Las Botijas

Have I filled you all in on the work in Las Botijas?  I do not believe I have.

The blog sized story:  we know a missionary couple (Aaron and Jennifer Vesterberg) that bought property several years ago in this community about one and a half hours from Tegucigalpa...on the same road we take to Comayagua...but turning off about half the way there in Zambrano, then another 30-45 minutes up the mountain.  This actually puts it only about ten miles from Sampedrana...as the crow flies of course.  Population...seems more populous than Sampedrana, but we have not conducted a thorough census...that is just guesstimating, asking around, and using our eyes as we drive back and forth. 

The Vesterbergs had been doing missionary work and lots of farming on this fertile property, when God called them to move back to the USA. 

To move back home, they needed to sell the property first.  They put the word out.  No takers.  I found out, and passed the word to a donor in the USA that bought the Hill Climber coffee property in Sampedrana.  He was interested, and was able to make it happen. 

For 2013, transitioning from the Vesterberg's ministry, we placed someone in the house to watch over things and grow the farming efforts.  Actually his name is Javier, the brother-in-law of Gender, former pastor in Sampedrana.




This is a temporary move, as we are praying towards Gender moving there at the end of the year when his son finishes his first year of school to grow the work further, and seriously look into then building up a Church body there. 

For now....we are offering work to Javier and some others, starting a nursery for more coffee....40,000 plants to be started at first, plus also clearing some of the other land that will need to be cleared if we are to plant 40,000 plants!




The great news is that we are off on the right foot, because not only is Javier willing to work, but that we are offering work to others there that are interested, not day work but per plant or section of land to be cleared.  This is great for finding self starter kind of people...and when paid by the piece instead of by the day, people work much faster...making more per day for them, and getting us along much quicker at the same time.  Almost too quick for us to keep up at times! 

You can see here that there has been some coffee already planted as well.

The property is actually four different properties, two with some of that coffee.  There is still much left to clear and prepare for more of the nursery coffee when the time comes later this year, including some actually forested areas we can use for lumber for more buildings...when the time comes. 

The main property is where the house is located.  In addition to the house itself, there is a covered porch, storage area, parking, and a detached building with more sleeping space. 

All of this is fenced in for greater security, but at all times it is necessary to have someone watching over things...lest things start disappearing. 

The house is bordered by a road, to the right in this picture, and then in the form of  a U of sorts, with more grazing property for the oxen, and cleared property that was previously used for vegetable farming...something we might be undertaking at a later date if we have the resources for it. 




On one edge of the property where the house is, there is a Church building that had previously been built. 

You can see it in the background past the gate to the house in this picture...beyond some of the other cultivation. 

Notice the beautiful sky as well.  The altitude here (5,100')  is above that in Sampedrana which is around 4,200', just a little lower than the farm above Sampedrana at 5,600-6,000', and has a great view of the greater valley below. 


In the last month since we took over Oscar also went out to add a roof to the Church building, as it is adobe based and without a roof, it would not have lasted long. 

No windows or doors yet, but that will not be necessary until we use it as a Church meeting place, or for some other function if the future Church starts meeting in another location. 

That is something to consider further down the road. 



Those are the basics right now.  God has kind of lead us straight away into another work that we were not seeking out, but is opening doors for sure.  We are now looking for help to keep cultivating and getting the ground ready for all the planting that will be coming soon.  Getting coffee started and going well until it produces can be costly.  It takes patience (and investment!) to see it through, but if all goes as planned, would start contributing back quite a bit to help support the mission here locally, as well as another area to provide employment, products, and a body of believers. 



 

Patience Prudence

There are many lives which require patience to see fruit born.  In many ways the work here requires such patience. 

Some ways are just funny.  This picture is just amazing in that I was there to take it.

Graciela was there at the clinic with her son.  She lives in a daily dire economic state, and weekly we have someone that donates some money to give her a few hours work a few days.  She had just finished working several hours in the ditch outside the clinic, cleaning out the trash that is constantly thrown in the street that finds its way into the ditch...said trash grows during the dry season to the point it must be cleaned well before the rains come. 

The funny part was her son, watching and probably helping her a little bit, got something to eat and right in front of mom and Valerie threw his wrapper straight into the garden instead of the trash can right next to where they were all three standing.  Valerie immediately pointed out the folly and sent him to find his trash and to put it where it belonged.  Graciela laughed.  I have not followed her around to see where she throws her personal trash, but I do remember her last year learning the lesson when she saw for herself just how much trash was in that ditch. 

Teaching to overcome such cultural norms as just throwing your trash wherever you feel like it, or preventative medical technics, hygiene, financial responsibility, spiritual maturity, etc....that is not easy stuff.  Overall we know that despite funny SMH moments like above, fruit has been and is being born.  It just takes a  month, or months, or a year...or years

Patience Prudence, instructively guiding, my father used to tell me...repeatedly over the years.

When sewing seeds, even with your own children, sometimes you are not sure what fruit the tree will bear.  Having patience as they find their own way is an interesting experience.

Valerie checking Soren's homework found this...his answer to "How much do you love God?"  which was a rhetorical question with no space for an answer was written below to say "100000000000000 infinite"
 
Patience Prudence....patience. 

 



 

SFC update

After the group left, we kept the guys working long enough to get the roof done on the SFC (Second Floor of the Clinic.)  That we were able to do that....get the roof up, especially with the great looking insulation/false ceiling that when you are looking up at it quite convincingly looks like wood, is thanks to the faithful folks at Hazel Dell Christian Church, which after their trip here in January made possible a grant to the "SFC foundation."  Pun intended....thanks intended even more.



That is encouraging news.  Also encouraging is that the temperature change in the first floor is already being felt, even with the walls incomplete.

We also had the guys finish the one end of the building on the wall where we knew no windows would be required in the future (not much light on that side of the building anytime of the year anyway to come right through the windows, and makes that most hidden part of the building a bit safer....no windows on the first floor there either.)

Making the cuts and such to meet the roof is tricky work, thus why we could not wait for groups to come to do that triangle bit.

We are prayerful that the next group will help us finish the walls, spare the other triangle to meet the roof...we might end up putting some windows over there, not sure yet. 

There is not a price per square foot on this building project, and while the donate button is always on the blog, we are not specifically pushing on this building.  Why not?  Well, we have been pushing for the TSP for so long it seemed wise to back off a bit and give everyone a rest.  The donate button is on the blog as always, but we are trying to wait for spontaneous donations to cover specific costs, like Hazel Dell donating to the roof, and using groups for as much else as possible.  There will be things to come soon to cover that groups will not be able to do...some more safety welding for improved structural rigidity, and then of course the wiring, as much as we can do at a time anyway.  One day at a time!



 

TSP...home stretch, for the construction at any rate

It has been a while since we have updated the TSP, so I went down to get some pictures yesterday. 

 

The carpet is finally being installed...we took a break while finishing the SFC roof after the group left (more on that in a future post)

Whether you like the color combinations or not...that was the Church's decision, we just followed through on what they desired. 

I would have preferred the fake hard wood floor myself, but such is life.

The floor is dirty...when the tile is all cleaned, it will look great.



Not sure how clear the pictures are, but the door frames are all painted red, just so you are sure. 

This shot is looking in to one of the office spaces on the second floor. 

The carpeting is almost done in all three, just the hallway left to do, and then we want to fix the stair system we originally put in with something more sturdy for the metal structure of each individual step.

The bathrooms are just about done as well. 

The frames here for the doors are also painted red, but they wanted a blue color for the walls. 

There are four total bathrooms...three standard with sinks, the one on the far right is a bit bigger, with a shower stall included as well.









Hard to tell from the pictures, especially with some of the protective film still on them, but the doors look really great with some donated formica we got from the US...a very nice wood grain to them. 
















We are in the home stretch.  Just the speaker supports left for us to do, and then when everything is ready to inaugurate...install the main doors to the building and we would be officially done. 

But the inauguration depends on when the paperwork gets done, and the lawyer tells us it could be a few months yet. 

The bull might be here and eating well getting ready to serve as the anniversary meal in June...but the inauguration will probably be a little later than that. 

 

Milk Project

Thinking about the milk project, especially how we will keep it going in 2014...this is no little project, and it really needs to expand as well.  I look forward to seeing how God makes it all happen, because right now it seems out of our league by a far cry. 

 

The milk project is not meeting normally on Fridays, not enough budget for that this year.  But with a group here willing to help, we did it old school....outside, with milk and cookies.  There were over 50 kids that came. 

 

Here are some pictures from that day....pictures that are all captioned starting with "Kids like..."

 



 





Kids like to sit and wait patiently...some of the time anyway.











Kids like to talk to Jana, who doesn't?












Kids like to smile















Kids like to color














Kids like to shout













Kids like to know that Christ loves them













Kids like balloon hats













Kids like to wait in line to get awesome balloon hats, animals and swords











Kids like kickballs, even if they have never seen one











Kids like baseballs, even if they have never played before....but not as much as futbol of course












Kids like sunglasses...big sunglasses














Kids like to attack cameras with balloon swords with a vengeance












Kids like milk mustaches












Kids like bracelets













 Kids like making new friends














Kids like taking joy, a fuller stomach, and fun home with them.













Kids like milk, and Jesus. 

Channel 15/Talanga Church visit

I had the opportunity to take a group member who was a computer expert with me to Talanga to check over what we had in Channel 15, so that I could buy some much needed parts.  As I was a bit lost on knowing what we needed, what could work, etc....having Brandon's help to point me in the right direction was extremely valuable....literally and figuratively.  It saved me so much time for trying to figure things out myself that I likely would not have been confident to do, and in knowing what we really needed, helped us save much money in making purchases.  The new equipment I bought via eBay will be coming with the next group in May.  And some of the recommendations of what else we need here locally should be done in the next month. 







Here you can see for the first time posted on the blog the other spiffy-ness added to the operations....the tile and false ceiling work that was recently completed.  Being the penny pinchers good stewards we are, we were careful to watch how much tile and ceiling material we had leftover after that work on the TSP was done, and it was enough to finish the entire first floor of the building!  We sent two of our workers from Teguc out to do the labor just because they had experience working with the materials, we also had enough donated other small quantities of tile to finish the upstairs as well.   No false ceiling for upstairs, so it still can get quite a bit warm, but so far the TV station stays fairly cool.  The bedroom in the corner is still needed for Jose Luis' extended family (also provides some extra security overnight) but so far they are doing well with just one set for live shows, and hopefully we can get to where we can use green screen backgrounds in the future so it will be even less of an issue. 

When you send a donation to His Eyes...where does it go?  Well, some of it goes to steps like these to get the station the equipment it needs while we walk the winding road to TV profitability (getting closer all the time!) 

It also helps pay for other needs...most specifically related to this post being in Talanga needing a water tower to get gravity fed water out of the barrel to the parsonage and Church bathrooms.  Cheaper than a pump to purchase/install, and definitely cheaper considering electrical costs of using a pump long term. 

There are many other things that could be done, that in a sense should be done, but all in due time. 

One thing you could really pray about...the small piece of property that would form a T or L if you will with our property might be up for sale.  We have fairly used all we can of what we have, leaving the other bit for parking/socializing, and having that small lot for building Sunday School rooms would be great.  It would likely cost $3,000 or so for the lot, but it would be really worth it in the long run. 


What I found most encouraging in our recent visit was the initiative taken by the Church summed up in this picture.  You are forgiven if you do not notice all the changes to the stage here....there used to be two walls had little staging areas behind them to get access to the baptismal area that was in front of where it is still painted blue on the back wall. 

The Church decided that the baptismal was not needed, as they usually go to a river for baptisms anyway, plus it was hard to get water to it, and when not in use it was a haven for mosquitos.  So they took down the walls (and are planning on using the block to make a storage shed outside...not to be wasted!) and expanded the stage, which they did need larger for including more instruments/musicians and leaders for worship services.  You can also see they have bought tile to get the top part done...still working towards having enough for them to finish off the stage (the entire Church...that would take quite a while)  Also seen...Eduar working with some budding piano players to practice songs for services.  I am going to see if they can get a copy of Valerie's music she has from playing at Church here, as what they were doing that day was listening to songs and trying to figure out how to play them from there by ear...not an easy thing to do.  Slow, harder, and takes a good ear. 

Join us in continued prayer for Channel 15, for the Church, and for those in leadership there!

Unworthy

Not sure who else I can unload on other than you, dear reader, so here I am. 

I have been trying to do office work today, along with a few other things that come up....things always seem to come up, which is probably why I am several months behind on accounting.

One of the miscellany I was not expecting was Valerie letting me know that a son of a friend tried to commit suicide, and then to ask me to send them some text messages with Bible verses to encourage them. 

I believe my first reaction was to laugh and cry a little inside, look up, and mentally repeat what I had read earlier from a song that happens to start with a Psalm...

"I lift my eyes up, unto the mountains, where does my help come from?  My help comes from You, maker of heaven, Creator of the earth."

It was one of those moments I am usually good at avoiding....I had to go and get personally and emotionally involved, thinking of the horror of the situation and potential reasons behind it.  And then I am asked to send some verses?  Geez, that is something Valerie is good at, why is she asking me?  To get involved some more?  Who am I?  Do I look like I have encouraging verses for a troubled parent in a time like this just right on the tip of my tongue?  Like Charlie Brown, I felt a cartoon balloon rise filled with "good grief" 

Why does anyone ask me anything?  Is it not obvious I am unworthy?  That I suck at this?  That there has got to be someone out there with more on the ball, more spiritual, more caring, more..."better" in general? 
 
Sometimes I wonder why I am not more emotional, more engaged, more involved.  I can maintain a disconnect most of the time, to handle the technical or other details of an otherwise described emotional/spiritual situation.  A time like this reminds me that, while not something I would say is a virtue, it does protect me in a way from just going over the edge in all the stuff going on around us, in the mission, and that I am somehow responsible for answering/addressing, as in that area, among many...I am weak.

I do not write for pity or sympathy, more just to be honest.  People build up people in my line of work from time to time...something not fair to them or us.  I hear "you guys are the ones on the front lines" sometimes, meant as a compliment and likely some sort of encouragement, but the truth is that we who are in Christ are ALL on the front lines...the battle surrounds us all. 

Different battles, battlefields, languages, cultures, etc...but all the same battle.  If you think you are not...then you are missing the spiritual fight God has for you to wage.

I do not think I am a very good warrior...at all.   So my verses to encourage myself today would include Job 40:4-5 and 42:2-6, the Psalm I already mentioned (121) and I Corinthians 1:26-30

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^[


I sent our friend some verses.  They...in their hurt, sorrow and struggle wrote back.  "Thank you for all your support, God bless you always!" 

Another struggling warrior...fighting their battle, encouraging this unworthy one to do the same. 



 

Jalaca food distribution

We take groups fairly regularly to encourage rural Churches by participating in food distributions, usually our Churches, and usually Kids Against Hunger rice packets or corn from the Bryantsville Hunger Relief Project near Mitchell, Indiana. 

We had planned on going to Talanga, but pastor José Luis asked if we could instead go to Jalaca, a town that has become involved with our Christian TV station, Channel 15, in Talanga that José Luis also administers. 

Our TV station is viewable not over the air, but by cable only (well, cable and for international viewers, also via the following link streaming online:  http://tvcristianacanal15.tk3.net/) but the two cable companies we pay every month to carry our signal not only reach Talanga but several towns like this within an hour or more of Talanga. 

The Church in Jalaca supported the channel raising money to help the station buy a new sound board and two wireless mics, and has even come as a group to worship together with the Church in Talanga (they had a five Church joint service in Talanga with Churches from different towns/villages that have all come together via the TV station)

Here are some pictures from that day thanks to the resident photographer in the group...of the town and of the people touched/encouraged in Christ's name.