This week we have been enjoying the company of our annual mechanics team, with a bit of a twist. For a lot of years, there has been a visit from a group of mechanics each summer to the northern coast of Honduras. Normally 4-8 mechanics come to spend the week turning wrenches on the cars of the pastors and missionaries that work and live in the area. This year, with the downturn in the economy they were limited in what they could do. The team dwindled to two mechanics, and the funds to buy new parts dwindled as well.
Rob Chabot and Jerald Schrock stepped up to the challenge and made up a two-man team, who hit the ground running. Because they were few in numbers, they weren't able to raise as much in funds for spare parts that have been available in the past. God provided that as well. Pat and Jane Murray, from Murray Motive in Tampa Florida provided some funds, as did the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA). The Murrays have been an integral part of the mechanics work here from the beginning, and continue to help where they can. CMA has been providing motorcycles to pastors here for a lot of years. Many of those bikes are getting tired and worn down. Although the bikes are a blessing to the pastors, the maintenance and upkeep can get cost-prohibitive especially considering the environment in which many of these bikes are ridden.
With CMA providing funds for motorcycle parts, that's where the team focused their attention. They came alongside a local pastor who does bicycle mechanic work on the side, as well as with another local man and his son, who are willing workers wanting to help wherever possible. Together they repaired over 20 motorcycles and a few cars. They were awesome and their work will keep pastors spreading the Word for another year. Thanks guys, as well as to all those who support their work!

One Team, One Week, One House

How long does it take to build a house where you are? We just said goodbye to a team of 10 people who built a house in under a week! The team, led by Steve Deardurff had members from the US and Canada and really did a great job. Continuing to build on the foundations (literally) placed by the team in April, they put together a wooden house for a local family that will last for many years to come. They worked long hours in the hot Honduran sun without complaining and brought it all together. This house has been the dream and vision of several of the team members for quite a few years. They saw a need, gathered the resources, put together a team and made it a reality. We praise God for their willingness to give so selflessly to those who have so little. It just goes to show, when we are faithful, God can provide!

Small Teams Can Be Effective

This past week we were blessed to have a visit from two ladies from the US. Laura and Megan are both teachers on summer break, who wanted to come down and work with some of the local kids. They were a huge blessing, as they spent two days in each of two different schools. Each day, they spent a couple of hours working in the classrooms, in whatever capacity they were needed. In the afternoons, they selflessly spent their time tutoring "our" kids (those of the two Hondurans that work with us) with their homework lessons and just loving on whoever happened to be hanging around the house. They made the effort to package up 350 pounds of food and spent an afternoon delivering it to some of the poorest in the surrounding community.

It was such a blessing for us as well, as we were able to get to know them and show them around - introducing them to the different aspects of the work that we do here. They are a great example of the great impact that a small group can make. If you are interested in coming to work alongside us, but are unable or unwilling to coordinate a large group, come anyway. The size of the group doesn't matter as much as the size of your heart. Thanks Megan and Laura - We hope to see you back again on day soon.

Medicine to the Moskitia

They were small in number, but effective all the same. Renea Harris brought a team of three nurses and a doctor from the US to minister and bring much-needed medicines to the people living in the Moskitia. Named for the Moskito tribe (not for the familiar sounding insect – thank God), the region spans the easternmost parts of Honduras and Nicaragua. Largely impassible by roads, the area is sparsely populated, and was largely ignored by the early Spanish settlers. The northern coast where we went, is populated mostly by Garifuna people, who are primarily of African descent.

We first took the team to the town on Cusuna, where we met with a local pastor who has been working in the area for 10 years. After spending a night, we picked up another pastor, who is also a nurse and continued on to the first of two villages that we visited. These two were invaluable to us, as they not only knew the communities and the people, but also the Garifuna language. Soon after leaving Cusuna, we ran out of road and the remainder of the trip was in the two 4x4 trucks along the beach. The driving was interesting to say the least, as a great deal of it was done in the ocean.

The first clinic was done in the village of Batalla, a town of about 500 people. We spent the day there, and the medical team saw somewhere around 150 people. The local people were warm and welcoming. After a day “doing clinic”, we enjoyed a dinner of fish, beans, rice and plantain before crawling under our mosquito nets for the night. The following day we packed up and moved on to the village of Tocamacho, a town of 5,000. Once again the medics spent a day in the grueling summer heat, seeing about 130 patients. Due to health concerns with a couple of our team, we decided to return to Cusuna in the afternoon, instead of staying the night there.

We had planned clinics in two more villages the following two days, but the team was hit by a bug that was starting to take its toll, so after another night in Cusuna, we decided to head back toward civilization and some of the comforts of home. The team inventoried and divided their remaining medicines. They left some with the nurse who had accompanied us and took some back to the mission house with us. Although there are public health clinics in the area, there is a serious lack of medicines available. They felt good to be able to leave some of the medicine behind with Honduran medical professionals.

After making the trek back home, they reconsidered their options. With time, medical professionals and medications on hand, we took a quick trip to the village of San Marcos and saw another 50 people.

This was a great team and a great trip. It was our first foray into the Moskitia region, and hopefully not our last. There is a great need, as there is in so many parts of the world. We are thankful to Renea and her team and pray that they will find their way back again soon.

Another Great Team

Today we said goodbye to another great team from Canada. Barb & Mal Cook and Albert Boutin have been bringing teams of teen-agers to Honduras for the past 12 years. The youth are students at College Heights High School, in Guelph, Ontario and come here each year to do a variety of work.

They arrived in time to participate in some of the Semana Santa (Holy Week) festivities here at the beach. During their week here, they worked preparing some house foundations, in anticipation of a couple of teams that are coming later in the summer to build homes. They dug foundations, built the forms and poured cement for the columns on two houses. Each house will be built upon 12 columns, approximately 2 feet high. Additionally, they dug out the holes for two septic tanks, built the concrete cover for one and laid blocks to build up the sides of the other. They had the opportunity to visit an orphanage in a nearby town, as well as to deliver food and clothing to some of the poorest in our community.

These kids worked hard under the hot Honduran sun and amazed us with what they accomplished! We look forward to hosting them again.

Sewing Classes

One of the interesting ministries that we have here is a sewing center, where the wife of one of the local pastors teaches weekly classes. The sewing center has been outfitted by Threads of Hope, a ministry run by Al Barrett of Missionary Ventures. The sewing center is located on the mission property, and utilizes two of the classrooms in our training center. Each set of classes focus on teaching local women (and men at times) a specific skill, and through the course of the classes, they cut, assemble and stitch together an item of clothing. In the end, they not only have the finished piece, but the skills to reproduce them at a later date. In the current class, they are learning to make women’s skirts and blouses. We are hoping to have a class this fall, to teach them to make children’s clothes, based on a need that has come from the community. Some of the ladies of the community are also in the process of establishing a cooperative, where they can begin to sell some of the things that they are making, and provide a source of income to their families.

The sewing classrooms are outfitted with several sewing machines that have been provided by Threads of Hope. There are sufficient machines that up to six women can work on their own. Additionally, there is a large cutting table, where they can lay out their work. We have been blessed by the donations of thread, and fabric that allow us to provide this training at a minimal cost.

Playground Construction Team

We have just finished up an incredible week with a group of 17 teenagers and 4 adult leaders from Fergus, Centre Wellington, Ontario, Canada. The group was led by Anne-Marie Vosburgh, who has been bringing teams of high school students here since she led a team 2003, as a memorial to her son Jacob. Read more about the inspirational story of how this began HERE.
After a couple of long days traveling, the team arrived and we took them to the village of Urraco, in the mountains south of La Ceiba. Jason and Sarah Furrow are building an orphanage in the community, and the team agreed to build them a playground on the property. Although the weather didn’t cooperate fully with us, and we were rained on a good part of the time, the team members came through and did an incredible job. They were a blessing in so many ways and we are sure that their hard work will be a blessing to the kids of Urraco for many years to come.