Dog tired

If you have ever seen a dog here...dog tired makes more sense.


God has a tendancy to keep me going right up until a group leaves, and then I tend to collapse of sorts. The group got off without a hitch...a great group. I pray that it was impactful to change their lives, as well as those that they touched. I came back to the house, ate lunch, and then Oscar picked me up to go finalize the purchase of the Land Cruiser pick-up for Jonathan's use with the Churches in San Juancito and Cantaranas. After two hours of being with the teller at the bank, I finished my banking and had the money delivered and appropriate paper work for the vehicle. I rushed a visit to the grocery (even found $1.10 per pound seedless grapes...quite a find here I thought) and made my way out to the vehicle to drive it home, for Roberto to change all fluids, etc. tomorrow or soon...after he fixes the Blue Ford which has several nagging issues. Ah, but the previous owner locked the keys inside. Nothing like that to show us just how hard it would be to break in, although we did not really desire the convincing. I took the Blue Ford, headed home for a Skype call with the next group to come down, and Oscar followed later when somebody else showed up with a spare key or a tool...I am not sure which. All that plus more emailing...I finished around 7:00. Whew.


Here is a picture of the truck. This is an answer to prayer by the way. We bid on another hard top Land Cruiser by the Peace Corps. I called, we lost. Oscar said, I brought my paper today (last Thursday) and so went through the classifieds to see if there was anything...and instead of a hard top, here is this pick up. Go figure. And odd bit of useless trivia....this pickup was originally bought by a man who is running for president here this November (Pepe Lobo for those interested.) This truck is a work truck...but this particular vehicle back in 1995 was ordered with a snorkel, A/C and this...unusual paint job. A luxury work truck. Definitely unique. Probably a collector's item...in the sense that we collected it to use for work. The winch is always a welcome accessory by the way. We will get some bars put on the back of it, get all the other minor stuff done to it, and hopefully have it ready next week at some point.


The political situation here remains unstable in terms of how the international community is treating it, while at the same time becoming more stable in house. It is frankly fairly shocking to me that outside of this country so few people are grasping what is really happening here. Not to say I think this was handled perfectly, or that the guys left behind are all fine, upstanding individuals pure as the driven snow...nor am I blindly buying all their side of the story...but so far, it adds up much better than anything Mel has done since before he was elected.


The pro-democracy rally today in Teguc went off without a hitch, and was very well attended. I will not put out any random number for the size, but it spilled way over just the central park where it originated, and had no violence or rock throwing of any kind. Definitely bigger by a long stretch than anything the other side has put together. I even saw a poll today that maintained 87% of Hondurans are in favor of Mel's ousting. I am not sure it was scientific, but that number seems right, maybe even a little low?


So, tomorrow starts another day. Office work, errands, and gearing up for the next group, scheduled to arrive July 9th. Another month...more time to praise God.

Time for what is important

I really do not have time to be blogging tonight, but tonight is not a normal night. This week is not a normal week, and so goes the time. What is normal? Ah, I won't be touching that. I can say that it is not normal for me to turn everything off in my office and look out the window and see no movement and hear silence. For the second night, there is a general curfew from 9:00PM to 6:00AM. The quiet is good...but just not normal. No jake brakes, revving small displacement four cylinders, bad muffler motorcycles even the dogs appear to be abiding by the restrictions, which is quite impressive. I may not have the time, but I am making the time...for blogging, for accounting (end of the month tomorrow, I will probably be up until 1 doing that) for the group and the wonderful work they have been doing, and even a little time tonight for my kids if you can believe that. I even got to talk to Valerie...although strictly business, no time for simple chit-chat. At least we got to see each other. It could always have been worse, right?

Today there were small isolated demonstrations. This time with a little violence...rock throwing mostly, with some reprisals by the police/military. There were some injuries, but no deaths, I believe most of the injuries were rock related. When will learn to outlaw rocks? Rocks do not hit people, people hit people.

Anyway, our free day with the group for the most part went off without a hitch, everything normal (Christ statue, lunch at Pizza House.) However, the mall we visited to watch a movie is within a few blocks of the presidential palace. Apparently the protestors there wanted to get around a little more, and they ended up a little close to the mall. Well, you can imagine the panic that ensued...panic that was an over-reaction, but that took time for all that to time to light. In the mean time...this might take a paragraph or two...the members of the group that were not watching the movie in the food court freaked a little, and rightfully so, to see everyone take off running. They came and got me in the movie...first time that has ever happened that they shut off the movie (and gave us our money back) and we then located the rest of the group (three girls "captive" by a protective staff at one of the stores) and went to see Suyapa and then back to the house. There was even a woman standing outside the movie theater telling the group that there were planes dropping bombs all around. She told them this as she stood calmly listening to something on her phone...on the third and top story of the building. She was...totally mistaken, as most of the rumors that were swirling in and around this time were. Oscar even heard one that some grocery store was selling milk at 1/2 price because there would not be milk for the next few days. I liked that one...as if a run on milk would cause them to actually lower their prices. Go figure.

Did I mention that during this time that everyone was panicking inside the mall, Oscar and Miguel, who did not want to see the movie, instead thought it would be interesting to go see what the protestors were doing. They were having a high ol' time (Oscar found that those he talked to were not so interested in having Mel back as their reason, but for protesting how the current president came to power...interesting) and Oscar was even trying to get Miguel in trouble with the other protestors, when suddenly they saw a tear gas canister go over their head. They walked back to the trucks, everything was fine. The shop owners probably were not going to open back up, and by that time though, we had already decided it would be prudent to just hit the highway.

Speaking of the highway, we found a little spot where there were several military tanks parked on the way back to the house (near the airport, not sure the reason.) I honked the horn at them and gave them a little wave...they that saw us looked very calm/relaxed and gave us a thumbs up back. A nice little reassuring sign at least to me.

I think I commented enough on the political situation yesterday and my particular take on it, but I did see more articles and one commentator in the US today that seemed to hit the nail on the head. If you are still seeing pictures of the very, very few that are protesting and the military/police confronting them, do not drink the kool-aid in believing this is as wide spread as some might have you believe.

In particular I add this little clip. I do not know this commentator in any way, but he is very insightful in this little clip when it comes to President Obama's stance on Honduras as expressed today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxUGYOBrcTw

God be praised...in uncertain times, He is certain.

This will be quick, because I know there are some people out there waiting to read this, so I ask your forgiveness in regard to any spelling or other such errors found.

The status of life currently in Honduras is "A-OK"...as long as your name does not coincide with the guy who owned the diner in the TV series Alice.

As is normal with the internet, there is much out there, but one has to gleam carefully to get a good picture of what is going on...as close to reality as possible.

You can go to the news websites to get the official reports...Mel was ousted (by military...through an order from the judicial branch), is in Costa Rica (originally in his pajamas....then supposedly the ambassadors from Nicaragua and Venezuela picked him up for a run to the mall to get some clothes...ok, I imagine they got him some clothes somewhere...Gap or Carrion yet to be confirmed)...did or did not sign the letter of resignation that was read in congress, the congress named the next in line as president, which happened to be the current president of the congress (he resigned his current position, and already promised the elections in November already scheduled would happen...thus stating he would not be trying to stick around extra) and it appears about every ambassador and government is not happy with what went down or how it went down....including US and Venezuela. How often do they agree? Ol Baby Huey from Venezuela keeps talking about interceding on behalf of Honduran democracy....always comforting, and Mel said today he was hoping the US would help restore democracy in Honduras...first time he has wanted US help or participation in anything in quite some time...I guess being stuck in your pijamas makes you reach out to even people you thought you did not like so well.

Now....seeing all these other governments opposed to how he was removed, I have to add personal experience....everyone I talk to seems quite ok with all this happening, even if it would not have been seen as the ideal ahead of time. The prez did seem a bit wacky as of late, wackier than normal, and add in the apparent arrival of "friends" from Nicaragua and Venezuela to help facilitate this illegal poll that was to have been done today, and I guess that pushed the situation to this extent.

It seems, at least until now, to be legally done, and although I probably would not have gone this route (cut him at the knees in the wacky stuff he wanted to do, and let him serve out his time would have been my brilliant idea) so far....no protests, and given the seriousness of the situation, there was no violence, no arrests, no problems of any kind. I can not recall even a minor protest about something relatively minor that has gone so well. I know some media outlets are kind of hinting that poor prez is out because of some strictly military ousting and that there is chaos....in my opinion, things are going well if not perfect, and this ousting is probably not the worst thing to have happened. Best? Time will tell, but definitely not as it might sound at first hearing.

We prayed about going to Sampedrana yesterday, and once we were there, I did not think about all this today again until before bed when we prayed again. Out there things are simpler....they have to be, because life there is about surviving, not worrying about some silly political situation. We had a great day of corn distribution and soccer/VBS....first getting soaked by a torrential downpour which lasted just long enough to ensure every square inch of most of the group was saturated, and then completing that, and then getting ready to show quite a few people the Chronicles of Narnia, the first movie. It was interesting to see the Catholic Church down the street start a mass as we were starting the movie (and even more interesting to hear Oscar and Miguel's reporting of what the priest had to say) but many came from there and went back to there before and after. We had a good time of debrief, and then to bed, up this morning early for Church at 8:00...much earlier than normal for the body there, but done so we could be on our way back to Teguc. The group helped with the communion, preaching, and by giving up some of their seats for people coming in late. It was a different service, but good. I thought Gender's choice of scripture to open the service was very appropriate, although I am sure he did not know what was transpiring when he chose it Psalms 37:39-40 "The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him."

We got word about the coup from a brother that came up to Sampedrana....but were mostly out of touch until we got to Burger King in Comayagua about 11:30. Now, I am not sure I can describe to you the sensation of knowing a coup has just happened....something that should be terrifying right? but first of all knowing that God has our backs in all things, and then second to know we could go back to Sampedrana if need be....but to walk into the fully functioning BK (generator....power was out all over the country....of course, we had not noticed since there is no power at all up there) and start ordering as if asking for no pickles or mayo is the biggest concern in the world at that moment...is just a little surreal. Then the news started coming back on (CNN via cable there....local media was shut down early, just told people to stay home) and we finally got a hold of Valerie and Julia back in TGU to find out all was well with them (I admit...not being able to get in touch with Valerie...who did not have electricity to answer the phone, and had let her cell phone run out of charge....who as well was out this morning despite warnings taking Dora and the kids home...they stayed Saturday night here at the house to have some fun, something they do not get often...was a little stressing for a while) We ate, prayed, thought, and commiserated with other Hondurans there in the restaurant (well, that last part was Oscar, Miguel and I) and decided the coast looked good to return to TGU (reports, signs of traffic, buses and tractor trailers) and so we were off. Generally, I did not get the sense anyone was too sad to see the prez gone.

I have not had such a peaceful and easy return back to TGU....for which....Praise God! At one of the routine police check points, the policeman even greeted me with a handshake and "what's up boss?" which obviously gave me an idea we were in God hands. No military blocking roads or not allowing traffic, in fact, life for most people along the road looked to be as normal. We got back to the mission house, and I marveled and how God had given us what we needed to get up, and get back, and do what we did there. Life around town was so calm, there were even guys from the Churc...and community...reaching out from the Church to get others to come...even if that visit is for football to start, so several of us went down, and the guys not only held their own, but actually bested the already there teams twice, and tied twice.

Is the situation now all resolved? I doubt it. There will be talking, there will be discussions, probably some arguments, etc. I do not know what will happen, but I know who is in control. Meanwhile, the clinic plans to be open tomorrow, the pastors plan on keep reaching and teaching and clothing, and we plan to take the group on their free day for some site seeing around town, perhaps a movie, and dinner out before they depart Tuesday. Oh, that site seeing will not however include any trips to the presidential palace or congress building, for obvious reasons.

Keep praying for this country....specifically for peace, and for God to reign here and direct us all, and for our safety...however I will not be one using such a forum as this to overexagerate the dangers here and make such pleas out to be as though we are really suffering or that the situation is worse than it is. If it is bad, I will tell you. If it is not, I will tell you that as well...I see no need to portray things any different than they are.

We are fine, and trusting in God...which is the most important. Thank you for your prayers and interest.

Welcome to the party pal!

I am not sure why that line from Die Hard was triggered in my mind, but there you have it. There is some press in the US now about this whole political shenanigans that are going on here, and I feel a little like ol' Bruce Willis leaning out the window to see Reginald VelJohnson. Well, maybe not quite like that....but you get the idea. Or not. I feel I should mention something about the political scene here because I have seen some other more alarming reports being shared, and I am not sure I share those thoughts. Sure, things are not the best they have been right now, and there is some uncertainty out there, some confusion, some wondering how this is all going to work out...but is that not life in general? I am not saying we should ignore the signs (Matthew 16:3) but at the same time...scaring people here and in the US and around the world with speculation and conjecture beyond what we actually know seems irresponsible to me. I suppose it might make staying here seem more noble or something, but the truth be told despite all the "stuff" going on...life is fairly normal right now. If that changes, I will be the first (ok, probably not the first) to report it here, but I look forward in faith in Christ, not hopeless or being carried by the currents and the waves, but steady ahead in what God has for us....wherever and whatever that would be, but not fretting one way or another about what would come, because there will be suffering, there will be trials, there will be problems...finding them should not surprise us, and we should be prepared. Enough of that, I will get off my caja de jabon.

Today we visited the hospital. Several wards were not eager to have us due to the A-H1N1, but I was privileged to go through the orthopedic ward, but not hurried. I got to see Maria...who I keep seeing as it keeps turning out, as she has been there for over three months. It gives me joy, and sadness that this girl has been there long enough to know my name. I met another mother outside waiting for her daughter from surgery...she knew my name as well. A sample of what is usually seen on these visits...nothing is normal per se, as you will see, but here goes: We met a girl who had been shot in both knees (not even 10 years old) a child run over by a car and back again for surgery on all the screws they put into him that are coming out, a boy who broke his leg, and then his parents took him by boat for three hours, carried him in a hammock walking through the mountains for three hours, and then by bus for two hours, the boy pictured who lost most of his index finger from pulling up on a football goal which fell on him....kids from the North, South West and far, far East, kids that were looking for mamones and mangos, kids who got hurt playing football, and did not even score a goal....all this and more, but the one thing that unified them was their hunger for someone to care, to show Christ's love. It was cool to let them pick the North American that would pray for them (they all liked that) and to share some of the great Lego toys we procured ($1,000 worth for about $15) from another mission here....Legos that they can use for hours to make different things...and they have hours, and days, and more. One boy was so proud to show us his very cool airplane before we even left the ward.




I saw these yesterday, there were more than one....taking garbage and turning it into art to beautify Valle de Angeles. Whoever did these angels (nice plug for the city) deserves a big pat on the back, what a great idea. The more realistic angel with a fanny pack though...that was going too far.












And this, the smallest avocado (ripe mind you) that we had ever seen. No, I did not try to peel it to get at that very small sweet spot. Cantaranas is not known for this specific breed of tiny avocados, it remains a mystery. If you are up for a laugh....google what avocado means, not in Spanish, but the original language from whence it came.

Lluvia de todo

Today the corn distribution in Cantaranas went well...highlight for me was meeting someone who attends the Church...through visiting the clothing store to buy clothing (I asked and even what she was wearing she bought there.) There were several stories shared...powerful stuff.

Souvenir shopping went well, and then we tried to return to Teguc, and the rain began....lots of rain, and traffic, and the trip took like over an hour instead of 1/2 hour.

Then came more of the political problems going on here, peaceful demonstrations until now, all of that over president Mel Zelaya's illegal consultation about the constitution he has masterminded, now with wondering who is running the military, etc. and then hearing the news about Mr. Jackson and Ms. Fawcett....all combined to make that well over an hour drive even more interesting.

What will tomorrow bring? Ah, we know that God already knows, and pray for His strength, protection, and Word to share with those in the hospital we will visit and the kids in the milk project.

Odd day

Today we ventured out to Guasucaran for a clothing distribution with VBS. There were not many people there, I was quite surprised...until we found out the teacher there had gotten mixed up with the dates and told people it was last week, then it started to make sense. The day went well, and we started back early....only to find a chip delivery truck stuck on the side of the road, who we ended up towing back to Ojojona....praise God we were there...to remove the truck from a bus trying to get a child to the hospital, and for him to get him back. He was very grateful, gave us a bunch of free plantain chips to express his gratitude as well.

On our way back, we got word that a sister from the Church had died. Just recently she had been ill, and finally the doctors at the hospital told her family she had cancer and needed to go home to die. This was just yesterday. We were planning on buying her a water bed for her "final months" this Friday. We went to the wake this evening as we will not be able to be there for the funeral tomorrow (with the group). I have been to wakes and funerals before....and I applaud those that are so willing to be there, to help in any way. Tonight was the first night however that I helped in such a way....comforting, praying, but then being in the right place to carry the body to the coffin from where she died. It was...surreal. What was not surreal was the formaldahyde burning my eyes fiercly as we moved that shell into another shell. There were at least 50 people in and around the house from the Church. I did not like having to be there, nor having to leave to get home to the kids and to work for the group tomorrow. Being there, grieving, sharing, just talking to everyone, things we do in other times, but it seems the best times that happens are when someone dies, which just strikes me as ironic.

Then tonight at 9:45, an odd spontaneous announcement from the president here....accepting the resignation of two big shots in the military, to the applause of everyone there (special invites no doubt.) Now, this is kind of concerning because they "resigned" because the prez is not happy with them...because they are obeying the law by supporting his decision to use the military to help his little poll that is to happen on Sunday, with the purpose of....well, that is not exactly clear, but the long story short, it is socialism in action and the goal of long term change of the government (probably to keep him in power.) Applauding the firing of people for upholding the laws of the congress of the country? That is not something that sits well. I normally try not to get too excited about these things, but prayer is requested and necessary for the country and its habitants, especially in this time of change, uncertainty and opportunities for witnessing and showing the faith we have been given. I do not think things are going to turn upside down today to tomorrow, but still we need to be more vigilent and watchful of what is going on around us.

Wrestle with it

Today was corn distribution in the new work area for the mission (through Celeo and his plans) in Talanga. This is a bigger town than other areas where we work....for some reason that would give me pause to think that would mean better economic/physical circumstances. While the poverty is still there, what continually strikes me there is the spiritual poverty....the hopelessness, lack of joy, and hunger that is there that before now has found no well from which to drink.

We got back tonight and during debrief I heard two very mature, very spirit led comments by Ashley and Jordan....one saying they see life there as more simple, with less distractions and a more complete trust in God, ready to abandon everything and move there and live like that....and the other honest enough to come out to say that it was uncomfortable, that selfishness begets selfishness and the desire not to have to deal with that. Whatever the feelings seeing that might give us temporarily....I continue to struggle with what we continue to do change that which we are seeing. What it does to us emotionally is one thing....how we use that to change ourselves and help change the world for God is another.

We also has a spirited discussion of where is the origin of our faith. What I have grown to have learned over the past nine years was not generally shared by the rest of the group, but the discussion was in love, and I would hope that for both sides of the fence (free will decision based in ourselves versus a renewing and being made alive in Christ to recognize the faith given us from Him....not of ourselves) we would be challeneged and study God's word more to delve deeper and come to a greater understanding. These are not youth just wanting to hang out in a foreign country for two weeks...this is real, and important....this is life, and how we live it makes a difference.

Briefly

Just catching up....we did a clothing distribution with VBS today. It went well, especially the VBS and mini-soccer championship the grup put together. We also stopped by our friends house (the Orrs) who helped us set the whole activity up. They have enough cows now that they make their own cheese, which they hooked us up with....the jalapeño version was quite tasty. Then we drove back in time to eat and then head down to the youth group service, where Mike preached and several of the group helped talk about brother and sisters and how to get along with them (Kolby, Crystal, Mark, and Erica) and then Crystal shared her testimony to close out the night. I am tired, off to bed to start another day tomorrow.

Group update and more

So the group has been busy yesterday and today helping us in many different ways with construction. Quite a bit of construction, actually. Of course, with 27 people in the group, we could afford to do several different things. So what are they doing (one more day of construction on Monday)?


First we see the advancement of the driveway to the new clinic. With quite a few people, we might be able to finish most of what we needed to get up there, and maybe even some of the little areas for parking. We will see Monday. If we do the parking, we will try to leave spaces in between for small little patches of garden or something, just to break up the cement, if you will.


The one thing I do not have pictures of is the one part of this construction I have yet to see, the putting together of the pews we received in a recent container from the US. We bought new hardware, spent a bit of money to get them put together in a nice way, and sent Miguel and five group members each day to get as much done as they can for them to be used for the Church in San Juancito. So far, 17 put together, and 5-6 more to go before the ones that did not fare so well will have to be suplemented by a local carpenter there in the Church. This will be huge for the Church to have good pews versus the plastic chairs they bought...which can in turn be taken for Sunday School use, as well as to the Churches in Cantaranas and Talanga, which could certainly use it as well.

Here we have Juan, fresh back from being deported from the US (he went legally, but immigration did not like his trip frequency, or the reason he was travelling, so....keeping in mind he had a visa....they shackled his hands, feet, and waist, and then put him back on a flight.) He and Leandra both had a very God centered view on the whole thing, and is moving forward...but it was not exactly a positive or warm fuzzy experience for those US citizens he met during those several long hours. He was working with a group to stucco the new clinic so it would be ready for painting (another group, another time.)



And the most fun, ditch digging! The roads in the neighborhood have deteriorated drastically with the recent rains, and with the local government no longer threatening to take away the road next to the property, fixing a ditch to get the water out of the road is now a good idea again. We watch many, many vehicles spin their tires, burn their tires, over and over again trying to get up that road...especially since the "main" road is now almost totally impassable.

This is a view from under the portion of the ditch that serves as the entrance to the Church for the buses. We had to break holes in the concrete to clean out this hole....which was full of....interesting items, mud, etc. Yuck, but now it is clear, especially compared to before, and all that is left is to pour heavy removable pieces for future cleaning.

And what a view of a group member very motivated and hard working to get things even cleaner. Half his body is stuffed into the hole you see above trying to get all that stuff out, holding a rake and dragging everything towards him so we could remove it. Insert your own remark here about this being his best side (either as a joke or testiment to his serving the King) but there is little doubt that he was hard core.

The Peace Corps is auctioning off one more Ambulance style Land Cruiser. With the ailing Mitsubishi being sold, this would be a great replacement.....perhaps not exactly what we would imagine for the pastor, but as a people mover, tough, reliable and easy part availability vehicle, these are great, especially if we get it for the price we put down on our secret ballot. Please pray this would come through....they will not be selling any more vehicles until at the earliest the first months of 2010. If this looks familiar....it is because it looks just like the one we got from them for the Church in Sampedrana. And in case you were wondering....we are contemplating buying a make shift trailer for them to haul for getting construction materials (or for San Juancito/Cantaranas, to carry more clothes to the stores there) a pickup bed with axle sort of thing.

Cecilia could not have been happier to see another group, especially when some of the group knew some Hannah Montana songs. Here we see a willing participant helping her sing "the throwdown, hoedown." With the kids in school until November, they will not get to spend too much time with the group, but they enjoy what time they do get to be with them.

Valerie has to deal with quite a bit at the clinic. Imagine the normal work of a doctor, combine that with a missionary trying to reach people and care for them like Christ, especially as it pertians to their eyes, and their souls, and then add to that seeing patients like the one she had today (a -19 for those in the know) plus routinely (yep, this continues this week) to turn people away as soon as she gets there at 7:15 or so every morning...and it all adds up to her being tired, stressed, and ready for bed early many nights. Here I caught one of the nursing students just reaching out to help her while she tried to work on charts with a nice back rub. It seemed like a good picture, I hope you agree.

Glimpse into the clinic

Yesterday Valerie was sharing with a patient like she normally does. She usually asks them if they are a Christian. A particular lady, in her 40s, said yes and no. The conversation took off from their...and ended with her praying for Christ to fill her with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was obviously already moving....but for that moment to happen in an eye exam chair in the clinic was also moving for Valerie. They discussed coming to ICCC, and other alternatives, we are now praying that she will find a body where she can congregate and be discipled. It was a busy day for Valerie otherwise as well, seeing 15 or more patients.

Speaking of patients, we are reaching critical mass when it comes to general medicine, and we do not know what to do other than pray for the funds to hire another doctor. People were turned away today.....those that arrived after 6:30 in the morning. One woman tried for three days, and finally came at 4:00AM to make sure she got seen. This is not good. Valerie mentioned raising prices to try to cut demand, but that is not really going to help those we are trying to reach. The value is obviously perceived in what we can provide...but we can not meet the demand even just in that neighborhood. I am praying and seeking direction, but we are not sure what to do about this....it is not good for the patients that come and have to be turned away, not good for our staff to see and have to deal with this every day, and not the best for our overall reputation. I would rather lower than raise prices, but that would only compound the problem of having too many patients to be able to handle...not to mention then put us in further financial hurt. Hmmmmm, if you know of any creative or successful ways to balance the two, feel free to let us know. Otherwise, we will keep praying and seeking His direction.

June Update

So June's update was full of Optometry references. I promised to blog about it, and announce the winner. Aaron Frey won by a landslide. He even caught a reference I was proud to have included...had I only conscously been aware I had done it. He did miss one of the references, but otherwise, a flawless presentation. Uh, I guess I should also mention Aaron is an optometrist, not that it had anything to do with his winning. What did he win? A pound of Hill Climber coffee will be on its way to him in the next month or so!

Here is the update, with the explainations, for those probable few that are curious.

This weeks update is being ghost (as in ghost images) written from the optometric practice of C.F. Eyecare, Emma Tropic. (emmatropia is the fancy way of saying your vision is normal) She will give her perfectly clear view of the work being done, whilst also giving us that tweak of indifference we have all come to know and love. Enjoy...or not, it is up to you! Despite her claims to the contrary, this update is chock full of optometric references. Catch them all (and some are a stretch), and win a prize! Just list them all in an email and hit reply. Otherwise for our own amusement we will post the references in a blog update next week.

I risk telling you that May was clearly an interesting month in the hopes that you will be encouraged in what God is doing here. Of course, eye care being my field, I normally would tend to everything through that lens, but you and I both understand there is much more to the mission than just what I normally see, so I will refrain as much as possible from unnecessary optical references. As our Italian friends would say, that would be "corny, ah!" (cornea...a stretch, but most picked up on it)

A group was here representing CSF...not cerebral spinal fluid, but Christian Student Fellowship (fret not, I thought the same thing) and Sherwood Oaks Christian Church. They were the first group to do activities in Talanga for the new Church plant that Celeo is endeavoring, and already fruit is being seen, as from one day of corn distribution, last week's service (being held in homes for now) was over 30 people. They did much more, including helping the Church in Teguc get their fence portion started, and completing the new, improved, septic tank for the clinic building. They also visited the famous agricultural school here (Zamorano...they are into everything from animals and dairy to fruit, and even the straw business (the one Aaron missed...strabismus is having a crossed eye)) and received a very nice tour of the campus, and even saw what some maintained was a small dinosaur, which led to Soren being nick named DinoSoren, which he liked, although it was just a big iguana. We did not touch it, and even with quite a few birds there, there was no opportunity to pat an owl. (patanol is an eye allergy medication)

The coffee from Sampedrana is getting closer to being ready for sale. It is getting roasted and bagged while we speak. This experiment in creating a viable way to support some of the Churches we directly support and work with is very exciting for the opportunities it could bring in the future. Of course the naturally grown, organic, shade grown, and farmer higher compensated coffee we hope will be a hit not only for consumption but for raising funds to keep this going in the future, so we prayerfully hope it sells with flare. (cells and flare are found in the eye with an iritis, etc.)

The clothing ministry had a hard month. Clothes were of very poor quality, and it put a huge financial pinch on all involved and the ministries supported by that clothing. We just unloaded a new container, and are hopeful that things will improve with that for this month. Especially we are hopeful that the ministry is done in a way that will glorify God who makes it all possible, and of course that there would be people who would be able to use what is brought, be them choosers of T-shirts, denim deciders , or tie-dye opters. (diopters are the steps in which presciptions for glasses are measured)

Cecilia and Soren continue to march on (this is the one I did not see when I wrote this....Marchon is a company that sells frames) in their studies. Neither perhaps is the star pupil of their respective classes, but they do try, and are learning a great deal, especially it appears Soren learning ways to make his classmates laugh in English class by claiming one pigment is another (the teacher says red, Soren says "no it is pink!") His parents are just trying to take all the time they can to enjoy him at this size, small, light, and a little goofy....kind of a silly, airy body (cillary body is a part of the inside of the eye) if you will. Cecilia is enjoying opportunities to be a people person, even if that gets in the way of her class. She has been behaving better, sitting still more and not talking in class...as much, lest her teacher take her to an anterior chamber (also part of the eye inside) to be punished. We would hate for her to be known as a chronic talker, or TISM as it is known in educational circles (Talking Inordinately, Socially Malignant) something to be chided for, as a stigma TISM is hard for young people to shake, and then they end up on the wrong axis (axis is used in presciptions in reference to astigmatism) for the rest of their lives.

Thus ends the update from His Eyes this month. I hope you enjoyed my ghost writing in said document, and especially my tone or meter (tonometer is an instrument)in how I wrote. I now return you to your regular update ending.

More news, pictures and information are available at the blog (www.hiseyeshonduras.blogspot.com) and general information about the mission at (www.hiseyes.us)

May the floaters be with you,
Felipe Fuchs, Valerie Vitreous, Cecilia Conjunctiva and Soren Sclera (uh, as eye related...a distrophy, gel, part and part)

Donations? Please send any checks, which must be made out to "His Eyes" to:
Denny Smith
3036 E. Bricklin Ct.
Bloomington IN 47401
Be sure to include a note in the envelope if you want your donation designated for the Colbys #1 (or any other project) #2, otherwise it goes to general mission support. Which is better? #1 or #2? Ah, trick question, they are both good.

Better late than never

I am up at this late hour because I realized that if I did not stay up to work (and now blog) I would not get it done easily for the next two days.

Saturday night after the group left, Valerie and I went to an event at Unitec. We walked in, and after meeting some other people there I could definitely see why they asked how it was we came to be there. Someone studying there lives with some missionaries we know, and this was some sort of class project of sorts. For $20 we had a nice evening out in a quiet atmosphere, with very few people, and were educated at the same time...a night of coffee, wine, and chocolate. The people doing the presentations on the different areas were pros in their fields (the coffee guy the owner/big whig from Cafe Maya) It really was educational, fun, and we were fed some fancy grub as you can see. And for our $20 investment...Valerie won a door prize of a free meal at the Hotel Clarion, which I am going to go out on a limb and guess is worth more than $20 and we can enjoy the next time we can squeeze in a date night. We had wine, we had three different kinds of coffee, some pistachio/blueberry chocolate bark, and even a couple samples to take home. All in all, a very enjoyable date night.

Sunday was different in many respects. We were signed up to play at Union, but they had an additional guitar player playing with us this week. Considering it was the anniversary Sunday (we did not know it would fall on this date when we scheduled for Union) at ICCC, I skipped and went there to see Darrin preach (missionary who was here, now in Costa Rica) and enjoy the festivities. It was a good service....the congregations from San Juancito and Talanga were represented as well as many people I had not seen in a while. Afterwards there was a piñata...which was huge and not quick in bearing its treats, and several cakes, and games (sack races, egg carrying races, eating contests and piggy back carrying runs) and then came the soccer. It was fun to watch the soccer with the commentators in the background...plenty of laughs, and then to play and actualy get a goal (header) before being called and seeing someone carrying Cecilia up the stairway crying...she had fallen and bloodied her knee....all in trying to get to the fence to tell me she wanted to go home. Off we went.

But the serious injury award goes to Soren. I have been afraid before. I have been scared, but seeing Soren, and hearing the story was enough to turn my stomach, and seriously consider what I would have done if what might have been, was. This picture does not do justice to what he accomplished. You can not see the red line going up his head, nor the bump in the back, or the bruises on his chest. He admits to wanting to jump backwards from below the pulpit at Union. How he planned to accomplish that...did not seem important when I was hearing the story. Now, there is located a communion table. I have not picked it up lately, but it is heavy. He pulled that table down on top of him, and then of course as he fell not only did the table crash down, but the tile-concrete floor crashed up into the back of his head. I am afraid to see what the bruises will look like tomorrow, but needless to say....it scared Valerie so much she could not play, nor drive part of the way home. I must say that I am somewhat happy I was not there, not only for not seeing all the suffering with nothing I could do, but also that at least I do not have that slo-motion moment to play over in my head over and over again.

Our need for insurance mounts in my mind...as it turns out he did not need to go to the doctor for an MRI or cat scan, but the thought did cross our minds, and what would happen if they had said "oh, we think he needs to stay for a few days"? Actually that came later...first I could not get it out my head, "what if he had died?" It certainly seemed like a distinct possibility.

Guasucaran y guacamole

Yesterday I was tired. We went to Guasucaran for the last medical brigade, and the people there were the same, but different. Every village and town seems to have differences in what presents in their respective brigades. Also different was how many times I heard gracias throughout the day. People were of course dressed in their "Sunday best" with especially the little girls with their frilliest dresses. As usual, the last day was the fastest, although every day has gone well, but we saw before lunch what we saw the other days all day. Plus, we noticed that lots of people when we got there were having breakfast of avocados....which piqued my interest. While I translated, Oscar was writing people in for the brigade, found out where they were for sale, and a few hours later....he bought 60, I bought 60, and the mission bought 140 (for the groups.) Grand total for 260 avocados....$30. They are green, but that will change, and then our good cholesterol will be through the roof for about a week.




Cecilia went with us to the clothing distribution on Sunday and got a splinter. The medical staff on the group decided to help get that pesky piece of buried wood out of her skin. I had to take a picture because 1. for the most part Cecilia took it well, and 2. Here was our daughter getting work done by a mid-wife, M.D. and a neuro-surgeon. I was just trying to contemplate how much it would have cost in the US to have that splinter taken out by a similarly equipped crew. Good news...the splinter was removed.

Hill Climber coffee is now officially launched. Stickers are being applied to the bags (Dora hard at work) and with the group we officially tasted it last night. Everyone seemed to be pretty satisfied....we are selling 50 lbs to this group alone. The logo and bags could change by next year, but otherwise we will probably try to keep the same method....unless God provides our own coffee roaster somehow, but that is not something at this point we are going out of our way to seek out even though I am sure there are 200 pound coffee roasters available at Best Buy. We had 1/2 whole bean and 1/2 ground, and the medium roast looks just fantastic just looking at the beans, and smells pretty good. I am no coffee snob, but I think there are a few in the group, and they seemed very happy, so we were happy.

We had one patient we had to immediately refer this week, who reportedly fell off a bike, but as we soon discovered....it was something more, something we should not touch. Luckily we were in a local health center that day, and the local doctor wrote him a referral slip to go to the hospital, since it was a bullet wound. We also had two separate abcesses, and a huge hand wound to fix up, plenty of semi-surgery for a week of brigades.

We do not always get the beautfiul sunsets or picturesque skies here in Tegucigalpa. But yesterday I was just struck by the sky as the sun did go down. This is looking North West, the sky was equally beautiful in the other directions, and it most certainly rained later, but it was just awesome, in the literal sense of the word. I was encouraged by a devotional given this week to stop during these moments to stop and appreciate what God has done, does, and will do, in all aspects of our life, which includes the mountains, the clouds, the earth around us.

Cantaranas and Pueblo Nuevo

Two more brigades, and God continues to show me (among others I am relatively sure) how amazing He is.

Today we forgot a big tub of medicines/supplies that we really needed...but God provided a way around it all, and I was helping translate for a doctor, and we never even knew this had happened until after the day was done because He made a way.

We met, treated, and prayed for many people. Their needs was so varied, but they were there. Many people in financial poverty (hygiene, lack of meds....high blood pressure, diabetes, and so much more), and quite a few spiritually poor as well....many looked absolutely shocked when I offered to pray for them (even though we were in a Church today) and many that were unsure of what to do or how to react, or just not wanting to participate, one that wanted to leave, and more than one that were not sure what I meant when I said the word pray. It is humbling to be in those circumstances....more humbling to pray for those, and those in the Church there, knowing that words were coming out of my mouth often that sounded so good but clearly did not have roots in my mind.

It has also been great to learn even more about the medical brigades from Amy and Guy translating for them. Having the freedom to ask questions, to offer suggestions, and to learn more about why Keflex is good for skin versus Cipro as a wide spectrum antibiotic, carpel tunnel tests, herpes zoster, neorological dystrophy, and so much more has been very educational and interesting.

Time

No time for a full update on the brigade activities today....but I wanted to share Pastor Jeff's thought for the week since I saw it has not been updated on his blog yet. Surely there is a long story here on why I am posting this, but for now I would just hope as he does that it being edifying to you and reason for praising God. You can get his past thoughts at (http://www.thoughtfortheweek-jeff.blogspot.com/) Here it is:

They have to do with God's glorious grace in bringing people to salvation. Read them, ponder them, wrestle with them, and then go compare them to Scripture (Ephesians 2:1-10) or think back on your own pre-conversion / conversion experience. I trust they will edify and bless your hearts as much as they did mine. Enjoy!

"I hear someone murmur, 'God will not give grace to men who do not repent.' I reply, God gives men grace to repent and no man ever repents until grace first is given him to lead him to repentance. 'But God will not give his grace to those who won't believe,' says another. I reply, God gives grace to men by which they are moved to believe. It is through the grace of God that they are brought to faith in Christ...
I must confess I never would have been saved if I could have helped it. As long as I could, I rebelled and revolted and struggled against God. When he would have me pray, I would not pray. When he would have me listen to the sound of the ministry (preaching), I would not. And when I heard, and the tear rolled down my cheek, I wiped it away and defied him to melt my heart.
The he gave me the effectual blow of grace, and there was no resisting that irresistible effort. It conquered my depraved will and made me bow before the scepter of His grace. And so it is in every case. Man revolts against his Savior, but where God determines to save, save he will. God never was thwarted yet in any one of his purposes. Man does resist with all his might, but all the might of man, tremendous though it be for sin, is not equal to the majestic might of the Most High."

Spurgeon has one additional thought that is helpful in this regard:

"A man is not saved against his will, but he is made willing by the operation of the Holy Ghost. A mighty grace which he does not wish to resist enters into the man, disarms him, makes a new creature of him, and he is saved... I believe that Christ came into the world not to put men into a savable state, but into a saved state. Not to put them where they could save themselves, but to do the work in them and for them, from first to last. If I did not believe that there was might going forth with the Word of Jesus which makes men willing, and which turns them from the error of their ways by the mighty, overwhelming, constraining force of a divine influence, I should cease to glory in the cross of Christ."

A good and necessary reminder for us who frequently (and mistakenly) think salvation is a mere choice we make (like casting a vote at an election), instead of being a mighty work of supernatural grace that God works in us as an expression of His kindness and love for us.

Grace to you, Pastor Jeff

Brigade....Talanga

Hard to sum up today to be honest, so I am kickin' it free style....yo.

It was a great way to outreach to this new community for us. We were located in a school on the hill in the city, kind of on the edge of town. A beautiful view, which I think the pictures show, although one downside of that location was that the school has no bathroom. If you have never done a brigade, this is a downside not only for the lack of somewhere for us to go to the bathroom when needed, but when patients need to give us samples....it is not exactly a cake walk for them

either.

Speaking of patients, there were more than we anticipated seeing but the flow and working together of the group came together instantly, everything just seem, lessly starting and going forward from the first patients. It was very impressive.

The patients were varied, and it was not standard fare of just wanting something for headaches and vitamins. There was that aspect (duh, people's heads hurt, and they want to grow...or think that it will help their appetite or perhaps give them super powers, like Bam Bam)

We saw everything from the normal cough/cold, scabies, fungi, arthritis, and gastritits to abcesses on a butt (who even fainted at one point), extremely high blood sugars (one apparently over 550 or 600...whatever the max for the acucheck is) chicken pox...quickly dispatched so as not to affect anyone else if possible, venereal disease (probable) and much more. The picture here was for grandma who developed this from a pair of shoes she had (she got rid of them...seemed like a good idea) and has been treating with a home remedy (some plant.) All good...but we did not like the look of her foot in general. Although she was sure she was not diabetic, the strip told a different tale, sugar at 223. The grand daughter with her was recovering form chicken pox, no word on why she did not have a shirt.

There were patients that were Christian, some from this new movement towards a Church there, and many that when I offered to pray reacted...differently. Many just asked me "what?" but at least one that seemed a bit taken back by the idea. God did it all....He sent the medicines, He sent us, He brought them, everything. He prepared the prelim station, the doctors, the teaching station (for lessons on preventive things such as dental, hand washing, scabies, diarrhea, etc. as well as going through the Gospel and learning about God's love for them) the pharmacy, and all the people that were there to help.

Last week...no group, no rain. First two days of the group here....rain both days, and lots of it. Go figure. At least we have been missing the worst of it with people in the back of the Ford.

Hurry

I know being in a hurry and being busy are not good. And yet, I have felt an adrenaline rush of busyness and hurry-up-edness for about a week. I have had the presence of Spirit to take small moments to stop myself (not going through yellow lights for example) and to stop and smell the diesel, but it has been hard.

It was very enjoyable to stop last night...Cecilia's birthday. It was simple, not overdone or involved, but it was nice. Especially nice was Susan's bringing Soren a Lego kit (an airplane/boat/space shuttle) his first. It was very cool to sit with my son and do something I use to do with great regularity...and even more cool to see him play with it, and then say "I want to build something else" and do his thing. Very cool.

The coffee....God's timing. The guy we originally hired did nothign until Gender went to pick it up, and then he informed him that the price he gave us was not enough, it needed to go up 40%. Gender asked me what to do, I told him to handle it....he was there, I was not. He(we) was getting taken advantage of, and that guy was not living up to his end of the bargain in any way. So, Gender took the coffee, went down the road a piece to another place...and it was nicer, the people were nicer, and they were Christians eager to help, and give us a cheaper price by about 50% versus what the other guy was offering. Now Gender should be bringing the coffee, the stickers have been bought, and all that will be left will be to see what happens.

I share the following just to give a glimpse into life here. We hear stories like this, or different, on a regular basis, but to share these is hard sometimes. I will not include names, but for some of you, it will not be hard to figure out who the subject is. This woman took in her parents who had no where to live over a year ago...even though they were never there for her when she was growing up (even sending her to live as a foster child in a government facility...which she is thankful for because the teachers she had there instiled in her good morals, which she does not think she would have received from her parents.) She has eight children, and struggles to provide as best she can for them...to get a good education and be able to realize their dreams, something that because of her situation she is unable to do. Her oldest daughter is not even 15 (she wants to be a doctor) and her mother has been encouraging her strongly that she needs to settle down and find a boyfriend. Yikes. It came to the point that she has had to tell them to leave (there were other problems there as well, such as spankings/beatings, no care for the children in general, etc. but that was the final straw), as well as talk to her daughter and tell her (these are her words, not mine) not to fall into that trap, not to be stuck at cleaning houses and doing menial work like she is but to keep striving to fulfill her dreams.

I saw this at the sticker place....God can be glorified in ways sometimes we do not realize. It did in my case...it made me stop the hurry I was in mentally to stop and pray.

And this....is the latest over reaction to the A-(H1Ni) here at the bank. I felt bad for these tellers...not only the ineffective masks (the three inches of glass is not enough?) but those gloves. I can only imagine how pruny their fingers were by the time they had a break.

To Comaygua...and beyond!

Our quest began early getting up to the clinic (after dropping Cecilia off at school...which let me just mention, I can admit to feeling more than a little twinge every time she gets out of the car and heads in there. I have difficulty explaining it really, but it is just a little...hard.) to pick up the coffee that Oscar had brought dried from Sampedrana for us to roast. Our search for an inexpensive yet good roaster in Tegucigalpa came up dry (ah, pun somewhat intended.) Gender got wind of a place North of Comayagua....and long story short, off we went. After some talking, getting to know you (after the guy we were to meet got out of the shower) and the apparently traditional smelling of the beans, we got down to business....and found out the bags we would need to package our coffee....were not available until next week. That is, unless we drove back to Comayagua.



So, we left the coffee with an agreement, and went back for the bags, then back out to San Jeronimo. Seeing the positive side...it was a beautiful drive, good conversation with Gender (good...about the soccer field, and coffee possibilities, and bad....about Lourdes still struggling with the death of the Church leader and the earthquake (she was at her mother's where it was apparently strong...and aftershocks continue, to the point she fainted on Sunday.)

(this is the roasting center of operations...very quaint, pretty, and you have a built in rest station for when the need arises. Not seen in this picture is the packaged coffee they took to market....they make their own brand in this location as well)





Back to Teguc....total seat time in the Land

Cruiser, roughly 6 1/2 hours....not nearly as punishing physically as it could have been), get the Ford back from getting the rear hubs, seals, etc. replaced, and play phone tag, briefly meet with Oscar, and then off to unload a container. This one came from Hazel Dell Christian Church, and it had not only clothing, but supplies for their team coming in July, Church pews, some furniture, and other misc. very nice goodies. It will take us some time to get it all in place and working, but quite some amazing opportunities.

It took quite a while to unload it as well because the road to the clinic is not exactly in the best state for driving, or walking for that matter, so that means parking the rig at the bus stop, and hiring three pickups (people we know) to help ferry up the items being unloaded one truckload at a time to the clinic. By the time all the wiggles were ironed out with customs, the truck got up to the bus stop around 4:30 (it seems we hardly ever get to unload during the day any more) Unloading in the dark is not usually what I would define as fun. And unloading at the bus stop is not what we would prefer either. As if we did not have enough people walking through the property to see what we are doing, we get to parade it through the entire neighborhood, in plain view of everyone waiting during the peak hours at the bus stop. The one saving grace of unloading at night is that the view inside the container is not so great for everyone else....of course, it makes unloading into our containers on the property a little more of an adventure as well, but it got done, and fairly well organized. Four pickups (one Ford, the others tiny in comparison) and ten guys (besides Oscar and myself) got it done though, and had fun at the same time, and were done by 8:00.

(Note the guys waiting for a pickup to show up loaded in this picture at the right....and the beautiful city in the background....not a bad place to work at night all things considered.)

Whew, now time to go to bed and get up to start another day for Him!

Auto motive

So today was a great day. A day that for no particular reason really, just gave me pause to thank God....for everything I realize, and so much more I do not even contemplate that He does for us, how He works through us.....for big things like the entire ministry, to small things like reliable transportation, health, safety, good kids, great people with whom to partner and work...like I said, so much more than I can begin to remember.

Today's pictures might seem to be automotive themed, but it was not planned.

Today was a trip to Guasucaran to talk to the teacher there at the school about doing a medical brigade there next week. It has been some time since we have been there...a lost phone number here, and lack of time to head all that way out (sometimes the road can be...interesting) led to probably six months or more of not visiting. I must admit that I went just praying he would be there. Victor was there, and he was apparently very glad to see me. Instantly he was on board for the brigade...and then just opened my eyes to how much the help God had sent through us had been helping the school, and the community. It was a little too much for me to take in...I mean, we are not saviors of the collapse of humanity there, but it did bring it back home to me how much taking the love of Christ along with things to help physically can make a difference.


On the way there we saw a parked bus (for the local route I gathered) from the Tippecanoe School Corporation. I can only imagine that there is only one...which is about 20 minutes from where I grew up. Funny to see it here....which is the second such TSC bus I have seen in Honduras....both with the ID not having been painted over with anything else. It was....an odd feeling.









We went in the Land Cruiser to Guasucaran. The road was not the most interesting it has ever been...but I was very impressed with how it handled the bumps, mud, ruts, rocks, etc. It could almost be described as a pleasant ride...even with all that. Plus I think I discovered upon filling the tank that we got almost 19 miles per gallon....almost none of that highway either. Very nice.









This priceless picture was snapped while I waited outside the airport to pick up some friends. A caption I think would not really do it justice. I should just point out that the rear of the vehicle was equally equipped.