Final Post...Till next year...

Musings then and after

Ipod, Iphone, droid, laptop. Mustang, Honda, or Charger. Burger King, McDonalds, Chillis. What are we going to do Friday night? Go to a movie, out to eat, stay home and watch T.V., watch a recorded show, or Netflex. All these choices. So many things to fuss about or decide on. How do we do it?

In Honduras, they reminded us of a way. You quickly get a new perspective and are reminded what life is really like in 2/3 of the rest of the world, and maybe some answers for our complicated, harried world here in the States. Their life is simple. There are far fewer choices, and the choices they have are often not as attractive as we have.

They have daily choices like black beans with or without rice tonight, since we had rice last night? Should I hunt for some more discarded scrap tin for my roof today or just hope it doesn't rain? Shall we sit inside and visit or outside and visit in the "air conditioning"? Do I want to walk up the hill 1/4 mile with my 3 gallon bucket to get water three times now or spread it out as I need it for laundry and supper? Should I take a chance now and go on to the store or wait till my brother comes home, so it will be safer? Last but not least, should I spend 12 hours a day trying to work odd jobs so I can get some newer clothes for my kids, or just go to the dump again and find what they need?

I guess you could say we have it made here in the U.S. Some would even say we are kind of spoiled. We are a society (myself included), that is not very content. We bore easily. We have to have more "stuff" and we like to be busy doing something. Sophisticated, modern, and high tech are not synonymous with better life or happiness. We seem to think we are better off, and I guess we are when it comes to food, money, housing, and health care.

What if we have just gotten used to that, what if we have been seduced into thinking that is what makes us happy. Maybe we have gotten so "sophisticated" and so good at rationalizing that the things that really matter have been crowded out. The simple things are looked down upon or unimportant. Maybe we have gotten so used to (addicted) to our stuff that we have built up a tolerance for it, so we have to keep getting more to satisfy our desires. Then at times we crash, get angry or disillusioned when we can't get the "stuff" we have to have. Or even worse, our stuff breaks down or an updated version comes out.

Jesus said "blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom, of heaven. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled." Jesus also stated, "Don't store up treasures for yourself on earth because you'll lose it, but store up treasures in heaven because where your treasure is your heart will be there, too.

There are plenty of other verses, but we've heard them all plenty of times, even if we have tuned them out or come up with an explanation that makes them less challenging. I'm including myself in that position, too, because every time I go to a less fortunate place, I'm reminded of these things. But it is easy to put the thoughts aside and get back into my comfortable routine. How can we break through this and stay motivated and on track with doing the simpler way of life, the way of spending time just helping people here, in our day to day lives? How can we keep from just going through the motions of church life and be out there doing more things that really matter? I need to learn a way to want what I want, less, at least until what I want is the more of what Jesus wants. I wish I had an answer, but all I can do is try one more time--ask God to help me to see what I need to be doing to get there and the courage and support to do it, and then keep doing it. Of course, the more I study Jesus and his attitude and interactions with people, the more my eyes will be opened too. It’s simple to study, but hard to make the time for.

If we, at church, spent less time straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel, we would have so much more time and enthusiasm for the ministry of Jesus. We would have more time for meeting the needs of the community we live in, and "feeding His sheep" as He wanted us to.

Mark and Lori Connell, and the other workers in Honduras, thanks for not just being a little candle there but being a "Torch" on a hill to blaze brightly not only in Honduras, but a blaze to light the path for others to walk down.

Randy Hendrix

Dia Doce

Hello Everyone,

Today was a tough day for me, not because of what I did but because the service part of the trip is over. We had to say goodbye to some of the people we worked with over the last two weeks that have become my friends. I have also reflected on the people we have served. The places and faces will be forever etched in my mind. Whether it was building a home for someone, delivering food to families, or feeding the people at the dump. It is something I hope everyone will get to experience.

We get to go to the beach tomorrow. We will see everyone soon.

Kevin Woodard
(special shout-out to the P.P.F.L via Haley Woodard:)!!!!)

(shout-out to Mr. and Mrs. Becca, award for P.D.A.)
(Haley Woodard, award for to taking out the most Monster Hondurans in the soccer games)


Hey Everyone,
Well it's the last day in Teguc - kind of bitter sweet, but I know several of our team members are ready to get home an see their family. We leave for La Ceiba tomorrow morning at 5:15am and then will come to the Tegucigaulpa Int'l Airport early Wednesday morning to catch our flight back home. I don't know if we'll have internet connection at the resort, so this may be our last post for a while. If it is, we all love you and will see you very soon. Here are a few funny pictures from our trip - enjoy!

-Robbie

Day Once

Crown of thorns


Inside of one of the homes we replace



The Alameda House

Kevin admiring the view

Last day of work means giving away our shoes to people who really need them

See, he really does smile... :)

Beautiful little girl

Seasoned old man

Good Evening Church Family,

Today we took a group of us to the Hospital. Most of the group minus 2 were Alameda folks. I will have to say it was a good day. Although it was emotionally hard - church you should be proud that we have some strong folks. Through Christ we got to pray with a lot of people, play with kids. We passed out balloons, made funny faces, painted nails, colored, blew bubbles, gave everything we had in our back packs to make someone else's day brighter.

We started out in the chemo ward. It was a tough place to start. The kids ranged from 2 years to 17 years old. There I got a chance to visit with a mother who was a believer. We talked about the strength that Christ gives us to make it through the circumstances of life. She had a daughter that was 16 going thru chemo and her other daughter that was 25 was there with her. We had a good time laughing about how hard it was to find a good man with a good heart and a good job. While visiting the chemo ward, a couple of our members had a hard time when praying with a certain patient and began to cry. As the translator, I assured the young girl that it was the latest "gringo" thing to do. That you cry with joy when you meet someone that you really like. She thought this was really funny.

We visited a lot of wards. From the prenatal ward to the post ops wards. One of the wards that we visited had babies that were only a few days old and the mothers did not name the babies because they didn't think they would live very long. The awesome part was these mothers were so full of hope that soon their babies would have names.

One ward had a patient, Brian 15 years old, that was brought in two days ago that suffered a shotgun wound that had pierced his lung. He was having labored breathing and they did not think he would make it through, so please pray for him tonight. His mother is my age.

My dear brothers and sisters I tell you these things not to discourage you, but rather to encourage you. Because our God is greater than all of this, and it really encouraged my spirit. Looking past the unclean rooms and all of the circumstances affecting the Honduran people, you realize that they have a deep love for each other. I hope that we can bring that love back home with us. I can't wait to see you all. I'll leave you with the scripture that we read over the families and patients...

"I pray that that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope throught the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Peace out yo,

-Dawnita

Hey Everyone,

We had a good day - it was challenging for some, especially for the crew that went to the hospital, but for the most part it was fun. Besides the hospital, we had people go to an orphanage and just play with the kids that didn't have visitors there. They had potato sack races, played soccer (or futbol), wrote with sidewalk chalk, and other fun activities. We don't usually go someplace without doing some sort of service, so it was a little bit of a treat for our people to go there and only play. We had another group go to a village and level land for a future house - the crews that have been doing this have been digging directly into a mountain side. They have to clear enough dirt to make a 20 by 18ft square, which is requiring a lot of shoveling. Lastly, we had a few people build today - that makes 16 houses in 9 days. That's incredible. Well that's about all, I'll leave you with a few more pictures.

In Him,

-Robbie

Dia Diez

Hola friends and family!!!
Becca Corlee and Andrew Baugher, here known as Becky and Andy.

Today we went to the dump. The ground was covered in trash and it was impossible to tell where the ground was. Around us were walls that appeared to be made of rock but on closer inspection were nothing but trash mounds. People here lived amongst the garbage day in and day out. It was really hard to see the life styles of the people there. The daily routine was to wait for trash trucks to deliver their load, then tear open the bags to look for anything worth using or selling.... or eating. When trash is delivered dogs, vultures, children, and adults alike rush to the pile in desperation. There is no seperation between the species. It truly seemed like hell on earth. It was one of the hardest things to witness. It felt good to bring what little happiness we could to the people there. We gave them a good and clean meal with fresh filtered water. After serving the people we played with the kids and is was awesome to see the smiles we brought to their faces. It was again hard though to see the little boys literally rolling on the ground after failing to catch a frisbee. On a lighter note though, after the dump the group got to go get pizza and then head to Casa de Esperanza which means House of Hope. This is a childrens home, where we helped mix concrete to start building a place for the children to play soccer. We also got to play with the kids when they woke up from their nap. Some of them spoke english which was nice because there has been such a language barrier for the past week and a half. It got really really cold and started to rain so unfortunately we had to leave early. So after an hour and a half bus ride, freezing cold showers, and warm food we are now sitting here typing about our day. Sadly there aren't enough words to descride the situation we saw today but we thank God that we are so blessed to have such a clean and wonderful place to live, and families that love and adore us. Though a long term solution is far in the future, we can at least be thankful that God provided us with the resources and love to share with these people.

Special thanks to the Alameda crew today- Robbie Mulinax, Matt Sutterfield, Brandon Cook, Hilary Meyer, McClane Daniels, Robin Parker, Korry Rogers, Kate Parker, Kristan Clingan, Kimmy Berry, Allie Berry, Stan Berry, Josh Hendrix, Randy Hendrix, Lincoln Hendrix, Dawnita Montgomery, Gail Blaylock, Hailey Woodard, and Kevin Woodard.

Hey Everyone,

So today was definitely a roller coaster for me. This morning I found out that one of my good friends from college died a couple of days ago in Afghanistan - the helicopter he was flying in was shot down. This immediately put me in a state of grief not only for me, but for his wife, and for the world being absent of him - he was a really great individual. Thankfully, though, several of the people from our church that I've grown to love so much were right there when I found out and they were exactly what I needed when I needed it. His name is Joel Gentz and his wife's name is Kathryn. Please pray for them - I can't even imagine what she must be going through right now. Also, Joel's death has hit really close to home for me. It is the first time that I've had a close friend die - I've read about the people dying in combat, but I've never actually knew any of them. I have a lot friends in the military and we all understand the inherant danger that comes with the job, but it doesn't make it any easier when you lose someone you love like a brother or sister.

For the rest of the day my friend was constantly on my mind, but I didn't let that distract me from the mission that needs to be completed down here. When I told Amber about Joel I told her we should continue to work and that we should dedicate today to our friend. And that's what we did, we worked for him.

I went to the dump today and it was hard to see people in that situation. We were told before we went in to remove items that you wanted to keep, because if you were wearing a hat, sunglasses, watch, etc... you would be asked by the people of the dump for that item. This was a safety precaution that was put in place to keep our people from getting in a compromising situation. Once there we served them spaghetti, cookies, water, and we played with them. Playing with the kids there I realized that no matter how bad their circumstance is, they are still kids. You could see that sparkle in their eyes when you blew them bubbles or threw them the frisbee. It really made me love them all that more and want to do something to better their life. They didn't let us take cameras to the dump, so unfortunately we don't have any pictures - but the experience will stick with everyone that went for the rest of our lives. Here are a few more pictures:

God Bless,

-Robbie

Dia Nueve

Each day here brings new blessings!
A group of us spent the day at Jimmy Hughes Ministries about 1.5 hours outside the city. Our visit started with a tour of the rehab center's home-like atmosphere and grounds. Pastor Salvador, director of the center, inspired us with his testimony and "rapped" a little for us! Generally not a big fan of rap but this song was a beautifully poetic telling of his faith journey and a very real message of the hope and love found in Christ.
Also part of the ministry in this quaint country village was a home for young mothers and a home for children who were victims of violent crime. Every child there is considered a miracle. Stories told were horrific and difficult to hear but God is so good! Despite the frightening and tragic circumstances endured, this safe haven has given them a new beginning and a new family- God's family. I asked a young boy, Jose', if Jacky was his sister. Jose' sweetly replied, "Yes, my sister in Jesus but not really my sister".
Pizza for the kids, soccer, legos, coloring and hair bows (thanks Kristy) filled our afternoon. Many of the children spoke English making it easy for us to share and bond with these precious "ninos". It was so refreshing to see Honduran children have adequate facilities and their physical and spiritual needs met. Haven't seen that much this past week. Please pray for the children of Hunduras!

God is love,
Robin Parker

Hey Everyone,
Yesterday was a great day - like Robin said, we went to see the Jimmy Hughes orphanage. Here are a couple of websites about Jimmy and his ministry:
jimmyhughesministries.org
http://deadlinelive.info.info/2009/10/05/jimmy-hughes-%E2%80%93-from-cia-operative-and-mafia-to-evangelical-pastor-2/
Pretty awesome story. We had another group pack and distribute food, which can be pretty interesting - make sure to ask Gail or Korry when we get back about their experience. Otherwise, everyone is doing great. Here are a few more pictures!

In Him,
Robbie

Dia Ocho

Hello Everyone! This is Amber. ^_^ Today a big group of our ladies had a unique opportunity to visit a girls' detention center on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa. This detention center is a facility for girls ages 12 -18 that have been incarcerated for serious crimes. Just looking at them, you would have never guessed the details of their past, and we didn't try to. Today was a day to simply spread a little of God's love to them and let them know that they are still cared for, despite the mistakes in their past. We began the day with a devotional (led by one of our fluent Spanish speakers), and then gave the girls a chance to visit a number of different stations where they could get their nails painted, have their hair washed, dried, and styled, get their picture taken and make a frame to put it in, and make jewerly. Some ladies from Mi Esperanza joined us to practice their hair styling and nail painting expertise, and our ladies helped in creating the picture frames and jewelry. We were having just as much fun as the girls! We ate lunch together and spent the whole day visiting with the girls, which is a rare treat for many of them who have no family that come to see them. Lori Connell was the leader and organizer of our day today. She told us that one of the girls there has told her in the past that it means so much for us to come. She said, "In a place like this, it's easy to feel forgotten." I hope that after today, they will only feel loved. In our hearts, they will not be forgotten.

Hey Everyone,

Our group is doing really really well - we're working hard and having a great time while doing it. Here are a few videos from our experienc:

-Robbie

The Alameda House

Today the team from Alameda got to build a house by ourselves. The family we built for, has 6 children and was in desperate need of a new home. We actually met the mother the day before because her house was right down the road from that day's build.

That day Mark pulled Kevin and I off the build site to go "tour" this family's home. Their home was made from scraps of metal, sticks, and other materials that the family had scrounged from who knows where, and was only about 5 feet tall. There were very few nails in it. Most of the metal was tied to the stick frame by thin wire. The sheet metal on the roof was only held down by rocks and other random items. The possessions inside the home were not any nicer than the rusted metal that made the walls and roof. So, Mark made the call to build her a new home, and the next day (yesterday) the team from Alameda did.

The build itself went really well. We had everyone from the Alameda team there to help, and everyone pitched in. We had 30ish people there to dig holes, swing hammers, hold boards, and play with the neighborhood kids.

Every day I'm amazed by the people of Honduras. As far as possessions, they have nothing that we wouldn't consider trash. Any American would have thrown away that stuff years ago. BUT, their spirit, and love for each other is something we're desperately needing. In our devotional the other night Mark made a statement that I believe is true. He said their lack of possessions draws them closer together, and all our "stuff" pushes us apart. I never thought I'd be jealous of the people here, but I am. It's really hard to describe their sense of community, and family, but those bonds are stronger here, than I've ever seen before. Day after day, we see this as we give food to some of the Honduran workers that work along side of us. These boys will work all day with us without a bite to eat, and when we hand them food, the first thing they do is pass it on to the little children. Its amazing to witness.

We finished the house right before it started raining, and for the first time in a long time, that family was able to sleep without getting wet, and that's a great feeling.

-Korry