Happy New Year...2014 in review

We returned from our 5 month adventure in Honduras at the end of 2013 not knowing what the 2014 year would bring. Now as we enter into 2015, we reflect on the past 12 months in amazement and gratitude.

WORK: Marvin began applying to jobs in the Chattanooga area not knowing what an incredible opportunity awaited him. He began work for JDH roofing company in January and by June began working in their metal shop as a fabricator. It has been a joy for him to work for such a wonderful company with great leadership. I was also blessed with a great opportunity to work for a few months at Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) before having the baby. I worked directly with my mom and learned so much about assessment, documentation, coordinating care, and communication. I am now working part time teaching Spanish to high school students living at Bethel Bible Village. Their mission is to "build Christ-centered lives, one child at a time." I am so grateful to be a part of the work they are doing.

HOME: Upon our return to the United States, we planned to live temporarily with my parents. That temporary arrangement became more permanent as time went on. They have blessed us with a place to live and many nights of babysitting. We try to show our appreciation through home cooked meals, yard work, and fix-up projects around the house. What a joy it is to see them every day and watch Thomas's love for them grow.

FAMILY: We found out I was pregnant in 2012 and joyfully awaited the arrival of our first son. Thomas Orlando Ramos was born on May 15, 2014. I knew right away that he admired his daddy since he chose to arrive on Marvin's birthday. We have enjoyed seeing him grow and learn each day. We even had the joy of taking him to visit family and friends in Honduras in October. Sadly, in November we received news of Marvin's older brother passing away in Honduras. His family misses Erlin immensely and is struggling to live life without him. We enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with many loving family members nearby. It amazes me to think that God came to earth and began life as a helpless baby only to give his own life years later so that we could live in relationship with Him.

THE NEW YEAR: We are excited about the arrival of 3 new family members- Megan and Ethan are having a baby girl in January, Marvin's sister has a baby boy due in March, and Ben and Kat are expecting a baby girl in April. We look forward to helping with outreach opportunities at Scenic City Church, a new church plant in Chattanooga that we have enjoyed becoming a part of. Marvin is excited to do more metal work with JDH, and I hope to continue teaching Spanish at Bethel for the Spring semester. Every day with Thomas is a blessing and although we do not know what this new year will bring, we do know that we will enjoy each moment we have together!

May you love others, serve God, and experience joy in the year to come!

Share Joy

Worship, games, skit, Bible study, and pizza made for a great youth service at Corazon a Corazon church.

After worship and games, we discussed what brings us joy and what takes it away from us. Through the skit, we saw that our own actions and words could either share joy with others or take it away from them.

"Be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

2 Piñatas

We had the privilege of working with Wil and Jane Meckle the first week of December. Through their time and generosity, many projects were completed, and we were certainly encouraged by their presence here. All of the projects we had planned depended on good weather. For rainy season, we knew it would be an act of God to have four days with no rain while in the mountains. 

Four days with no rain...during the rainy season

Marvin, Karen, Jane, & Wil

On our last day in Las Flores, we invited families from the community to join us at the soccer field for 2 piñatas. We did something similar with Marvin's family in May that you can read about on our previous post: http://theharvest-honduras.blogspot.com/2013/06/pinata.html

Over 90 children came to the soccer field for the piñatas. We could not believe how many people there were. We also couldn't believe the durability of the piñatas that were being used. We had such a great time sharing joy with this community.

A Pound for a Chimney

• Around 3 billion people cook and heat their homes using open fires and leaky stoves burning biomass (wood, animal dung and crop waste) and coal.
• Nearly 2 million people die prematurely from illness attributable to indoor air pollution from household solid fuel use.
• Nearly 50% of pneumonia deaths among children under five are due to particulate matter inhaled from indoor air pollution.
• More than 1 million people a year die from chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD) that develop due to exposure to such indoor air pollution.
• Both women and men exposed to heavy indoor smoke are 2-3 times more likely to develop COPD. 

These facts are from the World Health Organization's website:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs292/en/

The families in Las Flores, Quimistan, Honduras are part of the 3 billion around the world cooking with leaky stoves. In order to decrease indoor air pollution, families need chimney's installed on their wood burning stoves. Many families have makeshift chimneys from sheet metal which help to remove some smoke. The downside of these is that they are never taller than the roof so the smoke often enters back in the house through the space between the walls and the roof.

A makeshift chimney in Las Flores

In order to decrease the indoor air pollution in Las Flores, Gather Church in Centralia, WA collected funds to cover costs of chimneys. Each chimney cost about $18. For each family to receive the chimney donation, we asked that they too make a donation. Most of the families initially responded by explaining their poverty and saying that they had nothing to give. We requested at least one pound of anything (corn, beans, firewood, coconuts, etc) to take to Worldwide Heart to Heart Children's Village. After hearing this the families were thrilled because they knew they all had something they could contribute. Not one family brought in the minimum requirement. Instead, they gave their absolute best and brought way more than we expected!

Two mothers coming to get the chimneys for their homes

Taking a chimney to his elderly mother

Santos with her donation for Heart to Heart

A newly installed chimney in Las Flores

We ended up with about 30 bananas, 20 plantains, 150 lbs of corn, 20 pears, fire wood, and some great Honduran vegetables (pacallas, pataste, yuca, and ocote) that blessed Heart to Heart children. We know that God is pleased when we give our best to Him. We are so thankful for Gather church and the people of Las Flores for reminding us to give our best to the Lord. 

New roof, New nature

Mario and Dunia have three children living at home, three more children live at Heart to Heart Children's village, two passed away, and one that is on her own and expecting her first child in February. These are the children that I am aware of and that I have gotten to know during my time in Honduras. Mario's family lives in Las Flores just down a path from Marvin's parents home. They are the poorest family in this village because they have no family nearby and no land of their own to work on. 

Mario's house has one bedroom, one storage room, and another room used for cooking. All of these rooms were covered with a rusty, leaking metal roof. This caused their dirt floor to become muddy and with no places for the children to be, they simply crawled, walked, played in the mud.

Now they have a beautiful shiny roof that is guaranteed to last 20 years. Mario worked along side Wil, a great friend from Washington state, and Marvin to remove the old roof and put on the new one. 

 

"Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy."
Ephesians 4: 21-24 

Our hope is that Mario and his family will accept not just a new roof but also a new nature from God.

Youth Camp

Thank you to the donors that made it possible for youth at Worldwide Heart to Heart Children's Village to attend youth camp. Thirty individuals were sponsored and had the opportunity, to travel, play, worship, and ultimately grow closer to God at the camp near Lake Yojoa, Honduras.

Many of these youth wrote Thank you letters to their donor. Here are a few excerpts from the letters they wrote:

"I want to say thanks to you and to God for your help!! I want to talk about the camp. I had a very good trip, and I'm so happy because it was my first time to go to camp. In the camp, I had many good days, and I felt the Holy Spirit, and I danced and cried."-WR

"Thank you for supporting us so that we could go to camp. Being there was so much fun, having competitions, sports time, and especially worshiping God. Thank you for the love you have shown to Heart to Heart."-AC

"I just want to say thanks for giving me an opportunity to go to camp...We sang and danced to the Lord in the morning, afternoon, and evening. The pastor prayed for us and later we played fun games...I really feel that God changed my life, and now I am very happy." -LF

"I know that God put love in your heart. God is amazing and in camp I learned that He always will love me in the good and the bad. I will be praying for you and I don't want you to ever forget God's love and mercy. I will pray for more blessings for you. Thank you very much."-LM

"The time at camp was beautiful. Overall we learned about the love that God has for each one of us...We also sang and danced a lot...Thank you for everything because this was my first time to go to camp. If it wasn't for you, I would not have gone." -OR

An Evening in the ER

I got called in last night at 8:30pm, as I was getting into bed, to help with an emergency in Loma de Luz Hospital (Cornerstone Foundation). There haven't been any patients admitted here this past week so I was eager to work. One emergency quickly turned into 3 emergencies. Our patients consisted of a young man who had been attacked with a machete and left with a deep wound on his face, an older man who was poisoned with Round-up and was unresponsive, and a little boy with a high fever, diarrhea, and vomiting, who looked like he was wasting away. For me, this evening lasted almost 4 hours: from the time I got the call and arose from the bed to the time I returned to it. For the nurses, doctors, missionaries here, this type of evening is not uncommon and the heartbreak is unending.

Hospital Loma de Luz

 The gate to the Hospital that welcomes in emergencies, volunteers, workers, clinicians, laboring mothers, sick children, and suffering adults states "Dios obra aqui." This simple phrase means "God works here." It is so evident that this simple statement is true. God is at work here in the lives of patients through the many hands that work here. Please pray for the workers in these departments: maintenance, cleaning, security, nursing, laboratory, pharmacy, clerical. Also, pray for the missionaries and their families who are here serving the Lord and loving unconditionally to the broken hearts in Balfate, Honduras and surrounding areas.

crstone.org