Welcome to our 2012 Faith Honduras Missions blog!

GETTING IT TOGETHER

            Faith Church has been provided with the wonderful opportunity to join our career missionaries in Honduras.  13 people have heeded the call ..”come on down”!  Excited ? -Yes!  Nervous ? - Uh huh!  Ready? - Almost! 

            Meeting and training have begun.  We have researched life in Honduras, looked at health requirements (for some that means shots - ugh!), gotten our passports, discussed clothing needs and work projects, written our testimonies, begun exercising our bodies, talked about how in the world to communicate - Spanish of course, and naturally taken on fund raising.  Hallelujah, our faithful Lord through His generous supporters is making provision for our trip.

            Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

            And do not lean on your own understanding.

            In all your ways acknowledge him,

            And he will make straight your paths. 

                                    Proverbs 3:5,6

This is our team verse and we would greatly appreciate your prayers as we learn to trust more and more.

We're Safely Home, Praise the Lord!

We safely returned home last night.  We Praise the Lord for His incredible blessings on our week in Honduras.  He has worked in many and might ways, bringing glory to Himself.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your faithful prayers.  We know that the Lord was at work because of your prayers.  We hope to post additional pictures in the near future (once we sort through the 1600+ taken during the week!)

Thursday - 8/9/12

We're back.  Believe it or not Apple does make computers that don't work all of the time.  That would explain why we did not post last night and why we will have an abbreviated one tonight.  We just wanted to check in and let everyone know that all is well.  Yesterday and today were also great weather wise.  Ministry and construction are going well and everyone is healthy on the SC team.  Please pray for Richard on the AZ team as he is having some nausea and sickness.

We'll be signing off for now and sharing much more when we get home.

Being blessed....good night all.


P.S.
For those wanting to know, our flight is scheduled to get in to Columbia at 9:35pm Saturday night on Delta 1237.

Tuesday - 8/7/12

Who knew, God can even use Tropical Storms to answer prayer.  We had another carbon copy day as far as the weather goes.  Relatively cool and pleasant.  Sure has been a treat compared to what we have been preparing ourselves for.  The storm appears to have skirted us and in the process kept the temps milder all the while with minimal rain.  It did rain most of the night though but fortunately let up this morning and trailed off through the day.  We are expecting some sun tomorrow.

The dental team had another successful day in La Fe.  Having the advantage of running the clinic there yesterday, it helped to make today that much smoother.  There were fewer patients to see today than Monday but we expect there to be more in Armenia Bonito for the remainder of the week.

Linda had a little bout with an upset tummy.  The elders on the trip laid hands on her and prayed for her speedy recovery.  She was able to spend the morning at the dorm resting and giving her meds time to act.  By afternoon, she was out helping Shannon and other team members with the young mothers ministry and caring for their children.  God saw fit to redirect her to that ministry today.  Having her take a breather before doing so was just what He wanted instead of construction in La Fe.

A great time was had by all at the sewing team.  There was lots of fun, laughter, and interaction with the locals.  Kathy White was "overwhelmed" by all of the dialog and Anita worked overtime to translate.  One of the girls made a cover for her baby's mattress, two pillow cases, and pants in just two days!

Kids Club went very well.  We reviewed the material with Ashley before we left and she warned us not to expect to keep their attention long and not be surprised if there is some attrition.  That turned out not to be the case.  We put up a tent to protect us from some light rain and set off to spend the next 2 hours singing and playing with a group of over 20 kids!  They were able to hear the story of Bartimaeus and his receiving sight from Jesus.  We helped them make "Wordless" bracelets to remind them of heaven, the cleansing blood of Christ, sin, and salvation.  They were so well behaved and attentive it was a real pleasure to spend the morning with them.

Thanks again for your prayers, please keep them coming!

Monday - 8/6/12

First of all, the weather today was perfect.  Devinely ordered.  Mike has prayed that a string of less than ideal experiences held by previous teams be broken with this trip.  Our team has been very diligent about drinking enough water and taking in the right amount of electrolytes but it doesn't hurt to get a little help from our Creator.  So far, everyone is doing very well.  As in James, always look for joy in every circumstance.  This is no more real than with the impending tropical storm.  We would lean toward fear and anxiousness at the mention of it, but found that today it brought some cooler climes and even a little soothing rain.  Thank you Lord for blessings in disguise.

Ministries for the day...

Sewing group:

There were two girls that participated in the sewing ministry today.  They are part of a young mothers ministry here.  The sewing machines, dresses, and materials so graciously donated as well as crafted were a real hit and deeply appreciated.

La Fe

Dental:

Our two dentists were provided with makeshift examination chairs made out of lawn chairs elevated with a wooden frame.  Their exam room was a covered patio outside one of the residences in La Fe.  There were about 25 children and adults that were treated.  All were tooth extractions and they went very well.  Some of the patients were as young as 4 years old.  Dentistry is typically a fearful experience, especially for children, and that was not the case here.  They were hopefully expectant of relief and to just feel better.  Mary and Julia were the center of entertainment for the kids.  They did a great job of keeping them happy and occupied while waiting.  Hazel was a host for the team and opened her house to us as a home away from home while visiting La Fe.  She is a sweet soul and desperate to rise above the negative influences of life in La Fe.

Construction:

The La Ceiba team has been working with the people of La Fe to upgrade the power running through the community.  There is a patchwork of power line drops that serve the area, none of which were placed by the power company.  As such, these residences are at risk of electrical fires and even electrocution.  The team is assisting the locals and La Ceiba team in erecting concrete poles around the community to provide infrastructure for upgrading service to the people there.

Thanks for your continued prayers!   Blessings and buenas noches!!

Sunday - 8/5/12

Thank the Lord for a day of acclimation and rest.  It would have been difficult to dive straight in to the demands of on-site ministry and construction without the time needed to hydrate and adjust to the climate.

We spent the day worshiping and touring.  "Gringo Church" was held at 9am and was a sweet and intimate time spent between the two visiting teams and the permanent staff.  We sang and listened to Mike preach the word and were even able to participate in Communion here.  The pastor for the team from Tuscon, Phil, led us in a special time of reflection.  Afterward we were able to tour the city, see La Fe and run by where Mike and Erin live.  At 4pm, we attended local services with the Hondurans. What a passion they have in worshiping their Lord.  It was quite a sight to behold as well as participate in.

Looking forward to getting our feet on the street tomorrow and immersing ourselves in the culture and living out God's great commission.

Praying, Expecting, Looking, and Proclaiming...

We've made it here!!

God is good.  No incidents, no delays, no bad weather, just smooth sailing and a relaxing 3 hour tour via bus from San Pedro Sula airport to La Ceiba.  Just finished dinner and orientation.  We are looking forward to tomorrow's "Gringo Church" and immersing ourselves even more in the culture.  Its not hard to see even this early in, that God has some great things in store for us.

Meet the Missionaries!

We'd like to introduce you to the MTW missionaries on the field in La Ceiba Honduras.  

Mike, Erin and Madison Pettengill; John, Kathy, Rebecca, Abigail, Josiah and Evan Clow; 

Mike and Ashley Troxell; Kate deFuniak; Shannon Innes and a few MTW summer interns.

Please pray for them as well as your Faith summer team.

July 7th meeting

We're getting close...one more meeting on the 28th and we will be on our way.  Anita Marcy has joined our troupe and we are all so grateful for God's timing and provision.  She will be an invaluable resource for bridging the Spanish communication gap.

Our first team project!!

THE FUN BEGINS

            Our team was provided with a wonderful opportunity to work together, hone our skills (we are great with measuring wood and using battery powered screw drivers!), endure some heat, enjoy (?) peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and be proud of our accomplishment.  For two and a half days we spent our time working together to build a deck in Cathy Livingston’s back yard.  We give huge thanks to Mike Ruff for his oversight of our work and this project.  Unfortunately, we are not for hire!  And we do thank Cathy for her bravery and acceptance of our newly learned skills!