A work group from Summers & Zims put a new roof on one of the sponsorship families houses. (3/29/25)
John Riddell and Jeff Swope's visit went very well. They were able to see the ministry in action and got involved with a sponsorship meeting game. (3/8/25)
Last Saturday was our first children's program. Tirza invited 1st- to 3rd-graders, and we had around 35 children show up. I am excited to continue to grow this program. (2/22/2025)
Tirza is here! One week of school under her belt and still smiling. (2/8/25)
Tirza has started to organize the activity center and is trying to learn the names of 125 children. (2/8/25)
The sponsorship program is in full swing as the new year of school has started! (2/8/25)
We added around 60 new students this year! (2/8/25)
School will be starting here in about two weeks (summer vacation went fast for us!). The sponsorship program is in the busy season, buying school supplies and getting everyone measured for their uniforms. It is wonderful to have a team to get all the children ready for school! (1/25/25)
Sunday, the day set for Tirza to be here! I am so excited for everything that she will be doing: teaching in the school, starting Bible studies, children programs, and working in the activity center! Her room has all the things she needs, but I am sure she will make it into a home here shortly. (1/25/25)
We were able to concrete a floor for one of our neighbors here in Providencia. Someone donated the materials, but they asked us to pour it. I let Edy be the guy in charge because I'm trying to teach him about leadership and responsibility. (12/14/24)
The work on Tirza's room has come along nicely. (12/14/24)
Tirza, who will be teaching English at the school here in Providence, will be here in about 8 weeks! We started to work on the room she will be staying in. She will be living with a family right across the road from the school. (11/30/24)
When my family was here, we were able to get out and visit a few sponsorship families and give a few gifts from their sponsors. (11/9/24)
Vivien and I had a wonderful time at the beach with a group of children! (10/19/24)
Thanks to specific donations, we were able to give out Bible story books for those who are learning to read in the sponsorship program. (10/5/24)
With another generous donation, we were able to purchase a guitar for the mission. Vivien was excited and has been enjoying playing it! (10/5/24)
Vivien, my girlfriend, invited those she is teaching English to for supper one of the evenings. (9/21/24)
We are still digging ditches for the water runoff control, so we brought a few more workers in to help with the hard work. However, if you are working on Thursdays, you are required to come to devotions (a way of discipleship for me with the young guys). (9/21/24)
Bob and Sandy, the previous directors, visited with some family members. They enjoyed reconnecting with friends and completed a few home projects for the sponsorship program. (9/21/24)
Tirza arrived this past week for a one-week stay. She will be teaching English in the local elementary school next year. She was able to meet her host family and visit the school. (9/7/24)
It was good to get out to all the sponsorship meetings, see the children again, and meet the new ones we added this year. (9/7/24)
9/7/24
Visiting a few of the sponsorship children. (8/24/24)
What a wonderful time with the medical team. They spent two days of working with the local doctors handing out medicine in two different towns. (7/27/24)
While the work group was here, a tree fell on my neighbor's house. We were able to help them remove the tree and fix up the part that it destroyed. (7/27/24)
We were able to visit the sponsorship children of one of the group members, and we helped with all three sponsorship programs with Naun. (7/27/24)
A week of driving for me: transporting one of the sponsorship families and two supply trips. Just a little work on the activity center as we wait on supplies again. (6/22/24)
Abi and Wes came to visit their sponsorship child. We took him and his brother out for baleadas and today we are going to the beach with them. (6/15/24)
I was able to take one of the sponsored children to a doctor's visit where he was able to get new shoes that are supposed to help him walk better. (6/15/24)
Naun asked me to help with a Triunfo sponsorship meeting since Stephany was away. It is always fun to be with the children! (6/8/24)
About three times a year the government gives basic food supplies to schools to hand out to the children. The teachers here usually ask me to help them go pick it up and bring it back to Providencia. (6/8/24)
Naun and Stephany continue to help the children in the sponsorship program with their homework. (5/25/24)
We had a good afternoon at the creek with the sponsorship children who had memorized the 10 verses last year. (5/18/24)
The group Bob and Sandy brought down visited a sponsorship child of one of the participants. (3/9/24)
The group Bob and Sandy brought down were also able to finally move Dona Ticha into her new house! (3/9/24)
I was able to spend a little time in the office this past week and catch up on some desk work. I started updating our website, porquenotu.com. I was working on the sponsorship page as we added around 30 more children to the program this year, and we are looking for families or individuals to sponsor them. This is one of the children we added. (2/17/24)
It was another great week with a work group. We finished the front porch for Donna Ticha and got some more work done on the activity center. (2/10/24)
2/10/24
It has been a great week with the work group! We were able to put the roof on the house and concrete the floor. We got some painting done around the pavilion and worked on the activity center. (1/27/24)
1/27/24
1/27/24
We had the Providencia meetings this past week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It was Naun's first time running the program, so I was around to help as needed. The kids had a good time... (1/20/24)
...and Stephany was able to help out as well. (1/20/24)
We finished a bathroom and wash station for a family in the sponsorship program. (1/13/24)
David and Marvin built this house with supplies that were donated from a business in San Antonio. The work group coming in 9 days will finish the roof and floor. (1/13/24)
We built this wooden house with Christmas money from a family last year. The work group coming in 3 weeks will finish the front port and bathroom. It is for Dona Ticha, an elderly lady in Providencia. (1/13/24)
Naun is the local pastor of the church that is beside the mission. He will be helping out with the sponsor children in the Providencia area. (12/30/23)
This past Sunday, an elderly lady came to ask help to build her a house. They had people and businesses donate all the material but no one to help build it. On Monday, I went out to see her place. For the past year they have been living in a house where the back wall fell down, and the sheets and tin are a wall now. This wasn't much of a decision for us. We (David and Marvin) stopped our work around the mission and started laying blocks on Tuesday! (12/23/23)
Denis and Yanery Orellana will be our new counselors for the "Las Americas" area in San Antonio. He has a 2-year-old daughter, Raquel, and a young girl is also living with them, Genesis. (12/23/23)
Last Saturday I helped out with a children's program in La Ceibita. They had a snow cone machine! Of course, I had to make a snowball, or maybe a few, and throw them at the kids. I can now say I had a snowball fight in Honduras! (12/23/23)
A few of our sponsorship children graduated 9th grade this year and are ready to continue on for their "Career Years" of high school. (12/9/23)
Marriage and the family is definitely broken within the church and culture here in Honduras. Even talking about a "Kingdom Culture" seems like a foreign topic for them. We will focus on marriage and family with future conferences as well as just living it out in my life. I may have been hoping for a few more people in the conference this week, but we were able to invest in some quality conversations as a result. Overall, it was a success. (12/9/23)
Tirza Martin and her family were here over Thanksgiving to see the ministry and look at the possibility of teaching English as a second language in one of the schools here. Tirza has been studying Spanish for 4 years now and has a good handle on the language. She was able to lead a devotional for one of the Triunfo sponsorship meetings. (12/2/23)
Thursday we took a meal to the house of Naun, the local pastor here in Providencia. We spent the evening talking while the children played. (11/19/23)
Tuesday we had a Triunfo meeting. Four of the children knew all 10 verses from the memorization program. With no counselors in the Providencia area, Tony (from the board) led the devotions. (11/19/23)
Liam and Martin joined in, in a game of tag at the Tuesday Triunfo meeting. (11/19/23)
Last Sunday we played games and had a meal with some of the sponsorship children. (11/19/23)
David, Eddy, and Marvin continue to work around the mission as well as other projects in the area. We received a donation to do a few repairs on the local church. (10/28/23)
David and Eddy are finishing up a project for the sponsorship program: rebuilding a wash station and adding a bathroom and shower. (10/14/23)
The medical team did wilderness first aid training for those in the San Antonio area. (9/9/23)
The medical team also helped train the people on equipment they brought for the ambulance. Monday and Friday we visited two different villages in the San Antonio area. We helped local doctors' hand out free medicine to help those who were sick. We also visited another mission that has a hospital that does one-day surgeries, and we gave blood. (9/9/23)
9/9/23
9/9/23
I had also asked the local pastor if he would hold a seven-week marriage enrichment class. He came to me this past weekend and said he wanted to start Monday night. The medical team watched the children of the participants, so the parents could have less distractions.
The medical team arrived safely, a few issues with medical supplies they brought, but their week is off to a good start. They helped Eli with one of his Bible Schools. (9/2/23)
Once a month we have a meal together with Jose and Reina in Cordoncillos, since we don't see them that much and we want to continue to get to know each other better. (8/26/23)
I had an incredible week with Mt Vernon youth group. (8/15/23)
We painted in the local high school for a few days. (8/15/23)
And then did a short Bible skit and sang, Holy Holy Holy for them. (8/15/23)
We played a lot of soccer! Every gym class wanted to play against us, and we had a lot of spectators too, more than were at my high school soccer games... The school even changed the schedule around the program so we could have gym class and play soccer. (8/15/23)
We concreted a kindergarten classroom. (8/15/23)
We visited Mt Vernon's sponsoring child and had supper with the family. (8/15/23)
Mt Vernon also had a skit for her school and we sang Bible School Songs for them, which the children really got into the motions, even if they didn't understand all the words. (8/15/23)
I check in with Jose and Reina (the new counselors in Cordoncillos) every now and then. Reina has been working with a 9-year-old girl in the sponsorship program who wasn't understanding simple math (e.g., adding and subtracting). After a few tutoring sessions, she was finally understanding and able to answer some problems. Reina said she couldn't stop smiling. Now they are teaching her how to read as well. It's those types of stories that make me excited. She is learning, but relationships are being built with children to open them up to the truths of the gospel. Pictured is Jose and Reina with their 3 children: Reina Esther, Cristhian, and Addison. (8/5/23)
We were able to meet the rest of the sponsorship children in Cordoncillos this week with the new counselors. (7/22/23)
Our first annual sponsorship fun day went well. Eli told me the night before our sponsorship fun day that I was in charge of a group and needed to come up with games and activities for the whole day. I'm still getting used to the culture of no schedule and little planning. I taught them 4 square and dodgeball and a few other games. We played soccer and joined in on one of Eli's eating games and ended the day with a pinata and eating cake! (7/15/23)
7/15/23
7/15/23
7/15/23
7/15/23
Magda and Eli had the monthly Triunfo meetings for the Providencia area this week. It is good to have a good team where I don't have to be the one in charge and be there to make sure it goes smoothly, even if I miss having fun with the kids. (6/30/23)
6/30/23
We started visiting the children in the Cordoncillos area with the new counselors. I am really excited about them, since they already live in the area, they know a lot of people and are well respected in the community. We will finally be able to have more interaction with the children and keep after their needs. These three sisters all sleep together in the same single bed. All very sweet girls. I asked the one if she liked or loved school, she said, "I love it" and was very eager to show us her good grades! (7/1/23)
Also from the Cordoncillos area. This little boy has an enlarged scrotum. I don't understand medical terms yet, but I think they were saying something about the problem being in the kidney. I thought this was taken care of last year, but we will continue to work with him to help as we can. (7/1/23)
We have been trying to get out one day a week and work on projects within the sponsorship program. We just finished a chicken coop for a family who lives in the "jungle" away from town and between her dogs and a wild cat, they haven't been able to keep chickens alive. The other family didn't have a bathroom and their wash station didn't have a roof over it, and since Hondurans loathe the sun and it rains a lot, now she has protection from both. (7/1/23)
7/1/23
Our meeting with the couple from the Cordoncillos area went really well. They live in the Cordoncillos area already, Sunday morning they already have a children's program for about 70 kids and they already know a few of the children. Our next step is for a "Triunfo" sponsorship meeting at their place. Their house is right next to the church and they have a very nice place to hold the meetings. I am excited! (6/17/23)
Eli has been looking for a place for our Triunfo meeting with the children in Las Americas, Ocotillo, Higuerito, Chachona, and Plan Verde. There are only a few children in each town, and some get to walk about 30 minutes to the program, others we pick up on our way, but all 14 kids were there, plus some brought their siblings or cousins. This place was really nice and the host even got involved with the program. (6/17/23)
We were able to do some activities (face/arm painting, coloring, and some crafts) for a kids program in La Ceibita, this week. (5/27/23)
5/27/23
5/27/23
My primary mission in Honduras is "to disciple and empower Hondurans to be the hands and feet of Jesus." A secondary mission is helping people work their way out of poverty. This man is a taxi driver and has been renting one for the past few years for $40 a week. I was able to find people who would help loan him money to buy his own, so this will be completely his in three years. (5/13/23)
Some of the kids are coming to Triunfo meeting early to play games with Eli. (5/13/23)
Eli had his first after school tutoring sessions for a few in the sponsorship program. He was excited about being able to help kids learn. (5/6/23)
5/6/23
Trying to spend one day a week working on a service project within the sponsorship program. We are finishing up a wash station. (4/29/23)
Slowly learning about churches, but this is the first time I saw ladies with head coverings. Wish i could have talked with them about why they wear them, coming from a Mennonite background, it could have been an interesting conversation. I also learned there are many churches here called Jesus Solos, Just Jesus. They think we server 3 Gods, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, where they only serve one God, Jesus. And if i understood correctly they discourage studying the Bible and reading it. Very interesting. (4/22/23)
We are starting to have a prayer walk around the mission once a month. We started inviting some of the local pastors to join us. Here we are having a devotional beforehand, of course with cake and coffee. (4/15/23)
The meeting with the potential counselor for Cordoncillo went well, we will take a week to pray and think about it and then we have a meeting Thursday to talk about. (4/15/23)
This is David's idea of taking the week off. I figured Marvin would do some work this week as he doesn't have a full time job and works when there is work. They are finishing up the wash station for a sponsorship project. (4/8/23)
David and Marvin started working on the wash station, another project for the sponsorship program. (3/31/23)
Today the mission at the bottom of the hill brought up some wood to be cut to repair a few chairs, benches and tables. Edy was around and wanted to help, so I taught him how to use our new band saw. (3/31/23)
My family was able to visit some of the children they sponsor. It is fun to put smiles on their faces, doing some things that they normally would not have the opportunity to do. And even just seeing a smile from simple gifts like fuzzy socks or a fuzzy ball! (3/31/23)
3/31/23
3/31/23
When Summer's and Zim's were here we had time to do a service project in one of the sponsorship children's homes. We concreted their floor and started digging the ditches for a wash station. (3/25/23)
While the guys worked, we brought out coloring books for the kids to play with and make some jump ropes! (3/25/23)
It was a good week with the sponsorship children. I really enjoy our monthly meetings. From the little ones starting to Memorize John 3:16 with hand motions, to the older ones making pretzels and playing Blind Dodgeball, and having a good discussion afterwards talking about discerning the voice of the Holy Spirit compared to the "world" (3/11/23)
Making Pretzels (3/11/23)
Blind Dodgeball (3/11/23)
Playing Games (3/11/23)
We were able to make it up to the school in Tapiquilares this week. We handed out some school supplies, fed them lunch and they enjoyed a Bible story. (2/24/23)
One of the girls that we sponsor in Providencia was trying to talk to me in English during the program. So, I invited her over to the mission to use Rosetta Stone. She spent two hours here. We might not be teaching English in the schools yet, but now we have one student! (2/24/23)
Our First Sponsorship Program Monthly Meetings - We had three this week for Providencia, we split up the groups by age and school, because we felt we could gear the Bible lesson better for different age groups and keep the numbers down so we could have more one on one and not have any get "lost" during the program. So, Tuesday we had 4-8 years old, Wed we had 9-10 years old and Thursday 12-17 years old. From games, to writing the sponsors, to bible stories, to food and singing, it was a great three days! (2/18/23)
Writing letters to sponsors (2/18/23)
Sponsorship Program Meeting in Providencia (2/18/23)
Sponsorship Program Meeting - Watching an episode of Superlibro (Superbook) in Spanish. (2/18/23)
This week we were able to finish the bathroom and wash station for Cintia, who is in our sponsorship program. I let David take control of the project and he was able to start training Marvin in laying blocks. Cintia and her two brothers are children who my heart really goes out to, their dad gets drunk often and the mom isn't always there. Children living the consequences of their parents choices. They need many prayers! (2/18/23)
We were able to go and eat supper with two sponsorship families this week. It created a lot of work for Magda and the kitchen help, as they prepare the meals in our kitchen to help keep the American's stomach in good shape. But the evenings went very well, being able to play games, tell a Bible story and feed a few more kids than planned! (2/11/23)
David is working on a bathroom and wash station for Cintia's family, one of the sponsorship children. Marvin, who has been helping with the farm work around the mission, mentioned he would like to learn to lay blocks, so we brought him to help with this project so he could start to learn. A good mason in this area could make $16 to $20 a day. (1/27/23)
School here in Honduras is about to start up for the year, they go to school from Feb to Nov. So, we have ordered all the supplies for our sponsorship program and will be starting to hand out supplies to the children during the next few weeks. Our next mission will be to buy new uniforms for the children, we are just waiting to hear from the Government, when they can start to buy them. (1/14/23)
I was able to visit Teen Missions this week, taking 7 kids from the Providencia area. It was great to talk with the director, in English, and see his heart for discipleship. The kids will spend two weeks in Bible training and team building activities and then two weeks in outreach in Honduras.
We gave a bunk bed to one of our sponsorship families. I wished I had a before picture, but they made their own bunk bed with two single beds, which means the bottom bed had about 16 inches for someone to squeeze into. This is normal for families here, for everyone to sleep in the same room. This room is for the parents and their 3 boys (12, 14, 15 years old) (12/23/22)
Magda and some of the young neighbor girls have been working on backpacks for our sponsorship program, for Kindergarten and 1st graders. (12/23/22)
We spent a day this past week concreting the floor of a neighbors house. (12/17/22)
Finished visiting all the sponsorship children. It was good to see where everyone lived, even if a few children weren't there, we got to meet some of the other family or relatives. (12/2/22)
Magda has a sewing class about twice a week to teach some of the local, usually young girls, how to sew. There are many factories in San Pedro where they could end up getting a job someday. This was the first day I saw a young man learning. (11/11/22)
Two guys from Summers and Zim's came down for two days to look at our water system and see what kind of upgrades could be made to help improve the water from our well. We made a quick pit stop and did a small repair on a home of one of our sponsor children. (11/11/22)
After two weeks visiting sponsorship children, we have visited 33 children, we have 22 more to go, and found 25 new children who could be sponsored. Mostly younger siblings of sponsored children now. I will let you know when we are set up and ready for you to start sponsoring and impacting a kids life. (11/4/22)
We visited about 1/3 of our sponsorship children this week. Kids being creative with what they have and a smile on their faces! (10/22/22)
We spent two days handing out medicine in two different villages. We brought along doctors who did the check ups and prescribed the medicine. (10/1/22)
A day teaching first aid and cpr. We handed out med kits to 15 different villages so they can help with basic injuries. (10/1/22)
I took one of the local congregations here in Providencia to another church service on a Saturday night. (9/22)
Outside the church building.