Hey Everyone,

Thanks for the prayers while I was in the States last week. My kids are all doing great and everyone helped with them while I was away. It always feels like a year since I saw them. Sammy had grown (not just in my imagination) and all of them were so much bigger than I remembered. They loved the new pajamas I brought back and the plastic 88 cents swords from Wal-Mart — of course, that is about how many minutes they lasted too — 88. ha.

We had a great week with the group last week and the pavillion looks beautiful with the new ceramic laid. It will be so much easier to clean the floors for the school there now. I am so grateful for all the work they did with the people, helping me organize things and the ceramic — really hard work for those men on their knees!! Thanks TBC.

The container arrived the night before I left and so I was a little flustered having to leave my house and all the storage rooms in such disarray. I have lots to do now and will be glad for any of you that want to come and help me organize and distribute things to the villagers this summer — whew — it will take months, I’m sure — but what a huge blessing to have so much to share. I reaped a lot of the benefit of the container as well and now have a big side by side refrigerator in my house and another couch that matches perfectly with our other stuff — all of us can actually sit down in the living room at the same time now!! Yeah!

Ric Pratz is still updating the web site faithfully for us so if you want to see some new pictures of the kids and the first pictures of Sammy, just look up www.destinodelreino.org Also, if you missed a newsletter, Ric keeps the most recent ones in there under “news”. We are updating the whole web site soon and hopefully there will be a more current calendar so you can check to see what groups are coming and when.

Please be praying for those that God is sending to work and live at Destino. I know He has a perfect plan and I am seeing him continually stirring hearts in this direction. Thanks for praying for that. I think God may be forming a construction team for us too, which will permit Carlos to move more into the ministry aspect. He has such a desire to work more in the villages and in discipling all the new Christians in our church. Travis Bennett is praying about coming permanently after he graduates with a construction degree. I am so impressed with his heart to do God’s will. He is even talking about living among the people in a nearby village and working at Destino every day. Of course, I am so jealous because I absolutely loved living with the precious poor in the village for 3 years. Also Kim, the first girl that ever lived with me (a million years ago, ha), and her husband and 4 kids may be coming for a few months. Her husband, Larry, has been building all over the states since graduating with a construction degree from John Brown about 15 years ago. Pray for clear direction for these people and others that are praying in this direction, that God will open the right doors for them to KNOW for sure what is HIS will for their lives.

Also please be praying about the various projects that need to be started in the near future. We know that we need to get the school started before June in order to have at least 4 classrooms ready for the next school year. We don’t have the money promised yet, but if this is God’s plan, I know it will come in at the right time. I learned a HARD lesson lately and got us behind financially because I was starting projects ahead of God’s provision and I never want to do that again. I know God allowed me to get in this tight spot because he wants me to WAIT on Him even if I have to tell groups that I cannot prepare the project ahead of time that they want to work on. Pray for me to be faithful in this.

I had a great visit with Gary Billingsley from Trinity on the Hill in Augusta and he is approaching his church about providing the funds for the third house. Please pray for God to show us what is His will and timing. Gary had some great ideas for me and one of them was for building a clinic and apartments for volunteers under the third house. We had planned to have the dining hall under there, but have realized that we need to move the location of the third house because of the high electricial wires, and we will use the space planned for the third house for building a one story dining hall. It will not cause any health problems to be under those wires for only an hour or so a day but we didn’t want the third house in that spot, where the children will be living and sleeping.

God is providing a LOT of volunteers for us during the summer months so we will (Lord-willing) be preparing the apartments under the third house before next summer. We are using the second house this summer for the various persons that are coming to help us. I really am thankful for the opportunity to let young people visit for a longer period of time, in order to really get a taste of missions work and to prepare them for their own ministries in the future- – but we need space for them!

It looks like I will AGAIN be waiting for my residency papers. There is no way to get it fast and so that means I need to return to the States on June 24th again. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS that Carlos wants to come with me this time. We want to stop in Houston for a few days and he can share at the church in Tomball. He wants to go to the prison in McAllen, Texas where he came to Christ. He was going to the States illegally about 8 years ago and was picked up at the border and put into a holding cell for 4 months. A pastor came to preach in the prison there and Carlos received Christ as his savior. He wants to go back to that same prison and share his testimony with the men being held there now. Please pray for all these details to be worked out for him to be able to do that. We will then go to Augusta and have a joint meeting for those in the Augusta area who would like to meet Carlos and hear him share about his ministry at Destino del Reino. Gary Billingsley had a great idea for us concerning paying for these trips. He said that someone (only one donor) can donate their miles to us (about 35,000 miles are needed). If anyone is willing to do that for us, please let me know. Please pray for us to be able to get Carlos’ visa for the trip as well. I cannot wait for all of you to meet Carlos and hear his testimony and see the huge smile that Jesus put on his face!!

I will be sending out pictures of the school children to the individual sponsors this week. I praise God for all the provisions for each of these children. They are so grateful. One of the moms told us that her little girl was not very enthusiastic about going to school, since it had never been discussed or even dreamed of in her family. But after two days of school, she was suddenly waking up very early and excitedly getting ready for school. She told her mom, “Mama, you just don’t know how much they love us at that school. They love us SOOOOO much!!” That was such a great testimony for Destino and for the precious teachers we have teaching here this year.

I thank you for all the continual encouragement you are to me and for the faithful prayers that keep us going here. This is a work of grace and miracles and God is still the same God and He is doing those things because His people (you all) are praying in faith. Thank you so much.

We all love you and are so grateful for the privilege of loving the poor in Honduras — thanks for your great part in this.

Love,

Rhonda

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