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!