OSCAR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just for you Bonny. Sorry it took me forever to do this.
: )

In the picture below Oscar was being ornery and didn't want to smile for me.

Sorry that one is kind of dark. I thought you may be able to lighten it up. It's such a cute picture.









Oscar was drawing and he was having fun with his pencil. He thought it was pretty funny.









Jim Gosney the dentist gave Oscar these awesome shades during a presentation to the daycare kids about teeth.








He is so cute!






















Bare foot again : )























Oscar posing with some other daycare boys. They were very sweet to him.





I hope you like this Bonny.

In Him,
Erin

Honduras on the brain

2009

It's almost here I can't believe it!
Already?

I've got so many things planned for the new year.
(Well not exactly to-the-date planned, but they are my hopes)
I would like to make another mission trip to Honduras, most likely in April.
I may go with a group of doctors I have gone with before. I heard they are planning a trip in April.
All I know as far as details go is that it is a week in the begininng of April the costs will be $1600.

I would also like to go on a mission trip in the summer with Brio girls. They are a Christian magazine I have been receiving. They go on mission trips every year and this- well next year- they are going to Guatemala. i would love to go tell people about Jesus in Guatemala and also have the opportunity to meet other Christian girls who have the same passion. I don't know what month or how much or basically any of the details, but it is a hope.

The third thing I have planned for next year, and something I am really excited about is a Summit Conference. So far of what I've learned it sounds really awesome. I know more about this one than all of them.
It's a two week conference. It's called a Student Leadership Conference.
You go to learn how to stand up for your faith. You also learn about Islam and Humanism. Some of the topics are Christian worlview studies, America's Christian history, Creation, Evolution, and Inteligent design.
There are three different locations you can attend the conferences, either: Tennessee, Ohio, or Colorado. I'm leaning towards Colorado, because I like it and I have family there. It would be cool if I could see them next year too since we didn't get to see them this year. It could also work out for my mom and I to drive to Colorado and I go to the conference and my mom stay with family and then afterwards stay a little and drive back together.
The Summit Conference would cost $775. That includes a room to stay, food, tuition, lectures, guest speakers, insurance, most outings, and class picture.
I think this is the cheapest thing on the list and I think it could be deffinite. I would loveto go. I would especially like to here Ravi Zacharias ,(I probabaly just buchered his last name ), speak. He is an awesome apolagist. Our family listens to him pretty often.


Awww I'm getting so excited I'm forgetting that I need to sleep!
Well, got to go.
Be back soon.
Dios le bendiga,
Erin

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!

I know it's a little late to say it, but oh well.
I had a great Christmas with my family. I'll have some pictures later.

I just watched a short film called Volition. It's really good.
You can watch it here www.thedoorpost.com/hope/Volition/

-Erin

Been back for 1 month and 3 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally making a new post
I've been back for a while and it has been a blessing to be with my family.
I know it has taken me forever to make a new post. I was busy after I first got back and then my computer has been really grumpy and wouldn't allow me to get on the internet. So I'm Finally doing it. (and sadly it's way too late for me to write very much : ) I'll add all kinds of details later. I'm glad to be back, but Honduras is never far from my mind.
Good night. Dios le bendiga.
Erin

This is cheif Tomas.
He is the cheif of the Topelan Indians who were here. I got a picture of him! He is such a sweet little talkative man. I guess I expected him to be shy. He actually likes to talk to people and he will answer all your questions. i didn't get to talk to him very long, but I got to be there when Sandy was talking to him for a little bit. All I remember is that Sandy was asking him about how the other tribe smokes and drinks and the Tomas said "I don't smoke. I'm a Christian. I don't smoke." (in Spanish of course) I found that so cute. He is a Christian! I'm happy I got to hear him say that. He was very gracious in allowing me to take a picture of him even though he probably didn't get what it was or like it.

Roberto brought them up the mountain on Thursday night I believe. The chief came back because he carried a paper with him that the hospital needed for Delmer. He has been found. When Roberto went to go look for him he was no where to be found. He brought a woman with him this time too. I sadly didn't get a picture of her. I'm assuming she is Tomas's wife. They had a good stay here and I'm glad God gave me the opportunity to meet them.
(Sorry it took so long to post an update about them)

This is Jim and Susan Gosney.
They are standing in the dental clinic that we have worked in for 3 days now.
It has been a joy working with them for the past week. I got to see Jim pull out all kinds of teeth and fill a few. I have learned a lot about dentistry this week.
Jim has been teaching me.

They are a very sweet couple from Virginia. Jim has a big heart and is a great dentist with 44 years of experience. Susan deffinitely has the gift of hospitality. I think I noticed that for the first time on the ride back to Guaimaca from Tegucigalpa, after we picked them up from the airport. She couldn't be a better example of hospitality.

Friday we of course worked in the clinic. That night
we went to San Marcos for a funeral type service for Carolina's brother. (The nurse Carolina) I had asked for prayer for him in an earlier post. Manuel died on Wednesday night this week. He was in Tegucigalpa, at Hospital Escuela, being treated. They brought him back here to Guaymaca earlier in the week because, the doctors at said there was nothing more that they could do for him. So he was in a hospital room here for a few days. He was being visited by many family members before he died. I'm not sure what illness he had or what happened.

The service was really good. A lot of different pastors spoke. It was partly a time of worship. Manuel was, and is, a Christian so he went home to Jesus. The service was actually upliftng in a way and God really used that time to draw me closer to Him. I really needed that.
Please pray for Carolina and Iris and their families. That they may be given strength and peace through Him.

Jim got sick on the way back to Guymaca. Poor guy. We think it had to do with something he ate. He felt better as soon as he got to sleep though. I am so glad he is feeling better.

We also got stopped by some police on the way down the mountain that night. They were sort of hiding in the night and scared me with their automatic rifles. We found out later after arriving at the hospital that they were looking for a man who shot and killed another man. The body was brought to the hospital and there was quite a crowd outside the gate and also police inside.
Apparently the guys were drinking and playing poker. One of the guys won the game and one of the other guys got mad and shot him and cut him with a machete. That's pretty sad They still haven't found the guy who did it.

We saw this beautiful rainbow on the way down the mountain from Valley of the Angels yesterday.
I wish you could see it the way it looked in real life. There's actually two, but you can barely see the other one. It was just one more thing to add to a truly blessed day. (You won't believe how many pictures I took of this rainbow haha)

Saturday- It was a beautiful day in the Valley. Me, Susan, and Joann had a great time shopping. Jim didn't come because he didn't have an interest in shopping and he also needed to rest from being sick the night before.
We found all kinds of great Christmas gifts. Especially Susan. : ) She got all her Christmas shopping done for all her family.
Sandy waited for us girls to finish, very patiently, at the restaurant. I can't believe he put up with us.He waited so long for us to finally take a lunch break with him.
We ate at a different place. None of us had eaten there before. I have a feeling we may be eating there in the future since it was so good.
It was a beautiful drive down the mountain. We didn't get back back to the hospital until after dark, around 6:00. I had and awesome day. It honestly brought me closer to God. He drew me in and blessed me through it.

This is Oscar sporting his nice new pink shades,
that Jim gave him during our presentation for the daycare kids on Friday. This was before Jim checked out is teeth. He had to get one tooth pulled. He handled it really well. I'm proud of him.

Sunday - Pastor Domingo taught a great message today. He taught about the Great Commission and how God provides for us. Some of the verses were Proverbs 27:17, Mathew 22:37, 2 Peter 1, Galatians 6:4, and 2 Corinthians 3:15. I like how they use several bible verses to teach the message down here and we look them all up. You can come to church expecting to use your Bible. : )
The worship today was great too.
We had Chinese food for lunch today. We got enough to feed us for the next couple days, it seems like. They gave us more than we ordered. It was really good.

It sounds like we will have another busy day in the clinic tomorrow. There will be kids from Emanuel orphanage coming and all kinds of people from the church. I'm glad we will be busy though. On Thursday and Friday last week we had some slow times and were finished pretty early.

I can't believe I'm leaving in 2 days! It has gone so fast. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and church family. I think the plane ride will be fun too. I never get tired of riding in a plane. I'll probably take a milion pictures, as always. : )

Be back soon
- Erin

Lots to talk about.
We left for Choluteca last Thursday and returned on Saturday afternoon. We had a great time in Choluteca. Just the drive down was beautiful. The first thing we did was meet up with Gerardo at the gold mine he works at. Gerardo showed us around. It was awesome. I got to go in a cave for the first time. Well, actually two.
I learned all kinds of things. We got to go out to eat that night at a really good restaurant. I didn't know that Hondurans could make spaghetti that good! - except you Pipo. : )
While there, we also got to meet up with some of Sandy and Joann's friends and meet a few new ones. Gerardo introduced us to some good friends of his named Lisa and Barry. They are missionaries in Choluteca. They have three children and lots of other children living with them. They are in the process of starting an orphanage here. They have some interesting stories to tell. God has truly provided for them and blessed their family.
Another person I got to meet is named Mary. She is a very sweet woman. She is a hard working missionary who has been friends with Sandy and Joann for a long time. She has a day care, Sunday school, church, feeding program and much more. It was nice to meet her and hear about her ministry and how God has blessed her.

We stayed at a hotel in Tegucigalpa Friday night so that we could be at the airport on Saturday. We picked up a dentist and his wife there. His name is Jim and her name is Susan.

This is a good picture I got at the mine.
It was so beautiful there.

This is one of the mine caves.
It was so awesome.

I have been translating for the dentist on Monday and Tuesday. I have
gotten to see all kinds of teeth pulled. On Monday he was set up here at the hospital so that he could see the employees. Yesterday we went to Campamento on a brigade. The people were able to see a doctor and the dentist. It was a good experience. I wasn't feeling so good in th beginning seeing Jim pull so many teeth, but with God's help I was able to continue and get over it. We saw 28 people or more and ended up using 80 bottles of anestesia. There were actually 58 people that were waiting, but we were unable to get to them.
Jim even convinced me to help pull a couple teeth! That was interesting. : )

Wednesday- we went to Ruidas de Tejas for our second brigade. We set up in a little school there, after the kids finished their tests. I helped Jim and Susan with translating again. We didn't see nearly as many patients as we did Tuesday. After lunch break we had no more patients. We saw 10 people in total. I guess there weren't as many people wanting teeth pulled. We had quite a few kids wanting tooth brushes and prizes though.
I have to say, after going on these brigades these past few days,
I am so thankful for my teeth. So many young peoples' teeth have already started rotting. Almost all the girls my age and younger had atleast two teeth that have rotten out or started falling apart.

This is a good one of Oscar for you Bonny.
This is one of the days I was able to get him to smile. : )

Well this isn't all, I'm going to add to it and fix it later- just thought I'd give you an idea since it has been to long. : )

Hace mucho tiempo

Sunday: Was a good service. Pastor Domingo taught about . Afterwards Sandy, Joann ,and I heated up our leftover Chinese for lunch. Gerardo invited me over for some bike riding that afternoon. It was fun. Joshe ,(you pronounce that Hoche), came too. At first I think I was really regretting having accepted the invite, but later after refreshing with fresh tangerine and licorice plant, I felt much better. We rode for 10miles up a nice trail. We would have gone farther if I wasn't such a wimp. (If it helps I haven't ridden a bike since... a long time.) Honduras is so beautiful. It was a lot more fun on the way back, because we got to relax and cost all the way down. Even though we had to eat a few bugs. : )


This is Gerardo, Joshe, and I with our bikes. We made it to the park reservation sign. (sorry you can't really see it)

This is me and Gerardo.
It was the picture with the best light. Joshe is the one taking the picture.

Monday was a slack off day. Not too proud of that, but that's what I did. I did some work, but not too much. I got to talk with some friends at the hospital. I read a little and got to visit the kids in the day care too. By the way, I saw Carlos , Dad. He's doing good. I didn't go and talk to him though, because he was working.

Tuesday: I've been working on a few things I need to finish before I leave. Ahhh! I can't believe it's only 15 days away! I thought it was longer. I feel like I have so much left to do. I will miss here, but it helps that I know I will be back, (even though I don't know when).
Does God want me here for more than a little while? I still don't know what country I will be in as a missionary. Maybe many. I'm beginning to believe it's here more and more.

By the way Pastor Domingo had an awesome message today in devotions this morning. It fit my situation perfectly. Sorry Mom, Dad I haven't told you I've been having some guy issues. Some I can't get to go away. Domingo taught out of the book of Romans. I can't seem to find the verses now though (but I read in Romans 12 a message I needed to here today) .It was a perfect message. I felt like I needed to be in devotions, for some help and for a reason I couldn't describe. God had planned that. It is so cool when God alows us to see what He planned and what he's doing. I've been praying for someway that this guy will go away without me having to deliberately tell the guards to not let him in.
Why do I have to care about people's feelings?(dumb question I'm just whining. Obviously). I can deal with him. I figure God is using this time to test me. The guy seems to think Christianity is going to church and changing what he does. There is soooo much more! I wish he could understand that for his own sake.
Enough about that...

The US elections are today, and in a way I wish we had a tv so I could know what's going on. I'll just dip into Jesus's well of patients that I should be swimming in all the time and wait. (Was that a simile? haha I'm not sure if that's really the right way to describe it, but I can't figure out how to.)





Here is an old picture of Carlos, Dad. I asked to stop working for a second so I could take the picture.













Hey Bonny here is another picture of Oscar that I promised would come.






Back soon
Dios le bendiga.
-Erin

Saturday

It's cold! The past few days are the first days I have ever worn a jacket, (just about), while hear in Honduras. I don't know what I'm going to do when I go back to Iowa. It's going to be freezing. If I think This is cold?!

Today was a good day. I got some things done that needed to be. I missed Angelica's English lesson : (. Bad me. I'm supposed to meet her at 2:00, but I didn't realize what time it was already and was trying to finish computer work for Sandy. I found her at 2:30, but she had to go to practice. I got to meet Merari's two little girls today. They are adorable. The younger one is 2 and the older is 8. I got to play with them today.
Alexandra, the older one, had fun "draging" me around today.



By the way here is a picture of Angelica. I have been teaching her English every Saturday.
She's holding your present Janet. (I gave it to her a long time ago. She really liked it and wore the hair clip the next day.)

Friday: Yesterday Sandy and Joann invited some people over for dinner. A very good friend of theirs named Joshe and his wife and children and Sister and mom and everybody. I have been getting to know Joshe and his family, but hadn't yet met the rest of his family. It was a really good time. I felt like I was home at one of my family gatherings. (Especially with all the kids running around : )

This is everyone that came Friday night. They are all very sweet people.
Don Hector is on the very right and then Mama Yolanda and Joshe, Julio behind him-his son, Rachel sitting-his daughter, Kayla his wife, Hector-son of Carolina, Maria behind Hector-her daughter, Carolina, and her husband (I don't know his name)

By the way, Azucena and Delmer are doing well. They are being fed and taken care of. I only wonder what it will be like when they return to the mountain. When I last saw Baby (I just call her that since she doesn't have a name) she was all content and sleeping. I just heard today that not only is their house burnt down, but everyone elses' houses were burnt down as well. Part of the village is nothing now. Roberto said that there is no one living there any more and that it was other Tolepan Indians that burned down their part of the village. Roberto is now working to see where he can get them to live, since they can not live there anymore. I hope Roberto will be able to find them all a home. Please pray for the village that they will come to know Jesus, like Delmer, Azucena and their chief. And also for the other Indians who are trying to harm them. May they be saved as well and praise His name.

Please pray for the US elections on Tuesday! This is crucial.
May whatever happens be God's will. Praise God that even in the worst we have nothing to worry for it is all in His hands.
I was thinking about how awesome that is today. We truly have no reason to worry when we are in Him! I still can't seem to "wrap my head arround it". (such a weird saying : )

Well that's my update.
Be back soon.
-Erin

Asussena's husband is back!

Azucena's husband, dad-chief, and friend came back from Tegucigalpa Wednesday night.

Azucena's husband, dad-chief, and friend came back from Tegucigalpa Wednesday night.
Her husband ended up needing two surgeries on his wrist. I saw his wrist on Thursday, unwrapped. It looked pretty bad, but it definitely looks better than it was. He has lost parts of three of his fingers and has stitches all the way around his left wrist. (even doubled up in some parts) I didn't see his other wounds, his wrist was enough for me. - I don't know if I've mentioned, but I'm just a little queasy. : )
By the way Azucena seems so much happier now that her husband is back. Even the baby seems more relaxed. It's so cute to see Azucena smiling so much. She would smile before, but not as much as now.
The chief and other friend,who came along, left yesterday. Pastor Roberto took them back, so they could of Azucena's other 3 girls. (I didn't get a picture of them : ( I found out Azucena's husband's name, finally. His name is Delmer Martinez. I got a chance to talk to him and Azucena for a little while the other day. He said he only has a little pain in his wrist now. That is so good!
Also I have some awesome news! Delmer said he has accepted Christ! Roberto told me that he had said that to him! Also, while we - (two other workers from the hospital and I ) were in the hospital room talking to Azucena and Delmer, he explained how grateful he is that he has his Lord and that he is taking care of him. He is very grateful to be sitting up on a bench. He used to be in a hospital bed almost all of the time.
Roberto also told me yesterday that the chief has accepted Christ as well. I'm beginning to think when Azucena told me that she and her husband had already accepted Christ that it may not have been a lie, like I first thought. That is great! Maybe she just needs a better understanding. it is so important for them to understand. Their village in the mountains is getting more and more dangerous for them. Right now they have no house to go back to because it has been burned down. All that they own is now with them. Please pray for them.

Sunday : We had a great service yesterday at church. Sunday Azucena and Delmer came to church this Sunday. They sat up front. It seems like they were listening. I hope they understood. Pastor Napoleon Nieto taught yesterday's message. It was very good. Some of the verses were.... Right at the end of the service a man came and gave his testimony. He and the man with him were kidnapped just about a week ago on their way to the states. they were run off the road by a truck of men with guns. (there was also a motorcycle in front of him and a car behind him as well- to keep him from leaving) He was robbed of everything he and his friend had. The men beat him in the head with their pistols and they were tied up. His captors intended to kill them. He prayed for something to happen to the men so he could be free- like heart problems or something. Soon after they crashed and were made to walk 3 hours out in the middle of no where with no water to drink. (It was 102 degrees outside that day.) One of the men started having heart trouble. .Gerardo, the man that came to talk at the church, gave the him medicine for his heart trouble and the man ended up wiping repellent on Gerardo's face. (There were bugs and ants crawling all over his face and body.) The men ended up leaving Gerardo and his friend tied up in the "dessert". One of them was not completely tied, so they were able to escape. It was definitely a miracle that he escaped without being killed. God was watching out for him. His captors knew he was a Christian and asked him questions about his faith. Maybe a seed was planted in their hearts that they may get curious and come to Christ. Please pray for that and that Gerardo will be safe and protected and that God may be glorified by his life.

Not such a good picture of me, but you can see him. : )


This is Pam, World Baptist Mission's answer to prayer.

We went out to eat Sunday afternoon and met a group from Georgia, and a few from other states, who had been volunteering at the orphanage. (They came to eat at the same time we were there). Well let me explain what the problem was... A really nice group, or person (I'm not quite sure), donated an ultra sound machine ( Sorry I can't remember the official name). Which was so awesome, but no one, that WBM could find, knew anyone who knew how to use it. So it has been sitting in a room, waiting for... a long time. And then we come to find out, here in the same restaurant, (sitting basically right next to us) is a woman who not only knows how to use the machine, but works with ultra sound machines for a living!
She lives in Georgia and her name is Pam. She has a serving heart and is very sweet. She would be leaving the next day, Monday, to go back to the states, but she still agreed to give up her time that she was supposed to be using to pack. She was, as a said, a Huge answer to prayer. It was nice meeting her. I hope to see her again some day.

I did want to say a few things about the Sunday service last week, before I forget.
It was a really good message. (Pastor Domingo taught as usual) Azucena came with me, and this time it didn't take nearly as long to convince her to come. She sat right next to me with the baby, and since I promised her the back row that's where we sat. Also three woman accepted Christ towards the end of the service. Coincidently they were all named Maria! I thought that was a little funny. It is so awesome that they accepted Christ. I know that I saw one of the three in church this Sunday. I'm not sure if the others came or not I didn't see them. Pray that they may continue in their new walk with Christ. (I know I'm always asking for prayer for things. : )

By the way, Bonny, here is a picture of Oscar.
There will be more to come. : )
He was playing soccer this day. I think I told you, but he has a thing about soccer. He would play it all day if he could.
The other boys wanted to be in the picture too.

Monday I did some jobs that needed to be done for Joann. (I'll try and post a picture of Joann soon. I keep forgetting I haven't posted a picture of her yet.) I just liked feeling useful and helpful.

Tuesday: Today has been great as well. I just got back from La Cascada restaurant. Today is Day of the doctors here in Honduras and we went to celebrate. Two doctors that left to study in Tegucigalpa recently, came also to have a reunion with us. It was an awesome time of Fellowship. It has been a blessing getting to know the people who live and work here, in the "compound" and out.

We will be going to Choluteca soon in the coming week or so. I'm looking forward to that. Choluteca is farther South. (A lot farther South) We will be going there to visit and for Sandy and Joann to visit a friend. It will be nice to see another part of this country I have come to like so much. Also I believe in 2 weeks a dentist and his wife will be coming down. They are from Georgia. I think they will be here for 2 weeks. So that will be nice.

I have one last prayer request. Carolina, nurse who works here in the hospital, has a brother in the hospital right now. He is in grave condition. I got a little news today that he is doing a little better,but it sounds like it's still not so good. (She is the one who has the three girls I was always playing with. She has had 3 other brothers die, I believe last year, so this is really hard for her.) Please pray for him to get better and that if he doesn't know Jesus that he will. : )- Thanks for putting up with me.

Be back soon.
-Erin

Ready to talk continued

Back to tell you about the rest of the past week... : )

Oh wow! I just realized that I left out half of what we did Sunday the 12th.
Well I'll try and make it quick because I have a lot more to go.
Sunday afternoon, after some awesome, much needed worship and devotions with the group, (We worshiped in English! I really needed that. God reassured me that He will take care of me no matter what country I'm in.), we left for the mountains. We went to Agua Fria and then to San Marcos. We missed mos of the church service in San Marcos, because we stayed a little too late in Agua Fria. We had a good time in Agua Fria. Dispite being eaten alive by bugs, I got to help tech the kids again (including cracking a few eggs on the side of the building and them spilling all over the ground- that part didn't go so well). We also did a few other activities like coloring books and Salvation bracelets. Lucia got to do her hair beads.

Lucia and Cal helping some of the kids in Agua Fria.
(Lucia was very brave to be sitting on the ground : )

This is the house that we went to church at in Agua Fria.
The service was outside. We taught the kids outside around the back of the house.

This is some of the group packing in the car again to head to church.
Cal is on the left, Janet is in the middle, and then Ben and Debbie on the right.

This is me and Fransi Yulissa at the new church they are building in Agua Fria.
We stopped to take a look before church.

Monday was our get ready day. We organized all the stuff and made hygene bags for the brigades. It rained just about all day. We got to go out to eat at Campamento. mmmmmhhh


Tuesday morning we headed on our first brigade to Los Jobos, a near by village. We set up "shop" at the church there.The people came and were seen by Marari our volunteer nurse and given their parasite and floride treatment by Arlene, before being sent in to see Doctor Estrada (who also volteered form the hospitlal). They then were sent outside to our "make shift" pharmacy (with Vanessa-one of the translaters and Gayle) and then to the gifting window. I helped Janet and Holly give out all the wonderful goodies the group brought at the gifting window. We met all kinds of people at our little window. Some "multiple visitors", lots of kids, and some really sweet people, (including an adorable 82 year old woman - who I have a picture of below and a 67 year old man). Larry, had a prayer station set up for all the patients who came through to see the doctor. I got to help him translate that for a short time. I wasn't doing so well, but he did an awesome job.


These are some off the people waiting out side the church at Los Jobos.


These are some of the kids that came to visit us at our window.
(All still in their school uniforms from being let out of school)

This is Janet, me ,and Holly at our "gifting station"-
slaving away. haha ;) (We had a lot of fun giving out things)

You can sort of see what the set up looked like here.
Those were some of our gifting supplies in the suitcases.
This was during our lunch break.

This was a very sweet 82 year old woman that I met.
(I found her especially cute. By the way that sweater makes her look big than she is- she's really actually very tiny : )

Did I mention that on the way up Sandy brought Bird?
(Yes her name is Bird- Sandy named her.)
Thatt was a lot of fun.

Wednesday morning we headed out to San Quin for our second brigade. This village was also close by. We couldn't get too far because of the rain on the mountain roads. We set everything in a nice "flow" this time, thanks to Janet's organizing skills. The people would come in get a number see the nurse then the doctor, pharmacy, "gifting zone", prayer stop, and then they were free to leave. This time we were a little short on translaters, so I helped Larry translate with the prayer station. We met all kinds of people. One woman needed prayer for her husband to stop drinking and become a Christian. One elderly couple came to visit us during the day. The man was dieing from stomache cancer and his wife was curious about Christ. She prayed to accept Christ with me, (after I read some verses to her) although she said later she only did it because I suggested. I asked her if she would like to know more about Jesus and she said yes, so I sent her to Pastor Roberto- who was also praying for people, to explain to her more about Jesus. (Since Spanish is his first language he can do that a lot better than I can : ) Please pray for her. Another woman told me she reads the Bible and goes to church, but is not ready to accept Christ into her heart. (I have way too many stories, so pray for the village of San Quin, that they would come to know Christ and follow Him)
This day ended up being an awesome learning experience for me.

This is Pastor Roberto talking to a woman about Christ.
He had a prayer station set up rigtht next to me and Larry.

You could literally see the cows outside the door! I thought that was pretty cool. There were lots of chickens and horses right outside the door too.

Thursday we went to Valley of the Angels, which is about two hours away, to shop. They have a nice area there. We go every year. That morning as we were getting ready one of the workers named Kalla came and got me to tell me there was a woman ready to give birth right now. (The workers at the hospital have told me that I can come watch a woman give birth if I wanted to some time, because I have never seen it.) I was not expecting that at the momment and it took me a second to figure out what she was saying. I told all the other ladies what she said, because they had been talking about wanting to see a birth earlier in the week. So we all huried behind Kalla to the room where the woman was. Poor woman she had six "gringas" come in her delivery room right before she was going to give birth. (This is such a culture difference. In the States no woman would ever allow this many people in her delivery room, let alone one woman.) She was a very sweet and amazingly calm through it all. It was something I'll never forget. She had a beautiful baby girl. At first she wasn't crying or breathing so we were a little worried. Lucia and Debbie were great and got busy praying and didn't stop until thay heard the baby cry. It was a relief to know she was going to be ok. . .

Mom and baby

This is Janet on the left with the baby, Carlos- the nurse who helped with the delivery behind, and of course mom in the wheel chair. I sadly don't know her name.

So, after that we got ready and hurried to leave. Come to find out we didn't need to hurry, because the truck was getting it's tires aired up. Sandy, ofcourse, went ahead in the other car. This was so nice for us girls, who were left to go in the truck, (Joann- to drive, Gayle, Janet, Lucia, and me) because it gave us more time to get ready. (Yeah!) When we did get on the road we had a good time talking about "girl stuff". That was great for me, since I haven't had any girls to talk to the whole time I've been here, until they came. (Joann had been in the states.)
Down the road, maybe an hour, we stopped where we usually do when we go to "The Valley". It's a house that we call the one dollar house with the millionn dollar view. There was only a young boy and a baby home at the time. The group used this time to give away some of the things they brought in His name. The baby , in the picture below, only had cardboard lining his crib on top of springs, so the blankets they gave will really help. He was really cute. We ofcourse got some pictures of the "million dollar view" and were on our way. After we finished our shopping (which of course didn't end with out some last minute running from store to store for some last purchases) and eating -at an awesome restaurant, we started our journey back to the compound. We stopped at three more houses on the way back to give away more things, in the name of God. Two of them were across from each other. The people there were very sweet. The men seemed to appreciate the screw drivers and flash lights. They were two Christian families. We got to pray with them before we left. (Larry prayed). The group really felt like it was deffinitely where God wanted us to stop and that He planned it. There were several other places we could have stopped. The third house that we stopped at was a house with two young girls. We weren't really supposed to stop anymore, but we saw one house that was by itself and it seemed perfect. Just the truck Joann was driving stopped there. We were trying to be sneaky, but ofcourse Snady found out. We had a fun time on the radios after that. : ) (The drivers always have walkie talkies to comunicate with eachother during the trip- This time it was Sandy and Joann- almost always is)

. This is on the way up to Valley of the Angels. A town called Talanga (I got the name of that wrong before).

This the first house we stopped at on the way to Valley of the Angels.
It has been nicknamed "The One Dollar House With The Million Dollar View".

This is the little baby boy who was inside the house.
His brother said he just turned one.

This is the one of the houses at the second stop we made coming home.

This is the other house at the second stop, right across the street from the other one.

This is Gayle and Denis giving away a few things.

This is the house at the third stop we made coming home.

(This was the sort of sneaky one that Sandy found out about anyway : )

Friday we headed to Tegucigalpa in the morning to bring the group to the airport. (They were already leaving and it felt like they had just arrived) We stopped at one last house, to give away a few more things in His name. We prayed with them afterwards. I was sort of suprised into praying in Spanish- for probabaly the second time I have ever prayed in Spanish in my life. I was a little worried about what to say, but The Holy Spirit really helped me out. It was such an awesome feeling. We were sort of in a hurry so we didn't get to stay long, but it was a really cool experience. . . It was sad to see the group go at the airport, but I'm confident I will see them again.

By the way, just a little fact- after I got sick on Friday, 2 other people got sick on Monday. After that it seemed like everyone was to getting sick left and right. In total I beleive 9 people got sick. (Including me and Sandy and Joann) I am soo glad the hospital is so close by. Joann says that's the most she has ever seen get sick in a group in all the years they have been here. It was crazy. -not a very nice experience, but uniting in a way. : )

This is the last house we stopped at. We stopped here on the way to Tegucigalpa on Friday. There was a sweet older woman that you can see and a younger girl with a little boy.

This is everyone in the group that came. They left last Friday.
Janet is on the left, then Debbie, Arlene, Larry behind, Ben is in the middle, you can barely see Gayle peeking from behind him, then Denis, Cal behind him, then Holly on the far right, and Lucia behind her.

(I had such a great week with them !)

Ahhh!!!
This is the bug that visited me in the bathroom when I came to wash my hands the other day.
You may not be able to tell in this picture, but it's body is as big as the palm of my hand! Scared me so bad!
(Just thought I should share)

This is my update of the week when the group was here. I finally finished it. Now I'm going to go eat some dinner. : )

I'll be back soon. Dios le bendiga. (God bless you)

In His Love,
Erin

Back and ready to talk : )

It's been ten days and a lot has been going on.

I've been trying to remember back to the 8th to see what I did.

Ohhh..... right how could I forget that. (You can tell I'm actually writing what I think. . . Janet don't say a thing. :)

I just remembered why I didn't take pictures of those few days after the 7th.

On Wednesday night this Indian woman and her baby came in to the hospital with her husband and father, (the chief) and another man. They were brought by pastor Roberto, from the mountains. (3 hours away) Roberto just happened to go check on them that day. Her husband needed medical attention badly. He had been machetied and had several deep wounds. He had been in that condition for 3 days already. They had to send him to Tegucigalpa, because they can't do surgery here. Leo and Neptali brought them there. Her name is Asussena by the way. The baby doesn't have a name. (She couldn't go with, because apparently children aren't allowed into the hospital in Teguc.), so Assusena and her 6 month old baby have been here ever since. We are not sure how things are going with her husband. I heard he needed surgery and had anemia. Pastor Roberto has been able to make a trip to Tegucigalpa to give blood to her husband.

Because Roberto gave blood, the husband and chief now accept him as family. The husband said basically "Your blood is in me you are family". This is a huge answer to prayer. Now Roberto is accepted and can begin to minister to this tribe, the Topelan Indians, in a much closer way. He is planning to walk 3 hours and stay with them 3 days a month.

We aren't exactly sure what they believe. They may believe in gods of their wood and sun god and so on. I do know they seem resistant to Jesus right now. I have read scriptures to Asussena and talked to her about Jesus, but she seems to just say yes and not listen. She told me she had already excepted Christ and her husband too when I asked. Later she said her tribe doesn't believe in that. Please Pray for their eyes to be opened and that they would understand the message of Christ.

I was nice and sick on Friday the 10th.

So, I had my first IV on Friday and layed in bed with that for 9 hours.

I was so scared to get it, but it was sooo worth it.

The group arrived around 7:00 pm that night. I made a great impression. haha

Four of the people I have met before on my first trip down here. So it was nice to see them again. I also got to watch some t.v. for the first time in a while, thanks to Lucia. : )

Saturday they settled in and I recovered. Some even got to work building some needed truces. Others got to organizing all the wonderful things they brought in the guys dorm. Sandy's words to describe it was a "Biiig mess" : ) They really wore them selves out.

Sunday we had church and it was packed. It was such a great time, especially the worship.

Most of us (and by us I mean the Gringos) left to go teach the kids. I was the only one who can speak Spanish so I had the job of teaching.

That was just one of the ways God pushed me out of my comfort zone this week. He gave me the confidence to do it, and we had fun I got to crack some eggs for part of the lesson and we got to make a bottle of Pepsi explode.The younger ones got to watch Veggie Tales and color in cool coloring books that the group brought with them. Assusena did come to church after some convincing, but later left when the baby got fussy. She has come a long way this week. I heard that a woman accepted Christ during the church service while we were with the kids. AWESOME! He is working mightly (not sure how you spell that :) here.

On Sunday I also had the opportunity to see Fransisca and her two grandchildren(For those of you who know the story,Sandra's children)That was a definite blessing She and the kids traveled 6 hours from San Pedro Sula to come visit. They are very dear to me. I got to spend time with her most of the day. Oscar is the oldest, he's 12. Fransi Yullisa is the youngest, she is 10. They look like the same age by their height. : )

Well it's getting late. I got to go. I'll be back to tell about the rest of the week. : )

By the one of those nice bugs visited me today in the bathroom this morning. Scared me. I swear this one is big enough to be in a horror movie. haha I'll post a pic of that too.

Talk more tomorrow hopefully.

In His Love,

Erin

It's been a while

Things are going great here in Honduras.

Sandy got back from Georgia on Saturday last week.

Two of the doctors working here left to study in Tegucigalpa. We got to go to dinner with them to say farewell. That was my first time of the compound in a while. : )

Yesterday we went to the capitol, Tegucigalpa, to get groceries. We got 3 carts full of food! I was happy to go and help. (I love it here, but it is so nice to get out a little and take a trip.) I enjoyed it.I took lots of pictures. Sandy was making fun of me for that. He lives here. He gets to see the beauty everyday : ) There will be a group coming this Friday, so we needed groceries.It will be nice to have a group around for a little while. I know a few of the people in the group. They came with the first time I came.

Today I will be just trying to finish up a few projects before the group comes.

So that's my short update.

Talk more soon.

In Him,

Erin

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (2 Chorinthians 4:4-7) Only Jesus can transform lives. We are merely His children. Even though He can reach peoples' hearts with more ease than we can comprehend, He chooses to use us to reach the lost. What a blessing!! Theres more to life than cars, money, drugs, and physical pleasure!! This is an awesome message!! They need to know. I have been really encouraged not to waste another minute, opportunity, or day that God has given me."

This is an ecerpt from "Passion of the Heart of God"

I have written this before last month, but I like it so much I wanted to post it again.

Sept. 30th

Oh my! I had no idea it was already the 30th!

I really lose track of my days down here. : )

Things have been going great. I've had to time to read and study.

The two pastors I mentioned earlier have left. It seems a little weird with out them.

Pastor Baca left Mon. morning and Pastor Cardoza left Sat. morning.

It was great having them here.

Saturday, The new doctor's family came to visit.

Since he has to work 2 week straight. (They live in Tegucigalpa-2 hours away)

I got to meet his wife and two kids.

He has a great family. His son is 10 and his daughter is 8. They look like him.

I'll hav to take a picture next time they come.

(they were here Sunday too)

Pastor Baca taught a thing called a reunion of matrimony, in the evening.

It's like a teaching for young couples who want to get married, those who are married,

and young people. It was about how to take care of your

family and how to keep your relationships strong.

It was a really good time. It was a bonus that we got to take a

break for icecream too.

I had the "duty" of taking pictures for Pastor Baca. : )

Sunday evening I got to go up into the mountains.

(We were planning on going in the mountains earlier in the day too.

To a place called San Jose because Pastor Baca and Pastor Roberto were going

do some baptisms,

but the rain from the night before made it too risky to go that high.) : (

We went to a place called Los Jojos, I think.

It's a really odd name, but it is really pretty.

The roads were really wet, but that just made it more fun in my oppinion.

We went up for church. Pastor Baca was still here then-

he's one of the pastors who came. He is from Peru.-

and he gave the sermon. I think he's very good at what he does.

I enjoyed hearing him preach.

Please pray that the people be revived there.

Sunday was also the Day of The Bible.

I think it's so cool they have a holiday for the Bible.

There was a parade down town. I didn't get to go,

but I got to play with Carolina's girls instead. : )

Monday won't sound very interesting.. I just worked on a project and

played with the kids at the daycare.

I also got to read and take an awesome nap! : )

Well I'll talk more later.

I'm getting a little hungry.

Im Him,

Erin

By the way, girls, a really good book is True Devotion by Dee Henderson.

It is the first of a series of 4. I have been reading the first one and it's so hard to put down unless I have to. They are romantiac and i guess the have action too. I didn't think I would like them at first, but like I said I can't put the book down! If you like that kind of stuff I reccomend you read them.