Sunday, July 17
Breakfast was served from 7-8, and church was not until 9:30 am. So, you guessed it, many people took advantage of this and missed breakfast to sleep. However, they missed some good stuff—papaya, pineapple, toast with fixings, and ham omelets. And some of us were lucky enough to sneak some leftover donuts. Shhh! It’s a secret.
I am so proud of all of these young men we have. Since Andy Polk left on Friday, AB and Mark have stepped up to the plate to lead us. They have done a great job. Also, many guys helped this morning with a semi-traditional service: Brett Mitchell, Jeremy Quillian, Brian Davenport, Nathan Reeves, and Rich Guthrie.
Ken Wells gave a moving testimony of what he has learned in life. He has learned integrity from his father while growing up on a farm. He has learned responsibility from his time as a pilot in the air force. He has learned spirituality from his experiences as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. He stated that we need to pass on our knowledge and experiences down through the generations. He also encouraged us to make Jesus our reference and standard, because there are others around you looking at you to guide them.
He used Romans 12:5 and John 8:31, and reminded us to allow God to mold our character from our experiences here in Honduras and through life.
When it came time for the offering, Nathan informed everyone of the vibrant past and desolate present of a community named San Miguel. His descriptions brought to life the necessity of the help for this area that has been devastated by rain and mudslides. We gave a total of $1,243 to help in the relief efforts of San Miguel.
Today was a relaxing day for most. After church, a group of 65 loaded a bus (yes, it was packed) to go to lunch and then to the Valley of Angels. They spent the first two hours passing out 1,200 flyers in large groups. Then they were able to shop the many markets.
A handful of people took a truck to the bodega to load supplies for Choluteca. The two VBS teams stayed at the mission house to practice for several hours. Little Ceasar’s Pizza was a fabulous treat for lunch. At 2:45pm, the bodega group returned and we all loaded a bus to meet up and shop with the people at Valley of Angels.
With all of us united again at the Valley of Angels, we pulled out at 5:15 to go to dinner at a nice restaurant in Hotel Santa Lucia. There was live music (even a song by two of our very own--Tyson from Florida and Whitney from Tennessee) and a lot of fun as we enjoyed an extravagant (well, at least compared to what we have been eating) dinner. We left with intentions to go to a Catholic cathedral for devotional. However, the road had been blocked, and we could not find an alternate route. So, we traveled back to the mission house to have our devo. We had a singing and prayer service. The singing was led by Nathan Reeves while Travis Shivers, Gary Davenport, Jeremy Quillian, Taft Ayers, and Matt Taylor lifted up prayers.
Gracias por todos (Thank you for everything),
JMA
