Hey Everyone,
I have been convicted lately about the fact that I do NOT rejoice in all things, as the Bible commands us to do. Gratefulness is so key in our walk with the Lord daily and I am so guilty of seeing all that is not right instead of all that IS right. Please pray for me to be more focused on all that God is doing in Destino and not on the things that still are lacking.
All the kids are doing well in school this year. I am soooo pleased with all our new teachers, both Honduran and American. It is a completely different atmosphere in the school this year with such a heart for God on the part of all the teachers and a determination to raise up disciples for Jesus Christ in this place. It is amazing and I can’t thank God enough for that change in our school. We are losing our only American male teacher. He has not been able to get his support and feels that he needs to return to the US and pay off his car and get out of debt before he pursues a ministry. Please pray for us to find someone. We need someone in two weeks and I keep hoping that there is an American out there somewhere that has been praying about this and it will confirm they are to come NOW. We just need someone to help assist in the English classes (no preparation needed) and to teach 5 grades of PE classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If necessary we will hire a Honduran for half days only and cover the other classes with other teachers. Please be praying for this need.
Also I am rejoicing in all my children in the children’s home. They are growing up so quickly and are so wonderful and i am so blessed to have them in my life. We are building a stairwell into the downstairs so that we can open up that area for a boys’ room so that we can have more growing space in our very busy household. We have had a virus in the school and in the house and have had two weeks of fevers passing from one to another so please pray with us that the sickness will LEAVE!!! Carlos has been very sick lately and needs prayer because he has sooo much to do right now. Most of the teachers are hanging in there so pray for them as well.
We have such a great new junior high class. I am so thankful for the ten new students we invited to come to junior high that did not begin here in Destino. They are from the village nearby and attended another private Christian school for poor children, but it was not bilingual so we have a separate class for them in English only each day. They are very enthusiastic great kids with such a desire to be able to be trained in a career and be educated and we are blessed to be able to help them. Our 20 others that graduated from 6th grade last year here at Destino are really enjoying having some new friends in the class — they had been together for years with no new students so this is fun for them. The two new male teachers are very strong believers, fluent in English and in their mid thirties so are mature and great leaders for this age.
In talking about the junior high kids, I have a big prayer request for a one-day retreat we want to have in the next few months for the girls. If we do not do something AGRESSIVE, these young girls will be pregnant in the next year or so like all other girls in their villages — 13 or 14 is the average age they are getting pregnant. We can train them up in the Bible and talk to them occasionally but we really need to have an all-day retreat with them to speak truth into them about this area of their lives. Please pray for Paula as she is preparing for this and that we can have testimonies of some women. I want to get them each a promise ring if they choose to make this vow of purity before the Lord. We want to do something similar with the boys and need to know who would be the right speaker for that retreat as well. This is an URGENT need so please pray for us to have the wisdom of the Father on when, how, etc.
We are recognizing that we cannot continue to keep our little Alexander (age 5) with us any longer. He needs special attention and care. He was given to us under the pretense that he was completely normal (we don’t accept children with special needs at Destino because we don’t have the staff to do this kind of work here). We have had him for 4 years and he is growing stronger and more violent and still can’t talk and is frustrated, etc. He has begun to hurt the other little ones and he started going out of the house in the night and it is not sleep walking — he is awake and just kind of going stir crazy or something. His convulsions are getting closer together and more severe and we live so far from town that it is dangerous for him if he goes into a really serious attack and can’t come out –every minute to the hospital causes more damage. Anyway, this is a very tough decision for us and please pray for us this week. His family lives right here in town and refuses to help and we need togive him to the government and let them get him some special help. The reason I can find some peace in this situation is because Alex is really not like other children emotionally. He left with his mother for 5 weeks and did not know her at all but never missed us or cried even once so I know that he will not sense any rejection by us having to let him go to another home. Thanks for your prayers for all of us in this situation. We are trying to find his family to notify them but have not been able to so far. (If they show up later on though, they can still remove him from the government program if they want to help him personally).
There has been no interest thus far in helping us with the funds to build the junior high and we trust that this means it is just not God’s timing. He faithfully provides for EVERYTHING that we need and he does it when HE sees fit. So the class is meeting in the library and it is working out great for this year. If the money still doesn’t come in by this year to build for next year, we could have another class in the church — so we are continuing on with or without a building.
The container is arriving today in Puerto Cortez so please PLEASE be praying that we can get it out of the port without difficulty. We have done everything necessary to get our tax-exemption on the container but the people there are always wanting more bribes and finding more “problems” to cost us money. We have absolutely no extra money right now so we need God’s favor in this situation to enable us to bring the container to us quickly this week. So thanks for praying for that.
We have had continual storms — bad ones — for weeks now and the electricity comes and goes and it is becoming such a problem. We had a thought this week though and maybe it is just crazy but I don’t know. If there is any organization that donates solar panels and systems, we sure would love to pursue that idea. The electric company here is robbing us — we pay $1,400 or so every month and that is ridiculous when most households pay about $30 a month. They also will not fix any of the lines that are affected by the storms. They told Carlos this last week when he had to go out with our guys and fix wires in the woods, that we are responsible for all the problems for about 5 miles down the road — we pay for the repairs and we fix them ourselves — attached to our poles and wires are one entire village and the cable company and a phone company and many others and none of them have to help. This is soooo ridiculous but this is a corrupt country and there is no winning a battle against them. So if we can somehow start using solar power and just use a generator to fill up the water tanks every day (the pump uses the most electricity), we could disconnect from the company and maybe even make them pay us for our poles and wiring that the Houston electric company gave to Destino. If not, just pray that we will have grace to continue under this burden and God will continue to provide for such huge electric bills. The bill doesn’t go down when we use less electricity — they have fixed it at that rate and we can do nothing to change it. We need a MIRACLE!
Carlos is applying to go to seminary here in Siguatepeque. Please pray that he will be able to get all of his papers and prepare and they will accept him. He wants to have the training so much and wants the accountability of studying every day. One of our bus drivers would like to attend with him and we are going to try to get someone to sponsor him so he can attend with Carlos. The classes would be evenings and weekends so Carlos can continue in his duties at Destino as well.
Thanks for your faithfulness in praying for all of us here. God is blessing us in tremendous ways and we are amazed at his goodness. These children are so precious and God is giving them a future and a hope, as he promised it Jeremiah 29:11 Thanks for being a part of that blessing to all of us. We count on your prayers and encouragement and are so grateful for everyone of you who read these emails and pray for us.
In His grace,
Rhonda
