Where's Kristen? (Donde esta Christina?)

For the past 12 years, Kristen has been coming to Honduras.  She lights up the eyes of the little children here like no one else.  Daisi, Alexi, Joel, Sohari, Minor, Walter, Naieli, Jose Reynaldo, Francisco, Bexaida, and so many more.  Now this year, she is home with another child, her own, and little Jackson is lighting up her eyes like no one else.  We love you Kristen.  It may be a few years before you can return to Honduras, but we are counting the days when that will happen again.  One day you will bring Jackson here and introduce him to the kids that you first loved and to the place where all who saw you saw the love of Christ in your eyes.

¿Podría un padre alguna vez estar más orgulloso de su hija?

 

 

 

 

Mount Horeb campus

Our team will be the last team to operate out of the Baptist mission house in Choluteca.  This is the new missions campus, located about 30 minutes west of Choluteca.

 

 

Raphael y Amelia - Bienvenida a su nuevo hogar!

Thank you Ginger and Mike Green

The House is Complete

Final CO inspection

Final certificate of occupancy inspection by the Site Manager, Budd.

 

Hoola hoops were a big hit

 

Yorleni needs a hug to warm up

Yorleni was cold in the morning shade (maybe it dropped below 80) so Suzanne gave her a hug to warm her up.

 

Kids find shade on the side of the house

We're Done

Tom and Keith finish the roof installation.

 

Hot Tin Roof

Tom and Keith have the hard part on day #5 as they install the tin roof panels.

Roof panels create additional shade

Even Bob and the dog take advantage of the growing shade inside the house as the roof panels go on.

 

Tom and Keith start the roof on work day #5

With able assistance from Pastor Carlos above and Budd from below.

 

On a mission

Joel keeps things moving quickly on day 1.

Budd Hipp, Asst Blockmaster and Site Manager

Budd takes a brief respite from his assistant blockmaster duties.

 

Suzanne cleaning up the mezcla joints

Teamwork on the wall

From earlier in the week, Bob, Tom, Dennis, Budd, Mike, and Joel keep things moving on the wall.

Jim works non-stop

Here he is shoveling sand through the screen.

Blessed with a beautiful shade spot in the back yard

Stand if you can

Visit with Pastor Darwin in Piedra de Agua

Honduran landscape

Dennis and Keith finish the gables on the walls

Steve shared more of his dust than shade with us on the wall

Devotion songs with Bob-O

Beautiful music each night; this was a highlight of our day.

 

Jim drawing with the kids

Jim is an artist and graphic designer, so his skills enthralled the kids.  They each got a hand-drawn picture to take home. 

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet."

A few years ago we had a tradition that at the end of the work week we would sit in a circle and speak through a translator to each of the Honduran workers and family members that we served.  After seeing many of the workers mix cement (mezcla) barefooted or in sandals we often would give them our boots at the end of the week.  A few years ago, our brother Wiley Jones said to Steve Brown, "We are giving them our boots.  What we should be doing is washing their feet."  And so a new tradition began...

 



John 13:1-17New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

13 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Almost heaven

The definition of "almost heaven": Bob playing guitar with the kids under a Honduras shade tree.

Floor is laid on work day #4 (Friday)

Tom and Keith work with Pastor Carlos to lay the concrete floor.

 

Suzanne is a hit with the kids

Needless to say, Suzanne is a star with the kids.  She led them in coloring, Frisbee, jump rope, and the fun never stopped.
  -- Cirly, Yorleni, Pedro, Christian, Stacy

Pescado para el almuerzo

There is an advantage to working by the beach...

La Playa (beach)

After work day #3 we stopped by the Cedano beach.  Suzanne enjoyed putting her toes in the Pacific Ocean and we all enjoyed the cool breeze and breathtaking view of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua on the horizon.

 

Arroz con pollo de Rosa

Our favorite meal, chicken and rice, by Rosa.

It's beginning to feel like home

End of work day #3 and all the block walls are laid.  12 courses high, with two windows and two doors, plus the gables. Tomorrow we start on the roof and floor.

Mike stands here with two children, Brian and Yorleni, with the greeting: Bienvenida a su hogar, (Welcome to your home).

Walls going up on Work Day #2

Keith and Dennis on the wall.

Mike, Joel, and Anthony on Work Day #1

Mike and Joel had responsibility for the street front wall.  Anthony is the nephew of the family for whom we are building the house this week and he has worked hard all week mixing mezcla (cement).

Dennis and Jim on the wall

Work day #1.