We sent our information to the Manufacturer’s Association on 8/11 and they sent it to their members on the same day; we received a response from the Landau Corporation 8/12 and were invited to tour their facility in Puerto Cortes on 8/13. I was expecting a shop of 50 workers or so; it turned out to be a factory with almost 700 employees. They gave us the tour, committed to donating two industrial machines, offered a source where we can get more at a good price, and offered to continue helping us in any way possible…. We all went to church at ICF this morning; then Gene Moffitt and I went to the airport and picked up Mike Brady…. Instead of having a regular church service here this afternoon, Luis’s daughters and sons in law, and our team members went into several homes in Seis de Mayo to share the Gospel. Four people accepted Christ.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Living in a third world country, you realize how greatly we in the USA have been blessed. However, those blessings not kept in perspective will diminish our dependence upon God
Linda left today due to a family emergency; plans to return later on. Cheryl and Margaret went to a ladies luncheon in San Pedro; Nicholas and I visited a mission school project run by a group from CA. Very encouraging. I went to see an ENT doctor to seek help for Oscar Chavarra. No answer yet. We had a good meeting with Linda and Margaret on Thursday regarding the manufacturing project; discussed the need to take the next step forward. We bought shelving for the fabric and ordered more. Joel from Seis and his dad will continue construction. I have to meet with the villagers soon regarding the water purification project.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: They're telling those doing the surveys that when they look at the church they're not seeing the attributes of Christ; the fruits of the Spirit. Instead, they are seeing hypocrisy, legalism, materialism, compromise, unforgiveness. So then, it looks like the culprit in this case is not some college professor who is teaching about evolution. The problem seems to be us. With regard to young people leaving the church, we may be our own worst enemy.
I had planned to return to Honduras tomorrow but for several reasons have postponed my return until the 22nd. I finally got to the post office today (we’ve been snowed in) to mail the payroll check for February 15. I sent it overnight to Miami; I certainly hope they get it on time. About 10 days ago I had a lesion removed from my arm and returned today to have the stitches removed. The laboratory report indicated that it is basal‐cell carcinoma. The report also indicated that the doctor had not gotten all of it so he had to do more surgery today. He won't be able to take the stitches out until the 21st, the day before I leave for Honduras, but I guess that will be okay. I got a response from Luis Paz today. He made it clear that the rice processing plant is currently being used as a warehouse, but he also said that he will clear out part of it for our use. He's leaving for the States on February 24, but wants to meet me on the property on the 23rd. PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray that we will have a good meeting and that he will permit us enough space to do what we need to do in February and March while the team is there from First Methodist Church. THOUGHT FOR TODAY: If it's true that we solve our problems and move forward one day at a time by listening for the Lord's directive and taking the next step, then how in the world are the problems with the Middle East and the US economy going to be solved correctly if God is never even consulted?
I mentioned on Thursday that I had sent Luis Paz an e-mail asking if we could begin using the rice processing plant now. I got a response the very next day reiterating that he is eager to help us and that he is ready to talk. PRAYER REQUEST: That when First Methodist Church comes in March one of the projects will be to prepare the building to begin the manufacturing project.
We also got a message from Eliezar Bermudes, the author/teacher from Venezuela saying he will not be coming to the mission center in February. He still wants to come but will have to do it later on. Nicholas wrote that they picked up two students today for the Saturday carpentry class and that they have two more for the weekday classes with several others interested. I had a meeting today with Paul Mackey from First United Methodist Church. He will be coming with the March group, but also plans to make a quick trip down next month to gather information that will better prepare the group for when they arrive. Paul is a pilot with American Airlines and so it's pretty easy for him to make such a trip.
Yesterday was a red letter day for us in that we heard from all five of our kids- Jenny and Jeffrey here in Tulsa; Michael in Kentucky; Marisa in Florida; and Amy in California. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thought for Today:Someone has said, "worry is practical atheism." I don't know about that, but I do know the more I pray the less I worry; the less I pray the more I worry.
Mark and Linda Bullard were here yesterday to talk about the manufacturing project at the Mission Center. Linda will be coming down with Margaret Brewer in February. We also heard from Dick Cote yesterday. He is the surgeon in Maine who is going to help our shop workers learn how to produce hardware for some their surgical procedures. He got the idea for this project while visiting us in 2008. - - - - - - - - - - - - - GARY'S THOUGHTS: I think one of the main reasons people pray so little is because they are afraid. Ironically, there may be reason to fear. A.W. Tozer wrote, "To do His supreme work within you He will take away from your heart everything you love the most. Everything you trust in will go from you. Piles of ashes will lie where your most precious treasures used to be...." That may be different things for different people. I think a good example might be found in the parable of the Rich Young Ruler.
Nelson began putting together his next class today, and so far he has 45 new students including one of the local pastors. They now have access to the Internet and that helps to get new students. I also signed a stack of diplomas today for his graduating class as well as Norma's. They will have their ceremony near Christmas time. Alfredo called again last night from North Carolina and he has moved his arrival date to November 24. He will be arriving at 1 AM; Nicholas will take Flor and the kids to meet him. Amado Perez, the man who has been recommended to be our welding teacher, came today. He's 45 years old, has several certificates, and a good deal of experience. He lives about five hours away, which poses something of a problem. If he were to work for us he would likely move his family close by. We gave him the talk, the tour, and lunch, and afterword he seemed pretty excited about the thought of teaching here. I think we will probably offer him a job. He's a Christian and active in his church. I saw Gladys, one of our best sewing students, at City Hall today. I'm not sure why she was there, but her topic of conversation was the fact that there are no jobs here and she has to support her family. I explained our plan to teach the sewing students to produce items for sale and she became very excited. Today is payday. Nicholas went to the bank to get the money and on the way back the truck broke down. He doesn't dare get on the bus with that much money so Beto took the van to pick it up. Joel stayed to guard the place. It's 8:45. Beto brought the money back but I still haven't heard from Nicholas so I'm not sure what's happening with regard to the pickup. Guess that's about it. Cheryl and I will be leaving in the morning to return to Tulsa.
Today we had Luis Paz and family along with Denny Boersema for lunch to discuss the church and the appointment of the pastor. Even though we come from varying points of view, I think we are in agreement about the type of person we need to pastor the church.
We also talked about Gathering Hearts and some of our plans for the future, including our plan to begin manufacturing goods for sale in the US. At that, Luis said, almost incidentally, that he had a vision of us using his house here and the rice processing plant as a place to begin manufacturing goods.
The meeting was held in the new church.
You could have knocked us over with a feather. In fact, I asked him to repeat it just to be sure we understood it correctly. We had thought that we would need to purchase that building to use it and wondered just how we were going to get those funds.
Other aspects of this manufacturing projects seem to be coming together as well. Yesterday Flor told me that Alfredo is planning to come back Honduras from North Carolina soon; it sounded like quite soon. From the very start, he is the one we had in mind to be in charge of the woodworking operations. Today we had a message from Margaret Brewer saying that she and Linda Bullock are planning a trip here shortly after the first of the year. They are coming in order to train the sewing ladies to begin making articles for sale.