Number 7 Widow's Mite

Preparations, Preparations, Preparations!

2012-01-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

This past week has been very busy for everybody! All this week the kids have tests in school and for them it has been non-stop work attacking the books. Some days have been long but overall...it has truly been rewarding to see how far these guys have come. Just 3 years ago they could not read, write, or anything but now (in varying degrees on an individual basis) they are all bilingual and can write and read in English as well! These kids have grown so much and a lot of it is because of you!

Please pray for them as they take their tests this week!

Dios los bendiga!

Sowing into their future and ours...

2012-01-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

Already we have received 1/4 of the $2800.00 we need to build the first home in Buen Esperanza! God is good and He is touching hearts to help us with the 'rebuilding' of this pueblo. Please continue to share this opportunity to sow into God's work by telling all your friends about the vision; and ask God again if He would have you become involved in this work with Him! Blessings to all...please join us!

Catch Up!

2012-01-12T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hola everyone! Will Here!

Everything is going swell here! For once we have had a week of sunshine! No rain! The kids have been pretty busy prepping for little tests they are having today. Earlier in the week, Mauricio and Fabiola had to make posters for presentations in class and they really did a great job too! The posters definitely looked a lot better than some of the ones I made when I was in high school a few years ago! Cesar continues to surprise us with the turnaround he has made since joining Good Seed and Rosa seems to really enjoy studying school work now, which is great to see! Who would've thought from the beginning that within 2 1/2 years all of the kids would enjoy school? Joyce is at full health from the little virus she had last week and Pedro's two front teeth have fallen out which gives him a pretty interesting smile too! Here is a pic!

"Definitely will make drinking through a straw much easier :)"

Family update...

2012-01-05T06:38:00.000-08:00

Christmas gifts are being used (some broken), the tree is down and put away, New Year's has come and past, and the kids are back in school, as of this morning (yeah from both the parents and the kids)! It's been cold and rainy here and being stuck in the house all day with PARENTS is just about more than the kids could handle. They are grateful for school returning to session. Ditto for the parents!!!

The children are all healthy at the moment and the adjustment to the braces for Fabiola and Mauricio has progressed nicely. Today Joyce is down with some type of virus or bug, but hopefully it will pass quickly. Will and I are combining our talents, or lack thereof, to play Mr. Mom.

Please remember to pray for our Buen Esperanza project and to share the opportunity with all your friends.

Grateful for your gifts and prayers,
Bob, Joyce, Will, and "The Coder Crew"

Buen Esperanza update...

2011-12-29T16:29:00.000-08:00

If you received our newsletter by e-mail you know about our new vision for Buen Esperanza; if not...we feel God has given us a vision to 'rebuild' a village where we've already done some work. It's an extremely poor village consisting of homes made out of sticks, mud, rocks, wood, and scrap pieces of tin...all with dirt floors. The villagers are great people and they and our entire family are great friends. We feel like God has challenged us to build each family a new home (approx. 15), build a church and disciple leaders for it, and a school which we will help to staff. We've networked with another ONG and it looks very promising that they will split the costs of the homes with us. That means we can build a cement floor, concrete block home with a bathroom, septic tank, jalousie windows, steel door and roof for $2800.00!!!

We put the request out in our latest newsletter for individuals, groups, and/or churches to make commitments to help us build these houses. Already we have a commitment for $250/month from one donor; now if we can just get 10 more to duplicate this we will be able to begin building immediately. With your help we can start our first house the first Saturday of the new year, Jan. 6! Please ask God how He would have you get involved with the rebuilding and discipling of Buen Esperanza (Good Hope)! Would He have you commit to a monthly gift, yearly, or a one-time gift to get the Buen Esperanza project kicked off?

Help us to change their lives by moving from this shack to the beautiful new home below!

Here's a great opportunity to get one more tax deduction for 2011!!!

It's time; let the excitement begin...

2011-12-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

Well, the presents are wrapped, a few are under the tree (the rest carefully hidden), the turkey is thawing, not a mouse is stirring (the kitten is keeping watch), and the kids are ready to explode! Explosions have been going on around here all this week and they are building to a climax tomorrow night. In Honduras they celebrate by opening their gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve and the fireworks are everywhere. I don't know how the second poorest country in this hemisphere gets them, but everybody...and I mean everybody (except us) has them. There will be no sleeping! It's fun to hear the middle kids debunk the theory of Santa Claus, while the younger kids stare in disbelief and the older kids try to make up a story to placate the younger ones. By the time they're done I'm not sure any of them knows what they really believe.

One of the kids teachers lives alone so they invited her to spend Christmas day with us...it's so neat because it was their idea. They have made cards for her and wrapped some small gifts we got for her and you can see the excitement in their eyes as they talk of her opening her gifts. Of course they can't wait to dig into their own gifts; but we believe they are really starting to "get it"!

We pray you all have a blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year....
Love from the Coders: Fabiola, Mauricio, Rosa, Cesar, Angel, Pedro, Joyce, Bob, & of course, Will

Think we have had enough rain?

2011-12-19T08:54:00.000-08:00

For the last week, all that has happened is rain, rain, and more rain. Here is a video that we took yesterday of how the rain has effected one of the routes that we take to drop the kids off at school:

Travels &"X Factor Honduras"...

2011-12-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

The "airport" and dirt runway! Oh, the pick-up is to take the luggage to the baggage carousel!

"Downtown" Puerto Limpera...I think John Wayne is coming round the corner!

Our choir at the mall.

Last week Will and I took an exploratory trip to Puerto Limpera (end of the earth) to survey a sight for a possible well to help an orphanage there. Puerto Limpera is the very Southeastern tip of Honduras on the Mosquitia Coast in the Department of Gracias a Dios and is accessible only by cargo boat or plane! Our trip consisted of a drive to La Ceiba and then a 1-1/2 hour flight over the jungle to our destination. It's like stepping back in time and was a neat experience...and I think we'll be able to help them in the near future.

Last night we were treated to a great performance by the Good Seed Choir! They were the third act in a three act performance at our neighborhood mall... and they blew everyone else out of the water! They were great, fantastic, awesome. Fabiola & Mauricio were our family's participants and they helped their choir to shine. Tonight the rest of the family is involved in their annual Christmas presentation at a local theater. Can't wait to see it!

Speed bump...

2011-12-10T06:50:00.000-08:00

The kids got their 1/2 way progress reports for this semester and three of them had some "speed bumps"! Mauricio, Fabiola, and Angel had some problems with behavior and conduct this 1/2 semester and are now paying the price for their actions. Nothing extremely egregious, but unacceptable conduct nonetheless. Pray they see their actions for what they really are...acts of disobedience against God!

On the flip side Pedro and Cesar had excellent grades. Rosa is plugging along in her home school program. Cesar, in particular, is making great, great progress in both grades and conduct. You can almost see a relaxed look on his face and new sense of joy within him. Pedro continues to do well and just needs to practice his diction more. (He just lost one of his front teeth and from the feel of it he may be able to sing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth"!

Preparing for Christmas!

2011-12-08T06:26:00.001-08:00

Bob, Joyce, and the kids this past Sunday put up the Christmas tree so we have some photos for you guys! Merry Christmas!

"The family plus one! Andrea!"

"The finished tree."

"Arranging the lights and looking at the decorations."

"Sorting throught the decorations."

"Let the work begin!"

Is this the Holy Spirit????

2011-12-05T06:37:00.001-08:00

Saturday after our morning Bible Study with the kids Pedro came to me as I was sitting at the table eating my breakfast. It was just he and I, and he seemed to be very serious about something. Because of a learning disability Pedro has some difficulty expressing himself and he was clearly getting ready to share something of importance with me.

As he began he started to choke and tear up, and when I asked him what was wrong he stammered, "I want to be baptized!" I asked him why he would want to be baptized and he responded, "Because I want Jesus in my heart!" By now tears were streaming down his face! Again, I asked him why he wanted Jesus in his heart and he replied, "I want to go to heaven!" I was completely blown away by the depth and sincerity of his request...those tears were not faked!

Afterward I told him he needed to talk with Joyce and tell her what he was feeling. When she came into the room he turned to tell her what he wanted and he was completely overcome with emotions! Through tears he reiterated what he just requested of me...he wanted to be baptized, to have Jesus in his heart, and to go to heaven.!!! Praise the Lord!

When we came here to take custody of the children Joyce announced to the churches in our home area that our goal was to have each of the children saved and baptized within 5 years. Well, Pedro is the last of the group to make this incredible step and it's happened in just under 3 years. God is definitely alive, well, and working!!!

Thank you all for praying so diligently and faithfully over the past years...here is your fruit!!!

A birthday guest and a startling statistic...

2011-12-05T06:24:00.000-08:00

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we hosted Andrea, the older sister of Fabiola, Mauricio, and Angel. Friday was Andrea's 16th birthday and Fabi invited her to spend the weekend with us...normally Andrea lives in an orphanage, El Refugio, about 5 miles outside of the city. Friday evening we had a birthday dinner complete with cake and gave Andrea her gift from her 'adopted' family. On Saturday they (mostly Andrea & Fabi) just hung out and did girly things! Sunday it was off to church and then the family put up and decorated our Christmas tree. After that we took Andrea out to eat with us before taking her back to her home at El Refugio. They had a great time together and we got to sow some good seeds of Jesus into Andrea.

Now for the startling statistic...you think unemployment is high in the U.S.? La Prensa (the largest paper in the country) today announced that the unemployment rate for 20ll in Honduras is at 51%!!! No wonder violence is so high. Also in the paper today...we have a great political cartoonist named Banegas who literally has to hide to guard his life, today his cartoon was off a man on his knees, bleeding badly with spears sticking out of his back much like a bull at a bull fight and the back of our president was seen dancing away holding a bullfighter's cape. There were flags on the spears reading: Third most corrupt in the Americas, Poorest in the Americas, Most violent in the Americas...kind of says it all, doesn't it?

Will's Honduras Update 12/4/11

2011-12-04T07:09:00.000-08:00

Some pretty cool things have happened since the last update here are some highlights:

A. After Bob and Joyce returned on the 15th, we picked up their daughter, Nicole, and her family from the airport on the 17th and they stayed with us until the 26th. It was fun having them around and pretty cool seeing Bob and Joyce having fun with their family. With them, we went to Buen Esperanza and gave them some hygiene bags and explained to the children of the village what Christ had done for them. We also returned to the Tilapia farm (where we worked with the DC team) for a day of work but had to leave due to an incoming storm. Another day, we helped Manos Unidos En Cristo at their feeding shelter for the homeless of San Pedro Sula.

B. For thanksgiving, we all returned to Buen Esperanza with the children's school, Good Seed, and the school performed VBS, handed out baskets of food (which were very heavy may I add), and had a time of prayer with the adults while holding activities for all of the children.

C. Pedro had to have surgery to extend his Achilles tendon. He has Cerebral Palsy due to abuse as a toddler so his entire right side is lacking in the area of motor skills and developement. A surgeon that attends our church here in the city noticed that Pedro was starting to walk on his toes again so he offered to perform the surgery on him. Pedro had that performed on the 18th and as of the 30th his cast is now off. At this moment, Bob has Pedro at a doctor's office having a brace made for his foot.

D. God has laid Buen Esperanza on Bob and Joyce's hearts but also has planted them in mine. There are a ton of missionary organizations (large scale and private) in this country and these organizations have given the people of Honduras so much in terms of worldly goods that they have unknowingly caused the people to just want more and more of the world and less of the Gospel. There are alot of organizations that bring teams in and perform outreach after outreach but really do not pour Christ into the hearts of the villagers through personal relationships. The people in Buen Esperanza don't have that mentality. They have hearts unlike any other village I have visited thus far. What God has laid on my heart is this:

To visit them on a regular basis and just spend time with them. I talked with Alba and we agreed that we will start to visit them at least twice a month at first and just spend a day with the villagers. This, I believe, will open up alot of doors in alot of areas:

1. I will grow even closer in my walk with Christ!

2. I won't be performing "humanitarian" duties (in terms of just handing gifts out and then leaving), I'll be pouring Christ in to that village via my heart, my actions, and my words. I will be, in essence, doing what every missionary should be doing....making disciples. When Christ had the disciples he didn't just give them goodies and leave them...he poured his life into them. He spent time with them, taught them, laughed with them, walked with them, worked with them, dined with them, he did everything He could do with them. That is what Alba and I will attempt to do with them. Yes, my ministry is to disciple these children but I am also called to advance the gospel and what better way than to become intimate with an entire village!

3. This will further strengthen Alba and I's relationship. What better way to further develop a relationship than while serving Christ together!

4. I will probably learn alot more in terms of using my hands. I hope that the more time I spend with the villagers, the more I will be able to work with the men when it comes to tasks around the village.

5. I will become even more fluent in my Spanish!

6. AND MUCH MORE!

As you guys can tell, I am super jacked to start this with the villagers.

Sorry for the long one guys!

ALSO:

I just got a report from the treasurer of Wellspring last night that I only had $1000 for the months of October and November. I would really like to ask you guys to please pray about supporting me on a monthly basis. At the moment I am only receiving $500 a month. I need in reality at least $1000 just to stay here. Wellspring provides my food, deodorant, and toothpaste. Everything else, comes out of my account. I rely on your support to live here and to extend my visa. At this rate, my account will dwindle to nothing and I will have to return to the States. I need 15 more people that would be willing to support me on a monthly basis. PLEASE HELP ME. For those of you who have helped me to stay here and fulfill God's calling on my life, I THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! I PRAY THAT GOD BLESSES YOU GUYS A HUNDRED FOLD!

DIOS TE BENDIGA!!!

Good Seed's Outreach To Buen Esperanza

2011-12-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving day we took the children's school, Good Seed, out for an outreach to Buen Esperanza (a.k.a La Sabana, El Dordito) and they brought alot of food! The school had baskets of food for each family and each basket weighed close to 50 lbs. They also performed skits and songs. They then closed the day with a time in prayer in which all of the adults took part in one at a time. It was truly an awesome day........except for Bob. The Dengue Fever had just hit him that morning in the village so from 10 a.m. and on....it was a pretty bad day for him.

Here are some pics and a video!

"The school preparing for the skits and songs"

"The principal (Mrs. Trejo) starting the praying session"

"The baskets of food for each family"

Weather update...and more...

2011-12-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

I'm wearing a sweatshirt in San Pedro Sula, Honduras; that's right a sweatshirt! Refreshing!

Pedro's cast is off, now we need to obtain an "AFO" (formed plastic brace) to wear under his shoe. The first stop told us to come back next year and the second one said, "We'll call you." He gets 15 minutes of stretching exercises on his foot each night, but other than that he's on his own.

The kids are all busy practicing for church Christmas plays, school Christmas plays, and dance recitals. Not to mention reminding of us of their 'lists'! Rosa is full into a 8 month home study program (ABEKA) to get her through 4th grade so she can enter 5th grade at Good Seed in August.

Right now all are healthy...thanks for your prayers and support!

Pedro needs a retrofit...

2011-11-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

I'm taking Pedro back to the hospital in a hour or so to get a new cast on his foot and ankle. It's just been a little over a week and he's annihilated the old cast. It's held together right now with duct tape. Actually Pedro looks pretty good in duct tape!

Visitors...

2011-11-29T08:16:00.000-08:00

We've been blessed the past 10 days to two weeks with some new visitors...wild toucans have been stopping by to perch on our porch roof! We've tried to get pictures, but they're pretty spooked and getting close enough to get a picture that you can see just hasn't happened yet. They are beautiful and just make you smile at God's handiwork when you get a chance to observe them.

Many thanks...

2011-11-27T20:32:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all who prayed for my speedy recovery from Dengue...I was blessed to have a lesser strain and it passed through my body much quicker than previous bouts, and for that I am very grateful. It was no doubt due to your faithfulness.

I also request prayers for Joyce and I on a personal basis...we are undergoing spiritual attacks unlike anything we've ever faced and we believe it is a result of our attempting to stir up interest in what we believe to be a new vision from the Lord. The enemy caused us to stumble a bit today, but by the power of the Holy Spirit we're back on track and resolved to see this through to completion. Pray for the 'rebuilding of a pueblo' - Buen Esperanza!

Prayer Request

2011-11-24T12:31:00.000-08:00

Please pray for Bob. Currently, he is very sick. He and Joyce fear that it may be Dengue Fever (which is contracted through mosquitoes). He has aches all over his body, bloodshot eyes, high fever, cramps, etc. Please pray for healing.

Will's Honduras Update 11/19/11

2011-11-19T15:11:00.000-08:00

As of this past Tuesday, Bob and Joyce have been back in Honduras. While in the States, they worked, and worked, and worked. In other words, they didn't get much time to just enjoy each other's company or to relax (which is what they needed to do). They were repairing the house and fixing it up so they could rent it out. They did get to catch up a little bit with some of their friends in the States and they really loved those opportunities. They were truly homesick....and still are. They could've easily stayed there but because they love Christ...they continue to do what He told them to do even if they are fed up with the way the things are in this country, or the fact that they are tired (physically and mentally). Pray that one day...they will be able to just have time together.

Jay and Jen were such a great help for me. In many ways. They were encouragers, examples, and much more. They ministered to me in many ways they will never know. For me, it was hard to see them go. From the very beginning, they supported me and believed in me even when some of those close to me thought I was crazy. I knew what God told me to do and they believed me. In terms of parenting, what really learned from them was the process of discipline. Before, I would just address the situation then carry out the punishment. Now, I've realized the importance of showing love during the act of punishing and the restoration after the punishment is carried out. I also learned how I could improve my devotions with the children when I do conduct them in the mornings.

Something else that I've learned is the fact that the kid's do not view me as a figure of authority but as a big brother. That is in one way very heart-warming (because it shows that I have won their hearts finally), but in another frustrating (especially when it comes to the oldest child) because they think they can just run over me and do what they please or, because it is not from Bob's mouth (gospel to their ears) they do not necessarily have to obey. Those two weeks were by no means difficult for me physically because Bob and Joyce had taken care of alot of things prior to leaving and had me put some things off until their return. It was however, very hard for me mentally and emotionally. I probably would have gone crazy if I did not have the Sipes here with me. I now have a TON of respect for the single mothers (or fathers) that singlehandedly raise children. It is hard and it just tears you down in ways you never thought it would.

The last couple of weeks, I have found myself missing my friends, family, and church back in Tellico. I miss playing college football with Brandon, laughing so hard with Tim and Katie that I couldn't breath, Hanging out with Patrick and Paige, hearing Chris' corney jokes, throwing the football with Josh after church, talking with Jonny, seeing Richard, hearing Danielle's laugh, my mom, my dad....and the words "I Love You". I hear them from Alba and everytime I do it makes my day brighter....but sometimes, it is hard saying those words and not hearing "I Love You Too" from the children. I pray one day, that I can hear those words come from their mouths. I know they love me (their actions show it) but how much sweeter would it be if it came from their mouths! :)

Finally, I just want to thank all of you. It has been almost a year now and I have been here all because of YOU. There is so much more I want to say but this update is long enough. HAHA.

Thank you all for making me a better man. Because of you praying for me and supporting me...I am experiencing things both spiritually and physically that God is using to grow me into the man He wants me to be.

Pedro thanks you...

2011-11-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

Pedro had his surgery this morning and he came through it with flying colors and he wants to say, "thank you for your prayers". He walked out of the hospital in his new knee-high cast which he will have to wear for the next 6 weeks, but he is relatively pain-free and in good spirits.

Thank you for blessing Pedro with your prayers.

Reunited...

2011-11-16T06:39:00.000-08:00

We're back 'home' in Honduras and reunited with our children...and Will. The kids were as excited to see us as we were them and they made a great banner and hung it inside the house to welcome us home.

It's funny that after being out for only two weeks the heat seems to be oppressive to us...and it's really quite nice. Just too much change I guess. We don't have much time to drag our feet...we have a meeting a school today for one of the kids, tomorrow our daughter Nicole, son-in-law Bob, and their children Page, Celia, & Noah arrive for a week; and on Friday Pedro has a repeat surgery on his Achilles tendon. And of course, there are all the bills to be paid...that will take a day of running around. Next week we're doing outreaches with Nicole and family, taking the children's 5th & 6th grade classes to do a Thanksgiving outreach in a remote pueblo and helping two other ministries in the area.

We got tons of work done on our property in TN while we were home, but we're still experiencing a problem with our well. Hopefully it 's being worked on today...pray for our well.

All the kids are in good shape thanks to the Sipes, Will, and Miss Louie (one of the kids teachers who helped out after the Sipes left). Mauricio will get his braces soon, hopefully this week and then we'll start thinking about Rosa.

Thanks for blessing us with your prayers, your labors, and your financial sacrifices!

More Smokey Mountain news...

2011-11-08T17:46:00.000-08:00

Last evening Joyce and I picked up our daughter, Nicole, at the airport as she arrived to spend the next week helping us get 'rent-ready'. Today my pastor and I cut down a very large tree that was severely hung up in other trees and a danger to our power lines. It took some work but it's done now. We also got another load of stone for road and it's starting to look pretty good. Tomorrow I hope the get the culvert cemented and the 'spillways' to direct the run-off.

Joyce and Nicole spent the morning doing some needed shopping and came home with the pavers for a new sidewalk. Tonight the three of us got the ground leveled and pavers set in place. Pretty good day.

We're all pretty whipped, so I suspect it will be an early turn-in tonight.

Blessings to all......

Will's Honduras Update 11/7/2011

2011-11-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

Things here have been good. The Sipes have been a TREMENDOUS help and I am really learning how to handle some things (in terms of working with kids) just from observing them. Since I haven't really had to think about doing what I can for Bob and Joyce I have been able to focus more on the children and I have begun to pick up more on their personalities. It is so cool to see how the kids have changed for the better in some areas of their personalities and in their lives.

Tuesday: I dropped Bob and Joyce off at the airport

Tuesday-Thursday: From lunch until late in the afternoon the Sipes helped the kids focus on their studies while I tried to put together a sermon for Sunday. That was a HUGE relief off of my back.

Friday: The kids finished their tests which meant.....NO MORE STUDYING and time for some well earned fun! That night, we all took the kids to the nearby mall and let them play games for a little bit and they all had a great time. Alba joined us and she had a fun time as well. After, Jen and the kids watch a movie called "Hotel for Dogs" while Jay and I talked for quite a while about Christ, God's Sovereignty, our testimonies, and much more.

Saturday: There was a lot of driving back and forth. First, I had to take Mauricio and Rosa to art class, then I picked them up from, after that I took Fabi to her class and picked her up an hour later. After all of that, Jay, Jen, and I took the kids to their play practice and after that, a family from the church we attend took the kids out to pizza hut to give the three of us a break (which was very kind and nice of them). The three of used the time to relax. I grabbed Jay and Jen a pizza then Alba and I went out for a quick bite to eat at Baleadas Express. Pretty neat when you can get a bite to eat for $3!!! It was a time that Alba and I really needed together and we were able to talk and she was able to encourage me so overall it was great. After, Mauricio and I played with the cat then went to bed.

Sunday: I preached for the second time and it was on Mark 14:3-9. After Church, we took the kids out to lunch then came home, the kids then helped Jen make tye-dye cupcakes, We then ate tiny hamburgers and watched the movie "Blindside" that Jay and Jen had brought down for the kids to see.

Overall it has been a good time. Bob and Joyce are hard at work in TN so please pray for them that they will have some time to relax as well.

Here are some pics from throughout the week:

"The cat dishing out some of Mauricio's own medicine"

"Celebrating Angels birthday (again) on Thursday"

"There was so much studying that the cat was even wore out!"

"Jen playing Uno with Rosa while Cesar is performing a wordsearch"

"A very deep game of cards going on here!"

In the Smokies...

2011-11-04T07:30:00.001-07:00

Joyce and I are back home in our TN. mountains and loving the beauty of the fall colors. It's a lot colder than we're used to, but actually from the middle of the morning on it's pretty enjoyable. We'

re getting rain today so it curtails my outdoor work around the house. Not to worry, Joyce finds lots of 'honey-do' lists for me whether it's inside or out. We're making progress on the house and the grounds, but still have a long ways to go...we'll get there with God's help.

Missing our children...we spoke with them last night and they're all doing well. They have bonded instantly with the Sipes and that's a big relief for us. Will, Jay, and Jen are being kept busy conducting 'study halls' all this week for mid-term testing. I'm sure they and the kids are glad it's Friday!

Please continue to pray for Robin Demboski to receive a kidney transplant!!!

Heading home...

2011-10-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Joyce and I will be heading to the airport and then on to our home in TN. It's our first trip home together in 2-1/2 years and it's made possible by Jay & Jen Sipes, who along with Will, will be watching the children during our absence. Please ask God to bless them in ways beyond their belief for their sacrifices on our behalf!

Pray also for the children...they have mid-term testing all this week and they're used to us helping them with their studies...of course they'll have Will, Jay, & Jen, but it's not what their used to. Also, it will be the first time they've been without us since we were awarded their custody and although they don't voice it directly we're sure deep down inside of them is the wonder if we are just the next couple to desert them.

We'll only be gone for two weeks and have tons of work to do on our house in TN and then we'll be back home in San Pedro Sula with our new family. Thank you all for your support and your faithful prayers...and PLEASE REMEMBER JAY, JEN, & WILL, as well as the kids, in your prayers!

Pray for Pedro...

2011-10-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

We took Pedro back to Cure International today to have his foot and leg checked out. The new surgeon there is attending the same church as us and he noticed Pedro's limp and asked us to bring him back for a check-up. You may remember that 1-1/2 years ago Pedro had surgery there on his right leg...they cut his Achilles tendon and stretched it so his foot could strike the ground in a flat position.

Due to a growth spurt in the interim his foot is contracted again causing him to strike the ground toes first, so...

The result is he has to have surgery again and have his foot in a cast for 6 weeks. Then he will have to wear a brace for another year. He's a tough little bugger, but he doesn't know about this yet and I'm sure it won't make him very happy.

Please pray for Pedro...and pray for Dr. Jay and Cure International

Rains, flooding, cold front, and more violence...

2011-10-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

Like most of Central American Honduras is experiencing severe flooding, damage, and deaths from the recent rains. Yesterday the only North/South route from Teguicagalpa to Choluteca literally fell away leaving the road impassable! The central and Southern sections of the country have many, many people displaced and many homes destroyed. One of the problems associated with prolonged rains is that the homes of the very poor literally 'wash away'! Made of mud, sticks, and stones, continued rains simply wash away the mud that is the bonding material and the homes collapse.

Here in the North of the country we're experiencing a cold front (we love it) (cold means 75 degrees) with lots and lots of rain. Here the streets are taking the brunt of the damage with many manhole covers washed away and thousands of new potholes appearing. Thankfully we have no flooding in our area.

The violence just continues to grow without checks despite the government's vows to control it. The gangs here are very sophisticated and that coupled with the police corruption makes it very difficult to stop. We remain safe and use the prudence God gave us to keep us out of harm's way. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Difficult times...

2011-10-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

Please pray for our family as we continue to face deceit, delays, threats, and out-right lies from the authorities concerning our situation with Antonio. Last night was the straw that kind of broke the camel's back for Joyce and she had a bit of a melt down. She's fine now, but the stress levels involved with promises of help and then broken promises are making it extremely stressful for everyone in the family...even the other children are showing signs of being affected!

We feel sometimes as if we're treading water in quicksand and the more we strive to get out the deeper we sink. It's difficult to know how to get the word out to you that we are seeking your prayers without making it sound as if we're having a pity party or that we're giving up. Neither could be further from the truth, but we do need the reinforcement of your prayers!

Thank you, Bob, Joyce, Will, and Kids

Thanks for your prayers...

2011-10-09T15:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Joyce and I officially received permission to leave the country together! So, thanks to Jay & Jen Sipes who coming down to relieve us (and Will), we will be leaving on the 1st of November and returning on the 15th of November. It's a short stay and will be jammed with hard work, but we are eagerly looking forward to it. It will be our first trip out of the country together since we came in June of 2009!

Thank you again for being faithful in your prayers for us and for the children God has given us charge of. They are growing spiritually as fast as they are physically...thanks be to God!!!

Symptoms of a nation in chaos...

2011-10-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

Today we were supposed to have had an appointment with the judge handling our daughter's, Fabiola, case according to our lawyer. Also, according to our lawyer, she was to meet with the IHNFA officials this morning to assure that we (Joyce & I) had permission to leave the country together.

This we know for sure: while driving to our scheduled (by our attorney) appointment with the judge we received a text message from our lawyer telling us that the judge would not be available today, but maybe she would be available tomorrow. We had previously told the lawyer she needed to be certain about the appointment because we would have to take Fabi out of school. So, obviously she never attempted to make an appointment prior to that very moment! This is supposed to be a lawyer that is well-versed in the child welfare laws and one upon whom we could rely! When we texted her back to ask about the permission to leave the country she only replied, "I'll call you later." Does that tell you what it tells me? She didn't talk to the IHNFA official either!!

This is so typical of everything here in Honduras...nobody stands for their word and the response is "that's just the way things work here." Everybody expects everybody else to lie!!! How can a country, a business, a ministry, a family ever move forward in this atmosphere? It is just one frustration heaped upon another and it makes it difficult to not lose one's Christian walk. Nothing can be corrected here, because nothing is anyone's fault! There is always an excuse for every failure so you are supposed to just accept it and move on.

Please continue to pray for God to intercede on our behalf and on behalf of Fabiola and the other children. Only He can make in-roads in a country that is so steeped in falsehoods and rationalizations.

Prayer Request...

2011-10-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight our lawyer finally showed up at our house, but her news was not good. She told us that the judge turned down our request to get a passport and Visa for Fabiola. After much discussion she agreed to take Joyce, Fabiola, and myself to speak to the judge in person. It is our hope that we can get the judge to listen to Fabiola and not be led by the petty politics that plaque this country.

There is no other route from which we can demand accountability, so we must rely upon the prayers of the saints to encourage God to intercede on Fabiola's behalf. Our meeting is at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow our time...4:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Another prayer request...the lawyer told us tonight that IHNFA may not allow Joyce and I to leave the country together. We are attempting to come out for two weeks so we can get our home in TN. rent-ready. Since we've been in Honduras our personal finances have been drained to the point where we must rent our house or lose it! Please pray we will get the clearance to come out for these two weeks. If we get to travel it will be the first time we've been back to the states together in 2-1/2 years...and we need a breath of fresh air.

Honduran time lines...

2011-10-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

The registration for our Chevy expired and when we went to pay it we were told they couldn't find the car in the system; ergo, we couldn't renew; ergo, we were illegal; ergo, if stopped the police would take our licenses' and tow the car! Ergo, I was upset!!!

So, yesterday I went to the dealer and told them of the problem. They said, "Oh, it's our fault someone didn't complete their job, but we'll fix it. It will take two weeks!" I told them that wasn't acceptable that we had paid for the car in full and now because of their error we couldn't drive the car. We needed either a document to allow us to drive, or another vehicle. "No problem," they said. We'll call you by 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. Do you think they called? NO, THEY DIDN'T CALL! So, this morning I called the manager, but mysteriously he wasn't answering his phone; so we went to the dealership. They called for the manager, but he wasn't in his office...they called his cell phone, but he didn't answer. Finally they reached him and he told us he now had the problem solved and we could go to the bank and renew our registration. Finally, we have it!

Case No. 2: Our lawyer told us she would travel to Teguicagalpa on Thurs. to check on our carnet, residency card. She didn't go and told us she would go on Friday. She didn't go and told us she would go on Monday, but...Monday was a holiday, so she said she would go on Tuesday after stopping by our house to pick up her memo book which she left here last Thursday. She said she would be here between 11 & 12...she hasn't come yet! She told us she would send a letter to IHNFA on our behalf last week; she didn't send it. She told us she would get us an answer concerning Fabiola's passport and visa...she hasn't!

Case NO. 3 Our Honduran partner told us they didn't have the money to pay for any more wells, so I asked for the e-mail for the gentlemen in charge from the states. I was told I would have it last week...still don't have it. My personal contact has decided to not answer my phone calls...although last night he did and he told me he would send me the address last night...I still don't have it!

Case No. 4 IHNFA told us a month and a half ago they would find a place better suited to deal with one of our children...we still don't have an answer; although every time we inquire they tell us, "just wait, we'll know something soon."

It goes on and on and on....I think their deal is to lie enough to cause you to beat your head against the wall until it turns to mush. I think I'm next in line!

It's a holiday, let's celebrate....

2011-10-01T12:11:00.001-07:00

The kids are off school on Monday and so the celebration begins...

Student send-off ...

2011-10-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Friday was my last day of teaching and my 4th, 5th, 6th & 7th grade math classes all surprised me with hand made cards. They were very touching for me. It's amazing to me how much we connected in such a short period of time especially considering I had to be their strictest teacher. I thank God for the opportunity!

The first card is from Fabiola and you can see from the name that it means a lot to me!

This is a composite from my 4th graders and the smaller cards around the bottom are their individual good-byes.

These are my 5th graders who completely surprised me since I had to do more disciplining in their class than the others.

The sixth grade class actually said they learned some math...PTL!

The seventh graders are the larger individual cards on the table.

Will's Honduras Update 9/30/2011

2011-09-30T16:12:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since the last update so I will fill you guys in with as much information as possible. Today was Bob's last day of voluntarily teaching at Good Seed. When he came in today he asked me to help him unload the van. Unload the van? Turns out, all of the kids he taught for the last month had made him goodbye cards. It was pretty cool watching him go through them all. He actually almost started to cry! I never thought I would see that! It really sealed the deal when he got to Fabiola's card. In the card she wrote: "I love you daddy". Haha, the was it. Hook, line, sinker. you didn't hear anything but when he went into another room you knew what was going on.

For me it was pretty cool to see the letter. "I love you" is easy for her to say but to mean it...that is extremely hard. Those words in that letter were for real and you could tell. Mauricio's written words were "thanks for teaching us math and correcting us". Seeing that showed me how thick Mauricio's walls are. He will mess with you and everything but as far as letting you in 100%....that is almost impossible.

In the last update I mentioned that I wanted to recruit a married couple to come down and relieve Bob and Joyce so they could return to the States for a MUCH NEEDED break. God provided! Jay and Jen Sipes answered the call and I can not tell you how stoked I am about it. Jay and Jen Sipes are two good friends that I met through Zad Tomberlin who discipled me. From the very beginning of trying to get toHonduras they were two of the very few that stuck with me and encouraged me. Since then I have wanted them to meet the children and God is finally allowing that to happen. Right now they are trying to raise the funds to get down here. If you would like to help them in any way please e-mail me and let me know.

Also, I can tell you that I am extremely happy Bob is finished teaching because 3 or 4 times a week we had to grade papers....and that took FOREVER! For Bob's last day of papers it took us 5 hours! I'm glad that is over! I never expected that I would be grading school papers here in Honduras. Pretty neat how God throws surprises at you huh!?

Since I mentioned "teaching" I just want to tell you how much I appreciate Dahlia. She is the tutor of the children and it is amazing with how much patience she has with these children trying to teach them. She took a week off so you know what that meant. Bob, Joyce, and I had to teach! Bob had Mauricio and Fabiola and they are pretty good by themselves. Plus Bob was real busy trying to grade papers that week as well....by himself. Joyce had Pedro and Angel while I had Cesar. I know well enough now that I can never teach elementary school. I would want to slit my wrist. When Dahlia came back, it was like an angelic being walking in. I was so relieved!

Whenever Bob was in school, the tasks fell on me. Which I was glad they did. God has really used this month to mold me into the man He wants me to be. Whether it be from repairing things around the house or by running errands. One such errand was this week. I had to go to Galdamez's shop to power wash all of the clay from the last drill off of the rig. That was interesting. When I arrived to the shop I noticed the rig had a tire with no air in it. I had to take the "llanta" off then find a "llanta" repair shop to place more air in it. Once that was taken care of I had to figure out how to lower the feet that held the rig off of the ground. I figured out how to do that. Then the fun began. I had to back the truck up to the rig so I could hitch it up to the truck. That took forever as well but, I got that accomplished. I backed the rig up without a problem to the area I needed to take it in order for me to wash the machine. After 2 hours the mission was accomplished and I headed back to the house so I could wash up and pick up Rosa and Antonio from school. The 2 hours surprised me because on the way to the shop I had no clue as to how I was going to get this done. Praise God!

In terms of my residency, up until 2 days ago I would not be able to get the paperwork to renew my visa for another 4 months! That left me with 2 options, try and drive to the Guatemalan border or fly to the States at last minutes notice with little to no funds. Today however, God came through and worked it out to where the lawyer can bring me the papers tomorrow morning at 9! Yes! So that was a big sigh of relief! It is so cool, because since moving here you can literally see how God provides for everything. Even the impossible!

Prayer requests:

1. The Sipes.

2. Pray that God will bless Fabiola with a passport and a visa so she can go to the states in November with Bob and Joyce. This would be huge if this would work out. It would give Fabiola an opportunity to meet those who have been supporting her and praying for her the last 2 1/2 years! It would also be great for the individuals to see how much God has changed the lives of these kids!

3. Bob and I may be able to drill next week. Pray for that and for the drill site.

4. For the first time God has blessed me with the opportunity to preach His WORD! I have had the desire for a long time now and He opened the door! I preach on October 9 so pray that I am taken completely out of the picture and for my preparation, because if we drill it will be interesting seeing how I will be trying to prepare.

5. ANTONIO.

Trauma in the night....

2011-09-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

Pedro, our Chinese missionary from yesterday, had a rough night last night. Before we were awarded custody of Pedro he lived in a nearly starved condition all the four years of his young live. He never knew anything other than hunger and that fear and pain is so deeply etched in his mind that to this day he can't control his eating without supervision. As a result if he is left to his own devices he will eat until he makes himself sick; much like an animal left in an over-rich pasture for too long a time.

Yesterday the school had a party to celebrate "Missions Day" and there were cupcakes, large cupcakes, at the party. With no one to tell him to stop Pedro gorged himself with four of the large wheat bran cupcakes. The result: during the night he vomited all over himself, his bed, and his bed clothes...and then slept in it. This morning was not a pleasant one for Joyce....Pedro with a bed full of vomit and Antonio with a bed full of pee...again!

Of course, the real sorrow of the story is what Pedro had to endure as a baby and a toddler. Who knows how many years it will take to erase all the fears that life period have sown into him?

Missionaries from around the world...

2011-09-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today was missions day at Good Seed school and we awoke to find a mission team assembled from around the world right in our very own home.

Now that's a worldwide mission team!!!

A Geisha Girl...in Honduras?

This cowpoke looks a little to happy to me...

All the way from the island country of "Mauricio" that's right, that's Mauritania in Spanish!

This cowboy bears watchin'!

From the underground church in China?

Praises & Prayers...

2011-09-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord...Fabiola now has her braces for a full day and so far, she has experienced absolutely no pain! She's not too crazy about me calling her "metal mouth", but it insulates her from any abuse her fellow students might drop on her. She is really grateful for being pain-free!

Praise the Lord...Mauricio had the first two of four molars pulled today, in preparation for getting braces,...the dentist told us he would be in extreme pain, but we have been bathing him in prayer and up to this moment he has ZERO PAIN! Keep praying for him; he's still bleeding and next week he gets the other two pulled.

It's neat to see and hear them both acknowledging that "prayer really does work!"

School schedules and loooong study halls...

2011-09-22T05:16:00.000-07:00

With 5 children in a private Christian bi-lingual school and 2 more in a private Spanish school our school schedules are filled to over-flowing! I start by taking the "5" with me as I head out to teach at 6:40 a.m., then Will takes the other "2" at 6:50 a.m. to their school.

At noon Will picks up Rosa & Antonio and brings them home for lunch...in the interim I've returned to house and along with Joyce run the errands and pay the bills that are needed to keep us running day to day. At 1:00 p.m. we have a tutor who comes in to work with the kids; first with Rosa & Antonio, later with the others when they get home. At 2:10 p.m. we pick up Fabiola, Mauricio, Cesar, Angel, & Pedro and get them settled into 'study hall' at home. Joyce, Will, and I join our tutor and take the kids to different rooms to work with them one on one as much as we can leaving the old two to work on their own. The tutor works with the younger kids until 4:30 p.m. and then we take over sometimes studying until 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. (In between I do the dreaded 'paper correcting' that all teachers so look forward to.)

That leaves one half hour for the younger 4 children to have a snack, watch a little tv, and then head to bed at 7:30 p.m. (they're up at 5:15 a.m.); the older three go at 8:00 p.m. Then the next morning it starts all over again at 5:00 a.m.

Will usually hits the 'rack' around 8 p.m. and Joyce and I struggle mightily to make it to 9 p.m.; sometimes we're successful and other times we give up and go to bed. I guess we should be grateful...there's not much time for temptation to set in!!! Good ole school days????

Home invasion???

2011-09-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

This morning while I was eating my cereal and watching the news I was interrupted by blood-curdling screams coming from one of the boys bedrooms. It was Pedro and he was terrified because...as he was folding and putting away his clean laundry he shook out a pair of shorts out fell a large scorpion!!!

Not being the fastest person in the house I arrived on the scene after Will and Joyce and found Pedro still screaming, Will and Joyce holding everybody back, and scorpion trying to escape under the clothes basket. Just the look of a scorpion and the remembrances of what happened to the people in "Indiana Jones" movies when they were bitten are enough to elicit caution; not to mention fear!

In the end all is well....Pedro was not bitten, the scorpion is dead, and I got to finish my cereal! Now off to school to all my other "insects"! Just kidding...I love'em!

More medical news...

2011-09-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

Friday Mauricio had the stitches removed from the operation on his gums and now is scheduled to have 4 teeth pulled (2 at a time) beginning tomorrow in preparation for braces in two weeks. Saturday Rosa, Cesar, and Pedro had the last of their cavities filled. Today Fabiola had spacers placed in her mouth in anticipation of having braces installed on Thursday.

We're still giving Pedro and Angel medicine via the atomizer/vaporizer and Pedro got up this morning with slight diarrhea. The rest of us just try to stay out of the way!

Will's Honduras Update 9/12/2011

2011-09-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

Hola mi familia!

The past week was a week full of miscellaneous things here is a short list:

1. I finally started the process of applying for my residency. I had to obtain a few things and pay for a few things as well. One of the biggest hassles of obtaining what I needed was purchasing a "Certificate of Health" from a bank (weird huh? You have to purchase a form for a complete physical at a bank.) and then I had to hunt down a doctor to have him fill it out, stamp it, then sign it. Joyce knew a doctor in the Emergency Room that spoke English so we decided to pay him a visit. It took three hours but eventually he was able to fill it out. He took me into a room and asked me a few questions then told me to wait and he would return with the form completed. Half an hour later he returned with the form completed and a full health report and it was free. Pretty nifty huh? I had a physical and blood test without having to go through it! That saved alot of time and ALOT of money. Hopefully within a couple weeks I can go to immigrations and simply pay $20 a month to renew my visa instead of having to fly to the states every 3 months! :)

2. A month or so ago, Shari and Terry (the two missionaries that Alba lives with and that have a feeding kitchen for the poor of the city) asked me if I could deliver some donated cakes to an orphanage because they would be in the States during that time and I agreed to do so. Friday that is what Alba and I did. We stopped by the bakery, picked up the cakes, then delivered them to "La Casita" which is a all-female "orphanage". The orphanage ran by IHNFA and the orphanage is literally a prison like Alzira was for the children. When I was there a few memories came back from the first time I met the children. The lack of proper nutrition, proper utilities, the lifestyle, the hoplessness, etc. What made it even more difficult was the fact that it was an "all-female" orphanage. I could imagine what would happen to the girls in this "orphanage" when there was nobody around. When I was there, I learned there was a 13 year old girl that was already 7 months pregnant! That was hard. This country has such a dire need for children to be adopted but the country is too stubborn and prideful to do anything about it. That is why very few adoptions in this country is successful.

After La Casita, Alba and I then went to the orphanage that she worked at for four years to drop some clothes off. I visited this orphanage back in March with her, Shari, and Terry and I can tell that this one is a nice one. It is a privately ran orphanage owned by Alba's church "La Cosecha". The facilities here a much, much better than what Al Zira was or what La Casita is. When you walk in it has the entire story of Jonah painted on the inside of the facility. For me, it was cool to see Alba with the kids that she is close with. They all call her "Tia Alba". I watched as they all came to her one at a time giving her a hug when they returned from school. The smile on her face and the affection she showed them was great.

3. Sunday after church, Alba wanted to take the kids to the park so Bob and Joyce could have some quiet time and that is exactly what we did. Every time she spends a day with the kids I can see her growing closer and closer with them. It was good to watch her yesterday. Unfortunately, Mauricio and Fabiola couldn't go because Mauricio had stitches in his mouth and Fabiola had alot of homework to do and she was going to help Bob grade some homework.

4. For Bob's second week of teaching he is a big hit with all of the children but he can not stand to grad papers. It is pretty cool to see kids walk up to him out of nowhere saying "Hey Mr. Bob!". It shows that he hasn't instilled fear in their hearts yet. :) Truth is, Bob is a big goofball so kid's are naturally drawn to him and that is one of the reasons why I think they like him so much.

5. We continue to have many problems with Antonio and his conduct both at home and in school. Please pray for him. Angel has been battling a nasty cough since Friday. Rosa has made honor roll after just a few weeks of being bumped up a grade level. I sincerely believe that if she is pushed she can perform very well in school. Pedro and Cesar are loving their new school and you can kind've already see a change in them both for the better.

ALSO: We are looking for a Christian married couple or woman that would be willing to come down from the 1st of November to the 15th to help me with the children so Bob and Joyce could return to the United States to conduct some business. If you are interested email me, or Bob at bcoder@tds.net for more details. You can also call us on skype via your cell or home phone (is a TN number) at: 423-546-4323. You will only have to raise funds for airfare. Everything else will be covered.

Thanks for reading and your prayers!

More medical news...

2011-09-09T15:49:00.001-07:00

Mauricio just had peridontal surgery. He's getting ready to get braces for his teeth, but first he had to have some surgery done on his gums and the muscle that holds the upper lip to the gums. The muscle was growing between the front two teeth pushing them apart and creating a gap in his front teeth.

The doctor cut the muscle out and put in 5 STITCHES!!! He was a real trooper and didn't even flinch much. Next he has to get 4 teeth pulled to make room in his mouth for his teeth to align properly....and I thought his mouth was big enough to fit anything in there!

Anyhow, he's on his way toward braces...Fabiola escaped having to have any teeth pulled; seems her mouth is large enough. Go figure!!!

School, Rain, Lawyers, and more...

2011-09-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

After one week the 'school teaching' is going pretty well. Actually, I'm enjoying the kids...okay most of them. There are a few I've threatened to send home in a condition where their parents wouldn't recognize them, but for the most part they've been great.

Every night for the last two weeks we've been getting "mini-hurricanes". Anywhere between 8 - 12 p.m. a storm blows over the mountain with high winds, lightning, and intense rain. Our house has little floods with just about every storm. The windows in this house seem to be "un-caulkable"! San Pedro Sula is bordered on the West by high, steep mountains and when the rain comes it races down the mountainside creating 'white water' throughout the streets of the city and depositing a lot of mud and rocks in the streets. The street in front of our house floods about every night.

We continue our fight w/lawyers...we have our third lawyer now and she just returned from Teguicagalpa where she found that our last lawyer never filed anything properly on our behalf. Normally you would think you could just get your money back; but it doesn't work that way here...here you bite the bullet and continue to look for a lawyer who will actually do what you're asking.

The battle for resolution in the case of Antonio continues. As his conduct continues to deteriorate we get more and more promises and less action. Holding someone's feet to fire is not easily accomplished here.

Angel is mostly over his circumcision...although he told me yesterday that a ball him "there" and it hurt! I'll bet it did. Nearly all of our medical problems are behind us now, so we're looking forward to smaller med bills this month.

Pedro & Cesar and both adapting well at Good Seed...both of their teachers say they are trying hard, they are making friends, and they are both bright. It's a huge opportunity for them so we pray they don't get discouraged and will fight through their learning curve. Rosa just keeps amazing us as she went straight to the honor roll after skipping the second half of second grade and jumping into the middle of third grade.

Thanks for all your prayers and all your support...you are making a difference!

Bob, Joyce, Will, & Kids

School Days...

2011-09-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

Well, here we go...off to school. Lots of smiles: some with eager anticipation for a new school, some anxious to get back to old friends, and some.........well, one........going back after nearly 50 years away! Oh my, what have I done now? I'll be teaching 4th, 5th, 6th, & 7th grade math for the month of September.

Will's Honduras Update 9/1/11

2011-09-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

Hola mi familia en Jesus Cristo!

It has been a while since the last update and for that I apologize! Perdoname.

Since the last update it has been pretty busy around here whether it be from battling virus' or preparing the kids for a new school year! We now have Pedro and Cesar attending Good Seed which we believe will be GREAT for their development in every way! We especially believe that it will be very beneficial for Cesar!

As far as drilling is concerned we may not be able to drill until October. The reason being that for this month Bob has to teach math at Good Seed for the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th grades.

Thats right....***BOB IS TEACHING IN A SCHOOL WITH A BUNCH OF KIDS***. Pretty cool huh?

He was asked to step in because the new math teacher that was hired is coming in from the States and he will not be able to make it into the country until the end of the month. So, Bob teaches from 7 to 10 in the morning. Bob is pretty sharp with math and is pretty good at teaching it so he'll do a good job. When I try to imagine him teaching though all I can think about is the film from the 90's "Kindergarten Cop" ("Who said you could eat my cookie!", "It's not a tumor!", "Who's your daddy? and what does he do?") :)

Aside from those things...there were quite a few surprises along the way as well. We learned more about what Cesar has locked in his head from his past experiences in Alzira, Bob had to have a colonoscopy, Joyce had an ER visit due to dehydration and food poisoning (may I add that it was at the same time Bob was having his colonoscopy?), Angel had to have a circumcision performed, we have had three consecutive nights of HEAVY RAIN, had a small tremor, and I had a few personal surprises as well with my family back in the states. It has definitely been a surprising and interesting two weeks.

Here is what else has happened:

1. Fabiola turned 14 on the 15th of August.

2. On the 20th of August Bob, Joyce, and Fabiola went to a wedding of a young couple from the English speaking church we attend here in the city. They spent the night over at Tela where the wedding was held which left almost a whole weekend for me to be with the kids. Alba also returned from her 2 week vacation in her hometown of La Paz so she helped me with the children. It was a wonderful weekend, tiring, but wonderful. Alba and I took the kids out for the day and I believe it was also a great opportunity for her and the kids to start somewhere in terms of building a relationship. Apparently she clicked with Pedro because now the little guy is calling her! Looks like I have some competition!

3. For a long time I have had the desire to preach God's Word and He has finally blessed me with the opportunity (major fist pumpage ensues)! Bob and I went to Bill and Margy Hoff's (The pastor and wife of the church) house yesterday to pick up some letters and Margy had asked me if I have ever preached and I informed her that I hadn't but was waiting for God to bless me with the opportunity. She asked me if I wanted to on the second Sunday of October and I was surprised! I didn't know what to say because I was so nervous. Bob almost had to say "yes" for me! When I finally said "yes" I accidentally said "yes sir" instead of "yes ma'am". Great start huh?

4. Mauricio and Fabiola took their bike to a poor family down the street to give to one of the older girls in the family. Turns out that was God answering the little girl! The little girl had been asking the mother for a bike and a couple weeks later God gives her a pretty nice bike! Pretty cool how God provides huh?

Thank you all for your prayers VERY MUCH! You guys have no idea how much they mean to me!

Dios te bendiga!

More hospital news...& School

2011-08-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was another day spent in the hospital for Joyce and I...one expected, one unexpected!

I had a colonoscopy scheduled for yesterday so I was at the hospital by 8:30 a.m. When I came out of the procedure Will informed me that Joyce was next door in the emergency room. Seems she got food poisoning and the combination of diarrhea and vomiting caused her to dehydrate severely. By the time I got to her she was resting comfortably receiving an IV to hydrate her. Today she's back to her "old" self.

Tomorrow 5 of the kids head back to school at Good Seed. That's right, this year we have two more in the Christian Bi-Lingual School! (Cesar & Pedro). I, also, will be going to school tomorrow. The school asked me if I could help them out for the month of September so I'll be teaching 4th, 5th, 6th, & 7th grade math classes. I don't know if you should pray for me or the kids...maybe both!

Urgent Prayer Request!!!

2011-08-31T06:15:00.000-07:00

Please read the post below. It is from Robin Demboski, the Chief Medical Officer of Wellspring of Life Ministry. Robin is a devoted servant of the Lord and even now just returned from another medical trip to Haiti to help those less fortunate than her. Please, please read and ask the Lord if He is telling you to step up and help Robin!!! At the very least...PRAY!

Good Morning everyone,

As most of you know I went to life link yesterday to find out information about Kidney Transplant.

So basically I am good candidate as long as I get a little more testing done.

Dental (seeing Friday)
Echo Cardiogram ( I will try to set up next week)
Blood testing for (sex transmitted disease (standard)
MAMO’S ( will try to set up for next week)

I must meet with the surgeon; I am waiting on that for life link.

First they told me average time to get a kidney is 2 years (which the doctor made it pretty clear I don’t have two years to wait)

Alternative is a living donor someone who is willing to give me a kidney.

What is required for a living donor?

1, under 60

2. No hypertension

3. No diabetes

4. Not sexually promiscuous.

5. Must be A or O doesn’t matter negative or positive.

No one can be tested till I finish my testing, I will speed things up , because Life Link is too slow for me.

That is why I will set up for Mamo, Echo, and see what else they will let me do on the out side

More General Hospital and just things...

2011-08-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

Poor Angel! He's walking around like a little old man. He has one of his mother's tee shirts on and nothing else...when he walks (very slowly) he's bent over and holding the tee shirt out away from his front...he's very, very careful.

My turn in the barrel...Tuesday morning I have to go in for a colonoscopy. I've been losing blood and my doctor wants to take a 'look see'. Oh joy!!!!

We have a meeting with Fiscaglia (Attorney General's Office) on Monday to try to figure out what we can do for Antonio. Thus far we've found no one, or no organization in the country who is willing to try to help him. There are so many 'plain sight' reasons why this country suffers as it does and this is just one of them. Honduras is almost set up to perpetuate gangs by the way the treat their children and the way they make it almost impossible for foreigners to adopt.

Last night we had our own 'mini-hurricane'...it poured and poured, and it blew and blew; the result: we had another night of flooding in our house...in Antonio's bedroom, the kitchen, our bedroom, and a little in Cesar & Pedro's bedroom. The street in front of our house had over a foot of water covering it from one end to the other.

General Hospital continued...

2011-08-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

This morning was spent at the operating/recovery room with Angel. We went in at 6:30 a.m. and came out at 11:40 a.m. Long morning, but Angel was a trooper and earned the praise of his doctors. He's home now, but having trouble keeping anything in his stomach. He says he hurts 'a little' but other than that he appears to be fine...he's one tough hombre!!!

Yesterday afternoon we took Pedro to the doctor to check on his asthma...we had to buy an atomizer and new meds for him. He uses the atomizer 4 times a day for 15 minutes at a time and it seems to be helping him already.

This afternoon we take Cesar & Pedro to the dentist for each of them to have two cavities filled, and then next week we take Mauricio & Fabiola to be fitted for braces.

We continue to have 6 of the 7 on amoxicillin (Rosa has escaped thus far).

And that's the day's report from General Hospital........

Creatures of the Deep...

2011-08-24T13:47:00.001-07:00

No one knows for sure what goes on in "The Deep"! Now these pictures may reveal some of the mystery for us! It looks as if the creatures like being together, although they don't appear to do much work. We can also see from one of the pictures that they apparently suffer from eye disease like we humans!!!

Health problems continue...

2011-08-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Now it's Pedro's turn...his asthma has a taken a severe turn for the worse necessitating his return to thrice daily inhaler treatments. On top of that he's broken out with a rash around his neck and upper chest area. I'll take him to the doctors with me this morning when I return with Angel's blood test.

Hopefully this morning we'll get Angel's surgery scheduled and get some relief for Pedro.

More Medical News...

2011-08-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

Angel has had his third lab test in three days. The first two were for urinary tract infections and the one today was the 'dreaded' blood test. Dreaded because it requires a needle! This one was a blood test to see if he's okay for surgery. Angel needs to be circumcised...ouch! Tight skin is the cause of his infections and now surgery is to be scheduled for Thursday, we hope.

The doctor said he will be down for one week and it will be painful. His school starts on Thursday, but we should be able to get his assignments and keep him caught up from home. The cost is 18,000 limps...cheap by U.S. standards, but when you take hits like that on an already thread-bare budget it makes you wince a little.

Please pray for Angel; he's tough, but he's going to be very sore for a few days.

Musings...

2011-08-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

Worldwide recession? The paper here today says that unemployment in San Pedro Sula is hovering around 40% and that among youths it is at 70%! That's the figures for here in the city, so you know it has to be much higher in the rural areas where illiteracy abounds.

Mini-vacation: Today is the first time in 2-1/2 years that we will have the chance to go to the beach. A young man in our church is getting married on the beach at Tela at a beautiful resort and Joyce, Fabiola, and myself are invited. We are going BUT... Tropical Storm Harvey with winds of 60 miles per hour and torrential rains is directly over Tela as we speak and is moving westward at only 9 miles per hour. Doesn't sound like much of a beach day, does it?

Minor illnesses: It started with Angel and now has spread to Antonio, Pedro, Cesar, & Mauricio...the coughs, runny noses, etc. Coupled with that Angel is on medication for a urinary tract infection and the medicine is giving him diarrhea. Will's going to have a good day watching the rest of the kids while we go to the wedding!

Back to School Supplies...

2011-08-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Getting back to school doesn't come cheaply when you're sending 5 children to a private Christian bi-lingual school. Witness the supplies above for 4 of the 5 children.

Comings & Goings...

2011-08-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

This week has been busy doing seemingly nothing...

we received word that through his summer tutoring program Cesar will not be admitted to Good Seed School in Sept. That's a great break for him, but it take considerably more resources to get him there. Matriculation, Monthly Fee, Books, Uniforms, etc.
Angel, Mauricio, & Fabiola have all had dentist appointments and now they tell us that Mauricio & Fabiola will both need braces...think more resources
Angel has developed a urinary tract infection which was uncovered after two trips to the doctor and two outpatient lab tests...he may have to be circumcised!
we've been trying to buy the last of the kids books and supplies for Sept. 1 opening
two meetings with our new lawyer have unveiled that once again we've been taken for a 'chunk' of money by our latest lawyer
Joyce & I spent a day driving to and from Teguicagalpa and meeting with the head of a very well known and well respected ministry there. They specialize in special risk kids and there's a chance they may have the capability of taking Antonio to the next level of his development
delivered documents to our lawyer today to solidify our standing w/IHNFA
had a meeting at 7:30 a.m. with Cesar's school about his unacceptable behavior with a young girl there.
this afternoon Joyce and I spent 1-1/2 hours talking with Cesar & Mauricio about their behavior
made a trip to the machine shop to check on the progress of the repairs to the drill rig
went to Good Seed to pay for Cesar's matriculation and books

AND IT'S ONLY WEDNESDAY!!!

Birthday celebration...

2011-08-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

View from our boat on the lake

Our birthday mermaid...

Would you want to captain this boat???

Yesterday the entire family went on a 'day outing' to celebrate the 14th birthday (actually it's Monday) of Fabiola. It's hard to believe the scrawny, little, 10 year old girl we first met is now a blossoming, beautiful, young woman...but she is!

First we went to Lago de Yojoa, the largest lake in Honduras, and took a boat tour of the lake. It was great fun, as none of the kids had ever been on a boat before and the lake is beautiful. After having a picnic lunch we headed high into the mountains to 'Joya Grande', the largest zoo in Honduras. It was really quite good; they had monkeys, macaws, ostriches, llamas, prairie dogs, peacocks, leopards, lions, hippos, zebras, giraffes, and many other animals. They also had a zip line that really flew and the best item for the kids was a LeMans type race car and course that they could drive (Mauricio & Fabiola...the rest had to ride w/them or Will or myself). Once back into San Pedro Sula we had Fabi's birthday dinner at her choice restaurant, Larson's. Tonight we'll have a cake after dinner and give her her presents. She really is amazing...

Will's Honduras Update 8/13/11

2011-08-13T19:07:00.001-07:00

Buenas!

These past few weeks have been so busy and I can't really afford to cover every day like I did with the Tullahoma team. So I will just share with you guys my own personal highlights of the week I had with the D.C. team:

1. On one of the workdays 4 men by the names of Steve, John, Papa Gai, Aaron along with myself all built a 100+ yard fence and it was awesome. God blessed us with an awesome view of the mountains in the background so every now and then I would find myself looking out just thinking of how rare a view I had and of how awesome God is. We worked very hard and we had A LOT of fun together. We all laughed at jokes, talked about the bible, God, and alot of other things. It was amazing to see how much work we had done considering how much laughter you would have heard.

2. The group and their V.B.S.'s: It was neat to see how much passion this group had for VBS. Every place we went they held a VBS either in a bordo or in a nearby village. They would have small lessons, games, and would take the kids out to play soccer in fields that may have been nearby. It was pretty cool to see the "gringos" interact with the Honduran children.

3. God had laid it on the hearts of the team members to purchase materials for a church within one of the large bordos. The materials were all meant to build a better church that would not leak and would be a much more solid facility. It was great to see how sensitive the group was to the urgings that God placed on their hearts.

4. One day we took the team to a village up in the mountains named "Maranatha" that had no electricity and while there I translated for Papa Gai and I lead my first person to Christ in Spanish. It was awesome! My spanish was PERFECT! Grammar, vocabulary...ALL OF IT!!! My spanish is decent enough to converse in but I am nowhere near fluent so I could definitely see where God was giving me the words to speak.

5. The second day of work we split the team in two and I took one half to a bordo that I visited with the Tullahoma team and there are two things that stand out to me.

First, A girl in the group named Taylor asked me to go back to the truck with her because she wanted to cloth a naked child. I complied and I had no clue that this was going to be another humbling moment that God would give me. We had to walk quite a way back to the truck so we brought him with us. I asked him what his name was and he replied "booty". I felt weird calling him that in front of everybody so I asked him if I could call him "buddy" (which is how you would pronounce his name in English) and he agreed. We arrived to the truck and Taylor suggested we clean his feet. We grabbed some bottles of water and a towel and I started to wash. His feet were covered in dirt and poop. While I was cleaning I joked with him and told him why we were there. Through all of this, all I could think of was Christ washing the disciples' feet.

Secondly, the team wanted to hand out hygiene packs, clothing, and shoes to the people of the bordo. Things started out well but quickly it started to get out of hand. The mother's started to incite a frenzy and before we knew it we were beginning to get swarmed. Eventually, we had to pack up and leave and that is when it got really interesting. Some of the team was in the back of the truck and the rest were inside with me. I had to back all the way out of the bordo because there was no way to turn around. As I was backing out, I saw some of the mother's yelling at me because we were leaving and they didn't get as much stuff as they wanted. There were people trying to climb into the back of the truck with the team so they could take what they could get their hands on (I later found out that some of the team members were being slapped or hit on the arms and being spit upon as we were leaving). It was literally like a riot scene you would see in a movie! As I neared the exit and turned to leave, someone threw a rock at the truck and after that we were out. I later learned that someone also stole the hitch from the truck! I was disappointed to see the people of that bordo acting the way they did, but I will not let that deter me from ever going back. God has placed that bordo in my heart and I want to return as much as I possibly can.

6. THE DRIVING! I love driving and I got to perform alot of it that week!

7. I enjoyed having Marilyn down. The Richard and Marilyn Parker has been two of the few individuals that God has used to shape my walk with Christ and it was hard to see her go. I really did not want her to leave. Hopefully Richard will come down sometime too!

Current Update:

Bob and I finished the well at Teen Missions and it was awesome to see how the people there reacted when they saw the water shoot out of the hole. When it came out they all clapped and cheered. After all the cheering and clapping all you could hear was "Gracias a Dios!!". It was amazing to see people so excited over potable water....something that we all take for granted back home. We dropped the compressor and drill rig off at the required shops for maintenance and after all of that is taken care of we have 2 wells to work on in Tela.

Fabiola's birthday is Monday and she will be 14.

Sorry for another long one guys!

Thank you all for your prayers!

Your brother,

Will.

Completed...

2011-08-11T16:32:00.001-07:00

Today Will, Mauricio, Angel, & myself went back up into the mountains above Santa Cruz de Yojoa to the Teen Mission camp and picked up our drill rig and the rest of our equipment. That means...yes, we finally have water and a completed well...thank you, Jesus!!! It was tough as we battled through lots of equipment problems, but in the end God's will was done and now they will have the "living water of Jesus Christ" for generations to come.

Will and I are totally exhausted, but feeling pretty good about getting this well done for a worthy cause. Now after some 'tweaks' to the rig we'll head to Tela for two more wells.

Will's Honduras Update 8/8/11

2011-08-08T17:53:00.001-07:00

Hola Mi Familia!

Since the last update it has been VERY busy!

July 27 Marilyn, Kierra, and Brandy came down and would join in with the D.C. group 2 days later when the group would arrive. Until the group arrived, Bob and I continued to drill for the "Teen Mission's" camp in Santa Cruz De Yojoa. We learned that we had hit water and were pretty excited. The day prior to the group arriving, Bob and I took the 3 ladies with us and we had planned to place the casing in. We dropped a stone done the well to see if we could hear water and we did! But we quickly learned that we needed to ream the hole back out just to make sure that the casing would go down smoothly and so that we wouldn't clog the hole. We informed the camp that we would return after the team would leave.

The team arrived on the 29th led by Michael and Emily Gaitonde (Two individuals that have known the kids from the very beginning). Just like the Tullahoma team, these guys were a complete blast! The original plan was to build a house but that fell through a week before the team arrived so we had to quickly find things for them to do. God provided! Through another missionary we learned of a Pastor in one of the bordo's and when we visited her she showed us where the team could perform VBS and play soccer with the kids of the bordo. Good Seed (a STRONG Christian bilingual school that some of the kids attend) need help renovating. By time the team was here there were a ton of things they could do. I think Bob best summed up all the thinks that we did that week in this paragraph:

"Throughout the week we played in the waterfall, zip-lined across it, planted, weeded, pruned, potted, bagged, built fence, painted, poured footers, mixed cement, moved mountains of sand, held numerous VBS-type bible lessons, played games with desperate children, handed out many suitcases full of clothes and shoes, hygiene packs, school supplies, etc., helped some to make commitments to the Lord, supplied roofing, cement, blocks to build a church, visited an orphanage beyond description, had wonderful early morning bible studies, and made mountains of new friends! There was no idle time; it was all spent in serving the Lord and in meeting new brothers and sisters in the Lord."

When Bob said there was no "idle time", he wasn't joking. We were constantly on the move! AND IT WAS GREAT! (Especially the driving)

I'll cover the week through other updates throughout the week.

Currently:

Bob and I returned to the drill site today and guess what we did? Definitely not drilling. Turns out we ended up using 2 1/2 bags of bentonite trying to seal up the pits and the hole all day! We will let it sit overnight and will return in the morning hoping that we can ream out the hole and place the casing in tomorrow. Other than that...the only excitement that I had today was that I had to bear being bombarded by mosquitoes and unknowingly standing in a fire ant's nest until I suddenly learned that I had a party going on in my pants (DON'T WORRY....THE PANTS STAYED ON).

Saturday I was "Hondurased" for the first time out on my own. I had three tasks (Simple tasks): 1) Have a tire on the truck repaired or replaced, 2) Find a hitch to replace the one that was stolen while I was with the team in a bordo (Explain that later), and 3) Find some chemicals for the family pool. Should taken an hour or two right? WRONG, Took me from 8 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon! I went to Indufesa ti see if they had a hitch and they did not. I then decided to go grab the chemicals. Obtained those with out a problem. It was 9:20. I was on FIRE! Then it happened....the "Hondurassment" comenced!!!

I went to one shop to have the tire looked at. They told me they were too busy. I was then told to go to the large tire shop down the street. I immediately went there. I was there for almost 5 HOURS!!! On the brightside, while I was there I found a hitch! Booyah! Unfortunately, by 1:45 P.M., that was all that I had. I learned that I needed to grab a new tire. I gave them the size of the tire, they told me they had the size, and after trying 4 different tire sizes (haha.) I asked them If I could just have the old one placed back on so I could try another shop. Luckily I found one that had the right size tires! Unfortunately, THEY WERE CLOSED!!! No problem, I then went to the first place I visited, obtained some service, then quikly learned that they did not have those tire sizes there. After that I went home.

So...question: If you were to ask me what I did all day what would be my answer? "Bought two chemicals and a hitch".

WELCOME TO HONDURAS WILL BLACKWELL!!!

Gracias por leyendo mi mensajes, y tu oraciones mi familia en Jesus Cristo!!!

Right back into it...

2011-08-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

After the team left Friday midday Will and I purchased 360 concrete blocks for Wendy's church in the bordo and got them delivered. Yesterday Will drove all over town looking for a new tire for the truck (no luck) but he did find a hitch to replace the one that had been stolen earlier in the week.

While Will drove on Saturday I spent the day getting a message ready for today and after delivering it this morning I slipped into the bedroom for an afternoon nap! But now the naps are over...the alarm is set for 4:30 a.m. when Will and I will head to the mountains to finish up a well that we had hoped to have completed before the team arrived. After that it's on to Tela for 2 more wells and then all the kids head back to school.

"Recesses" are brief and infrequent here...

A Furious Week of Activities, Blessings, and Hard Work...

2011-08-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked the end of a week filled with sweat, dirt, heat, long days, and incredible blessings! We were blessed to host two teams, one was a team of three from Tellico Plains, TN. and the other a team of 19 from the Washington, D.C. area.

Throughout the week we played in the waterfall, zip-lined across it, planted, weeded, pruned, potted, bagged, built fence, painted, poured footers, mixed cement, moved mountains of sand, held numerous VBS-type bible lessons, played games with desperate children, handed out many suitcases full of clothes and shoes, hygiene packs, school supplies, etc., helped some to make commitments to the Lord, supplied roofing, cement, blocks to build a church, visited an orphanage beyond description, had wonderful early morning bible studies, and made mountains of new friends! There was no idle time; it was all spent in serving the Lord and in meeting new brothers and sisters in the Lord.

We all grew! Sometimes we struggled, but the Lord never allowed us to stumble! We possessed a unity that can only come from above! By His grace we touched hundreds of lives...thank you Jesus for the opportunities you place before us. Help us to take advantage of them more frequently both at home and abroad!

Starting to feel like normal...

2011-07-27T11:02:00.001-07:00

I'm beginning to think I should've entered the nursing/doctor field. Last week I spent 4 days in the hospital with Joyce and this week I've spent one full morning in pediatric surgeon's office with Angel (he has growth under his tongue which must be cut off), spent an entire morning in the doctor's office w/Joyce while she had an endoscopy, and just now spent an entire morning in the dentist's office with Angel (his surgeon says the growth is caused by trauma occurring when he rubs his tongue over his front teeth and he must have the teeth corrected before he will remove the growth). Next I have 3 appointments at the dentist, one each for Angel, Fabiola, and Mauricio on Tuesday morning, and a doctor's appointment Tuesday afternoon with Joyce to get the results of her biopsy. Since Joyce doesn't speak any Spanish I'm assigned to all doctor's appointments...oh, joy!!!

Will's Update 7/26/11

2011-07-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I experienced a new way of doing laundry.....at least...it was new for me. When Bob and I drill we usually get pretty covered with clay and mud. Actually, I'm the one that is always covered in stuff. It is a mystery to both Bob and I. I just look at a speck of dirt and I'm covered! Bob can go a whole week of drilling while wearing one pair of pants to drill in whereas I go through 2 or 3 pairs! Weird huh? Anyway, when we are finished drilling or just need cleaner clothes to work in, we have to soak the clothing that we used for a few hours or a day. After soaking the clothes, we wring them out and toss them in the washing machine. THIS TIME, previous to soaking, I took the clothes out and hosed them down. After hosing the clothes out I soaked them for a day. After all that, the fun began! I had to hand scrub everything.

It was just me, a small brush, a bunch of water, and a lot of dirty laundry. I started at 8 in the morning and finished at 8:48. It took me 48 minutes just to scrub 3 pairs of pants and 3 T-shirts! Definitely made me appreciate a washing machine more BUT, I also realized how much more I take that washing machine for granted. When "laundry time" hits, we usually think of how much we hate to throw some clothes (usually a LARGE load) into the machine and then have to wait for all of it to wash. Then, after waiting for 30-40 minutes, we think of how much we hate throwing it in the dryer and having to wait another 30-40 minutes just to have dry clothes. Then after all the time is spent waiting for the clothing to be washed, dried, and folded, we want to think of how we could have spent that time doing something else much more entertaining.

While I was scrubbing, all that God continually reminded me of was that I should be VERY HAPPY that I didn't have to use 2 rocks and a creek while spending a whole day out scrubbing in very unsanitary conditions and then having to wait another day or so just for all of my clothing to air dry. That 48 minutes I spent scrubbing suddenly became much, much shorter.

I know things are not great in the States because of the whole debt crisis and other things, but we are all still blessed to be American citizens. Life in the States may get more frustrating but it will be NOWHERE NEAR how some have it here in Honduras. In the States, everyone will still have their microwaves, ovens, stove-tops, toasters, WASHING MACHINES, DRYERS, and other items whereas here....some people have to literally beg or steal for food, wade out in water that they use for drinking, cooking, bathing, and relieving themselves just to wash laundry, and other things.

I'm NOT BASHING anyone but those are just the thoughts that came to my mind. Most of us all grew up with these great things so we don't really know how much of a chore it is just to wash laundry and perform other daily tasks because we have the technology to quickly wipe it out without having to worry about getting dirty. We can just throw the laundry in the machines then walk away. While the machines are doing the work we can go watch T.V., talk on the phone, play video games, etc.

Thanks for reading guys! God bless!

Prayers for Joyce...

2011-07-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

Keep Joyce in your prayers...today she had another endoscopy to try to determine the cause of the pain she's experienced since her gall bladder removal. The test only revealed scar tissue from the previously removed peptic ulcer; however, the doctor felt the need to take a biopsy. We will have the results of the biopsy next Tuesday afternoon. Although we feel the biopsy is only precautionary we appreciate your prayers for positive results and for Joyce's discomfort to subside.

Will's Honduras Update 7/25/2011

2011-07-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

This week has been pretty busy. As mentioned in the last update we started drilling up in the mountains of Santa Cruz De Yojoa for a young missionary couple of Teen Missions. This past week was full of problems for what was supposed to be an "easy drill". We had 3 gaskets go out on us and then the air compressor during the course of drilling this week. As of Friday, we are at 135 ft. We hit rock so now we have to use the air hammer to break through all of that. The problem is that when we were lowering all of the stem back into the hole after connecting the air hammer, the compressor shut off on us exactly like it did back in February. So now, we have to wait for a technician from Grupo Laiesz to accompany us back to the drill site so he can check it out for us. We all believe that we are VERY close to water, so please pray that we can complete this well for this young missionary couple.

Wednesday night my pastor's wife, Marilyn, is coming down with two youth and they will be joining with an 18 person team from Washington D.C. Please pray for their travel and for the week. I really had a phenomenal time with the Tullahoma Team so I can't wait to see what happens with this new team.

Fabiola and Angel have finished their English lessons as of last Friday. Fabiola, Angel, Pedro, and Cesar will finish their Tutoring at Good seed this week. Rosa was bumped up to third grade because she is starting to excel with her education! Mauricio has been enjoying his summer break....maybe a bit too much! He is really getting a grasp of knowing how to be one of those quick-witted, funny guys that knows how to mess with you. It is so amazing to watch these kids change into what God is wanting them to be. I still can't believe sometimes that He has blessed us (YOU and I) to play such a vital part in the molding and shaping of the lives of these children. He is awesome!

Thank you all! Dios Te Bendiga Mi Familia En Jesus Cristo!

Bad News for all missionaries in Honduras...

2011-07-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

The Honduran government has announced the devaluing of the Lempira effective tomorrow from 18.895 against the U.S. dollar to 17.64! That means for every $1000 in donations we will lose $71.00! Of course it also means the cost of everything will be rising as well. And the big fear is that the maquilas (factories) will begin to leave which would put the country in a severe downward spiral.

Frustrations...

2011-07-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

This past week we've been drilling in the mountains for a Teen Mission training center. The drill should've been an easy one based upon what we saw of the terrain; however...

For three days we fought the mud pump trying to maintain a prime in it. First we made a new gasket for the intake housing and tried it out (unsuccessfully), next we made a new gasket for the outflow housing (unsuccessfully), next we made a new gasket for the impeller housing (unsuccessfully), and finally we removed the impeller and replaced all the packing glands in the pump. Now, completely rebuilt it is finally working. We quickly made it to 135' before hitting rock which was a good sign meaning we were passing out of the clay layer and possibly moving closer to water. We pulled all the stem and began to use the air hammer, but after 20 minutes it failed. The same problem we had with it before, the same problem the authorized dealer took 2 months to repair.

Now we down again...waiting on the technician to return on Tuesday before we can once again try to complete this well. Pray for us...

Will's Honduras Update 7/19/2011

2011-07-19T17:38:00.001-07:00

Hey guys! Sorry it has been such a while!

The States:

I arrived safely back in Honduras on the 15th after being back in the states since the 9th. It was a bittersweet 9 days.

When I returned in April to renew my visa, I was in a hurry to return to Honduras. I wanted to get back to work on drilling, I wanted to be back with Bob and Joyce, I wanted to return to the kids because I was fearing my absence was doing more harm than good in terms of my relationship with them, and I wanted to get to see Alba after having such a wonderful weekend with her prior to leaving.

This time, when I was back in the States, I yearned for both Honduras and Tellico. You never really know how much a place or the people in that place mean to you until you have to leave it. That is how it was for me when I returned to Tellico to see my family at home and of my church. I missed the times of just sitting around a campfire with friends late at night. I missed sitting with Tim, Patrick, Paige, Chris, and others while laughing so hard that I couldn't breath. I missed hanging out with my buddy Brandon for hours just talking about Jesus and playing NCAA Football. I missed seeing my pastor. I missed seeing my little sister Danielle and a lot of other things. However, while back in the states I also missed the new family that God gave me here in Honduras and Alba. I missed hearing Bob's funny but corny jokes, Joyce's awesome cooking and wondering if she was okay, Rosa's goodnight hug, Mauricio's and Fabiola's wisecracks, and I missed being with Alba and the laughs we have over my mishaps with Spanish. I found myself wishing how I could have both worlds...the family, friends, and fellowship of Tellico Plains....and those of which I have here in Honduras such as: the peace in my heart, the family, and Alba.

Even though I had these thoughts (and ALOT more) going through my head....none of the people and things mentioned above surpass the love and desire I have for Christ and serving Him here in Honduras. All I want is to make Him proud. I want Him to say to me one day: "Well done my good and faithful servant!". Everything that I have sacrificed for Him (my family, friends, career, finances) I truly count as rubbish in comparison to Him. He is my everything. He is the ONLY reason why I have all the great memories, my family, and my friends of Tellico. He is the ONLY reason why I have this family and Alba here in Honduras.

I would rather have Him and lose everything....than to have everything but Him.

Now:

Bob and I are currently drilling in Santa Cruz De Yajoa. We are drilling for a young missionary couple that run a missionary school for "Teen Missions". It is up in the mountains and the Mosquitoes there are complete and utter BEASTS!!! Bob keeps saying that they love white meat and I believe him! Makes me wish I had an air-conditioned, biohazard suit! I'm not sure if they exist, but it sure would be nice to have one!

Starting on the 28th we will have a 22-person team. 3 will come on the 28th and they will be My pastor's wife Marilyn Parker (who has known the kids since 2009) and 2 girls. Then on the 29th we will meet up with the remainder of the team and they will be from Washington D.C. Please pray for their travels to and from the country.

Thank you all for your prayers and help. For those of you who support me on a monthly basis. I OWE you a HUGE "Thank You".

Dios Te Benidiga!!!

Prayer Request...

2011-07-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

Please lift your hearts in prayer for Craig & Toni Gross...many of you may not know them, but suffice it to say they are great warriors for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! They were notified yesterday that their son had been killed in action in Afghanistan.

You don't have to know them to feel for them! You don't have to know them to entreat the Lord to send the only thing that can possibly heal a father's or mother's heart...more of the Holy Spirit! Remember them often and remember Frank, who gave his life that terrorists might not ever step foot on our land again.

Girls day out....

2011-07-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Fabiola has both sessions of her summer school cancelled so she and her mother are going shopping for the day!!! Only two girls could waste an entire day doing nothing but shopping, but they seem to be geared up for it. It will be Joyce's first day out on her own since coming home from the hospital, so it'll be good for her.

Poor Bob...he's left to contend with the rest of the"brood"....

Built on a firm foundation...

2011-07-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Except for the finishing touches, the pics below are of a house built on a firm foundation, bathed in prayer, and ready for occupancy! Next week a family with a paralytic son will be moving into a home that prior to this wasn't even a dream for them. Blessings to all who worked on this project.

Although it looks small in these pictures, inside it has two bedrooms, a living area, and a full bathroom.

Summer school schedule...

2011-07-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

7:00 a.m. drop Rosa, Cesar, & Antonio at Rodolfo Rojas & return home
8:00 a.m. drop Fabiola, Angel, & Pedro at Good Seed and return home
9:30 a.m. pick-up Fabi, Angel, & Pedro at Good Seed & return home
12:00 noon pick-up Rosa, Cesar, & Antonio at Rodolfo Rojas & return home for lunch
1:00 p.m. drop Cesar at Good Seed, drop Angel at Miss Ligua's tutoring class
2:00 p.m. pick -up Cesar; 2:15 p.m. pick-up Angel and drop Fabiola at Miss Ligua's
4:00 p.m. pick-up Fabiola & return for dinner

In between: run the house, drill wells, build houses, host teams, and NAP!!!

Joyce is home....

2011-07-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord we brought Joyce home from the hospital today shortly after noon. She feels much better although she understandably very tired. The vomiting has stopped and she is eating a limited diet.

Thanks to each of you for your very powerful prayers.

Bob

More on Joyce...

2011-07-09T16:09:00.001-07:00

Just back from the hospital and we didn't get to bring Joyce home today as we had hoped. She still is unable to keep anything in her stomach including just plain water and it has the doctors concerned.

She will spend another night in the hospital and then they will re-evaluate in the morning. We all thank you for the many, many prayers you all are lifting for Joyce and for the family.

Bob & kids

Latest news on Joyce...

2011-07-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

The surgery went well yesterday and the gall bladder has been removed. We were hoping she might get released today, but that's not to be. The doctor wants to continue to monitor her pain levels, as well as, the levels of her pancreas.

If all goes well she may get to come home tomorrow around noon....thank you each for your continued prayers.

Bob & Kids

Joyce update....

2011-07-07T20:59:00.000-07:00

Joyce is currently scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning 10:30a.m. The doctor told us if everything goes as planned she could come home Sat. morning. PTL! Keep praying!

Prayer Needs...

2011-07-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

Joyce is immobilized at this moment with pain in her right side, shoulder, and back. We've contacted her doctor and he moved her appt. up to 12:00 noon from 2:00 p.m. so hopefully she will get some relief then.

The kids called me home from the eye doctor where I was getting my cataracts checked. The drive home was interesting...they had given me drops to dilate my eyes which of course allows much more light to enter the eye giving you severely blurred vision. In the states they make you wait an appropriate amount of time. Here they just send you 'squinting' on your way.

Pray the Lord will bring relief to Joyce and she will be pain free.

More Of Mauricio's Handiwork

2011-07-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Mauricio made a few adjustments to his little tri-cycle so that it could move much faster than the last model. Here is Mauricio's machine.....version 2.0!!!

"Senor Inteligente!!!"

Mauricio shows his talents...

2011-07-05T17:14:00.000-07:00

Mauricio made this motorized car literally from nothing. He had wires, cogs, axels, wheels, pieces that he made into contacts, etc. and he put them all together himself. He wired the battery, fit the gears together, installed a forward and reverse switch just to mention a few. There were many pieces missing so he improvised, fought through many problems, and ended up with a spectacular invention! What a truly outstanding job!!!

Joyce & IHNFA updates...

2011-07-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Joyce had an x-ray and an MRI done yesterday along with a creatine test. She has an appointment w/the doctor to review the results on Thursday at 2:00 p.m.

We met today for 2 hours with Irma at her IHNFA office, but this time we had our judge friend w/us! It makes a big difference when you have a little 'influence' on your side. At the conclusion of the meeting the judge told us she would open her own investigation of our case, would be sending us a new lawyer familiar w/IHNFA requirements, and would schedule an evaluation of Antonio by a government psychologist. There were some baseless accusations thrown around, but we're not worried about them now that we feel there's someone to get to the truth.

Please continue to pray for both of these situations, as well as, travel mercies for Will who leaves for the states tomorrow.

Will's Update (Tullahoma) PT. 4

2011-07-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

At the end of the week, the teams that come down are given a "free day". For the Tullahoma team's free day they wanted to go check out the Pulhapanzak waterfall (which is 150 ft.) and boy was it a sight! This was my first time to the waterfall and I can honestly say that when you go there, you are experiencing something that would be featured in the National Geographic magazines. It was unbelievable!

When we arrived to the waterfall, we all changed and prepared for a tour through, under, and behind the waterfall. This was INCREDIBLE! When we started the tour, we went down a path which lead to a bunch of rocks we had to climb over. Once over the rocks you just see the guide jump into a large pool of water. When I saw that pool of water and realized that we had to go through...I knew that this was not going to be as easy as I expected. One by one everybody jumped into the pool of water and made it to the next set of rocks. Once over the rocks we walked right under the waterfall. That was brutal! The guide informed us that we could not breath through our noses because the water was so constant that it would go right in our nostrils. He then told us that we would have to hold our heads down and breath through our mouths. That really wasn't so hard. The hard part was seeing where you were going. After we went under the waterfall there was another pool of water and you could barely see where to go. All you could see was a white mist everywhere. Everyone made it through to the next set of rocks which went behind the fall so we all had a brief break from the constant pounding that the waterfall was laying on us (imagine water constantly falling on your head from 150 feet above).

That was where the best moment of the entire week for me occurred. Fabiola was a little bit nervous before starting (which surprised me because this was her second trip to the waterfall) and was not sure if she wanted to go. I told her that I would stay with her no matter what she decided and that if she was to go I would stay right with her. She opted to go...so I followed. I did not let her leave my side. After the first pool of water she told me she was starting to get cold but she kept pushing. When we made it behind the waterfall, there was a point where a person could sit without a lot of water hitting them. Tim and I told Fabiola to sit there. When we were at that spot, I noticed she was shaking and there was still some water falling on her. I put my left arm around her shoulders and placed my back to the water that way it would land on me and not on her. We sat there for at least 5 minutes. For me...that was a tremendous moment. All my life, I have had a desire to protect people (I believe that is why I wanted a career in Law Enforcement so badly) especially those I love. God blessed me with a moment in which I could protect her and sacrifice my comfort for her comfort. THAT MOMENT WILL FOREVER BE BURNED IN MY MIND AND IN MY HEART. I love these kids, they have all of my heart...and I had the opportunity to show that to one of them that very day.

After some time passed, we got to go inside a small cave (and I mean small!). After the cave we headed back out to the path so that we could jump off a 35ft. cliff into the water. That's right mom....I jumped off a cliff! It was cool! I wish I had a pic of it but I didn't even think to have Bob take a picture (he didn't go) for me. It...Was...Awesome!!!

I have never seen such a beautiful site. After walking out from under the fall, you had to climb a specific rock on the way out. I looked up and could see EVERYTHING. I could see the entire waterfall from top to bottom. I thought to myself "God is SO AMAZING!!!" Just think. If you look at these pictures I've enclosed, God made all of that! I was so grateful to experience what I did that day. I learned a lesson that day too. Because of my obedience, I blessed me with the opportunity to take part in something that most people around the world will never see. When we serve Him, He blesses us in ways that we could never imagine. I never thought that at the age of 25 I would see what I did that day. BUT, because of His mercy and grace...I was blessed to take part in it. That is something that things of this world can NEVER buy. All He wants are our hearts! We make it so hard on ourselves. Imagine how much more He would bless us if we were obedient all the time! Yet...even when we are faithless...He is faithful.

Thank you all for your prayers! FBC Tellico, I can not wait to see you guys! 2 more days!

"Yep...that is what we were under."

"Once again..we were under ALL of that! Cool huh!?"

"Amber DaCosta zip-lining across the fall (Shows how big the waterfall is!)"

"Big waterfall=Small People"

Another prayer request...

2011-07-03T14:31:00.000-07:00

Joyce has been diagnosed with a gall stone. She goes for two MRIs tomorrow and then they will determine whether they try to dissolve the stone with an oral solution, sonic bombarding, or removal of the gall bladder. PLEASE PRAY

Judicial meeting...

2011-07-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Joyce & I spent 2-1/2 hours meeting with a judge in the Family Court section of the Honduras court system. She is the wife a vet. friend we have here is San Pedro Sula and agreed to hear our story of the kids and what's occurring now.

We told her the whole story, including the fact that the director of the orphanage was a Catholic priest, and she was appalled upon hearing their plight. We also told her we fear the priest is paying 'parents' to show up and file claims for their previously abandoned children simply so he can take them from us....it's his way of punishing us, we believe.

She has agreed to accompany us to a meeting with IHNFA (Child Welfare) next week and will also open her own private investigation of our case. Please pray she follows through on all of her promises, as she has also promised to find us a Christian lawyer with expertise in INHFA.

Thanks for all your prayers.....

Will's Update (Tullahoma) PT. 3

2011-07-02T12:26:00.001-07:00

During days 3 & 4, we were able to work at the site for the house.

Day 3 was !!!BRUTAL!!! We were all stoked in the morning to finally go out and try to complete as much of the work as we possibly could. When we arrived at the worksite it became really hot. The ground was all broken up and the footers were dug for the foundation so all we had to do was pour the footers. Easy right???? NOPE. We had to mix our own concrete....without mixers. When you mix concrete down here you have to sift sand, pile it up in an isolated part of the worksite, dump concrete mix on it, then water, and then you start mixing it on the ground by shovel. That seems like it takes forever because as you mix it you have to prevent the pile of mud from losing any water. Once the concrete is mixed you take it by the bucket full and pour it in the ground. Once the bottom layer is poured, you have to take rocks and place them by hand on the concrete in two rows. After you finish the laying down of the rock, you have to pour another layer of concrete.

Halfway through the day of work Alejandro (one of the men overseeing our work) and Tim brought another load of blocks for us to unload. It was Tim and I along with some of the bigger youth and by the time we had unloaded all of the blocks we were all drained. None of us could work anymore. I went to the tent that we all had set up for breaks and I drank the most water I ever had in one sitting. I looked over and Tim was sitting on top of the blocks with a towel over his head slumped over, the youth were just all over the place sitting on the ground, and the rest of the group was pretty much like us. They were either sitting or moving real slow trying to mix more concrete. Everybody was physically drained. Eventually, Bob and Andy decided we all had to leave.

Day 4 was practically the same. We arrived eager and excited to work, then left completely drained and exhausted. For part of the workday, most of the women went to an even poorer part of the area and evangelized. After they returned and worked for the rest of the day we were once again all drained. I went to the tent and realized we were out of water so Joyce had me run to a pulperia and purchase another 5 gallon bottle of water. At the end of the day we had half of the bottle left so Joyce told me to return it to the pulperia owner so that she could use the water. I returned, gave her the water, and as soon as I left God laid it on my heart to talk to her about Christ. I returned with Bob and it turned out that she and her entire family were Christians. Whenever I have seen her after, she calls me brother! Pretty cool huh!?

Part 4 will be next.

Thank you all!

Wipeout(s) Of The Day.

2011-07-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

On the brightside....the kids did get to have some fun out on the street today. As you will see....we also had some wild moments! Both guys took the falls pretty well!

NOTICE: No kids were harmed during the filming of these videos.....it just looked like it hurt.

***Definitely not trained professionals. Please do not attempt these at home.***

We need a miracle...

2011-07-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

I'm just back from the 'visitation' for Rosa, Cesar, Pedro, & their mother. The same mother who burned Rosa's genitals with a iron creating heavy scarring because she allegedly wasn't obeying. The mother was very plain looking, but had all the court documents she needed to prove who she was. She didn't appear bright enough to me to gather the documents on her own. She didn't speak to the kids and the kids didn't speak to her, but they were made to stand with her for a picture.

This morning I believe I received some discernment from God about this 'visit'. I believe God's telling me that Padre Vincente is behind this and the taking away of Gershon, Karen, & Jesus. None of these people ever wanted anything to do with their kids until a year after we had custody of them. We, and Fiscaglia (the attorney general's office) know that Vincente was using the kids to raise huge amounts of money from Europe and now that 'meal ticket' was gone. We all know that many kids simply disappeared and that one was murdered! But they still won't stop him. I think he is vindictive enough to be paying these 'parents' to come get legal custody of these children just to punish us. Being a Catholic Priest in this country makes you virtually untouchable! After the kids and I testified against Vincente in court he was given a sentence of 22 years casa a casa, or house arrest. But almost immediately he was out and driving (he had an accident) and he's opened up a new school for kids that nobody checks on.

I feel certain that unless God works a miracle it's only a matter of time until we lose Rosa, Cesar, & Pedro! We have to take them back for a second 'visit' on the 2nd of August, and again this is the same pattern that developed with the other three we lost. PLEASE PRAY! We(you and us) may be the last chance these kids get!!!

Back To Work And Prayer Requested

2011-07-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today Bob, Mauricio, and I headed back out to the site of the house to continue stuccoing. So far 3/4's of the house is finished in terms of stuccoing. Mauricio was an all-around help for Bob and I today. With him helping us we knocked out the bathroom walls, one interior side, and 1 1/2 sides of the exterior! Not bad for a half day's work!!! Unfortunately we could not stay all day (I think we could have finished all of the walls if we did) because we were hit with a surprise yesterday.

As you all know already, Pedro, Rosa, and Cesar have to go to IHNFA to take part in a visitation with someone from their family today at 2 pm. Which is why I want to ask all of you to please pray. Like Bob said in the last post, this is EXACTLY how it started when they took Gershon, Karen, and Jesus from us. PLEASE PRAY!

We will let you all know what happens later.

"The roof is started!"

"I'm too short!"

"Mauricio working on the outside."

Prayer Request...

2011-06-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

Please join us in prayer for Rosa, Cesar, & Pedro (siblings) who have been ordered to appear at the IHNFA (child welfare) Office tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. for a visit from a family member. We've not been told who the family member is or what the nature of the visit is. When we asked if they were going to take these three like they did Gershon, Karen, & Jesus they told us, "no, it's just a visit." But that's what they told us the last time also.

We're probably worrying over nothing, but please entreat the Lord to protect these precious children from the irresponsible acts of the Honduran government!

Wicked storm and progress on the house...

2011-06-30T05:12:00.000-07:00

THE HOUSE: Will & I went back to work on the house we started w/the group from Tullahoma last week and great progress is being made. The walls are up, the plumbing for the bathroom is in, the header is poured, and 3 of the inside walls are stuccoed! We'll return today to work on more of the stuccoing (we're taking Mauricio w/us to give us a hand). It remains brutally hot, tough work; but it's getting done...thanks for all your prayers.

Stuccoing the corner is the tough part

The header is getting the final touches.

Some of the plumbing for the bathroom

Remember each block is 3.3' long!

THE STORM:

Tuesday night we had a tornado-type storm here that knocked out our electricity about 5:00 p.m. and worse yet caused flooding throughout our house....every window in the house leaked water (they don't bother to caulk around anything down here)...the wind was literally blowing the rain sideways and the lightning was illuminating the entire sky.

We mopped, and mopped, and mopped, and then we mopped some more. Finally the rain subsided and we got ahead of the leaks, but every towel, blanket, and rag in the house had been used to stuff in the windows to slow down the in-coming water. Oh, did I mention it felt like an oven...no fans, no air, no lights, NO FUN! Finally around midnight the power came back on and everyone gave a shout out to God!!!

Will's Update (Tullahoma) PT. 2

2011-06-29T16:20:00.001-07:00

Sorry it took so long to get this one to you guys! I had to pick Alba up from her university Monday night then we had a nasty storm last night! So here you guys go!

Day 2:

Tuesday started off as a pretty disappointing day for the team. Halfway to the worksite I watched Bob pull over so I did as well. Bob approached the window and told us we had no work today because they did not have any water! Once again...we were Hondurased!!! Since we could not work that day we decided that it would be the day that the team would go to the hospital and to some poor villages of the city to evangelize. For the team it would turn out to be one of the most emotional days they had ever had in their lives thus far. They witnessed some truly great things and also realized how blessed we really were by God to be raised in the States like we all have.

After receiving the news we turned around and took the team to the house to sort through their supplies for the hospital and for the villages. We divided the team into two groups with Bob and Joyce taking one group to the hospital while Tim and I took the other to a village. The team that went to the hospital were hit hard with some difficult sights. The toughest for most was walking into the ER and seeing a young man that was beaten by a gang crying and screaming in agonizing pain while doctors were working on him. They saw how the hospital lacked resources to perform many of the common yet necessary procedures and I believe that is what surprised most of them. I can't really say much about the hospital because I have yet to personally experience it myself. To tell the truth, I don't know if I want to. Many people that have experienced the hospital's environment say it is horrible and VERY HARD to walk through.

When Tim and I took the groups to the slums, I was excited. I love performing outreach so this was where my heart was for the day. We took the first group to a bordo that is along one of the roads that we take when transporting Mauricio, Angel, and Fabi to school. I did not know what to expect because I had never been to this bordo before. Turns out, it was perfect! Usually when you perform any kind of outreach in a bordo you het swarmed very quickly by large crowds of children and others because they all want what you are giving out. The problem with that is the fact that when it happens it immediately closes any door you have to personally tell the gospel to others. All you can really do is give out tracts and important supplies then leave when your out of supplies. What was so perfect about this site was the fact that it was not a large-scale bordo. It was large but the population itself was not huge. After handing out supplies the group got a chance to go door to door and tell others about the TRUE Christ and about the gospel of FAITH and NOT WORKS. It was truly rewarding for me to watch them.

In the afternoon we took the other team to another bordo and it turned out to be VERY SMALL. We did learn however that there were other Christians there! One in particular was an elderly lady of 76 years who was living in a shack. I learned that she was all by herself and that her husband had died, her children lived far away and the only one that was nearby was a drunkard. She told us that she need a new house which was very hard for me to hear because I did not know what to really do. I told her that I would talk with Bob to see if Cepudo would be able to build her a new house (like the one the team worked on) which unfortunately, they can't. I found out through Bob that the country selects who the houses are built for and Cepudo donates their time in helping build the houses. We prayed with her and thanked her for her strength and the inspiration she was to us. She was a great inspiration because here is a 76 year old woman who has nothing and no family but yet she was keeping her faith. She even told us that she had been praying for years that God would send some "gringos" her way to pray with her! Isn't it awesome how God answers prayer!? I asked her if I could go into her house to check it out and she gave me permission. I'll enclose some photos in this update. I was hard for me to walk through and experience that BUT, what was so cool is that when I walked in I noticed she had a radio on. Guess what she was listening to? A SERMON! I was so amazed! I never expected to walk into a shack like that and hear a sermon being played in one! It really lifted me to see how she keeps her faith in such hard conditions like that!

At the end of the day, God had worked some amazing things out. For me it was the most satisfying day I have ever had down here. The team really had a heart for evangelizing and it was going non-stop all day. It was truly amazing watching them.

Personal Update:

I've got my return flight back to Honduras scheduled thanks to my home church of Tellico. I'll return to Honduras on July 15th and my next flight out will not be until the 19th of January. I'm not sure if I will return to the states or not on the 19th though. I'll have the process of applying for my residency started before then and I will only have to pay $20 a month to renew my visa. So this may be the last visit for me to the states for a long time. To tell the truth, I am actually excited about going to the States this time. I talked with my mom via skype a month ago and before I hung up she told me she loved me. That felt so good to hear that. You never really miss people saying that to you until you don't hear it anymore. I am super excited to see my family, friends, and pastor again. Thank you all for your prayers and your support. Whether it be monetary or emotional. You are all truly awesome!

Part 3 next!

"One of the groups in one of the bordos"

"Andy Stallings telling the kids about Jesus"

"Old ladies house 1"

"Old ladies house 2"

Will's Update (Tullahoma) PT. 1

2011-06-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

Hola mi familia en Jesus Cristo! This week has been long but truly rewarding! I enjoyed every minute of it.......well, except the times Bob, Joyce, and I had to make 25+ PB&J sandwiches every morning. :)

This week we hosted a wonderful and close-knit team from First Baptist Church of Tullahoma, TN. These guys were fantastic! They were an absolute blast to be with. I have never seen such a strong group of believers...especially, their youth! When the time came for them to leave I did not want them to go. I can not tell all of you how great it was to have fellowship with other individuals 24/7 that spoke English!

The reason why I have the title of this update labeled "pt. 1", is due to the fact that I had a lot of thoughts throughout the week and I am aiming to share all that I can during the course of this week in separate e-mails.

So whats for part 1? Here we go:

We had to pick Tim up an hour or so before the team arrived in the airport. Turns out, both flights were delayed due to storms in Miami so we had to wait longer than what was expected. By the time the night was over we had the team and Tim at the hostel around 12:30 A.M. After all the delays and setbacks of the day I had a feeling this was going to be an awesome week!

For Day 1 of the week we all met up at the hostel around 7 A.M., had our morning devotions, then headed to the worksite. We had the family van, a rented van, and the big red machine. Guess who was driving the truck? ME. :) To be honest I was kind've nervous the very first morning because I had never driven the truck through morning traffic and as far as I did. By the time we arrived to the worksite, I enjoyed every minute of the morning drive. Fortunately...so did the individuals riding with me! YES!!!!

We were expecting a lot of work at the job site and we were pretty surprised when we realized how much work we were really in store for when we arrived. We started the day off by using hoes trying to prepare the land to dig the footers and that took FOREVER!!! I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed that part even a bit! That was brutal! The ground was super hard and it took all day before the footers could be dug. Halfway through the day Tim, Bob, 2 members from the team, mauricio and I had to head out to the city to pick up some blocks for the house. That was also another big surprise! When we arrived, we discovered that the place that sold the blocks didn't have any (we were Hondurased)! Since they were out of the blocks, we had to drive all the way to the other side of the city. When we arrived we learned that they had the blocks....it just took an hour and a half for the foreman that was with us to set it up to where we could pick the blocks up (literally) and deliver them. On the way back Joyce informed called Bob and informed him that the team at the worksite had to leave because there was nothing else they could do. The heat was just getting to everybody and there was no more work that could be done until the footers were dug. Two locals were going to take care of that. When the 6 of us returned to the site, we had to unload the blocks from the big red machine and I enjoyed that part! That was the end of Day 1. Day 2 in part 2!

God bless guys and thank you all for your prayers and support! You guys are awesome!

Dios Te Bendiga!!!

"These aren't Legos we played with"

"Tim poking away"

"Breaking ground"

"Wee-man hulking out (Caution: WILL STRIKE)"

Honor Roll...

2011-06-28T13:19:00.001-07:00

We picked up the report cards for Mauricio & Fabiola today and they joined younger brother, Angel, on the honor roll!!! To realize how big an achievement that is you need to remember that this is there first year ever in a bi-lingual school and that just two years they didn't speak a word of English. Now in their first year in an "English-only" school they are on the honor roll!

Great job Angel, Mauricio, & Fabiola....we're all very proud of you and of what God's done in you.

New friends on their way home...

2011-06-25T10:42:00.001-07:00

One week later, much hard work has passed, many exciting sights, sounds, smells experienced, and life-long friends have been made. Now the team from FBC Tullahoma is on their way home. They have left an indelible mark on the country, the people, and on our family! Andy and his 'team' were stalwarts in every sense of the word; spiritually and physically!

We hate to see you go and can't wait to have you back again....be blessed,

Bob, Joyce, Will, Tim, Fabi, Mauricio, Rosa, Antonio, Cesar, Angel, & Pedro

The team arrives...finally!

2011-06-20T05:40:00.000-07:00

Last night we welcomed a 21 person team from FBC Tullahoma, TN. They had a long, tough day...leaving Nashville very early in the morning and not arriving here until 10:00 p.m. Actually it was after 11 before they got out of customs and after 12 midnight before they got their room assignments and could head to bed.

Today we begin building a house for a handicapped young man and I expect to see many yawns (mostly mine) along the way. The team will build the house from the ground clearing to the roof, conduct VBS', and visit a local hospital. Lots of work ahead and lots of enthusiasm to 'jump right into it'.

Day Of Liberation Part Deux!!!

2011-06-17T19:08:00.001-07:00

Today Joyce came back home so today we concluded the celebrating of the day that God saved the children from Alzira (the orphanage they were in). So what did we do? We took them to a waterpark named "Wonderland". Here are some pics from today:

Cesar climbing a pole

Fabi was caught off-guard

"Lucky shot"

"Rosa Smiling"

"Angel....Easily Entertained As Usual"

Will's Honduras Update 6/17/2011

2011-06-17T18:55:00.001-07:00

Buenas mi familia!

Other than the heat, things here have been pretty good besides some constant problems from three of the children. Myself...I earned the name "Senor Madre" during the past two weeks! When Joyce left I was a little worried about filling her shoes for two weeks but she took care of some things to make it a wee bit easier and I can tell you now that I feel much more confident about having to "take control" if Bob and Joyce are ever blessed with an opportunity to take a trip back home (which they need desperately). The only problem would be the cooking part.....

...Grilled cheese sandwiches aren't so bad. :)

Sunday we have a team of 21 people coming in and I am excited to see how the rest of the week goes. The team is from First Baptist Church of Tullahoma, TN. It is the church's youth group (along with some parents) and they are coming primarily to build a house for the poor, perform some VBS's, and to minister to a local hospital. Tim is also coming down to help out too so I'm pretty excited about that.

Mauricio, Fabiola, and Angel performed great on their final's and are now out of school until August. This is their favorite time of the year because they really enjoy ministering with other teams especially Fabiola. Fabiola and Angel will also be taking summer courses to improve their English.

I return to the States on July 6th and so far I have 3 meetings with pastors lined up. I will also present on the 10th at my church (FBC Tellico) and I am pretty excited about that. They have really helped me through the process of being a missionary and I owe them a presentation.

As I mentioned in the last update, Alba and I continue to grow closer together. I continue to "impress" her with my Spanish and we are communicating really well. There are a few times when my brain just has a meltdown and I can't speak or listen but those moments are beginning to be rare. The last week or two we have been able to have some time together but the next few weeks are going to be difficult. The team comes in Sunday afternoon and will not leave until the 25th so I will not be able to see her at all that week. The following week we might be able to have a day or two to be together but then I fly out shortly after.

As far as my airfare to return back to Honduras goes...it still is not set in concrete but I hope to return on July 15th. I have to be back by the 18th because Bob and I have to go drill up in the mountains for a young couple that runs a ministry that produces Honduran missionaries who go out to minister to their own people. Pray for the airfare please. The plan is to schedule a flight back for the 15th and a return flight back to the States in January. Joyce brought back my police records which are needed to begin the process of my residency. If I can begin the process of my residency I need only to go to immigrations once a month and pay $20 or $30 a month in order to renew my visa instead of having to fly in and out of the country every 90 days. If the "residency" thing does not work I'll drive to the Guatemalan border every 3 months and renew my visa that way.

Thank all of you for praying and those of you who give. You guys are changing the lives of these children and helping them to be molded into the "life-changers" God plans them to be. Thank you for praying for this family and thank you for your faith.

Your brother,

Will.

Our Anchor is delayed...

2011-06-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

We received a call early this morning that our anchor, Joyce, would not be returning to us today. That's not good news for us...we all miss her and were looking forward to her return, but there was an electrical storm in Knoxville that prevented her plane from coming in. Now she will be returning tomorrow and we will be even more excited to see her. Please pray she has safe travel.

2 YEARS!!!

2011-06-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

Today is June 11th! What is so special about this day you ask? This day is the 2 year anniversary of the day that Jesus pulled the children out of the horrible orphanage that they were in and started the process of molding them into the life-changers that He wants them to be. Within an instant, they went from experiencing many horrible things on a daily basis to experiencing love of not just us...but the love of God.

On this day, we want to tell all of you "THANK YOU". Those words are constantly used by everyone in this world and often times, there is no heart in the saying. We can assure you, that when we say "THANK YOU"...we mean it. Because of YOU, these children are becoming those life-changers that God wants them to be. Bob, Joyce, and I know with all of our hearts that God has a HUGE plan for these children. Because of YOU, these children are hearing and learning about God's WORD on a daily basis. Because of you they are affecting the lives of other's right now. Because of you...they have a future, a hope, love, strength, personality......FAITH. You are helping these children see that there is more to life than what this world portrays. Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations and you are doing just that through these children.

Thank you Jesus for choosing these children!

Thank you Jesus for placing these children in our lives!

Thank you Jesus for those who have helped us and continue to help us disciple these children!

and....

Thank ALL of YOU who are playing such a vital role in the lives of these children by your prayers, visits, monthly support, love, and FAITH.

Even though some of you may not realize it...you will one day change the country of Honduras forever through the sowing into of the lives of these children.

!!!THANK YOU!!!

Below we have included some pictures of the cake and the 7 AND some "Before/After" photos in order for you to see the physical changes in these children that you allowed to occur through your love and prayers:

"Celebrating The Anniversary With A Cake!!!"

"Close up of the Cake"

"Fabiola Before/After:"

"Mauricio Before/After"

"Cesar Before/After:"

"Antonio Before/After:"

"Angel Before/After:"

"Rosa Before/After:"

"Pedro Before/After:"