Genesis

Our second ministry assignment was in a poorer part of the city called Nueva Suyapa. We worked at a school there for 3 weeks. The school was called Genesis. It was a pretty well organized school going from grades, Kindergarten - 12th grade.

Jenny and I spent the first 4 hours of the day tutoring kids in reading. All of it was done in Spanish, these kids were not learning English. I think we read "Huevos Verdes con Jamon" (Green Eggs and Ham) about 40 times...each day! By end of the 3 weeks we had become pretty attached to some of the students that we had been working with and it was sad to have to leave them. Gina spent most of her time working at the day care centers in the area and Leo was working at Jerico (where Gina and Jenny had spent the previous three weeks).

One of the highlights during our time at Genesis was the relationship we built with our lunch lady, Juanita. We went to her house everyday for lunch and she was an amazing cook, we actually got to eat vegetables at her house!! It sure beats all of the rice and beans we have been eating for every other meal. She also had a wonderful grandson named Paulo...he was the cutest 2 year old you would ever meet. He ate lunch with us everyday and became our entertainment. His favorite game was to name all of the fruits pictured on the table-cloth. But to him each fruit was cacahuate (peanut).

In the afternoons we did a number of different things. The first week we did a children´s program for about 25 - 30 second and third graders. We did a puppet show, a snack and a craft. The kids just loved it and wanted us to do it every week after that. We also got to spend some time working in a garden that they are trying to get started and also we helped work in a women´s baking group.

Pulapansak

This past Saturday we visited a waterfall about 4 hours north of Tegucigalpa. Leo's friend was here and so we took him along and we also took Rachel and Ronal (other friends) and Ronal's brother. We left about 7:30 and traveled on the wonderful roads of Honduras (thanks mom for the Seabands!!) over montains and potholes until we finally arrived around 11.

The waterfall was beautiful. It was really nice to see something other than cars and buses which is what we get here in the city. After treking down the mountain to get the best view of the falls, we went swimming in the stream above the falls. The water was pretty warm and very refreshing since it´s been about 90 degrees everyday here!!

We stayed until about 2 and then headed back to Tegucigalpa. On the way back we stopped at a small place on the lake to eat. The choices were fried fish or fried chicken. Shaun and I each decided to eat fish and we even got to pick out our own fish to eat. They fry the fish as is (bones head and all) and then put it on your plate and serve it to you. Delicious! The view from the restaurant was beautiful. It was really nice to spend a day outside the city!!

(Kara, in these pictures you can see my baby belly!!!)

Thank you Girls Club!!!

A special thanks to: Sydney, Zoe, Jenna, Laiken, Bekah, Sophie, Monica, Faith, Emily, Keely, Katie, Megan, Amanda, Hannah, Faith Anne, Holly, Jocelyn, Anna Sarah, Vanessa, MaraBeth, Kalee, Naomi, Alexis, Courtney, Bailey, Colleen, Samantha, Kelly, Lilly, Natalie, Carolyn, Maggie, Janelle, and Kierstin. (If we forgot anyone we sincerly apologize but we think we got everyone!)

This week we wanted to give a special thanks to the Girls Club at Five Forks BIC for their support. We received from them a big box of goodies which as you can see we have already started to enjoy!! We also received homemade cards from each one of the girls. It was really special for us to read the encouraging messages that they sent to us. So, to the girls club, thanks so much for all of your support and we look forward to being able to share our stories with you when we return.

Micah Project and Jerico

For the past 3 weeks we've been at our first ministry site. Shaun and Leo were at the Micah Project and Gina and Jenny were at Jerico Ministries. The Micah Project is a ministry that was started in 2000 by a gentleman named Michael from Missouri. He takes homeless boys off of the street and gives them a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, and even gives them an education. Most of these boys are found on the street addicted to sniffing glue non-stop (the common, cheap drug used among many young people here). Some of the boys have used other drugs as well and even get involved in robberies and assault.

15 of the 16 boys who entered the program initially, have graduated from the Micah school and most of them are now in college, some in the US and some in other parts of Central America. We took one day and went to visit some of the other homeless boys on the street who have not chosen to enter the Micah Project. When you compare their lives to the lives of the boys who have gone through the program, the change in their lives is astounding.

Currently, there are about 15-20 guys living at the Micah House. Leo and I spent most of our time teaching English classes. We also taught a few classes on family values. The Micah Project also sponsors a poor colony near by. In this colony, they have built a school and help families build houses and find food to eat. Leo and I had the opportunity to spend some time sanding and painting a couple of the school rooms. It has really been neat to get to know the guys at the Micah House. While Michael is a Christian and even gives Bible classes, the majority of the Micah boys are not Christians. It gave Leo and I an opportunity to share with these boys what God has done in our lives.

Jerico Ministries started out as a ministry to help prostitutes. They would go out at night and share Jesus with the women trying to support their families (mainly their children) by selling their bodies. They bought a place for the women to stay and even helped them to start a sewing business to make money as an alternative way to support their families.

Now this ministry mainly works with the children of prostitutes. They have a school in the city and they also have a home out in the country for the more troubled children. Many of the teachers at the school have adopted these children as their own.

At the school, the children have devotions every morning before class. Class runs from 8-12 with a half hour break from 9:30-10. They get fed lunch at the school before their parents pick them up. Gina and Jenny taught English to a group of 7-9th graders every morning for 4 hours. We had between 3-4 well-behaved students. We had to teach in English which was sometimes a little difficult for the students. As my first experience teaching English, I think the students really learned a lot and enjoyed most of class. They really hated it when I made them write paragraphs!!! Overall, it was a great experience and I got to know some really great kids!

Costa Rica

On Thursday morning we got picked up at 4am to go to the bus station to head for Costa Rica. We had to go to Costa Rica to get our visas renewed so we can stay legally in the country through May. We left Tegucigalpa at 5:30am and arrived at our hotel in Costa Rica at 8:30pm. It was a 15 hour bus ride. We had to travel through Nicaragua (for all of you who are geographically challenged (mom)) and then an hour into Costa Rica.

On Fri we swam at the pool all day, watched TV in our air conditioned room and ate. Sat looked exactly the same as Fri. Then on Sun we decided we´d like to go to the beach so Shaun, Jenny, and Gina got on a bus and headed to Playa del Coco. It took us about 40 mins to get there, standing in an unairconditioned bus. But, when we finally arrived, it was worth it. The beach was really beautiful and we had a great time just relaxing and enjoying the view. It was a dark sand beach so the water looked a bit murkier than what we´re used. But, the water was warm and so we got in anyway.

We got to eat some pretty good food while we were down there. Shaun really liked the coffee at the hotel restaurant. They brought him out his own little pot so he could refill his own coffee. All the fruit juice was freshly squeezed and we even had lunch at the pool on Sun. Shaun´s holding some apples in one of the pictures that came from an apple tree right beside the pool. They were delicious but a bit different than the apples we´re used to.

It was a very relaxing weekend we only wish that it could have been a little longer. On Mon morning, we got up and left at 6am and arrived back in Tegucigalpa at 9:30pm. We hope you enjoy our pictures!

Orocuina

So, this past week we took a trip out into the rural area of Honduras, to a small town called Orocuina. We left Sunday around 12:30 and the trip was supposed to take about 3 hours. It was the 4 of us team members with Barry Horst and Nathan Bert.

About an hour into the trip we heard a strange rattling noise in the back right tire. So we pulled off to the side of the road to check it out. It didn´t take long to realize that the axel had slid back and now the tire was rubbing against the back bumper of the car. So...we called home to Kimberly Horst and told her that we would need her to bring us some tools so that we could fix the axel and continue on the trip. Til Kimberly was finally able to get the proper tools and find a friend to come with her, it was about 4:00 when they arrived. Then of course we had to wait for them to fix the tire.

The other problem we had was the heat! Tegucigalpa is cold compared to the weather south where we were going. It was probably in the 90´s or 100 degrees in the sun. Needless to say we had a miserable time waiting in the hot sun for 5 hours. Til we finally got going it was about 5:00 and we still had two hours to go. At about 6:00 it started to get dark. Traveling at night is never a good idea in Honduras as it is extremely dangerous. Furthermore, as we were now out into the rural area it is far more dangerous. And the last part of our trip was on a dirt road for 30 mins. The last hour of our trip to Orocuina was rather scary. But we made it safely.

In Orocuina we stayed with host families and did some evangelism in the streets. The houses there are a lot less modern than here in the city. We had an outhouse for a bathroom, dirt floors, cold bucket baths, and a fireplace for a stove. And lots of bugs and spiders living inside the house! The heat down there was almost unbearable, we went to bed every night soaked in sweat. And sitting around during the day, even in the shade...you just sweat.

Today we returned to Tegucigalpa. Unfortunately, on the way home we had more car troubles. This time it was something in the engine and the car completely shut down and wouldn´t start up again. So Jenny, Gina, Leo and I hitched a ride on a bus back to Tegucigalpa. And Barry and Nate waited for a tow truck to come and get the van. We arrived back safe and sound about noon. But I don´t think any of us will be riding in that van again any time soon! All in all it was a good week and we learned so much by living under those conditions for a few days.

Below are some of our pictures from the trip. The first two are from the car breaking down...THE FIRST TIME. The other pictures are from our stay in Orocuina. The roads in Orocuina, as you can see, are not even dirt roads, they are just big rocks in the middle of the road that you drive over. And the last couple of pictures are of our house and host mom in Orocuina. Enjoy!

Bus incident!!

Last week we did street evangelism with Mike and Shaun´s parents. This was something uncomfortable for the whole team especially trying to go door to door in a different language. We learned a lot about allowing God to work through us and not relying on our own abilities. It was truly amazing to see God work throughout the week. 8 people received Christ during this time and we give all the praise to God. We also connected these people and many who didn´t receive Christ with cell groups from the church that we attend in hopes that they can continue to grow in their walk with Christ.

This week we´ve been working with a dental team from the States as translators and helping in anyway we can. Each morning we take a taxi to a hotel where the dentists are staying and then we travel on a bus with the dentists to the work site which is about 40 mins outside of the city. On Tuesday, Jenny woke up and was not feeling very well but decided to go anyway thinking that she would get better as the morning went on. However, by the time we reached the work site, she was actually feeling worse and was pretty upset. So, while everyone was getting off of the bus I was trying to calm Jenny down. Finally, Jenny and I were ready to get off the bus. But as I stood up, I notice that the bus driver had gotten off and the door was shut. I quickly ran up to see if I could open it. But I could not. And there is no lever in the front of the bus to open the door, you have to have the key. Unfortunately, everyone else was already up at the clinic and the bus driver was no where to be found..... we were locked on the bus!

First, I tried to climb out the window but believe it or not I couldn´t fit. Actually, I probably could have fit but it would have been very difficult to get out because those windows are really high up off of the ground. Besides even if I could have managed to get out there was no way Jenny would have been able to get out. Then I noticed that the drivers window was slightly bigger than the other windows. So, I was able to squeeze out of his window and grab onto a ledge on the house right besided the bus and I was able to swing myself to the ground! Then it was Jenny´s turn and she slowly squeezed out through the window and let herself down onto my shoulder and I then let her down to the ground.

Also, rather amusing was that Gina showed up just as Jenny was climbing out of the window and she got to witness the whole event. It was rather amusing although Jenny didn´t seem to think so at the time. But needless to say we got out and had a wonderful day working with the dental team!