Loving the Least of These

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:07:00 +0000

Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.

- 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 Message

Psalm 91

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:08:00 +0000

You who sit down in the High God's presence, spend the night in Shaddai's shadow,
Say this: "God, you're my refuge.
I trust in you and I'm safe!"
That's right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
under them you're perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.
Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon.
Even though others succumb all around,
drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.
You'll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God's your refuge,
the High God your very own home,
Evil can't get close to you,
harm can't get through the door.
He ordered his angels
to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they'll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.
You'll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path.

^14-16 "If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,
"I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care
if you'll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I'll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I'll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!"

- Psalm 91

anyone else like the idea of God rescuing you and then throwing you a party..??? i love it.

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:30:00 +0000

So remember your people..

remember your children...

remember your promise, oh God.

I'm a happy girl

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Te amo mas que mi vida.

Honduras.

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:42:00 +0000

MISS

THIS.

What Faith Can Do- Kutless

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:49:00 +0000

Was listening to Klove the other day when this song came on, and I'm definitely a lyrics girl so when the words started playing they caught my attention for sure. It's a beautiful song, and so I wanted to share it with you all. :)

Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you are stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step
Out on the water
It’ll be alright
Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do

Overcome the odds
You do have a chance
(That’s what faith can do)
When the world says you can’t
It’ll tell you that you can!

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
That's what faith can do!
Even if you fall sometimes
You will have the strength to rise

have a blessed week!

hm.

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:55:00 +0000

"You can either practice being right or practice being kind." — Anne Lamott

Home again

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:52:00 +0000

Anna and I flew home from Honduras on Saturday, June 27th due to some ' unrest' in the country...I'll save that story for another day. But within 24 hours of being home, God made it abundantly clear that he needed me to be home right now. Sunday evening at church Ryan asked if I'd go on mission trip with the youth group, and a few hours later Donna asked Anna and I to counsel a week of camp at Manatawny. I agreed to both, and then I sat down to look at my calendar and realized these two weeks were back to back. So the following friday Anna and I went to Donna's grandparents house with the entire Brothers' family. And saturday we went on to camp. :) And let me just say that that week was one of the best weeks of my life, and I don't say that lightly. There are very few things that rank that highly in my book, but that place certainly deserves a spot among the best of the best. I can't begin to tell you how much it changed me and I was just counseling some teenage girls, who ended up teaching me a whole lot more than I taught them, I'm sure. I was blessed to have some of the sweetest girls in my cabin. They truly were great, I couldn't have asked for better. One of the things that stood out to me immediately about camp was that it was just the good little christian kids that showed up to be campers, but some of them came against their will, some came from homes and situations that certainly aren't desirable and yet by the end of the week the whole place acted like one big family. It was amazing. The staff was incredible. The director told Anna and I that we were already on the schedule for next year...but he definitely didn't have to beg us to come back. ;) We can't wait.

we get to cross this off our 'bucket list' :)

It couldn't have been more perfect. :)

haha.

Best bible class ever.

Me, Honk, Squeak, and sister. Yes, they are actually referred to as ' squeak and honk'

Adopted grandparents. :) we love them.

That's the adopted family...well some of them anyway. ;)

Bryani and me. i love that girl.

cabin 10!

i love her a whole bunch too. :)

Mission trip was also lots of fun. Anna and I left camp saturday around noon and drove over to NJ to meet up with the team at Pitman COC where we did a few days of VBS and went to Phily and NYC. We had around 70 kids show up for VBS and we also did backyard bible time and visited with some elderly folks during the week.

phily.

hahahahahaha.

yay democracy...and the NYPD. haha.

Friday morning before we left Anna and I got up around three and left around 4AM to drive out to Ocean City, NJ to watch the sunrise over the ocean. And that was definitely one of the highlights of the week. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, and I couldn't have had better company to witness it. So we spent some time sitting on the beach listening to the waves crash on the sand then made an extremely LONG drive back home. By the end of those two weeks we had been in 6 different states, and had MANY fun adventures. And some stories that will be fun to tell our children some day... ;)

love this one. :)

He never ceases to amaze me...

That's all for now...stay tuned for more summer adventure updates. ;)

Grand Central Team 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:43:00 +0000

I LOVE having them here. It's kinda like heaven on earth. more pics and stories to come....stay tuned!

hmm...

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:46:00 +0000

¹ Praise the Lord!

   Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord.
      Praise the name of the Lord!
² Blessed be the name of the Lord
      now and forever.
³ Everywhere—from east to west—
      praise the name of the Lord.
⁴ For the Lord is high above the nations;
      his glory is higher than the heavens.

⁵ Who can be compared with the Lord our God,
      who is enthroned on high?
⁶ He stoops to look down
      on heaven and on earth.
⁷ He lifts the poor from the dust
      and the needy from the garbage dump.
⁸ He sets them among princes,
      even the princes of his own people!
⁹ He gives the childless woman a family,
      making her a happy mother.

Praise the Lord!

- Psalm 113

interesting, huh?

Oh my GOODNESS she's cute

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Little miss sarahi is gaining weight and seems to be doing far better than a few months ago. Lice, parasites and the asthma have been ongoing problems, but those will be things we battle for as long as she lives in the mountains here. Her dad, Alfonso was hit by a car two weeks ago, while I was in the states. As soon as I arrived he told me what happened and explained that he'd been in a lot of pain since then and hasn't been able to work because he could barely walk from all the pain. Therefore food was very limited over those weeks as they had no money coming in. Yesterday JT and I took him to get his leg and foot checked out by Gina's dad who is an orthopedic surgeon. His foot was at least 3 times the size of the other, and we feared that it was broken. He had two x rays taken and they only found a small fracture in the smaller bone in his leg. It was so small that they didn't even need to cast it. Praise God! Doctor gave him a shot and a prescription for some pain meds and ordered him to rest for two more weeks to let it heal. Two nights ago sarahi and her brother, Renee stayed the night at our house so we could clean them up and pick lice out of their hair. Renee also has spots behind his ears and on his head where he has scratched so much from the lice that they places have started bleeding, and were slightly infected. So JT cleaned that up for him as well. And now they are back with their parents. The entire family has asked us to take them to church sunday so...stay tuned. :)

Carlos

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:06:00 +0000

While the Belpre team was in Honduras one of the boys living with us, Carlos decided that he wanted to be baptized and start a new life. This is something he has been talking about for a few months now, and while the group was there it seemed like the perfect time for him. So on April 18, 2009 he was baptized with a whole bunch of his brothers and sisters around to celebrate with him. Before he was baptized he and his brothers spoke about their life and how hard it has been and how now they are blessed to be getting an opportunity to get an education and have a new life, where they are safe and loved. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed in my entire life. And was a good reminder that what we do matters and that this really is what we are there for. And also a reminder that sometimes we just need to show up and be present in someone's life when circumstances are rough, for them to see Jesus in us. Good things are happening and its an honor to be a part of it. So thank you to all of you that are supporting this ministry, you ARE making a difference.

It's not just a new house, it's an answered prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:51:00 +0000

The Belpre group is here and so far we have built 5 houses. Yesterday we were given the honor of building for two families that call the city dump 'home'. The government has started giving some families living in the dump plots of land on the same mountain as the dump, its just on the other side of it. So last week when we went to feed at the dump, a lady approached us with her papers showing that she owned the land and asked if we could help her. As her story unfolded we learned that she has 4 children of her own, and three grandchildren that all live with her, in the dump. She told us that all of their belongings have come from the dump, clothes, shoes, a small dirty mattress, and of course, their food comes from there too. Her husband died 8 years ago and she said that ever since the day he died she has prayed that God would provide her with a house that would keep her children out of the mud while they sleep, and a roof that would keep them out of the rain. Last week when we saw the reality they lived in, we promised we'd return this week to build them a house that would keep the children out of the mud while they sleep, a place that would keep their heads dry when it rains. When we showed up yesterday this sweet lady, her name is Marcia, said ' Many people say they'll help, but you showed up.' So yesterday we built her a small wooden house, with a wooden floor and tin roof. Its certainly not anything extravagant but they were so grateful that now, they don't sleep in the mud, and when it rains, they have a shelter to run to. It was a great day, while we had two groups building Kay also did a women's bible study, and they also had a VBS for the kids in the community. Last night at group devo Kay shared with us that the women she had the honor of sitting with live out their faith in huge ways. They have to rely on God for everything. When they need food, they ask God for it, and wait on Him to provide. They also shared that before they ever ask for anything from God, that they always praise Him first. I don't know about you, but that makes me realize how small my faith really is. For those of us who happen to have white skin relying on God for everything isn't really something we have experienced. We have food in our pantry. When we run out, we drive ourselves to the grocery store to buy more, or drive through a fast food restaurant. Most of have never had to pray and wonder where our next meal will come from, and probably never will. This sweet lady has prayed for 8 YEARS for a house. And now, 8 years later, God has answered, He sent a group from Belpre Ohio to be the answer to her prayers.

It never ceases to amaze me the way God shows up on our building days. He always finds a way to outdo himself. It's never just about building them a house, or providing them with some physical relief. It is about God sending us to be an answer to someone's prayer. Sure, we only show up and build them a house but to someone who has prayed for 8 years it comes as a huge blessing. And God is glorified in every way.

Father, Thanks for the opportunity to serve your people. It is truly an honor. May we never assume that building a house for someone is just providing them with physical relief, but may we know that you always have a greater plan in mind, and that we simply are called to show and be used by you. God may they never see us, but may they see you as we serve. Thank you for using us in the ways that you have, and thank you for allowing us to play a small part in being an answered prayer for Marcia and her family. God, you are faithful and we give you all the glory.

THANKS VALERIE!! :)

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:43:00 +0000

Jen recently came back from her visit in the states, and she brought back an entire suitcase full of goodies for this sweet family, that desperately needs it. She filled bags for each child full of clothes and blankets and shoes. She also sent tooth brushes and some other much needed items. The kids LOVED getting new clothes, and loved that there was a bag made specially for each of them. So THANK YOU Valerie for loving this family in the way that you do, and taking the time to make them each feel special. They needed that. :)

Sarahi with her bag :)

Me with all the kids in their new clothes :)

Sarahi in a cute new outfit. :)

Luz Marina

Marisol

Jose Renee in a new cars shirt :)

Sarahi over the last two weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:48:00 +0000

Here are a few pics of the last two weeks with Sarahi. She went back with her family yesterday the doctor is still pretty concerned about her lungs because of the type of worm she has, they go from your stomach to your lungs and then go to your heart, which can kill you. So he has her on meds for the worms for a week, so I have to go to her house everyday to give them to her. :) Which I love because that means I get to see her everyday. :)

she's so cute.

playing video games with the boys. :)

she's gonna be walking soon!

saul holding her hand in the back seat of the car. so precious.

eating dinner. :)

playing outside! :)

that smile..

Sarahi and Yanet

Dinner with the brothers

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 15:06:00 +0000

Yesterday I told the boys that I'd cook dinner for them and come eat at their house with their family, and they were so excited. They requested chicken, rice and beans. So I came home and Janet came over and we cooked and took all the food to their house to eat dinner all together. It was so fun just to sit around the table and enjoy everyone's company. The boys loved it and Maria enjoyed not having to cook. :)

Marvin and Toby

Yovani washing the dished after dinner

Antonio showing me that his belly was full ;)

yovani

Antonio

Chilo playing with his boys

Chilo, Maria and some of the boys

Janet serving the boys. :)

Brownies :)

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:50:00 +0000

The 6 brothers recently moved out because their dad is done with the Alcohol treatment program and now they have a house just a few minutes down the mountain from us. The boys are still attending the bilingual school and their dad has a job that he is really enjoying. The other day the boys asked if they could come over for a while to play at our house so I picked them up and they came over and we made some brownies. It was so much fun. The boys loved helping make them, and of course they LOVED eating them. :)

All the baking wore this little one out. :)

watching some TV while they waited on the brownies to be finished, and of course licking the bowl clean. ;)

Francisco with a little brownie batter on his face. :) We had to have some fun with it. ;)

Marvin

Yoni and me

Saul, Mario and Yovani pouring the batter

Yovani

Francisco, Antonio, and Mario

Saul

Family visit

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:29:00 +0000

Because Sarahi is with me for two more weeks I'm making a point to invite her family out so that they can visit with her during the two weeks. So on Thursday Janet and I picked up her family and took them out for ice cream. :) We're also putting the two oldest daughters in school this week so after ice cream we went to pick up some school supplies for them. While we were out for ice cream Sarahi's father asked Janet if we would start taking him to our church so he could thank God for the miracle he's performed in Sarahi. So the whole family is going to start attending church with us, which I LOVE. The Kingdom is being advanced. :)

Sarahi and her oldest sister, Luz Marina

Angel, Luz Marina and Pamela

Sarahi with her mom, Martina and Father, Jose Alfonzo

Luz Marina, Sarahi, and Marisol

Doctor Appointment

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:23:00 +0000

This past Wednesday was Sarahi's check up after being released from the hospital. The doctor said she's gained almost a pound in just a week, but she needs to gain about 4 more in a month. That will put her at about 17 lbs which is still under weight, but its certainly better. The lice is almost gone and all the other illnesses are getting better but certainly aren't gone. He prescribed more medicines to help her gain weight quickly and also some medicine to help with all the gas in her stomach. He asked that she stay with me for two more weeks while she finishes up some medicine and so that we can hopefully get her to gain some weight before going back to her parents. So, I have her until the 18th which is her next doctor appointment and if all is well she will be allowed to go back with her parents then.

Dr. Vallejo, her pediatrician, Sarahi, and me

Sarahi Nicoll Reyes

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 06:34:00 +0000

Back in December I posted a picture of a little girl, Sarahi, living in one of the communities here that we visit quite often. She was very malnourished and dirty. She lives with her family of 7, and they struggle everyday to survive. We visited the family a couple more times before I went home in January. While I was home I simply couldn't get her sweet little face out of my head. My friend Valerie had a dream about this little girl almost two years ago and in her dream the baby was very sick and looked exactly like this little girl. Ok, so now lets fast forward to last wednesday. Valerie had put some money in my account to help this family with food early this week so wednesday we loaded up lots of food and showed up at the house to find the baby laying in a bed all alone and in a complete daze. Her papi was outside working on some things around the house. When I walked in to see the baby I quickly noticed that she was more sick then than I'd ever seen her. Dangerously sick. She was laying in a pile on her own urine and had lice crawling all over her. Old food crums surrounded her fragile little body, and she had a bad chest cough. She smelled horrible. Partly from the urine and partly from the skin that was rotting off of her bottom half. We grabbed some baby wipes from the car and cleaned her up a little bit. The longer we stood there it became more and more clear that we had to do something to get her out of there or else she would certainly die. We talked to the dad and asked him if he'd let us take her to hospital and he said ' how could I not?' So we scooped her up and drove to the hospital and got her in to see Dr. Vallejo, the pediatrician. He examined her and said that she wasn't dehydrated but that she was very malnourished and had lice, and parasites and bronchitis. They weighed her and she weighed 12 lbs. and she's 12 months old. Her sizes were that of a 6 month old baby. He ended up sending her home with lots of medicines. Her dad allowed her to stay with me that night because she had to go back to the hospital in the morning for blood tests. So we came home gave her what was probably the first bath she's ever had. Treated her hair for lice and gave her the medicines. She fell asleep in my bed and around 3 AM woke up hungry so I fed her and within minutes she pooped and it went all over my bed. The diaper was full of parasites. So I went down stairs with her to the kitchen to get some towels to clean her up and then she proceeded to vomit all over me, her, and the kitchen floor. So we finally got all of that cleaned up, she went back to sleep and I changed the bed sheets and jumped in the shower. She was awake again by 6:30 and after we took the boys to school we took her to get the blood test done. Her veins were so tiny that it made it very hard to get the needle in the right place. But they finally got it and we left. Over the course of the following few hours her condition worsened. She couldn't keep anything down. She was vomiting and had really bad diarrhea. She began to get really dehydrated. So early afternoon we called her mom and she met up with us to take her back to the hospital. At this point I thought she was going to die in my lap. She had been sleeping all day, and was clearly not doing well at all. When we picked up her mom she wanted to take her to see a witch doctor in the community first. Which frustrated the fire out of me because we were literally on a race against time for the baby's life. But she took her anyways and this witch lady poured raw eggs all over her body and said that a spot showed up in the center of the yoke which told her that the baby was sick. So she told her mom, Martina, that her baby was very malnourished and needed help. Which was what we were all trying to tell her in the first place. She got back in the van and we went back to the hospital. This time the doctor looked at her and saw that she was dehydrated and decided to admit her to the hospital. The mom didn't want to stay with her in the hospital because she has 4 other children at home that she needed to take care of so I stayed with her in the hospital for two days. The first night the doctor came in to check on her and told me that he was glad we brought her back to the hospital because if we hadn't he said that she would have without a doubt died. He also showed me the results of her tests and Rota Virus came back positive. Which helped explain all the diarrhea and vomiting, though it was partly due to the parasites as well. So the doctor left and she had fallen asleep and I was laying on the couch half asleep when I heard her moving and trying to cough so i jumped up to go sit her up in the bed and when I looked at her she looked like she was choking on something. So I ran to sit her up as quickly as possible and as soon as she sat up an 8 INCH worm flew out of her mouth. That's right, 8 inches long, white and squirming around on the blanket it landed on. I freaked and screamed for the nurse and she came in and when she saw it she jumped backwards and went to get another nurse. She came in picked it up and threw it in the toilet. Which was great, because I was not about to touch it. After laughing at how freaked out I was she informed me that this was completely normal and that she probably had a few of them and that this was the very reason she was so malnourished because that worm was eating everything that came into her stomach. She finally went back to sleep and I did too. Though, the nurses were in and out of the room all night checking on her. The next morning she was looking better. The IV was certainly helping. She wasn't throwing up anymore which was good and she was even eating some mashed potatoes and a few other things. She did well the whole day and that night the doctor came in to check on her and said that she'd be released the next morning around 11 because she was doing so much better. She was sitting up eating and drinking lots and her face and especially eyes looked much better. So the next morning her mom and dad showed up at the hospital to visit and talk to the doctor. He had one of his nurses write up a paper for the parents to sign to allow the baby to stay with me until March 4th because she is still needing injections and they wouldn't know how to do it or administer all the medications she is on. They agreed that this was best so they signed the paper and went on their way. After paying the hospital bill they finally let us go and we came back to the house. She's been with me since she got out. By the end of all of it the doctors said she had- lice, parasites/worms, bronchitis, malnourished, rota virus, and asthma. So needless to say she's been a sick little girl. But she's a fighter and she continues to get better each day. She has another appointment with the pediatrician on Wednesday to check to see how she is and if all is well she will go back with her parents after the appointment. The past two days she's been eating a lot more and moving around more. She can crawl a little bit and take a few steps if you hold on to her hands. She not talking yet though. She's clearly behind developmentally. But when she starts feeling better she'll start to do more of the things normal little girls would do. And I can't wait for the day that she starts smiling and running around playing like a normal little girl. I covet your prayers over this sweet baby. She's become quite close to my heart. The hospital bills totaled around $700. If you'd like to help with that please let me know, I'd greatly appreciate and Sarahi would too. :) Thanks for playing a part in her rescue. She certainly deserves a chance to live life, and so from a voice who will never be able to tell you, THANK YOU!

Wednesday when we found her.

first night. treating her hair for lice

bath time

waiting to get the blood test done.

she was so skinny that you could see everything in her stomach. the doctor said that this is the lining of her intestines that you can see in the picture.

When there's nothing to believe in, I belive in you,
Forget the past and let my hand in yours be the proof, Though the strong could be my company, you're the one I choose, So remember, I believe in you

first night in the hospital.

she's so cute. :)

precious sleeping baby..

car ride home after she was released from the hospital

Mario being sweet and reading to her when we got home. she loved it.

he LOVES playing with her and helping take care of her.

:) so sweet.

Mario and the tooth fairy

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:42:00 +0000

Tonight Mario asked to sleep with me and when he came in to lay down beside me he said "wait! I have to get my tooth that I pulled out today and put it under my pillow tonight!" So he took off running through the house and returned with his little tooth and a beaming smile. [with no front teeth. ;)] He showed me the tooth with such pride. :) Then he looked at me and said ' I get money for this again right?' { he recently lost another tooth and remembered getting money for it that time} So I told him that if he placed it under the pillow that the tooth fairy would come and take the tooth and place some money there instead. Then I told him about when I was little and lost some teeth and this was what happened with me as well. And he said " how much money did you get?" I told him it was usually a dollar...and he said "so I get 20 lemps right?!?" [ the equivalent of a US dollar] and I laughed and told him that if he was good tonight and went to sleep with the tooth under his pillow, some money would certainly be there in the morning. As I turned off the light and started down the hall he sat straight up in bed and said " SAM! Does the tooth fairy have a key to get in the door??" So I came back in and told him that the tooth fairy was kinda like Santa and that he didn't need to worry about her getting in, because she'd find her way. Well the conversation quickly turned into Mario telling me how santa comes in the chimney and that he has reindeer and that he brings presents in a big bag that say 'Mario' on the wrapping paper. :) Then we had to do a google search to find a picture of the tooth fairy so he'd know what she looked like. :) :) So he finally settled down and I went downstairs for a while and came back up to find Mario laying sideways in the bed so his head wouldn't be touching the pillow just to make SURE the tooth fairy can get to his pillow tonight with those 20 lemps. ;)

A bit of home in Honduras :)

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:58:00 +0000

I got back to Honduras on Friday of last week after two days of interesting travel. I ended up missing my connecting flight in Atlanta because my first flight was delayed and we landed five minutes after my connecting flight left. So needless to say, I spent the rest of the day and night in Atlanta in a hotel room. The next morning my flight was scheduled to leave at ten so we boarded the plane and were getting ready to pull out when the captain announced that some things weren't working well enough in the plane for us to fly into Teguc so we needed to switch planes. So we got all our stuff off that plane and had to wait 45 minutes for the other plane that we would be taking to land and then had to reload that plane with all our luggage. We ended up leaving about two hours later. :) And I finally made it to Honduras a little before two. All of that to say, its SO good to be back, finally! It's so nice to be ' home'. The past couple days have been great, and I've been reminded over and over again why I am here, and why I love it so much. I hadn't realized while I was home how much I missed all of this...

I love love LOVE having a fire in the evenings when it gets cool up here on this mountain.

This is the newest addition to the tribe, Toby. He's absolutely adorable. Today he was sleeping like this in the grass. It was way cute.

Fransisco

laying under some palm trees after working at the cadena house this morning

some of the tribe. :)

yovani and saul playing some video games before bed.

Fransisco, Yovani, and Saul playing at the airport. :)

Cell Phone Fundraiser

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:18:00 +0000

Just wanted to let you all know that I am collecting old cell phones and ink cartridges for a fundraiser. I will be collecting them until Sunday March 1, 2009 and then sending them to an organization that is trying to help protect the environment. This fundraiser not only benefits my ministries but is also helping to protect our environment! So if any of you have old cell phone or empty ink cartridges you would like to donate you can let me know or just give them to my mom, Melissa Ogden at church. If you have any questions please let me know! Thank you all for your faithful support of this ministry!

Blessings on your week!
Sam

Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:20:00 +0000

I just sent out this email about things that have been going on recently in Honduras and thought I would post it here too.

I wanted to email you all about a couple of things. As many of you know Jen Wright, David Logue and I have recently taken in 3 boys whose mother couldn't care for them, and then we also took in another 6 boys and their mother while their father is in an alcoholic treatment center. So needless to say, our house has filled up quickly! Each of these boys hold a special place in each of our hearts, and they are a blessing in our lives. We love having them in our house and cherish every moment we get to spend with them. They are certainly some of the sweetest boys on this earth. It goes without saying that our monthly expenses have increased significantly with 13 people now living in our house. Aside from the significant increase in our grocery bill, five of the nine boys started school in January. They are in a private bilingual school here in Tegucigalpa. It's a great school and the boys will have a much brighter future if they are able to speak english as well as spanish. This ability will provide them with many more job opportunities as adults which we hope, will increase their chances of one day being able to have a family of their own that they can provide for. We hope this will help them to stop the cycle of poverty in their family. While this school is not necessarily a 'Christian' school, they have bible verses on the walls and it is clear God is certainly a part of their day at this school. Three more of the boys we hope to enroll in a spanish speaking school, we feel that this would be best for them because of educational reasons. They are all behind in their schooling, one of the boys is 12 years old and will only be entering the first grade, so we feel that it would be best for these three boys to attend a private spanish school where they won't feel so out of place in their grade level. [ in the spanish schools it is not uncommon for children to be older than the normal age for their specific grade level] So we feel that this is the best option for these boys and hope to enroll them soon. The spanish school year starts in February and goes until November. For the boys that are attending the bilingual school, it costs $125 a month per child to send them to this school. We broke that down, and if we can get 5 people to sponsor each child at $25 a month they will be fully supported to get a good education. [ to break that down even farther, it is the equivalent of filling an M&M tube twice a month with your spare quarters. Your coins can change a life forever.]

Also, our only ministry car has been in and out of the shop over the last month or so. In early December the vehicle would no longer go in reverse. We drove it as long as we could, but finally we had to put it in the shop because we knew that this was a problem with the transmission and didn't want to continue driving it, possibly making the problem worse. So our mechanic ordered a new transmission from the states and had it sent over here by plane. [ We drive a Chevy Suburban, which isn't a common vehicle here in Honduras, so he couldn't find a transmission here] Our vehicle was in the shop for 8 days that time and this cost us over $1300 just to fix the vehicle but we also had to rent a vehicle for the days that ours was in the shop because those 8 days we had a team here and had to have a car to be able to do the things we needed to for the team. The rental car cost us $60 per day. So the rental car alone was around $480. As soon as we got the vehicle back within two or three days it started running really loudly, and continued to get worse over the following two weeks. When we finally had enough money to rent another rental car for a few days we took it back to the shop and had that problem fixed. We just got the car back on January 16th, and on Sunday the 18th on the way to church the car completely broke down and began leaking transmission fluid. The car wouldn't even start so we had it towed to the mechanic once again... The car is out of the shop and running {not well} but it is usable for now. We are in desperate need of a new vehicle to continue doing the things we have been called to do in Honduras. You all have been so great about helping fund our ministries and so from the bottom of my heart I want to thank each of you. If there is any possible way that you are able to help us out with the boys' schooling or with our vehicle we would greatly appreciate it. We would not be able to do what we do without each of you! And the boys will be forever grateful for the huge blessing you are providing them with through a good education.

From the sweet voices who will never be able to tell you....THANK YOU!

Can't seem to get this sweet face out of my head today...

noreply@blogger.com (Sam) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:36:00 +0000

please continue praying for her and her entire family. they struggle everyday to survive.