Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Happy New Year from Honduras

I  have been seeing dummies lately.  Scare crow type figures made of old clothes and stuffed with paper. They sit in chairs, prop themselves up on boulders and I have even see a few standing in the streets.  Some are quite good.  They have hats and some are smoking pipes.  My friend Fredy tells it is customary here.  At midnight on New Year's Eve, they are set on fire, symbolising the passing of the old man of last year and welcoming in the new man of the new year.  "Putting behind us what is past, we press on..."

This past year represents a radical change in my life.  Having moved here in June, everything has changed.  There have been and continue to be many challenges, but I am so thankful that I am now living what I dreamed of for so long.  I am so thankful for the many people here who have helped me get set up and who continue to encourage me in my work.  I am ever so grateful to the people of St. John's Church in Montgomery who continue to support me, both financially and with their prayers;  for being able to communicate with the young people (YASCsters) that I trained with in New York and for being able to watch God work in their journeys, and for the people I have had the  pleasure of meeting and working with through the short term mission teams of the past 6 months.  For my friend Fredy without whom I could not do my job.  For Amilcar and Eleana in the main office who help me understand HOW to do my job.  For clergy who look out for me and support me.  For Ms. Ana Reid, my co-worker and friend, who prays with me and makes me laugh.  I thank God for a small but comfortable and safe place to live; for reliable transportation; for electricity, water, phone service and internet (when I have them); for plenty to eat, and good health.  For my family.

Surely I have been blessed,

I pray the God of Peace grant you all your heart's desires in the coming year,

Love Bob

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Thanksgiving in Honduras

This was my first Thanksgiving ever away from my family.  But I received an invitation to join my Tela "family" and went up there for a day or two.  I stayed with my good friend Stace who is a gringo teacher at Espíritu Sancto.  We had a delightful dinner at a local restaurant where the power went out just as the meal was served.  But we talked about our spiritual journeys and how God had lead us here and how He continues to work in us.  And that was a great blessing.

Thanksgiving morning began with a service at the church with all the students from the school.  It was such a blessing to see the success of the school and how closely they work with the church, not to mention seeing all those gorgeous happy faces of the children.  It was raining like crazy, so after the service I went back to Stace's apartment and took a long nap.

That evening, Reverenda Olga Barrera (who I love) had invited us to her house for a Thanksgiving celebration.  There were about 25 people there and the food was non-stop and delicious.  It was so wonderful being with my old friends and some new ones.  The number of people who speak English in Tela is much greater than anywhere else I work and that was surely a pleasure.  There was also some great  music provided by Olga's daughter Swami and You Tube.  There was dancing.  I danced.  I danced at Thanksgiving and it was great.  I danced with Olga's mom who has the greatest smile and not at all shabby on the dance floor.  A little samba, a little salsa, some rumba mixed in with a little "punta," a native dance.  What a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Thanks to Olga and Stace.  And my dear Swami.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

A nuevo amigo

One of the greatest things about my job here in Honduras is that I have an opportunity to meet some of the finest people you could ever hope to meet.  Such was the case this last week when I had an opportunity to travel around with a great guy named Richard Marks from Washington D.C.  His church has taken part in short term mission teams in the past but not in the last couple of years due to the aging of the participants.  Working here can be pretty demanding physically.   The amazing thing is that their passion for the work is still strong.  Richard was on a fact finding mission and together with Rev Hector Madrid we traveled to some really out of the way places accessible only by dirt "road."  His church has been supporting a clinic in Protección for several years including the salary for Dr. Waldo Madrid and funding for pharmaceuticals.  These people would be really hard pressed for any amount of medical attention if it were not for this clinic.

We traveled to three different locations that are in my area that I had not had an opportunity to visit before and because Richard is totally bilingual, he was a huge help to me.  I learned a great deal  about the needs of the churches and health care facilities we have in those areas.  We also visited with Rev./MD. Elvia Maria Galinda here in Siguatepeque.  In addition to being a priest in the first church I ever worked in here back in 1989, she is also running an AIDS clinic where she attends to about 100 HIV patients.  She also sees about 20 patients a day with other maladies.  It was interesting to learn that there were only three new cases of HIV last year.  She said that education here had been very effective.  They also opened the clinic to everyone so that the HIV patients could avoid the  stigma that goes along with the decease and still come to the clinic, which worked.

Teams are great and we need more, but it sure was a pleasure doing some one on one with someone who shares my passion for the work we are doing here.  Richard was simply a joy to be around.  He treated me to a great dinner at his hotel in San Pedro Sula and we talked about how Christ has worked in our lives and in the lives of the people of Honduras.  We talked about plans for the future.  It was as enjoyable and it was informative.

Thank You Richard.  God Bless

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

What's that you say Bob?

I SAID,  "I will never be one of those guys who retires just to turn around and work another job 6 days a week."  I also said, "Never again will I take a job that has me in the road all the time and living out of a bag."  And here I am, doing exactly that.  But in Honduras.  Tired, but it's a good tired.

Last week was incredibly busy.  I had a group in Puerto Cortez with a medical clinic and I had to leave and drive 5 hours to Copan in the middle of the week for a meeting with a scouting group that will be bringing down a group in June.  It was a lot of driving, but both of these groups were incredible.  The Echol's group in Puerto Cortez was a medical brigade.  They saw close to 375 people!  They were such a joy to work with.  And so appreciative.

The group in Copan will be moving their operation there after working for many years in another location.  They were fun!  Very excited about the possibilities for medical clinic and construction on a church we have there that has been under construction for 10 years.  I stayed with my old Spanish teacher Edgar, and had a chance to visit with Edgarcito, who I've had in school for years.  He is speaking English now.  Great help.  Edgar is trying too.  Larry Tate and his group treated my to some of the finest dining in Copan, steak tenderloin in coffee and rum sauce.  Awesome.

I had to return to San Pedro to see off the Echol's team and missed them.  Then back to Puerto Cortez to wrap things up there.  Back home for two days.  I return to Puerto Cortez tomorrow with paper work and then back here in the evening.  Meeting with representatives of an engineering school Saturday morning to take some soil samples at San Juan School in preparation for the new construction.

Busy, busy, busy, but still loving life in Honduras.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Young Love

       Last night I was having dinner in a restaurant in Omoa on the coast.  The only other people in the dining room were a young couple, very much in love.  There was a lot of cheek rubbing and kisses and gentle caresses.  As I was waiting for my dinner to arrive, two young street girls came in selling something out of a big, yellow plastic tub covered with towels.  Their clothes were dirty and one of the girls was sniffling badly.  I dismissed them with my usual "No gracias."  Then they went over to the young lovers.  The young woman asked them some questions and talked to them for awhile.  While they were talking, their dinner came out.  What happened next surprised me.  The young woman handed one of the plates to the girl, who took it to another table while the young man told the waitress to get them something to drink.  The young lovers shared the remaining plate and the girls ate half of the plate they had been given.  Then they took the rest to the counter and had it put in a go bag, no doubt to take the remaining meal home to mom.  It was the most Christian thing I think I have ever seen.
      I was so convicted!  I see these little children all the time, already working.  They stand in the middle of the streets at red lights in San Pedro Sula selling peanuts or mango slices for 20 Limpera ($1).  They stand on each other's shoulders juggling oranges and then go car to car asking for one or two Limpera (5-10 cents).  In Tela, they walk around selling pan de coco or handmade jewelry.  In Puerto Cortez, dried fish or tortillas.  I hate to say it, but it seems that I see them so often that I just dismiss their existence.  I still have a lot of problems understanding Spanish and I have a particular problem understanding their little voices.  But it never even occurred to me to try to talk to them.  Honduras pays for public school through the grade of 6.  After that, they have to pay for more education and many, many cannot afford it.  Some 40% don't even make it to the sixth grade because they have to get out and work to help feed the family.  What a horrible plight for a child!
       My friend Fredy drives our bus for us when we have a group in country.  He makes $20 a day.  In between groups, he has only odd jobs, and that is difficult because he has no car.  He has three beautiful little girls.  He told me today that he knows he will never have anything to leave his children.  That is why their education is so important to him.  It costs $170 a month for a good, bilingual school.  He struggles to keep them in school AND keep food on the table.  It is very difficult for Fredy and he needs help, but his girls are blessed that they have a daddy that works so hard to care for them.  Many are not so lucky
       God forgive my my coldness towards those of whom heaven is made.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Home again

              Just got back to Siguatepeque after two weeks in Alabama visiting family and friends.  I am still working on a tourist visa here, so I have to leave the country every three months to renew it until I can get my residency papers.  It was great being home.  I stayed with my loving sister and brother in law, ate very well, slept a lot and got some rest.  (They have hot water AND great water pressure.  Heaven!)  I visited with my cousins and Uncle John.  I held a couple of yoga classes and caught up with all my favorite Yogis.  Namastae.  Had an opportunity to catch up with Rev. Josiah Rengers and the Rev. Rich Webster of St. Luke's Birmingham.  Their youth were my very first group and I refer to them as my "dream team."  They were great.  Hoping to build a long lasting relationship with them and the church in Trinidad.  Also had a wonderful visit with Rev Robert Wiznewski and lunch with Rev David Peeples.  I spoke to a 7th grade geography class about Honduras.  I gained a new financial supporter, God bless you.  It was wonderful being able to worship at St. John's again where the music is so beautiful, the people happy to see me and where everything is in English!  I really enjoyed being with my Sunday School class again.  Great trip, very thankful.
               I am especially thankful that I just happened to be home when two good friends ended their earthly journeys.  We celebrate the lives of Betty and Steve who brought such joy into our lives.  I'm glad that I was there to get in some quality hugs to Nancy and Rosa.  Peace to you both.
               I left for the Montgomery airport at about 5 (thanks Tony) and arrived back in San Pedro just before lunch.  Met with my buddy Amilcar in the Diocesan Office to catch up and do some planning, met with Fredi to plan work for next week and then hit the road on the long way home.  I passed through Santa Barbara to deliver the second L15,000 to Carolina for little Carla's hearing aides.  She will have them Thursday.  Then hit it on back to Siguat. in the pouring rain.  It is evidently now officially rainy season.  It has not stopped for more than 15 minutes.  My roof leaks, but in convenient places and I got the truck stuck for a brief period in front of the house yesterday, but all is good and I'm revved up for a busy week next week.
                Thank You everyone for your continued support and for your prayers.  Love you.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

A Prayer for Honduras

From Psalm 80:14

 Turn now O God of Host, look down from heaven; behold and tend this vine; 
preserve what your right hand has planted.


Thursday, September 18, 2014

The gift of hearing

Recently I had a medical mission group from California in Concepción del Norte, a little mountain village an hour up a rough, winding, dirt road near Trinidad Honduras. We stayed in a hotel near Santa Barbara. Evidently, most of the folks who work in hotels and restaurants in Honduras often feel as if they are treated like "the help" because the smallest kindness, such as asking what their names are, is often greeted with great appreciation. I believe in treating everyone with dignity as our baptismal covenant calls us to do and as a result I have made some really good friends in the hotels where my groups stay. During that week, one of the young women who works in the restaurant at Hotel Anthony Delux asked me if one of doctors could take a look at her daughter. Dr. Bill Roach kindly agreed to do so. Turned out that this beautiful young 14 year old had hearing problems due to ear infections as a child. The team returned to the States, but last week Dr. Roach wrote that he had the money for hearing aids. Carolina, the young woman's mother said the hearing aids would cost 1500 Limpera (about $700). Tuesday I met with Carolina and Karla and we visited Dr. Flores in San Pedro Sula. Testing revealed that Karla had poor hearing in her left ear and very poor hearing in her right ear. Then we found out that the hearing aids were actually $800 EACH. By the grace of God, the head nurse in the office was bilingual (always a blessing) and after I explained the situation, she talked to Dr. Flores who agreed to provide an aid for $700. Karla will still need another hearing aid, but we are well on our way to providing this bright young woman the wonderful gift of being able to hear. As an area coordinator, I am sometimes completely overwhelmed with emails and questions from the teams who work in Honduras. Most spend countless hours all year long preparing for their trips. Sometimes I question how much they can actually accomplish in one or two weeks. Sometimes I question my own effectiveness. But then there are times like these, when God in his mercy, connects the right people at the right time to provide something as wonderful as the gift of being able to hear to someone in need. This gives meaning to my being here and makes me so thankful. Thanks be to God Dios bendice, Bob

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Where two or three are gathered

Today's reading from Matthew, "where two or three are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them." This morning at San Juan's church in Siguatepeque I realized that just because I only understand about 30% of the sermon, and the hymns are all known by heart and hymn books are nonexistent, all the customs are different, it is still the same Spirit. The same bread and wine and the same Spirit. Though I may have difficulty communicating verbally with the people there, we all share one thing in common and that is our faith. The people are so welcoming and loving. I'm am thankful that where two or three are gathered, regardless of race, nationality, experience, past or present, or education, we all share in the presence of the same spirit. Thanks be to God.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Hard places and soft spots

8/27/14 Buenas noches de Siguatepeque, “the city of beautiful women” where the air is cool and the women are. I’m working with short term mission teams, and my first was a dream! They were a group of young people from St. Luke’s in Birmingham, AL. It was their first trip and they were so into the experience. The young women taught Vacation Bible School along with the guidance of an incredible young Honduran woman named Waldi who had taught herself English. The young men and myself helped to construct and pour 12 concrete steps on an addition to the church in Trinidad which had been started some 10 years before with nothing done since. These folks were such a pleasure to work with. Not a single complaint all week. On the ride into the site every morning they sang and it made me so thankful to finally be in Honduras doing what I have felt for so long I was called to do. Thanks to Parker and Josiah. Loved working with you two and can’t thank you enough for your support. Can’t wait to see you here next year. The following week, Parker and I joined up with St. John’s, Montgomery, my home church, in Tela for their medical mission. It was so good to see familiar faces and to work and worship with those wonderful folks. I fit some 300 people with reading glasses. Thank You thank you thank you to Kat Dailey who brought me my new Apple MacBook Pro! Such a help! I was riding high when I returned to San Pedro but like the Bible says, “let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” After two incredibly blessed weeks I returned to find dozens of emails from a bunch of people I’ve never met preparing to come down for mission trips to places I know nothing about…yet. It was a little overwhelming. I have a huge learning curve to scale. I was able to come home to my 830 sq. ft. apartment for just a couple of days and then I was back in the road again. I’ve been living out of a bag since the end of May. The next group was from California. They had worked together in different places for years, but had not been to Honduras for two years. I felt it very important that they have a good experience. The team leader and one of the doctors came down a day early to scope out the new place they would be working. We picked them up from the airport and got them checked into their hotel. The next day we drove for hours and hours but never did find Concepción del Norte. The stress began there. After returning them to the hotel that evening, I was headed back to Rick and Lura’s place in La Gran Bestial, the 1999 Ford F350 straight shift diesel behemoth with a huge metal cow catcher on the front that I have been assigned, and managed to locate the one and only Honduran who comes to a screeching halt at a yellow light. Most slow down at the red lights and if nothing is coming they keep going. This guy came to an abrupt halt half way under the yellow light and I popped him, popped him half way down the block! Thank God no one hit him broadside, then I would have had to pay for two vehicles to be repaired. I was pretty shaken up. I haven’t had an accident in I don’t even remember how long. It became incredibly complicated really fast. The next day I had to pick up our driver and my good friend Fredy at 4:00 a.m. to get the Coaster and run out to the airport and pick up the rest of the team. I got lost AND I got stopped by the police for going the wrong way down a one way street. That actually turned out to be a blessing because they led me to the road I needed to get to Fredy’s, but still, being stopped by the Police just kicked my cage again. We got off to Concepción del Norte. Fredy knew how to get there. It is an hour's drive UP a twisting and turning dirt road. The next day the brakes on the coaster blew out. There was some struggle getting the clinic set up as there always is in a new place. As with any team that has worked together for years, there is always the question of whether or not the new people are going to be a good fit. Sometimes they and sometimes…well. I liked everyone of them well enough but there was some tension in there. The guy I hit kept calling me about twice a day. I felt challenged and felt I should have the answers to all the team’s questions even though it was the first time I had ever laid eyes on the place, so I didn’t. There was some talk of being disappointed in the numbers of people that showed up. It was a rough week. We returned everyone to their hotel in San Pedro on Friday where they were to meet private transportation to Pico Bonito. The three nubies caught the hotel transport and headed straight to the airport and flew home. The one bright spot all week was my new dear friend Delma Paredes. She is a lay leader in the church where we had the clinic. She has worked there for 12 years, and was a pleasure to work with. She was our host in her garden every day for lunch. On our last day, when I felt the tension (self-inflicted) was getting to be a little much, we had just finished lunch when down her driveway came a maharache (sp?) band. A wonderfully spirited foursome. Delma slid back one of the tables and said, “Let’s dance!” No one budged. I said, “Well I’m dancing!” I danced with Delma and then I grabbed the hand of the team leader and slung her around until she was giddy, or maybe just dizzy. Some of the other folks finally got up. Fredy sang along! It was glorious. I’ll never forget it. Thank You Delma. In the end I think the week went pretty well. One of the doctors told me at the airport before they left that he found having fewer numbers was actually nice because it gave him time to really talk to the families and get to know a little bit about them and discuss healthy habits. That made me feel a little better. Back in San Pedro, I went to check on the wreck and the guy hadn’t even brought it in to be repaired. He had gone to the Diocesan office and ran into the Bishop. Thanks a lot. He wanted me to rent him a car while his was in the shop. Everyone was telling me that no one in Honduras ever does that. He wanted me to pay him for lost wages while the car was in the shop. It went on and on and on. He hired a lawyer. The lawyer called the office and kept the Diocese Secretary on the phone for an hour. Eleana finally said, “Look I just answer the phone!” God bless her. That was Friday. Monday the car still wasn’t there. I had to talk to a lawyer and get the spill on how to handle the thing. On my way to do it Tuesday I ran by the repair shop one more time and it was there. “8 days” they said. 4 for my part and the guy is having the rest of the clunker repaired and the whole thing painted. My mechanic said, “You pay from here to there and he pays from here to there and don’t you pay him anything else. He talks too much.” It is supposed to be finished the day after tomorrow. I said I needed to go home to Siguatepeque. “you go, don’t worry. Come back in 8 days.” God bless him. His name is Moses! I bailed out of San Pedro and was home before night fall. I’m finally settled in to my new place. I have had a chance to buy some furniture and now have a bed and some things to sit on, a stove and refrigerator, I have some things to put my clothes in and I have unpacked for the first time in months. I wake up in the morning with the sun in my face and I am in the light. I have had time to read my daily devotional from "Jesus Calling," and the daily lectionary which, if you have been keeping up has been from Job. “human beings are born to trouble, just as sparks* fly upward. ‘As for me, I would seek God,
and to God I would commit my cause. 
He does great things and unsearchable,
 marvellous things without number. and those who mourn are lifted to safety.” I have had a chance to get out and work in the yard some and that has always brought me peace. Reading from Job has made me thankful for my good health. And for my friends and family both here and in the States. For Fredy and Carlos, Eleana and Rick who took such good care of me with the traffic accident. For Delma and the maharache band. For my yachter friends, the generous people of St. John's and the good people of Honduras. Tonight, it is cool and quite. The dogs have gone to bed as well as the roosters. The giant boom box across the road is quiet for once. The evangelicals down the road have taken the night off. The only sound is the thunder and rain on the tin roofs and I am thankful. There are hard places and challenges. Our resolve and faith are tested. But then our sweet Lord blesses us with the rest and comfort we need to survive. The soft spots. Thanks be to God

Monday, July 28, 2014

DANGER in Honduras

    I know how much bad press has been generated lately over the situation in Honduras with violence and all the "children" fleeing to the states.  I just wanted to let all of you who know and love me that I am perfectly safe. I have been in Siguatepeque, San Pedro, Copan, Trinidad, Santa Barbara, Tela and Tournabe in the last several weeks and there have been no reports of violence in any of those places.  As I speak to people in the tourist industry, hotel and restaurant owners, the mayor of Trinidad and others I understand that the violent situations are in the bigger cities, San Pedro being one.  But like most bigger cities, there are simply areas where you just don't go.  All in all, things are quite safe, even there.  The tourist industry and the mission trip program of the Episcopal Church have both been hit hard by all the bad press, and it is certainly not helping the struggling economy here.
     It's good to remember that bad news sells and the more dramatic the better.  Sensationalized news is always better news.  I'm not trying to downplay the problems that exist.   They are truly horrible in many situations.  There is violence and the drug cartels still rule with an iron fist.   But the majority of the "children" that are fleeing Honduras and Central America are actually young adults in their 20's.  They are fleeing the failing economic situation and the lack of opportunity as much as the violence.  The news coverage here shows the freight trains they ride.  They call them La Bistial, the beast.  Most are young men in their 20's.  The situation is bad and all the bad press is hurting the economy which just exacerbates the problem.
     Still, there are so many beautiful places here that are perfectly safe to visit.  The clinic at Tournabe got off to a slow start, so Kat Dailey and I went out to walk around and stir up some business.  We were perfectly safe and met some wonderful people.  When I was there in May with my sister, I stopped to ask for directions and had a very large Garifuna man say, "I'll show you" and then he proceeded to get in the back seat.  No problems.  Copan, no problems even after dark.  And the Hondurans are always careful to look out after the skinny little bald headed gringo.  I'm fine...I'm really busy, but I'm fine.  Come visit!
     Please pray for the Diocese of Honduras.       

Tela Medical Mission with St. John's Montgomery

Loved being in Tela with the group from St John's again last week and spending time with the wonderful people of Espiritu Sancto. It was an incredibly busy week with attending to more than 350 people on several days in a row. We saw 165 in Tournabe, a Garifuna village, the last day. Thanks to everyone who took part in the mission. A special thanks to the Daileys who work so hard to put the trip together every year and to Kat who brought me my new MacBook Pro which is making life here a little easier. And thanks again to the owners and staff of Ceasr Mariscos Hotel who take such good care of us. They are like family. It's raining tonight in San Pedro

Friday, July 18, 2014

Tonight I am in Copan Ruinas, the ancient Mayan city of Honduras. I am here with a wonderful group of young people from St Luke' s Birmingham, Al. We spent the last week teaching vacation Bible school and working on a construction project in Trinidad, Santa Barbara. It was really hot! And the construction project was really difficult. It was a small space and we had to mix batch after batch of cement on the ground, but the guys stuck with it and worked so hard without a single complaint. We experienced the incredible giving spirit of the Honduran people, did alot of good work, saw some awesome places and enjoyed the love of children and church members. I am so thankful for this group. It was my first group in my new position here with the Diocese of Honduras and they were just fantastic to work with. Thanks be to God

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Those things we dread the most...

Yesterday I flew from JFK back to Honduras. I had been in New York for two weeks taking part in cross cultural training along with an incredible group of young people who are part of The Young Adult Service Corps. YASC is a missionary program offering one year placements all over the world. Yesterday was June 28th. An important date to me. On June 28th of 2006 I had a one way plane ticket to Honduras. I was all ready to go when 3days before we discovered that my Dad had cancer and I was unable to leave. Now eight years later to the day I was flying to Honduras again. In Deuteronomy 8 God explains why the people of Israel were led through the wilderness for 40 years. "you will remember all the way the Lord thy God led you through the wilderness these 40 years, to humble you, to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or no. He humbled thee and suffered you to hunger so that you would learn that man does not live by bread alone." The last 8 years have been incredibly humbling, that's for sure. I moved to Honduras the end of May. Bishop Allen requested that I seek support from 815 in New York. The training date was set just weeks after I finally got to Honduras, and to be honest, I really didn't want to turn right around and go to NEW YORK CITY! I dreaded it. I really didn't understand what it was all about and I prefer God's green jungle to man's concrete jungle. Finally I just resigned myself to doing it and decided to open myself to whatever God had planned for me to experience there. What a huge gift basket of blessings He had in store for me! A land of milk and honey. It was held at a beautiful turn of the century monastery overlooking the Hudson River filled with craftsman furnishings, beautiful artwork, and icons. The monks were welcoming, and loving. Their way of life held such resonance for me. Their services were filled with beautifully chanted psalms and prayers and extended periods of silence. Being with them in their beautiful chapel was so healing for me. Thank you brother Robert. The food was awesome! The training staff was knowledgeable, interesting, and so much fun to be around. And the "YACSTERS" were awesome. I learned alot not only about different cultures, but about myself and I made some new friends and I had fun! I experienced some healing from the last eight years. So the next time you are dreading having to do something, take a step back and watch for how God will bless you. He will never leave us, but holds us in his right hand. My love to the staff the monks and my Yacsters!

Saturday, June 14, 2014

The family of faith

Galations 6:10  "So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith."

Thank You Father for the family back home and for the family members I am meeting here  .I'm off to New York tomorrow morning early for two weeks training. Please keep brother Bob in your prayers.


Saturday, May 31, 2014

Tela vacation

I spent last week with my sweet,sweet sister and her family in Tela by the sea. We stayed at Ceasar Mariscos Hotel and enjoyed the incredible hospitality of the owners and the staff. We took a boat ride out to Punta Sal for a nature hike and saw monkeys and ate a few termites  (they taste like carrots) we snorkled, ate lunch on the beach under the palms. It was fantastic. The owners of the hotel, Isa and Jeovani, had us out to their house for dinner...five courses with mango icecream for dessert.Caught up with a bunch of old friends and enjoyed the beach. It was a great week! Got the fam. off to the states this morning and will stay with my good friends Rick and Lura for awhile till I can find a place of my own in Siguatepeque. All is good!

Saturday, May 24, 2014

woohoo

headed to Atlanta this afternoon and flying out tomorrow morning!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

life is go

Dear people of St. John's, friends, family, fellow yogis and all who been there for me over the past 9 years that I have sought to fullfill my calling to work with the church in Honduras, God's peace be upon you.  I'm heading out on May 25th, so I'm setting up this blog so that you can keep up with me.  My position with the Diocese of Honduras will be that of "Area coordinator for short term mission teams."  My area encompasses about half the country.  I will meet teams at the airport in San Pedro and accompany them to where they will be working, work along side them, stay in the hotels with th
em, and then get them back to the airport.  It is exactly what I have always wanted to do.
There are still alot of unanswered questions.  Today's gospel reading from the Lectionary is Matthew 6:25-34, one of my favorites! "All that I've needed,thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me."
Stay tuned...