Part 1

Team #14 which was led by the Moore’s had to pick up where last year’s team had left off. This team had only 8 on team and a man named Levi who was 80 years old but they accomplished so much in a short amount of time to equal a team of 12. Their goal was to pour concrete to cap a very dirty and dangerous river that went through the Fuerzas Armadas School. This river was dangerous because is housed numerous rats that would run in the pillas where the children were drinking, it had sewage and garbage as you can see in the photo, and also it allowed gang members to come into the school by the way of street manholes to use drugs at night time. So capping this river was #1 priority for this team to stop all these problems. The second mission of this team was to run the wiring, install the roof, and sheetrock. Phew. You probably think this is way too much work for a small team and also for only having 6 ½ days to work. However as you can see in the photo below the river is capped. The amazing thing that we find with teams is that the work load always seems too much for so little time and or the question is why do teams need to come. The simple answer is they come to learn more about God in their own relationship and also they can witness the miracle in how much they accomplish and the impact they have on all those they work with.

Part 2

Before this team could show you that awesome photo in part 1 with the finished product of capping the river they had to do some major work. In the states we use wire mesh to strengthen the concrete. Here in Honduras we make our own wire mesh with ¼” rebar that is tied with tie wire as seen in the 1^st photo. This took the team two full days to cut and wire tie by hand all the wire mesh needed to pour the concrete. While that was taking place others were installing the steel sheets. One thing I noticed was there wasn’t any complaining but pure joy and smiles from the team. Even Levi who helped Pastor Giron in the 3^rd photo to smooth out the concrete didn’t complain. He found it a pure joy he said to serve Jesus here in Honduras even at his age. He is an example of how we should live. Team #14 was blessed to receive help from the Pearson’s who were living with us for 2 ½ months and planned on helping out with the upcoming teams. They gave this team and the following team a huge help to accomplish the goals they set out for. As wire mesh was to strengthen the concrete so isn’t the way we build our relationships. One of the missions Glenda and I have is to serve Jesus in any form or in this case the youth on team. Every night the youth would sit up with me and I would tell them stories that would challenge them to grow in their faith and also to explore in what God wants from them.

Part 3

After the river was capped with concrete this team started out by installing the roofing so the project could continue. Our goal was to complete this kitchen with the following team that was coming in March. So we can open this kitchen by early May and start serving hot lunches to all the children who attend this school.  While the steel sheets were being installed I had the team to take an opportunity to move all the old wood from previous projects and also in what the school has collected over the years out to the street. I said to the team, “watch this wood will be gone in an hour.” The quantity of wood that was taken out to the street was about 2 dump truck loads. Sure enough mother came out from their homes and started to collect the wood. I walked out to see how many were out there collecting the wood and there was about 12 or more mothers working away. One mother said, “Thanks be to God for the hearts of the missionaries and their thoughtfulness in the poor by giving this wood so we can cook and fix our homes. One child looked up and asked the mother who I was. The mother said it is Michael he has been sent by God to help us in these times.” I walked away impacted deeply and thanked God for this calling and this heart he has given this team, my wife and I to serve in Honduras. It isn’t always just running wires or sheetrock but the heart of the mission is the impact that we have by the way of love to all those we come in contact with.