Hello outside world! Lots of great things to rejoice about these past couple of weeks, so let’s get started.
PICS- I had some great pics to send along with the update, but Facebook is not uploading them. So, if I get them uploaded later, I will send them. Sorry!
RESIDENCY- I AM NOW AN OFFICIAL RESIDENT OF HONDURAS FOR ONE YEAR!!! A few Wednesdays ago, we headed to the city to renew our residency with the HOPE that our cards would be ready and that we wouldn’t have to keep going back there. Well, several of the cards were ready and the others were ready within a few days after our trip. This is very exciting for us since now we don’t have to go back to the Immigration Office for an entire year, plus we can now use our Residency cards to enter and exit the country! WHOO HOO!
SPIRITUAL EMPHASIS WEEK- I am really going to have a tough time putting into words what all happened last week. First of all, let me explain what Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW) is. Each year, the school takes one week and starts each morning with about 2 or 3 hours of “chapel”, including Praise and Worship, followed by a message.
This year, we were very excited to have two guys, named Tom and Russ, to visit us from the states. Tom and Russ are friends of Steve, one of the north Americans here at the ranch. I had no idea just what God had planned for this time, but it proved to be more that I could have ever imagined. Russ is an excellent musician and plays guitar, keyboard, and just about anything with strings on it. He is also an excellent harmonica player. Each morning started with about 2 or 3 songs played by our ranch praise and worship band, and Russ took over after that. Russ has written a LOT of original songs, and each morning he blessed us by playing and singing several of those songs. He also played a blues song and had one of our students, Will, come and hold the harmonica to Russ’ mouth while Russ played guitar and harmonica at the same time. I really don’t think a lot of our kids have seen anything like this and it was very awesome to see their reactions. Russ and I also worked very well together and a couple of mornings we played songs that we had practiced together before.
After Russ finished up the time of music, Tom spoke. I won’t go into ALL of his messages, but the overall theme was putting FULL trust in God, and praising God in the good times and bad. It is hard to say “Blessed be the name of the Lord,” under any circumstance, but Tom did an excellent job at teaching the kids and showing them how to trust God fully and how to make it through tough times. And, most people would assume Job would have been a huge topic under this issue, but I don’t think we used that story as an illustration but briefly. Tom is very gifted at using SO many different styles and varieties of methods to keep kids interested, focused, and wanting more. This was a very powerful week spiritually. For the first time, I saw kids break down who have probably had problems and issued bottled up inside for so many years. Students who are Christians and may have felt shy about sharing their faith before shared their beliefs and thoughts with great boldness and courage to other non-Christians in the group. One of the songs we sang is called “Make a Joyful Noise,” and has the chorus “I will not be silent, NO, I will not be quiet anymore!” What a powerful message for our kids.
One of the most difficult times during the week was seeing those who are non-Christians still try and push away the love that Christ is trying to give them. While none of the non-believers accepted Christ during this week, I definitely feel that huge steps were taken. It’s very scary to think of what will happen to them if they continually choose to turn away, so I ask for your prayer, SPECIFICALLY for our students here who DO NOT accept the message of Christ. Please lift them up on a daily basis and pray that hearts would soften, that walls be broken down, and that these kids would rejoice with those of us who know the peace that comes with knowing Christ as our savior.
VACATION- After a VERY uplifting week of SEW, almost everyone on the ranch took a much needed vacation. Here in Honduras it is called Semana Santa, or Holy Week, and is the equivalent of Spring Break back home. Most of us singles spent 4 days and 3 nights in La Ceiba on the north coast. I have to say it was one of the most beautifully relaxing vacations I’ve ever had. Our hotel was the Hotel Canadien, and it was not fancy at all, but was very clean and even more relaxing. Lots of families were there, but it was very quite. Every room had about 3 or 4 “chair” hammocks in front of the room. I spent a lot of time in mine reading and relaxing. I also spent lots of time on the beach, reading and relaxing.
There were TWO things that really stuck out on our trip. The first is that Ron and I got to go play golf. The course was nice, kinda weirdly designed, but nice nonetheless. When we arrived, about 15 Honduran guys were waiting to be caddies! They finally decided which one would caddy for us, and they even le you rent their clubs. This was great since Ron and I didn’t have any clubs with us. Also, they let you share clubs where most places do not. Anyhow, our caddy’s name was Mikie, and he has been caddying for 11 years. He is a really great, nice guy, and he taught Ron and I A LOT about golf. Much fun was had!
The other thing that sticks out was our day at the islands. On Monday morning, 7 of us loaded a boat that took us to an island chain about an hour offshore. They are called Cayos Cachinos, and consist of 2 larger islands and several smaller ones surrounding. We spent most of our time snorkeling and swimming in the BEAUTIFUL emerald colored water. We saw lots of pretty fish and beautiful corral. We also met some friends who were natives of the islands. Lots of people do live on the island, and I found out later that their ethnicity is a mix of African American and Caribbean Islanders. They were very nice people and a few of the kids even played rhythms with us on rocks we found on the beach. We also ate lunch there at a little place where you sat outside under a little shaded hut. We had fish, rice, beans, and plantanos. The fish still had the head attached and the eyes were left in. Apparently, some people enjoy “sucking” on the eyes. Must be a Honduran thing. I opted out.
At the motel, we also ate a couple of dinners at the restaurant there. You could sit inside and outside, and both times we chose to eat outside. It was a very inexpensive place to eat, and the food was really good. We also had an amazing view of the beach from there and got to watch the sun set. I don’t think there was any one of us that did NOT have an amazing time there.
SAMANA SANTA/EASTER- After a relaxing start to Semana Santa, our week off continued when we returned to the Ranch. It was very peaceful since a lot of the families were still gone. The ranch looked like a ghost town. I got to spend a lot of time finishing a great book called Bruchko and the Motilone Miracle, which is the sequel to the first one I read a couple of years ago. I also got to spend a lot of time in scripture, which was very refreshing.
CHAPEL- At the end of Semana Santa we got together with Eric, who leads chapel. SEW with Tom and Russ had prompted us to use the time in Chapel more efficiently. Jason and I had discussed a lot about how we saw kids start to open up to Tom and Russ. We felt that we needed to reevaluate our goals and structure for chapel. Our meeting with Eric went great and this past Friday we had our first “restructured” chapel. Basically, each of the teachers is in charge of 3-4 students. We are giving the group leader an “outline” to follow but encouraging them to lead the discussion however they feel.
Yesterday we talked about loss, and being able to give things up for the sake of Christ. Also, we talked about how sometimes we need to CHOOSE the road less traveled. We used the “FAITH” chapter of Hebrews, specifically in chapter 11, verses 24-26, where Moses refused to be known as Pharaoh’s daughter, and said that being mistreated and being disgraced along with the people of God would be better than enjoying worldly pleasures for a short time. He CHOSE a life that was tough, when he could have chosen to stay and live in a PALACE. He knew what God wanted him to do, and chose to follow that calling over anything else the world offered.
We also did an activity where the kids wrote some things down that are very important to them, including family, a house, etc., and then randomly marked some things off. We then asked how they would respond if these things were taken way from them. Would they choose to follow God and say “Blessed be the name of the Lord” in the midst of all the pain and heartache in their life. It was very powerful to see how the students in my group reacted. One in particular was very bold in standing firm in the God would be enough to sustain him through all of those losses. That’s a hard statement to make, but I am convinced he was very sincere. Lots of our kids HAVE lost a LOT in their lives, and it’s amazing to see those who are so strong in their faith and here testimony of what God has done.
COMMUNITY- Unfortunately, I have only been able to go to the community once for our program over the past three weeks. One I missed for the residency I mentioned above, and the last one we didn’t have because we were out of school for the week. However, the one I did get to go to was great. It was during SEW and Tom and Russ were able to come down and get a glimpse at what we do. It was great fun had by all. That week and for the new several coming weeks, we are talking about the fruits of the Spirit. Jason and Abby dressed up as fruits to help make it interesting for the kids. We talked to them about joy and how we should love God no matter what circumstances we go through. That’s a tough message for these kids as most of their life situations are very difficult. However, I am always amazed at how happy these kids are. They seem to enjoy life for what it is, and there is definitely something to learn from them.
THE END- Not much to say here other than I am very excited about seeing everyone in the Roanoke area while I am home. Unfortunately, I will not be in Geneva this time, and I am sad that I will not be able to see all of you there.
I will be in Roanoke late on Tuesday April 8th, and look forward to visiting around town the following days leading up to my brother’s wedding!
Please pray for our ranch, our staff, and our kids.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Honduras News
Hi everybody! Hope all is well in the states and that God is blessing all of you. Things here in Honduras are continuing to go well, and I am very happy to still be here doing this work. I did want to say that our schedules, even on Saturdays now, are different sometimes and I may not get an update out every Saturday. However, I am and will continue to update each of you frequently about what I am doing in Honduras- SO, let’s get to it!
PICTURES!!! These pictures include things from the events below as well as several pictures of some of the kids playing around this morning. They were having a blast and really enjoyed having pictures taken of them! There are also some pics from our “excursion” this morning down the mountain road. We went driving and walking down the road and took lots of pics of the area, some local churches, and other things. ENJOY!
(there are only 2 pics in one album because I used the maximum for the other album)
LINK
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032235&l=a69b0&id=156800196
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032227&l=45b4d&id=156800196
Preparing our own- While most of my job is centered around the Honduran children, all of you know that I also teach three north american students- Abby and Andrew, 11th graders, and Caleb, my only 12th grader. It is important that we not forget that these children, too, are making huge sacrifices to leave things in the states and to finish school in a setting that is very different from regular schools. One thing that we do to try and help is to give them a college preparation course. Some of our north American students will be leaving within the next year or so to return to the states for college and to pursue other things. Some may stay here and pursue life as a missionary. Either way, we want them to be prepared for applying to college and getting a job.
While in the past this course has been centered around taking practice tests for the ACT and SAT, we are now focusing more on taking care of other things in preparing for college and applying for jobs. Some of these things include practicing filling out job and college applications, discovering skills and talents and deciding what careers are best suited, listening for what God would have us do, and practicing for interviews, among other things.
Please pray for all of our children here at the ranch, and remember that our north American students have a long road ahead also!
Teacher Housing- The teacher housing is looking amazing. The last team that was here was able to finish putting on the roof, installing gutters, putting up interior walls, installing insulation in the walls and putting up some wall panels. It is several more weeks before our next construction team, but I am excited to see how this construction develops.
Having this housing for teachers will mean that THREE family houses would come available which will mean that we will be getting MANY new children as this project finishes! Several couples are in the process of becoming house parents for when the ministry takes this big step forward!
Spelling Bee- This past week was the annual spelling bee for out primary grade levels. Grades 1st-6th took part in this competition to see who would be named the winner of this event. AJ, one of my north american 5th grade math students, won 1st place. Elli, a 3rd grader won 2nd place, and Favio, a 2nd grade Hondran, won 3rd place.
Arts Festival- One of the most exciting recent happenings was the Arts Festival for our secondary grade levels, 7th-12th. This event required that all students, Honduran and North American, present a 3-5 minute presentation of a project featuring talents like painting, poetry, music, video, etc. Some of the BEST ones included Oscar, one of my Honduran students, who played some awesome drum set to one of our Spanish songs, La Casa de Dios; Andrew, one of my north American students, made a music video and sang along with it; Banya, a 7th grade Honduran girl created a beautiful water color painting of a princess. There were also several other really awesome paintings, songs, and other artistic talents that were absolutely stunning! I was very impressed with the level of talent that our students possess.
Whale of a Tale- As I had said last time, we have been telling the story of Jonah to the kids in the community. This last week was the final of our 3 week series. We told the part of the story where Jonah was swallowed by the big fish, prayed to God, and then obeyed God and went to preach to the people at Nineveh, who chose to follow God. The best part was that Jason and a couple of others used a blue tarp and some metal strippings to make a huge blue fish with giant eyes and everything. We took the kids inside to tell them the final part of the story, and they really enjoyed it! Also, as we had hoped, the number of children coming is starting to increase. We had over 35 this past time and hope that it continues to increase!
Making Joyful Noises- The Praise and Worship Band is continuing to do a great job leading worship in Chapel. We do 3-5 songs each week, some Spanish and English. The kids continue to get more comfortable each week, especially those that are playing instruments. We are still working on helping the singers to be a little bit more confident and to sing out a little more. One thing that has helped is that we have some new sound equipment that is helping us to hear the singers more. Things continue to get better each week and we trust God that He will continue to bless the efforts of these students who desire to sing, play, and worship Him.
A Somewhat Healthy Ranch- Thank you for those that have been praying for the health of those who have been sick here. Most everyone has made a full recovery. There is still some coughing and a few other minor sicknesses, but as I said, we are on our way to a healthy ranch. I have been very blessed to NOT get sick during this time, and praise God that I have not been ill.
Turning up some ground- It has been really fun over the past couple of weeks to work around my house with two of the students, Franklin and AJ. These guys have helped me get our INCREDIBLY overgrown bushes and flower beds under control. After we hauled a LOT of trimmings down the hill, we decided to go an extra step and move some plants around. We also turned a small fire pit into a circular flower bed which now has one big green plant, and several different seeds now planted in it. These guys are really eager to work and I am looking for more projects to undertake.
Wonder-working power- I want to talk a little bit here at the end about growing spiritually. I want to share that I am a part of the singles Bible study again this semester. We will be doing part 4 this week of a 6 week DVD series by Andy Stanley, the pastor of a large church near Atlanta. The series is called Playing God, and it discusses the use of POWER. We know that all power is given to us from God, and that we have a choice of what to do with the power that God has given us. Ultimately, it is our job to use the power God has given us to lift up and encourage the people around us. We also have to realize the places where God has GIVEN power to us- socially with friends, being in a leadership position, teachers, pastors, parents- in one way or another God has given us the power to influence others. And of course, the best example we have is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus was the most powerful being on earth, and while He had the most power of anyone else, He was constantly looking for ways to lift people up, and to give His power to other people. I want to encourage you, as I have been over these past few weeks, to look for ways to encourage and lift up those around you. The greatest way to use our power is to serve others.
Photography- It has also been fun taking pictures of lots of the families for newsletters and updates. The picture that is on the front page of this month’s newsletter was taken by me several weeks ago. Also, I have been able to write an article talking about the music on the ranch for the April newsletter. Please go look at these things if you haven’t already. If you don’t receive a copy of the newsletter, you can go to www.wgoreach.org and view them online. ENJOY!
THE END- Well, I hope you have enjoyed reading about the things going on here at the Ranch. Looking toward the future, I will be coming home from April 8th-15th for my brother Jonathan’s wedding on April 12th. Unfortunately, I will not be in Geneva during this visit because of the wedding and the shortness of time of my stay. I will get into Birmingham on a Tuesday night and spend a few days visiting in Roanoke, then the wedding over the weekend, then spending some time with my mom on Monday before flying out again on Tuesday. I am sad that I won’t get to see a lot of you in Geneva, but very excited to get to spend time with some of you in Roanoke. More as time gets closer.
Again, I hope things are going well for all of you and I desire to hear from each of you about how your lives are going. I am praying for all of you and would love to know if there is something specific happening that I can pray about.
I never take it lightly that I have been blessed with such wonderful people to be my friends, family, and supporters of this mission that God has placed me in. I love each of you very much!
PICTURES!!! These pictures include things from the events below as well as several pictures of some of the kids playing around this morning. They were having a blast and really enjoyed having pictures taken of them! There are also some pics from our “excursion” this morning down the mountain road. We went driving and walking down the road and took lots of pics of the area, some local churches, and other things. ENJOY!
(there are only 2 pics in one album because I used the maximum for the other album)
LINK
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032235&l=a69b0&id=156800196
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032227&l=45b4d&id=156800196
Preparing our own- While most of my job is centered around the Honduran children, all of you know that I also teach three north american students- Abby and Andrew, 11th graders, and Caleb, my only 12th grader. It is important that we not forget that these children, too, are making huge sacrifices to leave things in the states and to finish school in a setting that is very different from regular schools. One thing that we do to try and help is to give them a college preparation course. Some of our north American students will be leaving within the next year or so to return to the states for college and to pursue other things. Some may stay here and pursue life as a missionary. Either way, we want them to be prepared for applying to college and getting a job.
While in the past this course has been centered around taking practice tests for the ACT and SAT, we are now focusing more on taking care of other things in preparing for college and applying for jobs. Some of these things include practicing filling out job and college applications, discovering skills and talents and deciding what careers are best suited, listening for what God would have us do, and practicing for interviews, among other things.
Please pray for all of our children here at the ranch, and remember that our north American students have a long road ahead also!
Teacher Housing- The teacher housing is looking amazing. The last team that was here was able to finish putting on the roof, installing gutters, putting up interior walls, installing insulation in the walls and putting up some wall panels. It is several more weeks before our next construction team, but I am excited to see how this construction develops.
Having this housing for teachers will mean that THREE family houses would come available which will mean that we will be getting MANY new children as this project finishes! Several couples are in the process of becoming house parents for when the ministry takes this big step forward!
Spelling Bee- This past week was the annual spelling bee for out primary grade levels. Grades 1st-6th took part in this competition to see who would be named the winner of this event. AJ, one of my north american 5th grade math students, won 1st place. Elli, a 3rd grader won 2nd place, and Favio, a 2nd grade Hondran, won 3rd place.
Arts Festival- One of the most exciting recent happenings was the Arts Festival for our secondary grade levels, 7th-12th. This event required that all students, Honduran and North American, present a 3-5 minute presentation of a project featuring talents like painting, poetry, music, video, etc. Some of the BEST ones included Oscar, one of my Honduran students, who played some awesome drum set to one of our Spanish songs, La Casa de Dios; Andrew, one of my north American students, made a music video and sang along with it; Banya, a 7th grade Honduran girl created a beautiful water color painting of a princess. There were also several other really awesome paintings, songs, and other artistic talents that were absolutely stunning! I was very impressed with the level of talent that our students possess.
Whale of a Tale- As I had said last time, we have been telling the story of Jonah to the kids in the community. This last week was the final of our 3 week series. We told the part of the story where Jonah was swallowed by the big fish, prayed to God, and then obeyed God and went to preach to the people at Nineveh, who chose to follow God. The best part was that Jason and a couple of others used a blue tarp and some metal strippings to make a huge blue fish with giant eyes and everything. We took the kids inside to tell them the final part of the story, and they really enjoyed it! Also, as we had hoped, the number of children coming is starting to increase. We had over 35 this past time and hope that it continues to increase!
Making Joyful Noises- The Praise and Worship Band is continuing to do a great job leading worship in Chapel. We do 3-5 songs each week, some Spanish and English. The kids continue to get more comfortable each week, especially those that are playing instruments. We are still working on helping the singers to be a little bit more confident and to sing out a little more. One thing that has helped is that we have some new sound equipment that is helping us to hear the singers more. Things continue to get better each week and we trust God that He will continue to bless the efforts of these students who desire to sing, play, and worship Him.
A Somewhat Healthy Ranch- Thank you for those that have been praying for the health of those who have been sick here. Most everyone has made a full recovery. There is still some coughing and a few other minor sicknesses, but as I said, we are on our way to a healthy ranch. I have been very blessed to NOT get sick during this time, and praise God that I have not been ill.
Turning up some ground- It has been really fun over the past couple of weeks to work around my house with two of the students, Franklin and AJ. These guys have helped me get our INCREDIBLY overgrown bushes and flower beds under control. After we hauled a LOT of trimmings down the hill, we decided to go an extra step and move some plants around. We also turned a small fire pit into a circular flower bed which now has one big green plant, and several different seeds now planted in it. These guys are really eager to work and I am looking for more projects to undertake.
Wonder-working power- I want to talk a little bit here at the end about growing spiritually. I want to share that I am a part of the singles Bible study again this semester. We will be doing part 4 this week of a 6 week DVD series by Andy Stanley, the pastor of a large church near Atlanta. The series is called Playing God, and it discusses the use of POWER. We know that all power is given to us from God, and that we have a choice of what to do with the power that God has given us. Ultimately, it is our job to use the power God has given us to lift up and encourage the people around us. We also have to realize the places where God has GIVEN power to us- socially with friends, being in a leadership position, teachers, pastors, parents- in one way or another God has given us the power to influence others. And of course, the best example we have is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus was the most powerful being on earth, and while He had the most power of anyone else, He was constantly looking for ways to lift people up, and to give His power to other people. I want to encourage you, as I have been over these past few weeks, to look for ways to encourage and lift up those around you. The greatest way to use our power is to serve others.
Photography- It has also been fun taking pictures of lots of the families for newsletters and updates. The picture that is on the front page of this month’s newsletter was taken by me several weeks ago. Also, I have been able to write an article talking about the music on the ranch for the April newsletter. Please go look at these things if you haven’t already. If you don’t receive a copy of the newsletter, you can go to www.wgoreach.org and view them online. ENJOY!
THE END- Well, I hope you have enjoyed reading about the things going on here at the Ranch. Looking toward the future, I will be coming home from April 8th-15th for my brother Jonathan’s wedding on April 12th. Unfortunately, I will not be in Geneva during this visit because of the wedding and the shortness of time of my stay. I will get into Birmingham on a Tuesday night and spend a few days visiting in Roanoke, then the wedding over the weekend, then spending some time with my mom on Monday before flying out again on Tuesday. I am sad that I won’t get to see a lot of you in Geneva, but very excited to get to spend time with some of you in Roanoke. More as time gets closer.
Again, I hope things are going well for all of you and I desire to hear from each of you about how your lives are going. I am praying for all of you and would love to know if there is something specific happening that I can pray about.
I never take it lightly that I have been blessed with such wonderful people to be my friends, family, and supporters of this mission that God has placed me in. I love each of you very much!
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