This has been a full week of activities!  As we get closer to Christmas it seems like the whole city is in a whirl.  We started our week at El Sembrador visiting Travis & Lori Hawk, Brad & Mary Kay Phillips and other friends. 

Monday we traveled back into Tegucigalpa in order to attend a National Church Board Meeting on Tuesday.  It was out of town, so that involved a trip and an overnight stay at a hotel.  While Terry was in meetings all day, Colleen was able to visit with the ladies and get to know them a little better. 

Wednesday we returned and started preparing our annual Christmas dinner for the office and guesthouse staff.  Thursday we celebrated Christmas together and ate until we were miserable. 

Friday we went to the airport with our missionaries, the Murphys, who were leaving to spend Christmas with their family in the States.  We also spent some time with our National Church President and his wife, who had an accident on their way out of town.  Don Oscar spent most of the day in the police station and dona Rina went to Vierra Hospital with broken ribs.  How thankful we are that nobody was seriously injured.  They were bruised and shaken, but God protected them from what could have been a very serious accident. 

Friday night we had a special dinner/concert at our church to celebrate Christmas and the beginning of construction on the Sunday school classrooms.  It took us an hour to get from the house to the church because of all the traffic.  Today we left home at 6:30 for Choluteca to attend the first vocational school graduation.  Jorge Pacheco, our pastor, went with us.   

It was a very special ceremony and it was good to hear how grateful the community is for what the school is doing for their young people.  I didn't count how many graduated, but I'm sure you can read Larry and Angie Overholt's blog to get all of the information.   In a few minutes we will be leaving for another Christmas dinner for the pastors and families in this area.  As you can imagine, food is really not the reason we're going, after all we've eaten in the last week, but the fellowship will be good. 

  " Tu eres mi especial tesoro" Exodus 19:5  was the theme for the national church ladies conference this year.  I attended the conference Dec. 6 - 9 along with our missionary ladies; Angie Overholt, Laurie Potter, Minda Kleman, and Rhonda Harmless.  It was such a blessing to mix and mingle with such wonderful Christian ladies.  There were over 140 in attendance and activities included seminars, special services and a business session.

I was asked to give my testimony as part of the missions emphasis for the conference, so I worked up a simple power point (my first one) and shared my testimony with these precious ladies, about how God brought me out of African and placed me in Honduras. 

They asked me to present different mission project ideas for them to consider, so I sent an email out to all WGM missionaries asking for projects.  I received 8 projects and presented all of them to the conference.  This ladies conference has always had a missions emphasis and each year the ladies bring their mission offerings from their churches.  Their mission offerings came to a little over $2200---unbelievable from these precious pastors wives and lay leaders, who have very little themselves.  But God has given them great vision and they are looking way beyond themselves, and are excited about what God is doing around the world.

The projects that were chosen this year are:

• 1. Uganda Ladies Conferences - LeeAnn Owen sent this project to me. LeeAnn is a Honduran Missionary kids and grew up here. God has called her and given her a real burden for the ladies ministry in Uganda. Be encouraged LeeAnn!

• 2. Kenya HIV/AIDS orphans in Nairobi and Nakuru. Robyn Moore sent this project. She too is very passionate about these children who are orphans dying with AIDS. This project really grabbed the hearts of our ladies.  Pray for Robyn as she is suffering with two ruptured discs in her back, and may need surgery.

Both of these projects will be receiving at least $1000 each.  We do have a great God! 

Saturday morning I received word that my Dad had spent the night in the hospital with possible heart problems.  I sent word up to the conference that I would be a little late as I wanted to make sure Dad was stable physically before I traveled too far from my phone.   Angie waited and then we went up together.  The ladies had seen picture of my mom and dad the day before in my testimony and heard about their 42 years in Kenya.  These precious ladies all went to their knees and prayed for my Dad, and I can't begin to explain the blessing and encouragement that was to them and to me.   I was able to talk to Dad last night and he is doing well---the doctors feel like it's pleurisy and he is back at home.

The last day of the conference while we were having our business sessions, a group of  7 Honduran dentists came up and donated their time, equipment and medication.  There were many ladies who were able to have dental work done for free.

Friday we had a going away party for Brad and Mary Kay Phillips.  They will be leaving the field on December 17, to go back to the States for their HMA (Homeland Ministry Assignment).  They have been serving at El Sembrador in many different areas--most of them having to do with education and administration.  We had dinner together at the guest house, and then shared "palabras", promises from the Bible and a gift with them.  They will be gone from our mission family for a year.  But we pray that God will use them as they minister in the States and also give them special time with their children and grandsons.

Happy HMA Brad and Mary Kay!

Last Saturday, November 24, DeeAnn, Sara, Alicia and Colleen attend the wedding of Lucia's daughter.  Lucia is the lady that works in the kitchen in the guest house.  She has a wonderful Christian family and it was an honor to be able to share this special time with her family.  This was their first child to marry and so it was very emotional.

Lucia and her husband, Santos

It was so good to meet all of the family---her husband, 4 daughters and 2 sons along with her mother, sisters and brothers.  The wedding was supposed to start at 7:50 PM, but as with most weddings, it started an hour later to wait for everybody to arrive.  We ate dinner at 10 PM and then visited with the family.  It was a very nice evening.

The happy bride and groom, Juan Pablo and Azucena