Buenes Dias ! On Thursday ,  the Torch team covered a lot of ground.  Jenny Lovell went to Mololoa and helped in the feeding center.  She was able to help prepare food and visit with the ladies as well as assist (at a distance) as children were served.  Due to the lack of vaccines in the country, all kitchen workers must  always wear masks,  and they give the children disposable plates with plastic wrap over the food so the children can take it with them.  Only 5-6 children can come up to the top of the stairs, get hand sanitizer, and then collect the prepared food and go back down.  Jenny was able to stand a bit behind the tables and watch the process (and speak to the children). While JLo was at Mololoa, Terry & I (with our trusty translator, Jen Hines) ran necessary errands in Tegucigalpa  to purchase items needed for the remainder of the trip.   We picked up JLo around 11:30 am and finished the errands & got back to Ag...

 Hey Guys, Brandy B here, and I am missing Honduras like crazy!!!  This post is from Margaret. Love you all ❤️❤️ Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in the pharmacy and working with Dr. Manny at  Clinica  Esperanza: Bob, Robin, and Diane  On Monday, Bob and Diane sorted the medicines that had arrived earlier in the month from Gayle and the partial delivery of meds that were donated by various team members. There were five bins of meds that ranged from vitamins of all varieties to pain pills of various over-the-counter brands. Carolina (pronounced Caro- leen -a) , the pharmacist, asked us to write down an inventory as we sorted . . . name of med, size, number in bottle, and expiration date. She said that it was ok to keep the medicines that were up to six months expired as the Hondurans are not used to medications of any kind and so the  potency was still effective. They worked on the inventory all morning and again in the afternoon until  all but the pain m...

  Bienvenido a Honduras!  (Welcome to Honduras) Hey guys!!  This is Brandy B!!  Margaret is sending me the blog to post!!  So here it is ❤️❤️ We  all arrived safely in  Tegucigalpa on Saturday, 6/26/21, by  1:10 pm and were clear of Customs by around 2 pm.   As we waited for our last flight to arrive, we celebrated the return to Honduras with cold Fresca.   We saw Mark Connell at the airport as well as Evelyn (& Adonis) from Mololoa.   Loaded luggage in Tim’s pick-up and headed to lunch at Pupusa restaurant beside Walmart.  We ate & then got food for lunches at Walmart. The fun started when we realized the traffic was not going to ease up for most of the trip to Santa Ana since many travel out of the city during the weekend days.  It took a bit more than 2 hours to get out to Agua Viva.   But  we had a lovely dinner, got unpacked to our rooms, and ended the evening with a devotional.  Terry is s...

Yesterday we began our day with a devotional from Caleb Beggs. We sent a team to Didasko orphanage to hang out with the kids and bring enough food for months. The medical clinic saw around 250 people and they were able to meet many peoples medical needs. A small group went to Mi Esperanza to be guinea pigs for the students at the salon. Some of the people on that team now have purple hair and pretty nails. The last group went to a house build that was sponsored by Patty Johnson’s team and was built in honor of JD Burkhart. Carrying the wood to the site was quite challenging but the team persevered and checked their hearts. We said goodbyes to members of our team yesterday since the Flannerys and Hills had to go back home. Last night we all took a spiritual gifts test given by Chad and then got into small groups with people who had the same gifts. He gave us challenging questions to get us thinking about how we can best serve the Lord. After that we played games and then got some much ...

Monday we started off our day with a morning Devo from “tricky” Pat Gutherie. After Devo we lost Konnor, Katie, and the Crossville group, however, as the trip comes to an end and we lose people we just have to work harder! We had a medical team, daughters of the king, food distribution, and a housebuild in honor of Whit Robertson, Tammy Robertson’s son. The medical clinic saw about 170 people, daughters of the king washed around 30 girls hair, the food distribution gave out around 70 bags of food to families, and a new house was built for a family of 3. Once everyone returned (and showered) we had a fan favorite meal of spaghetti and a great devotional lead by Chad Chapman. After everyone played cards and finished their ice cream it was lights out to prepare for the next day of work! Blessings, Hope

On Saturday morning, half of the group had the pleasure of going to Mi Esperanza. We shopped and talked to Lori Connell and her interns. After eating lunch there, we headed to a village to do a carnival for the kids and a store for the adults. At the carnival we played games with the kids and handed out popcorn and cotton candy. The kids had a blast and got to win candy and toys as prizes for the games. The store that we set up there was an opportunity for the community to purchase clothes to create a sense of ownership and then all the money made was given back to them to go towards their efforts to get a water tower. The other half of the group built a house for Becky Beggs. The team included all of the FCA and Bell Shoals people and they worked with all their heart. After their build they also got to go to Mi Esperanza. When we all got back we had homemade pico and chips for dinner which is a team favorite! On Sunday we went up to the Tierra del Padre for church. We have visited tha...

We stared off our Friday with a breakfast of eggs, sausage, plantains, and toast. After our morning Devo given by Colby Hill, the two housebuild teams left to start their builds while the rest of the team stayed behind and broke into prayer groups. After great sessions of prayer and devotion, the team broke up into smaller groups: a drug sorting group, a food sorting group, and a VBS team. The drug sorting team sorted and packaged all the medicine for our upcoming medical clinics, the food sorting group prepared about 250 bags of food to give out on a food distribution, and the VBS team prepared and preformed a VBS to children in the La Tigra rainforest. After everyone returned to the villa we celebrated little Konnner Gerstemeier’s 6th birthday with a piñata. We finished out the night with a devotional from Chad Chapman and got some much needed rest. Blessings, Rachel and Hope

Yesterday was day 2 of work. We had teams that went to the hospital/gatorade blitz, two house builds and Mololoa feeding and daycare center. The people in the hospital were visited with and we played games with all the kids. We prayed with families and comforted the sick. The same people that went to the hospital also did a Gatorade blitz. 99 bottles of gaterade were purchased and passed out to construction workers, traffic guards and gas station attendants. The two house builds were in the La Tigre rainforest, teams had to hike up hills and carry wood to the build sites. Both houses were dedication houses the first was Dianne Adams dad, Ken and the other one was Amos family.  Those who went to Mololoa helped feed around 150 children from the community at the feeding center while the others went up the hill to Femorza daycare center and spent time with the kids there. Everyone returned back to the mission house around 4:00 pm that evening, washed up and ate supper. After dinner we ...

Yesterday we kicked off our trip with a bang: two househuilds, daughters of the king, and a hospital visit. At the house builds rookies got a good first look at the hard work we do here and veterans felt at home as they drove in every nail of the house. The first house was in dedication to Patty Johnson’s father in law, and the second was dedicated to Louise, a woman from Lydia Smith’s church. Daughter’s of the king went amazing; the team treated about 30 little girls to a hair washing and styling, a mani and peti, and a wardrobe change into the cutest little dresses. The hospital team visited with many children all over the hospital and played, read books, drew, and simply talked to them. They also gave out bibles to some of the hospital employees to encourage the word of God. After returning to the villa a team sorted hundreds of clothes and packaged them all up to give out. Later in the evening we had a wonderful dinner of beans, rice, beef, and plantains and ice cream if you coul...

The first team arrived around 11:00 a.m in the  Tegucigalpa airport and everyone else followed shortly after. We all walked across the street and got either Burger King or Church’s Chicken for lunch. After our bellies were full we then loaded each bus and headed up the mountain to Villa Gracia. Only two buses carried people up the mountain while another bus went to the warehouse to get tools and food bags for when we do house builds and food distributions later this week. After a beautiful ride up the mountain we then split the group into first year’s and veterans and had our annual orientation for the trip. We met our new roommates, helped unpack their stuff and settle in. A couple of hours later we met for dinner in the dining hall and ate some chicken, pasta, salad, and rolls. When everyone got finished eating we had our evening devotional in the chapel and prepared our minds for the work that’s going to take place this next week. Continue to pray over our group as we begin...

Yesterday around 5:00 in the mañana we took our last bus ride with Porras to the Costa Rican airport. We had a smooth ride until we arrived in the parking lot, when Rachel got stuck in her seatbelt. Everyone was unloading luggage while Rachel was also being unloaded from her seatbelt. Checking our bags took some time but security was surprising a breeze. Then we arrived at our gate with time to spare so we all grabbed breakfast and gave our extra Colones to a worker in the airport.  We arrived in Honduras and again went through customs super fast, got our bags, saw some familiar faces, ate pizza then headed to Villa Gracia to prepare for the incoming teams.  Later that night we went out to dinner. Met the missionaries from Santa Ana, Gayle Davidson and her intern Allison along with Jen and Dalton Hines and their kids. Had some amazing burgers and chicken then headed back to Villa Gracia for the night.  We’re super excited to meet the incoming teams today!!...

Friday we had a clean up day here at Jennie Sue. A handful of people helped move limbs from the yard to the backside of the camp. The others cleaned up sticks and leaves that were put into wheel barrels and taken to the backside of the camp. One other person mowed the grass and a few people helped clean up the cut grass from the mower. We took the cut grass and fed the goats next door. Later that evening about 10 people from Gracia church came to the camp and we enjoyed fellowship and food with them. We played youth group games, they taught us some games and we taught them how to play Empire (thanks Scott).  Yesterday we got the visit La Fortuna and relax in the hot springs. It was so nice to enjoy God’s creation and spend time with one another. We soaked in the hot springs, walked around, ate a whole lot of food and had a really nice day.     Lily 

On Wednesday and Thursday, we went to the Sabanilla school from 8:30 to 10:30. We had to go in the morning due to a teacher strike that cut the school day short. Randi, Hope, and Hannah performed a puppet show both days and then the rest of the group helped with snacks, crafts and activities. The children at the school have loved the VBS as well as playing with us. One of their favorite games is follow the leader. Wednesday afternoon we visited the English teacher’s wife’s school in downtown Sarchi. During the VBS, there was a huge rain storm but we teamed together and figured out how to still do the activities with the kids. After the second VBS we went back to Gracia Church for the last VBS of the night and Gospel Meeting. There were 80 people total that night. On Thursday afternoon we went to a disability center for adults and performed another puppet show and had a craft. For the craft, we made links out of paper with our names on then. We connected the links together to show our c...

Yesterday we stared off our day with wonderful breakfast of rice and beans made by our talented chef, Miriam. We practiced our puppet show and got everything ready for the day before heading off to La Escuela Sabanilla. Randi Grossman lead the puppet show in telling the story of Lazzurius being raised from the dead. After the curtains closed (or the sheet was lowered) Randi and our translator, Christian, asked the kids questions on how we can show love to our friends just as Jesus showed love to his friends. Then we sang a few songs with the kids and sent them off to their groups. In the craft station, Randi, Nate, Hope, Mat, Cassidy, and Brandy had the kids trace their hands and write in them qualities of a good friend. For the activity, Lily, Rachel, and Hannah played soccer and raced with the kids until their feet were about to fall off. Terry and Margaret worked the snack station to keep the kids hydrated between their activities. The English teacher from the school took Terry, M...

Yesterday was our 4th day serving in Costa Rica. We began with breakfast at 7:30. We had rice, beans, eggs and a choice of cereal. I promise you all we will not go hungry here. Miriam is an amazing cook and takes care of us!!  After breakfast, the boys went with the preacher at Gracia to do some work on a house for one of the members. The remainder of the tram went to a school called Sabanilla at the top of a mountain. We have worked with these kiddos for the past three years. They are, hands down, the best kids I have ever worked with. We didn’t have a translator, but we were able to accomplish so much. God is so good at making a way when it seems impossible!!  There were about 45 kids at the school. Randi Grossman led the puppet team in telling the story of Peter denying Jesus and how Jesus forgave him. We were working with the kids today learning the importance of forgiveness. When the story was finished we decided the kids into 3 groups. Terry Reeves and I took care of the...

Since arriving in Costa Rica, we have been preparing for VBS. The team will be working at a church and school teaching about Christian virtues displayed by Jesus. We have a team of 12 people as well as a local family that is helping us translate. Scott McDowell is preparing and preaching the lessons, and the rest of us are doing puppets, crafts, activities, and snacks. This morning we attended church in Grecia where we will be doing the VBS.  This morning we had 78 in attendance. Scott will be teaching about the Church and how it is all connected. The text will come mainly from Ephesians.  Tomorrow we will break into two groups. One group will go with the preacher at the Church to finish some work on a house for one of the members. The rest will meet with the school for snacks and to discuss the plan for the week.  Please continue to pray over our group as we begin teaching and evangelizing this week to the people of Costa Rica. You can follow the group Instagram ac...

Good morning!!!  Terry’s group made it safely to Costa Rica. We arrived at Camp Jeanie Sue at about 2am and basically went straight to bed. Today we do not have too much planned. Once everyone has gotten up we will have brunch then start planning for VBS for he Church we will work with and the school. I am so excited to finally be here. Please pray for him he work and preparation. Thank you all. Brandy B

Hey everyone!! My name is Brandy, and I along with Rachel, Hope, and Lily will be doing our best to share our experiences with you guys while we serve in Central America. Terry’s first team will leave June 14 going to San Jose, Costa Rica. Our team will serve for 10 days. We will work with a school during the day conducting VBS and will have a Gospel Meeting in the evenings. Scott McDowell will be our speaker for the meeting. After the 10 days, some of us will continue on to Tegucigalpa, Honduras serving another 10 days. Our team will build houses, visit hospitals and orphanages, conduct a medical clinic along with a number of other things so stay tuned. Then, another small group will finish serving in Guatemala. I am so very excited to see what God has in store for all of us. Please pray for the work!! Much love to you all. Brandy B