ARISE!!!

Our counter shows 5 days and counting for Hondo team #1!  For those of us on the Advance Team (17), we are now 3 days from departure!  All energy is focused on Honduras after a very successful trip to Costa Rica a couple of weeks ago.  For the past 2 weeks I have been emailing back and forth to various people in Honduras getting the last minute details worked out (worked out as well as you can considering it is Honduras...) and getting everything ready to go.  Full Steam ahead!

Team #1, 60 strong, will arrive Thursday and, after clearing customs and retrieving luggage, will load up and go directly to Catacamas, in the Olancho Province, about 4 1/2 hours outside of Tegucigalpa.  We will be working with the Tomkins, who are full time missionaries there, along with the local church that meets there.  We have a variety of projects that we will be involved with during the 2 full days of work, from putting up a perimeter fence to building church benches.  It will be a full 2 days of work and we will cap it off with worship services before heading back to Tegucigalpa Sunday afternoon.  While in Tegucigalpa the team will engage in several mission works including construction, visitation, distribution, and service projects.  Mark Adams, youth minister from the Old Hickory Church of Christ in Nashville, will be our speaker fro the evening devotionals.  Tim O'Dell, from the Collegeside Church of Christ in Cookville, will be organizing our morning devotionals.  Pat Guthrie (Tricky Pat) and Tyler Steffy will be heading up the construction crews and our interpreters for the first team will be Nayane and her husband Lauro (they are getting married THIS WEEKEND!!!), talking about love and dedication!  What a wonderful way to start off your marriage than to do a week of mission work?  Awesome!  Joining them will be Jennifer Williams, Minor Perez, and Julia Morgan.  Great team, can't wait to work with all of you!

Team #2 will arrive Saturday, July 7th, the day the 1st team leaves!  For the interns and I, there will be ZERO down time between trips!  What an emotional flip flop we will be doing as we say tearful goodbye to the 1st team and then rejoice with the arrival of the 2nd team!  Similar to the first team, the 2nd team will clear customs, claim baggage, and will immediately take off for Choluteca, near the Pacific Coast of Honduras.  This team 70 will battle the heat (understatement!) for 4 days as we do multiple projects and ministries there.  Our plans include doing a medical clinic, finish building a playground for the school, conduct a clothing / shoes distribution, various service projects, conduct a gospel meeting, conduct a VBS, and play some soccer!  Terry Chapman, from the South Trail Church of Christ, Sarasota, FL, will be preaching the meeting.  His wife, Gwen, and Diane Adams, will be co-teaching a ladies Bible class. Wednesday we will head back to Tegucigalpa for a full round of work projects.  We will be visiting the hospital, Blind School, Special Needs Orphanage, Didasko, build houses, and service projects.  Big Steve Johnson, from the Bell Shoals Church of Christ in Tampa, will be our speaker for the evening devotionals.    Our interpreters for the trip will be Rodolfo Hererra, Esperanza Massana, Jennifer Williams, Minor Perez, and Julia Morgan.  Brian Steffy will be in charge of the construction teams, Jenny Lovell in charge of shopping... for fruits and vegetables at the open air market!), and Brett Mitchell organizing the morning devotionals.  Another awesome team!

I am so blessed to be able to work with so many different people, many of whom have been going with me for several years now.  As the veterans welcome in the rookies, let's get ready for some hard work, challenging ministries, and incredible opportunities that await us.  As out theme says, "ARISE!"  It is time to go!!!

TR