HL and Orfilio celebrate the same birthday

After conversation we discovered the team leader and our groundsman had the same birthday. So we got a birthday cake at a nearby bakery and celebrated Honduran style. We had the honors of cracking a raw egg and sprinkling flour over their heads and singing "Happy Birthday" in spanish to the two birthday boys.

Smiles of Honduras

On a final note we always like to share the beautiful children of Honduras with you. Any of these faces could brighten anyones day. These children enjoy Americans coming to share VBS and other fun American activities. No matter where we go there are always God's gifts (children) around to see what the Americans are up to this time. They look forward to our visits to their villages. Thank you for always bringing joy and smiles to the children of Honduras. Thank you Team 119 for making this happen one more time. God is good all the time.

Team 118 Jacksonville Construction

On July 21, 2010 Jacksonville arrived with a team of 8 women and 3 men. There was some team members who had never been to Honduras. We always get excited to have new people come and see their excitement and wonder of this beautiful country. There were several who had been coming for years. So we had an awesome combination of people excited to build Cecilo and Victoria their new home. They arrived on the job site the next morning and got started as a team and never stopped working as a team. After the first day they had five courses up and did VBS as well. There was a different twist to this group and the village of El Carrizo. There was at least 20 to 30 men and women there to help them build this home. The women of the village would bring the water to mix the mortrar and the men would mix it as quickly as they could to keep up with Jacksonville. By the fourth day the house was complete. As they were laying the floor a storm was brewing. Once the floor was near completion we suggested to do the dedication because the storm was getting closer. As Rhonda was sharing scripture and her thoughts on the week small drops of rain starting coming down. The key to the house was turned over to the family and Pastor Antonio closed with prayer. Everyone loaded up waved good byes and the bottom fell out. God is good all the time. Thank you Jacksonville for providing another family of Choluteca a home where now they will be dry when it rains.

Jacksonville VBS

While building the house they took time under a tree to do VBS with the children of El Carrizo. There was bible stories, crafts futbol and even a puppet show. They got very creative with their puppet show. As you can see in the picture they held up the construction of the house long enough to use one of the wall as their backdrop/sheet for their puppet show. The children's face was undescribable as they listenend and watched the puppets. Some of the adults got in on this one as well. There favorite was playing futbol with the team members. Rumors had it the Honduran children really gave the team members a run for their money. But also their was some hidden talents on the Jacksonville team as well. We always like to add pictures of the children in our blogs. They are all so sweet and beautiful. Also on Sunday there was a birthday from one of the team members and the people of El Carrizo got word of it and as Megan walked into church on Sunday the entire church stood up and sang Happy Birthday to her in spanish and had Happy Birthday Mega on the board at the front of the church. At the end of church one little girl, Maria, came up and said it was her birthday to. So the entire church sang to her as well and then her and Megan had their picture made together. Another great day in Choluteca.

Sunday worship and an afternoon at the beach

We got up on Sunday and went to church. As we are riding down the twenty minute dirt road the team practiced their song they would be singing in church. As I shared in the previous blog Megan was sang to and then worship started. The church sang several of their hymns and then Jacksonville was ask to sing. After they sang they shared testimonies of their lives and what serving the Lord in Honduras met to them. There was several of the Hondurans who shared their testimony as well. Victoria, the lady of the house shared her apprecation for Baptist Men being in Honduras and helping her people have homes to live in. Also their was a lady who accepted the Lord during the service. At the end of the service there was two baby dedications. After a morning of worship, we headed to the beach for a day of relaxation. We took sandwichs for a picnic but decided to order fish plates. They sat up a table with a table cloth and made it very special for us. It was a beautiful day at the beach and a beautiful time with First Baptist Church Jacksonville. Thank you for all you did for the village of El Carrizo. To God be the glory.

Deep Impact at Camp Betel in Tegus

On July 11, 2010 we headed to the airport to pick up the twelve team leaders for Deep Impact. They arrived and went to the house for their deli luncheon and to catch their breathe before we headed out to Camp Betel. We arrived to find the Hondurans had the foundation and some of the blocks alreay in place for the Feeding Center for the children of a nearby village. The team members were so excited and ready for the rest of their crew to get there. They starting preparing for the arrival of the 66 young people and chaperones for the week. At Camp Betel there was the construction of the Feeding Center and VBS for the children. In the morning the ladies of the nearby village came over to learn how to cross-stitch book marks. There was about twenty plus men and one young lady who translated for the Americans and Hondurans. She also taught Tater Sack, aka Mike Sowers how to lay block. There was also a salvation on the last day of the construction job. To God be the glory

Deep Impact at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Tegus

Another location of Deep Impact was at Emmanuel Baptist Church, Pastor Oscar. There was VBS held at the church in morning with activities of music, parachute ball, and arts and crafts. Down the street there was evangelism/basketball being played by some of the youth and their leaders with the Honduran boys and girls from a nearby school. We stopped by one day and the plan of salvation was being shared with two young men on the basketball courts. To God be the glory. In the afternoon the young people would go door to door with hygiene kits and ready to share Jesus Christ with the families they visited. There was one area they went to next to the church where there was at least fifty steps going straight down to get to a village of beautiful Honduran people. They were given the hygiene kits and explained how to use them and how to have Jesus Christ as their personnal savior. Thank you young people for sharing Jesus with the people of Honduras.

Deep Impact at El Tablon

There was a third location the young people went to and that was El Tablon Pastor Benjamin. They did VBS and a medical clinic for the children and people of this village. This particular church has a special place in the hearts of the Mike Sower, Mike Greene and Larry Doyle families. Nine years ago all three families were on top of that mountain building the church which we worshipped in on Sunday morning. When we arrived the first day with the group, Pastor Benjamin had photos of all the families working on the church. It was a very special day at El Tablon. It was like a faimily reunion. Brothers and sisters in Christ coming back together to carry on the Kingdom work at El Tablon. On Sunday we were able to worship with Pastor Benjamin and there was several testimonies from the team members. Mike was able to preach an awesome sermon translated by Larry Doyle. Thank you Deep Impact for coming and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the beautiful people of Honudras. They were truly blessed and we hope you took a bit of Honduras home with you as well. See you next year. God bless!!

Team 116 Floyd's Creek Baptist Church

On June 16 Floyd's Creek Baptist Church arrived in Tegus ready to serve the Lord. Their smiles were as bright as the sun shining down on them. They ate their deli lunch and off we went to Choluteca. On the first day on the job everyone pitched in and moved the blocks to the center of the foundation. We did something very special with the first block. Juan the father of the house, translator, Oscar, Pastor Antonio, Chad, Roger, Greg, the team leader and Candance, our first timer layed hands on the block and Candance prayed a pray over the first block. Juan laid the first block and everyone clapped and praised the Lord. The team was up and running. We have a new construction leader, Pastor Guerillmo, Pastor "G" for short. He and Team 116 worked hard side by side all week on building this family a home. There are eight children in this family, and the mother Ana died two years ago of diabetes and a stroke. So this was an emotional week for all involved. The eight children and Juan, the father worked very hard beside Floyd's Creek to make their home a reality. The girls hauled in buckets of water on their heads to the job site for mixing the mortar for the blocks. That sight in itself was amazing. They brought the water from a few houses down out of someone elses well. This whole community came together to help their neighbors get a home. Each day courses were laid and the sun seem to get hotter but nothing stop the process from its completion. As the week went by Floyd's Creek build many relationships in this community of El Carrizo. They became to know them by name and the language barrier became less and less a problem for the Hondurans and the Americans. God is good all the time. That saying seemed to be repeated quiet often during the week. The day of the dedication was absolutely beautiful. Floyd' Creek presented the family with the key to their new home and a family bible. The children of the family started crying as they now have a new home they can call their own. An hour after the dedication there came a huge electrical storm and the children were standing inside their home looking out at the rain. This is the first time in their entire life they did not have to worry about getting wet or not going to sleep because of a rainstorm. Thank you Floyd's Creek Baptist for obeying God's calling to come to Honduras and serve the Lord and the people of Honduras.

VBS/Worship Service

Each afternoon the ladies of the group, Janey, Candance, Patti, Katherine and Jasmine led VBS inside of the church. Each day they averaged 75-100 children. The first day they did Noah's Ark and they had the children do hand puppets of the animals of the ark. They came to the front of the church and made the animal sounds. They were so sweet because the children did not know what some of the animals were and what sounds they made. But they had a blast learning and pretending to be on Noah's Ark. Each day they shared a bible story, songs, crafts and played futbol with the children. The children enjoyed the time they had in VBS. Some of the children walked over a mile to come to the church each afternoon to attend VBS. On the last day the electrical storm came up but that did not stop the young ladies of Floyd's Creek from sharing the plan of salvation with the children. Six children accepted Jesus Christ that stormy afternoon in El Carrizo. One lady accepted the Lord during worship on Sunday morning. Please pray for the salvation of Juan the father of the house. Juan came to church on Sunday morning and set right on the front row as the team shared a song and gave their testimonies. While the team shared the children were in Sunday School. The children came back out and shared what they had learned in Sunday School, a bible verse and then they sang their songs to us. It was a beautiful day in church on Sunday.

People of El Carrizo

The people of Honduras carry a beautiful smile and the love of Jesus in their hearts. Each team who come here always leaves blessed by these people. We come here to share with them and they always teach us something we can carry in our hearts forever. We love you Honduras!

Most Important Mission for Team 116

During the week Juan had shared with the team about the loss of his wife two years ago. Her grave is not too far from the village. The cementary is in a cow pasture. The cows were trampling over her grave. The team told Juan they were going to pray for 15 blocks to be left over from the job and some cement. So as the job came closer and closer to the end there were less and less blocks. We all prayed for 15 blocks. Well God is good all the time. There were 35 blocks left over from the job. So the Hondurans and the Americans loaded up the Kia truck and off to the cementary they went. This was a very overwhelming scene. Tears were streaming down the face of the oldest daughter as she helped build her mother a monument. As mentioned earlier an electrical storm came up. They worked hard as they could as the rain was coming our way. They found a tarp to lay over the grave to protect it from the rain. They carefully placed the tarp over the grave and said a prayer. As they finished the prayer lightening began stiking all around and the dark clouds dropped a massive amount of water on the village. God is good all the time. Thank you God for allowing Juan to find peace at his wife, Ana's graveside.

Team 114 Home Completion/Dedication

Praise the Lord from who all blessings flow. This was our first home completion and dedication without the team. We missed you so much New H0pe Baptist Church. The men of the village came forward on Saturday after the sun finally decided to come back out and helped Mike and Pastor Guerillo finish the Ponce home. As you can see in the pictures even the children of the family were helping mix the mortar. Two of the men in the group picture are our new brothers in Christ, thanks to God who led a group down in January to evangelize in Colonia Vicotor Argenal. The home dedication was an unique one. New Hope Baptist Church was conferenced in on our cell phone and Carlos our translator help throughout the service. Pastor Ricardo read scriputure from the book of Galations and each member was able to share blessings to the family and everytime one shared the family and friends of Honduras would clap and shout AMEN. Modern technology is awesome. After Pastor Ramon shared a few words, Pastor Ricardo closed in prayer as each of us laid our hands on the home. Thank you New Hope for being a part of the dedication and for your earnest effort of never giving up on the job God called you to do in Colonia Victor Argenal. To God be the glory for all things. Now the Ponce family has a new home and God can looked down and say Well done good and faithful servants.