Sunday, November 16, 2008

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.

Friday, November 14, 2008

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.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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.

Friday, November 7, 2008

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.