Red Handed

We have a young couple, Adam and Sarah Nelson here to help us get our school off the ground. Sarah has worked in Honduras previously, teaching with the same program. Adam is along for the ride to find what the LORD wants and help in anything he can . So like everything else in Honduras you learn on the job out of necessity. We will keep him busy. Sunday Carlos insisted we go to La Cruz for church. It was not hard to deduct they were wanting to celebrate a belated birthday for me. And since they had activities planned (they still remember I am sometimes long winded) they did not let me preach, but instead asked Adam. He had never preached before let along through a translator. I joked about tossing him into the deep end to see if he can swim. He did a fine job. Even procrastinated the end like a veteran preacher by saying just one more verse and ending 3-4 verses later. But it was a good message that two responded to. Amen. Afterward, it was a time of fellowship and testamonies, cake ect. Today was Adam and Sarah's 2nd wedding aniversary. Lisa baked a small cake and we sent them out with Jr his future spouse to watch the sunset from a mountain top. Should have some memories when they return.

The government school program director said we needed 20 students to start. Which meant we needed to open it to the church. They responded overwhelmingly and we have more than we can handle. We need to purchase all the books ect to start.... In a week. The cost is going to be about $600 for the materials we need from the state. I have Adam copying all the cd and dvd for both the regular school and the Bible institute curriculums and preparing them for use... about 300 disks to burn. Add Adam and Sarah to your prayers. They quit their jobs and have come here of their own personal funding and want to stay as long as possible. We are hoping they will stay at least 6 months if not more. But since they have no income that seems like a long time. Pray the LORD provides a way to provide for them so they stay longer, we need the extra help. We prayed for laborers and got them, now we need to find a way to keep them.

Pastor Augusto is also starting up our Bible Institute program in the mountain. He has a small handfull of students he wants to train and have them preach every day of the week in homes inviting all to the Sunday services in the church. Amen!

Been a busy time getting ready. Had numerous people working today some volunteering some requiring pay with no idea how to pay them. But the LORD does. And the work is needful. One crew doing the bathroom, one doing electrical wiring, one group preparing school curriculums and students, one cooking and watching kids, one laying cement and had to send the kia to be fixed.... Broke the lug nuts off hitting a pot hole and needed tie rods. Our AC died in the house so nights are very hot and hard to sleep till repaired... yuck. Wanted to add color to the bathrooms so we added a little food coloring to the tile grout a little red to the girls(pink) and a little blue for the boys and presto. Always a way to get things done in Honduras just need a little inspiration... A lot of it comes through the kids... Papi we need to paint between the tiles or the walls to make them different...hmm How can I change the color...ahh Lisa has food coloring for cakes. Neat thing about the bottles, every kids who touches them without permission... gets caught because the dye doesn't wash off easily...ie caught red handed literally.. ops.

Just a little bit more...

Been trying to prepare for school to start in Feb. We have a teacher volunteering to help start, but needed a place for her to stay...by Thursday. The only place available was where we were holding church services. It was too small for church anyway. The thought was just fix it up as an apartment and build a multipurpose little pavilion building for the church, ministry, family and school. The idea was posts and a roof to replace the tent we had used. It starts out as a cheap idea, but never seems to end up that way. The “for just a little bit more”s... add up. We still go to the river to get the sand and gravel and sift it, mix cement by hand and do all work by hand. It has turned into a bigger task but is going to be a well used building in the near future. Not only church services will be held here, but other ministry meetings, school for our children, and possibly an adult education ministry ect. The Kia has hauled so many loads for projects like like this over the years, it now shows the abuse. It has lived most of its life overloaded and in 4x4 low. Now the transfer case grinds and both differentials grind, CV joints, front end needs more work, needs complete brakes, windshield, compressor..ect and the bed is now rusting since we have worn all the paint off sand blasting it a shovel full at a time. How can I be overloaded there is still room and the truck still moves... “just a little bit more” ...great for soul winning, bad for cargo. The kids like going to the river even if its just to load sand. They help some and of course play some. Even our “dainty delicate” Jenny offered to help... Once. I told her just 100 shovel fulls into the truck ok papi 100,99, 98..89, uh panting between words papi I'm tired, then takes my drink and goes off to walk in the water.. Hmm. Well it was eleven shovels I didn't have to do, but cost me my drink. But the hugs are worth it. They took the camera out and shot some photos...When they hear the truck start they run to stand on top of the pile for the ride home.

Went up to lenaca to preach Friday. We stayed and did a video outreach as well. When we go there we become the only light on the mountain physically and spiritually. The new power inverter runs the lights and we are the only light for as far as you can see in the dark night. It also runs the microphone and video projector without the annoying buzz we have had in the past. La Cruz has picked up 3 new complete families through VBS plus many kids. And the Faro Baptist church has had a new family also start attending in the last two weeks. The kids went visiting inviting the neighborhood today to our church outside. Because the apartment is filled with wet cement on walls and the church building has no roof in sun. Just set up chairs in a shady place and preach. Pray they stay and grow.

After many delays trying to adopt through child services we contacted a lawyer. Every thing here seems to need a lawyer. He said he should only take about a month. We shall see. He now has his required funds and prayerfully in a month we will have adopted our first two children. Jenny and Patricia with other to follow as funds become available. This might open doors for both them and the ministry in the future. Keep praying we let none of them go to waste.. Amen!

Lisa took a few photos of the kids today. Click on the photos to enlarge...enjoy

beginnings of another bus ministry...

La Cruz Baptist finished their first VBS with more than 300 attending and brought in 84 in a single trip on the 15 pass van. There were also 84 in the teen class of which 15 came forward for salvation. Amen! It was the first time teaching for the teacher. Two of the bench warming men in the church also went to Carlos saying they wanted to be used in ministry. So they will now accompany the saturday men's outreaches. And this is the start of another weekly bus ministry outreach with the van...Amen. I was talking to Carlos Saturday and he was beaming. He said La Cruz Baptist is different because we laid a good strong foundation on God's word before we started building. Our people dont see things the way other churches do. They search the bible and give rather than believe anything to take. Sacrifice rather than burden. All I could do is say... Amen! He shared how various people sacrificed much to feed and teach 300 children, fix the old van, build bathrooms (where were those for the years I was there? amen)
Talked to Pastor Augusto Sunday. He wants to start bible institute classes Feb 1st in the mountain. Need to get another portable dvd player we have worn out the 6 originals we started with, need to do alot of copying too wish our risograph still worked. He has several adults who really want to grow in the bible. His plan for the coming year is to hold several regular house meeting in the area using his bible students as teachers. Hondurans (saved and unsaved) will often welcome a preaching service in their home. It is counted as a privilage, but wont go to a church. I will be preaching in another mountain friday in a home. Actually outside a home because 100-200 or more people may show up. Preaching under the starts by lantern...better know your message because its hard to read, but great fellowship Amen. Have a months worth of work an only 2 week to complete it before school starts. Need strengh, wisdom and supply to do all that our wonderful Lord has graciously put before us.
Unworthy servant to a worthy Saviour,
Barry

A still small voice...

It has been a very difficult week here in Honduras. We had the mother of two of the Lighthouse children make a surprise visit after more than a year. The result was devastating. She secretly convinced her two daughters to run away and she picked them up. She found the only neighbor with a grudge against me because I put an older teenage family member in jail a month ago for breaking into our home in the middle of the night. Jr and I tied him up and took him to the police. The two girls convinced a third to girl who is mentally slow to go with them. The mother then went to the police and made all kind of charges against us. She also called the tv stations to air her complaints. Which aired all weekend. It required getting a lawyer and they put me in a secure location till the dust could settle. The LORD protected in many ways but the damage was costly. This lady lost her children years ago because she led her older daughter into her life of prostitution at 14, and tried selling the two younger children when they were 5 and 8 years old. Her sister is in jail for the same thing. She had come to our home 4 years ago with a gun threating to kill Lisa. Every contact has had adverse affect on the girls. Our names have been cleared both in the criminal court and the children's court. So it will not affect our residency status. But our names and faces have been plastered for days on TV. The father of the girls went to the judge and called her an idiot in court for even listening to this because only she was unaware of the character of the mother. He did the same on a call in tv program with the news reporter who had broadcast the story. Then many called in to verifiy the fathers words and tell of their family history. After the working of the lawyer, the police investigation was dropped, no charges filed and refered to child services. Child services did a very detailed investigation and found all the claims were baseless. Plus the girls recanted their stories once they were out of the hands of the mother. They are all now crying to come home, but that can no longer happen. Child services actually took some of our child care ideas to promote elsewhere. The collateral damage is our name is mud outside of our churches, the girls have lost their only real chance to have a family home and will be moved to a far location undisclosed and all contact with family will terminate. They will be instituionalized and the one who was mentally slow was diagnosed by the court psycologist and will go to a state facility for the mentaly handycapped with little hope for a future. It breaks my heart because she had trusted the LORD and she had grow so much with us and was becoming a self sufficient young lady. All our church folks rallied around us in wisdom advice, support., prayer and help which was very humbling for me. Many ministering saints prayed stateside and the destroyer was stayed, but not without injury. I was not able to fight this battle and it was totally in the hands of the LORD. I was wisked away against my desires by church members and the laywer to the mountains, fleeing the words of a jezabel. I read about Elijah while sitting and waiting on the mountain top for the LORD to fight the battle. The parallels were striking. All the while being fed by a widow woman and her 12 year old son... While there I received heartbreaking notes of affection from the children with Lisa. They brought tears reading them. When I returned home I was overrun by the children crying and giving me hugs. Please keep us in prayer the attacks seem more insidious as the years go on.

After coming off the mountain, I got a chance to stop by La Cruz Baptist as they were starting their first VBS, 250+ in attendance. They revived the old 15 passanger van and brought in over 120 children on it, 79 on just one trip 40 plus on the second... Even I was alarmed, but had to laugh as they drove in. Thankfully it was a short trip not over 15mph. But for those that know our bus ministry antics in the past 25 years, know that it takes alot to suprise me. The fruit does not fall far from the tree I suppose.

We started on building a room to meet in for church at the Lighthouse, because teachers are coming in just a couple of weeks and will occupy the other space. Also trying to finish the classrooms and ready for school to start then too. Still need to pay our upcoming payment ($2600) feb 1st to electric company, but with the storm of trials this week it now seems like it is impossable unless the LORD breaks the hearts of our already broken hearted and overburdened ministering saints

Lisa just returned this morning from a visit to child services because Jenny wanted to ask why her adoption process is going so slow.(uhh ok Jenny) Jenny has a dream of going to China as a missionary. I contacted someone I knew there yesterday and asked if they would entertain the idea of her there and they said absolutely, Jenny was jumping around the room in joy, hence why the urgency. So jenny went and asked and told them they were holding up her plans for the future. It was funny. Child service then turned to Lisa and asked us to take back at least one child plus 3 new ones... Noteing to Lisa they had seen many empty beds and more capacity when inspecting... Hmm. The need of Christ is great...

Photos, upper is the VBS, sorry for quality but taken with a phone cam. The second is the new room for church services, the last is the view from the mountain top. A 100 acre property that you could see all the way to the ocean 40 miles away. Would be very peaceful under normal curcumstances. Water there is by an underground fountain that flows and makes a brook that is pure to drink from. No water pump needed just pipe it down to the house. The birds would literally shake the tree branches and mangos would fall right at your feet where you sat. Every morning after I prayed on a rock, the lady went out to gather sticks to make coffee and give me a small piece of sweet corn cake from the corn her son picked. It was a humbling experience but very insightful from a still small voice... may be time to look for an Elisha... 1 Kings 17-19. Though in a remote area, by means of modern comunication, I was also given the opportunity to at least get a father and son to consider the heart of the other... another hmm, Mal 4:5-6

Unworthy servant to a worthy Saviour,
Barry

Would you wash Jesus’ feet? Mat 25:40

Feeling a little rested after a long weekend. Friday we preached in San Geronimo. Lisa had made up the same little gift bags for children and bagged up some clothes to give away unannounced to the faithful. We buy used clothes bundles for $300 (bailed like hay) and it is much cheaper than shopping individual for the kids. The bundles are from the states from goodwill ect and sold on the streets here. If we go direct to the suppler, we buy them wholesale like the vendors. But the result is a lot of clothes not used which we share. Saturday received just enough in the bank for Lisa to food shop a bit and we decided to make a spaghetti watchnight service with smores and a few roadside fireworks and sparklers for the church. I was surprised how many came out on short notice. Kintine, our oldest man has become attached to Lisa’s cooking. As Lisa and the girls were serving he saw the spaghetti and smiled saying to Lisa… “I’m going to need a full plate of that”. Keep in mind a typical Honduran spaghetti is literally just a little ketchup and pasta. Lisa makes it hearty Italian…( of course, cooked outdoors on an open fire in a 7 gallon aluminum pot made from melted down car wheels and soda cans…) His grandson is the young child in the photo just tickled slurping in pasta. I was laughing watching him eat. Lit the bonfire and it roared to life 20' high in our 90 degree 11pm temps, had to hose it to keep the trees from catching on fire. Taught the folks how to roast marsh- mallows and make smores. Which was a huge hit. It all must have been a main attraction because outside the gate a large crowed gathered just to watch the church activities. One photo of Karen in front of the fire spoke volumes to me. Ending just after midnight, but by the time we cleaned up and got kids in bed it was after 2am. Then prep to leave at 6am for the mountain and preach in Santa Teresa.

Before morning church, I began to notice everyone’s dusty dirty feet from walking to church and took a few photos. Remembering the time I washed feet here as an illustration of being a servant of Christ Jesus. Dont think it would have quit the same effect in the USA. The difference here is it does not loose its meaning because it is needful, understood and something they all do if water is available yet is humbling for all. I have tried to live with this mindset and found it is a privileged position very few care to seek. The special blessings that flow from the LORD in this can be found no other way. Nor can it be enticingly explained, because if it could, all would seek the blessing rather than the glory of the LORD thus making it of no heavenly value. It is filled with heartache, pain and suffering as was the cross… followed by unspeakable joy. 1 Peter 1:7-8.

I handed out candy and things during the kids service and a few bigger prizes during an answer/question time. When they all left only one boy returned to hug me, say happy birthday and thank you. I then gave him all I had. I thought about the 10 lepers of which only one returned to give thanks… Honduras has taught me much. Rush down the mountain for services at the Lighthouse, then take Marc Antonio back to the hospital where he is caring for his mother who had a stroke thursday.
We have a teacher coming this month to help start the school but is only planning to stay 3 months. The only place we have to house her is the place the church meets for services. So we have dug a foundation in hopes the LORD provides enough to build a small multi purpose space. Ie a roof and columns with a floor. It will be where we meet for church services, chapel ect. I just put up the sail, the Lord provides the wind and direction. Our most frequent email is the bank saying low balance alert, like this morning. So now this, as well as school classes need to be finished in 4 weeks. As for my birthday… just did not have time for that, so maybe I'm not any older, my mind thinks so, but my body says otherwise and shows it's evidence.

The Pictures Sew the Story Together

So much to share only pictures can tell the story. Please take the time to click on them to see larger views and pray. Folks already have a hard time digesting all that happens here and we don’t even share it all… Been a busy week. The pastor of the cult that I pulled out of the mud stopped by and gave our kids small Christmas presents to say thank you. An unexpected blessing. One child's box had an old Obama 08 tshirt (…um, um…uh, never mind) Been a much leaner year than in times past. We have run out of toys collected while on deputation. (Example; one lady gave us 10,000 ty baby type stuffed animals 8+ years ago) Those toys really augmented birthdays, Christmas and ministry outreaches these last 6 years, as well as deputation, vbs ministries prior. Those churches we visited on deputation doing vbs may remember benefiting from them. But alas the fount is dry, but not our Heavenly Father’s. A Honduran businessman called me to say, “take the kids to the shoe store and get them new shoes”. He had already arranged for it, Very timely and needful is the raven in the wilderness and unfathomable how the Holy Spirit works. After the photos Julie took a few post back of Ericson, Lisa knew my thought and made sure he got a truck, Wasn’t a tonka, it has a dent, but its is shiny new and has wheels, so he is happy running all over the driveway today. Lisa and some of the girls planned a Christmas dinner for some hurting families and handed out small gift bags to the children with a small toy, John and Romans, candy ect. We also did the same for Santa Teresa. Took up more cement for the church building up there. Truthfully we must take up cement. The Kia will not climb the steep grades without 4wd(very broken) unless it has at least 1000lbs in the tail (cement plus a few kids). Where there is a will...

Marc Antonio preached in the Lighthouse Baptist church and one teen made a profession of Christ on Christmas. What a gift. Then we all ate the great supper Lisa made. She has been saving stuff for over a month to do it. All from scratch for 100 folks, including very tasty desserts. It was another all night cooking session, not the feeding of the 5000, but it is a small miracle none the less. Lisa and I had our 28th wedding anniversary Christmas eve. We started a tradition 25 years ago of eating Chinese because it is the only place you can find open many times on Christmas eve, even here. She picked up some take out this year and we had a whole 15 minutes to our selves…ok maybe 12 minutes, but felt like 15 before a child knocked needing us. What did we do?… Talked about what else needs done … With a house like ours one seldom gets time not used for another. In the midst of all this do gram cracker candy houses with the kids. With all of the joys and treasure placed in heaven, who would want to live in a calm, clean, house and only guard the treasures of earth…??
Took several children to the dentist last week including our 4yr old who actually did the best and not a single tear. Why does a 4yr old have rotten teeth? A lollipop caregiver,(prior to us) candy is cheaper than food and keeps them quiet. Sayder just returned from the Dr, he is has a hot swollen knee, result of an infection from a tree bug that lives here. He is our tree climber. Dr says he might need surgery to relieve pressure in the joint if meds don’t work by Wednesday, they may hospitalize him as well, it is very serious. If meds don’t work he could loose his knee or even his life. Giving him injectable antibiotics and pain pills right now with 24/7 bed rest. Diagnosed as "arthritic septic celulitus", ie bad news.

Marc Antonio wanted to show me the property the church in San Geronimo wants to buy to build a church building. It is a little closer to town right, off the highway, has electric and water. They were kicked out of the last building after the owner chose to sell it and we could not come up with enough funds in time. They have been meeting at members home in the old tent La Cruz Baptist used to start. Its has sure gotten a lot of use in the last 6 years. Many trusting the LORD under this old frayed covering. We are negotiating with the owner for the land but it looks like it will cost $4000. If anyone wants to help this struggling, faithful, extremely poor, little church it, would sure be a great help and encouragment. As you see we stretch every prayer to the fullest….and always need more.
Unworthy servant to a worthy Saviour,
Barry Ritchie

Does God have a sense of humor?

Was able to visit with Pastor Santos finally and help him deliver food to many church members that are hurting this Christmas. We took up about 4000lbs of rice, beans oil ect. His 2 sons and daughter are working the cain fields to help the family. They leave at 3am and return by 8pm and make $15-20 between the 3 of them depending on how much they harvest. It is hard dirty work and they return black like coal miners. It is dangerous work for a teenage girl so she must stay very close to her brothers. It was a difficult food delivery all the way around. Pastor Santos called and said he was ready but I got cut off when my phone ran out of minutes. It took me almost an hour to remedy the situation. Finally figured out directions hop in the truck to leave and child services shows up to visit, with other ministries they are asking to take children, using us as a model to see how we run things. (they confuse me) Thankfully it was one of the better moments when things were running smoothly. Kids all helping, Lisa putting out lunch (a kinda fancy one at that) and of course they stayed for lunch…they always seem to time visits about when Lisa serves lunch or dinner. Jr was putting on some roof panels over the new washing space. Some kids playing instruction games, some doing chores, just everyone about the days duities. They finally leave and I do too. Had to go south to pick up the food then head up the mountain to Lenaca delivering it all. The 4wd died in the Kia Sunday on the last trip to Santa Teresa. Another real expensive repair, the kia is showing its age and honduran abuse, it has carried litterally millions pounds up these mountians and lives in 4wd mode. (only 250 trips is a million lbs and we have done many more than that) So it makes the mountian trips much harder and beats the kia even more trying to make the steep rough grades before stalling the engine. Backing down loaded for a second attempt is even scarier. It would be impossible in the rainy season.
Pastor Santos is doing much better after the time in the hospital (same time as Cindy’s operation). they carried him down the mountain in a hammock. I am still not 100% sure what he had but from the meds and description it seems to be like meningitis. We picked up some more medicine for him as well. It was a scary week for the family and I was oblivious because my phone speaker is dead to talk and those in his family using his phone did not know how to text message. So our line of communication faltered. We have so many in great need right now but the container is still stuck in port and the past due monies are through the roof. Yet I am still being told soon don’t worry its under control…hmmm.
The Christmas shoebox container is ready to ship as well.

Had a laugh out loud moment this morning as I was reading and overheard two of the younger children laughing and playing with the new puppy. Why do we have a new puppy? I’ll come back to that point. The puppy began to lick one child and the other reprimanded them and said. “Don’t let the dog lick your face, that’s adultery”…??? I just laughed. Now, why do we have a puppy? Lisa and some of the girls were out yesterday and saw the puppy on the side of the road with a sign. They stopped fell in love and got her for "me" as a Christmas present, seeing that it is an “Alaskan” dog, me being from there… This is akin to the joke of the young boy out shopping for Christmas presents with his grandfather. The grandfather tells him to go find what he wants to give to others and bring it to the check out counter. As the grandfather prepares to check out the boy arrives and puts a shiny new bb gun on the counter to purchase. The grandfather eyes the gun then turns to the boy. The boy promptly speaks up “But grandpa the bb gun is for grandma”… I could argue, but what’s the point I’m not going to win.. :) Just let them enjoy and play with it and I'll clean up after it later, besides its hard not to feel sorry for her. Not sure what great sin an Alaskan dog has to commit to be born in the very hot tropics of Honduras… maybe the LORD just wanted this old polar bear(me) to have company in my sweaty irony. It's my dog but look who its sleeping with...

What?!

Yuck. I like bugs and things, I was even intrigued by this latest new bug the boys brought me called a chinche. It was crawling on my desk as I observed. Also known as the kissing bug… Intrigued, that is until I looked it up….splat, now it is know as a pretty dead bug. Numb tongue scorpion stings are no big deal now. This innocent looking beautiful little stinky bug is deadly. A slow agonizing death at that. What does it do? It comes out at night, follows your breath to your face, bites and eats your face, digests your blood, then poops in the sore. The poop contains a parasite that enters your nervous system and causes light flu like symptoms off and on for up to 20 years then comes alive and you either die from your digestive system failure followed body starvation or from your heart swelling up and basically exploding. There is a test and medicine to kill the parasite but only if you catch it early. If you wait years…there is no cure, you simply die. Wee.
Also had the tires and wheels stolen off our trailer last night and the church broke into and messed up again..… SOoo not only do we have to worry about feeding all the mouths every week, or being stabbed again (not since we moved out of the city has that happened) or the many other maladies we face here. (Got ran off the road this evening by a bus passing and he ran the oncoming car off the road too, The bus had an 8 foot sign Jesus lives on the full across mudflap with an “artistic” rendering of him). After 6 years I discover there is a face eating beetle that poops on your face that and you can die from some years after said event… oh weee. There’s no place like home.

Lisa made a 12” cookie and the kids are doing the math it took to make it in order to win it… Taking them a lot longer than it should have…
Multitasking in the USA- having more than one app open on your computer…
Multitasking in Honduras- A lady walking down the highway balancing a full 6 gal bucket on her head while carrying a second bucket with a toddler attached, calling out to sell tortillas, whilst publicly breast feeding her infant. (Seen today) I also followed a family of 5 on a motorcycle; Toddler on gas tank, Dad driving, toddler between Mom and dad, Mom sitting side saddle in a skirt nursing and infant…on a 125 cc motorcycle dodging foot deep potholes and on coming cars that give no respect and force them to drive on the side of highway…only one with a helmet...the driver, because its required and it comes with the motorcycle. A large basket of groceries tied on the handlbars. I also saw a man on a bicycle with a regular size refrigerator tied on the rear book rack going through town in traffic. Had I not seen it I would have said it was impossible. Different world we live in now.

Heading up the mountain to preach tomorrow with the crunching 4x4 transfer case in the kia… I don’t say it in jest or lightly, we need your continued prayers… Amen. We live here by the prayers and hearts of God’s ministering saints. Thank You and Merry Christmas from Honduras.

hmm

Just a few photos I let Julie take the camera to take photos of what she wanted. When I looked through them, the photos of Ericson playing with his worn out tonka truck in donated pants with hole in them was so emblematic to God’s ministry here. He did not stop playing just because the wheels had been run off and it was worn out. Nor did it change his spirit, he was happy with the new dirt pile. If you would like to share in some of the needs, weights and burdens in this ministry, just let me know and I will gladly list some of them for you. I often pray, humbled in all that God does and allows me to participate in, and ask, “why me?” And hence why I sign off with..
an unworthy servant to a Worthy Saviour,
Barry Ritchie

Long but good day

Went to preach up in the mountain today in St Teresa. Headed out at 6am to pick up Marc Antonio in Choluteca. Several of our kids went to help. As we hit the steep grades the kia began making crunching sounds in the gearbox when in 4wd. Wee. Also brought up cement so the church can do a little more on the church building. They have put a cement coating on and begun a water threshold (like a sidewalk but to keep water away from the non-foundation base of the walls) on the adobe brick building to protect it. They still need to do the interior. We had a couple of small wind gusts and the dust from the interior walls and floor kicks up so bad it requires everyone to keep a washcloth to breath through. They need about 60 more bags of cement to finish the walls and floors. Each bag costs about $9 including getting it up the mountain. They haul the sand, gravel and water they need with an old oxcart or wheel barrow from the river about a mile below. When done, the building will last 25-50yrs with only minor repairs.

We bought and delivered a bunch of chairs for the church in San Geronimo Friday, thanks to the big hearts of ministering saints. The whole church had seats, no rocks were occupied. Amen! How long would you sit on a rock or lean on a barbwire fence to listen to preaching?... The San Geronimo church is growing slow but steady under Marc Antonio’s preaching. He is shaping up to be a great pastor.

The church also came to the river to watch first baptisms of the Lighthouse Baptist church. Marc Antonio is always asking me bible questions to verify his thoughts and grow by, I enjoy his conversations. We had several of our children ready to baptize as well as one of our senior ladies. One of our ladies backed out at the last minute because her catholic husband refused to let her participate. Another time, maybe next time he will be included. She pulled me aside and asked, is it ok if she still comes to the church service? Yes of course your welcome. Patricia had been asking for months about baptism and has been beaming all day. Sayder came privately to me yesterday to verify he was ready. Wow was he ready. I asked a few questions and he responded with answers only a bible student would answer with. He then prayed and humbled me. A president of a Bible university could not have spoke with more power, conviction or more articulate. It moved me to tears listening to him talk to God. I tried to record it but did not want to interfere. Lisa made cupcakes to share at the river and of course kids and water cannot be in close proximity without mixing, so most of them dove in and splashed around after the service for a short bit.
Over all a great day… till I sat and looked at photos and realized I had a big hole in my shirt. Preaching and baptizing all day with a big ol hole. As we looked at the photos, I asked the kids why didn’t you tell me?…Responce-It didn’t bother us and we thought you knew. (Insert exasperated sigh) Back to real concerns. Without going into details, we had some issues this week that could have turned very tragic personally and ministerial, that really brought the spirit down in the house. But thanks to ministering saints prayers being heard by our LORD, it seems that it was avoided. Only the LORD could have changed the circumstances and hearts. Please keep us in prayer, it's not over yet.

I am including a video if I can upload it of the girls folding clothes this evening. They have been singing all afternoon. Amen, BTW, both our washer and dryer have died, so we are back to washing by hand. Making their songs even sweeter to hear. Amen! I have tried and tried for days to load this video and the conection just wont handle it. Stayed up all night sunday trying when loads were less. Need a better way.