So much is happening.  The group went to ICF for church yesterday and then we had our service here at 3.  More people than we’ve ever had.  Marcus said people started lining up at 5 am; clinic starts at 9.   Yesterday the secretary of the village council came from Sies de Mayo for a meeting. Turns out she is an RN and will come everyday if we need her.  We need her! 

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The rest of the group from FUMC arrived yesterday. Beto drove one of the vehicles to the airport. He hasn't made much progress as a driver so thanks for your prayers. Today we spent the entire day in the villages going house to house inviting the people to church tomorrow, praying for those in need, and giving out clothes.  It was a wonderfully rewarding experience for all of us.... Yesterday the teachers were preparing materials for the children's program on Monday; Perla and Carlitos stuck right with them to help.... Oscar Chavaria came today for Dr. Dudney to take a look at his throat; it has not closed as we thought it would. It looks like we will have to take him back to the surgeon to get it closed. You'll remember that Oscar is the one that was slashed multiple times with a machete, including his throat, and left for dead. He was not a Christian at that time, but now is probably the most zealous you will ever meet. He has a fourth-grade education but today read to me from the Psalms, and he reads as well as I'd. This is truly a miracle of God!            

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  A number of years ago while working for a Christian institution, I started a newsletter for managers. It included employee of the month; management tips; pertinent legislation; and my favorite part, a short article I wrote on living the Christian life. I can remember where I was sitting in my office when I realized we had been doing this less than two years and as far as how to live the Christian life, I had nothing more to say. From that experience I learned an important lesson. I'll share more about that later.

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Yesterday was payday; thank God again, we had enough to cover it.... Jerry and Connie Presley arrived today to get things ready for the rest of their group from First United Methodist Church In Tulsa that arrives tomorrow.  They will provide medical care, presentations in public and private schools, eye clinic, construction, veterinary care, etc.... Since we arrived back in Honduras, life has been pretty typical: our dryer has quit completely; same for the air conditioner; we had problems with the white van yesterday, and so on and so on.....            

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  Peter vowed he would be true to Jesus even at the cost of his life; but Jesus knew better. Before the rooster crowed, Peter had disowned Him three times. It is clear from the account that Peter didn’t know his own heart (Jeremiah 17:9).  Do you know your own heart? Do I know mine?  What would I really do in the situation  Peter faced? I have to admit, I'm not sure. A good place to begin getting insight into that question is by reading some of the accounts in Extreme Devotion published by The Voice of the Martyrs.

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I met with the president of the village council yesterday concerning the OSU water treatment project. I was troubled to hear that she's having a difficult time getting the people to participate. They're saying that they have used the dirty water for so long that they become immune to the diseases that it causes; it's too much work to pour water into the filter during the day, and they think $25 is too much to pay for one of the filters; OSU engineering department will pay the rest. Remember, that purchase would last for several years and yet they are willing to pay a dollar and a half every day for a 3 liter bottle of Pepsi. I think we may have a problem with priorities…. We continue to get things in order for the group that will begin arriving tomorrow. I think we have some really good projects and activities. Today we are going to San Pedro to tie up some loose ends and pick up Linnell Fields and a couple of her friends.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  I continue to be amazed at how much more I get done just by getting up an hour earlier. It seems like I am getting almost twice as much done. I keep bringing it up because if I don't, I know from experience that within 30 days I will have backslidden to my old ways.  I know from further experience that I won't get everything done.  I've had to take the position that if it's important it will come forth as an issue; if it doesn't come forth as an issue, it probably isn't important.

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Yesterday Cheryl got involved in a couple of things that she's been asking me to do for quite some time, and I hadn't done it. After I took her suggestion and went over to the manufacturing facility to take a look at some doors and other things, we got more done in the next few hours than you would imagine. Alfredo and Nicholas went to Puerto Cortes and bought lumber and a number of other supplies. Later on in the day we talked about other projects, and I think we're in pretty good shape for the group that arrives on Thursday…

         


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Yesterday I asked Chicho from Seis de Mayo to cut my hair. He hasn't had much experience, but I wanted to give him the business. I got a little  nervous when I saw all the hair hitting the floor; but it turned out to be a good haircut. Before he left, I talked to him about the possibility of getting a small loan to start a barbershop in his house. I have seen him hanging out in some very bad places lately... I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but our employees here at the mission center have established a little "credit union" and he could probably get a loan there.... Yesterday Mauricio, the general manager of the Landau factory, invited us to lunch at his home and to meet his family. We had a really nice time. He told us Landau is donating another 21 industrial sewing machines; that makes a total of 32. They are also adopting Gathering Hearts as their community service project....  We also went to the private school yesterday and got a very positive report on the 10 scholarship recipients. We are storing the roofing there at the school for the family on the mountain; we will have it carried up next week. We will also take Dr. Thurman's chainsaw to cut some trees for posts to reinforce the roof.... Today we are having an employee luncheon to bring them up-to-date on upcoming events.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  I have noticed a couple of times lately when dealing with financial matters and I don't have exact information, I tend to estimate in my own favor. In a sense, I am making a little compromise in order to get what God would freely give. Sometimes we give up so much to gain so little.

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UPDATE 02/07/2012
 
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MAURICIO WITH HIS WIFE AND EMPLOYEES WITH GARY PRIOR TO TOUR OF PRODUCTION CENTER (TAKEN IN THE CHURCH)
Mauricio and his team of direct reports came out Saturday morning, including the heads of human resources and accounting; managers of quality control, production; and setup and maintenance of all machinery. There were two others, but I don't remember what they do. The Landau Company encourages its employees to get involved in community service and in the past they have helped organizations like Habitat for Humanity. However, Mauricio said they are planning to now adopt the Gathering Hearts Production Center as their project. Actually, each of these people also has their own team, so we could have 10 different work teams involved in this project. It was all very encouraging… Saturday afternoon Beto and I took Carlitos, Perla, and Esmeralda to Puerto Cortes to buy things for school. I asked Carlitos if classes had begun; he said Perla had started but he had not because he didn't have any shoes. So, we bought three pair of shoes and three long lists of school supplies….We stayed at the Harrison’s after the Super Bowl yesterday, and spent today in San Pedro taking care of business that had accumulated while we were gone; and bringing in groceries and supplies for the team arriving 2/17.  

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GARY EXPLAINING THE VISION TO MAURICIO'S TEAM IN THE PRODUCTION CENTER
THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  We never have to wait for the right moment to ask forgiveness; it’s always the right moment.
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UPDATE 02/03/2012
 
2/3/2011 Cheryl and I arrived in San Pedro last night. We flew standby, but made every one of our three connections and so were able to make the trip in a single day. It was after dark when we arrived so we stayed in the hotel and came on home this morning… Mauricio will be out in the morning; he's bringing 10 people from the factory with him, including their head accountant. Their objective is to survey our facility and come up with a specific plan and dates to be ready for production… I met with Nicholas this afternoon and he told me that most of the needy children from the villages who received scholarships to the private school are now outfitted with uniforms and have their books. The only thing left are notebooks and shoes for Carlitos, Perla, and Esmeralda, the youngest of Lourdes’s kids, who is beginning the program this year. Beto and I will take them to Puerto Cortes tomorrow afternoon to buy those… Nicholas starts his pastoral training program this weekend so Beto will drive us into church on Sunday. Please pray. After church there is a Super Bowl party at the Harrison's. We will spend the night with them.
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Gary purchasing shoes, clothes and school supplies so that Carlitos, Pearla and Emeralda can attend school. School started this week.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  Earlier this week I was experiencing a new vitality, optimism, and increased sense of the Lord's presence.  I was thinking maybe without even knowing it I had entered a new dispensation; or achieved a new level of spirituality; or that I had finally pushed the right button and that's how it's going to be from now on.   Fortunately or unfortunately, that wasn't true at all. I just hadn't made the connection; we had ended a time of fasting only a couple days before. I'm the same person I've always been. I'm redeemed, but destined to fall again if I don't continue to pray, study the Bible, memorize verses, and have periodic times of fasting
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UPDATE 02/01/2012
 
_ I missed a day. I got water on my computer and had to let it dry out. Yesterday was payday and Nicholas called to see if he could cash the check.  Thank God I could tell him yes, there is enough in the bank to cover it… We got a message from Mauricio on Sunday confirming February 4 as the date he will bring out his team from the factory. He said, "The plan is to clean up and develop a plan with the volunteers and set milestones with dates."  

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  When we say all things work together for good, maybe we should go on to explain that the statement makes sense when we look at the bigger picture.  All things are not necessarily good until we put them in context of everything else. All things really “are good” when they are “working together”.  I once heard Dr. Robert Voight liken it to baking a cake. He said that each ingredient may not taste good by itself; but when they are all combined, out comes a cake, and that is very good.

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UPDATE 01/28/2012
 
_ I got this letter from Nicholas: “Today the parents and students arrived (at the Mission Center) in order to meet with the director of “Dias Felizes” and enroll in school. Books for high school are 650 lempiras ($34) and for grade school 600 ($31). Some can afford to buy them but at least four cannot, Lourdes’s children, and one from Rondon”. He also said some of the kids have ordered uniforms from the seamstress in Campana, but she ran out of fabric.  She may have more next week.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Real victory is not when we have simply endured a hard time and come out on the other side.  Real victory is when we are still in the midst of it and can breathe a sigh of relief at the remembrance that all things do indeed work together for good.  Rest when there’s trouble requires faith, not just the belief that it’s true.  

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