a thin line..

Today we worked in san Miguel, a community that has been pounded by rain and flooding for the past few weeks. I’m posting pictures, but unfortunately they do the scene no justice. We went there with plans of donating food and clothing, and to work on some sites that had been damaged and affected by the flooding and mudslides. First of all, san Miguel didn’t look like the san Miguel I knew last year. I saw it a few weeks ago after the last flood and it had changed the whole landscape then, but only a week later, after only a couple days of rain, the landscape had been totally changed again. I cannot begin to describe to you the level of need in this community. Just this community. I won’t even mention the other communities around the city that are in just as poor of conditions. 6 people died in Tegucigalpa on Friday due to flooding and landslides. 2 of which came from los pinos, where TORCH has worked heavily the past 3 years. The problem is that there is no time for recovery. The rains have been coming so frequently that the struggle is just to get up from the knock down, just to get rid of the mud that has slid onto the plot of land before the next big rain comes. They don’t have time to think ahead for a plan that might save them in the future, all they have time for is to recover from the last hit. If they had time, money, ability, then maybe they could build retaining walls, gutters, etc. to help the problem. They have none of those. Today we got to san Miguel before the group to scout projects. The mi esperanza interns walked around most of the village and found that the need was extensive. We took a small crew to dig mud from behind a woman’s house that had piled up half the back wall and began to push it in. an extreme task for a group of 5, but they did well and made pretty good progress. After I dropped them off I went with lana to check out a few other places to see where we could be of help. This is where my dilemma began today. The first site, where we dropped off the first crew was bad off to begin with, a single mother, living in a shack( it is not like I have not ever seen this situation before). But her house was ready to go, there were ruts through the inside of her house where water was flowing. Her back wall was ready to give way to the mud pushing against it. I saw another house, let me put that differently and listen to the way it sounds, and think about this when you see the picture- I saw another home. A house that was home to a blind woman. Part of me wishes that you could see this circumstance, but part of me doesn’t wish that, because it is disconcerting to think about a woman who can not see trying to live in this position. Her house, like the other had been severely damaged by the flooding, to the point that we couldn’t find a safe way to access the house. How is a blind woman going to get there. She is currently living at the church building, which has become a refuge for those whose homes are not in livable conditions. One woman living at the church lost her home, she has twin babies and no husband. Many stories to tell, but I don’t want this to be overbearing. What I began to wonder was, at what point is the need more abundant than the resources to fulfill the need. Where do we say “we can help you, but we can’t help you”? if we dig out the back of this house today, and it rains tonight, will their predicament be better, worse tomorrow? I don’t know what I think right now, I just know that I saw a community stricken today, and it seems like hope is a stretch. Granted, I know that my cynical stance is due to the fact that I was in it first hand today.
Pray for safety, pray that God will put his hand on this city, pray that God will use TORCH, use us to minister to the people who need Him, to see that need and to do all that is within our power to fulfill that need. Pray that in a time of despair, that the people of this country will look to God for help.

NCR

this is a picture of the blind woman's house. it doesnt do it justice, but it gives you an idea.. just imagine... 

a number of our group helping a man on crutches across the river. there was way he could have made it alone.. 

at the church building, it looks like a zoo, because it was a zoo. this was before the distribution even started 

this used to be a soccer field, now a full blown river running through the community.. this is at a low point. it had been dry in the city for almost 12 hours  

free the oppressed..

today was a very special day for the group. we went out to an area called zambrano, where there is a children's home run by jimmy hughes, an incredible man with an incredible story. he has come from a rough background, and after finding Jesus, he decided to help children from circumstances not so different from his own. there is a rehabilitation center, housing drug addicts, ex-gang members, etc.. also, there is a children's home for younger children, who come from extreme circumstances. for example, 2 of the children watched gang members murder their mother, stabbing her 115 times, then stabbed the older brother 22 times, and gashed the little girl's head open, leaving them both for dead wrapped in a blanket in the corner of the room. there are plenty of stories just like that one coming from these children. but they are being loved, they are being rehabilitated, and Jesus is working in their lives changing them and making them stronger. it is a wonderful place to take TORCH groups so they can see another side of life that we are not used to in the states.
after we left there we went to the suyapa catholic church. it wasnt until today when i went there that i realized i hadnt been there for 7 years. it is an amazing building, beautiful architecture with stained glass windows. we sang for about 20 minutes and the echo is unbelievable. you will literally sit for 7 or 8 seconds listening to the echo after every song.
after that we went to the school for the blind, which is always a trip favorite. we had the cotton candy machine going, and sang together for about half an hour. i have been there probably 30 times, and the children there always display a purity that i never see at home. they love singing, and they are so joyful and loving.
much more work to do.
pray for us

NCR

busy..

we're still stayin busy with gayle's group. they have already built 6 houses, done 2 medical clinics, and worked a lot out at santa ana. not much time to tell all the great stories, but i'll post some pictures and blog a little more soon. today we are going out to an orphanage for children from extreme circumstances run by a great man named jimmy hughes. as always keep us in your prayers that we can be Jesus and see Jesus in everything we do.

NCR

the picture doesnt show, but the view from these sites was amazing 

the 2 houses from today, 6/17 

new neighbors

built 2 houses today, right beside eachother. i mean RIGHT beside eachother.. you could pretty much walk from one roof to the next. i didnt have the guts, or foolishness to try it, so i consider that a pretty wise decision.. i did almost chop my foot off with a chainsaw, my expertise in this area since i've been doing it for 8 or 9 years proved to do... absolutely nothing. i'm still at risk! not much to say tonight.. i'm pretty worn out from today. there are a couple of pictures here for your viewing pleasure. long day tomorrow, concrete at santa ana.
gotta go clean the room.. 5 guys in a room = stench

NCR

welcome to honduras.. # 1

this is the first of many more to come about the events that can only happen here..
this morning the interns worked cleaning the storage room at the mission house to get it ready for the summer- cleaning, sorting tools, etc.. then we went to find some clothes hampers for the guys, and some odds and ends things that everyone might need for the summer. little did we know that finding clothes hampers would be a mission. we went to FIVE different stores, and these arent little stores, these are huge stores, pricemart- no hampers, carrion, 3 level store- no hampers.. nothing.. so next we go to the warehouse, where we are to clean up and get ready for gayle's container, which is supposed to come at 3. "supposd to" being the key phrase. at around 3:45 the container arrived, we were ready to get that thing unloaded. to our dismay, the semi breaks down 100 feet away from the warehouse.. do we dare unload it onto the flatbed truck and make trips? NOO.. we will wait until the other semi truck gets here for the ole switcheroo.. ok, sure, that sounds like a plan.. at least half an hour later, the next truck comes, gets hooked up to the trailer, and backs it up.. almost there! but no.. the amateur driver can't manuever the trailer through the warehouse gate. EVERY other driver can, but this guy cant.. 6:45 comes around and we decide to do what? that's right, we move the semi back onto the road and unload on to the flatbeds and make trips. so 2 and half hours later we finish up and head up for dinner at 9:15.
gayle's first group got here today and the rest get here tomorrow. safe travel today, and hopefully more tomorrow.

tired, and smelling BAD
NCR

i'm a believer..

ok, let's talk yesterday.. i couldnt tell if anything was posting on my blog, so i waited until this morning to write, but as you will see from the pictures, we had an interesting morning. we went to san miguel first to drop off a concrete mixer, so i got to see the flood damage, and let me tell you, this past group has done incredible work to help that community. next, we went out to santa ana to drop off a concrete block maker. let me set the situation up for you, then you can look at the pictures under this blog.
the concrete block maker was in the back of a white, flatbed truck, and this piece of machinery weighs a solid half-ton. the goal was to go around the back of the property and drive it through a gate and set it up in the middle of the property. the only problem with this, is that there was a huge mudpit in between the main road and the gate.. HUGE mudpit.. as soon as i see this mudpit, i think to myself, and outloud- "there is no way this is going to happen". the plan is, that joe's blue land cruiser, will tow this flat bed truck, WITH the concrete block maker, through the mudpit, AND up a series of rocks. this is no terrain for a flatbed truck. joe's confidence was funny to me, because i was a doubter.. "no problem" he says, as i laugh to myself.. "ok buddy, i'm rootin for you" so the trucks head into the mudpit and the flatbed sinks fast, and i'm ready to start making fun of joe. joe, however, remained confident.. with the tow strap secured tightly to the frame of the flatbed, joe tugged and tugged until he finally got the flatbed moving. once it started moving it went pretty smoothly from there.. THROUGH the mudpit, and UP the rock hill, into the gate, where i was heckled by joe for ever doubting the land cruiser.. i will point out, though, that i threw a rock under joe's tire right before he got the truck out that could have possibly been the game changing performance, but i dont want to take all the credit, so.. good job joe. check out the pictures
the interns arrived yesterday afternoon, good to have them here and gayle's group comes today. the summer has begun! keep us in your prayers and i'll update again soon

believing in the power of land cruisers..
NCR

that would be the truck out of the mudpit, climbing some rocks, and being pulled by joe's truck 

no way..the truck is actually moving 

"there is NO way that truck is gonna make it out of the mudpit".. 

a rear view of the mudpit.. 

the sweet smell of polution..

that's right, i'm back.. or did you even know i was gone? i was in the states for about 2 weeks and i just returned to honduras today. my cousin got married at the beginning of june, so i flew back and drove to TN for a few days (what a good cousin) and i spent another week and a half at home in sarasota. the wedding was great, and it was nice to spend time with family, and it's always good to be home, especially when home is sarasota. it's good to be back in honduras, nothing like that runway landing, and the smell of diesel welcomes you as you walk off the plane. the rain continues check out mark connell's team blog to see some pictures and read about the stories of their week http://torchone.blogspot.com. i'll be updating again soon once i get more settled.

NCR