Curiosity killed the cat?

You know the old saying, “Curiosity killed the cat?” I guess its true, sort of. In my last blog I mentioned an incident that happened in the men’s dormitory at Baxter that obviously caught the attention of several that were not there for the event. The infamous “Water balloon battle.” I didn’t go into any detail about the story because, to be frank, I didn’t think anyone would care to know what happened. Either I was wrong or the lack of details drives some people crazy. In any event, I will humor those curious minds out there. And I will try to be as factual as possible (although I do have a master’s degree in Tim Hines’s School of Exaggeration).

Back in the early to mid 1990’s Torch was only sending 1 team a summer to Honduras. The team was small, especially compared to today’s mega teams. We averaged around 20-25 each year. We got to know each other very, very well and we also got to know the Baxter students too. After a year or so of going to Honduras you begin making friends and creating special bonds with the guys there. And they really looked forward to the Torch team arriving so that they could learn new devotional and praise songs and just hang out with us. After all, gringos are very entertaining to the Hondurans. (I mean, think about it, you are from a third world country, from a poor background, and going to a very challenging academic school… homework, research papers, choirs, structured routines… we were the best show in town for them!)

Now, to set the story you have to understand a few things. Tegucigalpa was WAY different back 15-20 years ago. You think the roads are bad now? Ha! Oh my, I can’t even begin to tell you how bad they were… you would think I was making it up! But probably the main difference you would notice was the lack of American restaurants. Today they are on every street corner. Just about any restaurant you can think of (except maybe Taco Bell…. Imagine that….). 15-20 years ago? There was 1. Like 1 in the whole city. Pizza Hut. The one that is over there by the Marriott Hotel to be exact. Of course, the Marriott Hotel was not there….

I bring this up because Miguel Agular, one of the founders of Torch, thought it would be a good idea for the American gringos to take the Baxter guys out on the town one night before we left. Well, it was either Pizza Hut or take our chances at one of the local Honduran restaurants like Super Pollo. That in itself is another story that will have to be told later. After 10-12 days of Senora Chung’s rice and beans, we were more than up for a trip to Pizza Hut. Since Miguel came up with a good idea, we decided that we must follow suite.

One day while we were out in the city riding the pubic buses and singing devo songs over the blaring radio of the bus, we found a store that sold balloons. Now, mind you, this all started off fairly innocently. Some of the girls were thinking it would be a neat idea to have balloons and decorations for the trip to Pizza Hut (since this really was a big deal…. This was a real treat back in the day). Not to mention getting off campus and getting 30 minutes of late night extension!!!! So we bought the balloons…. All of them. A lot of them. The girls were thinking decorations while the guys were thinking water balloon battle… as you can tell from the lead in on this story, they guys won the battle of possession. The battle was about to begin!

The “plan” was to have the water balloon battle the day before we went to Pizza Hut. Why? I really don’t know. But I can tell you it was a very bad plan. So, without remembering the facts clearly, I am going to say it was not my idea! Fair enough, after all, I am telling the story. If there are those out there that want to challenge my story, email me and I will read your version. Depending on which story is better (not necessarily more accurate, just which one is better) I might revise the story in a later blog.

But I do remember some of the details; some very clearly. We met with the Baxter guys after morning devotional. They already knew something was up at breakfast that morning. We did not have very good “poker faces.” Our expressions gave it all away. Anyways, after devotional we met with the guys and asked them if they had ever thrown water balloons? (Now, to our defense, these guys play soccer… we figured they did not have a lot of eye hand coordination). They responded by telling us that they had never even heard of a water balloon. Oh, the advantage was so ours… make fun of our soccer playing skills, eh? Game on!

We explained the BASICS of water balloons (how to fill them up, what to do with them, why throwing them at each other would be fun….). We, of course, DID NOT share the fine details with them (Like putting just a little bit of air into the balloon so that it will not pop too easily when you are running with them in your hands….). Oh, come on, you would have done the same thing. We had to have the advantage you know. After all, we were the teachers and they were the students now. So, after a few minutes of explaining, we went on to the battle plan.

The plan was simple. We would divide the balloons evenly between the Torch guys and the Baxter guys. The battle would take place in the dorm around the courtyard. It would begin as soon as we finished dinner. After the water balloon battle we would all chip in and clean up the mess, mop down hallways, and make sure everything was nice and tidy. After all, we did not want to get the students in trouble for trashing the dorm (OK, WE did not want to get in trouble for trashing the dorm!). We all agreed, and shook hands (or something like that…).

Of course, as anyone knows, the element of surprise is a must in any water balloon battle. We adopted the strategy of “win at all cost.” In other words, we were more than willing to cheat if needed to win this battle. So we did. According to our agreement, water balloons could not be filled up until after dinner. We of course, filled ALL of our water balloons up after lunch. Our plan was simple: we would strike the Baxter guys while they were filling up their balloons. Now, I know what you are thinking, but this is water balloon warfare. Fight to win or go home wet.

After we cleverly filled our water balloons while the Baxter guys were in Bible classes (yeah, I felt sort of guilty about that) we stacked our water balloons in our rooms in the closets and locked not only the door but the closet door as well. Out of sight, out of mind, right? We then went out to do our daily activities and projects… whistling all the way. However, a dark, ominous cloud was on the horizon that we did not see… one that we could not prepare for. The keeper of the key.

The Baxter men had an ace in the hole. They had THE ace as a matter of fact. Little did we know that when we left the building that the keeper of the key came forward. Who was the keeper of the key? The dorm had a supervisor. A Baxter student that had a master key that could open every room in the dorm. Yes, THAT keeper of the key. And while we were away working the Baxter men raided our rooms and stole all of our pre-made water balloons. Can you believe that? They cheated! Bible majors at a Christian Bible school… cheating…. The nerve of some people (I am sure you are catching the sarcasm dripping from this blog by now…)

We returned, late in the afternoon, just in time for dinner. The “innocent” Baxter students were eating and laughing and having such a great time. It was obvious to us that they did not know what was in store for them. So we laughed at their silly little jokes and ate our food with joy. The time was at hand. Suddenly, as if a silent alarm went off, we shot out of the cafeteria, across the bridge, up the stairs, and to the rooms. Baxter students went running to the bathrooms to fill their balloons. We laughed with an evil laugh, as we headed to our closets.

That is when we realized what was going on… and why the Baxter students were having such fun at dinner. We did not have a single water balloon. They had them all. Some of the brave Torchers went outside to try to fill their trashcans with water. They were ballooned down with unbelievable accuracy. Others of us opened up our water bottles and water canteens and went out to do battle. We too were blasted from every direction. Some stayed in their rooms hoping to be left alone. They too were bombed by water balloons through the windows. While they threw OUR water balloons at us they were filling their own. Round 2 is when it got out of control.

Water hoses were located. Torch gained control of the hoses and the high ground. Water was spraying everywhere. Balloons where flying around and buckets of water were being tossed to and fro. It was out of control and we were having a great time. But the Spanish tiled hallways got slippery and as people were running and dodging and jumping and twirling, people began to slip and fall and slide and crash. That is when we broke one of the beautiful, handmade, solid wood doors to one of the rooms. That is also when we broke a couple of windows. Yikes! Houston, we had a problem.

It seems that broken windows are very expensive to replace. And doors. So, the Torch team had to pitch in with spending money to pay for the damages. The powers at hand were not pleased. They were not happy. They did not see a lot of lot of things the way we did. We thought we had just ‘made life more exciting” on campus. They thought we were crazy. We had to clean the mess up and it had to be spotless and perfect by morning. And we did. We cleaned that place like it had never been cleaned before.

Fortunately the headmaster of Baxter did not punish the students or us any more than that and we even were allowed to take the Baxter students to Pizza Hut the next night. Of course, that was the night that the Honduran death angel passed over the campus and plagued us with the dreaded “Honduran tea party.” Oh, we were so sick… not even an American restaurant was safe to eat at back then! What a way to end a trip.

We were not allowed (and still not allowed) to have water balloon battles in Honduras ever again. It has been stricken from the books. The moral of the story you might ask? Simple. Never trust a Bible major who has served in the military of a 3rd world, Latin American country! You will lose every time. Sometimes late at night I can still see Saul and Thomas staring at me with those dark brown eyes and water balloons in their hands….

Next up will be the life of a female Torcher back in the day. And the Pit of despair. Until later, Dios te bendiga mi amigos!

Terry

Those were the days my friend....

I heard from a long time friend, Lane, a couple of days ago. He read the blog discussing the “good old” days of Torch, back in the early 1990’s. As with me, Lane has vivid memories of the early days of Torch Missions. It is amazing the things you remember, isn’t it? Lane started going on Torch trips his freshman year of high school at Friendship Christian and helped raise thousands of dollars to help build the living quarters at the Jovenes en Camino Children’s home. His project is still carried on today at school as they collect coins for “Change for Honduras.”

As I mentioned in the earlier blog, the guys stayed on campus in the dormitories at Baxter Institute of Biblical and Cultural Studies while the girls stayed with family members. Now, if you were not there, you might think the girls got the better end of the deal. But not necessarily so! Baxter is a beautiful facility and the men’s dorm was quite nice. Red Spanish tile floors, solid wood paneling, exposed beams, hardwood ceilings, and large rooms with plenty of storage space. The doors opened up to the inner courtyard, which was a beautiful grassy area.

The only real downside to the dorm was the public restrooms and the showers. The bathroom stalls were built for small Honduran men, not gringo mas grandes! And the showers? Without knowing for a fact, I would guess the water was piped directly from the iced capped Andean mountains of South America! I have never felt water as cold as the water coming out of the showers of Baxter (that was not in the form of ice). Baxter did not have to worry very much about wasted water because you could not stand in the shower more than just a few seconds at a time. We might not have invented the speed shower but we certainly perfected it!

I conquered the cold shower problem the second trip. I was at Wal-Mart shopping for supplies to take on the trip (back then you had to take just about everything you needed, the stores were not stocked for gringos like they are today). Low and behold I wandered through the sports department and into the camping equipment. I found an outdoor shower kit! Basically it was a large, black, rubber bag with a nozzle on it. It held 2 ½ gallons of water. You left it outside and the sun would heat the water up for a nice warm shower in the afternoon!!!!! Goldmine!

I had struck it rich. I shared my newfound discovery with a few friends and we showed up at Baxter with our snazzy prize. It worked to perfection! At the end of the trip we donated our bags to worthy Baxter underclassmen and returned the next year with new sun showers. Others of the Torch group followed suite and it wasn’t long before dozens of black sun showers were basking in the sun! Life was good. (Isn’t it amazing the things we take for granted?) Now, you might be thinking, “2 ½ gallons of water????’ Trust me, it was plenty of water to take a shower.

The guys also ate at Baxter. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the Baxter students. Food was meager and we ate a LOT of beans and rice. My favorite was the baked chicken. Not because of the taste or the seasonings, but because Senora Chung (the Baxter head cook) used some kind of funky marinade or something (to this day no one knows what it was) that looked like the byproduct of a nuclear power plant! It was a neon green liquid… sort of scary to look at but tasted great! (To my knowledge no one glowed in the dark after eating the chicken). We also ate some of the largest carrots ever grown! (I am pretty sure if Guinness Book of World Records officials could have been there they would have agreed) I could go on and on about the food but I am sure you get the point. Most of us supplemented our meals with Pop Tarts, Beef Jerky, and Vienna Sausages. Even Spam tasted good during the early years of Torch!

Guys had to observe the 10:00 pm “lights out” policy in the dorms. The students were not allowed to stay up at night since their day began very early in the mornings. This was quite an adjustment for the Torch guys since we were not the least bit sleepy at 10:00 at night. We would stay up, in the dark, and talk for hours. (We did have our handy dandy flashlights too) We must have kept the Baxter students awake because they went to great lengths to make noise in the mornings when they got up while we were still trying to sleep! I guess it was fair, but the singing that came from the showers was awful! Of course I am sure it partly had to do with the temperature of the water too!!!

And of course the Baxter students played soccer every morning before breakfast. They would run around the dorm knocking on the doors trying to get us to get up and go play soccer with them. Usually the first day or two we would go out to play. Why not? We were up for a good game of soccer… oh, wait! Soccer! Most of us did not play soccer. But of course, how hard could it possibly be? All you have to do is run around and kick a ball around and into a net. Well, you can easily imagine what happened. These Baxter guys had been playing soccer from the moment they exited their mother’s womb. They killed us. Destroyed us. Embarrassed us. Shamed us. By the third day we were hiding in our closets when they knocked on our doors. No way were we going out as a lamb before the slaughter. We could get exercise somewhere else, thank you very much. And that, my friends, is why we went out and bought a basketball goal! Ha! Payback was sweet.

The Baxter students were actually very cool and a lot of fun to be around. They took their studies very seriously, which is a good thing. We certainly did not take our classes very seriously… what can I say. They loved practicing their English with us and of course we helped out by teaching them all of the useful phrases they needed to know! (Have you ever thought about how many words we use today that have nothing to do with their definitions????) One of my favorite students was Saul. He spoke very good English but always acted as if he could not speak or understand it. Very tricky man he was… Today he preaches in Honduras and is one of the finest preachers around.

Most of the Baxter students were from other Latin American countries besides Honduras, and nearly all of them were former military soldiers. On the surface they were Bible majors, dressed in their standard long sleeved white shirts, red ties, and navy blue pants. They were smaller in stature, thin, and very non-threatening. However, we found out that they were not ones to mess with! Very few practical jokes pulled on the Baxter students turned out well for us! (Although it did not stop us from trying…) The worst was the infamous water balloon battle. Without going into detail, lets just say broken windows in Honduras are very expensive to replace and you do not want to play a game of water balloon battle with ex-military commandos.

Next blog will discuss life on a Torch trip from the girl’s point of view. Today’s trips are a far cry from the early days of Torch Missions. Like Lane said, today’s mega teams can get a LOT done and you have the chance to meet so many new people from so many different places. You can be at many different places at different times and provide so many different types of services and ministries. But back in the “good old days” the teams were small. You became very close to EVERYONE on the trip. You did everything together and shared everything. It is part of the experience that we have lost over time. Something that was very unique and certainly very special. Something that only the ‘old time veterans” will remember. Those were the days my friend….

Until next time, take care and have a blessed day!

Terry

Zelaya has returned

As the new week begins I received an email from Mark Connell this morning that Mel has returned to Honduras. Later in the morning news outlets began reporting the story. Ex president Zelaya has returned to Honduras in another attempt to regain his position of power. The showdown between the ex-president and the interim government is now at hand. President Micheletti has vowed that if Mel returned he would be arrested on numerous charges issued against him while he was acting president.

According to the news, Mel, along with a small group of friends, traveled across Honduras and arrived in Tegucigalpa. Rumors say he is at the Brazilian embassy. This attempt to re-gain his post will surly spark unrest in Honduras and more riots and protests. Once again Honduras will thrust into the limelight and the world will see the political unrest that has gripped Honduras for the past 13 weeks. If the government holds true to its promises, Zelaya will be arrested and put in jail to await trial.

Last week Greta Van Susteren interviewed President Micheletti on Fox News. During the interview Micheletti did a good job explaining the makeup of the Honduran constitution and why Zelaya broke the law. He went on to explain in detail why he cannot, according to the constitution, be placed back into office. The Honduran constitution is very, very clear on this point. A person can only serve one term as president (4 year term). Once you have served and leave office, even if you were in office for only one day, you cannot serve again. And interestingly, that part of the constitution cannot be rewritten or changed.

I am sure all of you that read this blog will follow the story. If you are like me you are concerned about what is happening in Honduras for multiple reasons. I am concerned for the government of Honduras. I am concerned that they will do the right thing in this case. I am concerned for Latin America. This event might be a litmus test for other countries in Central and South America. I am concerned about the other countries of the world and the stance they have taken in all of this. Maybe this time they will get it right. And I am most concerned about the people of Honduras and the suffering that is taking place right now. The poor of Honduras are in dire straits since relief groups have not been able to enter the country and countries such as the United States have cut off humanitarian relief.

I will keep you posted on the events going on right now. All of this will impact our plans that are being drawn up right now for the 2010 mission trips. God is in control of all things and we must rest in the fact that His will must be done. He alone knows the big picture and we must be willing to follow Him through this. James 5:16 tells us the fervent and righteous prayer avails much. Let your petitions be sent to God; He will hear them. Matthew 7:7; Matthew 18:19; Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24; Luke 11:9; John 14:13; John 15:7; John 15:16; John 16:23; I John 3:22; and I John 5:14 all speak of God hearing and answering prayers. James says we do not receive because we do not ask. Or we ask with the wrong motives.

Pray for the events taking place in Honduras. As I told my youth groups many times, pray specific prayers if you want specific results. Lay this before God and He will answer.

TR

to know where you are going you must know from where you came.

Most of you know that I have been a late night owl for years. Staying up has never been much of a problem for me. I developed this trademark skill at Freed-Hardeman while living in Benson Hall. Late night spades and Rook games along with lots of pranks and mischief developed my time clock to run late into the night. So, working as a dorm supervisor is right down my alley, so to speak. After all, curfew here at F-HU is 12:30 during the week and 1:00 on weekends. Once they guys are in the party gets going.

So, what do you do late at night when the Indians are quiet in their teepees (I guess that might be a politically incorrect illustration… oh well…)? Watch TV, write emails, read the news on the Internet. And this week I am going through BOXES of photos! So far I have sorted through 3 large boxes and about 900 photos. And most of them are from past Honduras trips and youth group. It seems that each sleeve of photos I pull out to look at the farther back in time I go. I will be sharing some of those photos in weeks to come. Oh my how some of us have changed over time!

What has really struck me about looking at the photos is how much Honduras has changed during this time period. Places that we work in today have grown up so much that looking at old photos makes you take a double take. Areas that look so barren in the photos back then are crowded bustling areas that we see today. Lots of photos caused me to look for several moments to try to figure out where the shot was taken. Many of the photos were taken in areas that we do not work (much) anymore. In most cases it is a safety issue that keeps us from going back or another group has adopted an area to work and we do not overlap our efforts. So as I post “retro” photos you will not only see faces you do not know (or haven’t seen for a long time) but different work sites too.

As we prepare for next year’s trips torch will continue to research areas to work. As more and more people move into the metro area seeking work new villages appear. Needs change. We try to adapt our team skills and personnel to minister in areas to our best potential. It can be quite challenging. Each year the make-up of our teams changes and we constantly adjust our plans as we prepare for the trip. Even right now I an in contact with several from all over the place discussing the possible make-up of the team this year.

Nathan and I are in communication going over budget numbers and projected numbers of people that might be coming. Indicators are showing that we are going to have a very large team this year. Large teams are great because it brings so much talent and energy to a trip. If a team is well organized and properly funded it can accomplish an amazing amount of work in a short period of time. It creates multiple opportunities each day to minister and to experience different aspects of a Torch trip.

As I have mentioned so many times before, Torch Missions is a multi-faceted ministry program. Those coming on a trip for the very first time have opportunities to do several different types of ministry as they find their “passion.” Veterans who have done the various projects not only know what they like to do they also know how to contribute to the team depending on what is needed that particular day. Ministry opportunities and projects vary from year to year but always try to utilize individual talent and meet needs that we encounter. Each year we actively seek volunteers, especially from the medical profession, to go with us on our trips, such as doctors, nurses, physical therapists, dentists, and eye doctors. Ministers, elders, youth ministers, teachers, electricians, and other professionals are also sought after for our trips.

Of course the backbone of the ministry is teens and young adults. Energy, excitement, strength, and desire along with intense zeal and passion to serve God and those in need are just a few of the things this group brings to the table on a trip. From the conception of Torch Missions, teaching and training teens and young adults about mission work in third world, Latin American cultures is the foundation upon which Torch has been built.

Way back in the 1980’s Steve Davison, who was the youth minister at the Vultee Church of Christ and Vice President at David Lipscomb University, and Miguel Agular, professor of Bible at Baxter Institute in Honduras, worked together to establish Torch Missions. The now familiar acronym, Training Of Redeemed Christians Heaven-bound, was conceived and the program was built upon the premise of training young people how to do mission work in developing, Hispanic countries. Honduras was chosen as the training site for several reasons including safety, need, and having the campus of Baxter as a base for operations.

In the earliest days of Torch, 20 years ago, a single team would arrive in Honduras and would set up shop at Baxter. The guys lived on campus in the dorms with the students who attended the school to be trained to become preachers. The girls lived off campus with church family members. I will talk about that more in future blogs. The Torch team was in Honduras about 3 - 3 1/2 weeks and would do a variety of projects. Included with the “hands on” training projects were daily classes that the team attended. These classes included Spanish classes (I did ever so well in that class!!!), culture class (to learn about the Latin culture), and Bible classes.

Teams stayed on campus nearly half the day in this setting and then half of the day out in the community doing service type projects or door knocking with the Baxter students. Interaction with the Baxter students was a very important part of our work in Honduras. For us, it was a chance to work with preaching students who served as interpreters for our team. For the students, it was a way to practice their English since they had to take 4 years of English classes. We all of our meals together at the Baxter cafeteria and also had combined devotionals in English and Spanish. We also got toexperience the "light out at 10:00" cerfew that the students lived by... along with the ice cold showers!

Since we had VERY little work fund money our projects mainly involved evangelism and visitation. Construction mainly centered on simple repair projects. We did a lot of painting and cleaning, along with a heavy dose of visitation to schools and orphanages that was within walking distance of campus. Walking was our main mode of transportation back then. When a project took us farther than walking distance we rode of public transit. It was very cheap (50 centavos… about 5 cents) and was CRAZY. Riding with the Hondurans on a packed bus cannot be described with words. Riding with chickens, men with machetes with 80 other people on a bus meant to hold 40 is describable. The smells and the sounds are not… and we will leave it at that! But it was crazy fun and quite the adventure. We would ride the bus and get off as close to a work site as possible and then hike it from there.

We have come a long way since then. Torch has changed dramatically over the years but it is still built upon the same foundation in which it was started; Training people and enabling people to do mission work in a developing, Latino culture. We may not offer Spanish and culture classes anymore (you can thank me for that later) nor do we use the Baxter campus (our teams outgrew their facility several years ago), but we do go into the communities in and around the city of Tegucigalpa ministering to their needs and spreading the good news about Jesus.

I hope you will enjoy the photos and the “history” lessons in the following weeks. 20 years is a long time to be involved in something. In some ways it is amazing that someone like me with gypsy-like tendencies could stay on a task for 20 years. I might have moved from place to place and worked at different jobs along the way, but one thing that I have carried with me everywhere I have gone is Torch Missions. It is something that touched my heart and changed my life. And like any good salesman would tell you, it is easy to sell something that you believe in.

And I believe in Torch Missions. If you don’t believe me, just spend a little bit of time around me. It doesn’t take very long before you will her all about it.

TR

Are you ready to be?

Last year as preparations were being made for the trip I found myself juggling time and schedules as I taught 5 academic classes and coached 2 sports. I just didn’t have the time I had in the past to dedicate to the different projects of the Honduras trip including designing the t-shirt and writing the journal. Margaret can tell you even today that I struggled not only with time and schedules but also with writer’s block. Coming up with last year’s theme and journal was tough. I sat at the computer for hours staring at the screen waiting for something to inspire me. The Spirit moved of course, just when I was about to shrug my shoulders and give up. And the finished product turned out pretty well if I say so myself.

So, what would happen this year as the beginning stages are upon me? Well, I am not sure if it is the new surroundings, or the new job, the new schedule… it is hard to pinpoint it, but I am just filled with ideas, dreams, visions, plans, and more. I can see the trip unfolding right before my eyes. And it is exciting too. And it is genuine excitement too, if you know what I mean. Sometimes you have to motivate yourself to get excited, to “get up” for the occasion. Ask anyone who has been on multiple trips and they will probably tell you that even though they are excited about the trip, there is a fair amount of “pumping yourself up” that takes place.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with ‘getting up” for the big event. Athletes do it all of the time. Others do too, such as a salesman who is about to make that pitch to the client, or a public speaker right before he goes on stage. But sometimes you get pumped up just because you are just plain ol’ excited about something. Like a child on Christmas Eve… trying to go to sleep! Or waiting for the gates to open Busch Gardens (Tampa) so you can ride Montu! In a similar way that is how I feel about the trip this year. All I can say is that I am pumped and can’t wait to go.

The theme this year is, “RUE2B?” Yes, I spelled it exactly the way I intended. Most figured it out right away. It says, “Are you ready to be?” (The letter “E” is red… get it?) Trust me, that is what it says. But what does it mean? After all, it is an open-ended question, right? Consider it more of a challenge than a question. During our trip this year, are you ready to be: Challenged? Motivated? Broken? Inspired? A servant? Connected? A follower? A worker? A light? Salt? A mentor? An example? A warrior? Willing? Humble? Bold? Sacrificial? Merciful?

I don’t know about you, but when I look over that list it just sends electricity through my body. Those words just make me want to jump on the first plane down and start working now! But alas, I have to wait till summer to go to Honduras. But I do have 9 months to plan, schedule, write, design, print, screen, and collect! Even though it is only September, the wheels are turning and the plans are starting. I hope you are getting excited to and that you are starting to make your plans as well.

RUE? RUE2B? I hope so!!! Even though the political situation in Honduras is still a mess, the elections are coming up in a couple of months and hopefully everything will return to “normal.” Plans are being made for next summer and I hope those of you that read this blog on a regular basis is making plans too. Reports from Marc Tindall and Mark Connell continue to echo the same sentiment; the poor are in desperate need of help. Because of the needs Torch teams need to not only gear up for their trips next year but to increase the projects that they are planning. We must be diligent in our recruiting efforts to get team members and to raising work funds. 9 months may sound like a long time but it will pass by quickly.

I hope all of you enjoy the Labor Day weekend. God has been so good to us and I hope and pray He will continue! May you be a blessing to someone. Make a difference by being a difference. Dios te bendiga mi amigos!

TR