We’re back. We have all made it back safely to the states. On the church photo site there are tons of pictures and more coming. Please remember in the photos, we took pictures of the pretty things, the majority of the island is covered in trash, the stench of rotten fruit and destruction lingers, and there is much strife. In fact we missed a riot by a single day, the morning we left saw one of the clinics most difficult days, where an American doctor attempted to break in with a mob of anger volunteers. We spend two days in prayer that the clinic would not be burned down. We felt safe on the island 100% of the time, and God removed us before the hardship. The good news is the day we left for home, the mob was dissipated, however the doctor returns in 2 weeks and a possibility of havoc could resume, so please keep praying for the island of Helene.
7/23/10PM Sadly today was our last day of ministry on Helene. We begin the trek back home tomorrow morning. But today was a good day. We had a single group go out and do visitation, while the rest of the team stayed back and worked at the clinic doing various chores, mainly cleaning. I installed a door, it only took me 3-4 days, i hate that door. But the door is up and it works (barely). Courtney has always thought of becoming an RN, so I had her work clinic hours today and she had a blast, she said once she heard a child’s heartbeat in the womb, she knew she was in the right place. After a brief lunch we spend a lot of time with the islanders who had showed us around the island all week: Elsa, Jerry, BiBi, and Teddy. It was really cool sharing stories and comparing lives on island and off. I think so many people in America think we have it best, but I dont think many islanders would trade their life for one in the states, life is much simpler and less stressful. The team is holding up pretty well, I think some have gotten a little island fever, giggling at the mundane, but other than a sore throat and a bad back, Jack and Billy, respectively, we are in high spirits. I am excited to share photos when we return, we are only allowed to upload a small few of photos because of island internets, but I took some shocking photos yesterday. Myself, Chealsea, and Heather visited a part of the island known as the pond. This is one of the most devistating communities I have ever seen, it is built over a swamp, it floods when it rains. To get from house to house you have to walk on wooden bridges. Now the bridges used to be nice, but whenever someone needs to fix a house they remove the free wood, making the bridges rickety with large dangerous gaps. Falling to the trashed filled swamp would be a terrifing fate. I cannot describe the destitution that existed there, the photos will do better justice, but not even they can communicate the smell and poverty.
Tomorrow morning at 8:30am Pacific Time we will be getting on a boat and leaving Helene, heading to the west end. I am speaking at a friends church on Sunday, then on Monday we are getting on a plane and flying on home. We arrive at midnight so I have a feeling most of us will sleep through Tuesday. I doubt I will be able to update the website again, internet is always sketchy and I do not believe our next desitation has it. But please continue to keep us in your prayers.
7/20/10PM [Guest author Heather McKenzie]
Today in Helene began with a devo I gave on Romans 8:1-6, breaking down how true life and peace can only be reached through Christ. Following the devo and Hondurian biscuits, we set out to focus on the main agenda for the day: one- helping out in the Christian school here at the Clinic, and two- going out in the community to do VBS (or Kids Club according to the islanders).
So off we went to Bentley Bay, with balloon animals, coloring sheets, and a Jonah bible story… Balloon fish, thanks to Mike Fraz, was a huge success, even though the kids continued to pop them in every which way. After singing Father Abraham etc., Pastor Evan narrated the Jonah and Whale story as the team- Billy( Jonah), Coutney and Chelsea (sailors) and Ester (the Whale) mimed the story. Overall success for the first day of Kids Club! Part 2 of the day followed the ladies (Ester, Courtney, Chelsea and I) into the classrooms, ranging from K-3, and the boys working on some very important construction business in the Clinic. Speaking from the classroom experience, we found it quite the unique and amazing event. It was great to be able to spend one on one time teaching the kids about Christ, as well as taking some stress off the teachers’ shoulders. Tomorrow we will be looking forward to hearing from Evan for devotions, and setting out for Kids Club day 2… Please keep the team in your prayers for health and high spirits!
7/19/10PM: [Guest author Michael Frazer]
Good news(!!!): the baby is now on Roatan proper and is doing much better. Please continue to pray for the child and that the Lord would continue to heal him. As Evan wrote earlier, we had more visitations with the locals. (Jack and Heather stayed back and rested; they are feeling much better. Thank you for you prayers.) Today, we had an opportunity to pray with some of the residents, a true blessing. Many of these people have a tremendous faith in God, and it is definitely inspiring. These people are definitely a great example of loving the Lord whatever the case. ”The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).” Later on, some of us were able to participate in a trash clean-up to spruce up Helene. This island (though absolutely lovely) is infested with garbage right and left. Many of the people of Helene leave their trash whenever they are inclined to do so. Some even toss their refuse into the ocean. Storms wash it back to the shore. In any case, we made some progress by cleaning around the Clinic and up the road. The island of Roatan is also in the habit of burning trash, so we piled up what we had and set it ablaze. As they have no means of proper disposal, this is how they rid themselves of a portion of their waste. We were able to relax afterwards for a while, so we’ve had a nice evening. While we were playing cards, though, a boy was rushed here; he sliced his foot open and needed stitches. Pray for wisdom for the medical care he is receiving here in the Clinic right now. Pray also for our upcoming VBS/kid’s club. We hope to use this opportunity as an outreach to teach the kids more about Jesus. Heather will grace us with devotions tomorrow morning.
7/19/10AM: We are out for the day for visitation. Please keep Jack and Heather in prayer as they are not feeling well. Apparently a bacterica bug has been going around the island. We are told if they rest it goes away by the next day, but please pray for the continued health of them and everyone else. Also keep the boy that was born yesterday in prayer. It appears as if he swallowed some marconium (sp?) during birth and it is affecting him. They brought him to the clinic late last night, gave him oxygen, and then took him on a boat to the hospital on Roatan proper.
7/18/10PM: [The following post provided by Courtney Watnick] Happy Sabbath everyone! The morning was off to a warm start already, we split the group up into three teams, each headed out to different church services in the area. We really had no clue what to expect, but were greeted by the congregations none the less. Some churches had full blown worship bands, while others had only their voices. A few of us were encouraged to share a verse or our testimony during the service and I’m proud of the team for speaking boldly today.
Afterwards we headed back for lunch and rest before preparing for the night service. I was excited for Ocean Hills and the local churches to come together to worship the Lord, but didn’t anticipate the rain that set in right before. Luckily we were able to hold the service on the covered patio outside and were blessed by the few but faithful crowd that came. It was an awesome time of worship and fellowship for both the team and our brothers and sisters here in Helene. Please pray for the new-born boy that is having difficulties. Pray for the staff at the clinic trying to help him and for the family of this little life God loves so much.
7/17/10PM: Today was a nice day. Whenever you go on a short term mission trip you need to take breaks and rest, otherwise you will burn yourself out and everyone becomes useless, today was our day of rest. We started it by snorkeling on two deserted islands, absolutely beautiful. We came back for lunch and then went spulenking. That’s right cave exploration. We saw bats and spiders in the cave and went about 70 feet underground. I think Billy summed it best when he said “Today is the most epic day of my life”.
Tomorrow is a big and long day for us. We have church service in the morning and will be helping with worship and possibly some testimonies. From what we hear their worship is extremely different than ours. No one ever knows who is doing it, when church starts (and there is no specific start time) people who feel led grab an instument and go. The keyboard player starts playing a melody, the guitarist tries to match it, then drums and vocals come in. Other times people start singing and the music might follow. We then spend the day in prep for our night term service. The prayers have worked!! There have been 60+ teams coming to Helene in the last 6 years, but we are the first to unite all churches on the island to come to worship together and for only the 3rd time to our knowledge lead the island in communion, this is a big deal. Please pray that God is glorified and mighty things happen. As of now, all of us are healthy, doing well and trying our best to hydrate and sleep at night. Things are going smoothly and without any incidents, and we can feel the Spirit of God in this place. Thank you for all your prayers.
7/16/10AM: We have done another great morning of visitation. I have been priveldged now with walking to all villages on the island, the walks are a lot longer than they look like on maps, perhaps its the heat. We have meet and prayed with a lot more people. We will now finish the afternoon with some more work. It poured rain last night so today was nice and refreshing. Thank you for all your prayers.
7/15/10PM: Today was a great day of ministry. We started the morning with home visitations across the island. We had the oppurtunity to pray with many people and read scriptures to some that were unable to leave their beds. It was interesting to see how the entire island is related to everyone. Our local “tour guide” pointed to almost every house, “This is my aunt, my brother, father-in-law, etc.” Also I meet a kid named Shaquielle Oneal, i can now tell everyone I have meet Shaq. In the afternoon we did lots of construction. Billy and Mike removed a door way entrance and put a new one somewhere else. The girls hammered and nailed and pulled old nails and fixed a railing that was so old it was an unsafe hazard. Jack and I helped the ladies, cutting wood and figuring out who to make it structually sound. Jack is also leading us in devotions tomorrow. We also had our first spot of rain in the evening, it was a quick one, but exciting to see.
7/15/10: Well the sun did rise at 5:00am, but that is not what woke us. Local kids wanted to steal fruit from the giant tree outside our window. I do like this country because people are loud. The kids made no attempt to quiet any of their noise, shouting over there get that one while literally taking fruit that is not theirs. I love being loud. But even with the wake-up call, the night was rejuvinating for everyone, we fel refreshed and are ready to go serve.
Keep us in prayer today, we will start our ministry with visitations. This means we will be exploring the island in teams with a local guide visiting people’s houses and sharing words of encouragment.
We have arrived safely in Helene!!! We are all exhausted from the long travel, we have dinner in a little bit and then an early bedtime. The sun goes down around 6:30pm here and all island life stops. But apparently when the sun rises at 5:00am things start kicking up!! Thank you for all the prayers, our journey over here was flawless.
Mission Trip: Pastor Evan is heading up a mission trip leavng this Tuesday, July 13! Please keep the group in prayer for safe travel, good health, and hearts open to hearing the gospel as they minister to the people of Honduras.
