it's been a while..

it's been another couple weeks, and i still can't believe how fast the time goes. the past week we have been busy getting ready for the group that got here today from ohio. setting up projects- a concrete project at san miguel church, a playground at casitas kennedy, and also they are going to build 6 houses. they arrived safely and are getting settled in at the mission house right now. it is going to be a great week. tomorrow we start out strong, with the concrete project, it is going to be one of those days when you are covered in sweat and dirt by 10 in the morning, and the end of the day you are so tired you can barely move, but it will be a great day to get to know everyone and put them to the test! keep us in your prayers as we look for the opportunities that God has for us this week, that we will die to ourselves and He will live through us.
i'll be writing again soon
NCR

time flies..

well i have been here for a month already. i can't believe it. it really seems like yesterday i got here, but i've been here for a MONTH! my stay here is already 1/6 over.. but let me tell you all, in just one month here, God has blessed my life more than i could have imagined He would the whole time. and there is so much more to come! God has been so faithful for the past month, the past few months in fact. i know that it was because of God that i was financially able to come here, and because of God that the doors were opened at this point in my life. this month God has been faithful to many requests. i have asked God for opportunities here. He has given them in abundance. i have told you of our weekly praise and prayer, we met again tonight and God was here in our presence, and He was exalted tonight. God has brought us together with fellow christians, so that we can encourage one another, and make eachother stronger. i was BLESSED with the opportunity to work with a group called manos extendidos , outstretched hands, this past saturday. we went up to a very poor village on the outskirts of teguc. and sang children's songs, had a short lesson, gave out some cookies and drinks, and played with the kids. it was such a joy to be around these children. it is amazing to see a child, who lives in poverty, light up when you give them something that seems so insignificant, a cookie, a limpera(the currency here- 18 limperas to 1 american dollar). not only are they happy that you gave them a pack of cookies, but they want to share them. Marcos was the boy that i connected with on saturday. one of the cutest kids i have ever come across, but he was a wild one! A.D.D for sure! but his heart was golden. during the lesson, Paul was asking the children if they had joy, and all of the kids were excited and they screamed "SI!!!" (YES!!! for the linguistically challenged) so Paul asked them to give an example of something that gave them joy.. not many had anything to say, so i looked down at Marcos on my lap, and i said why aren't you answering? what gives you joy? and he whispered in my ear - "my joy is that you came here today". talk about melting my heart.. the heart of a child. i truly understand why Jesus told us that we should have the heart of a child. so pure, so full of love, so innocent. In Mt. ch. 18 vs. 3 Jesus tells us “unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” i pray that God will teach me to love like a child loves, to see past things that we so often can't get over. to be joyful like a child. we have reason to be joyful, we have reason to love. because we are loved. God loves us more than we can fathom. and it is unconditional.. a word i find hard to relate to the love that i give out..

God is showing me. God is leading me. and God is molding me.

tim is back now, and he has hit the ground running. I have no doubt it will be a busy next month, and I look forward to every bit of it. There is a group coming from Ohio at the end of this month, only a few weeks away, and I am really excited for them to be here. There is much work to be done, and I know they are anxious to do it. We will be working with them on their projects, they will be here for about 9 days. Until then, we will be working hard and planning their trip, looking for where God wants them to work.

thank you for your prayers and encouragement. it has been a great month, and i know there is more to come! please stay in touch, it is great to hear from back home.
- seeking and finding-
NCR

update

hello everyone, it's been a little while since i've given an update, so i wanted to let you all know what has been going on here.
last tuesday joe and i went out to santa lucia, the site where the cucuy project was supposed to be but has been changed due to some problems with the forrest there. joe and i went there to pick up the tools that had been left, and put on a few screws that were lacking on the roof. it is very beautiful there, quiet and peaceful.
on wednesday we had a light day. wednesday night we continued with our weekly devo of praise and prayer. we had about 6 or 7 show up and it was a great time to be with some fellow americans to praise God.
thursday we had a meeting with the owner of the land that we are intending to buy for the new site of the cucuy project. Rueben is giving us a piece of land, and is offering another large piece of land to us at a great price. we got the tax information, the land measurements and a few other papers.
on friday we went out to jovenes en camino to pick up TORCH's concrete block maker. joe, gena, and myself went there thinking we would just pick it up and toss it in the back of the truck. HA! first of all, it was bolted to the ground, where the bolts were nice and rusted, so we had to break them off with a makeshift hammer. THEN, we realized the beast of a task we had before us- the machine had to have weighed 600 lbs. luckily a few workers at the orphanage were there to help us. with a ramp, some pipe, a winch, and a lot of pushing we managed to get the machine into the back of the truck. we will eventually move the machine out to the new site for the cucuy project.
saturday morning i played in a soccer tournament at baxter. there were about 8 teams from different congregations around tegucigalpa. it was a good time to have fun and get to know some christian men from around the city.
monday we went to the mi esperanza house for a little while where gena is doing her beauty class. she is happy with their progress so far. that night we went to baxter to play soccer with some of the guys from los pinos. dalton and dylan went, and joe played for a little while.. well joe tried to play... i'll give him the benefit of the doubt, he's a basketball player.
yesterday we had a meeting with the ministerio publico about the land at santa lucia to let them know that IRC is done building there. they are concerned about destroying the forrest there, so we want them to know for sure that we will not be doing anymore construction there. we also met with the owner of the land, to make sure she understands that we are not working there anymore. last night we had our praise and prayer again, and we had 12 come, plus our 5 here. we lit candles in the living room and praised and prayed, and a few people had some thoughts to share. it is exciting to have this weekly devotional, to be in the presence of God with fellow christians. i know that God is smiling on this and He will lead it wherever He wants it to go. hopefully it will keep growing, keep that in your prayers.
today we are just running a few errands. we are going to buy some school supplies for some children at los pinos. tim comes back early next week and we are excited about his return. keep him in your prayers for safe travel.
God bless. have a great week!
NCR