update....from Canada!!

I arrived back in Canada late last evening (Monday)...no small miracle. So much has happened and unfortunately, internet was very sketchy in Honduras this time. Sorry that the posts have been far apart.

(5 am, Tegucigalpa airport, capital city)

Yesterday I was scheduled to fly out of Tegucigalpa, but the airport was closed to all traffic (see picture that I took at 5am on the way past it). We got up at 3am, getting ready to leave exactly at 5am (when the curfew is lifted each day) and drove for 5 hours to San Pedro Sula in the north.

Obviously I wasn't the only one doing this and when I arrived they told me that there were no more seats on the flight. I've flown enough to know that it doesn't necessarily mean that there were no more seats. At the airline desk I got on the phone with the airline and began a 45 minute negotiation to get on the flight, otherwise having to wait another day and find a place to stay. All this time I had Dilia and Ana there praying and at the last minute I got a boarding pass.

Things are still very unstable in the country. The night before, one person will killed and several others injured at the airport. This is much too great a cost...one precious life. Everything in the country has been at a standstill. The people are glued to their television sets...when the information being dispersed conflicts constantly.

One thing is clear...Hondurans want peace. They are a peaceful people and they want their lives back and continue on. There seems no question that there is fault on both sides of the issues regarding the government there. It is frightening to the people when the government shuts off communications, electricity, water, imposes a military curfew, shuts off local television stations, etc. Please continue to pray for the peace of Honduras...that God would bring peace and security back to it's people.

Well, I left Jordan behind....as planned. He is about 4 hours east of the capital in Catacamas, where it is peaceful. When I was there, we (his host family, CRWRC and Victoria on the phone) and Jordan all discussed and decided that, for now, he is perfectly safe there. There is always the possibility that it would change, in which case he will get on a flight home immediately, but for now he is settled in nicely with his new family.

Here they are pictured with Dilia from Diaconia, and myself (at the right). It was wonderful to spend some time with them and get to know them better as they are all wonderful people. It seems as though Jordan and Pedro (age 21) have become good friends very quickly as they have some common interests in music and playing guitar.

The last few days there I had a chance to visit several communities where CRWRC and Diaconia have been working so hard to advance conditions in these communities.

Here we are in El Carrizal, we met with local community leaders and received updates on how their credit union (which has been supported by the Carpenteros from Canada) is doing. They have grown substantially. The credit union has been self sufficient for some time, with many local businesses having been started and growing due to the access to short term loans to their people. They also have quite a sum of money on deposit so that people who are very poverty stricken are now starting to save money as well!!

Pictured here is the Pastor of the local CRC church and some of the church and credit union leadership.

They spoke so proudly of how CRWRC and Diaconia have supported their community and how things have grown and improved.

I also had a chance to visit the Diaconia offices in Catacamas (also done in some partnership with Carpenteros from Canada) and of particular interest to me was the agriculture project there in partnership with a wonderful couple from the US volunteering in Honduras for a few years (they live next to Jordan but hopefully won't speak any English to him).

Here I am standing next to a Moringa tree (I've been waiting a long time to actually see one and eat it). There were several of them in this agriculture project, one of them only 4 months old and was already about 8 feet tall. I picked a couple of leaves and ate them (salad without dressing). The tree is highly nutritous and Hondurans are being encouraged to grow them and eat them as a salad or in soup.

They were quite tasty. Too bad it won't grow in Canada...too cold.

I visited a community called El Rancho where a work team from a Christian College visited recently, for 15 days, to dig water piping into the ground to about 25 houses that have no water supply. There is a working well nearby where water can be pumped to the top of the highest hill in the community where they had begun to build a "water tower" (a storage unit to fill with water from the well) and then let gravity supply water to the entire community!

Here we are at the top of the hill. Unfortunately, the local government that promised them funds to complete the structure to hold the water has not come through with the funding and the entire project is now on indefinite hold.

We visited a community where the Carpenteros are helping support a credit union and we had the pleasure to present a cheque for seed capital to the executives of the credit union. This credit union has only existed for a little more than one year and they already have many active loans and 22 families that have funds on deposit!! What an accomlishment in such a short period of time!

Here is the cheque presentation.

Here I am with the executives of the credit union.

This shot of Jordan and I was at his new "home" the last time that we were together before I headed back to the capital. I will be traveling back to Honduras within 3 months to deliver the next supplements for our 2 communities, so I will get to visit with Jordan (hope he'll speak English with me then) and I can get an update on how things are going there with him. He is thrilled to be there and get started on the projects that he will be working on. After having visited many of the communities in which he will be working, I know that God's plan for him there will be very challenging and exciting for him. Please continue to pray for him and his new "family" while he is there.

I thought that it would be incredibly difficult to leave him behind in Honduras, but all the time that we were there we both felt total peace about being in the country and no doubt that God had called us there for this time.

If you are interested in being a "partner", here is what we need:

1. Pray for the peace of Honduras and quick resolution to their current political instability.

2. Pray for Jordan as he continues his work there over the next 5 months, for safety and health.

3. Pray for the two communities where we have begun the one year pilot project - health initiative that the supplement program that we have started would be successful and measurably improve the health of these (approx. 100) children so that we can continue and expand this health initiative into more communities.

4. Pray for our partners, CRWRC and Diaconia, without whom none of this would be possible. They are incredible, selfless, commited people in Honduras.

5. Pray for Victoria and I that we would continue to hear clearly from God what He wants us to do in Honduras.

6. Pray for the Carpenteros, here in Canada, for their partnership, support and caring commitment to the people of Honduras and El Salvador.

Thank you to everyone who has cared for us so much, both here and in Honduras. For your prayers, which Jordan and I felt so much, we are grateful.

To CRWRC, both here in Canada and in Honduras and their partner, Diaconia...you are all truly amazing people...commited to a great cause. Thank you for all of your help and support, which, at many times has been at unbelievable personal sacrifice to serve me and ultimately the incredible people of Honduras which you seem to do effortlessly and tirelessly.

To God, our Father, thank you for the leading of your Holy Spirit and the protection of angels so that we can go do what we are called to do, enabling us and sending us partners with whatever is needed to accomplish the task that He has given us.

Steve

God's will....

Throughout this time here, we have continued to pray for God's will, not only for the country for us and our ongoing participation here in Honduras.

It has been my vision and passion for 2 and a half years to do what we are doing here this week, improved the nutritional health of the children.

We are running this pilot project in these 2 communities for one year. There are team members here visiting these communities and many others, every month. They continue to do overall health and nutrition education to the Moms on an ongoing basis. They are my heros. Without them, this vision would still be a vision. They are the arms and legs, working tirelessly, full time toward this goal. Please pray for them that God would give them strength, conviction, determination, creativity, health and protection to continue this work. Over the period of time that God worked on this vision in my head, He was doing exactly the same thing in them...only they were already working practically on the ground doing it. The supplements were one more addition to the puzzle and now we are truly partners. We can't be here all the time, but they know that in my and Victoria's hearts, we are right here with them.

If you wish to partner with us in this, please post a reply on this blog and I will email you separately to let you know what is needed. We immediately need prayer partners. We eventually will need tax deductible financial partners. Just let me know if you need more information to know whether this is something that you would be interested in.

back in Tegucigalpa

We have completed the distribution of supplements and nutrition training to both communities in the south of Honduras, Tiguilitada and Azacualpa and drove back to Tegucigalpa today. We are very excited about implementing this here in Honduras and the communities were very accepting of the supplements.

Our hope is that this will be a great success and that we will be able to continue and expand the program. These children are in such need of increased nutrition.

We left Choluteca this morning and drove back to Tegucigalpa. We have seen very large peace demonstrations but no violence.

Please continue to pray for the peace of Honduras as this beautiful country goes through a very difficult time.

one month's supplements for Tiguilotada...the dream has become real

handing out supplements for the moms to try.

teaching about the supplements to the Moms

Lisa and Gloribel working on the "master plan" of monitoring the kids health every month

Gloribel and myself getting them "stored" at the "home office" in Choluteca

a miracle....we got the supplements here!

at the top of the mountain looking down to Tegucigalpa

reunited with some of our Honduran friends...Ana and Irene

arriving in Tegucigalpa airport on Saturday

in Detroit leaving early Saturday morning.

oh, yeah...I forgot to say. Being here in the rainy season is the closest thing that I can think to being on Survivor. Storms pop up in minutes, sometimes with torrential rain and crazy lightening and then passes and leaves us with 95% humidity with temps in the mid 90's and the Honduran mosquitos to feast on us....just in case anyone is interested in joining us!

I have taken lots of pictures, but with the limited and sometimes very slow internet, I haven't been able to upload any pictures, but will as soon as I can.

the last 2 days here....

July 1

For those back in Canada, Happy Canada Day....enjoy the holiday. Here's a little of what's happened the last 2 days. We have traveled much of the country down to the south. We have continued to follow some of the news of what's going on politically, and so far we have not had to change any of our plans other than there is a 9pm curfew when we have to be in off the streets...makes me feel like when I was a lot younger when someone told me when I had to be home. We have not encountered any violence, which is very good. There may some demonstrations in some of the city centers, but that has not affected where we have been. Two days ago, with some strange feelings but with trust in my friends and God, I left Jordan in Tegucigalpa and headed with Ana, Gloribel and Lisa down south. We made our way to the southern tip of the mainland and across the short boat trip to Tiger Island. The heat and humidity here are oppressive...at least for me. We are in the middle of the rainy season where storms are regular and show up at a moment's notice (I feel like I'm on Survivor...really!). I am soaking wet most of the time either with rain or sweat. But because I know I am where God wants me to be I am perfectly prepared to enjoy and learn from this awesome experience...and it is awesome. We continue to feel very safe with God's protection all around us...thanks to the prayers of so many back home and here.
Yesterday we did our first community presentation to Tigulotada (not sure of the spelling) on Tiger Island where our presentation of the nutritional supplements (what we came here for) to that community was very warmly received. There are approximately 50 children under the age of 5 that are anywhere between malnurished and severely malnurished in this community. We spent many hours going through basic nutrition with the moms and talking about what can be done to improve the overall nutrition of their families. There are so many challenges to this, so we are so hoping that these supplements which we are supplying to these two communities for the next one year period of time will substantially enhance their nutritional intake such that we will have to continue and expand the program. On the ground, I am working with Lisa, a Canadian nurse who is volunteering here for 2 years, Gloribel...a health leader working with Diaconia and CRWRC and Ana...the coordinator and bridger for CRWRC between Honduras and Canada. They are all very precious people who have a huge heart for these families and are just as anxious as I to get this pilot project up and going to see how much we can improve the health of these precious children to give them a fighting chance to establish improved health which will help benefit the rest of their lives.
On the humourous side...at least for me....the "survivor" lifestyle is so, so, so far out of my comfort zone that sometimes I just have to laugh out loud at myself. Last night, most of the night there were severe thunderstorms, and at times torrential rain, along with dogs barking all night and roosters going by 3:30am, all the while in 30C heat and 95% humidity while I tried to decide, all night long, whether it was better to try to sleep outside or inside a hut. So there...have a laugh on me....I'm such a city kid...I know.
I can tell you that I have experienced the peace of God throughout this entire trip so far and have felt Him with me at all times in a powerful way.
This morning we left the island and drove back to Choluteca (again, not sure on the spelling) to pick up more supplements to go to the other community which is also in the south near the border with Nicaragua.
Not sure when I'll be able, again, to get internet access, but when I can I'll write again.
Please continue to pray for the peace of Honduras and for Jordan and I for continue health and safety. God bless you all.