Trips to Santa Maria

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all doing well. I just wanted to update you on my activities during the last few months.  I spent three weeks in September studying Spanish in Copan and I continue to learn more and more Spanish as time does by.  I had a busy fall, I took care of the day to day business at the mission center while the rest of the staff spent time in the United States. This was very good for me and I learn a lot about some of the other facets of the Mercy International.  This also was an opportunity to build relationships with the people of Yamaranguila and to utilize my Spanish.

We also host a group from Imago Dei Church in Illinois the first week of November. We hiked to Santa Maria and poured a floor for a house, we also spent a lot of time with the children there. Later in the week we worked on a house in the Invasion in La Esperanza. It was a great group and we accomplished a lot.

Here is a video from three different trips to Santa Maria. I hope you enjoy them. I believe God is doing great things in the hearts of the people of Santa Maria.  Would you keep them in your prayers!

Hi Everyone,

Here is a picture of the family I stayed with in Copan. Tina and Jesus are in the middle a long with their two daughters.

I'm doing fine in Honduras, I just completed first week back from my visit to the States. We had a busy week, we hosted a group from Effingham, Illinois. We all had a great time serving the Honduran people. We put on medical clinics and children ministries all week. I went with the medical group this afternoon and got to hang out with the children, which I always enjoy.

I spent a lot of time with Ariel this week, he was in the Hope and a Future Program and he is working on developing his carpentry skills. We have been working on several projects around the mission center. He is also helping me with my Spanish. I also have been working on our sound system.

In the middle of the week, I rented an apartment in Yamaranguila. Tomorrow I'm planing on doing some shopping for some basic things that I will need for the apartment.

As you can see it has been a very busy week. I hope all of you are doing well, I plan on doing blogs more often.

May God bless you richly,

Brian

First Week in Copan Honduras

Hi Everyone, I mean ....Hola, Como esta?

It has been a very busy week. Saturday, I got to meet Kely and got to know her a little. I started sponsoring her last year in the Hope and a Future Program. She was delightful to talk to, and would like to become a nurse someday, so she can help children. She is in the eight grade and doing well in school. I really enjoyed the time we spent together and look forward to developing our relationship. Last year she gave her life to Christ and says her life is much better now.

Sunday I traveled to Copan with Andy, Corbett and Makenzie Warren. They are a missionary family that serves through Mercy International. I'm gratiful to God for giving me someone to show me around Copan. We had a seven hour bus ride and rested in the evening. Our first day at Guacamaya Spanish School was on Monday. This week has been very busy for me, I have been exposed to a lot of Spanish and feel that I have learned a lot.

In the video there are pictures of Kely, Tina and Jeusus' house where we are staying, Guacamaya Spanish School and the town square in Copan as well as other pictures. I hope you enjoy them. The town of Copan is beautiful and the weather has been great. We had a cool front come through, it has been partly cloudy and mild temperatures most of the week :) Some of the first pictures are of Tina's house where we are staying, she is a great cook and a wonderful host. There are pictures of the study area, our rooms, the kitchen, back patio and outside pictures of the house. I'll be taking more pictures and sharing them.

Gabreila is my Spanish teacher, She is twenty five years old and a very good teacher. We have went through the alphabet, numbers, telling time, adjectives, nouns, pronouns and verbs this week. I was taught about sentence sturcture as well. I think my toung is thicker now LOL. I'm glad Gabreila has patience.

It has been a full week with lots of study. I took time to walk around down town and to relax. I went to Church this morning and was blessed to be in His presence. I enjoy the service even through I didn't understand everything. The preacher was speaking about being filled with the Spirit and not of the things of this world, always a good message.

Prayer request:

That God help me comprehend and speak Spanish.

That God would give me divine appointments and help me build relationships.

That God would raise up people to support me through prayer and finances, I have reached about sixty percent of my financial goal.

May God bless you richly by revealing Himself to you,

Brian

Video of Mission trip July 2009

Here is a video of some pictures from our mission trip in July of 2009. This was a group for Life Church in Olathe Kansas. We had over twenty people in this group. We broke into three groups; construction children ministries and medical out reaches. I spent my week with the construction group, most of these picture were taken at the Invasion area .
We worked on several houses during the week. We poured a floor, put a roof on and made windows for several houses. We all had a great time serving and enjoying great fellowship. We also had a great time with the children.
The medical team served in several villages, I know they pulled a lot of teeth as well treating other illnesses. I would like to spend some time with the children ministries, I know they have a huge impact on the children they work with.
I got to know two new interns from Mercy International, Isaac and Carlos. Carlos is a native Honduran and has a amazing testimony of how God has worked in his life. Isaac is from Arkansas and I a chance to mentor him some, which was a blessing to me.
I hope you enjoy the video and may the Lord bless you!!