Urgent Prayer Need

Hello all.  I'm back in the states, but I need to make another update now.  I got a call from Haley today which held some really bad news.

Earlier today, the mother of three of the littliest girls came to visit.  I don't think I'm supposed to use names on here.  These girls have lived on the farm for around 2 years and come from an extremely bad background.  They were picked up from a hospital at which they had been abandoned.  The oldest one was taking care of the younger two at the age of 7.  Honduras isn't kind to 3 unprotected little girls.  Anyhow, today the mother managed to grab the girls and get on a bus before anybody could stop her. 

Please, please be in prayer for these girls.  The were living at the farm for a reason.  I'm not sure what I can share on here.  I've probably said more than I should.  Yet, my fear for these three little girls is that they'll end up back in the horrible conditions that they were in before. 





God answers prayers.  Please pray for my friends.








Adios for now

So we've made it to what will probably be my last blog update until February.  Sorry about no pictures in the last several blogs, I haven't had good enough connection to upload any.

First off, I want to thank everybody who has read these.  Its meant more than I can explain to know that folks are keeping up with me.  Before I left, I was really afraid of leaving everything I've ever known in America.  But its been amazing to know that people are still here with me in a way.  Your encouraging words and prayers have meant far more to me than you can possibly understand.

So, I'm here for about 9 more days, but I probably won't post again.  Any fun things that happen in my last days, I'll probably just tell you guys in person when I get home.  I've got more stories than I can keep up with.  I can't wait to sit and reflect and talk with everybody.  I'm too pumped about it for words.  But for the last 9 days, I'll probably be at the farm with the girls for a majority of the time.  I've already started to get sad about the thought of being away from them for 2 months.  But, somebody has to put pan on the mesa.

So thats December 1st that I'll be back.  I'm working for 2 months with my wonderful big brother.  Thanks for the job Sam and Mark.  You guys rock.  I'll be home December and January.  If any Sunday School classes want me to come talk or share, please let me know.  My number in the states is 770-616-6673.  I would absolutely love to come share with anybody and everybody about how God is working in Honduras, how wonderful these girls are, a plethra of stories about life here, or about the needs and ministry opportunities that are down at PTC.  I really think that some of the reason God has allowed somebody like me to be here is to tell people.  I don't want to tell people MY story specifically, but about these girls, this ministry, and my amazingly loving and compassionate God.  So feel free to contact me.

Jesus said in the gospels that loving Him might require us to leave our homes and families and not look back.  I'm feel incredibly blessed that he's allowing me to come back and see the people I love though. I look forward to seeing everybody very soon.

-Ben Heath

Bears come out after dark

Hello all.  Honduras is a pretty crazy place.  Lots has happened since the last blog.  I’m going to forget something, but no worries.

I’m actually not even sure where to start.  So I was sick for about 2 weeks straight.  When I sleep at the farm, I have a hard time waking up.  In Yamaranguila, roosters start to crow at about 5:15.  I haven’t needed an alarm clock for the last 3 months.  Yet, at the farm, there are no roosters.  So I slept late one day on accident.  I woke up and ran in the cold all most of the way to the kitchen.  For the next two weeks, I was sick.  I’m just now finally getting back to feeling like myself.  I didn’t really get to take any time off; maybe a half a day.  Instead, I’ve been staying extra time at the farm to help girls study and for crowd control while Mrs. Pam is in the states.  I’m glad I’m finally over whatever I had.

Lets complain about discipline for a while.  My two least favorite things in Honduras are 1) walking to the Mission house in the dark at night and 2) disciplining girls.  I don’t really have to discipline the younger girls since they aren’t in my classes at school.  Only the older girls.  The older girls do some interesting things.  I’ve learned to read the girls’ actions as to tell if someone is doing something they shouldn’t be.  Its pretty awesome.  I feel like a detective most days.  Yet, the better I get at spotting trouble, the more punishment I feel obligated to hand out.  Also, its getting to where I can’t punish one girl without upsetting most of my class in the process.  Some of these girls have lived together for around 10 years.  They’re about the only family any of them have ever had.  So if somebody does something ridiculous at school, my classroom turns into a battlefield real quick.  I’m learning to handle the situations better, but those girls keep me on my toes.  I feel like I’ll be better for it in the future.

Speaking of discipline and punishments, girls have been getting in trouble.  A handful of girls earned a big punishment.  They received about a month of manual labor every day (but don’t worry, the punishment fits the crime).  So after a particularly stressful week and a rough day (with a sick Ben), one girl decided the punishments were too strong.  So, come about 4:30 last Saturday, she up and left the farm.  Folks started searching the houses, hoping she was only evading her work.  I planned for the worst and took to the streets in the truck.  After not finding her at the farm and not seeing her on the street, I returned about 15 minutes later.  We got a call from Don Chilo who said he saw the runaway in the woods.  So the next 2 hours of my life were spent treading through the woods, looking for a girl wearing a green and brown jacket.  I eventually started yelling things like, “its going to be cold soon!” and “bears come out after dark!”  Those didn’t really have any effect.  Yet, after about 2 hours, a lady came walking up with the girl.  She didn’t really have anywhere to go, so she went to this woman’s house.  It turned out alright, just pretty scary for a few hours. 

So in my last post, I asked for a big prayer request.  I had two girls that were studying for a HUGE test on some pretty difficult material.  Well, after lots of studying and even more lemonade, the girls passed their test today.  They both made right around a 90.  I think I was happier than they were.  But thank you to those of you who were praying.  I wasn’t sure that they would be able to learn the material, but somehow it happened.

So guess who has less than two weeks left till he comes home.  No really, guess.  Did you guess me?  It is me.  Good job.  December 1^st is coming up pretty fast.  I’m not sure how I feel about it.  Half of me can’t wait to get home, see my friends and family, make some money, and enjoy the comforts of my normal routine.  Yet, the other half of me is not looking forward to leaving these girls.  It seems like every time I get close to being frustrated with the farm, something will happen that changes my mind (and/or heart).  After a long and trying day yesterday, a 5 year old climbed into my lap and fell asleep on my shoulder.  I think I appreciated the act of being needed more than she appreciated the warm place to sleep.  So as ready as I am to get back to my “home”, I fear that I’m going to be leaving a lot behind here in Honduras.  Two months might be a bit too long after all.  Please pray for me in the next two weeks if you get a chance.  I look forward to seeing you all in December.

-Ben Heath

Sick-Day Monologue

"Lets go ahead a make a real short blog entry three days after my last one," I says to myself.  "Well, why not," was my reply.  So I just posted here a few days ago, but I feel like posting again today for a few reason.  First off, I actually have the time to.  Secondly, I have internet connection.  Thirdly, I got some stories.

I have time because I'm taking a sick day today.  I'm not actually that bad, just caught a little cold.  And on the grand scheme of things, it reminds me to be grateful to God that this is the only illness I've had on my first trip to Honduras.  Alot of Americans catch some really nasty stuff or debilitating stomach bugs.  I've decided to take my cold with a smile on my face.... and a slight cough.  But I'm heading to the farm tonight and then staying through the weekend.  I decided that I should take the first half of this day off and rest before the coming onslaught.

But a few cool things happened this week already.  First off, we recieved the long awaited arrival of our crate.  Some folks from the States sent a crate of school supplies and clothes that we've been waiting on since long before I've been here.  And they were just in time.  In the last week, its become drastically colder here and the girls needed new jackets/coats.  TADA!  And there they were.  It was a really neat thing to help these girls pick out new jackets from the crate.  And it made me feel bad a bit.  These girls were so incredibly thankful and excited about picking out new (used) jackets from a box containing maybe 30 in their size.  How spoiled are we?  We have malls full of stores full of jackets, pockets full of money, and we completely forget to thank God for what he's given us.  I hope I can learn to be grateful someday like these little girls are.

I also have a HUGE prayer request that I want to send out.  So there are two girls here that are preparing to graduate from sixth grade.  The only thing standing in their way is a large tests on a small book of Honduras political writings.  They need to memorize this book before Monday.  They've had the last 3 months to do it, but but for unsaid reasons have fallen behind.  I've been working with these girls really hard in the past week or so.  If they don't pass this test, they'll be in the 6th grade again next year.  Please pray for these girls.  They're working really hard and scurrying to do the best they can.  I've been impressed by how much they've learned.  But if you think about it, throw a prayer out for them.  Their test is on Monday, so we're going to have a REAL busy weekend.

So I reckon thats about it.  Today is marks my 9th week in.  I'm not actually counting the time, just aware of it.  I'm excited about coming home the the States in 3 weeks, but I'm going to miss the farm alot.  I don't know if I've posted it on here yet or not, but I'm returning to the farm in February for another 3 month trip.  So my time home will be filled with manual labor to pay for my February-May trip.  Its pretty hard for me not to be pumped about how life is going right now.  See you all soon.

-Ben Heath

Surprisingly Amable

Science project with both of my classes

Wowzers.  Goodness gracious.  That’s all I got.  So, first off, let me apologize again for no blog update in a little while.  Its not that I’ve lost interest in posting here.  Usually I have a difficult time finding internet connection.  The last week I have had absolutely no internet.  Its been pretty tragic.  Also, I usually have little time to do blog stuff.  Yet, in the last week, I have had absolutely zero time.  At nights, when I finally get to stop and get ready to sleep, it feels like I just got off a rollercoaster.  Things have been going so fast and busy, when nothing is happening it feels wrong.  But yes, lets get on to at least some of the stories that I can share.

Jenny and her best friend (who I live with), David

So there are a few reasons that things have been nuts here the last week or so.  For starters, Mrs. Pam is in the states.  The girls have been surprisingly good and even sweet in her absence, but it still is just a ton of work trying to do what she does when she’s here.  Responsibility is not something that Mr. Ben is familiar with.  Secondly, it’s the end of the school year here.  For that reason, things are nuts.  Girls have huge tests to take, girls have makeup tests from 5 months ago, girls are trying to memorize the Honduran national writings, girls are in trouble for failing classes, and their teacher has a cold.  I mean, its not bad.  Its actually been an amazing week or so.  This is probably the most glad I’ve been that I’m in Honduras yet.  But really, its still been nuts.

I’m not really sure what all stories I can share here.  Some have rough parts about specific girls.  Some have unprofessional topics in them.  Some are so funny that I have to wait until I can get home to tell them in person.  Josh, I have about a dozen stories that are going to make you wet your britches.  I have one story that ends with the punch-line of “man-parts”.  I’m ok with the inappropriateness, but I want to save it for when I can tell it in person.

Milay can fall asleep anywhere

So after I absorbed the middle school class, school got challenging.  I am now in charge of 2 classes spanning around 7 or 8 different grades.  It’s rough trying to figure out what to do everyday with such a large learning gap in each class.  Yet, I was originally up for the challenge.  I made out a schedule of what times I needed to be in which classes, what we would learn, when I needed to start the videos for the high school, and when I could answer questions for the middle school.  The whole system revolved around the fact that the high school class has lessons from a home school video program.  Well, first day in the VCR broke.  Second day in, it had been decided that we were moving rocks and not having school.  Occasionally I get to work and learn we aren’t doing school.  I’ve become alright with it though.  God’s really been showing me that I need to be prepared, but not to stress out about it, because things here are not according to my plan. It’s an incredibly comforting thought. 

Some people might enjoy this sight

At one of the recent church services at the farm, one of the older girls decided to translate for me and my other “gringo” friends in attendance.  The service for me was incredibly moving.  One of those real nice ones, you know.  It was only after the service that I realized why.  That was the first service I’ve heard in a language that I understand in 2 months.  I mean, I’m getting better at Spanish.  I pick palabras (words) out of orraciones (sentences), but I don’t really know enough to get the real meaning of the sermon.  It was just cool to understand adults speaking about our God of unfailing love.  Since then, I’ve had a translator for every service.  Boring story?  Maybe.  Did I feel like telling it?  O ya.

So, long story short, Honduras is nuts but really awesome.  I think its going to feel strange when I get home and things are normal speed.  I also think I’m going to be involuntarily throwing Spanish words in my sentences.  My Spanglish is surprisingly amable.  But yea.  Please be in prayer for us down here.  We really need it.  Between the business of whats going on, the responsibility of handling it, and the knowledge that I’m going to leave it all in less than a month, I really need your prayers.  Also, please remember my good friend BJ Brown.  He’s a kind soul and an amazing man that recently shipped out to Afghanistan.  We’re all praying for him down here, please remember him in the states.  Ok, I wrote this while it was late at night after 4 days straight of running and with a cold.  There are probably grammatical errors everywhere and a lot of boring things.  But I needed to get this out.  For those of you who suffered through it, thanks.  Again, it really means a lot that you all still care enough to read this.

-Ben Heath

Large Goats and Old Guitars

Yency, a victim of surprise photography

Ok.  So, long time and no talk.  I’m going to give you the same ole excuse of “extremely busy” with a chaser of “little internet connection”.  So let me start off with telling you that we didn’t get the little girl I talked about a few blogs ago.  One day turned into a week, which turned into two weeks, which turned into the response that she had gone to live with other relatives.  Hopefully that will be a great situation for this little girl.  As excited as the girls (and myself) were about the little girl coming to the farm, we all hope that this new living situation really works out for her and that she is shown the love that a little girl deserves with her other relatives.

Sometimes, you have to stare down demon-goats

 Now let me tell you a goat story.  So Haley told me that before I got here, our young, male goat got kidnapped.  She thinks that’s hilarious…. “Kid”napped.  But either way, we needed a male goat to help populate the farm with baby goats.  So Mrs. Pam told us that she found a large goat in a city about 3 hours away.  They decided that I should go help with the goat expedition (I guess since I’m so obviously the adventurous and outdoor-sy type).  So we got to the place and saw about a dozen free-roaming goats; some small, some a bit bigger.  I was trying to find which one was ours.  A few minutes later, two men come around the building pulling the largest goat I’ve ever seen in my life.  This joker is twice as big as the other goats, has horns that I think came off a demon, long ragged hair, and was putting up a fight with the men pulling him.  We had a lot of help getting him into the truck, then tied his gigantor horns to the window guard.  The story ends with me in the back of a truck with a giant-demon goat tied up by his horns, a kind man named Rafael who doesn’t speak any English, 3 hours along incredibly steep and curvy mountain roads, and a considerable amount of goat urine. 

One day this last week, my assistance was requested by our new pastor, Flavio, at the church.  Flavio wanted my help getting musical equipment checked out.  I’ve done some work on amplifiers, rebuilding guitars, and building pedals, so I told them that I might be able to check some things out that aren’t working.  Anyhow, during my time of swimming through equipment and spider webs, I came across something real interesting in the closet at the church.  I pulled out what appeared to be a fairly old fender guitar.  Knowing a bit about guitars and how expensive old fenders can be, I called my dad and had him run some of the numbers from the headstock and the neck plate.  Turns out, they had a 1963 Fender Musicmaster.  1963!  For some reason, I don’t think musicmasters are quite as expensive to collectors as other fenders from that time period, but its still a neat find.  We’re doing some looking around to find this bad boy a nice home.  Then, we might take the money and buy a lot of new equipment for the church.  Kind of interesting what you might find in the music closet of a church in a third-world country.

 Jacki-O loves Mary more than life

Ok, I’m going to make this a short blog because its part 2 of a two-fer week.  TWO-FER!  But please check out the blog right under this one.  It might look boring because there are no pictures or semi interesting stories, but its real important.  We’ve got prayer lists and then information about letters.  If you only have time to look at one thing, please, please check out the “letter information” section of my last blog.  Give it some thought.  Hope to get this next blog up a little quicker than the last, but no promises.  I think I’m going to be a lot busier at the farm for my last 5 weeks of my first trip.  Thanks for taking the time to check up on me. 

-Ben Heath

Prayers and Letter Information

Prayer list:

School.  Talks are still going on about turning the school at the farm into an accredited private school.  I haven’t heard any new news as of yet, but I’m still really hopeful about this situation.  This would be a great opportunity for PTC to directly minister to the surrounding area.  Yet, before we form a real school at the farm, lots of planning, structure, personnel, and who knows what all else will be needed.  Please keep this situation in your prayers as it will be a great opportunity to minister to the community and also provide a somewhat more stable future for some who are volunteer workers at the moment.

Church.  The church has been set into motion since the last update I’ve given here.  Currently, the church is mostly comprised of youth-aged individuals from the community.  As of now, the church is meeting at the farm on Thursday and Saturday nights.  We have around 40 or 50 people attending the services.  On Thursday nights, Pastor Flavio has a very short lesson and then we have an extended, group prayer session.  Its amazing to see and hear how Hondurans pray.  Everybody just goes at it.  Its hard to explain, but really encouraging and exciting to be a part of.  On Saturdays, Flavio has more of a traditional service, although it is directed at youth.  There is around a 20 to 30 minute lesson followed by music.  Yet, the music is a bit different than what you might expect in America.  Obviously its in Spanish for starters.  But secondly, folks dance.  Maybe a quarter to half of the youth and leaders go and dance and sing to the music that goes on for maybe 20 more minutes.  The girls absolutely love it.  It really is a great thing to witness.  I think God is ok with us being excited about Him.  But please keep the church in your prayers.  Its off to a fantastic start.  I hope it becomes another way that God uses the farm to spread his love to the community.  Please pray that God will continue to bless the progression of the church.  I’ve never seen a church started, but I hear there are often times bumps in the road.  My prayer is that this church continues to be so focused on God that the bumps go completely unnoticed.

Vehicles.  I’m not entirely sure what is going on with the vehicles.  Vehicles seems like a rather silly topic coming right after “school” and “church”.  But with around 30 girls, it’s a rather important issue.  We have been looking for a nice, full sized truck.  Recently we’ve been offered a trade of a new van for our large, broken down van.  This might be a great deal since its dry season.  The roads are incredibly dusty and you don’t really want girls exposed in the back of a truck.  I’m going to relist the specs of the truck we’re looking for anyhow.  Foreign (Toyota, Nissan, Isuzu, ect.),  extended cab, extended bed, 4x4, diesel, less than 10 years old.  If you have any idea where we might find something like that, please contact me or somebody at the farm.  Yet, please pray that God would lead us into good vehicle deals.  Again, with so many people, changing seasons, and changing money situations, its over my head to think about it all.  But I know that God’s got it.  Please join us in praying for this area.

Haley Harris.  Well, this situation is more of a person than a situation at all.  My good friend Haley Harris is a missionary that works down here at the farm.  Most of you reading this blog know Haley.  Haley kind of does everything at the farm.  She teaches, loves, leads bible studies and devotions, potty trains, drives girls around, cooks, translates, keeps books, disciplines, makes news letters…… the list could go on for several pages.  She is a volunteer missionary here that simply does a TON of things to help out.  Well, her 1 year commitment ends in December.  Yet, Haley decided last week that God is leading her back to the Farm for a while (another year I think?).  We praise God that Haley is coming back.  Yet, also, Haley has a lot of things to get together in preparation for her next year of service to the Lord.  Please pray that God will be with Haley and will make the paths clear for her to come back next year.  She wouldn’t want me to say this, but some people reading this might have the opportunity to help Haley get back to serving all these girls at the farm next year (wink wink).

Mrs. Pam Demott.  Mrs. Pam, Aka "Mama", is the director of the girls' home down here at PTC.  I'm not sure director is the official title, but Mrs. Pam is running the show down here (right behind God of course).  Yet, Wednesday the 27, Mrs. Pam is leaving Honduras to visit the states for a month or so.  I think we're really going to need alot of prayer in her absence.  There's going to be a few of us attempting to fill her shoes while she's gone, but I feel certain we won't get close to accomplishing what she does for these girls.  Please be in prayer that Mrs. Pam will have safe travels and a nice visit with her family in the states.  Also, please pray for the farm in her absence.  We're going to need it.

Letters:

So here’s the deal.  Before I left, I got Sunday School classes and a few families from my church to commit to pray for and write letters to specific girls down here at the farm in Honduras.  This has been really neat so far.  I can’t explain how much it means to the girls to get letters.  They like getting letters from folks they know and from folks they don’t.  Long letters and short messages.  In a box or with a fox.  Ok, maybe I got out of hand there.  But it really does mean a lot to many of the girls here to know that somebody cares enough about them to write them a letter.

So, I wanted to open the floor to anybody who wants to write letters.  The link for the farm’s website can be found at http://www.sikm.org/  .  Look for the girls profiles to find pictures and information on all the girls.  If you feel like you want to write to somebody, let me know and I will get you connected with a girl in a heart beat.  If you have somebody in particular, that’s fine too.  But I can’t stress enough how little work these letters are and how much it means to some of the girls.  The way the system works is you send me an e-mail to your girl, I print it out and hand it to them, they send you an e-mail back.  Whenever it is possible, they will send real live letters back to the states that I will get into your hands.  This just seems to me to be a great way to minister with very little sacrifice.  Now, I think God wants us to be sacrificial givers, but who wouldn’t jump on an easy opportunity to show love?  Think it over, and if sending letters is something you want to do, send me an e-mail at Bheath09@gmail.com .

Well, that’s about it for this week.  That turned out a bit longer than I hoped.  I’m becoming a bit long winded.  I’ll have a regular blog up sometime soon that contains personal stories and other things in the next week.  Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully get connected to this ministry down here through your prayers and letters.  They have a value that is greater than you could imagine.

-Ben Heath

No News is Good News?

Me and my friends, Francis and Milay

Meat is a great thing.  I don’t think I had fully appreciated meat until I came to Honduras.  Hondurans eat meat, but not a lot of meat.  Not enough meat.  They replace meat with rice and beans.  Rice and beans are both good, but neither are meat.  So I found a can of tuna at the store the other day and bought it.  After having my heart set on a tuna sandwich (and thinking about The Office), I realized that there was no can opener in the house that I am living in.  I used a jabbing motion with a fork, cutting with a fairly sharp butter knife, and prying with both the fork and the knife to get to the meat.  That was the first time it took me more than 20 minutes to make a tuna sandwich.  But I tell you the truth; that was the best tasting tuna sandwich I’ve ever had in my entire life. 

Ok, enough with tuna, I actually have reasonable news.  We’re getting a new girl at the farm this week.  I’m writing this blog entry at different times throughout the week, so the order will seem strange for this event.  She is coming tomorrow, but by the time I post this blog I will probably have pictures already.  Anyhow, all I know is right now is that the girl is two years old.  Now, you might ask, “Ben, why are you excited?  Isn’t an orphanage a poor option compared to growing up in a “normal” family?”  Well, yes and no.  For a lot of instances, yes, a loving family with a mom and dad is the best place for a two year old little girl.  That is, unless you have abusive, negligent, or non-existent parent(s).  The fact is that this little girl is going to have an opportunity to grow up in a loving home, be given the chance for a good education, and most importantly will be taught about Jesus’ love every single day.  I see that as a pretty awesome thing compared to the alternatives.  Some of the stories of the girls here are heartbreaking.  Their family lives have been filled with hate, apathy and abuse.  In a strange way, its nice to know that this little girl will grow up away from all that.   Please join me in praying that this little girl will have a smooth transition into her new life.  

Mariela taking a quick ciesta

So I finally did have to break down and admit that I’m a bit sick.  I went to work feeling sick on Monday, but I just knew that I was going to be feeling better after a while of being up.  Well, I was wrong.  Mondays can be pretty long if you’re sick to your stomach and an hour walk from your house.  So I took Tuesday off, sat around and drank lemonade that my doctor (Mrs. Pam) prescribed.  It has seemed to do the trick so far.  But luckily my stomach illness is getting me out of the 2 hour walk through the wilderness to Yasshe (I think that’s how you spell it).  I almost didn’t make it back up the mountain on my first trip.  But please keep me in your prayers.  God has been really good to me in keeping me healthy during my first month down here.  That has been one of the first things I’ve been thankful for every single day when I wake up.  Please pray that he will continue to do so.

Ok, so I’ve decided to make this a short-blog-week.  Short blogs seem easier to read.  And it will leave me a few more stories to tell you all when I get home.  I’ll upload some photos tomorrow probably, so if they aren’t here already, check back soon.  Please pray about the normal things; the church, your girls, schooling, vehicles for the farm.  I’ll make a longer, updated prayer list for next week.  Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Me and Mariela

Ok, one change and one thank you.  The new little girl won’t be here until Monday.  Something happened with the paperwork and she wound up stuck somewhere else until then.  So, we’re all excited, but you’ll have to wait for pictures.  This probably means I’ll have another blog of Monday with her picture and then a longer and more elaborate prayer list.  So stay on your toes, we’re doing stuff down here.  Also, thank you to the people who wrote letters to the girls and sent them back with Haley.  The girls love getting letters.  I really can’t tell you how much it means to some of them to know that somebody cares enough to write to them.  If you have a class that has a girl and you didn’t get a chance to send a letter, e-mail one to me and I will print it off for your girl.  My e-mail is BHeath09@gmail.com . If you want to start writing to any of the girls, I will get that information on my next blog.  I have to check with Mrs. Pam and make sure everything is ok with that first thought.  We can’t possibly have too many people, I promise.

We Did It!!! (For a month at least)



Scary Francis



 I started off this week by skipping out on the farm for a day.  After having a rough night, I was a bit afraid that I had a stomach bug.  And from the stories that I’ve heard, Honduran stomach bugs are no joke.  So I called in sick to the farm and hoped that I was wrong about being ill.  I found a bottle of Pepto Bismal that my mom had packed me (thanks mom) and was feeling much better by around noon.  So much so that I decided to go catch a bus to La Esperanza and do some MUCH needed grocery shopping.  Met a guy (Carlos maybe) while waiting at the bus stop who spoke English and was going to be a missionary in Egypt pretty soon.  Kind of neat who you meet down here.  Anyhow, after about 10 minutes of waiting on a bus, Mrs. Pam (the director of the girls’ home) came driving by in her truck just by chance.  I got a free ride and a guide through the streets of La Esperanza.  It turned out to be a really nice way to start my week; slow and focused on God.  It seems that every day here in Honduras has a surprise of its own.  Although please keep me in your prayers that I don’t have a stomach bug.  I would really rather be teaching and hanging out with the girls than lying at home in the fetal position sobbing.



Roxana and Jackie-O



On a happier note, the girls make me laugh pretty often.  Since I’ve been down here, I haven’t had many opportunities or much time to gander at myself in a mirror.  I hadn’t noticed, but almost a month of not shaving led me to have a fairly decent amount of facial hair consuming my facial region.  So one night I just decided to shave.  Burn it all down and start growing anew.  I didn’t think this was a very big deal...until I walked to the farm the following morning.  The girls were shocked and amazed.  I heard a lot of “Oh Mr. Ben!!!” and “Que blanco!!!” and “You look so different!”  I hadn’t considered it, but I guess if you live in a girls’ home, surrounded by females, you’re not used to a clean shaven face where yesterday there was a beard.  I think the girls were in utter amazement for the next hour or so.  One girl, after staring at me in silence for a few minutes straight, asked me, “who cut it?”   Some days its impossible not to have a smile on your face down here.

Discipline is continuing to be my least favorite part of this job.  Its rough when I need to be stern/ angry with the very same girls that I moved down here for.  I would much rather be their friend all of the time.  Yet, I really think that “teacher” Ben is more effective in preparing these girls for the future.  I think the girls get a little hurt when I get frustrated with them for being late, having no homework, or acting crazy.  They don’t understand yet that I’m trying to look out for their upcoming adult lives.  Colleges and businesses won’t care what sweet girls they are if they are late, missing work, and not meeting standards.  But I guess we’re getting there one day at a time.  A few less friends and a few more students.  Hopefully it’ll pay off for somebody down the road.

Mariela

So one month in.  That’s right, today marks my 4^th complete week here (although, if we’re being really honest, the 8^th will be a full month I guess).  I have a lot more familiarity with Honduras that I ever would have imagined.  Sometimes when I am writing down or telling stories on the phone, it sounds so strange some of the things that I’m doing without a second thought.  At least once a day, I catch a ride with a stranger in the back of a truck and pay him 5 limpira (less than a quarter) for the ride.  When I don’t catch a ride, I walk three miles along dirt roads to my job (before 7:30 every morning!).  I regularly have conversations about the weather with people who don’t know any English.  I practice squishing people and making cow sounds with a little girl who can’t walk but thinks I’m cooler than the Fonz.  I have persuaded 27 girls in a girls’ home in Honduras to name their new puppy “Jackie-O”.  I have scaled 2 barbed wire fences in my church clothes to attend a service in a language that I don’t understand.  I occasionally wake up near insects too large for me to squish for fear of waking other people (or losing the fight).  I have travelled so far with a backpack and rain boots on, that without them I feel like I have just got off a trampoline.  But the odd thing to me is that it all just feels alright.  It somehow seems to fit together so nicely that the only direction I can point is towards God. 

Got a free TV with the fridge. I got them a bench.

So thanks for reading this, praying for me, sending me messages, and letting me know that I have been missed for this first month.  It went by so much smoother than anything I could have anticipated.  God sure has a funny way of taking care of people who clearly don’t deserve it.  A big part of me can’t wait until December to see you guys back home again.  Please continue to keep me in your prayers, I know I’ll need it in the months to come. 

Oh, and did anybody catch my Stephen T. Colbert phrase up there in the title?  Imagine balloons dropping down right now.  Speaking of Colbert.... my mom and some folks from her Sunday School class are going to Washington DC for the Daily Show's "Rally to Restore Sanity".  I'm so jealous I can't hardly stand it.  Somebody better get me a T-shirt so I can wear it to church.  But for real fellows, get it together.  If there are many more Tea Parties, I'm not sure I'm ever coming home.  Ok, thats the end of my political rants for a month.  Done.

-Ben Heath

Drip, Drip, Drop

I recently decided to start checking out the “pulperias” around Yamaranguila.  Pulperias are extremely small stores that sell some food and drinks.  There are around 8 or 10 of these small stores in the city of Yamaranguila, and a handful more between here and the farm.   I thought maybe I could find enough food to make a supper at these stores, but I was sadly mistaken.  For the most part, there pulperias sell drinks, candy, chips, and cell phone minutes.  I made a mental note to do my grocery shopping in La Esperanza on the weekends so that I don’t starve during the weeks.  On a happy note though, at one of these pulperias in town, I can buy 2 liter cokes and fantas for about $1.25.  And really, who need nourishment when you can have orange soda?

So for the last week or two, I don’t think I’ve taken more than 10 pictures.  First off, I’m feeling like less and less of a tourist, so the camera has been staying up just out of apathy I guess.  And secondly, there has been so much rain that I have been afraid of my camera getting wet in my bag.  It will be really nice to get a camera case and hopefully a water proof/resistant book bag sometime in the future.  I really need to get back on my picture taking duties so I can populate my blog and e-mails with pictures.  Who likes reading words with illustrations?  But alas, my internet connection won't stay strong long enough to upload pictures this week.  Maybe I can add some in later.

School is getting better and more exciting.  Each day I feel like I’m getting more and more acquainted with this system.  I think I’m learning more about the program and also more about the girls and what motivates them to learn.  Again, it is so incredibly different than anything I was expecting about a teaching job.  Not only is the program vastly different, but the entire culture that my girls are living in is different.  Its interesting to see what motivates these girls to learn and work hard.  Yet, its an adventure every day and It feels nice hoping that my work might be going to good use in these girls’ lives. 

Traveling this week has been interesting.  It has rained harder and with more consistency this week than it has since I’ve been in Honduras.  This means that the roads have been so bad that people are opting to stay in instead of drive to and from town.  For me, this means that there are nearly no trucks for me to bum a ride off of going to or from the farm.  That means a three mile, hour long walk in the rain on extremely muddy roads.  So one day I decided to use my boots as skis and slide down a short section of a particularly steep hill.  I slid and little bit, then a little bit more.  It was pretty fun until I started slipping out of control.  I caught myself just in time to realize that I didn’t want to fall and be covered in mud for the rest of my walk home.  About 15 seconds later a dump truck came zooming around the corner and covered me in mud.  I even got some in my ear hole.  Yes, directly in the ear hole.  I don’t know what the lesson is in this story.

There are a few really interesting plans for the future that have began to for this week at the farm.  First is the idea that a church might form at the farm.  In the past several weeks, I’ve had the privilege to visit a house church just up the road from the farm at Don Chilo’s house.  Don Chilo (Or Mr. Chilo, which took me a long time to figure out), is one of the leaders of the actual FARM farm.  Anyhow, the preacher at the house church was very charismatic and passionate about the Lord and in his teaching.  I’m not entirely sure of most of what he preached about, but I sure enjoyed it.  Well this preacher, Flavio (I think), has met with Mrs. Pam about the idea of starting a church at the farm.  We had a meeting this week and everything went pretty well for the initial plans.  The main idea is to start slow, so we’ll begin having a youth group meeting at the farm for a few months and then see where God takes it.  There are several churches in Yamaranguila where I am living, but nearly nothing out near the farm in El Obispo.  I hope this will turn into a way to minister directly to the community around the farm.

And secondly, there are some plans for starting an accredited, private school at the farm.  School in Honduras is (beating a dead horse) vastly different from school in the states.  For starters, free and public education only goes through the 6^th grade.  Middle and High school are seen as much more of an elective type of path.  Our girls are getting home-school, tutoring, and high school accreditation, which is much, much more than some of the children in the surrounding area.  We have began simple talks this week of expanding the school at the farm into a private school as yet another way to minister to the surrounding area while providing more financial stability to the farm.  This would be good for people who are volunteer teachers now, because it might mean a paycheck to cover some basic living expenses in the future.  Anyhow, I’m really excited to see how God is using the farm to minister to the area.  Please keep these two basic plans in your prayers in the weeks to come.

And finally, I want to repeat myself with the need of a new vehicle on the farm.  Again, we have a great need for a 4x4, diesel, extended cab, extended bed truck.  We are looking for a Toyota Tacoma, but if you know of anything foreign (Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, ???) let us know.  The roads here get pretty bad in the wet season.  This week, we haven’t been able to use the 2 wheel drive Nissan because of all the rain.  Also, with as many people as we have and as much ministry as we’re doing in the area, it would really be beneficial to have a truck with these specks.  If you know of anything, please contact me.  If you don’t know of anything, it would be great if you would join us in praying for a vehicle.

Well, I’m getting a bit longer with my blogs.  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.  I decided to write down some things through out the week and I think it helped me get a few more stories and ideas in here.  As always, thank you for checking out my blog.  It really helps me to feel connected to you guys back home to be able to write and know that so many of you are reading this.  Please keep me and the farm in your prayers. 

Down to business

So this past week was my first full week of work.  I'm starting to regret the sarcastic ""'s around the word "job" in my last post.  In my first full week in Honduras, I was still getting settled in.  I moved to the city, did a bit a shopping, found the internet, visited a clinic, got a cell phone, ect.  With so many things going on, I didn't make it through a full day of school at all.  Well, this last week was different.  Five full days of school with my group of 7 to 11 girls.  Ok, so I think this is going to be a real job after all.  My schedule for a work day is as follows.... 5 am: wake up and get ready; 5:30 am: leave for the farm; 6:30 am: arrive at the farm for breakfast; 7 am: devotion; 8-1: school; 1-2: lunch; 2-4: more school; 5 pm: head home; 6 pm: home.  I don't believe I've ever had days as full as the ones in this last week.  Although, I'm not complaining in the least bit.  I think every single day I've come home with a smile on my face that I can't seem to shake off.  God certainly has a way of taking care of me. 

School itself has been very interesting for me as well as my girls.  For my first week or two, I was able to play games, joke around, and laugh with the girls.  Yet, my time as a "friend" shifted into my time as a "teacher" this week.  Responsibilty is not the greatest thing in the world.  On Wednesday or so, the girls thought it be cute to lock me out of the classroom.  I almost had to murder a few of them.  Ok, maybe murder is a bit strong (and potentially not a word the board wants me to use in reference to the girls), but teacher Ben was not happy.  A bit of yelling and hurt feelings later, I think we all understood our roles a bit better.  Although I'm still not exactly sure what is going all of the time at the school, I feel like I'm a bit closer to finding my groove after this week. 

The weekend was wonderful and rejuvenating.  I was able to meet my friends Morgan and Clayton in La Esperanze for lunch and then hang out with them at the farm.  It was nice to have a relaxing and greatly slowed down weekend with the girls, friends, and a little protein.  We were able to end the trip off with chasing down a bus in a truck.  Fairly exciting if I say so myself.

A few random notes to make as well.  It is taking me FOREVER to upload photos.  I'm not complaining, but I really have a ton a pictures that I would love to post here.  Yet, in the future, if there are not many pictures, its because I didn't have an hour so sit and wait.  And this week, I'm not sure why they are so incredibly large.  Hope thats ok though.

A second note, I found on my computer that somebody had downloaded some music and left it.  I think it was Josh and Allison.  It was amazing this last week to find some Counting Crows and Jack Johnson to listen to.  Big thanks to Josh and Al or whoever it was who downloaded the music.  Its real nice to have a taste of home.

And finally, we need a bit of prayer down here.  We are getting the rain from a tropical depression right now as I type.  On the mountain we are fine, but please pray for the Hondurans that live in the lower places of the country.  Also, the farm is in need of a new vehicle.  Mrs. Pam is looking for a Toyota Tacoma 4x4, extended cab, extended bed, diesel truck less than 10 years old.  On my last blog update I showed a picture of 29 people in a truck.  That should show you why we are in need of such a vehicle.  If you know where we can find one (or something similar in Nissan or Toyota), please let me know.  Or really, if people could just be in prayer that we find something like this it would be a great help.

Well, another short blog entry.  I plan to update this a bit more often so as to include the stories and experiences of my weeks in Honduras.  I feel like I have left a ton of information out, but its a bit difficult to find the time and/or internet connection to update frequently.  This post has been a little sparatic and spread out through a few days, so forgive me.  Thank you for checking in on me.  Your prayers and encouragements are always needed.  And remember, "there's always going to be a hair in the soup."