All that Jazz!

Rosa, Fabiola, & Karen headed to jazz class

Not so Fast..........

I'm still in Honduras! The plane from Miami never made it so I'll try again tomorrow. On top of that someone hit an electric pole near our home and we were without electricity all day and it was sweltering!

I did get my fine paid to get my Visa legalized, so I should be good to go tomorrow.

The kids are excited because two friends are coming from the states to spend a week with them. Hope you're well rested Marilyn & Jessica!

Off to the States

Tonight is my last night in Honduras for 18 days and I have mixed feelings already. I have really been looking forward to getting a break and just sitting on my little hill in TN. but the kids are already pulling on me.

Joyce has some church friends coming in on Sat. to help her out, Marilyn Parker & Jessica Ervin, who have both been here before and know the kids well so it will be a good fit. The kids will be kept busy and Joyce will have plenty of help. The next week our daughter Nicole Adams is coming down of course, Joyce is looking forward to that. This will be Nicole's first chance to meet the kids and she's excited. Then the last few days our tutor will be spending all day here to help Joyce until I return.

I have a big Board Meeting on the 29th, some church meetings in Tampa, Plant City, & Clearwater and then head to TN. Please keep Joyce and the kids in your prayers, as I know you always do.

Plodding Along

Another morning in the dentist's chair....got Claud off and on his way to see his family again; just a reminder to pray for their resources as they prepare to come to the field full time.

The three older kids continue w/their testing; today was science, tomorrow is social studies...they've been working hard so we're all hoping for good scores.

Right now the therapist is working with Pedro's voice and motor skills.

Joyce took Antonio and Jesus to the University Dental School today for their cleaning and rescheduling for additional work.

Frustrations

Spent another day going from office to office trying to get my Visa back in good standing....will try again tomorrow. Sometimes it gets really, really frustrating dealing with the ineptness here.

Kids are working hard this week as they have tests akin to the progress tests the 'no child left behind' program has. Earlier in the week it was Spanish, today was math, and tomorrow is science. They aren't liking the fact that someone is making them sit still and study, but they're doing it.

Tomorrow our friend from MI., Claud, returns to his family. Claud has been a real blessing to us and we've really enjoyed his company. He definitely knows drilling and will be a huge asset to us when he and his family get their funds raised to move here on a permanent basis. Pray that God will bless them with the resources they need to fulfill the dream of the heart...to go and serve!

Just Things

Claud & I are still under the weather and ready to get "out from under it"!

The children are all still on meds, but none are getting any worse...holding their own.

Big Spanish test tomorrow for our 3 fifth graders....we're planning on hearing that the 'Coder' kids are the smartest in the whole school! They've been working hard over the weekend.

We found out one reason for Angel's constant screaming is he can't hear well...his ear was so impacted with wax that it took the doctor two treatments to get it all out. Tomorrow he goes for a hearing test.

A Day to Forget...........

Dentist all morning, flu all day! Now Claud has it too!

Flu, flu, go away; come again some other day.......

Father's Day Treat

Today is Father's Day in Honduras and the schools all have big events to celebrate it. Joyce, Claud, & I all went to Rodolfo Rojas, the school of 6 of the children to see their program (you are expected to attend). I have been sick w/the flu and had no desire to go, but after we were there the skits were cute and we were enjoying ourselves. But the best was yet to come...

They made an announcement for children to come forward w/their fathers for a contest and Mauricio ran up behind me ask me if I wanted to go up w/him! It was an absolutely huge moment...Mauricio is bright and funny, but always guarded...you can tell he wants to trust but is afraid to allow himself to become vulnerable again. So many have come and gone in their lives that it's difficult for them to take the step of faith in relationships. But now, he was asking me to go in front of his whole school as his father! Needless to say I forgot about my illness and it felt as if I were floating as we walked up on the stage.

In the contest the administrator asked the children to mimic something their fathers did in the home. Mauricio was the last to go...all the others had been cute and I thought he would be cute and we would go back to our seats. After Mauricio did his thing they did a vote by voice for each contestant. Again they started with one furtherest from us and the voting was building and building. Then when the administrator called our names the entire school stood & screamed and screamed! We had won by a landslide...what did Mauricio do? Remember he was to imitate something his father does in the house...Any of you who know me personally will understand what I mean when I say my walk has a certain "gait" to it. Well, Mauricio did his best arm swinging strut across the stage and evidently everybody in Honduras now recognizes my 'gait' as well!

Newly Coifed

Water, We Have Water!

Water = Showers & Empty Toilets...now that's livin' high!

Day 2, no water.........

Things are beginning to pile up around here, i.e. dirty clothes, dirty dishes, smelly aromas, overflowing toilets & not w/water, and dirty kids. Think you want to embrace any of these little 'angels' now?

This morning only three could go to school, the three who got a bath just before the water got shut off. Everyone else was confined to the house because of body odor...I'm not too sure I shouldn't have sent them to school and let the teachers deal with it.

Isn't it odd that a ministry named Wellspring of Life would be enduring life with no water?

The Pump, The Dentist, & The Doctor...

There is joy in La Confiensa!

Today was medical day at our house...our new tutor has a sister who is a 4th year dental student and she came by the house to examine all 10 kids so she could give a report to her college professor. He is going to begin treating the kids on Wednesday, two at a time meaning we may finally get these kids mouths healthy again.

We also have a new physical therapist for Pedro who is a paramedic and he came by tonight with his stethoscope and checked out all of our runny noses and deep coughs. He told us all of them have serious infections and prescribed medicine for everyone of them. So, in the morning we will head out to buy a 'bus' load of meds and attempt to rid ourselves of these revolving illnesses.

We are blessed that God has been sending people our way who have the capability to perform the things we need done and who have the heart to do them for us. Much of this work is gratis and the rest is at greatly reduced prices!

Keep praying, it's all working!!!

A Well for La Confiensa!

Today Claud & I set the casing for a well in La Confiensa at 90'. We blew the well out with the air compressor to make sure we had water and now we will return on Monday to set a pump. Thank you, Jesus.

The kids are all in pretty good shape despite passing around a cough and runny nose. None however, haven't anything more serious to this point. The is another scare here over the "Swine Flu", but again we have managed to escape it up to now.

We made the decision to move Karen back to 1st grade...she can't read and therefore can't do any of the 2nd grade homework. She will begin on Monday, but since Rosa is already there we don't think there will be any major revolts.

Thank you for your continued prayers,

Bob, Joyce, & kids

Baptism by Fire (Mud)

Can you guess which one is faster?

So what if I got a little dirty?

A Light in the Storm

Today was tough...first we dropped Claud at the depot to clean the air hammer while I went to the dentist, then I picked up Claud, the air compressor, the hammer and headed to La Confiensa. We got there, Claud backed the compressor into place and we got ready to hook up the hammer and realized we'd left the slip for the hammer at the depot in San Pedro Sula. On top of that when we tried to stop the truck by putting it in park it just kept rolling down the mountainside, even when we tried to apply the emergency brake.

I knew we couldn't mess with the truck in this condition and so we headed back to the city feeling somewhat like we'd just lost the first 7 rounds of a 10 round fight. However, on the way back Claud & I prayed, we bound, we cast out, we thanked God for His provision and His repair of our truck. It took a bit, but we finally found a garage that had the capability of diagnosing and repairing our problems. Claud feared it might cost as much as $1000 U.S. and I knew if that were the case we couldn't get the truck fixed. We prayed again and thanked God for keeping our resources in mind and for finding us a repair that was within our means.

At the garage they told us the problem would cost us about 4500 Limperas or $225. I was very relieved it wasn't close the $1000 we had feared. While the mechanics were diagnosing the problem Claud & I struck up a conversation with the General Manager, who spoke English. We talked about why we were in Honduras, the work we were doing and the children we were raising. He told us he was getting married in August and I asked if he knew Christ and he said he did, and his future wife did as well. That was it...just polite conversation and introducing Christ into the conversation.

He got the bill from the dealer for the parts and apologized for the cost of the part and said he would call us when it was ready. We went home to wait feeling like God had delivered. But God wasn't done............

When I went to pick up the bill the General Manager had already left for the day so I headed to the cashier to hand over money. Then I saw that God had done much more...the bill was 952 Limperas or approximately $47.50!

When Satan thought he had us down for the count God showed up! Thank you, Jesus!

Let the Drilling Begin

Claud & I got to the site this morning began drilling and things went very well. Claud & I bumped heads, stepped on each others toes, and then we both got it together and worked like old teammates.

We quickly got down to 65' and then hit rock, so we had to stop for the day. Tomorrow we will return with the air hammer and pound our way through the rock and into water, PTL! First a trip to the dentist which will take up the morning...while I'm there Claud will work on our other work truck...time well spent.

This evening was loooooong! Pedro had an asthma attack and we took him to his new physical therapist, who is also a paramedic. He gave him oral medicine, aerosol inhaler, an injection, and a nebulizer to take home, and then refused to take any money! It's such a treat to run into someone like him when it seems like the day has beaten you down - God sends an angel to brighten it up. Thanks, Wilson.

Drill "Training"

It was Claud's first day of drilling in Honduras and he got a good indoctrination. First we got there and no one was there to meet us and the site was not prepared as promised. However, shortly the place was a beehive of activity with men and boys swinging machetes, hoes, and shovels to clear the area. We got ready to back the rig in place and discovered a large, 30-40 lb, rock had been dropped down the hole. It was egg-shaped and had wedged itself tightly into place about 4 or 5 feet below ground level. Our fear was that it would fall even deeper and we would have to abandon the hole.

Claud's first day was mostly spent upside down (head first) in the hole digging, prying, trying to get a line around the rock. He finally got and together it came out, but it was much worse than I'm able to convey to you. It took a gargantuan effort on the part of Claud to get this rock out.

I simply told him, "Welcome to drilling in Honduras!"

Drill "Training"

Needed Prayers

The kids have taken a turn toward ungratefulness that is wearing on Joyce and we need your prayers. I left today to do some drilling and the kids immediately tried to take advantage of her...all of them. Sometimes it just seems to overload us and we freely ask for your prayers.

Don Bob!

This morning I had to go to a "reunion" (meeting) at the new school for six of our children. I would liken the meeting to something akin to our PTA ...there were 20 women and three men. I took Mauricio with me to help translate when they began to speak to quickly for me, but he got bored and headed to the playground leaving me to fend for myself.

In his absence I found myself being "elected" to the position of "Vocal" for the 2nd Grade. At one point in the preceding we had to stand, give our name, and tell which grades we had children in. After hearing that I had two in first grade, one in second, and three in fifth the ladies gave me an ovation...I didn't understand that it was a precursor for "drafting" me. Shortly thereafter they were asking for something for 2nd grade...I really had no idea what they wanted, I hadn't heard the term before so I just sat there. It was then that a heavy set woman to my right elbowed me in the ribs and motioned for me to raise my hand. I shook my head no indicating I was declining the opportunity. Not to be put off she elbowed me a bit harder and with more emphasis indicated I should raise my hand. Not wanting the next level of elbow in my ribs I raised my hand only to hear the principle say, "Thank you, Don Bob". They said, "Don Bob is our new vocal for 2nd Grade! "Don" is the title they give you to make you think you're important when you've just be railroaded!

So, please pay your proper respects and refer to me in the future as Don Bob!

Schools, schools, & more schools

It seems as if school has been consuming our days lately, and it's true! Today we had a 2-1/2 hour meeting at Antonio's school which produced about as much useful information as every other meeting we've been here. Honduran meetings are more gab fest than meeting and any important decisions end up being made in the last 30 seconds of the meeting. Can you tell how much I love attending these?

Then we had to buy more books for the 6 we just moved to a new school and this afternoon we took Fabi & Mauricio to their new English tutoring school which is every Friday from 2-5 p.m. We had to buy 8 new books there (4 apiece).

It has been a real drag, but we do feel as if we're making some progress. Our new in house tutor, Dalia, has been doing a terrific job...she doesn't take any guff from the kids and they can't manipulate her.

Please keep praying for all of us, we are experiencing some growing pains and it's difficult sometimes to discern the source of the new problems.

We pray you are blessed as you bless us.

McGyver Strikes Again...

Our own private McGyver, Claud Flinton, struck again today. While putting some brake fluid in the truck I took a look at our air filter and it was totally shot and more than that the molded plastic piece that holds it in place was broken, evidently in the accident. For whatever reason our "crack" mechanic didn't see the need to replace a filter that was totally clogged and not held in place correctly.

No worries, McGyver to the rescue....Claud used his knife to bore some holes in the broken molded part, found a piece of wire, and wired the piece back together again stronger than it was originally. After that it was just a matter of finding a replacement filter, which was no walk in the park, and then drop it in. Needless to say the fit was perfect! And oh yeah, Claud also put new brake shoes on the one of the rear wheels so now we feel much safer.

Paying Dividends...

Claud has only been with us for a few days, but already he's proven he's worth his weight in gold! Yesterday he and I were headed into to the city when I lost all my brakes. We got off the side of the road and after crawling underneath the car Claud said, "We need a vise grip". Turns out we lost our brake fluid and Claud wanted to clamp off the line and then add more fluid. Fortunately there was a hardware store around the corner and we managed to get a vise grip and some brake fluid. A few minutes later we were on our way! Today he took the dual wheels off and we went to get some brake pads, but they were out of stock. It 's Honduras you know...

Anyhow, Claud's imitation of McGyver was impressive and came at exactly the right the time!

Thank you, Jesus

No More 4 year olds!

Jesus is 5!

New Help - New School

Today we picked up Claud Flinton from Michigan. Claud will be with us for most of the month of March concentrating on getting our vehicles and drill rig in order while drilling a well or two. Pray for the Flintons, they are trying to raise the support for their entire family to move to Honduras to work with us on a permanent basis.

The testing of Fabi, Mauricio, & Gershon went very well today, so well that tomorrow we will be placing six of them in their new school, Rodolfo Rojas. It's a great school with real teachers and it appears as if they have a tough curriculum. They are agreeing to work out special arrangements for both Rosa & Gershon to make it possible for both of them to attend. It takes a toll financially and physically, but we're excited they will finally be in a school where they have a chance to learn something.

Kickoff!

Over the weekend Kathe & Carl Lemke of Michigan hosted an ice golf event on behalf of #7 The Widow's Mite & Wellspring of Life. The proceeds of the event are all being given to kickoff our fund to purchase two new vehicles for the ministry. The vehicles are desperately needed since we are pulled in so many directions we can't get done what needs to be done with one vehicle.

Our plan is to find two used vehicles, one a 15 passenger van to safely move all the children about and the other a used sedan or SUV to take smaller groups or just to run errands and go to the grocery store. That will allow us to keep the truck for hosting in-coming groups and use it for work such as, drilling, building houses, and evangelism.

Thanks to Kathe & Carl and all who participated...we expect God will multiply your seed money and soon our "Car Fund" will be enable us to become more mobile and efficient.