Are you a Fan?

Hey guys!!! I hope you all are doing fantastic back home! The team is working hard to minister to the Honduran people. However, I think I speak for many when I say the Honduran people are actually ministering to us.

Today we started with breakfast between and 7-8 am. We had cereal, fruit and toast. After breakfast we had devo. Chris from the Bell Shoals group led us in our thoughts today. He asked us if we were fans of Jesus. He then explained that being a fan is not such a good thing. He said everyone can be a fan, but it is the follower that counts. We can all “sport” the WWJD items, and the quote scripture, but what is it really if there is no action. Are you a fan or a follower?

After devo we split up into our groups. We had two construction teams, a medical/paint team, and a food distribution/hospital team.

The medical/paint team went to Didasko today. The paint crew worked to repaint the playground (Terry’s World) that was built a few years ago by Terry’s TORCH team. The medal portion of the playground now looks like McDonald’s with the red and yellow paint. The huge portion of the playground was painted green, it will also have some gold as well. While the team was painting the medical crew was extremely busy with a lot of patients. The team saw close to 130 today with a potential of seeing many more!!!

The hospital crew went to the hospital for visitation. After spending a few hours there, they went to deliver food in a village that is new to our particular TORCH team. They delivered about 160ish bags of food. I heard several stories of the grateful attitudes the Hondurans displayed. One of our translators told me a story of a little girl. She said they were walking together and when the little girl received her bag of food for her family she told Tatiana thank you and that she was unsure she would have food to eat another meal. God is so Good!!! He puts us in the best positions to serve. I’m not sure why it is so easy to see that here and not back at home, but it is.

The Construction crew built in the La Tigra Rainforest. They built two homes. One of the homes was for a blind lady. One of the team members told a story of the lady requesting they pray after the home was complete. The construction team also said the site they were building at was a long hike!! The team had to carry all the wood (about 600 lbs total) and the tools to the site. They said it wasn’t bad going down, but coming up was a different story. They Also said the children would be sprinting past them making fun of the slow gringos. The kids are such a blessing!!

For supper we had beef, rice, and salad!! YUMMY!!!! After dinner we had our devo. (Which is online on the ustream account). Tim O’Dell has done a wonderful job with the leading us in our devos. After devo Terry gave us the tentative schedule for tomorrow. Then we came back to the dinning hall for cake to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. Then it was off to bed!!

Thank you all for the prayers and comments!! Also thanks for the emails!! I don’t have a way of printing direct messages off that you guys are sending me, but I’m trying to get with those who have them so they can read them. Remember they are able to receive emails themselves. They are given days when they can get on to email. Thanks again!!

In Him

Brandy B

I’m sorry this is late!! This is Holly Beth’s perspective on her experience from the construction last Saturday.

My name is Holly Beth; this is my first year coming to Honduras. Yesterday was a very busy day because we got up at 4:00 AM and did not get to bed until 11:30PM. Saturday morning I was so sleepy I could barely keep my eyes open and my dad signed both of us up to build a house. I was so excited by my body was not. It took me a while to get my body moving. We went and ate breakfast, went to the devotional and then off to the bus that would take us to the construction site.

It was about 1:00PM, the frame of the house was up, and we were working on the floor and roof. Well, see earlier I drank two bottles of Gatorade and by this time, I really had to “GO!” So I walked up to the gate of the house of the lady that we were building the house for and said “Bano?” which means “Bathroom” in Spanish. Shaking her head in agreement that they had a “Bano” the mother said something to the little boy who guided me to the little Outhouse. Oh my, Oh my, what a sight! This was my first experience using an Outhouse and it was not as fun as you might think. There was no door but only a curtain, which did not go all the way to the ground. When the wind blew, the curtain flew up and exposed everything to everyone. The boards on the back wall had large gaps between them, like an inch and a half! The smell was, as you can imagine, was pretty bad.

There was a little store down the road was bright green with orange trim. About six of us went to the store for the second time for more drinks. I got another red Gatorade and one bag of water… thirty minutes later, and of course, I had to use “IT” again. Fortunately, there were two other girls on the crew and so I asked one of them to sand outside the Outhouse curtain/door to make sure the curtain did not fly up. When I open the curtain to go into the “Bano”, you will never guess what was waiting for me right above the concrete hole. A CHICKEN, *gasp*, yes a chicken, a live chicken. I burst out laughing and looked back at the girl who was watching the door and said, “What do I do?” She laughed too and said, “Just go in and use it.” The owner just laughed and watched as we struggled to figure out what to do. I said, “Really, I can’t do this!” The door guard replied, “You can do this, I have faith in you.” I said, “Ok fine.” I went and slammed the curtain door closed, Ha, Ha. This chicken was not fazed by my presence; it continued do those things that chickens do. I must say I find it very uncomfortable to have a chicken in the bathroom with me.

Back to building, we were half way complete on the floor and the roof and I have to admit that a hammer, nails and I do not work well together, at all. However, I continued to try and was on the roof helping with the last few nails. A couple of nails, not a problem, boy was I wrong. First nail, I take aim and smack thumb. Second try, I take aim and smack index finger. Finally, on the third try, I hit the nail and it was barely in the wood but not for long. I moved my fingers from holding the nail; I take aim and send the nail sailing out of sight. Second nail, fifth try, I get someone else starts the nail and I quickly bend it over. With help, I finally get the nail all the way into the wood. The final nail I hammered like a pro, in the wood in four swings and I did the Corn Bread Dance in my mind. Ask me about the Corn Bread Dance when you have a minute.

On the bus and headed back to the Mission House. Oh NO, I had to “Go” again, *sigh*, what next, a donkey in the bathroom? Welcome to Honduras

I would not trade it for anything.