March 27 Face of Poverty - 2 Feeding Centers and an Orphanage Later!

A couple of weeks ago while Pastor Tim Ingram of the Crossing Church in Celebration, Florida (http://crossingonline.org/celebration-campus ) was preaching he said everyone should go on a Mission trip.... not necessarily for what you can do for God or for people but what God will do to you during the trip. The message really struck home for me knowing my trip to Honduras was just around the corner and today I learned what he meant. I can only repeat what he said  "Everyone should go on a Mission trip!!"  Today really put a Face to Poverty for me. I realized that TV programs and pictures of hungry people or impoverished areas really do not do justice to the issue.

We started the day with a trek up to the first of two Feeding Centers run under the Ministry of Alvin and Nellie Anderson called Manos Extendidas - Extended Hands Honduras. CLICK HERE to find out more about their Ministry. Alvin and Nellie were our tour guides, security guards, translators and everything else you might need on a Missions trip to Tegucigalpa.

The road up the hills to the first Feeding Center gave new meaning to the word potholes. Our driver was not sure he would even get his vehicle close enough for us to make it to the Center. I think he was a little nervous about his vehicle being damaged. We arrived safely thanks to Alvin's guidance. The Feeding Center offers a preschool program for the children and lunch. Today was chicken, rice and tortillas as so proudly displayed by one of the cooks.

We ventured over to the second Feeding Center where a different group of children are taken care of. All the kids at the second center wanted their pictures taken.

After lunch we headed over to Tiny Houses which is a government run shelter/orphanage. The government workers and children have so much respect for Alvin and Nellie they call them Papa and Mama. Each Tiny House has 4 apartments which sleep up to 8 or more infants, children or adolescents. 

The thing that had the biggest impact on me today was what I call The Face of Poverty. As we were driving from the hotel to the hills where the Feeding Centers are, there were many sidewalk businesses and vendors but there were also many huge dumpsters right along the sides of the roads with men in them on top of the garbage rummaging for food or other salvageable goods. The other side of the Face of Poverty I saw today was it takes so little to make the children in these programs smile. They all had so little but  just a little love meant so much and Alvin and Nellie have huge hearts of God.

During the day, Derm mentioned The Gideons had donated a huge number of Bibles which they delivered to his hotel room when they were in Toronto on the way to Honduras. He asked what we thought about giving Nellie some of the Bibles. He was thinking somewhere around 10 or so. Later, while Alvin and Nellie were sharing their life stories and, as we were wrapping up today's session, Nellie mentioned she had been ministering to a group of women. Only a few of the women had their own Bibles and Nellie had been praying the Lord would provide 10 or 12 (she really wanted 12) Bibles. You should have seen Derm's face! So amazing how God hears and answers our prayers in the strangest of ways. Thank you so much to The Gideons in Canada. Here is Nellie with the Bibles...you can see her joy!

I took so many pictures today. If you would like to view those, they are in a Picasa Web Album. Just CLICK HERE to be directed to the Album. You can play a slide show of the photos or go through each one at a time. You do NOT have to sign up for anything to view this Album. 

Tomorrow we head over to two Learning Centers with 2 different Missionaries.

If you would like to read or view previous postings to this Blog, just click on the Blog Title under the heading "March" on the right hand side of this Web Page.

March 26 Arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

I left Orlando, Florida this morning and arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras this afternoon after a short stop over in Miami where I met up with Derm and Viola Westcott (VisionQuest 2012 Leaders) and Dave and Claudia Chafe ( a couple from Newfoundland who are business owners). We flew over the Florida Keyes, Cuba and then down the coast of Central America.

Tegucigalpa is nestled in amongst some mountains so the flight actually did some serious zigzagging through the mountains before it touched down in the City...I really mean zigzagging and I really mean in the City. You can see the road in these photos taken from the plane.The grey in the foreground is the wing of the plane as we are approaching the runway. No zoom lens required! The runway was one of the top ten most dangerous in the world up until a few years ago when they extended the runway by about 400 feet.

We met just before supper to pray over the gifts, goods, supplies and offerings we have brought to distribute to the four Missionary groups we will be meeting with over the next few days. This next photo of the figure and Derm is very symbolic of the prayer we prayed earlier.

On Tuesday we will be visiting two children feeding centers in the hills outside Tegucigalpa with the first two of the Missionaries we will be meeting with. These centers are supported by funds from coffee sales through CoffeeOnline.org. I just received an email from Jeff Vaters and his daughter Kelsey with a link to a You Tube video filmed at Bethesda Church recently. They are singing "Cover Me" which is appropriate "for such a time as this" for the five of us on VisionQuest 2012, for the Missionaries working here we will be meeting with and for the children and people of Honduras they serve.

You can also click on this link to view the Video of Jeff and Kelsey Singing "Cover Me"

.....and lastly, feel free to comment on the Blog in the Comment window below.

March 23 Leaving for Honduras March 26th

On March 26, 2012 I will be joining Derm and Viola Westcott on VisionQuest 2012 which is a short term mission trip to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. During the trip we will be meeting with Missionaries in the mission field in Honduras and visiting two children feeding centers.The feeding centers are funded though monies raised through CoffeeOnline.org. This is the coffee I serve you when you visit my house or may have even brought to your home. 


Similar to our Travel Blogs for our Trips to Florida and Texas. I will be making regular postings to this Blog over the next few days. You will receive an email notification when a new Post to the Blog has been made.


www.coffeeonline.org