Honduras Missions

The Ritchie Family / Children's Lighthouse

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Jenny married...part 1

Married... Honduras requires couples to be married civil before they can marry in church. The "legalize" not unlike a licence in the USA only here it is binding before a preacher makes them say "I do". So we gathered all this morning to city hall Jenny and Alberto along with Josilyn and Hydle. We opened in prayer having the new husbands pray, then the fathers, then the pastor. Right in the middle of city hall praying in a circle. Then the official comes out and does the signing and kiss. He pushed Jenny and Alberto a bit trying for a big romantic kiss rather than the peck they did...
they would not, wanting to wait for the marriage in church before the Lord... fun to watch...They will make their vows in church Jan 1st with a visiting American pastor friend doing the service. He has prayed for Jenny for 10 years with his family. Until then Jenny and Alberto have chosen to continue to live apart to honor the Lord in their marriage.  Amen. In the photo below is Jenny looking up in her church wedding dress. Lisa took one of her 10 years ago in her first white dress in the exact pose. I used it in a video I made years ago and it is burned into my memory. I could not find it. A ministering saint sent me an old copy of our videos and I just happened to see it again... so I took a screen shot. God is always in the details. Jenny came in this morning very early while I was praying, we prayed and wept together for near an hour for the last time as my little girl because after today she legally is her husband's.
thank you Lord. As I got the receipt from the courthouse I turned to Alberto and said just like all the stores in Honduras, once you have the receipt in your hand... no refunds and handed it to him... good laughs...

Monday, December 7, 2015

as honduras turns

Still hauling water. Takes a couple of hours a day.  The local place we have been getting water from is growing tired of us already and has limited us now. Already dealing with diarrea and amoebas in the smaller kids. They are used to drinking from any water source... cannot do that now plus cannot clean quite the same as when there is abundant flowing water. Was finally able to buy a 10,000lbs chain hoist and try pulling the well up. Managed to drag it up 10 more feet but is binding on the casing. Not sure of destruction. Stopped for the night and had someone steal our pipe wrenches... feel like I am in a soap opra some times and the plot thickens...  the well drilling company came to send their camera down but could not until we remove the pump and piping. They said they could replace the casing and clean the well and rebuild well with a new pump for about $5000. Oh joy. They said it cost $125 per hour to run their rig with crew.. and need up to 20hours plus parts to do it... so we at least have a plan..just need provision,... still pulling the pump as of this writing. Had to wait to afford just the chain hoist... 5k is a long way off..

Went out Sat to help do a street outreach in a neighborhood. Set up for a movie and have our kids and teens from our closest church invite the neighbors. Usually a good response 50 to 400. Closer to 50 this time because we chose a night of a big soccer game, plus the annual big fair is in town. But they all heard the gospel. Just fishing for wild sown seeds.

Karen is healing and off the heavy pain meds and going to church. It will be middle of Jan to remove casts and pull pins.

New kia alt. went out again, but this time jr remembered one of our old bad alt. from 6 years ago that still had a good armature. So he dug it out and we swapped the parts to make it generate again...

Lisa still state side caring for her dad, doing ok still needs prayers too.

Weddings are soon upon us as will be Christmas. No plans as of yet on that front. Our school year is now starting as well....
Need lots of prayer as always

afternoon well update... pipe broke leaving the pump stuck half way up in the well with a straight pipe sticking up just under the water level broken... ie kind of worse case... need to  build another tool... more money and not sure will work...went to town to find things to build a tool. After talking to the drilling company they let me borrow $300 in pipe. So that is a savings... now to design a tool ti grab a pipe in a blind hole 60 feet underground...  a tomorrow task...





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