Paint, Praise & Play

Thank you to all of you who supported our team's trip this year. It was one of our best weeks ever and we accomplished so much more than we had anticipated we would. Much of that was due to our amazing team. All of them were such hard workers and they focused on getting the job done. Our task this year, as you can see from the pictures to the left, was to paint the exterior of every building on the property. That was 4 houses, the school and the bodaga. It was a lot to paint! We also finally took care of the porch roof on the back of Jorge & Olga's house that was still the original, very old clay tile roof. We tore off that old roof and put down tin, which will last forever. There were also some plumbing issues we were made aware of and were able to fix the leak in Armando & Rosemary's house but called a plumber for the repair work on Walter & Lillian's house. We just simply ran out of time and didn't have all the necessary tools for that project.

Each day we would arrive in the morning around 7:30 - 8:00 am and then work until the children were out of school. After the kids got out of school there would be many games of soccer, swinging, playing catch, etc. The impact this team has on these kids, and the impact these kids have on our team is truly something from God. I will share one specific story with you that we all loved seeing. One of the children, Erlin, had never really ever connected with any of our team members in years past like many of the other children had. He's a bit reserved and shy. He always plays and participates in activities, but never had ever quite come out of his shell. That is until this year. One of our team members, Jonathan Crews, was brought there by God. Jonathan immediately connected with Erlin and they became fast an furious friends. We all enjoyed watching the relationship of big brother/little brother develop and deepen every day. On our last day after all the goodbye's were said and everyone was loaded up in the trucks and we began to pull away, Erlin came running for the back of the truck that was carrying Jonathan. He jumped up on the bumper to give Jonathan one last hug after telling him "you are my best friend". God spoke to us each and everyday in new and amazing ways. The connections made between our team members and the children of PLN is always something very spiritual to watch.

Each night we would close with a time of singing and sharing about where we saw God that day. One evening we had a special visitor come to our gathering time and share her story. Her name is Olga and her husband is a preacher there in Catacamas. A few weeks before we arrived in Catacamas, one of her twin daughters (17 years old) was ripped away from her as they were walking home from church by two men with masks on and guns. They covered her daughter's eyes with tape as well as her mouth and then began shooting their guns. She thought that her mother had been killed. They took her in their vehicle and abused her all night long. By the grace of God, they let her go in the early hours of the morning and she wandered the streets, not knowing where she was, for two hours. She finally came upon a house and an older man had a phone he offered her to use. She called her family and they picked her up. She shared her faith in God, her thankfulness for the life of her daughter and asked us to pray with and for her and her family. Which we did. They are amazing servants of our God there in Catacamas. She didn't share the following, but her friend, Jeannell Johnson who was interpreting for her did. Due to some mix up in their support from the states, they had also not received any money for the past 3 months. This team of Harding students immediately began reaching into their pockets and wallets and asked if it would be offensive if they gave her money. I don't know how much money was given to Olga that evening because I was being handed dollars and limperia (their currency) by the handfuls and didn't have time to count it. I can only say that it was humbling and inspiring to watch this group of 19-20 something year olds dig in their pockets and pour out all they had, without even a thought, on this sweet sister in need. God's people are so good!

Needless to say, it was a fantastic week of work, fellowship, encouragement and growth. Thank you for your sacrificial giving that made this trip possible. None of the amazing things of this week would have happened without your support. Thank you! You were there with us and as much a part of the good works as we were. May God continue to bless you as you serve him and bless his name through your life. Until next year...

Dirk & Wendy

So Much More Than a Roof

First, let me apologize for not writing while we were in Honduras. I didn't have my laptop, thinking that I could update my blog via my iPhone, but that didn't work. So here I am updating after the fact. Second, I know that my words will not even come close to doing this trip and experience justice. I really don't even know where to begin. The team you see pictured above is the hardest working team we've ever had and they are some of the greatest people I've been blessed to work with. As with any work of this nature, the purpose of our trip was not to put a roof a house but it was to love children by helping to provide them with shelter that would no longer leak. This roof was in such bad shape that water would pour through in litterally every room. That is a serious problem in a country like Honduras where it rains 10 months out of 12. And as always, we were blessed by the our brothers and sisters and the children far more than we could ever have blessed them. This was the house we were roofing.

As you can see, it is a fairly large home (approx. 6,500 sq ft). They have four houses on property and each house is home to 14 children, 2 house parents and a domestic. It was a huge undertaking! We had to tear off the old roof first, lay down plywood, then roll insulation and finally drill down the metal roofing. I was sceptical going into the project and even more sceptical after day one of work. Bottomline, I lacked faith. Our team rose to the challenge and completed this roof in five days of work and finished on the last day in an hour and a half.

The pictures of the faces to the left are why they worked so hard. You fall in love with these faces, and many more, very quickly. This first little girl's name is Daisey and she arrived at PLN this year. Our daughter Taryn was there when she arrived and said that is was a very sad day for her as she cried for hours watching her grandfather drive away. The second picture is her holding her "baby" on water day. Water day is code for huge water balloon and water fight. It's a day they all look forward to. She was a very bright light during the week. All smiles!

The second child pictured is Jose Armando. If you've been reading my blog, which by the numbers I see not many do :(, you may remember and recognize Jose Armando from previous posts. He and his sister Ande, who is pitured next with Enya, are doing great! They were new to PLN 10 months before we arrived last year. Theye are so happy and full of energy and life. It is truly amazing what love does for a child and for that matter, for all of us.

The amount of good being done at PLN for these children and the life changes are truly miraculous. As I've stated before, the difference at PLN is these children are not being given a lifetime supply of fish, but rather are being taught how to fish. The human soul wants to use and grow the talents that God has given each of us to use and that is exactly what is happening at PLN. They are all 10 talent children and they will present to God 10 more talents with the help and encouragement of their House parents and all those who are a part of this great work. This week was truly not about a roof.

Each evening we would close out our night with a time of reflection on our days activities and a time of praise to the Almighty sovereign God we serve. On Tuesday evening our sons, Tyler and Trevor, immediately after our time together, decided to proclaim their commitment to Jesus as their Lord and were baptized. It was the highlight of the week for us, as you might imagine, and capped off an amazing day.

We finished the roof on Wednesday morning at 10 am! Four days and 2 hours later, house #4 has a new roof. The best news came Thursday morning as we were driving to Tegucigalpa...it had rained Wednesday night and there were NO LEAKS!!

It is always hard to leave this place and these beautiful people, but this year seemed doubly hard. I'm not sure if it was because this was our 4th year here and our relationships are that much deeper, or if it's because we were leaving our daughter behind and were wishing we could stay with her. I think it was a combination of the two. This week always seems to go quickly and this year was no different.

We drove to Tegucigalpa on Thursday morning and ate at the Gringo favorite restaurant, The Patio, for dinner. A nice surprise was seeing my nieces, Brenna and Kendra there with their team who had served at Baxter Institute all week long there in the city. It was an amazing week and we are so thankful to all who helped us make this trip again this year. God is doing great things in Catacamas, Honduras at PLN. Our brothers and sisters serving the children there as house parents are wonderful servants and disciples of Jesus. Please consider partnering with us in the work at PLN. You can follow news and progress here at my site and at their site http://www.porlosninos.org/ .

Open our eyes Lord...

Our departure is almost here. We will be headed to the Little Rock airport in the morning at 5 am (Thank you Floyd for driving us!) change planes in Houston and land in Tegucigalpa at 12 noon. It's always a new experience no matter how many times I go. This will really be new though, because my daughter Taryn, who has been living there all year, will be at the airport to meet us! I can't wait to see her! I thank God daily for her amazing heart and the growth that He is causing in her through this experience. I am working on my Spanish because we wouldn't be surprised to see her live there full-time after finishing college. And if she does, that would be great with us.

Constant change...isn't that they way life is though. We are on a journey and it's never a destination. I continue to pray for God to open our eyes each and every day to the messages and challenges of growth he places before me/us. It is always more vivid and obvious when in Honduras. Less distractions, much more simple and pure. Each decision we make is either adding to the kingdom or taking away from it. My prayer is that we will add to it with every breath we take and glorify our amazing God with each step we make. Keep our team in your prayers and continue to pray for the wonderful people at PLN in Catacamas. More later...

5 Weeks Away

In only 5 short weeks we will be landing in Tegucigalpa Honduras for a 4 hour bus ride to Por Los Ninos children's home in Catacamas. Thank you to so many who have partnered with us in this mission effort with both your financial support and your prayers.

This year will be unique as we are met at the airport by our daughter Taryn, who has been there working at Por Los Ninos with Les & Jeannell Johnson serving as their intern since August. We have a large project this year...completely replacing the roof on house #3. This roof will not survive another rainy season in Honduras so we will be completely removing the old roof and replacing it with a new and improved and re-engineered roof. Our team is now meeting weekly and we have a total of 18 on this year's team. A great group as always! None of us can wait to see all those we love and have missed at Por Los Ninos this past year. We have quite a few "returners" in our group and then a good group of newcomers who we hope will return with us next year. We are already praying for good weather so that we can finish this project as leaving a roof unfinished is not an option.

I will update you all once we arrive and try to provide a daily update on our progress and experiences. This may be a lofty and idealistic goal, but it gives me something noble to aim at. So with that...more in about 5 weeks.

If home is where your heart is, I'm presently visiting the USA

How can I adequately express in words the magnitude of good that is being done at Por Los Ninos? Sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words. Let me introduce you to Jose Armondo and his little sister, Andy Celeste. The first pictures are of them when Les and Jeannell Johnson (the directors at Por Los Ninos) went to get them where they were living 10 months ago. Andy is chewing on a raw chicken neck and both of them were full of parasites and suffering from severe malnutrition.

Por Los Ninos (For The Children) takes in as many children as they can who, without them, would surely die. They presently have four homes with ten children in each home. They raise and educate these children to be productive and influential Christian adults blessing the lives of others with the love of Jesus in Catacamas, Honduras. They teach them how to fish, not supply them with a lifetime supply of fish. Their houses look like this...

With your help, they can continue to grow this most precious work and continue to allow God to transform the lives of these precious souls. Look again at the pictures of Jose and Andy above that were taken 10 months ago. Look at them both now, just 10 months later at Por Los Ninos.

They are beautiful, happy and precious children who are being loved and nurtured in a home with brothers and sisters and loving parents. You can see the brightness in their eyes. If not taken in by Por Los Ninos, they would've eventually died.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support of our family working a week at Por Los Ninos. They continue to strive to become more self sufficient each year. Examples of this are by expanding their wood working efforts (for use and for sale) and by expanding their chicken flock (again, for use and for sale). We built a metal pavilion outside of the wood shop so they can work year round, even in the extreme heat (see picture below). We also poured concrete flooring in the existing chicken coop and then poured concrete in the area for expansion of the chicken flock (picture below).

And of course, we played with the children everyday. Thank you for being a part of changing the lives of children who without the work of Por Los Ninos would die. But instead, are growing up to further spread the gospel of Jesus in Honduras. Please watch this brief slide show below.

Please consider partnering with us and supporting this ministry by giving via the secure donation form on my blog. Help save children's lives like Andy and Jose. Thank you for making it possible for us to serve in this way!

We are headed for Por Los Ninos in Catacamas, Honduras at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning! We have a tremendous group of 12 and I can't wait to be blessed by the beautiful people of Honduras and specifically those we love at Por Los Ninos. I am so looking forward to seeing Les & Jeannell Johnson, the directors at Por Los Ninos. Great people and wonderful servants of the living God. God always reveals himself in very powerful ways when we are in Honduras and I'm anxious to experience that unique revealing again. For all of you who supported us this year and made this trip possible again for our family, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your heart. I will post more if I can from Honduras, the internet is sketchy at best, but will for sure update when we return.