Day 7- Hi everyone- We didn't have internet access for the past few days and so I am making up for lost time on updating... Check out Day 6- There's video and pictures that I have added. We all awoke around 5 am to get the rooms cleaned out, bus packed and say our final good byes to the boys and the staff here at El Sembrador. We have had so much activity and responsibilities during this week that time has flown by way too fast. We back-tracked our way back through the countryside to Tegucigalpa stopping once at a rest stop to use the bano and pick up a few items, souvenirs and treats. Our first stop was AFE- the Tegucigalpa dump. 
When we arrived, there were some classes in session and we watched as hundreds of kids ran out onto the playground and onto the soccer field. The soccer field is completely dirt and is lined with some sort of clippings to designated the center circle and 18 yard lines. The director of AFE mentioned what they are doing in terms of construction and ministry. How they are seeking to, in the immediate future to get everyone out of the city dump and into more adequate housing. People root through the garbage and refuse to try to collect cans, plastic bottles and other recyclables in order to bring it to a center and earn close to one dollar a day or 18.9 Lempiras. Not much to survive on for a large family. 
We heard of stories of families of 8 or 9 children having to root through the garbage so that they have enough to live. And, as is the situation world wide, when there is extreme poverty, violence and abuse tend to be prevalent. There are too many stories of abusive fathers, neglected children and AFE's desire is to provide the education and resources necessary so that people can get o out of these situations and find a better life. The difficulty is that most don't seem to mind living this way. 
This is all they have ever known and consider this to be normal. I got to kick a ball around with the students on the field. We also distributed goodies and tracts to everyone that was around. Delane brought a jar of peanut butter to a lady nearby and she came running with a lot of thanks and gestures of appreciation. Arlis, Clinton and I went up a hill to one area that had a few dilapidated old shacks and some wiry barking dogs.
And trodding through at least two feet of garbage was 2-4 kids with dirty faces and ragged clothing. It was a joy to be able to put a little smile on faces and provide a little something that might assuage a hunger in them both physical and spiritual. More than the goodies, there was a sincere hunger for the truth. And people wanted more of the gospel tracts and little booklets describing God's desire to have a personal relationship with Him through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. I wish we were able to get to the actual dump area, but time and means limited our ministry here. Take a look at www.afehonduras.com for more deatails about this much needed ministry. And thanks for all your support! We departed and tracked our way into the city proper. As we entered into Tegucigalpa, there was a hill that descended into town. It was rainy and foggy and a SUV with no turn signal, braked hard and turned right in front of the bus to make a left turn. In a split second, Travis had to slam the brakes, crank the wheel to avoid hitting other vehcles and cranked it hard the other way to avoid rear ending another car. The back of the bus fishtailed and came to a screcching and smoky halt- the smell of hot brakes filliing the air. We were almost involved in a multiple car wreck right in the city. Praise God for such a quick thinking driver and that God was watching over us in this trip! Again- more rounds of applause for Travis. After a quick lunch at the Teguc McDonalds, we went out to Valle De los angeles, one of the happening tourist towns of Honduras. We made our way through congested streets to find mohogany wood carvings, bags of Coffee, picante sauces, trinkets and toys for the kids and grandkids, and clothes. We had to walk quite a distance to find all the things for KT's siblings. The temperature was quite cool and there was a mist and a drizzle in the air. We also stopped at another store and got some free HOnduran Coffee , slushes (Flavored with coffee, raspberry or pineapple) and baked goods. We then went back down the mountain to Teguc- another adventurous experience. You don't know what a faith builder it has been just to travel from place to place here! This night we stayed in a nice conference area. IT was on a mountain a few miles outside of Tegucigalpa. IT was originally the site of the seminary/ Bible college, but it was recently revamped to become a hotel for visiting guests, pastors, and for missionaries. The fog rolled in heavily and the temperature dropped dramatically. We were used to 85+ degree weather and now we had 50 degrees. For a die hard Montanan, camping out in -15 degrees just a week ago- I was actually quite freezing! The team members pulled other blankets off of other beds and put on jackets at night. Didn't quite expect to be cold sleeping here!We checked into the hotel, freshened up and went out to eat at a really nice restaurant. Serena Dunbar and her daughter joined us in our festivities and supper and she shared a little bit about her ministry in HND and also thankedus for supporting the ministry here. We had the choice of a pepper steak with scalloped potatoes and candied carrots, or the tilapia with lime cous-cous, or a honduran chicken. Dessert was either a pecan or strawberry cheesecake, strawberry cake, or flan. Don't be surprised that it takes a little extra thrust to get the airplane to take off. Since this was al ong day, we forgone our daily evening meeting and decided to get to bed early. More than 4 or 5 hours of sleep tonight sound like a very welcome idea. Tomorrow we leave and pack out mid morning, go to the Teguc airport and depart at 1:30.
MOre in a minute- we have to pack out and leave now.... until then....PB
When we arrived, there were some classes in session and we watched as hundreds of kids ran out onto the playground and onto the soccer field. The soccer field is completely dirt and is lined with some sort of clippings to designated the center circle and 18 yard lines. The director of AFE mentioned what they are doing in terms of construction and ministry. How they are seeking to, in the immediate future to get everyone out of the city dump and into more adequate housing. People root through the garbage and refuse to try to collect cans, plastic bottles and other recyclables in order to bring it to a center and earn close to one dollar a day or 18.9 Lempiras. Not much to survive on for a large family. We heard of stories of families of 8 or 9 children having to root through the garbage so that they have enough to live. And, as is the situation world wide, when there is extreme poverty, violence and abuse tend to be prevalent. There are too many stories of abusive fathers, neglected children and AFE's desire is to provide the education and resources necessary so that people can get o out of these situations and find a better life. The difficulty is that most don't seem to mind living this way. This is all they have ever known and consider this to be normal. I got to kick a ball around with the students on the field. We also distributed goodies and tracts to everyone that was around. Delane brought a jar of peanut butter to a lady nearby and she came running with a lot of thanks and gestures of appreciation. Arlis, Clinton and I went up a hill to one area that had a few dilapidated old shacks and some wiry barking dogs. And trodding through at least two feet of garbage was 2-4 kids with dirty faces and ragged clothing. It was a joy to be able to put a little smile on faces and provide a little something that might assuage a hunger in them both physical and spiritual. More than the goodies, there was a sincere hunger for the truth. And people wanted more of the gospel tracts and little booklets describing God's desire to have a personal relationship with Him through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. I wish we were able to get to the actual dump area, but time and means limited our ministry here. Take a look at www.afehonduras.com for more deatails about this much needed ministry. And thanks for all your support! We departed and tracked our way into the city proper. As we entered into Tegucigalpa, there was a hill that descended into town. It was rainy and foggy and a SUV with no turn signal, braked hard and turned right in front of the bus to make a left turn. In a split second, Travis had to slam the brakes, crank the wheel to avoid hitting other vehcles and cranked it hard the other way to avoid rear ending another car. The back of the bus fishtailed and came to a screcching and smoky halt- the smell of hot brakes filliing the air. We were almost involved in a multiple car wreck right in the city. Praise God for such a quick thinking driver and that God was watching over us in this trip! Again- more rounds of applause for Travis. After a quick lunch at the Teguc McDonalds, we went out to Valle De los angeles, one of the happening tourist towns of Honduras. We made our way through congested streets to find mohogany wood carvings, bags of Coffee, picante sauces, trinkets and toys for the kids and grandkids, and clothes. We had to walk quite a distance to find all the things for KT's siblings. The temperature was quite cool and there was a mist and a drizzle in the air. We also stopped at another store and got some free HOnduran Coffee , slushes (Flavored with coffee, raspberry or pineapple) and baked goods. We then went back down the mountain to Teguc- another adventurous experience. You don't know what a faith builder it has been just to travel from place to place here! This night we stayed in a nice conference area. IT was on a mountain a few miles outside of Tegucigalpa. IT was originally the site of the seminary/ Bible college, but it was recently revamped to become a hotel for visiting guests, pastors, and for missionaries. The fog rolled in heavily and the temperature dropped dramatically. We were used to 85+ degree weather and now we had 50 degrees. For a die hard Montanan, camping out in -15 degrees just a week ago- I was actually quite freezing! The team members pulled other blankets off of other beds and put on jackets at night. Didn't quite expect to be cold sleeping here!We checked into the hotel, freshened up and went out to eat at a really nice restaurant. Serena Dunbar and her daughter joined us in our festivities and supper and she shared a little bit about her ministry in HND and also thankedus for supporting the ministry here. We had the choice of a pepper steak with scalloped potatoes and candied carrots, or the tilapia with lime cous-cous, or a honduran chicken. Dessert was either a pecan or strawberry cheesecake, strawberry cake, or flan. Don't be surprised that it takes a little extra thrust to get the airplane to take off. Since this was al ong day, we forgone our daily evening meeting and decided to get to bed early. More than 4 or 5 hours of sleep tonight sound like a very welcome idea. Tomorrow we leave and pack out mid morning, go to the Teguc airport and depart at 1:30.MOre in a minute- we have to pack out and leave now.... until then....PB
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