Oh, the joy...

You really haven't lived until you take 5 boys for haircuts in a Honduran barber shop. Throw in Will & I and you have 7 haircuts to set through, not to mention the joy of hearing other Honduran children scream in the small shop. I will say our boys were extremely well-behaved, but it's not a treat I look forward to!

In the caldron...

Nothing to report, but heat, heat, and more heat...and oh yeah, humidity, humidity, and more humidity!

Will's Update 5/10/2011

Hey everyone! I am so sorry that it has been such a while since the last update! I'll try to catch you up to date as much as possible with as little words as possible. :)

For me I have had some surprises both good...and bad.

2 weeks ago Rosa broke her leg and this past Friday she finally had the cast removed. Speaking of Rosa...a few nights ago she once again blew my mind. before she went to bed she came up to me and told me goodnight....then stretched out her arms to me for a hug. A HUG!!!

A !!!H-U-G!!!

That completely melted my heart. I knew right then and there I was now a big part of her life in her eyes. I wanted to cry so bad but I was able to hold back tears. I was walking on sunshine for the rest of the evening. Most of you do not know Rosa so you really have no clue how much of a big deal that really was. It was an immense step for her!

As for the other children... I believe that God has allowed these last few weeks to be without drilling in order for me to grow closer to their hearts. I am making great strides with ALL of them. With Mauricio and Fabiola, the discipleship has officially kicked into high gear with them I believe. Now they really talk with me and open up. For Angel (6) and Pedro(6), they now cling to me as a big brother and as a sort of rock. They climb in my lap, lay on my chest when I am relaxing, etc. I can not describe the feelings that I feel when I see that these two young boys attach themselves to me like two little boys clinging to a big brother or father. For Cesar he is really starting to bond with me little by little. He picks at me and goofs around with me, but his walls are still up in terms of affections. Antonio is still a challenge. He misbehaves then when he is disciplined, he does what he can to get revenge or to just make the day rough for the other children. He is getting better, but still needs to improve his behavior in quite a few areas. In school, home, and church. Please pray for Antonio.

Random thoughts:

1. There is a man in my church back in Tellico Plains. He has 3 daughters. Two go to the church and the oldest attends another with her husband. I can honestly say I now know how much he feels for his 3 daughters. I love all of these kids...but I must confess that my heart is big for Rosa and Fabiola. I love these girls very much. Watching these two girls grow before my eyes makes me want to have a daughter of my own one day. There is nothing that I would not do for these two.

2. My relationship with Alba (mi novia) is growing more and more. All my life, I have always kept up some walls. I have always had my "guard" up. I always made sure to never make myself vulnerable to anything or anyone. When I was with the dearest of my friends (Pat, Tim, Brandon, and Paige), I would disclose to them much of my heart but I never allowed myself to be completeley vulnerable. For the first time in my life....I can make myself vulnerable. When I am with her, I can lower the "drawbridge across the moat" so to speak. She is truly a godly woman. I have never seen anyone my age with the heart that she has for God and for service. Every woman that I was somewhat interested in before always seemed to have a heart for God...but their walks never %100 reflected it. Her walk does.

3. My buddy Tim has joined Wellspring. Pray for him and pray for the work that he will eventually be doing. He is going to be a trip coordinator which means he will be trying to recruit short term mission teams to bring down once a month so that others can have the opportunity to experience what Bob, Joyce, and I are.

4. I have been calling pastors and so far I have two meetings set up for the week in July that I return to the states.

Prayer Request:

I return to the states on July 6 and I will need to schedule a flight back to Honduras and a flight back to the states 90 days from my arrival in Honduras to renew my visa. I've been keeping track of the airfare and the ticket prices are way out of my range. I would like to ask each of you if you could please pray about possibly helping me with the airfare.

Thank you all for your prayers. God is using you to change the lives of many here in Honduras. THANK YOU ALL!

I PROMISE THERE WILL NOT BE ANOTHER WAITING PERIOD IN BETWEEN UPDATES LIKE THIS AGAIN!

More excellent test scores...

Mauricio & Fabiola each scored 100 on a recent science test...they were the only two to get 100's! A week earlier Fabiola was the only one to receive a 100 on a language arts test! Great job for both of them...they are really trying to do it the right way.

Turnaround in school...

Angel, Mauricio, & Fabiola all came home with absolutely glowing report cards today! For Angel that's not even news...he always gets all "excellents" in his pre-K classes. But the other two had gotten themselves into some trouble during the last marking period and had some catching up to do. The big problem was that all of their teachers told us their attitudes were very bad and that they didn't put much effort into anything.

What a change...all over both report cards were remarks like: improved attitude, working much harder, a changed student, doing much better! And the grades reflected the new attitudes! It looks very much like they will both make "High Honor Roll" if they keep up this work level! We are so proud of them!

We talked a lot after the last grade report about changing their attitudes and they stepped up to the plate in a big way! These kids are learning, growing, and maturing in ways we never dreamed!

Thanks for your continued prayers........

Back to status quo...

Things are pretty much back to " normal" around here. Rosa is cast free and almost walking normal, most kids are off punishment (Antonio is mid-week in a week-long discipline), and every one is healthy. We thought we were going to spread a virus among ourselves, but it looks like we got ahead of it and now all seems to be well.

After a week off school for 'Holy Week' the kids are settled back into their routines and doing well in school. The older two, Fabi & Mauricio, particularly seem to be taking it a little more seriously...a tough battle.

Thanks for lifting us in your prayers........the Coders + Will

Mother's Day celebration and liberation for another...

Yesterday was a day of treats for everyone! In the morning Joyce was treated to Mother's Day programs at both Good Seed & Rodolfo Rojas schools. Attached you will find a video of the program with Angel...unfortunately the Rodolfo Rojas 'program' was not something that could be videoed. In the video Angel is on the far right.

The other 'treat' was for Rosa...she went to get the stitches out of her leg and to her complete joy the doctor removed her cast and gave her complete liberty! I don't think she's stopped grinning yet!