I Hate "Goodbye"

Yesterday and today we visited several Little Hands families for the last time. We had bags of hand-me-down clothes from our kids and other things. We gave each family our photo, a treasured gift here. It is hard to wrap our brains around the fact that this is it...we're saying goodbye for at least a long time...hopefully not forever! But part of my mind can grasp it becuase I can't stop crying. So many dear faces that we will miss and remember the times we've spent together! So many little people that we have prayed and worried over and tried our best to help. I pray that the next time I see them, they will be taller and healthier and have thier hearts full of Jesus!
We have two more days here in Trujillo. We are finishing the packing and trying to take care of a million things while we try to squeeze in times to say good bye to everyone. I hate this part! But since there is so much to do, the time is going by fast! Pray that we will be ready early Sunday morning when the time comes to pull out. Pray that in our sadness, that we can rejoice and be thankful for the friends we have here.

Antonio Chooses Chirst

Antonio has been helping us with the grounds here at the Little Hands facility since July. He is also father to Reybin, who is one of our L.H. children. Since May, Brian has been developing a relationship with him. Many spiritual conversations have been had along the way. Today, after a long lunch time conversation and study of the scriptures regarding salvation... Antonio has chosen to follow Jesus. He is very serious about his decision and has been weighing it for a while. Today he said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go to the beach so I can be baptized!" In less than an hour, 30 people were informed and drove over to the beach to witness Antonio becoming a new creature... clothing himself with Christ. The surf was rough and full of debris from the tropical storm. After his baptism, pointing to the dirty water, Antonio said..."There is alot of sin in there!" We have been praying for Antonio since last year, before we even knew him. We are so blessed to be able to witness his turning to Christ for salvation. And now he is eager to learn. Please pray for him as he learns and grows.

No More Interent and Tropical Storm Ida

It looks like we will be out of internet service indefinately becuase of a nearby lightning strike. I'm disappointed because, besides wanting to document more of our last days here, I was hoping to help Maybelline get a new blog established for Little Hands to use. We actually had been working on it right up until the interent went out. We're hoping to get that up and running eventually, but without a way to get online here at the compound, that isn't likely to happen soon.
We're planning for a wet weekend as Tropical Storm Ida is supposed to be paying northern Honduras a visit. We're hoping for a quick get together without to much heavy rain and the flooding that is sure to result!
Our family is packing and getting ready for the long trip home in a week and half. These days are turning into a busy blur. Pray for us. So many things to do and people to see and say good bye to. It is a taxing time for all of us. I may not write again until we are stateside, but hope to post some pictures then also.

Rough Seas

A few days ago, it was terribly windy and we went down to the beach to check out the surf. There were waves! If you have been here, you know that the bay is usually very calm. Not so on this day!

The wind and rain are COLD! I know we are going to have a major weather change to get used to when we get home since they have already had snow in NH. But as you can see here, even this tropical storm wind and rain feels freezing to us!

Rainy Season

Well, its for real! The rain is here! After a few days of nothing but cloudy skies and lots of torrential down pours, its safe to say the rainy season has officially begun. There was even flooding in several places. And I heard that the road between here and Taoca was closed due to high water, but that seems to have been short lived.

At night the rain pounding on the metal roof is deafening! We have to shout to hear each other. We also lost power several times and with the heavy rain, very little sunlight gets through so we were eating by candle light even during the day.

This picture is a little odd since its on the diagonal, but I wanted to capture the river coming off the roof and the one rushing down the driveway too. It is amazing how much water can collect in just a few minutes.

One Month Left

As of today we have one month left before our two year commitment to work here at Little Hands is up and we return home to New Hampshire. Wow, two years flew by and yet our old life B.H. (Before Honduras) seems like a distant dream. It is strange to think of going back to that life and a little stressful too! There are so many things we still want to get done here and so little time to make it all happen. And it is an emotional roller coaster for all of us. There are times we really look forward to going home and then there are times we are torn because of our love for the people here...Pray for us this next month as we pack up and try to decide which loose ends to tie up in the short time we have left.

More Pics of the Washington Group

Alissa telling stories to a spellbound audience.

Watching and waiting for the tarantula to pounce on its supper.

David waves triumphantly from atop the mountain after a gruelling five hour hike through a tropical downpour.

Sunset at Compamento, our last evening together complete with swimming in the Caribbean, seafood for dinner, and good times talking about our memorable week together.

More of the Washington Group

We've had a whirl wind week and we're worn out, but grateful that so much got done. This group helped build a tin roof lean-to for the Sunday School classroom at church, held three medical clinics, pressure-washed and painted part of the dorm, helped out with the neighborhood Bible class, and visited some of the families that Little Hands serves.
This morning we got up at 5:30 to say good bye. Once again, we are sad to bid farewell to people we didn't know a week ago, but now we think of as part of our family. We are thankful for all the work that was accomplished and the encouragement that they were to everyone here at Little Hands. We pray for a safe trip home and look forward to seeing everyone again someday.

Just a quick note..we finally updated Jonathan's blog. You'll find a link at the left side of this blog if you're interested.

Washington Group

The group from Washington state arrived on Friday at noon. They traveled safely with no problems due to the present political situation. We are excited to have them here and looking forward to this coming week that we will spend together.

Here is the part of the group posing with our kids at the fort during the "town tour".

Sunday morning we attended Limonal Church of Christ and after the service split into groups to visit and share lunch with the church families.

This morning we did our first medical clinic way out in Santa Fe. In five hours sixty patients saw the doctor and received appropriate medicines or other help such as nebulizer treatments. There were also activities for the children and people available to pray for/with anyone who wanted to.

During the clinic, we met Genisy. She is ten months old and is unable to sit or grasp objects. Her head is very enlarged. We hope to find a pediatric neurosurgeon to help diagnose what the problem is and get us started on a plan to help this sweet baby. Please pray that Little Hands will be able to make a difference in her life and that her mother would see how very much Jesus loves and cares for all His children.

The Blue Bag

The first rule I learned after coming to Honduras was "Be flexible!" The second was almost equally important..."Be prepared!" Shortly after our family moved here, I realized that I needed to have a bag ready to go at a moments notice with a whole list of necessities because you never know what might happen. You never know if the road will be closed and you may end up stuck out in the village for an extended period of time. You never know if there will be any toilet paper available, that is if you can find a toilet available! You never know if the situation will change unexpectedly so that bug repellent or sunscreen become very important to have on hand. Thus, we created THE BLUE BAG! I suppose this is not unlike the diaper bag I carried years ago, which always was loaded down with alot more than diapers! Just for fun, I decided to list out the contents for all interested parties. Who knows, perhaps God will call you to a similar situation and this may inspire you to get prepared!

• Sunscreen
• Insect repellent
• Sunglasses
• Toilet paper
• Tiny first aid kid
• Hand Sanitizer
• Granola bars
• Inhaler and Spacer
• Allergy medicine
• Motion Sickness Medicine
• Small amounts of other medicines
• Pocket Spanish/English Dictionary
• Cell phone
• Keys

Nixia and baby, Britteny

Those of you that have come to visit Little Hands in the years past will remember, Nixia. Just recently, she came by to show off her new baby girl, Britteny. As Nixia starts out as a single mom, please pray for her to make decisions in the future that will break the cycle that continues to repeat itself in so many of the young women here in Honduras.

Political Unrest

Yesterday on the way back from SPS to take my parents and nephew to the airport, we found out that Mel Zelaya was back in Honduras, hiding out in the Brazilian embassy. We're currently under lock down with the curfew, that suddenly started yesterday afternoon about an hour before we made it back to Trujillo, still in effect. From the reports that we have heard, there has been some violence in the capital where Mel has asked his supporters to come. Here, things are relatively calm. We're staying close to home, but hope to get out tomorrow and stock up on some food essentials in case things take a turn for the worse. We are thankful to have our water filter up and running again, so drinking water is no problem. We continue to have problems with little or no tap water during the day. (There has been so little rain; this is a problem for most of Trujillo.) Please pray for a peaceful end to the current political unrest. Pray for a quick resolution and protection for the many innocent people already suffering in this country. Pray that we will continue to be a light to those around us.

Day of the Child

Today we celebrated Dia de Nino. All the weekly neighborhood Bible class kids were invited along with all the families Little Hands serves.

There were two pinatas, one for big kids and one for litte ones.

We gave out over 90 gift bags containing candy, small toys, and a Bible tract.

Baby Rosa and her mom, Vanessa were there and they both looked great. Vanessa is still working and beng mentored by a wonderful Christian woman who has worked closely with Little Hands in the past. My mom (and dad) gave Rosa some extra snuggle time.

Mom, Dad, and Blair Visit

Friday afternoon, my parents and nephew got into Trujillo after the long drive from San Pedro Sula. They will be here to visit for a week. We are so excited to have this time with them. They have already pitched right in working along side Brian today and helping me out with the kids. The kids and I are STILL battling sickness so I really appreciated the extra help. We have a full schedule planned of people we want them to meet and things to do so we are praying that we all are well soon and can start enjoying our time together.

Visit from Tomkins

Dwight and Joanne Tomkins of the Mission Point Resource Center in Olancho arrived Sunday afternoon and stayed through this morning. We had a lovely visit, spending time talking, sharing, and encouraging one another. Our kids have all been sick since we got back a week ago so I appreciated Joanne's nursing experience and advice. This morning over breakfast, we marveled how blessed we are! As missionaries, we left behind our families, but because of the bond we have in Christ, we have family all over the world. It really was a blessing to get to know the Tomkins and we hope to visit them later this fall.
One other highlight...Sunday night Brian preached for the first time at church in Spanish! His sermon was about how we are the light the of the world. He ended with an object lesson. Before turning all the lights off, he had handed out candles and then very clearly showed how one person living for Jesus can share that light with others until the room was full of light!

More about Jonathan

Last night they had the wake/funeral and this morning they buried Jonathan. Here in Honduras, when there is a funeral, the family is responsible to feed everyone who comes, which is likely to be crowd. Little Hands contributed some food and drinks to help out. Nancy is very appreciative of everything. We hope to continue our relationship and try to help her make wise choices to prevent a premature birth next time. Thanks again for all your prayer support and kind words for all of us here at Little Hands.

Baby Jonathan

We just received word that early this morning, Baby Jonathan went to be with Jesus in a perfect place with no more pain or sadness. We are sad, but thankful that he won't have to suffer any more on this earth and we look forward to the day when we will meet him in heaven. Thank you all for praying for Jonathan and his mother.

This is the first loss that we have had while here at Little Hands. It is very difficult for us to understand why we should lose this little one. There is a voice that says "what a waste" that the work we did was for nothing. But then we also know that the help that we give to these children has more to do with others than with the child alone. Yes, we help the child, but we also help the parents and the culture to see the great value that God has for all life. In helping the least of these, we demonstrate the love of God to the children, the parents, and the culture. God created man in His image. All men. Whether poor, or rich, or healthy, or disabled, Jesus died for them all. In the process of helping these famlies, we have an opportunity to explain and demonstrate what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the most important point of all. All of this has been accomplished in this opportunity to help little Jonathan and his mother Nancy.

Please continue to pray for Nancy. She was touched by several people that got involved simply to share the Love of God. I pray that she will enter into a relationship with Jesus and know His peace. Right now, as I write, Nancy is on a bus on her way back to Trujillo holding her Jonathan's body in her arms and sobbing. Please pray for her. And for opportunities for us to minister to her. Our work is not over. We are watching for God's Hand at work.

Pray for Baby Jonathan!

This little baby needs a miracle! When they arrived in SPS, there were no incubators available to put him in. They gave the mother a tank of oxygen and a mask and told her to hold it over his face. That was yesterday...apparently now there is a team of doctors who are trying to help, but they are giving no hope for survival. Jonathan is now in a coma in ICU.
We are feeling helpless because no one from Little Hands is there pushing the medical staff to give their best effort. Our contact person there in the city is out of the country. It is likely that without someone to speak for them, Jonathan and his poor, uneducated mom will be brushed aside. We were able to contact another Christian friend in SPS and he is asking his pastor to go and be with Jonathan's mom.
Please, please pray for Baby Jonathan! Pray for a miracle that will obviously be God's hand at work! Pray that the doctors will be amazed! Please spread the word to your friends and churches and ask people to cover this baby in prayer.

Baby Jonathan

I just wanted to relay a story about a little boy that we met just yesterday. His name is Jonathan Gabriel Centeno and he was born premature at 25 weeks . He is very tiny, 2 1/2 lbs., and has been in an incubator for 21 days now. One of the problems is that there is no special equipment or doctors to help this little boy here in Trujillo. He needs to go to San Pedro Sula, 6 hours from here, and be admitted to a hospital that has the necessary equipment and experience. Jeffrey had gone into the hospital to visit one of the children that we help when he met Jonathan's mother, Nancy. She explained the problems to Jeffrey and that she did not have the money to pay for the ambulance needed to take her to Catarina Rivas Hospital in San Pedro Sula. The cost for the Ambulance... $150. While home in the states to renew our visa, some special little girls in one family handed me some money that they had been saving to help the children here in some way. It came to $150. God is so awesome to provide in advance for the needs of His precious ones. Jeffrey couldn't believe when I told him about the gift. We did not have enough money to help this family and he didn't know what to do. As soon as Jeffrey brought the money to pay for the ambulance, they left for San Pedro Sula. Please pray for this family. More to come as we check up on Jonathan.

Out of Contact and Rosa Update

We have spent most of the month of August traveling, thus I haven't done much blogging. We are in the states now, but should be back in Honduras this week.
Here is what I know about little Rosa. We did see her again before we left Trujillo and she looked good. The last news we heard was that Vanessa and Rosa were staying in a good place where they could get the help they needed. We do not know if the seizure caused any permanent damage.

Udate on Rosa

Last night, at the hospital, they told Brian that Rosa is better. She has not had any more seizures. They wanted to keep her for 24 hours for observation, but then would release her. This morning, they are still saying that Rosa is ok, but they want to do a blood test before they send her home. That is about the extent of the technology they have here in Trujillo for running any tests. A doctor friend in the states says, the seizure from yesterday may have caused brain damage because it lasted for so long. And all the tests that need to be done to determine the cause or how to proceed from here are not available here, maybe not even in the big city. So, the prognosis doesn't look good. Please continue to pray for Rosa.

PRAY FOR ROSA

Urgent Prayer Request

Please pray for baby Rosa! This morning Brian and Jeffery took Vanessa and the baby to the hospital. Rosa is having convulsions. Pray that the hospital will have the knowledge and equipment to help little Rosa.

Precious Moments from Wednesday

Filamena, who's son has a heart problem, is entertaining another woman's son, Rebin, who has CP.

Ruth poses for a picture with her adult daughter who has Down Syndrome. They showed the other families with young special needs children what a difference early intervention can make in their lives.

The three kids facing this way all come from different families and have different disabilities. It was so neat to see them interact and play together.

Meeting of the Families

Today we had a special meeting for the families of the children with special needs that this ministry serves. It took several hours to get everyone here but it was well worth the effort. Jeffery and several others spoke trying to motivate the parents to make the most out of the help they receive from Little Hands by doing their part. It was a time of encouragement as mothers with children with similar disabilities were able to share with one another.

Roxanna and a helper had 27 kids in the preschool while the meeting took place. It was a busy place!

Mayra made Arroz Con Pollo for 70 people.

Some of the "little hands". (There wasn't room around the table for everyone!)

Here's the group photo, more to follow later.

Weekend Cruise

Last Sunday afternoon our family and another missionary family went on a boat ride across the bay and into the lagoons. It was an interesting trip. We did not get to see as much wildlife as we were hoping...the crocodiles are only at night, very disappointing to Jonathan! We were amazed at how huge the lagoon was after we came through a fairly narrow canal. There was quite a stiff breeze blowing making white caps on the water and rocking the boat when we hit the swells broadside. I was thankful no one got seasick!

Though not technically a cruise, a good time was had by all. (Actually the cruise part, that was just to see if you were paying attention!)

Update on Vanessa

By the end of last week, it seemed like we were really making progress and that Vanessa was learning and willing to work hard at taking care of herself and her baby. But over the weekend and yesterday morning, it became obvious that she is very much deceived by the older man who is the father of the baby. After treating her with contempt last week, he has sweet talked her right back to the place we are trying so hard to help her escape from. She thinks he will give her the moon and then some and cannot see how he continues to take advantage of her. We had a long difficult discussion with her and now it is up to her to make wise choices. Please pray that this week Vanessa will see what a snake this man is and that she will commit to live her life in a way that not only is pleasing to God, but also will be the best for herself and for baby Rosa.

Book Review

In the previous post, I talked about how we are reading through C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. "Roar!" by Heather Kopp and David Kopp has been our companion and helped to facilitate our chapter by chapter discussions. It is great resource and I have been so pleased with it, that I already ordered another copy because I am afraid that the one we have now will be in tatters by the time we are finished! There is a short selection for each chapter in the series and several other sections including glossaries, Biblical references, and articles about various issues that may come up as you read these books together with your children. We bought our copy from my favorite place to buy books: Christian Book Distributors, (www.cbd.com) and right now they still have it for an amazing discounted price. If you are planning to read through the Chronicles with your family, this is a wonderful tool to help you get the most out of C.S.Lewis's most popular books.

Sunday Afternoon Reading

I have waited for years to read the Chronicles of Narnia to our kids. We started reading aloud after supper when we still lived in the states and while good books are a very rare commodity in this third world country, we have tried to carry on the tradition here as well. Actually, we import all the books we read and that has made us cut back considerably! For a family that was used to getting 30-40 books at the library at a time, having only a few great books to savor together has made us really appreciate the ones we do have! Now that the kids are so grown up, we decided it was time to explore Narnia together! We just finished, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Last Sunday afternoon, we sat around in our screen porch and listened as Brian read.

After each chapter, we pause and talk about what we read. We've enjoyed some really insightful and humorous comments by the kids. They are enjoying these times as much as we are and we're all looking forward to the next book.

Vanessa's Week of Intensive OJT

Vanessa has spent the last week under our care 24 hours day. Our focus has been to help her re-establish her milk supply so she can breast feed Rosa and learn how to care for her baby.

Maybelline demonstrating how to clean baby's ears.

Tonight we celebrated with pizza to honor Vanessa for working so hard this past week.

Tomorrow, Vanessa will go back to her house and family, but we plan to continue to help her grow into her new role as mother and woman of the house. It is our hope that she will continue to spend her days here next week when we will focus on cooking and more baby care.