We're in ATL

Short and Sweet

It's 1:20 in the morning and we leave here at 7:30 AM! So, I know that I promised a short one last night - but this time I mean it!

Here is what we did today...
... breakfast
... stand around and wait for our driver
... Took a "Canopy Tour" (you may have heard of this on the travel chanel). For those who haven't, its a series of zip lines where we are half of the way up the mountain down... by zip line!
... 1/2 of the group got stuck @ the place where we took the Zip line. Thank God for Nate - it's a huge help to know that there is someone around to cover gaps like that one!
...relax around the pool while I set dinner up
... relax around the pool with Dinner
... Had our last "debriefing"

Now, I am sitting here trying my dead level best not to fall asleep...

Quickly, I would like to get you our flight information, as to minimize confusion tomorrow night.

We will be leaving La Ceiba bound for San Pedro Sula @ 7:30. From there, our flight is into Atlanta on Delta. We will arrive in Detroit at 11:30 PM... very long day!

I am literally fighting off sleeping, you are going to need to get a last day update from them... I am going to try to blog in the Atlanta airport...

Thanks!
Jeremy

Exhaustion!

Well, this will be short and sweet... I can barely keep my eyes open.

We have finished the ministry portion of the trip and everyone is feeling the fatigue that has, up until this point, been staved off out of sheer necessity.

Today, we started the day out by attending (and taking part) in the chapel services at the school that we have been staying at. It was a great time!

All of our students dressed up in the clothes that they wore to Church on Sunday morning sat in an outdoor stadium that rose in temperature as each of nearly 2000 children and student showed up! (over 2 services)

Nate Bristol (our new Student Ministries Assistant Pastor) took the stage to share a message about how God created us to exist in community. I have to be honest, when we interviewed Nate I had no idea that we would be hiring such a capable young man! As this week has gone on, we have seen how God has gifted him to work both with our students as well as with children (something that I am NOT gifted to do!). It has been a great experience for our students to have Nate along... what a way to get acclimated to a new job, huh?

After Nate finished, 3 of our students took the stage (one at a time) to share what God has been doing in their life over the last week. Graduating Seniors Scott and Kyle as well as one of our fantastic young ladies, Emily shared thoughts from their heart as well as a verse that encourages them. We forgot about it the first service, but for the second service, our group got up and sang "Sanctuary" as a special music.

After we finished the services, we all loaded the bus to head to one of two orphanages! What an incredible experience! Our students had opportunity to play games and talk with little children who lack the love and affection that many of you long to show your own children!

There is far too much experience in that to capture in a short blog article, but I absolutley MUST tell you about one of the orphanages! Back before I made my advance trip (March) to Honduras, I researched the potential of our visiting an orphanage while we were here. In looking through the options, I came across an organization called "the Children of the Light." I visited their web site and had planned to see what it would take to visit them while we were here. Unfortunately, because of the brevity of the trip and my lack of relationship with the team here, I was unable to pursue that research and was forced to trust the experience to the hands of our hosts. Get this... when we pulled up to the orphanage, I completely missed it (I am trying to rest at every opportunity). It wasn't until the wife of the gentlemen who runs the orphanage was explaining the history of the ministry that I realized that this was the orphanage that I wanted to check out while I was here! What an amazing and sovereign God we serve!!!!

Now, we have moved to the Quinta Real Resort. It is amazing to enjoy air conditioning and some of the comforts of home again... as well as the beach and a pool! Tomorrow, we will take a "canopy tour" of ziplines through the rain forest complete with a natural hot water spring and volcanic mud... followed by a relaxing afternoon before we head home! (by the way - there has apperantly been some confusion... we leave HERE Wednesday morning and will arrive home hopefully very late in the night that night (it will actually be Thursday AM when we get there)

Here are a few pictures before I fall asleep and drool all over my keyboard... btw - thanks for all of the great comments, I read them all to our students during our nightly meetings before bed... they love to hear every word! KEEP THEM COMING... TOMORROW IS THE LAST NIGHT (so the comments posted to this posting will be the ones I read on our last night!!!!)

Thanks!!

Immersed in "Grace"

Sometimes the unexpected is only unexpected to you! I am endlessly impressed by God's amazing ability to orchestrate the most unrelated experiences together for His glory!

Today was not supposed to be the highlight of the trip. To be honest, the idea of sending students to a church where they wouldn't understand the sermon, coupled with a more conservative dress code and then spending the day "resting" sounded like a recipe for attitude. I was so NOT expecting God to show up in the midst of today.

At the early hour of 4:30 AM, Joel, Danae, Chris and I got out of bed (we didn't get into bed until about midnight!). We were so excited to get to be a part of an international web call with our church community at home! The funny thing is that we were set up in a Pizza Hut parking lot with a laptop (on it's battery), a web cam and a heavily armed guard... the church at home is the epi-center of technological development in Williams County and THEY were the one with technical difficulties during the beginning of 2nd service. We could almost feel the buzz of excitement as people shared in the joy of ministry here in Honduras!

At the end of our 3rd service connection, our host Francisco rolled up in the van to pick us up and was able to be a part of the excitement for the 3rd service... we could hear the cheering!

After a quick nap and lunch, we drove to the Pico Bonito National Park to play in the river and water-fall! No one expected what would happen over the next few hours...

To give you a glimpse of the experience, I will need to give you some background. Over the last 5 years or so, I have seen Danny Lamneck (one of our students on this trip) grow deeply in his faith. Over those years, Danny and I have talked numerous times about his desire to be baptized. Earlier in the trip (just after we landed here), Danny and I talked again about it... Since we have been here I have thought about asking Danny if he wanted to get baptized in the ocean while we were here... each time, I chickened out. As I was watching students play in the deep pools of water under the waterfall... I thought about it again... and again chickened out.

As Julio (our driver) and I were sitting on some rocks talking about the remaining plans for our trip, I casually asked him "what is the name of this river?" (I figured it would be good information for the blog). His answer: (I will include the picture - otherwise you will think it was staged)

Ok... so maybe your spanish is a bit weak... it means "GRACE RIVER." I could barely contain the excitement... I could hardly wait until he got up to the top of the area to ask him (as gently as I possibly could) if he would like to be baptized in this river - right now! It was great to explain the terrific symbolism of being immersed in a river of grace!

I honestly struggle to even write this because I cannot explain in words the depth and excitement it was to experince this step in Danny's journey - in this place - with this group!

BUT THE STORY IS ONLY BEGINNING!

As I shared this idea with one of our leaders, I could sense the excitement in her voice... I thought is was excitement for Danny... (hold on to your seat, Kevin... this is about to get exciting!!!!)

Once Stacey started talking, I realized that she wasn't as excited about Danny as she was for herself! I encouraged her to search her heart to ensure that her desire to follow Christ in believer's baptism wasn't only reaction to the moment (or the circumstances), but more a sense of her genuine next step in her journey with Christ. She expressed that her only reservation was that her husband Kevin (who had planned to come with us on this trip) was not here to experience this moment with her... I told her that she was on her own on that one :-)! I guess that wasn't enough discouragement...

Once I explained what we were going to do to the group and expressed that anyone else that would have interest in taking this step (as well as the significance of this step and what needs to have already happened regarding accepting Christ as their Savior prior to baptism), we had four more students express interest!

Half immersed in the literal waters of Grace, I had a significant conversation with each of the interested students to clarify their intent and understanding... then I had the opportunity AND PRIVELEGE to baptize each of them....

Ashley Miller

Dylan Krupp

Connor Robinson

Ally James

Each of them (in the water) shared their story of coming to Christ with me (and agreed to share that aloud with our group tonight)... words cannot do justice to the pure joy of being a part of this significant experience with our students!

Here are some pics to help you experience it with us! (we also have some videos similar in quality to the one from the other day, I will try to get those up later)

Humility... sometimes you have it, and sometimes it is given to you!

Today was a blast! We spent today almost exclusively involved in sports of some kind or another. After breakfast we played a game (complete with referee) against students of our own age in... get this... SOCCER!

Let's just say that on the way to the field our leaders were reviewing the items we had for first aide... gause, ace bandages, band aids, etc... I asked them if they packed any "pride aide" because that was going to be the most damaged part of our players.

Let's just say that no matter how hard the Honduran team tried to be gentle with us, it is hard to pretend that you haven't been playing this sport every day since you were a child. They - both as a team and individually - were incredible. As if it goes without saying, we lost 8 to 1. Kyle was able to nail a penalty kick to keep us from walking away completely empty handed.

Our students did incredible! I was so proud... I did not see one hint of attitude or competitive edge in the eyes, voices or demenor of our students - I could not have seen them act more Christlike!

After a quick nap and lunch, we met on a much more even playing field (both figuratively and literally)... BASKETBALL! The competition was well matched, but we did come out on top! We even got to see Scott dunk!

Now for the fun part... right now, our students are back at the compound getting a quick bite for dinner and then they will head to the Soccer stadium that we have been staying across the street from... to see a professional soccer game! Many of the students have already purchased the jerseys of thier new favorite team - the La Ceba Victoria!

Here are a few pics from the day... I have a game to get to!!! Btw - I think we have about 6 or 7 students on Cipro (including me) and 1 with a really bad sunburn (also me)... bald heads and big sun... bad combination!

From start to finish

The Day...

We started with a well formulated plan to make sure that all of our students were safely transported to the community of La Boomba (there were suggestions of having students ride in the back of pickup trucks... oh the joy of bridging the gap between 2 cultures!). Our leaders and I were up until nearly 1 AM trying to orchestrate a creative plan of who would stay to work on bunk beds and who would go in (INSIDE) of what vehicle so that we could all get to where we needed to be (there was a mixup on the end of those in charge in Honduras regarding who would have the bus... us or the award winning marching band...)

Well, this morning we got up (tired) to find out that our driver Julio picked up on my discomfort at his suggestions and spent part of his night finding a bus and a driver for our group today.

We quickly adapted our lists to allow a few extra students to go the community leaving about 9 students back to work on beds. The other group was expecting to head to a VBS for about 60 kids... when they got there, that was the case... until a few more heard about it... then a few more... then a few more... they eventually stopped counting when they had seen about 200 kids!

I was one of the unfortunate souls who stayed back, but from what I hear it was INCREDIBLE. Here is a link to a youtube video that I posted of some of the children singing "Jesus Loves Me" (get the Klenex handy, moms)

The students who remained at the compound to build beds had a big day of their own... at the end of the day, they were able to build 7 more beds!!!! WOW!!!!!

Here is a qucik image of what I had planned for this bed back in April...

And here is a pic of the finished product... you should be proud of these students - they are doing work they should be proud of!!!!! I know that I am!!!!

What a great day! VBS... from start to finish. Beds from start to finish... the whole day... from start to finish!

Welcome to Honduras!

Today was a sharp lesson in the culture of Central America. Last night, I made the annoucnement that we would allow everyone to sleep in today (until 8 AM). After everyone was up, dressed and ate breakfast we were getting settled in for a solid day's work on the bunkbeds... when the power went out.

Without drills and saws, it is difficult at best to cut and assemble beds. So, we adapted to the reality that there would not be any power until 4 PM. After our devotional time (on James 2), we headed to a downtown area where there is a great deal of shopping. Returning for a late lunch and then waiting for the lights to come back on (they were replacing a transformer... it's a wonder how they finish it in a day - this is what the wires look like on the poles...

The downtown area was crowded (and a bit difficult to keep up with everyone, but thanks to the best leaders I could immagine on a trip, we were able to return with most of our students... just kidding, lighten up). Btw - this picture doesn't do justice to the crowd...

You would all be so proud of these guys - the attitudes were great as we waited the problems out and once it came back on, every one of our students worked incredibly hard and got a lot done in a short amount of time!

During their "down time" a few children from the school/community were around and some of our struggled trying to comunicate, until they found common ground... digital cameras! They had a blast with our students taking their pictures and then showing them to the children... then it switched... the cameras were now in the hands of these beautiful children and were taking pictures of our students....

After they worked so hard, I just knew that they would love to get some great Honduran food. We headed down to where Vilma has been preparing our food for us to enjoy another great meal... there was pasta with a tomato based sauce, rice (a staple food here), bread, shreaded chicken... and a traditional soup. Even right now, while I am reading this to them, they are agreeing how good it was...

I wonder how many of them would have opted out of it if I would have told them that it had snails in it before we ate? (I read this to them as we unpack the day's events after I write this... I will let you know how it goes)

Ok... we need to get back to the campus... here are a few more pictures just for kicks... btw - we learned today that we are 18 pieces of plywood short to finish the bunk bed project... anyone have another $750 laying around? We're still deciding what we should do... pray for wisdom.

Are those new glasses?

Before I left for the trip, my eye doctor (who is also one of my closest friends) helped me find a pair of sunglasses that he could have put together with my prescription lenses in them. What a huge help it is to be able to read things (and see small things) quickly even when I am in the blazing hot sun!

But that is not the only purpose they have served on this trip! Last night, I explained how these 2 pairs of glasses can help us understand some pretty incredible things about our trip. My everyday pair of glasses help me to see things the way any person with good vision sees them - the way they are physically. The second pair (my prescription sunglasses) help me to see things in focus, but see them through lenses with a different tint. As we unpacked the day, I explained how each student has the opportunity to choose which glasses they will see the day through - the pair that sees things in natural light or the pair that allows them to see the people, places and activities of the day through "supernatural" lenses. As we started our day on the bus this morning, I held up both pairs of glasses and asked everyone "Which pair of glasses are we wearing today?" they responded in unison... "SUNGLASSES!"

Following our 45 minute bus ride through some of the most beautiful countryside many of us have ever seen, we arrived at the community of Nicaragua (not the country - dont worry). We worked in a very small school (thank you Lord! btw - yesterday only turned out to be about 140 kids... calm down, commenters :-)

Student played soccer, made crafts, sang songs and made bracelets. Today was amazing! One of the highlights of the day was the craft that we planned - before we began, we got the entire group together and took a quick snapshot with a digital camera. While our students worked with the children to make and decorate picture frames out of popsicle sticks, I went to the church next door and hooked up a small digital printer to the only electical outlet in the entire community! (the power was supplied by a solar panel that fed a car battery - it was hooked up to a power inverter which powered a small audio amplifier that the church usues for their electic keyboard and microphone... see the picture below). After I printed out the pictures on the printer, I took it over to the group to fill the frames... you should have seen the faces of these children when they saw the pictures!

Ok... now for the top 5 things that I loved about today:

5. Watching some of our students choose selfless wisdom over their own desires and comfort!

4. Watching the amazement on their faces as we drove through miles of dirt roads and one lane bridges to get to Nicaragua

3. Seeing 30+ beautiful Honduran children smile while they play "Red Rover"

2. Watching a 9 year old boy out manuver several of our high school boys (some soccer players) on the soccer field!

1... hearing the voice of my beautiful wife... I love you Sheila!!!!! I can't wait to see you!

Here are some pics... have fun! Btw - they loved hearing the comments!!!!

Jeremy

Our band reception from day 1 - this band is the Central American Champion!