10 July 2008
¡Hola! from Honduras, Friends!
We enjoyed a nice break from the
normal rains, with over a week of dry and sunny weather. I was able to use this
chance to do some much needed work on our street, since a lot of the maintenance
work on un-paved streets here falls to the homeowners close by. Moving hard-pack
soil in a wheelbarrow and then tamping it into place so it will not erode away
as quickly is a change of pace for me, and I am definitely out of shape for
doing that kind of work especially in the heat of the afternoon!! But I was able
to accomplish a lot while I had the chance. The rains have returned now, daily
in the afternoon and night; while the temperatures are down a bit, the humidity
is up so it feels about the same to me. And of course, the street again needs
work!
Thanks to those of you who have been praying for Oscar Coto and
his family. Oscar went home to the Lord on the 19th of June, leaving his wife
and 3 sons here. Two of the boys are grown - one works in sales and the other is
a teacher if I remember right; both are single and live at home. The youngest
boy is not quite two - a "miracle baby" who was born a bit before Elias, and
well after they thought they were done with their child bearing and rearing
years. Oscar was in San Pedro Sula during his hospitalization, and even though
he was in a coma, there were family members there with him. The morning of the
19th, he awoke from the coma and was lucid. He asked for and ate breakfast and
chatted with the family, then lapsed back into the coma and the doctors said he
wouldn't wake up again. He was moved by ambulance to the hospital in
Siguatepeque, to be cared for by family members there. He regained consciousness
once more after arriving there, but only for a short time. Characteristically,
at that time he expressed concern for what would happen in the church in San
Juan and in our project there in his absence, since he has been pivotal in both.
He died peacefully shortly after that and was brought home that evening for a
vigil, and was buried the next day. Adjusting to his absence will take a lot of
time, and he is already missed greatly by family and friends. Please continue to
pray for the family and their adjustment during this difficult time, as well as
for the church as they adapt and for our project in San Juan de Opoa as well.
The last week in June, the children had their semester break, with a
week off from classes. This meant that the projects in Divina Providencia and
Bosque Infantil were laid down for a week as well. We were able to spend some
extra time with the boys, and also to go to visit a home for
abandoned/malnourished children here in Santa Rosa (Hogar San Jose). We went
with the purpose to visit once and get to know a baby girl (7 months old) that
we had heard was there and see if the Lord led us somewhere as a result. Yes we
saw her, but then we spent about 3 hours there holding other babies and
children, and chatting with the people who work there about their needs and how
we might be able to mesh our ministry with theirs. There are about 65 children
who live there - some completely abandoned, some who have a parent or parents
who still come to visit periodically, but who cannot afford to raise the
children themselves. They range in age from perhaps two months to 11 or 12. Most
are from the immediate area, all are poor and malnourished. And our hearts went
out to them. We plan to visit there on a weekly basis, and bring what aid we
can. It is not too likely that we will be able to teach there; the home is run
by the "Sisters of Charity", the organization founded by Mother Teresa. We know
though, that we can show the children the love of our Lord and help a bit with
their material needs as well. Beyond that, we will see what doors the Lord opens
for us.
The children are now all back in school, with the exception of
Lilian; the teachers in the secondary schools are on strike again and she has
not received classes in three weeks. Otherwise, school things proceed normally -
and I guess the strike is a normal thing as well. I've been here almost 10 years
and we have yet to pass a year without a teachers' strike, and we have yet to
reach the minimum number of school days (200) required of the public schools. I
have again been doing a lot of translation work - still children's stories, but
this time for the kinder Divina Providencia. They have received a lot of nice
children's story books with big pictures, but most are in English. I try to
translate one every couple weeks, and then I get to read it to the kids. A great
reward for me - I especially love reading the story of "Peter and the Wolf" to
them - it's my reward for the work of translation! Odilia continues with her
classes in English, and I help her as I can with pronunciation and vocabulary -
she's working hard and has a good ear to hear and speak the vowels, which is the
most difficult area for Latinos to handle. We've still not started the
conversation group, but the interest level continues to be very high - and now
the question is only one of when.
The projects are also back in full
swing, and continue well. We are still going to Divina Providencia at least 5
days a week and sometimes 6 and we are feeding the children 6 days without fail.
The project there is growing as there are new children almost daily, mostly
children transferred to the SOS project. We understand that soon there will be a
big influx - 10 or more children all at once... bringing the total number of
students to almost 80, which is a lot for a two room school with only one full
time teacher. As always, we pray them up and do what we can. The new class room
is not getting a lot of use right now because the roof was poorly installed and
so it leaks a lot. We've had heavy rains this year, and the floor and walls are
too wet for them to use the room. With new students coming, it is becoming a
more urgent situation.
Short News
> We continue to pray
for a church plant in Santa Eduviges and have now added prayer for one in Divina
Providencia; there have been no visits to the work in Santa Eduviges but we
continue to support the vision for this church plant, and pray for it;
>
We've had health struggles again this month - Samuel and I have had amoebas, and
I've had a kidney infection (or small kidney stones) on top of that; Sammy has
also had a sinus infection. Odilia has had a nasty infection in one finger that
resulted from a (sewing) needle stick. We are grateful that we can generally get
the medicines we need to return us to health. But as you well know, illness in
the house is a great distraction - and one that has hampered us a lot;
>
Odilia is on the board of directors of the "PTA" at the kinder where Marisol and
Samuel attend, serving as the treasurer - we've entered the fundraising time of
year, so her life is even more hectic than normal, and thus so is mine;
>
No word this month on Samuel's adoption process,
> No progress on Elias'
citizenship this month;
> Waleska has a new job; she is still doing
beautician work, but her hours here are more regular and they definitely treat
her better (they pay her on time!); Marisol's job has ended for now, so she is
back looking for work; in the meantime, she is able to help us out with teaching
the children in Bosque Infantil;
> We continue to pray for the Paz and
Membreño families; we are waiting on the Lord concerning our greater involvement
with either of them;
We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful celebration of
Independence Day - with more than just fireworks in Silver Park and hotdogs on
the grille... although I do miss those traditions! We're warming up for the
celebration here - the marching bands in the secondary schools are practicing
their music for the parades once again. We send you our thanks once again. We
remember you always, and appreciate more than we can express your generosity
with your resources and your time in prayer. Thanks to you, Friends, we continue
our work here and it advances. You are super and we appreciate you more than we
can say! The Lord is working in the lives of these children as we continue to
feed and teach them, and in ours as well. He also continues to bring
opportunities before us for additional work we can do. Serving Him is an
adventure indeed and we are grateful that we are on that adventure with you all!
We love and miss you all. May our Lord bless you richly and keep you safe and
sound and in the palm of His hand.
Yours in Christ,
Stu and Odilia
Apartado 1799Santa Rosa de Copán040101 Honduras, Central America
(504)-662-3823
Praises for:
> The Lord's Faithfulness -
He is ALWAYS good!
> For each of our projects this year in San Juan de
Opoa, Santa Eduviges, Santa Teresa, and in Divina Providencia; and for how well
they are going;
> For the growth of our children, and our family;
> Our first visit to the "Hogar San José";
> For the new
ministries in Divina Providencia and a possible new project in Santa Eduviges as
well;
> For the new teacher for the pre-kinder children in Bosque
Infantil, and her dedication to rebuild the student body there;
> The
other churches with interest in such projects including Cebratana, Guarita,
Tocoa, La Entrada, San José Copán, San Marcos, Cañaveral and Corquin;
>
For new opportunities for serving the Lord through working with the children of
the poor and with single mothers in existing and new locations;
> For
your faithfulness in prayer.
Prayer for:
> The Lord to
raise up and send out more workers to the harvest fields;
> Oscar Coto -
for his failing health (cirrhosis of the liver) and his family;
> The
project in Divina Providencia with the Iglesia Reformada and our own projects
there;
> The development of a program of home visits to the group homes
for orphaned and abandoned children in Divina Providencia;
> The
development of a project with the church "Dios Es Amor" in Santa Eduviges;
> Continued progress towards completing Samuel's adoption;
> The
church plant in Santa Eduviges, and new opportunities there to minister and
witness;
> Recovery of the student body at Bosque Infantil;
> For
the possibility of a church plant in Divina Providencia;
> For Katerine
and her mother Wendy;
> The Membreño family and our role in helping them,
especially Andrea Beatriz who is deaf-mute;
> For the Paz family from
Guarita and for our role in helping them as well;
> For Sindi (in Savio),
Yenci and Lilian in their studies in Alvaro Contreras;
> For our family
health as well as we adapt to the continuing changes;
> For us as we deal
with Carla's absence and for Carlita as she learns to live without us as well;
> For additional clothing distribution project (or projects);
>
The leaders and workers of the churches in Santa Rosa (Friends and PIER) and San
Juan de Opoa all of whom continue their projects;
> the Lord's continued
leading and development of the "Stu's Street Kids" project in Santa Rosa and a
missionary couple to guide and direct it;
> the development of possible
new "Stu's Kids" projects in Guarita Lempira, Tocoa Colon, Cebratana Copan, La
Entrada Copan; San José Copán; Belén Lempira, San Marcos Ocotepeque;
>
for direction in starting a new project for feeding malnourished children in
Santa Rosa;
> for direction concerning a new Christian day-care center
here in Santa Rosa, or in another location;
> the Lord's continued
leading in development of our ministries in Santa Rosa and elsewhere.
Continued Prayer for:
> the many "minor"
distractions that eat up time and generate frustration - right now these
continue to be in two areas - my (Stu) health and seemingly endless paperwork
and catch-22 situations with the children's adoptions and status;
> Olvin
Mejia as he awaits a kidney donor, and for his family who are suffering along
with him;
> Elías, Samuel, Marisol, Carlita and Jafet - their health and
well-being and spiritual formation;
> Our extended family, including
Yenci, Xiomara, Iris, Waleska and Suyapa as we adjust to each other;
>
Consuelo and Carlita;
> for the safe release of Isabel and her healing;
> the steps, resources and people needed for a successful church plant in
SRC;
> the continuation of feeding and ministry in the Santa Eduviges
work, and in the other Stu's Kids projects;
> for the teachers in Bosque
Infantil - Paquita and Gricelda, and the teacher in Divina Providencia - Matilde
Castro;
> for the Oscar Coto family;
> for the leaders of the 1st
church Santa Rosa as they stretch to do the Lord's work;
> the poor and
hungry in Central America, and how to show them the love of Jesus Christ;>
patience and the Lord's vision for working with the poor.
> for Bertin
and Marcos and Wilfredo Villami - alcohol;> for Miguel and his family -
effects of poverty;> Kike and Alejandra's family situation, their children,
their salvation.