Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Will's Update (M.I.A)

Will here, I just entered the 7th hour of my 11hr layover so guess what I'm doing? Enjoying the free Wi-fi and the air conditioned facility!!! Actually, those are the only things I'm enjoying right now whereas for Bob, he has to drive up to San Luis De Santa Barbara all by his lonesome and work in the 95 degree heat. Originally, I was supposed to get into Atlanta around 9:40 A.M. BUT, plans were changed. So now I'm here until 4 p.m. and I will not arrive in Hotlanta until 6 p.m. Soooo....I can honestly tell you that my eyeballs, right now, feel like they want to go on strike. Also, I never thought in my entire life that I would hear so many different languages in one day! Thus far I have heard French, German, Russian, Spanish (which is good) and VERY LITTLE ENGLISH.

Anyway, in the time that I have been here....I still have that "alien" feeling that stuck with me the last two years I was in the states. My legal home no longer feels like home. I feel like a stranger in my own country. One of the few times that I have heard English today, I was listening in and watching two young men my age converse. It was weird, even though I was of the same nationality...I felt like a Honduran listening to two Americans (if that makes any sense to you guys). I'm curious to see how I feel throughout the rest of the week!

Pa-ka!...au revoir...Auf Wiedersehen....Luego....bye!

Ola de calor.......

HEAT WAVE! That's what the paper says, and it's true. With temperatures reaching 104% or above it is brutal. At 7 in the morning you're reaching for the air conditioning control....the house has to stay closed all day because the heat outside rushes in any opening like it's coming out of a kiln.

What a great time to be drilling wells...not true!

Will is back in the states for 9 more days...fulfilling his need to leave the country every 3 months in order to get a new Visa. Certainly he will be thrilled to see some family, friends, and supporters after 3 months away from home. You, in the states, can enjoy him; but we insist you send him back.

Monday, March 28, 2011

A Special Sunday for Will.

Yesterday Alba, a beautiful and godly woman I have met in my church here in Honduras (this is Will posting...not Bob....don't worry), invited me to her church's Sunday night service and I was blown away! I could not believe how big this place was! Until Sunday night, the biggest church I attended was one that had close to 200 people. This church was MASSIVE. Overall, Sunday night's service was amazing and so was the time spent after. I enjoyed every minute of it. Here are some pics and a video of the service.






Saturday, March 26, 2011

A Rough Life...

For the majority of the people here in Honduras, life is very demanding and very rough. Would you like to see pics of the one that has it the toughest!? I do not know how this guy can bear the load that life has given him!

"Thought too hard
"
"Walked too much"

"Worked too hard"
"Close up of the hard worker"

"Kiddie control was rough"

Friday, March 25, 2011

The Payout...


Fabi, Rosa, & Mauricio are all flashing the smiles of taking 20 limperas each from the óld guy! Each of them came home with 100% on a test this week and earned a 20 Limpera bill!

A Huge Blessing And A Hard Day Of Work!

Earlier this week, Antonio Galdamez gave us a 6" rock bit for free! Do you know how much that bit would have typically gone for in the states? $2,500!!! Antonio Galdamez has been a huge blessing ever since Bob and Joyce came to know him. He is a really great guy and whenever the rig needs maintenance or a place to sit until we can go to the next drill site, he has constantly been a big help. God has blessed us by putting this man into our lives.

In terms of the bit, this thing is a complete BEAST! It's as if Chuck Norris took a blender and breathed on it! I'll take some pics of the bit and post them later.

Yesterday, Bob and I headed back to San Luis De Santa Barbara to try and ream out the 125 ft or so of rock that we have fought with at the site and we had quite a fight too! We got to play with our new toy and the durability of the rock was insane. It took us an hour and 20 minutes to get through the first 5 ft of the rock. The layer was really hard and eventually the rock submitted to the might of the beastly bit and we were under way! At the end of the day, we had to remove the swivel to take it back to Galdamez's shop in order to have the graphite seal repacked. We are returning this morning after we pick up the swivel from the shop.

Also, I got to "man the controls"! I was surprised with the sensitivity of the controls and with how difficult it was! You literally have to listen, watch, and feel, and focus for everything! Especially with what we were drilling through. Bob told me that what we were drilling through yesterday was as difficult as it got. That made me feel good. What better way to learn then by drilling during the toughest scenario? I'm beginning to like drilling more and more. Especially, after seeing how God uses the drilling as a tool to prepare hearts for His Gospel!

Luego!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Will's Update

It has been a great and busy week! We had a team this week consisting of two good friends of mine named Tim Belcher and Katie Goins. For me and the rest of the family it was a blast having them down. Sometimes, it was like being back home for us. The first day they were down, I dropped them off at the hotel that night and ended up staying for 2 hours just talking to them about my life as a missionary.The conversation consisted of a little bit of everything...from the joy and peace that lies in my heart, the frustrations, the lessons that I am learning through those frustrations, and to the changes that God has made in the lives of the children.

So what happened this week? Here are some details:

Drilling:

In La Funez we completed the well and guess what? 3 other souls became a part of the body of Christ!!! For me it was an awesome experience. These people saw us working hard for them and God used that as a medium by which he softened their hearts to receive His gospel. I can not describe to you guys how great it feels to see the countenance on a person's face completely change once they are saved. Those villagers will forever be ingrained in my memory and I can not wait to see them again....either on this earth or with our King!

After La Funez we took the rig back up to San Luis De Santa Barbara and tried to ream out the hole but had no luck with the drag bit due to the rock (120 ft of the hole consists orsolid rock). The problem is that the rock bit we have is a 4 inch bit where as the drag bit is 6 inches. The drag bit is meant to go through soils whereas the rock bit goes through.....well....rock. Since we could not ream out the hole we had to return back to the city. Some great news though! Antonio Galdamez (the guy who owns the shop that repairs the rig and helps with the maintenance of the rig after every well) has been searching for a 6 inch rock bit for wellspring and he found one just last week! Turns out, he wants to give us the bit!!!! The bit is a solid $2500 (American)!!! Is God not awesome!!??

Tim and Katie:

For me it was great. It was like a piece of home that came home....if that makes any sense to you guys. I loved every minute of it. One day, Tim and I were going to a small store to grab some ketchup for the kids and we both thought about the fact that we never imagined we would be riding through a foreign country together just to grab a bottle of ketchup. God sure is good about blowing our minds is he not!? During the week Tim built a homemade basketball goal and it turned out great (I would have preferred Florida Gator colors instead of UT's)! The kids are really enjoying it especially Mauricio and Antonio. We all had our first family pickup game the day before Tim and katie left and it was a blast!

Myself:
This week thoughts went through my head that I never really had before. I thought of how much life changes, of how God works and a few other things. I am so thankful......so thankful. God saw something in me that I never saw in myself. He chose me to be here with these kids. I still don't see why, but I know that He did. I never thought that at the age of 24, I would give up everything that I held dear to come serve Him and to raise 7 children. It is definitely an experience.....an experience I never want to lose. These children, Bob and Joyce are now my life......they are my life now because He engraved them in my heart. It wasn't my choice....it was His.....His, before time began. Admittedly, these are just thoughts going through my head, but thoughts that I feel he wants me to put into this update. I don't know why....I'm just typing.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please spread the word...I still need help with funds.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Let the games begin...


The kids are now enjoying a great new basketball hoop constructed by Tim Belcher this week. We've already had a rousing game rivaling any of the NCAA tournament games!
Unfortunately Tim knows no limits when we say, "let the games begin"

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

"...shining ever brighter, like the noon-day sun..."

Today we're singing the praises of our Lord for His blessings: we were able to complete the well in the village of La Funez, but more importantly we leave having received 5 new brothers & sisters in the Lord!

What started a week ago w/the Wullimans finished today with Tim & Katie. As of today there is living water in La Funez and the seeds of a new church have been planted there as well.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Taking a Shortcut!

Last week the Wullimans, Bob and I were on our way back from drilling in La Funez (Choloma) and were stuck in a horrible traffic jam on Boulevard Del Norte. Turns out that a gang set up an attack at a police checkpoint located along the highway and murdered two cops which shut down the entire highway. Fortunately, we were near the turn off that leads to Campisa (where Bob, Joyce, and the kids were previously located) so Bob decided to take a short cut. What was this shortcut? Why...driving over a median and going up the wrong lane of the highway. Luckily I took a video of the event so have a few laughs! As you are watching this keep in mind that we are in a Ford F-350 dual wheel. So it is big and loud......especially the horn ;)


Friday, March 11, 2011

For Joyce's Mom

Joyce recently talked to her daughter and mother via Skype and she informed her mother of all the gardening she has been working on as a hobby. Joyce's mother is very knowledgeable of gardening and is actually the one that taught Joyce ALOT about it when she was younger. We took a video of Joyce's handiwork so her mother could see all of the nice looking flowers we now have! Here you go ma'am!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Family Picture

Front Row: Bob, Joyce, & Will
2nd Row: Pedro, Cesar, & Angel
3rd Row: Antonio, Fabiola, Mauricio, & Rosa

Senor Jalapeno!!!

When any short term mission teams are in, they are usually treated to a meal at a restaurant in the area named "Larson's". When Bob started to take teams from our home church (FBC Tellico) in Tellico Plains, a tradition was started! What is this tradition you ask? Let me explain:

When a mission team comes down, each individual has to eat a fresh and uncooked Jalapeno pepper! If you are on a return trip, you have the option of not taking part. Bob thinks the whole "tradition" is ridiculous, but he never does seem to stop laughing whenever someone takes a bite (especially a BIG one) out of the pepper. I took part in it twice and have seen quite a few people eat one as well. I will admit to all of you.....I like watching more than I do taking part in it. :)

When the Wullimans came down last week, Jeff (the son) gladly took part in the tradition and became the latest victim of "Senor Jalapeno"!!! I will however say this, he ate the ENTIRE jalapeno with one bite and he is the only individual I have seen do that. I have yet to coerce Bob into participating......all of you may have to pray really hard if you want that to happen. Many have tried pressuring him into it but none have succeeded! :(

Here is Jeff's experience:

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Some More Catching Up!

Hey every one! It has been a LONG and busy week!

On the 26th we had a father/son team come in from Denver. They found us via wellspring's website (wellspringoflife.org) and decided they wanted to come drill a well. Turns out that the father is a civil engineer and his son is actually almost finished with school trying to obtain a degree in civil engineering as well. Their names were Jim and Jeff Wulliman and they were a blast to get to know and were great to drill with. They were both a breath of fresh air to Bob, Joyce, and I as well as the children. It was great getting to know them.

It was even greater to see how the children interacted with them as well. They were laughing, smiling, clinging, etc.....things they would not do the first time I met them. It was just so amazing to see how Christ has changed their lives and what's more amazing is that He has blessed me with the opportunity to not only witness the change in these children but, to be a part of the process. Because of you who help by supporting me on a monthly basis I get to be a major part of the lives of these children, to be a light here in Honduras, to give people who are in need the gift of potable water, and most importantly....to see Christ change the lives of others by witnessing individuals accepting the gift of the cross which I will touch on a bit later.

As far as the drilling goes, it was a week of highs and lows. It is pretty cool to know that I have seen my first well successfully drilled! We drilled 175-180 ft and all that is left is the placing of the casing for the well. You should have seen the thickness of the clay we were drilling through! It literally was like glue! I've NEVER seen anything as thick as this stuff was! Pretty cool though! At the end of every day, the four of us were extremely tired after all of the work! It was rewarding however, to witness the things that we did that week. I believe it is a week that God will use to forever change the live's of the Wullimans!

Earlier I mentioned that I have the great privilege of being able to see individuals accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. Last week I saw two young men accept Him into their hearts. It was so great! One in particular had a physical change from the very moment he accepted Christ. His name was Marlo and he is 26 years old. From the minute that he asked Jesus into his heart, he smiled non-stop. His entire countenance for the next 2 days was completely changed.

You never saw him without a smile and you could literally see the joy in his heart emitting from him. He wanted to help us drill and at the end of the week we asked him to show us where he lived so that we could visit him every now and then. He showed us his house alright....when we stopped we were two houses past his home so he got out and brought me with him! With a large smile and a wave of an excited hand he had me run with him to his house. He wanted to introduce us to his mother! She was very excited to know that he had invited Christ into his life and he was very excited to introduce us to her. I have NEVER seen anyone so extremely excited about coming to know Jesus!

Unfortunately, Marlo is unable to read so the opportunity to provide him with a bible was unavailable but, he will begin to attend a local church. Due to school we did not see Edgar very much but he is Marlo's nephew. Please pray for these two young men and their growth!

Also, Please continue to pray for the people of Choloma. The next drill site is in the lowlands which means ALOT of water and mud!

Just some random thoughts:

1. When it comes to driving it seems like logic does not exist in this country. BUT IT'S FUN!!!

2. I can not believe how exhausted I am at 8:30 pm each night! I now know how my mother and father felt raising me! I wake up and shower at 5:30 and by 8:30...I am ready to tip over! I would have never thought I would be raising 7 kids at the age of 24! PARENTS!...I SALUTE YOU!

3. I am so excited about next week! My dear friends Tim and Katie are coming down on a short term trip and I am so Jacked! Tim, Bob, and I will be drilling while Katie aids Joyce with the 7 kids. Pray for their travels coming from and going to the states!

"Bob with Edgar and Marlo"

"Marlo and his mother"
"Jim, Jeff, Marlo's Mother, Marlo and I"
"The Wullimans"