Here are some Frequently Asked Questions we are hearing as we visit in homes and churches:

When do you plan to return to Honduras? - We have a tentative return date of Spring, 2010

What is happening at El Sembrador? - The school is finishing even now, and graduation is scheduled for November 8.  The students will be leaving following graduation.

What is the weather like? - At El Sembrador, the temperature usually stays pretty much in the 80s and above.  We have had some days hovering close to 100, and a few weeks in the winter with the highs in the 60s and lows in the 50s.  The temperatures usually run about 10 degrees cooler in Tegucigalpa than in Catacamas (El Sembrador).  The rainy season runs from June - November, coinciding with hurricane season.  Kent jokingly tells folks there are 2 seasons - mud season and dust season.

What do you miss about the US when you are in Honduras?  - We miss our families and friends, auto parts stores, snow, changing seasons, sleeping in on Saturdays, chocolate, Thanksgiving, English christian radio, Bob Evans restaurants and drive-thru banking.

What do you miss about Honduras when you are in the US? - We miss the students, staff, fellow missionaries and other friends, the climate, red beans and rice, the bell at El Sembrador, church services in the chapel in Spanish, Pinguinos (chocolate cupcakes), running all over campus on a 4-wheeler and eating at the local Texaco station.

But, there are some things that stay the same.  We have opportunities for ministry in both countries; we know people are praying for us and we are praying for others; we encounter people who need the Lord wherever we go.

Keep us in your prayers as we continually live between 2 cultures and countries!

 Fall in Ohio means beautiful trees and fall missions conventions.

The colors have been especially gorgeous this year.  I really miss these seasonal changes when we are in Honduras. 

Street in Circleville, Ohio in October.

Several of us missionary families are participating in a Global Impact Celebration at the Chillicothe Church of Christ in Christian Union in south-central Ohio this week-end.  We are attending with our fellow Honduras missionaries. 

L-R   Tim Spetnagel, Rhonda & Kent, Chris & Jared Moyer with daughter, Lilly

Summer is full of camps and family gatherings.  We now have 5 great nieces and nephews!  It has been great to see so many of our friends and supporters again throughout central Ohio.   We have attended 2 weddings and 2 funerals, with news of other deaths among our friends in other states.  

We have been in touch with several of our fellow missionaries in Honduras these past few weeks, and they continue in their ministries and in praying for the political situation in Honduras to have a peaceful solution.  Please join all of us in this petition for peace in Honduras.  

Please also pray for us as we continue in HMA.  Our support needs are coming in very slowly.  We are trusting God to meet all these needs so we can return to Honduras.  Our target return date is February, 2010.  

El Sembrador just celebrated its 55th year. Hooray!! 

It's a small world...our daughter works at JC Penney in Columbus, and one of her customers this week is originally from San Pedro Sula, and has a nephew who had attended El Sembrador.  How cool is that!

Spring has finally come to Ohio!  Grass is green (already cut it the first time last week!), flowers are blooming, and the rains are keeping it all wet.  We miss the sunshine and warmth in Honduras!

We have been spending a lot of time in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia these past few weeks.  The missions conferences have challenged us to focus on God's leading in our lives as we encourage others to do the same.  It has been rewarding and energizing for us to see and hear how God is working in the lives of others. 

We have been making new friends and spending time with folks we have known for several years.  Kent has been helping a farmer in W. Va. with his tractors.  I (Rhonda) keep busy with the endless paperwork.  Theresa (our daughter) and I are planning a visit to Honduras in November for graduation at El Sembrador.

Please keep us in your prayers as we leave on April 23 for 2 weeks in North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.  We plan to be back home before Mother's Day.

Rhonda

We have been in Florida the last few weeks.  What a change from the ice and snow!  We attended the holiness campmeeting at Avon Park.  It was great to sit in service after service and be fed spiritually on living the sanctified life in practical ways.  It was the spiritual refreshing we needed as we now are beginning our travels in churches to share our ministry in Honduras.

We "happened" to meet a couple, both retired missionaries, who help other missionaries with their video presentations.  We spent a few days in their home in Kissimmee, and were able to produce a dvd for us to use in our services.  It was truly a "God thing"!  Dan and Irene are a real inspiration for us and we enjoyed our time with them. 

February 22 we begin a 4-day Missions Conference at Community Bible Church, outside Avon Park.  Please pray for us and the other missionaries who will be speaking.  Tim Hawk is the keynote speaker for the conference.

View off our front porch in Circleville, Ohio, Jan. 21

View in our back yard in Circleville, OH, Jan. 21       Note the thick ice on the trees

We are back in the USA, living in Circleville, OH.  We had Thanksgiving with Rhonda's family in Ohio, then spent Christmas in AZ with Kent's family.  A snow/ice storm in January paralyzed our community for several days.  Just a little different than Honduras weather!! 

Please pray for our travels as we begin visiting churches and supporters, sharing the ministries at El Sembrador and raising our support to return.

In May, 2007, I introduced you to Juny, the young single mother who works in our home 3 days a week.  Here is my original post: 

"Juny is a 24-year-old single mom with 2 children (7 & 1).  She lives with her elderly mother in a humble house with dirt floors, no windows, 1 light fixture and one electric outlet.  Juny's mother is a Christian, and Juny is interested in the things of God but is afraid that she can't live the Christian life so she has not yet accepted the Lord." 

Thank you for praying with us for Juny!  She accepted the Lord on  September 4, when the pastor's wife was visiting her mother at home.  Juny and I have been having a discipleship study each day after lunch.  She was baptized on October 19 when we had the baptism service at the river with the students.  She is also attending a discipleship class at her church which will continue after we leave.  Last week she told me her 8 year old daughter also accepted the Lord at church. 

Juny on baptism day, accompanied by her          daughter, son and mother.

Some of her comments during our study times together:

"I used to dread getting up every morning, now I am excited to start each day."

"I had some bad thoughts about a lady, and the Holy Spirit showed me that was wrong."

"I feel very bad that I waited so long to accept Jesus.  I wish I had done it before.  I am so happy to be a Christian."

"I love to read my Bible.  One day I was reading and I thought it was only a little while, but it was more than 2 hours."

"Thank you, Doña Rhonda and Don Kent, for all your help and the things you have given me.  The greatest gift you have given me is to pray for me to become a Christian.  I am very happy and content to be a Christian, and I know it is because you prayed for me."

Morning, all!!  Kent is sleeping in this morning.   He gets up every morning at 2:00 to flip the switches all over campus to change us from the regular power company to our own farm generator.  I have the coffee made, already got my shower, and I am just gonna relax for a few minutes and talk to you!   We are about 1 1/2 weeks from leaving Honduras for our Homeland Ministry Assignment in the States.  It has been quite busy with end-of-year events on campus.  Here is a recap of last week:

On Monday most of us missionaries at El Sembrador went out for supper.  It was the calm before the storm! 

On Tuesday we had a general end-of-year celebration for the whole school, and we went to a swim park/restaurant about 20 minutes away.  Because of the bad rains we had a couple weeks ago, a lot of the dirt roads were washed out.  I was riding in a truck with 2 other missionary ladies.  Beth, who is new here, was driving.  Kent told me which road to take, and we did.  We had to put it in 4-wheel drive to navigate the road, and we still had to stop several times and figure out which part of the sinkhole looked safest to drive on.  Then Kent calls me and says we are on the wrong road.......  You don't want to know what I was thinking!!   So, we turn around and go back.  He said, "be careful on this road, there are a couple of bad spots..."  Ha!!  Nothing like what we had already gone on!!  There was a road crew working on a little bridge that had washed out, and they had a temporary platform with logs over it that we had to drive over.   Then......while we were at the park, the road crew took the platform off to repair the bridge.  We couldn't leave!!  We finally decided to try to go on the road in the other direction, and there were some places we were up to the axles in mud and water, but we got out.  The bus with the students could not come back until dark, after they had the bridge fixed.  

 Wednesday - was a time for the students to say their thank-yous, etc. in the evening chapel service.   

 Thursday - Big formal banquet for the graduates.  I left about halfway through the program (before the food), 'cause I was feeling sick.  Nurse Lilian came to the house to check on me and take my BP, etc.  I had been sick off and on for about a week, low grade fever and general body aches and pains.  I thought it was just from being tired and worn down.  The nurse ordered lab work done to test for dengue fever (I had all the symptoms).  Fortunately, I had a viral infection instead.  Dengue comes from mosquito bites, and knocks you flat on your behind for days, and I can't afford to stop right now.  I can rest when we get back to the States! 

  Friday - went to clinic in town for lab work, went to photo store to get pics developed, went to grocery store.  Took all morning!!  Had the mechanics class boys over to the house at 3:00 for Kent to give them their end-of-year gifts - tools.  Friday night was the going away party for us and two single volunteers, Amy and Gwen.  It was a very nice party and they gave us a nice going-away gift - a wooden carved magazine holder.  It is beautiful!!  

Had a yard sale on Saturday morning. (actually, a living room sale!)  Interesting.  We said 7:00 a.m.  People were out on our porch by 6:15.  We opened the door  at 7:00, and we were done before 8:00.  Sold pretty much everything, and what we did not sell we can just pack up any way.  

Saturday night the boys were pretty rowdy.  Lots of firecrackers.  Lots of sneaking out to ring the campus bell.  It kept ringing until well after midnight.  

 Yesterday (Sunday) there were 3 graduation ceremonies, 9:00, 1:00, 4:00    We went to the first 2.  We fixed potato soup and ham sandwiches for 30 people for lunch.  Almost all the students left yesterday.  There is a youth conference on campus the end of this week, and some of our Bible students stayed to help with that.  But, our involvement with campus activities is now over and we can concentrate on our packing. 

Whew!!

Thank you for praying for us and for El Sembrador!  God is at work in our midst!

Several students found the Lord after viewing "The Passion of Christ" recently.  Praise the Lord!

After 2 1/2 years of praying for her and with her, the gal who works in our home accepted the Lord last week when a pastor's wife was visiting her mother.  I am doing a discipleship study with her at lunch time.  Praise the Lord!

Our discipleship class of 17 young men is working on a service project for a local home for disabled children in the community.  Praise the Lord!

Please continue to pray: 

Students leave for a week of vacation on Friday, Sept. 12.  Please pray for safety as they scatter all over Honduras, and for wisdom as they spend time with family and friends.  This is their last break before the end of the school year in November.

An evangelistic outreach is scheduled for Sept. 13 in Campamento, a small community about 1 1/2 hours from us, where a new church is being established.  We are taking up special missions offerings at the church at El Sembrador to help support the new church plant, and some of our students and staff will be going to help with door-to-door visitation and inviting to a special service to be held that evening.

We extended our original departure date from August to November, and our ministry account is now dangerously close to being in deficit.  Please pray that folks will continue their support through the end of the year, and that some could even send in a little extra to cover for those who have had to discontinue for various reasons. 

 1st year students looking for the problem...

Each July we celebrate "Day of the School", several days set aside for sports competitions, judging on artwork, Bible dramas, Bible memory verses, trivia game, outdoor BBQ, and general stop-and-have-fun-time.   The purpose of "Day of the School" is to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of El Sembrador (1954), and it usually coincides with Don Hawk's birthday. (the founder).

This year Kent set up a competition in the garage for the ag mechanic students: 

 Who - 1st & 2nd year mechanic students

What - diagnose a broken lawnmower

Where - El Sembrador ag mechanic garage

Plan - 5 minutes for 2nd year students, 10 minutes for 1st year students

Prize - winning group received spark plug gap guage, metal carbiner key chain, other pocket tools, and bragging rights.  All students received spark plug gap guages.

The winners!!  2nd year students.  Jose Eduardo, the other ag mechanic teacher, is on Kent's right.

We are having special evangelistic church services July 18-20, the week-end before we celebrate Day of the School.  Please pray for the services and for all the activities during the week.