Hello, my brothers and sisters in Christ. This phrase was taken fairly lightly while I was at home. It was more like a phrase the church down the street would say rather than I would…but as I have lived among total strangers I have come to know my family does indeed include “those down the street”. Humility is hard to find in this day and time. It has been found here in Honduras. Until now, I haven’t seen true heartbreak. The heartbreak of a mother who is without hope and her children are now without hope. I haven’t seen starvation where the needs are not met unless someone takes a special interest in that hungry human being.

I actually haven’t seen much in Starkville either. I’ve been called out of my boat by Christ to come and see my family in a whole new way. I have been called out of my workplace to follow Christ into a world which is full of hope, love, joy, peace, and prosperity. I have had my hand held by Christ here, in this place, by the least little girl or boy at a local school who cannot talk to me, but looks at me with big brown eyes of sincere love and adoration. Why? Why would such light come from such a hot, “dark” place?

The Word of God and His son Jesus Christ.

In America, in Starkville, I spent hours upon hours driving my mother to the eye doctor in Jackson. How much time I wasted driving and sitting? God was depositing in me the ability to help those who cannot see. How you ask? God lifted me up out of a misery of vertigo here in Honduras and sent me to an eye clinic, a clinic with local people who needed help picking out glasses. How quickly I was able to help them…it was like I suddenly understood the purpose of all that time sitting and waiting. I had learned to serve others.

The team here is made up of the most wonderful disciples of Christ. Each one gives a talent which is beyond expectation of the others. Jim provides confidence in love and administration. She is able to walk around down here with the Holy Spirit trying to keep up with her. I’ve never seen anyone get about like that in such a hot place. Donna is the story teller. She keeps our minds stimulated and our hearts in order. She also takes a special interest in cleaning up,,,,(hehehe), but she is a joy to watch when she sees a child or adult she knows from here. Anne is the one responsible for taking Christ’s gifts from one land to another. She diligently keeps track of her packages. Fedex has nothing on Anne Buffington! When she is not delivering American Mail here, she tells the most delightful stories. Her version of a Christmas Carol just about caused me to buy a package of depends to wear here. Avent is the singer of the bunch. For anyone back home who cannot speak Spanish, Avent is the one who can teach you. Just ask her how to find and use the facilities at First Presbyterian Church. Callie has been our local horticulture specialist. We will see the most beautiful flower or plant and she informs us all about it. Callie has truly walked by faith here, leaving behind her child to come here to prepare school supplies for hundreds of other’s children. Speaking of school supplies, we have Emory. Emory has the leadership skill of being first in line to sort, stuff, organize, and prepare for others, as well as the ability to teach the local team members how to wait for true beauty. No matter what, she arrives “on time” and in perfect order. Our resident choir member, Marquita, has been called from her boat of life to come here and provide medical care for us and the community. She dispenses medicine and goes to look at a hospital available for use. Her skills are most useful when the team boys decide to rile up her maternal instincts. You have never seen a Mama Bear to compare! Finally, we have Ashlee, our “get Smart” member. She speaks Spanish. She plays soccer, which is the favorite game here. She works on the construction site. She enjoys passion fruit. She embraces life and inspires me to no end. Live it now is her motto.

Oh, the men, yes, let’s talk about them. You have RANDELL, the pastor of the bunch. If he’s not telling us little witticisms, he’s spreading the Gospel to all. Justine has caused all the local beauties to follow him in awe. He looks into their eyes and they just melt.
Jeff is the Bob Vila of the bunch. He has come down here with a mission of construction. He not only is able to tell a captivating story, but he is able to direct order where there is none. Andrew is the information technology (IT) specialist. If it weren’t for him, none of you or us would be able to “talk”. Andrew is the tallest member of our family here, but he watches out for those of us who can’t see what’s coming. He can speak Spanish and is able to help us “talk” in person, as well. Cameron, unfortunately, is the little brother here that the big brothers pick on. He will be glad to return home. He has learned the hard way that Vacation Bible School is nothing on these five brothers he has had to room with for over a week! Jack is what I call an intelligent comedian. I watch and wait for what he will say next. Just like Jerry Seinfeld, he picks up on the funniest things and when he speaks, it’s exactly on target. If Jack thought his parenting skills weren’t going to come in handy, just think about how living with the men who are the over grown teenagers I’ve just described. From what we have heard, their card games have supplied electricity for the local community for the next ten years!

The previous message was presented by the early morning member of the bunch. Now that the day has come to an end, I can add the field trip we bad boys and girls took to Copan. Our guides, Suyapa and Arturo sent us away for the day to see the Mayan Ruins. What am I to say about this is that God’s hand was near to us all. We were given the best tour of our lives. We stood at the base of statues hundreds of years old which were designed to remember those who had been here before. We stood at the base of temples used to celebrate life in ways we cannot imagine. We saw the local horticulture which provided trees for comfort from the sun and branches for the beautiful wild macaws. When God created the earth in six days and took a rest, he created special people who were intelligent and artistic to this day. In addition to this, the Lord blessed us with precious cloud cover, therefore, no sunburn or misery of heat today. Praise Him!

Well, that’s our family here. I hope you have a fresh outlook on your life, our life and God’s children from Starkville and Honduras! Adios

Janice Kinard

“God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good. And when I pray, it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should. But I do it anyway. I do it anyway.” These are the words to a Martina McBride song which Donna used yesterday morning for our devotional. They have really touched us today as we have seen much that our North American eyes have struggled to grasp. This morning Callie, Emory, Jeff, and Andrew were headed to Pinal to deliver book bags for the children there. Due to torrential rain last night, the road was washed out, and so they offered to help around Martha’s compound. When taking a truck load of our trash to the local dump, they were met by children who promptly searched the bags to find whatever they could. That’s tough to witness. This afternoon we visited homes and took groceries and supplies to those in need. We completed our work at the eye clinic, read Bible stories to local kindergarten children, and ended our afternoon with the “pounding” of the two families who have received new homes this summer. (Pounding means that we deliver groceries, supplies and a Bible for the families) When we drive around through the pot holes and the mud, we see much poverty, but no despair. You see, our Honduran friends have faith and a strong love for our Lord. We are all wishing that life could be so much better for them, and yet they know no other world. Maybe it is a good thing that they are not consumed by all the material possessions that tend to get in our way on a daily basis.

If you think we are all down and out tonight, don’t worry. We have celebrated Janice’s and Avent’s birthdays at Mehia and Goyita’s restaurant (complete with Sponge Bob party hats). We wanted to thank our Honduran friends who have been working so hard to make us comfortable this week, so we treated them tonight. Goyita even made fried chicken and French fries! After dinner we sang and laughed. It’s getting quiet now. I am sure that there will be many prayers of thanksgiving tonight for a day full of blessings.

With gratitude for prayers that He answers in His way,

Anne Buffington

Life is good and God is at work in so many different ways here in Quimistan. After spending Saturday morning at the Pinal construction site and the eye clinic, a select few of us got to take a tour of our dear friend Wilmer’s coffee plantation. The sites and smells of the coffee beans and various fruits gave many of our team members the “perk” they would need for Sunday.

Early Sunday Morning we loaded down the truck with soccer balls, coloring books, and a homemade rope swing, and headed for the Agape compound to spend some time playing with 46 of the local kids. With Frisbees flying and bubbles popping, there was much joy and laughter among both the kids and the team members.

When Sunday afternoon rolled around on the grounds of our humble abode, we met 40 of the boys and girls who are sponsored through Agape Promise. After the children and team members introduced themselves, Anne B. distributed handmade angles, crosses, hearts, flowers and fish (all made by her daughter, Cathrine) to the kids to take home as a reminder to them of Christ love for us. We also ate a meal with the children, had a drama on the story of Ruth, and finished off by having the team lead the kids in a rousing rendition of the Hokey Poke. Though we could all be labeled as professionally trained baby sitters after today, we had a great time with the Agape kids. There was much joy had today in Jesus name, and hey…”That’s what it’s all about!”

Finally, we ended the day by attending the night service at the Agape Church. After the team sang a few of ye ol’ favorite hymns for the congregation, we took our seats to hear the sermon given by our own Randell Foxworth. He was a faithful instrument in the hand of God, reminding us of how God sends us the power of the Holy Spirit through His word. It was a great testimony to the truth and hope that can only be found in Jesus. Great job Senor Randell!

Well, I think we will call it a day folks. Spirits are high here, and there is definitely not drought in the laughter. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for God’s work amongst the people of Quimistan and for the team members. Adios amigos!

With hope from Quimisitan

-Cameron Beaty

Good Morning,

To satisfy the thousands and thousands of emails that we have received from home, today we will post more pictures than usual. I am updating the blog here in the air conditioning while everyone else is working. Well…. Its all true except the part about the air conditioning. The weather has been quite cooperative, it may be, at times, as hot as it is in Mississippi, but not for long. It stays overcast here for the majority of the day. For those of you that don’t know how the schedule is down here, there are about fifteen in our group. We have several projects going at one time. People can go to the same one all of the time, or change from one to another every day or so. The projects right now are (1) building a classroom for a school, (2) flouride treatments for the children, and (3) operating an eye clinic and trying to fit people with the correct glasses. Here are a few photos from the various projects:

Emory and Avent here are excited after completing the ten minute correspondence course on how to operate the “i”(sp?) machine.

This is Suyapa(Right), the wife of our translator, with a local woman and her new Specs.

Randall and Janice preparing the treatment

Schoolchildren taking medicine to fight against parasites.

Emory explains (in English) exactly how to do the treatment.

As is evident by the thumbs up, these are just two more satisfied customers!

This is Ashlee with her soccer team that played close to where we are builing the school in El Pinal. If you cannot tell, the boy on the far left in the blue shirt is the team captain.

After breaking TWO shovel handles, Jeff thought that the best thing to do was to get Cameron to help hold this one up, while the school children continued to dig the footings.

This is Jeff and a local contractor, Jerso, who is assisting with the school project. Please note the RSC cap that Jerso is wearing.

This is one of the local delivery trucks. We stopped and spoke with the men briefly. We realized that this was definitely a more environmentally friendly, efficient, gas saving delivery service, than anything we have in Mississippi.

This afternoon, some of us are planning on going to a coffee plantation. Check back tomorrow for a full report.

Andrew

There is the sound of laughter and yawns in Quimistan tonight as a tired group is getting ready for bed. Our flight was on time, and we were greeted at the airport by Arturo and his wife Suyapa. Our first mode of transportation proved a little slow! We couldn’t figure out how to get all fifteen of us on the back of this wagon, so we opted for Arturo’s truck and a van made for eight. We squeezed in fifteen!

Our accommodations are great although we’ve decided to visit the local “Lowe’s” in the morning to purchase more fans! We will be up early for daily devotional followed by our first instructions of the day. Half of us will be constructing a classroom at Pinal, a rural village about 45 minutes from here. The rest of us will be doing fluoride treatments and giving de worming medications to local school children in neighboring villages. Can you say “Swallow and smile”??

We have already seen many friends and are anxious to meet more. Thank you all for supporting us and loving us in so many ways. Here’s to a great night’s sleep.

With gratitude for God’s provisions in getting us here safely,

Anne Buffington

Our last day in Quimistan opened with a beautiful devotion from Vanna. She emphasized we should allow God to dwell in us in every and each thing we do. He has showed us an amazing group of people, who love him fully and without embarrassment even in the face of great adversity. However as we return to our daily lives in the U.S., we cannot just simply readjust our priorities as a result of our Honduran experience. God has no desire to be top priority. He does not want to be a part of our lives, even if it is the largest part. He instead wishes to be present for every part of our life. If we allow Him to do that then his love can flourish and truly become alive through us.
Well pretty quickly we figured out our plans for the day were irrelevant. God decided all of Quimistan Valley should be covered by an unrelenting downpour. No work was done this morning at the schools or construction sites. Instead we were able to very neatly refold all of our clothes, pack, finish books (team recommendation: The Shack by William P. Young), and fellowship. It was a great time to absorb the events of the week and prepare our hearts and minds for the return to the United States. In the afternoon, a few team members were able to return to the dump we visited earlier in the week. The way the children ravaged and picked through our trash that day struck particular nerves very deep. We were able to pack rice, beans, and fried chicken into individual bags that were hopefully split evenly amongst the twenty odd people who canvas the road into the dump. We also toured previous home sites, went to the supermarket, picked up our large order of machetes, and visited La Flecha for souvenirs (all in the rain). All our loose ends have been tied and the week has come to a gentle conclusion. We thank you all for your interest, comments, and prayers. Pending our travel tomorrow, all that is left to say is……….ADIOS!!!!

Brittany Klein

Copan was a great experience for all. Despite the sickening, curvy roads that we had to take to get there, the outing was immensely enjoyed. We even got to eat pizza and hamburgers! As you can tell, we are all very tired due to our busy, adventurous day. The picture below captures one of our many moments at Copan. Our great tour guide, Antonio Rivers, took this picture for us.