AIM is a part of the Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock, TX. The program in designed to offer folks - mostly college aged - an opportunity to dedicate 2 years of their lives to the mission field. Last year when we decided to go full time in this ministry we applied to have an AIM team to come and be a part of our work. We made a presentation to the students in September, the director of the program visited us in Honduras in November, and we were selected to have a team in December. This past week they arrived.
We have 6 people that will be working for us for a minimum of 14 months and up to 2 years. Terri and I already feel as if we have expanded our family in a "BIG" and positive way. The three guys are Steve, Kale, and Keith - all of them are exceptionally tall and all of them are great young men that love the Lord. Our ladies are Felicia, Andrea, and Rayner and they are beautiful Christian women. I already see Jesus in all of them.
We returned from a week of rest last Sunday and have been working hard to get caught up on everything so that we will be prepared for our first team to arrive on May 31. Before that happens, we will need to finish the Oriente project, get all of the building tools ready to go, order wood - food - ect for the group to work with, and take a deep breath. I am confident that everything will happen as planned and if it doesn't, then welcome to Honduras. I think we have a container that will arrive this week and another next week. Additionally, I found out this week that we will be building a church building in Villa Nueva and that the construction needs to start on May 31 and we need to finish the work before church time on June 8. I love it! The group arriving next Saturday will be helping some with the building but, none of the 19 in the group have ever been to Honduras. We will also have all of our AIM team and interns available to mix concrete and throw block. I really think we can get this done in 5 days - leaving Saturday as a day to rest!
When you read this, pray for our family as we get adjusted to living and working with each other. We will be doing the big family thing until August when the guys will be getting a place of their own. The girls will also be living in their own place however it will likely be somewhere on the Casa property.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Down Time
Down time hasn't been a part of my life in Honduras lately. It seems that most days start before 6 and work ends just before bedtime. This past week has been completely different. Last Saturday both Nathan and Nicole graduated from Harding and we celebrated with a BBQ and with our friends. On Sunday we were able to be with friends in Hot Springs - at the National Park Church. We are blessed that they are some of our partners in ministry and that they have joined our short term missions for more than 5 years. After church on Sunday - REST.
Terri and I were blessed to be with my parents and Camille for several days of great rest. It has been great!
Tomorrow we are back in Honduras and as soon as we hit the ground, we will head out to Oriente to check on progress of the project there. As soon as we finish in Oriente we will head out to Casa to check on things there. We are anxious to be home and get back into the work that our God has planned for us. The down time has been great but, it is time to go home and we are ready.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc
Terri and I were blessed to be with my parents and Camille for several days of great rest. It has been great!
Tomorrow we are back in Honduras and as soon as we hit the ground, we will head out to Oriente to check on progress of the project there. As soon as we finish in Oriente we will head out to Casa to check on things there. We are anxious to be home and get back into the work that our God has planned for us. The down time has been great but, it is time to go home and we are ready.
Be a blessing to somebody today!
Marc
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
What I've learned
Over the past week, I have had the chance to do a bunch of new things and I have learned a lot. Some of the new things that I have been doing are continuing in the Oriente building project and making a trip to Nicaragua. Here are some of the things that I have learned -
- Building a second floor on a cement block building is not a simple project.
- It takes 30 bags of cement, 60 wheelbarrows of sand, 30 wheelbarrows of gravel, lots of water, 70 bars of re-bar, 30 steel beams, and 30 sheets of roofing aluminum to make a second floor.
- Today there was a wild fire in the area of the construction, We stopped the work on the building so we could save a house from burning. I learned that I am not cut out to be a firefighter.
- It takes 3 days for a cement floor to dry.
- Managua, Nicaragua is a lot hotter than Santa Ana, Honduras.
- It is against the law in Nicaragua to cross a double yellow line to pass (not so in Honduras).
- If you get caught crossing a double yellow line to pass somebody in Nicaragua, the fine is 300 Cordobas (about $15)
- The police in Nicaragua don't smile when they give you a ticket.
- Staying in a typical Nicaragan's house is a great experience.
- If you stay in a Nicaraguan's house, you can expect to eat beans, rice, and tortillias at every meal.
- Typical families in Nicaragua don't have a computer in their homes.
- Without a computer, not too many people are hooked on facebook. Instead, they have friends that they sit on the patio and visit with.
- Most typical Nicaraguan homes have more than one generation living there.
- Poor families seem just as happy as the rich folks that I know.
- It is an 8 hour bus ride from Tegucigalpa to Managua, Nicaragua.
- In 8 hours you can read one James Patterson novel (actually 6 hours).
- Even though it is hot, Nicaragua is a beautiful country.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc
- Building a second floor on a cement block building is not a simple project.
- It takes 30 bags of cement, 60 wheelbarrows of sand, 30 wheelbarrows of gravel, lots of water, 70 bars of re-bar, 30 steel beams, and 30 sheets of roofing aluminum to make a second floor.
- Today there was a wild fire in the area of the construction, We stopped the work on the building so we could save a house from burning. I learned that I am not cut out to be a firefighter.
- It takes 3 days for a cement floor to dry.
- Managua, Nicaragua is a lot hotter than Santa Ana, Honduras.
- It is against the law in Nicaragua to cross a double yellow line to pass (not so in Honduras).
- If you get caught crossing a double yellow line to pass somebody in Nicaragua, the fine is 300 Cordobas (about $15)
- The police in Nicaragua don't smile when they give you a ticket.
- Staying in a typical Nicaragan's house is a great experience.
- If you stay in a Nicaraguan's house, you can expect to eat beans, rice, and tortillias at every meal.
- Typical families in Nicaragua don't have a computer in their homes.
- Without a computer, not too many people are hooked on facebook. Instead, they have friends that they sit on the patio and visit with.
- Most typical Nicaraguan homes have more than one generation living there.
- Poor families seem just as happy as the rich folks that I know.
- It is an 8 hour bus ride from Tegucigalpa to Managua, Nicaragua.
- In 8 hours you can read one James Patterson novel (actually 6 hours).
- Even though it is hot, Nicaragua is a beautiful country.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc
Thursday, May 01, 2008
April Monthly Report
April 2008 has gone by in a flash.
We started the month with a couple of TORCH teams - one about to leave and another just arriving. The first team was from Belpre, Ohio. This is an experienced team and we were blessed to be able to assist is house construction and some of the tasks that enable a team to focus on ministry.
The next team arrived on April 4th from Atlanta. This is a team that we have grown very close to - they are from the Campus Church of Christ. The team of 21 came ready to work. They packed & distributed food, built houses, taught kids about Jesus in a puppet show, worked in a feeding center, visited people in the school for the blind, fed more than 250 at the city dump - they were answers to many prayers. The Campus group was here until the 11th.
Once we were able to catch our breath, we jumped on the Oriente project. Our comittment was to start moving dirt on the 15th of April and that meant that we needed to ascess our inventory of tools and other construction material. Additionally we needed to locate all of the many supliers for constructing this "Woman's Center". By Tuesday April 15th we were ready to go and the project is rapidly moving ahead. You can read more about the project and our progress at www.hondohope.blogspot.com
The last couple of weeks, I have been spending every day on the construction project. We are dedicated to getting the center finished by May 25th. This will be a week prior to the first team arrivals of the summer and - wow, we are going to be pretty busy then. Our AIM group arrives on May 20th and our TORCH Interns arrive on the 28th so we are going to be surrounded by great folks for the coming months. I will report on the AIM goals on our May report.
The churches that we are blessed to work with here are doing great. Santa Ana continues to fill every seat almost every Sunday. The worship is uplifting and the preaching is powerful. The kids program is also growing - along with the youth group. I was blessed to be able to sponsor a youth outing a couple of weeks ago and we had 10 kids that spent a Saturday travelling to an amazing waterfall to sightsee and spend time together in fun and in devotionals. We had a great time singing in the van.
Los Pinos too continues to thrive. They have finally completed their kitchen project and they utilize the facility every Sunday to prepare a meal for the children of the community. They average feeding more than 125 children every Sunday. Additionally, there are more than 100 adults worshiping in Los Pinos.
Both of these churchs are working to "make disciples". There are classes in both communities almost every night of the week. Please pray for both of these congregations as they reach out to the lost of Honduras.
Also - please pray for Terri and I as we travel on the 8th to Searcy, Arkansas. Both of our kids will graduate from Harding on the 10th and we plan to be there!. We will be returning on the 18th.
Thanks to all of you for your support, prayers, love, and encouragement. You bless us.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc Tindall
We started the month with a couple of TORCH teams - one about to leave and another just arriving. The first team was from Belpre, Ohio. This is an experienced team and we were blessed to be able to assist is house construction and some of the tasks that enable a team to focus on ministry.
The next team arrived on April 4th from Atlanta. This is a team that we have grown very close to - they are from the Campus Church of Christ. The team of 21 came ready to work. They packed & distributed food, built houses, taught kids about Jesus in a puppet show, worked in a feeding center, visited people in the school for the blind, fed more than 250 at the city dump - they were answers to many prayers. The Campus group was here until the 11th.
Once we were able to catch our breath, we jumped on the Oriente project. Our comittment was to start moving dirt on the 15th of April and that meant that we needed to ascess our inventory of tools and other construction material. Additionally we needed to locate all of the many supliers for constructing this "Woman's Center". By Tuesday April 15th we were ready to go and the project is rapidly moving ahead. You can read more about the project and our progress at www.hondohope.blogspot.com
The last couple of weeks, I have been spending every day on the construction project. We are dedicated to getting the center finished by May 25th. This will be a week prior to the first team arrivals of the summer and - wow, we are going to be pretty busy then. Our AIM group arrives on May 20th and our TORCH Interns arrive on the 28th so we are going to be surrounded by great folks for the coming months. I will report on the AIM goals on our May report.
The churches that we are blessed to work with here are doing great. Santa Ana continues to fill every seat almost every Sunday. The worship is uplifting and the preaching is powerful. The kids program is also growing - along with the youth group. I was blessed to be able to sponsor a youth outing a couple of weeks ago and we had 10 kids that spent a Saturday travelling to an amazing waterfall to sightsee and spend time together in fun and in devotionals. We had a great time singing in the van.
Los Pinos too continues to thrive. They have finally completed their kitchen project and they utilize the facility every Sunday to prepare a meal for the children of the community. They average feeding more than 125 children every Sunday. Additionally, there are more than 100 adults worshiping in Los Pinos.
Both of these churchs are working to "make disciples". There are classes in both communities almost every night of the week. Please pray for both of these congregations as they reach out to the lost of Honduras.
Also - please pray for Terri and I as we travel on the 8th to Searcy, Arkansas. Both of our kids will graduate from Harding on the 10th and we plan to be there!. We will be returning on the 18th.
Thanks to all of you for your support, prayers, love, and encouragement. You bless us.
Be a blessing to somebody today,
Marc Tindall
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