Today we beat some Honduran kids at soccer, it was pretty exciting. We’ve gotten to hang out with some awesome kids all week. Getting to show Christ’s love to them has been amazing, but more than anything, they have inspired us; they all come from bad backgrounds, and compared to us, they don’t have very much, but they’re all so full of joy and the love of Christ. Being at Emmanuel has been an amazing experience, but as the week winds down we’ve come to realize that it doesn’t end here. Tonight we talked about the Great Commission at devotional, and we were reminded that we are commanded to go and make disciples, it is not optional, and Jesus didn’t say to go once a week, he simply said to go. So as we prepare for our last day here, we’re so excited to continue loving on the kids, and just as much, we’re excited to go home and continue to show Christ’s love to everyone around us.

-Aidan Workman

Today was another great day at Orphanage Emmanuel. We started our morning with a very early walk across the grounds to the boys’ Power Toddler house to present our skit about Noah’s Ark. The boys, ranging from age 4 to 6, showed us their rendition of the parable of the Good Samaritan. After that, we went on a guided tour of the Orphanage on the back of a tractor. We then went out to the field to dig up an irrigation pipe and make repairs to a busted line. Once we finished for the day with that, we went back to the Power Toddlers to eat cookies and play on the playground with them. We ate dinner and went out to play soccer with some of the kids. After several losses, we finally won a game. This was naturally a great victory and was celebrated very loudly and with excessive dancing. Our day ended with a devotional led by our small group. We cited Isaiah 6:8 and Matthew 28:18-20. We talked about looking past our week and continuing our mission of serving God. The call to serve the Lord extends into all parts of life.

-Sam Jones

Today we beat some Honduran kids at soccer, it was pretty exciting. We’ve gotten to hang out with some awesome kids all week. Getting to show Christ’s love to them has been amazing, but more than anything, they have inspired us; they all come from bad backgrounds, and compared to us, they don’t have very much, but they’re all so full of joy and the love of Christ. Being at Emmanuel has been an amazing experience, but as the week winds down we’ve come to realize that it doesn’t end here. Tonight we talked about the Great Commission at devotional, and we were reminded that we are commanded to go and make disciples, it is not optional, and Jesus didn’t say to go once a week, he simply said to go. So as we prepare for our last day here, we’re so excited to continue loving on the kids, and just as much, we’re excited to go home and continue to show Christ’s love to everyone around us.

-Aidan Workman

Today was another great day at Orphanage Emmanuel. We started our morning with a very early walk across the grounds to the boys’ Power Toddler house to present our skit about Noah’s Ark. The boys, ranging from age 4 to 6, showed us their rendition of the parable of the Good Samaritan. After that, we went on a guided tour of the Orphanage on the back of a tractor. We then went out to the field to dig up an irrigation pipe and make repairs to a busted line. Once we finished for the day with that, we went back to the Power Toddlers to eat cookies and play on the playground with them. We ate dinner and went out to play soccer with some of the kids. After several losses, we finally won a game. This was naturally a great victory and was celebrated very loudly and with excessive dancing. Our day ended with a devotional led by our small group. We cited Isaiah 6:8 and Matthew 28:18-20. We talked about looking past our week and continuing our mission of serving God. The call to serve the Lord extends into all parts of life.

-Sam Jones

Today we beat some Honduran kids at soccer, it was pretty exciting. We’ve gotten to hang out with some awesome kids all week. Getting to show Christ’s love to them has been amazing, but more than anything, they have inspired us; they all come from bad backgrounds, and compared to us, they don’t have very much, but they’re all so full of joy and the love of Christ. Being at Emmanuel has been an amazing experience, but as the week winds down we’ve come to realize that it doesn’t end here. Tonight we talked about the Great Commission at devotional, and we were reminded that we are commanded to go and make disciples, it is not optional, and Jesus didn’t say to go once a week, he simply said to go. So as we prepare for our last day here, we’re so excited to continue loving on the kids, and just as much, we’re excited to go home and continue to show Christ’s love to everyone around us.

-Aidan Workman

Today was another great day at Orphanage Emmanuel. We started our morning with a very early walk across the grounds to the boys’ Power Toddler house to present our skit about Noah’s Ark. The boys, ranging from age 4 to 6, showed us their rendition of the parable of the Good Samaritan. After that, we went on a guided tour of the Orphanage on the back of a tractor. We then went out to the field to dig up an irrigation pipe and make repairs to a busted line. Once we finished for the day with that, we went back to the Power Toddlers to eat cookies and play on the playground with them. We ate dinner and went out to play soccer with some of the kids. After several losses, we finally won a game. This was naturally a great victory and was celebrated very loudly and with excessive dancing. Our day ended with a devotional led by our small group. We cited Isaiah 6:8 and Matthew 28:18-20. We talked about looking past our week and continuing our mission of serving God. The call to serve the Lord extends into all parts of life.

-Sam Jones

Wednesday Evening...

It is late, but I wanted to post a quick update.  We are half way through the week.  Two more days to spend with the kids.

Our days now that the kids are back in school is very different.  Some of us spent the morning painting.  We will finish Thursday.  In the afternoon, Kelly and I went to the special needs to paint the girls nails.  They were very excited to have them painted, but several of them couldn't sit still long enough for them to dry.  It was OK though, it was just a way to spend some time with them.

I'm going to try and get Michael's boys to post tomorrow.

Continue to pray for the team that God's love will pour out to each other and to those here at the orphanage.

Peace, Christy

Wednesday morning... (sorry for the late blog, internet issues down here)

Several times in the Bible Jesus asks “What is it you want?” or “What do you want me to do for you?”  These words repeat in my head over and over throughout the day.  Many of the children are patient and figure a way to communicate.  With my depth of the Spanish vocabulary of about 25 words and their depth of English (much higher vocabulary than me), they have to do most of the describing.  With that said, the communication barrier is minimal.  The reason for this is we all have the common language of love.  You hug the children and they hug you right back, bigger and better. 

This morning on the way to share circle time with the power toddlers, one of the middle boys greeted us as we were walking.  He had some sort of disability, so he did not speak at all.  He first hugged Tammy, then Amy, then me.  I decided I was going to see who could hug the longest, me or him.  He won, but I put up a good fight.  Then he smiled at me and kissed my cheek.  No words, just God’s love.  It is a universal language. 

Today, the children are in school for the first day since we’ve been here.  You can tell the school children from those that don’t go to school by who is wearing a uniform and who is not.  The children wear matching shirts, the girls in skirts, boys in jeans, all in socks and sneakers.

Now, back to power toddlers (I love that term), remember these are all boys ages 3-7 (about).  They are not allowed to wear their shoes inside, so they come out with socks in hand to put on their shoes.  I did not see a single boy with socks that did not have holes (not little holes), big holes; the size of their heal.  I see a collection coming at Hillside y’all, so watch for sales on socks.  I assume if the little socks have holes that all the socks around the orphanage have holes.  We gathered the boys together for circle time.  There were about 25 of them.  I had one holding my right hand, one holding my left hand and one holding onto my neck with his legs wrapped around my waist.  I had to put down the one after a little while as he was heavy.  One of the teens from another team shared devotion (which is translated to the boys), then we sang to them and they sang to us.  It was very precious. 

Several of the older boys and men went to participate in a pig slaughter.  I think Carter will have quite a story to share.  They made a video, but I really don’t think I want to watch.  Kevin has the video if y’all want to see it when we get back.  All I’ve got to say about that is, “ewwww”.

Today, we paint somewhere and something, but I’m not sure what. 

Pray for the children in the schools, their teachers and especially those children that are not in school.  There are many reasons a child might not be in school, but today I will ask you to lift up the ones that have behavior issues that have caused them to be suspended.  Pray that God will calm their hearts so they can go back and learn what they can here at the orphanage which will prepare them for when it is time to leave and live outside these gates. …Christy

Tuesday

Little Girls (there are 80 of them)

Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.  This is the most important, the first on any list.  But there is a second to set alongside it: "Love others as well as you love yourself."  Matthew 22:37-40

I do believe that these children have got to be the easiest of our neighbors to love.  They all call us "Tia" (aunt) because we are all family to them.  They love freely and completely just as Jesus taught us to do.

I thought I would tell you a little about the orphanage today and how it is laid out.


All the children are separated by age and as they get older, by gender.  The infants, which there are about 10, are all together. When they are able to walk, they are moved to the toddlers area.  There are about 25 toddlers.  They stay together until they are about 5 years old.  Then the little girls go to the small girls house, the little boys go to the "power toddlers" house (if you have had little boys, you just smiled at that didn't you).  I might go see the power toddlers today, haven't made it there yet.  When the boys settle a little, they go to the little boys house.

In the middle is a dining hall and to the right is
the store.  Behind all that are where the boys
homes are.

Big girls house.  They are in the process of
buiding as you can see on the left.

When the genders are separated, they stay separated for the rest of their stay.  They see each other on Friday, which is nice as there are many brothers and sisters that only have a chance to be together at this time.

The houses are then defined as: infant, toddlers, power toddlers, little boys, little girls, middle girls, middle boys, big girls and big boys.  Each age group has there own kitchen and dining area.  They have wood stoves in each of the kitchens so the kids can learn to cook on them.  This way, when they leave the orphanage, they will know how to cook as they would outside of the gates.

There is a store here that puts me in mind of a trading post.  They sell some prepared meals, drinks, snacks and candy.  Many of the missionaries will bring a child or two down to the store to provide them a drink and snack.  There is a beautiful chapel where we have worship on Sunday and Wednesday.  There is a school, a farm, and a garden.  We have electricity, plumbing and drinkable water.  The food here is delicious. Everyone here is so kind and helpful and beautiful.  There are horses just randomly wondering on the property, there are pigs,  goats, cows, a talapia farm, chickens and a garden.  There are about 550 children here right now.

The children get up between 4:30-5:00.  They get dressed, do their chores and are ready for circle time (worship and devotion) at 6:00 a.m.  During the week, most go to school.  There are some children that are special needs (cripple, blind, mute, behavior ...) that have special care provided for them.

Some of the chores include:  caring for the children, cooking, weed eaters instead of mowing, cleaning, translating, providing devotion and caring for each other.

Keep the children in your prayers, those here are staff, full time missionaries and the part time missionary teams.

As an update on our team.  Everyone is doing well.  The kids have paired up and are loving paying with the children here.  Salem and Mackie are joined at the hip.  Matthew has hooked up with Michael's small group which include Carter, Sam, Chandler O and Aiden.  These boys, previously mentioned, along with Alan and Kyle got special kudos last night for how hard they worked on the project yesterday.  Y'all should be very proud of your boys.

Beth and Erin have had fun playing with the kids.  Mostly the toddlers which are quite entertaining to watch. Maddie and Gigi, Brittney, and Rachael have been moving so fast I haven't had a chance to find out where they've gone.  Sara and a team she recruits each day have been cooking and serving cookies to the groups of children.

I hope you enjoyed the kids devotion.  I think tonight will be Michael's group.  ...stay tuned, Christy

News from some of the teens...

Blog 2: Rachel, Mattie, Kyle, Alan, Miranda, Macki, Salem, Savannah

Today in Honduras, some of us went to the small boys circle time in the morning. After breakfast, we went down to the toddler’s house for a little while. This was where the three of us met an amazing little girl and one of her brothers. They touched us so much that we took them to the store where we enjoyed sharing food and drinks along with stories. After our lunch we went to the small boy’s yard again and played with the kids.

While some of us were going to the small boy’s house, the others were venturing to the farm “la granja”. Our original mission was to milk the cows, but it eventually turned into trying to find the cows themselves. This was in both due to our bad sense of direction and the beautiful surrounding. We eventually were able to see how the cows were washed and milked to provide the milk for the orphanage.   

I had a lot of fun going to the toddler house today. It was very interesting talking to some of the mothers and playing around with the younger children. It’s a joy to see how much their faces light up when you simply give the children a hug. They made my day!

I ended up going to the medium boys’ gym and played with them. We were originally playing soccer, and of course I was being destroyed. Soon it turned out to be piggy back races around the gym, which somehow turned into a game that we called tackle the Americans. The boys would press our pressure points until we fell to the ground in pain, then they would tackle and tickle us. After lunch I went to the medium girls’ court yard and met two little 9 year old girls. I brought them on a walk to the farm and they gave me a tour of it. We took care of the horses, goats, and fish. We then went and milked and fed the cows. After that one of the volunteers gave us some berries, which the kids loved and ate like candy, but I personally thought it tasted like chalk. I think I have had a very productive day.

                So today was one of the best days in my life… I love Honduras so very much I feel like God is wanting me to move here when I grow up and be a missionary and help out here at orphanage Emmanuel. So today when I woke up I when straight to the baby house and helped out there feeding them and just plain loving on them. After that I went to the little boys home and I helped mopped their floor. Trust me it was no fun at all, but that’s ok I did it out of love. Today I have been working on my Español and somehow I’m pretty sure I have gotten worse at it. I somehow manage to say things that are not in English or Spanish. I really wish I knew how to speak the language here so that I could really interact with the kids more. I have a child that I sponsor here and her name is Angell and she is six years old and the most precious child that you ever meet. Today I took her to the store and bought her a drink and a candy bar. She looked like a child on Christmas morning. I can tell that it was just a very special treat for a very special person. It always breaks my heart when she asks me not to leave her just like her mommy and daddy did. And every single time that I leave it really and truly breaks my heart. But I will pray that God will put a “shell” around my heart to not become too attached. But my heart is his and it will always be open for new adventures.

Little Senor & Senoritas from parade

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19: 14

Yesterday (Sunday) was a different day at the orphanage.  The children had a holiday, so there were no planned activities except for the parade.

I decided to get my feet wet a little today and see what happened.  So I went to the small toddler’s room.  Well, let me tell you, the children come to you in a big way.  Did you know that you can actually hold four children at one time?  One on each leg and one on each arm. 

I would guess that the age of these babies are about 1-3.  They don’t talk to you very much and they are not necessarily potty trained (but learning).  The first little girl that I tried to talk to you would copy everything I said.  I asked her name, she repeated it.  I told her my name, she repeated it.  So I started saying, “I am smart” and she said “I am smart”; “I am beautiful” she repeated “I am beautiful”; “I am kind”…  So I don’t know if she understood, but I believe that as she smiled really big that she knew what she was doing. 

All you need to do in the courtyard is sit on the curb.  The children would come, bounce on your leg, sit with you and let you love on them, then another would come, and another.  Now for the funny parts of the kids.  During the time I was in there, one got gum in his hair, three little boys were streaking across the room and one little girl peed on the trampoline (they cleaned and sterilized it). 

The children are smart, beautiful, kind and loved.

I had the privilege of having dinner with some of the teens (Chandler, Matthew, Carter and Sam).  They have been out and about exploring and visiting.  They are planning to paint today.  Should be interesting to see how much they actually get on the walls.

The weather during the day has been lovely, it really poured down rain last night.  Cheryl and I had to take a key back to the toddler room in the rain and got totally soaked.  We then proceeded to give Michael Cromwell are really wet hug.

I pray you all have a blessed Monday.  Tonight, the young teens have said that they would be writing on the blog, so be sure to check back.  …Christy

Happy Honduras Independence Day!

Hi to everyone back home in Woodstock. Today is Sunday the 15^th our second day and boy, what a day it was. We started it off with the most delicious pancakes I have ever had. Well put it this way, the food is fabulous here. After we all ate, we were blessed to have the children of Emmanuel present a fantastic parade for everyone. It was awesome! They had the most beautiful outfits and smiles you have ever seen. It just warmed my heart to see those beautiful faces. If you could imagine the pride that filled the air when those kids stopped to take their bow. Priceless.  Each child played a part, whether they were in a band playing an instrument or dancing like a princess. They glowed from ear to ear. I wish I had a way to let you all see what we got to see from front side view. Our group has definitely been hand selected by God, because we couldn’t have asked for a better group then this. Wow God is good, but I’m sure you all knew that.

We all grow and change over time. There have been great changes on campus here compared to last year; new buildings, new staff and new team members. Yet the true reason we are here has not changed: the precious children. It is amazing to see how our young friends have changed. Yet their smiles, their need to be loved on and God in them is the same. The food is wonderful and the weather has been mostly cooperative. We are looking forward to projects with the children and on campus to begin. We are eager to be the hands and feet of Christ!

At 4:30 everyone headed to the church for service. The teams stood outside the doors to greet the children as they entered. The music was wonderful and filled the room with the Holy Spirit.  The message was Luke 14. The party is ready, Invitations have been sent God is waiting. Where are you? The little boys ages 8 thru 10 performed a skit about the 7 sins. It was so touching, they did a great job.  Well the day is coming to a close and we have finished dinner and getting ready to do our devotion. So until tomorrow, God bless.  Shout out to my precious little granddaughter, that I miss dearly, and love so much, Danika Marie Holland grammie loves you to the moon and back.  …Cheri

Arrival In Honduras...

Our first day began early beginning at Hillside at 6:00 a.m.  Dr. Doug sent us off by praying over the team and serving communion.  Our team consists of primarily Hillside and Heritage Presbyterian mission trippers.  We were able to take the awesome church vans from Heritage which hold almost 35 people in each one.  A special thanks to Cecilia Norman and Jimmy Smith for being our very capable CDL. 

Once we got checked in all went very well.  I had the privilege and honor of sharing my airplane ride with Erin and Beth.  Both were so cute and we enjoyed reading through the Encyclopedia of Immaturity, Volume 2.  I learned so much and cannot wait to get home and try out some of my new gifts.  What a blessing they both are to our trip.

God blessed us with an uneventful trip, although, for those of you that don’t know.  Tegucigalpa has a very short landing strip that is in a valley between the mountains.  So the plane basically takes a sharp turn, flies about 100 feet above the homes by the airport, hits the runway and then SLAMS on the breaks to stop before the airstrip ends.  It was fun, and there was much applause when we landed. 

We had two buses taking us to Orphanage Emmanuel as we were joined by Heritage Baptist church from Columbus.  They are also serving here this week which bring our total missionary count up to about 85.  The bus ride is always beautiful once you get out of the city.  Honduras is very mountainous and beautiful and littered with small communities along the drive.  Homes are more what we might refer to as a shelter, as most don’t have windows or doors, many with dirt floors.  The dogs you see on the side of the road are very thin.  If you have a finicky eater for a dog, tell him there are starving dogs in Honduras and to be thankful for the food he/she gets. 

Once you enter into the gates of the Orphanage, it is like coming into a different world.  You go from extreme poverty, to green grass, nicely maintained grounds, well built homes with electricity, plumbing, and very clean.  We had a little down time as the children were already in for the night.  Dinner, worship songs by Chandler E. and a devotion by Greg E.  We are all in for the night to rest and prepare for what God has in store for us for the week.

Please pray that our eyes are opened to where God is working here at the orphanage, so that we can walk alongside of him. 

“…but whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing they will be blessed in what they do.”  James 1:25.

We made it!

Hola from the Orphanage Emmanuel in Honduras.  God has blessed us with a safe trip (although driving was exciting)!  I will most more later.  Thank you for your prayers.

2013 Honduras Orphanage Emmanuel Mission Team

On September 14-21, 2013 forty-five missionaries from four churches will gather together to go and serve in Honduras at the Orphanage Emmanuel.  We will strive to glorify God through our actions, our service and our witness by showing God's love living in us through his Holy Spirit.  There are 550 children that live at this orphanage in which we have the privilege to spend time with.

Each day, we will try, as long as technology is our friend, to post pictures and experiences about how God is using us throughout each day.  Please pray for our team throughout the week.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal his will to us so that we may do His work as he has planned for us to do.

Our team:  Beth, Erin, Madeleine, Kyle, MacKenzie, Salem, Brittney, Aidan, Alan, Carter, Rachael, Sam, Chandler O, Matthew, Chandler E, Yvette, Jennifer, Matt, Sarah, Brian, Mary, Chad, Michael, Hope L, Laura, Monica, Tammy, David, Kelly, Cheri, Gilda, Mark, Angela, Christy, Kevin, Virginia, Amy, Greg, Cheryl, Cynthia, Hope B, Rick, Tom, Pat, Cees.