Samuel and Johnny

I don't have much...but here's what I know.
Rosa was able to take Samuel to a specialist in Le Cieba. We haven't heard the outcome of that visit or if they were able to learn more from the tests that were scheduled when we left.
Johnny wasn't able to give blood to his brother because he, (Johnny) is anemic. We don't know what condition the brother is in now.
Please continue to pray for Johnny, Rosa, and their children.

Home Safe and Sound

We made it safely home on Friday afternoon. We were exhausted, but so happy to see family and friends. The next few weeks will be a flurry of activity as we help get ready for my sister's wedding on Nov.28th. I know it will be busy, but I hope to keep you all informed as much as possible whenever we get news from Honduras while we are home. I also hope to write a few of the stories and post more pictures that I didn't have time for when we were there.
So, even though we aren't out there on the field, please stay tuned!
Thanks for all your prayer support as we made our way home. It was a stressful trip and we picked up either a stomach bug or a mild case of food poisoning the morning we left. But overall, it was a fine trip and we are so thankful things went as well as they did.

The Hippy Missionary Family

These are our traveling uniforms. In the past, we have found it helpful to dress the kids alike, but this time I wanted us all to get into the act. This was a fun project for me and I learned a new tie-dye technique at the same time. And now we can become known as the happy hippy missionary family.

Traveling

After a night that was short on sleep and very long on packing, we left early this morning for San Pedro Sula. A friend, Emilson drove us in his truck. We travled the back dirt road that used to take hours becuase it was in such bad shape. The government has poured a mountain of effort and money into getting that road drivable as now it is the main way to get in and out of Trujillo. We passed many places were we could see how the water had been, up to twenty feet higher than normal. It was incredible to see where it carved new river beds around the bridges and toppled huge trees by eating away all the soil under thier massive root systems. We are so thankful for the nice and dry weather we have been having that made it possible for all the road repairs to be done in time for our departure today. We had no difficulties getting here and are very thankful for Emilson's willingnesss to drive us instead of the 6-9 hour bus trip.
Pray for us as we make our final preparations. We fly out Thusday and Lord willing arrive home, in New Hampshire on Friday morning. We have said most of our goodbyes. It was hard for us to leave the people we have come to love here in Honduras. The past two weeks have been much less stressful as the flood waters receded and we were able to devote more time to other things. It seemed like just here at the end of our stay for this time, God was opening doors left and right for different things we have wanted to pursue in the past. We are excited to go home and see our friends and family and we are looking forward to what the future holds.

Update on Samuel

Samuel is home from the hospital, but still not doing well. We are making plans for Rosa to take him to a specialist in La Ceiba in the next few days. When we saw him last, it made my heart sad to watch him struggle for every breath. We cried with Rosa as we prayed for God's protection and healing of little Samuel. This is an especially difficult time for their family. Johnny's brother was in a car accident and is unconscious in the hospital in Tegucigalpa. Johnny left today in time to get there for an urgent blood transfusion for the brother. While he is gone, Rosa is left alone to deal with Samuel's sickness. Please pray peace for this family and that the specialist would be able to help them.

Pray for Samuel

Samuel is in the hospital with pneumonia again. He just celebrated his birthday on Monday. He is not doing well and the Doctors say he needs to go to Teguc for more testing to see what else can be done to help him. Before he can do that, he needs to heal from this last bout of pneumonia. Please pray for peace for Johnny and Rosa and that Samuel would be feeling better soon.

Wonderful Weather!

Tropical Storm "Paloma" did turn into Hurricane Paloma, but we were so grateful that as the storm grew more powerful, it slowly made its way north. We haven't had ANY rain yesterday or today and it has been SO beautiful out. It is nice and cool with a lovely breeze. Today we went we took some time off this afternoon an went swimming at a hotel pool right on the beach. The ocean is still dirty from all the red clay that washed into and the beaches are littered with garbage so we didn't spend much time there, but just to be out in the sun was a wonderful change for all of us!
The big trucks have been able to get in and out of Trujillo by that other road and the stores and gas stations are well stocked again. We've have been relieved and feel blessed that it looks like clear weather until we leave.
Tomorrow we plan to move mattresses and essentials over to the dorm. We will sleep there for the next three nights so that it will be easier to clean and pack up this place before we leave on Tuesday. It looks like a couple of busy days before then.

Another Road and More Storms

Brian did some more investigating and found another option for us when we plan to leave Honduras next week. There is another road that goes to Tacoa in a round about way; it is much longer and bumpier. And it also has two bridges that were damaged, but they are smaller and more easily repaired. So we are hopeful that we will be able to leave as planned.
Please pray that a big storm front moving our way goes north and doesn't dump large amounts of rain on already soggy Honduras.

A few updates:

• The shelter sent everyone home. The water has come down in most places.
• Brian was able to meet the man organizing help for communities cut off by the water. Hector, Brian and Jonathan were able to get food to a village that had been without food for several days.
• People aren't starving here in Trujillo, but the food is running out. Our workers have asked for food and gas for the "chimbo" to cook at their homes. We have plenty of food here, though the kids are getting a little tired of soup. The bank is out of money and in general people don't have money to buy what food there is because no one has been working. Even with all the uncertainty, the happy-go-lucky Honduran spirit still shows. Most people don't appear concerned about the future.

Bridge Out

Here is the bridge over the Agua Amarrillo, about 5 miles from where we live. We had heard that it was washed out, and when Brian went there yesterday, he saw that this time, the reports were true. There is a huge section in the middle that is completely gone. They are ferrying people and supplies across in an a small boat. This is the main road to Tacoa that I have mentioned in the past and with the bridge out, it will be much harder to get food and clean water into Trujillo.
Yesterday we had beautiful weather with sunshine and a nice breeze. The kids were so happy to play outside! A little bit of sun was good for all of us.
The hole I showed you Sunday is semi-fixed now. We think they just dumped a load of dirt in one side so that road is open to one way traffic in that spot. That problem was fixed very quickly. Unfortunately, the bridge is a much bigger deal and we don't expect it to be passable any time soon.

More Pictures

Just a reminder to look back at the last few posts...I just added pictures that I didn't have time to upload before. I will probably keep doing that...write quickly and then later try to get a picture or two squeezed into the story line. So it pays to look back as you might miss a picture, worth a thousand words if you don't!

Wash Out

Last night the deluge started up again and this morning when Brian took several hundred biscuits that Alissa had made over the the shelter, he got to see the damage first hand. He almost drove over this when only half the road was gone. If he had, he would have been stuck on the other side as this is the only way in and out.

This is what is left of the road to the Tacoa. People were walking and riding bikes across the side that is still intact, but we won't be driving through there any time soon. Again, we have heard more reports of bridges damaged or destroyed beyond this point, but don't know if they are true or not. Brian hopes to bike out to the first main bridge tomorrow to see for himself how bad the damage is there. The weather report calls for less rain for the next couple of days, but then we are to get alot again next weekend. Things continue as semi-normal here in Trujillo. The streets that were flooded a few days ago are clear and muddy.( I can't say dry as we have forgotten what that is!) There is no gas, but still some food in the stores. It sounds like the shelter won't need any more help for a while and since we can't drive out there now anyways, we won't be sending big batches of soup. There are others that are cut off and need food. Tomorrow Brian meets with a local man who is oganizing the relief effort to see what else we can do to help.

Please continue to pray for us all. We are still optimistic that eventually things will dry out and we have all the things necessary for survival. We thank God for the place we have to live and for His protection.

Clear Skies

The rain stopped and the sun was even out briefly. There is a warm breeze and things are drying out. The flooding in Trujillo went down during the night and things are looking good. We heard that to road to Tacoa is open to small trucks but not the buses and heavier traffic. But, since we can't see for ourselves, we can't be sure of the condition of the road. We are frustrated with all the mis-information we get and don't have a way to get any trustworthy news. We haven't heard from the shelter and don't know if they need more help or not. We do have plenty of staples to make more soup if necessary.
Last night, we didn't have any water. We filled several large tubs during the night by collecting rainwater off the roof. This morning Brian was able to find and fix the problem so we now have flushing toilets and water for washing.
Thanks for all your prayer support. God is answering our plea for clear skies and things are looking good!