Last week we had a small group of our friends from Tupelo, MS. The week went too quickly and a lot of great things were happening. On Thursday we made a trip to Hospital Escuela to spend the morning with children in the various wards. I wasn't able to spend much time at the hospital as I had to be in a couple of differnt places to finish up some of the team's business. When I was finally able to get up to the area where the team was visiting some of the kids, I met a little 10 year old girl named Jenny. Jenny was in the hospital because on May 15th she was riding her bike when she was hit by a car. The damage to Jenny caused her to lose her right leg about 3 or 4 inches above the knee. It was sad to see this beautiful child and know that her future in Honduras isn't very bright. Folks here that are disabled are usually relagated to begging or being permanently dependent on their families.
I was able to spend a couple of minutes with Jenny's mom and found out that she was going to go home from the hospital on Friday. Jenny was excited to be going home. She is the youngest of 8 kids. I also found out that the (really bad) wheelchair that she was sitting in belonged to the hospital and that she would be going home without one. The thought of this beautiful child going home to be left laying down or pulling herself along the ground made me very sad. While visiting with Jenny and her mom I remembered that we had just recieved a new container and that there were several wheelchairs in our warehouse. I made a quick trip and discovered that there was a chair that was excactly the right size for Jenny. Several of us were able to take the wheelchair back to the hospital so that Jenny was able to go home with a little mobility. We are blessed that we were able to deliver a little bit of relief to Jenny.
We are also working to try to find a place where little Jenny might be able to be fitted with a prosthesis - one person in the group is married to a man that makes them. Could be that we were in the hospital and met Jenny because it was in the plan that is talked about in Ephesians 2:10.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
What I See
I am able to be in a lot of places and because of that, I am able to see many different sights. Some of the things I've seen and experienced in the past week or so are why I am here. Here are a few of the sights -
Last week I saw desperation in the faces of many of the people at the Teguc dump. I was with a group that wanted to take full food bags to the city dump. Enough food in the bags to help for several days. The group took 250 bags and there was a line that streched to more than the number of bags available. I saw desperation in the folks near the end of the line - there was fear that there wouldn't be enough for them.
At the dump I also saw smiles on the faces of some of the people - even the ones that were near the end of the line. I talked to a lot of the people and asked them if they knew my friend Jesus. Many of them showed me that they had HOPE. A lot of the people that I asked told me that Jesus was the only hope that they had. They told me that they were happy because they had Jesus in their heart. There were even a few that pulled a small bible from their pocket.
Last week I observed the reason that Jesus told us "unless you are like these children...". We were working in a place called Villa Nueva - Sector 8. I met 3 or 4 little girls that were all smiles and giggles. Everytime I saw these little ones they wanted hugs. They were happy in spite - of being hungry, dirty, and living in a place where most of the world would see no reason to be happy.
In the past week I have seen hunger - a lot of hunger. We build a house for a family in the mountains above Ojojona and were able to visit the old house where the family of 5 had been living. Walking through the old house to look for how much food the family had to live on was revealing - there was a basket with maby 6 eggs, to shriveled peppers, and nothing else - nothing! The sad truth is, about 40 to 50% of the families in this country live just like this.
I also saw Hope in a man named Fernando. Fernando is a man that lost both arms in an electrical accident. I met Fernando because we are going to build a house for him - today. Fernando wasn't hopeless. After his accident, he went back to school to learn how to function and is now able to work in electrical technology - even without hands. Fernando was a happy man and was all smiles. Can't wait to see his new house.
I have seen and experienced so much more but, the time this morning is short and I need to go to work. I wish you all could be with me. I am blessed with the best job in the world!
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc
Last week I saw desperation in the faces of many of the people at the Teguc dump. I was with a group that wanted to take full food bags to the city dump. Enough food in the bags to help for several days. The group took 250 bags and there was a line that streched to more than the number of bags available. I saw desperation in the folks near the end of the line - there was fear that there wouldn't be enough for them.
At the dump I also saw smiles on the faces of some of the people - even the ones that were near the end of the line. I talked to a lot of the people and asked them if they knew my friend Jesus. Many of them showed me that they had HOPE. A lot of the people that I asked told me that Jesus was the only hope that they had. They told me that they were happy because they had Jesus in their heart. There were even a few that pulled a small bible from their pocket.
Last week I observed the reason that Jesus told us "unless you are like these children...". We were working in a place called Villa Nueva - Sector 8. I met 3 or 4 little girls that were all smiles and giggles. Everytime I saw these little ones they wanted hugs. They were happy in spite - of being hungry, dirty, and living in a place where most of the world would see no reason to be happy.
In the past week I have seen hunger - a lot of hunger. We build a house for a family in the mountains above Ojojona and were able to visit the old house where the family of 5 had been living. Walking through the old house to look for how much food the family had to live on was revealing - there was a basket with maby 6 eggs, to shriveled peppers, and nothing else - nothing! The sad truth is, about 40 to 50% of the families in this country live just like this.
I also saw Hope in a man named Fernando. Fernando is a man that lost both arms in an electrical accident. I met Fernando because we are going to build a house for him - today. Fernando wasn't hopeless. After his accident, he went back to school to learn how to function and is now able to work in electrical technology - even without hands. Fernando was a happy man and was all smiles. Can't wait to see his new house.
I have seen and experienced so much more but, the time this morning is short and I need to go to work. I wish you all could be with me. I am blessed with the best job in the world!
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc
Sunday, June 08, 2008
May Report and Update
Sorry for the delay in getting a May report out. Our internet here is from a satelite system and for about 10 days - it was out of commission.
May started and ended with the "Oriente" project. The good news is that the end of May was also the virtual end of the construction phase of this project. The building still needs a few finishing touches but, by the end of this week we should be up and running. We look to be in full operation as soon as June 16th.
May also represented a chance for Terri and I to get a couple of days off to go to the states to enjoy the graduation of our children from Harding and to spend a week with our little grandaughter - the rest was great and a blessing.
We were back here on the 18th and our AIM'ers arrived on the 20th. Our first TORCH Team of the year arrived on the 31st and we were with them most of the time for the past week. The week with the team from Topeka was wonderful. There were 19 and all of them were first time TORCH Missionaries. This little group was able to build 4 houses and a church building, they fed more than 350 families and another 150 or so at the dump, they gave clothes to 100's of people at Los Pinos, they visited kids in hospitals and in the school for the blind, and they touched the lives of just about everyone that they came into contact with. Did I mention that they finished a block church building in the week!
Our work here continues to be exciting and fulfilling. There are also times that we struggle with why some things happen and then we reflect on how much our God has blessed us and our work. In May, we the first 5 boys that came to live with us were returned to their mom and dad. Yovani, Marvin, Mario, Francisco, and Antonio had lived here almost 2 years and we were able to see them grow, learn, and develop. They came here because their dad was in prison and their mom was unable to feed them. She took them to a place where they were cared for and they were assigned to our care. When we got the call that our little men were going home, we were sad and fearful - the simple fact is, their family loves them and they will be loved. It was our job to rescue when they needed to be rescued and to plant seeds that well always be with them.
Since the boys left, we have taken on a 6 year old boy named Johnny and an 11 year old named Doris. We are hopeful that in the coming days there will be 4 more little girls here. It looks like we will get to be home for a 3 and 5 year old sisters and another pair of sisters that are 5 and 8.
We have also started working toward having house parents as the primary care givers to our children. The first set of house parents will be starting their training this week and will be spending 60 to 90 days getting to know the kids and learning about their needs. After the initial period, they will move onto our campus.
The church here in Santa Ana is continuing to grow. Dorian is a tireless worker and he leads many classes and bible studies throughout the week.
June and July will be a challenge as we will be surrounded by the TORCH teams as well as living with 6 AIM team members and 3 TORCH interns. These young people are a great group of people and we are blessed to have them with us.
Once again, Terri and I want to thank all of our friends, families and brothers in Jesus. Every day you prove your faith over and over again. We are able to get a lot done because you support us, encourage us, and lift us up before our great and awesome God.
Thanks
Marc Tindall
May started and ended with the "Oriente" project. The good news is that the end of May was also the virtual end of the construction phase of this project. The building still needs a few finishing touches but, by the end of this week we should be up and running. We look to be in full operation as soon as June 16th.
May also represented a chance for Terri and I to get a couple of days off to go to the states to enjoy the graduation of our children from Harding and to spend a week with our little grandaughter - the rest was great and a blessing.
We were back here on the 18th and our AIM'ers arrived on the 20th. Our first TORCH Team of the year arrived on the 31st and we were with them most of the time for the past week. The week with the team from Topeka was wonderful. There were 19 and all of them were first time TORCH Missionaries. This little group was able to build 4 houses and a church building, they fed more than 350 families and another 150 or so at the dump, they gave clothes to 100's of people at Los Pinos, they visited kids in hospitals and in the school for the blind, and they touched the lives of just about everyone that they came into contact with. Did I mention that they finished a block church building in the week!
Our work here continues to be exciting and fulfilling. There are also times that we struggle with why some things happen and then we reflect on how much our God has blessed us and our work. In May, we the first 5 boys that came to live with us were returned to their mom and dad. Yovani, Marvin, Mario, Francisco, and Antonio had lived here almost 2 years and we were able to see them grow, learn, and develop. They came here because their dad was in prison and their mom was unable to feed them. She took them to a place where they were cared for and they were assigned to our care. When we got the call that our little men were going home, we were sad and fearful - the simple fact is, their family loves them and they will be loved. It was our job to rescue when they needed to be rescued and to plant seeds that well always be with them.
Since the boys left, we have taken on a 6 year old boy named Johnny and an 11 year old named Doris. We are hopeful that in the coming days there will be 4 more little girls here. It looks like we will get to be home for a 3 and 5 year old sisters and another pair of sisters that are 5 and 8.
We have also started working toward having house parents as the primary care givers to our children. The first set of house parents will be starting their training this week and will be spending 60 to 90 days getting to know the kids and learning about their needs. After the initial period, they will move onto our campus.
The church here in Santa Ana is continuing to grow. Dorian is a tireless worker and he leads many classes and bible studies throughout the week.
June and July will be a challenge as we will be surrounded by the TORCH teams as well as living with 6 AIM team members and 3 TORCH interns. These young people are a great group of people and we are blessed to have them with us.
Once again, Terri and I want to thank all of our friends, families and brothers in Jesus. Every day you prove your faith over and over again. We are able to get a lot done because you support us, encourage us, and lift us up before our great and awesome God.
Thanks
Marc Tindall
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