Gifts

We got blessed by some friends today...one of them gave us toilet paper (think we need that?), paper towels, toothpaste, SNICKERS (for Bob), pineapples, shampoo, cork board, bread & cookies, cereal, etc. Isn't that awesome? Another friend gave us a dresser for the boy's room, gatorade, ice pops, deodorant, hair brushes, q-tips, etc. It's a double blessing to have friends come along side us...the blessing of the material gifts and the blessing of like-minded friends.

Tonight we "Paid it Forward" Gershon, Mauricio, Antonio, and I took our big truck and our trailer to a warehouse to help our neighbor pick up some trikes he's been assembling. These trikes are for people paralyzed below the waist, or with no legs and are powered by pedal power...but with their hands. They are really neat and literally give these people a new lease on life! It felt good to help.

So you can pray with us we have two Scripture verses the children recite each morning: Psalm 133:1 & Proverbs 28:13

Thrills of the late night & early morning!

Just before bedtime last night I heard blood-curdling screams, and upon rushing into the living room I found Pedro hanging upside down from the top of the couch. He had climbed the couch to look over the wall when his foot slipped off the couch and down behind it, causing him to fall backwards with this leg caught behind the couch. Fortunately, no damage; just a little fear...wouldn't it be nice if it were enough to keep him from trying that again?

Early this morning I felt as if I was running a "Poo-poo Factory"....first Angel came to me with cries of, "Poo-poo, Bob" and just as I got him wiped Pedro was behind me, tapping me on the butt, calling out, "Poo-poo, Bob"! I'm looking for a new Plant Manager. Any applicants can apply to: Solid Waste Disposal Plant, Campisa, San Pedro Sula, Honduras. No prior experience necessary; classes held daily! All applicants must have a weakened sense of smell and a delicate touch!

Spectacular Day

Today we were invited to go to a swimming 'resort' high in the mountains of Honduras. A local friend invited us to join she and her husband at her uncle's place in the province of Santa Barbara near the village of Colinase. The ride there was unbelievable with vistas that are out of this world...Honduras is filled with rugged, steep, high mountains that afford one the opportunity to seemingly gaze into eternity. Once there the fun began in earnest...they had two pools filled by constantly pumping water from the river and letting it flow out the other end, so it was always fresh and cool. All of the kids had great fun as you can see from this photo of the little ones...the older three were in the larger pool and never came out until we called them out. It is so much fun watching them have fun that we sometimes feel guilty for being allowed the pleasure.

Three Amigos!

Bicycles & Dance

This morning we spent the better part of two hours driving around the city with our three girls looking for a dance studio we were told was pretty good. We did finally find the studio and they took us into one of the rooms to see a performance practice...turns out it was a performance in belly dancing...they looked like 10, 11, 12, & 13 year old street walkers. Joyce and I quickly decided we didn't need that kind of help. The culture here is amazing; even in the play yesterday some of the children were dressed in very racy clothes portraying a skit where they were after boys and using their 'wares' to capture them...it just seems to be accepted at every level. Guess the U.S. isn't that far behind.

This afternoon I went out to pick up the 'new' bicycle from a repair shop. Mauricio and Gershon decided to ride double even though they had been expressly forbidden to do so. You know they did it anyway and when they saw me coming toward them they tried quickly dismount and in the process wrecked the bike tearing up brakes, handle bars, etc. We had just been talking in our morning Bible Study about how you can't hide sin, that it always gets revealed and here they were caught in the act...and they knew it! Well the bike is fixed, but they won't be on it this week; they get to watch Fabiola ride all to herself. Normally they take turns on it, but not this week!

Keep praying, keep giving, keep coming, keep sharing the opportunity,

Bob, Joyce, Gershon, Fabiola, Mauricio, Rosa, Antonio, Karen, Cesar, Angel, Jesus, & Pedro

Children's Play

Yesterday we were treated to a live dance and play presentation by a group of very talented young Honduran dancers and actors. A sister orphanage purchased the tickets for all of us so we were able to take the children to the cultural center for the performance. It was great and unlike anything they had ever experienced before. Of course, on the way home we had to pass by Pizza Hut and once the sign was spotted the shouts of "pizza, Bob" made it clear we would cap off our day with some pizza.

No monkey invasions yesterday and in a twisted sort of way I think we miss him! I hope we're not becoming children of the dark!

Our cabinets now look like a full blown pharmacy...worm & parasite medicine for 7, allergy medicine for two, anemia medicine for one, epilepsy medicine for one, cold and cough medicine for five....thank God for our very good friend, Dr. Margarita Coello who arranges appointments, prescribes medicines, and diagnoses our children for free!!!

We would like to ask you all to pray and ask the Lord to touch your heart, or to put someone on your heart who would be willing to make a minimum 6 month comittment to helping us here in Honduras. Perhaps someone who feels God is calling them to the mission field and wants to test the waters. We desperately need a bilingual Christian, couple, or family to help us. We are trying to get a handle on what an apartment rental would be...that would be the only funds necessary to raise, other than personal spending money.

Test Results & you know who!

We got the test results back for the children today and Cesar, Fabiola, & Pedro are clean as far as worms or parasites go; however, the rest are all infected! They all have parasites and Angel is anemic as well. We will pick up medicine for them in the morning. In addition Pedro is allergic to tomatoes, celery, and shellfish.

We spent most of the last two days going over the initial psychariatic evaluations of the children and they read like a pysch professors dream case study...you name it and they need to work on it. Thankfully we serve a big God!

MONKEY STRIKE!!! Joyce and I were in the living room, she was studying her Spanish and I was watching the U.S. whip Honduras in soccer, when I heard what I thought was something falling. I called to Fabiola who was at the computer and asked, "what did I hear". She responded, "No se"...I don't know, so I forgot about it. A couple of minutes later Gershon raced in the front door and straight to kitchen. When he got to the kitchen he screamed and Joyce & I went to check...our friend had come in for a little snack of various cereals. He evidently gets bored quickly, because he never takes just one kind of cereal. I'm thinking we have the best fed monkey in all of Honduras.

Hades, mosquitoes, & more

I don't know how hot it'll be in Hades, but it must feel something like this...glad we're not headed there for eternity! It's so hot the sweat tries to boil, but evaporates before it can...don't show this to any potential long term helpers!

I'm positive there will be mosquitoes in Hell, they could only be the Devil's work. You would think since we live so closely together the mosquitoes would turn friendly, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

They are trying desperately to trap our monkeys and move them to another location...I don't know whether to pray for the trappers, or the monkeys, or the monkey's new friend!!!

The children are getting over their colds and had a relatively squabble-free day...I wonder if that means the roof will fall in tomorrow, or if they're actually making progress?

Keep Praying