Hello again! I hope you get enough of this week’s highlights and please go view the awesome pictures taken by yours truly--- well, mostly.
PICTURES
SOCCER TOURNAMENT
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026798&l=13660&id=156800196
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026829&l=77312&id=156800196
CONCRETE FLOOR
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026855&l=293ba&id=156800196
For past posts and pictures, visit: http://jthonduras.blogspot.com
NEWS
LORD WILLING IF THE CREEK DON’T RISE
Well, that’s just what we dealt with this past Sunday. To get up and down the mountain road you have to cross over two small creeks that we found out are only small when it doesn’t rain a lot. Last week we received TONS of rain which led to some mud slides and a massive rise in the water level in these two places on the road. We were on “yellow” alert Sunday morning as some guys went down early to check to see if the road was passable or not. Thankfully, the water was not too high for us to cross and we were able to go to the city for church and the soccer tournament.
SOCCER TOURNAMENT
This past Sunday afternoon, our car load left Union Church and followed the caravan that took us to an awesome Soccer tournament. The tournament was held at a soccer field near Valley of the Angels, or Valle de Angeles. One of the local ministry leaders had put together the tournament that consisted of six teams. The teams consisted mostly of different churches in the area, both English and Spanish speaking, and also a team from one of the children’s orphanages here in Teguc. The team from Union tried hard, but I think they lost both games. I was their to watch, laugh, and take pictures, so I didn’t play. However, I can’t help but to mention the team from the children’s orphanage. They were PHENOMINAL. These kids work very hard at playing soccer and have an awesome understanding of team work, fair play, and dedication.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The community outreach program is a huge success. We didn’t have many more kids this week, but I think there were several new adults. Two of the adults there this week were a couple most likely in their 40’s, learning to read together at a 3rd grade level. There seemed to be many other new adults also, and our kids are doing a wonderful job at being a help.
The kid’s Bible club this week was all about the parable of the Sower and the seeds. Before we got into the story, we had an awesome time of music with the kids. The songs are really easy for them to sing and they love shouting out the words and doing the hand motions that go along. After music we divided the kids into groups and gave them all cups and helped them plant their own seeds. This was a great segue way into the story of the bad seeds and the good seeds. We explained the parable how it is told first in the Bible, and then with the kids pretending to be seeds in different soil, we acted out how Jesus explained what the parable meant. I love watching the community kids because they are so attentive to what is going on.
This week we also gave all of the kids name tags, and are hoping they will bring them back with them next week along with their seed in the cup. The name tags were a huge help in getting to know the kids, and we are hoping that they watered their seeds and that they have sprouted when they come back.
The Ranch kids are doing great in helping. It is our goal through this program to train our students here at the Ranch how to minister to their own people in these local communities. We feel that to be very important and are trying more and more to get other Ranch children involved in the program. So far they seem to be enjoying it and we have more students each week wanting to participate. WHOO HOO!!!
CONCRETE FLOOR MINISTRY
Today was an awesome day to be in Honduras. This morning we left the Ranch about 8 and headed down to one of the homes near the church where we do the community program. The home, very typical of most houses here, is a new home belonging to a lady named Mrs. Petulia and her two children. As you can see from some of the photos, the home is made from adobe clay and pine straw, has a dirt floor, and the only concrete is the beam at the corner of the porch--- well, until day. Because Mrs. Petulia is a friend to so many here on the Ranch, and is such a blessing to WGO, many of WGO’s missionaries gave their money and time to make a concrete floor possible for her new home.
At least 20 missionaries with WGO came this morning to put forth some amazing effort and hard work. We were fortunate to have a cement mixer available, and this made the project possible to complete by 12:30 in the afternoon. Me and several of the other workers were responsible for loading shovels of sand and rock into the mixer, and after it was mixed, other workers came with wheel barrows and loaded them with the concrete to take in a pour onto the floor. Mr. Mark and several of the other “professionals” then smoothed the concrete in this new home. Since we had SO many people helping, we also had several people cleaning up her yard, cutting the grass and weeds, and even helping make a new flower bed on one corner of her house.
After we had finished the work, we all gathered around Mrs. Petulia and her family and had a time of encouraging words for them as well as a time of prayer. Truly, it was a blessing to be a part of this day.
While this was the first time for several of us to lay a concrete floor, for Mark Hardin and several of the other guys, this is almost an every day job. The concrete floor ministry is a great tool that WGO uses to reach people by meeting a very practical need for these Hondurans and presenting the gospel message. On top of that, these guys usually do not have the luxury of an on site concrete mixer, and therefore mix all of the concrete by hand in buckets and wheel barrows at the site. These guys are dedicated to this very hard work and are an awesome example of being willing to do whatever it takes to make a difference.
THE OTHER STUFF
Not too many other highlights from the week. The kids are doing great in school and it is just awesome to see God working in their lives in such a mighty way. I definitely believe these kids are being raised with the idea of preparing them to be productive members of their culture.
With all of these things going on, I get more and more anxious to share everything personally with all of my churches and friends over the month of December. It will be an amazing time!!!
We found out a few days ago that the container shipment has left Texas and should be arriving on the north coast today. From there, it will take anywhere from 1-3 weeks to get through customs before it can be driven here to the Ranch. Everyone is looking forward to it because it’s so much like getting tons of presents.
Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support and e-mails. I’m glad to know that Handley may have a winning football season finally!!! I’m also excited that the band now has their new uniforms. I hope they look sharp and I would love for someone to send me some pictures of you guys! Good luck with the rest of the season.
God bless you all!!!
-Jesse Tiner
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
But wait... there's more!
Hello out there! I received lots of e-mails responding to last week’s update. I am very glad that you guys enjoyed the pictures and the other info. I am in the process of responding to those e-mails asap. E-mails from home do the heart good, so keep them coming! This week did not seem quite as eventful as last week, but it was fantastic nonetheless. Our group Bible study is going well and the community outreach program is doing awesome.
PICTURES! http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026565&l=a765d&id=
The New House is awesome… we are really enjoying the extra space. We do not have a tv there, so that is an adjustment, but we do get to watch movies on our computers, which comes in at a close 2nd to tv. Jokingly, we have an entertainment donation box where we would like for a tv to be, and so far we have about 10 lemps, or 50 cents… hmmmm.
Group Bible Study with all of the singles and some of the married couples is going great. The study is through the book of the Song of Solomon, and is a great thorough look at courtship and dating. I truly wish I had been through this a LONG time ago. It is a great study for any singles, but especially teenagers. Each night we watch a 20-30 segment on DVD and then have a discussion. Most nights we split up into guys and gals, but this week we joined together for our discussion over what is expected at certain stages of a relationship, what commitments are at certain stages, and proper lengths of time of dating, courtship, engagement, and marriage. It was a pretty neat discussion to be a part of.
Also, Mrs. Kymm cooks for us on Bible Study nights. She is a wonderful cook!!! This week we had enchiladas and they were delicious. Makes me miss home cooking-- that is to say, Old Mexico (Geneva humor).
The Community Programs are absolutely incredible. This week we had about 10 more kids and I think someone said 6 more adults. The story for this week with the kids was The Prodigal Son. It is one of my favorites and I got to be the son’s father when we acted it out. This week we were allowed to bring more of the ranch students to help us with the program, so two of the students acted to be the two sons from the story. Our goal in the program is not only for ourselves to be involved, but to teach the students at the ranch how to use their gifts to be an active part of helping their community. As time goes on, we hope to have more students participate in this area of the ministry in every way- from leading prayer to playing the music and helping to plan the week’s lesson.
Please look at and enjoy the pictures from this week. These are some of the most adorable children you have ever seen and they are so fun to watch because they love to participate. It makes me think of times back home when it was difficult to get students to participate in different things. I would love for them to see these kids because the simplest of activities means so much to these children here. They listen so intently to the message that is being shared, they sing so loud during songs, and they are so eager to share prayer requests when we are getting ready to pray. Most of them request prayer for their parents and grandparents. It is usually because they are sick or because they need work. This time of sharing with the community kids is so much fun! We continually pray for more and more kids and adults to come to the program. It would be awesome to see this continue to expand.
School has also been going terrific. This week finished up our 8th week in school this year and finishes up the mid-semester tests. I am very excited that none of my students have below a C average in any class, and there are only a couple of those, and in very tough subjects. I know it is hard to think about someone without a degree to teach core subjects in the states teaching those subjects, but here that is better than most anywhere else in Honduras. For me, Grammar has been the hardest thing to try and teach. I love teaching Math but in my Geometry class I am having to teach proofs, and that has been a challenge, but I am starting to enjoy them. I can remember back to my school days and how much I disliked proofs in math. Anyhow, my students are doing really well and I am very, very proud of them all!
I apologize because I do not have pictures from anything else this week. I discovered on Sunday that my memory stick for my camera has gone bad, and will not work any more in my camera. So, while we were in town Sunday, I went ahead and bought a new one that was not as large as my other one because they are more expensive here, but it was big enough for what I needed. Well, Monday morning I start to open the box that I thought the stick was in and there was no stick, anywhere! I tore the box to shreds trying to find it with no luck… and then I see it… in really small letters at the top of the box it says, “Take to cashier,” which meant that the cashier was supposed to take the box and give me the memory stick… and he didn’t… and I had no idea I was supposed to because I had not seen the message. So, right now, I have an expensive shredded box in a plastic bag with the receipt, and I can only hope that they will still give me the memory stick. Sometimes they will take advantage of us foreigners, so I’m hoping I will be fortunate. So, my lesson for you this week, is if you are ever in Honduras, read the fine print or you may end up with a very expensive styrofoam and cardboard box.
This week has spiritually been an amazing week. I continually feel very blessed to be here with these people, and I am only here because of the support of so many of you. Because of the need to find new teachers for next year if needed, and to start their process, we are being asked to make a decision by November 15 on whether we will stay a second year or not. I feel very strongly about staying here for at least another year and ask you to join me in prayer over this decision. If I do stay, it will mean raising support again for a second year, and asking churches and individuals to continue support. Please be considering this over the next month or so as so many things are being considered, including being away from family and friends for an entire year possibly.
THANK YOU for your love and kindness. God Bless!
-Jesse Tiner
PICTURES! http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026565&l=a765d&id=
The New House is awesome… we are really enjoying the extra space. We do not have a tv there, so that is an adjustment, but we do get to watch movies on our computers, which comes in at a close 2nd to tv. Jokingly, we have an entertainment donation box where we would like for a tv to be, and so far we have about 10 lemps, or 50 cents… hmmmm.
Group Bible Study with all of the singles and some of the married couples is going great. The study is through the book of the Song of Solomon, and is a great thorough look at courtship and dating. I truly wish I had been through this a LONG time ago. It is a great study for any singles, but especially teenagers. Each night we watch a 20-30 segment on DVD and then have a discussion. Most nights we split up into guys and gals, but this week we joined together for our discussion over what is expected at certain stages of a relationship, what commitments are at certain stages, and proper lengths of time of dating, courtship, engagement, and marriage. It was a pretty neat discussion to be a part of.
Also, Mrs. Kymm cooks for us on Bible Study nights. She is a wonderful cook!!! This week we had enchiladas and they were delicious. Makes me miss home cooking-- that is to say, Old Mexico (Geneva humor).
The Community Programs are absolutely incredible. This week we had about 10 more kids and I think someone said 6 more adults. The story for this week with the kids was The Prodigal Son. It is one of my favorites and I got to be the son’s father when we acted it out. This week we were allowed to bring more of the ranch students to help us with the program, so two of the students acted to be the two sons from the story. Our goal in the program is not only for ourselves to be involved, but to teach the students at the ranch how to use their gifts to be an active part of helping their community. As time goes on, we hope to have more students participate in this area of the ministry in every way- from leading prayer to playing the music and helping to plan the week’s lesson.
Please look at and enjoy the pictures from this week. These are some of the most adorable children you have ever seen and they are so fun to watch because they love to participate. It makes me think of times back home when it was difficult to get students to participate in different things. I would love for them to see these kids because the simplest of activities means so much to these children here. They listen so intently to the message that is being shared, they sing so loud during songs, and they are so eager to share prayer requests when we are getting ready to pray. Most of them request prayer for their parents and grandparents. It is usually because they are sick or because they need work. This time of sharing with the community kids is so much fun! We continually pray for more and more kids and adults to come to the program. It would be awesome to see this continue to expand.
School has also been going terrific. This week finished up our 8th week in school this year and finishes up the mid-semester tests. I am very excited that none of my students have below a C average in any class, and there are only a couple of those, and in very tough subjects. I know it is hard to think about someone without a degree to teach core subjects in the states teaching those subjects, but here that is better than most anywhere else in Honduras. For me, Grammar has been the hardest thing to try and teach. I love teaching Math but in my Geometry class I am having to teach proofs, and that has been a challenge, but I am starting to enjoy them. I can remember back to my school days and how much I disliked proofs in math. Anyhow, my students are doing really well and I am very, very proud of them all!
I apologize because I do not have pictures from anything else this week. I discovered on Sunday that my memory stick for my camera has gone bad, and will not work any more in my camera. So, while we were in town Sunday, I went ahead and bought a new one that was not as large as my other one because they are more expensive here, but it was big enough for what I needed. Well, Monday morning I start to open the box that I thought the stick was in and there was no stick, anywhere! I tore the box to shreds trying to find it with no luck… and then I see it… in really small letters at the top of the box it says, “Take to cashier,” which meant that the cashier was supposed to take the box and give me the memory stick… and he didn’t… and I had no idea I was supposed to because I had not seen the message. So, right now, I have an expensive shredded box in a plastic bag with the receipt, and I can only hope that they will still give me the memory stick. Sometimes they will take advantage of us foreigners, so I’m hoping I will be fortunate. So, my lesson for you this week, is if you are ever in Honduras, read the fine print or you may end up with a very expensive styrofoam and cardboard box.
This week has spiritually been an amazing week. I continually feel very blessed to be here with these people, and I am only here because of the support of so many of you. Because of the need to find new teachers for next year if needed, and to start their process, we are being asked to make a decision by November 15 on whether we will stay a second year or not. I feel very strongly about staying here for at least another year and ask you to join me in prayer over this decision. If I do stay, it will mean raising support again for a second year, and asking churches and individuals to continue support. Please be considering this over the next month or so as so many things are being considered, including being away from family and friends for an entire year possibly.
THANK YOU for your love and kindness. God Bless!
-Jesse Tiner
Saturday, September 15, 2007
An AWESOME update from Honduras
WOW WOW WOW What an incredible week in Honduras! This has by far been the most eventful, exciting and rewarding week so far! I know this is a LONG update, but you will not want to miss anything, especially the outreach, so read on! Also, each picture link here is a different set of pictures, so please visit all of them!
Pic links…
OUTREACH- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026263&l=310f5&id=156800196
The VALLEY- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026163&l=a88c4&id=156800196.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026163&l=a88c4&id=156800196
LaCumbre- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026315&l=6e934&id=156800196
Honduran Festival- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026163&l=a88c4&id=156800196.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026163&l=a88c4&id=156800196
My new house- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026321&l=21ac4&id=156800196
Valley of the Angels and CCI
I’ll start with this past Sunday. At Union Church, this was our first week of Sunday school. Pastor Darren is leading us through an in depth study of the signs of the end of the age and how that although there are many signs and happenings that are and will take place, the most prominent event we should all be looking for and longing for is the return of Christ himself. This week was just kind of an introduction and next week we will begin the study itself. The church service itself was also very good. I am really enjoying the fellowship there and the preaching and praise and worship.
After Union, a group of about 10 or so of us went to a place called Valley of the Angels. It is about a 20 minute drive from the city, and a little over an hour from the ranch. Since we were already in the city, the drive was pretty short. Valley of the Angels is a small town with tons of local vendors set up on the streets and inside buildings. The main attractions in the town itself is to see all of the Honduran made items such as wood carvings and hammocks. They make some of the most beautiful hammocks and other neat items. Most of us decided to eat at a little pizza place near the town center. We got a nice quite little room by ourselves and ordered our food-- pizza, of course. We shared 3 pizzas so we all got to try different kinds. Honduran pizza is definitely a little different, but very good. While we were ordering we had two different groups of musicians come and play for us. TIP: If you ever come to Honduras, never take a taxi or let a group of musicians play for you UNTIL you negotiate the price. We ended up paying several dollars because the group wanted more money that what we initially gave them and would not leave the room until we paid up. But, it was a really neat experience and we enjoyed it a lot.
After leaving the Valley, we made it back to Teguc. and spent some time at the mall grocery shopping and relaxing before heading to CCI, another church that has an English speaking service in the evening. It was a very nice church and the praise and worship was awesome. The musicians were very good and the song leader has a great voice. The message was good too-- it was about not letting the feeling of inadequacy stop you from doing what you know God wants you to do. I enjoyed the night a lot, but I really feel like Union is home already. I will probably visit CCI again sometime to get a better idea of what the church is like, so who knows what can happen! After the service, we were almost leaving when we found out that the Hosiers, another family from the ranch who were at CCI, had a flat tire on their Land Rover. So, we spent over an hour watching them and Ron try to get the spare tire out from under the vehicle. It took a while, but it finally came loose and they were able to change the tire. We were late getting home, but the day was absolutely great!
Day of the Child/Teacher Day/Honduran Independence
This week was also filled with THREE different celebrations.
For Teacher Day, many of the kids brought different “goodies” and shared with the teachers. I received a delicious muffin sized cake filled with cream. Also, Mrs. Val made us some amazing chocolate mint brownies.
This week we also celebrated Day of the Child. Just like we have Father’s Day and Mother’s Day in the states, here we also have Children’s day. The day started on Monday with formation outside of the school, which includes a short speech of some kind, the Pledge to the flag of Honduras, and the singing of the Honduran national anthem. (FYI: In order to graduate, Honduran children must sing and conduct their national anthem-- hint, hint…) After formation, the younger kids stayed at the school for activities and the older grades, including my class, went up to the Bodega and played some games inside, then went outside for treat bags, and then the teachers watched the older kids play a game of softball.
The absolute coolest celebration we had this week was Thursday, Honduran Independence. We left school about 2 oclock and spent the rest of the day in the Bodega celebrating Honduran Independence. The celebration started with prayer and the Pledge to the flag of Honduras. Next, Eric and I led two worship songs, one in Spanish and one in English. I got to play keyboard and Eric played guitar. It was a blast! After that Mr. William, on the Honduran teachers, presented to us a program about different states within Honduras. He used a very neat interactive map that showed different facts and pictures about other places in Honduras. Next followed several small speeches about different national symbols such as the Pine tree, past national leaders and heroes, etc. After the speeches, about 6 of the students showed us a traditional Honduran dance that they had been practicing all week. There were 3 boys and 3 girls, and the girls were wearing traditional Honduran dresses. It was a really cool dance! Finally, we were treated to some VERY traditional Honduran food. I know this will be no where close, but I will do my best to describe some of the food. One thing we ate was a type of tamale made from corn and it was wrapped in a corn husk. It was very “starchy” and a little sweet-- VERY GOOD. We also had Yucca root dressed with shredded cabbage and some type of red sauce, similar to enchilada sauce. One of my favorite things was something called “Chimmarone,” I think that’s what it was anyhow, which is kind of like a pork rind, except that it is not fried as long or with as much heat, so it has a very chewy texture, but it was VERY good. My absolute favorite was a kind of soup that had potatoes, plantains, banana, and some other seasonings. I have no idea what the soup part was made of but it was awesome! It was a yellow tinted liquid and really brought it all together. We also had a traditional Honduran drink that was made from rice if I understood correctly. It was verrrry sweet, almost too sweet for my liking. Overall, the Honduran Independence celebration was very exciting, entertaining, and fun-filled!!!
Preparation for community outreach and the outreach itself
The absolute most amazing thing this week was the community outreach we have started in a community near here, a couple of miles down the mountain. We have been planning this for weeks, and this past Monday we met to have a planning time for this past Wednesday which was our first time doing the outreach. The outreach consists of two different programs. One is an adult Literacy program, where adults and older teens have a chance to come and get free help learning to read and write. This program had about 20 or so adults for our first week, which is incredible. The other program is a children’s Bible club, which I am helping with. Each week we will do a review of the previous week, a time of music, a time of prayer, some kind of presentation of the Gospel through drama, memorizing scripture, etc…, and a closing.
This past Wednesday was probably the most eventful beginning that these programs could have had. The adult literacy program is being held inside one of the local community churches, and the children’s program is being held outside of the building wherever we can find room. There is a little fruit stand type shelter about 10-15 yards away from the church building, so our plan was to tie up a big tarp between the two and have the children sit on the ground underneath. Well, with a loaded vehicle of equipment and a VERY heavy tarp, we head to the church and begin to unload. While the tarp is being put up, we realize that there is a VERY good chance it may rain, and very soon that is exactly what happens. Not just a little rain, but it is pouring while this tarp is getting put up. Water keeps building up on the tarp making it even harder to get tied up. Let me say again, this tarp is VERY heavy. This attempt to put up the tarp goes on for about 30 minutes or so, and before we know it, we have about 5 minutes before we are supposed to start the program. Kids are out in the street watching, most likely thinking what kind of mess are these crazy Americans getting in to. Without much warning at all, the rain stops and the sky is almost completely blue. The tarp, still not completely up, lays partially on the ground covered with mud. Plan B kicks in, and we huddle the kids under the fruit stand, out of the mud, and begin the program. To begin with, we had only about 10 children, but within the first several minutes, we had almost 25 children crammed up in this little shed, and we are in full swing. The music was so much fun to do with them and the kids really enjoyed singing and learning some hand motions. Then we acted out the parable of the lost sheep. The kids were very attentive and it was amazing to watch them be so interested. After the skit, the kids memorized Romans 5:8 and did an awesome job at learning it! We dismissed about the same time the adults were getting out of the Literacy program, and within 5 minutes of dismissing, the rain starts pouring down again. This time, not only is it wet, it was freezing cold rain. Not that big of a problem normally, except now we had to get this huge, HEAVY tarp back into the vehicle. It takes a while, but we finally get the parts that were tied up untied and start trying to fold this massive thing and keeping water from settling. After MUCH effort, we fold it up enough that 4 of us can pick it up and we push and shove this thing into the back of the vehicle. All this time, there is this woman watching us from the window of the church laughing her head off! I think that was probably the most entertaining thing she had probably ever seen in here life. I walk up to her as we are loading other things and tell her thank you and that we would see her next week, and she hugs me and give me a huge kiss on my hand.
With all of the struggles we went through, I don’t think the day could have been any more perfect. About 40 Hondurans, adults and children, were there for the first week, and next week will only get bigger. I am very much looking forward to being more and more involved in this type of outreach.
Moving
It finally happened this week! Jason and I got to move into our new house, where another guy, Bret, will also live when he gets here sometime hopefully in October. The House on the Hill, which used to be the very first school building here, had been under renovation in order to make another home there for the Hosiers, which arrived here about a month ago. Since the renovation was completed this week, the Hosiers moved up to the House on the Hill, and Jason and I got to move into the place where the Hosiers had been living, which is a much bigger place than where we were in the duplex. We have so much room now it’s ridiculous. However, it’s really nice to be moved in now. Wednesday night the Hosiers had a party in the House on the Hill so that everyone could visit and look at the newly renovated home. It is absolutely beautiful from up there. The House on the Hill is definitely that, and is the highest elevated home here on the ranch. During the day, if it is clear, you can catch a view of the city many miles away!!!
La Cumbre
Last night was an awesome experience. The teachers and a few others all went to a place called La Cumbre, which is on the south side of the city, up on a another mountain in a place called El Hetillo. This place is a really, really nice restaurant with a view of the city like no where else. We dined just inside the window that has a panoramic view of the whole city. Since it was dark, the city was lit up and was breathtaking from that high up in the mountains. The food was really good too, and most of the plates were around 200 lempiras, which is about 10 US dollars. Eating at a place like this in the states would have surely been $40-$70 easily. The ride is about 3 hours round trip so we were late getting home, but it was very well worth it!
THE END
I hope you enjoyed reading about this past week! It was my most enjoyed week so far in Honduras. As of this past Wednesday, I have been here two months. Some days it seems much longer and some days much shorter, but God is doing incredible things and I am loving just being here and experiencing all that is going on. Thank you all for your prayers and support that continue to make this possible.
God Bless!
In Christ,
Jesse Tiner
Pic links…
OUTREACH- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026263&l=310f5&id=156800196
The VALLEY- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026163&l=a88c4&id=156800196.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026163&l=a88c4&id=156800196
LaCumbre- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026315&l=6e934&id=156800196
Honduran Festival- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026163&l=a88c4&id=156800196.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026163&l=a88c4&id=156800196
My new house- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026321&l=21ac4&id=156800196
Valley of the Angels and CCI
I’ll start with this past Sunday. At Union Church, this was our first week of Sunday school. Pastor Darren is leading us through an in depth study of the signs of the end of the age and how that although there are many signs and happenings that are and will take place, the most prominent event we should all be looking for and longing for is the return of Christ himself. This week was just kind of an introduction and next week we will begin the study itself. The church service itself was also very good. I am really enjoying the fellowship there and the preaching and praise and worship.
After Union, a group of about 10 or so of us went to a place called Valley of the Angels. It is about a 20 minute drive from the city, and a little over an hour from the ranch. Since we were already in the city, the drive was pretty short. Valley of the Angels is a small town with tons of local vendors set up on the streets and inside buildings. The main attractions in the town itself is to see all of the Honduran made items such as wood carvings and hammocks. They make some of the most beautiful hammocks and other neat items. Most of us decided to eat at a little pizza place near the town center. We got a nice quite little room by ourselves and ordered our food-- pizza, of course. We shared 3 pizzas so we all got to try different kinds. Honduran pizza is definitely a little different, but very good. While we were ordering we had two different groups of musicians come and play for us. TIP: If you ever come to Honduras, never take a taxi or let a group of musicians play for you UNTIL you negotiate the price. We ended up paying several dollars because the group wanted more money that what we initially gave them and would not leave the room until we paid up. But, it was a really neat experience and we enjoyed it a lot.
After leaving the Valley, we made it back to Teguc. and spent some time at the mall grocery shopping and relaxing before heading to CCI, another church that has an English speaking service in the evening. It was a very nice church and the praise and worship was awesome. The musicians were very good and the song leader has a great voice. The message was good too-- it was about not letting the feeling of inadequacy stop you from doing what you know God wants you to do. I enjoyed the night a lot, but I really feel like Union is home already. I will probably visit CCI again sometime to get a better idea of what the church is like, so who knows what can happen! After the service, we were almost leaving when we found out that the Hosiers, another family from the ranch who were at CCI, had a flat tire on their Land Rover. So, we spent over an hour watching them and Ron try to get the spare tire out from under the vehicle. It took a while, but it finally came loose and they were able to change the tire. We were late getting home, but the day was absolutely great!
Day of the Child/Teacher Day/Honduran Independence
This week was also filled with THREE different celebrations.
For Teacher Day, many of the kids brought different “goodies” and shared with the teachers. I received a delicious muffin sized cake filled with cream. Also, Mrs. Val made us some amazing chocolate mint brownies.
This week we also celebrated Day of the Child. Just like we have Father’s Day and Mother’s Day in the states, here we also have Children’s day. The day started on Monday with formation outside of the school, which includes a short speech of some kind, the Pledge to the flag of Honduras, and the singing of the Honduran national anthem. (FYI: In order to graduate, Honduran children must sing and conduct their national anthem-- hint, hint…) After formation, the younger kids stayed at the school for activities and the older grades, including my class, went up to the Bodega and played some games inside, then went outside for treat bags, and then the teachers watched the older kids play a game of softball.
The absolute coolest celebration we had this week was Thursday, Honduran Independence. We left school about 2 oclock and spent the rest of the day in the Bodega celebrating Honduran Independence. The celebration started with prayer and the Pledge to the flag of Honduras. Next, Eric and I led two worship songs, one in Spanish and one in English. I got to play keyboard and Eric played guitar. It was a blast! After that Mr. William, on the Honduran teachers, presented to us a program about different states within Honduras. He used a very neat interactive map that showed different facts and pictures about other places in Honduras. Next followed several small speeches about different national symbols such as the Pine tree, past national leaders and heroes, etc. After the speeches, about 6 of the students showed us a traditional Honduran dance that they had been practicing all week. There were 3 boys and 3 girls, and the girls were wearing traditional Honduran dresses. It was a really cool dance! Finally, we were treated to some VERY traditional Honduran food. I know this will be no where close, but I will do my best to describe some of the food. One thing we ate was a type of tamale made from corn and it was wrapped in a corn husk. It was very “starchy” and a little sweet-- VERY GOOD. We also had Yucca root dressed with shredded cabbage and some type of red sauce, similar to enchilada sauce. One of my favorite things was something called “Chimmarone,” I think that’s what it was anyhow, which is kind of like a pork rind, except that it is not fried as long or with as much heat, so it has a very chewy texture, but it was VERY good. My absolute favorite was a kind of soup that had potatoes, plantains, banana, and some other seasonings. I have no idea what the soup part was made of but it was awesome! It was a yellow tinted liquid and really brought it all together. We also had a traditional Honduran drink that was made from rice if I understood correctly. It was verrrry sweet, almost too sweet for my liking. Overall, the Honduran Independence celebration was very exciting, entertaining, and fun-filled!!!
Preparation for community outreach and the outreach itself
The absolute most amazing thing this week was the community outreach we have started in a community near here, a couple of miles down the mountain. We have been planning this for weeks, and this past Monday we met to have a planning time for this past Wednesday which was our first time doing the outreach. The outreach consists of two different programs. One is an adult Literacy program, where adults and older teens have a chance to come and get free help learning to read and write. This program had about 20 or so adults for our first week, which is incredible. The other program is a children’s Bible club, which I am helping with. Each week we will do a review of the previous week, a time of music, a time of prayer, some kind of presentation of the Gospel through drama, memorizing scripture, etc…, and a closing.
This past Wednesday was probably the most eventful beginning that these programs could have had. The adult literacy program is being held inside one of the local community churches, and the children’s program is being held outside of the building wherever we can find room. There is a little fruit stand type shelter about 10-15 yards away from the church building, so our plan was to tie up a big tarp between the two and have the children sit on the ground underneath. Well, with a loaded vehicle of equipment and a VERY heavy tarp, we head to the church and begin to unload. While the tarp is being put up, we realize that there is a VERY good chance it may rain, and very soon that is exactly what happens. Not just a little rain, but it is pouring while this tarp is getting put up. Water keeps building up on the tarp making it even harder to get tied up. Let me say again, this tarp is VERY heavy. This attempt to put up the tarp goes on for about 30 minutes or so, and before we know it, we have about 5 minutes before we are supposed to start the program. Kids are out in the street watching, most likely thinking what kind of mess are these crazy Americans getting in to. Without much warning at all, the rain stops and the sky is almost completely blue. The tarp, still not completely up, lays partially on the ground covered with mud. Plan B kicks in, and we huddle the kids under the fruit stand, out of the mud, and begin the program. To begin with, we had only about 10 children, but within the first several minutes, we had almost 25 children crammed up in this little shed, and we are in full swing. The music was so much fun to do with them and the kids really enjoyed singing and learning some hand motions. Then we acted out the parable of the lost sheep. The kids were very attentive and it was amazing to watch them be so interested. After the skit, the kids memorized Romans 5:8 and did an awesome job at learning it! We dismissed about the same time the adults were getting out of the Literacy program, and within 5 minutes of dismissing, the rain starts pouring down again. This time, not only is it wet, it was freezing cold rain. Not that big of a problem normally, except now we had to get this huge, HEAVY tarp back into the vehicle. It takes a while, but we finally get the parts that were tied up untied and start trying to fold this massive thing and keeping water from settling. After MUCH effort, we fold it up enough that 4 of us can pick it up and we push and shove this thing into the back of the vehicle. All this time, there is this woman watching us from the window of the church laughing her head off! I think that was probably the most entertaining thing she had probably ever seen in here life. I walk up to her as we are loading other things and tell her thank you and that we would see her next week, and she hugs me and give me a huge kiss on my hand.
With all of the struggles we went through, I don’t think the day could have been any more perfect. About 40 Hondurans, adults and children, were there for the first week, and next week will only get bigger. I am very much looking forward to being more and more involved in this type of outreach.
Moving
It finally happened this week! Jason and I got to move into our new house, where another guy, Bret, will also live when he gets here sometime hopefully in October. The House on the Hill, which used to be the very first school building here, had been under renovation in order to make another home there for the Hosiers, which arrived here about a month ago. Since the renovation was completed this week, the Hosiers moved up to the House on the Hill, and Jason and I got to move into the place where the Hosiers had been living, which is a much bigger place than where we were in the duplex. We have so much room now it’s ridiculous. However, it’s really nice to be moved in now. Wednesday night the Hosiers had a party in the House on the Hill so that everyone could visit and look at the newly renovated home. It is absolutely beautiful from up there. The House on the Hill is definitely that, and is the highest elevated home here on the ranch. During the day, if it is clear, you can catch a view of the city many miles away!!!
La Cumbre
Last night was an awesome experience. The teachers and a few others all went to a place called La Cumbre, which is on the south side of the city, up on a another mountain in a place called El Hetillo. This place is a really, really nice restaurant with a view of the city like no where else. We dined just inside the window that has a panoramic view of the whole city. Since it was dark, the city was lit up and was breathtaking from that high up in the mountains. The food was really good too, and most of the plates were around 200 lempiras, which is about 10 US dollars. Eating at a place like this in the states would have surely been $40-$70 easily. The ride is about 3 hours round trip so we were late getting home, but it was very well worth it!
THE END
I hope you enjoyed reading about this past week! It was my most enjoyed week so far in Honduras. As of this past Wednesday, I have been here two months. Some days it seems much longer and some days much shorter, but God is doing incredible things and I am loving just being here and experiencing all that is going on. Thank you all for your prayers and support that continue to make this possible.
God Bless!
In Christ,
Jesse Tiner
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Honduras Update
PICS- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2026082&l=e2668&id=156800196
Hello again to all of my family and friends! This week, as many of you can imagine, was a very crazy week. Before I get to the hurricane stuff, let me move back to last weekend.
Last Sunday morning was a welcome back breakfast at Union Church. Several of us from the ranch got up extra early to attend and it was well worth the trip. We had a great time meeting some other missionary teachers and learning more about each other. After church was our usual stops for groceries, etc., and then it was back up the mountain.
Tuesday morning the hurricane had taken a turn to the West, and we could tell its path would lead it right to Honduras. Out of precaution, we dismissed school at 11 am, but we didn’t really get any of the storm until late Tuesday night, early Wednesday. As far as I know, there was some significant damage in Nicaragua and the northern coast of Honduras. We were very blessed here in Tegucigalpa and the surrounding areas to have received very minimal wind and rains. I appreciate greatly all of the e-mails concerning our safety and all of the prayers for us here at the ranch and the people of Honduras.
Tuesday night we had our first session of Bible study on the Song of Solomon. It’s a series of videos and discussions on the idea of a Biblical approach to love and romance. Most of the singles and even some couples will be attending each week. This past week was a wonderful first session and discussion and I am looking forward to the rest of the study.
Wednesday we did not have school because of the weather. I spent a lot of the day making pies for Jae’s birthday celebration Thursday morning. I had drawn her name at the beginning of the school year which meant I got to make some kind of dessert for her birthday. Wednesday night I went over to Eric’s and we practiced some praise and worship songs.
We had a normal day of school on Thursday, and spent most of the day trying to catch up on missed work. Thursday afternoon I spent on the campo throwing football with some of the kids. Thursday night I practiced with Eric again. We had been practicing for a ministry wide event on Friday.
The event on Friday was to get all the people from both sides of WGO together on the ranch for a fun time of meet and greet, singing, and games. Eric and I got to play and lead everyone there in some praise and worship songs. The rest of the afternoon was most of the kids and some adults playing some games on the campo. Unfortunately, the rain kept coming and eventually everyone ended up going home.
Last night we had a more informal party for Jae here at our place. Hannah made an awesome chocolate cake, and we sat around and chatted for a while, and then watched Amadeus. I had not watched it all in one sitting before and I still think it is a great movie.
Today has been kind of slow so far, which is typical for a Saturday. Tomorrow is going to be a FULL day. It’s the first day of Sunday school at Union, and after church a lot of us teachers are going to the Valley of the Angels, about an hour from the city. It’s a touristy place that has souvenirs, etc. Then we are coming back to Teguc and going to the mall for a little bit, and then we are all going to CCI, another English speaking church service that starts at 5 pm. It will be a very long day but I’m sure it will be worth it all.
Not really too much else going on this week, so sorry it’s a short update. Thank you so much for your prayers and concerns. Love you all and God bless!
-Jesse Tiner
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Moose, Honduran style
PICTURES- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025568&l=86945&id=156800196
Hello to all of you! This week has been full of fun experiences. Last weekend I mentioned that we were staying at the Bridge House (Casa Puente) in the city and Jason and I were in charge of making sure the house didn’t blow up or anything and make sure Rodolfo was taken care of. Fortunately, we succeeded in both, and had a great time. I can’t remember if I mentioned or not, but we left Saturday morning and walked to Cascadas, a very new local mall. They actually have a place called Paiz that is much like a Wal-Mart. They also have a Hiper-Paiz, which is like a Super-Walmart. These stores are owned by Wal-Mart-- I even saw a Wal-Mart sign at the entrance this time that I had not noticed before. Anyhow, Jason, Rodolfo, and I had a great time in the mall just looking around and relaxing. After a mid-afternoon rest, Nilsy, one of the girls that is living at the Bridge House and is finishing her last year in high school, asked us to go with her to a meeting of students and parents of her class. The meeting was several miles away at a local pizza place called Pizza House. We had to take a taxi, which is a story in itself, to get there. Taxis here are funny-- they don’t have like a meter or anything to figure up the price. Here, you hail a taxi, name your price, and negotiate. Sometimes the drivers will take advantage of North Americans and try to charge outrageous prices to get around. Thankfully, Nilsy was able to get us a taxi there for 50 lempiras, which is less than $3-- not bad for anywhere in the city. The meeting we attended was for the parents and students to discuss ideas for events during their senior year, fundraisers, class officers, etc. It was neat to see that it is just as big of a deal here as it is in the states. The food was awesome too. I had a calzone, like you can get at most Italian places, not to be mistaken with another “calzone,” underwear. Lots of words in the Spanish language have multiple meanings… moving on…
Tuesday night was singles Bible study. This week we took a temperament test called the DISC test. It was not an easy test for me to take because we had to be very upfront and honest about our weaknesses when we answered questions. Each question on the test was basically a group of four words and out of the group we had to choose the one word that we are most like and the one we are least like. Each answer had a different point and scoring system that we completed after we had answered all of the questions. We had three different scores- one score reflected how others perceive us, one was how we work under stress, and the last was how we perceive ourselves. Each score had a section that talked about characteristics that went along with people who received that score. Mine was very accurate about how I perceive myself and how I work under stress, and probably even accurate at how other people perceive me. It was really good to do in a large group as a “get to know” kind of exercise. It really helped us to see what other personalities were like ours and how to involve other people in our life to try and balance out some of our weaknesses.
Wednesday was a fun trip into the city. A few of us spent most of the time walking around the mall just looking through a lot of the shops. I had a few things to pick up and was able to find everything, which doesn’t happen too often here. The exciting part of the day for me was getting to drive up the mountain road to the ranch. I have been thinking a long time about wanting to drive some to see how the busitos, (vans) handle. The vans here are not much bigger than our typical 8 passenger van in the states, except they are supposed to be for 15 passengers. The seats are very thin, and there are 4 rows of seats plus the driver’s row. They run on diesel fuel and the transmissions are standard. Luckily, I have driven a stick before and felt pretty confident with a stick shift, but it had been many years since I had driven one and never before in the conditions of the mountain road. The bumps are horrible to try to get through without feeling like your killing the people in the back of the van, and the vans don’t go up hills very well in 3rd gear like a Chevy S-10 would. However, I feel like I did ok, with much room for improvement.
Wednesday night after we returned was our second session of Spanish class hosted by all of us that do not know hardly any Spanish. Jason has the Rosetta Stone program for learning Spanish that is much like a game. It is very fun to learn with as we all try to use better accents and apply what we learn each day. Jason has a cable to hook up to the TV so that the program shows up on the TV screen. I think it is the most fun way we could possibly learn Spanish.
Thursday was a great day of soccer at the campo--- not really. I have played goalie a lot and feel like I am getting a little better finally. Or at least I did until yesterday. One of the guys that plays is Alejandro and he is very, very good. He can kick the ball very hard--- very, very, very hard. Well, to my bad, I was on the receiving end of one of those kicks yesterday. I got hit in the face and thought I saw stars. It really hit the side of my face from my ear to my cheek. Luckily, it did not do anything other than sting for a few minutes. More than luckily, my glasses didn’t even fall off and they didn’t get damaged at all. However, I did retire from soccer for the evening, go home, and relax.
Yesterday afternoon we played some AMERICAN football against the Honduran kids and LOST!!! It was soo funny--- they have so much speed they would just hand the ball off and GO with it. We finally got some momentum going but it was not enough to come back for the win. Today has been pretty slow-- I went to a birthday party for one of the kids this afternoon which was pretty fun, and that has been about it other than just hanging out with some people.
I know I say it every time, but every week things seem to get more and more comfortable and the kids are starting to open up and it is feeling very natural to be around them, teach them, and just hang out with them. It’s hard to explain the barrier there is between us and some of the kids here that are not believers. It would seem very easy living at a place like this for kids to accept Christ. However, some have come from such hard backgrounds that they want nothing to do with it, while they are still very fun kids to be around and outwardly display a very loving, kind, gentle nature. It is very neat though to see them develop and change and start to act “themselves” around us new people.
Please feel free to e-mail or write! It’s great hearing from people and I do my best to write everyone back.
I hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day weekend to the fullest and has a great time. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to pray for or help you in any way.
Love from Honduras,
Jesse Tiner
Hello to all of you! This week has been full of fun experiences. Last weekend I mentioned that we were staying at the Bridge House (Casa Puente) in the city and Jason and I were in charge of making sure the house didn’t blow up or anything and make sure Rodolfo was taken care of. Fortunately, we succeeded in both, and had a great time. I can’t remember if I mentioned or not, but we left Saturday morning and walked to Cascadas, a very new local mall. They actually have a place called Paiz that is much like a Wal-Mart. They also have a Hiper-Paiz, which is like a Super-Walmart. These stores are owned by Wal-Mart-- I even saw a Wal-Mart sign at the entrance this time that I had not noticed before. Anyhow, Jason, Rodolfo, and I had a great time in the mall just looking around and relaxing. After a mid-afternoon rest, Nilsy, one of the girls that is living at the Bridge House and is finishing her last year in high school, asked us to go with her to a meeting of students and parents of her class. The meeting was several miles away at a local pizza place called Pizza House. We had to take a taxi, which is a story in itself, to get there. Taxis here are funny-- they don’t have like a meter or anything to figure up the price. Here, you hail a taxi, name your price, and negotiate. Sometimes the drivers will take advantage of North Americans and try to charge outrageous prices to get around. Thankfully, Nilsy was able to get us a taxi there for 50 lempiras, which is less than $3-- not bad for anywhere in the city. The meeting we attended was for the parents and students to discuss ideas for events during their senior year, fundraisers, class officers, etc. It was neat to see that it is just as big of a deal here as it is in the states. The food was awesome too. I had a calzone, like you can get at most Italian places, not to be mistaken with another “calzone,” underwear. Lots of words in the Spanish language have multiple meanings… moving on…
Tuesday night was singles Bible study. This week we took a temperament test called the DISC test. It was not an easy test for me to take because we had to be very upfront and honest about our weaknesses when we answered questions. Each question on the test was basically a group of four words and out of the group we had to choose the one word that we are most like and the one we are least like. Each answer had a different point and scoring system that we completed after we had answered all of the questions. We had three different scores- one score reflected how others perceive us, one was how we work under stress, and the last was how we perceive ourselves. Each score had a section that talked about characteristics that went along with people who received that score. Mine was very accurate about how I perceive myself and how I work under stress, and probably even accurate at how other people perceive me. It was really good to do in a large group as a “get to know” kind of exercise. It really helped us to see what other personalities were like ours and how to involve other people in our life to try and balance out some of our weaknesses.
Wednesday was a fun trip into the city. A few of us spent most of the time walking around the mall just looking through a lot of the shops. I had a few things to pick up and was able to find everything, which doesn’t happen too often here. The exciting part of the day for me was getting to drive up the mountain road to the ranch. I have been thinking a long time about wanting to drive some to see how the busitos, (vans) handle. The vans here are not much bigger than our typical 8 passenger van in the states, except they are supposed to be for 15 passengers. The seats are very thin, and there are 4 rows of seats plus the driver’s row. They run on diesel fuel and the transmissions are standard. Luckily, I have driven a stick before and felt pretty confident with a stick shift, but it had been many years since I had driven one and never before in the conditions of the mountain road. The bumps are horrible to try to get through without feeling like your killing the people in the back of the van, and the vans don’t go up hills very well in 3rd gear like a Chevy S-10 would. However, I feel like I did ok, with much room for improvement.
Wednesday night after we returned was our second session of Spanish class hosted by all of us that do not know hardly any Spanish. Jason has the Rosetta Stone program for learning Spanish that is much like a game. It is very fun to learn with as we all try to use better accents and apply what we learn each day. Jason has a cable to hook up to the TV so that the program shows up on the TV screen. I think it is the most fun way we could possibly learn Spanish.
Thursday was a great day of soccer at the campo--- not really. I have played goalie a lot and feel like I am getting a little better finally. Or at least I did until yesterday. One of the guys that plays is Alejandro and he is very, very good. He can kick the ball very hard--- very, very, very hard. Well, to my bad, I was on the receiving end of one of those kicks yesterday. I got hit in the face and thought I saw stars. It really hit the side of my face from my ear to my cheek. Luckily, it did not do anything other than sting for a few minutes. More than luckily, my glasses didn’t even fall off and they didn’t get damaged at all. However, I did retire from soccer for the evening, go home, and relax.
Yesterday afternoon we played some AMERICAN football against the Honduran kids and LOST!!! It was soo funny--- they have so much speed they would just hand the ball off and GO with it. We finally got some momentum going but it was not enough to come back for the win. Today has been pretty slow-- I went to a birthday party for one of the kids this afternoon which was pretty fun, and that has been about it other than just hanging out with some people.
I know I say it every time, but every week things seem to get more and more comfortable and the kids are starting to open up and it is feeling very natural to be around them, teach them, and just hang out with them. It’s hard to explain the barrier there is between us and some of the kids here that are not believers. It would seem very easy living at a place like this for kids to accept Christ. However, some have come from such hard backgrounds that they want nothing to do with it, while they are still very fun kids to be around and outwardly display a very loving, kind, gentle nature. It is very neat though to see them develop and change and start to act “themselves” around us new people.
Please feel free to e-mail or write! It’s great hearing from people and I do my best to write everyone back.
I hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day weekend to the fullest and has a great time. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to pray for or help you in any way.
Love from Honduras,
Jesse Tiner
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