Friday from the Team by Tom

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! It was another awesome day. We have been using "AWESOME" a lot this week. We started with a great devotion by Carlos on God's faithfulness. How faithful God has been each and every day this week. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

The group had fun shopping in the local market and then went to enjoy beautiful and majestic waterfalls. God's creative beauty is sooo evident in Honduras. The young team members really enjoyed the intensity of the falls.

We then went to a local pottery maker's store and to a beautiful garden area. Beautiful was another common word for today.
We ended the main part of the day at Destino loving and being loved by the children. The children are precious beyond words. It was very tough to say goodbye. It is wonderful to see how God is working in the children's home and the school. Please pray for three new teachers that will arrive tomorrow. They arrive on the plane we will take to Houston. We are going to make signs welcoming them to Honduras and Destino.
We thoroughly enjoyed our last dinner at Maribels. She provides such wonderful Honduran food. It will be a challenge to return to our "normal" diets after arriving tomorrow.


We ended the meal with a surprise HAPPY BIRTHDAY cake for Brien Rosendale. He turns 21 tomorrow. It was fun celebrating his birthday!
Most of us also enjoyed our last trip for ice cream. Mike and Janet Bennett discovered a new ice cream shop. It is closer to the hotel and has great ice cream to enjoy.
We leave for the San Pedro Sula airport about 7:30 am tomorrow and will arrive in Houston at 3:40 pm. Please pray for a safe drive to the airport and flight home. It will be difficult leaving because God has been so REAL in our lives this week. God promises an ABUNDANT LIFE for His people. We have experienced His abundance this week and pray it will continue upon our return.
To God be the glory and honor!

Thursday by Caroline and Kayla

Today was definitely the most versatile day for the team.
To start off, after our delicious breakfast at Maribel's of course, we drove over to the school. On the way there we stopped at a Texaco station to buy water and a few other supplies. After we came out of the store, a little barefooted Honduran boy came begging for money. Someone had the idea to get out an EvangaCube and use him as "practice" for evangalism, seeing as we have done very little during the week. ;) As we got back to the van, we realized that the van wouldn't start. We took that as a sign from God that we should witness to him.

Caroline wanted to witness to the little boy named Darwin. She was a little uneasy since it was going to be her first time to use the EvangaCube . So Caroline asked Emily to come with her to help if it was needed. Carlos was the translator. Right when Caroline, Emily, and Carlos started to witness to Darwin, the van started!:) Darwin accepted Christ today, and the smile on his face made all the effort worth it. Thanks be to God!!




After that little adventure, the team headed off to the school. Classrooms started to take shape as desks were moved into place and whiteboards were hung.




At lunch we decided to take a trip into a nearby village to evangalize to the people there. What an experience that was!! The people there were so poor and for the "rookies" it was quite an eye-opening endeavor. One of the residents in the village ended up being a Jehovahs' Witness. Another woman was having marital problems and yet other family had a very sick baby. It is so amazing to see all the hurting people and be able to give them hope and deliver such good news for their burdens.

Later on, we went back to the childrens' home to play with the kids. Sadly, the rain cut short our visit, and we all headed back to the hotel.
Icecream, as usual, was on the dessert menu, and after yet another delicious dinner at Maribel's, we walked to the icecream shop.

Day five of this trip was definitely a diverse day.

By Pam Hutchins

Wednesday August 13th

Today we had a great day! We started with a Challenge from Brien on Daniel and getting our wisdom from God. Eileen, Tom & Brien as well as Kayla and Caroline finished the painting projects and it looks so awesome. We even got the floors cleaned up, so we will have easy room setup tomorrow.


We were able to finish some landscaping for Rhonda around the school. Mike and Janet finished cutting and framing White erase boards for the classrooms.



Tom finished all the repairs on the broken desks and chairs. He moved and set up furniture in the principals office with the help of Brien and Tony. We kept running back and forth from the school to the Childrens home for things so she can keep in shape and because she wanted too. Kayla sorted and filed reciepts for Rhonda in the office. Kayla, Emily, Brien, Tony and Caroline got most of the sorting done in the library so we should be able to alphabetize and put away tomorrow.


Carlos did dozens of exams and some extractions. Today we got Emily and Tony involved in helping assist with the extractions. They did great, but said some of it was a bit gross. Ha! Carlos then sent all of them to Pam to clean. Eileen says that he got the better gig. It was an awesome opportunity with the help of the translators to make a difference in peoples future health.



While working on the dental patients, Carlos with Caroline's help were able to lead an 11 year old girl named Wendy to the Lord.

We then had a fabulous dinner at Maribels which I was able to enjoy. Thanks for your prayers. We had a quick organization meeting and prayer for tomorrow. Then we all trouped down the street in pursuit of the elusive Magnum bar that Janet has been promising us was terrific. We had our various icecream cones and iced tea drinks and then finally Janet found one Magnum bar. We hope to find 11 tomorrow night to all try.

Thanks to all of you praying for Tom's mom. They were not able to do the biopsy today, but hope to do it early tomorrow morning and determine what kind of Cancer we are dealing with. Please keep praying. But you should know our sweet mother and mother-in-law has been very peaceful and says she is ok, she knows to whom she belongs, our saviour Jesus Christ. Pray for Tommy Hutchins, our grandson, we hear that he broke his elbow today or maybe yesterday.

Tuesday by Brien

Today was another great day!! We started off with a challenge from Mike, he called all of us to be witnesses to those who do not know Jesus. Not just here in Honduras where it is easy because we are on a missions trip but back home. He used Acts 1:8, when Jesus came back and spoke to the Apostles he told them to go out and be the light unto the world. That he himself could no longer do that. As they were called to do this so are we. After breakfast we went back to Destino Del Reino where we began another fulfilling day of work.


Carlos and Pam ran the dental office again seeing all of Rhonda's staff as the rest of the team painted and varnished. This has not been the easiest task because what this group has in enthusiasm and eagerness to work we lack in all of the proper equipment to do so.


Nonetheless everyone lends a hand where it is needed. Caroline, Emily, Kayla and Tony steadily worked on varnishing the chairs to go with the desks that were finished yesterday.



Eileen and Brien tackled another room and got the first of two coats of paint on one room and started another room with the help of J.D. a young man that works for Rhonda.



Janet and Tom were back and forth all day between the orphanage and the school helping out wherever it needed and Mike was at the shop building and repairing desks, whiteboards and whatever may be needed for the classrooms.


Two girls Brenda and Grecia have also been with us the last two days to help out with any problems we have with translating in the dental room but since we haven't needed to much assitance with that yet they have been working just as hard as the rest of us with varnishing and also some classroom things such as painting and laminating the books. The extra two people has really helped us a lot.
We were unable to play with the kids today which is sad because these are the most precious kids that are so full of love it is hard to stay away but that is alright because what we are doing is for them so it all works out in the end. As I said earlier everyone is very willing to help out wherever it is needed but this has been a very exhausting week so keep everyone in your prayers that they will be able to finish strong and stay healthy.
Also pray for Tom and Pam because Tom's mom Hazel just went into the Hospital and might need surgery, also because Pam is starting to feel a little under the weather and tomorrow is a big day for the dental area. Since we are having so many people come tomorrow to go to the dentist it is going to be a great time for the youth to evangelize, so pray that they may have the courage and words to speak to these people.

Destino Team - Monday by Emily

Monday was a great day for us! To start the day off, we met our translators, Brenda and Grecia. They are two wonderful girls, ages 18 and 16, who speak very good English (and Espanol of course!). After meeting them at the hotel, we drove to the school and Carlos and Pam started doing dental work on the kids of the home. It was funny to see the expressions on their faces as they watched each other getting their teeth cleaned!



They would all crowd around the lucky one who happened to be sitting in "the chair" at the time and just stare in awe; none of them have ever seen a dentist before.

After lunch, an ancient dental light that was found and fixed by Mike and Pastor Carlos caused the power to go out, so Wendy (Carlos' wife) had to walk back to the house and search for the keys to the closet where the fusebox is kept. Apparently Hondurans are lacking in their electricity skills...putting 50 outlets on one fuse?

While part of the team was working in the dental clinic, others were painting a classroom. It was a room that had already been painted but was so "used" by little kids that it desperately needed it again! It was a pretty fun job because someone had the genius idea to buy super long extensions for the rollers. :) In fact, the entire day was fun! The biggest catastrophe that happened was when Mike stabbed himself in the leg while trying to open a paint can, and then not too much later he "lost his wife"...

Another task of the day was to put up backboards and rims on the new basketball court, which is what Brien helped Pastor Carlos with. It's all ready to go except for the nets! There is also a futbol (or as we know it, soccer) field that is ready for grass to be planted. Not a job that we will be doing though.

Last job of the day was varnishing 30 desks for the first 4th grade class at Destino. This job took a long time...even Brenda and Grecia pitched in and helped! Some of us got a little lightheaded, made obvious by the fact that Emily, Caroline, Kayla, and Tony were singing campfire songs! I guess those fumes really do mess with your head...

All in all Monday was a very fun and productive day for everyone.

By Emily for the team

Sunday

Today we were able to get off to a slow start. We began with a nourishing breakfast supplied by Maribel. You have not lived until you have consumed fresh Honduran fruit and fresh Honduran coffee. Maribel supplemented the feast with an assortment of pancakes, mariachis and eggs. We planned on meeting and leaving the hotel about 8:50 AM, but it turned out to be a parade day. The parade marched right outside the hotel. Mike Bennett strategically drove our van out between bands and we made it to Destino with no further adieu.



Once at Destino we had a worship service. Rhonda played the keyboards while we all sang. Tom gave a message reminding us that God is in control and that we should pass our worries to him. He knows our needs and will supply for us abundantly.


After the service Rhonda and JD, a missionary who is staying this summer, gave us a tour of what needs to be done around the school to prepare for opening in just a week or two. Then we all moved supplies to the school and began setting up for tomorrow. Emily, Caroline, Kayla and Tony prepared the pharamacy by separating and labeling the medications. Brien and Eileen taped the classroom to prepare for painting. Carlos and Pam began checking the dental equipment and ran a test using JD as the guinea pig. Tom and Mike checked out what would need to be built and made a supply list for the store. Janet went to the school office and began helping with the organization of that. We worked until about 3:30 and then went back to the house to play with the children. Lots of fun in work and play.


We then went to a local pizza place for dinner, accompanied by all the children of Destino. Many hands were needed to help feed the children who loved the pizza. Some of them preferred the pepperoni to the pizza. Just knowing their history reveals the healing power of Christ's love.

At the team meeting plans were made for the distribution of work for the next day. We have lots to do and prayed for safety of the team as we begin our tasks.

So far everyone is healthy and doing fine. Please keep the team in your prayers.

Bienvenidos Gringos!

Well, we gathered at the airport at 7:00 AM, some a little earlier and some a little later. Most of the organization had been completed at a packing party on Thursday evening where we shifted the donations from the church family around in suitcases to balance out the supplies for the dental team and the supplies for the school readiness team. Believe it or not, all the bags made it in under the required weight limit. No unplanned expenses! We definitely had answered prayer for the smoothness of the check in. We moved right on through without a hitch. The security guard looked only slightly suspiciously at the dental equipment being carried on. Dr. Beaty can feel confident that the device was handled with care.

Time for a coffee break and then off to the gate. Our flight took off and was smooth sailing. Tom had the opportunity to witness to a fellow passenger in the adjoining seat. She is headed for medical school. Please pray for Jennifer as she struggles to sort out her knowledge of science with her faith.

We landed in San Pedro Sula on time and proceeded to immigration. The line was much longer than usual. The airport staff attributed it to the increased security measures which included photos of each person entering the country. The Bennett's line was the fastest, so they went out with their luggage to find Rhonda Jackson, our missionary at Destino Del Reino. Everyone else was way behind. Carlos and Eileen were next out and gathered the remainder of the bags for the team to expedite our exit. A gentleman with another group came up and asked if we had seen his bag. All of our bags were clearly marked with surveyors tape, so we were sure that we did not have his in the mass of luggage. Still the waiting continued. Finally 4 of the younger folks got through so we decided to start sending bags out so that one more step would be complete. Tom and Pam Hutchins were last so that they could be sure everyone was taken care of. We moved out into the lobby to wait. As the remainder of the bags were rolled out, Janet Bennett commented, "Your bag looks just like ours, but ours was really beat up in the flight." Still Rhonda had not arrived. That was a very unusual situation.

The same gentleman from the other group came up once again to our group in the lobby and requested one more check of the luggage. He looked at the stack on the Bennett's cart and low and behold, his bag was there! They had accidently picked up his bag and the "matching bag" that was with our luggage was their bag. Immediately after that discovery Rhonda and Carlos drove up, one hour later than expected, but seconds after the gentleman discovered his lost bag that would have been 2 hours down the road had we not had the hold up. Yet, that is not the end of the story. When Rhonda drove up she remarked, "Isn't that Mark Hoff?" Mike Bennett immediately went back over to the gentleman to renew acquaintance. It seems that on a trip about 4 years ago, after some particular unrest in the country, Mark and Mike had met in Honduras and Mike had obtained some equipment for Mark. The two had not seen each other since and did not recognize each other during the suitcase exchange! It was clearly an instance of God's timing.

We traveled to Destino and got to spend time playing with the children. Many have grown substantially since last summer and big smiles were shown all around. Then off to check in and then dinner at the Cafeteria de Selecta otherwise known as Maribel's.

Prayer requests at the team meeting tonight:

Health and safety for the team

Safe travel for Brien's friend Jordan traveling from Florida to Montana

Health and well being of Tom's mother Hazel and John Qualls

Successful planning of the activities of the week

Jennifer (the woman on the plane)

Getting ready!

The Destino team is preparing for the trip to Honduras. The team is comprised of eleven enthusiastic missionaries who are excited to travel to the children's home and school at Destino Del Reino Siguatapeque, Honduras. We are scheduled to leave from Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston) on August 9th and return on August 16th. The current plan is that the team will lead the village children (no, this is not a music group) in Sunday School activities on Sunday August 10th. Then they will provide three days of dental ministry and two days of construction activities to prepare the school for students returning soon.

You can see the school as it looked last summer in the one picture. Pictured in the photo are Rhonda Jackson, the missionary that we are going to support, Emily and Ana.

The team consists of Tom Hutchins, our fearless leader, Pam Hutchins, his lovely wife and dental hygienist; Mike and Janet Bennett, Carlos (el dentista) and Eileen Garza, Kayla Keith, Emily and Caroline Nix, Tony Barreras Jr, and Brien Rosendale. Brien is travelling from Glendive, Montana, to join the group. Everyone is looking forward to seeing how God is going to use the team this summer. Please join us as we go. We covet your prayers for us and the ministry at Destino.