( our old ones). Just wondering. It s amazing how God can completely remove you from your comfort zone, and it be one of the best blessings ever. The pictures are beautiful. I'm looking forward to you blogs.
Wendy Etter
Hey Moose! By the way, you need to learn Moose in spanish. lol It is so good to hear from you. I have to tell you, I really miss ya. I am so proud of you for taking this step of faith. You are such an inspiration to all of us. I know God will bless you! I will continue to pray for you. Love ya man!
War Eagle!
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