Today was the last day on the mountain for over 80 of us. We were originally heading to Nueva Oriental to do a clothing give-away but when the bus pulled up, there was a group from the Nashville area already doing the same thing. We changed plans quickly and were able to move up to Los Pinos. Well over 200 families were served by the event and Maria Phillips was an amazing organizer for this event.
While the team was working in with clothing, there was another group on the Los Pinos mountain completing the construction of a house that was started last week. In addition to the completion of the house, there was tin and lumber delivered so that 3 additional houses could recieve new a new roof. Leaving Los Pinos was hard because our team has renewed many relationships and made many other new ones. Los Pinos has made it's way into the hearts of many many people on our team.
Today we sent our last team to Hospital Esquela and the Mi Esperanza house. Later, everybody made their way to the School For The Blind to meet the 45 or so students and to hear them sing and to sing to them.
We finished the day at the Jesus Statue for our devotional - Tomorrow, we will slim down to a group of about 20. Still lots of work ahead.
It has been another Great Day in Honduras!
Blessings,
Marc
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
What A Weekend
On Saturday we went to a new (for TORCH) community to work. Our drive to Rio Hondo was about an hour NE of Tegucigalpa. There were 3 mountain ranges between us and the community and the village was really nice.
Our group divided into three aread of work - medical, construction, and evangelism. It was an amazing day as we were able to complete 3 houses before 4 in the afternoon, we treated over 250 in the clinic, and many heard the gospel and there were 3 new Christians as a result of the bible studies. The team was unified in all of the work and God blessed everybody with a great day in Honduras.
Today we went to church in Los Pinos and worshiped.Wesley preached and Cisco translated. Their words were powerful and 6 ladies responded to the invitation seeking to become Christians. We were able to be witnesses to their new birth. There were 250 adults and over 200 children in attendence for this 4th anniversary of a congregation meeting in Los Pinos.
After church we went a quick lunch and were off to the Valley of Angels for shopping & relaxation. We finished our day with a great meal at Los Tejas and a wonderful devotional at the Santa Lucia church - a favorite of many.
This has been a Great weekend in Honduras.
Blessings,
Marc
Our group divided into three aread of work - medical, construction, and evangelism. It was an amazing day as we were able to complete 3 houses before 4 in the afternoon, we treated over 250 in the clinic, and many heard the gospel and there were 3 new Christians as a result of the bible studies. The team was unified in all of the work and God blessed everybody with a great day in Honduras.
Today we went to church in Los Pinos and worshiped.Wesley preached and Cisco translated. Their words were powerful and 6 ladies responded to the invitation seeking to become Christians. We were able to be witnesses to their new birth. There were 250 adults and over 200 children in attendence for this 4th anniversary of a congregation meeting in Los Pinos.
After church we went a quick lunch and were off to the Valley of Angels for shopping & relaxation. We finished our day with a great meal at Los Tejas and a wonderful devotional at the Santa Lucia church - a favorite of many.
This has been a Great weekend in Honduras.
Blessings,
Marc
Friday, July 27, 2007
Friday- Another Great Day
We were scattered around today. There were teams at Hospital Esquala, in El Hitillo, working at the misson house, in Los Pinos, and other places. All were working together and working for a common goal. When this happens, people around our team recognize that it is Jesus working through his followers and they begin to ask questions about the reason that we are "different".
Today the team building houses in the lower El Hitillo community attracted many people that were interested in what was happening and why a bunch of people from North America would come to their conutry to work and build. In Los Pinos many seeds were planted. the harvest was one but, when this crop is harvested, I'm confident that there will be many many more. Our teams on the mountain work hard to deliver the message and I am blessed everyday with the many stories about the work that happened.
A team of 10 stayed behind today to organize the " stuff"for a day of giving that is scheduled for Monday. After working here, they rode to the IRC Warehouse in Tegucigalpa to complete their job. We are now ready for the job ahead.
While all the work on different mountains was going on, there was a small group that loaded and delivered 150 food bags to the church in Los Pinos. The plan is for the members of the churh to deliver the food to the community where they live. We are working with the local churches because they will still be there when the TORCH groups leave.
This afternoon we were joined by a group from SC and they are very excired bout the work ahead and many other things that are planned. Pray for them.
Today was truly another great day in Honduras.
Blessings & Love
marc
Saturday - another day filled with new adventure!
Today the team building houses in the lower El Hitillo community attracted many people that were interested in what was happening and why a bunch of people from North America would come to their conutry to work and build. In Los Pinos many seeds were planted. the harvest was one but, when this crop is harvested, I'm confident that there will be many many more. Our teams on the mountain work hard to deliver the message and I am blessed everyday with the many stories about the work that happened.
A team of 10 stayed behind today to organize the " stuff"for a day of giving that is scheduled for Monday. After working here, they rode to the IRC Warehouse in Tegucigalpa to complete their job. We are now ready for the job ahead.
While all the work on different mountains was going on, there was a small group that loaded and delivered 150 food bags to the church in Los Pinos. The plan is for the members of the churh to deliver the food to the community where they live. We are working with the local churches because they will still be there when the TORCH groups leave.
This afternoon we were joined by a group from SC and they are very excired bout the work ahead and many other things that are planned. Pray for them.
Today was truly another great day in Honduras.
Blessings & Love
marc
Saturday - another day filled with new adventure!
Amazing Day
Thursday was started in an amazing way and finished with a beautiful devotional praising our God with song and prayer.
One of the guards at the mission house – Pedro had been asking a lot of questions about what we do and why. Wesley and Cisco told him that they only use scripture to help people understand what is needed to meet Jesus. After study and prayer, Pedro decided that he wanted to dedicate his life to Jesus and he was baptized in the fountain. That’s not all! Our evangelism team continued their work on the mountain and studied with several folks. Four more people were moved to dedicate their lives to Jesus and came to him in the water. Our God is Amazing. This was the first time that we had ever worked in this new community and the fields there were ready for a harvest. Our team on the mountain worked with the local minister showing them people that he believed would be willing to study and the Lord did the rest.
While the evangelism team was working, there was a clinic in the church building and over 150 were treated for various illnesses. Two houses were built in the same community and the folks there could see Jesus in action.
We also sent about 18 people to Comayagua – about 60 miles away to build a block house for the mother of one of the workers at a children’s home sponsored by the church in Starkville. Moving and working with block and concrete is one of the hardest jobs you can do – add in the heat and it was a tough but rewarding day for that team.
Summary – 5 new Christians, 3 new houses, 150+ treated in a clinic, 85 tired workers for Jesus!
Another Great Day in Honduras!
Blessings,
marc
One of the guards at the mission house – Pedro had been asking a lot of questions about what we do and why. Wesley and Cisco told him that they only use scripture to help people understand what is needed to meet Jesus. After study and prayer, Pedro decided that he wanted to dedicate his life to Jesus and he was baptized in the fountain. That’s not all! Our evangelism team continued their work on the mountain and studied with several folks. Four more people were moved to dedicate their lives to Jesus and came to him in the water. Our God is Amazing. This was the first time that we had ever worked in this new community and the fields there were ready for a harvest. Our team on the mountain worked with the local minister showing them people that he believed would be willing to study and the Lord did the rest.
While the evangelism team was working, there was a clinic in the church building and over 150 were treated for various illnesses. Two houses were built in the same community and the folks there could see Jesus in action.
We also sent about 18 people to Comayagua – about 60 miles away to build a block house for the mother of one of the workers at a children’s home sponsored by the church in Starkville. Moving and working with block and concrete is one of the hardest jobs you can do – add in the heat and it was a tough but rewarding day for that team.
Summary – 5 new Christians, 3 new houses, 150+ treated in a clinic, 85 tired workers for Jesus!
Another Great Day in Honduras!
Blessings,
marc
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Jesus Everywhere
Today our teams were everywhere. We sent two teams to Los Pinos to finish the undone houses from Tuesday. There were two other teams that built today too. One was a birthday house for a young lady in her 90's from the Fairview Heights Church of Christ in Illinois - what a great birthday present! The house was in a community called Suipa and there will be 6 people living in the new house. This community is one of the poorest that I have seen and that makes it one of the poorest in the world! The other house was built for the Griffin Road Church of Christ in Ft Lauderdale, FL. This church is responsible for 5 of our houses this year. The Griffin Road house was built for a lady and her 7 children and it is in Villa Nueva Sector Cinco.
There was a medical team in another area of Villa Nueva called sector ocho. The team treated more than 150 people in need. On the way to the mountain, there was a food distribution where 150 families recieved a bag of food, a smile from one of our team, and the love of Jesus. The team that went to Hospital Esquala was also part of the food distribution team. The food delivered will last a family of 5 about a week.
Back on Los Pinos, Cisco and Wesley led and evangelism team while Maria Phillips and Maria Garcia taught a womans class. Tonight there are 5 new Christians in Los Pinos. On top of that, there are others that are very close to making a decision to follow Jesus. Pray for them.
We have also continued to send workers daily to Casa de Esperanza - the house of hope. Last night Cody (Baton Rouge) & AJ (Hot Springs) were workers at Casa and they reported having a great night. Three others are there tonight.
A lot of things are going on in Honduras to make every day a great day.
Blessings,
Marc
There was a medical team in another area of Villa Nueva called sector ocho. The team treated more than 150 people in need. On the way to the mountain, there was a food distribution where 150 families recieved a bag of food, a smile from one of our team, and the love of Jesus. The team that went to Hospital Esquala was also part of the food distribution team. The food delivered will last a family of 5 about a week.
Back on Los Pinos, Cisco and Wesley led and evangelism team while Maria Phillips and Maria Garcia taught a womans class. Tonight there are 5 new Christians in Los Pinos. On top of that, there are others that are very close to making a decision to follow Jesus. Pray for them.
We have also continued to send workers daily to Casa de Esperanza - the house of hope. Last night Cody (Baton Rouge) & AJ (Hot Springs) were workers at Casa and they reported having a great night. Three others are there tonight.
A lot of things are going on in Honduras to make every day a great day.
Blessings,
Marc
Half Way Home
We are about the half way point of our work as a team and last night I sensed a few tired folks. This work here is very different from most of the day to day things that we experience in the USA. The mountains are steep and the work is very tough. The people on the mountain don't speak our language, they don't have cars or TV's or anything to eat. They are also receptive to hearing good news and many of them believe when they hear a message of hope. Yesterday there were 3 people that heard, believed, repented, and put on a new life by being baptized. Our God is good... all the time.
Our goal of finishing 4 houses in a day was not met - 2 houses were finished and 2 need work. The houses wil be finished early today and these families will be in their new homes before noon. The construction teams were faced with challenges like building on mountain sides and having hugh rocks in the exact place where a corner post needed to be set. One of the finished houses was built by many of the women on our team and it turned out to be an excellent example of what a TORCH house should be. The women added touches like curtains and shelves. They also put the added touch of writting a favorite verse of scripture on the bottom board below the floor.
The day was complete when we all gathered to sing praises, hear a few thoughts from one of the young men, and sharing where we saw Jesus today.
Tuesday was truly another great day in Honduras.
Blessings,
Marc
Our goal of finishing 4 houses in a day was not met - 2 houses were finished and 2 need work. The houses wil be finished early today and these families will be in their new homes before noon. The construction teams were faced with challenges like building on mountain sides and having hugh rocks in the exact place where a corner post needed to be set. One of the finished houses was built by many of the women on our team and it turned out to be an excellent example of what a TORCH house should be. The women added touches like curtains and shelves. They also put the added touch of writting a favorite verse of scripture on the bottom board below the floor.
The day was complete when we all gathered to sing praises, hear a few thoughts from one of the young men, and sharing where we saw Jesus today.
Tuesday was truly another great day in Honduras.
Blessings,
Marc
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Monday Houses
Monday was truly a great day in Honduras.
Our team worked in Los Pinos. There were 3 houses built, a VBS team led by Vickie from Charlotte, a ministry for women led by Maria Phillips, bible studies led by Wesley & Cisco, a team at the hospital led by Amanda Phillips, a food pack team led by Terri, and with all of this - lives were touched.
The end of the day on the mountain was exciting as one man chose to become a Christian and many of the group were witnesses to the baptism of Philipe.
God is good, all the time.
Our evening devotional was full of heart felt praise and worship and we were able to share many thoughts on where we saw Jesus - in each other and in the many people on the mountain. Learning to see Jesus in our daily lives is one of the big benefits of working in a place like Honduras. We have removed most all of the distractions of the world around us and that allows us to take the time we need to see the Lord in the people around us.
So far we have built 7 houses, packed 500 bags of food (about 10,000 pounds), treated over 200 in clinics, talked to dozens about Jesus, and witnessed the birth of 2 new Christians.
Today we will work to build 4 houses in the same day - this hasn't been done since we started building floors - Pray for this work. Of course, we will have many other ministries going on at the same time.
Ending this morning, I'd like to ask all of you to remember Clare Carter in your prayers. She had a construction mishap yesterday (big bar on a small foot) and recieved 6 stitches. She will be fine but, just pray that she will be back in action very quickly.
Blessings &
Another Great Day in Honduras
marc
Our team worked in Los Pinos. There were 3 houses built, a VBS team led by Vickie from Charlotte, a ministry for women led by Maria Phillips, bible studies led by Wesley & Cisco, a team at the hospital led by Amanda Phillips, a food pack team led by Terri, and with all of this - lives were touched.
The end of the day on the mountain was exciting as one man chose to become a Christian and many of the group were witnesses to the baptism of Philipe.
God is good, all the time.
Our evening devotional was full of heart felt praise and worship and we were able to share many thoughts on where we saw Jesus - in each other and in the many people on the mountain. Learning to see Jesus in our daily lives is one of the big benefits of working in a place like Honduras. We have removed most all of the distractions of the world around us and that allows us to take the time we need to see the Lord in the people around us.
So far we have built 7 houses, packed 500 bags of food (about 10,000 pounds), treated over 200 in clinics, talked to dozens about Jesus, and witnessed the birth of 2 new Christians.
Today we will work to build 4 houses in the same day - this hasn't been done since we started building floors - Pray for this work. Of course, we will have many other ministries going on at the same time.
Ending this morning, I'd like to ask all of you to remember Clare Carter in your prayers. She had a construction mishap yesterday (big bar on a small foot) and recieved 6 stitches. She will be fine but, just pray that she will be back in action very quickly.
Blessings &
Another Great Day in Honduras
marc
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Saturday & Sunday
Great Days!
There were 3 houses built in Los Pinos on Saturday and - tough building locations but our teams were tougher and the houses are excellent. There were over 40 people working on the house teams - the brand new crew from Baton Rouge was able to build their first "from scratch" house and they loved it.
There was a medical clinic in Los Pinos where over 200 were treated for a variety of illnesses. Communities like Los Pinos are always happy to have a team of medical workers because there are so few opportunities. Our medical team was led by Jim Lup and they were awesome. Every person in the community that needed care recieved it.
We closed out our day with a welcome for the balance of our team and a great devotional. There were a large number of our team that shared "where they saw Jesus".
This morning we attended church at Santa Ana. The 86 of us added to the 60 or so local members made today one of the largest since the church was planted there - 2 years ago today.
For the new week before us, we are planning to knock out 3 houses every day - that should get is to over 20 by the end of the week. Right now, wood os our biggest concern - we however have the secret weapon - Timoteo Estrada - Timo is the expert in getting our team wood - even when there are tons of other groups trying to buy materials. Thanks Timo!
We are sending teams to Hospital Esquala every day this week and there are guys and gals that will be staying at Casa de Esperanza to help care for our 16 children.
Our evangelism teams will be working the mountain tomorrow and we look forward to reporting the wonderful results that our God will deliver.
Thanks for reading, praying, and tinking about our team.
Our God is good...all the time.
Another Great Day in Honduras!
Marc
There were 3 houses built in Los Pinos on Saturday and - tough building locations but our teams were tougher and the houses are excellent. There were over 40 people working on the house teams - the brand new crew from Baton Rouge was able to build their first "from scratch" house and they loved it.
There was a medical clinic in Los Pinos where over 200 were treated for a variety of illnesses. Communities like Los Pinos are always happy to have a team of medical workers because there are so few opportunities. Our medical team was led by Jim Lup and they were awesome. Every person in the community that needed care recieved it.
We closed out our day with a welcome for the balance of our team and a great devotional. There were a large number of our team that shared "where they saw Jesus".
This morning we attended church at Santa Ana. The 86 of us added to the 60 or so local members made today one of the largest since the church was planted there - 2 years ago today.
For the new week before us, we are planning to knock out 3 houses every day - that should get is to over 20 by the end of the week. Right now, wood os our biggest concern - we however have the secret weapon - Timoteo Estrada - Timo is the expert in getting our team wood - even when there are tons of other groups trying to buy materials. Thanks Timo!
We are sending teams to Hospital Esquala every day this week and there are guys and gals that will be staying at Casa de Esperanza to help care for our 16 children.
Our evangelism teams will be working the mountain tomorrow and we look forward to reporting the wonderful results that our God will deliver.
Thanks for reading, praying, and tinking about our team.
Our God is good...all the time.
Another Great Day in Honduras!
Marc
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Bad Day? No Way
Yesterday started like almost everyone that we have while working here....early breakfast, short devotional, work plans and off to the buses.
Well, we didn't know it but the day was one that was set to be full of "welcome to Honduras" moments. We planned to build 3 total houses ( one for the group that was already here and 2 for our team - our suppliers only delivered the wood for 2 - "Welcome to Honduras", our hardware supplier was out of roofing material and nails - "Welcome to Honduras", when we found a place that had the hardware and roofing that we needed - it took an hour for the truck to get there because there was a wreck on the highway - "Welcome to Honduras", the flight from Memphis was here on time but nobody from the flight got off because all 25 were stuck in Houston - "Welcome to Honduras" (we did get 14 here and the others will be here at 11:30 today). I could go on about the "Welcome to Honduras" moments of the day but - I'm guessing that you get the point.
Well, the day ended much differently.
We all went to the Jesus Statue for our evening devotional and it was awesome to stand above the city where we will be working to sing praises to our God and to talk about the great things that he has done for us. After returning to the mission house, we were blessed that one of our bus drivers - a new one this year - chose to be a Christian and was baptized in the fountain.
Not such a bad day after all.
Thank you God for reminding us why we are here!
Blessings,
Marc
Today will be another great day in Honduras.
Well, we didn't know it but the day was one that was set to be full of "welcome to Honduras" moments. We planned to build 3 total houses ( one for the group that was already here and 2 for our team - our suppliers only delivered the wood for 2 - "Welcome to Honduras", our hardware supplier was out of roofing material and nails - "Welcome to Honduras", when we found a place that had the hardware and roofing that we needed - it took an hour for the truck to get there because there was a wreck on the highway - "Welcome to Honduras", the flight from Memphis was here on time but nobody from the flight got off because all 25 were stuck in Houston - "Welcome to Honduras" (we did get 14 here and the others will be here at 11:30 today). I could go on about the "Welcome to Honduras" moments of the day but - I'm guessing that you get the point.
Well, the day ended much differently.
We all went to the Jesus Statue for our evening devotional and it was awesome to stand above the city where we will be working to sing praises to our God and to talk about the great things that he has done for us. After returning to the mission house, we were blessed that one of our bus drivers - a new one this year - chose to be a Christian and was baptized in the fountain.
Not such a bad day after all.
Thank you God for reminding us why we are here!
Blessings,
Marc
Today will be another great day in Honduras.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Hit The Road
The travellers from Thursday arrived - all three flights were actually a little early! Everyone hopefully had a great night of sleep and will be ready to Hit the Road Running because that is what we'll do today. We will be a complete team when the 11:30 AM flight from Memphis arrives and there will be 85 of us working to serve Jesus.
The Thursday team will be working in a community called Santa Ana. That is the location of Casa de Esperanza. Casa is a children's home that is part of our permanent ministry in Honduras. There are 16 children there and they are all beautiful and crave love. Our team will be there do deliver on that. While in Santa Ana, we will be working with the local church to help the community - building 2 houses and preparing for a clinic. There is a clinic on our property in Santa Ana and we have access to all of the meds and equipment for our clinic work. This afternoon, we will have a ladies ministry at the church building that will be taught by one of our team members from Illinois.
Thanks for sending your messages to the team. We expect that today will be -
Another Great Day in Honduras
Blessings,
Marc
The Thursday team will be working in a community called Santa Ana. That is the location of Casa de Esperanza. Casa is a children's home that is part of our permanent ministry in Honduras. There are 16 children there and they are all beautiful and crave love. Our team will be there do deliver on that. While in Santa Ana, we will be working with the local church to help the community - building 2 houses and preparing for a clinic. There is a clinic on our property in Santa Ana and we have access to all of the meds and equipment for our clinic work. This afternoon, we will have a ladies ministry at the church building that will be taught by one of our team members from Illinois.
Thanks for sending your messages to the team. We expect that today will be -
Another Great Day in Honduras
Blessings,
Marc
Thursday, July 19, 2007
IT's HERE!
Today I am on my way to the airport to pick up the first 60 of the Mississippi (and all over) team.
WOW! It's gonna be a great day in Honduras.
We have the first load of food arriving at the mission house at about 5 this afternoon. We also have 2 houses of wood arriving in Santa Ana scheduled for tomorrow morning. Tomorrow while the last 25 are flying from Memphis, we'll be building 2 houses, preparing for a clinic, teaching women about Jesus, and playing with the children at Casa de Esperanza. Our God is GOOD all the time.
Dios es bien, todo tiempo.
Please pray every day for our team. You can feel free to post comments to your favorite TORCH member and we will make sure that they get the message.
Pray for the work and that lives will be changed.
Blessings,
Marc
WOW! It's gonna be a great day in Honduras.
We have the first load of food arriving at the mission house at about 5 this afternoon. We also have 2 houses of wood arriving in Santa Ana scheduled for tomorrow morning. Tomorrow while the last 25 are flying from Memphis, we'll be building 2 houses, preparing for a clinic, teaching women about Jesus, and playing with the children at Casa de Esperanza. Our God is GOOD all the time.
Dios es bien, todo tiempo.
Please pray every day for our team. You can feel free to post comments to your favorite TORCH member and we will make sure that they get the message.
Pray for the work and that lives will be changed.
Blessings,
Marc
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Next Week
Can't believe that we are only a week away from having the team here in Honduras. A bunch of you will arrive on the 19th - my birthday while the remaining 25 will be here on the 20th. everybody here is very excited that all of you are coming. This group is the favorite of almost everybody that works with TORCH. Why - that's because our team ROCKS!
This team rocks because all of you come ready to work and serve the needs of many of the people that you have come ot know and love.
We are going to be a gathering of folks from all over the country - 85 strong. Our team will be building 24 or 25 house, we'll be packing out at least 10 tons of food and we'll have medical clinics that will treat 100's in a single day. All of this while people are on the mountain talking about the good things that Jesus has done for them and helping them learn how much he will do for them.
Get ready! It's going to be a great year in Honduras.
Blessings,
Marc
This team rocks because all of you come ready to work and serve the needs of many of the people that you have come ot know and love.
We are going to be a gathering of folks from all over the country - 85 strong. Our team will be building 24 or 25 house, we'll be packing out at least 10 tons of food and we'll have medical clinics that will treat 100's in a single day. All of this while people are on the mountain talking about the good things that Jesus has done for them and helping them learn how much he will do for them.
Get ready! It's going to be a great year in Honduras.
Blessings,
Marc
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