The news paper yesterday said that there is a "big cold front coming". It didn't say much about the wind. Yesterday morning the front hit and with it some pretty amazing winds. I don't have a wind speed reader but if I did, I would guess that we are getting a steady 45 to 50 mph with some gusts at 65 to 70. It is intense!
At noon yesterday I had a voicemail from my friend that runs the schools at Oriente and he needed to tell me about the damage that the wind had caused one of the schools - the roof had been lifted by the wind and removed from the building. TORCH has built all of the buildings so - it was natural that Carlos would call us for help getting the building repaired. I hope to pull enough resources together to get it fixed on Saturday. Obviously we won't be getting on top of a building with sheets of tin if there is still 50 MPH winds.
Coming home from Oriente yesterday was another mind altering event.
Driving north on the SPS highway, I noticed that the truck in front of me swerved left and stopped quickly in the median. I saw what I thought was the reason - a large piece of debris in the road - only as I got closer I could see that it wasn't debris - it was a man. The truck in front of mine had struck a man trying to run across the road. He was knocked out of his shoes - about 75 feet and was laying in the center of the road. He was dead - just like that. Intentions of crossing the road - not even very much traffic - one second heading to the other side and the next - on the other side of life to face his maker. There was nothing that anyone could do for him. I don't know his name but, I will never forget his face.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Let's Build!
In the USA, a natural disaster is met with an army of both government workers, aid, private volunteers, Red Cross, and others. The disaster isn't easy to recover from but, there is usually help on the way.
In Honduras, that isn't always the case. Many of the places where disaster strikes are remote and the help never comes. Houses are destroyed, crops lost, and people are hurt - sick - or just not able to recover very quickly. There isn't a FEMA, there is no State Farm agent, there is only pain, hunger, and suffering. It seems somewhat overwhelming.
Only when we recognize that we are called to help people - to serve our brothers - one at a time - can we see that even a little help is what we need to provide.
Driving into Tegucigalpa this morning, I came up with the idea that there may be some of you that would like to do - just a little bit to share the love of Jesus with some folks that have had the disaster of losing their home to a landslide or flood. I would like to pull a group together that can come to Honduras the week of Thanksgiving to build houses and share the love of Jesus. I have enough beds in my house to sleep 12 or so let's fill em up. Plane tickets into San Pedro Sula are running about $475 or less right now and we can build a house for about $1300. If we can act fast, I will go to the Teguc airport and see if we can't get them to discount the rate for a team of builders. I would ask anyone interested to get with their home church to ask for support of building at least one house. Terri and I can come up with enough rice and beans to feed everybody and we can go out and share Thanksgiving with people that need the hope of Jesus -right now. Even if you can't come, ask your church or Sunday School class to help us build.
Emal me at marclt2003@yahoo.com if you are interested - recruit friends and family and Let's Build!
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc
In Honduras, that isn't always the case. Many of the places where disaster strikes are remote and the help never comes. Houses are destroyed, crops lost, and people are hurt - sick - or just not able to recover very quickly. There isn't a FEMA, there is no State Farm agent, there is only pain, hunger, and suffering. It seems somewhat overwhelming.
Only when we recognize that we are called to help people - to serve our brothers - one at a time - can we see that even a little help is what we need to provide.
Driving into Tegucigalpa this morning, I came up with the idea that there may be some of you that would like to do - just a little bit to share the love of Jesus with some folks that have had the disaster of losing their home to a landslide or flood. I would like to pull a group together that can come to Honduras the week of Thanksgiving to build houses and share the love of Jesus. I have enough beds in my house to sleep 12 or so let's fill em up. Plane tickets into San Pedro Sula are running about $475 or less right now and we can build a house for about $1300. If we can act fast, I will go to the Teguc airport and see if we can't get them to discount the rate for a team of builders. I would ask anyone interested to get with their home church to ask for support of building at least one house. Terri and I can come up with enough rice and beans to feed everybody and we can go out and share Thanksgiving with people that need the hope of Jesus -right now. Even if you can't come, ask your church or Sunday School class to help us build.
Emal me at marclt2003@yahoo.com if you are interested - recruit friends and family and Let's Build!
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
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
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
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
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
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
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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
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
Thursday, September 11, 2008
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
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
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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
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
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
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
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
Friday, August 15, 2008
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
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
Saturday, August 09, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, July 07, 2008
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
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
Saturday, June 28, 2008
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
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
Thursday, June 19, 2008
What I See
I am able to be in a lot of places and because of that, I am able to see many different sights. Some of the things I've seen and experienced in the past week or so are why I am here. Here are a few of the sights -
Last week I saw desperation in the faces of many of the people at the Teguc dump. I was with a group that wanted to take full food bags to the city dump. Enough food in the bags to help for several days. The group took 250 bags and there was a line that streched to more than the number of bags available. I saw desperation in the folks near the end of the line - there was fear that there wouldn't be enough for them.
At the dump I also saw smiles on the faces of some of the people - even the ones that were near the end of the line. I talked to a lot of the people and asked them if they knew my friend Jesus. Many of them showed me that they had HOPE. A lot of the people that I asked told me that Jesus was the only hope that they had. They told me that they were happy because they had Jesus in their heart. There were even a few that pulled a small bible from their pocket.
Last week I observed the reason that Jesus told us "unless you are like these children...". We were working in a place called Villa Nueva - Sector 8. I met 3 or 4 little girls that were all smiles and giggles. Everytime I saw these little ones they wanted hugs. They were happy in spite - of being hungry, dirty, and living in a place where most of the world would see no reason to be happy.
In the past week I have seen hunger - a lot of hunger. We build a house for a family in the mountains above Ojojona and were able to visit the old house where the family of 5 had been living. Walking through the old house to look for how much food the family had to live on was revealing - there was a basket with maby 6 eggs, to shriveled peppers, and nothing else - nothing! The sad truth is, about 40 to 50% of the families in this country live just like this.
I also saw Hope in a man named Fernando. Fernando is a man that lost both arms in an electrical accident. I met Fernando because we are going to build a house for him - today. Fernando wasn't hopeless. After his accident, he went back to school to learn how to function and is now able to work in electrical technology - even without hands. Fernando was a happy man and was all smiles. Can't wait to see his new house.
I have seen and experienced so much more but, the time this morning is short and I need to go to work. I wish you all could be with me. I am blessed with the best job in the world!
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc
Last week I saw desperation in the faces of many of the people at the Teguc dump. I was with a group that wanted to take full food bags to the city dump. Enough food in the bags to help for several days. The group took 250 bags and there was a line that streched to more than the number of bags available. I saw desperation in the folks near the end of the line - there was fear that there wouldn't be enough for them.
At the dump I also saw smiles on the faces of some of the people - even the ones that were near the end of the line. I talked to a lot of the people and asked them if they knew my friend Jesus. Many of them showed me that they had HOPE. A lot of the people that I asked told me that Jesus was the only hope that they had. They told me that they were happy because they had Jesus in their heart. There were even a few that pulled a small bible from their pocket.
Last week I observed the reason that Jesus told us "unless you are like these children...". We were working in a place called Villa Nueva - Sector 8. I met 3 or 4 little girls that were all smiles and giggles. Everytime I saw these little ones they wanted hugs. They were happy in spite - of being hungry, dirty, and living in a place where most of the world would see no reason to be happy.
In the past week I have seen hunger - a lot of hunger. We build a house for a family in the mountains above Ojojona and were able to visit the old house where the family of 5 had been living. Walking through the old house to look for how much food the family had to live on was revealing - there was a basket with maby 6 eggs, to shriveled peppers, and nothing else - nothing! The sad truth is, about 40 to 50% of the families in this country live just like this.
I also saw Hope in a man named Fernando. Fernando is a man that lost both arms in an electrical accident. I met Fernando because we are going to build a house for him - today. Fernando wasn't hopeless. After his accident, he went back to school to learn how to function and is now able to work in electrical technology - even without hands. Fernando was a happy man and was all smiles. Can't wait to see his new house.
I have seen and experienced so much more but, the time this morning is short and I need to go to work. I wish you all could be with me. I am blessed with the best job in the world!
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc
Sunday, June 08, 2008
May Report and Update
Sorry for the delay in getting a May report out. Our internet here is from a satelite system and for about 10 days - it was out of commission.
May started and ended with the "Oriente" project. The good news is that the end of May was also the virtual end of the construction phase of this project. The building still needs a few finishing touches but, by the end of this week we should be up and running. We look to be in full operation as soon as June 16th.
May also represented a chance for Terri and I to get a couple of days off to go to the states to enjoy the graduation of our children from Harding and to spend a week with our little grandaughter - the rest was great and a blessing.
We were back here on the 18th and our AIM'ers arrived on the 20th. Our first TORCH Team of the year arrived on the 31st and we were with them most of the time for the past week. The week with the team from Topeka was wonderful. There were 19 and all of them were first time TORCH Missionaries. This little group was able to build 4 houses and a church building, they fed more than 350 families and another 150 or so at the dump, they gave clothes to 100's of people at Los Pinos, they visited kids in hospitals and in the school for the blind, and they touched the lives of just about everyone that they came into contact with. Did I mention that they finished a block church building in the week!
Our work here continues to be exciting and fulfilling. There are also times that we struggle with why some things happen and then we reflect on how much our God has blessed us and our work. In May, we the first 5 boys that came to live with us were returned to their mom and dad. Yovani, Marvin, Mario, Francisco, and Antonio had lived here almost 2 years and we were able to see them grow, learn, and develop. They came here because their dad was in prison and their mom was unable to feed them. She took them to a place where they were cared for and they were assigned to our care. When we got the call that our little men were going home, we were sad and fearful - the simple fact is, their family loves them and they will be loved. It was our job to rescue when they needed to be rescued and to plant seeds that well always be with them.
Since the boys left, we have taken on a 6 year old boy named Johnny and an 11 year old named Doris. We are hopeful that in the coming days there will be 4 more little girls here. It looks like we will get to be home for a 3 and 5 year old sisters and another pair of sisters that are 5 and 8.
We have also started working toward having house parents as the primary care givers to our children. The first set of house parents will be starting their training this week and will be spending 60 to 90 days getting to know the kids and learning about their needs. After the initial period, they will move onto our campus.
The church here in Santa Ana is continuing to grow. Dorian is a tireless worker and he leads many classes and bible studies throughout the week.
June and July will be a challenge as we will be surrounded by the TORCH teams as well as living with 6 AIM team members and 3 TORCH interns. These young people are a great group of people and we are blessed to have them with us.
Once again, Terri and I want to thank all of our friends, families and brothers in Jesus. Every day you prove your faith over and over again. We are able to get a lot done because you support us, encourage us, and lift us up before our great and awesome God.
Thanks
Marc Tindall
May started and ended with the "Oriente" project. The good news is that the end of May was also the virtual end of the construction phase of this project. The building still needs a few finishing touches but, by the end of this week we should be up and running. We look to be in full operation as soon as June 16th.
May also represented a chance for Terri and I to get a couple of days off to go to the states to enjoy the graduation of our children from Harding and to spend a week with our little grandaughter - the rest was great and a blessing.
We were back here on the 18th and our AIM'ers arrived on the 20th. Our first TORCH Team of the year arrived on the 31st and we were with them most of the time for the past week. The week with the team from Topeka was wonderful. There were 19 and all of them were first time TORCH Missionaries. This little group was able to build 4 houses and a church building, they fed more than 350 families and another 150 or so at the dump, they gave clothes to 100's of people at Los Pinos, they visited kids in hospitals and in the school for the blind, and they touched the lives of just about everyone that they came into contact with. Did I mention that they finished a block church building in the week!
Our work here continues to be exciting and fulfilling. There are also times that we struggle with why some things happen and then we reflect on how much our God has blessed us and our work. In May, we the first 5 boys that came to live with us were returned to their mom and dad. Yovani, Marvin, Mario, Francisco, and Antonio had lived here almost 2 years and we were able to see them grow, learn, and develop. They came here because their dad was in prison and their mom was unable to feed them. She took them to a place where they were cared for and they were assigned to our care. When we got the call that our little men were going home, we were sad and fearful - the simple fact is, their family loves them and they will be loved. It was our job to rescue when they needed to be rescued and to plant seeds that well always be with them.
Since the boys left, we have taken on a 6 year old boy named Johnny and an 11 year old named Doris. We are hopeful that in the coming days there will be 4 more little girls here. It looks like we will get to be home for a 3 and 5 year old sisters and another pair of sisters that are 5 and 8.
We have also started working toward having house parents as the primary care givers to our children. The first set of house parents will be starting their training this week and will be spending 60 to 90 days getting to know the kids and learning about their needs. After the initial period, they will move onto our campus.
The church here in Santa Ana is continuing to grow. Dorian is a tireless worker and he leads many classes and bible studies throughout the week.
June and July will be a challenge as we will be surrounded by the TORCH teams as well as living with 6 AIM team members and 3 TORCH interns. These young people are a great group of people and we are blessed to have them with us.
Once again, Terri and I want to thank all of our friends, families and brothers in Jesus. Every day you prove your faith over and over again. We are able to get a lot done because you support us, encourage us, and lift us up before our great and awesome God.
Thanks
Marc Tindall
Sunday, May 25, 2008
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
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
Saturday, May 17, 2008
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
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
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
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
- 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
Thursday, May 01, 2008
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
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
Sunday, April 20, 2008
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)