Sunday, June 28, 2009
A Ministry Gift
We received another important phone call from our mission recently. This one said that an anonymous gift of over $60,000 had been made to the hospital fund with BMDMI. While every single monetary gift is important to us and vital to our ministry, this gift will allow BMDMI to either buy a piece a land and begin a hospital ministry or, if the board of directors of BMDMI decides to bring the ministry of Hospital Bautista de Guiamaca into BMDMI, to begin making some improvements and finishing some projects there. Thank you.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Hospital Bautista de Guiamaca
We received a phone call on a Tuesday night, numerous more on Wednesday, found a deal on airline tickets, purchased them on Wednesday night, and were in the air on our way to Honduras Friday morning. Living life is experiencing change. What an adventure the Lord gives us in our lives!
So began our recent trip to investigate, again, Hospital Bautista de Guiamaca, Honduras, or Baptist Hospital of Guiamaca. The first time we went to see it in 2007 it was to talk with the director, Sandy Cheves, and see his facility and to ask him how he had built his hospital: what things were they doing with team ministry, associated ministry, the surgeries they perform, etc. We toured three hospitals during that trip. If you heard us speak last summer, you may recall that we mentioned a hospital with an emphasis on surgery where there was a chapel in the facility, and other associated ministries, such as a food program, and even a reforestation ministry. This is the same hospital.
The call we received last Tuesday was about our coming to Honduras to visit Hospital Bautista, but this time with new eyes, eyes that would possibly be overseeing the management and direction of the hospital. Sandy Cheves has suffered some health problems in the last year and wants BMDMI to take over the running of the hospital and ministry. His and (his wife) JoAnn’s desire is to see that the ministry they began will continue on.
One thing is certain in that at this point, neither board has approved this change. Some members of the boards of both ministries will meet in Honduras in August, and the board of BMDMI will have their regularly scheduled meeting in September. If all goes as planned, the official date of transfer of ministry will be January 1, 2010.
As Tully has said, it is as if we are running a marathon. With this opportunity, we would be starting the marathon at mile 8 or 10 instead of at the very beginning.
Please pray for all involved, that we have wisdom and discernment as we move towards the merging of this hospital ministry under the leadership of BMDMI.
The front of Hospital Bautista
From the front of the hospital, looking towards the road--this building, on the hospital grounds, is going to be a church for the group who currently meet in the hospital chapel.
Kitchen/Dining area of dormitory where teams stay
Inpatient room--currently labor/delivery room
Surgery suite--yes, two different surgeons can work at the same time
So began our recent trip to investigate, again, Hospital Bautista de Guiamaca, Honduras, or Baptist Hospital of Guiamaca. The first time we went to see it in 2007 it was to talk with the director, Sandy Cheves, and see his facility and to ask him how he had built his hospital: what things were they doing with team ministry, associated ministry, the surgeries they perform, etc. We toured three hospitals during that trip. If you heard us speak last summer, you may recall that we mentioned a hospital with an emphasis on surgery where there was a chapel in the facility, and other associated ministries, such as a food program, and even a reforestation ministry. This is the same hospital.
The call we received last Tuesday was about our coming to Honduras to visit Hospital Bautista, but this time with new eyes, eyes that would possibly be overseeing the management and direction of the hospital. Sandy Cheves has suffered some health problems in the last year and wants BMDMI to take over the running of the hospital and ministry. His and (his wife) JoAnn’s desire is to see that the ministry they began will continue on.
One thing is certain in that at this point, neither board has approved this change. Some members of the boards of both ministries will meet in Honduras in August, and the board of BMDMI will have their regularly scheduled meeting in September. If all goes as planned, the official date of transfer of ministry will be January 1, 2010.
As Tully has said, it is as if we are running a marathon. With this opportunity, we would be starting the marathon at mile 8 or 10 instead of at the very beginning.
Please pray for all involved, that we have wisdom and discernment as we move towards the merging of this hospital ministry under the leadership of BMDMI.
The front of Hospital Bautista
From the front of the hospital, looking towards the road--this building, on the hospital grounds, is going to be a church for the group who currently meet in the hospital chapel.
Kitchen/Dining area of dormitory where teams stay
Inpatient room--currently labor/delivery room
Surgery suite--yes, two different surgeons can work at the same time
Kids Out of School
As I write this, I am listening to the pouring rain pounding our roof. It is a soothing sound. The first few months of rainy season bring storms, tormentas en español. What an appropriate word: tormentas--storms filled with lightning and thunder and deluges! We heard the biggest thunderclap that we have ever heard in our entire lives last night--it sounded like an explosion! The kids, who are now on summer break, snoozed right through it.
The children at our school finished their school year last Friday. The last few weeks leading up to that day have been, of course, very busy. We had our usual homework and tests, and they had those, plus their Spanish finals, then the next week began the due dates for end of the year projects and, afterwards, all of the other finals. The little ones had parties and fun times and the older ones asked again and again, "Why do they get to have all the fun?!" But, the year ended well for all of them, we're glad to say.
This week, a church in the States has sent a mission team to put on a VBS for the children. Our older ones are helping and the younger ones are participating and having a great time.
Beginning next week, added to trips to the park and having friends over to play, and beginning to pack up, etc., our kids will have a tutor for two hours a day to work on their Spanish. She comes highly recommended and I'm very excited they will have this extra time to devote to their Spanish learning while they aren't preoccupied with other classes.
The children at our school finished their school year last Friday. The last few weeks leading up to that day have been, of course, very busy. We had our usual homework and tests, and they had those, plus their Spanish finals, then the next week began the due dates for end of the year projects and, afterwards, all of the other finals. The little ones had parties and fun times and the older ones asked again and again, "Why do they get to have all the fun?!" But, the year ended well for all of them, we're glad to say.
This week, a church in the States has sent a mission team to put on a VBS for the children. Our older ones are helping and the younger ones are participating and having a great time.
Beginning next week, added to trips to the park and having friends over to play, and beginning to pack up, etc., our kids will have a tutor for two hours a day to work on their Spanish. She comes highly recommended and I'm very excited they will have this extra time to devote to their Spanish learning while they aren't preoccupied with other classes.
Some Sights from Honduras
A family of salesmen
Taking a minute to read the paper
Near the city dump--many people (including children) live there and survive off of the trash
Another family of vendors
These buses got a little too close!
Looking down onto one side of Tegucigalpa
Different Sounds
Here, some of the sounds of the alphabet are pronounced strong in relation to the sounds of other countries. We were reminded of that in our most recent trip to Honduras, two weeks ago--more about that later. As we talked with people, we noticed how softly they spoke, and how their words seemed to flow together much more smoothly somehow. One reason is because of the ll sound--pronounced, "ja" here, but in Honduras, it's much gentler, like "ya."
Our teachers have tried to prepare us for this. In Spanish, depending on the country, there are different sounds and different sayings, but everyone can understand each other. I guess it must be like the difference between the northern accent and the southern accent in the USA. We can all understand each other, but our English at times sounds very different.
Last week we were told, "When you get here, you need to try to lose the strong 'ja' sound so that people will have an easier time understanding you." Our teachers have assured us it's easy to make the switch, but in the meantime, we will still be understood. Gracias a Dios!
Our teachers have tried to prepare us for this. In Spanish, depending on the country, there are different sounds and different sayings, but everyone can understand each other. I guess it must be like the difference between the northern accent and the southern accent in the USA. We can all understand each other, but our English at times sounds very different.
Last week we were told, "When you get here, you need to try to lose the strong 'ja' sound so that people will have an easier time understanding you." Our teachers have assured us it's easy to make the switch, but in the meantime, we will still be understood. Gracias a Dios!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Church
We went to church Sunday morning and I had a mini-breakthough. I actually understood the points that the pastor made in his sermon-all in Spanish of course. I did not understand everything he said but I understood enough to comprehend the main points of his sermon.
No big deal you think but let me explain something. The hispanic services are usually 2-2 & 1/2 hours long. They can occasionally go for 3 hours. Normally when the service begins, the congregation stands and sings for one hour. Then the pastor will get up and preach for 50-60 minutes. So he preaches as long as most American services last in total. To sit through 2-3 hours of singing and preaching where you do not understand the songs or the sermon can become dreary. So now that I understand the words to the songs we sing and I was able to follow the main points of his message is a big thrill indeed!
Posted by Tully
No big deal you think but let me explain something. The hispanic services are usually 2-2 & 1/2 hours long. They can occasionally go for 3 hours. Normally when the service begins, the congregation stands and sings for one hour. Then the pastor will get up and preach for 50-60 minutes. So he preaches as long as most American services last in total. To sit through 2-3 hours of singing and preaching where you do not understand the songs or the sermon can become dreary. So now that I understand the words to the songs we sing and I was able to follow the main points of his message is a big thrill indeed!
Posted by Tully
Culture Shock at The Moving Company
First of all, let me preface this by saying that bodies here are just bodies. Very natural, etc. We have been told that time and again, but today we learned that very well.
We went to check out a moving company that, hopefully, could move most of our things to Honduras. A fellow missionary had told us about it, so we went to ask some questions, etc. We got there around 7:45 am as we left straight from the school after dropping the kids off. When we walked in, two workers were behind the counter with a big glass separating us. Another lady walked in behind us with a box, so the man went over to help her, which left us talking with the lady. When she backed up a little from the counter, Tully and I realized that she only had a towel wrapped around her.
Many of the business owners live either upstairs, behind or beside their businesses. I guess we caught her early, and she was either going to take her shower or just getting out of it.
What was worse was when we were having a hard time hearing her through the glass, so she came around and through the door and apologized for being in the towel, and then just went right on with answering all of our questions about the move.
Ojala que esto nunca occura otra vez. I hope that it never happens again.
We went to check out a moving company that, hopefully, could move most of our things to Honduras. A fellow missionary had told us about it, so we went to ask some questions, etc. We got there around 7:45 am as we left straight from the school after dropping the kids off. When we walked in, two workers were behind the counter with a big glass separating us. Another lady walked in behind us with a box, so the man went over to help her, which left us talking with the lady. When she backed up a little from the counter, Tully and I realized that she only had a towel wrapped around her.
Many of the business owners live either upstairs, behind or beside their businesses. I guess we caught her early, and she was either going to take her shower or just getting out of it.
What was worse was when we were having a hard time hearing her through the glass, so she came around and through the door and apologized for being in the towel, and then just went right on with answering all of our questions about the move.
Ojala que esto nunca occura otra vez. I hope that it never happens again.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Random Things I'm Wondering About . . .
1. Why do the male missionaries here like to cook so much? What a blessing for all of us, but I am curious! Is it stress relief from studying, is it because they enjoy it and now have some time to, or is it because it's a way to provide for their families or what exactly is it?
2. Why have Tully and I had a role reversal with shopping? He loves to go shopping and take his time going up and down all the aisles in the store while I try to hurry through and see how quickly I can get it done (well, truth be told, I've never been a big shopper, but here even less so).
3. What will our adjustment to Honduras be like? Will we have beds to sleep in the first few nights? A refrigerator? An oven? A car? How will the kids do with all the changes (again)? How will we all do with the water there--or the need to use only bottled water for brushing teeth, etc.?
4. Why has our house in SC not sold? Will it sell this summer? Maybe God wants us to hang onto it? If so, I wonder why?
5. Where we will stay during our furlough this year?
6. Will we homeschool when we get to Honduras or will the kids go to private Christian school?
7. What made me so sick last week? How did I (who washes my hands constantly, etc.) get it and no one else in my family did?
8. What will an 18 hour bus ride to Honduras with seven kids and two border crossings be like? Not sure I want to know the answer to that one yet, but it's quickly approaching! : 0 What should we sell here--what should we try to keep?
9. Will my English grammar and spelling ever be normal again? I now have to look at things twice when I write them in English because they don't "look right." Sometimes I do that also when I'm speaking in English!
54 more days til we move to Honduras, but who's counting?! : )
2. Why have Tully and I had a role reversal with shopping? He loves to go shopping and take his time going up and down all the aisles in the store while I try to hurry through and see how quickly I can get it done (well, truth be told, I've never been a big shopper, but here even less so).
3. What will our adjustment to Honduras be like? Will we have beds to sleep in the first few nights? A refrigerator? An oven? A car? How will the kids do with all the changes (again)? How will we all do with the water there--or the need to use only bottled water for brushing teeth, etc.?
4. Why has our house in SC not sold? Will it sell this summer? Maybe God wants us to hang onto it? If so, I wonder why?
5. Where we will stay during our furlough this year?
6. Will we homeschool when we get to Honduras or will the kids go to private Christian school?
7. What made me so sick last week? How did I (who washes my hands constantly, etc.) get it and no one else in my family did?
8. What will an 18 hour bus ride to Honduras with seven kids and two border crossings be like? Not sure I want to know the answer to that one yet, but it's quickly approaching! : 0 What should we sell here--what should we try to keep?
9. Will my English grammar and spelling ever be normal again? I now have to look at things twice when I write them in English because they don't "look right." Sometimes I do that also when I'm speaking in English!
54 more days til we move to Honduras, but who's counting?! : )
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Elijah's Kindergarten Graduation
was last Friday. His class had the honor of singing the Costa Rica National Anthem at their graduation ceremony--this was a few days after the ceremony, hence the forgetfulness, but it was still cute!
Costa Rica
Noble patria tu hermosa bandera
expresion de tu vida nos da
bajo el limpido azul de tu cielo
blanca y pura descansa la paz
En la lucha tenaz, de fecunda labor
que enrojece del hombre la faz
conquistaron tus hijos labriegos, sencillos
eterno prestigio, estima y honor
eterno prestigio, estima y honor
Salve oh tierra gentil
Salve oh madre de amor
Cuando alguno pretenda
tu gloria manchar
ver�s a tu pueblo valiente y viril
la tosca herramienta en arma trocar
Noble patria tu pr�digo suelo
dulce abrigo y sustento nos da
bajo el l�mpido azul de tu cielo
vivan siempre el trabajo y la paz
English: Noble homeland, your beautiful flag
Expresses for us your life,
Under the limpid blue of your skies,
Peace reigns, white and pure.
In the tenacious battle of fruitful toil,
That brings a glow to men's faces,
Your sons, simple farm hands,
Gained eternal renown, esteem and honour.
Hail, gentle country! Hail, loving mother!
If anyone should attempt to besmirch your glory,
You will see your people, valiant and virile,
Exchange their rustic tools for weapons.
Hail, O homeland! Your prodigal soil
Gives us sweet sustenance and shelter.
Under the limpid blue of your sky,
May peaceful labour ever continue.
Costa Rica
Noble patria tu hermosa bandera
expresion de tu vida nos da
bajo el limpido azul de tu cielo
blanca y pura descansa la paz
En la lucha tenaz, de fecunda labor
que enrojece del hombre la faz
conquistaron tus hijos labriegos, sencillos
eterno prestigio, estima y honor
eterno prestigio, estima y honor
Salve oh tierra gentil
Salve oh madre de amor
Cuando alguno pretenda
tu gloria manchar
ver�s a tu pueblo valiente y viril
la tosca herramienta en arma trocar
Noble patria tu pr�digo suelo
dulce abrigo y sustento nos da
bajo el l�mpido azul de tu cielo
vivan siempre el trabajo y la paz
English: Noble homeland, your beautiful flag
Expresses for us your life,
Under the limpid blue of your skies,
Peace reigns, white and pure.
In the tenacious battle of fruitful toil,
That brings a glow to men's faces,
Your sons, simple farm hands,
Gained eternal renown, esteem and honour.
Hail, gentle country! Hail, loving mother!
If anyone should attempt to besmirch your glory,
You will see your people, valiant and virile,
Exchange their rustic tools for weapons.
Hail, O homeland! Your prodigal soil
Gives us sweet sustenance and shelter.
Under the limpid blue of your sky,
May peaceful labour ever continue.
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