Today was filled with a lot of work. We woke up and left at 7:30am for our work site. Arriving at the site, we unloaded the truck and began leveling the foundation and preparing the walls to be built up. As you can see from the pictures, a lot of hard work was done today. We worked from 7:30am-12pm before taking a lunch break. At break, we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Wilmer and I bought a coke from the Pulperia. After lunch, we continued to work until nightfall and were able to stack three of the outer walls 6 bricks high and the back outer wall to 5 bricks high. Having the outer walls half way done and the foundation leveled in the first day is a wonderful beginning to our project! Everyone worked hard and enjoyed the time together. It is amazing what 6 people can do when they are focused on a goal and their hearts are turned towards God!
Today, Cathy and Katie learned how to fill in between the blocks and Wilmer and I built up the walls. Jackson, our mason, did a wonderful job and seemed to enjoy watching all of us joke around and work hard. Hondurans tend to appreciate “gringos” who work hard. We were able to put in about 9.5-10 hours of work today! Karla, Cathy, and Katie also did a wonderful job leveling the foundation. In less than 5 hours, these three women (with the help of a few others) leveled a foundation! I have seen groups of 7 or more not be able to level an entire foundation in that amount of time!
After a long and hard day of work, spirits are high as there is much tangible evidence of what has been accomplished. Tomorrow, we are hoping to pour the corners and lay the inner walls. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Please pray for tomorrows work and the work still to come. We are not only touching lives in Honduras, but Honduras is touching our lives! Thank you to everyone who helped to make this possible for us and the Hondurans! The greatest testimony is that God can send three people to Honduras, add in Wilmer and his wife, and accomplish many things that a team of people can at times struggle to accomplish! God is great and is working here every single moment!
As always, you can click HERE to view today’s photos and photos of all the other days!
Blessings,
~Josh
Monday, August 10, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Honduras Day 3
Today was another wonderful day filled with new sights and events. Today, Sunday, we were given the chance to go to Sosa [a nearby village] for worship services. I helped in building parts of this church building and have become friends with the minister who preaches there. After church we ate and then went on to Por Los Niños, where we played with the teens at the orphanage and took a tour of the grounds. After we left Por Los Niños, Wilmer took us to the work site of the house we are to build over the next four days. Following this, we all had a new Honduran experience before returning to Journey Mission Camp (JMC) for the night.
We were able to sleep in this morning because worship in Sosa begins at 9:30AM. After we arrived in Sosa for church, we were greeted by many familiar faces and were able to see one of my good friends here in Honduras, Vicente, the preacher in Sosa (Vicente was happily surprised as he had no idea of our coming this morning). A Honduran worship service is similar to those we are all accustomed too. We had a few songs, I was asked to lead the first prayer and then the sermon began. During the sermon, the children go to their version of Children’s church! Children’s church is a time for the children to sing songs and hear messages on their level and allow their parents to devote their full attention to the adult sermon. Most churches in Honduras do this and it shows the wonderful impact this type of service can have on children in the United States. I feel many churches can learn a lesson in this way from the Hondurans. Vicente spoke for a few minutes and then tied the devotional into the Lord’s Supper. Then, after Vicente had spoken for a little while longer, he led the congregation in a few more songs. After those songs, Wilmer was given the opportunity to present the main lesson of the morning. It went wonderfully and seemed to have caught the attention of most of the audience. One of the most exciting things of this morning’s service was a baby blessing and prayer. What happened was a couple recently gave birth to a baby. Vicente had the family sit on stage and shared with them a few brief scriptures instructing them how God wants them to raise up their child. After this, Vicente took the child and the entire congregation prayed over the child. God was asked to give the parents wisdom in raising this child and to continually be with the child. He was asked to give the child wisdom as that child grew and that great things for God’s kingdom would be accomplished through that child. Finally, a blessing was prayed over the child and a few more songs before the announcements and the ending of the services. It truly was a wonderful experience and the love for God was seen in every individual!
After we hung around the church for a while to talk to members, we went to a Texaco gas station which also is home to a fast food restaurant (FAST being a loosely used term at the moment). After an hour or so, we returned to JMC to prepare for our visit to the orphanage named Por Los Niños. During the few hours we spend with the children, Wilmer and I played soccer while Cathy and Katie spoke with the little kids and watched the older teens show Wilmer and I how truly bad we are at the game of soccer. Over all, it was not only a fun experience, but a chance to build up these orphans in need of love and those at Por Los Niños who are far away from their families.
Late afternoon we left the orphanage and briefly surveyed the site for the house we are to work on. After this, we decided to go out on a limb and try something different. We wanted to each Chinese food in Honduras (which Wilmer assured was wonderful). Arriving at the Chinese restaurant, we sat upstairs and overlooked part of the city. The food was wonderful (as promised) and we were able to catch up on a little bet of soccer news and discuss plans for the coming week. After our meal, we retired to JMC for the night with the intent to awake early and be ready to go to work at 7:30AM.
Thank you for your continued prayers! Look below or click HERE to see pictures of today. To see all of our pictures, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/watertownchurch.
Blessings,
~Josue
We were able to sleep in this morning because worship in Sosa begins at 9:30AM. After we arrived in Sosa for church, we were greeted by many familiar faces and were able to see one of my good friends here in Honduras, Vicente, the preacher in Sosa (Vicente was happily surprised as he had no idea of our coming this morning). A Honduran worship service is similar to those we are all accustomed too. We had a few songs, I was asked to lead the first prayer and then the sermon began. During the sermon, the children go to their version of Children’s church! Children’s church is a time for the children to sing songs and hear messages on their level and allow their parents to devote their full attention to the adult sermon. Most churches in Honduras do this and it shows the wonderful impact this type of service can have on children in the United States. I feel many churches can learn a lesson in this way from the Hondurans. Vicente spoke for a few minutes and then tied the devotional into the Lord’s Supper. Then, after Vicente had spoken for a little while longer, he led the congregation in a few more songs. After those songs, Wilmer was given the opportunity to present the main lesson of the morning. It went wonderfully and seemed to have caught the attention of most of the audience. One of the most exciting things of this morning’s service was a baby blessing and prayer. What happened was a couple recently gave birth to a baby. Vicente had the family sit on stage and shared with them a few brief scriptures instructing them how God wants them to raise up their child. After this, Vicente took the child and the entire congregation prayed over the child. God was asked to give the parents wisdom in raising this child and to continually be with the child. He was asked to give the child wisdom as that child grew and that great things for God’s kingdom would be accomplished through that child. Finally, a blessing was prayed over the child and a few more songs before the announcements and the ending of the services. It truly was a wonderful experience and the love for God was seen in every individual!
After we hung around the church for a while to talk to members, we went to a Texaco gas station which also is home to a fast food restaurant (FAST being a loosely used term at the moment). After an hour or so, we returned to JMC to prepare for our visit to the orphanage named Por Los Niños. During the few hours we spend with the children, Wilmer and I played soccer while Cathy and Katie spoke with the little kids and watched the older teens show Wilmer and I how truly bad we are at the game of soccer. Over all, it was not only a fun experience, but a chance to build up these orphans in need of love and those at Por Los Niños who are far away from their families.
Late afternoon we left the orphanage and briefly surveyed the site for the house we are to work on. After this, we decided to go out on a limb and try something different. We wanted to each Chinese food in Honduras (which Wilmer assured was wonderful). Arriving at the Chinese restaurant, we sat upstairs and overlooked part of the city. The food was wonderful (as promised) and we were able to catch up on a little bet of soccer news and discuss plans for the coming week. After our meal, we retired to JMC for the night with the intent to awake early and be ready to go to work at 7:30AM.
Thank you for your continued prayers! Look below or click HERE to see pictures of today. To see all of our pictures, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/watertownchurch.
Blessings,
~Josue
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Honduras Day 2
Thank you for your continued prayers. Day 2 went off mostly smoothly with few complications. As previously posted, we were able to put on a large youth rally for teens here in the Catacamas area. God also blessed us with the opportunity to feed six families (about 43 people found in the six families) a wonderful meal with our leftovers after the youth rally! It truly has been a wonderful day!
Today, we were able to meet and reach out to about 65 teens in the area. The event began around 9:30am and lasted until 4pm. In the morning, I began teaching on what it means to be holy as an entire person (with an emphasis on drug use as that is becoming an increasing problem in Honduras). Following my lesson, Wilmer spoke on what it means to be a leader and how even teenagers can be leaders. After about 2.5 hours of discussion, class, and lessons, the teens were fed a wonderful meal.
With $200 we were able to feed 65 teens at the youth rally and at least 43 other people later on in the evening the biggest meal they have probably had in a while. With malnutrition, scarce funds for food, and the Honduran economy, this was truly a wonderful blessing we were able to share due to the generous donations we received for the work in Honduras! Katie, Cathy, Karla (Wilmer's wife), and a lady named Malinde worked hard in cooking and preparing the feast for the masses. It brings tears to ones eyes to see the beautiful sight of God's people's sacrifices showing concrete results and meeting needs. After lunch, it was time for the adults to continue to serve the teens by taking up the clean-up duties while the teens were free to swim, play, and just have fun! Oh, I forgot to mention that we rented a community center to hold the event. The center is brand new and not "officially open" but still allowed us to use the facilities!
After clean-up, the adults watched the children and some of us participated in their play. Wilmer, Edwin, Alan, and I (Josue) eventually landed ourselves in a game of the much loved futbol (we know this as soccer). This is the most loved sport in the country and is a quick "in" with Hondurños (Hondurans). After a few hours of play, it was time to say goodbye to the teens so that they could return home before nightfall.
After we departed the municipal center, we (as previously stated) delivered the leftover food to six families totaling over 43 people. We went to Siguate, Sosa, and the outskirts of Catacamas (to Margarita's house) for the deliveries. These, like many others, are poor villages. Those who received food were some of the poor of the poor in the church.
After this powerful experience, we all traveled back to Journey Mission Camp (JMC) and then Katie, Cathy, and I went to the restaurant for dinner. We are now back at JMC and wound down for the night.
Today has been an amazing and powerful day! Tomorrow will prove to be similar as we attend a Honduran church service and then travel to two orphanages (Por los niños and the handicap orphanage). Thank you for your continued prayers! With your prayers and God's help, what should have fed about 70 people, fed over 100! God is AWESOME in this place! Praise HIM!
To view photos of our trip so far, click on my photos to the left OR you can click HERE and be taken straight to the photos.
~Josue
DAY 2 PHOTOS
Click here to browse them on your own!
Today, we were able to meet and reach out to about 65 teens in the area. The event began around 9:30am and lasted until 4pm. In the morning, I began teaching on what it means to be holy as an entire person (with an emphasis on drug use as that is becoming an increasing problem in Honduras). Following my lesson, Wilmer spoke on what it means to be a leader and how even teenagers can be leaders. After about 2.5 hours of discussion, class, and lessons, the teens were fed a wonderful meal.
With $200 we were able to feed 65 teens at the youth rally and at least 43 other people later on in the evening the biggest meal they have probably had in a while. With malnutrition, scarce funds for food, and the Honduran economy, this was truly a wonderful blessing we were able to share due to the generous donations we received for the work in Honduras! Katie, Cathy, Karla (Wilmer's wife), and a lady named Malinde worked hard in cooking and preparing the feast for the masses. It brings tears to ones eyes to see the beautiful sight of God's people's sacrifices showing concrete results and meeting needs. After lunch, it was time for the adults to continue to serve the teens by taking up the clean-up duties while the teens were free to swim, play, and just have fun! Oh, I forgot to mention that we rented a community center to hold the event. The center is brand new and not "officially open" but still allowed us to use the facilities!
After clean-up, the adults watched the children and some of us participated in their play. Wilmer, Edwin, Alan, and I (Josue) eventually landed ourselves in a game of the much loved futbol (we know this as soccer). This is the most loved sport in the country and is a quick "in" with Hondurños (Hondurans). After a few hours of play, it was time to say goodbye to the teens so that they could return home before nightfall.
After we departed the municipal center, we (as previously stated) delivered the leftover food to six families totaling over 43 people. We went to Siguate, Sosa, and the outskirts of Catacamas (to Margarita's house) for the deliveries. These, like many others, are poor villages. Those who received food were some of the poor of the poor in the church.
After this powerful experience, we all traveled back to Journey Mission Camp (JMC) and then Katie, Cathy, and I went to the restaurant for dinner. We are now back at JMC and wound down for the night.
Today has been an amazing and powerful day! Tomorrow will prove to be similar as we attend a Honduran church service and then travel to two orphanages (Por los niños and the handicap orphanage). Thank you for your continued prayers! With your prayers and God's help, what should have fed about 70 people, fed over 100! God is AWESOME in this place! Praise HIM!
To view photos of our trip so far, click on my photos to the left OR you can click HERE and be taken straight to the photos.
~Josue
DAY 2 PHOTOS
Click here to browse them on your own!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Safe Arrival In Honduras!
As you probably know, three of us from the church I preach at have traveled to Honduras today for a stay of around 10 days. I wanted to share the news of our safe arrival to Journey Mission Camp in Honduras. Thursday evening we flew from Syracuse to Houston and stayed over night. Waking up early on Friday morning, (this morning) we departed Houston and arrived in Tegucigalpa Honduras (the capitol) at around 11:30am. We took an airport taxi from the airport to the camp 3 hours away in Catacamas, Honduras. After spending a few minutes settling in, we went to a wonderful restaurant (my favorite in the city) for dinner and then went to the grocery store to pick up a few supplies and enough food to feed a little over 70 teenagers in the morning. Returning safely to camp, we are now preparing for our sleep.
Tomorrow (Saturday) we will be doing a teen event where Wilmer and I will take turns speaking (Wilmer discussing becoming a leading man of God, and myself discussing drug use and its effect on becoming a holistically pure individual [don't worry, we wont be using that large word]). We will also sing songs, pray, and have a wonderful, meaningful worship experience. Following this, we will be feeding these teens a wonderful meal, this meal will be more than most probably eat during an entire day and possibly two days! Following the meal, we plan to play soccer (futbol) with them for a few hours before sending them home. Please pray for this event as teen boys especially are the hardest to reach in this culture.
Following the teen event, the plan is to survey previous work sites Katie or i have worked on and become reacquainted with the loving families. This will give us, and especially Cathy, the BIG PICTURE of what can be accomplished with only a few people.
Thank you for your prayers and please continue in them!
Blessings,
~Josh
Tomorrow (Saturday) we will be doing a teen event where Wilmer and I will take turns speaking (Wilmer discussing becoming a leading man of God, and myself discussing drug use and its effect on becoming a holistically pure individual [don't worry, we wont be using that large word]). We will also sing songs, pray, and have a wonderful, meaningful worship experience. Following this, we will be feeding these teens a wonderful meal, this meal will be more than most probably eat during an entire day and possibly two days! Following the meal, we plan to play soccer (futbol) with them for a few hours before sending them home. Please pray for this event as teen boys especially are the hardest to reach in this culture.
Following the teen event, the plan is to survey previous work sites Katie or i have worked on and become reacquainted with the loving families. This will give us, and especially Cathy, the BIG PICTURE of what can be accomplished with only a few people.
Thank you for your prayers and please continue in them!
Blessings,
~Josh
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