Our Visit to Teo

Greetings from Quimistan! We had a wonderful day in Teo, a remote,mountainous village ninety minutes from Q'town via mostly rocky, dirt roads. The scenery was breathtaking with the mountains and lush green trees. The welcome we received was so wonderful. You will see the photo with the children lined up on either side of the road. How special the signs, paper flowers, and smiles made us feel. Several of us played "no,no,si" (duck, duck,goose) with the kids followed by the "Hokey Pokey." Then, it was time for the classes to come fifteen children at a time to the stations set up for fluoride treatments, handwashing, toothbrushing, and de-worming medication. We saw 120 students. Many moms observed so reinforcements can be made at home. A delicious lunch was served at the volunteer medical worker's home. Such generosity and hospitality. The people truly appreciate the presence and help of the missionaries. As we all work togther (natives and missionaries), we feel "the ties that bind our hearts in Christian love." And we are assured that "in Christ there is no east or west, in Him no north or south, but one great fellowship of love throughout the wholewide world." Sheila

OUR FIRST FULL DAY

We went to La Montanita today. On the way, I was struck by two things. The natural beauty of the country which stood in sharpe contrast to a level of poverty not seen in the USA. There is poverty; but, in La Montanite, I sensed a spirit of community confidence and, if I may say, a "practical" sense of hope. By "practical", I mean hope founded not on dreams and magic, but on the untapped potential each human was endowed with at Creation. This community spirit is reflected in the efforts to improve their lives. For example, we were invited to the bakery which the HAF helped start a few years ago. We enjoyed coffee and baked goods. This is a point of pride in the village. A moderate success in the efforts of the community to improve. Later, in a meeting with the women regarding handicrafts, I saw their work and their receptiveness to sugestions to expand their wares. One woman said that others have come before, but we, the HAF, come with ideas that they can use. Later, we visited the local school. A real tiny one room affair like our forefathers used. During this meeting, there was give and take regarding the opportunities for the future eduation of the children of this village. There was passion and concern for their children. While for us in the USA, such care for one's children is expected, this is nearly unique in Honduras. In some way, maybe through our efforts, God's presence was felt and a real change is in the making for the better of, if not Honduras as a whole, but at least in one, remote, materially impoverished village. Poor in wordly possessions; but, one, I sensed, with a growing community spirit. Truly, the Holy Spirit is present. Tom

TEAM ARRIVES SAFELY

Our team, minus Ann E. who has the flu, arrived safely in Quimistan this PM. Some of our first-time team members are having some serious culture shock over the general conditions in Honduras and the poverty. Tomorrow, part of the team will visit La Montanita while others will start working on the desk/tables for Nueva Esperanza. Everyone is excited that we have hot water for showers for the first time.

Watch this space for news from the next HAF Mission Team scheduled to arrive in Quimistan on February 5. We will be ten who are led by God's gentle nudging to share the love of Jesus once more with the people we will see in Honduras--giving and receiving. Pray with us that lives will be changed for the better. Allen

October 21 and 22, 2012 Our final report had to be delayed because the internet was down on Sunday. After a very nice breakfast we went to Tejeras, the small neighborhood built along the highway right of way of the very busy road between San Pedro Sula and Copan. HAF learned about Tejeras when some of our members discovered the children foraging for food at the city dump. HAF now provides a church school lesson each sunday morning along with a nutricious meal for the children who live here. We came to observe the program and to examine the meal to see what was provided. Each child received a plate with spaghetti noodles, chicken, beans, carrots, and bell peppers plus one tortilla and a drink. HAF provides a similar meal for these children several days each week through the generosity of sponsors. After lunch, we visited the Sunday afternoon session of the Agape Promises program. There are fifty children sponsored in this program, which provides Christian education and encouragement and assistance to continue in school. The program was a lively lesson about Gideon defeating the Midianites with only 300 men chosen by God. A nutricious meal was also provided to these children. In the late afternoon, we went to the inaguration of the indoor soccer field mentioned yesterday, which included a church service. This was a special treat because we got to see a lot of people that we knew from the community. We were also treated to a very nice meal as part of the festivities. We were told that one of the first activities will be a match between the youth soccer teams of one of the local evangelical churches and the catholic church. On Monday morning we went to San Pedro Sula by Busito and flew home, arriving in Atlanta on Monday afternoon, people from our plane were the only ones in the lines at immigration and customs. It was a great week. We were truly blessed with good weather the entire time and Maynor made sure we went everywhere and saw all the groups that we had on our list.

October 20, 2012 We began the day visiting with the teachers of the Agape Promises program. These four ladies, including two who are in high school, are dedicated to teaching the Word of God to our sponsored children and encouraging them to stay in school and do well. The program now has fifty sponsored children and several more children regularly attend the lessons. Afterwards, each of the team members who sponsor a child had a chance to visit with them. The university students came to visit with us later in the day. These two young ladies were in the AP program. Laura has been in AP since before Maynor started working with us. Both plan to become dentists. The program takes six years. One of them, Iveth, is in the first year and Laura in the third year. After talking with them about their courses, we were all convinced that they have the intelligence and the drive needed to finish their studies. They both look forward to a time when they can come back and help in the Honduras Agape dental clinics. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Later in the afternoon, we went to the birthday party for Jocelyn, one of the AP teachers who is a junior in high school. She is yet another wonderful example of an AP student who has grown into a teacher. She was very pleased to have us come to her party. The team had dinner at Goyita’s restaurant and we marveled at the new indoor soccer facility that the Mejia family has built on the other side of their home from the restaurant. This facility looks like something I would expect to see in Aiken. The field came from the USA and is the latest artificial turf, with sand base and small rubber pellets mixed in with the grass. The first phase of construction for this facility is now complete. Plans for the next phase of construction include exercise equipment and a game room as well as a second floor area to enjoy fast food and watch the soccer games. This may become a favorite place for mission teams to visit and relax.

More Photos from the Planning Mission Team