Friday, April 20, 2018

Friday, April 20
Rancho Ebenezer

Our final day of serving at the ranch for this trip, so we wrapped up a few projects.  

But first, we hiked up to the summit of the ranch property, which was quite an effort, but oh, the view!  We thanked God for this special time here, and prayed blessings for the continuing ministry of WGO.  

We sorted all the donations that we brought along, and then spent the remainder of the day finishing up the library project — every book now has a pocket and checkout card!!  We weren’t sure it could be accomplished within the week, so it was a moment of celebration!







We’ll wrap up our time with worship and sharing around a bonfire this evening ... and then heading home on Saturday

We are so very grateful for this week together. God is good. All the time!
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Rancho Ebenezer Team

A concrete floor - it’s a lasting gift that we’re privileged to provide in Honduras, and today the whole team was able to do that for a family in the area.

It was an extra special experience, because seven of the teen boys from the ranch joined the project for the morning, and their efforts got things off to a great start!



In case you’ve never mixed concrete by hand, a batch is five 5-lb buckets of sand, five of gravel, 100 lbs of cement, and 8-10 gallons of water. It took about 8 1/2 batches for the house, with lots of shoveling and stirring and toting that kept us all very busy!





Ken is the master concrete layer, and the end result will bring the family health benefits for years to come.

We were happy to get a little acquainted with this precious family as we worked. (Nancy was especially good at making friends with their little daughter!)


Before we left, we prayed together and gave them a new Bible to bless their home. Please keep them in your prayers as well - they’re expecting baby #3 soon!

A long day ... a tiring day ... and a very joyous day!






Thursday, April 19, 2018

Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Rancho Ebenezer Team

Flashback to Tuesday!  Last night the Lord treated us to an awesome display of stars as the skies cleared after several cloudy days.  Orion ... the Big Dipper ... they looked so much closer than they do at home, and a reminder that we are in the hands of an almighty God no matter where we are!

Today the fencing project continued with Ron, Terry, Jennifer, and Ken. Thankfully, they were able to get things started with the concrete mixer, but then had to haul it bucket by bucket up the steep slope to our pre-dug fence post holes. Amazingly, they were able to set 24 fence posts this morning - praise God for the strength He gave!

    
Nancy has been faithfully tutoring a student who is working very hard to catch up scholastically to her age peers, and today she was proud to complete a big math project - check it out. She dreams of becoming a veterinarian, and it’s a privilege to be helping her to move ahead in her classes.

The rest of us continued to work on the big library project.  It’s been fun to work at the school because we can also see some of the kids’ activities, like watering the garden that helps to  supply fresh food for everyone ... or enjoying the announcement of the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade science fair winners.  



It’s a blessing to know that we can help these precious kids realize their big dreams, and we thank all of you for supporting the team’s work here this week!








Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Weekend Recap

Saturday and Sunday, April 14-15, 2018
Rancho Ebenezer Team

We wanted to share a few photos of our travel and sunday rest before getting on to the rest of the week. We were thankful for safe travels to Honduras on saturday, with only a 90-minute delay during our layover in Miami. 

Photos below are the team in Miami ... at the arrivals area in Tegucigalpa ... and then enjoying a delicious Honduran lunch at a restaurant owned by a friend of Ken Avila, our Serve Team leader at the ranch.




We were all pretty tired after a long day of travel, so we got to bed pretty early to be ready for church in the city in the morning.

Sunday we enjoyed worshipping in Tegucigalpa at Union Christian Church with Ken’s family, and then had lunch and bought a few groceries before heading back to the ranch.

It was raining on and off, but we still did a quick tour of the ranch, and then gathered to talk through our work plan for the week.


We can't wait to share what the rest of our week holds!

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Tuesday, April 17
Rancho Ebenezer

After a chilly overnight at the ranch, we were ready to get moving this morning, if only to warm ourselves up! It was a busy day of divide and conquer for the team.  

Ron and Sue went from house to house, to school, to office ... installing the smoke alarms we had brought along as part of our project supplies for the week.  It’s a good feeling to know the kids are safer with those in place!

Nancy and Jennifer continued tutoring today ... what a blessing that they can use their skills to help the kids with some extra attention and support!

Terry and Doreen helped move the fencing project along by painting a big batch of metal posts with rust-resistant paint — so important in this humid climate!

Patti has been making hay in the library all day - so many books to process :) - with the rest of us joining her at various times. (It’s such fun to come across a favorite book - Jennifer even found Dick & Jane!)

And later this afternoon, the sun finally came out after a stretch of cloudy days, and we all basked in its warmth for a a little bit.  Thank you, Lord, for sunshine today and for the eternal sunshine in store for all your children.




Monday, April 16, 2018

Monday at the Ranch

Monday, April 16, 2018
Rancho Ebenezer Team

Serving at the ranch can take many different forms, because the needs are so varied.
We began our day with chapel with the Ranch kids and staff - how great to know that we are one family in Jesus! 

This morning our ranch Serve Team leader Ken decided to see what this team was made of.  He has a long-term goal of replacing the existing ranch boundary fence with chain link, and the ranch is 90 acres.  Yes, it’s a big goal.

So four of us (Ron, Terry, Sue, and Doreen) tackled digging fence post holes on one small stretch of a steep hill. Ron says we played a full round, because we managed to dig 36 holes before lunch.  It seems like a small contribution given the big picture goal, but we know that every little bit helps.  

Nancy and Jennifer devoted the morning to one-on-one tutoring sessions at Ebenezer Academy, while Patti jumped into a big project in the school library, adding pockets and cards to loads of books, so that they can have a reliable checkout process.  There are LOTS of books here for the kids - see Patti with just one small stack of books - there are many more!  


We all worked in the library during the afternoon to keep things moving there, and we relished the time together getting better acquainted.


We’re so thankful for this opportunity to serve the Lord and his children here!

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Home Sweet Home

Although we had a great week in Honduras it's always nice to be home. It took a while for us to get here. Our 50 team members were headed to 10 different states spanning from Pennsylvania to Washington. We left the Mission House really early on  Saturday and by Sunday we all made it home safe and sound.

The week spent in Honduras was challenging and rewarding on many different levels. We were confronted by physical and spiritual poverty, but we also witnessed the faithfulness of God who provided healing of the body, mind and spirit of many people. We heard the concerns of many Hondurans related to the political crisis in the country and we engaged in prayer for peace and protection. We did not experience any protests or conflicts along the way, but we will continue to pray for Honduras from all across the United States.

Thank you for supporting us in prayer throughout the week. We know it was a great help because God showed us mercy all along the way.

If you think you would like to join us in Honduras next year,  please contact Fred Steinbach at fredsteinbach@comcast.net.

Bendiciones!

Thursday, January 18, 2018

If it's Thursday it means that we are at our new Serve Team sites. Both halves of our team set up shop at new locations in different parts of the city. New friends were discovered, and new relationships were developed as we served alongside our Honduran brothers and sisters in Christ.

The schedule for Thursday and Friday is pretty much the same as our first two days of serving on Monday and Tuesday, but we are all getting to serve in new ways by working in different areas of the clinics we set up. The people we see are all very grateful for the care they are receiving. The children are a particular joy and they are very open to hearing the story of Jesus. In the evangelism station we have seen some amazing responses to God's love.

Friday promises to be a busy day, so forgive us if we don't get a blog posted. We are all looking forward to the traditional pizza dinner at the Mission House on Friday evening before we head back to the States on Saturday. We can't wait to tell you our stories in person!

Bendiciones!

Wednesday, January 17, 2018


Wednesday,
FUN day!
Wednesday is our day to rest, sort of. For those who choose, go up to the ranch to see the kids. About 40 loaded on the bus and drove through town, hopped on the main highway, pulled a Uie, and drove up a bumpy dirt road to Ebenezer Academy. After a brief overview of what goes on at the ranch we hike down to the school where the kids are out on the play ground. Its a wonderful sight seeing our young people racing around with the little ones. Tag, swings, slides, and a very rousing game of futball (soccer). For those that sponsor a child its a time to catch up on what the kids have been up to. We also learn a great deal about coffee. They are starting to harvest for the 2018 year. For other its a trip to the Valley of the Angels. SHOPPING!!!!! Treasures and trinkets are found, coffee sipped, and this year some thing warm to wear.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Tuesday

Day 2! We head back to the same church to minister to more neighbors.  A brief time of worship and prayer to call the Holy Spirit down to guide us.  Its always amazing to see how many have the same issues here.  We are so lucky to be able to change our habits and have fresh water to keep our health.Today we were able to paint another home and install 2 water filtration systems. Its a radical idea to have clean water to drink. Many only drink sodas, gatorade, or kool aid type drinks. No wonder that diabetes, rotten teeth, and many other health problems are prevalent.  
Evangelism is one of the main things we work on here. Its rewarding and very emotionally draining. Please keep up with your prayers for the whole team, we all are doing God's work in all departments.  Well some more wonderful stories at the debriefing, praise reports of choosing Christ, and personal growth and learning. Well a day of rest and fun tomorrow, but we'll tell you about that later.
Also please pray that we all stay healthy, lots of sickness out there and we've all been up close and personal.  Good night all!





Monday, Monday,

Just love that day!!  Up at 5ish to be ready to start at 6. Devotions and prayer to get the Spirit moving in our hearts. A great breakfast to nourish our bodies, coffee to start the engines and brain function. A bus ride that rivals any thing the amusement parks have, not to worry folks our divers are experts! A brief stop to pick up translators and Drs. For some this is a reunion of friends, and some new faces. Every one jumps in to get optical ready, dentistry up and tools out, pressure cuffs and meds. We have a time of prayer with the church volunteers and then its " Lets get to Work".  Many come from long distance by foot to see a medical, optical, or dentist Dr.  Kids have a fun time with the children's ministry. The gospel story is told that matches their new His story bracelets. Team A had a crew paint a room in a house. Looked very nice and bright in a off white.  After a very eventful day we load up and bus back to the hacienda. Well traffic is the same every where, a lot of it. Construction is every where here too!  Team B was stuck in a traffic jam that took them 2 hours to make it back. Threw the schedule off just a bit. A time of debriefing after dinner to tell stories of the day, things to pray for, and a shift in where we are assigned tomorrow so we all get to experience a different job.
Sleep tight, its too cold for the bed bugs to bite!


Sunday, January 14, 2018

Good Sunday,
A windy night sent us to sleep or kept us up.  Had a brief devotional and breakfast, then loaded up the buses. We stopped at Plaza de Spana before church. Group photo op. and some shopping too. Off to our respective churches. Warm reception, hugs, and wonderful worship.  Lunch out family style.  Got back to the house and loaded up the trucks to take all the equipment for our serve teams. While the able bodied loaded trucks, others gathered and counted and bagged pills. With lots of help it gets done real fast. A time of fellowship and games, quiet time or a short nap. Dinner, briefing for tomorrow, and for most of us to bed for a early start and a very busy day! God bless and keep up the prayers.


Saturday, January 13, 2018

We Made It!!!
After long hours of travel the team has made it to the mission house. Meeting up with old friends and meeting new ones. We are getting ready for what God has in store for us. Its going to be a fantastic week of growth, challenge, and comedy!



Sunday, January 7, 2018

We are packed and ready to go! Saturday the team packed trunks full of all kinds of medicine, canes, shampoo and other supplies that we will put to use in Honduras. Sunday we held our last team meeting to go over some final details and now it's time to go.

Besides our contingent from Illinois we have team members coming from Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. We are truly a national team! We are looking forward to coming together in Tegucigalpa on Saturday. We have team members flying through Houston, Atlanta and Miami to get to Honduras.

Please keep us in your prayers! We are seeking God's blessing on our travel. We are really hoping to have everyone and all our luggage arrive on time next Saturday.  We are also praying for good health leading up to our trip and while we are there. And, most importantly, we are praying for God to accomplish His purposes in and through us through this great adventure.