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.