Every mission trip is unique, even when returning to familiar locations.  This year's team of 3 returning missionaries, 3 new missionaries, 2 adopted team members from Texas (Ellen and Cindy), and 2 interpreters, was no exception.  The week was not perfect, and I know we all learned some lessons to make future trips even better.  However, I encourage you to look back at the blog and see the hand of God working through our human efforts to deliver miracles. 

This was Elevate's 4th mission trip to Choluteca and the relationships established over the last 3 years are becoming stronger.  Our knowledge and familiarity with the team at GLCA and the programs that are the foundation of their community involvement will continue to grow.  If you have found the stories of compassion, hard work, leaving your comfort zone, and challenging your faith to be compelling, please drop us an e-mail at missions@elevate-church.com and let us know that you want to have more information about getting involved in our future mission trip opportunities.

Last day

Well I  say good bye to blogging for at least a year. Facebook will be next. It was a good day, we delivered 5 beds this morning. It is very gratifying to deliver those beds. Some children sleep on concrete floors or dirt floors. We went to the mountains and it was as beautiful as this world gets. The hand of God around every turn.  God has been faithful this week and really met me in my circumstances to minister to my heart. Not sure there is a big idea or something profound he has for me today. If there is it would be this, you stepped out in faith and I met you. I thank the Lord because I received far more than I could have ever given. I praise him for being faithful to what I believe he has shown me. I praise him for a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit in my heart. I thank him for working his plan through our team.

Labor and Delivery

The last few beds were finished this morning-a total of 16!  Our plan was 12, so it was great to complete even more.  The church plans to build and distribute at least 100 beds this year through the different Mission Trips that come.  I must brag that Cody (my son) has done a great job with building, learning and developing relationships.  He has done so well developing relationships with the Youth Group from Cedar Creek that is down here also working on a different project, that he was sent with them today to build a house and possibly go out evangelizing.  He is the youngest on our team of 6, so he has enjoyed hanging out with them at the hotel each night-playing cards, swimming, etc.  He is still out working, so more on his day later.

This am while the others were working, I managed to sneak out and help look for homes for the beds again.  There are only so many tools and so much work at this point, so not everyone was needed.  I really enjoy walking around the community and meeting the people.  The children are always wanting to follow you, hug you.  They also beg for candy, which we have been warned not to pass out or you will be mobbed within seconds.  The Daycare and and Nutrition Center staff definitely prefer us not to give the children candy as it turns them into beggars ( for lack of a better word).  We gave candy to the teachers to pass out for treats and rewards.

After scouting out homes for the beds, we loaded 7 beds on the bus and began to deliver them.  One was given to a family whose home was built for them by a mission team back in January.  The mother's name is Angelica.  I believe there is at least one more woman in the home, and 4 children.  The children have a bedroom ( basically a sheet hanging on a close line in the middle of a room).  When we visited the day before, Angelica pulled the sheet back to reveal an empty room with a bare concrete floor where the children slept.  We were able to deliver 2 beds to them today.  One of the women that works at the tortilla factory,  Julia,whose children go to the Daycare, had no beds for her children.  She has worked there for 5 years.  There are 12 people living in the home (children and grandchildren).  There were 2, maybe 3 beds total.
 Another bed went to Ana Maritza, who is one of the cooks at the Daycare/Nutrition Center.  The church is trying to take care of the families closest to them first, which is only fitting.  It was a reality check to see the woman I talked to yesterday in the Nutrition Center, in her own home, just as destitute as everyone else.

Yet another bed went to the place where Cody was working with the Creekers.  This was the worst living condition that I have seen yet.  The "house" was literally about 6 feet wide by 10-11 feet long.  A man, his wife and 3 children live there.  They have a malnourished baby, Wendy, who is about 10-12 months old.  She is developmentally maybe 3 months.  They handed her to me....I will never forget.   This father is a hardworking man who earns only 2-3 dollars/day.  He cannot feed his family.  The church at first looked at putting a new roof on his house.  Then, I believe since Cedar Creek finished their project so early, they started to build them a new home.  The long term goal is to get them a home at Casa Hogar Vita-one that he can own, that is not on a flood plain, that will have electricity and a toilet.  He will be able to pay nominal rent for 10 years and then take ownership.  He was trying to build another home.  The Creekers had to disassemble part of it.  He had cut trees down from over a mile away, carried/drug them there and put them in as posts.  It took several men to move them even though he did this on his own.  Many people who are willing to work hard simply cannot find an opportunity to work.  The church is helping with this.  Definitely a hand up, not a hand out.

Yesterday...

I did not get to finish yesterday as we went out to have the most amazing slushies!  Yum!  I guess the place we went is a happening place in Chiloteca...great for date night.  they play American 80's music.
So, yesterday I walked around the community with Frank and another man from the Center---scouting for families who need the beds we have built.  We went to the homes of the children who go to the Daycare first.
One man, Santos, has diabetes, takes insulin, can barely walk, has diarrhea frequently (I think gastroparesis) and has been abandoned by his family.  He lives with his 11 year old son.  He has 2 other children who do not live with him.  The church is providing his home, but he relies on friends and neighbors to give him food or money for food.  His son helps him to bathe and basically takes care of him.  They only have one small bed and a hammock.  A hammock is fine for awhile, but not great to sleep on every day.  This man is skin and bones and is in great suffering.  Later that day, we took him a bed.  He was so grateful....he told of of God's love and how his illness brings him closer to God.  His faith was tremendous...we were all in tears by the time he was done speaking.  I now have a much better understanding of what Paul meant in Philippians when he said he has learned to be content in any situation (whether well fed or hungry, whether sick or healthy).  Santos' life spoke more loudly than anyone else could ever preach.  As it is difficult to express how valuable a trip like this can be, please believe me that God can use others to teach us what He has been trying to tell us all along.
I think I will post and continue with a new blog so I don't lose this due to the questionable connection.

Day 7

Emotional day! We finished all the beds today. We delivered 6 beds to families around Limon. We also delivered 2 beds to two families in Choluteca. It was way off the road.They do not have any utilities in these homes. No electricity, water, or sewer. On the drive from Limon back to Choluteca God's love and sorrow for his children flooded my heart. I cried almost the whole 15 min ride. In those tears God opened up and told me that before I found him my heart was hard to even this sadness. He flooded me so I could feel his love for his children. I think so that I would not cry when we got to the homes.  They do not need our pity, just our love and that is what I wanted to portray. I did tear up a little when I got to the homes. You have to understand these are homes to these people but would not even be a shed for us. They are made out of sticks and plastic. They have dirt floors, so when it rains it just gets muddy. The children were so malnourished that one baby we saw could not even hold her head up and she was 1. So God did not give me a big idea to shake my world today, he gave me his heart. That is enough.

Thank you Cipro/Dr. Drake

Wow-2 doses of Cipro and I am a new woman!  Back to 100% today.
Today I was asked to speak to the woman, Lillian, who runs the Nutrition Clinic.  I also spoke to the cooks and pastor Giovanni to try to gain an understanding of what they are doing, how they create the menus and determine the children's needs.  For those who don't know, I am an RD (Registered Dietitian), which is why I was given this privilege.  There were a few things lost in translation, but I do know these things:  The Nutrition Clinic serves 13 children 2 meals/day, I believe 5 days/week.   Their budget is combined with the Daycare, which serves approximately 480 meals/week.  All together, they serve 600 meals/month on a budget of $300-$350.  About 50cents per meal.  How do I tell them to serve more fruits and vegetables?  I basically tried to gain information as I think I would have to spend more time there to offer many suggestions.  When I asked the cooks about fruit, they said that someone had been donating fruits and vegetables, but they stopped in February.  The children get fruits and vegetables roughly once/week.
The work they are doing is essential to these children.  There is no WIC program here.  Mothers give the babies bottles of sugar water to make them stop crying, which helps for a moment, but of course does not satisfy their nutritional needs.  Wow...so hard to explain.  I asked the pastor how he does not get discouraged.  He said it is difficult sometimes, but that we live in a fallen world, and we must deal with these things.  Very true, and real to me now.
More later.....

Day 6

We assembled beds today. I think we have a total of 11 beds assembled. We should be done with the beds tomorrow morning. We also delivered 3 beds. One to a man in Limon that had very poor health. He was really skin and bones. He cried when he was presented with the bed. Thankfully I think he was a believer in Christ. Then we delivered to a young woman in Casa Hogar Vida. She had three children and they were all in the same bed. Now she has 2 more for here children. She was very grateful and thanked God for our work. She shared her story with us and it was very moving. As I stood there listening I could hear God tell me that THIS IS THE GOSPEL! Words are powerful but providing for the needs supernaturally is what God does. That is what these people see, that the Lord heard their prays and answered in a way they might not have ever thought. When I say words are powerful I mean everyone needs to hear that Jesus loves them and they can have salvation. But, when you PROVIDE the gospel to them it makes more of an impact on their heart. Sometimes satan will come behind and steal that away but for that moment in time God met them in their circumstance. That is why I am happy to be here. To see the supernatural manifestation  of God.

What do Beds and Iguana's have in common?

The answer to the question asked in this post's title can be found in the blog post from Nick and Denise.  Not much to add tonight to what they have already written. So I'll just include a few pictures to add some color and texture to their commentary. We are all very excited about the opportunities to give beds to families that have children sleeping on dirt floors. It may seam like a small insignificant gift in light of the poverty that is all around us. But for the family and child we help, if will make a remarkable impact.

Sick Day/Healing/Learning

Woke up at 4:30 to meet Montezuma.  He got his revenge.  But, I got mine by taking Cipro and Imodium.  Was only at 60% half of the day, but am feeling almost normal tonight.
Today we did accomplish a lot of work on the beds.  All of the wood is cut, most is stained and one bed is together!  It was good to see the finished product.  We'll deliver the beds later in the week.

As I was sanding with a power sander today, it seemed to me there was a sermon in this job.  I was sanding the rough edges off the wood that won't be seen.  God does that to us-He takes off the rough edges so we can be useful.  The wood that is to be seen and used must be sanded with a much finer paper.  This process takes much longer...for the wood and for us.  But to be used in His Kingdom, it is a necessary process.   Contemplating that tonight.

After we finished working for the day we went out to share our faith in the neighborhood around the Center.  We went with our interpreter, Marcella.  She really paved the way, explaining the Gospel to many people.  We were able to meet people, share our faith and hopefully plant seeds that will later be watered and grow.  The people here are very open to us coming to their homes.  They invite you in, offer you the chair or the bed to sit on and are very friendly.  Most of the homes are not much bigger than my living room (which isn't huge).  One woman has a daughter who is HIV positive and needs a blood transfusion.  Apparently it will cost $60 for 2 pints of blood.  We are going to look into helping her.  Turns out she is a member of the church and one of her grandchildren is sponsored by someone at Cedar Creek (Church).
Another woman needs food for her children-one is malnourished and in the hospital.  It was difficult to understand her whole situation, but we may be able to go back and offer some small assistance to her.  Everyone that we spoke to was given a Spanish Bible, and we were able to pray with/for most of them.
The whole experience was very humbling, almost surreal to be IN one of the places you see on TV (or at least somewhere very similar to the 'starving children' ads that we Americans have often learned to ignore).  They really are starving.  I've met them.

Lastly, I have to comment on the Cedar Creek gang that is down here staying at the same hotel and working on a different project.  They are a great group of kids and leaders, and were bold today sharing their faith.
On the light side, one of the girls bought 2 iguanas last night with plans to cook them up for dinner.  The cooks were willing, but not everyone was happy about that.  The iguanas spent the night on the bus, and by morning they had gotten the rope off of their mouths.  So, dinner was set free out of the back of the bus and I will spend another day not knowing if iguana tastes just like chicken.

Day 5

Today was a lot of hard work. We finally got a bed assembled. Sanding is still not done but should be tomorrow and we should start assembling the rest of the beds that are stained and sealed. We got to go out into the community of Limon and visit with some families. I guess here is what struck me as I was sitting in the homes of strangers. They are just like us except for the fact they invited us into there homes to speak with them. In the U.S. people are put out when someone comes to the door, really for any reason, let alone to share the gospel. Their struggles are just like ours. There wants and dreams are just like ours. They turn a blind eye to Jesus just like many in our culture. Here is maybe the difference I see, Jesus is not on every channel of TV or every radio station. In the U.S. there is really no excuse for not knowing Jesus but here they may not have really heard of or know who he really is. It is Gods servants that bring that message here. So I guess that is one reason Jesus has not returned cause there are still souls to be won, here and at home. Thank you Lord for allowing me to come here and have the eyes of my heart opened.

Today was a work day from Sunrise to Sunset (well not quite sunrise). I told our team before breakfast that today would be all about team work. A long day in hot and humid conditions working together to accomplish a goal. They did not let me down. Everyong worked hard all day and regardless of the task they jumped in an delivered. It was an awesome day of work. We completed cutting all of the boards to size and have 80% of the sanding complete. We have also started staining and sealing some of the boards, but tomorrow we will need to get most of the painting complete, so on Thursday we can start assembly. As Nick mentioned in his blog, Levi took a small group from Elevate and Cedar Creek teams out into some of the poorest of the poor in Honduras. These are the people we are trying to reach with our bed project. The homes they live in are without electricity and are basically built out of sticks, plastic tarps, and other items that as Americans we would throw in the garbage. This family of 5 had come to the attention of GCLA when their youngest was hospitalized for 30 days with Malnutrition. The child is now slowly recovering and the church is helping where they can. The family received a bed from one of the prior teams this year.

A Hard Day's Work

Today was a long day of hard work for the team. I asked them to come together today as a team, work hard in very hot and humid conditions, and stay focused on the goal. They did an awesome job, and completed cutting all of the lumber to size and shape, sanded about 75% of the boards, and started staining some of the pieces. We start again tomorrow, and are on track to complete 12 beds in time to deliver them this week. During the day we also took some time out to play with the children at the Limon day care and nutrition center. A brother and sister were captured on the see saw here.

Just before dinner Levi took several of us from Elevate and Cedar Creek out to see one of the families that were given a bed by the last team. GCLA became aware of this family thru the nutrition center contacts at the hospital. The youngest child was recently hospitalized with malnutrition and the church is doing what it can to help the family recover. The conditions these poorest of the poor live in is hard to believe in the 21st century. It definitely puts our lives of luxury in perspective. They live with no electricity, and a home made of logs and sticks, and pieces of tarp and plastic that would be thrown the garbage by American's. It is heartbreaking to see the conditions of this next generation.

Day 4

Well today was a work hard all day sort of day. We worked on cutting, sanding and staining the bed pieces. Hard work for hard works sake gets you no where. I think that is what God spoke to me. I mean in anything we do if we are not doing it for him and his kingdom then it is really for nothing. What he gives he also can take away. Our Families, our jobs, our hobbies, and our past times are all from God. The work you put into any and all should be to glorify the one that gave them and allows them. I got an opportunity to visit, for the lack of a better word, a lean too. It was a home to a man and wife with 3 little babies. It was made from sticks and tarps.About the size of a small shed.  They cooked with wood, what little they had to cook. My heart wells up with compassion and sadness. As I learned earlier in the trip, thank you Lord for the opportunity to practice your LOVE.

A Day of Giving in Honduras

During our many tour stops today we had 2 very special opportunities to bring donations to support the local teams. During our tour of the nutrition center at Limon, we were able to donate new Kitchen Aid pots, pans, lids, and every imaginable utinsil. This generous gift was made possible thru my brother, Michael, that is an executive at Whirlpool. By the time we left Limon, the cheese cutter and garlic press were already being put to use. This new kitchen area has just been completed and supports meal preparation for the 80 children in the nutrition center and day care center.

In the afternoon we spent time purchasing hand made craft items made by the women of Casa Hogar Vida. The items available include jewlery, handbags and aprons. We were able to bring jewlery beads and stones found during a garage sale walk around our neighborhood, and material from Julies quilting projects. The ladies of the craft store told us that they had just run out of their last bit of material and did not know when they would be able to get more. . . . . Just a coincidence???

Touring

Today we toured, as Nick mentioned.  It was an eye-opener to see the places that we have heard about at Elevate.  Got to see the neighborhood where our church sponsored a house a few years ago.  We've also heard about the orphanage they have there.  They have 2 houses, each will hold 8 children.  Currently they are caring for 6 orphans.   They hope to have over 50 orphans eventually.  Cost is prohibitive at this point, but as I spoke to Frank (one of the church leaders) about it, he explained that they watch for where God is working and use the opportunities as they arise.  I am sure that God will lead more children there.  Frank did say that there is a 93 year old Grandmother  who is taking care of six children....unfortunately, they may need help sometime soon.

At Casa Hogar Vida, a village designed to assist the poorest of the poor and people affected and infected by HIV, they are striving to be self-sufficient.  They have a brick factory, a tortilla factory, women make and sell jewelry and purses and they grow corn.  They plan to continue improving the farming efforts. They also replant trees to keep renewing their resources. Many trees are cut for firewood for cooking to save the expense of gas, but few replant.  The man in charge (Oscar) of many of the operations of 'Casa' has great vision for the self-sufficiency of the community.
There are 39 homes there (some in progress) and they have 400 applications for families that would like to move in.  They are charged a nominal fee for the homes, very affordable, but enough to give the people a sense of pride and ownership.  After they pay for 10 years, the home becomes theirs. The total cost being much less than they would have paid otherwise.
It's really difficult to sum up everything we are seeing here.  But, what I am learning, is that the church here is truly the hands and feet of God.  We have come to serve, but are learning so much about how to serve when we return.  I was not sure how to process the expense of a mission trip...it is very costly.  But, I am beginning to see that the price will be multiplied when we return...if we learn and grow as we should.

Day 3

Day 3 was a great day. We went and toured Limon and Casa Hogar vida. Those children are really where the heart of God is found. What God clearly and loudly spoke to me today was that our dependence should only be on him. He is where all good things come. Dependence on man will only bring destruction. That does not mean we do not lend a hand in Gods plan. It just means we have to ALLOW for people to maintain their  dignity and self worth. Complete handouts bring neither of those. Praise him!















1