Building Relationships

Playing with the kids

Today was an exciting day filled with construction, helping with a health clinic, and getting to know the families.  We all worked in La Fe but were spread into a couple of different groups.  The group that worked on construction worked on building a sidewalk.  We were taught patience as it took some time before the construction actually began.  The mayor was the head of construction, but did not show up until mid morning.    While waiting for the mayor to arrive, the team members played with the children and helped a local man build some steps; he was a shoe repair man.  He told Tom and Mike that the city was named La Fe, because they have faith that God will not bring another hurricane that will wipe the town out, like Hurricane Mitch did previously.  They also got to meet the man's sick wife, who is a Christian.  Tom and Mike prayed for her, and both husband and wife were very grateful for the team's help.  Once the mayor arrived the team transported dirt and rocks to lay down to be the foundation for the concrete to be mixed later.

Moving dirt

Another part of the team, mainly Jeff, Lisa, and Ginger, spent the day helping Erin (the missionary who is an RN), her daughter, and an intern run the medical clinic.  Those who wanted to be looked at were given a number and were then called into "intake".  Here we recorded heights, weights, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels.  We recorded what their complaints were and they were sent to wait until Erin was ready for them.  The complaints seen ranged from a cough, to an infant exam, to wound care.  It was sad to see that most of the issues could be fixed by a change in nutrition.  Bottled water and bottled soda both cost the same so the locals tend to choose to drink the sodas.  They do not see it as extra calories, but it greatly increases the incidence of diabetes, dental disease, and hyper-activity in kids.

Working at the clinic

Later in the afternoon we went around with some of the missionaries to do home visits with the locals, and played with kids down by the river. We stopped and talked with a group of boys who were playing together and learned their names, ages, and where they were in school.  One boy was headed to 7th grade, which is a big deal!  Children are only required to complete 6th grade, and most do not proceed further since their families need them to work.  We also talked with an older woman who recently moved to La Fe.  La Fe is generally a place where people move if they no longer have the financial ability to live elsewhere.  Please pray that God will bring joy into her life!

Playing with the kids

Mitch, Austin, Nathan, and Emily spent time playing soccer with some of the kids, while the other members got out puzzles and games for the other kids to play.  Please pray for us as we will be leading Kids Club in the morning for these children.  Pray that they will be open to the Gospel, and that we will be able to show the love of Christ to them, even through a language barrier.
Please also continue to pray for the team to stay healthy and well hydrated!  Particularly pray for Mike J. as he has especially struggled with the heat.
We would also like to report some things that we would like to praise God for.  First, Lisa's bag arrived tonight!  This is an exciting story that we can't wait to tell y'all more about when we return (turns out it wasn't Delta's fault).  Second, it has been such a blessing to have Tom and Mike on our team who can translate for us and communicate with the local residents!  We would also like to praise God for all of y'all and the encouraging notes that Mrs. Hackney helped to gather together. They have been a great blessing to all of us!  Finally we would like to praise God for the blessing of Gwen W.  and her birthday today!  It seems she had a wonderful birthday here in Honduras.
Thank you for your comments, and continue to let us hear from you!  We are still waiting for a missionary joke...(hint hint B.H. :))