The wrap up

Coming home is always an ordeal. When you are leaving for Honduras you are excited and the adrenaline is pumping and you have lots of reserve energy. Coming home you are spent, tired, and emotionally drained because your heart is still in Honduras. Delayed flights and missed connections just add to it. Coming home sick tops it all off. Margaret and I arrived home at 2:00 am Friday. Today is the first day I have had the energy to write. Crazy. But I was sick at the end of the trip and I brought it home with me. Now I have an infection on my back and the docs put me on 2 antibiotics and a pain med. Just goes to show what can happen with the water in Honduras! (and I will admit the Honduras hot dog played a big part in all of it too.... I have officially scratched that off of the "to do" list... what in the world was I thinking.....)

We jumped right into Vacation Bible School as soon as we got home. Friday and Saturday were prep days (along with speaking at the Foote Street church get together Saturday evening at Joe Jones' house!) and the big show started Sunday. 2 more days and having a blast. Then it will be off to Orlando for the Spiritual Growth Workshop! It is the biggest church event in Florida and I can't wait. We will have a Torch booth set up for the weekend and I hope to see a lot of friends that I do not see very often. It promises to be a great event. If you are there make sure to come by the booth and visit! The workshop ends on August 1st and I report in for work on August 2nd. It is amazing how fast the summer went by.... or is it just me?

Sorry this is a bit late, but here is a summary of the trip this summer. This is a work in progress, if I leave anything off please shoot me an email so I can add it to the list. Mission reports are already being done and hopefully this information will help! In 11 days (9 working days) our team did the following:

* We built 15 houses (in Mololoa, Nuevo Oriental, and near the city dump area).
* We delivered 1,250 food bags (with staples like beans and rice and fresh produce like potatoes and carrots) door to door in several different areas. This is the equivalent of 157,500 meals.
* We passed out 1,800 Bibles with 2 different Bible tracts.
* Built a beautiful playground in Mololoa at the daycare center FEMORZA.
* Worked in the Manna Project Feeding Center in Mololoa.
* Painted the Daycare Center in Molola along with murals.
* Built a security fence around the playground in Mololoa.
* Assisted in mud/debris clean up at the church building in Mololoa.

* Conducted a soccer clinic for the boys of Mololoa.

* Had a "girl's makeover day called "Daughters of the King" in Mololoa in which hair and feet were washed, toe and finger nails polished, hair braiding and such, along with a photo shoot wearing princess dresses and crowns.

* Made and distributed well over 500 hygiene packets (tooth brushes, tooth paste, soap, shampoo, razor, q-tips, etc).

* 6 trips to Hospital Esquela, including Patch Adams programs with clowns, magic shows, games, and coloring books.

* Visited the Good Shepard Children's Home ( 250+ children) in Zanmarano and had a play day with food, games, and activities.

* Installed new swings at the playground at Good Shepard Children's Home.

* Painted 3 classrooms at the Dadasko school and provided paint to do the exterior

* Unloaded three 40' containers full of medical equipment and supplies

* Provided new pots and pans for the families that received new houses and for all Torch houses being built this summer

* Distributed about 800 pair of band new Croc shoes and left 400 pair to be given away later

* Went to the city dump to feed the approximately 600 people who live there

* Painted a beautiful wall mural at a boy's orphanage in Tegucigalpa.

* 2 day dental clinic seeing 92 children who received full dental care including fillings, tooth extractions, fluoride treatments, etc.

* 2 visits to Bencoleth Special Needs Orphanage with our physical therapists and helpers

* Installed a water purification system at Bencoleth capable of purifying 10,000 gallons of water a day... what a blessing for the facility!

* Our medical team provided 4 days of free clinics. 2 days in Tamera at the Dadasko Orphanage and 2 days in Agua Agria (Choluteca). In the 4 days the medical team saw approximately 500-600 patients.

* In Agua Agria, the church building (we build 4 years ago using pressure treated lumber equal too 4 houses) received 2 new window openings and was painted inside and out. It was painted a very tropical salmon pink color! Hondurans love bright colors!

* In addition, the pew crew assembled 27 wooden benches for the church building and painted them a rich brown color. The members do not have to sit on the concrete floor anymore!

* 198 families (about 600-650 people) received clothes, shoes, food, medicine, hygiene packets, and toys in Agua Agria.

* Did another girl's make over (6 hours) at Agua Agria.

* In Catacamas, we painted the inside of a church building a pistachio green with a lime green trim (again proving that Hondurans love bright colors!)

* 2 classrooms at the church were also painted (same colors).

* Church pews were cleaned and prepped for painting

* We had a 2 day gospel meeting in Catacamas. Tim O'Dell and Keith Fussell preached and Minor Perez and Rodolfo Herrera were the interpreters. 169 attended the 1st night and 224 the second. Our bus was used as a Joy Bus to transport guests to the building!

* We did a food distribution in Catacamas too, 100 families received food from the team (12,600 meals) in remote areas outside of town.

* Our physical therapy team went to the special needs orphanage in Catacamas (14 children) 2 days along with volunteers.

* Our counselors and social workers team went to a rehab facility and net with their staff and did a question / answer session to address needs for the facility.

* Our evangelism team conducted 6 days of Vacation Bible School. Well over 500 children attended the 6 days as they studied about David and Goliath and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace.

* We visited the hospital in Catacamas. The staff said we were the first group to ever come to visit the patients there. We gave out coloring books, toys, stuffed animals, etc.

* We built a concrete block room to expand Clinica de Esperanza in Santa ana. The new room will house the pharmacy.

* We had a wonderful singing devotional at Santa Lucia at the oldest church building in the western hemisphere. Built in the early 1500's, the adobe block building is the place to go for singing. We had Torch teams from Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Carolina join us, 318 in all! Tim Hines led us in singing that became one of the trip's highlights.

* We had a total of 29 devotionals led by different men, and 2 worship assemblies with Lonnie Jones and Eric Yow doing the preaching.

* We had 1 baptism! Nathan Carrol from Centerville, TN, was baptized

* The torch soccer team played to a 3-3 tie vs the Cobras (Honduras' special forces unit)

* With the help of Lonnie Jones (AKA the A-team) we watched a special presentation by the Cobras with their weapons and fighting tactics.

* Our soccer team suffered a sporting loss (3-2) in Agua Agria.

* We had 3 bus break downs!

* We had 1 flat tire on our van!

* We wrecked one of our rental trucks and witnessed God at work. One of our bus drivers crashed the rental truck into a concrete barrier and slid off the road and flipped the truck several times. It was amazing that he was alive, maybe even miraculous that he only suffered some minor bruises and scratches! We took up a special offering to pay for the insurance deductible and doctor bills. We collected $3, 014. The bills came out to be $3,000. God is truly good all of the time.

We ended our trip by spending the last 2 nights at the Inter Continental Hotel. 2 Torch teams (from Oklahoma and South Carolina) arrived at the Mission House and we vacated the facility for them to move in. The hotel was VERY nice and it was quite a shock to the system after working in the poverty areas of Honduras for several days. But, it was the only hotel large enough to make reservations for 50 rooms and 158 people (there were other hotels large enough but did not have room availability). Saturday was a day of rest for most, but some managed to go out and work one more day. Others "worked" by going to the Mi Esperanza store to buy gifts to take home and to support this worthy ministry. And I must say that the shoppers were very dedicated in their support!!!

Although not everything on the trip went as planned, all in all I would say it was a very productive and successful trip. Lots of new friendships were made and Facebook has had tons of photo postings this past week! God was glorified and lots and lots of seeds were sowed. I believe most came home with lots of memories and stories that will last a lifetime. It was indeed a challenge to lead such a big group and at times almost overwhelming. Nate and I did our best and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. It was an honor and privilege to work with you all.

Believe it or not we are already at work for next year. Dates are being planned and scheduled and reservations are being made. Pretty soon this is going to become a 12 month job! But that is OK, I can't think of many things that I enjoy more or that is more important and fulfilling. Continue to check the blog, there will be more postings soon and a lot more photos. Until next time, hasta luego! Dios te bendiga!

TR