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.