Damage!

Rain

It has been raining here for the past 4 days - NONSTOP. On Wednesday we headed down south to help feed folks in a little village where we hope to do some work next summer. The rain however has been so strong that we couldn't drive into the community. We had food for 100 families and we were able to send word ahead that we were coming. Because of the word that was sent ahead, the people of the little village came to the "end of the road" to meet us. The road ended at a river that is about 150 yards wide and rolling very fast. The river is usually a creek about 20 feet across that you can drive across. We found out that the people that came to get the food had crossed 2 other rivers and spent more than 2 hours to come to meet us. They were cold and shivering. They were also happy and greeted us with a joyful attitude. It was an amazing day.
The rain has continued - on Friday we drove east of town to take some friends to the town of Danli. We were on the same road on Monday and noticed that the pavement appeared to be sinking. By Friday, a large segment of the road was blocked off and the slight sinking was now about 3 feet lower. It appears that a big chunk of the mountain is about to fall off. The only good news about this is that if it does fall, it will be on top of a hotel that is known for exploiting young women. I hope nobody gets hurt (except for the hotel).
This morning in the newspaper there was an article about a village that is trapped by a river - an identical story to the one we observed first hand on Thursday. The headline said "Hunger drives people to ignore danger". The picture was of 3 women and some children crossing a river to get food for their families.
We had an amazing week here with friends from the Bay Area of California.
I will report on all of those activities on my monthly report. I will also outline more of our plans for helping the people in the south. We want to put something together that will address both the need for food and the need for Jesus.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

September Monthly Report

We began September in the USA. We were in many places and were able to speak to a number of churches and others regarding the work in Honduras. From our speaking, we were able to secure support for several projects including one of the planned church plants for 2009. We were able to nail down our TORCH team dates for almost all of our 2009 teams and because of that, we were able to work with the airlines to secure seats for about 75% of our anticipated team members. It is much easier to communnicate with the travel desks of the airlines from the states.
We also met with the Adventures in Missions group in Lubbock to discuss the class of 2009 and the potential of having a new team here next summer.
On September 1 we also began work on the new cottage at Casa de Esperanza. We were able to start the project while in the states because we are using Milton Estrada as our construction supervisor. Milton and I had drawn up all of the plans and staked out the project prior to our departure to the states and we knew how much work we expected to complete during the first 3 weeks of Sept. In spite of all of the rain, we are on schedule for completing the new house in October. All of the walls are done and we should be closed in by sometime next week. We are excited that there will be more kiddo's here at Casa and the sooner we get this project complete, the sooner we can do the work that God has planned.
In other news - We are in the process of working with a number of churches and sunday school classes to raise the funds necessary to supply all of our kids with new beds. In our home, there isn't any place for our kids to keep a few of their own things - the new beds will have a closet and drawers built in to that every child will have a little place of their own. A place where they can keep their few private possesions. We had a prototype made and the cost was about $500 for the bunk with a clost built-in. The construction is amazing and the new buds will last for many years.
For planning, we are already working with Baxter to discuss the new church in the Tegucigalpa area. Looks like we may have preaching students working in the plant area as soon as February 2009. This will be the beginning of "seed planting" for the new congregation. In October we are planning to visit the area where the other 2009 church project will be located. Hopefully we will be building a house and distributing food to people in the community.
Terri and I have lived here for more than a year now. We can see just how blessed we are by the work that we are able to be a part of. We continue to pray thanks for all of the support, encouragement, and love that we are shown. Thank you for praying for us.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc & Terri Tindall

Returning Home

Our little town is pretty small. The main road is the only one paved in the entire town. The rest are either rock or a dirt & rock combo. This time of the year we are blessed to have the amount of rock that is here. With the rainy season, any dirt is permanent mud.
On Monday we returned from 3 weeks in the states and it was really nice to drive into Santa Ana and be able to say "home at last". There really isn't any place like home - even if home is Santa Ana Honduras.
Since returning, I have been able to get a little caught up on some of the things that were left undone or as I preferr "in process". The first of those is "The Bill Brumley Cottage". This project is a new children's house at Casa de Esperanza. My friend Milton is once again my construction supervisor and he has done a wonderful job of getting things done during my visit to the states. The project is converting our bodega into a house - and that means we needed to build an addition that includes 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. Milton and his crew have completed the outside walls and most of the bedroom walls. In a week or so we will be putting on the roof and sealing in the building. We should be able to complete the project in another 4 weeks or so.
Yesterday I made what I thought was a quick trip into Tegucigalpa to go to the bank, take care of a few other loose ends, and get new shocks on Terri's truck. The slowdown was at the shop - a simple 1 1/2 hour job easily stretched into 4 1/2 hours and the day was almost shot by the time I returned to Casa.
Last night, the Tuesday worship was at Fernando & Brenda's (our new house parents). I went for the first time - there were 27 people there to sing, pray, and discuss the topic of the evening. Everyone that was there had to walk and they all came in spite of the fact that there was a good chance that there would be rain when they left and that they would be going home in the dark. The singing, prayer, and worship was uplifting. I like the way Honduran's greet each other - they really do believe in a "holy kiss". It is nice to be recieved with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I am blessed.
The rest of this week will be spent in a mix of stuff including - working on the women's center in Oriente, taking the children to their monthly visitation in Tegucigalpa, and pushing ahead on the new house. I can't wait to get the new house full of kids!
Terri and I are truly blessed to have our home and our work here in Santa Ana. We are blessed to have so many churches and people that support our work, pray for us, & encourage us. Our God is so amazing for planning this work here and we thank Him every day that we get to be here.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

In the states

We travelled to the USA on August 29th and have been blessed to be in a lot of places. We started in Little Rock and were able to see our little grand daughter - Camille - her mom and dad too. That weekend we met with the Chenal Valley Church to talk about TORCH Missions and the work in Honduras. We have made some great friends at Chenal and they are already excited about the 2009 mission to Honduras. On Tuesday we were able to have a dinner with several of our friends before heading to Mississippi on Wednesday.
Wednesday evening we met with the Lee Acres church in Tupelo - they have been a part of TORCH for several years and we are blessed that they are one of the primary supporters of the church in Santa Ana. Thank you Lee Acres!
Thursday we were in Columbus and made a quick trip over to Starkville to meet with Wesley and Natasha Thompson - the TORCH leader there. Wesley and Natasha have a new baby so we were able to see their new bundle of joy. The Starkville Church will be adding to next years team by including the MSU college group. This could easily mean that Starkville will be 35 to 40 strong. WOW!
While in Columbus we were able to meet with a lot of folks. We spent a morning with Allan Bazzell to plan out the 2009 mission for Mississippi. The team looks to be as large as 35 to 45 strong. We met with Wally Sweedenberg to survey the work on our clinic bus. Looks like it may be put together and ready to ship this fall. Thank you Wally!
There are so many folks in Columbus that support, encourage, and lift us up in prayer. We are blessed that we lived in Mississippi and even more blessed that the people there are such a big part of our lives.
From Columbus we headed back to Tupelo to meet with the Trace Crossing Church. The group is teamed up with Lee Acres and they will likely grow from 9 in 2008 to 35 to 40 in 2009. WOW!
After Tupelo, we travelled to East Tennessee to see our friends the Bulle's. Tom and Lynn are our great friends and they want to get their church involved in Honduras. We met with the minister, youth minister, and several people from their church. The time together was awesome. We are very excited about the potential of adding another team from East Tennessee.
Right now, the summer of 2009 is filling up and it looks like our God is laying out His plans for and amazing work. Terri and I will be leading or helping lead 6 teams - from May 21 to August 2. Additionally, there are other TORCH teams that have been coming for a number of years that will be working across town.
Some of our plans for 2009 include the planting of 2 new churches. It has been 3 years since our last - from the ground up church plant so - this will be a great summer. We also plan to start up a feeding center - close to the Honduras / Nicaraguan border. This is also one of the church plant locations. We will be taking some of the TORCH teams on a road trip to participate in this work.
I am excited about what is ahead of us. Please pray for the workers and the funds that will provide for the planned work.
Be a blessing to somebody today.
Marc

Gentle Touch

Today I went to town to work on a couple of projects and to visit a couple of places. The projects are in Oriente and I had Milton working with me so pretty much I just needed to get him to the job site and pay the bills. The places to visit were what was really on my mind today - I took Felicia, Andrea, and Rayner with me because I wanted to visit a day care center in El Centro. This is a place that was established by the first lady of the previous administration and takes care of the kids from single working mothers. Without this place, most of the kids would be at home alone or maybe with an 8 or 9 year old brother or sister. There are about 80 kids in the center. Today we were disappointed because the center was closed - so, we didn't get to visit or get an update on the status of the center.
The next stop is a place that takes in old folks when there isn't any place else for them to go. This home is on the steepest street that I have ever seen - much less driven on. We lived in the SF Bay Area and have driven Lombard several times - this Tegucigalpa street makes Lombard look like Lubbock, Texas. Outside the home there were about 15 to 20 homeless guys waiting for lunch as this home also ministers to the homeless of the area with a hot meal every day. In the home, there are about 3o people that look to be older than 80 and some very close to 100. Today when went into the home, we spent time sitting and talking to the people. One thing that I noticed all of the girls doing was giving hugs. It was amazing to see the change of expression in the faces of those being touched. The time that we spent in this home was just like most of the ministry that we are blessed to be a part of - we were all much more blessed by going to the old folks home that we could have ever imagined.
I am guilty of not visiting the old folks homes of the states - so, what we did today is not part of my usual routine. I plan to change this. Why don't you join me in changing?
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

More On Choluteca

Sometimes when you see something - especially here in Honduras, you are impacted to the point that you just can't stop thinking and praying about it. The first litle village we visited in the Choluteca area has effected me that way.
When I got home Saturday, I spent time talking with Andrea - one of our AIM team and we got up Sunday still talking about just what could happen to make the biggest impact on the community. Well, we just startd day dreaming together and so far - here is what we are dreaming about.
So far we believe that the biggest impact that we can deliver to the community is to find a way to feed the kids. We already have a pattern from the feeding center in Oriental so we won't be reinventing the wheel. We believe that using a feeding center as the base of ministry will have an immediate positive evvect on both the kids and the adults. Our aim is to build a center that will double as a church building and a place that the community can use for many other functions. We also want to find a ministry family that can act as both preacher as well as facility manager. We want to utilize the women in the community as our workers.
So - we want to build a feeding center, use the bulding as a place of worship and other community needs, we want to find a ministry family that will live in the community (in a house attached to the center), the family will manage the center and minister to the community. We believe that we can build and run the center for the first year for about $45,000 or less. That amount would allow us to build, furnish, staff - and feed about 200 kids a day - 5 days a week.
We know that our God has all the money in the world and we are praying that He will show us where the resources for this project will come from. Right now we are praying and planning.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc

Choluteca & July Report

I started to write a July report but just need to talk first about a great day (today) in Honduras. Many of you have met my good friend - Timoteo Estrada. I have known Timoteo for about 8 years and the more time I spend with him the more I love him and his love for the people of Honduras and his love for the Lord.
Today Timoteo, his son Milton, one of the AIM'ers (Felisha) and I went to the Chulateca area. Our goal was to give away a truck load of clothing and to meet some of the Christians in the area. The first area we visited was about 35km West of Choluteca - we went about 35km on pavement and then up about 10 miles of dirt and mud roads. We finally arrived in a community that is only seperated from Nicaragua by a muddy river. The little village where we were exists in a way that is totally different than even many of the poorest communities around Tegucigalpa. They are isolated from the world - no electricity, no phone service, no running water in any of the houses. There are a number of wells in the area so - you see the women pumping and filling buckets. There are about 175 houses in the community and about 800 to 900 people that live there. I was able to spend about an hour with the community president and he shared a lot about the community with me. There are only 2 school classrooms in the area - that is intended to serve more than 350 to 400 kids. There isn't a doctor within miles. Since there are few cars and no phone service, medical emergencies are handled by the women of the community.
One of the primary sources of food is corn - today we were met at our car with some freshly prepared sweet corn (boiled with shucks on).
After my walking tour of the community - the community president and I returned as Timoteo was handing out candy and toys to all of the area children. There were about 100+ kids and nobody was pushing or shoving - everybody was patiently waiting for a small gift (most were about like a happy meal gift). The kids were as excited as if it were Christmas - even with a simple gift. The entire community was as friendly as any place I have ever been and it was as poor as any I have ever seen. I wish I could do a better job of describing how the community looked - it just seems that it would be impossible to do so. The households iin the area are made up of intact families - mom, dad, and multiple kids. This is a big difference from most of the communities around Teguc - where most of the villages are made up of single moms with multiple kids.
The other area we visited was a community where Timoteo's family lives. There are 18 houses in the community and we spent time in the house of Timoteo's 90 year old aunt. Because we were guests, we were offered coffee and cake - no chance of turning it down. The cake was a corn bread cake and we truly enjoyed spending time in a place where many of the things that we see as important are not even considered.
We met people that have never used a computer, have never taken a hot shower, likely don't eat meat more than once or twice a month, likely only eat an average of one meal a day - or less and are amazingly happy. When they pray, they thank God for the bountiful blessings.
Today was a blessing and I am thankful that I was able to meet and learn from my new friends in Chulateca.
July Report
Much of our work is reported on the site - mstorch.blogspot.com
We were blessed in July to be able to lead 3 teams through TORCH (4 straight weeks). We worked with people from East Tennessee, South Carolina, Arkansas, Illinois, North Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, New York, and other places that I have forgotten. During our work we were able to feed more than 1400 families with bags of both fresh food and with beans, rice and other staples. We were able to send teams to the dump to feed people about 10 times - we made about 3200 sandwiches. Our teams built 2 school buildings and more than 22 houses. We visited 100's of kids in the hospital and special needs orphanage. We gave away clothing to more than 1500 people and toys to more than 3000 kids. We worked in about 9 different communities and we taught the gospel to an amazing number of people. There are now 36 new Christians that have chosen Jesus to be the master of their lives. We have identified a new community to plant a church in 2009 and we continued into August with follow-up in many of the areas where we have spent the past few months working.
Our final team left the country on the 9th and we were able to spend a few days away getting a little much needed rest.
We truly appreciate all of your prayers, encouragement, and your constant support of our work here in Honduras. You are a blessing to us and we love so very many of you.
Blessings,
Marc & Terri Tindall

Just A bunch of little beggers!

Today I took the end of the summer TORCH group to the airport. One surprise to a lot of groups is when the kids that they have fallen in love with come to the airport to tell them goodby. Since we are back using the Tegucigalpa Airport, the kids are back too. Today the kids were from Los Pinos - there were about 12 of them - pretty amazing since there were only 6 people leaving today.
After the group secured their boarding passes, they were in line to pay their exit fees and the kids were standing with me and 2 of the AIM girls. We were all laughing and having fun when a complete stranger walked up and said "don't bother too much with those kids, they are just a bunch of little beggers! Besides, I already bought then something to eat so they don't need anything else."
I was stunned!
I told him that these kids are my friends - that I know all of their names and where they live. I told him that they had come to the airport to tell some of my friends goodbye and that if he was able to see where they lived, he might understand a little bit about why they were asking for food.
I was amazed that this guy was wearing a shirt that said "Heart For Honduras".
As the afternoon has passed, there are a lot of things that I have thought of that I could have said - some of them were not very nice and others were just things that would hopefully provoke a little bit of thinking before you say something so stinking lame. I believe that Jesus said it best when he said "let the children come to me" and when he said " unless you become like these little children, you cannot enter the kingdom".
I pray that the words that came from this man were ones that he has choked on this afternoon.Maybe he had time to reflect on them on his flight back to the states and will somehow regret his arrogance. I hope so.
I am truly glad that the kids couldn't understand English - they just smiled at him as if he were one of their friends.
If you get a chance, come to Honduras and I will introduce you to my little friends and perhaps they will sone to the airport to see you off too.
Be a blessing to somebody today.
Marc
Ps: I will be posting a July report within days.

June Summary and Report

Pretty amazing that half of 2008 is already gone.
June has been an amazing and very fast paced month. We started the month with a group of 22 from Topeka, Kansas. This was a team that had never been with TORCH and they were a great multi-generational group. We were able to serve in several communities by helping the hungry with food, constructing houses, working with children, visiting hospitals, and building a new church building. This is a team that we are certain will grow in 2009. The Central Church of Christ in Topeka is going to be a very vital part of the mission ministry in Honduras.
We followed the Topeka group with the opportuntiy to help out with a couple of other groups. Mark Connell, Donna Brothers, and Gail Davidson teams were from Alabama/ Indiana, Ohio, and Florida. The work was similar with all of the groups.
We finished the month by spending a lot of time with our friends from Tupelo, MS. Mark Halbert is the leader and the group comes from Trace Crossing Church and Lee Acres Church of Christ. Once again, the group was multi-generational and everybody left the country with a new view of the world we live in.
Our work with the AIM Team continued in June and we are very blessed to have 6 great missionaries to work with for the next year and a half to two years. Please remember and pray for Steve, Kale, Keith, Andrea, Rayner, and Felisha. They have big hearts and a strong desire to serve. They have taken on the task of ministry at the Tegucigalpa City Dump and they haven't missed a week since they arrived on May 20th. They are working on plans to further the ministry by teaching the gospel to the people that live and work at the dump.
This summer we are also blessed to be working with 3 TORCH Interns. Karis, Nolan, and Russell are a real asset to our work with TORCH and they are a blessing to our lives. They will be with us until August 2.
July will be very similar to June. I am leading 3 teams in July and will be helping with 2 others. We will wrap up TORCH for the summer on August 9th. It is likely that we will be taking a couple of days off at that time. I aoplogize for a shortage of many of the June details - we are always pretty tied up from Mid May to Mid August and 2008 is no exception.
I do want to thank you for your ongoing support of the work here in Honduras. We wouldn't be blessed with the best job in the world without prayers, encouragement, and financial support that so very many of you provide. We appreciate your emails, blog comments, and your love.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

Jenny

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

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

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

Adventures In Missions

AIM is a part of the Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock, TX. The program in designed to offer folks - mostly college aged - an opportunity to dedicate 2 years of their lives to the mission field. Last year when we decided to go full time in this ministry we applied to have an AIM team to come and be a part of our work. We made a presentation to the students in September, the director of the program visited us in Honduras in November, and we were selected to have a team in December. This past week they arrived.
We have 6 people that will be working for us for a minimum of 14 months and up to 2 years. Terri and I already feel as if we have expanded our family in a "BIG" and positive way. The three guys are Steve, Kale, and Keith - all of them are exceptionally tall and all of them are great young men that love the Lord. Our ladies are Felicia, Andrea, and Rayner and they are beautiful Christian women. I already see Jesus in all of them.
We returned from a week of rest last Sunday and have been working hard to get caught up on everything so that we will be prepared for our first team to arrive on May 31. Before that happens, we will need to finish the Oriente project, get all of the building tools ready to go, order wood - food - ect for the group to work with, and take a deep breath. I am confident that everything will happen as planned and if it doesn't, then welcome to Honduras. I think we have a container that will arrive this week and another next week. Additionally, I found out this week that we will be building a church building in Villa Nueva and that the construction needs to start on May 31 and we need to finish the work before church time on June 8. I love it! The group arriving next Saturday will be helping some with the building but, none of the 19 in the group have ever been to Honduras. We will also have all of our AIM team and interns available to mix concrete and throw block. I really think we can get this done in 5 days - leaving Saturday as a day to rest!
When you read this, pray for our family as we get adjusted to living and working with each other. We will be doing the big family thing until August when the guys will be getting a place of their own. The girls will also be living in their own place however it will likely be somewhere on the Casa property.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

Down Time

Down time hasn't been a part of my life in Honduras lately. It seems that most days start before 6 and work ends just before bedtime. This past week has been completely different. Last Saturday both Nathan and Nicole graduated from Harding and we celebrated with a BBQ and with our friends. On Sunday we were able to be with friends in Hot Springs - at the National Park Church. We are blessed that they are some of our partners in ministry and that they have joined our short term missions for more than 5 years. After church on Sunday - REST.
Terri and I were blessed to be with my parents and Camille for several days of great rest. It has been great!
Tomorrow we are back in Honduras and as soon as we hit the ground, we will head out to Oriente to check on progress of the project there. As soon as we finish in Oriente we will head out to Casa to check on things there. We are anxious to be home and get back into the work that our God has planned for us. The down time has been great but, it is time to go home and we are ready.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

What I've learned

Over the past week, I have had the chance to do a bunch of new things and I have learned a lot. Some of the new things that I have been doing are continuing in the Oriente building project and making a trip to Nicaragua. Here are some of the things that I have learned -
- Building a second floor on a cement block building is not a simple project.
- It takes 30 bags of cement, 60 wheelbarrows of sand, 30 wheelbarrows of gravel, lots of water, 70 bars of re-bar, 30 steel beams, and 30 sheets of roofing aluminum to make a second floor.
- Today there was a wild fire in the area of the construction, We stopped the work on the building so we could save a house from burning. I learned that I am not cut out to be a firefighter.
- It takes 3 days for a cement floor to dry.
- Managua, Nicaragua is a lot hotter than Santa Ana, Honduras.
- It is against the law in Nicaragua to cross a double yellow line to pass (not so in Honduras).
- If you get caught crossing a double yellow line to pass somebody in Nicaragua, the fine is 300 Cordobas (about $15)
- The police in Nicaragua don't smile when they give you a ticket.
- Staying in a typical Nicaragan's house is a great experience.
- If you stay in a Nicaraguan's house, you can expect to eat beans, rice, and tortillias at every meal.
- Typical families in Nicaragua don't have a computer in their homes.
- Without a computer, not too many people are hooked on facebook. Instead, they have friends that they sit on the patio and visit with.
- Most typical Nicaraguan homes have more than one generation living there.
- Poor families seem just as happy as the rich folks that I know.
- It is an 8 hour bus ride from Tegucigalpa to Managua, Nicaragua.
- In 8 hours you can read one James Patterson novel (actually 6 hours).
- Even though it is hot, Nicaragua is a beautiful country.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc

April Monthly Report

April 2008 has gone by in a flash.
We started the month with a couple of TORCH teams - one about to leave and another just arriving. The first team was from Belpre, Ohio. This is an experienced team and we were blessed to be able to assist is house construction and some of the tasks that enable a team to focus on ministry.
The next team arrived on April 4th from Atlanta. This is a team that we have grown very close to - they are from the Campus Church of Christ. The team of 21 came ready to work. They packed & distributed food, built houses, taught kids about Jesus in a puppet show, worked in a feeding center, visited people in the school for the blind, fed more than 250 at the city dump - they were answers to many prayers. The Campus group was here until the 11th.
Once we were able to catch our breath, we jumped on the Oriente project. Our comittment was to start moving dirt on the 15th of April and that meant that we needed to ascess our inventory of tools and other construction material. Additionally we needed to locate all of the many supliers for constructing this "Woman's Center". By Tuesday April 15th we were ready to go and the project is rapidly moving ahead. You can read more about the project and our progress at www.hondohope.blogspot.com
The last couple of weeks, I have been spending every day on the construction project. We are dedicated to getting the center finished by May 25th. This will be a week prior to the first team arrivals of the summer and - wow, we are going to be pretty busy then. Our AIM group arrives on May 20th and our TORCH Interns arrive on the 28th so we are going to be surrounded by great folks for the coming months. I will report on the AIM goals on our May report.
The churches that we are blessed to work with here are doing great. Santa Ana continues to fill every seat almost every Sunday. The worship is uplifting and the preaching is powerful. The kids program is also growing - along with the youth group. I was blessed to be able to sponsor a youth outing a couple of weeks ago and we had 10 kids that spent a Saturday travelling to an amazing waterfall to sightsee and spend time together in fun and in devotionals. We had a great time singing in the van.
Los Pinos too continues to thrive. They have finally completed their kitchen project and they utilize the facility every Sunday to prepare a meal for the children of the community. They average feeding more than 125 children every Sunday. Additionally, there are more than 100 adults worshiping in Los Pinos.
Both of these churchs are working to "make disciples". There are classes in both communities almost every night of the week. Please pray for both of these congregations as they reach out to the lost of Honduras.
Also - please pray for Terri and I as we travel on the 8th to Searcy, Arkansas. Both of our kids will graduate from Harding on the 10th and we plan to be there!. We will be returning on the 18th.
Thanks to all of you for your support, prayers, love, and encouragement. You bless us.

Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc Tindall

Lot's Happening

The past week has been filled with great stuff.
I started the week in Catacomas - in the Eastern part of the country. I was blessed to be able to take my friend that works with Por los Ninos - another children's home. PLN is a very well run facility that we can learn a great deal from. One of the different ways of operation that is in place there is the use of Honduran Christian couples as house parents. After discussing this with everyone here, we have decided to begin the search for our first houseparent couple. Please pray for God to send us the right folks.
Returning to Santa Ana meant that it was time to start to work on the women's center in Oriente. This is going to be an amazing blessing to the community and you can read a lot about this project at www.hondohope.blogspot.com or on Terri's blog. The work is very intense but, we are already a week ahead of the original plan.
Yesterday, I was able to work with Karen and Dorian in a youth group trip to "the waterfall". I had only been to the place one time - only I didn't drive on the first trip. I just knew that the waterfall was near Lake Yojoa (a big lake that is about 20 miles long). We kept asking people where the waterfall was and we kept getting different answers. We finally found the park and it was an amazing adventure for the 10 kids that were able to make the trip. I am looking forward to having the AIM Team join the work here as they will be doing much more with the church and the youth group here in Santa Ana and in other communities.
This week we were also asked by the child welfare floks if we would be willing to take on a couple more little girls. We all discussed the potential and agreed that we would love to have the blessing of two more children. Especially since we will be able to take them in before they are taken to the "children's warehouse". It looks like this will all happen next Thursday. Please pray that the older brother will be accepted into Jovenes en Camino - a home for boys.
This new week will continue to be very busy. We are blessed to be able to be a little part of answered prayers.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

The Dump In Pictures

Last week I was able to go back to the dump with a few of my friends from Atlanta. As I have said earlier, there are not words that can describe life in the dump. Pictures are only a little better insight of a hopeless way of life. Our work is to try and bring a little hope to this place. The only hope - Jesus.

March Report

March 2008
We started March in San Pedro Sula. Our daughter Nicole and husband Matt started spring break with a late night flight from Atlanta to SPS and we were there at 1 AM on the 1st of March to pick them up. We returned to Santa Ana early the next morning only stopping to survey a community at KM 85. The community we surveyed is the poorest place that I have ever visited. We did not see one livable house and we are in the process of planning several TORCH visits to the community for house construction, food distribution, and planting the seeds of the gospel.
The first week of the month we surveyed many areas for future work plans. We were also able to do a trial feeding at the Tegucigalpa dump. We wanted to make sure that we can safely implement some feeding programs so that we can begin to have a dialogue with the people that live there. We believe that there is a hugh opportunity to touch lives, plant seeds, and talk to desperate people about the hope and promise of Jesus. The dump itself is a place that cannot be described. Literally, men, women, & children are diving in the trash piles side by side with buzzards. The smells & the filth are overshadowed by the fact that real flesh and blood people are so desperate that they will dive into unimaninabel places to try to get something to eat or something with a small value that they can sell. Stay tuned for more on the dump.
We made a quick trip to the states during the second weekend of the month - personal stuff and taxes. We returned early the following week to begin working with some of the spring break TORCH groups. The first of those was led by Mark Connell of Alabama - the group was from the University Church at the the University of Alabama. That group was followed by one from Belpre, Ohio. TORCH Teams are always well recieved by the communities where they work and these groups were no exception. Houses were built, food was distributed (about 750 families were fed), and people saw Jesus in action as their prayers were answered. During March, final plans were developed for the Oriente Project (read about it at www.hondohope.blogspot.com ). We will begin moving dirt about April 15 and hope to finisg the project by around the first of June. This project will employ about 10 people for 6 weeks - all of them from the community that the project will serve. What a blessing!
The churches of the area are continuing to do well. Santa Ana has had 3 Sundays where attendence outnumbered the available chairs. All of these were record (non-gringo) Sundays. Of course - last week was a full house as there were 30 folks from the states visiting.
Los Pinos is also continuing to grow in both numbers and in Spirit. The church has completed it's kitchen project and is dedicated to feeding children every Sunday. They are doing this from their contributions and the weekly feeding averages about 130 to 150 children. The adult attendence is usually over 100. Los Pinos is clear evidence of how Christians plant seeds and God growing them.
Terri and I are doing well and love our work. We are blessed to be here and we truly appreciate all of the prayers, emails, and encouragement.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

Inflation

I remember the 1970's when the talk around the states was inflation. It was the economy and inflation that helped Reagan get elected president of the USA. I hadn't been out of college too long and inflation wasn't a terrible thing to me because it meant bigger raises.
Until now, I had never considered how inflation impacts the lives of people that live in extreme poverty. This week has opened my eyes. This past week I worked with a group from the U of Alabama. This team purchased and packed 2 loads of food to give away to families in need. When the bill for the food was paid, it was over $300 per load more expensive than it was just last summer. The food cost for basics like beans, rice, corn flour, sugar, coffee, and a few other items has risen by almost 25% in less than a year. For most of us from North America and the USA, this would be a concern yet, we would survive. We would survive by not eating out as often - since eating out for Terri and I would cost about $20 to $25, we would need to eat at home a couple of more times a month to make up for the rise in the cost of food. But - where would you be if every dime that you earned went for only two things. One of the two things is bus fare to get to your job and the other expense is food for your family. Unless you are able to start walking ot work, if your food prices increased in this situation, the only place to cut would be in the amount of food you were able to buy. You may think that the employers would be sympathetic to asking for a raise but, in a place where the unemployment rate is more than 30%, employers don't feel like they need to give raises. Compounding this is the fact that fuel costs are causing the bus fares to increase.
I don't know what one person can do about this problem of people that were already hungry being forced to cut back because of increasing prices. I do know that we will look for ways that we can offer a little relief. I also know that our God answers prayers and we are praying that He will use us to do everything that he has planned for us to do here in Honduras. One of the reasons we are here is because Jesus said " whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you have done it for me."
Be a blessing for somebody today,
Marc

Life In The Real World

I have never watched "The Real World". I think it is a television series on one of the music stations - MTV or VH1. Even though I have never watched a single episode of this show, I am pretty sure that the name doesn't fit and that "The Real World" isn't anything like the real world.
In the real world, there are over 6 billion of us.
In the real world, more than half of the world population does not have enough to eat and billions don't have clean water to drink.
In the real world billions live a life where they never hear the name - Jesus. There are billions that don't have HOPE.
In the real world, simple diseases kill people because that cannot afford $2 or $3 for some medicine.
Sometimes when you come face to face with the real world, it isn't pretty and you just don't know what to do. This week I met a little girl named Isabel and she is 4 years old. Isabel weighes only 19 pounds because she is starving to near death. Isabel has never known what it is like to stand up because she has a disease that will prevent her from ever being able to sit up - much less walk. It is likely that she may never talk. Emotions tell us that we should try to make room for Isabel here at Casa de Esperanza but reason tells us that we don't have the permission that is required from the government. Even if we did, we are not equiped to do the level of care that would require nursing skills as well as round the clock care. Pray as we look for a home for Isabel.
Sometimes in the real world, people that love Jesus come to places where there is little hope and try to change that. This week, there was a team of Doctors that came here to make a big big difference in the lives of the people that they were able to serve. This team of 9 came to repair cleft lips and cleft pallets. I know it is hard to imagine, but in most of the world, the health care system isn't designed to take care of people that don't have any money. This is the case in Honduras. Here - if you get sick without money, you are not likely to recieve adequate treatment. Here is you are poor and born with a cleft lip or pallet, you are destined to live like that. This team of Dr's came to change lives - and they were able to help a large number of people.
On Wednesday evening, Terri and I ate with the docs and really enjoyed the conversation. The closest Dr at the table was named Jim. Talking with Jim - who is retired from being a physician, surgeon for money - was great. Jim shared with me how he explains to his patients or the parents of his patients why he does what he does. He starts the conversation with the patient by asking a simple question - "Why do you think I am here doing these surgeries?". Jim told me that the answer is usually something like " because you want to help people.". It is then that Jim tells the folks this story -"I am here because Jesus loves me. In fact, he loves me so much, there isn't any way that he could ever love me any more. There isn't anything in the world that I could do to make Jesus love me any more than he already does. I am here because I want to share just a little bit of the love that Jesus has shown to me."
I think that Dr Jim has discovered a part of the "real world" that billions of people would love to know about. I asked Jim if I could borrow his explination and of course he agreed. Why not, Jesus love available everyone that comes to know him and even though loves us so much that we are "completly saved" he still has love for a lost and dying "Real World".
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

Remembering Ryan

Tomorrow morning is March 12, 2008.
I don't particularly like this day on the calendar and if given the choice would have it permanently removed. March 12, 2008 is the 8th anniversary of the death of Ryan - our firstborn. It's hard to know what to say or to write about except that this is a day for my family to Remember Ryan.
Ryan Tindall - Ryan Marcus Tindall will always be my son. There are days that I feel like it has only been a little while since I have seen him and there are other days that it seems like it has been forever. I won't try to describe the feelings - I think only a parent that has lost a child would understand what I am trying to put into words.
My memories of my boy are these -
smiles - always, hugs - really big bear hugs, friends - lots of friends always at my house and always eating (lots of food), jokes - Ryan always had a joke or was planning one, going - always a new place to go and something to do, food - Ryan loved to eat and always appreciated his mom for "fixin" his "grubbin" food, kindness - my boy always had a big heart for helping others, family - Ryan would never miss being with family - he loved his family - especially his cousins and his grandparents, clothes - Ryan loved to have nice clothes and his mamaw always made sure that he had plenty, Big Brother - this should have been first - Ryan loved Nathan like no other brother could have, from the day Nate came home from the hospital, Ryan was the protector. From the time Nicole came home - Ryan was the teaser - except when somebody else tried to tease Nicole - then he was the defender.
I am blessed that we had Ryan on this earth for almost 20 years. I cannot imagine living without the promise that one day we will be together again - forever. Our God is the God of Hope and the God of Promise. His Son gave us both the hope and the promise that our end on this earth is a beginning of our eternity with him.
Thank you God for teking care of my boy until I get there to be with him. Tell him that I miss him and will see him when the time is right.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc

February Report

February started with the shingles. If you have never considered that you too could be attacked by what I had previously considered a disease for old people - think again. I found out that you can get shingles from being around a child that has chicken pox and that you don't have to be over 70 to get shingles. My shingles were on the left side of my face and head. They were in my left eye and in my mouth. The good news is, there is some amazing medicine that - once started will give you a great deal of help in about 72 hours. I know that many of you were lifting up prayers for my complete recovery and they were heard and answered. I was only down for a few days and we were able to get back to work.
During the month, we were called about the potential of helping several families with replacing houses that had burned to the ground. Literally within hours of putting out an email seeking prayers and help for the families, there was comittment to rebuild 5 houses. The timing could have not have been better either. We had previously heard from a couple (father / daughter) that wanted to come to Honduras for 8 days to work. Their arrival was one day before our scheduled day to begin construction and our new friends (Don & Sarah) were amazing helpers on the 5 houses that were constructed over the course of the next three days. We were also able to introduce Sarah to the Mi Esperanza program through my friend Janet Hines - who was in town at the time of the visit. Don was introduced to some of the tough situations at Hospital Escuela as well. - Back to the houses. It turns out that one of the houses that was built was for the aunt and uncle of Josue - from the airport. Anyone that has ever worked in Honduras with TORCH knows Josue and it just shows what a small world it really is. Josue's aunt is a very gracious lady and in discussions with her, I found out that she is a Christian and that she teaches Sunday School to about 70 children in a church not too far from her house. There were three families - a total of about 15 to 17 people living in the same house and this lady and her husband so, we did the best that we could to add a little size to the new version. We ended up with a house that is about 22x21 and we added a divided wall into the middle. We also added extra doors and windows. We were able to complete the project for these families in about 3 days. Thank you to everyone that prayed for these families. Please offer a prayer of thanksgiving that our God answered the prayers of those in need.
Once the house project was complete, we were able to committ a little time to follow-up on both the kindergarten as well as the "clean family" project in the Nueva Oriental community. The kinder is open for buisness and we were able to observe the morning portion of the classes. There were 2 teachers and a couple of mom's in the classroom that was constructed in January. Of course, the kids were the ones that were recieving the blessing of having caring Christian women helping them learn. The teachers are ladies that are also active in the church that is located in this community. As far as the "clean family" project - we are moving ahead with plans to begin building the center in mid to late April. The facility will likely be located near the church building and the Sunday School classrooms that were constructed last summer. The current plan for the building will include a number of pilas (Honduran for washing machine) and restroom / shower facilities. It is hard to imagine that there can be a community where more that 1000 people live with no sanitary restrooms, showers, or places to wash the clothing for a family however, it is true. Not just in this little community but in many others. The second floor of this facility is planned to have a place where the women of the community can meet for fellowship and for Bible study. It will also have at least 4 sewing machines for both work as well as for the use of the women of the community. We plan to seek workers from the Christian women in the community and will train them to manage the facility and the assets. We believe that this facility can be a blessing to many many people. Additionally, we believe that it can be an amazing outreach for the ladies of the church. Praise God for the group that is sponsoring the beginning of this work.
We were able to visit the church in Los Pinos one Sunday in February and we are always happy to report that the congregation is continuing to become more mature. On the Sunday that we visited, there was one young man that made a decision to follow Jesus and observing the excitement of his baptism was uplifting. The church in Los Pinos is operating independently and does not rely on any USA churches for it's operations. There is one USA church that is sending a monthly contribution of $100 to help operate the weekly feeding of the children and the youth group. The church does not depend on others and it is awsome to see that this has happened in 5 short years.
The church in Santa Ana is also continuing to grow and strengthen. There were some difficult times shortly after Noel and family moved to be closer to their family however, that seems to have changed as Dorian becomes more connected to the congregation. In February, we were blessed to have the addition of a new family of workers - The father is a Baxter grad and the rest of the family are working to plant seeds in the Santa Ana community. Additionally, our assigned Baxter student is an excellent second year student. We are blessed to be a part of the Santa Ana church.
February was also a month that closed out the drive for school supplies that Terri initiated in December. This drive was started because there are problems associated with the cost of supplies for families - especially when you compare it to the average income of the many poor families in Honduras. The church in Fairview Heights, IL helped coordinate the collection and the shipment to Healing Hands International ( or shipper). We are looking forward to the "any day" arrival of the container as it is much needed by the many communities and churches that will be touched by the generousity of so many people. Terri will be posting pictures of the arrival and the distribution of the supplies and in the mean time, I would like to thank the many people, churches, sunday school classes, and others that participated in this effort.
February also was a time when our house remodel officially ended - at least the formal construction. We were able to get most of the interior painting done and we now have room for you to come and stay with us. We would welcome your visit. It is because so many of you care and have a desire to make a difference, to share the gospel, to help kids and to follow the great comission that you are supporting our work here. We thank you for that. We are blessed to be here and we are doing our best to be good stewards of the dollars that you spend here. Thank you.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc Tindall

Who's Your Guide

Well, I must say that I am not trying to keep up with Terri on the blog for February. Matter of fact, I just noticed that this is my 100th blog since starting this thing a few years ago and Terri will easily do 100 in the first year. So with that said, today is just one of those postings that is just stuff on my mind. Sometimes blog thoughts take a while to develop and sometimes - mostly in the middle of the night I have these profound thoughts that seem to dissapear with the rising of the sun. This thought "Who Is Your Guide" is one that I think about often. I have taught several series of classes over the years on the words of Jesus in the book of John - the words that he spoke in the hours just before he went to the Garden to pray and hours before he was arrested and sent to the cross for us. I love this study because every time I teach it, it reminds me of how worried Jesus was about his friends. He reminds them (and us) how much he loves them. He tells them the truth - that following him won't be easy, it will even be painful at times, it will mean that you are different and seperated from the world. His words offer promises and he assures his followers that he will not be seperated from them. One of his promises is that he will send a "Counselor" to be with us. In John 16:12 Jesus calls this Counselor a "Guide". Of course, as we study theses verses and move on into Acts, we know that Jesus is refering to the Holy Spirit. I really like this reference to the Holy Spirit as a guide, and when you think about it, you too may like this concept too. For my whole life, I have enjoyed things that are on the edge and I like adventure. It has never really bothered me to move to a new place because it is just part of the adventure of the life that God has given me. Taking chances - no problem. Once Terri and the kids and I left for a 3 week vacation without even knowing anything more than a general direction where we were going. We ended up driving more than 5000 miles and putting our feet in all 5 of the great lakes - it wat by far the best vacation we have ever had - because it was an adventure. There is one thing that all of our adventures have had in common - at least most of them - when we have moved (except for the move here), we have always had many people that have taken us by the hand and led us to neighborhoods, schools, churches, etc. Our guides helped us get settled into our new home as simply as possible. On our trip to the lakes, we had maps and Terri bought "guide books" to lead us around the lakes and that made our adventure an amazing trip.
So - what's all this got to do with the guide reference that Jesus makes in John. Well here are my "profound" thoughts.
1. If you are going somewhere that you have already been or doing something that you have already done - it is likely that you don't need anyone to take you there or show you how to do it!
2. You only need a guide to take you where you have never been or to show you how to do things that you have never done.
If you have never viewed the Holy Spirit as a guide then maybe you aren't going to any new places. If you ask in your prayers for the Holy Spirit to lead you to new places then don't be surprised when He does. And yes - we should be praying in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc

The DUMP!

I have been close to the town dump of Tegucigalpa before but, never right in it - that is until today. Those of you that know me know that I am an "emotional rock" and that nothing ever gets to me (just kidding). I gotta tell you that I wasn't prepared for this experience. The smell was what you would expect only stronger. The trash piles were what you would expect only bigger. I hadn't thought about there being a bunch of vultures there but they were like a swarm of mosquitoes at a swamp. I knew that there were going to be people there but I didn't expect to see so many. I suspected that there would be kids there but when you see it face to face, it is heartbreaking. When we pulled in there were 4 little boys - maybe 10 years old that came up to the window of my truck to ask for money for some water (cost is 2 limps a bag). Other kids saw me give this group some money so they came running. There were 2 little boys that were completely filthy and we asked them if they wanted food. We had eaten at Chili's and Terri had a big box of chiken and fries left - she gave it to the boys. We had one other little box that we shared with another little guy. Both of the kids with the food were no more than 8 or 7.
Last summer we did a food distribution to the houses of the people that spend their days seeking food or something of value in the dump but it did not prepare me for the sights, smells, and reality that there are 100's of people that live off of the scraps and trash of Tegucigalpa. They have to fight off the vultures so that they can look for something of value in the garbage. When you look through reality of the dump you see that the real value is the humanity that lives in a way that none of us want to know about. God made every one of these souls in His image. They are valuable to Him and because of that they should be valuable to everyone of us. I've been reading the book of James lately - especially the parts about putting faith into action. The "Message' paraphrase really hits home with what all of this is about. In the Message - in James 2, the translation says " Isn't it obvious that God talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? ... Faith and works, works and faith, fit together like a hand in glove!..."
My own translation of James 2 can be boiled down to this " if you know about a need and aren't doing more that talking about it, you are showing your lack of faith. Faith = doing!" (I probably won't be doing a complete paraphrase of the Bible anytime soon)
The bottom line is this. When we know people are suffering, it is the changed hearts that Jesus gave us that tells us to get up and do something.
Didn't mean to preach in a blog but the reality is, I am preaching to ME. Gotta find a way to get a little relief in the name of Jesus to the people at the dump.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

Gloria

Yesterday I met Gloria.

Gloria lives in Comayguala in a community where most everyone is on the far edge of poverty. About 3 months ago Gloria and her family were involved in a fire that destroyed their homes. I met Gloria because the news reporter that covered the announcement of the 5 houses that we are building this week remembered the fires from 3 months ago and she asked me if I would go with her to meet this wonderful lady. When we arrived at the site - which is difficult to get to - Gloria came to see what was going on. When we tlod her that we were looking at her land to see if we might be able to build some replacement houses there she immediately gave thanks to God. I am sure that Gloria has been praying for some help in getting the 20+ members of her family out of the temporary one room where thay have been sleeping for the past three months. I saw the one room place where the family is staying yesterday and it is wall to wall people crowded into a place to live and sleep. I don't know where they cook, clean up, or many of other things that most of us associate with normal life. I don't know where the kids study - or even if they go to school. I do know that living in one room with more than 20 peoplw would be tough do for one night but next to impossible for 3 months.
I told Gloria that I believed that we can build three houses but, we would need to wait for abut 5 or 6 weeks when we have a group here. I was afraid that she would be disappointed in having to waid but instead she was thrilled and once again thanked God before she thanked me. I told her that we were only there because our God had put us together and that all of this was put into place to glorify Him. I am amazed at the patience that we can learn from people like Gloria. I am amazed at the faith that people like Gloria have and I am blessed to be a little part of God's plan for answering the prayers of Gloria.
Ask God to use you in his plan for answering prayers of those in need and you can be assured that he will do it. Our God is faithful and true....all the time.
Be a blessing to somebody today.
Marc

New Ministry Project

We have worked in a couple of communities outside of Tegucigalpa for several years. The area is called Nueva Oriental / Miradol Oriente. The area is home to more than 1000 of some of the poorest people that I have ever met. When I first went into this area - maybe 3 years ago there were only a few houses - all of them really bad. Since then, we (TORCH) have probably built close to 100 or more houses in the community and there is a need for probably 200 more. For every house we have built, there are 3 or 4 more families moving into the community and most of them into inadequate houses. The story here today isn't the need for houses. It is a story of the birth of a ministry project that has the potential to change the lives of many of the families in these communities.
All of this story starts with the beginning of our work in these communities. As we have worked, we have always talked to people about the need to have Jesus in their lives. In the past 3 years, we have witnessed a church plant in the area and there are over 100 that have dedicated their lives and ahve been baptized. There are way over 100 kids in sunday school every week. There is a nice little church building and the Mississippi church built classes last summer. The church and the classes are full every week. There is a full time minister that lives in the community too. As the community has grown, others have taken notice and there is a feeding center run by another group of Christians and we have been blessed to be able to build schools and most recently a kindergarten that will open next week.
Now- we are moving into a ministry that will touch the lives of many many people. Here is where it stands as of today -
In December Terri and I were in Atlanta to meet with several friends to discuss our work and to make plans for a group coming down in April. While we were there we also were able to have lunch with a friend that I had met on a TORCH trip last July. My friend teaches a Sunday School Class at Campus Church of Christ and he had a plan to inspire his class into taking action on a project in Honduras. We decided then that we would begin the development of a "shower center" in the Oriente communities. There are no sanitary facilities for families to clean up so it seemed natural that we would try to do something about this condition. Since our initial meeting we have expanded the idea to include several pila's so that the ladies would have a place to wash the family clothes. We have also added the idea of giving the ladies of the community a place to have bible study and fellowship. Now we have added the concept of a sweing center so that we can contract with the ladies of the community to make the school uniforms for the 100's of the kids that live there. We are planning to work with the local church so that they can help manage the center and plan studies with the ladies and families that utilize the facility. We will work with some of the local businesses to help supply a steady source of water. We will hire some of the Christian women in the community to manage the facility and keep it clean.
More planning will be happening in the coming days but - this is exciting and once again I am amazed at what our God has planned for our work in Honduras. If this center works as planned - and I don't see why it won't. We will add similar facilities in other places.
Today please lift a prayer of thanksgiving for the Sunday School class in Atlanta and -
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

More on the houses

This afternoon we were able to go to survey the sight where the fires completly destroyed 5 houses - just over a week ago. We went at the invitation of the mayor of Tegucigalpa - who by the way is a very nice man. The mayor and some around him were interested in the media event and Terri and I were interested in making sure that we met the families that had lost their homes in the fire. Our plan is to start building next Thursday and hopefully we will get all the houses built in 3 or 4 days.
Today when we arrived at the site we met a little girl that is 5 years old. Most children we meet are pretty happy - even in some of the most dire situations. This little girl was different as she was sad and her eyes were filled with big tears. When we asked her about the big tears she said that she just wanted her house back. I cannot imagine the sheer trauma of a child losing the security of their house - even if the house is one room shared by 8 or 10 others. I can't wait to see the look on this child's face when the lumber truck shows up next Thursday morning and she knows that she is getting her house back.
Be a blessing to somebody today.
Marc

We Serve an Amazing God

Last week I was sick. Shingles! Yuch, you cannot imagine how your skin can erupt into open sores that are like burns and feel like it too. At least it was only on one side - of my head, face, and in one eye. One week has made a major difference and while - the pain is mostly gone, it still looks like I have been in a bad fight and lost.
While I was sick, I got an unexpected phone call from a friend of a friend. The call was from the mayor of Tegucigalpa - who is a friend of a friend of mine. The mayor called to tell me that there had been a fire in a very poor community and that there were five families that were left without a place to live. The hope was that there would be a group here that could get some new houses built for the 40 or so people that have lost everything. I told the mayor that we would be able to get the houses built in March and April when we will have 3 groups coming to town. After sleeping on that thought, it occured to me that there would be bunches of kids with no place to live for more than 6 to 8 weeks if we waited until we had groups here. The next morning I put an email out that described the situation. The result is that we almost immediately had the resources needed to build NOW. I called the mayor and let him know that we wouldn't need to wait for 6 to 8 weeks and we are planning to build the first of the houses early next week. We are just blessed that we can be a little part of God's plan for answering the crys of the poor in Honduras.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc

January Report

Monthly Report
January 2008
We arrived back in Honduras on January 1. We spent the month of December on the road in the states speaking and meeting with many churches and both old and new friends. Our first week back was spent taking care of some special requests and preparing for other new projects. This month we were able to construct a new kindergarten building in the community of Mirradol Oriente. The one room school is about the equivalent of 3 TORCH houses and it will be used by about 140 students – 70 in morning classes and 70 more in the afternoon classes. This little community was so excited to be finally getting a “Kinder” and they turned out in force to help us with the construction. We spent 3 full days building the new structure and will now work toward getting chairs and desks for all of the kids. The classes will begin on February 18 so that doesn’t give us a lot of time to furnish the building. The teaching will be done by Christian women from the community and every day the kids will be singing praises to our God, learning to pray, and learning to read and write.
Terri has spent a ton of time during both December and January coordinating the collection of school supplies for the children in many of the very poor communities in the area. The collections are taking place all over the United States and we believe that when the shipment is made to Honduras there will be well over $15000 in much needed school supplies. It is hard to imagine not being able to go to school because you cant afford the supplies that are necessary but it happens all the time in third world countries. Recent newspaper articles say that it cost the family of the average student about L500 to start school. That is about $25 and many of the workers only make about $5 per day. They cannot afford that much – especially if they have 4 or 5 kids. This number doesn’t include the cost of a uniform either. We hope to ship the supplies so that they will arrive in early March.
January was also the arrival of a container that was shipped from Florida. Much of the container was medical supplies for the local hospitals as well as the clinic on the property where we live. The container also contained tons of Christmas gifts for children in several communities. The gifts were packed in shoe boxes and were marked with the appropriate gender and age of the child. The group that distributed the gifts had also purchased new shoes for every child receiving a gift box.
Healing Hands International – a ministry in Nashville, TN coordinates a program called “Maji Boxes”. The program encourages churches all around the country to fill shoe boxes with gifts of many needed items and some extras like a toy and some candy. In January we discovered that we had about 70 of the boxes remaining and we decided to take all of the Casa kids to a day care center in “El Centro” so that they could play a role in distributing the gifts to some very poor children. That was a very fun day for our kids and hopefully that are learning the blessing of sharing.
When we left the country on the first of December, we had arranged for the remodeling of our house – hoping that it would be complete when we returned. I was optimistic and Terri was “Honduras Realistic” Needless to say, our house wasn’t close to being finished when we returned on the 1st. It took 3 more weeks to get the job done and we have spent the last week or so painting and cleaning up the construction mess so that we can finally move in – maybe even today. Our house was initially ½ of a duplex but our neighbors – Noel and Joanna moved back to their home country – so we opened the wall separating the halves, we put in tile throughout, added stucco to the block walls, expanded one of the bathrooms. We now have a house where any of you are welcome and can be very comfortable.
We have begun the preparation work for all of the TORCH groups that will start coming in early March. We are also planning for the arrival of the AIM Team – which will likely be here in May. We have done site work for the construction of a new church building in a place called Villa Nueva Sector Ocho.
This week I have been mostly useless. I have a case of the shingles. They are on the left side of my head, all over the left side of my face, in my left eye, and in my mouth. To those of you that have had this horrible ailment – you understand. To those of you that have never experienced your skin (all the way to the bone) on fire, your eye felling like it has been treated to a hot dagger – well, I hope you never get this. Today I think that I have crossed the hurdle to getting better.
February is lining up to be another very busy month. I can’t wait to see everything that our God has planned for us to do. Thank you for your constant prayers and for your support. We are partners in this work. We love you and hope that you will come to see us.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc

Fast Start in 2008

We landed in Tegucigalpa at 12:30 on the first and we hit the ground running.
We arrived back in Santa Ana in the early afternoon and discovered that our house wasn't quite ready to move back in to. When we left last month we had set up to have some remodeling done that will eventually make our house a bit more livable for Terri. We are probably about 2 to 3 weeks away from the finish. We are doubling our size, adding stucco to the walls, new tile, and a bathroom improvement that will give Terri some extra counter space.
Our first day of work was to begin the process of building the new kindergarden in Mirador Oriente. I met with the community president and we staked out the land for the school. We began work on Friday and finally completed the building today at about 3. It is a great building that is about 3 houses big. Changing plans to build a building that large was interesting because the wood is all 16 ft and our building is 25 ft on each side. The new plans worked and we will start shopping for furniture and other needs this week. While the construction project was going on, we had a new container to arrive and were able to get it unloaded on Thursday night - started at 6 and finished at about 8. I think that is a record for a 40 ft container.
On Friday, we had a new worker that arrived. Kameron Vick from our home church in IL is a Harding Student and has decided to take a semester out of school to come to work with our team. Kameron got off of the plane and we put a hammer in his hand within about 30 min of clearing customs. We are excited that Kam is going to be working with us through July. He will be a great asset and helper to the childrens home and to TORCH.
Of course one of the best things about getting back to SA is the kids at Casa. They have been full of hugs and kisses and I love every one of them. On Sunday we were able to put a new trampoline together - it was shipped on the container that arrived on Thursday. The kids love it and so do our Casa workers - it wears them down and they are ready for bed.
Well - this has been sort of a rambling blog - I just wanted all y'all to know that the fun og 2008 has begun. I can't wait to see everything that our God has planned for the work here.
Come and see us!
Be a blessing to somebody today.
Marc

Ready To Go Home

I have travelled for most of the time that I was in the business world. Most weeks I was in several cities and usually I returned to my home and family on Thursday or Friday to rest for the weekend and start again on Monday. I don't miss any part of that life.
This month has been filled with a lot of people and places but, it has been completely different than the travels of my business life. We have spent the month sharing the work and the vision of the work ahead with so very many of our friends and family around the country. As we wrap up the final leg of this journey, we can look back at December 2007 with thanks and wonderful memories of the time we have been blessed to have with our partners in this work that our God has prepared for us to be a part of. Thank you to Jim and Donna for opening your house to us and for making sure that we know how much you love us and support our work. Thank you to Mary S for all that you do, thank you to the church in Fairview Heights for taking on the role as "sending church". We love you. Thank you Maria for your encouragement and for inviting us to meet with your church family. We are blessed to have you and your family as our friends and even more blessed that Jesus made you our sister. Thank you Clint for inviting us to spend a Sunday with your church family. We are looking forward to having you and your team in Honduras this summer. Thanks Tom and Lynn for having us in your home. I see Jesus in both of you. We are better because Kin and Donna are in our lives. You and your family are wonderful and we love you. Can't wait till April to see you in Hondo! Jerry and Sandy - you can't skip us this year. Don't wait for a group to come to Santa Ana. Thank you for your encouragement. Don & Cynthia - you really mean it when you say to make yourself at home. Thank you for your amazing hospitality. You were there when I started this Honduras work and you are partners that were hand picked by the God that we serve together. Others in Columbus are too numerous to mention - Billy, Don & Edna, Earl & Beverly, Wade & Gayle, Les and Phyllis, Wally, Pearly & Ginger, on and on. My Mississippi family is awesome in the constant encouragement. Starkville is no different - Wesley and Natasha, Terry and family, and so many others. Our new friends - brothers and sisters in Shamrock were so amazing and welcoming to Terri and I. We are blessed to know you. Thank you Borger for your love and your partnership in our work, Thank you Krug family, thank you elders and church family for all you do. Thank you Don and Sue and Rick and Janet for standing with us. Thank you Matt and Nicole, Nathan, Julia and Camille. We would be stretched if we didn't have our family standing side by side with us. Thank you Norma and Jana. We love you.
By the time Sunday is over we will have been blessed to have been with 10 different churches. Our goal has been to be able to speak and share the work with as many people and in as many places as possible. As usual, God's plan is always bigger that our own and He has blessed us with an amazing month. Now - we are ready to go home to Santa Ana to do the work that He planned for us - even before the beginning of time.
We are excited about the little pieces of the plan that we are already aware of. We know that there are great plans for Casa de Esperanza. We expect that we will be able to introduce you to several more children that have been rescued because of this "house of Hope". We have already seen some of the church growth plans that our God has planned for 2008. New buildings and sunday school classed are already funded so, I expect that our God is planning for new growth in the Honduras family. The AIM team is coming in May. We are leading 5 TORCH teams in 2008 and supporting 10 others. Interns, shipping containers, Clinic Bus, and many other plans are falling into place.
We are ready to go and do,
Be a blessing to somebody TODAY!
Marc

Kinder in Oriental

For the past few years we have worked fairly often in a community called Nueva Oriental and renamed Mirradal Oriental - anyway, Oriental is a "squatter' community and is one of the poorest places on earth. It is also a community that is one of the happiest places on earth. The people that live in this little place are generally kind, they are often smiling, sharing, and they like to help each other. There are a lot of Christians in Oriental and the little church there is full every Sunday - last summer some friends from Mississippi built Sunday School classes and there are over 80 kids at church every Sunday. About three summers ago TORCH constructed 3 school buildings for the community and they are always in use - Oriental is a cool place.
Over this year I have met the mayor of the community and we have become friends. One of the things that the mayor has been consistent about is the need to build a "Kinder" in the community. In October he finally wore me down and I told him that I didn't know how we would do it but, we were going to get a kinder built for the 4 & 5 year olds of Oriental.
Now - because of great friends that love the Lord, this kinder is going to be built before the new school year starts back in February. Our God never stops amazing me. He is true and he answers our prayers. I know that the people of Oriental have prayed for this place and God is delivering an answer. In early January some friends and I will have the honor of building the Kinder in Oriental and I plan to be there on the first day of school to see God's little ones begin their school in a new place.
Be a blessing to someone today!
Marc

December Is Here

Last Friday we returned to the states for the month of December. We flew into Little Rock and were able to see our little Camille and our kids. Terri and Nicole cooked a great Thanksgiving feast and on Sunday we travelled to Illinois. In IL we were able to meet with the Fairview Heights church and many of our friends. Fairview Heights is our sending church and they are incredibly great to us. We are blessed. On Monday of this week we took care of all of the details necessary to lease our house and remove a lot of the pain associated with paying for a house that you don't live in. The lease is for three years and hopefully the market will be much better when the renters move out in 2010. (Thanks Shaws for opening your housed to us. We love y'all and are blessed to have you as friends.)
On Wednesday we met with friends and a church in Jacksonville, IL. It was great to be with Maria and her church family. Maria is also a great cook - fried okra! YUM.
Yesterday we continued our driving - Jacksonville, IL to Nashville, TN - by way of Henderson, TN. We met with the mission department at Freed Hardeman University to discuss intern opportunities and TORCH. We'll be in Nashville till Saturday and then we'll be off to Kingsport, TN where I will be meeting with a church there to discuss a TORCH team that they are developing.
The rest of the month looks like this -
Sunday the 9th in Kingsport
10 & 11 rest in Pigeon Forge, TN
12 & 13 in Atlanta with a TORCH group and Greater Atlanta Christian School
13 - 16 in Mississippi with Columbus and Starkville churches and friends.
17 & 18 in Searcy with kids
19 - off to Shamrock, TX to meet with the church there.
20 - 26 Borger, TX to be with family, eat, and meet with the church there.
27 - 31 in Seary to be with our kids and speak in Little Rock on the 30th.
Jan 1 - Back To Hondo
Busy month but necessary to involve as many as possible in ministry.
Pray that the roads will be safe and that I will drive a little different than Honduras.
Be a blessing to somebody TODAY.
Marc

That's Dangerous

I hear the words "that's dangerous" more than I ever imagined. It is usually from locals in Honduras - when we are having a conversation about where we work. Particularly the communities where we work. It usually happens when somebody not familiar with the work we do begins to question what we are doing here. I tell them about the work and the next question is " where do you do all of this?". When I tell them that we work in communities with names like Los Pinos, Mirrador Oriental, San Migeal, Villa Nueva, Sector Ocho, or others the response comes back - "Wow, those are dangerous places."
When I first heard this, I was a little shocked because we are pretty careful about where we take people to work. We really do want to keep the people that we bring to the country as safe as we possibly can and we certainly don't want to introduce anyone to "danger". After "chewing" on this for a while, it occured to me that everybody does this - in the states, I spent 3 years driving past East St Louis. When I lived in California, I would drive past South San Francisco or Oakland. I never stopped there to see what the needs of the people were because in my mind those were "dangerous places". In fact - those are likely dangerous places...especially if you are caught up in the dangerous lives that some of the people that live there choose. The sad thing is, there are a majority of people living in those "dangerous" communities that are ignored and are left feeling hopeless because the people that God chose to deliver hope are afraid. I don't know how many times Jesus told us "do not fear". Our Great and Awesome God used these words with his own people all the time. Do not fear, I am God and I will be with you.
Jesus told all of us - "Go into all the world" and he didn't qualify that with "except for the places that you think are "dangerous". He just said GO. In John - just before his death on the cross, Jesus told the apostles that they would be in danger if they followed him. That is a promise that is made to all of us. Everybody is not going to love us if we are doing the will of our Savior.
This blog has been on my mind for a while and on Friday, it really hit me again. The reason is that we were planning to take a load of food to a place in the mountains called Morales. Morales is a destitute place about 2 hours from Tegucigalpa. Morales was hit by an earthquake about 6 weeks ago and the desperate people that live there are now in an even worse state. The community has been ravaged by the massive rainy season and that has been compounded by a series of earthquakes that has destroyed much of what was left of their meager homes. They are hungry. My friend that had planned to take us to Morales told me Friday that we couldn't go without security because "that's dangerous". We didn't get the security detail so, today - the day we had planned to go - we are home instead and the people are still hungry and desperate. This week I am determined that we are going to find a way to get food to Morales. We can't know about a situation this close to us and this desperate and not do something...... especially when we have a warehouse full of the food that they so desperatly need. I believe it is more dangerous to sit back in fear....dangerous to faith.
Do not fear and be a blessing to somebody TODAY!
Marc

Dirty

Are you better at some things than anybody else that you know? I am!

I am better at getting dirty than anybody - with the possible exception of Nicole - that I know.

I discovered this "talent" when I started coming to Honduras more than 7 years ago. I was always dirtier than anyone else on any work crew - every day. I have always seemed to get completely filthy even if I am only on a work site for just a couple of minutes. Don't know why it is this way but I promise that it is true.

The picture here is of me working on the second container of food we unloaded last weekend. It is proof that nobody gets as dirty as me. The good thing about the dirt is that it really doesn't bother me - it all washes off and I get to start over.

For the past couple of days I have been working to build a table big enough so that all of the kids can eat together. As construction has progressed the number of workers wanting to help has increased. Today we were working on filling in some of the cracks with wood putty and it was siesta time - the kids that volunteered to work on the table didn't have to take a nap so - I had lots of help. Rudy, Yovani, Fitto, Pamela, Cindy, Marvin, Mario, & Bryan were all willing to sacrifice a nap to help me. They were so much fun to watch. We used all of the wood putty before we filled in all of the places that needed it so the table will need another day or two before we can paint it. I hope to have it ready for the TG feast by 1:00 on Thursday so that everybody can eat the feast together. It will be a treat to see the group all at the same table and I am sure that Terri will post the pictures.

Quick story about one of the kids - little Cindy. Cindy is 5 and she is a handfull. Cindy came from a place where the people that were supposed to love her didn't. Instead, they hurt her and they molested her - a lot. Cindy lived at Casitas Kennedy for a while - after the government removed her from her home. The people at CK thought she was possessed because she was so mean. We know now that she pulled hair and bit people because it was her way of defending herself from the people that she felt were a threat. Cindy still has a very difficult time at nap or bed time because that was likely when the people that hurt her did their evil stuff. Over the past year and particularly the past couple of months that I have been here full time, Cindy has become my little buddy. She is always wanting a hug or a kiss on the cheek. A couple of weeks ago she called me papa a couple of times and today she asked me if I would be her papa. Of course I told her that I would. I love little Cindy and I pray that she never feels dirty from the things that people in her past have done to her. I will do everything that I can to make her feel like a little princess. Pray for my new little hija.

Be a blessing to somebody Today!

Marc