Le Leche...or I mean; La Fleche!!

Hola!! From El Salvador! Today we had a very early start. We had to have our bags down by the buses by 6 am. Which for normal people is way to early, I don’t know how some of you early birds can do that and be happy. By 6:30 we had all of our bags loaded on the 2 air conditioned busses. We had one charter bus and one smaller bus like vehicle; I don’t really know what to call it. We then started on our journey to “Costa del Sol.” On our trek here, we had a 30 minute stop at the border for 2 men to come on the buses and check everyone’s passport, in which the man who checked mine didn’t even look at it, he picked it up, flipped through the pages and gave it back. Can someone tell me why flipping through 60 passports takes 30 minutes? Other than that, we didn’t have any other stops on the way here. It took us about 5.5 hrs to get here. We also had some free entertainment on the bus from Jenny and here gang of girls with the La Fleche initiations, which was a bit humorous. We also had the opportunity to watch all of the spidermans in Spanish…that was exciting…We finally arrived here at the resort (which I can’t remember the name of right now) at around 12:20. As soon as we got off the bus some of us went directly to the beach and enjoyed a bit of the ocean breeze. We then all came back for orientation. Afterwards, fruit drinks were provided from the hotel, and then we all ate lunch. After lunch some of us went into the pool, most of us went out to the beach and into the nice and warm pacific ocean. Meanwhile some of us took advantage of the time by taking a nap, and others set up beach volleyball and played until dinner. Which was wonderful: salad, rice, fresh veggies, fish, steak, rolls, and flan…it was a feast fit for a king. After dinner we all hung out around or near the beach until devo at 9. Tonight devo was very warm, because we had a very very large bonfire built by the staff here. Tonight our lesson was brought by Jack from Memphis. He gave us a lesson on our confidence with or in God. it was a very good lesson that we can all take and apply to our everyday lives. After devo we picked our chairs off of the beach and socialized for one of the last few times that we will all be together. Tomorrow will be very nice because we can all recooperate a little bit, and reflect what God has done through us in the last 9-10 days.

The Last Day in Honduras

today started a little bit earlier than usual. breakfast was from 7-8, which we had some amazing ham & cheese omlets & french toast. After breakfast everyone loaded up on the busses and trucks, and we headed to Agua Agria for church at the church building that we had built last year and just the other day we put in a concrete floor for them. Worship today was unbelievably hot, for some it made focusing very difficult, not only was it 98 degrees with about 80% humidity, but there are no seats in the building so everyone was sitting or standing on the floor and there are only 2 windows and they’re both on the same side of the building so there was no breeze except what air could slip through the cracks in the walls. Timoteo led the singing in Spanish, and Ben Cooper led singing in English, on some songs the members sang a song in Spanish as we sang it in English, it was really awesome to hear! At the same time we were having worship we had a VBS where we again talked about Noah, down the road at the school so the kids were able to have their own worship service with joel and his vbs crew. We made an amazing ark today. it was made of old boxes, duct tape and we made it in less than 30 minutes. We sang in Spanish and of course in English. The children loved every minute of it. The lesson today was given by Colby Hill, he is such an amazing speaker! He gave a very good lesson today and really related it to those living in the village, making more of an impact on them.

After church, some of us went back to the hotel, some worked on the playground, and others played/watched soccer. The soccer game…well, let’s just say it wasn’t TORCH’s best performance, I believe the final score was something around 6 or 7 to nothing, so it was a very humbling experience. I don’t know whose idea it was to schedule a soccer game, on a rocky field, when it’s 98 degrees out, no shade, very little breeze, and we had worked our behinds off alllll week…but you know whoever did schedule it didn’t play. After getting humiliated by the locals in soccer, we carried our broken bodies and pride on to the bus and headed back to the hotel where we enjoyed and evening of relaxation, whether it was in the pool or the air conditioned rooms.

While most of us were either playing or watching soccer, Tricky Pat headed up a small crew to finish the playground. They worked really hard and almost finished it. It’s done enough that the kids can play on it now and that is awesome. This will give the kids in the community a place to play and hang out together. There are just a few odds and ends that Timoteo will do and it will be perfect!

The rest of the evening everyone relaxed, packed, and had our last meal and devo in Honduras for this trip. Matt gave us an excellent lesson tonight at devo, followed by a presentation by Jared Brown about Mission Lazaraus. Mission Lazaraus is an organization in San Marcos that works with churches to help reach out to the communities physical and spiritual needs. JB and his interns then sold some of their tshirts, necklaces, coffee, and hats to us afterwards.

Overall today was a very productive day, and a perfect day to end the work part of our trip. Everyone is ready to slow down and relax a little bit before we head back to the states. Tomorrow morning we will be leaving choluteca at 6:30 am and we will hopefully arrive in El Salvador at our hotel at around noon.

"Mad Cow Disease..."

Today started out with a healthy FREE breakfast consisting of pancakes, eggs, toast, and cereal. Followed by a devo next to the pool lead Jason Tennant. We then split up into our teams, we had five teams today. We had a tree planting team, a house team, playground team, medical team and food and clothing team.

A group of 8 went to San Marcos they planted a 150 trees on a beautiful mountain overlooking Choluteca and almost Nicaragua. Randi and Brianna became SUPER bufftrucks today by digging through huge boulders. Brett took the leap of death…..without dying of course. This was all done on a ranch owned by mission Lazarus. The trees planted today, in 10 years will be harvested for a $100 a piece providing mission Lazarus with the ability to support itself.

Today our house was built on a beautiful site that was almost completely level. Everything was going smooth, we had dug all the posts, gotten 3 walls up and then Travis “the brute” thought it would be fun to break the chainsaw handle…causing the construction to come to a halt. After an hour of doing nothing the chainsaw came back to us and we were able to continue construction. Except for the occasional or should I say frequent bending nail and splitting wood, the house went exceptionally smooth especially when Tricky and Wyatt came and helped us. The only drawback to this house was that we ran out of wood, so tomorrow after church we will take a few guys back and finish the last few boards (4 to be exact). The family that we built it for was very helpful and grateful that they now have a new house. The man had a crippled hand and many children, so they were very thankful that God had blessed them with a new roof over their heads.

The playground team accomplished a lot today, especially since they didn’t have any nails at first. Although Jason tried to destroy the tower, it is in one piece and is almost ready to have kids all over it. We will put on the finishing touches tomorrow after church!

The medical clinic saw many many patients today and passed out a ton of children’s vitamins and pepto bismol. ( anybody from the july 13^th trip: please bring cough syrup, eyedrops, adult/senior vitamins & benidryl). Dr. Tom, Judy, & Anna did an amazing job today taking care of patients. The translators also were incredible today working with the clinic.

Last but not least our food and clothing team gave out food bags, clothing and also took pictures of the families that came through the lines. They did a wonderful job today, despite the trials of some families “stretching the true” about how many people are in their family and also repeatedly coming back in line. This team really did feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

Tomorrow we will be going to church in Ague Sagrea and possibly bringing in the largest attendance in Honduras, VBS will be held during the service. Following church service some of our boys will be heading out to play some soccer with the locals, a small team will be made to go finish the house and playground.

Breaking the Limits of Satan's Coffee Cup!

Today started extremely early. Our plan was to leave villa gracia by 6 am...well of course the busses weren't as anxious as we were to leave. we had to take the battery out of Elroy and start esperanza and then we were on our merry way to choluteca, or as I would like to call it, "the hottest place on earth!" so by 6:30 we fixed the bus and headed out with all 3 busses, both trucks, a lot of orange juice, and many many boxes of Dunkin Donuts; providing us with a sugary snack on our long, humid, wonderful journey to the middle of nowhere, Honduras. The scenery on the way there is breath-taking!...well at least for those who were looking at something other than the inside of their eyelids. The mountains here are like nothing I have ever seen before. It’s amazing that in a country that is so poverty-stricken, that God has blessed it with such beauty and amazement! Continuing on our journey, I think that the countryside lost a bit of its splendor when we started descending into the coffee cup of Satan. It was still beautiful, but having the windows down made it a bit uncomfortable with the intense heat. We were lucky though, today wasn’t as hot as it typically is here in choluteca, we only had a humidity of 70%, instead of the usual 90%, plus the temperature was down a little bit, which made it almost bearable.

Once in choluteca we met Chad at Wendy’s, and he took us to our hotel, Hotel Casa Real, this is a little bit nicer than the hotel we have stayed at previously here. We sat around until we got things straightened out for dinner and rooming assignments, then we unloaded the food from the bus into a storage room and split up into our teams for the day. We had three teams today: a food team, a playground/concrete team, and a painting team. The food team stayed here in the nice indoor/air conditioned/shaded/luxurious hotel, while the other teams suffered in the exhausting and dehydrating heat. All the teams exceeded the expectations of the day.

The food teams did an awesome job bagging food today; they made a lot of bags to hand out to the community tomorrow. They also organized different supplies to hand out: clothing, shoes, toys, and medicine. After bagging all of the food and organizing they put it in the storage, to be packed in the bus tomorrow morning.

The painting crew was astounding today! They were only expected to finish one walls of the warehouse that was taken from the Great Wall of China…ok well not quite but it was humongous. Instead of just finishing one humongous wall, the painters worked so hard that they finished the entire warehouse today, even through the distraction of a paint war. I don’t know how they managed to get the warehouse finished because to me it looked like they had more paint on themselves than the walls. What makes this even greater is that this one-time warehouse, now church, was a complete surprise for the church, so now on Sunday morning when all the members show up, instead of seeing their old, white/black/moldy church building they will now see a bright white building, livening up their worship.

The concrete/playground also exceeded their expectations for the day. When we arrived at Aguas Agria (I think that’s what it’s called), many men were already working on the concrete floor in the church. They had done 2/3 of it before we got there, so we didn’t have much to do. After they finished the floor, they did some little odds and ends to try and make the church a little nicer. This will be such a great thing for the members to have every time they come to worship. The playground crew got right to work when they arrived at their site. They playground will be right behind the school. Once again TORCH cannot just build a typical playground, we have to make the best playground possible with what we have, and I believe we will on this one. It will have 2 main towers and the one will be very high and have a look out tower on it. But for today we dug out holes and put our posts in, supporting them with concrete. Tomorrow we will begin the real construction of another amazing playground, designed by the one, the only, Terry Reeves. Ok well I don’t know if he’s the only one, but he did design another amazing playground.

After all of the groups completed or exceeded their tasks for the day, we all returned to the hotel. Some of us swam and cooled off for a while, some of us got to take advantage of the time by taking a nap and recuperating. We had dinner at 7, which by the way was paid for by the hotel. Unfortunately some of us had to wait a long time for food but we’re just thankful that God blessed us with a warm meal. After dinner we had devo on the 3^rd floor balcony. The lesson was given by Brian Henegar, it was an excellent lesson, and he made some good points that we can apply to our everyday lives about being content, not only with what we have, but the situations that come about in our lives. We then split up into the groups that we are from, and had discussions about the trip and compared it with previous trips and what we have gained from it. Then it was time for bed because it is going to be an extremely long and exhausting day tomorrow. Buenos Noches everyone!!

We're here

Good afternoon from the sunny Pacific coastal town of Choluteca. We departed the Mission house at 6:oo sharp this morning for the 3 1/2 hour scenic drive to the west coast of Honduras. We climbed over towering mountains and saw about a million "Kodak Moments." We made great time, especially considering the major road work that is going on the highway. They are repairing a bridge and the detour was just a tad bit bumpy. Just a tad.... we have a couple of people that had to check fillings to make sure they were still there.

We are staying at a different hotel this year. The largest, nicest (keep everything in perspective here...) hotel was booked up so we made reservations at Casa Real (The real house). We were holding our breath since Choluteca is not exactly a vacation get away city and does not have a lot of choices. We were both excited and relieved when we pulled up to a hotel that looks a lot like a nice Best Western back home. The rooms have AC and the hotel is only a couple of years old. Nice, but not fancy. It is going to work well for us this weekend.

We arrived at 9:30 and Chad Hedgepath met up with us. Chad works with Jarod Brown with Mission Lazarus, a wonderful mission program on this side of the country. Chad is from Nashville and has been on a lot of Torch trips. He and his wife have been here full time for 10 months. Everyone had packed lunches so we were ready to go to work as soon as we got here. We were back on the buses at 11:00 for work.

We divided into 3 teams today. 1 team stayed at the hotel and packed food for a massive food distribution for Saturday. They also sorted all of the supplies we brought for the clothing/shoes/toys/stuffed animals give away. The second team went with Chad to paint a newly aquired warehouse that is going to be used for a new congregation that is meeting in Choluteca. The third team went out to Agua agrias.

Once we arrived we divided into 2 groups. One group went to the church building that we built last year and worked there. The mixed concrete by hand and poured a floor for the church building. Many of the men of the village worked with us. They (about 100 men) began work at 4:00 this morning by repairing sections of the road that lead into the village and mixed concrete. 1,200 sf of concrete was poured today via shovels and wheel barrels. Can we say "Whew!" The other team went to the school and dug the post holes and placed the posts in place for the new playground that will be built Saturday (Tricky Pat also tried to catch a chicken... let's just say the chicken is still roaming freely this afternoon). After precise, laser guided measurements (OK, 2 tape measures and some guesswork) the posts were placed into the ground and concrete filled the holes. We also took a walk about to the house site for tomorrow. It was a "over the river and through the woods" experience.

Devo is at 7:00 tonight. Tomorrow the team kicks into high gear as we build a nouse, build the playground, conduct a medical clinic, do a clothing/shoe distribution, and plant trees for Mission Lazarus. Word had been sent out weeks ago and everyone within walking distance is coming tomorrow. And for those who might be curious, it is hot here. I am pretty sure the rubber on my tennis shoes melted right into the sidewalk today. And I am also pretty sure that women were cooking lunch on the sidewalks. Looked like they were frying up some meat and eggs........... yep, its pretty hot here.

We will write again soon. We are trying to figure out rooming assignments at the hotel. Just another one of those "Welcome to Honduras" moments. Sometimes you just have to laugh. Adios mi amigos y amigas. Cristo te ama!!!

Last Day in Tegucigalpa

Today was our last day in Tegucigalpa. Our bus will leave at 6AM for Choluteca!! As I stated yesterday, everyday has been better than the last...today was no different. We met again at the overlook for morning devotional. It was cloudy today but you could still see the valley below us. It was cool today, at least at the beginning. Ross Vego, from Memphis, Tennessee, gave the morning lesson. He read several scriptures today from the Old Testament and gave us a lesson about the sluggard. He related to us that we work so hard down here but many times we don't back home. He encouraged us not to be lazy when we get back to the states and find ways to continue our ministry.

We all went to the Valley of Angels today and split into 2 main groups. Our first group was sent to re-build a TORCH house that was built several years ago. The house had lost part of its roof and needless to say was leaking. This house had a million dollar view! The house overlooked the deep valley that seperated one side of the mountain from the others. The woman that lived there has been praying for help and was thrilled to see her faith answered when we pulled up. The main part of the structure was in fair condition so repairs were made to the existing house and the new lumber served as an addition. a quick 4 hours later a wonderful house stood overlooking the valley and a very, very happy woman is sleeping tonight in a house with a beautiful wood floor and a roof that doesn't leak!

While this group of BuffTrucks worked...the second group spent a few hours shopping in the Valley of the Angels and did some sight seeing. This was the only day to go and buy for family, friends, and supporters back home. Even though all they wanted was post cards a variety of stuff was bought from the local craftsmen. Some spent a little and some went crazy, but for a couple of hours we all had some fun and had a bit of time to relax from the past few days of fast paced work.

We then headed back into Tegucigalpa and made out way to the Blind School. For those of us who have been here before, this is one of the high lights of the trip. 42 students attend this special school for those who have varied degrees of blindness. They are some of the most cheerful children you will ever meet and they love visitors!!! They dismissed classes when we arrived and they came out to the courtyard to greet us. Backpacks carried all kinds of toys, stuffed animals, bubbles, and candy. (I am not sure who was having more fun if you know what I mean...).

We were then treated to a wonderful concert inside in the common room where the children sang several songs to us. They are temendous singers and you can tell it is coming from the deepest part of their hearts. When they finished we had a chance to sing to them. We sang "there is a God," "The Greatest Command," "Jeus Love Me," and "Holy Ground." We thought we were finished but they had a request; "The Greatest Command." We have sang it for them before and they wanted to hear it again. To be honest, I am not sure if there were any dry eyes in our crowd. It was a GREAT afternoon.

We got back to the Mission House and sent a bus with work volunteers down to meet up with another crew at the bodega. We grabbed about 45 boxes of shoes, clothes, food, medicine, and playground equipment that we are going to take to Choluteca. After dinner we all packed up suitcases and brought them down to the big tree outside the big dorm. After devo we loaded up 3 buses with all of the luggage and the huge amount of food we are planning on giving away this weekend. Colby Hill, from Sarasota, Florida, was our speaker tonight. He is one of the best speakers you will ever hear. He talked about mercy instead of sacrifice. Oh, did I mention the singing was great? yeah, it was.

We leave at 6:00 am sharp (according to our fearless leaders) for Choluteca, the place Satan goes for a hot cup of coffee. But, we have our game faces on and we are ready. We are going to be doing a ton of stuff over there, including building another house, a playground, and putting in a concrete floor at the church building we built last year. We are also going to have a medical clinic, a VBS, and work with Mission Lazarus, a great ministry headed up by Jerod Brown. We are going to be painting a building that will be used for a new congregation forming in Choluteca and help plant trees for a harvesting program that they are doing there.

Goodnight from Teguc, we will try to update as soon as we can. Choluteca, here we come!

Big Boats = Big Smiles :)

Greetings from Honduras!! We started our day off with a great devo lead by Ryan Thompson. He talked about his favorite holiday, Christmas, and compared receiving Christmas gifts to receiving the greatest gift of all, salvation. His main point is that salvation is a gift that you can choose to accept or not. This was his first ever devo talk and he did a GREAT job! Linda (LT), you would have been very proud! After devo we split into 2 groups for the day, a group of 17 loaded 250 food bags to Nueva Oriental which each contained rice, coffee, beans, sugar, corn meal, salt, and lard on to the bus for a food giveaway. When we reached Nueva Oriental we split into 4 smaller groups to cover the mountain. During one of the many treks up the mountain side, a group of 20 children joined us to help carry the food up the mountain. We seem to be a kid magnet... every where we go we attract children! This team then held a power packed VBS in Mololoa which was about Noah. We had a skit with Bud, from Memphis, as Noah. A few of our girls created an ark with leftover cardboard boxes and coloring pages it was a Masterpiece!! Following the songs and skits we had face painting, honey sandwiches, chips and LOTS of balloons and stickers. The church building was PACKED with kids from all over the mountainside.A group of 4 men went doorknocking to promote the VBS and to invite adults to come to the bible study. Colby Hill, from Sarasota, Florida, led the study with 15 women. Reports are the study went really well.

The other group went to the special needs childrens home where they enjoyed a baseball game. Kids were wheeled around in their wheel chairs as the went to bat. It was amazing and the kids loved it! Toys and stuffed animals were passed out with plenty of hugs and smiles. From there we went to Didasko where we donated a truck load of food. We also gave boxes of toys and clothing. Jorge, the director, told us that they will use the clothes for both their children at the home and to distribute to needy families in the area. The team also made minor repairs on a playground we built a few years ago. We also got the opportunity to play with some of the cutest kids you will ever meet! After emptying our backpacks of toys and snacks, some even gave their shoes to a child that they spent the day with. Many tears were shed while leaving.

We enjoyed a relaxing night at the mission house, a devo from "Tricky" Pat Gutherie with a 4th of July fiesta following devo. The refreshments added to the competitive card games and spoons that were being played in the cafeteria. It was a lot of fun.

Everyday has been better than the last. Please continue to lift us up in prayer. Tomorrow we are heading out for the Valley of Angels to build a house and to do some shopping. The blind school in on the schedule for the afternoon. Sounds like an exciting day! Adios!

Salud! Day 2

We had a wonderful day of doing the Lord's work today. As you have already read,
part of the group spent the 1st 1/2 of the day packing up food packet to be
distributed. 250 packets of food were prepared (consisting of flour, sugar,
beans, rice, lard (we call it Crisco), tomato paste, pasta, coffee, and chicken
bouillon (a total of 1,204 bouillon cubes were counted out today). These packets
will be distributed to and be a great blessing from God to 250 families. After
preparing the food packets, this team went to Hospital Escuela and visited with
some kids receiving treatment their. It's a wonderful opportunity to show Jesus
by brightening a suffering child's day. We went to the cancer unit, the burn unit, and the children's ward. We gave out toys and stuffed animals and we also took coloring books and bubbles. Some of the children were in a lot of pain but it was great to see a smile on their face, if even for just a few minutes while we were there.

We had a group of people who worked at a food distribution center in the village
of Mololoa that is operated by Randy and Melissa Kluge. The provide hot meals
for children of the village around the age range of 2 and 10. For most, if not
all of these children, it will be the only hot meal they get each day. This part
of the TORCH team assisted the kitchen staff in their work. About 100 kids were
served today. Jenny Lovell was the singing gringo, entertaining one and all with her upbeat singing. She is one giant ball of energy down here!

2 houses were also constructed at Mololoa by 2 teams. Through God, and
overcoming encounters with barb wire, a slightly unstable hillside, minor
chainsaw issues and a rainstorm, we were able to provide good shelter for 2
families that did not have it this morning. The teams worked really hard to get done so that the families would be able to move into their new homes before sunset. Once that was done one of the construction teams left Mololoa and drove over to Los Pinos. A house was started by the Atlanta group but was only half finished before they had to leave. Our crew finished the house and the family was able to move in at dusk. Along the way the "Bus With No Name" broke down with Ken Ellis' group so Elroy went to the rescue.

We also were able to do some shopping tonging from a program called Mi
Esperanza. Mi Esperanza trains Honduran woman to work in a variety of fields. They had handmade crafts of pottery, gypsy bags, jewelry, t-shirts, and a variety of other goods to sell. It was like a feeding frenzy of piranas as Torch members bought in wreckless abandon!!! Well, maybe that was a bit of a stretch, but lest's say the cash flowed!

Evening devo was awesome. The singing was absolutely beautiful. Jeremy Qullian JQ), from Sarasota, Florida, spoke. He talked about the reward we will recive for the work we do here on earth. After the lesson we sang a couple more songs (did I mention the singing was unbelievable?) and then had our first "Where Did You See Jesus Today?" Lots of comments were made focusing in on all of the things that we have done down here. It is amazing to hear the stories and to see the faces of people that are being mentioned. You can tell that they were surprised that anyone even noticed what they were doing.

Ken Ellis' group said goodbyes because they are leaving EARLY in the morning. What a beautiful day. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Love to all.

Salud! Day 2

Oh thou fount of every blessing

Things are going very well down here in Honduras. We are blessed and God continues to send us everything we need. We have all of the typical things going on that every trip experiences when they first arrive. A bus broke down (Elroy, the one and only!) and we have had a flat tire, and we have only been here a day!!! The weather has been beautiful and all of our "pre-trip" plans are going exactly the way we hoped. Sickness has already struck the group (2 so far) and we are dealing with that along with the other tasks at hand. Welcome to Honduras! But all in all the start of the trip has been picture perfect.

Our last 3 team members fly in today. All 3 are from the Memphis area. 2 are interpretors and the other is a long time Torch vet. We will have 62 once they arrive this afternoon. Our team is a wonderful mix of rookies and vets. The different groups have mixed and bonded really well and it has been a blast being with Ken Ellis. Ken has been coming down here even longer than I have (his first trip down here was in 1980!). He is an awesome guy and I love being around him. They will be leaving in a couple of days to head back to Atlanta, Georgia, and we are going to miss them.

Everyone is pitching in and doing a great job. Buses are leaving on time, devos are starting on time. People are volunteering for the different work details without any prompting. They are even going to bed on time! What is this world coming too? Rumors of this is going to get out, I am pretty sure of it. This could tarnish our reputation for sure........but, I am not complaining! And, besides, we are only on the second day of the trip. A lot can happen in the next 8 or 9 days.......

We are going to be working in a lot of different places during the next few days. It is exciting to be able to spead out and work in different communities. We have already worked in Santa Ana and Mololoa. We have plans to work in Nueve Oriental and Valle de Angeles in the next couple of days. We are hoping to go to Dadasko, the Special Needs Orphanage, and the Blind School too.

This morning it is raining up on the mountain but Randy Kluge called and said it is sunny down below. Regardless, it is a beautiful day and we are glad to be here. Right now we are sorting food for 250 families that will be given away tomorrow (Wendesday). Flour and beans are everywhere right now, you can only imagine the fun we are having! From here we leave for Hospital Esquela and Hospital San Philippe to visit. The construction teams left early this morning to try to knock out 2 more houses today and a group is working at the feeding center (the Manna Project).

We just missed seeing Cary Hadley and Keith Boyer's group from Florida. They left to go home a day or two ago. The worked up in Union es Forsa (Bob) where they have focused their work for the past 4 or 5 years. They built an amazing 33 houses this year along with several visitation teams and work with the Manna Project (the feeding kitchen at Mololoa). Wish I we could have seen them but sometimes things don't always line up just right. Oh well, maybe next year.

In the next week or so Dudley Chancey and Johnny Markum come in with a large group from Oklahoma and Tennessee. I hope to make arrangements to meet up with their group for some combined devos while we are all down here. These guys have been coming down here for a long time as well. Both are good frinds of mine and I am thankful of the work that they are doing too. Great guys.

It is evident that a lot of work is going on down here in Honduras. Praise God that so many have given up part of their summer to come down here to work. Diane Adams, a long time Torcher, commented that every year that she comes down here she sees more and more improvement to the country. And she is right. This is not the same place it was 10 - 15 years ago. Honduras still has a long way to go but they are making baby steps every year. The people are still as eager as ever to study the Bible and learn about God and Jesus. The churches down here are holding steady and working hard. There is a lot to be excited about here. With so many groups coming down here each year more and more work is getting done.

We send all of you blessings from Honduras. Altough we miss you we are very glad to be here. Our next update will come late tonight. Stay tuned and don't forget to write! We love notes and emails! Hasta luego mi amigos! Dios te bendiga!

TR

a very quick update

I would first like to say that all groups arrived safe and sound on Sunday (Brian Steffy- we finally got your daughter out of customs)! After a quick meal and a trip to the grocery store we arrived at home sweet home (aka: the mission house).

This morning we had a wonderful devo lead my Brett Mitchell. He really challenged us to do our best on this trip. No junk for Jesus! We then drove out to Santa Ana where there were 2 building teams and a group of men to conduct Bible studies. The divided up into 4 groups to go door knocking and then they had a Bible study at the church building. While at Casa de Esperanza a painting, landscaping, and warehouse clean up crew went right to work. Ken Ellis' group also went to Santa ana so we had a lot of workers today out there and got a lot done.

Our lost luggage from Sunday (we had 5 lucky contestants to win, "We Lost Your Bag!" sponsored by American Airlines)came in and was picked up. Terry, Margaret, and Rudy also went to the hospital for visitations and then went to the Bible Society and bought Bibles and coloring books. The bibles will be included in all of the foood bags we will be giving away later in the week.

We came back to the mission house in stages in time for dinner and then left for a devotional at the Jesus Statue. Mark Hendrickson, from Clinton, Oklahoma, was the speaker. He had a great message about monuments and what they represent. He encouraged us to remember that we have the most important gift of all ti give away, the knowledge of salvation and hope. The view, as always, was amazing. Even though a brif shower had come through earlier the night was clear and perfect.

Tuesday we have construction teams going out again and we will be doing visitation to Hospital San Philippe and Hospital Esquela. We also will be working in the feeding kitchen in Mololoa with the Kluge's and Jen Arnold. Their feeding project is called "The Manna Project" and they feed about 200 kids a day in Mololoa. Construction projects will be in Mololoa and Los Pinos.

I will be uploading pictures tomorrow. Please continue to remember us in your prayers.
**IMPORTANT NOTE: If you would like to e-mail a member of the torch team, please send your e-mails to ty_steffy@hotmail.com with TORCH-(name of the person whom you are writing) in the subject box.

Blogger contributors for our trip now include Terry, Tyler, and Erin Mann. We hope you are enjoying the updates and would love to hear from everyone. Post a note or send an email!!! Adios!

Honduras update

Saturday was an awesome day here in Tegucigalpa. Our pre-team of 7 got up to a beautiful day. Sunrise was around 5:45 and a few from the group was up and going then. The dogs and roosters must have had the night off because they did not give the daily wake-up call at 4:00 am so some did not roll out until 8:30-9:00. We had morning devotional and then at 10:00 we headed down to the mountain to work in the bodega. About 6 hours was dedicated to sorting the supplies and getting everything organized. The new facility is wonderful and will be great for staging the give away days. The old bodega is now completely cleaned out and empty.

Ryan, Rudy, and I went to the airport to begin the day of receiveing our new team members that came in. It was an all day event to say the least. American and Continental both arrived late and TACA arrived early (figure that one out...). Ryan got his suitcase and is excited that he now has his stuff with him. Fresh, clean clothes are a wonderful thing. The Atlanta team went out to Didasko and had a carnival out there for the kids and then took the youth group from Los Pinos out for dinner and a movie. Our group of 14 went down into town around 8:00 for dinner. We got back to the Mission House around 10:15. The Atlanta group was already in bed so we called it an early night as well.

This morning the Atlanta group went to Los Pinos for worship. From there they will go out to lunch and then out to the Valley of Angels to shop. Our group stayed here for a morning devotional at the amplitheater. It was a beautiful morning with a cool breeze. The view of the valley was inspirational to say the very least. I spoke for devotional this morning and talked about the story of the Good Samaritian. We discussed the importance of doing good to all people and to respond to needs when they arise. After devotional we prepared to go down into town.

The main part of out team arrives today. About 40 will come in from Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Florida, and Wisconsin. We are pumped up and ready for them to get here. This afternoon, after group orientation, we will go out to Santa Lucia for dinner at the hotel there and meet up with Ken Ellis' group. After dinner we will go to the the Santa Lucia church building for devotional. There will be about 80 there and we are going to have a singing. Those who have been before know what it will be like! This will be an awesome way to start the trip!!!!!

It is time to take the buses down to the airport. Continue praying for us as we get ready to roll. Monday we are taking the full team out to Santa Ana to build 2 houses, paint, landscape, and conduct Bible studies. Oh, and play with the kids at Casa de Esperanza, too!!!! They have 10 new children since we were here last year! Got to go, Dios te bendiga!!!!!

TR

Greetings from Tegucigalpa

The first round of travelers arrived safely today (Friday) Diane Woods, your daughter is safe and sound. 7 of us flew into Tegucigalpa and experienced what might have been the best landing in the history of the airport. It was shockingly smooth and we had a LOT of runway left over when we came to a stop. Instead of an e-ticket roller coaster ride it was more like a kiddie ride. BUT, we are not complaining!!! Of course, the "welcome to Honduras" moments began as soon as we got here. First, Ryan Thompson is the first to claim lost baggage. His suitcase did not arrive and we are going back to the airport today to get it(hopefully). Since he is currently 9 feet tall (not really) no one has clothes that can fit him. So we are very hopeful that it will come.

Marc Tindall met us at the airport with good news that our container was released and we were to go straight to the new bodega to unload it. So, we did the "hurry up and wait" system that is so common down here. We got to the bodega (about a block from the old one.... and much nicer I must add....)and waited 4 HOURS before the customs officials finally got there. Concrete sidewalks served as beds and couches for us as we waited in the hot sun. Once they got there the unloading was done quickly. Ken Ellis' group from Atlanta (about 17) helped us unload the boxes and supplies along with 4 or 5 that Jen Arnold broght with her. Then we headed up to the Mission House to claim bunks and unpack out stuff.

The Mission House is undergoing major improvements to the campus. The entire upper part of the campus, by the road, has been torn down and new buildings are going up. That means no chapel, no storage room, no meeting room, and no dorm rooms up there right now. Villa Gracia's office has moved to the 2nd floor of the new dorm in the lobby area. It is going to make everything we do more of a challenge. But, we will adjust. Welcome to Honduras!

Last night we went out to eat at Pizza Hut. We were just about as tired as anyone here, but everyone wanted to have a hot meal. It was very good and we enjoyed just hanging out and chilling a little bit. We got back to the Mission House around 10:00 and called it a night. It is good to be back and to see many friends. Jen Arnold came and visited for quite a while and Marc Tindall and Janet Hines are here as well. We have already had a lot of laughs along the way. If this is any indication, it is going to be a good trip!!! Showers were in order when we got back (Tyler Steffy even had the Hondurans looking at him funny as he walked by....). Leslie Woods already wants to come back next year to enjoy all of the "smells" she has experienced so far!

Today (Saturday) we are going to the old warehouse (bodega) to finish moving the last of Torch / IRC's stuff out of there and taking it to the new location. I will be making airport runs all day today. 2 come in at 11:30 on Continental, 2 come in at 12:30 on American, and 2 come in at 5:00 on TACA. Our main team (about 40) come in on Sunday. We are lining up work projects today and getting some details worked out. If possible we are going to meet up with Ken Ellis' group this afternoon. They are taking the youth group from Los Pinos out to the mall today for dinner and a movie. We are going to have a combined devo tomorrow (Sunday) with them once everyone gets here.

Time to start running. After weeks and weeks of preparing, waiting, praying, and dreaming, the trip is here! Continue to pray for us as we work for the kingdom down here. May God's blessings be on us all!!!!

TR

hear ye, hear ye

Wednesday, June 20. It has been hard to switch gears from Brazil to Honduras. So many thoughts and memories are racing through my head the past few days. I want to share one more story with you before I focus my writings on Honduras. The last day we were in Brazil was a Wednesday. We went to the orphanage and then headed over to the church building for Wednesday night bible study. Randy Short had told us that the members were going to be preparing a farewell dinner for us made up of typical Brazilian foods. I thought this was a really nice thing since most of the Brazilians are not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.

That evening after worship we were served a huge variety of breads, cake, and meat dishes that were made of corn. Although not exactly what we had been eating all week it was quite good. When everything was cleaned up and put away and the main group had left, we had McDonalds delivered to us. (There is a huge difference in culture on this point. For Brazilians, the big meal of the day is lunch and dinner is just a small meal where in the states dinner is the big meal.)

While we were eating Big Macs and quarter pounders with cheese Nayane shared with us something that really made an impact on us. The day before (Tuesday) we had been in the area of the church building delivering food for families that was really in need. The families heard that there was going to be a fellowship dinner on Wednesday and they were invited to come. Not only did they come, they brought food for the dinner. Food cooked from the gift box that we had given them the day before. They used part of the food that we gave them to give us. As Jim Casey would say, “Wow.” That is a memory that will long live in my mind. And, as Paul Harvey used to say, that is the rest of the story.

News update from Honduras. Nathan spoke with Tim Hines, who is in Honduras right now with Gayle Davidson and Ken Ellis’ groups. Tim said that Honduras is getting pounded with torrential rain and that widespread flooding is happening all over Honduras, especially in Tegucigalpa and the surrounding villages. Mudslides are imminent are prayer requests have been sent out. Some of you might remember the horrible problems we had just a few years ago out in San Miguel / Mololoa with mudslides. Please pray that the rain will stop and that damage will be minimal. Also pray for the Torch team that is down there right now and for the work they plan on doing for the next 2 weeks.

For us, we are less than 2 weeks away from heading down to Honduras. Those of us in Nashville have had our last group meeting and are now scrambling to get last minute supplies collected for the trip. WE NEED Polaroid cameras and film for the trip. please try to bring film with you; we can’t have too much. We are going to help some of the churches down there create pictorial directories for their buildings. We will also take photos of families to give away as well. We are also making an all call for more Pepto (chewables if possible) and children’s vitamins. Bring as much as you can.

God is moving among us and great things are happening. For those of us privileged to go on this trip, we have an incredible opportunity to serve God in ways we can only imagine right now. I hope you are excited, I know that I am. I am looking forward to seeing you all down there and working with you. For some, this is a grand family reunion, of sorts. For others, this is your first “rodeo,” and you are in for the ride of your life and you don’t even know it yet!!! Yes, the veterans love having rookies on the trip. For many reasons…

Thanks to all that are involved with the trip. There are hundreds of people that make Torch go and we couldn’t do it without all of you. I hope all of the team members have already said a lot of “thank you” to those who have helped make this year’s trip a reality. It will be here in a blink of an eye, hope you are ready! See you soon.
Terry

Brazil it was...

Tuesday we awoke to more rain. It rained all night and today the front of the property looked like a river flowing through it. It just seems damp all of the time. Unfortunately, the rain doesn’t cool down the temperature much at all. It is just a warm rain to go with the hot days down here. Not complaining, mind you, just stating the facts. Since we are limited with kitchen utensils and cooking gear, the ladies have to offer the same basic meals. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, cereal, and bread. Morning devo was led by Jorge Del Bosque, the summer intern from Texas. George is a wonderful guy and is a real fireball. He is 42 and has been battling colon cancer. He gave a testimonial of how God is working in his life and how he has been able to use his trials for good. To say he is focused and on fire is an understatement. He is completely fluent in Spanish and is picking up the language here quickly.

Today we had our food give away. We assembled 150 bags of food Monday night and the first give away was at 11:00 at the camp. 50 families came and had a Bible lesson before leaving with the food bags. After lunch the majority of the team loaded the bus to travel to 4 distribution sites to give out the rest of the food. Rain did not stop most of the families from getting out to receive the food. The team was gone for about 5 hours and then went to the mall for dinner at the food court.

A small crew of 7 stayed back to continue the painting and assembling projects. Since the church pews were finished the construction team began building picnic tables for the dinning hall. They build 4 new tables to go with the existing ones. There are now 12 tables in the dinning hall. The paint team continued working on 2 of the murals. The mural of David and Goliath has become a much bigger challenge that we expected. We have limited paints and some a water based and others oil based. Quite a challenge to say the least. We worked until 6:30 and then 4 of the crew went into town to eat while 3 of us decided to stay put. Devotionals tonight were held in our rooms.

Wednesday we saw the sun again. It was really hot and humid today. We had breakfast (we cleaned up all of the left overs) and had morning devotional. Today was a wrap up session and “pep rally” for the team. Some of the team members left today to go on to Salvador where they will continue working for another week. We cleaned camp, gathered linins, returned borrowed mattresses, and swept the place clean. A few of us finished up the murals before loading up the bus. The camp definitely looked a lot different when we left. The dinning hall was completely painted from top to bottom along with the picnic tables. We painted the center part of the outside of the building (all 3 floors) and painted a Torch Missions logo at the entry. The entry was painted along with the stairwell and part of the second floor as well. A flag of Brazil and the camp logo finished out the artwork.

We ate lunch at the School of the Bible ($2 for rice, beans, spaghetti, chicken, and drinks!) and then headed over to a nearby orphanage. Several of the 65 children were still in school but there were still about 30 children there to play with and to give out toys. We stayed there for over an hour before leaving to go to the church building. Tonight we are being fed by the members here and then spending the night. Most of us are leaving before dawn so we decided staying at the hotel was going to be a waste of money.

This is my last entry till we get back to the states. People are flying everywhere in the next few days. It has been a wonderful trip and one that I will not forget. Brazil is a fantastic place to work and visit and I hope several of you out there will consider going next year. Next year’s dates will be May 30 – June 14.

Just a couple of weeks, literally, and the first Honduras team will be leaving for Tegucigalpa. Hope you are excited, I know I am!!! Until later, May God continue to hold us in the palm of His hand.

TR

Brazil update....loving it!

Sunday was a wonderful day here in Brazil. We had an early wake-up call since we had to leave the Bible camp at 7:30 am. Rod Myers and crew got up to fix a light breakfast (some chose to go the Pop Tart route) before we loaded the bus. We have a 26 passenger bus (with life support capability… aka air conditioning) that we have rented for the week along with a bus driver (for all of the Honduras readers out there, he does not resemble Loco in any way what so ever).

We traveled into Recife and went to the congregation that Randy Short works. The church has been in Recife since 1980 and since that time approximately 90 congregations are now in the northeastern part of Brazil. There are 18 just in Recife. Of course, in the greater Recife area there are about 4,000,000 people. The congregation we attended is located in Boa Viagem and meets in a beautifully remodeled house especially set up for church services and gatherings. The bilingual service was really cool. The Brazilian song leader had a wonderful voice and one of the men of the congregation preached. Randy Short taught one of the Bible classes in English (there are some members there learning English and were very happy that we were there to practice with during class).

After services we went to a local restaurant to eat. In case you haven’t picked up on this yet, Brazil has great food. We had fish, chicken, steak, rice, and bread for about $5.00 per person. After lunch we went to the School of the Bible to change clothes. Randy took us on an extensive tour of the city. We went to a couple of different places that overlooked the city for photos. We also had a group prayer to pray over the city. We saw many beautiful buildings and parks along the way. We also went to a hill (a mountain for all of the Florida people out there) where the Catholic Church has its greatest stronghold in South America. There must have been 25 cathedrals built on this hill. On this side of the river Catholicism is so strong that if anyone living in this area converts to Protestantism their house is burned down and the family is forced to move. Many of the buildings were very, very old and some were really beautiful. But it is sad to see religion used in such a way, especially when it preys upon the poor.

From there we went back into town to an area that was built up by the Jewish community. Because of persecution they were forced to leave (many came to Manhattan) and it was taken over by multiple groups of people. Today it is an amazing shopping area with all kinds of outdoor booths set up. Since this month Brazil is celebrating the Festival of John there were all kinds of special events going on. It reminded me of the state fair back home. Live bands were playing everywhere and the city is decorated with all kinds of banners, flags, and colorful flyers and décor. Amazing deals were found everywhere and we all concur that the ice crème down here is the best we have ever had.

We went to a Brazilian steak/ sushi house for dinner. It was an all you can eat extravaganza. Waiters came by literally every 5 minutes with all kinds of meat mounted on swords. Yes, we are toughing it down here. It literally became comical as we ate our food and eyeing the next waiter coming down the table to see what he had to offer! We ate till we could eat no more and settled up on the bill. From there we walked across the street and had a beach devotional. The beaches here are lit up at night and it is only about 40 yards from the 6 lane highway to the ocean. A far cry from Siesta Key but cool none the less. It was difficult to talk over the pounding surf and wind but I did the best I could. I spoke about the faith of Peter stepping out of the boat. The launching of faith requires getting out of the boat.

Today (Monday) we continued our renovation projects around camp. We were very busy today and spent the entire day at camp. After a morning breakfast of breads, fruits, scrambled eggs and cheeses, we had morning devotional. Ron Bontrager, an instructor at the Sunset School of Preaching, spoke. He spoke of being a living witness and things that are here only by the grace of God. He concluded by saying that we should be remembered for being too good for this world, not because of how good we are, but, because of how bad the world is.

Our work force was divided into many groups today. The faithful few, known as the Pew Crew, finally completed the task of assembling the new benches that will go in the chapel area. We had a landscaping crew that picked up trash and cut the grass. Now, I have to stop here for additional details. Here in Brazil, they have very small yards. Most lawns are cut with either a machete or a swing blade. Although we have both here, Randy “spoiled” us and went out and bought a mower. It’s electric. 12” cut (like in 1 foot). Randy bought an extension cord long enough to mow the grass 322 feet from the outlet!!!!!!!!!! It sounds like blender on the lowest setting. It takes 2 to operate it; 1 to mow and the other to keep the cord out of the way so it won’t be cut by this marvel of technology!). The front lawn was cut before lunch, which was good, because the BOTTOM fell out of the clouds today. Man, did it rain today. We were getting wet and we were sitting 25 feet from the windows!!!

Our paint crews were divided into 6 teams. We had the white team (white paint), the blue team, the flamingo team (I just can’t bear to call it pink), and the yellow team. There were also 3 teams painting murals today. I was working on one that is at the front entrance, Kyle Matey and Bev Bontranger worked on one inside the dinning hall entry, and one of the Brazilian ladies (her name is Maria but goes by Li – Leigh) was painting the logo of the camp near the cafeteria where I painted the Brazilian flag a couple of days ago. Were a painting machine today! We still have paint to do but we are really getting close to being finished. We still have to paint the picnic tables and the floor of the dinning hall (we have dripped and spilled so much paint this week that we felt obligated to paint the floor to cover it all up… the same is true for the tables….).

Tonight Tim Brumfield, another Sunset instructor, gave a powerful lesson about creation. He showed us a great video called, “The Watch Maker.” Awesome! He explained to us that we witness the miraculous everyday but because we see it so often we just don’t pay attention to it but that the world is without excuse to know that

God is the creator. After devo Randy gave us information about the camp history and some of the visions he has for the facility. Then we went to the dinning hall and formed an assembly line to put together about 150 food bags for the food distribution Tuesday.

Another awesome day working for God in His kingdom. Sadly, the trip is coming to an end soon. We are worn out and exhausted, but each night we go to bed with a smile on our faces knowing that we gave it up for God today. We hope your walk is going well too. Hopefully one more blog before we come home. Love to all.

TR

Brazil update...Wow!

Brazil is really an incredible place. It is absolutely beautiful down here. As Ken Haab would put it, Brazil is lush. We are at the tail end of rainy season and everything is in bloom and a beautiful green. The different plants and trees tell you that you are definitely in a tropical zone. Right now it is winter down here but you would never know it. It is very warm (90’s) and rainy during the day and a bit cooler (70’s) at night. Rod Myers noticed that the water drains opposite down here when he washed his hands! Last night we were in search of the Southern Cross constellation, but were unable to find it (you can only see it in the southern hemisphere). Since we have been here we have found a large variety of frogs, lizards, spiders (even tarantulas) to go along with our tree monkeys. We have photos of all to prove our tales too!!! We have also picked and ate several native fruits down here. I really question the first people that discovered that they were eatable; they must have been starving to death!!! Ugly as they are, they taste really good. Some are sweet while others are very tart.

The Bible camp is located outside of town and is in a small village. The people who live around here are very poor, and the roads and small markets remind me of Honduras. Most live in single room houses made of an adobe type brick. Some have plaster and white wash while others do not. The children here are so cute and friendly!!! They are clean and well groomed and it is obvious that they come from families that take care of them. Most are barefoot and the boys are constantly kicking soccer balls around. Imagine that!

They have really enjoyed the VBS this week. VBS started Thursday and today is the last day. We have constantly had between 60 and 80 children each day. We begin out VBS with some games and singing (Nayane and Francisco have done a wonderful job!!!). Then we have done a couple of my patented, slightly off the wall skits. Thursday we did a skit on the Good Samaritan (John Wallace). The Levite was played by Kyle Masey and the priest by George (AKA Jorge, Georgie) Bosche, one of the summer interns down here from Texas. The bandits were played by Kevin Cline and Scott Townsend (can we say stereotyped). Danny Bracher was the victim and was robbed right down to his pants and shirt (he had on shorts and a t-shirt in case you were worried).

Friday the skit was David and Goliath. Scott and Kevin combined to make a 9’ tall Goliath, draped in bed sheets and towels. He wielded a pvc pipe spear and a machete sword. A cooking pot made his helmet. King Saul and his mighty men (???) ran in fear at the sight of Goliath. The children screamed, 2 cried, and some laughed at the sight. But when Goliath made fun of David the children booed at him. When David killed Goliath (the fall revealed Kevin, causing much laughing and relief for the children) the kids cheered like Brazil beating Argentina in soccer!!!

Today we did a puppet show and showed a Vegi-tale video. They have been playing games all week (soccer, baseball, kickball, volleyball) and have had craft time. Kevin Cline brought coloring books of Bible stories in Portuguese. The kids have loved them and have created masterpieces worthy of a young Michelangelo. Snacks have included chips, popcorn, sandwiches, and drinks.

Wednesday afternoon we went to a children’s hospital in Recife. It was quite large, 6 stories tall, full of kids suffering from a wide range of serious diseases from Aids to cancer. We got special permission to go in after general visitation hours were over so that we could spend more time there. We stayed for about 3 hours giving out toys, stuffed animals, and candy. We divided into three groups and covered 2 floors. Jim and Irene Casey, from Sarasota, taught children how to say Jesus loves me in sign language. Jim also did a short magic show that brought a lot of smiles to the children and the parents. The hospital was very clean and well kept, very different from Hospital Esquela in Tegucigalpa.

We have been doing a lot of cosmetic work here at camp. I have headed up a painting team that has been working on the first floor of the main building at camp. We have finished the dinning hall and are now working on the front entry area. We have changed the look from a very drab and faded while to Flamingo peach, Ocean blue, and Sunshine yellow. Brian Steffy headed up the team that is doing the fine carpentry work. His crew is assembling wooden benches that look like church pews! They are gorgeous and very comfortable and sturdy. We have also done some landscaping projects but the rain has slowed that team down a lot.

We have been into town a couple of times so far. We went to a Brazilian steak house last night that was off the charts good. We are going to another one on Sunday. Otherwise we have ate at camp and have been working here.

Tomorrow we will go into town for church services at the congregation that Randy Short, the full time minister here, works. We are going to do some sight seeing and shopping as well and then, if weather permits, a sunset devo on the beach.

All is well here. Besides some homesickness and a couple of sore throats, we are doing OK. We are having a blast and can’t wait to see what the new day will bring. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we work down here. We miss you all!!!

TR

We are here!

Wednesday, June 6

Greetings from Recife, Brazil!!! It hás been a crazy couple of days getting here to say the very least. Flying to another country is always a challenge, this trip tops them all so far. We had groups flying here from Lubbock, Abilene, Atlanta, Nashville, and Pittsburgh. Some connected in Sao Paulo, some Rio De Janerio, others Portaleza. All but one made it Tuesday pretty much as scheduled. 2 missed connections and were put on different planes (1 had to spend the night in a 5 star hotel provided by the airlines and arrived today). But finally we are all here and ready to go. We arrived at the Bible camp Tuesday evening, claimed bunks, and then went back into the city for dinner. We went to a mall and ate at the food court. Tonight we will eat at camp.

Although all of us are suffering from jet lag, we were up and going fairly early this morning. Rod Myers and crew were up early fixing scrambled eggs and assorted cereals. Country critters helped wake us up this morning including donkeys, turkeys, roosters, and other animals. Tree monkeys were spotted this morning as well. The camp is about an hour outside the city. Recife is a huge city (1,500,000) and shows lots of signs of being a very modern city. But once you reach the outskirts it looks amazingly like Honduras for those of you that have been there. Brian Steffy, John Wallace and I were comparing places here to Mololoa, San Miguel, etc.

Today we are going to a children´s hospital associated with St. Jude´s hospital in Memphis. We have loaded up our backpacks full of toys and crayons and Jim Casey is planning a big magic show for the kids. VBS starts Thursday and will run 3 days at the camp.

So long for now, more news and stories to come. Keep us in your prayers, we miss you all.

TR

Get the door, it's....God?

God is unbelievable. As a matter of fact, God is awesome. Now, those of you that know me know quite well that the words “unbelievable” and “awesome” are used quite a bit. OK, a lot. But I have to tell you that I am amazed a lot and it really doesn’t take a whole lot to do it. This is but just another example of how amazing and unbelievable God truly is.

Torch is launching into Brazil for the first time this year. I have dreamed of going to Brazil since I was in 7th grade at Davis Hills Middle School. I was in geography class and my teacher assigned everyone a country to do a report and a presentation in class. I was assigned Brazil. It wasn’t my first, second, or even tenth choice, but never the less I got it. But, after doing my research I decided that I would go there someday. Lofty dream for a boy growing up in northern Alabama. For most, just leaving the state of Alabama seemed like a pipe dream.

Yet, here I am, a week away from seeing that dream come true. Finally. Let me share with you another “God thing” moment. It happened today, on Memorial Day. A national holiday honoring our fighting men and women, past and present, who have guarded the freedoms of this country.

Plans began for Brazil about 2 ½ years ago. Danny Bratcher, long time Torch veteran, decided to sell his possessions and go to Sunset School of Preaching to get his degree in bible and go into the mission field in Brazil. We began discussing the idea of a Torch team going to Recife to work. Last summer plans began in earnest for our trip. Information about the trip went out in November and by March of this year our team was assembled.

Now, to go to Brazil you have to apply for a visa. I have never had to do this but it seemed to be a fairly simple procedure. You have to fill out an application, send a photo, your passport, and a check for $110.00 to the Brazilian consulate in Miami, Florida. How hard could this possibly be? Plenty hard, I can assure you!

My first mistake was waiting to the last minute to send off my application. I was waiting for 2 of my students from Friendship Christian to get all of their paperwork and money to me. I wanted to send all 3 of them together. Now, Danny had given me VERY SPECIFIC instructions on how to till out the visa application. He told me that if we made any errors on it that it would be rejected. I should have known this was true since 2 members of our team were rejected and they had to reapply.

My second mistake was not signing my passport. I just renewed my passport this year and I forgot to sign the new one. My application had been gone for about a week when Margaret asked me about it. Knowing that just one mistake could reject the whole thing, I began to worry. Actually, I had already started worrying because I sent off the applications 3 weeks before we were suppose to leave (and it takes 2 weeks to process the applications).

My third mistake was not paying close attention to the visa instructions. It clearly states to attach a passport photo to the application. Although I did attach a passport photo to my application we did not attach passport photos to my student’s applications. We used school photos that we got from the yearbook staff. One of the team members that were rejected was because he did not use a passport photo on his application. When I found that out I began to worry even more. (A lot…)

In my state of Worrydom, my wife told me to turn it over to God and stop worrying about it. Let HIM handle it. In my sarcastic little way I told her OK. (Can I say easier said than done here…?) So, Sunday night (May 27th) I finally did laid it out there in prayer and turned it over to God. I also got in touch with Brian Steffy to let him know that he might be leading the trip. (I am such a believer, aren’t I?) I figured I needed to make plans in case God decided that I didn’t need to go this year…

Monday morning. Memorial Day. National holiday. The banks are closed and so is the U.S. Post Office. 11:30 am the doorbell rang. I am outside in the back yard working. Margaret answered the door to receive a package. A package being delivered on Memorial Day??? It was the U.S. Postal Service delivering a 1-day express delivery envelope from Miami, Florida. ON MEMORIAL DAY. I really thought my heart was going to stop beating. It was from the Brazilian Consulate. Judgment day was about to take place.

And to my surprise and great pleasure, 3 approved travel visas were inside. And a great big invisible note from God with a smiley face on it. I guess nothing, including the U.S. postal service or a national holiday, can keep God from making a delivery!!!

TR

Brazil packing list

THIS IS THE RECOMMENDED PACKING LIST OF SUPPLIES YOU ARE TO TAKE ON THE TRIP:

Bible
Camera, film, memory cards
Deck of cards
Paper, pen
Toilet paper, Kleenex
Pepto Bismal
Tooth brush, tooth paste
Soap, shampoo
Shaving cream, razor
DeodorantHand wipes
Hand sanitizer
Q-tips
Imodium
Insect repellent
Sunscreen (spf 25+)
Towels* (at least 2)
Wash cloth
Twin bed sheets* (2 sets)
Pillowcases* (2)
Passport
Spending money ($100 - $150)
Watch (waterproof)
Hat or visor
Flash light, extra batteries
Alarm clock Work clothes
1 “church” outfit
Work shoes (closed toed)
Work gloves
Peanut butter, jelly
Snack foods, gum
Laundry bag
Backpack
Water bottles
Box of Zip-lock sandwich bags
Several boxes of Zip-lock bags (gallon size)
Pocket knife (pack in suitcase!!!)
Sunglasses
Sharpie marker
Band-aides
Personal medicines

Items in bold VERY important
*Items to be left when we leave (Bring new sets if possible in white.)

What lies within us

Ahhh, fresh air. Well, at least, sort of…. We have entered our last week of school and finals. For several of my students school has already ended because they were exempt from tests because of their class averages. So, classes are half empty (or half full, depending if you are an optimist or pessimist I guess) and reviews are taking place. My grades are caught up, my tests are already made, and soccer is over. Life is slowing down to the speed of light and I feel like I can breathe again. At least for a couple of days that is.

The summer mission trips are here and the bullet train is leaving the station. Nathan and his team are already in Honduras. They left Saturday and will be there until May 30th. The inaugural Torch trip to Brazil leaves June 4th. I am both nervous and excited. Our team will consist of 22 from Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas. WE have 5 interpreters that speak fluent Portuguese and one very excited Danny Bratcher.

Danny left Monday afternoon for Recife, Brazil, SA. He is moving down there to become a full time missionary. He is an amazing guy with one of the biggest hearts I have ever met. He sold his possessions, went to Sunset School of Preaching, earned his degree, and is about to do what he has dreamed of for several years. Many of us that are reading this story are jealous. He is doing what a lot of us wish we could do. But, for the rest of us, we rejoice in the fact that we get to spend a couple of weeks doing what we love to do too. And for 22 of us, we get to do it with Danny.

Torch Missions has blessed so many lives. In so many different ways. But I think in every way it has helped us all to see the importance of our relationship with God and with each other. God’s kingdom is so big, so vast, and even though we all play just a small, small part, collectively the work is huge. We can never truly understand nor comprehend the worth of sharing the good news about Christ and showing the love of him through simple everyday actions and deeds. For the treasures of the earth do not compare to the wealth of just one soul.

OK, for the Brazil team, here is a news update for you. Remember, you can take 2 pieces of luggage on the trip. Plan on 1 suitcase for your clothes and stuff, 1 needs to be filled with toys, stuffed animals, crayons, paper, jump rope, and give away stuff. Bags need to weigh 50 pounds or less. Make sure you bring 2 sets of sheets and pillow cases for a twin size bed (that we are going to leave for the bible camp) and 2 towels (we will leave them also). If you have not done so yet, please send me a copy of your flight itinerary so I can make sure Danny knows when we are all arriving in Recife. If you have not send your final payment to me, I need it ASAP or you need to bring it with you in the form of cold, hard cash! Plans are falling together well and we are going to have a great trip!

For those going to Honduras, your final payment is due. Please make your checks payable to Western Hills Church of Christ / Torch Missions. I will be ordering lumber for our houses very soon and will be making our reservations at the Mission House and paying deposits. Any last changes with team numbers, names, etc., need to be made at this time. Otherwise, it looks like we are good to go.

We will be blessed this summer by having Tim Hines and Marc Tindall in Honduras. For those who may not know, Marc, and his wife Teri, are moving to Honduras to begin full time work. The Tindall’s is yet another family who has sacrificed greatly to go do kingdom work. What a blessing it is to see God at work through so many people!!!

May God continue to bless us all as we endeavor to work for Him. Keep your eyes focused on the cross and look ahead. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Terry Reeves

You've got mail!

Monday, April 17. 11:24 pm. I am sitting in front of my computer at home (I am so excited to use my computer at home…. It has been such a long time….) trying to finish the day. It is going to be a short week this week. Friday our school is hosting a Special Olympics for the kids in Wilson County. It is one of several service projects our student body does at Friendship Christian. And, from what I can tell, it is one of the student body’s favorites. So, 3 more days of classes and then a fun one.

I am also trying to send my passport off to be renewed. I have waited long enough that I will have to pay extra to get it back in time. I just love wasting money, don’t you?” I can’t apply for my visa to go to Brazil till my passport gets back to me. I hate putting things off, but sometimes it just happens, right? Of course it does, and that is OK, but when it is time to go it is time to go.

And that leads me into this public service announcement. “Calling all slackers!!! It is April 16, 2007, and I have not received applications or deposits from many of you out there in cyber space!!! I compliment my group leaders from Nashville, Tn., Columbia, S.C., Memphis, Tn., and Kittanning, Pa. They are all in and accounted for. Soooooo, unless you are in one of these groups, this message is for you! I need paperwork, photos, and deposits ASAP.

It is very important that you get this in. I have a massive payment coming up in the next couple of weeks to pay for the container we are shipping to Honduras and I do not have enough money to do it. While we are at it, I don’t even have an accurate number going from each team. Planning projects, budgets, and transportation is all based on team numbers. So, please, help me out and get your stuff in as quickly as possible.

Ok, now that wasn’t too bad, was it? Of course, I could call out names, so let’s just keep this between you and me. My address is 221 Oak Hill Drive, Lebanon, Tn., 37087. Hope to hear from you soon! (make your check payable to Western Hills Church of Christ / Torch Missions)

Blessings
TR

Paging Mr. Maxwell House

Greetings to the faithful few that are still keeping up with the blog. I disappeared off of the radar screens for a few weeks with a flurry of activities and events that consumed my time and energy. In the past 4 or 5 weeks I have led a 1 week mission trip, began my spring soccer season, closed on our house in Florida, bought a house in Lebanon, Tennessee, moved all of our stuff out of storage, and moved from the house we were staying. Oh, and that is on top of my regular teaching load, writing curriculum, and grading notebooks and papers. Besides planning the summer mission trips and trying to sleep every now and then, that’s about it!

Now it is painting bedrooms, remodeling bathrooms, doing YARD WORK (my favorite…) and trying to get the heat and AC working. Thank goodness there is only 24 hours in a day because I don’t think I could handle any more. Tax forms, visa travel applications, MRI & PT scans, writing grant requests, scheduling flights, and doing fund raisers… it goes on and on. Can you sense the stress building??? Is it obvious yet?

We live in a fast paced society. Many of us, like me, have chosen to drive in the fast lane. And ALL of us need to learn one simple lesson…. Slow down and smell the coffee. (Now, I don’t drink coffee but the saying still gets the point across). In all of our hustle and bustle, we race past the things that are the most important of all. God. Relationships. Friendships. Peace. Tranquility. Rest. Meditation. I could go on but I am sure you get the point.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30

Are you excited about the summer trips? They are just around the corner! Just think, in just a few weeks we will have time to focus on the truly important, serving God and serving others. Taking a break from our daily grind to do work for the Master. For me, that is what Matthew 11 is talking about. When I get my focus right, things just seem to flow better. Life gets simpler. And even the aches and pains of the day leave you with the impression that it was all good.

Have a blessed day. And if you get a chance, smell some coffee for me.

TR