Following His Lead

Tully's mom,

2010-07-25T15:22:00.002-04:00

Mabel Augusta Boone Stoudemayer, passed away this morning at around 10:30 am. Please pray for us and for Tully's brother and sister and their families as we celebrate her life, rejoice that she is with Christ, and miss her deeply.

Pastelitos . . .

2010-07-21T18:39:00.002-04:00

I've learned, aren't little cakes. "Pastel" here is cake. In Costa Rica, "queque" means cake. This is the weird thing about language learning. Here, that word, "pastelitos" should mean "little cakes." But it doesn't.

Last week, I received a note from the girls' teacher that I should send 20 pastelitos with them to school on July 20. Well, I thought, that's easy, I already have a cake mix. I thought it must be someone's birthday. Birthdays here are huge.

Fast forward to this week. The cupcakes were in the oven when I got a phonecall from a friend asking if I was going to get someone to make the pastelitos for me. I said, no, no, I can do it. She seemed a little worried--I thought, what is her problem? She told me I could just use potatos or rice or whatever I had on hand. I smiled and was thinking, "Gross," but I said, no, that's okay, I have a mix on hand.

A friend of the mission was with Trey and me when we dropped off the cupcakes later at the school. After they were delivered, we began to see groups of school children parading down the streets all dressed up in Indian costumes. They were so cute! I wished aloud that I had my camera. We stopped to watch them for a minute. Then, our friend asked if we knew what today was. We said, no, and he said it's the day of the Indian,Lempira, for whom the currency is named. He said the children dress up like Indians, learned about Lempira and his battle against the Spaniards, and eat pastelitos. And then he asked, so why did you make little cakes? He said what they eat is pastelitos, made from other things. With a sinking feeling, I asked, other things like rice or potatos? He nodded enthusiastically, yes, exactly! Then I asked him, and why are they called pastelitos? He started laughing because then he realized my mistake, Oh, he said, you thought it was little cakes?! No, no, pastelitos is what the Indians used to eat.

At least I won't make the same mistake next year.

A Wedding

2010-07-12T16:25:00.003-04:00

We had a wedding here at the church a few weeks back. It was beautiful. The groom was a little nervous, looked a little green around the gills, and had some help from friends tying his tie just right. The bride had a shy smile, long, beautiful black hair, and kept her eyes only on her groom at the altar.

There is a huge difference, however, in this wedding to many others. This couple is older, and they have lived together since they were young without being married. They have raised kids together, who now have kids of their own, worked side by side together, laughed, cried, and experienced life together for all of these years.

The focus on this wedding was this couple's love for one another, but most importantly, on their love for Christ, and their desire to serve Him by following through with the institution of marriage.

Many couples here are too poor to pay the marriage tax that the Honduran government charges. In fact, there have been several weddings like this one, with several more to come in our association of churches around Guaimaca.

It was a delight for us to witness this couple's love for one another, and their love for Christ.

The bride, escorted down the aisle by her son.

The bridal couple were seated in front of the minister and the congregation as he delivered a sermon on the meaning of marriage.

Another Car Wreck

2010-07-01T22:49:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday while we had a church service going on we had another car wreck about a kilometer from the hospital. There were 8 people in the pick-up truck and some were in the back. Apparently the pick up overturned. Five of the passengers had broken limbs: two femurs, one tibia, and two arms. I have every confidence that God will provide a much needed ambulance for our hospital in His time.

A young boy with a broken arm and some facial injuries

Two ladies each with broken femur having to be transported in the back of a pick up truck.

Four other patients being transported in the back of a small SUV.

Best Cup of Coffee Part 3

2010-06-30T00:24:00.007-04:00

I just wanted to put in my two cents worth. What a great day to go to the mountains looking for places to bring teams. We encountered a family that Dawn describes in the last blog. They were extremely poor. Their clothes were torn and dirty. Their houses made out of decaying adobe mud. Yet they were full of smiles and appeared to be very happy. However there was one sister who was not happy. The brothers asked me repeatedly about their sister who is suffering with depression. It was obvious they love her very much.

One of the brothers brought me his 3 year old son to check who has had a fever and diarrhea for 8 days. (In the future I will always take my stethoscope and otoscope.) Then they wanted me to check another son who was sick with the same illness--probably due to bad water. I promised to return in two days with antibiotics for the two sick children and worm pills for all the children.

So they offered us a cup of coffee and I knew it would be an insult to refuse it. Many of you know that because of ventricular tackycardia I had a cardiac ablation in May of '08 and caffiene is forbidden. I just prayed that the LORD would protect my heart and then proceeded to enjoy the best cup of coffee I have ever had. Let me tell you that until you have had a cup of coffee where the beans are grown, picked, roasted, ground, and brewed at the same little farm that you really have not had a great cup of coffee. You may think you have but you have not.

Out of their poverty they went and cut us two stalks of bananas. Each stalk probably has about 100 bananas. I felt guilty taking them but again to refuse would insult this generous family. Well the Lord is good and I did not have any palpitations after drinking the coffee. Below are some pictures of their beautiful mountain.

The beautiful mountainside!!!

Dawn and me with our Honduran chuch deacon and guide--Rigo. Four different brothers tried to take this picture before one was able. Apparently they have never used a camara before!

Dawn on the mountainside.

Six brothers working in a tomatoe field.

Best Cup of Coffee Take 2

2010-06-28T19:17:00.002-04:00

While we don't have a team here, Tully and I are trying to learn some of our mountain villages and I am practicing driving in the mountains and in 4-wheel drive.

Today, one of the deacons from our church went with us up to the mountains. We wondered where on earth he was taking us after we crossed two streams, many huge mud puddles, and the grass in the dirt road/path began to get higher and higher, meaning no other cars had traveled through there in a long time. You don't have to go very far here to feel like you are a million miles away from everything. All of a sudden, you begin to pass acres and acres of farmland, an occasional house here and there, some oxen in the road, a horse or two here, a pig or two there, some goats along the way, and beautiful, green, rolling mountains as far as the eye can see in every direction.

The path began to get smaller and smaller until we finally came to a house where everyone seemed to be busy with their day's work, but when they realized they had company, they suddenly dropped everything and came to greet us with big smiles and handshakes and welcome us to their home, really their mountain. On their mountain, they grew corn, coffee, tomatos, bananas, sugar cane, and chile peppers. They showed us all around their property, and wanted us to hike with them up to the top to enjoy the view up there. We did it, me with my sandals on and all. (Note to self: get boots and leave them in the car for such occasions as this!)

The view from the top was gorgeous, and worth hiking in sandals! It was even better to learn about their family--we met six of the ten sons (ages 14 - 42) who all work the land with their parents (father is age 70, and they say he outworks his sons). We didn't get to meet their five daughters, though (yes, 15 kids in all). Afterwards, the grandmother offered us a cup of coffee (which we of course accepted--see previous blog). Tully asked me when we were leaving, "Was this coffee better than the other that you had last week?" I said, "This is pretty good, but I think the other was better." He told me that he thought this was the best cup of coffee that he had ever had. It, too, was "from the stick."

We left there with two big stalks of bananas that the sons had cut for us from their trees. We were asking our friend why people give us things when we go to their homes and he said it shows that they consider us friends now. What a sweet blessing!

World's Best Cup of Coffee . . .

2010-06-28T18:59:00.002-04:00

. . . was found by me last week on a mountaintop in Honduras. I had been a little hesitant about drinking/eating things here when I wasn't sure how they were prepared, what type of water they used, etc.

When we were on a mountain brigade a couple of weeks ago and it was almost lunchtime, several of the Hondurans said, "Come on with us and let's go find some Honduran food." I smiled and said, "I really can't." One came back later to ask me about it and I explained that I have a gringa stomach and body, and I really don't want to be sick since I don't know the food is prepared. He said he understood.

Then he said, "But, pretend that I am the pastor here at this church, and I want your family to come to my house and eat with my family. What will you do?" I laughed and said, "In that case, I would do it, I would just pray really hard over the food and all of our stomachs." He went on to tell me that it would be very offensive if I refused something offered by the mountains. We talked about how different it is in the States--you don't want to put anyone to any trouble, or you're just not thirsty of hungry at the moment, so you decline what is offered to you. He laughed.

One week went by and we were in the mountains. We were visiting at the home of one of our mountain pastors, and his sweet wife offered us coffee. I said, "Oh, yes! I would LOVE some!" Trey was with me, and we both left there saying it was the best cup of coffee we have ever had.

The Hondurans who were with us that day asked if we had ever had coffee before "from the stick." We said no, and they explained that the pastor's wife planted the coffee bush, harvested the beans, roasted them, and brewed it. I am a coffee lover and would never have imagined that coffee could taste that delicious! Trey and I are so glad that we went ahead and drank the coffee that was offered to us. And we are glad to have made some new friends in the mountains!

Counting Pills

2010-06-21T12:50:00.002-04:00

Students from the Georgia Baptist Association gearing up for their week of service in the mountains.

We have also recently had a great group from the Georgia Baptist Association. They were students who are in nursing school, interested in the medical profession or nursing, one physician's assistant, and one registered nurse. We did four medical brigades in mountain villages which are only accessed by four wheel drive. To get to one of the villages, we had to cross three streams! Each person who wanted to receive medical care listened to an evangelistic message in the morning, and after they saw the doctor, were invited to pray with or be counseled by team members.

Since school is out for the "summer" for our boys, they have been able to go with us and translate. Serving with teams has been a blessing for all of us. The only problem is that I'm still not any better at saying goodbye--definitely the hardest part of being a missionary!

Brigade in Guaimaca

2010-06-21T11:20:00.003-04:00

A worship service under the brigade tent in Miraflores, a neighborhood in Guaimaca

Schoolchildren excited and waiting for the upcoming program put on by BMDMI team members

The Bible story the team shared with the children was on the creation--followed up by a short time for them to color a picture of something beautiful in God's creaton. I love this little girl's butterfly!

We were so happy to have a BMDMI evangelism team come here to the hospital (from Kentucky and Tennessee), along with one of BMDMI's Honduran bands who travel with the teams (and are fantastic!), and the big tent! During the evenings, we hosted the tent brigade in a neighborhood across from the hospital (near the extremely poor school that the boys are helping). During the days, we traveled around to the schools around Guiamaca and presented Bible stories, played with the kids, and sang songs. Our church members will follow up with people who made professions of faith and/or don't have a church home. It was a great week, and we are so excited about the seeds that have been planted here!

Anna's Hairstyling Business

2010-06-06T10:05:00.004-04:00

Anna had a great time cutting her hair and Carmen's in my absence. Trey realized one day that they were especially quiet, and went to their room to see what they were doing. He said he knew there was a big problem when he stepped in hair on the way in. : )

I think each of our kids has cut their hair at some point or another, but I didn't realized the big deal it is with girls. It's going to take forever for it to grow back out!

The "before" picture

After Mom evened it up! : )

Latest News

2010-06-03T22:10:00.002-04:00

Well, we had a great trip to the States, were able to visit friends and family, and I was even able to do some shopping. Most members of our family are too tall for the clothes here, so I was thrilled to be able to stock up on some summer clothes for all of us. We had a very special time staying with my brother and sister-in-law and their family: Dee, Ruthie, Cameron, and Daiten. We were able to be with my mom for Mother's Day, too!

I shared with several groups while there about our ministry in Honduras. That was an unexpected blessing!

Tully is, I would say, completely better from his long illness--praise God! He was still coughing some when I returned, but since then, it has cleared up.

Mabel is still on a ventilator, and has a tracheostomy. She is unable to talk with it which I am sure is a tremendous frustration, not to be able to make one's needs known. Please continue to pray for her. There have been so many friends to visit her, and we appreciate that SO much, since we are unable to be there and care for her. Allison (one of my best friends)'s mom is in the same facility right now, and she has been able to go by frequently just to say hello and visit and pray with her. We are so thankful for the love and care that have been shown to Mabel in our absence!

The rains began in earnest while I was away. It has been rare this year in that we had a very short dry season. And now, having had a tropical storm near us, the rains have been extremely heavy. Our roads in Honduras are filled with huge potholes due to the rains, and there have been some bridges washed away, and some landslides. Our problem here at the hospital has been alot of standing water.

We said good-bye to an awesome evangelism team from Tennessee and Kentucky, and are welcoming a team of nurses and nursing students tomorrow from Georgia. We are also thrilled to have Taylor Perrault here with us this summer as our intern. He is a college student from UGA and was with us in February. Taylor preached this afternoon in one of our mountain churches and Timothy translated for him. I am so proud of them! They said they prayed all the way up the mountain, and felt a tremendous peace when it was their time to speak.

Trey has been hard at work finishing up school and taking exams this week. He is almost done and looking forward to relaxing for a couple of days, and then helping out with the teams this summer. The other boys finish up tomorrow, and are so excited! The girls are enjoying the sprinkler when they come home from school, and Anna has decided to go into the hairstyling business. She cut her hair and Carmen's when I was gone, so they now have cute short haircuts from where I had to even their hair up!

That's all the latest news for now. I have great pictures to share but will wait to upload them until the boys are finished with school so that I won't crash the internet!

Testing in SC

2010-04-28T14:09:00.003-04:00

On Saturday, Tee, Luke, Gabriel, and I leave for SC. As a part of their online charter school requirements, the 3rd - 8th graders must undergo state testing in May. We will be there for two weeks.

Tully's mom had surgery last week, and, in the recovery room, she suffered a heart attack. Afterwards, she had a catheterization done, which showed three blockages, one at 95%, and an angioplasty. Due to some other complications, she is now sedated and on a ventilator. Please pray with us for Mabel.

Señor Tullg

2010-04-17T12:21:00.003-04:00

That's the way the letter started. It was very formal, even with an official stamp at the end. "Mr. Tullg." (Our names are difficult for Spanish speakers, as you can tell.)

The letter went on to say that the writer was respectfully requesting that the hospital deliver water to a school in Herradura, nearby. "The school does not have any water and the children need it for basic necessities and health." The writer was the principal of the school. Our guard, posted at the front gate of the hospital, handed the letter to us as we left to take the girls to school one day last week.

Our internet, of late, has been sporadic at best, and we had some time that morning when we were unable to get online for the kids to do their schoolwork. So, we loaded up the portable cistern and took some water over to the people who live in the neighborhood of Herradura.

The children there were SO happy. We stopped at several houses along the way to fill barrels before we got to the school. Then we went to the school where we ran out of water. We came back to the hospital to refill the cistern and take it back and were able to give some more families much needed water.

When Elijah first began to fill up the school's cistern, the water splashed up and got some of the children wet--they had SO much fun!

Me with some of the neighborhood children while we were delivering water

Elijah filling up a barrel. People were bringing out every kind of container they had to hold some extra water.

Progress on Our House

2010-04-17T11:12:00.002-04:00

The exterior walls are now complete, and the ground inside has been prepared for flooring, which will go in next as it is structural. The roof trusses are being welded together and painted now.

Looking from the inside of our house to the back of the property.

View of the "front entrance" from the sidewalk.

Good Water

2010-04-17T10:01:00.003-04:00

It's something we take for granted, right? Here, in a developing country, it's not. We have experienced our driest months of the year now in Honduras. The grass and the mountains surrounding us are brown and dry, appearing almost like a desert. There is a fine layer of dust that settles over everything inside and out throughout the day, people cough and sneeze, we have even lost a patient in the hospital due to a severe asthma attack.

Our hospital well supplies safe water to our neighbors on either side of our property, 66 houses total. During the dry season, we have learned that our well is being taxed beyond its limits due to an increase in demand for water. Where did the increase come from? It was a puzzle for awhile--was there a leak somewhere? No, but we had to rule it out first. Come to find out, our neighbors have been giving out water to their family and friends.

Last week, we were able to install a new well pump with a more powerful motor to keep up with the demand. It was interesting to watch. I had not given much thought to the machine that makes our clean water possible until our cistern ran dry a few times due to the increase in demand for water. Then I thought about it a lot--I even prayed for it--this thing that I hadn't thought much about before.

We are delighted to say that after several days work to construct and install a scaffold in order to pull up the 5 pieces of 25 ft. pipe to get to the pump, we now have a new well pump with a 5 horsepower motor installed. Now to decide what to do about the neighbors giving away their water . . .

A picture of the scaffold that was constructed to replace the well pump.

Pulling up a section of pipe.

Eli sitting beside the old pump--it has done SO much good for SO many people--I couldn't believe how little and skinny it is!

Dengue

2010-04-16T18:46:00.000-04:00

I wanted to ask you to pray for Tully. He has had a bad cough for a couple of days, and we thought it was just bronchitis. Last night, he was up pretty much all night coughing. Today, he has had a high fever, chills, and hurts everywhere. Our lab technician drew some blood to check for dengue fever, and it turns out that he does have it. It will take a few days of rest and drinking alot of liquids, but please pray that he will recover quickly.

Thank you for praying with us!

Helping Hands

2010-04-03T11:59:00.002-04:00

We had gone to Tegucigalpa to pick up our friend Summer Millican from the airport. Summer had served with us for 4 weeks last fall through the Wingate School of Pharmacy in Charlotte NC. We were so excited for her to visit again.

After we picked up Summer and were heading back through the north end of the city, we were driving in a bad part of town through an area of constuction. There was a lot of traffic congestion where the traffic was narrowing from three cars wide to a single lane. Drivers here will continually try to nose in front of you, so you have to stay within a foot or two of the car in front of you, or else the whole world will pass you by. I was following the car in front so close that I could not see the pavement in front of my car.

Then it happened. The right front tire fell into an uncovered manhole that I had not seen. (People steal the man hole covers to sell for scrap metal.) I accelerated forward and in reverse but all I did was squeal the rear wheels. We were stuck. It was a little bit scary being in the middle of heavy traffic in a dangerous part of town, stuck and not knowing anyone to get us out.

Dawn and I were trying to decide what we could do when all of a sudden 3 men from a nearby tire store came over to our car. Then they waved to some friends and 6-7 more men came to our car. They proceeded to lift the right front of our van and I was able to gently accelerate out of the hole.

I thank God once again for his provision and protection on the mission field. And I prayed and asked God to bless the kind men who helped us get out.

No Water!!!

2010-03-31T13:12:00.005-04:00

Our town of Guaimaca has its water supplied by two streams. Now in the dry season, both the streams have almost dried up and the town of Guaimaca has almost no water. Two members of our church that meets in the hospital, one of our employees, and one of our translaters all came to the hospital yesterday and asked for water. We have a well at the hospital that continues to produce water.

Let me tell you about another part of our water ministry that I have not previously talked about. We have a large size pick up truck that we are able to fit a 900 gallon cistern into. We attach a gasoline powered pump to the cistern and can pump water at a gallon second. So I took Timothy, Luke, Gabriel, and Elijah and we went to deliver water (Dawn was in Tegus, Trey was still doing homework). This is a fruitfull ministry that I hope our family can continue to perform during the dry season. I first took water around in this manner with our team of college students from the U. of Georgia. They were here two weeks ago and did a great job with various ministries including this one. I am reminded of the passage in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, starting in verse 31 where Jesus talks of sharing water, food, and clothes with the less fortunate. I am glad we are able to share some of our water.

See the pictures below. One location we went is one of the poorest areas of Guaimaca. Notice that two 2 year olds brought their containers to get the precious water that they do not have enough of. I have struggled to get the image of the two little children out of my mind.

I pray that the Lord will continue to bless our well with plenty of water at the hospital so that we can share the water with others in the name of Jesus.

In this neighborhood, this little girl had no clothes to wear. They came to get water with no parents in sight!

Elijah and I filling a cistern. Eli had a great time helping others. The hose delivers water at more than a gallon a second.

This picture shows part of the cistern in the back of the hospital's pickup truck. Timothy is getting ready to pull the cord to start the gas powered pump for the cistern.

Luke filling the last pila of the day!

Birthday Traditions

2010-03-29T22:10:00.007-04:00

There are two different birthday traditions we celebrate in Honduras. The first I think we have written about before but you break an egg on top of the birthday person's head, then pour flour and water on top as well: the ingredients for a cake. We have had fun with some of our teams when one of the team members had a birthday by showing them this tradition. Women have not been spared.

A second tradition is in church. The birthday child goes to the front of the church and then counts his age by putting lempiras bills into an offering plate. The congregation counts with him/her. When finished, the pastor says a prayer over the child and everyone holds up a hand pointed in the direction of the child. It is a wonderful time knowing that everyone in attendance is praying for your child.

Today Elijah turned 7 years old. We decided not to break an egg on his head (at his request), but yesterday we did go to church. The pastor called Elijah up to the front and he dutifully counted 7 one lempira bills into the offering basket. Then the congregation prayed for Eli as the pastor led the prayer.

May God grant Eli many more years of joy, peace, good health, and a love for God, family and his fellow man.

Beggar

2010-03-28T23:00:00.005-04:00

So we were driving in the capitol, Teguscigalpa, last week and stopped at a redlight. I saw a lady out of the corner of my eye. I tried to not look at her or make eye contact but she kept coming towards us anyway. I knew she was coming to beg as happens so many times in a third world country. When we first moved to Costa Rica, beggars were definitely the greatest source of culture shock for our children. Maybe me too. They made me feel angry, guilty, and scared all at once. I definitely had alot of culture shock and lost alot of weight because of it. (Sometimes I jokingly think, "I wish I could get a little more culture shock now in order to lose weight.")

This lady walked up to the car, turned her free hand backwards and rapped on my driver's side window. I was reminded of the passage in Matt. 25 where Jesus talked of separating the sheep from the goats by sharing a glass of water, clothes, or food. So I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small bill, lowered my window and handed it to her. We then watched as she went to a group of motorcycles, and some other cars. No one else gave her any money this time.

This beggar was a little different from the many others we have encountered in that she was carrying a small child probably between 1 and 2 years of age. His head rested on her shoulder and he was sound asleep. It was sunny and very hot. She had him covered with a towel to keep the sun off of him but I am sure it made him hotter. Because of her poverty she was standing and walking and begging in an area of heavy traffic often moving fast. Very dangerous indeed.

Well, the light turned green and we all could leave and escape the sadness of the image of her and her little boy. You may wonder if I felt good that I had tried to help her. But as I drove away all I could think is I should have given more. I asked myself over and over, "Lord, why didn't I give more?"

Walking to the next car.

Going to the motorcycles.

17th Anniversary

2010-03-28T16:24:00.002-04:00

So yesterday was Dawn's and my 17th wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe we are up to number 17. I can still remember our showers, rehearsal dinner, wedding like it was yesterday. I remember the excitment and the nervousness.

Liliana is the wife of our head Honduran doctor at the hospital. She is an excellent cook and has started cooking supper for our teams. She surprised us Friday night by cooking us an excellent meal. We were able to eat in Jimmy and Bonnie Abbott's house by ourselves for a little mini-date on Friday night. It was a sweet time as we get little time to ourselves anymore.

I was saved when I was 7 years old but had really fallen away from the Lord during the years following. Dawn and I were married on March 27, 1993. On Memorial Day weekend of the same year, Dawn led me back to the Lord and I rededicated my life to him. So between the Lord and my wife (of course the Lord is first) the last 17 years have been the best of my life. This tribute is more for Dawn since it was our anniversary yesterday.

Dawn has been a great wife, mother of our seven children, friend, helper (she helps me to be a much better man) and lover. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with her!!!

It has been a fantastic 17 years and I do not regret a single minute of it.

Dawn, Te amo mucho. (I love you very much.)

Tully

My 1st Mountain Medical

2010-03-03T18:44:00.005-05:00

A view on the way--our journey took us up the mountain above the tree line and we were rewarded with views like this.

The medical clinic--and Tully seeing his first patient of the day

Setting up the pharmacy

Three boys peeping in a window to see what we're up to in the pharmacy.

Esaú, who is one of the kids at the Good Shepherd's Children's Home in Zamorano. He is visiting us this week as he is interested in becoming a doctor. Here, he is translating instructions for medicines in the pharmacy.

Well, it was SO much fun. Where to begin? There is a group here from Pella, Iowa who enjoy doing mountain medicals, where we travel to a remote village and take doctors, nurses, plenty of medicines to dispense, and the good news of Jesus Christ. I helped out today in their pharmacy in a village called Agua Fría.

It was a great day all in all, then we packed up and started our return trip home down the mountain. Well, the brakes on the car I was driving went out, and, yes, we were going down the mountain. God is so good as I was able to maintain control of the car as it careened down the hill and finally came to a leveled out stopping place. We decided that was a little too much excitement for ending our day.

15 year old emergency

2010-02-01T23:16:00.004-05:00

Three days ago on Friday we had a young wife, age 15, and her 17 year old husband come to the hospital early in the morning. The girl was 10 weeks pregnant and had a miscarraige. She began bleeding heavily around 4 a.m. and came to the hospital around 9 a.m.

When she first arrived her blood pressure was 50/40. Yes that is right--50/40. Her hemoglobin was 6.0 less than half of normal. She was still bleeding heavily. Our head doctor was able to use a pair of forceps and reach inside of her. He delivered the placenta and stopped her bleeding. We then had to transport her to the capitol for a blood transfusion.

She had to be transported in the back of a pick up truck. Look closely at the picture and you can see two IV bags. Her pressure was so low that we felt it necessary to start and run two bags of IF fluids. Would you continue to pray that we will be able to get an ambulance. I am trusting and believing that the Lord will supply it.

Yesterday

2010-01-28T22:11:00.002-05:00

I drove to the Zamorano Valley from here to buy some palm trees at the agricultural school. During our furlough, many of the dirt roads along the "back" way were made smoother, almost ready to be paved, so I went the back way, along with Trey, Tee, and Lupe, a translator friend of ours and of the mission. It was only about 1 1/2 hours--as opposed to 2 1/2 or 3 when we went the back way, avoiding Tegucigalpa, in August.

Pretty much everything here is an adventure, yesterday's trip being no exception. The countryside is so beautiful here. Along the way, I dodged oxen, herds of cows, dogs running out into the street, donkeys carrying firewood on their packs, road construction where we could have literally reached out of our window and put our hands on the machine as it was working. The other day when we were driving, a herd of horses raced our car up an incline. Leading the pack was a mare and her colt, the baby having no trouble keeping up on those gangly legs!

Driving in Honduras, you have to have your mind at all times focused on the road as their are SO many potholes, so many dangerous things to avoid. I decided yesterday that I like it better when Tully drives so that I'm free to look around and take in all the intriguing sights!

Extra Protein

2010-01-28T21:57:00.002-05:00

Tonight, we had broccoli. I love vegetables, especially green ones. Here, we eat so much rice, beans, and corn, that salad, broccoli, and green beans are pretty much delicacies now with me. : )

Well, the broccoli tasted so good to me tonight that I ate a double serving, which is unusual.

At the end of the meal, as our family was sitting around talking, I noticed something all of a sudden on my plate--it looked suspiciously like a little white worm. But I thought, no, that's not what that is! I should have just gotten up at that point, scraped my plate and washed it to get it out of my mind, but I didn't. So, we talked some more, and I looked down again at my plate and noticed a second little white (cooked) worm, this time on my broccoli.

At this point, I was, of course, really grossed out, and feeling too full of wormy broccoli. Tully, in an optimistic moment, said very matter of factly, "Well, at least the corn wasn't wormy, too." I said, "Is that supposed to make me feel better??" The boys were practically rolling on the floor in laughter.

What Have We Been Up To?

2010-01-28T21:06:00.002-05:00

Well, to answer that question, it would take a much longer blog than I'm sure anyone has time to read. I have, primarily, been homeschooling, which is taking a long time each day, but we are really enjoying our new (to us) school, the SC Virtual Charter School. I can't say enough good about it, really, but it is time intensive.

I have also enjoyed planting some flowers here and there around the hospital when time has permitted. One of my favorite things is gardening, so that has been fun. Plus, our dry season hasn't yet begun, so the flowers are flourishing soaking up the rains.

Emotionally, it has been a month filled with ups and downs. We returned to (some) employees who were a little scared of us and/or the changes, which, truthfully, has been hard for me--I like to be liked, in fact, didn't realize how much so until this happened! : )

When we realized what was going on with the employees, however, Tully hit upon a great idea which was to invite the different (small) groups of employees to the team kitchen for a lunch--to get to know us, for us to get to know them. So, the first day, we had the nurses, a couple of days later, it was the guards' turn (who were hilarious, by the way--and we picked up some new Spanish words), then the other hospital employees. Today it was the cleaning ladies at 12 pm, and the pastor of the church and the head of grounds at 1 pm. Tomorrow will be the team cook and the lady in charge of the food program. This has given the employees a chance to ask us questions, and we can tell them a little more of what we expect, etc.

This weekend begins our brigades with the first being led by our dear friend, mentor, and former pastor, Wilson Nelson, who is bringing a group from his church in Calgary, Canada. We are all so excited! Beginning this weekend, we will have someone here until mid March, so we have been readying everything for the teams. Dr. Estrada has taken around flyers for announcing the upcoming surgery team, as has our pastor, Mingo, by taking flyers to our surrounding mountain churches, the TV and radio stations have begun their announcements regarding the surgery team, and Joann and I have spent some time making up menus for the upcoming teams.

In a nutshell, has been a great month, a hard month, and a learning month, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Murder, Tragedy

2010-01-19T22:40:00.003-05:00

The following post is gross and graphic so you may want to click off of this blog entry and wait for the next one. I have debated for two days now whether or not to write about this but ultimately I decided to write on our blog so our readers can know what we are dealing with and what at least one of our needs is.

On Sunday morning I got called out of church because we needed to transport two patients from our hospital to Tegucigalpa. I went over to the hospital to see what was going on. Apparently, a man had been physically abusing his wife for several years so she left him. He had been drinking Sunday morning as the smell of alcohol was strong on him. He went to where his wife was staying and told her to come home with him. She said, "No." He then became angry and took out his machete, cut her fingers off first, then her arms and then he gave a fatal blow to the neck.

Her brother tried to come to her defense and he received two machete blows to the skull causing long deep cuts in his scalp and possible bony damage. Then the man, the husband, went out to a bridge nearby, put his left arm on the rail and cut off his hand which then fell into the water below.

Both men were brought to the hospital. The man who cut his hand off had low blood pressure, probably due to blood loss, and we started two IV's. I am sure had our hospital not been here he would have died. We then loaded them into a Land Rover and took them to Tegucicalpa. See the pictures below. If you read this, please pray that the Lord will supply us with an ambulance. Also pray for this family.

The man who severed his own hand from his wrist.

Preparing for a two hour ride in the back of a Land Rover. We need an ambulance!

The brother of the deceased wife. The red "hat" is bandaging.

Twins!!!

2010-01-14T17:05:00.005-05:00

This morning immediately after chapel, one of the employees at the hospital told me twins were being born. I hurried to the OB delivery room and went to see the excitement and fun. Two little boys were born and are doing fine. It is the very first time our hospital has delivered twins. Children are truly a gift from God and God gave us a double blessing us this morning!!!

Dra. Dunia just delivered baby #2!

Rubbing the baby to stimulate him and clean him! Two brothers laying together.

Suctioning to clear his airway!

Darkness

2010-01-13T22:49:00.002-05:00

We have had to drive from Tegus to our house twice now after dark. The first time was on our first night back in Honduras. It is so easy to take so many things for granted in life. Things like the yellow refectors in the middle of the road or the painted lines on the sides of the road. There are none of those in Honduras. Once you get out of the big city there are not many lights from houses to help illuminate the streets. The next turn to the left or right is hard to see until you are right up on them. I probably should drive slower but I am tired and we have 90 kilometers to go. Dawn has already told me that if our mothers come to visit that I cannot drive:). But as I was driving last Saturday night and it was pitch black, all I could think is God please bless the man/woman who invented "bright lights".

Reforestation Program

2010-01-06T20:22:00.005-05:00

Monday, my first official day on the job in Guaimaca, Jose Benegas came by the hospital to meet me and talk about the reforestation program. Sandy Cheves,the founder of Hospital Bautista, had the idea several years ago. He approached Jose, the manager of a saw mill down the road. After about two years, he decided to try the program. At our hospital we have 25 acres of land. We supply the land and the water and the saw mill supplies the seeds and the manpower. A different company gathers pine cones, puts them in the sun to dry and when they open, harvest the seeds. You can go and buy pine seeds and then plant them like any other seed. Over the past 4 years, the project has planted 2.5 million trees. We have the first, and therefore oldest reforestation program in the country.

The sawmill will send workers in after about 10 years and they will cut down the deformed trees. The normal trees take forty years to mature. I will say that more likely than not I will not live to see these trees harvested:). Planting these trees does not really lead anyone to Christ but it does make us a good neighbor and it gives us credibility in the communnity. Plus hopefully it will help prevent deforestation of the country similar to what happened to Ethiopia.

Below is a picture of Jose.

Travel to Honduras

2010-01-02T00:51:00.009-05:00

One A.M.--So I am sitting in the airport in Fort Lauderdale. Otra vez (once again) our flight has been delayed. It was delayed last October when we came home stretching the two day trip into three long days. Our first flight tonight in Atlanta was delayed and now our flight from Fort Lauderdale to San Pedro Sula has been delayed for two and a half hours. As I write, it is now 1 a.m. The kids are sprawled all over the floor and seats in the waiting area trying to get a little sleep.

What motivates me to write is how resilient kids can be. Here we are taking them on a trip across 4 countries, it is late at night, we are all sleep deprived and exhausted and not one peep of complaints from the children.

Five A.M.--We finally make it to our hotel and the clerk checks us in and says with a shrug of his shoulder: "we serve breakfast in one hour." We did not care, we just needed 3-4 hours of sleep in a bed which we were able to achieve. Again no complaints from the kids!!!

We get up about 8:30-8:45 and make it to the breakfast the hotel serves. We all feel alot better with full stomachs and load up the bus for a 6 hour trip to our mission house. We all dose off and on during the trip. The arrival at the mission house to pick up our van is 6 hours later as predicted. A two and a half hour trip to our house in Guaimaca begins. Later we thank and praise God for our safe trip back home in Guaimaca and still no complaining from the kids.

I worry about how the kids will feel about Honduras after three months of luxury and extravagance in the United States. Will they hate it or now complain for having to leave family and friends. But the next morning Luke jumped on our overstuffed couch and declared, "I had forgotten how comfortable this couch is. I really missed it." And otra vez I pray to God and thank him for his provision of a happy spirit in our children.

Here we are at 1 a.m. Can you spot all seven children??

Dawn and Elijah are exhausted and sleeping together.

Gabriel hopefully having sweet dreams.

Furlough

2010-01-02T00:23:00.003-05:00

It has been an absolute whirlwind. I cannot believe it's time to head back to Honduras--we just got to SC, it seems, yesterday! We have had so many doctors' appointments, a surgery for Anna, dental appointments, time with friends, family, and supporters. I was able to buy many things that would be needed for our house in Guaimaca during several trips to Lowe's in the days right before Christmas from insulation and doorknobs all the way to kitchen cabinets!

Just yesterday, I went to Columbia in order to get some necessary papers for our Honduran residency application. Then, I went to the Secretary of State's office and had them apostilled. (As an aside, visitors are able to enter Honduras as tourists for a stay of up to three months, but after that, they must leave the country for three days and then may reenter legally for another three months. If we are granted residency status, we will not have to leave the country every 90 days, but will technically be considered "permanent residents.")

Anyway, I digress. I can't believe our furlough has come and gone, but we are so excited about getting back and jumping into our ministry in Guaimaca!

The Grits Eating Girl

2009-12-01T17:52:00.003-05:00

I couldn't think of a better way to say that all is well with Anna. She was cleared by the hematology group, who have decided that she DOES have ITP after all, and we will continue to watch her and are to let them know if she begins bruising easily again. Her platelet count is still lower than normal, but it has been on an upward trend since October.

She had her tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy a week ago today, and as I write, she is sitting beside me eating yet another bowl of cheesy, buttery grits, which has been her favorite during her recuperation.

We're so thankful that she is doing well and that her procedure is behind us now!

Our Hike

2009-11-13T21:29:00.008-05:00

Last week, we hiked up Mt. Leconte outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, just the boys, Tully and me. It was a fun time, even though it came in the midst of a very busy six weeks for us. We chose the Alum Cave Bluffs trail, which is the shortest, at 5.5miles, the steepest, but the most scenic. We took our time, almost five hours--but we arrived in time to drink a bunch of hot chocolate, get a short rest, and then hike a little more to the summit to watch the sunset. It was exquisite.

Years ago I read the book Shogun, and remember one part in the book which describes how the Japanese in that time period would invite friends over to watch the sunset. Each sunset is unique and breathtakingly beautiful in its own way, and the Japanese would sit in silence together as the sun went down, just soaking in the beauty of the moment. We did much the same thing, well, as silent as one can be with five boys who've just conquered a mountain, and we praised God for designing sunsets for us--how each is unique with the various pinks and oranges, purples, and blues in the clouds surrounding, and how each one points us straight to the Creator!

This was at the beginning--they were all perky!

"HOW much LOoooNnn-GER??!" This was near the end--we were so proud of Elijah--he didn't complain or get tired until we were almost at the top! "I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength" became his favorite verse during that hike!

Trey--our new driver!

The bridge before Arch Rock on the trail

Our reward at the end of the hike--a bird's eye view of the Smoky Mountains

Sunset from the top of Mt. Leconte

Almost gone!

Pictures from Lately

2009-11-13T11:56:00.005-05:00

The children "helping" the brickmasons at the hospital.

On the bus trip to San Pedro Sula, the city from which our plane left. Eight hours in the bus--it was a long day, but we had plenty of room to stretch out. :)

Finally, in SC--Trey has enjoyed some fishing on our furlough.

Snuggle time one morning with Tully, Tee, Gabe, and Eli

Michelle and Carmen at the Fall Festival at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church--waiting to see what is on the other end of the fishing line

Gabe and Eli--proud of their pumpkin carving skills

Anna

2009-11-13T10:20:00.006-05:00

Anna needs a tonsillectomy--her tonsils literally touch, so she is very much a mouth breather and her ENT says that she probably has sleep apnea as well due to her enlarged tonsils. First, however, we had to clear her for surgery with the hematologist, which involved more blood work due to the temporary condition that she had in the summer of 2008, ITP. Although her platelet count has gone up since August, 2008, she still has low platelets, so her doctor ordered more bloodwork. If she had ITP, it should have already resolved. In three days, Anna had 12 vials of blood taken. She was such a trooper!

We are now awaiting more blood work to confirm a diagnosis of platelet agregation disorder and have an appointment with her hematologist next week. Right now, he just said that she will need a platelet transfusion before her tonsillectomy.

Anna and Carmen

Well. . .

2009-11-13T09:41:00.003-05:00

It has been too long since I posted, I know--I have just downloaded 561 pictures from my camera since the missionary retreat at the end of September. So, I will try and relate some of our latest happenings and news.

We arrived back in the US at the beginning of October. Yes, we had a little reverse culture shock. As we landed at night, Elijah looked out his window and marveled at all the lights down below--he said, "Look! It's already all decorated for Christmas there!!" He just wasn't used to all of that electricity!

We have already visited seven states: SC, NC, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. It has been an adventure and a pleasure to catch up with lots of friends and make new ones.

One momentous occasion was when we visited First Church of the Nazarene in Greenville. They have two services, one in English and one in Spanish. When the Hispanic pastor told his congregation that we would be speaking to them in Spanish that day, the whoops of excitement and enthusiasm from the crowd were deafening! In July, 2008, we had to use a translator while speaking during that service.

Many in the congregation were from Honduras, and, when we finished, the pastor thanked us for loving their people, Hispanics, and for serving them in this way. Perhaps they understand best of all the poverty and needfulness and lostness of their people. At any rate, it left me in tears and praising God again for the way He is using us.

Missionary Retreat

2009-09-28T11:54:00.004-04:00

Today, we leave for a missionary retreat at our mission house in the Zamorano Valley. It will last for a couple of days. Some of the people who were doing the program were coming from the States, and now are not due to the political situation. Still, all of the missionaries with BMDMI in Honduras will gather together for a time of sharing, inspiration, and encouragement. We have looked forward to it for a long time, and, although it will be different than what was originally planned, it will be a blessing to all of us. Please continue to pray for the political situation here and the leaders involved in the decision making process, for the safety of all the missionaries as we travel to our mission house and back, and for the retreat.

Update

2009-09-25T19:57:00.002-04:00

We're still doing fine here. The first day the curfew was lifted for a few hours, we went out to the grocery store in town and bought some extra food. Our grocery store (think very small--sells just staples) had plenty of food, although we heard from a fellow missionary that the grocery stores in Tegucigalpa were selling out of food with the throngs of people flocking in to buy groceries. International flights resumed today.

A lady from the US Embassy called yesterday to check on us and asked how things were here, and Tully relayed that it has been quiet with no demonstrations.

Please continue to pray for the political situation.

All Is Quiet Here . . .

2009-09-22T11:38:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let you know that we are all safe here. There is a country-wide curfew in effect today due to the return of the deposed president yesterday, so we cannot leave the hospital compound. The airports are closed as well. Some employees came to work today, but there are just a few patients, although there were several emergencies in the night, and one this morning. We feel very safe and know that we are in God's hands--the best place to be.

Cast is Off!

2009-09-21T22:11:00.005-04:00

Last week, Carmen got her cast off--

She was so brave as the saw was very loud.

When it was gone, she didn't know what to think--it hurt a little. Since then, she has done great and can even straighten her arm out completely, with no help from us!

Girl with the Hurt Toe

2009-09-19T16:58:00.003-04:00

Here is the little girl who had the hurt and deeply infected toe. We had a picture of her foot in our September newsletter. She came to church the next week, and we asked her to show it to us again. The nurse on call that day cleaned it really good, applied more antibiotic cream, and bandaged it. He scrubbed it so hard, and yet her face remained completely stoic. It made me wonder what her life has been like--to have endured tremendous pain without flinching.

Monkeying Around

2009-09-19T16:51:00.002-04:00

We were invited to eat Sunday lunch a few weeks ago at a house near the Mennonite community. The family who invited us has a small orphanage, so there are a bunch of kids there, and a bunch of animals: horses, sheep, donkeys, dogs, chickens, etc. Even a little thing called a honey bear--which I didn't get to see, but my family told me it's more like a weasel.

Luke, our resident monkey, hit it off with the monkey there. The monkey preferred Luke over anyone else--we couldn't decide if it was because of being kindred spirits who prefer to spend alot of time high up in trees, or if it was the red hair.

Eli, Bob, and Friend

2009-09-19T16:44:00.004-04:00

To satisfy inquiring minds, here's a picture of Eli, Bob the gecko (Eli usually names all the geckos, big or small that he finds, "Bob,") and a frog, or toad, I should say. He gets too busy hunting for interesting things around here to worry with pushing his headlamp back up. : )

The Visitor

2009-09-13T15:55:00.003-04:00

It was so hot, the kind of hot that makes you a little sleepy. Then I heard, "Pssst, whisper, whisper, whisper. Tell Mom." Then, a few seconds went by, and the whisperer sounded a little more urgent. "WHISPER, WHISPER, Whisper. TELL MOM." Well, now my interest was piqued. So I listened as the son next to me leaned over and whispered, "Mom, Eli has a gecko." I knew Eli had had one earlier, so I thought, as there were other sounds going on around me, that I had misheard something and he meant HAD a gecko. So I said, "What did you say?" And he said it again, with his brother, Whisperer Number 1, now leaning over to look at me with wide, desperate eyes.

Well, the problem was not that he had a gecko, it was the location--we were sitting in church this morning. I had been so proud to see how excited little Elijah was to be in church this day. He came in with such a grin on his face. And he was sitting so still, just as straight as an arrow as if he was soaking up everything going on in church this morning.

I leaned up, tapped him on the shoulder (our family was split up on two different benches), and whispered in his ear, "Eli, do you have a gecko?" He turned around and nodded enthusiastically and then gave me a big, proud smile. I really hated to ruin his time, I did. But, I also knew that as lively as our church service already is, and as much as we stick out, it really wouldn't do for a gecko that Elijah had brought in to get loose on someone. So I said, "Eli, could you please take him outside and let him go?"

Well, his little shoulders slumped, but with an audible sigh, he obeyed, with one parting glare, of course, at his ratting big brothers.

Since I have had boys, one of my all time favorite books is Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain. One chapter that I have read over and over again, and laughed til I had tears running down my cheeks is the one where Tom is in church, and has brought in a pinchbug to play with, and it's so hot and there's a sleeping dog inside the church. If you haven't read it, please do--it's a phenomenal representation of the way that boys think, at least mine. The great news in our family, especially for our easily embarrassed teenagers, is that the gecko didn't get loose when Elijah took the matter of his Sunday morning entertainment into his own hands. Literally. : )

Bus Wreck

2009-09-12T03:06:00.008-04:00

Last night Dawn and I had gotten the little kids to bed, and sat down to enjoy a cup of decaf Dunkin Donuts coffee (courtesy of Dr. Lori York--thank you, Lori!!) when I heard over the radio that there had been a bus wreck and multiple people had come to the hospital. I walked over to the hospital to see if I could help.

Apparently a Greyhound type of bus had hit another vehicle and run off the road. Out of the 80 people who were on the bus, ten injured people were brought to the hospital (how I do not know.) The wreck occurred about a kilometer down the road from the hospital. One man had a deep cut under his chin. I took him to the suture room and started to sew him up. In the meantime, Dr. Mendoza and Dr. Estrada were seeing the other patients. I finished closing the wound and then checked him over. He had no other significant injuries. Most of the other patients only had minor injuries as well, and the ones who had been wounded more seriously were taken from the scene of the accident to a hospital in Tegucigalpa.

Sewing a patient's chin.

One young man was not so lucky. He had contusions on his abdomen and swelling on the left side of his abdomen. We suspected a tear of his spleen which can cause life threatening internal bleeding. Dr Estrada called one of the hospitals in Tegucigalpa and made arrangements to take him there. An ambulance came out from Tegu and met our truck about two thirds of the way to the city. See the picture below of our truck ambulance. Dr. Mendoza is sitting on the side, before the truck left the hospital.

Imagine being the patient--not much fun to ride for an hour or two in the back of a pickup with a life threatening injury and 60 degree weather. We will be praying for another ambulance, as we have realized that, for those patients who can sit up (in the cab), the truck is great in many ways as it is built to handle these roads. However, this man needed to lie down. We are glad that the hospital is here and able to minister to people in emergencies like this one or just for routine check-ups or to delivery a baby.

Our patient in the back of the pickup truck with Dr. Mendoza sitting with him. Summer, our pharmacy intern, rode in the back of the truck with the patient on the way to meet the ambulance from Teguc.

A picture of the wrecked bus.

Recent Sights and Happenings

2009-09-06T19:00:00.000-04:00

Summer Millican and Tee. She is a pharmacy intern here for one month and will be leaving next Saturday to return to NC--in this short time, she has become a regular member of our family and we're going to miss her so much!

Many people ride others on their bikes "sidesaddle."

The fair was held recently--it lasted for around a week. Just as many interesting sights there as at fairs in the US! : )

At the fair, the two little boys next to the MC were holding chickens--and petting them like puppies! : )

The Catholic church in town--decorated with beautiful handmade flowers.

Gabriel and Neptali share the same birthday. We invited Neptali and his family to eat birthday cake with us in the team kitchen. He is head of security here at the hospital, and his wife, Iris, is the head nurse.

Ashley, Luke, and Elijah. Ashley is a recent college graduate (Lousiana State University) who feels called to missions, and is considering studying to be a physician's assistant. She is a Sojourner missionary here for one year.

The biggest locust I could ever imagine--outside of a science fiction movie.

1. The people--both Hondurans and North Americans could not have been any more welcoming. We are enjoying very much getting to know everyone--adults and kids alike.

2. Gigantic critters--okay, this is not something I have been enjoying, but the rest of my family are loving these! See picture of locust.

3. Safe water--The water here on the hospital campus is from a deep, clean well. We are enjoying drinking straight from the tap, and it's fine if the little ones get some in their mouths during shower time.

4. The nighttime sounds of crickets and frogs after a year of listening to buses roaring by, car alarms, and taxis honking for their fares.

5. A large greenspace for the kids to play--I think they had covered all 25 acres within the first 24 hours we were here.

6. Pupusas--a typical Honduran food made with cornmeal, cheese, and meat and served with condiments--they are delicious!!

7. Baseball with the Mennonites on Sunday night.

The Face of Death

2009-09-02T23:30:00.002-04:00

So I am sitting in my office at the hospital tonight when our pharmacy intern burst in saying "we have a patient who cannot breathe!" I run around to the patient area and there is a young Honduran female gasping for breathe. One of her family members hands us a packet which is marked with large letters--"Poison." About that time one of our Honduran doctors arrives and looks at the pack. It normally holds three pills. It is some type of pesticide and is a neuro toxin. He looks at me, gives a little shake of his head, a little shrug of his shoulders and says very matter of fact "she is going to die, there is nothing we can do." In my head I am screaming "we must do something, start an IV, give an antidote, dialyze her." As if reading my mind he says to start an IV. We do and run in one liter of IV fluid. He then puts an NG tube down her throat and flushes some saline into her stomach to try and wash any remaining poison out.

The doctor asks her how many pills she swallowed. She responds "two." The doctor looks at me and says one is enough to kill her, with two there is no question she is going to die. Again my head is screaming at me. I ask "can we send her to tegucigalpa?" He says "no, it would do no good. There is no treatment or cure for this poison. Many girls commit suicide with it." I ask some of her family about her. She is 24 and married, her husband is here at the hospital. They have a 6 year old son. She has some history of depression and has been arguing lately with her mother. She took the pills one hour ago.

She is young and healthy and we all want to know "why." The doctor and one of the male nurses ask her repeatedly why she took the pills. They, too, want to know why, even though she is going to die even if they find out the answer, so why ask? Well because it is hard, I mean it is really hard, to see a young healthy person throw their life away leaving a 6 year old son and husband behind.

Then doctor and nurse did the only thing left to do. They asked about her spiritual life. She did not have one. They explained the love of Christ and that he can and will forgive her sins. They then led her in a prayer of salvation. Basically, they held out to her a ticket to the Kingdom of God, paid for by Jesus Christ, and hopefully, I believe she took it.

So we ran in one liter of IV fluid, lavage her stomach and then left her alone with her family on the stretcher. The family decided to take her home to die. Again, my mind is screaming at me,
"surely there is something we can do, something we can do, something we can do." The doctor once again tells me, "with this poison there is nothing we can do. It is just a matter of time, 2-4-6 hours and she will be dead. The family left with her. I do not yet know the final outcome.

But it occurred to me we did do something, we offered her the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, I believe and hope she accepted it and if indeed she does die tonight, she will be present with the LORD.

So, I find that there are some things that I hate (even though we are not supposed to hate):

I hate poverty
I hate depression
I hate not being able to help someone physically who is young and healthy and is dying right in front of my eyes.

But there many things that I love:

I love God the Father, Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit.
I love my family, my wife, children, and extended family
I love being able to help people in need.

Dear God,

grant me the compassion to hurt when other people hurt, to love the down trodden, to cherish my family, and to worship and glorify You in all I do.

AMEN

A Change of Emotions

2009-09-02T22:05:00.002-04:00

Some days are just difficult. Two days ago was one of them. First we received an email with some disappointing news. That was enough. But, it was not all, Dawn noticed that Carmen was scratching her head alot. So I look and saw the creeping crawlers--lice. Yuck!!! Dawn washed her hair, 3 times with medicated shampoo before we no longer saw any live ones.

Then Dawn started cutting the boys hair short. Wouldn't you know it, we found the white "nits" in another boy. More shampoo. Between the bad news and lice, Dawn was a little tearful all day.

But yesterday was better and Dawn was back to her old self. Then last night we were telling the boys to go to bed, when Dawn says to the boy with the lice, "good night, sleep tight, don't let the head bugs bite."

To which instead being sad and tearful, Dawn started laughing so hard she had tears on her cheeks. Of course we all joined in the good natured laugh and joke.

My Week of Surgery

2009-08-21T11:45:00.003-04:00

Last week a team of surgeons came down to the Hospital. We got to meet them and eat lunch with them and got to kind of know each other. My dad was out with a different team so he wasn't with us. On Monday night Mr. Sandy (the Director of the Hospital) asked my mom if she wanted to watch a surgery she said "Oh,............ well.... sure." Luckily, I was standing right there and I asked if I could watch a surgery to to see if I could handle it because I want to be a veterinarian when I grow up. Mr. Sandy said sure and I couldn't wait until the next day.

The next day I went to eat breakfast in the team dining room and I got to know the Anesthetist, Angela Jordan. We talk for a while and then they went to work. Around 11 AM my mom and I went into the hospital to watch what the team of surgeons were doing. We met Joann (the Director's wife) on the way and she asked my mom something and they went somewhere else.

I still wanted to watch a surgery. A doctor who graduated from the same high school my mom did helped me put on a gown and mask and cap. I walked into the OR and they were just finishing up a prostate. The head surgeon asked if I could help move a bed and, of course, I said sure. I moved the bed and helped put the man on a stretcher and moved the operating bed back. The head surgeon (Dr. Smith) asked if I wanted to actually scrub in on a case. I jumped at the question and said, "Of course!"

When I got all clean and sterile they said, "Stand over here and wait while we get this lady ready." When it was finally time to start I stood to the side and kind of waited for an instrument to hold for the surgeon. When they cut her open and started to cauterize I could not take it any more so I sat out for the rest of the time.

Then when the surgery was over I said thanks to the doctors and went to find my mom. She said for me to start packing up because we need to go back to the Zamorano Valley. Carmen and Anna got hurt (Carmen, Anna and Gabriel were staying at a friends house while we unpacked at the hospital). The next morning I asked the doctors if I could scrub in one more time before I had to leave with my mom. They said, "Of course, but go put on some scrubs first." This time I didn't sit out. When this surgery was done I went and asked my mom if I could please stay to help out the surgery team because a few people asked if I was going to stay. She talked with Sandy, the director of the hospital and he said, "Sure, I'd be happy for him to stay and work as long as he doesn't do surgery on me.":)

I stayed from Wednesday to Friday by myself and observed and helped with surgeries, helped Angela mix antibiotics, changed IVs, monitored pulse rates, oxygen, and blood pressure rates, and all that bloody stuff. I even translated some for one of the doctors.

All in all I scrubbed in on five cases and only sat out on one. It was awesome!!

I would like to thank Dr. Tommy Young, Dr. Dane Smith, Dr. Russ, and Angela Jordan epecially for letting me do this, I really had a great time!

Some Pictures and Highlights from our time with the Fairview/Jimmy Wright Team Aug. 8 - 15, 2009

2009-08-20T23:22:00.008-04:00

Terry Williams and me at the airport when they arrived. We were so happy to see so many sweet familiar faces! What a blessing with which to begin our ministry here!!

The medical clinic--they saw around 2300 patients that week.

Tully, enjoying being "back in the saddle" again. His interpreter from the children's home began to tell patients, "Digale a él porque él habla español." "Tell him because he speaks Spanish."

The future church at Hospital Bautista--around 125 members who make up the current church meet twice weekly in a chapel area inside the hospital. The room is filled to overflowing.

Tully with Dr. Dane Smith and Rebecca Deal, a professor of Spanish at North Greenville University. Dr. Bob Osbon, DDS, is on the right.

All of us with the exception of Anna, in front of Hospital Bautista de Guaimaca. Anna was too busy playing to pose for a picture! : ) This was right before we had to say goodbye to the team--which was so hard!

Thank you, guys, for an awesome week--and a great kickoff to our ministry in Honduras! Words can't adequately express how much our family looked forward to seeing you all, spending time with you, and ministering with you!

Finally!

2009-08-14T19:02:00.005-04:00

This Week:

Saturday, saying hello to so many friends on a BMDMI team from Greer--an incredibly special blessing

Telling Tully and Lynda (our fellow missionary we were staying with for two weeks) "goodbye" Sunday, as they went out with the team

Later Sunday, worship again at the children's home, then back to Lynda's to pack up our stuff and clean her house

Monday--move our things to Guaimaca, with four of our boys, a two hour trip, and unpack that day

Say hello to new friends from Greenville, SC -- the surgery team at Hospital Bautista

Computer trouble--can't get connected to the internet

Unpack more

Tour a school for the kids, meet several of the store owners in town. Take a trip to the little grocery store.

Get a phone call Tuesday night from our friends with whom the girls and Gabriel were staying: Carmen fell and hurt her arm

Anna fell and hurt her head

Surgery team still hard at work in the hospital when I turn out my lights Tuesday night after 10 pm.

Go back to Lynda's on Wednesday morning and pick up the girls and Gabriel from friends. Is her arm swollen or not? Yes, I think so. Poor baby, she cries when we go over the rocks on the road. Now I think it IS broken.

Wednesday night--no Tully, no Lynda, Carmen crying with her arm, Anna crying with her head (and mostly we're all really tired).

Okay, call Tully in distress Wednesday night, who calls Dwight and Margaret.

Thursday morning--load up the girls and Elijah and drive Lynda's car to Tegucigalpa. Meet Dwight and Margaret at the office, then Dwight rides with me to the hospital to have Carmen's arm checked out. Margaret takes Elijah and Anna to her house.

Yes, it's broken. : ( She was very brave, however, and was like a different little girl once she got her cast on.

Thursday afternoon--Dwight says he will send the bus to Guaimaca with us and all of our stuff and those of the team who want to see the hospital the next morning. Tully and Lynda are back with the team--can I say how happy I am to see him and how much I love him?!

More packing

Today--Sent Tully and the kids to eat breakfast with the team at the mission house. Cleaned Lynda's house, then Tully came and got me, we all loaded up the bus and rode to Guaimaca.

Took the group from Greer on a tour of the hospital. Said goodbye as they continued on and we stayed at the hospital. It was hard, and I was teary.

Now--finally--and there are four years worth of prayers and life tied up in that word, "finally" . . . we are all here together and have all of our stuff with us, and it's sort of unpacked. We are ready to hit the ground running with our ministry here. And . . . now we even have an internet connection. Fabulous!

Can't wait to see what God has in store for us tomorrow! : )

Boxes and trunks of surgical supplies line the hallway to the operating room, ready for the surgeons' use.

Shelton Hall and Gabriel--whenever he was around, the boys tagged along after him

Members of the team from Greer on their tour of the hospital grounds

Timothy, observing a surgery by Dr. Dane Smith of Greenville, SC

Oops! He got a little queasy and had to sit down for a few minutes. Afterwards, he helped some more that day, and was in the operating room or helping for the next two days. An invaluable experience and blessing that he will always remember!

Sweet Carmen with her cute purple cast

Wish I could say that's eye shadow on Anna, but it's not-it's the effects of her accident last week.
Praise God everyone is okay and things could have been much worse!

First pictures from Honduras

2009-08-03T18:01:00.004-04:00

Luke's first glimpse of Honduras--checking it out from a bird's eye view

a little roadside tienda

A family cooling off and bathing in a river on the way to the children's home

A view of the beautiful Zamorano Valley from the chapel at the children's home

Tori, daughter of Greg and Eva Vaughn (directors of the children's home), showing something cool to one of the kids

Kevin McKenzie, grilling out without electricity--it was pitch dark and there was no electricity (the flash from the camera lit up the picture). The girls are holding a flashlight for him

Having fun in a tree at the Good Shepherd Children's Home

David, a precious boy who lives with Kevin and Julie

Trey making a friend at the children's home. Julie McKenzie's mom, Judy, and her friend, Mrs. Jan came for a 10 day visit. Judy is talking to Timothy.

Last Days in Costa Rica

2009-08-03T11:00:00.007-04:00

Thursday night before we left Courtenay and Jacob Folk gave us a final pizza party--it was so much fun! (L to R: DeNiel Gillen, going to Dominican Republic, Darlynne Frederiks, returning to New Jersey to work with Hispanics there in street ministry, Courtenay, will be staying in Costa Rica, me, Trisha Lawrence (with our mission!) will be going to Honduras to work at the Children's Home, Leslie Schneider, going to Chile, and Shirley Cissell, staying in Costa Rica)

The morning that we left, Trey, Timothy, and Luke's friends, Rachel, Stephanie, and Josh came over at 7:30 am to say their goodbyes. Later, they were joined by Trisha and Kelly Lawrence, and Stephanie's mom, Leslie, who all helped out in whatever way they could to get us (and all of our bags) into the vans for the ride to the airport!

Stephanie Schneider with Carmen and Anna

Trisha and Kelly Lawrence with the girls

Our bags, packed, weighed, repacked, reweighed . . . well, you get the idea.

The gang over for a game of spoons and watching movies--they were together constantly, I think, for the last month.

Anthony Gillen and Tully

Anna and her buddy, Jacob Gillen. Even the little kids had to say goodbye to dear friends!

At the airport in San Jose--in a moment of chaos in getting all of our bags onto carts to be rolled into the airport. : )

Elijah with Cristian, one of the driver's that the students at ILE use--Elijah has enjoyed getting to know Cristian this year and rode with him a final time to the airport while Cristian drove our bags in his van.

Hola de Honduras!!

2009-08-01T21:21:00.002-04:00

Well, we made it safe and sound and right on time today. Kevin and Julie McKenzie and their family had Greg and Eva Vaughn (directors of the Children's Home), their family, and us over for supper (and she says to say I'm still here trying to visit with her) at the Good Shepherd Children's Home.

The kids are thrilled--there are a zillion kids here running around. It is cool and comfortable--we brought the rain from Costa Rica with us as it hasn't rained in days and there was a downpour this afternoon.

I don't think it has hit us yet that we're finally here--maybe tomorrow? We are going to come here to the Children's Home for the worship service in the morning, then into Tegucigalpa to buy groceries for the week. : )

I've taken a bunch of pictures and can't wait to share them--but will post more later.

We love you all! Thank you for praying for us, and please continue to do so!

"You know you have been studying Spanish when..."

2009-07-31T21:57:00.002-04:00

Most of you know that Spanish does not have apostrophes. So we would say "John's house" but in Spanish you would say "the house of John" or "la casa de Juan."

So today we are packing like crazy. Dawn, Trey, Tee, Luke and myself are in Dawn's and my bedroom. We have duffel bags laid out and many items to put in them. We are weighing and re-weighing because we can only take 35 pounds a bag. We are putting things in a bag and taking them out and moving them to another bag and then it is, "Weigh this bag again, boys." It is pretty hectic when all of a sudden Dawn asks of everyone and of no one, "Where is the suitcase of Gabriel?"

Well we all turned and stared at Dawn. Timothy says, "Mom you just said Spanish but it was English." So we all had a laugh and went back to work.

Friends/Leaving . . . Amigos/Saliendo

2009-07-31T14:09:00.004-04:00

While we've been down here, I have made a lot of friends. Some of my best friends are named Rachael, Josh, Stephanie, and Rebekah. We have hung out with them for pretty much every single day for about three weeks. Whether it's hanging out at the park or having a movie night we are ALWAYS together and I am going to miss all of them a lot. And my Tico friend, Mario, who doesn't wear a red hat or have a mustache.

Last night Rachael (age 15) asked us if we were going to forget them. Just to keep from crying, I said "yes" but in truth I will NEVER forget them.

As everyone already knows, we are leaving for Honduras tomorrow! I am really excited about going but also really sad about leaving my friends here. I wish I could stay for maybe a month longer but we have got to move on to the "Promised Land." I already have some friends in Honduras, but only a few.

We still don't know where we are all going to school so please pray for that. Mom and Dad are going to check out the schools in Honduras but we might go back to homeschooling, too.

Well, I'm going to miss you, Costa Rica friends!!! =] And I will miss the food here, too!

Final Goodbyes

2009-07-31T07:33:00.002-04:00

I know we have blogged about goodbyes previously in other blog posts but we leave for Honduras tomorrow and we have been saying many "goodbyes." The goodbyes are, of course, harder this time. There are many people with whom we have spent alot of time during this past year. We know the trials they have faced, the disappointments, and also the victories. We frequently lift each other up in prayer. We know that many of these people we will never see again in this life so the final farewell is often "I will see you in heaven."

Jacob and Courtenay Folk hosted a goodbye fiesta last night and many of our friends dropped in to say goodbye and eat some pizza. It was good to see so many of our friends and the talk was centered around the big oral tests we took yesterday to place our level of Spanish, what days we are all leaving for the countries we are going to serve, packing, how to make deep fried oreos, etc.

Yesterday during chapel, all in attendence encircled another couple (whom are also leaving in the next few days) and us and we all had a period of prayer. It was a sweet time and many tears were shed.

One of the many great things about the Christian faith is the hope we have of Christ and heaven and knowing that we will see one another again at a time when there will be no stress, no pain, no tears, no disappointment and we will only experience tremendous joy at being able to worship our LORD 24/7.

So, it is goodbye to our friends in Costa Rica and hello to our new friends in Honduras!

Who is the Cheaper?

2009-07-29T16:32:00.003-04:00

The boss/jefe at the cargo company asked us that this morning. Our brains are a mix of Spanish and English--it's hilarious at times, then can be frustrating, too, when you can't think of the right word in English that you want, but the Spanish word is there. Anyway, I immediately began to rack my brain for a Spanish word that sounds like "cheaper" and couldn't come up with anything. Then I thought, "Maybe he wants to know which of us would want to pay less?" Tully said, in Spanish, "I am." So I laughed a little, and they both looked at me. It didn't make any sense. I thought--what on earth are they talking about? Then I figured out the boss was practicing his English and meant to say, "Who is the Shipper?"

It is fascinating learning a language--you appreciate the unique things in yours all the more--and you question, "Why do we say it like that?" And, you sometimes, okay, much of the time, ask, "Why do they say it like that?"

Of course, we also come across strange words or phrases in English we've never even thought about. For instance, a latino asked us the other day about the phrase, "Come back," in English meaning "Come to see us," or, "Come to the store, and . . ." He said, "I wonder where that phrase came from, because you don't normally want to see a person's back when they're coming to see you, you want to see their front."

So why not ask, "Come front?" Hmmm. Hey, I'm just happy I'm not the cheaper of the two of us. : )

The Ending of a Chapter in Our Missionary Journey . . .And Random Pictures

2009-07-28T21:32:00.006-04:00

Trey, today, packing up--or hamming it up for the camera

OK, I wish I could say this is only a nightmare, but it's real life packing in my bedroom right now. : ) Actually, it looks better as of now, but still has much room for improvement over the next three days!

Carmen--anytime we get out a suitcase, she says, "OK--we going on a plane now?"

A Lincoln Log construction by three proud brothers

Luke, Gabriel, and Elijah have been making elaborate forts with multiple rooms for each person--girls included, even though the girls sometimes tear their rooms down accidentally.

The outside of the fort--you really can't tell how big it was by this picture! It was huge!

Well, we are wiped out but content after getting alot of packing done today. We are sending some of our things ahead of us to Honduras as cargo, which we needed to do as we came with 50 lbs per checked bag, and now must leave here with only 35 lbs per checked bag. So, tomorrow morning, Lord willing, the cargo company comes to pick up some of our things. Over the last few days, we have had goodbye dinners with friends here, and another one on Thursday night.

My mind and my heart are full of so many things right now--memories of this past year, all that God has taught us while being here, the friends we've made, the difficulties we've experienced, and of course, all of the Spanish we've learned. No other year will be like this one, where we were together with a large group of fellow missionaries, all with the same goal of learning Spanish in order to share the gospel of Christ with others all over Latin America.

First Words

2009-07-21T23:22:00.003-04:00

from Carmen on entering the door after being gone somewhere for a bit.

"EEee-LIiii . . . .I HOOoommme!"

Friends from Home!

2009-07-21T19:19:00.004-04:00

In June, we had the pleasure of having Bob, Kelly, Rebekah, and Anna Mae Lee come to visit. We had looked forward to this trip for so long and it meant so much to each member of our family. All of us had alot of fun planning out what kinds of things we wanted to show them and do when they were here, etc.

Although they were delayed by a day and a half due to some storms in Miami, we had a fantastic time. Now, looking back, I can't believe all that we crowded into those five days!!

They saw our school, some of downtown San Jose, we took a bus--that's always a cultural experience!! (This time it was very crowded and we had to stand up alot of the way!) We walked around in the central market where all the interesting meat salesmen are (among many other things!), and then we were off to Manuel Antonio beach where Rebekah and Anna Mae got to swim in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Arriving at the place we stayed in the afternoon, we were just in time to see some monkeys playing in the trees nearby. On Saturday, we came back in time for both families to do some ministry in Cristo Rey (minus Carmen, Anna, who needed naps, and me--okay, maybe I took a nap, too!). Afterwards, just the adults were able to go out Saturday night for dinner. On Sunday, we took them to church with us, and then it was time for them to leave for the airport.

As I said over and over, it was a ministry, a blessing, to us--that they came and wanted to see what we were up to here and experience the life we live, that we had a great reason to go to the beach, that we were with great friends from SC! We got to catch up, hear all the latest news from home and from their lives, and we created some special memories with our families. Bob, Kelly, girls, we had an awesome time! Thank you!

Vacaciones

2009-07-21T18:38:00.002-04:00

The children in Costa Rica have enjoyed a summer vacation from school for the last two weeks. Last week, the government called for an extension of their summer vacation for another week because of the swine flu. Although the first vacation (of the last two weeks) did not apply to the children at our school, the second vacation of this week did--it was mandatory for all public and private schools to dismiss their students this week. No one in our school has had the swine flu, but we are glad they are taking this precaution to help stop the spread. The teachers and administration of the children's school are using this time to clean the children's buildings thoroughly and to paint.

The reason for the mandatory vacation is that scientists had determined that this week would be the peak week of the swine flu here and that during this week, the number of cases of infected people should level off and then begin to lessen.

Today we learned that the vacation is extended still another week. We are all having to juggle our schedules a bit to care for our kids, study, keep everyone happy with so much time inside the house, etc., but we are grateful for our health. This is a small inconvenience compared to a serious illness or even death.

Our hearts and prayers go out to families all over the world who have been affected by the swine flu and lost loved ones.

Flying

2009-07-18T21:18:00.004-04:00

Well, we are flying to Honduras now instead of taking the bus. In light of the current political situation, we did not have a peace about going by bus with two border crossings that could prove to be dicey in the coming days, and it would have been a hard trip for both us and the kids in what will be an emotional time for us with saying goodbyes and then hellos and transitioning culturally again.

August 1 is still the much anticipated day of our departure from Costa Rica, we already have our tickets and have many of our things packed. But as we pack, we watch from a distance and especially pray for the situation there right now.

Walkpooling

2009-07-18T20:50:00.003-04:00

Our oldest boys have their very last youth group meeting in Costa Rica tonight. The youth group is in English but both ticos and gringos attend it, and, as many of the gringos are only here for a season and then off to another country for missions, the directors always have a special time of prayer on the last nights for the missionary kids. Trey was feeling a little apprehensive about going and being the center of attention for the prayer time and sendoff, but he went. I can't wait to hear about it.

Before they left, I learned a new word. Tee said that his friends and their parents were coming by to pick up Tully, Trey, Timothy, and their friend Mario to "walkpool" to the youth group meeting. I said, "What?" He said, "You know, instead of carpooling, we walkpool." Oh! Yes, we have done a lot of walkpooling here, as there is safety in numbers, and it's more fun anyway. But what a great word for it!

Looking Forward

2009-07-12T11:27:00.003-04:00

We have just three more weeks in Costa Rica! We are scheduled to leave for Honduras on August 1st. Yesterday I was thinking of things I am looking forward to in Honduras and two things immediately came to mind. The first is a car and the second is a cell phone. It has really been different living for a year without a car or a cell phone.

Without a car I have to walk most places. I occasionally take a bus or taxi if my destination is too far to walk. I have throughtly enjoyed walking this year and I am certainly in better shape than when I arrived in Costa Rica. It seems like yesterday that we arrived and the second day here Lynda Gregg (a fellow missionary with BMDMI) took me to get a copy and laminate made of our passports. The walk seemed to be three miles long and I thought it took more than 30 minutes. Today that same walk would be a crisp 8-10 minute walk that would be no bother at all.

I especially like getting out and walking or jogging in the cool mornings and it is even better if there is a little breeze, which happens alot here at 3000 feet above sea level. So walking everwhere has been great.

Nevertheless, I am tired of constantly being on the lookout for potential thieves. We watch for men wearing hoodies or shoulder bags so they can hide a pistol, ball caps pulled down low, or men who change their gait when they get close to you. So when we get to Honduras we will get a van that can hold all nine of us. I will still exercise but I will miss the conditioning that walking everywhere does for my body. Overall, though, I will definitely be glad to have a car we can drive and take the family around easily.

Second, in some ways, it has been nice not having a cell phone and being free from frequent phone calls. When Dawn and I went to Honduras to look at a hospital ministry last month, our director's phone must have rung every ten minutes. He did not seem to mind or get flustered at all. I thought it would drive me crazy. So I have enjoyed having the freedom from the chirp of a phone but on the other hand I also will be glad to have a cell phone to where my children can reach me if I am not at home. Frequently if Dawn and I go to a store, the children have absolutely no way to contact us if there is an emergency. There are other students living nearby who can be here in seconds in the event of an emergency, and they are usually on standby. But, I will look forward to having a phone to where I can call Dawn or our home if I need to or they can call me.

Oh, The Ways We Have Grown This Year !

2009-07-12T11:23:00.004-04:00

August, 2008:

KIDS (inside the house): MOOOooooM, WE FOUND A GECKO, WE FOUND A GECKO!!!

MOM: Eeeewwwww! Get him out--take him outside!!!

July, 2009:

KIDS: WE FOUND A GECKO, WE FOUND A GECKO--IN OUR BATHROOM!!

PARENTS: Leave him alone--don't anyone touch him--he likes to eat insects!

Of course, one of ours, who shall remain nameless to save embarrassment, couldn't leave him alone and transported him downstairs to show everyone gathered in the kitchen. The gecko promptly escaped and was last seen scurrying down a hole between two kitchen cabinets. The parents were practically giddy because now, in this location, he can eat all the fruit flies his little body can hold!

Packing Up

2009-07-05T22:09:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it's that time already. It seems we arrived, blinked our eyes, and now it's time to go again. Today I pulled out some of our trunks and began to pack some things. Going back through those things reminded me of how I felt when I was unpacking them--excited, incredulous that we were finally here, anticipatory of all things to come in this year of language school, and above all else, thankful to God for his love, protection, and calling.

How do I feel now? Hmmm. Excited, incredulous that we have been here for a year and that it's time to move on, and anticipatory of all things to come as we begin our ministry in Honduras. Above all else, I am thankful to God for his love, protection, and calling.

Trey was taking something out of the oven today and said, "Mom, we really need some better hot pads." They are a little on the thin side--some I had bought from a student who was leaving when we were arriving. I said, "Yes, I know, when we get to Honduras it will be home, and we won't be 'camping' so much like we've done here." We have a nice house here, lest anyone should think we have literally camped, but what I meant was that we have made do in many ways with what we had--most of our household things are secondhand, and in many cases, third-, fourth-, or fifthhand--purchased from previous students who sold their things before moving on. Trey looked at me and smiled and said, "But, you know, I really think that's one reason this year has been so much fun."

Thank you, Lord, for our kids' spirit of adventure--and for the great year we have had here in Costa Rica!

Rainy Season--Costa Rica Style

2009-07-05T14:18:00.001-04:00

Supporters of Democracy in Honduras

2009-07-02T16:27:00.005-04:00

A picture from the Honduran newspaper El Heraldo. The caption read, "'Go (away) Mel, Go (away) Chavez' screamed a multitude in favor of democracy in Honduras."

Robbery

2009-07-02T11:10:00.002-04:00

Dawn and I were walking home from taking the girls and Gabriel to school this morning for the summer camp program. We started to walk through a park that is our usual path going to and from school. Dawn saw a man with a hood and a baseball cap standing in the park and said to me, "Let's go straight--he doesn't look good." She just had a strong instinct that something was not right. So we walked straight instead of cutting through. I also saw a man, using a laptop, sitting on the edge of the street where we would have exited the park . A couple of people had previously warned him that he should not sit out there with a computer.

So we walked straight and turned left at the corner. That put us in the direction of the man with the computer. I then saw the man with the cap start walking, with a purpose, towards Dawn and me and the man with the computer. I touched Dawn on the arm and said let's turn around. I then saw he had pulled out a pistol. I yelled, "RUN" (which we did). The man with the gun grabbed the computer and fortunately started to run in the opposite direction. We were only 20 yards away from the robbery. The man who was sitting with the computer gave chase. The robber fired one shot, but the victim kept chasing him. Dawn and I ducked behind a car. Then the robber fired a second time as they turned the corner and this bullet broke the femur of the man doing the chasing. I went down the hill to help him. Several people came out on the street and someone called an ambulance. About 20 minutes later the ambulance came with only one Paramedic! So, I rode in the back of the ambulance to the hospital to help in any way I could. I held his leg still so it would not roll back and forth as we went around turns and hit bumps in the road.

While in the ambulance, I witnessed to the victim, who was not a Christian, and prayed for him. Only after I returned home did I get a little scared and shaky. We put our faith in the Lord and pray Psalm 91's protection for our family everyday. I thank God that the Holy Spirit warned Dawn today!

Honduras

2009-07-01T23:14:00.002-04:00

An excerpt of an e-mail we received today that helps to clarify the situation in Honduras.

Dear friends of the Mission,

I know you have heard on the news about the recent change in government in Honduras. I am writing in an effort to address the questions and anxieties you may be experiencing concerning the safety of our missionaries, staff and teams in Honduras.

The Honduran President was forcefully removed from office by command of the Honduran Congress and Supreme Court. For many months, the Congress and Supreme Court warned President Zelaya to refrain from specific activities which were deemed to be illegal and unconstitutional.

Last week, Zelaya fired the commander of the armed forces and the chief of the national police because of their unwillingness to assist Zelaya in carrying out the very activities that the Supreme Court and Attorney General deemed unlawful and unconstitutional. (Many understood these firings as Zelaya’s attempt to force change within the government at any cost.) Later, the Congress reinstated the leaders of these armed forces and the Supreme Court affirmed that reinstatement.

Unfortunately, the international media is portraying these events a military coup d’etat. However, it is absolutely clear that the Congress and the newly appointed President are in control of the government – not the military. In forcefully removing the ex-President, the Honduran military acted at the request of the Congress and Supreme Court. The Honduran government has clearly and plainly announced that if ex-President Zelaya returns to Honduras, he will be arrested and put on trial for eighteen outstanding warrants for crimes and treason he has committed against the country of Honduras.

I want to assure you that all of us missionaries feel that neither we nor our teams have been placed in any danger. We are evaluating the situation daily and will not permit any team to come to Honduras if we feel that they are in imminent danger. As of today, (Wednesday, July 1) business in Honduras is pretty much as usual; most schools and businesses are open and operating as normal. Public transportation is moving as well, although some highways have been closed due to damage by some of Zelaya’s supporters and/or due to some demonstrations in localized areas. For the most part, these demonstrations have been peaceful.

Please pray for Honduras, that tomorrow and all of the coming days would be peaceful.

A Ministry Gift

2009-06-28T18:42:00.001-04:00

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.

Hospital Bautista de Guiamaca

2009-06-23T19:40:00.008-04:00

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

Kids Out of School

2009-06-23T16:52:00.003-04:00

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.

Some Sights from Honduras

2009-06-23T16:28:00.004-04:00

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

2009-06-23T16:14:00.002-04:00

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!

Church

2009-06-08T22:28:00.003-04:00

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

Culture Shock at The Moving Company

2009-06-08T12:54:00.003-04:00

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.

Random Things I'm Wondering About . . .

2009-06-07T17:11:00.007-04:00

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?! : )

Elijah's Kindergarten Graduation

2009-06-06T10:41:00.003-04:00

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.

Poco a poco

2009-05-27T18:40:00.002-04:00

Our Spanish tutor tells us that we learn Spanish little by little or poco a poco. Last week Dawn and I went to dinner with a couple, Kelly and Trisha Lawrence who are going to Honduras with our same agency, Baptist Medical Dental Mission International. It was the first time we had been out to eat on a date in a couple of months. We ordered everything in Spanish with ease such as asking for a glass of water, our entree, and the bill, etc. That truly is not a big deal except I can remember the first time I ordered a glass of water or asked for the bill in Spanish and I was quite pleased at my accomplishment. So we are learning little by little.

Kelly and I have something in common. We both quit our line of work after 21 years to go to the mission field. I ceased my medical practice and Kelly shut down his HVAC business. God called us to do different things than what we had always known and done.

Amos 7:14-15 says: "Then Amos replied to Amaziah, 'I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs.' But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel.'"

Learning Spanish

2009-05-27T18:23:00.004-04:00

It really does not seem fair at times but we all know that it is easier to learn a langauge the younger you are. Even with our children the younger ones seem to have an advantage. So this morning we were getting ready for school. I called upstairs and the conversation went like this:

Tully: Trey, qué está haciendo? (in English "what are you doing.")
Trey (age 15): What do you mean?
Elijah (age 6): He said, "what are you doing?"

We all learn at our own speeds and all of us are learning to speak Spanish. The girls are starting to speak spanglish. The other day Carmen said, "daddy, I want some aqua (water)." And she asked, "where are my zapatos (shoes)." Poco a poco.

Mi cumpliaños!

2009-05-25T17:26:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I turned 40. WOW--that looks really old now that I've written it out and looked at it. Anyway, when I got into class today, my classmates hurried me away from the room and said I couldn't come in yet. It turns out they gave me a wonderful fiesta. Kyungya, my friend from Seoul, South Korea made spring rolls--she says they are the Korean version of tacos. : ) Darlynne, my friend from New Jersey, made a banana-chocolate chip cake with chocolate icing and little confettis on top! Both were yummy! Tully and I are so thankful to be in a great class this trimester again--and we're together again!

Francisco, our teacher, took the opportunity on my card to demonstrate what he has been teaching us--the subjuntivo mood of español.

It was a great time!

A Big Day for the Girls

2009-05-25T15:41:00.003-04:00

The girls rode in the stroller all of our first trimester--from August to December. It was the peak of the rainy season then and the stroller we have here has a wonderful rain cover that fits right over it. (Before living in Costa Rica, I would never have known stroller companies make elaborate rain covers to go on strollers.)

We have lived in a drought for several years and when we first got here, all of our kids were so excited to doodle around in the rain. They loved the rain and being out in it with their umbrellas, for awhile, then as with everything . . . the novelty wore off.

All except for the girls. They just couldn't understand why they couldn't walk home with umbrellas in the rain. Fast forward to January and the beautiful sunny days--we decided they needed their exercise (as they were trying to give up their afternoon naps--YIKES!) so they began to walk to and from school. At first it was hard for them, and now they have adjusted and walk everywhere and love it.

Tully went into downtown San Jose one day recently and bought them two cute umbrellas so that they would be prepared. Today was the first day it was raining as we walked home from school. Hope you enjoy the pictures of our two cute girls experiencing something new and exciting and feeling like big kids now!

The Body of Christ

2009-05-17T08:43:00.010-04:00

"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. . . if the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be."
1 Corinthians 12:12, 17-18

Tim Meloon, Bob Lee, Joe Aughtry, Louis Waters, and Paul Rogers. My brother, Dee McCraw, took the picture.

Yesterday, this group of men gave up their Saturday to help us. I'm sure they all had things they either could have been doing or would rather have been doing with their Saturday, but they chose to help us out--one of them does not even know us personally.

We had a room full of furniture and boxes stored at our house in SC and needed to have it all moved to a storage facility. It was alot of stuff, and it was raining to boot.

Storing our things at our house has been a blessing for us, because up to now, it has been free. The time has come, however, to move the remainder of our things into storage. We couldn't be there to oversee the move or movers, but this is when our friends stepped in to help.

We are once again humbled and reminded of the fact that God uses us all where we are, whether in life or location, to be a blessing to others in our service to them. We are here learning Spanish in order to be a blessing to others in the name of Christ, and these men were there, behind the scenes, serving us so that we could be here to serve. What a great picture of the body of Christ.

Thank you, Tim, Bob, Joe, Louis, Paul, and Dee. Tim, thank you for coming when you don't even know us! Dee, I'm glad we gave you lots of laughs yesterday about all the stuff we took with us and all the stuff we left behind. Bob, thank you for organizing the entire effort. Joe, Louis, and Paul, we're honored to call you guys "friends." You all are a great testimony in our walks with Christ of quiet service behind the scenes.

Steaks on us in November! : )

All of the cars and trucks lined up outside of our house.

Carmen's Blessing

2009-05-05T17:01:00.003-04:00

The children have gotten out of school at 12 pm both yesterday and today, so we've all been together for lunch. Tully asked who would like to ask the blessing today before we ate lunch, and Carmen almost bounced out of her seat with excitement saying, "I will, I will!" I added, "Okay, en español, por favor." Now I was completely expecting her to take off in English which would have been fine, but her prayer went just like this:

Her eyes were squinched tight in reverance and concentration:

Carmen: "Gracias Señor por este día. Y gracias por mi papá. (now she was looking around the table) Gracias por Trey, y Lucas, y Timoteo, y Gabriel y Elías, y por mi mamá. Y por Ana. Y . . .y . . .y . . .

Tully: "Y gracias por mi mamá."

Carmen: Carmen looks up from her beautiful prayer and says, "I already said 'gracias por mi mamá, Daddy.'"

Three other voices chimed in: "Yes, she did, Dad."

Tully:"Oh, okay, great, Carmen!"

Carmen, continuing on with eyes closed tight, "Um. . . en el nombre de Jesús, Amén." Then she looked up at all of us quite pleased with herself! I added, "y gracias por esta comida."

Thank you God for this day. And thank you for my daddy. Thank you for Trey, Luke, Timothy, and Gabriel and Elijah, and for my mommy. And for Anna. And . . .and . . . and. . .um. . .in Jesus' name, Amen.

Hellos . . .

2009-05-03T19:27:00.005-04:00

Along with the goodbyes, which I last blogged about, have been some great and very happy hellos. We have made friends with people here who come from Maine, Missouri, Georgia, New Hampshire, Alabama, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Seoul, Korea, just to name a few. Our backgrounds are as diverse as the states and countries we come from, and you can hear that diversity as soon as we open our mouths and speak!

Back in September, we got to say "hello" to a group from First Church of the Nazarene, Greenville, SC, who came to Costa Rica on a mission trip. Our first visitors from home! It was very special--just to be connected for an evening with people who know us, know our city, etc. And they came bearing gifts from our family and friends--much needed shorts for Gabriel (whose shorts from last summer somehow disappeared between Greer and Costa Rica), candy for the kids, chocolate chips, etc.

In early November, we said "hello" to a group from Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, Powdersville, SC who also came to Costa Rica on a mission trip. It was also a very special time as they all go to church with my brother and sister-in-law, niece, and nephew. I remember wanting to sit and talk with them for hours. I wanted to know what the weather was like at home, and they talked with us about the colors of the leaves and one lady shared with me pictures on her cellphone of her driveway covered in red and gold leaves. When it came time to part, I wanted to hug them all tight, and give them extra hugs to take back to my brother and his family!

At Christmas, when we arrived back in SC, what a great welcome from family and friends we received! We were able to see many people during our brief visit, and we were very thankful for all of those "hellos" we got to say.

Each trimester, we say "hello" to a whole new group of incoming students. We are looking forward to meeting them all this week when we resume classes. There are two new couples here with BMDMI. Tully and I went to school Thursday, during their new student orientation, and introduced ourselves. We were all able to get together that night for dinner and a time of fellowship and getting to know each other. We're excited to be here with all of them this trimester and look forward to getting to know them all better!

BMDMI Missionaries in language school: Jessie and Timothy Crabtree, us, Sheila and Paul Hosier, and Trisha and Kelly Lawrence

Goodbyes . . .

2009-04-30T18:18:00.007-04:00

are definitely one of the hardest things about missionary life. "Oh, you'll get really good at saying goodbye," is something we've been told many times over the last two years. I'll never forget those last few days in SC in August. It was a roller coaster of emotion. So many people stopped by in those last few days to say their goodbyes. We told our mothers and the kids' grandmothers goodbye. Then, the group who came to the airport. . . oh, it was so, so hard saying all of those goodbyes. On the other hand, I was also excited to be going on to this next step in God's plan for our lives.

In the first trimester, we said goodbye to several families we had really enjoyed getting to know, and to our big sister, Lynda Gregg, with whom we will serve in the near future in Honduras.

This trimester, we have had more time to settle in and get to know people. The goodbyes have been much harder I guess because we have had more time here. I have discovered in myself this feeling of wanting to hold back in my relationships here in Costa Rica because I know our time here is short, but I have also been encouraged by friends not to do that, that I need these relationships, and if it hurts when we part, well, that just means we have loved and have been loved. During one goodbye party recently, I overheard two friends saying to one another with smiles on their faces that they would next see each other in heaven. They are serving in two distant countries, thousands of miles apart, and come from far away locations in the US, so they knew they would never see each other again this side of heaven.

In language school, we spend four - six hours a day with four or five people during a trimester. We struggle through the language together day in and day out. We know when our classmates' children are sick, or when they have received news from home, or a package; we know when someone in our classmates' family has a birthday, and generally we are there to help celebrate it. We know when someone has family coming from the States and what they're going to do when they're here.

As we practice our Spanish in class, we are encouraged to share likes and dislikes, and personal stories or "anecdotas" as they call them, so we know many of the funny stories and/or trials from each others' lives. We have shared our testimonies and the call God has given us, also the vision for ministry He has given us.

All of us are going through the same things together here, which is a great thing. We all lean on each other. We also realize that when we leave here and get to our fields of service, there will not be this close network that we have enjoyed this year. I am elated that our friendships here and at home will be able to continue on in this age of Skype and internet and Vonage.

Fellow BMDMI missionaries Kevin and Julie McKenzie, at our Thanksgiving feast. They left before Easter for Honduras, where they will serve at our mission's children's home. I enjoyed Julie standing outside my lenguaje classroom with her cup of coffee doing a little dance most mornings.

Darlynne and Angela (in the orange shirt) saying goodbye. Angie will be beginning studies at Moody Bible Institute in the States in the fall. Darlynne will be here for another trimester.

Saying goodbye to Steve and Diane Wilson, friends now serving a hospital in Ecuador

Saying goodbye to Sierra Ensley, in the green shirt. She is now serving in Argentina. Sierra is from NC and is part Cherokee. She came over the night before she left for Argentina and regaled all of us with information on the Cherokee people.

Lynda Gregg with the kids and me, in the fall at Parque La Paz

Grace & Daniel, friends of Timothy and Luke, whose family are missionaries here in Costa Rica. They left in April to go on furlough to Venezuela, Colombia, and the US.

Looking Towards Mother's Day

2009-04-30T15:00:00.000-04:00

Copied from an e-mail I received--don't know the author, but I liked it. . .

Real Mothers don't eat quiche;
they don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils
are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors,
filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough
doesn't come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what
the vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'
and get their answer when a little
voice says, 'Because I love you best.'

Real Mothers know that a child's growth
is not measured by height or years or grade...
It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother....

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either..

16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes,
because that is the doorway to her heart,
the place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,
but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she
shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

Driver's License

2009-04-25T22:33:00.005-04:00

We are off from school between trimesters this week. We decided to rent a car to have some freedom we have not previously had to see some of Costa Rica. Let me describe a typical day in our life now. The day before I was to get the car, I was talking to a fellow student about the car rental when he asked me if I had a Costa Rican drivers license. I told him no that I thought my American license would be OK since we have a student visa. But alas, after living in the country for more than 90days, the United States driver's license is no good. I needed a Costa Rican license. This student had just gotten his license and offered to go with me since he knew the "ropes" and could speed up my process.

We took a bus to San Jose, walked about 12-15 blocks and finally found another bus stop to take a bus to the licensing office. When we arrived we went to an office for a physical exam. I had to give blood, get a brief exam from a doctor and then off to the licensing office. We had left San Jose about 8 am and now it was about 9 am. We were told in the licensing office that the first lady I had to see was in a meeting and would be back at about 12 noon. Soooo, we went back to San Jose by bus, and wandered around for a while trying to find an umbrella store where they actually make and repair umbrellas. Finally we found the store, I had one umbrella fixed that was broken and bought 2 new ones for the girls since they do not have their own. It was about 11 by then so we stopped and got a bite to eat. We each ate a chicken empanada. Next was a return bus trip to the licensing center. Arrived at 12 noon and proceeded to sit and wait until 1:15. Finally got in the building and after 5 different steps I had my license at 2:30pm. Remember, we started at 8am. We retraced our steps, took 2 different buses home and arrived back home at 3 pm, very tired.

While waiting at the licensing center, a Nicaraguan man struck up a conversation. To practice my Spanish, I will usually ask about someone's work, family, and if they are Christian or Catholic. This man proceeded to tell me that he reads his Bible often, prays much, and only fears the Lord. He does not worry or fear robbers in the street. A good lesson for all of us. This man's name is William but he does not speak a word of English.

William, a man of faith that I will see again only in heaven.

Oh Happy Day!!

2009-04-24T13:16:00.004-04:00

This week has been pretty crazy. It was the end of the trimester--lots of topics to squeeze in and alot of homework. The boys had their big Spanish tests. We were trying to do various other things as well. It was crazy.

Two days ago, when I was in my grammar class I caught a glimpse of Tully walking into the administration building (okay, okay, it was really hot, and there are alot of windows, and it's the end of the trimester,and at times my mind wanders to the goings on and beautiful surroundings outside) and he was holding a box. A box that looked suspiciously like a package from home. It was very intriguing to me as we weren't expecting anything. Sometimes we get a head's up that a package is on it's way.

When I got home from class, Tully had the box sitting on the kitchen table for me to open. It's always so much fun when we get letters, news, and packages from home! I opened it and it was filled to the brim with Girl Scout cookies! Our dear friends from Columbia (formerly of Greer), Michael and Lucie Bingham and their family had sent it to us along with two cans of tomato soup--in case we ever get in a pinch with our Sunday night tradition of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Margaret, their sweet daughter, is a Girl Scout this year and wanted to send us some cookies. They couldn't decide which ones to send because they knew we would probably have many favorites within our family, so they wound up sending us a box of each!

When the children came home from school, I am SURE our neighbor Claudia heard the whoops of joy that went up when they realized we had received a package of Girl Scout cookies!

Now is the hard part: rationing them out! : )

Thank you, thank you, Margaret!! (And Lucie, Michael, and Joshua, too!)

Claudia

2009-04-24T12:06:00.002-04:00

Our sweet neighbor Claudia is 83 years old. She is widowed and lives by herself. She loves to talk to me about the children and always comments on how quiet we are. (I didn't remind her that we both live on a very, very noisy bus route!) : )

She came over last week to ask Tully a medical question and then we visited for a little bit. Tully and I were practically jumping up and down when she left because we could understand almost everything she said. She came over to introduce herself to us the second day we were here and we, of course, had to have someone interpret. It just sounded like rapid gunfire Spanish to us!

Through the months, we could see a little improvement in our understanding each time we talked with her. It's been 6 weeks or so since we had seen her last. Now, what a great feeling!

Last Sunday

2009-04-24T11:46:00.003-04:00

A few days before, we had received a little note in our gate announcing that a band was going to be coming to our park on last Sunday. The firemen had organized it, and there would be artisans there and some food, tamales I think.

We went to the early service at church and were home by 11 am. Shortly after that, we began to hear a band practicing, and a few minutes later, they paraded past our house on their way around the block. The band was led by some famous (here) cartoon characters. Of course, their gigantic size is intimidating to small children. We heard that, 20 years ago, these big characters would chase children around with sticks and shovels. YIKES! We're all glad that doesn't happen anymore! These guys were great at dancing in those heavy (and hot, I'm sure) costumes and playing with the children! Elijah wanted to have his picture made with one, and just when it would be his turn, he would back away shyly.

See the boy peaking out from the costume?

Finally, success with the picture! He's so brave--I think it helped that Timothy was there, too!

Las hormigas!

2009-04-24T11:32:00.003-04:00

UGH! Ants here are a huge problem--I think I have mentioned that before. I did finally get some pictures to show how teeny tiny they are. If there is the smallest crumb left out, one ant discovers it and, of course, goes back to tell all of his friends where the party is.

About a month ago, we had a terrible problem with ants. In the height of the dry season (I don't know if that had anything to do with anything), they got into a corner cabinet in the kitchen. I took everything out in the cabinet out, wiped it off, cleaned the cabinet, etc. and put everything back in only to find out a whole new band of ants had invaded that same cabinet by the next morning. I repeated that scenario over the next few days--it was a little frustrating. Okay, a lot.

We don't like to use chemicals, but we got desperate. Tully went out and sprayed ant spray all around the house. Then we thought, "Okay, we're glad that's over!" We knew the problem was taken care of. The next morning, they were coming out of the electrical outlets between the kitchen counter and cabinets.

We THINK we finally have gotten them all--but you can now understand the need to constantly mop the floors. Oh, and the mop we use--it's another blog entirely! But it works fantastic on these tile floors!

Messianic Seder Service

2009-04-11T13:30:00.007-04:00

Ash leading the service

Some of our boys and other families

Dawn and Tully with Teresa Anderson on the right who is another missionary with our agency

Last Wednesday night we went to the home of our friends Ash and Audra McEuen to celebrate a Messianic Seder service or A Passover Haggadah. Ash is a United Methodist pastor. He has led a Passover Haggadah service about 15 times. This service is written by Messianic Jews who believe in Jesus as the Messiah. It was a special time to learn of this Old Testament festival and especially how it points the way to Jesus.

The table is set with a roasted shank bone of a lamb, a roasted hard boiled egg, bitter herbs, a sweet mixture of chopped apple and nuts, parsley, ground horseradish, and salt water. The service is celebrated to remember the events surrounding the Exodus and Passover in the Old Testament and is rich in symbolism regarding our Lord, Jesus Christ.

We thank God for the friends we have made here, and for a special night shared together as we look towards Easter and the significance of the resurrection of Jesus, both in our lives and in the lives of others whom we are here to serve.

Tengo Una Más Idea

2009-04-08T16:05:00.006-04:00

I have one more thought about our recent mission work in Los Guidos. The house we cleaned up both on the inside and the outside had a toilet that emptied just outside the back wall of the house and went down a fairly steep hill. Most of the trash we picked up was downhill from the sewage pipe. I was so proud of the eight teenagers who gave a Saturday morning to help a family in desperate need.

The doctor side of me kept thinking about all the potential diseases we could catch: Hepatitis B and C, infectious colitis, cholera, to name a few. I just kept praying and asking God for protection for our whole group and asking God to protect us according to Psalm 91. This psalm is the only place in the Bible that lists all of God's promises of protection. A dear friend of mine told me about how much it had meant to her on a mission trip to Liberia, Africa. She gave us some children's books that teach this Psalm so we can teach these truths to our children. Thank you Sharon Sudduth and thank you to the teenagers and adults from AMCA.

God, thank you so much for your protection and provision.

My coolest mission trip

2009-04-04T23:49:00.005-04:00

Ok, so this is the worst, but also coolest, mission trip I have ever been on, and it was really hard because it was... so poor. For example, one of the men with us was picking up his 17th TV that day(they harvest the copper from them and dump 'em) and found a half disintegrated opossum that was probably killed by the dogs and the dogs ate it because the owners had no money to buy food for them, and that really hurt. I love animals and I hate to see starving animals when mine back home are so... rich compared to them. I even saw teeth marks on the bones but enough before I make ya'll sick.
I even saw a little boy who came up to us to show off his "new" shoes which had at least five or six holes in each of them. I was struck then at how selfish I have been and I almost cried right there.
Then I went into the house. One of the ladies there started crying while she was working because she was working in their "bathroom" and found a plank of wood. She told us later that she thought to herself "what is a plank of wood doing in the bathroom". So she picked it up and there was a human poop under it. She thought it was probably because the toilets get clogged up so easily that the people can only urinate down the toilet. I saw the pipes and they're just warped PVC pipes that have been used alot.
But please pray for me (because this was a really hard day for me and because my very close friend is leaving soon) and for the people in Los Guidos. Also pray for school because I have finals coming up.

Mission Work in Los Guido

2009-04-04T18:25:00.003-04:00

Timothy and I went to help clean up a house in Los Guidos. It had some appalling conditions. We cleaned out alot of trash. A truck was hired to haul off the trash to the dump. Nicaraguan refugees make up the vast majority of the people who live here. After the site has been cleared, the house will be torn down. There is mission funding available to build this family a new house. The poverty in this barrio is overwhelming. Please pray for the people of Los Guidos.

Beautiful Parrot

2009-04-03T18:13:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I am overcome by the beauty that God has put here on this earth for us to enjoy and to point us to Him, the Creator. The birds here are exquisite. Not just the colors, like this parrot, but their songs, too. When we first arrived in August, early each morning I would hear a man whistle loudly a plaintive whistle (it starts in a major key and ends in a minor key) in the street outside our house. I realized in a few days that it was a bird--I have never heard anything like it--absolutely beautiful!

When I hear birds sing, I imagine they are all praise songs to and for their Creator. Isn't it incredible how He made them all different sizes and colors and with different songs also? Now that the seasons have changed, I don't hear the same bird songs. They have moved on and others are here in their places for now. It makes me happy for the change, not because I tire of the same birds and songs, but so that I won't grow so accustomed to them that I forget to praise their Creator . . . my Creator.