The Mountains

Yesterday we went on an excursion to the mountains. After lunch we loaded up into the back of a pickup-it was me, George, Elias, and two other students. The ride was very rough! There was never a point where the road was smooth. Elias did very good and enjoyed pointing out all the cows and horses along the way. We went high into the mountains and stopped at a house where we all piled out. This is where we were to make pottery out of clay. A young girl lived there (her mother had died about six months before). She was a very strong girl as she brought a big hunk of clay and started to knead out the rocks. She gave each of us a chance-she made it look a whole lot easier than it was. When the clay was ready we sat down on the porch in front of a bench. She placed the clay in front of us and we got to work. We laughed at each others pots or pitchers but in the end they all actually turned out pretty good. It was a lot of fun and George and I were reminded of the verse in Isaiah 64:8 "But now O Lord you are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we are all the work of Your hand." God is such a great God! 

When we left this house our guide took us to a house a little farther up the mountain. Here the men were making cane syrup. This was so cool to see. They had a machine set up with a long wood pole over it. They would hook up cows on the end of the poles and the cows would walk in a circle. The men would stick the cane poles in the machine and as the cows walked around the parts of the machine would turn and squeeze the juice out of the cane. Then the men would take the juice and put it in a great big black pot. This pot was huge and they would build a fire under it. They would boil the juice in this pot for five hours continually stirring it. When we got there it was almost finished and it was boiling-big bubbles would come to the surface and pop. One of the men would stick his hand in water and then test the boiling juices-which now had turned to "goo" I cant imagine the pain of that but he acted as though it wasn't a big deal. The men then took the huge pot off the fire. Then they would take the goo and put it in man made holes in a large piece of wood where it would harden into a big block of sugar cane. It was very cool to see but so much work. The men said that they had worked for two days cutting the cane and then completing this process. They said for all that work they could only get about L600 (which is about $30) for all of the sugar cane!  The woman that was there gave us some to try and it was amazing! We wanted to buy some but they don't sell it. They said it was for the people in the area-we guessed that they use it to trade for other things. 

It was great to be able to spend time with the people. They are very poor and live simple lives but are so friendly.  Its a whole different life up there on the mountain. 

The Everlasting God

"To whom then will you compare Me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 

Lift up your eyes on high and see:who created these? 

He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, 

by the greatness of His might, 

and because He is strong in power not one is missing. 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? 

THE LORD IS THE EVERLASTING GOD,

 the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

He does not faint or grow weary; 

His understanding is unsearchable."

Isaiah 40:25,26,28

Learning new things

Yesterday instead of having class at school, my teacher came to our apartment. She was coming to teach me how to make tortillas and refried beans. When she got here, we went to the market to buy a few supplies. The market is a small, small place-they are working on a new one so it is now stuffed into a "hole." There are vendors set up everywhere selling veggies, fruit, and other kitchen supplies. There are people out front that traveled from the mountains to sell tortillas or other foods they had made. When you walk in there are people everywhere-there are also scraps on the floor and dogs running around trying to find whatever they can to eat. The smells are overwhelming at times. Although it sounds like a horrible place-its actually a fun place to be! George, Elias and I went last Sunday and it was fun buying fresh meat and veggies. 

Anyway back to making tortillas-we bought a few things at the market and another store and headed back to the apartment. We mixed the ingredients and heated the pan. Yessenia showed us the amount to start with and how to pat the tortilla in a circle. George tried first. We had a great laugh when it turned out to look like a flower or a ninja star! Then it was my turn and I actually did pretty good-a perfect circle! I had to rub it in to George because he is usually a great cook and he hates not being able to do things correctly. But he redeemed himself and made really great refried beans! 

Remembering a Life

Tonight we are remembering the life of Mr Sam Fowler and of his wife Mrs Jackie and their family. Mr Sam was a great man of God. George and I were thinking about the ministry that he loved in church-the mentor program. What a great vision this was: for mature believers to share and teach the Faith with young believers. Mr Sam was a sweet man who loved the Lord. I was told that he passed while the family was singing around him. Can you imagine the song that he is singing now?! He ran the race well and now he gets to see Jesus face to face!  I am so thankful for Mr Sam and Mrs Jackie. Our prayers and thoughts are with the family. We love you

8/11/09

Yesterday we went to the Ruins of Copan! We went with seven other students and three teachers. We had a great time. It was very interesting to see the stone buildings and to think about how it was all built by hand. I will try to load a few pictures soon. 

I want to say thank you for those who have been praying for my teacher-God is answering prayers!  Last week George's teacher gave him homework to write down a story from history. George decided to write a story from the Bible. Then yesterday when George got to school he was told he was changing teachers and Yessinia (my teacher) would be his new teacher! So in class George was able to share the Bible story with her. After he shared that story she wanted to hear more! So George and her talked alot about the Bible and stories about God. Then today her and I also talked about the Bible. She asked me about Abraham and I was able to talk about the covenant that God made with Abraham and also about the story about Abraham and Isaac when Abraham was suppose to sacrifice his son but then God provided another sacrifice. We then started talking about Jesus and the truth of His birth and life. George's homework tonight is to write the story of Creation. Yessinia told me that she needed to read the story tonight so that she can make sure that he did it correctly! So now she is reading the Bible! God is so good! Please continue to pray for her and her baby that will be born in October. 

We love you guys!

Pictures from our nature walk

Great Weekend

We had a great weekend! First we went to a museum about the Mayan people. It was a children's museum so it was very hands on. It was very cool to learn the different language and about the culture. It was sad thought to see how many different gods that they worshipped. They had so many gods to please but they were gods who could never satisfy or provide. 

After the museum we went for a family hike in the forest of the Ruins here in Copan. It was very pretty with some amazing scenes. There were many many different variety of trees, rocks, and animals. We took lots of pictures (which I will try to download soon but it takes a while with the internet here.) Elias loved running through the woods and even got to play soccer on an ancient playing field. It was great to get out and get some exercise. 

Last night we went to a church here in town. A guy that was doing work on the house were we live asked us to go with him (this guy was a drug addict two years ago but now he was inviting us to church!)The service was great and George and I understood a lot more than we have before (Praise God)! Elias is learning how to be still in church-it is difficult for him now but he is learning. The pastor preached out of Revelation 21.  It was a great sermon on the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21:26 and Revelation 7:9-10 are about the completion of our goal in mission... that the nations would stand before the God of Creation and Salvation declaring His glory forever. Can you imagine the sound of a multitude of people too numerous to count from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" We are planning on going to this church again. Even though we cant understand everything it is a good tool to learn and we are able to interact with other believers. 

God is good and he has been teaching George and I some incredible things. I just finish reading Voddie Bauchum's book "Family Driven Faith"- (which is a great book!) and now George and I are reading "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp. We ask that you would pray for us as we study this book together that God will teach us how to raise Elias (and other children if God blesses). Please pray that we will be united and teach and discipline Elias according to what the Bible says. God is so gracious and continues to show His faithfulness! We love you and are thankful for your prayers!