Gathering Hearts for Honduras

The doctors are trying to adjust medications that will not interfere with Gary's heart meds but Gary is falling a lot and his cognitive skills are still impaired. For those who don't know, Gary had a fall and hit his head early February and we began noticing that his responses were not his usual. Tests show that he has had a stroke.  We appreciate your continued prayers for Gary as he recovers. Update posted by Janice.

We would appreciate your prayers especially for Gary. An MRI showed there has been a stroke. Gary is not incapacitated, but he is definitely not himself and we do not yet know the extent of the damage.

We are to depart San Pedro tomorrow morning and arrive in Tulsa tomorrow night and hopefully be in a doctor’s office on Wednesday.

It is hard to leave here. There has been such great momentum with two teams just here and another one arriving on Saturday. You could check out the blog of what team members from FUCM experienced here in February at www.firstmissionwordpress.com  . Isaac Hotz medical team from Greely, CO will also be sending in some blogs.

Do pray for the Oklahoma State University team of nineteen that will be here next week. The “president” of Seis de Mayo who coordinated the water filter program with them was killed in a car accident not long after she had met with us in the mission center. Please pray for her family, this project and for the OSU team who will have neither Gary nor I and now also not their coordinator.

Isaac Hotz and team  saw nearly 300 patients in three and a half days. This included going out in a  rural area of RonDon.   There are so many setbacks. Wednesday we were without water and electricity. 

There were more than several seriously ill people who needed a lot of care and yet this team made the best of it.

They were also a great help and encouragement to us personally. They made difficult situations easier. It was at this time we thought our van would be confiscated by the police. The police had pulled Nicolas over because he did not have some kind of documentation license plates, BUT the company that makes the plates has been on strike. They threatened to take the van if their deadline was not met. If they had confiscated it, It would not have been back in the same condition. Nicolas managed to get the right documentation in time. He is such a blessing.

Dr Isaac Hotz and his team left today. Pictures and blogs of their time here is coming. We are not preparing for the Oklahoma State University Engineers without Borders team of 19 to arrive on Saturday.  Yesterday, we met with Claudia, the president of Seis de Mayo. She is the coordinator between the villagers who have water filters and the engineers. She has worked with us for some time.  Later in the day after she left here, she was killed in a car accident in Campana, just north of here. Do pray for her loved ones and for all concerned in this project.

Dr Isaac Hotz’s team of doctors and medical staff saw over 275 patients in three days and clinic is still going on today. People from the villages start coming to the mission center as early as six and wait in line until nine when the clinic begins. Tuesday, in spite of a heavy wind storm, then went to  a nearby village, RonDon, to see 87 patients, some too ill to come to clinic.

Yesterday was more excitement that we like to have in one day. In addition to having no electricity and no water, the police pulled Nicolas over in our new van and said they would confiscate it if we did not get plates and some other documentation. The company that manufactures the plates has been on strike, and there are no plates to be found. Our concern was that if they did get the van, it could be a long to time to process and it would not come back the same. They gave Nicolas a grace time to get the documentation. That is not easy to get in a hurry down here, but Nicolas managed it and we have the van today.

The FUMC team left last week and we have been tying up loose ends since they left. More than several villagers have come for their "appointments" to have their eyes examined. What a blessing that FUMC left us with this ministry plus all the supplies to continue dispensing eye glasses.

Thirty five new students enrolled in the computer class this session making
it nearly 70 students total. English as a Second Language, which is learning
English through Bible study, got a big boost while Ellen LaGone was here
with the team. She has her masters in this and taught every day. This has
given Nelson much needed training. Each computer student now hears the Word, but also is studying it. So grateful to Kathy Pile and Amanda Lewis who jump started this in July.

This afternoon we are meeting with someone who may need help with medical
expenses. Tonight we bring in Isaac Hotz' team from CO.

The feeding program has expanded fast. Each morning we provide milk and either rice or oatmeal for the children. Their faces tell us thank you.

The ebb and flow of serving one another is very apparent. A real rhythm amongst the team.  It is a joy to see one another shine in their serving roles.

he Honduran people are so gracious.  They wait patiently to see Dr Bill and to have their eyes examined by Dr. DeRoy.  It is a great blessing to witness their expressions when they receive their new glasses and they read in the exam room Proverbs 20:12…Ears that hear and eyes that see-the Lord has made them both.  God gave Sarah Meadows this verse Monday morning during her “solo” time.  Initially we read the patients this verse in Spanish, then before long decided it would be better for them to read it themselves.  Their expressions of being able to see and read the Bible are treasured!

Our clinic work finished, this final full day was set aside for clean up,  inventory of remaining medicine, and a short afternoon excursion. We went to an old Spanish fort. Our tour guide listened to us sing in the chapel of the fort and then had us stand outside to hear how the acoustics carried out into the courtyard. Facing the back wall he began singing incredible and powerful operatic songs. We had to sing again and then he sang again. We won’t remember much concerning the history of the fort, but we will remember always the beauty of the shared songs.

In the late afternoon we returned to San Pedro Sula to spend the night near the airport. We stopped briefly outside the city at the river of me to take pictures of the “river people” area.

We ate at the hotel where we had attended the international worship service on Sunday. On the top floor of the hotel a fine steakhouse provided us with an open air dinner overlooking the entire city of San Pedro Sula, the renowned city of wickedness in our time. From view to view I moved to pray over this city. Pray with us for this city to repent of the greed and corruption and murder that permeates this country and region of the world. We slept in a bread & breakfast owned by the same man who owns the rice factory in Seis de Mayo next to Gathering Hearts Mission which will be the production center when the electricity gets connected. This same owner is responsible for building the little church near the mission where we ministered last Sunday afternoon. Before heading out to the airport our final stop was an hour in the market. We thought our mission was complete. But behold, God was not finished with us yet

(Written now by Bill Dudney) At the market waiting for us was Marco Gomez, the manager of the hotel from Puerto Cortes, 45 min away that we left yesterday. He found a paper in one of our rooms with our itinerary and knew we would be at this market at this time. So when we arrived, he was waiting to see us and to talk to me about the Lord and the emptiness he felt in heart after I talked to him yesterday in the hotel lobby and gave him one of our witnessing tracts that we brought. I told him then about knowing Jesus in a personal way. He said he thought he was a Christian yesterday. When we were leaving the hotel I was telling Sarah that I believe Marco is going to become a strong believer and influence many for Jesus. And we both said to him that we will email him and stay in contact. So suddenly he appears in San Pedro Sula wanting to talk to us. He said this morning he was compelled to come and talk to us about the emptiness in his heart. So we talked some more about the Lord and being in relationship with Him and he was eager to pray a prayer of commitment to be a real follower of Jesus and let Jesus be Lord of his life. We all rejoiced in this and feel in our hearts that the Lord is going to use Marco in a great way. It was a true miracle of the Lord directly speaking to Marco after our witness encounter in the hotel lobby. It is so joyful and fulfilling to see Marco come so eagerly to Jesus with this deeper commitment. I gave him what follow up materials I had and he plans to come to Gathering Hearts to help with translation work with other groups in the future.

So we had a day of joy serving the Lord today in Honduras.

Over the last three days we have seen 116 people in the medical clinic and dispensed 78 pairs of glasses in the eye care clinic.

We have taught in the private and public schools. We have led English language training in the mission center school.

We have done crafts and teaching to 80 or more kids today alone as families waited to see the doctor. Eight people coming through the clinic received Christ for the first time and many others got a new Bible. Women came to hear Bible teaching on life struggles and additional training on how to sew a backpack has been provided.

It has been like a three ring circus complete with a monkey who lives down the street from the Gathering Hearts Mission Center. We are happy and we know it! How about you?

by Terry White, FUMC

I heard Perla singing today; a year ago she couldn't even smile. Last night I took a walk through the streets of Seis de Mayo. It's been a while since I've been there for any length of time. The first person I met was the young man -  he let me buy him a bag of chips. He's got a lot of potential, but he begins drinking on Saturday night and doesn’t quit until Monday morning. I invited him to join our carpentry class. I also met a new friend who is heavy equipment operator; and another who is a public account. I visited with Sonia; Gladys wasn't home. A man from Texas has started a project in Chamelncito and needs two ladies to teach.  These ladies both have children and are unemployed. I dropped by Otilia’s house and discussed, among other things, the upcoming visit from the OSU engineering students. The village council is working with them on the water filter project… We had quite few in church yesterday; all of them children. Carson and Winnie presented a lesson designed just for children. 

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:  Yesterday, except for our own church here in the village, we stayed home and just rested. I can't remember ever spending a whole day just resting. I probably have taken Sunday off from time to time but felt guilty if I wasn't doing something spiritual. One thing I observed is that celebrating a true Sabbath has some very practical value. As I was sitting completely idle, I considered solutions to long standing problems, new ideas for ministry, insights on Scriptural passages, and so on. God knows that if we don't take some time off we will continue missing the obvious. Maybe that's why God made observing the Sabbath one of the commandments.