Thank you for prayer

We never did find water. 3 drilling attempts in 3 locations, all rock.

The wise man built his house upon a rock...***(News flash update) the house survived the recent earthquake but they still have to truck in water... Not a very biblical or accurate rendering... starting with the description wise... But a little grace and fear of the LORD is better than all the wisdom of the world

I was concerned about the finances because we started with $5000 promised from a great church filled with ministering saints giving sacrificially. The first hole used up that at 200 feet. I called and they said keep drilling we will send some more. So we did, down to 270 feet, the limit of the drill rig, still no water. They capped it off, then tried a different location, no water then a 3rd no water ...at the agreed price of $27 per foot I was fearing a bill of $14,500. After we all gave up on the third strike and yet another dry hole, the rig owner came to talk to me. He had no idea of our finances in this. Without even a discussion he offered a much reduced price... less than half and the exact same price as was donated. Thank you LORD for working in his heart. What a load off my mind. It is bad enough not to find water but then still own a debt for it is a little overwhelming. He then gave us a glimmer of hope and shared he had a brother in Nicaragua with a similar drill rigged to 400feet. He would either try to bring the drill or the rigging to return and go deeper. I know of several wells around Choluteca that are 300+ feet deep so it is still within the scope of things... Still need prayer that he really returns and funds will be available to continue deeper. We must have water to operate the ministry there.
Lisa and Sasha here on Monday!
Unworthy servant to a Worthy Saviour
Barry

Please pray

Just a note for prayer. The well drilling is not going well. We have started a 3rd hole on the other side of the property. the first 2 came up dry. If we do not find water this time we are out of options, money and locations. Actually we were out of money a while ago but he has kept drilling. If it comes up dry it is very hard for us to raise the funds to pay him. If we get water it is easier to ask for help to cover the costs... Litterally throwing money down a hole. But if we have no water this whole project is in jepardy, we cannot continue to operate there without water for even basic functions...
Need prayer.

Work and Play Make a Busy Day

We have had a few fun times with the kids, stopping at a park, that gave several ideas of how to build playground equipment for the kids. It has been raining so the kids have played in the unfinished upper building as well as playing the rain…when your short on water it also bath time.

We finally were able to pick up the corn Friday. Had to replace the clutch in the datsun, fix the tires on the trailer, and find the guy with the keys first…but hey what do you expect in Honduras …easy? That is just for starters. I got a call from the school the well pump we installed quit so after dropping off the corn to the Lighthouse property I headed up the mountain with part and Omar and Jr went to fix the pump… My phone went dead in the mountain with pastor Santos. We have had some resent heavy rain so parts of the road are bad. The road to Santos place is really bad, they all hopped off and said the kia could not go any farther. I got out looked around and decided to try. It was all the little kia could do with a full load on its back but it crept up the rocks sometimes with only 2 tires touching but made it. Finally the “road" turns to a walk path for a mountain goat and Santos' family and church must carry the rest. Watching them haul heavy loads up the mountain on their heads and shoulders makes my joints ache. Even little Cinthia (the orphaned girl Santos took in) was now hauling whole bags of corn up. Toño was with me and sure couldn’t let a little girl haul more. All I could do is smile.

Pastor Santos had asked me to go visiting with him. I knew what that meant… oh my aching knees. I can hardly walk a day later but it was worth the pain. One family was a widow with 2 teen daughters, one blind and the other nearly blind. I brought Ana a stuffed animal that brought tears of joy. Her eyes may not see but they can show joy. She gave me a hug. I asked if she needed anything. She said no I have all I need. I pondered that a moment, with all the needs all around us and many begging in the streets, here is a widower with blind daughters living in the mountains with literally nothing but the clothes on their back and a roof (which Santos fixed) over their head, satisfied with what the LORD has given…amen. With a little more prodding Ana finally said she would like a bed to sleep on and a dress. I feel compelled to work on that.…. Pastor Santos has fixed and fixed and finally worn out the colman lantern we bought a few years ago, going house to house teaching, and needs a new one. This is one of the families he is working with. He asked me to come on the 18th and do another outreach. After leaving my knees were hearting about as much as my heart.

I arrived back at the Lighthouse and Alba had everything under control. Kids fed clothes washed and all. Jr and Omar were finishing up the well pump for the public school so the workers could continue building the classroom Monday. One of the teachers came over to play with the kids. Then, unexpectedly, the well drilling rig rolled back in just before dark. Ready to try and drill another hole to find water on the property. We do not have funds to do that yet but we talked and selected the next spot. Not sure what to do…it has been hard to get him here to drill, a nine month wait, the property is difficult to live at without water, yet we have already spent the funds on the last attempt. Time to pray I think....
Unworthy servant toa Worthy Saviour,
Barry Ritchie

A note of thanks and despair

Just an update for those reading about the well. The men left today...they drilled down to 270 feet, as far as they could drill with the machine and did not hit water. Wonderful ministering saints had sent enough funds to go 200 feet. When I called and said we were at 220 and still no water they said help is coming keep drilling. So we did. Today I had to inform them the money sent and yet promised went to a dry hole. To top that we also had a few issues with the workers. (I'll just say crude and did not like the kids being around them). After talking with the drill owner about everything, he offered to do a second 100 foot test drill for roughly less than $20 per foot instead of $27 and said he would come back next week and try, if we could come up with the funds. I think he will since I still owe him for the last part of the dry well.....Water is very needful without it the property is unusable because we cannot continue the way we have much longer hauling it all from the city. It is a very disheartening and puzzling situation for me. We need water at the property and we also need to build a church building. The money that was just sent down a dry hole was enough to build a church building that is also so needed here…I am still wet as I write, we all just came in from the rain from the wet service tonight. In all things we must give thanks even when we do not understand it. I am having a dificult time reading bacause my glasses have gone bad. While watching the men leave with the well, I thought I had a smudge on the lenz. I wiped it only to find part of the lenz pealed away leaving a blurry view... hmm. For those that know me my eyes bad and require a rare perscription not available here... and hard/ expensived to get in the US. Typing and reading are now a difficult task. Icing on the cake...

Sunday was a huge milestone for us in church. Carlos is now the ordained pastor. It was an unscheduled spirit led event. Carlos was preaching about the punishment of hell and the crowns of the saved. He was ending with the crown for servants and pastors. So I asked “Carlos do you want that crown?”. “Of course Barry” Then what is your answer to the church? A few weeks ago while I was teaching on the way Paul ordained elders, the whole church made it know that Carlos met the qualifications and they would happily have him as pastor. Sunday, after he said yes, they all came forward around Carlos and laid hands on him, prayed and anointed him as pastor. It was without any fanfare, but it was the most biblical anointing of a man as pastor I have seen. I prayed for many years prior to coming to Honduras that the LORD would show me a Timothy… and He has.
Amen
Unworthy servant to a Worthy Saviour
Barry

Water from the Rock

The only company that drills wells here in Choluteca finally showed up with equipment, unannounced, after more than a 6 month wait. Then said they needed 1/2 the money up front. That sent us scrambling. Ministering saints had offered to help with this, but funds were not here. Our bank is in Lisa's name and she is leaving tomorrow. So waiting in banks and rapid wire transfers finally set them to working. When I left this morning they had reached 60 feed, through almost all rock. But soon we will have clean water to drink. No more rationing of water. We plan to share with the neighbors. I caught 2 of our boys drinking from the horse bucket yesterday. It has been a constant thorn in the flesh not having a decent supply of water at the property. The bottom photo is Enrique giving the workers a cool drink...I thought it was kinda ironic. Lisa is visiting the states for a little R&R and visit family. She will return with Sasha in about 2 weeks. Prayerfully, if we have funds left from drilling we can buy a pump and things needed to have water when she returns.

One big worry is a trip to the USA always costs more than expected, and the final deadline for renewal of our residency Visas for Honduras expires right when Lisa gets back. We kept postponing it due to lack of time and funds. It is a $1200 chunk expense that we never seem to have all at once. Wonderful ministering Saints helped renew our US Passports a while back but now its Honduras paperwork time again.
Add to this kids to dentist to have teeth pulled, Jr and I building a roof to eat under out of the rain at the property, delivering corn to needy, helping at the school, spend time playing with the kids, buying icecream from a passing Icecream truck, birthdays and still run a ministry. Doesn’t leave time for much else, that is for sure. Even one of the teachers from the school has come over a few times to help out, cook, and play with the kids. But hey it makes it easy to be found busy about the LORD’s work, when He returns. Amen!

Blessings and Prayer Requests

Hope to have some post up in a few days. Our computer died but thanks to ministering saints a new one was on standby. Problem is it does not have a program to do the blog like the old computer, so I am in learning mode and trying to find a graphics program. Hope to save the HD in the old one with all the photos. Lisa will be traveling to the States for a couple of weeks and returning with Sasha, no extra funds for this but it is needful. Please keep us in prayer, spiritual wickedness always attacks in the most hurtful and hindering ways...

Blessings:
* Four adults have come to Christ in the last 2 weeks
* Hoping to get a well drilled soon at the Lighthouse. It will allow us and our neighbor's drinking water
* La Cruz Baptist Church has decided to go ahead and start a building project to get something more permanent and dry than the tent. Everyone in the church has offered to help in some way. Problem is they only have about $1500 of the needed $10,000 for a building.
* Container of corn arrived!! But they(Customs) stole a lot of things from it (thousands of dollars in donations for the poor and orphanage) and it cost a lot in invented "fees". On the last day before yet another 4 day fed Holiday the customs agent boldly said give me $150 dollars and I will release it before the holiday and you wont have to pay the $200 storage ($50 per day)... oh my aching head dealing with "officials"...
* All the Classes for the Bible Institute are about done. That's a solid years worth of Bible basics at the college level. More than 30 have completed it all in the 4 locations.
* We bought a new fridge with the stove mony from ministering saints. A fridge became more needful than even the stove. All that was at the property was an dorm fridge 1.5cf(a 2 liter bottle of soda wont fit in it). Try storing enough food for 20 people in it, yikes. So the LORD provided a different way. Yes a stove is still needed for the new building but it needs to be HD enought to cook 5-10 gallon pots on. The girls are comfortable cooking outside with wood and it saves on electric or propane for now. But Lisa is allergic to the wood available here...So a stove is still needful.

Prayer requests and needs:
* Motorcycle for Pastor Enemesio his broken leg and ankle are healed and he is walking up the mountain again but it is painful. A new chinese street motorcycle is about $1500 right now. A street legal dirt bike is about $2000
* Funds to finish the Children's Lighthouse. We have been staying at the property kinda full time but it is difficult in the apartment/bodega with 20 people. Tile, stairs, doors, plumbing, appliances, furniture ect.
* Church in San Geronimo. It is faltering due to insecurity of the property. They do not want it to be sold out from under them. So far only $100 has come in for this.
* Lisa's health-everything is difficult without a helpmate.
* We have heard that a couple of churches are considering support and another may raise support. Amen, Every "mite" helps, It amazes me how much money is consumed just in daily needs for 21. And more as the LORD opens the door...Amen.

My thoughts this week...
Why do so many christain's live their lives painting the ship... when it is sinking?
Unworthy servant to a Worthy Saviour,
Barry Ritchie