And Then There Were Four

Well, it's done. After 6 hard days of work the 27 men from Berry's Chapel church of Christ did it. We now have 4 homes at the Mission Lazarus Refuge. The leadership provided by Mac Hughes was phenomenal. The team work by the guys was outstanding. The group of guys flew back to the US today. Thanks for all the hard work and laughs, especially Ron Carlos....

Our House is a Refuge

On Friday February 20, 2007 men from Middle Tennessee arrived in Honduras to build the 4th home at the Mission Lazarus Refuge. Many hours of preparation had gone into the venture, both stateside and in Honduras. About 95% of the lumber was shipped from in a sea container to Honduras back in December. The concrete slabe and locally purchased lumber, along with the lumber shipped in, were all ready and waiting when the men hit the ground running early saturday morning.

This is the third home built by the same group of men from Tennessee. It is true, third time's a charm. The house has gone together like a puzzle. It's been great to see the team work and the efficiency of the crew. From cutting rafters to hanging siding, there's a job for everyone. Even the preacher!!

Sunday night the men traveled about an hour to worship at a church in the village of Los Zorrillos. The service was packed and I would imagine has to be one of the highlights for all of the men on the trip.

The weather has been unseasonable cool. Lower 50's a night and low 80's during the day. We are in the middle of the dry season here in southern Honduras but we've even had some rain. No one has gotten sick....yet!

Thanks for all the prayers being lifted up stateside. They have kept everyone safe.

Paola Salorzano

This is sister Paola Salorzano. She has been battling cancer since 2007 and it appears that she has just about WON the battle. It started with a tumor on one of her ovaries. She had surgery and that tumor was successfully removed. Soon thereafter it was discovered that she had another tumor on her colon, it was the size of a grapefruit. She had another surgery to remove the tumor but they were not able to get it all, it was too wrapped around the colon. She then start chemotherapy treatments to shrink and destroy what was left. 8 months ago she was bed ridden and had all but given up. Christ's words to Lazarus's family encouraged her and she found hope in the scriptures and decided that she would continue to fight.
When she was in my office on Monday she was truly a living testament to God's faithfulness and her faith was very contagious as well. Her hair has just finally begun to grow back in. She still lacks a final round of chemo, a CAT scan, and a final surgery to remove the residuals of the tumor that was on her colon. She can get all of this taken care of for $2000. Sister Paola is 43 years old and a lifelong member of the church. She is a single parent with a 16 year old son. I think that it would be money well spent if we could come up with the funds to help sister Paola. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Wood is Here

We now have all of the lumber on site for the construction of the next 3 homes at the Mission Lazarus Refuge children's home. The next three homes will be built by groups of men from across the United States. For the first time semi trucks have been able to actually deliver lumber to the construction site. Our road up the mountain onto the Mission Lazarus ranch has been too rough in the past. This year we save a lot of time and money by being able to have our lumber delivered to the site.

Got Milk?

Our kids at the children’s home have been busy during their summer break (ended 2 weeks ago). All of the kids above 8 years old now have farm chores. They really do not view the chores as work. They actually love it. It’s been great to watch them gain self confidence working with the cows and horses and to see the pride they have for their family garden. Attached is a picture of Selvin milking a cow. He’s really gotten the hang of it and he milks two cows everyday to provide milk to his home.

99 and counting

One of the sisters from the jungle village of Palo de Agua shared with me that her mom was sick and bed ridden. She asked me to visit her in Choluteca to pray for her. I told her to call me when she got to Choluteca and that I would meet her. I met her at the house where her mother, Juana, lives. They had a large, very tasty meal, prepared for me for lunch. The home was very humble, dirt floor, but very clean. Juana, 99 years old, fell and broke her hip 6 months ago. She spends most of her days sitting in a chair staring out the back door of the house. The family cannot afford the $500 for hip replacement surgery, After a few hours and a prayer of blessing for Juana I was on my way. But not empty handed, I brought a really bad stomach ache with me. Apparently the good tasting food did not taste to good to my stomach. After 2 weeks of being sick Ally finally started me on Cipro to kill the intestinal infection! The time with Juana was well worth the stomach issues!