Estamos en Tela; We are in Tela

Ok time for an update. Well, we find ourselves in Tela this week. It's a beautiful city on the northern coast. So it has beautiful beaches and is growing in it's tourist popularity. The flip side of this city, is that it is also extremely poor (I'm sure you're surprised given that 70% of the country lives in poverty). We're staying in the Hotel Venecia which is part of a Texaco... Yes you read that right. We like it because they have AC units in the rooms!!

We will be working on seven houses and a church while here. Mark knows a pastor here named Luis who told him about their daughter church out in Arizona. Arizona is a smaller town farther into the country. The church out there has not had a pastor in ten years and it is no coincidence that about a month ago a young couple heard the call. Their names are Mario and Lesli. It is a very poor area, so, coming in the name of Jesus, we will be helping however we can in Arizona. We are hoping that by our helping members of the community, more can come to know Jesus Christ. Another possible project is to buy the land next to the church and build two homes to be rented to help the church's income (any percentage of nothing is still nothing). Part of Mark's desire is helping young pastors. He understands that most churches are seriously lacking income, so he helps find ways that the church can stay afloat by renting a property, selling bricks, etc.

To help us with the work a team has flown in for this week. There are four men from Houston's Second Baptist (Matt, Ken, J.Pad, and Curt), of whom a few are former Aggies, and one was Mark's roommate in college (that's their connection to this mission). The fifth man is one of the other's father, and is the associate pastor at a church in Phoenix, AZ. The last two members of the team is the music pastor and his wife (Aaron and Liz) of a church in Dallas. This is the first mission trip for most of these people, and they're hoping it will spur on many others to come. For the pastors on the trip, they're using this as a test to continue missions through Mark with their churches.

So we arrived here Friday evening and of course Saturday we headed to the beach! The team flew in Saturday night. Sunday we went to Luis' church here in Tela, and we were planning on going to the beach afterwards, but a curfew was in effect starting at 2pm and ending that day due to the political unrest. So early Monday morning we headed off to work. In the morning we women are doing a Vacation Bible School and then whatever work we can find helping the guys. The guys, like I said, are working on about seven houses. They'll be pouring concrete floors in all and building walls for a few. Yesterday they finished two and today they'll finish two more. After lunch I've been going back to the hotel with Michelle and the kids so I can work on the design for the roof (remember Didasko, the orphanage?). I will say that this is by far some of the hardest work we've had to do. It's been in the 90s and we're working mostly in the sun... Please pray that God gives us, especially the men, strength for this week.

On a side note, Honduras has instated an interim president, Roberto Micheletti. The former president Zelaya has vowed to return on Thursday with the support of the OAS leader, Insulza as well as Venezuela's communist leader Chavez. Most American nations are supporting Zelaya and saying the coup was not legal. Although it may be true that it was not the democratic way, removing Zelaya is important to this country's future. If Zelaya remains in power he will try to become it's dictator. But anyway, we've had no trouble here, and it seems like the news is making it sound worse than it is. However, be praying that any road blockades are removed by the time we fly out, or we might miss our flights.

Well I think that gets us all caught up here. If you haven't heard yet, Matt (our Matt) returned home on Saturday to be with his family for a while. His father was recently diagnosed with colon cancer and has an operation tomorrow (7/1). Please be in prayer for his family through this time, and especially for his dad, Richard.

I'm missing you guys a lot, so leave comments for me!! Love you all!!

Allie

No Need to Worry

I just wanted to send out a quick note letting everyone know that we're safe and haven't had any problems where we are at.

For those just tuning in, this morning the president of Honduras was captured by four Navy Seals and flown to Costa Rica. What I've read on CNN makes him sound like quite the victim, but he certainly is not. From the mouth of a national, I've heard that if Zelaya continues to run this country, he will make it a communist nation. Anyway, there are protests going on in certain cities and a possibility of airports being blocked to make a statement. However, where we are at, we've had no trouble and we're all doing fine. For today, we'll be staying indoors just for a precaution and we'll see what tomorrow holds. If there are any other developments, I'll keep you posted.

For the latest AP releases click here

Thank you for your prayers for us and for this country!

Love you all!

Allie

Mi Hermanito: My Little Brother

Today is Jordan's birthday! My kid brother is turning 17... Not so much of a kid anymore. But tonight I'd like to tell everyone how special he is to me. I'll always have the picture of Jordan in my head when he was about 5. Let me tell you he was a cute kid!! I can still hear that little boy's voice... probably telling me to stop beating on him. I remember playing all the time with him! Even though we fought a lot, we played even more! I love him so very much. It's weird seeing him get older. I feel like he should always be little. But its exciting too. I'm so proud of him. He's such a great kid, er, young man; such a strong character, and not afraid to do what's right.

Happy Birthday Bro!

Love you!

Allie

Didasko Kids

Ok, I have a few stories from Didasko that I've heard that I think you all would like to read about:



First of all is this family here. From the left, this is Emma, 12; Osman, 15; and Edgar, 11. They are siblings who came to live at Didasko seven years ago. Some years before that, their parents illegally moved to Canada where their father was sent to a prison for some crime. Soon after, their mother, while pregnant with twins, was committed to a mental institution, and later the children were deported back to Honduras. They were then put in an orphanage where they were severely abused. Then the orphanage kicked them out because they were too much of a handful, so they were placed in Didasko. Years later, one of the other kid's mother's was visiting (the children were removed because she couldn't afford to take care of them) and happened to mention that Emma, Edgar, and Osman were her nephews and niece. So through this woman the directors learned that their mother was released from the institution and deported. Since she came back to Honduras, she had gotten pregnant by another man. After giving birth, she walked into a Pulperia (convenient store) and asked if the woman behind the counter would like to buy her child for Lps 300 (about $15) and the radio. Praise God, this woman was a good woman and said yes. So this child has since been adopted and has a chance at a normal life (comparatively speaking). Anyway, all this to say, these kids seem to be quite a handful for Rhonda and the directors, Jorge and Rosa. However, I almost can't imagine this place without them. They are all such an important part of this family here! Please pray for them that they will seek God in their future lives, that God will reveal Himself to them and that they will be attentive to Him.

Next, I'm going to tell a story Rhonda told me. A couple of months ago, Jorge, Rosa and Rhonda went to lunch with a woman who wanted to put her infant in an orphanage. She told them that she couldn't work and care for an infant; and if she couldn't work, then she'd have no money for her little girl anyway. Initially Jorge told her that with Didasko's staff and facilities, they couldn't take on a baby. But because his heart went out to this woman, he made her the offer to come and live at Didasko. She would help take care of the other children, and although they couldn't pay her much she would get food, clothing, and housing. And the best part of all is that she would get to keep her little girl - that she could take care of her, while helping around the orphanage. The woman shook her head, and as Rhonda told me this, I could see the emotion in her eyes: the woman said, "No, quiero dejarle." Rhonda said she'll never forget those words as long as she lives. It means, "No, I want to leave her." The directors' hearts broke for this little angel. Rosa then leaned over to Rhonda and whispered, "If we take her, where will she stay?" Rhonda immediately replied that she would take her, that she could handle her, and that she could live in her house. So they began the paperwork. Everything was all filled out, and ready to go for this baby to move to Didasko when Jorge asked about her medical history. Although the mother didn't want to tell the whole truth, eventually she told them that the girl had a hernia and was in severe pain. Unfortunately, Didasko couldn't take on a child with such medical problems. At any moment, if she had a problem, she would need to be rushed to the hospital and Didasko is 45 minutes away from the nearest. Jorge told the woman that if she went to the hospital, the surgery could be done for free and after the girl had recovered, they would take her. The woman then asked for the names of other orphanages. Rhonda said she hated to let her walk out the door. They haven't heard from her since.

The last story is about a thirteen year old girl who asked Jesus to come into her heart last night. While saying good night to these angels, this girl left the room while the others were praying. Rhonda followed her to ask what was wrong. They sat down together, and we (Tracy, Amy and I) headed back to the house. Rhonda told us later that the girl admitted to her that during their prayers she began to hear the lies of Satan that she was all alone and that there was no point to being here any longer. She wanted to end her life right there. Rhonda felt that her Spanish was inadequate to handle this kind of thing, so she prayed that God would help her through this, and then she prayed aloud with the girl. Rhonda told her that Satan was spreading lies in her mind and that Jesus was knocking on the door to heart. She told her that all she had to do was open it up to Him. Well, then Jorge walked up and asked what was wrong. After a little coaxing, she opened up to him about this matter. He looked straight at the girl and asked her, "Do have Jesus in your heart? Because unless you open the door for Him, He won't come in." How amazing that he would use the same analogy! The girl shook her head no, that she didn't have Jesus in her heart. When asked if she wanted to accept Him. She shook her head yes. Then Jorge prayed over her, and then led her through what we might call The Sinner's Prayer, and then she prayed on her own. Rhonda said it was a powerful moment in all of their lives. Now we're praying for the girl that she can learn and grow in Him who strengthens her. Please pray with us for this beautiful child of God.

Thank you for your prayers, love and support!

Always,
Allie

More pics from Roatan, Campamento, and Didasko can be found here and here.

Hey guys, a couple quick updates:

Today the guys did some more work here at the seminary in Siguat. We went and bought some trees and planted them around campus, they all look really nice. I got to talk to Mark a lot today and hear about his vision for the place. It serves as a church retreat as well, so at times there are church groups that come out here and rent rooms. Well, there's a lot that Mark is wanting to update and beautify so that it will be a more appealing place for church groups, and thus up the revenue. So what we've done these past couple days will help that. He talked about making this place a launching pad for sending out Honduran missionaries. There're a few students that recently went to Turkey with Mark and Michelle, and they have a big interest in serving as missionaries there to the Muslims. Mark said once they learn the language, they'd fit in so easily compared to white people trying to do missions work there. In Turkey, they observed what some Latin missionaries were doing and it was very fruitful; so it's looking like it'll be a great idea.

As for me, my time here is probably coming to a close. I decided to go home a week early and be with my family for my dad's surgery. Allie feels that she needs to stay here and finish the mission in Tela (where the team is spending the last week), which I completely understand. As Allie mentioned earlier, there is some crazy political stuff going on, so I should make it to the airport okay, but there're probably gonna be a lot of check points on the roads. Again, we are perfectly safe. No one is in any kind of danger, it's just looking to be really inconvenient for people needing to travel on the roads.

The entire trip I've been looking and pondering and trying to figure out what I could do on the mission field in a place like this. It'd be relatively easy to get a job teaching English at a school, but that's barely part of what I want to do. Being back here at the seminary has gotten the wheels turning in my head. There are lots of students here that need/want to learn English. And if I could teach the Bible as well, that would just be majic. So who knows, maybe I'll end up in Siguatepeque, Honduras one day as a professor at SEBCAH. (I know it sounds funny, Professor Ruzicka. But I think your title sounds funny too, so how bout that?) And if that doesn't work out, then I'll just go back to driving around in a van and solving mysteries. Anyways, Mark told me if I want to come back here next summer, he can set me up to teach English here at the seminary or at any school for however long I want. Pretty cool stuff.

Today In Other News...

Tonight I'd like to let everyone know what is going on in the political world of Honduras. First you'll need some background information. The president of Honduras is Mel and is somewhat of a radical. He has an alliance in Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and people say he is modeling his presidency after Chavez. For example, recently, Mel raised the minimum wage, which should be a good thing for the people of an impoverished nation. However, he raised it much too fast. The minimum monthly wage went from Lps 3,140 ($157) to Lps 5,500 ($275) on January 1 of this year. This has resulted in many many people losing their jobs and thereby furthering Honduas' poverty.

Anyway, the purpose of me telling you this, is that in November is the presidential election for Honduras and each president is only allowed (by law) to serve one term. However, Mel would like to ammend this law and serve another term. On Monday he is holding an illegal vote to ammend said law. Unfortunately for Mel, this makes many people very angry, including the military. From one of Mark's contacts we've been told that this weekend there is a possiblilty of a military take-over. Now, before anyone starts to worry, you should know that we as Americans are perfectly safe. We'll be no where near the political capital Tegucigalpa. All of us will be together in San Pedro Sula (4 hours away). I only wanted to let you all know so that you can be praying for Honduras. If Mel continues the path he's taking, many people fear Honduras will become a Communist nation. We've heard that in San Pedro Sula all of the evangelical churches had a gathering for prayer. They filled the streets of over 10 blocks. This weekend many churches are getting together to pray. Please pray with your Honduran brothers and sisters as with one voice lifted to God for his providence and mercy on this country.

In His service,
Allie

People in Campamento

Ok so I want to post about some of the families in Campamento.

Dayli (pronounced Die-lee) is an adorable five year old who last year had a goiter on her neck about the size of a golf ball. Well, last year Mark's cousin Tracy was here, and was able to help her out a little. He didn't know what to do about a goiter, so he called a doctor friend back in the states at $2/min to ask. This doctor mentioned that he had just recently read a medical journal about children with goiters in Belize. They found that these children had zinc deficiencies, so it was worth a try. They drove all over the country looking for any medical center that had zinc pills. Praise God, they finally found some and gave them to the family hoping that this would work. Well here we are, one year later and her goiter is almost completely gone!!! You can't even see it; you can only feel it under the skin. She has a couple of small scars to show, but other than that, she's doing really well!!! Soon, I'll try to post pictures of Dayli.

One of the families who's house we worked on consists of a husband and wife and four children. We found out that the roof and floor were all a surprise for them. They were so sweet and so very grateful. I wish we could have done more. It's hard to even imagine raising your children in a place like that; as you read this, imagine yourself living here. The house was about 10'x30' (originally with no roof and a dirt floor), the walls consisted of hardened mud with a sort of putty painted on the outside. The kitchen contained an earthen wood stove (made of the same stuff as the walls) and a couple of pans. They had a concrete wash basin outside and I never did find out where they went to the bathroom. They had a dog and a few chickens. Pictures to come soon.

Thanks for the faithful readership! Love,

Allie

I realized it's been a while since I've put a pic up, so I thought I'd put one up of Laninito. He's the son of a guy named Lanin, a student here at the seminary. Cute kid, gave me a Spiderman sticker earlier.

Shifting gears

Well, if it's one thing I've learned and experienced in this mission trip, it's that things are always subject to change. I can't tell you how many times we've had to plan and replan, reassess and shift gears. Things get canceled and new things come up unexpectedly; such is the life of a missionary, I'm learning.

So we were in Teguc for a few days: the guys were setting up computers for Pastor Pablo's Internet Cafe, and the girls went back to the orphanage. But, we wound up finishing way early, so we took a bus yesterday to Seguatepeque where Mark and Michelle live at the seminary. We're gonna be doing some work here for the next couple of days. Today we're clearing out a room that has a lot of stuff stored in it, because the seminary is gonna make an Internet Cafe out if it. (I guess that's the new trend here) I just talked to Allie on the phone and she said they're having a great time at the orphanage. They had the option to come here to Seguat tomorrow, but she wants to stay till Friday.

I've really been juggling whether or not to fly home this weekend, because my dad is having surgery on July 1st. I found a ticket that's affordable, but I still don't know what God wants me to do; so, I decided not to make a decision without knowing what I'm supposed to do. Everyone I ask keeps telling me the same thing: that they can't tell me what to do, and either way will be the right choice. They may be right, but it's still not the answer I'm looking for. A yes or no would be very convenient. So yeah, we'll see what happens there. We're taking a break from moving stuff right now, so I better go relax a little before the siesta is over.

To my parents:

Ok, I know this is a little late, but forgive me... This blog is going to be dedicated to my parents! I wanted to do a Father's Day tribute, but I didn't want to leave my mom out of the fun... So enjoy:

I'll start with Mom. Sometimes I'm not sure if the images in my head are real memories, or just from pictures I've seen. But regardless, past and present, my mother has always been the image of beauty to me. Now, I'm not just talking about physical beauty, I'm talking about everything: the way she talks, the way she walks, listens, cooks, sleeps, cleans, and dresses. I remember being younger and thinking to myself that I want to be just like her when I grow up. At different times we had matching dresses that we would wear to church or on special occasions, and I remember standing in her closet looking at hers and thinking how lucky I was. She's such a great mom, and she's so very special to me. As I get closer to "grown up," I'm starting to see more of her in me, but I can only pray that I continue to learn from her and be more like her.

Now my dad, he has always been my hero - that is to say, my knight in shining armor. I've always imagined my dad as being able to accomplish anything, as breaking down any barrier. When I was younger, I remember going to the doctor with him to get stitches removed from his cheek. I believe it was a basketball accident (big surprise). As I sat in the chair next to him and heard the doctor call him Frankenstein, for the first time it occurred to me that he could get hurt. I know that may sound silly, but come on, I was a kid. Even today, I see him as invincible. I've seen him go through a lot of things, but I've never seen him give up. What I love about him is that he's my hero, but I still see him cry often (a lot from the pulpit). He has such a good heart. Through his tender heart and strength of character, I've learned a lot about leadership - a lot about servitude. He's definately been a motivation for me to accomplish what I dream of.

My parents make such a great team! I couldn't have been more blessed. They've both taught me so much about who I am, about who God is, about loving each other, and about the world around me ...And I'm missing home right now.

Love you guys so much!

Allie

Car rides

My dad's never been short on words and has never met a stranger. I used to go to a preschool called Young World and my dad took me there every morning on his way to work. I was never really much for singing, but I loved singing with my dad on the way to preschool everyday. It was at least a 30 minute drive, and we'd sing the whole way there. I don't even remember all the songs, the only one that sticks out in my mind is "Davy Crockett" (yeah, he had a song too, as if being portrayed by John Wayne wasn't enough). Back then I had a coon skin cap that my parents bought me from the Alamo gift shop (that is, before I left it outside one day and my dogs chewed the tail off). So yeah, going to Young World everyday and singing songs with my dad was an adventure every morning.

As I got older, the lyrics turned into, what I affectionately call, lectures. Like I said, my dad's never been short on words. I've always considered myself a good listener, and I attribute that to listening to my dad talk. Any and every opportunity he gets to talk to someone, he does it. So for years the car rides consisted of my dad giving his two cents on life, always having advice for any age old situation I found myself in. Calvin and Hobbes always resonated with me because Calvin's dad always speeched him about building character. Not only has he never met a stranger, but there's also nothing he can't give a lecture on. After having been in college for 6 years, I'm sure he'd make a great professor. He could teach Beefology 101. (Inside joke, for all you outsiders)

Today, I'm old enough to talk back, give my own two cents. The car rides are just as enjoyable as when I was a kid, headed to Young World. Now we both talk and we both listen. And it's like we're singing together all over again.

Happy Father's Day.

I'm sore!

Hey guys, Matt here. So we worked pretty hard these past few days in Campemento. We put up two roofs and laid concrete floors for two houses. It was pretty cool because the night we put up the roofs, we were all at the church under the pavilion watching Mr. Bean's Holiday (in Spanish mind you, good thing Mr. Bean isn't very conversational) it started raining like crazy! It rained hard for hours and hours. And I went up to Pastor Allan (the pastor of Filadelfia) and another guy named Allan, and told them something Allie mentioned to me after the movie: "It's pretty awesome to know that it's raining like crazy, but there are two families that have a roof over their heads now".

So yeah, the most work was the concrete floors. We leveled out one floor the other day; that consisted of a large 30 lb wooden block with two long wooden handles nailed to it on either side, and walking around slamming it onto the dirt floor. The other floor was already level enough, thank God. Me, Jason, BJ, Allan, and a couple other Honduran guys mixed more concrete than I ever care to look at again. But Jiovani (the master at everything) smoothed all the concrete and the floors look great.

They had a church service specifically for us last night to tell us goodbye. It was pretty cool. Pastor Allan preached out of Acts 20:19, where Paul talks about "serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials." They'd asked me earlier while we were working to play a song during the service, so I did. And today after Pastor Allan dropped us off, him and his wife gave us all t-shirts that they had made for us! That was pretty awesome of them. Mine's maroon, WHOOP!

The drive from Campemento back to Tegucigalpa is over 2 hrs, and we all rode in the back of Pastor Allan's Nissan Frontier...all 9 of us...with some luggage that couldn't fit in his cab...and it was rainy. So yeah, it's officially been a mission trip. Honestly though, we loved it; we wouldn't have had it any other way. My butt was really getting numb from the truck bed, but then I saw a dead cow on the side of the road and a mangy dog was chewing on its butt...I suddenly didn't feel so bad anymore. Funny how God teaches us these things. (I wish I was making that up)

So yeah, sorry to put such a huge post here after Allie already wrote one, but it was truly an amazing week in Campemento. The people there were so nice and the kids were so great. They're off in their own little world out there, barely any electricity. People are hanging at the church all the time. Not a bad way to live, actually.

Back from Campamento!

Hola to everyone! Well, we're still alive and well after our week in Campamento! There's so much to blog about that I don't know where to start. Unfortunately I never finished telling you all about the orphanage, so I'm pretty far behind. On the up-side, I'll have a few days to get caught up, and I'll try to break it down in shorter posts so it's easier on our readers.

Our days at Didasko (the orphanage) were definately short lived, and we're excited to get back there on Saturday (6/20). We spent three days there, getting to know Rhonda, her family, the directors, Jorge and Rosa, and all the kids. I got to do a lot of measuring so the main building can get a roof in a few months. The boys bathroom/shower room has had no roof on it since last October! That means all the flooding that happens here goes straight to that room! It's got mold, and is difficult to get to when its flooded. Also, the rest of the roof over that building (dorms, bathrooms, kitchen, storage) is full of asbestos, so hopefully soon, the rest of the roof will be replaced. The last day we were there, we helped some hired guys put in a concrete sidewalk from the kitchen to the dorms. It's uphill and all dirt, which means when it's raining/flooding it's all slippery mud in their worn sandals. No bueno! It's so great to be a part of this! I'm never more happy than when I'm doing what I was born to do! I loved seeing those kids excited about the flip-flops and t-shirts they received! Oh man, I love this! Those kids are so amazing! When we go back on Saturday, I'll try to post some more of the kids' stories.

Well, Wednesday morning we drove back into Tegus, picked up all the guys, and headed out in a Busito (little bus) to Campamento. It was about a 3 hour drive up and down and around mountains, and half of the drive was on a dirt road... We stayed this past week in some rooms on the church property. The church is called Iglesia Filadelfia Centro Americano Campamento. And I'm going to tell the rest of that story another time... I've got to take a shower!

Tomorrow we're headed to Roatan for a short vacation. We're about half way through our trip and they want us to relax a little from all the work. It's an island on the coast, and I'm hearing that its going to be paradise. Clear water and snorkeling awaits us there! I'll get back to you all soon!

Love you,

Allie

Pics from the orphanage here

Ada y Maria

These two lovely girls are called Ada, 14, and Maria, 9 (from left to right). They are sisters who came to live at Didasko 6 years ago. They have the same father and two different mothers. Their story is something that no child should ever have to endure. It begins with Maria's mother killing Ada's mother and then turning on Ada. She poured boiling water on her, which has burned both of her arms. You can see the scars there on her left arm. She was younger than 8. After that, Ada picked up her 3 year old baby sister and runs away. They spent some amount of time out on the street; no one knows how long. But in that time they begged for money, slept wherever they could, ate anything they could find including trash. Finally, the government picked them up and dropped the sisters off at Didasko. Soon after they started having problems. It was found out that because of all the trash they had eaten, there were now parasites in their brains that would remain there for the rest of their lives. Because Ada was older, her body can survive the parasites; however, because Maria was so young when she started eating trash, she now has to take medicine exactly every twelve hours or her body will go into convulsions and she'll soon die. Even though they've gone through so much, they are such happy girls. They love each other, and have shown me so much love that I'm amazed at the joy God has placed in their hearts. Please pray for these girls as they grow older and become women of God. Pray that they'll not fall into the ways of this world. Pray that they will always be comforted by the everlasting Father God.

I'm a mason!

Hey guys, Matt here. Yesterday we started building a storage shed for Pastor Alex and his wife Holly. (yes, I'm feeling better and went to work yesterday and today) Here's a look at what we started on today: the walls. The guy in the lower part is BJ, the other Ag. With him, his girlfriend Allison, Allie, Mark and Holly, they all make a large Aggie coven.

If Pablo and his bro Jiovani weren't already funny enough, Alex just adds to the comedy. He speaks a little English, so he's able to tell jokes. The work has been hard, even harder than last week, but it's been really good with all us guys together. BJ said last year he was the only intern here in Honduras, and that would drive me crazy. My Spanish is getting better, little by little. It's been interesting chatting with people. I'm glad they're patient.

Last night was funny because we were so flippin' tired from work, but at 7:00 we had absolutely nothing to do and wanted to go to bed, but felt like a bunch of viejos (old people), so we forced ourselves to stay up till 9:30. We just sat around on the living room floor and read; it was so lame! We told Holly about it today, and she looked appalled and said she'd kill for a night of nothing to do but reading. (she's a mother of 3 little kids) So I'm gonna do it again tonight. Oh, and I got to the 1/3 mark of the book I'm writing! Most of you are like, "You're writing a book?" And yes, I is. Nombre!!

So I'll admit, being here is a little more labor than I expected. I thought we'd all be doing some English teaching and orphanage work, but that stuff is more reserved for the girls. But I'm definitely not complaining. I was reading last night in Mark about having to be a servant if you want to be a leader, and that the first will be last and the last will be first. So I do appreciate where I'm at and what I'm doing. The things we're building, and will build, directly affect other people, and will do so for years to come. And the Hondurans are soooo appreciative. These churches are connected with CAM, so they've had interns come out and do work for them before; and to them, it's a HUGE deal. What we do helps them out immensely, and they see this stuff as a huge leap forward in their ministries. So it'd be cool to come back here years from now and see how our construction is being used by God.

So we got most of the walls put up today. Tomorrow, a window, walls finished, roof and door, and then roof repairs on Pastor Alex's house. Big important stuff!! Also today, we were talking about the best songs of the 80's. There were some lame nominations, like Rod Stewart. I said Total Eclipse of the Heart. OK, lemme explain! It's not like I have that on my iPod all the time, or even at all, it's just been reoccuring in SO many movies and TV shows the past 10 years, that's why I nominated it. And I know most of you are nodding your heads in agreement as you read this, so get off me.

It was really hot today too, but luckily I always use sunblock with SPF triple digits. Alright, that's it for now people.

Didasko

Hello all my Norteamericanos (North Americans)!! Welcome to the blog. I want to take this moment to thank you all for your support. I'm sure I sound like a broken record at this point, but you really have no idea how much it means to Matt and I. This trip wouldn't have been possible without you! And I want you all to remember as you read our blogs that everything that happens here, happens because of you all! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!



This morning I find myself in beautiful Tamara, which is about 45 minutes outside of Tegucigalpa. Amy, Allison and I are working at an orphanage here called Didasko. We're staying with a missionary named Rhonda who lives on campus. In a minute I'm going to tell you a little about Rhonda, but first a few sentences about yesterday:



From the retreat, we went to Alex's church which was really cool. The people were so nice, and the service and music was great (although I didn't understand a lot of it). Then we went to lunch at Pollo Supremo. And then it was off to the orphanage.



The guys are staying at the retreat through Thursday, and they'll be working with Alex, and then a little with Pablo again.



So anyway, about Rhonda. She is such a great woman, and you can really see what a big heart she has for these kids! She's about 28 and from Orange, TX. Yesterday we got to sit and talk with her for a couple of hours, so we heard a lot about the kids and where they come from and also Rhonda's personal journey to Honduras. So now I'm going to recount her journey:



She started the story with her working for a church in Washington. She was in charge of the Bus Ministry (picking kids up from low-income homes to go to church), and also did lots of activities with them. She worked there for 7 years. Well, at this point she never would have guessed she'd be in Honduras! What she did know was that God had given her a desire to care for kids. She wanted to work in an orphanage, but figured that would come later in life when she was married and settled down. About 5 years into her bus ministry in November, she was doing some activities with the girls when a mother came to pick up her daughters early. Rhonda started moving quickly to get their turkeys finished while not knowing how to communicate with the mother because she was a Spanish-speaker with very little English. Well, the mother walked over, and told Rhonda, "You good with children." Rhonda smiled and replied, "Thank you." The woman shook her head and said, "No, you good with children." They repeated this a couple of times before Rhonda decided that "thank you" isn't working, so she responded, "Well, thank you. These kids are my life, it's my calling from God." The woman stared at her, and replied, "NO, you very, very good with children. You come to my country." Rhonda was a little started at this and said, "Why would I go there?" She said, "In my country there are babies on the street. No one to care for them. You go to my country." At this point in Rhonda's life, she thought at that moment, "I might just do that." So she asked the woman, "Where is your country?" She said, "Honduras." And Rhonda replied, "I might just do that."



Well although she was now thinking of the possibility of living in another country, she still thought it would be farther down the road. Two years later, after going to a conference about your dreams being placed in your heart by God, she decided she would look into working at an orphanage. Through her church, she found 2 orphanages with open positions; one in Nicaragua and one in Panama. So after a lot of prayer, fasting, weeping, and excitement, she felt God say it was time. Through her church, she went to a language school in Costa Rica. As it turns out, two positions in Honduras opened up while she was in school. At first the church didn't want her going because the American missionary there was leaving, but not long after, he decided to stay. It was like as soon as a hinderance came up, a solution would arise.

So she visited all of the Central American orphanages affiliated with her church. So finally upon God's leading she committed to the Didasko orphanage in Tamara, Honduras. She went back to the US to start raising support. After all the money was raised and she was about to buy her plane ticket, she felt God saying to wait, and that she would be in the states longer than planned. So she decided to wait 5 days. Within that time, she got a phone call from her mother saying that her dad didn't make it in to work. She drove to her mom's so they could go look for him, and about that time, the sherriff was pulling in the driveway to tell them that he had been killed in a car accident. Rhonda stayed with her family after this incident in September, and in February of this year she felt it was time for her to go.

I'm sorry if that was a long story, but I just felt it was worth sharing. She cares so much for these kids here. Right now, her mother, two sisters, their families, and various friends have come to visit her for a week. They total 10 people, and will be helping with many of the projects we'll be doing.

Today, Allison and I are measuring the main building of the orphanage (dorms, bathrooms, kitchen) and I'm making a sort of technical drawing so Mark can figure the costs and amounts of materials to build a new roof. Everyone else is painting Rhonda's house.

Tomorrow, I'm going to tell a few of the kids' stories.

Love you all! It's time for me to get back to work!
Allie

PS. Sorry still working on pics of the hike, etc

estoy enfermo

That's Spanish for "I'm sick". We went to Pastor Alex's church this morning, and on the way there I started feeling bad, and it really hit me halfway through the service. Mark went and got me a Gatorade and Alex's daughter brought me some Tylenol. Mark's cousin Tracy is our modern day Doogie Houser, studying medicine at Bastrop, so he brought a lot of med supplies, so I'm definitely not lacking medicine and stuff. I've been feeling better on and off, took a nap when we got home and woke up feeling worse. It's mainly my head and also my entire body aches, and I've kept a decent fever. (and the only prescription is more cowbell!) <--- you knew that was coming.

So yeah, I didn't do too much of anything today; hopefully I'll be good enough to work tomorrow.

Cheque Leque (Okie Dokie)

Right now, I’m watching the Honduras vs. USA soccer game… The score is 1-1 and its half time. Everyone here is really enjoying it, but I have to admit, I’m not that much of a soccer fan. I find it a little boring. Nevertheless, I bought a Honduras jersey. Well you’re probably wondering what new adventures we’ve gotten ourselves into, and lucky for you, I’m going to tell you!

Thursday was another great day of school! I did some more teaching today, and its cool because the students actually seem to listen while I’m talking (which isn’t common for here). I’ve also gotten to know the English teacher very well. He’s 28 and married, no children yet. In his spare time he sings for a Christian rock group! Isn’t that interesting! He was telling me all about his latest gig in El Salvador. I also got to finally meet the American Bible teacher, Amanda. She had been sick all week, so this was her first day back at school. She was really nice, and I wish I had gotten to know her better. That night we went out to a Chinese restaurant with the whole family, and then turned in.

Friday was a little sad, knowing that it was our last day at Penzotti. It was still great though. One of the classes were making baleadas (remember the tortillas and beans? These also had Honduran cheese in them) to sell to raise money for projects around the school. So naturally I bought a couple. We also had a full lunch of flank steak (fajita meat) with onions and bell peppers, a small salad, rice, and a cooked plantain with refried beans stuffed into it. Yes you heard me right: refried beans stuffed into a plantain!! It wasn’t terrible… it was surely interesting though! Then we headed home to get everything packed up since it was our last day with Gladys’ family. We played a few games of cards, loaded up, said our goodbyes, and took off.

For the weekend we’re staying at Mark’s old house just on the outskirts of Teguc. Before Mark moved to Siguat, he helped the church that owns this property turn it into a retreat for youth groups, Americans, and who ever else. So its pretty nice here! Beautiful buildings and gorgeous plants and trees. It’s called Villa Gracie.

So I guess that brings us to today, our latest big adventure! We woke up for breakfast at 7:30 and then went to a pastor’s house nearby. His name is Alex and he’s a Honduran who’s married to an Aggie named Holly. And I believe the boys will be working with Alex this coming week. Anyway, we went with his church’s youth group to a national park called La Tigre, which means 'The Tiger'. Now, they had told us we would do some hiking, and that it was a little difficult, but naturally we all felt good about going. Unfortunately Amy got a little sick during the night, so she didn’t go with us. So that left Matt, Jason, Tracy and I. Oh ya, Tracy is Mark’s cousin from Bastrop. He’s going into his senior year of high school and flew in yesterday to join the mission.

After a terrifying bus ride up the mountain, we started up the trail. Alex’s group was going hiking on a shorter trail, so it was just the four of us! Our map said it was about a 3.8 km hike to this waterfall, and then we’d double back another 3.8 km. Let me say this, it was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I took lots of pictures so you can see the rainforest-like place we were in. We basically had to hike up 2000 meters then back down to the waterfall, then do it all over again! It was crazy, and really tough! But I’m happy to say we’re all alive and happy to be relaxing! The waterfall was gorgeous! Not as much water as Pulupanzak, but almost as tall. The water was really cold, and there wasn’t much of it collecting at the bottom, so no swimming. However, we did eat lunch out there before heading back. It was really awesome!!

When we got back to Villa Gracie, we met two more team members, BJ and Allison. They’re dating and both come from A&M and are going in to their senior year. Whoop! BJ’s a Spanish major, and Allison’s a psychology major. I’m excited to get to know them; they seem like great people with really great hearts!

Well, now the game has 20 minutes left, USA just scored another goal, and they’re bugging me to pay attention. So, tomorrow the girls are heading out to the orphanage, so be praying for us! I’m not sure what the boys will be doing, but I know they’re staying here at the retreat through the week.

Continue praying for us, and thanks for taking the time to check up on us! Your support is very much appreciated! So thanks again to all of our friends and family!!!

~Allie

PS. I'm still working on pictures, so I'll let you know when they're available.

Get Up! Stand Up!

Hey homies, Matt here. We're at a place where they do church retreats, met up with the girls here a little while ago. We're gonna go hiking tomorrow at La Tigre park. Everytime I hear the name La Tigre, I think of Derek Zoolander's looks and Will Ferrell's rant at the end of the movie: "Blue Steel?! La Tigre?! They're all the SAME look!! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! I invented the piano key necktie! What has he done? Nothing!!" Sorry, I know a couple of you get it.

So this past week has been pretty flippin' cool. Me and this guy Jason from Cedarville University have been hanging a ceiling and today we were welding a desk together. The churches here (well, the poor ones like the one we've been staying at) have a problem with staying afloat financially, so they have to come up with ways to make money. They're gonna open up an internet cafe and the building was built by Mark (the missionary we're with) last year, so we're putting up the ceiling and desk for it. Computers were donated awhile back and they're supposed to be on their way by boat, but they got lost in the Bermuda Triangle or something. So yeah, the place is looking really sweet now.

We lived in that same building all week and slept on cots, and lemme tell you: Tegulcigalpa is the noisiest city in the world, especially at night. Everything from dogs barking and fighting, roosters crowing at all hours of the night (in the movies they only do it at sunrise, what's up with that?), kids crying and adults getting wasted. I had earplugs but they didn't make any difference; plus they just fell out at night. I got woken up at least 10 times every night, except for last night, I only got woken up like 3 or 4 times. I think it's cuz I had good dreams, too... I dreamt I was Batman. So yeah, I wouldn't recommend raising kids there, unless you had your own reality show.

The churches next door neighbors grow pot and they're not ashamed to smoke it on their porch. Yesterday morning, me, Jason, and Jiovani (Pastor Pablo's brother) were working and jamming some music. Jiovani is hilarious, he loves all the hits from the 70s and 80s and some other random stuff like Allison Kraus, so I really wanna take him to the States and let him listen to BOB FM, it'd blow his mind. So Jiovani brought a burned CD of Bob Marley's greatest hits, and at like 10 am we're jammin' Marley and the neighbors are smoking so much pot next door, it smells like we're in the car with Bill and Ted. I think we got them in the mood or something since we had the radio on pretty loud. (no one has glass windows in the slums, just bars and maybe screens cuz there are no air conditioners). I was gonna plug up some Jerry Garcia on my iPod, but once the humidor got cloudy, I decided against it.

I know Honduras is an impoverished nation, but guys I promise you this: we have not missed a single meal. It's very common to just pop into someone's house and say hey, and in their culture they feel obligated to offer you some food and soda or coffee. Great thing is, Pablo is a pastor, so it's totally normal for a pastor to go around to their people's homes; he takes me and Jason with him, and we're the interesting white boys, so the love to give us some great food and make us coffee and stuff. I joke around with them in Spanish too, so it's fun. And his wife Dina is a good cook too, so we've been eating great.

Pablo's church is called Betel (Bethel w/out the H, and put the emphasis on the second syllable). They have 4 services/Bible studies every week! He talks to me and Jason a lot about the difficulties of being a pastor there; he used to be well liked in the community, but once he became a pastor, he lost a lot of respect from people. He's a young guy, only 35. One of their neighbors is a girl named Gina, and I helped her with her English homework the other night. They live right there next to the church, but she never goes. So I asked her what she was doing last night right before church started, and she said "nada", so I pulled her into church with us. Pablo likes it when the gringos come and do stuff like that. He says it's harder for them to say no to us than to him. Plus I helped her with her homework, so she kinda owed me.

It's a very, very tough neighborhood. We're not allowed to walk anywhere alone and the other night when we went to the museum, we HAD to be back before 7:30. Pablo has a really big heart for this area and he always talks like he's burdened for the people there. It's tough for him, cuz the kids that go there will sometimes fall into drugs or prostitution, or both. After I helped Gina with her English and she came to church the next night, Pablo was telling me about how bad they need good English teachers in their schools. The teachers just hand them worksheets that are all in English and just tell them to do it; no instruction whatsoever. He said it'd be a good ministry to teach English in the schools and then teach the Bible or invite kids to church. The schools allow people to come in and teach Bible, and they'd allow someone like me to come in and teach English. He said if I wanted a job at the school, they'd hire me in a second.

So yeah, it's been absolutely great so far. Jason and me are gonna be working on some homes next week, Allie and Amy are going to an orphanage. Check out Allie's facebook for pics; she's got mine of the ceiling and desk, and some of the kids we were playing with. If the coffee continues to be this good, I'm just gonna burn my passport and stay here. Love you guys.

---matt

**disclaimer, I really don't have Garcia on my iPod, that was solely for a joke

Un Dia Nuevo - A New Day

Alright my faithful readership, after my attitude change yesterday, today went much better! Although, this morning at 5:30, I did wake up thinking, "If this were a regular job, I would totally call in sick!" But after washing my face, brushing my hair, and doing my other morning rituals, I felt alright. 

Today was fun I think because I was able to be much more interactive with the students. I was a little less intimidated, and the professor, Gabriel, really opened up the floor for me. It was cool teaching a group of teenagers, and even though I felt totally inadequate, Gabriel really believed I could do it, so it seemed more possible. They were all a little rowdy, but it wasn't impossible. I also got to go over the differences between "good," "better," and "best," and "bad," "worse," and "worst" with a more advanced class. So that was fun!

So even though in the back of my mind I felt ultimately unnecessary to the class, it was cool to see the kids excited about english. Gabriel even mentioned that privately the students tell him they want to speak english with us, which is great because they really don't see a need to speak it in daily life.

Then we finally got to meet the American missionary we were supposed to have been in contact with in this city. I think I mentioned that Mark lives about two hours away. Well, he went back home, and left us in the capable hands of Hondurans. However, we were supposed to meet a local CAM missionary, Edith Peters, earlier in the week, but she has been sick... Well, we finally met her today and let me tell you, she is a firecracker! She seems to know almost everything about anything! She's very old and very blunt! I want to be just like her! She talked with Amy and I for about 10 minutes and then left. Not exactly what we were expecting, but still alright. 

As a treat, after school, Ian took us to the Museum of Honduran National Identity. The boys, Jason and Matt, took a taxi and met us nearby. I'll save Matt's taxi experience for when he is able to post. The museum was cool! I love history, so it was really neat for me! We got to see all about the countries beginnings with indigenous tribes all the way up to the banana republics and then to some modern presidents. Then we watched a virtual reality tour of Copan, one of the Mayan ruins left in Honduras. That was cool since I think we won't be able to visit the ruins in person (they're about 4 hours away). Afterwards, Ian gave us a tour of the city. He showed us some of the wealthiest areas, and a few of the poorest ones. By 6:45pm it was time to take Matt and Jason back to the church they were staying at. The pastor of the church they're working on, Pablo, said it was too dangerous to be out any later (especially for Americans). So we get to the area (community/neighborhood), turn down a dirt road, pass a lot of impoverished houses, and get lost!!! ...So after about 30 minutes of driving through shady, dirt streets, we finally get it right and drop them off! It was definately a relief to be out of there and have everyone safe inside. Just one more thing we can praise God for! 

So to finish the day off, Amy, Ian and myself went up to their roof and chilled. It's one of those flat roofs with a normal staircase in the house leading up. It was awesome! There was such a great view of the city from up there! Since the city is set in a valley and on so many hills, you can really see just how far it stretches. We chatted up there about everything from Christian traditions to the cost of housing! I loved every minute of it!!! I really love just spending time with people and building those fundamental relationships!

Anyways, I'm feeling really good tonight and I'm praying that the rest of our time at the school goes well. Also, if you could take the time to pray for a few things for our group and our purpose. First, on Saturday we have two more interns joining us. Their names are Allison and BJ. I'm praying that us girls can get to know each other and really feel united as sisters and servants of God (I say girls because we're not around the guys too much). Second, I'm really praying that the kids we're helping teach are able to see how important and useful it would be to learn english. Finally, Monday we girls are starting at an orphanage, and although I'm not sure of all the details, I know that they're needing a new roof that I might get to help design. Thanks for your continued prayers and talk to you again soon!!

~Allie

Galations 2:20

Instituto Evangelico Francisco G Penzotti

Above is the name of the school where Amy and I are helping with ESL... But, we'll get there in a minute.

I believe I left off on Saturday night (5/30): Sunday morning, we woke up early to go check out the Siguat market, which was busy to say the least. There were so many vendors, most of whom were selling produce and all trying to get your attention. There were also stands with children's toys, souvenirs, and clothes. Most of the produce was outside, and the rest were inside (a roof with walls and doorways). Oh yes, and we can't forget the meat section... I can guarantee you've never smelt anything like this in your life. There were more than 20 vendors selling different meats, as well as several selling seafood, and I could be wrong, but it didn't look like much of it was frozen... or even cold.

From here we all jumped in the car, picked up Mark's wife Michelle and their kids and headed to church. They called the church Betel, but I didn't catch the full name. It started at 10 and we got out around 12 (and this isn't including a Sunday School service). It was cool though to try and pick up on the service. He used a powerpoint, so that helped comprehension greatly. He preached out of Hebrew 10:24. And I picked up on a few words like comparte, alabanza, buenas obras, etc etc. So all in all, it was fun. The music was good as well. The only one I recognized was "Above All." But they had a full band and worship team. And oh my, it got hot in there!! If I haven't specified before, none of the buildings here have AC (other than the American restaurants and some grocery stores).

After church we ate lunch at Micah's (Mark's son) favorite restaurant called Villa Verde. I had a strawberry drink and pinchos which are basically kebobs served with rice, refried beans, and plantains.

Then it was on to Tegucigalpa. Teguc is about 2 hours away from Siguat (making it 4 hours away from San Pedro where we flew in) and has around 1.5 million people. It's such an interesting city because it has some extremely wealthy people and many extremely poor. It's so weird to see shacks made of cinder blocks and a tin roof next to a Wendy's. I don't really understand the makeup... You'll just have to see the pictures to know what I'm talking about. While here, Amy and I are staying with a host home. Gladys Davila-Fontecha is the matriarch, she is in her 50s and speaks no English. I believe her husband has passed on. She has three children David, 38, who is in a technical school and has a wife and two kids (Gabriel, 7, and Valeria, 6); Gabriela, 28, who is a lawyer and business owner (she runs a pinata/party supply store); and Ian, 21, who is in the tech school with David. All three of them speak very good English, and Ian and Gaby live with Gladys. They are wonderful people who really care about Amy and I. Gladys owns a bakery as well as runs the cafeteria at the school we're helping at. While Ian is not in classes, he helps at the cafeteria.

So, we got to sleep in till 7 Monday morning, ate breakfast at the bakery, then went up to the school. Now, I'm going to be straight with you guys, my Spanish is extremely rusty. I was so embarrassed all day! The first few days being here were easy because we were around Americans. However now, we're totally immersed in the culture. Ian, Gaby, and David have been speaking mostly english to us, but we're trying to reply in Spanish. Also, most of the teachers at the school know very little english. So Monday was tough. I really hated feeling so inadequate... I went to work for the secondary level english teacher (who thankfully speaks pretty good english), whose name is Gabriel Medina. We spent Monday and part of today answering questions that the students had about the USA and me. Talking with the students wasn't so bad because they were trying to speak english to me and part of the time I would respond in english and part in spanish. So at the end of the school day (3pm) we went to the grocery store, and got home about 5:30. Oh my, I was exhausted... I crashed out and woke up around 9!! It's possible I ruined dinner, but I'm not sure, because Ian said they eat late. I woke up with a headache and I was very hungry. We got dinner at a Duncan Donuts :) and then tried to get some sleep. Monday was not a nice day... To be completely candid with everyone, I was really wondering why I came, and what my purpose was now that I'm here. I was thinking that ESL is great and all, but is that really what the country needs me to do for a week? So I went to sleep discouraged, and wondering how I would make it through the week. 

Today was a little different. It was still difficult to communicate, but I felt a little more confident. And I was still wondering what the point was, but I had decided this morning that it doesn't matter if I see the purpose but just to trust that God has me where He wants me. Even though I may not see my effectiveness, He is surely placing me in a position to be effective. So with that attitude and a little coffee today went better. 

Well it's about bed time, so more to come tomorrow!

Here are pics of the waterfall and Tegucigalpa

Here is the site for the school if you're curious

In His service,

Allie

PS. The place Matt is staying at doesn't have internet, but he's journaling so hopefully he'll be able to post that on the blog soon

Mini Post - In Tegucigalpa

Hello everyone! I just wanted to give a quick update. We're at host homes now in Tegucigalpa - Amy and I at a house in the city, and Matt and Jason at a church outside the city. Today was a little rough, so please be praying. We're totally immersed in the culture now with no English speakers but ourselves... It's more difficult than I remember, but I'm hanging in there. The day ended with a terrible headache, so I'm going to try to sleep it off... Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to post more details, but tonight I need some rest.

Goodnight all!

~Allie