Friday, June 30, 2006

Day 10 late night

Note from Mauricio,
Today one of our excursions included a visit to the blind school. After a wonderful time of meet and greet, in which members from our group can spend casual time with these blessed children, the toys were off and running. It´s great to bring the fun to touch and mechanical types toys to this group of children as they are very tuned to working of a thing. A thorough inspection is always made after a toy is handed over. These children are well loved and it shows. Candy wrappers are not thrown down they are placed in their pockets for proper disposal, phones are answered from across the outdoor play area by them, and a proper greeting and closing is always offered. From the toy time we went into the main classroom and began to sing. First the children next our group followed by massive applause by all. I will explain to you that the only way I can explain the next 45 minutes is that it is unexplainable. Some on this earth have made themselves unable to understand the truth of joy; and with all due respect to Websters the proper definition of the word lies within that room. From there, it was back outside to fellowship and futbol (soccer). Of course our talented boys were more than ready for the challenge BUT! In Honduras, at the blind school everybody plays blind. After some (a lot) of whining from our soccer studs everybody put on blind folds and the whistle sounded play ball! Folks if a picture is worth a thousand words, the images you will see will dwarf the library of congress. Needless to say that we recieved a severe lesson in soccer 101. The boys were whupped. So we decided to try a new strategy. Let the girls play. And do you know that not only did they fair well against the blinded Honduran onslaught, but they actually scored a goal. eh-hem a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Secure in the steadfast goalie skills of Tami Milner. Heather Garcia put one in the back of the net with an assist from well known soccer star Katie Bonk. From that point on we didn´t hear to much out of our boys. We don´t know why??? Hindsight in neither irony or necessary at the blind school. Everyone loved it, loves it. We say Amen to the father for their blessing. To all take care and we will see you very soon.

In His service,
Mauricio Perdigon

Note From Shannon
Mom, Dad, Georgi, Angie, Alan, kids, and Pa
This is the last note you´ll get from me. Until I start making phone calls in Miami! I can´t wait to tell you all about our trip this year. I love you all so much and will see you soon!

Note from Heather
Steph
I did write her name on it and I can´t wait to tell you about the trip! Miss you so much! By the way the score to the soccer game was Boys 20 to 0 and girls 1 to 1!

Note from Cindy¨
Carrie or Christy,
Please make Catie and appt. with Amanda on Wed. before 3:00 if you can´t get that day then see if you can get Thurs. or Fri. Thanks it is 6:30 in the morning and we are leaving. Love to everyone and we will see you on Sun.
Love, Mom

P.S. to all - Yes it is true the girls scored against the blind school and the boys could not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

note from tami milner

mom,
thanks for the encouraging note and the money to eat out at le combre! it was beautiful and the food was great. tell charles i loved the card he stuck in my luggage and the guys might give him a hard time because i was telling everyone what a wonderful card he gave me. tell him i love him and miss him and will be home soon. tell everyone we can´t wait to see them and let renetta know we WILL have her kids on monday! oh yes the girls did score a goal!!! natalie, karen, heather g., catie, heather s. and me on the team. i think that was our team but i was blind folded so i´m not sure. love ya tami

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Day 10 Thursday

I forgot to mention that Terrell Travis did the morning devo yesterday, and that Gabriel Garcia (our banker)did it the morning before. These guys do well getting us motivated for the new day. This morning-early afternoon we were treated to what i believe is the first devo done by Alex Holder. He has the distinction of doing the devo at the feet of the Jesus statue in a beautiful park overlooking the city of Tegucigalpa. Not bad for a young man just finishing 9th grade. This is the same area we were in last night for dinner. The kids and adults alike enjoyed their notes from home, and money for dinner. It was a beautiful night and LeCumbre means "the view" and did we ever have a beautiful one!! Dinner was a petite piece of chicken and a petite piece of steak?, both were good, dessert was yummy. We all relaxed and enjoyed!!!
Also this morning a small group of men and Ana Randolph (another expert roofer) went out and did the finishing touches on the last 3 homes. That brought the total to 23 all with floors. I don't have the total number of people who were treated at the clinic, but it was a great undertaking and Wayne did an excellent job. He had some talented helpers too. (He wants to come back in 6 months FYI Julie!!) More food was distributed in another village, and then we all went to lunch. After lunch everyone except Keith and I (we dropped off all the tools to be stored for the next year) went to visit with the kids at the Blind School. These kids are so amazing they will enjoy playing with everyone and then they will sing for us. They have the most beautiful voices- like nothing you have ever heard. After that we will sing a few songs for them. It will be a great afternoon for all.
Keith is paying bills at the Baxter office- and that is where i am now.
Once the group gets back we will pass out the soccer jerseys and take a group picture, minus the few that have left us early! Tonight the kids will play soccer on the field here and then to bed. We plan to leave here at 6am and arrive in Tela around noon. We are all looking forward to this mini retreat!! So by for now, and thank you all for all the encouragement and prayers!!!! We have said it before, but this is an awesome group of teens and adults who are so proud to have served as we have for the past 10 days. Much love from all of us!!!!

Note from Tonia-
Mom, tell Renetta that i will pick the kids up on Monday- I miss them so much. I can't wait for a giant hug from Nicholas and Alex. I hope you all are showing Alexa pictures of us, wouldn't want her to forget us!! Tami and the rest of us are looking forward to hugs from the whole family- seems like we have been here a long time!! Hope you enjoyed the show.
lots and lots of love!!!

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Day 10 Wednesday

We had a group go to Limoncillo today, where the Rodger Quarles Tech. school is. We delivered 30 sewing machines and many supplies. This is such a peaceful village. We played with the kids and ran the clinic in one of the classrooms. The plan was to see 100 people. I am sure they accomplished that! Keith, Tami, and I left early to go and pick up Tiffany at the orphanage where she has been living for the past few weeks. It was really hard for her to say goodbye, she just loves those kids to pieces!!! We are at the hotel waiting for the bus to drop everyone off. Our plan tonight is to go to LeCumbre for a great meal!! Thanks to all the letters of encouragement the kids and adults will receive tonight, they will be surprised. I think by tonight we will have finished 23 homes all with floors. That makes such a great difference in the house! Tomorrow the plan is to go to the hospital, church and possibly the Special needs orphanage. You never know what the day will bring.

Friday morning we plan to leave here at 6 am and head to Tela! So this will be one of the last blog entries- depends on how late we get in, and who may be on the computer tonight and tomorrow.

We have a couple of coughs and sore throats but nothing major. Everyone is really doing well.

Mark, Bob, and Cherilynne- we miss you guys!!!

love, Tonia

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Day 9? Tuesday

It is crazy that i cannot remember yesterday, but i will give it my best. Paulette and I stayed behind at Baxter today to try and help with the piles of dirty laundry from our hard working group. Baxter has a computer that is available for a few moments so here goes.
Got started on Monday with a morning devotional, then on the buses to Union and the hospital. I think the clinic saw 90 new patients and a few repeats. Such a great crew working there. Another group went and visited the hospital. Keith and i picked up birthday cake for the annual celebration for anyone having a birthday during the trip- just Laura Beth from Northwest this time, and picked up the soccer jerseys for the mission team this year. They will get them tonight. Keith and i headed to the mountain to help distribute the food and clothing. This was done in the pouring rain, everyone did great, having guards with us kept everything nice and calm. Lori Hadley took a group yesterday and today for VBS, they are bringing such joy to the kids they are with. I am thinking that i already wrote this, so disregard if i updated last night. oops!!!!!
Greg Quarles crew literally built their house on rock, very interesting work sites we have had. They kept working through the rain up until the moment they were picked up. I wish i could give you lots of stories about your kids- but i can't remember.
I hate to repeat myself but this is a great group! God has blessed us all so much.



Notes from Tonia
David Beardsley!!!! What a nice surprise to hear from you, i know i speak for everyone at Northwest when i say, "wish you were here!!!" We hope to see you at church really soon. You are missed so much.

Mom- of course i will be able to take a few pics of Alexa's party. I am having to ration my two memory cards! But should be able to clear them as soon as we get home.
Can't seem to find a place that can handle such advanced technology. lol I'm sure it is quiet there without us- did mark get his car fixed. David will need his back on Monday. We will work that out. Amazing is not really a strong enough word to describe these kids and adults and everything we are doing, but it's the only one i can think of! Love and miss you- hi to everyone!!

Stephanie H- hope you are feeling better by now. We miss you!!!

To all the kids who i adore!!!! you know who you are- I really miss my hugs, kisses and smiles. Can't wait to see you all.

Haines City
Note from Johnny Hunt
LaVerne, Hey! Thanks for the congrats. i am having the time of my life here in Honduras! It feels very good to be serving the Lord and sharing his words all around the world! Can't wait to see all of you from church! Would you do me a favor and make it possible for me to do the devotional the Wednesday i get back to share some of the work that we did here? Please tell my mom i love and miss her!!!!!

Note from Cindy
Hi Girls,
I love you and miss you. We are still working hard and having fun with all the kids and each other. Thanks for keeping me updated on things. Give my love to everyone.
Love, Mom

Dear Northwest Family,
Thank you so much for supporting us through your prayers, encouragement, notes and financial support. Everyone should be super proud of our youth group, they are a great group of kids.
Love, Cindy Bonk

Note from Cary

As you ma be able to tell, I have been ghost writing this by the hand of my sister Tonia Boyer, who has done an outstanding job! Ths is the first chance Ive had to get on a computer and I jus wanted to say hi. My son has written several things which sound untrue....most of them are, but I did fall down a slope and was hanging from a limb and screamed like a little girl until Jonathon came running to save the day! The kids are all fine. I just put Asley on the plane for Florida. I want you to know you should be very proud of your kids here....They have been awesome. Love you all....Little is MUCH when GOD is in it!

Monday, June 26, 2006

Day 8 Monday

Note Heather Garcia
Irene, i love you, today is saturday! What a wonderful day. i was on Mr. Quarles team today. he is amazing, he taught me how to use a chainsaw. I was freaked out, but i did great. today was great what a blessing it is to be here even tho i miss you so much. well love, i will update you more. love you!

Richard and Bekah, I miss, miss you both. Richard i thought of you today while i worked the chainsaw. i don´t know why i just wanted you to be there. bekah i miss you and your smiles and our wonderful talks. love you both.

Note from Laura Beth Anthony
Hey mom and DB, I´m doin great! Can´t wait to see you both. I was so happy i got to talk to you. I tryed to call nana but it was busy. Building has been great CU soon.
love ya Hayden. Love, Laura

Nan and Grampsey, Hey i tryed to call you both, but it was busy. I am sure mom told you what i said. Well i love you both.

Note from Geoffrey Quarles
Candice, Hey, things are going okay. The whole Ashley thing has really got me down. Maybe a new low point. Lets just hope nothing like that happens again. Laura says hi. I still have that pillow. I really miss you. I´ll see you in a week. I´ll try to tell you when we get back to the church. I hope you can make it for when we get back.
One week left. I love you and miss you.

Note from Karen Nerkins
Mom, having a lot of fun. Tell Taylor to have fun at camp and that i love her. Tell jennifer that travis said he loves her and misses her. i miss you terribly dad and also can´t wait to come home. I want to go tosee my new room. love always.

Note from Michael Kearley
Hola mi amor. Te extrano mucho. I have just about heard all of the Rebeldde songs and even the Puerto Rican River song. I did vbs today but am going to continue with construction. Hope you had a good weekend with bekah and richard. Every thing is fune. Te amo mucho y estoy esperando pora verte.

Note from Sammi Conley
Hey family, miss ya! Didn´t get to use the phone last night as i guess you already know. i sent an email to moms address. tell caleb to have fun at camp, with all those girls!!! love ya´ll see you soon xoxoxo

Note from Brittboo
Hola mi amigos! Everything is going well here in honduras. i am staying safe but i am afraid nothing can be done for the sore muschles and sunburn! i have done a lot of building so far and i can´t wait to tell all of you aboutthe amazing things happening in Honduras these two weeks! i miss you all very much and i am looking forward to seeing my bed soon! pray for hope the people here need more than we can give them. mom- i am calling home sometime on monday.Brenna, i am so proud of you! Good luck wiht the state att. gig! love always!

Note from Clayton Hunter
Dad, Gants, MA, Lauren,
Today is Sunday and we went to a church on union, which is a community on one of the mountains. WE built the church years back and it is awesome to see their congregation grow. We already built 15 homes and started 3. The weather has been pretty good besides one thunderstorm that made us leave the mountain early. My mom and i are doing great. I hope to see and talk to you soon. Mike, I tried calling your cell and home but you guys didn´t answer. Lauren, my mom says hi.

Note from Travis Terrell
Hello central family, we are starting our second week here in honduras. The first week was fantastic. Paulette, Karen, Matthew, Jerome and I are doing great. Working everday. We have built 15 plus houses and one set of stairs. Today we passed out over 200 bags of clothes and 150 bags of food in the rain. Please continue to pray for us and the people of Honduras. Praise be to God the Father for making this trip possible. See you all in one week. I love you Jennifer.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Day 7

It´s Sunday night and we are back from a very busy day. We got on the bus this morning and headed to Union for Church service. Cary did the sermon in Spanish and English so amazing that he can do that! Rick lead the singing for us, and we listened to the beautiful voices singing praises to God in Spanish. We visited with the folks there, many were known to us. Gary Marrs presided over the Lord´s Table with Gabriel Garcia translating. Alex Holder and Chris Stewart helped with the Lord´s Table and Ian said a prayer. We filled up the church, they had almost 100 children leave for the Sunday school lesson and the church remained full.

After service we headed to a fast food lunch and then on to Valley of Angels. Sort of like Gaitlinburg, a big square with lots of small shops selling junk- i mean precious souviners that some of you may be lucky enough to receive!

We were there for about 90 minutes and then headed to a small Catholic church- really old!!! in Santa Lucia and we sang beautiful praises to God for about an hour. It was awesome!!!

Then back towards town and dinner. The rain came and it is still raining, not sure what that will do to the plans for tomorrow. We have completed 15 homes and plan 3 tomorrow, VBS, and another hospital visit.

The boys are at Baxter playing soccer in the rain, the 2nd night for that.

CENTRAL IN WINTER HAVEN- YOUR PEOPLE ARE MISSING YOU!!! PLEASE SEND THEM SOME ENCOURAGING NOTES
Becky- please publish the site address!

To explain a bit about the blog- for all of you who think your comments aren´t coming thru- it doesn´t happen automatically. I have to sign on, review them and then post them. Most days i can´t get to the computer until late, so if you posted during the day you won´t see it on there until the next day. We have been very fortunate to have a computer in the lobby that we can use, but it is only one, and there are lots of folks who want computer time.
Sorry about all the confusion! We do love hearing from you.
Tonia

Message from Tonia Boyer
Stephanie H. you are very missed here! Can´t wait to catch up with you when i get home, hope all is going well. Love you.

Suzanne, Jimmy, Jim and Jan- it doesn´t get any better than singing with 70 people, mostly awesome teens, sitting beside Rick and in front of Alex. The guys take turns leading and when Alex started with Father God- i just got chills and tears. He really is doing great. I worked on his construction team yesterday and took a few pictures for you. I´m thinking he won´t want that to be his living- but he did well.

Middle school class- we loved your messages thanks for thinking about us and praying for us. We can´t wait until it is your turn.

Berry kids- I bet you were excited to see dad! I know he really missed you all, but he did such a good job here and we will miss him this week.

Mom- and everyone else in the family!
We are still doing well, i am so glad that Tami got to come. We are having some good bonding time along with rooming with Cindy and a crazy lady from Central!! We love Paulette and are having a great time- not sleeping much, because we are up late talking. Well except for Tami who falls asleep so quick. Love you all!!!

Note from Cindy
Hey Christy and Carrie,
We are still having a great time and missing you all terribly. Everyone is doing really good, it was nice to have a day off to rest and have fun. Carrie we got to spend some time talking with Blanca, Fernando and their mom (thanks to Gabriel´s help translating). I will tell you all about it when I get home. When we were at Union yesterday they were having a Ladies Day. It was so neat the women and teenage girls were all dressed up and they had hung flowers and pictures up. I saw Mommy Carmen there. PLEASE one of you get on the blog tomorrow and up date me on how Dad does with his test tomorrow. Christy, how did the kids do going to camp? How did you and Jimmy do? I bet Michael and Synthia will be missing them really bad in a day or two. Poor Michael is going to think that everyone he loves is going Bye Bye.
Goodnight, I Love you, Mom

Sunday early

Yesterday rain came in early afternoon, knocking out the internet service all night.
We have completed 15 houses and are doing great. No stomach problems yet! Today we are going to church service in Union and then lunch, Valley of Angels, and Santa Lucia- a very old church where we like to go and sing.

Hoping to have more time tonight to publish the blog notes from the kids.
We miss you all!!!

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Day 5 Late Night

Our construction teams and clinic had a busy day at Union (always a special place to go). Union has the church building that the men from Northwest built a few years ago and some very special bonds have been formed with families there. We truly feel like we are seeing family we have not seen in a year, it is always a great reunion. Five houses were started and near completion, they are taking a bit longer this year, since we are now putting floors in the houses, they look so nice, and people are no longer living with dirt floors. The clinic saw 165 people, gave out a lot of medications and helped people that do not get to see a doctor at all.
Tonight was a night out to the mall, always a favorite activity.
This has been a truly amazing week, we are tired but very excited to be here. This is the most wonderful group of young people, they work hard, they have amazing attitudes and you can see Jesus living in them every day. Parents you have done an amazing job.
Thanks for all of your support and prayers.
Cindy

Note from Cindy Bonk
Hi Girls and spouses and Mom,Dad, Carla, Kenny and kids, I miss all of you so much!!!!We are having a great time. Carrie I have given your notes to Mama Carmen who said you were precious and Milton who said it was very beautiful, and Fernando´s family who said your were beautiful and wanted your address. Blanca is so big she looks grown up, Fernando has not changed as much. I took pictures for you. Have not gone to Jovenes yet. Carrie I need you to check your Harding email account I have left you some instructions for our business on there. Christy, I miss my little grand kids so much, please give them an extra big hug and kiss for me and when they hug and kiss you back that´s from me. I laughed when I read about Michael. Carrie how is Ryan´s new job going and are you excited about your upcoming job? Well it is 11:30 and it has been a long day and I have to type in other people´s comments. I love you all, Mom

Note from Connie Quarles
Greg and I made it safely, met up with the group just in time for a nice dinner. Just to let everyone know that your blog messages are going through, I know I did not think mine had and they did, so keep writing. Candice, Geoff enjoyed the note. both boys are doing well, look forward to starting work tomorrow. Brandon be safe. Love, Connie

THE FOLLOWING NOTE WAS NOT TYPED IN THE DAY IT WAS WRITTEN

Note from Dad & Ryan
Dear Jana, Lan, Chase, Cassie, Stephen & Church Family,
What a great experience! We made it safe and hit the ground running, started steps and houses in some village, can´t remember the name. Thursday, tomorrow is Union, will help build ten houses there and fence around the church. All are healthy.
Robin & Cathy - Chris says "Hi and he loves you" Me and Ryan are working hard and playing hard. Lots of futbol with the Honduran kids.
Will love you and will write more on Friday.
Love Dad & Ryan

Note from Andy (Note to all - most of Andy´s writing is fictional and only true in Andy´s world, it´s a Hadley thing)
To the West Orange Church,
Wat up Bris!!! This is Andy just writing to give everyone a report on how things are going. To the Pruitts, Christopher is fine, I am keeping him in line and not letting him do anything stupid. Today we went to the hospital and for most of us, it was very emotional. We gathered with some of the children and sang to them, prayed with them and read the Bible with them. We had two baptisms already. NACHO when we got to the airport Mari Catherine Hagan was caught trying to smuggle a hammer on the plane in her carry on bag and her excuse was "I wasn´t going to use it". Ian was left on the mountain but was later recovered adn was brought back. That night his roommates foudn him asleep on his matress outside the door of their room and still no one knows why. We have done a clinic that was very successful, we have built 8 houses, we ran from a stamped of bulls that escaped from Spain. Cary fell from a mountain and was hanging from a tree and was later rescued by Jonathan Taylor. Becca Clifton and Laren Bucher almost chained sawed there legs off. We have defeated the Hondrans 4-1 in Futbol. Cory is still the human dictionary, but other than that we are fine. Hola Julio.
Bye for now, Andy Hadley

Note from Caitlin
Hola Mis Padres y Mi Hermana!
I´m having a wonderful time. I´ve been keeping very busy. The first day I went wiht th enew medical team. I mostly played with the kids, but I helped bag vitamins too. I did medical again the next day and that time I helped gather medicines for the people. I sorted food and clothes on Thursday and today I went to the hospital. I miss you all so much and can´t wait to see you. I love you Caitlin
To Caitlin´s parents, I have had the pleasure of working with your daughter for 3 days and she is an amazing young woman, you should be very proud of her. Cindy Bonk

Note from Sammy Conley,
Hey family, everything is good, I haven´t fallen off any mountains or anything yet. HeHe I am having a lot of fun, but working real hard. I got your comments, keep them coming, let me know what everyone´s doing. I love and miss you guys. Give Keagan a big hug and kiss for me! XOXO Sammi Conley

Message from Sam Conley
To Caleb
Had a great day. Yesterday I worked and we built someone a house from start to finish, our group. There are five groups so five houses were built, there was no medical clinic yesterday. The doctors asked me to go with them again, so I was with the medical team today. We saw about 165 patients in about 5 1/2 hours, met a lot of people. Tell you later. Tell Laverne not worry about voice mail, most people know I am gone. About all he will hear is faz beeps and teleamarketers. When I get a private internet connection, I will send instructions on how to send a voice mail to your email address. Send an email to mine. When I check it I will respond. Give everyone my love, Dad

Note from Karen
Hi Mom, I am having a wonderful time and I hope everyone at home is o.k. It is good to ehear your voice. I have not been sick yet. I have fallen off the mountain LOL. Give everyone my regards back home and please tell Nick I said Hi and that Ashley Keyso misses him (not in that way). All the people here from our group are doing good. Ms. Paulette is a very hard worker. Well I´ve got to go and I love you, tell Dad I love him and miss him.
Karen

Note from Angela
Hi Olivia,
TT misses you very much!!! I look at your picture everyday. We are doing wonderful work. I see a lot of babies on the mountain. God has truly blessed us all. Tell mom and dad I miss them a lot. Love you lots, can´t wait to see that beautiful smile.
P.S. Thank you Alice.

Note from Tonia Boyer
Keith did an awesome jub with the devo tonight, he ened by asking what we were thankful for and the kids and adults both shared some very emotional thoughts.
Again, to the parent´s who don´t get to witness this side of their children, you would be so proud. West Orange, Haines City, Winter Haven and Northwest!

No one can believe it is Friday- well now it is Saturday, but the week has flown by.
We are all looking forward to another adventure tomorrow.

Mr. George and Maryann- I love you both and have been thinking so much about you. Mr. George i hope everything is going well for you. I forgot to tell Shirley about your advanced copy of the bulletin you may have to read it with everyone else!


Shirley- thank you for filling in for me, I am sure the guys are treating you well.
Only one week more!!

Susan, Zachary, Michaela, Sean and Robert- your dad is doing such an incredible job here, we hate to send him home early, but i know he is missing you all like crazy.
He also shared some wonderful thoughts at tonight´s devo.

Melody- Gary behaved himself today- no blood dripping from anywhere.

Gina- I love and miss you all, please give a special hug and kiss to Conner and Jillian. Tell Conner we thank him for his prayers.

Faye- you need to come next time with John, I think he thinks he is 20! Works so hard!

Lewis and Rama- I miss you both! Rama we need to plan a lunch date soon after i get home- a long one!

Jan- you probably won´t get this until Bob gets home but just to let you know, we are so thankful that he is here! Thank you for sharing him with us. Has Zayden made his entrance yet¿ Tell Ciara that Miss Tami took a beautiful picture of popa and CJ especially for her. Tell Bryanna, Alyssa, Ciara, and CAde not to worry, Miss Tami helped pick out their presents. Love and miss you.

Tracey and Vera- You would be so proud of these kids- can´t wait to share the experience with you.

Julie- Wayne is doing an awesome job- helping so many people on the mountain, it is hard to make him leave at the end of the day.

Trang´- Tinh has been such a great help, he is enjoying the building and bonding with the kids.

Mom- thanks for keeping up with us! Can´t wait to share some stories and pictures with you and the rest of the family. Hope everything is going well- tell Dad, Jamie, Allie and Renetta and of course all of their spouses, children, dogs, etc. that me and Tami miss them and love them- you too!! We are having such amazing experiences everyday- all the kids, not just ours are truly a blessing to be with. The adults are too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you!!!!!!!!!

Friday, June 23, 2006

Day 5 late afternoon

Today started nicely for the hotel people, Cindy made scrambled eggs in the microwave.
The men especially enjoyed them! Off to Baxter, devotional and then on the buses.
A large group went to Union to begin on 5 houses. A group of 18 with the adults being Cary, Lori, Tami and me went to the teaching hospital. What a sad, sad place.
Tami was allowed in the burn unit where she visited with 3 children, the rest of us visited with kids in the orthopaedic ward, mostly kids being run over by cars, one was kicked by a donkey, and then another ward of sick children. They all enjoyed the toys, stuffed animals and hair supplies that we shared with them. We brought juice and cookies to hand out also. We spent a few hours there, lots of tears from our eyes as we left. Some of the most touching moments for me, tonia was listening to Ryan Haskins say a prayer with a small child, walking by a room and listening to Alex Holder saying a prayer in the middle of a room with children and a few parents and having Cary Hadley translate it for the families. Johnny, Andy, Cory, Sammi, and Lane also spent a lot of time praying with the children. In one of the wards Andy, Zach, Johnny, Lane, Ryan, Kaitlin, Becca, Sammi,Karen, Alex and Mari Catherine were singing songs in Spanish and English. Lots of tears today! The children loved it when Lauren and Cory were blowing bubbles at them, we did get lots of smiles, but so many sad stories.

After that we went to the big catholic church where we sung a few songs under the dome. We should have been able to hear a 5 or 6 second feedback, but it auditorium was quite busy with activity. They will be ordaining a new monsignor tomorrow. Our kids even helped unload some chairs.

We were treated with lunch at McDonalds or the chicken place. That was good.
Tonight we go to the mall for dinner and some internet cafe time. If you dont hear from your kids i´m sure it is because the place was packed.

We came back to Baxter around 3, where we continued to count out vitamins and do laundry. We are waiting for the construction and clinic team to arrive and we will shower and head out.
Sincere apologies to Rich Countryman, the Blog Book was in my grocery bag!

Note from Alex Holder

Dear Mom,
I am having a great time!And yes I am plenty safe. I have helped build 3 houses and it is a very good experience. I love you so much. From your son Alex

Dear Dad,
It has been a blast down here in Honduras. There is a lot of poverty and it has been a big reality check to me. From your son Alex

Note from Tami

Carla, Ryan wanted you to know that he is brushing his teeth! I spent the day with him in the children´s hospital, you would have been very proud of him. Let Will know what an awesome big brother he has.
To the parents of the kids mentioned above that went to the children´s hospital, you all have amazing teens and I wish you could have been here to witness their experience with these sick children, they really made a difference in their lives today.
To my family, Just wanted to let you know we are all doing great, of course CJ, Casey, David, Kieth, Ashley and Alyssa went back to the mountain to build houses so they aren´t back yet but I heard they were getting much accomplished. Renetta maybe your children should greet us at church when we return! That would makeup for father´s day :) Charles please make sure Mark took care of his car. I miss you but enjoy not having anyone to fight over the remote with! Love ya, Tami

Note From Chris Stewart
Hi Mom, Love Chris

Note from Laura Beth
Hey los Padres ..... I´m so tired, building wears you out!I´ve made so many little friends on the mountain, today was hard to leave. k well I don´t know what else to write. Love you All LB p.s. sorry if I embarrassed you mom p.s.s. hey hayden I love you and miss you alot.

Note from Nicole Garcia
I built a house.. well I helped build a house! Surprised!Well anyways I´m having a great time here but I definitely miss you guys! Love You, Nicole

Note from Heather Garcia
Richard and Becca All is well here in Honduras. I was on the medical team for the 1st two days. It was extremely awesome!! Workin with the blood pressure machine! Well my brotha and sista miss you both very much its not the same without you guys. Micheal says he and Bekah my mom misses you so so much well love you adios Heather. p.s. Micheal isn´t planning on giving Bekah a souvenier unless you want him to.

Gabrial, David says he doen´t miss you at all, not surprised right. I love you and miss you .Heather

Day 4

All the houses 8 or 9 not really sure, on the mountain that were started have been completed. Nine men and Shannon Davis (expert roofer!) got up and left at 6 this morning to get things going.
The rest of the troops headed out at 9 after breakfast and devotional.

Cindy, Lori, Cherilynne, Tami, Wayne and I stayed behind with a small group of awesome workers (Catie, Alyssa, Zach, Chris P, Cory, Caitlin, Sammi, Brittany,Hadley boys, Melissa J, Nicole and completed the food and clothing sorting, measuring and packing in one day. That was a first! 400 bags of food and about the same in clothing. Wayne sorted through the rest of the medical supplies and then came to help with food and clothing. We were just as proud of ourselves as we were of the hard working construction crew!! Keith and Cary are doing an amazing job of keeping things going well.

Tonight after chicken spaghetti we went to have ice cream - so funny trying to get what you want when you don´t speak the language.
Back to Baxter and we had a short devotional followed by two young men from Honduras being baptized. They have been studying for a while with one of the young people doing mission work here.

Tomorrow we head to Union something- where are my spanish speakers when i need them¿
This is where we built our first church, a few years back. We plan to build, and have the clinic going again.

We are all very exhausted, but it is amazing to see what you can accomplish when the tv isn´t on!!! God is with us every minute and helping us to see Jesus in each other and those we serve. This group of adults and teens are such a blessing to be with.

I don´t have the blog book, i don´t think Rich Countryman gave it back!! I will post the comments tomorrow night if not too late.

Here is a brief synopsis of what you will hear:
I´m good, we are safe, today was busy, I love and miss you, tell ________ i said hi,
i´m tired, etc....

We are getting your messages- Suzanne, Susan B, and anyone else who thinks we aren´t.
So keep sending them!!!!! We even get some a few times....

I have my blog note in my head:
Note from Tonia
Hey everyone, I miss talking to you guys. Family- I love and miss you all!! WE are doing great. Irene I am proud of you for taking my class Wed. I had no doubt you would do well. Thank you Richard for the back up. Beverley- no accidents for heather today- she is such a hard worker- amazes me that she never stops- ok sometimes for a drink... Suzanne and Jim- I still haven´t been on Alexs crew yet but i talked to him tonight at ice cream - where he didn´t have any- surprise! and he took the blog book from me, so you do have messages i just don´t have it- see above lol. He is enjoying it, though.
Clayton- your son is so amazing- he also never stops for anything. Where do these kids get the energy¿
Sherri, Laura Beth is doing great!! Working very hard.

Note from Tami Milner
mom, just wanted to let you know Tonia is working hard and for once i am getting lots of pictures of her to show you when i get back. i cant believe this is the 4th day, i feel like we have been here much longer. this group is amazing, they all have such a great sense of humor (did i spell that right) and such a desire to serve other people. watching everyone interact with the honduran children is truly amazing. i really wish i had paid more attention to cj´s spanish homework so i understood the language better. how is mark ? send him and wendi my love.
Charles, has anyone heard from my girls? i guess i love my job too much, but i cant stop wondering how they are doing, but i`m sure they are fine without me. my mom said you were thinking about coming next year for a week, i told kieth and i think he just booked your flight :) you would definitely be a great contribution here. ok its getting late and we have a big day tomorrow. i cant wait to get back on the mountain. i love you and tell your mom thanks for feeding you! tami

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Day 3 later

Beverley, Chris is excited about the tee-shirt! Seriously though both of your kids are doing so well- even with Heather´s minor accidents. She is such a hard worker, amazing to me!!! Chris is also working so hard on his crew. He is in a room with Casey, CJ and Alex Holder. They are all having a great time- not sure where all the energy comes from. I love you guys and miss you- you have done an awesome job with your kids. love, Tonia

Sherri, to answer your questions the kids so far have only been building. Laura and Alex both did some roofing today, along with the rest of the building process. love, Tonia

Suzanne and Jim,
Alex is having a great time, he thought it was a cool experience so far. Too bad i wasn´t ready with my camera when i saw him and casey hanging off the back of a truck getting a ride down the mountain!!! Sounds much worse than it was! Adam, i can´t wait for you to experience this- miss you, Miss Tonia
love you! Tonia

Comments don´t get posted right away, so the kids have not seen them yet. There is not a printer at this computer, but in the next couple of days they should see what all you wonderful parents have sent.


Note from the Garcia´s
Bekah and Richard
I miss you guys a lot, I love you two very much. We are having a great time.

Note from Natalie
Mom & Dad, I´m having a super time! See you soon.
Natalie
Julio,
I love you and I miss you I hope you´re ready for the million stories I´m going to have for you LOL! I´m having a blast playing with the "children".
I love you,
Natalie

Note from Ashley Day
Mom, Dad, and Anna,
I´m having a lot of fun and I´m already regretting coming home early. We´re going to Union in two days. Miss you all....I have lots of stories already! Love You! Ashley

Note from Cindy Bonk
Hey Christy, Carrie and the rest of the gang,
I love you guys and miss you soooooooooooooo much. We are all working really hard and are exhausted, but so happy to be here. The work is going well despite the chain saws and wood. The clinic has been great, what a neat experience that has been. And as always Carrie the people here are amazing and loving and wonderful. I have seen Carmen´s sister or cousin?, she came to Baxter to sell things, I gave her your letter, she remembered me. I saw Milton tonight, he is working with computers, he looks good. Thanks for updating us on everything Christy, I am so HAPPY and EXCITED for you Beany. That is great news about the job. Catie was thrilled to get an update from Masque. She is really doing well with things, I am proud of her. Give the babies a kiss from me, I feel like I have been away from them forever! Keep me updated on Dad.
Love to all, Mom


note from tami

charles, we really could use you this year. its the first year we put in floors and could use your hgtv expertise. ok well i am getting ready for bed and am exhausted so you probably won´t hear from me for awhile but i just wanted to let you know we are doing great and so excited to be here. mom since charles probably won´t see this maybe you can call and let him know how we are doing, also tell him to let troy, val and michael know how we are doing. renetta please give nic,alex and alexa 100 kisses and hugs from me and aunt tonia, we miss them so much but even though memory card is out of room i still won´t delete their pics. i love you guys and please make sure mark is doing ok. love tami

Note from JT
Matthew, Gina, and sweet Jillian,
Thank you so much for your encouraging words, you are always such an inspiration.
I love you all so much!
JT

Day 3 late

Great devo tonight- something Cary reminded us all is that "little is much when God is in it" what we accomplished today even though we felt was very minor has a rippling effect- so many families will benefit from what we are doing and what we have already done. We are here to serve and that is what we are doing!

Day 3

We are back from the mountain, more houses started, stairs finished. The medical clinic handed out tons of vitamins and saw 153 people. Same setbacks on the mountain, chainsaws that stop working, worksites that are impossible to get to, supplies not always available- but none of that matters when the day is done. We come back to our base on the mountain and then the kids still have energy to play soccer with the little ones. Then onto Baxter to another delicious meal. Hotel people shower (i´m waiting my turn) and back to Baxter for a devo.

Tomorrow will be more houses being built and the duffels sorted, and many pounds of food sorted and bagged.

Northwest News- Heather Stewart got a fat lip today digging a hole post- but she is just fine!! No worries beverley we took good care of her. Gary Marrs had a slight mishap with the chainsaw- but it wasn´t turned on- scraped knee, little bit of blood.They both continued working the rest of the day. hard!!!Laura Beth, Chris and Alex continue to amaze us with their hard work on their first trip here.

The adults are great- trying to keep up with the energy level of the teens- no easy feat- and doing a great job at it.
I can´t name everyone but trust me when i say that we are all doing well, no one is sick yet, and we are glorifying God in all we do.

Special hello to Sean, Michaela, Zachary and Robert- Dad shared your cards with me and they were so sweet. Thank you Sean for thinking of me and Mr. Keith.

Note from Tami Milner
Charles, Mark, Mom and Dad
Just wanted you all to know that we made it safely. I can´t believe how much we did the first day. Tonia, David, Ashley, CJ and I were on the same team building a house. It is so amazing to watch the Honduran children so eager to help. Ashley is so wonderful with the children and David and CJ were working so hard- and still took moments to play with the little ones hanging around. Sometimes we had to force David and CJ to stop for a drink- Casey was the same on his site. Tonia is getting great pictures as usual, ok time to go back to work. I love you all! Tami

Note from Cherilynne and Mauricio Perdigon
Mom and Dad
We are all well and safe. We are starting our 2nd day of building today. Hope all is going well with the kitchen and bath. Can´t wait to see it. SAy hi to all the animals. We love you!

Note from CJ and Casey
GGG
We miss you so much Gabe you are incredible Talk to you later
P.S. This is a Haiku to you. love CJ and KC

Note from Heather and Ana
Irene and Gabe!
Me and Ana love you so much and wish you were here. Irene I miss your laugh, Gabe I miss your sweet heart! El Espanol es bueno. Practice mucho. Gracias. Estaba ayudando gentle hablar. Dios es aqui. Adios y tambien te amo! Carinos

Note from Ana Randolph
Mom, Dad, Eli & jon,
Hola, we´re having a blast hard work but its totally worth it. The kids are so sweet and I can actually understand a lot of what they say! We´re in a new and very safe (mom-smile) village and doing a lot of work there. I love and miss ya´llI´ll try to email soon. love Ana

Note from Shannon Davis
Georgi,
Made it thru another day! smile. Just wanted to wish you luck on your interviews. and hope your test went well. You and Anya take care of each other. Give everyone my love at church and of course your family. Ill see you before you know it. Take care sweetie.xoxoxox¨

Note from Michael Kearley
mom, dad and irene,
Everything is fine. Made it through another hard day, but rewarding nonetheless. My appetite has finally decreased. I guess it is because i eat breakfast now. I built my first house today, well finished it. I even got on the roof to help with the mammering. By the end of the trip i will be a pro. I love you all and miss you all a lot.

Day 2 late

Cindy and i have read the comments- what great family and friends we are all blessed with.
We hope to share them with the kids tomorrow- we don´t have a printer at the public computer so we will try at Baxter. Special note to my mom and Hayden- yes your comments came through a few times!
Carrie Nickens- thanks for being the first to write- so sweet!!! Note from mom- none of your older friends are here. Good night!!! We love you all and please give lots of kisses to our special babies Savanna,(still Mimi´s baby even at 11) Synthia, Stephen, Michael (Cindy) and Nicholas, Alex, and Alexa!! (tonia)

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Day 2

Note from the Bonk´s
Hi everyone, Morrow, Nickens, Sennett & Sale, we miss you guys already! We had an an exciting start with the whole alarm clock thing, (note from Tonia-can you believe they were late¿) but we are all here and its great as always. The hotel is so nice, its not the Marriott, but super nice. How is Dad¿ Give all the babies kisses. We love you, will write more later.

Note from Heather Stewart
Hi everyone! mom, dad, hayden, kate, amber and everyone i love you and miss you so much. Airport security is weird now they have these fingerprint and photo things. Woo hoo! All is well here, we are all so excited! Te amo mucho! Carinos

Note from Nicole Garcia
Irene and Gabriel- I love you guys and miss you guys tons! I really wish you were here. The first day was tons of fun but I thought about you guys alot! love always!

Note from Alyssa Keyso
Hayden my love, I miss u soooo much I´m still riding clean. I can´t wait to see you, you are the best.

Irene and Gabe I love you so much and miss you, yes even you gabe. Irene i hugged your novio for you.

Note from Laura Beth Anthony
Mom, dad and Hayden, hey i miss you guys so much. But its been really cool here so far. The plane was great except for some turns and the landing. Its actually so far not that hot here. Our hotel is good, well i love you all. Talk to you soon. p.s. mom, people drive worse than you do. smile!

Note from Karen Nerkins
Family at Central, I am having a great time and we are going to work today. Everyone is safe. p.s. I love you mom and dad

Note from Ashley Day
Mom, Dad and Anna, Please tell the boys about the blog. Rob said he wanted to see it. Nothing has happened yet but the hotel is nice. I love and miss you.

Note from Mari Catherine
Hey ya´ll, everything is fine. We got here and got settled in. I am in a room with caitlin, melissa, and Britt. talk to you later love ya.

Note from Brittany
Hey everyone! I made it here safely and have settled in nicely with Caitlin, Melissa and Mari Catherine. I hope everything is going well at home I miss you.

Note from Caitlin
Hi everyone, so far everything has gone smoothly. The hotel is nice. the bathroom is clean! I miss you all a lot and I love you all! Hope all is well at home.

Note from Melissa Jenkins
Hey mom, dad and diana- I miss you guys! I´m having a great time so far. Don´t worry, I´m fine. Pray for us as often as possible and tell Eddie i said hi. Love ya!

Note from Sammi Conley
Hey mom, jaime, caleb and little keagan. I love you all sooo much! miss you! oh and say hi to Mrs. Jody! love ya!

note from Beca Clifton
Hey family, thought i´d write to let you know we made it here safely. miss you! love ya!

note from Michael Kearley
Hey Irene,
We are all together now. I was a bit sad to leave Amber´s house and all the friends I met there, but I am glad to be with the group! I am missing you a lot. Don´t worry, I´m safe....
Love, Michael

Note from Shannon Davis
Mom, Dad, Angie & Alan,
I´m here! Love you guys! Tell the kids Hi for me!
Georgi!
If I don´t get to write again before Wednesday, Good Luck on your final! Love you Boo! Miss you like crazy! Take care sweetie!
Love, Shannon

Note from Ashley Keyso
Hey Irene, Gabe, Hayden and Kate!
Miss you guys a ton! Hope you´re loving America, be safe!
Love, Ashley Keyso

Note from Angela Garcia
Hi Irene and Gabe,
I really miss you guys. Irene I gave Micael 1 BIG Hug for you! We are doing great. I love you. God bless, Angela

Mom and Kim,
We got here fine, I miss talking to you I love you. Give Caroline a Big Kiss.
God bless,Angela

Note from Heather Garcia
Irene,
Wad up cuz 101.
I miss yo so very much. I hope all is well in Tampa and that your keeping yourself occupied! I love you very much, I´m going to miss your laughs this next two weeks. Just to let you know I gave Michael his journal. Well cousin I´ll be writing you more. Love you so much, Heather Garcia
Gabriel,
I love you and miss you. Have fun continuing to watch soccer! Lucky you!
Muah! Heather Garcia

Note from Gary and Mikey Marrs
Melody,
Mikey and I are doing very well this place has really grown since the last time we were here. Hope you are safe - enjoy your trip to Pennsylvania.
We love you much, Gary and Mikey´

Note from Catie Bonk
Hey everyone,
I´m having fun. I miss you all. Emily and cast, I hope you are working hard and having fun.
Carrie and Ryan, It´s not the same without you.
Love, Catie Bonk

Note to Caleb Conley from Sam
We arrived Monday. I am keeping a daily journal, and will give lots of details when I return. Today we went to a place called Mololoa. Sammi and I worked with a couple of doctors and some other workers and set up a medical clinic. We saw about 53 patients in about 4-5 hours. We were late getting started. Johnny worked with a group on the mountain above us building stairs for the community there. Click on comment to reply to this blog and let me know if there is any news. Someone who is editing the blog will give me the message. Give everyone my love. I miss you guys. Give mom and Ting Tang a hug for me.


Note from Tonia
Hey everyone-too many to mention- i am tired!! I love you all and miss you. Today was a crazy day, Tami and I were on David´s crew- he does an amazing job. Had cj with us and Ashley and Heather- all worked so well together. Some bumps and bruises but we survived the great footing on the mountian. We made lots of little friends and did i mention worked really hard. Casey came and helped our group for bit because we helped the other two with unloading their supplies. That was nice. I plan to be on his team tomorrow. Taking lots of pictures- not surprised are you¿ Berry family- Mark is doing great- he loves it here!! Beverley and tom your kids are doing great- yes heather was the one with the scraped knee- but she is fine. Suzanne- Alex is doing great, he worked on the same team with Casey today. All the sites were close by so I took pictures of all of them. Ashley and Alyssa worked hard and got to spend good time with the kids. Great day!! I´m exhausted!!!


Day 2 Note from Tonia
We got to sleep in today until eight, started the day with a devo and then split into work crews. 3 on houses, one building a stairway up the side of a mountain, and a medical team.
The medical team saw 57 patients and had a very successful day. The 3 houses were not completed due to Surprise!! wood not being delivered on time. But tomorrow looks to be more promising. Finishing up the 3 houses and getting started on 4 more. The stairs also had wood issues and needs about 2 hours of work. Bob Matthews is heading that up. The weather was beautiful today, sun was out and a nice breeze on the mountain. Everyone worked overtime today, working so hard in the sun, lots of changes in plans, everyone kept a smile on their face and worked so hard! Coming back to Baxter we expected to be fed in the cafeteria, but surprise this is honduras and they were not expecting us. We went into town and had fast food- which pleased everyone. Back to Baxter for a devotional under the stars and then the boys played ball and the hotel folks headed home to hot showers.

Monday, June 19, 2006

We´re here!!!!

We all had an uneventful trip to miami, and a great flight to honduras. no rain, good landing. most adults and girls are staying in a nice place- the girls really deserve this after their years in the bodega. The boys worked so hard loading the 70 duffel bags and everyone´s luggage, at least 4 times tonight. We arrived at Baxter where a yummy meal of thin tough mystery meat and rice was devoured by all. keith and cary are busy so i Tonia get to do the writing!

Northwest news is all i have at the moment-
let me put some parent`s minds at ease when i say that laura, chris and alex have done wonderfully. Laura was a bit nervous but she did great on the plane. Lane is fitting right in with everyone.

We all want to thank Mr. George for coming and seeing us off- we appreciated the prayer so much!

Mom, dad and charles- Tami is loving it! All the kids are good and exhausted, as are the adults.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

What to Bring List

I told you all I'd post the what to bring list. Most of you have it, but just in case you can get it here anytime:

Wet wipes
pocket knife (Put in your checked luggage!)
Insect repellant (not the aerosol kind)
Camera (film)
knee length shorts
church clothes
toilet paper
hammer
spending money (150+)
Sheets/sleeping bag
pillow
sunscreen
watch
hat
journal/pen
modest swimsuit (no two piece)
towels
wash cloths
soap
work gloves
back pack
wind breaker (if cold natured)
Bible
water container
flashlight/batteries

Remember, you are allowed one suitcase and one carry on, plus your duffel of supplies. Your checked luggage must not weigh over 50 lbs.!!!

Friday, June 09, 2006

It's Almost Here!


Our Honduras Mission 2006 is alomost upon us! Next Monday, most of our team will meet at Miami International Airport to begin "the Great Adventure." Due to TONS of scheduling conflicts, we will not be having a stateside meeting of the whole team. Northwest has already had a meeting, West Orange and Haines City are meeting Sunday at 4:30 PM at the West Orange building for final details and instructions. I am going to post the packing list on the blog, so that anyone who needs to purchase anything can do it this week.

It amazes me every year how God continues to bless this work. In the midst of airline price hikes and other "setbacks" the Lord ALWAYS provides! Keith and I are so excited about the mission this year. Much planing and prep work has already been done by many people both in Honduras and in the USA to make sure all is ready.

We will once again be updating the blog each day with pictures and information about the day's activities. Readers will able to post comments and team members will be able to post SMALL greetings to those at home. I have changed the settings this year so that I will be able to preview any posts before they are posted on the web. This way we will avoid any inappropriate comments from being posted by people just cruising the web!

We have several important projects we will be working on in Union y Fuerza, Limoncillo and in the community of San Miguel. Please keep us all inyour prayers, and especially the Honduran brothers and sisters who are doing so much coordination for us. Three of our team members are leaving Saturday to spend a week working at Jovenes en Camino prior to our trip. Pray for Tiffany Sanchez, Ashley Keyso and Micheal Kearley as they travel Saturday. Keith and Bob will be traveling down the next Saturday to make sure the buses, lodging and construction are ready for us when we arrive. We hope to start working first thing Tuesday morning!

God is good...all the time.

Cary