Keren sent me this newsletter from Honduras. I thought I would share so that you can get a little idea of what's happening there.
HI FROM HONDURAS
Have you ever thought about living in
a place where you will enjoy summer all year round? Well that is
the weather in Honduras most of the time. During the summer, temperatures start
in the 90’s and in the months of March, April, and May, temperatures can reach
up to 120 degrees. The coolest
months are November, December and January, with 70’s and 80’s. No matter what
the weather is like, we enjoy the nice life in the community, outdoor
activities, school, projects and social events. Here at Ministries of Faith and
New Life [Ministerios de Fe Vida Nueva] we try to enjoy every single moment,
even those hot, humid days when you want to stay outside because the shade
under the tree has cooler temperatures than inside the house.
Many Honduran families live in small shacks
made of cardboard, plastic, mud, sticks, rubber, adobe, and whatever they can
find to build a place where they can survive. Most of the children attending
our feeding program come from a poor neighborhood named “Nazareth”. Some of the
children live in shacks. Even though their every day surrounding is extreme
poverty, they are happy and enjoying every single day. They do not worry about
what to eat, what to wear, they just go with what that day brings. To some of
you this might sound sad and hopeless, but it is not. Most of these kids have
come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior! Here at Ministries of Faith we
understand the importance of providing ways for them to have more options for a
better education and a better life. In our feeding program we have served up to
95 children Monday through Friday. The meal provided to them is sometimes the
only good meal they get that day.
With the new school we are trying to
provide scholarships for poor kids.
We have four students on scholarship this school year and are planning
on adding more next year. Our goal is to have 40% of the students on
scholarship.
As many of you know, this year we began our community outreach program called "My House Project". The idea came from different mission teams that have visited Ministries of Faith. The premise is to build a small house for a widow or a poor family at no cost to them. Funds are raised by the teams that want to work on the project. Last February, we finished building the first house, which was given to an older lady and her granddaughter. This June, we will build a second house for another needy family. There are three groups involved in this project, a group from Prairie Ridge Church, Ankeny, IA and two groups from First Baptist Church in Marshalltown, IA. Through these actions, we are saying to the community of Azacualpa, "We love you and God loves you too." The presentation of the Gospel is not just words but actions that show our love, care, and respect for others, especially the less fortunate.
We want to say thank you for
supporting and loving God’s people and thank you for every single dollar that
you give with love and compassion.
May God continue to bless you.
Chelly and her children, recipients
of a new little house.
We also were excited to be able to bless someone else who stopped by the sale. Another neighbor's brother and his wife have been trying to have a baby for years and are finally able to adopt a little girl from Albania this fall. Our neighbor came over and took ALL of our size 4 and 5 clothes and we gave her a really, really good deal :) She was so excited about getting all the clothes and this little girl will be well outfitted for the next two years! It is so neat to think about this little orphan girl coming to America and finally having a home and a family, and this couple who have desperately wanted a child, to finally have one. God is so good!!
