Today we do not have all of our students. Some of them could not get out because of the flooding from Hurricane Matthew last Friday. Honduras was spared another big storm - Matthew was not as bad as predicted, but still widespread flooding and damage of many of the "huts". Josh Fellman arrived here in Honduras and was able to get that four foot satellite through all three terminals, but customs would not release it to us. Josh had to come up with a detailed listing of everything packed along with an invoice. We face potential high tariffs (They do not see many four foot satellites coming through the airlines). Gary and Josh are pleading their case at this time with customs. Please do pray for favor. This reduces the time Josh has to install and set up the satellite. Please pray that there will be not more obstacles and that Josh can get it up safely, quickly and get us better connections.
This is a shot of Beto and his son putting up the 3" galvanized steel pole. Josh Fellman will arrive tomorrow and Monday he and his crew will begin installation of the satellite. We had torrential rains and high winds last night and it was looking doubtful that they would be able to work today, but the rain stopped early this am and now the sun is breaking through. The hole is 3-4 feet down with a 3' cross bar and they will seal it with concrete.
This is the second day since we returned and I feel like we are in full swing. Nicholas went to San Pedro this morning and picked up the Ford van with its new set of brakes. Looks like it's in good shape now. This afternoon he and Beto are working on the pole assembly that will be used to mount the new 4 1/2 foot diameter satellite. Josh Fellman will be arriving on Sunday and will spend Monday and Tuesday doing that. This noon we sat down with Nicholas and explained all the exciting things that are happening in the ministry, including gearing up to begin manufacturing articles in our vo-tech schools for sale in the United States. We were careful to explain that this is not a short-term project; that it will take a long time to bring it into full swing. However, we do have enough commitment, materials, and expertise to at least get started. Having been gone as long as we were, it's amazing how many things don't work. The chair lift that Cheryl was depending upon because of her foot and knees is out of order; Joel just left my office from trying to fix the printer, unsuccessfully; the water filtration system that Denny and Howard put in is not working; etc. etc. etc. We are going to have to come up with a better system for keeping things in working order while we are gone. Even though there are some frustrations, it is so good to be back. Yesterday I was out at the airport rubbing shoulders with old friends, and as I said, it's so good to be back.
When I looked up after a hectic three or four days, I realized I have missed some entries. Cheryl and I were in a race to try to get everything done before we left Tulsa; I'm not sure if we succeeded but we left the house in Broken Arrow at 4:30 yesterday morning. As many of you know, someone purchased tickets for us on Continental Airlines and we arrived here in San Pedro before noon. The trip is never easy, but it was much easier this time having regular tickets. Since we both are still in recovery mode I wasn't sure that we could make a quick trip standby. As usual, things were in good order when we arrived but still much to be done. The Ford van and pickup are drivable, but still not in good shape. This afternoon Nicholas has gone back to town to deliver the van for a brake job. Helen Ruth Snipes arrived about noon today and seems to be very excited about getting started here at the mission center teaching and preparing the medical clinic for the next team. Incidentally, that next team will likely be Dr. Green and his group toward the end of October. Josh Fellman will arrive on Sunday to install the satellite so we are in the process of getting the mounting ready for that. As many of you know, we received money before we left to break ground for the dormitories. We have a long way to go, but at least it's a start. We now have to decide whether or not to call Marlon back to engineer the project. Since we didn't have work for him he has gone to work in a factory and of course is a little uneasy about leaving that job to come back here where things are always less than certain. Please pray for us and for him that we all make the right decision.
Today I had lunch with Jim Redyke. He has been to our place a number of times and it's always good to sit with him and get his perspective on our current situation. He always has lots of good suggestions about construction, use of space, and sequencing of our projects. It was interesting that he recently had installed a satellite at his heavy equipment yard much like the one that Josh Fellman will be installing next week
This morning I had a meeting with a businessman from First United Methodist Church here in Tulsa who seems interested in our dormitory project. I invited him to visit us in Honduras to get a better feel for what we are doing and I think he will probably come. He also is friends with a Christian man here in Tulsa who has authored two books on the subject of micro-lending and he plans to discuss our ministry with him.
Tonight we were invited to a dinner meeting at Jerry and Connie Pressleys. They have done this for us several times and we certainly appreciate them; they have become special friends. Most of the couples there have stayed current with our project and it was good to have time in a casual setting just to bring them up to date on all of the many great things that are happening right now. As is usually the case, the topic of greatest interest is how God is answering prayers.
Among the people who attended the Battle Creek church meeting was the church administrator who invited me to stop by the church and visit with the Honduran workers that they employ. I knew if I didn't do it right away I would never get to it so I stopped by there this afternoon before the meeting at Pressleys. There were five guys, four from Olancho and one from San Pedro Sula. We had a good chat and it was really fun just to be able to visit with them. There is another fellow from their group who is currently in Honduras and Gordon is going to get me his name so that I can look them up when I get back there.
Cheryl and I had set aside today as our prayer day. As is often the case, it was a struggle putting everything else on hold, but we did manage to preserve much of the day. Today was payday at the mission center in Honduras. We all felt very blessed that God had provided the money and Nicolas was able to go to the bank and cash the payroll check. Tonight, we attended a home group meeting of couples from the church at Battle Creek in Broken Arrow. It was an informal dinner meeting, Bible study, and then we shared the ministry of Gathering Hearts for Honduras. There was a lot of interest in it and it was a real pleasure. An added blessing was that there were several people who had been at ORU when we attended. It was good to reminisce and talk about the old days. Thanks to Mark and Donna Garrett for inviting us to that meeting.
We had two presentations today. The first was the P. T. L. Sunday school class at First United Methodist Church. This is the class that has adopted us as their mission project. We were invited to their monthly luncheon and were given an opportunity to bring people up to date. There is always great interest and plenty of discussion, and we always come away with new ideas as well as a great blessing. Sunday evening we made a presentation at our own church, Beacon Hill Baptist, in Owasso. Many of the people there have been involved in Gathering Hearts from the start, and it is always a special blessing to share what God is doing now.
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