Honduras Missions

The Ritchie Family / Children's Lighthouse

Friday, November 27, 2009

Thanksgiving from Honduras


Happy Thanksgiving. Though Honduras does not celebrate Thanksgiving, we have found various ways to give thanks to our LORD over the years here. Sometimes going out and giving away food and tracts to very poor families sometimes just a time of prayer ect. This year was a little more traditional. With the visiting American families here, Lisa wanted to make a dinner. Not an easy task in a 3rd world country, in the middle political turmoil, 3 days before an election with no funds. Turkeys are hard to get here and expensive but the LORD provided 2. Lisa took Mrs Smith to the market and they found all that was needed to augment the donated food and squash from the property. Three of our girls volunteered to help Lisa(Jenny, Julie and Patricia). They had no idea the work involved in making that type of meal all from scratch but enjoyed every minute with "momi". Lisa had them working till 3 am, then back up at 6am. Lisa is now wiped out. But the American and Honduran families we invited were blessed. Before we ate, all gave testimonies of what we were thankful for and a sweet time of prayer. Listing to the children was really special most thanking thanking the LORD for salvation and mami and papi. After eating Carlos was joking, saying he still believes the official language in heaven is Spanish, but the food will be American food…and Lisa is the cook. In all it was a sweet time of fellowship. Amen.

Barry Jr and Omar were installing lights and fans in the church when our ladies ministry brought in a surprise for Wednesday service. They raised the funds needed and had Pastor Enemesio build a new pulpit. Special made for Carlos with a crank that lowers it for him or raises it for other. It was beautiful. And was very timely. Sunday during service my attention wandered as I looked at the old pulpit that we have used for years now. It is water damaged from many services in the rain, hinges are worn out and scratched and beaten everywhere from many trips up the mountain to preach. I thought its time for a new one, how can we get one and prayed. All the while the LORD answered the prayer before I even asked…Matthew 6:8. Amen.
One prayer we need answered is our support level must go up dramaticly if we are open the Children's Lighthouse and begin taking in more children. Please keep it before the Throne of Grace . Thank you all for allowing us to be here
unworthy servant to a Worthy Saviour,
Barry Ritchie

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A day in the Life



Just a day in the life of us in Honduras. The church is being wired for lights and fans by Jr and Omar and Dave a visiting American from the group(no pictures yet) and the rest of the group is at the Lighthouse with the kids. 2 Families from OPBBC in NY are here.
Lisa has wanted an outdoor stove for a long time and considering the papers say our electric rates are about to double again it will be a necessity when we move up the mountain. We have been cooking on an open flame wood for 10 months…an oven makes it even nicer. The electric company is having a meeting tomm to discuss our electric situation on the property and might give approval to turn it on…its only been a year trying. Since we have other Americans here Lisa wants ot have a Thanksgiving dinner. She says she is up to it and I’m sure she will be but she will be wiped for days after. Keep us all in prayer.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Psalms 37:3-4


Just a note to share a blessing. A church in NH has taken on sending us big boxes every so often. (1000lbs) This was their Christmas box filled with new and used clothes and toys for the kids and churches. It always seems to come when we need it. The kids are around Lisa for sizing up shoes and modeling their new clothes. As always, we never have enough funds to do what we desire but the LORD provides it a different way. The box came in Friday night and Barry Jr unloaded it. The kids were in need(always) of clothing and we also wanted to do something special for Patricia. This provided a way. After Lisa finished sizing up all the kids, we bagged up the rest to deliver to Pastor Santos to use and distribute. Amen.
Funny thing about living by faith. We never have enough money to do what we want to do, but always have all our needs and desires taken care of… Some read about George Muller as an interesting biography…We read it and think wow them too?

Psalms 37:3

Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.


PS the spider crawled out from under the pallet on the box… even made Jr jump.
Pastor Santos asked Carlos to do a combined service for baptisms. We are planning on 7 in the coming weeks and he has another couple (former mormons) who want me to marry them after they are baptised. Amen, still seeing lives changed in Honduras.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Secure

The doors and windows are on the church building. They are not what you expect in the USA but perfect for here. The windows have no glass just shutters and bars to keep vandals, thieves and weather out the side doors are corrugated metal and the front door is functional. Pastor Enemesio will install the hardwood inlay to make it pretty. But thanks to some help we can now leave chairs, pulpit, ect, in the building; and not worry about animals and people using the building as a bathroom and cleaning it before every service. Amen! After todays church meeting we are now starting 3 services a week, plus the Bible institute will start in Dec and meet in the church. Omar and Jr hooked up power to the building, Now just need to run wireing, install, lights and fans.

It is Sayder’s Birthday today and Patricia’s Bday next week. Funds have been short so we will not do much this time. Lisa is down with the flu right now and we have a small American group coming Sat for 3 weeks. Still putting out emotional fires with the kids from the Nancy situation, but things seems to be settling back down. The food that was donated came at a perfect time. Our funds have been so depleted this past month that we would have had a difficult time feeding all the kids had it not come when it did. Our raven in the wilderness. Amen.

In other news... the mom that left the 8 kids still has not returned and we have fed them many more times..Not sure what will happen. Say a prayer for us on Thanksgiving. For one does not know how blessed they are till they see the contrast.


Paul Deem of Directline ministries is preparing another container to ship. If you have things you would like to send us this is the container to do it on. (mail in USA is much much cheaper than to here). He is reading about 1500 or more christmas shoeboxes to come to Honduras which leaves alot of container to fill with other stuff. If you want to contact him his ph # is 1-740-350-4515 or web link Directline Ministries. Please keep this in prayer and help with shoeboxes and other thing the LORD has laid on your hearts. Pray for safe shipping as well. In the last container alone $1000s of dollars of purchased and donated items were stolen by customs officials. A shop battery charger, Saddle and gear for the horse, toys for the orphanage, food and clothes for the children, a special packed chest for Jr and several sewing machines ect. Last year they even stole some of the shoeboxes...I just hope they read the Bibles and tracts in them. We do need God's hand to guide it. Welcome to Honduras...


Thank you all for your prayers, and ministering helps. We could do nothing without the LORD working through his Ministering Saints.
Unworthy Servant to a Worthy Saviour,
Barry


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Psalms 82:3-4

You never know how blessed you are till you see the contrast.

The teacher we hired for the school this past year (Our school year just ended) came to the Lighthouse to visit with the kids. I was cooking a big pot of hearty chicken soup and pudding donated from the last container. As we were eating she began to share information about a mud hut just down the road from us where 5 children were living. The mom goes off with different men frequently but this time she left and has been gone 4 days, and the kids have not eaten in that entire time. Suddenly none of our kids wanted seconds on the soup. She said she wanted to call the authorities but was scared to do so, just like all rest of the neighbors. I handed her my phone to talk with Carlos. He contacted the folks we know and the judge is issuing an order today for authorities to go and investigate the situation and pick up the kids if necessary. Toño, Jenny, the teacher and I packed up the leftover food we had and took it to them. As we entered the dark mud hut it was obvious the children had been hungry their whole lives, all very tiny, nothing but skin and bones, the toddler looked like and infant. Jenny noticed several children chewing on wood to stave off hunger pains, and it was not 5 but 8 children in the house. Even though they live close to the Children’s Lighthouse, Jenny and Toño did not know them because none of them go to school. Jenny was affected by it and asked me to take them in and she would care for the baby, and Toño asked all the kids to pray for them in devotion time before bed. Not sure what will happen, but the authorities are bound to call us about the situation….


What would you do? Better... What would your LORD want you to do?

Honduras has a way of making every truth and principle in the Bible affect the heart so deeply...
Unworthy servant to a Worthy Saviour
Barry

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Prov 27:2

Here is a link to Pastor Kline's message on a Sunday morning after he and members from their church visited. I am humbled by their unsolicited thoughts and words. Please take the time to listen as he shares with his church their experiences here with us. Just click on the mms feed and say ok.

mms://media14.cqservers.com/myfbc/080209AM.mp3

To visit Faith Baptist online go to
http://www.myfbc.com/sermons.htm

unworthy
Barry

Monday, November 2, 2009

Give me oil in my lamp....


Though a post is overdue we have not faltered and sent out an email a few days ago. The past weeks have been trying to say the least. We had a cancer of thoughts and words sweep through the Lighthouse Children planted from those outside the ministry. (Grass is greener elsewhere, you need a boyfriend ect) As a result 2 girls ran away, an older convincing a younger to go with her. The following days of searching was fruitful and many prayers were heard, because the LORD returned Patricia to us. Nancy is still on the run and the authorities were considering charges against her mom from the things Patricia has said.

Church building project in La Cruz is continuing the floor is in a pulpit area is built with ramps for Carlos and doors and windows should be installed in a couple of weeks.

Power outages seem daily at the Lighthouse property and we even replace bad lines ect in the middle of the night to keep it going only to have something else blow later.

After weeks of stressful situations, I was talking on the phone to a old friend when I began to feel ill. I went to lay down and rest. The pain in my chest continued for about 30 minutes a little more intense and longer than I had experienced in the past after hard work. During that time the kids checked on me and got worried and snuck out my phone to call Carlos who panicked called Lisa and everyone rushed out to insist I see a doctor…at 10pm at night. I was then feeling better but relented and went. He did the preliminary checks and all was good then he asked had we had anything stressful happen lately? As we began to share all the situations we were dealing with, the doctor actually began to laugh and shake his head. One of those wow you got to be kidding disbelief kinda laughs. He did not do anything except say he would like to do a few more test to be sure and to reduce my stress level…hmm.
Everyday comes with is own rewards and hindrances. It is the LORD who sustains us and I am sure Job, Paul, Peter, Elisha, Noah, David ect all lived pretty stressful lives. Only to hear well done when they enter the pearly gates. I have nothing to complain about and only praise to give to my Saviour for using someone so unworthy. Burn till the last drop of oil is spent…It will be a needful attitude for all in the coming years I believe.
Keep us in prayer for we a buffeted on all sides, yet by the grace of the LORD we are unmoved…
Amen
Unworthy servant to a Worthy Saviour,
Barry


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