UPDATES and Opportunities

Siince returning to Honduras from 5 weeks of work in the USA, there have been tons of opportunities. On the day I returned, I learned that the water supply here at Casa de Esperanza was DRY. In a typical year, we get pretty low on water 5 or 6 weeks prior to the end of the dry season or sometime about the middle of April. Here we were - out of water in our well on February 18. Since returning, our water situation has not improved but, plans for good changes are coming together. We have been approved for a new water well that will be drilled in September of this year. Additionally, we are working on a plan to build a systern that will halp us collect rain water during our May to November rainy season. The systern is stil in need of a project manager so - if you are out there and want to take on this project, just let us know. Water in Honduras is not a new problem. The first year I came - 2001 - this country was in the midst of a drought. We stayed at Baxter and went days without showers. We were so concerned that we were dirty that we mostly didn't think about the hardships of the people that live with a lifetime of water shortages. Even in good rainy years, many are forced to carry all the water they use in 5 gallon buckets. The poor live in communities with no good usable water! Well, there will be some good news for one community in 2010. One place a lot of us work is - Nueve Oriental. The folks that I have been working with for a new well in Santa Ana have also scheduled a project for November for a community well for Nueve Oriental. This is breakthrough NEWS. On to other news - The dump feeding continues every Wednesday. Since returning, I have been able to begin a series of meetings with the city of Tegucigalpa regarding how we can make life a bit better for the people that we have been sent to serve. We are working on securing land that we can construct a combination - Health Center / Child Center / Church. Yes, we are making progress toward a church in the dump. I can promise you, this won't be like any church you have ever seen - but, you will see Jesus every where in it. Stay Tuned on this. Other feeding things include - the offer yesterday of another load of rice / veggie meals - something like 420,000 meals to be exact! The load will feed children and we are required to use it in places that teach kids about Jesus. I can live with that. We have been blessed with the reciept of 3 other loads of this food in the past year and when yesterday's call came, I was hesitant - it cost between $4500 and 5,000 to bring the load into the country. My first thought was - I don't have the money. The fact is, we didn't have the money on any of the other loads either but, our God has provided the funds for every one of them within just hours on all other food opprotunities. It took me about 10 min to realize that our God wants children fed and He will provide. I have friends working on securing the money for the food and it isn't up to me to figure out where all of the money is - it will come. So far, we have a comittment for $500 and we are confident that the money will come. Well, that is the up to date happenings here.