Honduras Missions

The Ritchie Family / Children's Lighthouse

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Three days journey for a well...

Friday-Drill rig on site and in position. After getting stuck several times. Flush out well and run all the pipe they have down the hole to start drilling. And find junk in the hole.ie pump parts and tools...Too many years, too many hands in the soup... So not sure what the driller will do tomorrow....
Sat-... And the worst possible situation with the well. They set up and attempted to drill last night, found junk in well from years of various people losing things in it while working on it...Because it was never finished by the first driller and very problem prone. I have an promised outreach activity in the mountain today... so I go. On mountain all goes well, good teaching time, but no souls won. While gone, the driller gives up and leave us with an open now contaminated, still unfinished hole. So now we have zero water. Never seem to have enough to finish it right, just enough to do something, but not the right thing... Now he says he needs at least $4000 more to drill another well... that is on top of the balance of the anonymos donor... If screaming or banging my head on the wall would help, I would, but it wont... Need prayer. Without water here we are sunk.. in just a few more days. There is no way to haul enough in the worn kia to keep things going... nor do we have the funds to do so...
 The job was to go down another 130 feet making it a 400 foot well and finish the install. But that also means we need a pump to lift higher. The one we have barely makes it to the house... It does not make it to the storage tank higher up that allows us water during the frequent power outages(and well drilling). We bought a cheap chinese pump and hooked it up at the high point of water to lift a bit more and it makes it to the tank..barely. But got it filled. Not a system that will continue to work just a stop gap temp solution, doing what one can with what they have...
Early Sunday morning options after cleaning up with little baby wipey things, Option "a"-Drink coffee and read pray and get rid of stress or B-chase robbers... uh, option "b" please. The boys came in early saying someone was outside the house...Armed the camera and we took off. Sure enough two people were on the property hiding near the house. Boys split to follow them, and I went to cut them off. Got a few bad photos but did not catch them.... The neigbors caught their buddies though, taking stuff out of another house across the street... How did they catch them? ...They were waiting on a bus with a full size bed and box spring and a sewing machine... I went right by them not thinking thieves would be waiting on the bus with a bed... Our neigbors cornere

d them and would not let them leave. So the police were called and arrived in a 3 wheel taxi. They were plastic tied and slapped around a little. Then the black hooded skimask police were called to take them in...When they arrive all know it is over. No stun guns here, you resist they shoot you...simple and quite effective. They beat them some more bop their ears yell a few things and ride off... and one of the policemen falls off the back of the truck.. Honduran keystone cops... but it works. Time to change the channel and go to church...weee

Monday, September 16, 2013

Gone to the Dogs...

13 young people put their trust in the LORD yesterday at 2 childrens activities in churches. Still celebrating our Day of Children... which takes us a week or so in several churches... So, when you arrive a hour and a half early to church what do you do? Break out the clippers and a double edge bare razor and give haircuts to all the boys...and a few men. One of the men has clubbed feet and makes his own shoes out of old tires. Preaching, playing an old, really beat eaten by dampness guitar, but making a joyful noise unto the LORD. On the home front, several kids sick including Lisa and Alba. Sitting in church at the Lighthouse yesterday and near ever kid was holding a baby...had a bit of a chuckle about it. After church needed to run and get a few things for supper from our local 7/11(ie families selling things out of their home to make a few bucks) saw a dog sitting on their corn harvest licking and scratching himself. Then

 
their young boy runs through a mud puddle then runs through the corn knee deep to pounce and wresle with the dog and chase each other back and for through the corn...all I could think was... Not buying corn here and that looks fun....

Friday, September 13, 2013

Honduran Green Iguanas




We have so many little ones running around and more gaining walk/run ability it has become a need to have a "containment area". A roofed and screened in play area to cut down on the sicknesses we battle caused by moskito(honduran spellin) bites. (we are in the tropics) So I began working on a daycare location a while back as we could. It started out simple. Actually, it still is, but it has grown a little from the original thought. We are currently using old barrels and making a tube style jungle gym, since we sure cannot afford the real thing. So the room will have a large green iguana in the roof (normal for here just ours is much bigger with kids playing in it) They will enter the tail pass a few obstacles inside and slide out the mouth... The room also will double for classroom space, Sunday school room, indoor playground and house cots for visitors in the future... It is all being done on the skinny as we can when we can. When we can't, it waits... Can't wait too much longer the kids are getting faster... :)
Minor the son of Pastor Augusto wrecked their motorcycle in the rain hitting a rock Sunday traveling to preach. The fall broke his collar bone. So we have another preacher out of commission for a while.
Pastor Ruis is still on the mend but waiting for the wounds to close up. Still fighting colds and dengue in the family...

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Dia Day Niño 2013 Honduras

Managed to borrow a few photos... from someone who remembered a camera. It is one of our outreaches this week for National Children's Day. A big holiday in Honduras. It was in one of the mountain churches. The church building was the only not muddy spot in the village. Marc Antonio has been collecting clothes and toys for months to hand out.This is a story by itself that tickles me as he did not ask me for anything, only help in getting it all to the mountain. Quite the task from a man who only makes a few hundred dollars a month selling chips, soda and such from the window of his home. Me and four of our children, did the bounce house(in the church) and cannon shot as well. Marc Antonio's wife Carmin also fed all of them. It is an odd feeling watching the children eat. Most live hungry, and you can tell by how they eat. Many of our children come to us with the same querks. It takes a couple of months before the fear of when do I eat next goes away.
  Went to get the brakes fixed yesterday morning but the kia would not start... another starter burned up crispy inside. Found a used one for $250 in the capital. So brakes not fixed and waiting on parts. Also we are getting yet another inspection of our facility and kids from the authorites today. Pastor Ruis is still in Nic healing from the small operation. He is wanting to get back to Eyes of Water to preach. It is an ongoing situation that needs the LORD to make a straight path on. We need a faithful man to step up and be trained for that area as a full time pastor. Likely from the village because of limitations like distance, access and work. Time will tell. Still working on our little daycare building at the Lighthouse. Using old barrels to build a slide and crawl tube over the swings. Never a dull moment...



View Larger Map