April Showers

Greetings to all,

So much is happening all the time around here. When you have a family the size of mine, that is the norm.   We have finally come out of a long drought and it is raining… a lot, but we are okay with that.  Everyone was having trouble in keeping  basic needs for water attended too.  Our conductor on our deep well had burned up, and then the electrical float valve did likewise.  With the lack of water in  El Cahon Dam,  we were suffering with power outages.  We would have brown outs, where we had electricity, but not enough to run a fan.  When that happened we had to start shutting down our major appliances lest it burn up also.  Then when the power would come back on it would be so strong it would burn up the light bulbs and our hot water douches.  It has been feast or famine with the electricity here.

We had a irrigation project at the other farm in Las Harenas, where hopefully is the site for the future boys home.  The reservoir that is nearby  has never run dry, but it dried up completely!  Everyone around was shocked!  We had 5,000 onions planted, along with corn and beans.  I remember a pump that a lady from Doerun, donated years ago.  We wiped the dust off of it and plugged in our local river, that was extremely low.  It saved the crop there at the farm. 

Trying to keep enough water more that 40 people a day, is huge.  When there is no electricity, we can adapt, but when there is no water, it is a huge mess.  Usually, the girls bathe in the morning and in the evening, but because our deep well and local aquifers were at an all new low, we had to wait for the levels to recuperate, before we could turn on the pump. We had to change our mode of operations and just the babies got the morning and night bath.  That brought some more problems, such as some girls wanting to skip bathing all together, but we are now with water and we are back on schedule.  Even though it is extremely muddy, the construction on the roads has come to a screeching halt, we are all thankful for the rains. 

The girls are doing so well at school.  We have a total of 40 students.  (33 girls are ours from Project TAlitha Cumi, and 7 girls are from our local community)  We have our ICANS here in La Esperanza and one in our Bakery.  The ICANS are to help with this education program for the girls who are not registered in the local school system.  Zuri, our director of the school, has been the biggest help to us.  She has gotten all the paperwork for the school registered, and all the new girls who have transferred in to our ministry from other schools.  She has been a liaison with the community and school officials also.  She has been magnificent in her work with the girls, and in leading the other teachers.  However, she got married last year to a wonderful young man.  He had received a promotion and because of that he will have to go back to school either here or abroad and Zuri will have to go with him.  So I started praying for a replacement.  I couldn't tell the girls because Zuri didn't want them to know until everything was final. 

So I called in some big  guns, missionaries I have known, who have ministered to the Honduran people for years.  I told them I needed a bi-lingual teacher,  who wanted to work in an all girls home in the hills of Honduras, and this person needed to be a graduate from college and have some teaching background, with great interpersonal skills to deal with the community and the officials.  She needed to be able to teach our ABEKA program and be able to lead our girls as well as our teaching staff, and do it all for the amount that is less that the cities pay.  Many of the people,  who have graduate from college, go to the cities to study.  They normally don't go back to the hills.  One dear friend, who was trying to think of someone she might know who could fill the bill and she said "You are asking  for something that is really big".  I know what I was asking was almost impossible, but we serve a big God.

 Last week after the girls 15th Quincenera celebration, and secretary from the local Jusdicial office came by to bring the gifts she had bought for the girls.  She was unable to attend because she didn't get her invitation.  She said she had a sister that spoke English.  I have known Ms. Merlin for a long time and I never knew she had a sister.  She is bi-lingual, worked in the US under a scholarship, and afterwards.  She had worked in Haiti and she had taught in the local private schools, and had taught ABEKA!  She had graduated from College and had studied on other courses of study over the years.  She starts Monday.  Zuri will have time to show her what she needs to do and so we are really excited that everything has worked out in time before Zuri had to leave.   WE are going to miss Zuri like crazy around here.  WE are thankful for Skype and What's UP, but her presence will be missed sorely.  I do rejoice that God heard my prayers and answered everyone of them in just the right time.  We do serve a big God!

We have had several teams already this year.  Each team had a goal to meet.  The girls have learned to do so many things, from business courses, to  painting, creating jewelry, and making some new friends.  Some short term missionaries have come to minister to the community, build, plant, paint, create, here at PTC with our girls,  but all have come to continue build relationships with the girls and see how much God can stretch them while they are here. 

We have had teams to have to cancel.  Even that was God's timing.  We were so tired and He knew it.  So now we have been getting the barn, the farm  and the houses and the school whipped back into shape. We are making compost piles, for fertilizing the two farms. We have been picking beans and tomatoes, corn, and peppers.  We have been preparing the soil to plant the seeds we have been blessed with.  We have been raking grand quantities of pine straw so that we can have straw for the animals beds during this rainy season. With the straw off the ground the grass has popped out and the animals are enjoying that also. We have gathered pine cones, split wood for the cook stoves and for the fireplaces.   We do this work all together and it makes the work go by faster. 

I was reading to the girls in the devotions last night.  There is a season for everything: Planting, Harvesting, weeping, dancing, loving, hating, a time to break down and a time to build up. People coming, and people going.   I am thankful God brings everything to us in His time.  I am thankful He directs  a time for the ones who come to bless us by so many strong Christian examples to our girls here at the ministry. We are blessed and we know it.   We have a new intern coming in a few days. WE have a new house going up to hold more girls.  WE are all excited about a new beginning. 

Thanks to all of you who have continued to pray and support us. WE are thankful for the ones who are helping us Stateside.  WE are thankful for the containers, electrical parts, KAH rice for the community, Easter clothes for the girls and all the other blessings that have been sent our way.  We are thankful for all the plans being made on behalf of the girls and the community that we are blessed to live in.  So in turn we send our blessings from, House #1 :  Sonia, Yency, Lizzy, Roxana, Gabby Angela, Nancy.  House #2 : Alicia, Darlin, Paola, Carmen, Alexa, Meladi, Cinthia, House #3 :  Carina, Lucy, Eva, Kimbo, Jennifer, Maite, Cruz, Estephania,  House #4  Ana, Mary, Elida, Jelsey, Belkis, Estrella, Nicole, Genisis,  Mom's House: Naomi, Anastacia, Kenia, Karla, Yeimy  Rosey,  who is in college studying law, and their Honduran MOM . 

PS  We all miss Angie very much. We are thankful she is with her husband in the USA, but the lack of her presence here has been sorely felt.