Sometimes you just have to burn your underwear

We ended the week with a nice sharing time around a fire tonight, and since it is time to pack up and get ready to go, one of our team members decided to burn some clothes rather than take them home or throw them away. There were some interesting colors in the flames. I'm just sayin'.

It's been a good week and we accomplished a lot. Today we gave the staff individual knitted prayer cloths that were made by friends back home. We also set the balance beam in concrete footings, finished the wood decking and then cleaned up the workshop in the afternoon. It was interesting to uncover the 'signatures' of the various work teams that placed the concrete floor in the workshop. The Ranch has been around for twenty years now and many people have helped to make it what it is today. We were glad to be a part of that history and do our little part to keep things moving forward.

Each of us enjoyed seeing the kids every day at meals, at chapels and at school. They are a joy! This afternoon we got to watch the older boys play soccer on the compo. It is certainly a passion for them.

We learned a few things too. For instance we learned a lot about bees from Ken Avila; amazing little creatures who unfortunately love to live in the walls of Casa Grande. We also learned about some of the music that each of us listen to by using songs as the focus of our evening devotions. And, we learned anew that the Ranch is truly a special place for the children, staff and visitors like us.

Tomorrow we head to the airport about 10 am. We're looking forward to being home. Please pray for safe and timely travel. Thanks and bendiciones!

Delivering of the prayer cloths.

The finished product of our week. Others will continue the progress.

Cute kids.

Older cute kids.

It's not all about you

Working at the Ranch this week we are reminded that it's not all about us. The small amount of work that we can accomplish is just a little love offering to the kids and staff at the Ranch.

We started out the day with the kids during chapel. One of the Counselors gave an excellent devotional talk about how every person at the Ranch is important and has a role to play as a member of the Rancho Ebenezer 'team'. It was fun and engaging for the kids and adults alike.

Today was a special day for Terry since it was her birthday. We feted her with Happy Birthday in Spanish at dinnertime and Karen was thoughtful to bring a special treat in place of a birthday cake.

Our work day started with an assembly line production of some boards for the playground equipment. Tom sawed, Martin routed, Terry sanded and Karen painted on the wood preservative. (She has been a little giddy ever since.)

The rest of the day saw Tom and Martin digging post holes for the balance beam while Terry and Karen installed the rest of the bolts to support the climbing platforms. Here are a few photos to keep you up to date.

 

It's not all fun and games

But, when the medical Serve Team from Peachtree City and parts west shows up at the Ranch on Wednesday it is a lot of fun and games! Dandelion the Clown and Shobo the Clown entertained the kids from Rancho Ebenezer and the neighboring village of San Matias today. Along with the rest of the team they set up a fun fair on the soccer pitch in "town".  Here are a few pictures for you.

And, of course, the fun fair wore out Martin.

The rest of our time on Tuesday and Wednesday was spent making progress on the playground equipment. On Tuesday we poured two more footings for the swingset, and we continued adding wood framing around the metal frames and then attached wood planks on top to make platforms as you can see below.

And, guess what? Martin was tired after all that work.

Tomorrow, the balance beam!

Time to go to work

We are thankful to know that the entire medical team made it home as of Sunday. Although some of them got home later than planned, it's good to know they are safe and sound.

The four of us at Rancho Ebenezer started this week with a beautiful sunrise.

And then we went to work. The question is how could it take all day to put 23 of these on top of steel posts?

 The answer is that first we had to figure out how to get the water out of them. The temporary covers weren't effective on a number of the posts and they had up to 18" of water in them. Our first attempts at removing the water including siphoning and trying to shop-vac them dry using various homemade attachments. After then trying a sponge on a pole we landed on the solution of a mop head duct taped to electrical conduit. It was effective but slow. And now we have plans for an IPO or perhaps seeking venture capital funding for our water removal system.

These are the kinds of things that make working at the Ranch an adventure. But once we found the solution we progressed.

Although it took us awhile to conquer the post caps, Karen was making progress on painting wood preservative on the boards that will be used for the platforms on the play equipment.

   And, in the afternoon we worked on placing concrete footings for the swingset.

And of course, then we were tired.

But it was fun to watch the kids play during recess and after school. They were really glad that we brought new tether balls!

And now for something completely different.

The medical team is on its way home so look for them soon. Cathy Cousins stayed behind to work with the next medical team and Terry Bagley, Tom Brauer and Martin Koster stayed behind to spend a week at Rancho Ebenezer. Karen Mitchell also joined us at the Ranch after arriving safely from Chicago today.

We are looking forward to working on new playground equipment near the school. Ken Avila designed a swing set, monkey bars and climbing platforms and has them partially completed. We will be pouring some footings, adding post caps and wood platforms. Should be fun!

A morning in the clouds kept our eyes from wandering out the windows and narrowing in on an impactful devotional this morning. We heard a message that God has been pruning for one year, and we were blessed. Centering on the meaning of the term grace, we were reminded that this word carries a weight that is liberating for us as believers. Taking the word grace and using it as a verb, our team was sent to the churches in the city to share this great gift that Jesus has given us. 

We witnessed a pattern today of the Lord preparing our hearts for specific situations as well as people to serve. Even over years, God has been softening the hearts of the individuals entering the brigade and our team members. From team A, there was a particular situation of a team member's heart being pulled toward a specific mission field to love on. Because of this calling from the Lord, she was able to meet a woman in the midst of her hurting and encourage her in her faith and allow God to speak truth through her. Within team B, a woman receiving service from the brigade was in evangelism and happened to be sitting with a former nurse. This small factor made such an impact when she was need of medical direction. God has been developing our team members hearts and giftings our whole lives to be bold in the stations we were placed. 

A couple of days ago, someone paved the way to give out a salvation bracelet to someone who was unable to read. These bracelets have five colors to represent the different pieces of the gospel so that we can carry it with us wherever we go. First with the role to give to the children, another team member gave one to someone else who was unable to read the story from the Bible for themselves. Today, that same opportunity arose for a team member who was assisting in installing a water filter for a church member's home. Three little kids were eager to hear the story and were proud to wear it on their wrists. 

We had a bitter-sweet conclusion to our evening tonight. Delicious food, wonderful conversations, and good laughs were amongst the dining room. Tired eyes, listening ears, and excited hearts were ready for a night of reflection of our whole week. We were graced by the Lord in the midst of our struggles here, and He still showed His kingship in prevailing through it all. 

Praying earnestly for a smooth travels home and to all of the different places we are scattering back to around the world and that we will take all that we have learned here to our mission fields wherever we are. 

Maggie doing triage

Cathy E and Ginny B in pharmacy

Chris with Fabriccio in evangelism

Tanji with Walterio in evangelism

Lesem, Cathy C, Tom B, Kayleigh after installing a water filter system in a Honduran home

Having fun tossing the world around.

Julie, Ron, Enma and Kayleigh in Children's Evangelism

Kayleigh washing hair

Julie washing hair

Team B

Annalise

Donna

Aaron

Matt

Team A in action

Team A

Looking a little tired on the bus ride home.

Honduran Vaqueros

The long and the short of it is that we made and cared for new friends!