Gathering Hearts for Honduras

We got to Tulsa about 6 pm, dropped the boys off at the house, and went to the Carpenters (FUMC) Sunday school class evening meeting. They are real prayer warriors and we like to keep them up to date. On 5/13 I wrote that we needed $2200 for payroll on the 15th and that we had $2185; lacked $15. When we got out of the mountains of Kentucky where we could receive an Internet connection there was an e-mail from Bridge the Gap International saying "a deposit of $15.12 was made to Gathering Hearts today.”…. We are most grateful to Jim Redyke and Gene Moffitt for their recent visit to the mission center. In addition to identifying and meeting a need at the manufacturing facility, they showed that you don't need a week of free time to come and visit us; they had less than 24 hours. (I almost said that Jim "exploded” the myth). 

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  To the extent we make verbal commitments to the Lord (e.g. “I give up all my plans… and accept Your will for my life… forever”) without a commitment from the heart we begin to immunize ourselves against the true Gospel.  Aldus Huxley once wrote, “The third petition of the Lord’s Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of anyone’s will being done but their own.”  I think he might have gone on to say, “And they don’t feel a thing.”  That sounds like immunization.

Cheryl had a really special birthday yesterday; she received about 70 Facebook cards. The surgeon examined Oscar and felt optimistic. Surgery will be performed tomorrow morning 7 at CEMESA, private hospital. Not sure of the cost; scheduled it on faith. Joel performed first test of the OSU water filters; two thirds failed. Back to the drawing board. ------  One of my favorite responsibilities at St. Francis Health System was workforce development – working with managers to match employees strengths and interests with departmental job tasks, and then delegating-- really delegating. The result was better departmental performance; greater job satisfaction; and fewer people needed to get the job done. As we continue to add more and more projects here, I think we need to do some workforce development. We have employees with the capacity do much more and many of them have free time on their hands. Furthermore, there are people in the village in need of a job who likewise have great capabilities.  ---- I met the man today whose company has built big buildings in Puerto Cortes, including the big FICOHSA bank building. Were thinking maybe he can help us divide the dorm project into more manageable segments. 

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  The wisdom of this world says don't spend your money, invest it. To the believer, what is more valuable than money? Time. Time is more valuable than money. Therefore don't spend it, invest it -- in prayer, Bible study, service to others.

I continue to be very grateful that Nicholas is part of the ministry. He again is handling a delicate matter in the same way that I would handle it myself if I were there. About six weeks ago we received a staggering electric bill. Either there had been some accumulation over the previous months; or there is a problem with our meter; or there is some pirating going on ; or they are just trying to soak us.   We can't just ignore it or they'll cut off our electricity. In any event, the course of action that he took is the same course I would take if I were there. We spent the day today on the phone and sending paperwork back and forth. We have made an arrangement with the energy commission that should serve us until I return to Honduras in January.

     __________________________________________________________
 
We Christians say prayer is a priority. Which other one of our priorities gets (according to surveys) 3 to 5 minutes per day; the equivalent of about one day a year?

I just finished writing our greeting and message to our employees who will be having their graduation and Christmas parties tomorrow. This year we have invited the families of each of our employees so it should be a joyous occasion. Before we left we bought each of the ladies a blender and each of the men a leather wallet.  As you know, the 15th, Wednesday, was the day when each employee receives his/her regular paycheck and an additional month's pay. As is often the case that turned out to be quite an adventure. We didn't have quite enough to cover the check that I left for the occasion, but there were four smaller checks which, added together, brought us within $2.96 of having enough.  I was thrilled until I received a phone call from Nicholas about an hour later.  I had forgotten that the bank requires that I estimate the actual date when each check will be cashed.   That being the case, each of the checks had a date sometime later on in December or in January. Thus, we were right back where we started. That is until today when we received notice that another check had come in which covered the entire amount. I shared this with the employees so they know that God has answered their prayers and ours as well.   

I mentioned a couple of days ago that tomorrow, the 30th, we needed $2000 for payroll and other expenses. Actually I was off by a hundred dollars; we actually need $1900. We got a note from Donna Garrett this morning that while she was out of town she had received in the mail $1127 in checks. Also this morning we got a $500 refund from the hospital. Those two amounts plus our current balance brings us to within $130. We still have about 24 hours before we actually have to have the money so we will likely still make it.* Things have been pretty busy with the holidays and with preparing for Cheryl's surgery tomorrow. Please say a prayer for her at 8:30 tomorrow morning. With all that's going on it is tempting to want to put some of the Ministry work on hold until things calm down a little. However, I spent a fair amount of time this morning praying about the matter and I really believe we should take the next step with regard to our project of producing goods for sale. I'm not exactly sure what that would be, but I have asked the Lord and we are prepared to do it. It seems to me the next logical thing would be for Alfredo to begin putting things in order and recruiting students to begin in January. That puts another person on the payroll, which is a challenge, but I think it's probably the right thing to do.  

*  When I got the mail this evening, among other things there was a check for $125. We are just five dollars short. Praise the Lord for his faithfulness.

Today was payday, and as usual we were not quite sure where the money was going to come from. The salaries, pay for extra workers, car registration, and other expenses came to $3208. We had a small check from one of the churches; $79 cash on hand, $158 collected from the clinic, and $2971 balance in our checking account for a total of $3260. We made it with $52 to spare.