Monday, August 31, 2009

Medal Winners

Medal Winners!


Yesterday was our first Karate tournament and Mauricio & Cesar loved it...I liked it, but boy was it long.......................

Our warriors both came home as medal winners! Both place second in their divisions......
okay, both were o-1 for the day; but still came in second!

Capable of Animal Behavior & Our latest Additions

Packed & Ready to Go



Look out, we're coming!




Larry, Curley, & Moe?




Jesus



Angel



Pedro



Face to Face



Face Cleaning



Are you my Mama?



All in the Family

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Pedro

We just spent another 2 hours in the emergency room with Pedro. After church we took the kids to Pizza Hut, more for the playground than the pizza, and without realizing it we allowed Pedro to eat far too much. After he finished he headed to the playground, but could only sit there and his breathing was markedly labored. But the longer we watched the more labored his breathing became until finally it frightened us. I held him in my lap and he was almost hyperventilating and his heart was about to beat out of his chest, so we decided we better get him to the emergency room.

It was just a bad case of overeating, but we discovered that Pedro has asthma as well! So, we had to wait through to doses of atomized medicine for him, thus the long wait. He's fine now, but we have to continue the atomizer at home every 6 hours...I don't know yet for how long that's going to be. It's 10:45 p.m. here now and that is almost two hours later than anyone in the house is ever awake. On top of that Mauricio & Cesar have their first Karate competition tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.

I hate to mention costs, but...........I didn't have enough money to cover Pedro's hospital bill and they hold your drivers license until you pay, so I had to use a credit card. It will be the same tomorrow morning for all the meds...the credit card again. It is difficult for me to cry about money, but we desperately need you to share this opportunity with ALL your friends. Please ask everyone you know to give to the Widow's Mite...these children need our help and unfortunately it takes money to raise them...please pray about how you can share this with others and thanks to each one of you who have been so faithful. God has truly blessed us by surrounding us with so many who give so much...that's what makes it difficult to ask for more, but we must.

Truck AC

Cancel that proclamation that "we have air"! We received a Honduran fix and we HAD air for one day...now nothing! And oh by the way, it's hot!

The college kids never showed today either...guess Satan thinks he's having a big day; but we're not intimidated by him or his antics!

Big Day Today

We're finished with breakfast and our Bible Study, the kids are bathed and dressed, Mauricio & Gershon have thoroughly cleaned the two downstairs rooms, we've introduced Chaquita (our one month old kitten) to Princess (our 8 year old dog) and the good news is Princess didn't eat her. Looks like they will be fine together. Maybe the kids can learn a lesson from them! Now we're waiting on a group of young college students from the Catholic Univ. who have been coming once a month to spend time with the children. They're a great group and the kids love them, so it will be a good time.

Princess is still the Monkey Guard Supreme! I wish you could've seen her chasing the monkey back and forth across the back yard this morning. She can't catch the monkey and the monkey knows it, so it becomes a game. Pretty funny.

Later today they have an ecology class here in Campisa where they will expose the kids to the "Animals of Campisa" which are varied and interesting. Then tonight we have our church service.

In between we have to run to Pricemart for our essentials. Busy day; but good day!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Lots happening today

This morning we took all the kids to tour a bakery. The bakery is owned by one of our teacher's father and it is a big and impressive operation. I think the best the thing the kids got to see was the guys laboring in the intense heat...and when I told them they worked from 5 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon they thought they might not like that job. We told them that's why it's necessary to study hard now, so they don't end up in a bakery! We did get more than enough free cookies and cakes to keep my girth from losing any inches...that's not a good thing is it?

This afternoon we picked up Princess from the vet...she's been there for 5 days recuperating after having been spayed...the kids, and Princess, were eager to see each other. Now we have to introduce Princess, who chases everything she sees, to Chaquita, our one month old kitten. And yes the monkey was in the house on three occasions and the rabbits just dropped by for a short chitchat. The 'Zoo' goes on!

Now it's time to drop Gershon at football practice, drop Mauricio & Cesar at Karate practice, pickup Gershon and return to the house, then go back after Mauricio & Cesar...then back to the house.

Oh, by the way in between all this we had school and lunch.....just a nice quiet day???

Thursday, August 27, 2009

We have air!

Good news! The air conditioner in the truck is fixed and it came in UNDER the estimate...the final was a little over $400. Thank you, Jesus!

Tough day with the children today...it just seemed that all day long someone was in trouble or causing trouble and it finally got to me at the end of the day. I hate days like this when the enemy wins and I lose control...it's a terrible way to go to bed knowing that I was more harsh than necessary. But, I also know the Lord will give me the opportunity to love on them tomorrow and we will all move forward...never as quickly as I would like, but forward nonetheless.

Tomorrow we're taking all the kids on a field trip to a bakery...should be great fun and maybe some pastries as well!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Father Vincente

For those of you who've been hoping that somehow the Honduran government would put an end to Father Vincente's mistreatment of children here is some good news...

Fiscaglia has issued arrest warrants for Father Vincente and Virginia(the prior caregiver) pertaining to the death of the younger brother of Fabiola, Mauricio, & Angel; William. William was 2 years old and died mysteriously, but it has now been determined that he was beaten to death and the Justice Dept. is holding these two responsible. The paper today says that as soon as they are located they will be arrested. So although this appears to put to rest this time of overt maltreatment of children there is still one issue to resolve...we need to pray for the souls of Father Vincente and Virginia that through this ordeal they are about to enter into their hearts will soften toward the Lord, they will confess, repent, and seek forgiveness. The real victory will be when they have secured their place in heaven!

The timing of this announcement is ironic. We just did a Bible Study on the sermon on the mount with the children and while explaining the part about praying for your enemies we asked the children if they could pray for Father Vincente; and they were appalled. We did, as best we could, explain that praying for their salvation did not mean absolving them from their deeds. And now this comes out in the paper. We will not share this with children.

Not what we needed

The compressor for the air conditioner on our truck just quit and in this heat it's a 'luxury' that's sorely needed. The first estimate is $600 and although by U.S. standards that's a great price, it's still $600 we didn't plan on spending.

With a team arriving on the 5th of Sept. we've had to privately contract a taxi for that week and what a week it will be...4 trips a day to the boys school (up and back in the morning and again at noon), 4 trips on Mon. Wed. & Fri. to soccer practice, 4 trips on Mon, Wed, & Fri. to karate practice, two trips a day to take the cook home, plus any trips Joyce will need to make to the stores that week. Can't wait to see this estimate. When you start to ask someone else to do what you've been doing, it suddenly gets very expensive. Can you see the need for another vehicle in this?

Big Day Yesterday

Yesterday was filled from top to bottom....in the morning we met a new friend from CA. who arrived at the airport around noon. He heard about us from the family that bought our dinners one night at Wendy's (a Honduran who was impressed with the children and what we were doing for them)...they are all involved in Rotary and God made the connections between each of us. Our new friend began to read our blog and God touched his heart and he decided to come see for himself and to investigate whether or not he would, or could, assist us financially in this work. Please pray God continues to work on his heart

After discussing the children and their needs over lunch we brought Kerry (our new friend) to the house to meet and visit with the children. They all had a great time...Kerry & the kids! We decided to take the kids to the tree house to play for a while and the monkeys were there, so Kerry got his picture taken with a monkey on his head. However, with all the kids wanting to make an impression on the 'new gringo' they began to reach for and grab at the monkey and he became frightened. In an attempt to escape all the hands he jumped on Mauricio and began to bite him...nothing serious, but it did frighten him and he had to get a tetanus shot. The monkey drew blood on his arm, his back, and "his nagla" ...you should be able to guess where that's located!!! I told him he was the first person I ever knew who gotten bitten on the "nagla" by a monkey! So, it was off to the emergency room for a tetanus shot.

Then while taking Kerry to his hotel the police decided we should make another $25 contribution to their 'benevolent' fund! Don't complain about solicitation calls in the U.S....here they don't call and ask...they just pull you over and demand!

On a more serious note, please pray for Antonio...he has wet the bed everyday for the last three weeks. If anyone has contact with a child psychologist or pediatrician who could give us some help please don't hesitate to send your suggestions.




Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Early Morning Visitors

At 6:15 a.m. we had the rabbit come in the kitchen door and wait patiently for Joyce to give it a carrot, then at 6:25 a.m. the monkey pushed aside the curtain at the back door and 'moseyed' in for a little chitchat...Joyce took him by the hand, said a few soft words, and led him back outside.

Right now our dog is at the Vet's being spayed, and we now have a month old kitten that Joyce scooped up from the streets of the city. Do you get the sense that I'm losing control and that Joyce and Kids have taken over? The kids are thrilled with their new pets and they were actually recommended by the social worker...so, we're just following orders.

Monday, August 24, 2009

School & heat buster

Today Joyce and I found another Christian 'oriented' bilingual school and spoke at length with the administrators. The were aghast at the problems our children are facing and were'nt immediately sure they could adequately address their needs. They did however, agree to discuss the situation and to evaluate the children scholastically in Spanish so we can see exactly how much ground we need to make up before we can get them to grade level. Once we have the stats we can set some attainable goals and present them to our teachers which should help expedite their recovery. That's our plan anyhow.

To break the heat today we 'broke' out the hose, swimming suits, and washed the F350...it's big enough it took a long time to get done and gave me amble time to soak everyone with the hose. Afterward they all got on bicycles or wagons and rode by while I turned the hose on them. Fun time.

P.S. Gershon escaped any trouble with his coach over Saturday's miscommunication....the game was at 8:30, not 8:00...seems we were just too early!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Misinformation....Shopping



Soccer Star!

We got everybody up early today, dressed, fed, prayer time, and headed out to Gershon's first Saturday football (soccer) game. The game time was 8:00 a.m. so it was no small feat to get everyone ready and on our way. However, when we arrived at the field there was no one there except for us and Gershon all dressed in his uniform. He has no idea what the problem is, but obviously he heard the time, or the field, or day incorrectly and we don't have any way of finding out until the next practice on Monday.

I felt badly for Gershon, but maybe this will cause him to pay better attention.


Joyce is off with our new teacher looking for shorts for the little guys which means it's me and all the youngins'! How many times do you reckon I've heard, "Bob, Bob........" in the past two hours?

Friday, August 21, 2009

New Monkey Guard & One of the Boys

We are blessed to have a new 'monkey guard'...Princess. Whenever she sees the monkeys she chases them furiously and it's hilarious to watch. You need to know that Princess is about 10 lbs and the monkeys must be 35 or 40 lbs, but Princess does the chasing! Yesterday I was sitting on the steps with Princess when a monkey snuck up beside Princess and put his hand on her. It startled her and she snapped her head up and growled at the monkey. He jumped back and stood upright waving his arms and chattering as if to frighten Princess, but that backfired...it served to make Princess angry and she went after the monkey, and the monkey fled for the trees.

But the monkeys don't give up easily...they know the can get away from her, so they tease her. They come close enough to her to make her mad enough to chase them and then the climb the nearest thing just enough to get out of her reach. It is a riotous game of animal tag!

I've been taking the boys to get their hair cut the past two days...with 7 boys you don't take them all at once. The 'barberia' is something to behold...small, dirty, hot, and extremely crowded. On top of that it takes forever for even the simplest haircut. So, while I wait for the boys the locals and I 'shoot the breeze'...can't you just imagine that? I'm there enough that they don't even look to see who the Gringo is anymore...I'm just 'one of the boys'!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

A Bad Apple Uncovered!

We live in a great gated community that is guarded 24 hours a day by a reputable security company. Our house is located one house away from the back gate so we see the guards all day everyday and are friends with almost all of them. Today I found out one of them wasn't our friend.

Upon returning from shopping for new shoes for our three youngest boys our new teacher met us at the door visibly upset. She said the guard had made some remarks to her that carried sexual overtones and she also said he had done the same thing with our new cook. She also stated that he had asked for her cell phone number and asked the name of a young girl down the street. All of that is more than we can accept or allow, but what comes next is what set us off...........

The teacher told us that the guard had been blowing kisses at Fabiola, asking her name, and leering at her for a week now. Fabiola was afraid to tell us, but fortunately she told the teacher. By the grace of God the guard was not at his station when I stormed across the street...my intent was not to discuss anything with him. By the time he returned God had sufficiently worked on me to where I was able to cross the street and threaten him in a more civil way.

I did report him to the owners of the compound and will monitor him closely to see what happens. I did make it clear to him that this was not a matter for discussion whether it was a misunderstanding or intentional; either way he was storing up trouble and he needed to know it.

This world is in a sad state of affairs and it's impossible to escape it. This guy's perversion is just symbolic of the evil that is overtaking our everyday lives. As Christians we better soon say, "Enough" It's time to stop the Obama's, the crooked elected officials, the white collar criminals, the drug runners, and the perverted guards of this world. We are allowing our children and grandchildren to slide into the wrath of God by our silence!

Punk Rockers, Nerds, or............?


Early morning

7:30 a.m. and: 10 kids are fed, dishes are done, table and floor cleaned, kitchen cleaned, two are off to school, the dog is walked, and the monkeys are here for breakfast! Bible Study next.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Photographic Evidence I'm Losing Control!


Angel has a new 'girl'!



The dog has a pillow? You've got to be kidding? Seriously, a pillow?




Animal Report

By now I've resigned myself to fact that 'Princess' is now a member of our house. I've given in to the fact that we now have a 'bed' inside the door and dog food and water sitting right there.
I've also resigned myself to fact that the kids and monkeys are great buddies, and even that Joyce has joined right in with them in cuddling the monkeys. BUT when the monkey sits in Joyce's lap and she "Files his fingernails" it's time for me to bale out! Where is Sigmond Frued when I need him?

Another 'dose' of Honduras

The school for the small boys told us we needed their vacination records before beginning school. Now, you have to know that we don't have any idea where any of these children lived, some of them we don't know who their parents are or were, and as for vacination records........well, you can guess the answer. We were told there was a central office that had all the records and that we could just go there and get a copy. Sounds easy enough....we finally found the office, but when we approached the gates were chained shut. We asked to enter to get the records and the men told us no! When we asked why they responded, "Because we support Mel!" Can you believe the insanity of some of these things?

Monday, August 17, 2009

School, Soccer, Karate, & Princess

Well, we took the leap of faith and enrolled the youngest three boys in a Christian bilingual school today. Now all we have to do is pay for it. The monthly fees are $430 which is pretty reasonable, but the upfront costs for books, matriculation, insurance, sports programs, etc. was $1600, which I wasn't expecting. We have every expectation that the children will excell in this program.

Gershon scored his first goal tonight on a 'header'. I told him it was about time he started using his head!

Mauricio and Cesar were in hand -to-hand combat with each other in karate tonight, complete with gloves and kicking boots. They both fought hard and came away smiling.

Princess stayed the night, but hid most of the day to stay away from 20 little hands all reaching for her at once. Imagine a dog thinking she could find peace in this house!

Start of the day

It's 8:15 a.m. and all 10 kids are dressed, two are off to school, 9 are fed (Fabiola thinks if she leaves Princess' side she will surely die), Bible Study is completed, dishes are washed, laundry is in, e-mails are answered, and now the day begins!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Stray or Not?



Our "stray" has made it into the house! I suppose next a name change is in order!























It looks like the name will be "Princess".

Stress Test

Just finished clipping 70 fingers (the boys, I'm not allowed near the girls) none of which was cooperative in holding still, and all were positive it would hurt terribly. To their surprise no ambulance was needed!

How many times do you think you say, "Hold still, don't move" when clipping 70 little fingers?

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Pretty normal day

Nothing wild to report today...monkey visit in the morning (Joyce is upset because he doesn't throw his banana peel in the basket), they put a collar on the 'stray' dog...but he's not in the house yet! Got a new seat for the little guys bike, they snapped the seat off...can you imagine?

Church tonight, we go to a Spanish church because the kids love the youth dept. and they meet on Sat. nights. Then we went to Wendys for a Frosty Jr. (20 limps) but when we were ready to leave a torrential downpour hit...imagine being trapped in a Wendy's with a two story indoor playground with our 10 and a passle of others...just a bit of noise!

It's 8:50 p.m. and I can't wait to get the kids in bed so I can go.

Friday, August 14, 2009

More Fabiola

Fabiola just came to me and said, "Bob, today I was just a little bit sad." I said, "Why?" And she answered, "Because I've never had a party just for me before!"

Imagine the power of just one simple birthday party.

Happy Birthday Fabiola



Pedro's picture tells the story of the fun we had at Fabiola's birthday party! We got a great deal (350 lempiras for all 10 kids...$18 U.S.) so we took them to a water park for the day. Tonight Joyce and I are dead tired, sun burned, and look like a pair of prunes; but the children had a great time. It was a complete surprise to them and they loved it.









Daughter (with mother's help) cutting the cake.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Good News for Pedro

At his appointment this morning Pedro received some good news. His handicap problem (leg & arm) is a result of a severe trauma shortly after birth causing a disconnect in his brain for his involuntary motor system. (if you look at Pedro's forehead you can see two very severe scars across the right side of his forehead, evidently caused by blunt force trauma) The doctor said it is a fairly common condition and one that can be improved upon. With two incisions on his heal tendon Pedro's foot will fall to reach the floor like it should...it will never be normal, but it will less abnormal is how the doctor explained it. It will definitely help Pedro in his everyday walking. We're hoping to get him scheduled in about one month. Thank you, Jesus for this connection and in faith thank you for helping to improve Pedro's ability to move around!

There's a stray dog in the area and Joyce and the kids are all badgering me to allow them to keep it! Just what I was thinking about...one more mouth to feed & one more butt to watch!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A Good Day All Around

Today our new teacher came for her first day and she was a great hit with the kids, and with us! She is creative and knows how to teach...the kids really did well with her today and she won them over almost immediately.

We also have a new part-time cleaning lady and she is nothing short of amazing...she cleans places I never knew existed!

I helped a friend deliver some clothes to a feeding center in El Progresso and along the way he introduced us to the administrators of a new orthopedic clinic for children...I had Pedro with me (he has a short leg, or a damaged foot) and they gave us an appointment for 6:30 a.m. tomorrow. It's a great clinic, brand new, Christian and American doctor staffed; and it's free! Pedro is nearly rash free; maybe now he have both his feet to help him walk.

Gershon got to enjoy his first soccer practice and to his glee they had a game today and he got to play. He chose to play goalie and had two stops.

Mauricio & Cesar continue to hone their skills on the karate mats.

All of that meant many trips back and forth, but it's all worth to see the kids begin to blossom. The school work today was just outstanding...pray this is not just a splash in the pan, but the beginning of a real breakthrough for them.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Carla

Thank you for your prayers. This morning we explained the departure of Carla and the arrival of new personnel and the need to accept change and to give respect to the new personnel. It went extremely well, and it was doubtless because of your prayers,

Thank you,
Bob & Joyce

Monday, August 10, 2009

Some Worries

I may have spoken a little quickly earlier...it seems that Fabiola is having second thoughts about Carla's departure and has stated she doesn't want anybody else to come in. Of course, somebody else is coming in, but it's pretty easy to see now that there will be some battles to be fought.

Please don't stop praying for this situation.

Day One on our own

Today was the first day of a normal week when we didn't have Carla here to help. Of course, we never had her on the weekends, but somehow it feels like on Monday you just have to have help. This morning we told Fabiola by herself and she handled Carla's firing much better than we could've hoped for ...you all are mighty prayers! She asked us not to tell the rest just yet, so we didn't....and no one even mentioned Carla's absence. Tomorrow, we will tell everyone so there is no deceit involved.

Tonight's meal of spaghetti consumed 2 lbs. of spaghetti, 4 lbs. of suace, 4 lbs. of hamburger, and 24 rolls......just a normal meal!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Trip into the Mountains





We just got back from a great experience. We loaded the children into the truck and headed out to Parque Cusuco, National Park here outside San Pedro Sula. It is a climb into the rain forest and takes you to about 5000 feet. It was a tough road and sometimes it was a little hairy(Joyce mentioned once or twice she wasn't enjoying it all that much), but it was beautiful. Once there we had intended to head to a waterfall for swimming, but were told the hike was too difficult for the children, so we had a picnic lunch and headed back. A long day, but a good one.

Pray for the children tomorrow morning as we will be telling them that Carla will not return. It will be tough for them.

New Monkey Report

This morning, so far, our monkey hasn't been successful in his attempts to steal our food, however..
  • When he tried to open the kitchen window and found it locked it angered him so he threw the three containers of detergent, Joyce had stacked behind the washer, onto the ground.
  • That didn't elicit much response so he stole the rubber gloves Joyce had hanging on the clothes line...I was able to retrieve them
  • Not satisfied he decided to try to open the sliding glass door in the back...the door is heavy and doesn't slide easily so he puts one foot on the wall, grabs the door with his hand and pushes...and he can open the door.
  • Still unhappy he worked his way around the other side of the house and snuck in the side door of the kitchen (open because of the heat), but the kids saw him and cried out to us. Joyce rushed into the kitchen in time to stop him from stealing food, but not before he 'pooped' on the floor! I think he was saying, "Aw, sh....."
  • Pedro just kissed the monkey through the back door...between Pedro 'prints' and monkey 'prints' you can hardly see out the door.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Prayer Needs

Please pray for the children, Carla, & Joyce and myself. I just terminated Carla and it will be very difficult for her (she loves the children and it will be hard for her to find another job), the children (they love her very much), and for Joyce and I since we will have no help now...it's just her, myself, and the 10 children. There was supposed to be an ad in the paper yesterday and we expected to interview on Monday, but the ad hasn't gotten into the paper yet and who knows when it will.

I told Carla that if we all (she, the children, & Joyce and I) pray for each other we will get through this and be stronger on the other side. I believe that with all my heart, but I also know there will be plenty of rough road ahead before it smooths out again. And so, we simply ask for your prayers!

School

Joyce & I spoke with a Christian bilingual school for the three little boys. They will accept them even though they aren't bilingual because they're so young. The cost is $430/month for the three of them and so we've been praying and asking our Board to pray with us about how we might cover the costs. We've had one individual step up and sponsor 1-1/2 of the children for the first month; if we get some others to sponsor the remaining $215 we will enroll the children and believe God is going to provide for the on-going months.

We believe this first gift is a seed offering from God telling us, or giving us a sign that if we get the remaining $215 He will increase the gift to cover all costs. Please pray about this incredible opportunity for Angel, Jesus, & Pedro (do you think those names are conincidences?) Angel, Jesus, & Pedro is the Spanish name for Peter!

Prunes!

Just finished the breakfast dishes and when I look at my hands I realize I 've washed enough dishes in the past two and one half months to make prunes look like they have tight skin!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Antonio & Cesar




Cesar and his fiercest karate look,



























& Antonio and his brightest smile!

Blessings


In case anyone thought the purchase of air conditioning was frivolous we wish you could see Pedro in person. His skin rash, which had his face turned a bright red, is almost gone after only three days! This was a terrible rash that caused him to itch to the point where he would dig and dig at his skin and now he is almost completely free of it for the first time in his life. Thank you, Jesus!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

A New Dawn

It's a great morning here in Honduras....overcast so it's unusally cool and refreshing this morning. With air conditioning now in the girls and small boys rooms they don't get up before dawn and we've actually had some time to read in peace and just relax a bit! I just spent about 10 minutes outside watching the monkeys play in the trees...they really are amazing creatures and seem to be all about fun! They chase each other across the treetops and it's a 'hoot' to watch them.

Thank you God for clouds. It's 7:10 a.m. and still very, very pleasant...it almost feels as if we're on vacation! Cesar & Antonio are off to school, Gershon has eaten breakfast and is studying his homework, and the rest............are still in bed..........thank you, Jesus for air conditioning!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Monkey Business




The Girls

There's power in those women!

New Laundry Lady
















It broke my heart to see Joyce laboring over the laundry daily, so I made a decision and got her some help. Now she will have some extra time to just relax.

First the new laundry lady tried sorting the clothes by smell instead of color, then she just threw them into the air and separated by what she did or did not catch, and finally she just quit!

It's very tough to get good help here!






Monday, August 3, 2009

Girls Day Out

Joyce took Fabiola, Rosa, & Karen shopping today for pants, shoes, & blouse...and I was lucky enough to drive them. Do you have any idea how long it took to purchase 9 items? We went to center city (old city) where the streets are barely as wide as our truck, people park everywhere, and there are hordes of people...sound like fun men?

There is shop after shop and there is some demonic action that takes place causing females to believe it is akin to dating the Anti-Christ if they miss one store. Not to worry, we didn't miss any!

Making headway on the air conditioning installation...now the girls and the little boys have air in their rooms. Hopefully tomorrow we will have it in the downstairs of the house and we pray by the end of the week the bigger boys will have it in their room. Thank you, Jesus!!!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Gershon & Mauricio

Please pray for Gershon & Mauricio to 'get it'. Everytime, everytime they are together they get into trouble. They had been suspended for a week from bicycle privleges and the first morning they lost them for another week. Then they lost the opportunity to join soccer and karate training, and now today they are in their rooms again....all for stupid things. It seems as if they can't keep themselves from disobeying, especially when they are together...and it's almost impossible to keep them separate. When you ask why they do these things, they just clam up and won't answer.
They need your prayers.

9:05 A.M. update

The monkey just stole a pack of garlic rolls off the kitchen table...Joyce is in hot pursuit and not happy with her buddy!

9:08 A.M. Joyce is back empty-handed and "doesn't want to talk about it." Guess the 'ole girl' isn't as fast as she thinks she is!

Child # 11

Again this morning we had our visitor for our morning Bible Study. Our monkey is cute and he sits and looks like he's really enjoying the whole deal; but, of course, it's all just a ploy to lull us to sleep. The funny thing is Joyce said she was happy when we didn't see them for three days, but now that's he back they are like long lost bosom buddies. Yesterday he perched on her head and sifted through her hair for fleas (gratefully he came up empty) and today she and the monkey were having a little one on one out back. The monkey was sitting on the wall and Joyce was bent over so they were nose to nose and as she spoke she scratched his chin...does that sound like someone who was glad they were gone?

A little later he took the lid off the garbage can and dove in head first...Joyce had thrown an empty KoolAid container in there and when our monkey came up he had a new RED FACE! He really is cute...he was sitting just outside our sliding glass door in the back and I told Pedro he was the "monkey guard". A little later I looked over there was Pedro lying on his stomach nose to nose with the monkey! Somehow I think they probably spoke the same language!

All this and it's only 7:58 a.m.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Bible Study Participant

Joyce & I were doing our Bible Study at 5:30 this morning when I heard a little chatter behind me. One foot from me and three feet inside the sliding glass door was our monkey friend, calmly sitting on the floor looking up at me as if he were listening intently. Guess you can't get upset if he wants to hear the Word!

Joyce needed to get away for a bit so she worked up the courage to take our F-350 duel wheel truck into the city to get Angel a haircut. If you've never driven something that big in third world traffic you can't understand what it entails. Traffic laws only semi-exist and everybody tries to cut you off; combine that with a truck that size that she hasn't driven and you know how badly she needed a change of scenery.

Karen was outside riding her bike and just came running in the front door screaming...seems the monkey wanted to ride also! Have to work on Karen sharing more.

Joyce just made it back! I hope she doesn't think she needs "a little pinch between her cheek and gums" now that she drives the BIG TRUCK!