Valentine's Day Party

A view of the party. We are at Luis and Irene's front porch, where we always have the Sunday night meetings.

Gardy, Paola, Randall, Arleth

Eduardo, Arelys and Evan

Another view of the group

Guess who?

Francisco and Luz

Gardy and Paola

Some of the children

Randall and Arleth

This past week was a lot calmer. The highlight of the week was our Valentine's Day party on Sunday night. We did not have as many couples as usual, but the regulars came. It was sad to see Sergio by himself. It seems that their marriage is really over. We have not heard from Bianka since the time she came over and we told her that she could not be married to Sergio and have a boyfriend. She left crying that night, but she refuses to end the relationship with the other man, or put it on hold until she divorces Sergio. I continue to pray that the Lord will work in her heart. Since he was by himself, Sergio took the pictures, cooked the meat, and kept the scores during the game.

Back to the party: John took the opportunity to talk about the soccer event the Sunday before and about what they took away from it. He told them that they do not have excuses to say that they can't accomplish their dreams. One of the problems we encounter here is lack of self-esteem and a defeatist attitude because "we are poor."

We were going to show the Esther movie, but it did not have Spanish sound track, just subtitles. The subtitles are hard to see on the TV screen. We talked instead about the love of God for us and in us, using 1 John 4. We also had a game similar to the Newlywed Game. They just loved it. We had a great time of laughter. The top three scores got prizes. They actually said that the only time they talk about things like that (what they had in common, what they really know about their spouse) is when we are here.

Our para-Olympic athlete, Lauren, went to LA last week to compete in the LA Marathon and got third place in his division. He also improved his time by two minutes.

This is a picture from his FB page showing off his medal

We spent the rest of the time visiting and counseling. My original prayer request before we left was that my mouth will speak wisdom and the thoughts of my heart knowledge. (Psalm 49:3) This continues to be my prayer request. We are asked to give advice and to encourage. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the wisdom to say the right things. I cannot emphasize enough how much we need your prayers. Thank you for praying for us.

Prayer requests:

• That the people in this town will learn from the testimonies heard
• That their lives will be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit
• For Pastor Alejandro and his wife, Alba, as they consider moving on from this ministry
• For our counseling and preaching - we need a lot of wisdom from the Lord
• For our family back home - may the Lord keep them all safe

Thank you for your prayers!!!

Until next time...from the beach...

Soccer Event

Coach Eduardo getting the volunteers ready

Getting into teams

We had an international weekend. Eight countries got together to make the soccer event possible. Our guests started arriving on Saturday afternoon. Carlos and Rosario arrived first. Coach Eduardo had to work Saturday morning, so they left late and hit traffic, but he made it at about seven. We had to have dinner as soon as they arrived. and they left right after to meet with the volunteers from town. The Hacienda had donated a three bedroom condo for one night; therefore, Carlos, Rosario, Eduardo, his wife and two adult children spent Saturday night there. :)  Laurens, the para-olympic athlete and his wife came on Sunday because he had another event on Saturday. Kölbi, the telecommunications company that sponsors Lauren, could not come because it is not permitted to interfere with the national elections. They don't even sell liquor the day of the elections. We were permitted to do the event because it is a little village and the village committee wanted the event to take place, but I think we have to be careful about the scheduling next time (yes, Eduardo and Laurens are both talking about next time already!). We have to go with Eduardo's schedule, and he happens to be free on an election day because they can't have soccer games either. We did not know that they were so strict about community activities as well. The representatives from Kölbi felt badly about the problem and promised to have a festival for the children some time in the future.

Laurens sharing

Laurens and his wife arrived on time for lunch on Sunday. We took everybody to the Beach Club because it was the only time they were going to be able to enjoy a nice lunch in a beautiful spot. I have to take a little time to tell you about Laurens Molina. He is an international para-olympic athlete. Due to a birth defect, he was born without legs. You can read his biography by clicking on his name above. Although he has no legs, I would not call him handicapped in any way. He can do anything he wants. He travels internationally and competes in many countries. He will be leaving on Wednesday for Los Angeles to compete on the LA Marathon.

John with one of the teams

The event started at about four in the afternoon. Everything went well. I really don't know how many volunteers from town participated, but I think there were about 30 volunteers. There were eight teams of mixed ages. Coach Eduardo runs a very tight clinic without any down time, just hydration breaks. The kids were challenged and actually got tired. After the clinic, we walked the kids back to the community hall to hear Laurens. Carlos and Rosario led some children's songs first. Then Laurens showed an eight minute video showing para-olympic athletes in various sports. He spoke for about twenty minutes. It was an inspirational speech, but I wished he would had brought the Bible out a little. He spoke about his faith in God, struggles etc. (Carlos Cordero talked to him yesterday and will disciple him because he saw the same thing I did). Francisco had made two plaques to be presented from the town to both Eduardo and Laurens as a token of their appreciation. Three of the children made the presentation, and the president of the town committee also gave a short speech thanking them. The kids got snacks and t-shirts to take home.  We went home on time for John to watch the second half of the Super Bowl, since it is two hours later here. I had left a pot roast cooking in the slow cooker (Thanks, Rubia!), so dinner was ready when we got home. It was 10 of us for dinner. I was extremely tired. I guess because I lost my water bottle and did not drink water all afternoon. But all the women were very helpful. I did not have to work too hard at cleaning up. 

Eduardo and his family left right after dinner because they all had to work Monday morning. They had trouble getting their car started, but the men figure it out, and they made it home around midnight. I went to bed right after they left, but John and the rest stayed up talking for a while. Monday morning Laurens got up early to train. He met some of the men from town who work here, so they had the chance to see him training, speeding up on his racing wheelchair. They took more pictures with him. We had breakfast when he got back. Then he and John went to the gym. The rest of us joined them later at the swimming pool. After swimming, he wanted to see the beach, so we walked to the beach. He can handle the wheelchair in any terrain, even up and down steps. They left after lunch. Carlos and Rosario stayed one more night because we had other things to talk about. They left this morning after breakfast.  

This was the busiest weekend of our time here. We have four more weeks to go, but the pace will certainly be a lot slower. Sunday we will celebrate Valentine's Day with the couples. 

All the teams at the end of the clinic

Prayer requests:

• That the event will impact lives in this town
• For the couples' bible study - we will show a movie about the life of Esther on Valentine's Day
• For people to grow in their walk with the Lord
• For Pastor Alejandro and his wife as they consider moving on from this ministry
• For our counseling and preaching - we need a lot of wisdom from the Lord
• For our family back home - may the Lord keep them safe

Until next time...from the beach...

Fried red snapper

Well, another week has gone by! Time flies when you are having fun. Last Wednesday we had our regular lunch meeting with the pastor. He is rather discouraged with the work, or simply already checking out. We talked about his business more than about the church. We are just praying that if the Lord is directing him to start another church, that the Lord will provide the right servant for this work. 

Thursday was both Luz and Francisco's birthdays. They had a little party with Honduran food and birthday cake. A few friends and their family were there. The most excitement came when her oldest daughter passed out in the kitchen. She has been going to the doctor about these fainting spells, but they can't find anything wrong. I went in the bedroom with Luz and her two other daughters to pray for her. Then I was left alone with her so that we could talk. She made profession of faith once and was even baptized, but she has fallen away from the Lord lately.

John had to preach again on Sunday because the pastor and his wife went to visit his elderly mother in Nicaragua. Just as it happens in EFCC when Pastor D is not preaching, attendance was way down on Sunday. We only had 8 or 9 adults. John was considering not preaching, but he preached anyway. The Lord reminded him to take his hands of the steering wheel. The Lord had a message for those of us who were there.

 Last night we had the couples' bible study. We talked about Gen. 3 and The Fall. Paola, who has been a Christian for many years heard something on Christian radio that was completely off the mark, but obviously she does not read the Bible and was very confused. I set her straight with the Scriptures, but it always amazes me to hear about the kind of stuff that passes for Christian doctrine in the media here. There so many so-called pastors that have never been to any formal training and give their opinions as Biblical truth!

Now I would like to tell you about the soccer event coming up this Sunday. We really have not planned this event. It has sort of happened. The professional soccer coach, Eduardo Méndez wanted to comeback to our town to do another soccer clinic. We agreed, but most of the organization fell to Luis Carlos who lives in town and has the gift of administration. Then Eduardo said that he was bringing a friend of his, Laurens Molina who is a para-olympic athlete to give his testimony. Well, fine, that sounded like a good idea; however, as a professional athlete, he has a corporate sponsor, Kolbi, a telecommunications provider, and by contract, he has to notify them of any personal appearances. So, Kolbi found out about this event for underprivileged children and is sending two representatives with gifts and promotions for the children, including one of those inflatable jumpers. The event has mushroomed into something a lot bigger than we even dreamed about! The Hacienda is providing a three bedroom condominium for them to stay for free, since I only have a two bedroom place. We have Eduardo, his wife and two adult children coming, Laurens and his wife, the two Kolbi representatives and Carlos and Rosario Cordero all coming this weekend, and I am supposed to feed them all! We cannot call for Pizza Hut here. There is no Costco for bulk items. Pray for me. I am serious. Cooking is the least of my talents. Pray that the Lord will use all this for His glory. ...But hold on to your hats...! I just heard from Eduardo. It seems that Kolbi may not participate because it is elections day here. It is a legal thing. Well, we know that the Lord is in control. He will do what he will do for His glory!

Tonight Bianka, of the Sergio and Bianka saga, is coming over. I am praying again for wisdom to talk to her. I have to tell her the Bible truth, but in a nice way, not to offend her. This is another ongoing situation. It really needs to be resolved soon. 

John and Sergio

Prayer requests:

• For Osvaldo - may he heal and learn his lesson
• For the pastor and his wife as they seek the Lord's will
• For both church groups that they grow in their walk
• For the couples' bible study, specially for the new couple - that the seeds planted may bear fruit
• For our counseling and preaching - may the Lord continue to give us wisdom and insight
• For Sunday's event - may the Lord use it all for His glory
• For our family back home - may the Lord keep them all safe

Until next...from the beach...