A few quick things

Hey all, here is some odds and ends...some might interest you, some might not, here goes anyway:

1. For a nice laugh call the Nestle Crunch Hot line at 1-800-295-0051. When you are asked if you want to continue in English or Spanish, just wait quietly for about 10 seconds and you will smile. Keep going and press 4 listen to the options... and listen to each one, especially number 7. Made me want to go out and by a Nestle Crunch for sure. Also be prepared to have to call several times to get through...this is becoming fairly popular.

2. Have any of you used Rosetta Stone for your children to do foreign language acquisition? We are considering using some present money given for the kids for that, since they already love using the two cheap CDs we bought several years ago for studying French.

3. I am looking for a good, fast, 15" or so laptop for $700 or less for the mission. If you have ideas or suggestions, let me know.

4. On a serious note...say a prayer for Valerie, as starting her vacation from the clinic with a cold is not exactly what she had in mind.

5. She even got to experience some quality time with me this afternoon seeing what my trips to the bank are like....this one was not too bad, I think we were in and out in under an hour. Hopefully our work load will diminish before Friday when hopefully we can truly relax and celebrate Christ's birth.

6. How about some pictures from the Milk Project Christmas party. Big fun stuff for Christmas here of course includes toys (donations from the US) but also apples, grapes (with seeds, is there any other kind?) and tamales. Last week they were able to have all four....a rare treat for them indeed. For many, this was their family Christmas meal.

Christ mas nada....Solo Cristo y nada mas!

Wow...it has been a week since my last blog. Catching up would be hard. Life...has been hard lately. I had several paragraphs trying to relate how...but it will have to suffice to say what I just said and try to move forward. Sometimes you have to see the trees and not the forest, and sometimes if you look too long you may stop moving, get overwhelmed and/or lose your direction. Balancing the two...is always hard. Sometimes trying to balance work and family....or just work and mental stability is also hard.

Last week was ramping up to the Christmas party for the mission staff on Wednesday. We tried to sort through what we have received on containers to give them a lasting gift they can use...this year it was chairs. Each staff person got two chairs for their house. They were very happy to sort through the options and each one pick which they wanted. We were also able to give each one a gift certificate for the grocery store...something all of them could use, plus the lovely dinner out together. We do not all see each other every day, and for some it was the one time of the year they get to see everyone else, but it was good to take that time to relax, to fellowship and spend time together. This year it was just staff plus one guest...having entire families together is good...but not generally what I would call relaxing.

Besides that there was plenty of work finishing up the clinic modifications, moving tons of stuff that came on the FAME container to have them more organized (I spent a whole day doing that, Dora helped many hours, Carlos moved probably a literal ton or more of pieces that we will not need for several months or more (pieces for the mission house remodel, for the second floor of the new clinic, etc.) to sit on top of the containers in the man cave, separate and distribute supplies for the two soccer ministries, and organize the toys we received for Christmas distribution and for the kids of our staff. They may be small, but mean so much to so many.

And before Oscar and family took off to Costa Rica and Panama for the holidays, we all got to see our kids participate in a Christmas event at their school, which was very interesting to see. We are not sure how Soren was chosen to be Joseph in his part of the extravaganza, but with his outfit I liked how he looked like a jedi warrior. Cecilia was a true performer doing her part singing and moving with rhythm, it was impressive and I tend to be a skeptical parent. This picture is not just Cecilia and Annia's first grade...this is first through four grade. Yes, it is a small school.

Today I was up at the clinic all morning...with Oscar gone I am in charge of handling the clothing ministry distributions to the respective ministries. Add to that trying to fix a few things in the clinic, plus get those great soccer goodies to Carlos for the ministry here in Teguc. Hopefully they can find something in there for the prizes for their big championship they have going...12 teams with 12 guys each playing games from election day (November 29th) through January 10th. A big way to get people in and out of faith together to share and spend time together.

How about a few more pictures?

Another small item that we put in its place this week was the baptismal donated by a supporting Church in Ohio. It was not easy to move out of the container, onto the truck, or back off the truck, but it was much appreciated by Celeo. For now it will have a temporary home in Talanga...until they are able to get property and a building, then it will get a more permanent home. By Honduran standards, it almost doubles as an above ground swimming pool.






I have lived near this restaurant for a few years, and seen it there for about 10 years before that, but have never stopped for a bite. Funny how that is. I suppose the best place to cook your pig is where everyone would see it, right? Of course, in the back of my mind I am thinking about all the vehicle fumes, dust and other delicious additions that help in the marinating process, but that is probably just me.

I got pictures from Gender's camera this past week. It is always interesting to see what pictures they take...seeing the piñata for Kid's day, pictures from the Pastor's meeting in La Ceiba, odds and ends...all different and intriguing. This is just one picture that really sums up what the work is about. All five of these brothers and sisters were baptized that day in the river...with some other pictures showing all the others that were there, the guitar playing, singing songs...it sounds like a party because it was a party with quite a celebration!

I asked the driver of this truck if I could snap a picture. I seem to catch these things for some reason. It is a LP or Natural gas company and I will spare you the story but their name is translated "Gives Gas" and their slogan is "the gas that gives you more." I know it is immature and childish to chuckle at that...but I just marvel that someone thought that was a good idea for a name for a company and for a slogan. Side note...I like that the phone number to call for customer service is conveniently missing its last two numbers. Nice touch.

Remember to breathe

Valerie went up very early on Saturday for the guys to continue the work on the windows, and then went back in the afternoon to clean up after them...it was dusty work cutting through the wall. Very dusty, because Valerie went in with a few volunteers early again this morning to sweep, dust, etc. the entire building...quite the task. Filling the holes back in with concrete is kind of dirty work, thus the make-shift skirts to protect the walls and floors. Most of the work should be done this week (there are quite a few windows...something like 15?)...except the painting back to lovely blue. That will come...sometime later....think Pa Kettle style.


Today was action packed...almost too action packed at times. After taking the kids to school, and the grocery store escapade (more on that later), I had a good and bad chat with Celeo while helping with the clothing ministry, as he and Oscar were at somewhat heated odds as we talked about changes for 2010 as we had planned many months ago, the bottom line being that we need to find a way for him to provide for himself rather than continuing to get a salary from us...without just up and dropping him for him to fend for himself while he continues to pastor in Talanga. The clothing ministry there is providing tons in terms of evangelistic outreach, but so far he is barely covering his expenses on the financial end, so that right now is not providing hardly any income. So...loan him $10,000 I do not exactly have laying around to buy a truck for making sand/gravel deliveries or for a block making enterprise? Hope he can make it raising chickens (not likely to provide enough)? Hmmmmm not fun stuff, especially because somehow I am expected to have the answers. Then some more time to fit in some more truck side meetings about CHE continuing education, talked to Dora and gave her more work sorting our "bad" clothes from the "good"...another ugh, there is more bad than good, and stopped briefly at the clinic to have a couple more meetings about finances and equipment needs, and then another brief stop at Dora's house to see how the wall construction is going, which can be seen here. It is going well...just spending a few minutes with her kids there....quite impressive they can do what they do, and good to see how this wall will help. Then I went to the airport to get boxes from our pilot friend....got today's batch plus a batch from last week...no problems, but it did take about two hours total and is quite the exciting little adventure. After all that...a good run late this afternoon was quite refreshing for a release of some kind while getting some spiritual encouragement and edification.




I had time to pause while in line at the grocery this morning (milk project...then again for coffee...then again to pay for more minutes on our cell phones) to finally look around a little and see this minty Tic Tacs. Yerba buena translates as "mint" but I just found it humorously odd the literal translation "good grass" for the obvious reasons.













Soren sleeping here is like watching a floating cloud...a painful floating cloud. I saw a body that seemed to almost make a complete 360 degree turn. Valerie saw him splayed out as if he were running. Regardless, he seemed to have a good nap.

Honduras news

I was perusing the local newspapers today, and what I found was...interesting.

There is a yearly Jerry Lewis type of telethon called....Teletón. Imaginative eh? This Teletón is for physical therapy and many such services to people from all over Honduras. It is a big event for the TV stations, some concerts, etc. all with the goal of raising money for the operation. Every year...this is a good news event because people unite in helping others. Unfortunately...that was about the only good news I found.

Oh sure, the country deals with more than its share of murders, robberies, corruption, etc. that is in the newspaper today as well (some reports indicate that Mel's administration misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars while he was in office for just one recent example) but that is not especially surprising...unfortunately.

Those that did surprise me I will summarize (keep in mind, all these I just found today...adding to my surprise, and my posting of them here):

1. Unemployment in 2008 by this article's measure was about 28%. Before Mel was ousted, 51%, because of the political crisis, expected at 60-70% now. Especially interesting was that those eligible to work for a living was counted as anyone over 10 years old. Of those actually employed...36% work full time, but make less than the minimum wage.

2. I got letters from the embassy every time they put out a travel advisory warning US citizens to stay away from Honduras, and in my opinion taking pot shots where the could in writing those at the interim administration...but I did not get anything when they lifted the advisory, I had to see it in the paper. Why did they lift it? They re-evaluated the situation after the election. What changed? Nothing I can see...the guy elected is not even in office yet. Good grief. I am happy it was lifted...I just see no change in life here to warrant anything one way or the other and have not for the most part since all this started.

3. After years...many years of the Lempira holding steady against the dollar (since 2004 it has been in the 18.5:1 range, for most of those years at 18.8951:1), there is talk now of devaluing the Lempira again. I am no economist, but the argument is that if the Lempira is devalued, especially after a hard economic/political year as this one, that it would stimulate development and foreign investment and create new jobs. Sounds good right? The problem is that devaluing the Lempira hurts the poor most of all...all imported goods would rise in price for them since they have no dollars to change, and essentially what they have and what they make in lempiras would be worth less. would be less.

4. Here are a few stories even further summarized: The biggest driver of the Honduran economy, remittances, are down 11.1% this year. Maquilas are down 12% (mostly the textile industry, but any for-export factories here.) Construction down 35%, and the federal budget has a budget shortfall of almost $600 million.

5. There is not even Geico here, so we are not even saving any money on our car insurance.

ECScelente

CHE is Community Health Evangelism. In Spanish that comes out ECS.

We did the first day of training in Talanga today. The turnout was about what we expected, with some people coming we did not know, and some we were expecting not making it. It went well, but there is definitely still room for this to take further root and grow. Today was about introducing the leaders from Talanga, San Juancito, Cantaranas, and another community where we do not have a Church but do have a connection, La Venta.

The location was beautiful, a new place that God has opened for Celeo to rent for the Church and clothing store. The parking area was covered and worked well with the warm Talanga day to keep it fairly cool while we all sat around and grew and learned more about God and what He wants us to do, and how to go about doing that. It was a beginning...it took a lot of work, and Oscar, Jonathan, Lesly and Celeo did great at doing the lessons with the people (about 15 total) but there is much more to do and see happen as we keep pushing forward.

Valerie at the clinic had the distinct "pleasure" of having dust throughout the clinic as Jorge "the welder" Irias (everyone in the Church just calls him Jorge the welder since there are several other Jorges in the Church) and Carlos started working to modify the windows to be safer. Unfortunate for our patients and staff for a few days, but in the long run will be much better for everyone.

Valerie just told me that this morning surprisingly Reina did not have her normal 17 patients, but rather just 10. An omen breaks the horizon right? As she was finishing her "last" patient, a small two year old was brought in covered with blood. Turns out a neighbor dog had mauled him. He had a severe gash over his eye, and one that started low on his forehead and went back over his head. Reina said she could she his skull as she put in 38 stitches that took 2 and a 1/2 hours. Just another average day in the clinic.

I did not have time last night to include any pictures, but this is just one of the interesting unloading opportunities we had....a huge baptismal from a supporting Church in the US. It is sooooo big, we are excited to have it but not quite sure where it will fit for our Churches. The Church in San Juancito...has the room outside but there is also the river right there and the old mining water collector that could be used...Cantaranas has almost as much covered space right now for the entire stage that this takes, and if it was not bolted down or buried in the ground, it would surely be "re-located." Talanga does not even really have the space since they are also renting and there is not a good spot for it to sit. There have been at least two jokes made about converting it to a jacuzzi for the mission house or a big cistern, but we are looking hard at what we are going to do and very soon because it is not only big for them, but huge for us to find a space to store it! Moving it was even more fun....in the dark....over everything in its path.


And how about two more pictures as a closing bonus? I have rarely seen persimmons in the US grocery stores...let alone see them for sale here, proudly labeled "product of the USA." Sometimes our fruit and vegetable selection here really is quite surprising, as we get great stuff from right down the road, and some things brought from farther away than you would think. Now they just need to import Rhubarb...that is not asking too much, right? I am sure people here would love it....then again, I would not have thought persimmons would be highly sought out either, so what do I know. I can tell you that they go for $2.64 per pound there...I wonder if that is a good price. Hmmmm.



I saw this plant outside a friend's home last weekend....those green spiky things hold thousands of seeds (so we are told...we did not open ours they gave us yet) and that they are ready to open when they get old and brown. From this plant comes the pretty flowers...called "copa de oro" or Golden cups. I wonder what they are called in English...have any of you seen them anywhere else besides Honduras? Remember that I do not get out much when it comes to botany or actually wondering about flowers/plants.

Long day

So, the container did come...but as usual, did not get released until the end of the day, so we started unloading as the sun set...and into the night, which as you can imagine moving medical equipment, a huge baptismal, heavy desks, etc....can be a little hazardous.

It now occurs to me....over and over again, that we need more container space. Wow, we have stuff everywhere, and praise God for such "problems" it will take us quite a while to get it all sorted out and used/distributed to the diffferent staff/areas of the mission.

The driver for our load was...not the most cordial we have had. In fact, he was fairly rude and not respectful of what we were telling him about how best to be able to leave. As such...it took quite a while for him to depart once the unloading was done. In fact, he got so mixed up that I had to pull him up the hill to the new clinic so he could leave. There is something very viral and cool about getting into a F-250 truck and pulling a semi and trailer up a hill. Something a bit odd as well, but it happened.

This is such a good thing to have all the great items that came in the container...but it is also a burden I can feel pressing in the back of my mind. In fact, just while we were unloading Oscar had some more potential bad news to add to an already overwhelming time for me (I can think of several different items on my to-do list that are important that I am not sure when I will be able to tackle) that indicates because we are still not able to get the equipment to get our lab up and running, we may lose our very good and valuable lab tech to another job....and the doctor that has helped us and would have backed us in the lab has had to quit waiting and took another job. It might still work out...but it adds to the other straws on the proverbial back. Good thing it is not to me to carry that weight, carry that weight a long time...even if sometimes it does in fact feel that way.

Later this morning I will depart for CHE training in Talanga...a day I am hoping will be encouraging in a different way. We will see what God has in store!

Some days you get the bear...

Last night sometime...the clinic was robbed. As you can see, they used a straight bar to accomplish this, along with quite a bit of effort and time. They even bent their bar...which we found a few feet away. They took a microscope from the lab, and Valerie's projector and BIO. Of course...those three items are very expensive to replace, but have little to no street value for them to sell. We presume it was the youth that constantly hangs out there. Why? Well, these were not seasoned thieves that knew what they were doing because they did not steal the telephones, TV, DVD player, or....anything else. Mostly this has served to be a huge pain to serving the patients, and demoralizing and depressing to all of us.

In a slight twist, they planted some of our own tools at the inside of the window to implicate another boy that helps us around the clinic from time to time.

I told Oscar and Valerie...spiritually it is easy to see this is Satan, on a human level it just does not make much sense, at least that we can see.

So Oscar is on the hunt to get our welder buddy to now change every window in the place to be more secure. Hopefully this can be done before the Christmas vacation coming up. Cost there...hopefully less than $1,000. Ugh, but it has to be done.

The police came...en mass. The picture is blurry because...I did not really ask permission to get this group's picture. I say this group because there were more outside the clinic walking around. If we wanted to make our complaint official...then we would have to leave the window busted until their investigative team could show up. Uh yeah, we have to fix that today, so that will not be happening. Besides...you have to understand that this will never be solved, no one will ever be found, nothing will be returned. In Honduras, the vast majority of crimes are never solved, and criminals are not caught.

It would be great to have an overnight watchman full time, but that would cost us over $350 per month....not exactly something in our current budget...especially with all the other projects we are trying to fund that are specifically for the advancement of the Kingdom. We will have to see what God shows us, as I talked to Pastor Manuel and the gun we have loaned him he has used several times to dissuade people trying to break into the man cave and jumping the wall at the new cistern to get at the new clinic recently, not to mention the vandalism, and in the recently not being used snack shop we have found people are using it for late night rendezvous.
So...here we are. I still do not feel qualified to whine and complain. Good grief there are people out there putting up with so much more! Was anyone hurt? No....neither us nor those that did this. We can pray for their repentance, and for God's guidance in our hearts in this and all we do in His name. And yet...this is hard. Just one more "thing" on a pile of things. Some good things, some bad things, but they all add up.

Here are some more: How do we help girls from a family we care for be able to go to school, to a real school where they will learn? How can we work more with the Church...I talked to Manuel today about them offering counseling services voluntarily in the clinic...will they have people willing to do that very important function? How about the story of the poor man Oscar knows who came for his son's consult, and was ready to sell his sledge hammer (which is how he eeks out a living) to pay for his son's IV treatment we could not give him as part of the medicines we have on hand that we also gave him. Oscar talked to him...we gave him back his money, and several days later with the IV treatment plus the other medicines we gave him his son pulled out of it (and did not die as he was half expecting)...he was so grateful he came back and cut a big chunk of our overgrown lawn.

Emotions abound, struggles are around...God's love, grace and mercy never fail. We may cry, we may shout for joy...we pray we can stay strong and able to be able to do both where needed.

Sorry if this is hurried and not proof-read, I am getting ready to head out the door to help unload a container up on the property...quite the day this is turning out to be. Of course, Murphy's law could still apply, it happens often enough....I get all ready, I run out to get there....and nothing happens until tomorrow, when Oscar and I are scheduled to be out of town all day. I pray that does not come to pass today.

A "brief" update from Friday

I am continually amazed at what God does through His mission here in Honduras. I can not begin to know everything that happens...the mission is simply too big for me to hear every story, every happening.

Case in point (you knew that was coming...I know) is a conversation I had with the general medical staff on Friday. We were discussing the very real problem of how much money we have budgeted for medicines, and how much they want to spend. They are great medical and spiritual people because they want to provide the best they can for our patients. Reina told me how many people we see every month (over 100) to whom we are their regular providers of high blood pressure or diabetic medicines, plus over 30 prenatal patients on an ongoing basis every month. Thinking about what would happen to them if we were not here...that alone is a little overwhelming.

We were talking about donations being down, having to buy more here, what happens when we have to tell patients "sorry, we do not have that, you will have to go buy it somewhere else." It was hard. Harder for them because they are the ones that have to look those people in the eye and disappoint them. Hard for me because we simply do not have the resources to meet every need.

Then Reina and Marlene (doctor and nurse respectively) both commented...how people do not only have to pay for the consult (those that can) but so many come from so far away, they have to pay multiple bus fares, find a place to stay over night to be there first thing in the morning to stand in line, go all day without food, etc.

What kind of service are we providing if people are willing to go through all that? What a testimony is that to what they are doing? As I shared that...I heard one of those stories I normally do not hear. Marlene said that a patient had come to her last month wanting to know how we did it. Did what? How were we able to give people the medicines they need? She explained we get help from brothers and sisters in the US. He then proceeded to tell her how impressed he was that we preached the Word, that we prayed, that we had devotionals with the patients and showed Christian videos...how nice everyone is, how much he felt loved in Christ....and that he told everyone in his family and everyone he knew about our clinic.

I suppose that helps explain how we have people coming from such distances to be seen. It was also a huge encouragement to Marlene that day.

They also mentioned that when they go home...they get people asking them questions on the street (how long should I take this medicine? Should I have this looked at? etc.)...that Reina heard people at the bus stop say one day "there goes the poor people's doctor."....and that they get asked occasionally if they are Cubans (the communist country does some medical work here and even takes some people back to Cuba for surgeries to show them how wonderful communism is...I have talked about that more in depth in the past here) All that to sum up that people do know there is something different about us. They may not always know what until they come in our doors, but we stand out as being different...weird...odd, and well we should.

I should be used to being stared at...I am a bald, white, over six foot tall big man in a land where I often have to bend over to the waist often to hug someone. But sometimes I wonder if that is the reason people stare...or sometimes they stare because I am weird (in what I am doing...I will skip the other physical or mental attributes that would also define me as weird) and doing things that are just not commonly seen. That is great, and I enjoy it for the most part...but indeed sometimes can be hard.

I continue to struggle with the medicine needs for next year (especially as the drug reps here say prices are going up at least 5%) and how we balance that with providing for our staff, and trying to avoid raising the price of being seen. We want to be able to continue to provide such a bright light of testimony that everyone can see it...and I am resisting at the best of my HS given ability to turn to raising that price. So much in the world right now turns to that...it just seems wrong to turn to that in light of what we are doing. Please pray we can find ways to provide the medicines needed on a monthly basis, in God's direction...be that through dedicated monetary donations, more physical medicine donations, and/or increased contacts with organizations that would be willing to help.

Also on Friday we had a meeting about CHE to get ready for the first training in Talanga on Wednesday. It was so good to see that I was practically not needed there...the excitement was great, and we all (Celeo was there, Jonathan, Oscar and a sister from another small town from near Talanga) were there to guide ourselves in preparation, and I will be doing some Power Point work, but all the facilitating/teaching will be done by them. That first training day comes on Wednesday...the opportunities there for Talanga, San Juancito and Cantaranas are huge and we pray that the message of CHE and the Gospel be proclaimed and eyes be opened this week.

Another big news item...the pipes for the public water system passed their first big test. We had to pay $40 to fix the pipe that burst from the pressure (lots of pressure is good...that means we will get water after all) which we were somewhat expecting because we did not properly hook up the pipe to our cistern...lest we get all the junk in the pipe in there (we are the last stop on the line.) This has been quite a bit of effort and time invested...but in the long run if we can get water this way it will be much, much easier, reliable, and as a nice bonus, much cheaper.

Much more going on than just that...just this week, you get the idea. Praise God for that, and I ask for prayer for us...for encouragement, for strength, for wisdom, and for relaxation....so we can keep going in His endeavor.

Not sure about Hans, but for sure Franz

So I learned a new word...just today. Kafkaesque. I must admit to having seen it most recently on the Amazing Race, but today during one of my many multi-tasking computer related delays waiting for another program to respond, I searched the term and was kind of surprised at what I found:

"marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity"

Reminds me of some of my email updates and blog postings.

"an intentional distortion of reality by powerful but anonymous bureaucrats"

reminds me of the political state here the last five months (and to some extent before that as well)

"an existentialist state of ever-elusive freedom while existing under unmitigable control."

This one is probably supposed to be forever frustrating...I tend to look at this as freeing as I know I live life under God's control. As I have said before...if we are not under God, then we are under Satan...but never should we think we can operate independent and completely free agents in this world.

"anything suggestive of Kafka, especially his nightmarish type of narration, in which characters lack a clear course of action, the ability to see beyond immediate events, and the possibility of escape."

I am terrified as I recognize the lack of my own ability to dig myself out of the grave where I find myself, mired in my own sense of being lost and can not see what could possibly change...wait, what was I talking about?

No matter. My office is cluttered with papers as things get done, emails get sent trying to coordinate things for next year...it is a veritable flurry of activity. I am having trouble I admit stopping to do anything else...it kind of feels like pressure, a good pressure, but pressure. I knew I was in a bad place though when the thought of not working until midnight tonight straight through because we have a date night frustrated me...which told me right away I need the date night all the more. Of course, date night tonight it trying out a place or two briefly to see if it will work for our staff Christmas party, and seeing an old friend who is trying to sell some eye glass frames. Ah the glamour! But the real reason to go is to be together. What we do is not quite as important as how we do it.

Lastly today I had to include this. It is a C.S. Lewis quote. Plenty of those floating around, but this one came as a tag to an email from someone to whom I know this has incredible significance. Even for those of us who have not gone through incredible pain, something can be gleaned I pray:

"We are not necessarily doubting God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be." -C.S. Lewis

That reminds me of Romans 8:28...along with 29. 28 is the first part of that quote, 29 the latter...our good is being conformed to the image of Christ. Not what we see as good, but God's view...which sometimes should frighten us just a bit. In that light, Christ left perfection to suffer an entire life for the benefit of us, mocking, beatings beyond all human recognition, suffering emotional loss, torment and having everyone around him abandon him (and much, much more)...Christ did indeed do it all, and for us. When we are conformed to His image...sometimes that will indeed be painful. Something we should consider and remember...not in a pretty poster with only the first verse, but remembering truly that our "good" and God's "good" are quite often two different things.

Election Junction, what's your function?

So the elections are behind us. I am not sure anyone really expected something that peaceful, but they pretty much went off without a hitch (a couple hundred people got together to march in SPS, but they were dispersed with tear gas...I have heard of nothing else at this point.)

Nothing like the republic threatened to get people out at the polls either (despite promises from the resistance to cause havoc and small bombs being set off, etc.) with reports saying that the turnout was over 60%, which is supposed to be a high number. Interesting I thought, because the last US election was reported at something close to that figure (depending on what website you consult) So I looked up our last election...and surprise, surprise, the turnout then was around 46% so I guess that is quite a bit higher. What will happen to Mel? How will this continue to play out? All signs look good at this point, but I am guessing Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia and any other socialist countries will still not be too pleased.

I went up to the clinic today...Oscar decorated the clinic with poinsetias and the tree was up...it was quite festive. We talked about what has happened in my abscence, and upcoming plans, plus looking over what we got in the latest container which was chock full o' good stuff for every area of the mission. It looks like CHE training will start next week, the work continued quite a bit on the soccer field (with more needed...some more rebar, the doors to get in and out, and the goals, we still have some money to do that...but are short about half what is still needed.) Plus we think we have enough money donated coming that we can help get Dora's wall done, so we will start helping her on that this week.

We hit the ground running arriving back here on Saturday. God has provided us great weather, an easy transition back for the most part, but there is as always plenty of work to be done...and Valerie and I both are struggling in different areas on finding a good balance between ministry and family. I am not sure I can adequately communicate the struggle here, but for those that know the feeling, and even those that do not, we would appreciate your prayers.

How about a new family picture from our trip to the US? One of the two or three days we were all together was Thanksgiving, and someone was thinking enough that we actually got one taken of all four of us. We always say we need to do that more often. And for those that see me in Cecilia or Valerie in Soren...the older they get the more I see it like one of those funky dime store images where when you look from the right you see one thing and the left another...just today I looked at Cecilia and definitely saw her mother in a way that was a little eerily cool...because I know what kind of person she is, and what kind of woman I see Cecilia becoming.

Well, another long lapse between bloggings. Believe me, several times I have been tempted to blog, but have been getting not much sleep as it is.

After our last time together, I spent a great weekend in Peoria Illinois for the National Missionary Convention. Between the His Eyes big board meeting (most of us looking across a table at each other instead of imagining through Skype the other three times a year) and my presentation about the mission to those interested were a slew of meetings, conversations, chats, bump-intos....seeing old friends, meeting new friends, having people stop me by shouting "Felipe!" that I otherwise would not have seen, and on the flip side seeing more than one person that I know walk right past me without recognizing me on their way somewhere else. A busy weekend for all involved I think...but in a God way.

After that, this past week has flown by...I still have accounting, email, and container computer work to do, as well as seeing some friends and spending some time with family for Thanksgiving.

Trying to thank everyone that helped make the past month a great month...very hard. Two particular familial shout outs have to go to...#1 my parents (providing the mission guy (me) and Valerie with transportation for the entire time, food to raid whenever needed, more office supplies, printing supplies, etc. than I can remember, a place to throw all our junk and then watch us pack it all up again and leave high and dry for many days at a time, and the always fun rides to and from the airport...especially the always fun leaving-at-4:15-in-the-morning drive. #2 The mysterious Georgians. No, they are not from near the Black Sea, but they helped make much of the trip possible, especially as it pertains to Valerie and the kids being able to go, and also continue to help God's work here in more ways than at which you can shake a stick. Why you would try to shake a stick at that I am not sure, but what I am sure of is how much God is being honored through their efforts. They themselves get no credit of course.

Please pray for the elections that are happening tomorrow (Sunday) here in Honduras would be peaceful, have good participation, be fair, and be recognized as being legitimate by the other nations of the world so we can try to get beyond these past five months. This is a big day for Honduras tomorrow. We will be out and about at Union Church playing for those that can come but otherwise will probably stay at home...unless I can get out for a run in the warm Honduran sun...much preferred to the lovely rainy weather recently plaguing the mid-west so much.

How about some more pictures from the trip? These will be fun, I promise.

Peoria is bigger than I thought, but still not that big. The Civic Center was nice, including this statue. Not so nice was seeing kids climbing on it, skateboarding on it, etc.

Side note: I asked two custodial employees at the center what they honestly thought about our convention...what kind of group testimony we were giving. One remarked that we were so much better than other conventions she was ready to marry us earlier in the week. Insert your own joke or deep spiritual comment here.








Sharing takes different forms...like having a 1/2 hour discussion with the Chili's hostess (Amanda) and sharing a bit about the convention, about her job....and here is Brad sharing hunting pictures with a fellow bambi killer. Good times.













Doing everything in Christ's name...to the point you inscribe it on your body. Amazing what can come from an email salutation eh?

















Cousin time is hard to come by for our kids. What better way to celebrate what you have in common than your uncle and grandma pushing you around the store ramming into each other like scenes from a Hollywood blockbuster?



Besides, Ceceilia certainly has the look of a determined force with which to be reckoned.














Soren and Wyatt are definitely the more calm of the foursome, but also swept away with Days of Thunder fever. No Chevy Luminas were harmed during the filming of that 1% milk purchasing spree.















Tthey got down on the farm with grandpa as he struggled to help get the harvest done before Thanksgiving. They really enjoyed getting to ride in the tractor and the combine...Cecilia especially liked "helping" and "driving."

Soren using Grandpa's hat and doing his second-best pose from this trip.

Cecilia ready to drive. My favorite was the mammoth combine, painted yellow, with the obvious need of two yellow strobe lights on the top. Yeah, I could hardly see that thing before, but with the strobe lights, now I can pick it out easier.

I won't include a picture of us getting the mighty Sable stuck in the field trying to drop the kids off. Did I mention it has been raining quite a bit there?

I got my picture back from the marathon. Expensive...until I consider asking someone I know to come down and take pictures of me for about five hours. After thinking about that I have a newfound respect for the friends/family that I did see along the route. Impressive.

Soren's best picture pose to date in my opinion.

Catching up...kind of

I have said in the past that these trips to the US are far more busy than my busy nature in Honduras, and my failure to blog hardly at all this time only adds further proof to that reality.

I have not taken many pictures this time around, but there are a few to post here.

So since our last posting...well, let me see what I can remember.

I got back from Cincy, took some stuff to FAME for the container, and tried to catch up on computer work to some extent, and then was off to Atlanta for a couple days...a few meetings, fellowship, trying new foods (like Chick-fil-a, eel sauce, water chestnuts, tofu) and then to Jacksonville Florida for another few days...more meetings, creating new friendships, revisiting some old, trying yet more first time foods (crab legs, unpeeled shrimp, oysters, banana pudding)giving communion meditations for three services, a lunch for Honduras information, a supper with more friends, then back to IND, helping finish the load packing of that FAME container, a supper and night spent at Valerie's sister's house, some shopping for Cecilia with the grandparents, and then back to my parents house with the kiddos for some new food experiences of their own (cheese balls, twinkies, brocoflower, mexican wedding cookies...quite the experience as you can see.)

Today I am doing some accounting on our rapidly depleting coffee supply, helping with the kids...although with dad out of the fields due to rain...they are getting a treat of riding the tractor just for fun and some other fun stuff only grandma and grandpa could provide...like back to back days at the Pizza Hut buffet.

Tomorrow off to the National Missionary Convention which will last until very early Sunday morning, when I head back to Indianapolis to speak at a Church and then meet Valerie in the afternoon after she finishes at another Church. Then the rest of our time is pretty much already scheduled until we head back to Honduras. Time does fly when you are having fun...even if at 10 MPH on a Deere.

A few thoughts

1. Anybody know of a 2000 or newer bus we could get cheap or via a donation? The Church bus for Teguc lost its motor. The mission is not really in a position to just help them buy one, but if there is a connection to be made in which we can assist them and it help us as well with the property purchase in this way, it seems like a win-win and somehting worth pursuing if we can.

2. The marathon on Saturday went very well. My goal after last year's time of 5:0something (I forget...I think it was 5:05?) and the weather for this year's race was again about as perfect as it gets. The course was great, and my time in the end was 4:57. I had some bathroom issues along the way during the first ten miles or so, but God kept me going through it all and my only battle scars were a few spots of chaffing, a big bloody blister...and some sore quadraceps. After that I walked to the car and drove two hours to Cincinnati for a Church mission fair, which was great as usual.

3. I was working last week on a bunch of different things, but updating our mission standee for Church presentations was something I was not really looking forward to, but was glad I did in the end. After all...Soren is no longer 2 years old (and that among many other pictures needed to be updated.) I think it turned out ok.

4. I am also hunting a vehicle for Oscar, or rather, for his wife Julia...to free him up from taking her to the doctor, getting the kids from school, etc. Unfortunately if he gets something from the US it has to be 2002 or newer, so I was looking at wrecked cars here that fit the cheap profile but can be repaired in Honduras cheaper (only fixing body damage...still functioning engine etc. required.) So far however, nothing in his price range is popping up. Hmmmm

5. Otherwise...answering tons of email, organizing things for the container shipping this weekend, fielding texts and calls from Honduras, and getting ready for a trip to ATL and JAX this week. I actually slept eight hours today though, actually over eight hours, so that was a pleasant surprise!

Needs seem to present themselves more frequently lately. Frankly I am not quite sure how larger missions handle this. The larger the mission is, the more people involved, the more work involved, the greater the needs seem to be. If I am sharing with a Church, or someone who asks me about prayer needs, physical needs, monetary needs, etc....sometimes I am not sure where to start or what to share. To be quite honest, it can sometimes be a little overwhelming. At least when it gets to that point I can put my head to pillow and finally in some wisdom give them to God to carry instead of keeping them on my back.

Just yesterday, although I am in the USA, I got some information from Oscar: the Church bus that broke down the Sunday before last...it was the motor and it is shot. The Church has not asked us for help yet, but Oscar was kind enough to tell me on their behalf to see what we could do. I was reminded about the need for Dora's house of the protective wall. Valerie told me to pray for Marlene, she has Dengue fever (like malaria...only not nearly as likely to kill you...just make you miserable for a week.) I think every day about the Church property purchase/pre-fab construction idea, and while talking with FAME yesterday about CHE, I was thinking much about the Churches and moving forward in those communities with this very important part of the Gospel charge we have. All that (and more) just yesterday walking through my mind.

I got back from a good visit to Virginia on Monday, walked through the FAME warehouse to see how much is there we can use to put on the container loading the 14th which was pretty exciting. I guess it says something about where I am in life when I get excited about wheelchairs, sharps containers and pill bottles. Tuesday I went back to FAME to talk to a volunteer group that helps FAME do what it does, which was cool, then had the aforementioned CHE meeting. Today is playing catch up on emails, some coffee shipments (still more to be had for those interested before the 2010 harvest! We have approximately 180 pounds left to sell!) and revamping our lovely His Eyes three fold display for mission presentations. I have avoided investing time on this piece for three years, but the pictures are old, and it needs to be done. Valerie did such a great job on the current version I wish I could wait for her to do it again, but alas it falls on me. Hopefully it will take me less than eight hours work. Hopefully.

Ch-ch-chain of gouls

Haloween in Honduras is almost non-existant. I am back in Indianapolis less than 12 hours and have seen several outfits just in the airport. Go figure.

Getting out of Honduras was easy, God worked to get me from ATL to IND last night. I finally got to bed after unpacking and packing for my trip to Richmond today (incoming plane delayed...I doubt I get there when I am supposed to now) at about 3:45AM, then got up at 6:45 to get ready and head down to the FAME run. It was cold! I had culture or temperature shock for sure, but the morning perked up as it went along. So far....a busy trip already.

While on the plane yesterday from TGU, I had plenty of time to read of the political agreement reached. While short on specific details on times, the plan is basically this: both sides agree to let the supreme court rule and then congress use that to decide on whether or not to reinstate Mr. Zelaya. I am not a political genius, but did those two parts of the government not already speak a few times on this (and that is why he was taken out?) All this is being done to try to get nternational recognition for the upcoming elections. The US embassy was giddy to announce their support (the US ambassador passed me in the airport yesterday with his posse) and will start taking visa appointments again.

What will happen? My optimistic side says he will not be reinstated (and what happens then? What about the crimes he supposedly perpetrated? Trial?) but my realist nature says money is probably already changing hands, who knows. (Chavez saying today in a few hours Mel would be back....political big wig in congress saying they will stand by their vote in June...hmmmm)

At least we should have some resolution by the end of November. "Should" being the operative word of course.