Getting To The Root of The Problem

So, I  (Rhich) have been reading the blogs of other missionaries and I am now motivated to give this blogging thing another try.  I don't have any delusions of possessing any kind of writing talent but, I will do the best with the abilities that I have.

We have undertaken a large project of trying to rehab one half of the duplex for the Kensinger family here at MEDA.

Kensinger family serving in Honduras

   Our motivation for this undertaking was to remove the presence of mold and remove some interior walls to allow for expansion of certain rooms and allow more light and air flow within the home.  In the process of removing a few walls we discovered the reason for the mold.  The top of the footers for the walls were below the surface of the dirt and thus moisture from the dirt was absorbed by the bricks used to construct the walls. They used dirt instead of gravel as a filler.  This meant removing all the flooring (ceramic tile, concrete and dirt) throughout the house.  We dug out the dirt until it was six inches below the top of the footers and in that process we discovered roots from the large tree in the back yard in two of the bedrooms.  Back to the tree in a moment. 

The installation of the new floor is still ongoing as of this writing.  We installed two inches of "pea gravel" (at least the Honduran version of pea gravel)  a plastic moisture barrier, rebar and four inches of concrete.  The guys installing the ceramic tile are at work as I am writing this.  My participation in this project was the tree that I mentioned earlier.  

                                           Normal ficus tree -->
  I was tasked with removing the nearly forty foot Ficus tree with branches extending beyond the fence and over half the roof of the house.  This meant starting at the top and working my way down.  

about the size of the ficus in the back yard

the beginning of the trunk

 

The pictures I have enclosed are the last phase of removing the tree trunk.  Since we don't have a stump remover per say, we find ourselves doing it the old fashioned way, axe, shovel, grub hoe and straight bars.  One more day of digging and we should be  ready to hook on to it with a chain and the Excursion for the final phase of the excavation.  Well, that's it, off to work now.

Chandeliers and Ceiling Fans

Pastors studying in the classroom/dining room

This is the last week of this module for the men at seminary.  The curriculum is intense and the hours long, but well worth the time invested to study and learn how to teach the Word of God.

Ladies in the kitchen prepare delicious meals to nourish the body as the men get their souls nourished.

Sometimes the students come to the back area of MEDA to study 

A Welcome Thunderstorm

After a very dry past few weeks, it was so nice to have a little thunderstorm to bring out the beauty of MEDA.  Above is a look at the baptistry, with classroom in the background.

Simple flowers

Amazing honeysuckle.  The smell is fabulous.

Lots of ornamental ginger

One of many Bougainvillea

Potted miniature roses

January 23, 2014

That was the day the Patterson Family departed MEDA to go on a short furlough to the states for some R&R and medical care.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, they have been delayed for a short time.  We sure do miss them.

Greetings from Honduras.

We thought it may be time to write a few words about our experiences this year as 2013 is coming to a close.  Pat and I are not writers of any importance, so please overlook any grammatical and punctuation errors.  The intent here is to just share some thoughts with all of you.

Pat's sewing ministry has been very popular and successful.  I am impressed with her courage to teach a class to Spanish speaking ladies in our church when neither of us can put a full sentence together in Spanish.  Christy Patterson assists her with translations and instruction.  The ladies have made several projects for themselves to include aprons, handbags and blouses.  Most recently they have started making baby clothes.  A group of Christian ladies from Riverbend church in Florida came down for a week and donated more than 10 yards of soft diaper flannel and helped us make more than 87 cloth diapers of varying sizes. 

 
These diapers are being distributed mostly to a small village about a fifteen minute drive from our town where our church is helping out with a new church plant.  Those mothers there were so very grateful for the diapers because they were using rags for diapers and/or letting their babies run naked.

Pat is planning a new class for the teenagers of our church during their school break.  For our regular group of sewing ladies, the next plan is a service project to make school uniforms for all the Dayhome kids for the next school year starting in January. Eventually, we would like to see some of the ladies from her sewing class reach out and teach others how to sew. Ideally we would like for them to become proficient enough to support themselves with a little cottage industry. (I know that's way too North American)

Pat also helps Emily Mitten with the Wednesday evening classes at church for the little kids.  She has helped the Montoya family make Christmas stockings, and done some mending for a couple of families.  She has also made curtains and pillows for our home and several other projects.

I participate in a men's devotion Monday through Friday at 7:00 am with the other MEDA workers with Mark Patterson as the facilitator.  We are currently reading through the entire Bible in Spanish.  I am also involved in a men's group study of the book of Ephesians facilitated by our Pastor Melvin Romero on Wednesday nights.  Pat and I both are part of Mark Patterson's small home group study on Friday nights also done in Spanish.

Somehow, we find time to maintain the flower beds, pull weeds, rake leaves, cut up fallen trees and plant new trees. I have been mowing nearly every day for the past three four months.  We are nearing the end of the rainy season so I will be able to mow maybe once every other week for a few months.  We always try to do a little extra before the Seminary students return for their two week modules and before each three day conference.

We are not officially enrolled in a Spanish class so we learn through our conversations with the Spanish speaking public.  We enjoy singing the worship songs in Spanish, Digno es el Señor (Worthy is the Lord!) and we keep a dictionary handy.  The Hondurans are very merciful and patient with us.  Several of the Hondurans want to learn English but find it very difficult so they empathize with our struggle to learn Spanish.

Our transition to this new culture has been mostly easy.  We love the food, the people and the scenic landscape.  Honduras is very mountainous with lots of pine trees.  Several of the flowers native to Florida can be found here.  We have several fruit trees in our yard including, tangerine, orange, avocado, mango, banana, and more.

We have a spare bedroom for those of you who would like to visit and experience for yourselves the wonder of Honduras.

Siguatepeque is cooler than San Pedro Sula (North of us)  and Tegucigalpa, the capital city south of us.  However, it does get hot March thru June.  So, come and visit.  Please continue to pray for our sanctification, health (physical and Spiritual) and for our ability to speak Spanish.

Building Dedication

Our Church is growing.  With the love and support from many friends, near and far, our little church grows.  Various groups from different churches have come to visit us and have helped with the addition and remodeling of the church.  When short term mission groups come to visit, they almost always help out with painting and cleaning and some form of remodeling.  Some have replaced and laid new tile floors and others have helped with sound systems and microphones and electrical issues.  Still others, have helped with shovels and rakes and hoes.  We also appreciate the financial gifts to buy supplies (cement, gravel, paint, electrical parts, etc.)

Pastors from Riverbend Church in Florida give words of praise and encouragement

Listening to the dedication

Ladies in the kitchen prepare a delicious lunch

The Fellowship Hall was overflowing more more dining outside

We gratefully appreciate your love and prayers

Our First Conference at Emanuel Baptist Church in Siguatepeque.  Our guest speakers came from Riverbend Community Church in Ormond Beach, Florida.  "La Ley y El Evangelio" -- The Law and The Gospel was the title of the conference.

Dr Roy Hargrave (right) from Riverbend Community Church was one of the featured speakers

Pastor Luke Davis, principal of Riverbend Academy also led one of the sessions

 The session ended with a Q & A with the pastors answering some of the most pressing questions. There were more questions than the 1-1/2 hour time allotted to answer.

Translator and Pastor Hernan from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Pastor Luke Davis from Riverbend, (Florida) Pastors Mark Patterson and Melvin Romero from Emanuel Baptist Church in Siguatepeque.