The Fields family

A short video tour of Hospital Loma de Luz.

2011-06-21T20:41:00.000-06:00

This is a short (a little less than 10 minutes) video tour of Hospital Loma de Luz, where my family and I serve. I'm sure that some of you will enjoy actually getting to see the facility where I work. The video was filmed by a visiting doctor. Thanks Bryan for all of your hard work in putting this video together! Enjoy, DF

2011 Honduras MK Camp.

2011-06-08T12:05:00.000-06:00

This is what Mariah, Benny, and some 60 other MK kids and counselors were up to last week. Many thanks to all of the counselors and coordinators for making this such a memorable week. Thanks to Nate and Gabe McKenney for their work during camp and for putting the video together. As you can see, it was a great time for the kids!

Our first video! Mission Connection 2010

2010-11-08T22:35:00.000-06:00

Baby Miguel

2010-11-01T07:47:00.005-06:00

By all accounts, baby Miguel looked to be a hopeless case. Nine days old and septic (from pneumonia), his parents had walked some five hours down the from the mountain community of Nueva Esperanza to bring their child in to Hospital Loma de Luz. Missionary Pediatrician Dr. Sharon Yount told us that this was one of the sickest babies that she had ever seen and prepared the family for the worst almost from the outset. Being believers in Christ, these simple mountain parents seemed able to put their trust in Christ (the concept of a person or a situation being “in God’s Hands” is an important one here and a phrase that is often used in conversation and in prayer). By yet another miracle of God’s timing, there were several visiting North American nurses here that were able to fashion out a sort of rural infant ICU for Baby Miguel. Because I’d had experience as an EMT in the past and due to our desperate need for help in caring for Baby Miguel, I was allowed to help a bit with his medical care. His condition seemed to go from grave to far worse…. with intense difficulty breathing and “gurgling” breath sounds, it really only seemed a matter of time before Miguel would go on to be with the Lord. At one point, his breathing was so labored that the decision was made to intubate him. For those of you with any medical experience, you must be saying – “why hadn’t you done that earlier?” Well, you see – we do not have a respirator here at Hospital Loma de Luz and so the decision to intubate comes with it the awesome responsibility of “breathing” for the baby by bag valve mask – every breath – around 80 times per minute, every minute of every hour of every day until he gets better or until God takes him home. And so the very weighty decision was made and a small team of nurses and doctors “bagged” baby Miguel for a period of over two days as we watched for any sign of improvement.

One thing that can definitely be said for Baby Miguel is that he is a fighter. In fact, he seemed to fight the tube that had been placed in his lungs constantly. The nurses lovingly put mittens around his hands and tried to constrain his flailing arms so that he wouldn’t pull out any of the many tubes that were coming from his poor little body. Unfortunately, through his efforts, he was able to extubate himself (remove the breathing tube) and the decision was made at that time to “put him in God’s hands” and pray that God would heal him. It seemed that we had done all that we could with our limited resources. He was placed into his parent’s arms with the hope of a miracle, but with the grim realization that he would most likely die. But he didn’t die. In his father’s arms, he started to get better. In fact he got so much better that Dr. Sharon began to try and formulate a new treatment plan based on the reality of the seeming miraculous turn around. She began to talk about the possibility of transporting the child to a facility with a respirator – an easy task in the States – but almost impossible here. As the days progressed after this miraculous turn around, Miguel started going downhill again. Eventually, Miguel had to be intubated again and we had to reinstate the round the clock breathing program. This time, everyone involved was so tired that we began to feel like we were running out of options.

It was my privilege to watch caring Christian doctors with some pretty strong differences of opinion in how they should proceed with treatment – whether or not to transfer, for example – talk through their options. One of the things that they talked about during this time was that Baby Miguel was more than a little body, he was also a soul. Although his body seemed very insecure indeed, we knew that his soul was secure in “God’s hands”. They agreed that sending these simple mountain folk into one of the biggest cities in Honduras to try and fend for themselves and their baby in the midst of a very complicated Honduran medical system would have been difficult at best and probably only lead to the death of their child in an unfamiliar place very far from home with no resources to get back home and care for the rest of their family. Hence, the very difficult decision was made to, once again, put Baby Miguel in “God’s hands” and pray for a miracle. I am told that the doctors met to consider, one last time, transporting Baby Miguel and started to pray for wisdom and for a clear indication from God as to which way to go. At almost that exact same moment Baby Miguel stopped breathing. Wow, it seemed that God’s will at that time was to take Baby Miguel home to be with Himself. Miguel was revived and did continue to breathe, albeit very very poorly. Dr. Sharon met with the parents and all agreed that it seemed time to discontinue our life saving efforts and allow God’s will to be done. I happened to be the one that was “breathing” for Baby Miguel using a bag valve mask when this decision was made. I took the little body (and soul) and placed them, for the second time now, into the father’s arms. I prayed with him at that moment that God’s will be done. We “put Him in God’s hands” for about the one thousandth time in prayer to the Father and began to watch the pulse oximeter to indicate what seemed to be the conclusion of this beautiful baby’s time here on earth with us.

As we prayed, and watched, Baby Miguel didn’t die, in fact he slowly got a little bit better……. and then he slowly got yet a little bit better. His oxygen saturations went up without an ET tube and once we stopped breathing for him, an obvious contradiction – and an obvious miracle. Instead of taking Baby Miguel home to be with Himself, God seemed to want to show us Himself through this process. He seemed to want to remind us that we are all “in His hands” at every moment of every day and that even with the combined wisdom of some very wise doctors and nurses, His wisdom is supreme. We watched in awe as Baby Miguel seemed to stabilize a bit. As there were many care givers around, I decided to walk away for a bit and try and clear my head and get some fresh air. I came back maybe thirty minutes later and Baby Miguel was nursing! His mother had lovingly put him to breast, trying to squeeze one more moment of intimacy out of this miracle before her baby died and he responded by nursing. Thus began Baby Miguel’s recovery. I stand here now, several weeks later, still shaking my head at what we witnessed and still in awe of the God ‘s providence throughout the whole situation.

Baby Miguel’s soul is still with his body, as far as we know, and he and his parents left the hospital some two weeks later and began the long walk back up to their mountain village. Several of the nurses have made a pact to return one year from now and go visit Miguel at his home and celebrate his birthday with him. While I don’t know if that will actually come to pass and I don’t know how Miguel is doing today, I do know this: Baby Miguel is in God’s hands. All of our prayers didn’t place him any more in God’s hands than he already was, we were simply acknowledging the reality that we could observe about how much this was in fact true. I know something else now more clearly than ever. I too am in God’s hands and so are you. We live and breathe only by His grace and He can show himself miraculously at any time. Are we living each day in the reality of being in His hands, or do we deny this simple truth by our words, or deeds? My prayer today is that you and I would live in the simple truth that we are in God’s hands. Thank you Lord for miraculously saving Baby Miguel and thank you for the privilege of being present as it happened. Amen.

Note, here are a few more places that you can read about baby Miguel:
http://hondurasmissiontrip2008.blogspot.com/
http://johnandpennyalden.blogspot.com

Taking a patient to Hospital Atlántida in La Ceiba

2010-11-01T07:45:00.000-06:00

Note, the names of the victim and his wife in this story have been changed to protect their privacy.

As Brad and I pulled into the ER at Hospital Atlántida with Fernando lying across the back seat, head in his wife, Maria’s lap, I breathed a quick sigh of relief and a prayer for what we would find inside. I hoped for the best, but would soon find out that we were to get something much less than that. I walked into the ER with my transfer papers and presented them to the medical attendant sitting at the desk in the middle of the sea of chaos that is the ER at Hospital Atlántida. I explained that I had a gunshot victim in the back seat of my truck, to which the very unimpressed attendant answered, “We have three other gunshot victims over there. He’ll need to wait with them.” My mind drifted back to the events of the evening that had brought me to this very surreal moment as I surveyed the line of three gunshot victims lying in a row and contemplated our chances of seeing a surgeon this night.

About four hours earlier a relatively peaceful Sunday night had been interrupted by the news that there was a gunshot victim down at the hospital. This, in and of itself, was not entirely shocking news as we are a rural hospital in a very violent country. I was asked to go to Balfate, a village a few miles down the road and retrieve Tomas, our X-ray tech so that he could come in and take X-rays of our somewhat stable gsw (gunshot wound) victim. Further, someone had told me that this was Fernando, Maria’s husband. The couple is known by us and known very well by our good friends the Aldens. They attend church at a local church that many of us were connected to and Maria frequently works as a part time housekeeper for several of the missionary families. In short, she is well known to all here and to hear that her husband had been shot gave us all more than a little extra anxiety. As I raced out of the gate to get Thomas from Balfate a call came for me on our local Ham radio. The ER doctor – Dr. Abby – had asked that I return to the ER and told me that someone else was going to go get Tomas. Further, I was asked to get my firearm and return to the hospital to act as security. We came to learn that the person who had shot Fernando was still at large and it seemed good to have someone around who was armed. All of my time in the states at the shooting range and my love of handguns has meant that I am one of the missionaries here at the hospital who is armed in times of security concerns. Ok, I headed back to my house and retrieved my handgun and headed down to the hospital to hang out with Dr. Abby and see how I could help.

I was saddened to see our dear friend Maria so distraught after having been through such a difficult time, but gladdened to see Fernando lying on the bed in the ER – mostly stable. The bullet had entered into his back midway down on the left side and amazingly at that time – didn’t seem to have hit the spinal column or the lungs. Ultrasound seemed to reveal some internal bleeding. Dr. Jeff showed up about that time and reviewed the case with Dr. Abby. Dr. Jeff – our leader and surgeon – was put in the unenviable task of having to make a tough decision about sending Fernando into La Ceiba for surgery due to lack of resources here at the hospital. The next time you find yourself praying for Hospital Loma de Luz, please pray for a full time anesthetist for without one, we can (and do) have a very talented surgeon that can’t perform his duties and often has to send patients in to La Ceiba when we could otherwise treat them. Dr. Jeff made the difficult, but obvious, decision that we could not operate on Fernando with the limited resources that we had at the hospital at that time and the decision was made to transfer him.

While this assessment and decision was being made, I was able to spend some time praying with Maria. I prayed that God would give her peace and we prayed together that God would touch her husband and heal him. I was aware that another one of our missionaries (It is truly amazing how our little group of missionaries acts as a team when a critical case arrives) had gone to Balfate to get the police. In our rural area, we do have police, sometimes, but they don’t have a car. So if you need them, you have to go and get them. We had done just that and on this Sunday evening, John had found our local constable enjoying a cool one at the local bar. He brought the young man (couldn’t have been more than 20 yrs old) from the bar, out of uniform and smelling a little bit like beer, directly to the hospital. Remember that I had told you that there was a little bit of concern that the shooter was still at large. Well, the little bit of concern turned into a bigger amount of concern when a young man arrived at the hospital in street clothes, smelling a little bit like beer, claiming to be a cop and wanting to see the patient. Penny, our dear friend and nurse, was ready to pummel the poor young lad right there in the hallway. My role as guardian and protector quickly became one of protecting the young policeman from Penny as she was quite concerned that he was indeed the shooter, come back to finish the job. Penny was raised in a Catholic school and let me tell you – the Sisters would have been proud of her. I explained our policy that only uniformed police were allowed to be armed there at the hospital and asked the young officer to please surrender his weapon to me to hold - for the comfort of “the nurse.” He was only too happy to give me his firearm as long as it meant that Penny would stand down.

Hearing that the decision had been made to transport Fernando to La Ceiba, I asked if I could be permitted to take him into town in my vehicle. I knew that the local Red Cross ambulance ride would be really hard on Fernando and I wanted to give him a more comfortable and secure ride into town. I also wanted to try and be there at the hospital for he and Maria to try and help them secure the best care available. And so the request was granted and we loaded Fernando into the back of my truck, lying on his side with his head on his wife’s lap. He groaned loudly in obvious pain as I went over each bump (20 miles of hard, rough dirt road and then 40 miles of pavement with potholes the size of small ponds) and through each pothole on the hour and half trip to Hospital Atlántida in La Ceiba.

And so here I find myself in the ER, being told to wait behind three other g.s.w. victims and worried sick about Fernando. I was standing in the middle of an ER that simply defies explanation to anyone who is used to an American Emergency Room, clean and orderly. There aren’t enough nurses to go around, so the family members become the primary care takers of the person in the ER. To my left, an elderly mother tries to comfort a young man who has been shot in the chest and undoubtedly has a sucking chest wound. He seems to be literally bleeding out in front of me. Farther over to my left a very large woman (easily 300 lbs) is following some strange rhythm of scream, cry, vomit, repeat. Occasionally adding brief pauses for emphasis, she doggedly sticks to her routine in a desperate attempt to get some attention. An old man looks like he is dying. A young girl looks scared and quiet. There are no beds. Fernando is still in my truck and I’m not really getting anywhere. I say there are no beds, but there is one bed – off in the corner – broken and stuck in a 45 degree “reverse Trendelenberg” position with the head up and feet down. Brad and I try and fix the bed in the corner, hoping to be able to straighten it out. As we are working on it, I realize that there is a terrible smell in that corcer of the ER and look down to find that I am standing in a pool of blood and urine. I give up trying to fix the bed and realize that I’m not about to put Fernando with internal bleeding into such a position (head up – feet down), so I complain to the nurses who walk by with a blank expression that gave up trying to explain their situation long ago. I’m told that I can have the mobile bed (one with wheels) that the sucking chest wound is currently on as he is about to be shipped up for surgery. I breathe a sigh of relief that he (sucking chest wound) will not die right there in front of me and that we will soon have a bed. An orderly – (about 14 years old in appearance) rolls another bed into the room and the orderly and the elderly mother move sucking chest wound from the rolling gurney onto the other rolling bed and begin to wheel him out of the room. Problem: sucking chest wound left about an inch deep pool of blood on the gurney that we are now supposed to use to get Fernando out of the truck with. I look around in vain for someone to clean the gurney. I ask the nurse where the cleaning supplies are and she points vaguely off to our left. I wander around, looking on the shelves and find a likely looking bottle. One sniff confirms that this is indeed bleach – perfect. Now for some towels. The best I can do is a pile of what I hope and pray (but doubt) is clean sheets. I use one to soak up the one inch pool and then use the second one to put as much of the bleach as possible all over the bed and get it as clean as possible before wheeling it out to my truck. Brad is a rock during all of this and dutifully hauls Fernando out of the truck and onto the bed. We wheel him into the ER where we find a spot near the broken bed but far enough away as to be out of the pool of blood and urine. We’re told to leave him there and that the surgeon will see him just as soon as he is out of surgery. We pray with Maria, who is back in shock now given all that has happened since we arrived. We leave feeling like we were leaving our friends in an impossible situation. As we get into the truck Brad sums it up perfectly and says, “Well, if Atlántida doesn’t kill him, I think he’ll be ok”.

We spoke with Maria the next day to find out that they still hadn’t seen a surgeon. We started making plans to go back and get Fernando, not sure what we would do – but knowing that we had to do something. Not too long after that, we heard that he was indeed being taken into surgery. We later found that they had operated on Fernando and while in a considerable amount of pain, he seemed to be stable. Several days later he was released and spent the next several weeks recuperating at home. He is up and moving around now – well, mostly. They are fearful that the man that they surprised down in the ditch alongside the road that night will come back. They are afraid of the senseless, meaningless violence that almost ruined their lives. The policeman all but told them that night that there wasn’t anything he could do and he was most probably right. There won’t be any justice, this side of Heaven it seems; for Fernando – only gratitude that it all didn’t end that night for him and that Maria doesn’t have to try and raise their kids alone. I wish I could tell you that everything is ok for them. I know that it isn’t. I know that they face unimaginable challenges amidst their fear and their poverty. I’m told that Fernando is back at church and that he is speaking up and participating in ways that he wouldn’t have done before. I’m hoping and praying that his close call brings him closer with God and that he heals emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

Catching up: post 4 of 4 - Missions and Ministry

2010-09-27T21:07:00.000-06:00

Note: please see post 1 - Intro, post 2 - Family, post 3 - Work, and post 4 Mission and Ministry

Missions and ministry – Having just completed my “catching up” blog post #3 about work, I realize how silly it is to differentiate between “work” and “missions and ministry”. If we’re really following Christ, it is all missions and ministry and it is mostly work, right? Nevertheless, I need some way to break this up into functional groups and this is the best I can do for now. My work here at the hospital really falls into two categories: I.T. work and everything else.

The I.T. work is made up of keeping things running and making them better. Many of you know that the hospital has gone through a significant financial crisis over this last summer, so we’ve been doing a lot of “keeping things running” and just a little bit of “making it better”. We continue to repair old routers, laptops, and other types of equipment and piece them together from spares. The lesson here is to never throw anything away as it can be used for parts later on. We have had tons of problems with our internet provider – making life difficult for all of us. We are so connected to the internet here – it is truly our only lifeline back to all of you. I have learned so much in trying to communicate with the company here in Honduras that provides us our internet. I’ve learned about communicating in Spanish in a technical and professional business environment. I’ve learned about communicating as a representative of a Christian organization, demanding service and resolution to problems (an incredibly difficult concept here in Honduras) and yet striving always to do so in a way that maintains the integrity of our ministry here at Loma de Luz. Did I mention that I was doing this in another language??? Wow, what a challenge and what an opportunity for growth.

Under the category of “Making things better” I would like to take this opportunity to introduce a new ministry called Missions I.T. I’m starting this, I believe, at the leading of the Lord. This new ministry will seek donations of money, IT equipment, and IT assistance in order to support the technical ministry here at Hospital Loma de Luz. We will seek to fund the Internet Connectivity here as well as provide salaries for local (indigenous) I.T jobs, as well as provide funding for equipment and infrastructure upgrades (i.e buy laptops and routers and such). I’m really excited about this and will write more about it soon in a separate introductory newsletter.

Having covered I.T. work in the last two paragraphs, I now come to the “everything else” part of our ministry here at Loma de Luz. John Lennon said that “life is what happens while you’re making other plans.” Well, life here is often what happens during the “everything else” phase of our ministry here. This usually translates into helping with some part of medical care of the patients here in the hospital and occasionally helping out with rides or whatever is needed. God continues to allow me to rediscover my passion for helping out with the medical side here at the hospital and it is this part of my life that has been the most challenging, the most profound, and the most rewarding. Dr Sharon was very kindly thanked me for helping out with a sick child recently and I had to thank her for allowing me to help. “That’s my passion”, I told her pointing to the little baby lying on the hospital bed - that is what I really love. I.T. work is needed here and makes my time here useful – but it is helping with the patients that I love above everything else.

In the last few months I’ve helped deliver a still born baby, helped many times with “coding” patients – patients who aren’t breathing and or do not have a pulse. I’ve transported several patients in to the hospital in La Ceiba, including a gunshot victim and pregnant patients who were having trouble with their delivery. I’ve helped clean up and dress babies who had died and presented them to their parents for them to “say goodbye”. I’ve placed a baby in its parent arms whom we thought was going to die any minute and watched God spare his life and allow him to continue to live, seemingly against all odds. In short, I’ve been involved in the living and dying here at the hospital as we strive to give the best possible medical care in some of the toughest possible situations with as much of God’s love as we can possible give at any given moment. I’ve seen God move over and over again. Sometimes it feels like I’m in the book of Acts and sometimes it feels that God is very far away indeed. I’m learning to achieve some semblance of emotional stability in the midst of incredibly emotional days. Sometimes, I run from a telephone business meeting in the states off to a dying patient and then go right back into the meeting when I’m done helping. It seems strange, crazy, and incredible – all at the same time – But I want you to know this: I know that I am right where God wants me to be. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Please pray that God would continue to use me in this way here at Loma de Luz and that he would give me wisdom about priorities, compassion, and helping in the most loving way possible. In the next few weeks, I’ll post the stories of little Miguel, Jose and others whose life God has touched and in most cases spared by His grace. Stay tuned.

Catching up: post 3 of 4 - Work

2010-09-27T21:03:00.000-06:00

Note: please see post 1 - Intro, post 2 - Family, post 3 - Work, and post 4 Mission and Ministry

Work - I often don’t talk about my “day job” or my business when I’m blogging. I find it hard to talk about working for a “living” when all of the other missionaries I know work in their ministry full time. I sometimes feel awkward because of this and, to be very honest, sometimes I feel like I don’t do either of them well because of the pull between the two priorities. I’m so thankful to have been blessed with great clients who are infinitely patient with me as I try and find the right balance between these two areas of my life. The last few months have been so busy with work that I really can’t ignore it when telling folks about how I’ve been doing and what I’ve been doing. I’ve been working on a project for a client in Salt Lake City that turned out to be much bigger than I thought it would be. While I’ve been working on the project for about a year now – these last two-three months have just been really, really busy with this project. One aspect of this is that I’ve had to travel back to the states much more than I’d like to. I’ve made six trips in the last 12 months. This is really hard on the family and, to a lesser extent, on those that I serve with here at Loma de Luz. The good side of this is that it has been a real challenge for me and I’ve grown personally and professionally through tackling a project much bigger than anything I’ve tackled before. The best part of all is that it has been a huge blessing financially and relieved much of the financial stress of some slow months prior to starting the project. I am still working on it and in some ways, busier than ever. We are in the middle of implementing the project now and it is finally actually starting take flight. I hope to be winding down with this particular project in October but, thanks be to God, this same client has approached me about two more big projects for next year. It seems as if God clearly wants me to pursue this “bi-vocational” or “tent-making” type of missionary service. The prayer request here is that I would remain faithful to the way God wants to support us here at Loma de Luz – and work hard to do the work that he has given me. Please pray that I would be a blessing to my clients and that I would be responsible with deadlines and commitments. Lastly, please pray that I would find and maintain a good balance between the often competing priorities of missions and ministry, family, and my work.

Catching up: post 2 of 4 - Family

2010-09-27T20:04:00.000-06:00

Note: please see post 1 - Intro, post 2 - Family, post 3 - Work, and post 4 Mission and Ministry

Family – I put this first (before work and ministry updates) because I want you to think that this is always my first priority. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. All too often in these last months my family has had to wait patiently while dad has been away on work trips or down at the hospital helping with patients or otherwise engaged. My constant conviction is that I need to more available to my dear family. So, I start with this prayer request: please Lord, give me wisdom about how much to commit to and give me the conviction to be a father and a husband first. Amen. Mariah and Benny are growing up so quickly. All in all, I think that Honduras is the best thing that has ever happened to them. I can almost hear their minds expanding as we encounter different situations here that they would never encounter in The States and as they learn to express themselves in a new language.

Mariah was bored a bit this summer – with many of her friends gone over the summer break, but she had the chance to connect in a very deep way with one friend that visited from the US. She is always worried about how everyone else is doing and worries about her daddy. I’ve been learning how to communicate with her as a parent of a teenager. Wow, what a difference God makes in the midst of this! We have the wonderful shared common ground of God and His Word to base our relationship on and it is such a blessing. We talk about boys more than she’d like to and she thinks about boys more than I’d like her to. She likes to disappear into her room (I call it the teenage disappearing act) and in my busyness; I let her do it a little too often. She is a good kid, serious about school and too grown up for her age. She is beautiful. She owns me, and she knows it.

Benny is also homeschooled full time now and is reading like a machine. His eight year old mind is actively engaged in ways to get out of doing school work and playing jokes on his sister. He is beginning to be the smartest kid I know. He does things on the computer that absolutely amaze me. He has a real aptitude for figuring things out quickly and a quick engaging smile. Visitors who come here each year quickly ask me “how’s Benny” as soon as they see me. They may not remember me, but they remember Benny. He is full of life and always engaged in some imaginary battle. He is a clown and can get us all laughing at even the most serious family moments. My challenge with him is learning to parent a kid that often tries to outsmart me and loves the verbal jousting. When the chips are down, Benny is right there by my side – my trusted amigo, but he also loves to “push my buttons”.

Marinajo is in a real growth spurt spiritually. Every time I turn around, she is buried in this Bible study or that Chapter in the Bible. She is helping to teach a sexual purity class (based on the Bible) in the local schools and hosts a weekly Bible study for a couple of girls from a neighboring village. All indications are that she is having an eternal impact here as she continues to turn her life over to Christ. She continues to amaze me in the depth and ways that she loves me. I remember saying to myself early on in our relationship some 23 years ago, that this is a woman who loves deeply. I am still amazed by this. We celebrate 20 years of marriage this year. I’ve promised to take her on a fabulous Caribbean vacation for our twentieth, but she gives me this sideways look (I call it the fish eye) of suspicion, because we already live on the Caribbean and I think that she is afraid that I’ll take over to the next village for supper or something.

Catching up: post 1 of 4 - Intro

2010-09-27T19:55:00.000-06:00

Communication: it is so critical to what we are doing and yet truly one of the hardest parts of being on the mission field. If I work as hard as I think God wants me to work here (hard), then there is very little time to really sit down and write about what we are doing. If I throw myself into all of the opportunities that I believe God is putting before us here in this place (many), then it becomes very hard to effectively communicate in the little bit of time that I do take to sit down and write. Lastly, the pace is so fast and the experiences are so new, so dramatic, and so confusing that it becomes triply hard to distill them into coherent sentences. And yet, writing helps us to do three things in a way that almost nothing else does. A) It communicates to our family, friends, and supporters how we are doing and what we are doing down here at Hospital Loma de Luz. B) It serves to record the very dramatic and sometimes the mundane that happens to us. I want to record these things for my family and for me to reflect on later – so that we can remember these times. C) Maybe this one is the most important – it serves to clarify the experiences and shows me (and others) what God is doing in the midst of life that just seems so busy that I just can’t keep up. Warren Buffett said that “there is nothing like writing to force you to think and to get your thoughts straight”. Ultimately, when I’m not writing it is because I can’t get my thoughts straight.

My goal with this series of posts is to “catch up” on the last three to four months. As I look at my blog, I see that I did an ok job of keeping up in May, writing four or five “posts”. Since then, I’ve written a couple of stories of the big events – but really haven’t done a good job of keeping up. I’ll try and break things down in the following three posts: Family, Work, Mission and Ministry. I’ll post the first one (family) tonight and hope to get the other two partially written ones posted in the next few days.

An urgent financial need at Hospital Loma de Luz

2010-08-08T17:45:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello from Honduras! We pray that this note finds each of you well. Our family is well. We are enjoying a bit of a respite from the hottest times of the summer and yet sweating away in the heat and humidity that seems to always be here! Mariah and Benny are enjoying their summer break from school and are already looking forward (though not always with eager anticipation) to returning to the routine of school next month. :)

Marinajo and I wanted to let you know about an urgent need for funds here at Hospital Loma de Luz. The financial needs described in this email are not directly for our family, rather they are for the missionary hospital at which we serve. We ask that you please read the brief financial synopsis below and please prayerfully consider how you might help in this time of need. We know that God is able to meet every need and we know of the many, many times that He has shown Himself faithful to this ministry over the years. We look forward to recounting this time in later years as yet another moment when the Lord heard us and He answered our prayers!

It costs about $40,000 US per month to operate the hospital. This includes a payroll for Honduran workers of $20,000 per month and about $5,000 per month for electricity (electricity in Honduras is extraordinarily expensive!). This includes the Children's Center, which currently houses 19 children. Honduran workers are trained to staff the Children's Center and work in the hospital in various capacities as well as workers on the property to maintain the grounds and equipment. While $40,000 per month might sound like a lot of money (and it is!), remember that this is the total required for the operation of the entire hospital inpatient and outpatient services, as well as many ancillary ministries. We see about 200 patients per week in the clinic, and have an in-patient average of about 6 patients. The average cost for the hospitalization of a single complex patient in the USA might be that same $40,000, so we are using money and resources very carefully.

This week Lisa, our hospital administrator, came to the medical staff meeting to give the financial status report as follows:

At best, we operate with a cushion of only 2 or at the most, 3 months of operating expenses in the bank. Currently, however, the donations are down to a bare minimum, and the hospital has had to lay off workers. Lisa reported that we have roughly $15,000 of operating expenses remaining, $10,000 of which was to pay 2 weeks of payroll and the other for electricity.

There is a container full in the Gulf which Dr. Jeff wants shipped in the next month which will cost about another $5,000. Among other items in the shipment is a fluoroscope machine (x-ray) for the hospital.

Patient fees account for only about 10% of the total operating budget. The other 90% comes from donations, mostly from the USA. We have no large financial supporters for the ministry. All donations come from small churches and individual donors. So we have been asked to pray and to get the word out to supporters on the current financial status of the hospital so they can pray also.

Dear friends, if you are able to help financially, please contact;

Hospital Loma de Luz

Cornerstone Foundation

Kathleen Jones

228-328-1579

18384 West Lake Drive
Saucier, MS 39574

We pray for God's richest blessings for each of you. Thank you!

Dave and Marinajo Fields

Mariah and Benny

fields.fam@gmail.com

www.davefields.blogspot.com

God's Protection

2010-06-21T20:30:00.009-06:00

My friend Terry and I were finishing up a long Saturday in La Ceiba. We were fueling the truck just before leaving town for the hour and a quarter ride home to Loma de Luz. We always fill up last because we want the fullest tank possible as we cross over the plancha (dry river bed) and into the campo (the country).

We’ve known that we live in a very dangerous place here in Honduras. I’ve often said that the murder rate here is one of the highest in the world. It is one thing to know this fact in your head – it is quite another thing to see this horrible statistic played out in front of you. Today, as Terry and I were finishing up fueling at the Texaco station a motorcycle pulled up to the next row of gas pumps and the driver of the motorcycle pulled out a pistol and murdered one of the gas station employees. In less time than it took for you to read that last sentence, shots were fired, a man was killed, and Terry and I both came under God’s incredible protection.

You realize that it is happening after it has already happened. I heard the shots, saw the victim fall, saw the whole thing. In only a second or two – after my reactions kicked in – the man in front of me was already dead. A man on a motorcycle had pulled up, pulled a gun out, and killed him brutally and thoroughly. Even as it was happening, my mind told me “this is not a hold up – this is an assassination.” Multiple gunshots into the man as he lay on the ground told me that a point was being made here. This poor fellow had made the wrong person mad. After that, the killer shot four or five times out into the crowd – aimlessly – just trying to scare everyone away. I was in the truck waiting for Terry to finish paying. He was even closer than I was when it happened. I looked over to see where Terry was and saw him crouched down behind some good solid steel and yet – very close to the killer. The killer was walking / running right towards my truck. I didn’t want to leave Terry – but felt like I had to move. Something inside of me – very calm – said “He’s not trying to hurt you; he’s just trying to get away. Get out of his way and let him get out of here.” I moved the truck a little ways ahead and watched him walk right behind my truck in my rear view mirror. 45 cal semi auto my mind told me as I saw the gun in his hand. Not good. I leaned over and laid down on the seats until he had passed by – rose up again in time to see Terry running for cover. I opened the door and yelled to Terry “get in!” and Terry ran to the truck. As I watched, the killer ran on towards the Congrejal bridge and then Terry was in the truck next to me. I whipped the truck around and we drove a ways down the street – in the opposite direction of the killer. Terry was running his hands all over his body, checking for leaks, and so I gave him a quick pat down with the hand that wasn’t on the wheel and assured him that he appeared to be completely intact. After we had gone a few hundred yards, we realized that it was over and that the killer was gone. I presumed that he had jumped over the bridge and down onto the river bank below. We knew that we were out of danger and unharmed. I asked Terry what he wanted to do and he said “I didn’t get my change from that guy – he still owes me 300 lemps! I said “are you sure it is worth it?” To which he replied “heck yes, it’s worth it – turn around.” So I turned around and we went back to the gas station!

I need to pause here and say that this type of thing happens all the time here in Honduras. The newspapers show headlines (and often gruesome pictures) of the most recent assassinations/ killings almost every day. Somewhere in Honduras - this is always happening. Given this, it is absolutely astounding how quickly things get back to normal after something like this happens. It couldn’t have been five minutes after the murder when we got back to the gas pumps. A huge crowd had gathered around the body and cars were already maneuvering for space at the gas pumps. It was absolutely amazing the sense of normalcy that pervaded the atmosphere. I checked the victim to see if there was anything I could do for the poor man (the firefighter in me demanded that I at least check on him) and there most clearly wasn’t anything anyone could do for him. Terry was discussing basic math with the poor gas attendant who was trying to make change but just couldn’t seem to get the math right. No one was crying. People were crowding around the victim and many were taking pictures with their cell phones. There was a sense of excitement about it all – but not a sense of shock or a sense of tragedy at all. I’ve been around lots of tragedies in the states just after they happened – when I was in the Fire Service – and the common factor in all of them is a profound sense of shock. Not here. There was no shock – it was business as usual inside of 10 minutes.

Terry and I left just as the police showed up. As we drove off Terry told me that someone had said that the killer was picked up by another man on a motorcycle on the bridge and that they sped off. As we drove onward, we just kept looking at each other and saying, “My God that was close!” We kept telling each other the story – over and over again, each of us getting clarity from the other’s perspective. We both realized how incredibly close we had been to this thing and we were so thankful that neither was hurt. I told Terry how terrible I felt for leaving him and pulling away in the truck when I did and he told me how much he thought I did exactly the right thing and how thankful he was that as he ran away I was still close enough to call to him to get in the truck. I replayed the scene a thousand times in my mind and with Terry trying to think if there was something that I could have done differently – or better. We both knew that the first 5 shots were meant for the victim alone and that we could have been standing right next to the victim and never really been in danger from those first shots. There were about four or five other shots though, a second round of shots that we knew could have killed us. The killer seemed to fire them randomly as if he were just trying to scare everyone off – which he did with great effectiveness. Everyone ran – I pulled my truck ahead and watched him run around behind my truck and then Terry and all of the crew from the gas pumps ran parallel to me. It seemed like a miracle to us that no one else was hurt from that second round of four or five shots. We wouldn't know just how much of a miracle it was until later.

For me, the drive home was a study in what happens when the adrenaline runs out of you. Not five minutes later, my phone started ringing and it was Marinajo calling me. Should I answer it? Should I tell her? No, don’t tell her yet, it is too fresh and she’ll just worry and fret all the time we’re driving home. What if she heard about it and is calling to check on me (the absurdity of this particular argument didn’t’ hit me until later)? Ok, answer it. HihoneyYeahwerefineWe’rejustleavingandwe’llbehomesoonTalktoyoulaterbye. Click. No room for any questions. Perfect. Now pull yourself together and you can tell her when you get home, in person. The realization quickly hit me that essentially every time I have made this trip to La Ceiba – Marinajo and Benny were with me and that even today, the plan had been to take Benny with me. Oh God, thank you that my family wasn’t in the car with me! Thank you that Benny didn’t have to see that, to hear that, to experience that! I sighed these deep deep sighs over and over again as the adrenaline left and the reality sunk it. I prayed thank you over and over again – thank you Lord that you protected us and thank you that my family wasn’t there.

When we got home, we agreed that we wouldn’t speak of it right away – but that we would each take time to tell our wives in the most comforting way possible and then later – we would speak of it in their presence. I had managed to compose myself pretty well until I walked around the truck. There, staring at me from the right rear fender, just behind the door to the fuel cap, was a nice big bullet hole. Wow, I knew it was close, but I didn’t know it was that close! I called Terry over and we just stood there and stared at it. Upon further inspection, two things became very clear 1) the angle of entry was such that the bullet was heading very much in my direction and 2) that there was no exit – the right rear fender of the truck had stopped that bullet. To me, this seems miraculous. The fender on my truck is very light sheet metal and doesn’t have any business stopping any bullets. It might slow them down, but shouldn’t stop them. The reality of it sunk in anew, and deeper. Oh God, thank you! Thank you for your protection!

Later, after the groceries were unloaded and I sat down quietly with Marinajo to “break the news to here”, she quickly grabbed my hands and immediately started praying. “God, thank you that you are who you say you are”, she prayed. “Thank you that you cover us with your hands and that you protect us.” Amen. I realized that just last night, I had been discussing with Suzanne Rumbaugh that “we are all terminal” as we spoke of her mother’s cancer and that none of us here on Earth knows the number of days that we will live. Dear reader, do you know the number of days that you will live? If it was you in the car at the gas station when the gunman opened fire, would you be ready to die and meet God? Here is Suzanne’s reflection on her mother’s cancer:

I am so glad to know that our Lord God is sovereign over this universe, yet intimate with our deepest thoughts and need. My mom's prognosis is not stellar by worldly standards, yet The Great Physician holds the trump card in any deck. And we're all terminal, are we not? Most of us just deny it. Let's live like we know it!
"Every day ordained for me was written in your book before one of them came to be." -Psalm 139:16

Tonight, as I contemplate my own mortality, I am absolutely certain that God holds me in His hands and that nothing can take me from Him. The Bible tells me that neither death nor life can separate me from His love for me in Christ Jesus. I’m ready. I don’t want to go yet, but I’m ready. How about you friend? Is today the day to get right with God and be “ready”? I offer this in complete humility – not wishing to sound pious or proud. I just pray that you would hear God’s voice today and know that you are “ready.” And that if you are “ready” – that we would all live like we know it, every day. Thanks for reading and thanks for your prayers for protection in this dangerous place that we live.

¹As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.²For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

2^nd Corinthians chapter 6

My sissy.

2010-05-16T21:09:00.005-06:00

Just a few days after Bairon’s vacation, it was off to San Pedro Sula to pick up my sister, Kathy, at the airport. We spent Friday night with our friends the Hoffs in San Pedro before picking Kathy up at the airport on Saturday. Kathy arrived more or less on time to one of the busiest days that we’ve seen at the SPS airport in a long time. She came out of the immigration area just long enough to tell us that she was missing a suitcase and that she would be back once she was done filling out the paperwork related to the missing suitcase. Oh boy. Can you believe it, the suitcase came in later than night and the airlines (Continental) delivered it all the way out to the hospital the next day?? That is about four hours away! I was just amazed (and thankful) that we didn’t have to spend an extra night in SPS to wait for the lost suitcase. If there are any “old-timers” from Loma de Luz reading this, they must be shaking their heads at how easy we have it these days – having lost bags delivered to the hospital. Wow.

Our drive back with Kathy was a great time to get caught up. It was also neat to see her get re-acquainted with Honduras. You see, she had been here four times previously for medical missions trips (she is an RN) to the southern part of the country prior to our ever thinking about coming to Honduras. She loved the country and the people before God put a call in our hearts to be here. Isn’t that neat? I need to mention again how fortunate we are to have so much support from our family as we serve here at Loma de Luz. In less than two years, we’ve already been visited by Marinajo’s mom, Mary, and my Dad and Stepmom, Dennis and Julie, and now my sister, Kathy, was here with us for a visit. Understand that we serve alongside people who may have never had that much family visit them. We are just so fortunate and blessed for this and we thank our family for all of their support.

The week with Kathy went by quickly. Here are a few highlights:

Kathy was able to spend some time with John Alden at a remote health clinic and with Penny Alden doing some home visit / dressing changes on a patient who had recently had surgery.

Kathy was able to meet many of the folks that we serve with here at Loma de Luz. It was kind of like introducing family to family.

Kathy’s daughter and son-in law called while she was here to tell us that he had passed his FBI interview and would most likely be heading to Quantico for FBI academy. That was some big news!

An important businesswoman was kidnapped in La Ceiba (about an hour away) and then brought to a town very close to here (3-4 miles away) and held hostage for five days. Read more about this here.

Thursday afternoon a two-year old boy came into the hospital –in very grave condition – with and accidental iron overdose/poisoning. Read more about this here.

Friday went to a hotel about 45 minutes away and swam and had a wonderful lunch together. It was such a relaxing way to end her time with us.

Instead of driving all the way back to San Pedro – we put her on a plane in La Ceiba early Saturday morning and after a long day of travel, she arrived home safely late Saturday.

As I reflect on Kathy’s visit – I’m struck by how much like our mom she is. Mom died back in 1995 and as hard as it is for me to admit it, I really don’t think of her that often. I tend to forget Mom's mannerisms and way of speaking for example. Kathy is so much like Mom in those little mannerisms that it brought all of those memories of Mom flooding back in. It made me miss Mom and also made me thankful she lives on, in some sense, through my sister. Kathy has such a soft and giving heart. She brought all kinds of things down for us in her suitcase that we had asked her for and then wouldn't let us pay for any of it. Her visit and her love are such a comfort to us here. It was a wonderful time to renew our love for one another and to renew our friendship. Lastly, I’m so thankful to the time that the kids were able to spend with her. One of the biggest regrets that we have in living down here out of the country is missed time with family. Thank you Lord for this time well spent with my sister!

Iron overdose / poisoning.

2010-05-13T21:26:00.041-06:00

Thursday afternoon a two year old boy came into the hospital after having eaten "a package" of his mom’s iron pills. It didn’t take long for me to realize what a grave emergency an iron overdose is for a young child (or for anyone for that manner). It seemed as if the young boy (from the information that his mom gave us) had taken as much as six times the lethal dose of iron for his body weight and size. Wow. The doctors felt that we needed to get him to a place that would have special medicine needed to counteract the effects of the iron overdose. The decision was made to send him into to the hospital in La Ceiba via ambulance with the hopes that he would be able to receive the very important medicine - which we did not have. Our hospital does not have an ambulance, so we call for the Red Cross Ambulance (about thirty minutes away) to transport patients in these cases. We sent two nurses in the ambulance with him and I followed the ambulance in to La Ceiba in order to bring them back home.

In a country full of crazy drivers and close calls, this ride to La Ceiba will remain in my memory as the craziest ride ever. It is simply a miracle of God that no one died because of the Red Cross Ambulance driver. Sure in the US folks get over to the right when they see an ambulance coming (most of the time), but this place is not the US and drivers often don't yield the right away to the ambulance. This didn't faze our driver. As I followed him in and prayed for the safety of the two nurses (Penny and Joelle) I saw him take unimaginable risks - pulling directly out into oncoming traffic in order to pass cars in our lane. At one point he literally drove an oncoming semi into the ditch in order to get around some cars. Several times we were doing over 150 kph in busy two lane traffic and if you can believe it - in the middle of a very intense thunderstorm. The ladies in the ambulance told me that his front window was completely fogged over from the rain and it didn't seem like he could see anything. I believe it!

Here is Joelle's account of the ride in - which also contains a few more details on the young boy and his condition.

We arrived in La Ceiba safely (thank God) and took the boy into the ER. A very capable sounding pediatrician met us right away and began to examine the patient and taking a report from Nurse Penny. We were terribly disappointed when the doctor told us that the special medicine that we were hoping for couldn't be found anywhere in Central America. It seemed at the time that there was no hope for the boy.

We now know that they boy did survive those first few days in the hospital and that he was sent home after about four days in the hospital. We hope/pray/want to believe that this is a miraculous answer to prayer and that God chose to spare this young boy's life. We are still concerned about the possible long term effects of the poisoning and fear that he may not be out of the woods. And so we continue to pray for him - that God would indeed spare his life and heal him. I'll be sure to add more details later if we hear about them.

Kidnapping

2010-05-12T21:14:00.000-06:00

In a scene that is all too familiar here in Central America, an important businesswoman was kidnapped in La Ceiba (about an hour away) and then brought to San Luis, a town very close to here (3-4 miles away) and held hostage for five days.

The story is that this lady would often go to the windows of the house where she was being held hostage and try and alert someone that she needed help. Someone reported this and a special kidnapping task force from La Ceiba raided the house on Wednesday night and rescued the woman alive – but the kidnappers seemed to have all escaped. This meant that the kidnappers were at large in our immediate area – a fact that gave us all some pause and caused us to be extra careful with our travel . This also caused us to pray for security since for a couple of days we were unsure as to the location of the kidnappers. In truth we are still unsure of the location of these people, but as time moves on it seems less likely that they are still in the area.

Lastly, we know that one of the policemen from the kidnapping taskforce died here Wednesday night, apparently while trying to apprehend the kidnappers. The story in all of the papers is that he was chasing one of them when he either fell in the river or tried to cross the river and drowned. The police get a bad rap here - often corrupt and untrustworthy. This policemen seems to have died while trying very hard to do the right thing.

Scorching Hot!

2010-05-09T20:47:00.001-06:00

The last two weeks of April were quite possibly the hottest two and half weeks of my life. It was absolutely scorching here. We struggled just to get by some days. I am quite sure that it was over a hundred degrees in my office on several occasions. One note of incredible comfort though, our new house has an air conditioner in the bedroom. We laughed at it when we first moved into the house and swore we would never need to use it – but those couple of weeks brought us to our proverbial knees. We would set the a/c to 80 degrees and it would just take the edge of the heat off enough to let us sleep at nights. We would do this with not a little amount of guilt knowing that several of the missionaries down here didn’t have that option (a.c) and really suffered trying to sleep at night during that same time.


My hero, Oswald Chambers, served as a chaplain in a WW1 British camp during the summers in North Africa. He and his family served the Lord in unimaginable heat and did so with grace and perseverance (and he had to wear a tie and long sleeves every day). This makes me feel all the more “weak” by enjoying such amazing modern comforts out here in the Jungle where we serve.   Even with all of our guilt, we are so thankful for the Larson family (former missionaries here) that built this house and spent the money to put a/c in the bedroom. What a blessing!

Bairon's Vacation.

2010-05-07T20:29:00.002-06:00

Do you ever “wake up” and realize that the last few weeks have just been a blur? It seems as if I’ve been in one of those time-warp / black hole thingees lately. I find myself reflecting on the last few weeks and really thankful that the schedule will be calming down a bit now. It started around mid-April when Bairon told me that he needed to take a few weeks off. Bairon is the (Honduran) employee that works with me in the IT department here at Loma de Luz. Since I am his direct supervisor, I suppose it is correct to say that works “for me” but it is really more accurate to say that we work together here to solve IT problems and help keep things running smoothly. I have to say that I never really realized how much he does each day until he went on vacation. I found myself fighting to keep my head above water as I tried to handle his duties and keep my work for the IT business going as well. The computers staged a coordinated revolt during Bairon’s absence. Routers and laptops were literally throwing themselves out of windows (pun intended) and onto the ground. I’ve never seen such coordinated malicious behavior from a group of seemingly inanimate objects. Due mostly to the incredible patience of the folks that I work with – we managed to make it through until Bairon returned. This went on for about two and half weeks and brought us right up to the time for a much anticipated visit from my sister Kathy.

Mariah Easter 2010 dance - The Via Doloroso

2010-04-28T21:47:00.000-06:00

Easter at Loma de Luz was filled with our own traditional styles of celebration. Many of us were busy in one way or another with preparations. A month before, three of us ladies began planning the Easter program. We had a choir, dramatic readings, praise and worship, music videos, special music and other things to organize for the glory of our Savior. Of course there were also wonderful Easter dishes for the potluck to prepare as well. The most challenging preparations for our family began two months before Easter Sunday when Sharon, a dear sister, asked Mariah to consider doing an interpretive dance for the Easter service. We left the decision up to her. We encouraged her to do it but told her that she needed to determine what God wanted her to do. Dave and I and Suzanne prayed for her as she determined that very thing. After a week of prayer she believed that God wanted her to dance. Thus began the biggest spiritual challenge Mariah had ever faced.

For most of her younger years ballet had been her life. Since we moved to Honduras Mariah’s passions have changed from dance to music and the guitar. There simply is not a proper ballet studio here for her to train at and the majority of the youth at Loma de Luz play an instrument. Also, none of the girls here have had dance lessons and many have never seen a live ballet. Therefore her circle of friends here aren’t in the least interested in dance. There is very little negative about the social environment among the teens here, but they do have a tendency to tease one another. In fact, many times they have teased Mariah about her “ballet past.” This was the main reason why Mariah did not want to dance; For fear that she would (mess up and) never hear the end of it from her friends.

She did receive many encouraging words from adults which she respects greatly. She was even able to work with our friend, Carrie, who had done interpretive dance in the states. Carrie encouraged her to dedicate one hour a day to her dance weather it was in time with God, working out, meditating on the words of the song, or practicing the dance itself. Mariah applied these words of wisdom and dedicated an hour a day whenever possible. But a sudden change in her schedule threatened her dedication.

Part of being involved with the bilingual school she attends is to help two days a week for two hours with the “English as a Foreign Language” class offered to local students. We found this information out after Mariah had already agreed to dance and while she was in the middle of writing a thesis paper. We have always taught her to honor her word and reminded her that God wanted her to dance… Into my hita’s heart waltzed doubt, stress, and more fear – fear of failure. She was sure that she would not be able to do everything well and thus disappoint everyone - including God.

The word of God tells us in Romans 5: 2-5… And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

With hind-sight I can see how indeed this scripture worked its way through Mariah’s situation. Nearly every day she came home and did her homework, worked on her paper, warmed her body up and danced. Nearly every day she said, “I don’t want to do this;” Some days she said it with tears. But she persevered. Mariah had been advised not to show anyone her dance ahead of time for many different reasons. The evening before the Easter program, Amy – a older teenage friend of Mariah’s, asked Mariah if she would show her the dance. Amy wanted to prove to Mariah that her fears were unfounded. Indeed, Amy was a great encouragement to Mariah that evening. Mariah went to bed feeling much better about her upcoming solo.

Easter morning arrived and so did the doubts and fears again…and to add to all that the hormones of a 13 year old. There was much gnashing of teeth and wailing – she was definitely under attack by the evil one – both physically and spiritually. Dave and I prayed with her and encouraged her, gave her scriptures to proclaim over her fears, loved on her and told her that “In Christ she can do all things.” She was in her costume when we left for the service and was convinced she looked like a fairy. Upon arriving she basically began to panic. Then she found out that a local boy that had been unkind to her in the past was there. She really freaked out at that information. She knew that he would never let her live it down. She continued to say, “I’m not going to do this,” or “I can’t do this.” Then Amy entered the office and prayed and encouraged her again. This calmed her down enough to listen to reason and truth and to start believing both.

And so here you see some pictures of my beautiful daughter dancing before her God in obedience and trusting that He would be her strength. Mariah did a beautiful job. Her giftedness in dance shone through the storm as she let His light pierce the darkness of the devil’s schemes. Those who had known her struggles and had been praying for her were brought to tears to see her triumph over her fears. For days her friends only had wonderful words of encouragement for her. We were proud of her and her heavenly father was too.

The character of Christ is built up in us through the difficult things in our lives. Mariah’s character matured greatly. Her hope in God did not disappoint her as God poured out His love for her through the power of His Holy Spirit. God is good – all the time. ~ Marinajo

Spanish Translation / Bible Study Prep Tools

2010-04-22T20:45:00.000-06:00

I've been spending a lot of time doing Bible Study Prep lately in Spanish. I am currently involved with two Spanish Bible Studies. Until the Spanish part comes a lot more easily (when will that be??) - I am finding that one can easily double or triple their prep time as they try to figure out ahead of time what to say and how to say it. To that end, I wanted to make you aware of a couple of Spanish Language Bible Study Tools and Translation aides that I have found most helpful in preparing in the hopes that they might also be found helpful by some of you.

Here they are:

http://translate.google.com

This is such a handy site because you can easily flip between English>Spanish translations and Spanish>English translations. It also gives you an immediate translation as you type. Lastly many times, there is a speaker icon which you can click to hear the words spoken in either language.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/parallel-bible/passage.aspx?q=john+3:16&t=esv&t2=bla

This is quickly becoming my favorite on-line Bible. It is parallel, so it allows you to choose an English version and a Spanish version to read side by side. The best part for me is that it displays the verses truly side by side - so that if I get lost in the Spanish version I can more quickly pick up the English side - grab the word that I need and get back to reading the Spanish version. I find this much harder to do in my Bilingual Bible.

Please post anything that you've found helpful in the comments!

Hope this helps!

US Ambassador to Honduras continues to advance hard-left Democratic agenda.

2010-04-19T10:03:00.000-06:00

Here is the link to the original story in the Wall Street Journal

By Mary Anastasia O'Grady:

The U.S. ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, continues to use his post in Tegucigalpa to advance the political strategy of some of Washington's most hard-left Democrats. His effort deserves attention because it is part of a broader ideological agenda for the region that runs counter to U.S. security interests.

Twelve days ago Mr. Llorens hosted a dinner party at his residence for more than a half-dozen members of President Porfirio Lobo's cabinet. The guests of honor were two visiting Capitol Hill staffers. Fulton Armstrong works for Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Peter Quilter works for California Congressman Howard Berman, who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Both elected politicians are known for left-wing sympathies. So too are their staffers. Mr. Armstrong is more famous than his House counterpart because of his working relationship—when he was on the National Intelligence Council—with Ana Belen Montes, the highest ranking Cuban spy ever to penetrate the Pentagon.

It is strange enough that the ambassador thought it appropriate to subject cabinet ministers to an evening with Hill staffers. It is even more bizarre that the staffers would think it appropriate to use the occasion to pressure the ministers on matters of domestic politics.

Yet multiple reports from the event all told the same story: The foreigners said that they are still sore with Honduran supporters of what the Obama administration had branded "a coup d'etat" last year. Those supporters, who argued that Honduras had the constitutional right to remove President Manuel Zelaya from power, had hired lobbyists to present their arguments in Washington. They caused great trouble for the Democrats, the Kerry-Berman emissaries complained.

The staffers had other meetings with government and private-sector VIPS where this issue came up. According to some of those present, the visitors implied that if Honduras wants to get right with the U.S., it should find a way to officially accept the Obama administration's coup d'etat narrative.

Mr. Armstrong's office says that the staffers' visit was "part of their normal staff responsibilities" and that they "discussed a whole host of issues with their interlocutors."

If that included pushing to make their version of the "coup" official, it's nothing new. Last year, after the Law Library of Congress opined that Honduras had acted constitutionally when it removed Mr. Zelaya, Messrs. Kerry and Berman penned a letter to the head of the Law Library to demand that the opinion be retracted and "corrected." The head librarian stood by the Library's analysis. But as the Armstrong-Quilter visit suggests, the lawmakers have not given up their quest to rewrite history.

The Americas in the News

Get the latest information in Spanish from The Wall Street Journal's Americas page.

Equally troubling are questions about Mr. Armstrong, who last year tried to block Republican Sen. Jim DeMint's fact-finding trip to Honduras. For much of his career as a Central Intelligence Agency analyst on Latin America, Mr. Armstrong's work was shrouded in secrecy. That changed when Mr. Kerry blurted out his name during 2005 hearings on George W. Bush's nomination of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Mr. Bolton's adversaries claimed that he was unqualified for the job because he had tried to have Mr. Armstrong fired for political reasons.

Otto Reich, a former assistant secretary of state for Western hemisphere affairs, went before staffers of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to testify on Mr. Bolton's behalf. Mr. Reich says he told the staffers that he had found Mr. Armstrong's work consistently unreliable and that much of the national security bureaucracy saw it the same way. The late columnist Robert Novak wrote for Townhall.com at the time that Mr. Reich's views fit "complaints I have heard from Reagan administration officials about Armstrong's left-wing bias on Western Hemisphere questions in general, but particularly on Cuba."

Mr. Armstrong's name also comes up in the 2007 book "True Believer," by Defense Intelligence Agency "mole hunter" Scott Carmichael. It tells the story of how the U.S. busted Cuban spy Montes in 2001.

As the National Intelligence Officer for Latin America in 2000, Mr. Armstrong was "in frequent telephone and e-mail contact with Ana," Mr. Carmichael writes. "As NIO he was the senior subject-matter expert on Latin American affairs for the [director of central intelligence], and he welcomed Ana's participation in the fellowship program under his personal tutelage. They had discussed the nature of her research project in some detail, and preparations were already underway to launch Ana further and deeper into the U.S. intelligence community." The book does not say that he knew she was a spy. Mr. Armstrong's office did not respond to my request for comments.

All of this raises questions about Mr. Armstrong's judgment on Latin America and his qualifications to be the point person for the Senate in shaping U.S. policy in Honduras in 2010.

Write to O'Grady@wsj.com

You were right Jerry

2010-04-07T21:23:00.001-06:00

You’ll hold children that are dying……..he said to me and let the weight of it hang in the air for a minute before moving on. C’mon I said to myself, don’t be so dramatic. I’m just going there to help out with the computer systems. My friend Jerry was trying to get through to me the gravity of what living at a missionary hospital would be like – he was trying to make sure that I understood what we (my family and I were getting ourselves into). I’ve since told Jerry how right he was and I would have to say to him tonight, you were right again, Jerry.

Many of you know that I was a volunteer firefighter and EMT for about 10 years in Colorado and I absolutely loved the work. Many times I’ve prayed that God would use the gifts and skills that I developed during that time here in this time at Hospital Loma de Luz. Several times God has answered that prayer and in the last week, I’ve had the awful privilege of assisting (in a small way) with two children who have died here at the hospital.

The first was a young boy who had been a drowning victim who came in last Thursday – the day before Good Friday. It took way too long to get him to the hospital and there seemed no hope at all for him. I was able to help with CPR as the doctors worked beyond diligently to revive him. I was so impressed with their dedication to exhausting every possible alternative before declaring him deceased. He was a three year old boy. As a father, it is so easy (for me anyway) to see your own child laying there – and realize how lucky you are that a similar disaster hasn’t befallen you. As we cleaned the child’s body up and prepared him for his mother to see him, I was struck by the profound sadness of the whole situation. We’ve since heard rumors of dereliction of parental duty involved in the accident that, if true, compound the tragedy so much more. As his mother came in saw him, she (as is common for this area) screamed and cried in a way that is not normal for us as North Americans. It is hard to describe the physical and emotional exhaustion from working in a situation like this for an extended period of time (over an hour). I walked away from there feeling like I had nothing left. I drove up the hill and stopped at my favorite spot overlooking the Caribbean and just cried and cried from sheer emotional exhaustion and the sadness of the loss of a child. You were right Jerry.

Today (6 days later) – it happened again. A lady came in to the hospital after 14 hours of hard labor up in the mountains and with a pregnancy that was already three weeks overdue. The medical staff that attended her decided that we needed to get her to the nearest full service hospital as soon as possible for a cesarean section and I was asked if I could drive her into La Ceiba (about an hour and a quarter away) along with a nurse. This is a fairly common task for me (usually in the middle of the night) and one that I am happy to be able to help with. Well this lady was just too far along and as I got there and as we were preparing to load her up in my truck for a rush trip to town, she started pushing in earnest and the baby began to crown. Well, needless to say we were stuck and immediately switched to delivery mode. I’ve been able to help out with several deliveries now and so I put some gloves on and got ready to help. Unfortunately, this baby had been in the birth canal under stress for way too long and was born not breathing. The doctors tried so hard for so long to revive the child. Once again, I was just struck by their dedication to exhausting every possible alternative before giving up hope. In each case, we prayed during the resuscitation efforts many many times and implored God to help and to return life to these children. For the second time in less than a week, I assisted a nurse in cleaning up the child’s body so that their parents could hold them and say goodbye to them. This time I was able to hand the newborn over to her mother and tell her with complete confidence that she was “with God” and “in His hands” now.

I wanted to share these events with you and let you know how thankful I am to have the opportunity to be involved here with the ongoing work of the hospital, even when it is events as sad as these were (are). I know it sounds crazy, but these profound moments in my life make me so much more appreciative of the life and health that we enjoy and so aware of the difficulties of others, that I really am thankful for them. I believe they make me a better Christian and a better missionary and that they help me to more useful here in this place. Hope that makes sense. Jerry, you were right. More right than probably you or I could have known at the time……

Why do you seek the living among the dead?

2010-04-03T21:58:00.002-06:00

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?”(Luke24:5)

It was still dark, I imagine. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and “other women” were all there together.

The stone had been rolled away.
Oh no!
His body was missing!
Suddenly, two men – brilliant light – face to the ground!
And then the question that still rings down through the ages

We know Mary Magdalene as the woman from whom seven demons had gone out of (Luke 8). Matthew, Mark, and John all document that she was there at the end – standing somewhere near the cross. And of course, we know her as the woman to whom the angels asked the most profound question on the first Easter morning: “why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Why wouldn’t the women look for Him there? Wasn't that where the disciples had left him? Wasn’t that where he was supposed to be? Why would they look anywhere else? The problem of course is the completely different perspectives of the ladies vs. the angels. Whereas the angels asked a perfectly legitimate question from a spiritual point of view – all that the women could see and all that the disciples could see was the physical point of view. You can almost hear their arguments: He died. I saw Him die. No matter that He told them He was going to die and then be raised again after three days. They didn’t get it then and many of us still don’t get it today. We look for a living Savior among the dead.

This is us: we see the spiritual offer of Easter of a new life (a resurrected life) and we say things like “I need to clean up my act” or “I need to go to church more.” Not that these are bad things in and of themselves, but they aren’t embracing Christ’s offer of new life. Others of us seek life in all sorts of worldly pleasures. This is seeking life among the dead things of this world. No! We need to see that we are being offered something on a whole different level – a new life! Righteousness, peace, and joy from the Father based on a right standing with Him! Redemption! Life eternal!

Wherever you are seeking life from, if it is not Jesus – it is dead! And, as we saw from these dear lost ladies, it is even possible to seek Jesus in way that is dead. If you are seeking Jesus as a healer, or an inspired teacher, or as a way to achieve a moral life, you are doing just as they did – you are seeking a Jesus in a grave. Jesus is alive! We must seek him as Lord and Savior. We must seek to have a personal relationship with a living God!

You who are entangled in legalism, or pornography, or witchcraft: why do you look for the living among the dead? You who are enveloped in alcoholism, or drug addiction, or homosexuality: why do you look for the living among the dead? You who look for your identity in the approval of others, or crave position or power: why do you look for the living among the dead? Look to the living God to deliver you from your sins. Repent from your sins and believe that Jesus came to bring you abundant life! He came to set you free! Free to live a life that is pleasing to God. Free to live as we were created, to live as a Holy Sacrifice, to the Glory of God the Father! In order to receive this freedom, we must accept Him on His terms – as a living savior. We can not keep him safely in His coffin and just go visit Him on Sundays. We must surrender our lives to Him more and more and more. The end goal of Christianity is not to go to a great church and live a relatively moral life – it is to follow Jesus to the Cross and then be raised with Him (our own personal Easter) to a new life in Christ. I pray that this might be true for you this (and every) Easter!

Reflections on Passover and the washing of feet

2010-04-02T09:50:00.002-06:00

One would understand if Jesus were done for the evening, without taking on the added responsibility of washing everyone’s feet.

I would submit to you that the symbolism of the night was complete without adding anything to it. Here is Jesus, serving the Seder supper. He is the Passover Lamb. He has gotten Himself to Jerusalem at the proper time. He is about to be handed over to Pilate. He is here, in the upper room sharing that Seder Supper, with all of its symbolism - about Himself – with them. He has said “this is my body, which is given for you” and “this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). You would think that it would be enough. It would be okay now for Jesus to recline and rest now – for the upcoming battle. But it was not to be, He was not finished. In His sovereignty, Jesus adds something to the moment that moves beyond the Old Testament symbolism of the Passover and shows us how we are now to act toward one another.

For a dispute has risen among them (not the first time) as to which one is the greatest (Luke 22:24). Don’t miss the irony of this. Amidst all of this symbolism about Jesus and the entire history of the Jewish Faith focusing in on this moment like the sun through a magnifying glass, and burning a hole in history, right here, right now, they are arguing amongst themselves as to who is the greatest. One would certainly understand if Jesus were just to flee to prayer in frustration right there and then. Instead he “rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, he tied it around his waist.” (John 13:4).

Jesus was taking on the characteristics of the lowliest servant. He was making a point in a way that only He could make it. I’m reminded of a recent episode with my son Ben, who is now 8 yrs old. I had encouraged, exhorted, corrected, on this one point for a long time with seemingly no change in his behavior. One day I said in frustration “I’m not getting through to you!” Well shortly after that we had another situation in which I applied some pretty unique discipline. Later that night, Benny said to me “Dad, you know how you’ve been saying that you’re not getting through to me?” “Yes…..” I answered slowly – he really had my attention now. “Well, tonight, you got my attention,” he said quite sincerely. I was shocked. I had no idea that this would be the time that I finally got through to him. In my exhaustion, I chose a unique way to carry out his correction and in so doing, I finally “got through to Him”. I have to believe that this is part of Jesus’ motivation here in wrapping a towel around His waist and washing the disciple’s feet. I believe the mere fact that they were arguing amongst themselves as to who was the greatest just after the Passover supper may have produced despair in Jesus. Father, how can I teach them this the most important point of all? Did Jesus ask that of the Father? We’ll never know, but I think that something like that may have transpired.

As Jesus begins to wash the disciple’s feet, He comes to Peter. In the memorable exchange, Peter first says that Jesus cannot wash his feet. Jesus then answers that if He does not wash Peter’s feet, then Peter “can have no part in Him”. Peter then pulls the fastest 180 degree turn in the Bible and asks Jesus to wash not only his feet, but his hands and his head too! Jesus explains, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean” (John 13:10). While I don’t pretend to know the full meaning of this scripture, I can tell you what it means to me. I believe that Jesus is telling us that we “are clean” from our sins because of His work of redemption. Because Peter was “clean” in this way Jesus did not need to wash his head and his hands – rather only his feet were “dirty”. Our feet are the part of us that touch the ground, which come in contact with this earth. In the days of dirt roads and sandals, you could take a bath and walk to someone’s house and be quite clean and yet still need to have your feet washed from the journey. In the journey, the part of us that comes in contact with the earth can become quite dirty, even though we are “clean” elsewhere. Do you see the spiritual metaphor here? We are clean because of the redemption of Christ and we do not need to be “re-cleaned” ever. There is however a part of each of us as Christians that comes into contact with this world that “get’s dirty”. We live in a dirty, dirty place and in our journey through it the part of us that comes in contact with the world often gets dirty. Thus, we must wash each other’s feet with acts of service and in humility in order to cleanse this part of our souls. When Jesus was finished washing the disciple’s feet, he asked “do you understand what I have done for you?” (John 13:12) That question still stands today: “do we understand what Jesus has done for us?” Jesus then went on to say “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done to you.” And so there it is. Jesus, our Lord and master was willing in that moment to take on the position of the lowliest servant and do the humiliating task of washing feet and then He states that we should do likewise. His theme is clear throughout John chapters 13,14,15,16, and 17 - Love. It seems to me that He is saying, you are about to need to love one another more than ever. He was leaving, they were about to face unimaginable challenges, and Jesus spends His last hours with them teaching them on service, oneness, and love. Could His message to us be more clear? We are to love one another in service and unity

One must understand the positioning of the foot washing in the timeline of the ministry (and indeed the Passion) of Christ. This was one of His very last acts of ministry. This wasn’t Jesus going through a mental checklist of things He had intended to do: “Let’s see, fast 40 days (check), temptation (check), healing (check), foot washing – ah yes, well I do have time to fit that in yet tonight.” No, this was Jesus in some of His last hours with His disciples showing them what was most important! In fact, in John 13:34, Jesus issues a new commandment. “Love one another, just as I have loved you.” “By this, all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Wow. We are to love one another just as He has loved us? Furthermore, this will be the manner in which “all people” will know that we are His disciples? This statement cannot be taken lightly. Jesus then repeats this command in John 15 verses 12 and 17. Shortly after this, Jesus prays in John 17 that the Father would protect us (vs 15) and that He would sanctify us (vs 17) and that we (all believers to follow) would be one so that the world would believe that He was sent from God (vs 21).

Jesus wants us to love one another, and He wants us to be one. I believe that this is His fondest hope for us as His followers. It was so important to Him that He added to the symbolism of the Passover supper something that had never been there before and He made it a priority to preach it to His disciples in His last hours with them. But so much more than that, it is what defined His life with us. His act in coming to earth to save us, His time with us, and all of His examples to us can be summed up in Love. His love for us is what sets us free to love one another (even as He loved us). Because He paid the price for you and for me, we don’t have to keep score any more. We’ve each been redeemed by the precious blood of the lamb. Let us now take the bread and the wine with a new understanding of our responsibility to love one another and a renewed commitment to do just that - so that the (North Coast of Honduras – and indeed the) world will know that we are His disciples. Amen.

A broken leg and a long walk home.

2010-03-08T10:40:00.000-06:00

One night recently I happened into the hospital when John Alden was in the ER attending a young boy who had most likely broken his leg falling out of a tree. The leg wasn’t really deformed, but had an ominous bump on it. John was kind enough to let me assist him with caring for the young lad. He was three and scared and his leg hurt like the dickens. He screamed out in pain whenever we touched his leg, which made getting an x-ray difficult. The x-ray confirmed the fracture, and that there was no “displacement” of the bone. Many times, I would act as the “diversion” trying to say or do funny things to take his mind off of his pain. Fortunately, he seemed to like my brand of humor and responded well to my attempts to distract him. John and I played around with several types of splints made of plaster of paris before finally finding a more modern fiberglas splint that setup more rapidly and more securely. Our job was to splint the leg for tonight and then the lad would see Dr. Jeff for a cast tomorrow. John taught me the very important trick of fitting the splint loosely to the “good leg” first so as to avoid most of the pain and then swooping in and splinting the broken leg quickly so as to greatly minimize the pain on the young man. We both got a good laugh out of everyone that came by and reminded us that we were, in fact, splinting the WRONG LEG. Even though we assured nurses and mom that we knew what we were doing, you could see the looks of doubt in their eyes. They were just sure that we had the wrong leg until finally, at the last minute, we splinted the right leg. John kept saying over and over again “Juan es loco” (John is crazy). I love John.
As we were finishing up, John explained to the parents that it would be best for the boy to stay in the hospital overnight for his comfort and then he could be seen early tomorrow by Dr. Jeff for a cast. The parents continued to look nervously at each other and I could tell that they weren’t “on-board” with the overnight stay for their son. As is customary here, there didn’t say anything, but I could tell that something was wrong. One of the Honduran nurse’s aides walked in who knew this couple very well and began to speak with them in the rapid, campensino (rural) Spanish. One way that I know that I’m getting better at Spanish is that I can catch a few words of what they are saying. I can’t by any means keep up with their conversation, but I can begin to get the idea of what they are saying. The nurse’s aide (Juana) began to explain to John that the lady had another child at home that was “on the breast” and that mom HAD to go home. Thus, she interceded for the young couple (yet another wonderful blessing of having Honduran staff that know the people here and understand their needs) and asked if they could take the boy home for tonight and then bring him back in the morning. John accepted the compromise, insisting that they promise to bring their son right back early in the morning for an appointment and a cast on the broken leg. It began to dawn on me that this couple was about to walk home, carrying the son who had just been through so much, for about 2 kilometers (about a mile and a half) in the dark. Have you ever carried someone or been carried by someone? What is the part of your body that “flops” around the most? Yep, your legs positively dangle as you are carried. I was thinking how hard life is here sometimes. These parents and this boy were about to go through a difficult half hour to get home for a short night and then would have to turn around and come back. What a nightmare. Of course, I took them home – but how many parents walked home with kids in this kind of condition or worse across the country tonight? How many parents sat in huts or tepees, or block houses with kids in much worse condition with nowhere to take their children to get help? My one simple act of taking them home and then picking them up in the morning made me feel good and it most certainly was a blessing to them, but it has a real “finger in the dyke” kind of feel to it. I guess that part of living here is beginning to understand what we don’t understand in the USA, how much pain and suffering the rest of the world deals with on a daily basis. How difficult and how raw life is for the majority of the population of the world. I think that if we understood this more clearly, we wouldn’t be quite so worried about how “broken” our own health care system is in the United States. At least we’d have some perspective with which to frame the current arguments about health care reform. I can tell you as an “outsider” looking in; we desperately need some perspective.
This is one long walk home that I was able to help with, but it feels like such a small cup from which to skim off the tiniest bit of suffering in even this region of the world. How many more parents had an even longer walk home tonight?
“God, I pray that you would be with all of those who are hurting tonight. Give us your perspective on hunger, pain, and suffering. Help us to understand the incredible blessings that you have bestowed on the United States of America and help us to understand that ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’ Amen.”

Don Clementino

2010-03-05T10:38:00.000-06:00

There are days when living here just feels like you live in a dream land. You shake your head and say “how did we get so lucky?” The weather is perfect. Cool, tropical breezes balance the sunshine and then there are the star lit nights. Wow. Yesterday, I bought a string of fish from a local boy (about Ben’s age) out on the road. There were about 30 small (8”-10”) fish tied up with cabulla – the local string that is used for everything – around his handlebars. He was riding up and down the road – looking to sell his fish. I purchased them for about $5.00. I’m quite sure that I paid at least double what he was hoping to get for them, but I just didn’t feel like I could bargain with such a little kid; surely it would be taking advantage of him.  So, I preferred that he “take advantage” of me. With the fish in the back of the pickup I headed home to clean them up and get them in the freezer. We have an outside sink, so cleaning them up was easy enough – the boys had already “gutted” them and done the hard part of the cleaning. Our gardener Don Clementino* came over and joined me at the sink as we removed the heads from the fish and cleaned them up. Suddenly something amazing had happened. We had connected.
My family and I have lived in this house now since Thanksgiving (so about four months) and, as is the custom here, the house “came” with a Gardener already in place. My understanding is that he has worked here since the house was built around four years ago. He is 78 years old, about 4’10” tall and might weigh 95 pounds soaking wet with a blanket wrapped around him. He is the quietest, meekest, most soft spoken man you’ll ever meet. He bikes about 10km (6 miles) to work each day, across one river, and then walks up the very steep hill to get to our house. As a North American, I can tell you that it is very uncomfortable and a little embarrassing to have “employees” here where we live. Although it is customary for “gringos” (white folk) to employ a gardener and a housekeeper, it is very contrary to the North American mindset and at times, very uncomfortable. The double blessing here is this: we are blessed with a beautiful looking outside area around our house that is much safer for Benny to play in (short grass means no snakes) and a 78 year old man stays employed and can support his family. Words like “social security” and “retirement age” don’t exist here. All of this background to say that it is difficult to have employees around doing things that in the USA, we would do for ourselves. It feels rich and snooty and weird sometimes. So while Don Clementino is always kind, always eager to do anything that I ask of him, I have been very uncomfortable being his “boss”. I don’t really tell him what to do; I just ask him how he is and get his aspirin or cold medicine if he tells me he isn’t feeling well. When it is rainy, I put him in the truck and take him home. Every Friday I give him his pay and that is about it.
But now, here we were at the sink, both doing something that we knew how to do – cleaning fish. I’m not sure that Clementino or I will ever feel like we really know each other, but I’m so thankful for the opportunity to know him a little better. I’ll let you know how the fish turn out.

*”Don” is not his first name, the word Don here is a title that is given to married men. It is used mostly to denote respect give to “older people”. I say “older” very gently because the title “Don” is used with me sometimes and I can’t possibly be that old!

Can't sleep.

2010-02-10T23:38:00.002-06:00

Can’t sleep tonight – so I thought I’d try and write down some brief notes about the past couple of weeks:

Luis is a patient who swallowed (Lord knows how) his dental work and the appliance is stuck in his esophagus – mid-chest. We didn’t have the proper tools here to deal with the situation and he is now in a hospital in the nation’s capital – Tegucigalpa. They are unable to retrieve the device, so will have to “split his chest” and do a full scale operation tomorrow at 10am. Please pray for the success of the surgery and for complete healing.

I have had a rough week or so. Lots of disappointments and hurts. Tonight has been a wonderful evening of ministry by the Holy Spirit and I’m feeling spiritually refreshed. Thank you Lord for this. I’ve been listening to Jesus Adrianne Romero a lot tonight. Music touches my heart like nothing else. Thank you Lord.

I has just started to rain gently outside – so beautiful. The nights here are so dark when it is cloudy – no street lights or anything like that. There is a nice breeze blowing and it is raining gently. Beautiful.

Recent comment from Ben after mom said, “Ben I told you not to throw mud!” : “Mom I didn’t throw the mud, I only put it in her hair!”

Recent comment from Mariah after her daddy said “Honey, I know that marriage is the farthest thing from your mind”: “Daddy, marriage isn’t the farthest thing from my mind”. Oh dear. My Mariah turns 13 in just a few more days. I can honestly say that our communication has never been better - yet another beautiful gift from the Lord. She is doing so well and I am so thankful.

A poisonous snake has been killed at another area close to the hospital recently where some younger children play. Thanking the Lord for protection for them and praying for continued protection from ALL of the dangers here for the kids (and adults alike).

I discovered the joy of eating oranges while floating in the Caribbean last Saturday. I’m so sorry to have to reveal this to all of my friends who are suffering in the cold up north.

Our Spanish is coming along really well right now. Diana (our Spanish teacher) living with us four day a week is making a HUGE difference. We are starting to tackle the subjunctive tense of verbs now. I prayed tonight that God would “loose” my tongue to speak Spanish that I might be able to preach the gospel here. There are many opportunities.

Work is slow right now. But God is providing in other ways. We’ve received far above the normal amount of monetary gifts in the last two months. It is all from Him, no matter where it comes from. Thank you Lord for your provision.

Two Videos

2010-02-10T23:00:00.000-06:00

My friend Rimas posted these two videos on his blog and I want to link to them here as I agree with him completely: video #1 is hilarious and video #2 is very profound.
Well, here is the link

Enjoy,

DF

Dr. Don and Jesus the machete

2010-02-10T22:30:00.000-06:00

You have to know Dr Don to fully appreciate this - but I post it here just for the sheer joy of having you read it. It is wonderful. Thank you Lord for protecting Dr. Don. (by the way Dr. Don - we were out of anti-venom at the hospital - so you can be ever more thankful to your dad for the lessons).

PLAYING BASEBALL WITH A ROCK; PLAYING CHICKEN WITH A SNAKE

He will bruise the serpent's head. Genesis 3:15

For this mountain vignette to make sense, I need to give you a little background. I pray it's worth your time, that it reminds you of how God prepares and protects us on our journeys:

1. I'm hate all snakes because I'm terrified of all snakes.
2. My friend Joe may never again speak to me after he reads this because he loves all animals.
3. The last thing I read before I climbed the mountain to Paradise today was Mike Fueyo's note. It read, "Go crush the serpent's head today."
4. My Dad, who died just 9 months ago, played ball with me for hours on end when I was a kid, sharpening my pitching arm's aim.
5. My encounter occurred after I'd been plodding the mountain for three hours and was fairly tired.
6. The encounter occurred while I was lost in another world, reading and reciting the Pilgrim's Progress in Spanish to polish my presentation and my pronunciation. When I saw the snake watching me, I had just recited the song about the devil attacking like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
7. Our encounter occurred at least two hours away from anything even close to civilization.
8. Jesus always accompanies me in the mountains. Jesus is the name of the machete I carry as a walking stick which has guitar teaching chords written on it: It is my Support, my Protector, my Teacher, my Music. Jesus.
9. I''m typing this very quietly at midnight so Suz and Amy can't say "I told you so" about drinking coffee (which I NEVER drink) at 8pm:

He absolutely saw me. He straightened himself out parallel to the left side of the path and angled uphill at 10 degrees. His eyes locked on me; he froze and his head came up. He knew what I knew: one of us had to make the next move. There was not room for us both on this narrow path. My mind was racing:
1. Two to four hours from anti-venom. Alone on a mountain. With Jesus.
2. Mike said crush the serpent's head.
3. Yellow beard is the most poisonous snake. Not yellow-bellied; i.e., not frightened.
4. I wonder if Mike Bright's engineers can design a hand-held cattle prod I can carry in the mountains to shock myself if I get a snake bite. Electricity could possibly denature snake poison.
5. I don't want to get close enough to swing Jesus at him; I can't take the risk of getting bit on the arm.

I step back, delighted to find a baseball-sized rock on the path. I silently say "Thank you" to Dad. My opponent sees me retreat; he turns for the bushes. I wind up. The colors of snake and brush blend. Time is gone. The rock leaves the pitchers' mound. The strike hits the batter, who rolls out of the bushes onto the path to first base. In a mindless flash, Jesus strikes. The batter's tail is gone. Jesus strikes again. The head is gone. The inning is over except for a racing heart and a racing mind. Every stick the mind sees for the rest of the two hour journey down the mountain is another batter, another yellow beard awaiting a confrontation with Jesus. I am grateful to finally round third base and be heading safely toward home. I am grateful for the hours of Dad's pitching practice. I am grateful for Mike's prophecy. I am grateful for Suzanne's and your prayers. I am grateful. The inning is over and Jesus has won.

None of us know how much time we have. Let's play every inning as if it were our last. My unnamed stethoscope and I will be in Haiti Feb 9-24. We'll appreciate your prayers.
Don

New Ultrasound! Yeah!

2010-02-10T22:00:00.000-06:00

The following note came from Dr. Leon Greene, the cardiologist here at Loma de Luz. For years, the hospital has been needing a good ultrasound machine, and by God's provision, we now have the BEST!
*********************************************

Hey, all those of you interested in ultrasound (now I've eliminated about 75% of the readers)-

Blessings! We just acquired a (NEW) GE Vivid-e BT-10, 2010 model, ultrasound machine. GE released this model only last Friday - it's the latest and greatest. It comes with adult and a pediatric cardiac transducers. I'm not sure if I will have it in my hands by Friday when I begin the trip back to Honduras, but we'll at least have it within the next few weeks. Friends and contacts at GE and a Christian group called MedPro Imaging pulled their collective strings to make this happen. It wasn't free (they got it for us at about half-price), but we were able to purchase it with money we had in a ministry medical equipment fund. So PTL! It will be useful for abdominal/OB and could be used for vascular, too, if we later are able to get the vascular probe.

Thanks to everyone for praying for this machine over the last 3 years, and to those of you who also tried to get a machine from other sources. We'll have the best ultrasound available to mankind in a few days/weeks! Now all we need is someone who actually knows how to use it properly.

Blessings,
Leon

The Farm Plan

2010-02-10T21:30:00.000-06:00

The following was stolen shamelessly from Josh and Linzy Browning. Thank you two for putting together such a nice story on our Hospital Farm Plan!

Although Hospital Loma de Luz exists solely to provide medical care and share Christ’s gospel with the north coast of Honduras, a lot of other non-medical work goes into keeping things running. A hospital, even a simple one with a great deal of volunteer labor, requires significant funding. Patient fees in this very poor area only cover a small portion of expenses, so the rest has to come from support raised mostly in the US. For years, Dr. McKenney (the head surgeon and founder of the hospital) has been working on ideas to make the hospital solvent.

Back in the early 90’s, Loma de Luz acquired a tract of about 60 acres, some mountainside, but about 35 acres being flat land adjacent to the coast. Of course, the hospital and its accompanying buildings take up some of that, but the rest has been sitting idly ever since. Every good farm kid knows there is money to be made off land, but what to grow in this physical and economic climate that would turn a profit had always been a question. The commonly grown rice, beans, corn, and tapioca just aren’t worth much. However, palm oil does have a significant commercial market as a food product and potentiall as a biofuel, so in the past year approximately 2, 500 African palm oil trees have been planted. It takes 3 years to produce a crop, so marketable crops should start arriving in 2012. Next time you happen to read ‘palm kernel oil’ on an ingredient list, please think of Hospital Loma de Luz, and pray for healthy little trees and God’s provision for the hospital through them!

A mature oil palm. The Hospital's palms will look like this in a decade or two!

While African palms are the cornerstone of the farm plan, it is much more than just a plantation. In 2009, Brad Ward joined the Loma de Luz missionary community as the farm manager. He is full of ideas and plans, including growing food crops and raising animals between the trees and using the farm to demonstrate environmentally and economically sustainable methods. This year should see two crops each of rice and corn, half raised using traditional methods from the area, the other half incorporating more sustainable methods. Other crops include beans, plantains, bananas, and melons. Right now, about 30% of the palm plantation is unsuitable for intercropping, so sometime during 2010, multipurpose meat/milk goats will be added to the scheme, grazing between the trees in an intensive grazing rotation. Chickens for meat production are also on the docket. As the trees mature, their canopy will make the underlying land increasingly suitable for goats and chickens, and the food crops will be phased out. A shade house (like a greenhouse, but in the tropics, plants need shade, not more sun!) for vegetable production will be added in 2010, as well as planting cocoa and neem trees under the canopy of 10 acres of otherwise useless forest land. In addition to providing financial support for the hospital, each endeavor creates work opportunity and experience for local Hondurans and a more stable food supply at the local level.

Best lice ever!

2010-01-28T08:56:00.007-06:00

Top

(Jan 27) Emin is better. That's what is important about this story. A little boy came into the hospital yesterday with a snake bite on his hand and a snake bite on his hip and not doing well. It had taken some time to get him down from the mountains and apparently (I'm very hazy on the details) there has been some difficulty with identifying him and contacting his parents. I went down to see him in the "ER" and was immediately struck by how much he looked like my son Ben. I confirmed with him that he was indeed eight years old (he also confirmed for me that he was hungry). As I watched his mannerisms and listened to his speech, it was almost like I was watching my own son there on that bed. The gulf that opened in my heart was even wider than is normal when I see a hurt/sick child. I went to see him two or three times yesterday, including one last time as I was leaving the hospital for the day (in the early evening) after a pretty long day. I told him how much he looked like my son, which most have been a bit of an affront to him because he immediately told me that he was not normally this pale and that the snake bite had affected his skin color. I laughed and tried to explain to him that my son actually had much darker skin than me as his mother was of Spanish descent. I don't think he bought it for a minute...

I asked if if I could pray for him and he said yes, his family drawing near as I put my hands on his head and caressed his hair. As I prayed, much to my surprise, he repeated every word. Now, praying in Spanish is hard enough for me, I am not even ready to lead someone else to pray - who actually knows how to speak Spanish to the Father. Oh well, as is always the case, God made up for my lack an we had a wonderful prayer together.

This morning (Jan 28) I received the joyful news that Emin is better and seems to have turned the corner. I also received the news that he has a pretty good case of lice, which means that I probably do too. I touched him many times yesterday and often caressed his hair as he bravely told me that he wasn't hurting too badly (but his face betrayed him). I am so glad that I didn't know that he had lice, or else I would have been less likely to touch him and care for him in this way. I am also so glad that he is better, that I could care less about lice. I'll get the special shampoo and the lice will hopefully go away in a few days. Hopefully today, I'll be able to take Ben down and prove to him that my son isn't a blanco and I wasn't insulting him when I told him that he looked like Ben. Hopefully soon Emin will go home and never, ever see another snake...

A special note of thanks to Penny Alden who invested herself fully in Emin's care yesterday, as she so often does. I've never known anyone so completely willing to pour themselves out on behalf of another as Penny is. She will readily give you all of her attention, all of her care, and all of her heart - full knowing that it will probably get broken yet again. Not this time Penny, looks like for now that this one is going to have a happy ending.

Update (Jan 28 - evening) - I'm just starting to realize what a miracle has happened here with Emin. He was reported to have been bitten by a Baraba Amarilla - which is one the most poisonous snakes around and from whose bite few live. It took (reasons unknown) days for extended family members to get him down here to the hospital. Put plainly, people don't get a few days of time when bitten by this type of snake, they usually have hours. Dr. Sharon, a pediatrician here at Loma de Luz, said that Emin was "as close to dying" as any child she's seen. An amazing statement. We visited Emin this evening (Jan 28) and he is feeling much, much better. He did indeed have a chance to meet my son Benjamin and he agreed that they were igualitos (little ones who appear similar). Emin's parents are in the States and he lives in a mountain village with his grandparents. His life must be hard beyond anything I could ever know. God reached down and touched this young man. His life was spared in a most miraculous way. Please join me in praying that Emin's new life that God has given Emin would be a blessed one, lived to serve God and to bring Him glory.

Update (Jan 30th) The best update of all. Last evening on Jan 29th, Emin accepted Christ and is now a Christian. Dr. Don was doing another one of his many discipleship classes, this time with Debyn and Nestor, two young Honduran men who are fairly recent converts themselves and on fire for Christ. I approached him and asked him to speak with Emin, sensing that Emin was very near to Christ. Dr. Don immediately replied that he would take his two young disciples down to speak with Emin about the gospel with him. They did and the result was that two young Honduran men led this young man to Christ. There is a sense in me that this is how God wants missionary work to happen. We want to be here to help empower the local people to be the spiritual leaders and to make new converts. Instead of creating a sense of spiritual "entitlement", these young men are helping to build the local church and not just following the "gringos" around. Lord, please help us to do this work well and in a way that brings glory to you and thank you for Emin's salvation! Amen.

Joy in the journey - Dec/Jan trip to the states.

2010-01-24T22:50:00.004-06:00

We’ve been home about 12 days now and we are starting to settle back into our “routine” here. Our trip to the United States was such a blessing! We saw SO MANY friends and family – and still couldn’t get around to everyone that we wanted to see. We were in Colorado for about three week s and Mississippi for one week. Our time in Colorado was divided up into three categories: Dave working, all of us spending time with family in and around Denver, and all of us spending time with our friends from the Fort Collins and Greeley area. Dave worked for three days in Salt Lake and for also spent several days on site with a client in Loveland Colorado. During this time, Marinajo and the kids got to spend some great time with grandma (Marinajo’s mom) putting out the Christmas decorations and baking. When in Denver, we mostly stayed with Marinajo’s brother Kip and his wife Patsy - they are some of our best buddies and we wish that we could have spent more time there. Christmas was really special as we were able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with Artie and Mary, and Archie - Marinajo’s parents and her brother. It was neat to be able to have Christmas morning there with them. True to his nature, Santa found us there! Benny got a bow and arrow set from Santa and a new BB Gun from grandpa Fields in Tennessee. Mariah got a new digital camera and is now happily posting pictures on Facebook.

After Christmas we spent time up in Northern Colorado (Fort Collins and Greeley) trying to see as many friends as possible. Our host family was our dear friends the Edens and we were just so happy to be able to spend time with them. Their welcome and their hospitality just reminded us of how much we love them and how much we miss them down here. They must have felt like characters in a sitcom at times as we would leave each evening to go “have supper” with yet another family and then come blowing back in with the cold December wind about 10pm and so tired we could drop. We were also able to worship with our church family in the Spanish speaking service at Christ Community Church in Greeley. Marinajo was able to play in the praise and worship band for three Sundays and I was able to share briefly (in Spanish!) one Sunday. This Spanish church is experiencing huge growth and we were so blessed to be able to compartir (share) with them our new life here in Honduras.

It was an exhausting, but wonderful time catching up with all of our friends and renewing deep friendships. We are just so blessed to have so many wonderful friends! The miles and the time don’t change everything – they don’t change the love that we share with people. EVERYONE remarked on how big the kids were and lots of people said to me (Dave), “I thought you’d be more tan”…… Funny! I guess since we only send pictures back of us at the beach that people think that must be all we do - go down to the beach. (Full disclosure –We’ve been to the beach twice this weekend – two times in the last two days) Unfortunately, this is not the case. Most days I sit in a concrete office all day and do IT work for the hospital and for Intelligent Design IT. We usually get to go to the beach on the weekends, but it had been quite awhile since we had been able to go before we left. So, I guess that is why I was so pale.

After Colorado we flew down to Mississippi for a one week visit to our sending church – The Church of the Good Shepherd – and to visit with some of the people that we served during our time doing hurricane relief work there after Katrina. WE JUST HAD A WONDERFUL TIME IN MS! We were so warmly greeted by our home church down there that several times we were moved to tears over their love and care for us (thank you church family!). One church member picked us up the airport with ALL of our luggage and ALL of us, another church member vacated her home for one week so that we could stay there by ourselves. Still another wrote us ahead of time to see what we wanted to eat and had a BIG pot of Gumbo on the stove, a pecan pie that was absolutely OUT OF THIS WORLD on the table and some huge juicy steaks in the fridge waiting for us when we got there. Honestly, I don’t think we’ve ever received this kind of love and attention anywhere. We got to spend some good time with two of the ladies that we were closest with during our time in Mississippi doing hurricane relief work, Ms Barbara and Ms Bea. What a huge blessing it was to be able to reconnect with them – we just picked up right where we left off. We were also able to see our friends at First Baptist church, whom we spent much much time with after the storm. This church, while devastated by the storm, housed volunteers and even gave me a Sunday School room to use as an office for about two years. We have deep close ties with this church, so it was so wonderful to see their new Sanctuary – now completed. It was even better to hear of the growth that the church is experiencing. I believe God is giving them a harvest of souls because of their sacrificial work after the storm.

I got my dates mixed up and we missed our flights back to Honduras. Thank God for a lady on the Continental international flight customer service line who was able to get all of our flights rescheduled and graciously waived all of the change fees! What a miracle and answer to some brief but very fervent prayer on my part!

Now that we’ve been home for almost two weeks, I can honestly say that this is home for us now. We are just so thankful to be here. In the midst of all of the travel and going back “home” (what used to be home for us) – it is just so clear to us that this is where God wants us to be. He moved our hearts down here and we just love it here. We now have a home we can call our own here at the hospital and it helps SO MUCH to just be settled. I get up every morning and look out over the Caribbean and realize that I am one of the luckiest people alive. We pray that God would just use us for His glory here, because right now – it feels like life is TOO good – I hope that makes sense. We’ve been fortunate that our Spanish teacher Diana is now staying with us four nights a week and is REALLY building up her new business down here. This means that we are getting lots of practice and training with our Spanish – an answer to prayer! We feel like this year we’ll be able to finally get to a point in our Spanish where we can really begin to minister to the local Honduran people with more than small talk – but rather heart talk.

Lastly (these updates ALWAYS end up so much longer than I anticipated when I first sit down to write them), I am reading “What’s So Amazing About Grace” by Phil Yancey for the second time right now and let me just beg each and every Christian that is reading this to please read this book. And if you haven’t read it in awhile, let me ask you to read it again. I realize each day as I read it HOW MUCH we need to be reminded of this central theme in Christianity and how often we fail to express grace to our fellow Christians and (worse) to those that are not Christians. Christ’s life and the writings of the New Testament are RADICAL DEPARTURES from the social norms of the day and what makes them radical of the lifestyle of obedience and sacrifice that we are to live as Christians. The message of Grace MUST BE intertwined deeply within this lifestyle of obedience and sacrifice, or our religious lives degenerate into religious works. Without grace, our message rings empty in a graceless world. The world is not looking for more rules to follow; rather they are looking for redeeming love. It is grace that expresses that redeeming love to a dying world. Yes, grace must be expressed within the context of the gospel, which includes the message of sin and condemnation for those that do not choose God’s grace. I realize that. But when Jesus said we are to be salt and light, I believe that Grace was, and is, the central empowering force for TO BE THAT SALT AND LIGHT in the fallen world in which we live.

May God’s grace touch you this day anew and may we each live our lives out of the abundance of fear, awe, wonder, and joy that His grace has touched someone like me. Amen. God Bless each of you and we pray that you are warm and well in HIS LOVE this day.

Dave and Marinajo
Mariah and Benny

Elections in Honduras--praise report!

2009-11-30T21:03:00.001-06:00

Dear friends and family,

Starting on June 25th, I sent out a series of emails requesting prayer about the political crisis in Honduras. Please know that yesterday, God answered many prayers - free and peaceful elections were held here in Honduras! Several notes below describe our thanksgiving in words that are much better than any I could have chosen, so I will defer to them and ask you to read the notes below if your are interested in learning more about the elections yesterday.

Suffice to say that God miraculously intervened in this tiny little country and helped them avoid losing many of their freedoms. Thank you for supporting us and Honduras through your prayers!

Please know that our family is well. We've just moved into a new (different) house and have been very busy over the Thanksgiving holiday. We are healthy and the kids are doing great. We will be sending out a newsletter in a couple of weeks with more info, but we wanted to get this out as soon as possible.

Please join us in thanking God for His divine intervention here in Honduras and please join us in our continued prayers for the people and country of Honduras.

Take care,

Dave and Marinajo Fields
Mariah and Benny

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sally Mahoney
Date: Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 4:52 PM
Subject: elections in Honduras--praise report
To: sally mahoney

Dear Cornerstone Friends--

God has been at work, and He deserves all the praise we can give Him. When I wrote to you in early November, an agreement had been signed between Honduras and the representatives of Zelaya. The agreement said that the Congress of Honduras (with input from the Honduran Supreme Court) would vote on whether to allow Zelaya to serve the remainder of his term, and in exchange for this the United States and other world powers said they would recognize the coming elections in Honduras as legitimate. Once Zelaya began to realize that the Congress wasn't going to vote about what to do with him until after the elections took place, he began to issue complaints/threats/rants from the Brazillian Embassy, but miraculously and thankfully, even the people who had represented Zelaya at the talks were standing by the signed agreement. During the last days leading up to the election there were a few terrorist-style attempts to make Honduras afraid to proceed as planned, but those attempts did not succeed.

Yesterday (Sunday the 29th) the elections took place, and we cannot give God enough praise for how it went. The turn-out was very, very high (near 64% or so) and peaceful and without any untoward incident. There were over 400 election observers from around the world, and all declared the elections transparent and exemplary. Five of the Loma de Luz missionaries--Jeff McKenney, Don and Suzanne Rumbaugh, Brad War, and Ian McKenzie--were asked by the Honduran government to serve as election observers in their region. They had the same glad news to report for their region as did the observers in the rest of the country--peaceful, very participatory, very done-right, very free.

The winner of the election and next president of Honduras is Porfirio Lobo. When Jeff wrote me last night, the polls had closed but the vote count was not yet finished. But the main story was not who won the election but that the election took place, took place in the manner it did, and that it will be recognized by the USA, Germany, Japan, Costa Rica, Panama, and a number of other nations. By the end of the day yesterday, they didn't know who'd won the presidency, but it was clear who had won on the larger stage. It was clear that God had triumphed over all, and Honduras had won the battle that came to them. Thank you so much for praying. Please continue to pray for Honduras. There are still decisions to be made about what to do with Zelaya, there are still bad guys who have reason to hold a grudge against Honduras, etc. So don't quit praying. But this is a time to stop and pause and rejoice and praise.

We can't thank you enough for praying.

I'll just copy Dr. Jeff's words below.

We are proud of Honduras, thankful to you for your prayer, and praising God.

--Sally Mahoney for Cornerstone
30 November 2009

----- Original Message -----
From: Jeff and Rosanne Mckenney
To: Sally Mahoney ; Marty McKenney
Sent: Sunday, November 29, 2009 6:21 PM
Subject: Elections

The polls in Honduras officially closed at 5:00 P.M.. The newspapers are all reporting what was also our experience here: there was a massive peaceful and successful turnout. All Intl/ observers are reporting the same thing in the papers. This has been a great day for Honduras. We are in such a vastly different place than we would have been if the People had not stood up for their democracy and stood against those who would have stolen it and sold it cheaply.
Preliminary results are scheduled to be announced by the TSE ( the supreme electoral tribunal) at 1900. ( Here the press is not allowed to call an election). But, regardless of which candidates win or lose, everyone is in agreement, Honduras has won. I believe the Lord has seen Honduras through.
-j

Escalation in the political crisis in Honduras. A request for prayer.

2009-09-21T22:40:00.000-06:00

Dear friends and family,

You may have heard that the political crisis here in Honduras has escalated rapidly today. Deposed ex-president Mel Zelaya, emboldened by support from US and Chavez in Venezuela, has returned to the country today and is currently "holed up" in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa - the capital city of Honduras.

First of all, let me assure you that we are quite safe. There is no reason to think that we are in any new or additional danger due to the political events here. We are so far removed from the seat of the crisis up here in the jungle on the north coast of Honduras that we see no almost no evidence of the political strife that is so prevalent now.

There is, however, a curfew that was instituted this afternoon and has now been extended throughout the day tomorrow. This is a prudent decision from the current government which will curtail the movement of the protesters who would simply love to take advantage of the situation and further their agenda of political disruption and even violence. All international flights have been cancelled. I (Dave) am SO thankful that I was able to get back into the country and be with my family before this happened. For those of you who don't know, I just returned Saturday from a 2-week trip to the States.

We do urgently ask for your prayers for wisdom for those in the government and for prudence, safety, and peace for the people of Honduras. In the midst of all of this, we pray that God's glory would be revealed and that He would draw many unto Himself during this time.

We ask you to read this article from the Wall Street Journal, which asks the question that all Americans should be asking of their government right now: Why isn't the United States supporting democracy in Honduras? Even if Honduras (very understandably) isn't on the top of your list of things to be worried about right now, all American should be concerned with the current administration's response to this crisis.

The article can be found here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204518504574423570828980800.html

The answer to this situation is not simply a political one, and I offer this political criticism as a Christian that recognizes the need for God to intervene here. But, I also believe that we as citizens must never stop asking the hard questions of those who would govern us. Please consider whether or not it might be appropriate to bring this to the attention of your local, state, and federal representatives. I assure you that, from my perspective, the actions of the United States have played a very detrimental role in this political crisis.

Lastly please know that we are well and safe. We thank God for each of you and we hope that you are well to. Please drop us a line some time and let us know how you are doing.

Thank you and God Bless,

Dave and Marinajo Fields
Mariah and Benny

Dear Levi

2009-08-02T17:02:00.006-06:00

Dear Levi,

I thought I would take this occasion of your 21st birthday to tell you a few things about how much I love you and how much God has used you to work in my life. I remember so clearly the little boy that would scoot along on his bottom with his arms and was always so incredibly happy to see me. "Boy! Boy! BOY!" Thomas the Tank Engine, and Barney. I remember how you would always ask for a "new toy" and how you made the motion that showed how the Space Ship Enterprise would zoom off into warp speed. I remember watching movies with you and your family and "Good Moomoo!" When it was done. I remember how much you cried at the sad parts in the movie.

I remember how sick you were from time to time and remember taking you to the hospital one night in the ambulance. I stood outside the emergency room after we were all done and cried and cried because I was so sad that you were so sick. God used your sickness to bring us close. He used your sickness to bring you close to so many people. Your simple faith in Jesus has been such a blessing for so many years. I can't tell you how much it has meant to me and I thank you for being such a good example to all of us on how to trust God in the midst of unimaginable difficulties.

I really remember the day that your dad came walking over to our house to tell us that it was time for your first kidney. I remember how much you changed after that first surgery and how big you grew and how grown up you were. I remember when your mom called us from Children's Hospital when she told us that you were going to need a second kidney and how hurt we were that you going to have to go through all of that again. We hadn't seen each other for awhile, but when we did finally get to see you again, there was the same old Levi, just grinning from ear to ear and calling me "Boy!" and believing, just like last time, that Jesus was going to see you through all of this.

We now know that Jesus would indeed see you through that battle, just like He did the first time - but I think you believed it before any of the rest of us did. You knew. You showed us all how to have faith.

I remember "Walk By Faith" and I remember that darned dialysis chair and how you thought you were done with it and had to go back and face it again. You've taught me how to walk by faith and how to face problems and fears that I didn't think I could face. You taught me how to have faith when it didn't seem possible to have any faith.

My biggest memory, though, isn't of any of the bad stuff. My biggest memory is the day that I was so privileged to baptize you. I feel so blessed to have been with you that day that you showed the whole world that you were dead to the world and alive in Christ. That day, you showed the whole world that though although the outer man wastes away - you are a new creation in Christ Jesus and you will always, always, always be with Him. I can't wait until the day that I praise God with you in heaven and I see you in your new body playing basketball and soccer. But until that time, I want you to know that you have a very special gift from God and that you have a very special assignment from God. Your gift is faith. Trusting in God is your specialty. Your assignment is to show the rest of us how to do it. And you're good at it. Please remember my dear, dear Levi that walking by faith is the most important walk of all. Please walk in such a way that you show the rest of us how it is done.

Happy 21st Birthday and we love you very much. Boy, Mo, Mariah and Benny.

Miracle \ˈmir-i-kəl\

2009-08-01T22:42:00.002-06:00

Here’s what Webster says about the word miracle:
"An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs"

On Thursday July 30th 2009, I got to see Chelsi again and now her recovery can only be described as a miracle. There is just no other way to characterize it. In August of 2008, I was fortunate enough to be in the car with Chelsi, her mom, and Norma Hunt – chief of nursing for Hospital Loma De Luz – as we rushed her to the hospital in San Pedro. To say that her condition was grave would be an understatement. We didn’t even know if she would survive the car trip. She was bleeding from the mouth and nose. Her sclera (the white part around your eyes) looked like a giant blood blister in both eyes. Her platelets were at zero and her white blood cell count was elevated to around 50,000. During 42 days in the hospital, Chelsi received 12 units of blood and 7 units of platelets.

In October, I updated with a good report on her condition and a picture. Now, one year later, she has just returned from her three month checkup in San Pedro in which she was told that there is nothing wrong with her and that she has returned to normal health!

Webster was right when he called it “divine intervention”. God intervened in little Chelsi’s life in a way that is rarely seen. In a sea of stories where God doesn’t seem to intervene or at least His intervention isn’t obvious to us – this story stands out. At a time when everything I know about “missions” is being deconstructed and re-written by God, at a time when spiritually, physically, and emotionally I feel exhausted – God knew just the right medicine to administer. Enter one five minute visit from a miracle. A few pictures were taken, tears quietly shed after their departure. A little girl that will never know the role she played in God reminding His child (me) that miracles still happen. Keep going, keep praying, and keep standing. The gates of hell shall not prevail………
Thank you father.

Safe and sound. Facebook.

2009-07-22T21:00:00.002-06:00

Hi all. First a quick word to let everyone know that we are safe and sound in the midst of the continuing political strife in Honduras. In our area, there just isn't any unrest. Our lives aren't really affected at all. Travel plans are much more uncertain, but we don't have any travel plans at the moment, so we aren't affected.

Talks continue in Costa Rica. Please continue to pray for safety for the people of Honduras and for the truth to be known by all. Please pray for the talks in Honduras, as they seem to be the best hope for a peaceful resolution. I hope that those who are in power will remember the words of Patrick Henry:

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775

Here is some welcome good news from our dear friends and partners in ministry, the Rumbaughs:

Well, no one knows what Mr Zelaya is doing next, but we're having fun watching what God is doing.

While sweeping up after the Alpha youth meeting tonight, Suz said, "Well, THAT was good!" Two bright-eyed new believers gave their testimonies, and during the prayer circles people wouldn't stop praying. Interesting to hear the impact that an earthquake, a car accident, or an impending war has on a young man's thoughts. Our prayer is that they realize that they have not merely been rescued to live a life of good behavior, but that they have been selected as part of a team, a force that can impact their whole village. The all night prayer meeting they had on Saturday may give them a head start on hearing God's voice.

This morning in a village school, a timid child stood up in front of the whole class and told the one-page story of Pilgrim's Progress, a learning challenge that earned him a soccer ball. And yesterday Don forged afoot up the mountain a couple of hours and discovered that 1) the children had been practicing the guitar he'd left behind, 2) they knew almost all of the songs he's taught them, and 3) the teacher said that next time she wants to send notes home ahead of time so that families can come to participate as well. The kids couldn't decide if they wanted to earn a soccer ball or a Picture Bible. They're going for both.

Just wanted to share some GOOD news from Honduras.
As Don's sister reminded us, there are no emergency meetings in heaven. He's got it all under control.
Don and Suzanne

Lastly, we finally broke down and joined the facebook revolution today. It is truly amazing to me how pervasive facebook is in our circle of friends. We most likely have hundreds of people that we know who are on facebook. What an amazing thing! Mariah is excited to finally be able to "use" facebook a little bit - but all the more anxious to have her own "wall". We've told her that she'll be allowed to have one when she turns 13 Feb oof next year (yikes!).

God bless and keep you this night. Please remember that nothing is out of His grasp and nothing is worth depriving Him of the glory due His name. Your life and your worship are nothing less than the just rewards of His suffering.

The baby that couldn't wait.

2009-07-19T08:10:00.011-06:00

The crisis on Honduras continues and we continue to ask for your prayers for peace here in this place.

I write today to tell you about a diversion from all of the talk of political crisis an uncertainty. This is also an excellent example of how the work of the hospital continues each and every day.

In terms of some simple background, there is a young woman who works here at the hospital as a nurse's aide. A coupe of weeks ago, I happened to be returning from giving someone a ride out to her home town (about 8 km from the hospital). As I was returning, I came upon this young woman, pregnant as she could be, walking her bicycle up a hill, starting the journey to work. When I pulled up next to her and offered her a ride to work, well she was about as happy as someone could be. I hadn't realized until then how close she was to her due date and I marveled at how someone this far along in her pregnancy could bike to work, work a 12 hour shift at the hospital, and then bike home. Once again, there are things that I just didnt understand about how the rest of the world operates until I moved out of the country. While this seems incredibly hard, even cruel, to expect a woman this far along in her pregnancy to make the trek into work, it is a simple fact of life here.

Background over, let's get to the story: yesterday (Saturday) I was assisting John Alden with making a conference call to the USA via Skype to consult with a medical specialist on a very difficult case. The nurses kept calling John on the radio so I excused myself from the conference call and went to the nurse's station to tel them that he was on the phone. I asked them if their question could wait for 10-15 minutes until John was done with his conference call to which they replied with silence. Silence in this case means no, they just weren't willing to say no. I asked them what was going on and they told me that the young lady that I had given a ride to a couple of weeks ago was at home and having strong contractions and that she was ready to have her baby. Ok, I went back in and interrupted the conference call to tell John. I offered to drive out to her village and get her and bring her back to the hospital as long as John promised me that she wouldn't deliver in my truck on the way (smile). He promised and off I went. I had her back to the hospital in 20 minutes. Looking good. Her water hadn't broken yet and contractions seemed to have leveled off. I figured it would be hours before she delivered. Boy was I wrong.

John had suggested that the soon expectant mother walk the halls of the hospital to keep the contractions moving ahead. This is good sound advice and any fathers among us will have memories of laps around the hospital with soon to be mom, dragging an IV pole and telling our wives how beautiful they look in the hospital gown. "I think we should get some fabric like that honey and see if we can make you a blouse or something - that color really looks nice on you." The wife usually replies: "Shut up." You get the picture - walking around the hospital as labor develops is pretty normal stuff.

I was sitting in the delivery room talking with John when Penny screeched. Now Penny is not only the RN, she also happens to be John's wife. So when Penny screeches, John listens on both accounts. "John, help me get her back to the delivery room!" "Her water broke out in the hall way and she is really pushing!" Ok, we ran to help Penny get a wheel chair and get our patient back to the delivery room. When we got to the hallway where she had been walking, we found her kneeling down on the floor not only pushing, but having her baby right there in the hallway! The baby's head was already out and the rest of baby wasn't far behind! I grabbed the poor lady and held her up so that she could push. John went to work on the business end of the delivery and within 30-60 seconds of our arrival we had a little baby girl laying on her side on towels rapidly shoved underneath mom and taking her first breaths! We got the basics (suction - towel dry the baby off) and then got mom and baby up and got them back to the delivery room so that we could attend to the baby (Penny) and attend to mom (John). I spent the next half hour with the great privilege of being able to help out in the delivery room assisting the nurses as they assisted both John and Penny with an extra hand or some medical supplies. What a neat blessing!

Typically a man who is not the doctor or a very close family member (i.e. dad) wouldn't be able to get near the delivery room setting without being beaten by the nurses and other family members attending the birth. Fortuntely, I've been able to help out enough now and the situation was urgent enough that my help was welcome. I spent 10 years as an EMT and as I've mentioned in these pages before, God has given me a great gift in allowing me to have a tiny medical role to play here at the hospital.

Of course, as anyone who has ever been involved in a birth can tell you, it is simply a miracle that a live human being can and does grow inside of mom's tummy and is then delivered into this world. There are never words to describe the wonder of birth. In the midst of all of the public and private uncertainty in this place and with this mother, God's miracle is still evident. He formed us in the womb and we are indeed His most special creation.

Here is a picture of the little baby that couldn't wait. Please pray for this little life and for the mother.

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you....."

Escalating rhetoric and meetings Saturday.

2009-07-16T16:57:00.009-06:00

Hello friends and family,

The political crisis in Honduras continues. We are safe and have no reason to believe that we are in any additional danger due to the crisis. We continue to covet your prayers for safety, wisdom, and peace here in this place.

The president of Costa Rica continues to function as mediator between deposed President Zelaya and the current administration in Honduras. The first round of talks last week do not seem to have produced any results and the two sides have agreed to meet again on Saturday (7/18). In an effort to increase the stakes of these meetings and strengthen his bargaining position, former President Zelaya has very unwisely escalated his rhetoric these last few days. He has declared a "deadline" of this Saturday stating that he will consider the talks over if he isn't restored to power. He has even gone so far as to call for "insurrection" by his supporters in Honduras. This is coming straight out of the Hugo Chavez playbook from Venezuela. All of this rhetoric seems to have served its purpose and re-emboldened the protesters here in Honduras. There are reports of roads being closed due to protests. Remember that here there is really only one road between major cities, so it is not hard to effectively shut transportaion down in the country by simply erecting a few barricades at strategic locations. All of this has put several members of our group in the very difficult position of deciding to go through with pre-arranged travel plans this weekend or cancel and reschedule important trips to the USA. We also have some students here with us whose parents have requested that they return home due to the crisis. We are trying to arrange the safest and most effective way to honor the request of the parents.

While none of this affects our family directly, it does affect our "extended family" here at Loma De Luz and we urgently ask you to pray for safety and wisdom as "we" make difficult decisions about when and how to travel.

Of course, we also ask you to pray for the escalating situation here and for the talks on Saturday. Please pray that peace will prevail and that tensions will decrease.

Lastly, we want you to know that the work of Loma De Luz continues each day in the midst of the political crisis. Please pray for God's financial provision and for each worker here as we continue to do what God has called us to do - serve the people of Honduras.

Thank you and God Bless!

DF 07.16.09

** for those of you who are interested, here is another excellent article from the Wall Street Journal from July 13th entitled:
"Why Honduras Sent Zelaya Away"

Honduras' non-coup

2009-07-10T08:14:00.003-06:00

It is amazing to me how powerful the media is in the USA. We - her citizens - have forgotten how to think, I think, and now rely on the media to do our thinking for us. And so the media no longer reports the facts, they report what our opinion should be on a particular topic and in order to keep you interested they sensationalize the mundane and the perverse. What a shame. We have ceded our responsibility to think to an institution whose primary goal is to make money and whose secondary goal seems to me to be to remake society in their image.

This can only be our fault. No one has forced this upon us. We've become a nation of "sound bites" seeking to be entertained, not to be informed. We are "too busy" to bothered with the facts. This, in my opinion, is killing our country. For more on this, please see this article.

The primary reason that I am mentioning the power of the media is that I have seen first hand how the media has shaped the perception of the story here in Honduras - a perception that was entirely wrong and one sided. Now, I see portions of the media waking up to the reality of the situation here and reporting (mostly in their opinion pages) on "the truth" of what is happening here in Honduras. The truth is there, if you are willing to look beyond the myriad of "stories" reporting the "coup" here in Honduras and if you know where to look. In that spirit, I post here another link to another excellent rendering of the actual events in Honduras that have incorrectly been characterized as a coup from none other than the LA Times.

The article can be found here: Honduras' non-coup

Here are the first couple of paragraphs:

Honduras, the tiny Central American nation, had a change of leaders on June 28. The country's military arrested President Manuel Zelaya -- in his pajamas, he says -- and put him on a plane bound for Costa Rica. A new president, Roberto Micheletti, was appointed. Led by Cuba and Venezuela (Sudan and North Korea were not immediately available), the international community swiftly condemned this "coup."

Something clearly has gone awry with the rule of law in Honduras -- but it is not necessarily what you think. Begin with Zelaya's arrest. The Supreme Court of Honduras, as it turns out, had ordered the military to arrest Zelaya two days earlier. A second order (issued on the same day) authorized the military to enter Zelaya's home to execute the arrest. These orders were issued at the urgent request of the country's attorney general. All the relevant legal documents can be accessed (in Spanish) on the Supreme Court's website. They make for interesting reading.

President of Costa Rica to mediate the political crisis. 17 US senators send letter to Sec. Clinton in support of the rule of law in Honduras.

2009-07-08T21:57:00.004-06:00

The situation here where we are continues to be safe. We are well.

The president of Costa Rica has agreed to be the mediator between the deposed president of Honduras and the current government of Honduras. Both sides were to have begun meeting in Costa Rica starting today (8 July). If nothing else, this has allowed everyone in the country to take deep breath and step back a bit from the tension of the crisis. President Arias of Costa Rica has a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in mediating a civil war in El Salvador, so we hope and pray that his experience and credibility will help to bring about a peaceful resolution. Even more fervently, we hope and pray for a just resolution that recognizes the courageous way that the people of Honduras have stood up to Zelaya, and his biggest cheerleader Chavez, and have legally removed him from power for his abuses of the constitution.

Secondly, 17 Republican US Senators sent a letter to Sec. Clinton today asking her why she has refused to meet with a delegation from the government of Honduras thus far and has only seen fit to meet with the deposed president. The letter offers the documentation of removal of the president from the Honduran Supreme Court showing the legality of their actions. The letter goes on to encourage Sec. Clinton to meet with the Honduran delegation that she has so far refused to meet with. I certainly couldn't agree more with the senators and I thank them for investigating this matter independently and for holding the Secretary accountable for her actions in this matter. One of the few news articles reporting this letter is copied below.

The article can be found here.

The letter can be found here.

GOP senators press administration not to back Zelaya
By J. Taylor Rushing
Posted: 07/08/09 03:15 PM [ET]
Seventeen Senate Republicans on Wednesday sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urging the Obama administration to reverse its rhetoric and support the removal of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.

The GOP senators disagree with the administration’s use of the term “coup” for the events in Honduras, saying that Zelaya was removed properly. The senators also urge Clinton to meet with a delegation of Honduran officials currently in Washington with whom they met earlier Wednesday.

Zelaya was removed from power last week after moving to hold a non-binding referendum to change the country’s constitution to allow him to remain in office. Obama and Clinton have reacted strongly, but the Republicans say Zelaya was corrupt and that the U.S. should not seek to return him to power.

“It appears that the Honduran government operated under constitutional authority and that the removal of Mr. Zelaya from power was legal and legitimate,” the senators wrote to Clinton.

Four of the letter’s signers held a press conference Wednesday to press their case, with Sen. Mel Martinez (Fla.) leading the comments to charge that Zelaya was “moving in a direction that was contrary to the country’s own constitution and rules and laws.”

Martinez said the Honduran officials with whom he met Wednesday want the U.S. to “stand with the democratic institutions of Honduras.”

The letter to Clinton was signed by Republicans Jim DeMint (S.C.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), John Cornyn (Texas), David Vitter (La.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), John Ensign (Nev.), Jim Bunning (Ky.), Minority Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), James Inhofe (Okla.), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), Mike Johanns (Neb.), Jim Risch (Idaho), Pat Roberts (Kan.), Kit Bond (Mo.) and John Thune (S.D.).

Why is the US not supporting the rule of law?

2009-07-06T11:18:00.003-06:00

Here is an excellent article from the Wall Street Journal entitled:

Why is the US not supporting the rule of law?

Here are the first few paragraphs of the article:

Hundreds of emails from Hondurans flooded my in-box last week after I reported on the military's arrest of President Manuel Zelaya, as ordered by the Supreme Court, and his subsequent banishment from the country.

Mr. Zelaya's violations of the rule of law in recent months were numerous. But the tipping point came 10 days ago, when he led a violent mob that stormed a military base to seize and distribute Venezuelan-printed ballots for an illegal referendum.

All but a handful of my letters pleaded for international understanding of the threat to the constitutional democracy that Mr. Zelaya presented. One phrase occurred again and again: "Please pray for us."

Update on the situation, our safety, and a request for prayer

2009-07-05T17:56:00.002-06:00

Dear friends,

I write tonight to give you a brief update on the worsening political situation in Honduras, to assure you of our continuing safety, and to ask you to please continue to pray for the country of Honduras.

The situation here grows a bit more intense today, as the deposed ex-president Mel Zelaya has attempted to return to the country today. His flight was refused permission to land and he was diverted to El Salvador. The current president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti has announced, through the local media, that Nicaraguan troops are "advancing" to the border and he has asked them to stand down and respect the territorial sovereignty of this nation. Zelaya speaks of another attempt to enter the country today. There are reports that at least two have died in confrontations with troops in Tegucigalpa, most likely at the airport where supports of Zelaya await his return.

In terms of our own safety, this is a bit like someone in Torrington Wyoming telling you that troops are headed for Miami. We are so far removed geographically from the "front" of any possible conflict that there is absolutely no reason to fear for our safety at this time. Things continue to be completely normal here where we are. Our community held worship services this morning and then the ladies of the community celebrated a wedding shower for one of our own who will be married on Saturday. We pause every hour for prayer for the country and we watch the noticias (news bulletins) with great interest, but there is no immediate concern for our safety.

Lastly, may we ask for your continued prayers for the country of Honduras? Despite what every major news media outlet is saying about the situation, there right people are in power here. The vast majority of the country prays that Zelaya will not return. What happened here was not a coup, but a legal removal of sitting president done in a constitutionally legal manner. Please pray that this simple truth would be come evident to the world's leaders and that they would reverse their pressure to forcibly return Zelaya to power. Please pray for wisdom for the leaders of this country as they bravely navigate the open sea of world politics in nothing more than a life raft. They are brave and smart people, but it will take miracle for them to withstand the world pressure that is being levied upon them. Please also pray for us that we might continue to be wise and well-informed and know what the best course of action is. Please pray for the work of Hospital Loma de Luz (who right now is also facing a bit of a financial crisis at the same time). That we might have the funds to continue to operate at full capacity and that we conduct ourselves with wisdom and grace in these times.

Thank you so much for your prayers and the many emails of concern that we've received. We appreciate your love and care for us. We are right where God wants us to be and we are safe in His care.

Blessings to each of you!

Dave and Marinajo
Mariah and Benny

A Coup in Honduras? Nonsense.

2009-07-03T22:26:00.002-06:00

This wonderful article came from the opinion section of the Christian Science Monitor today.

A Coup in Honduras? Nonsense.

Here are the first couple of paragraphs:

TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS - Sometimes, the whole world prefers a lie to the truth. The White House, the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and much of the media have condemned the ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya this past weekend as a coup d'état.

That is nonsense.

In fact, what happened here is nothing short of the triumph of the rule of law.

Home safely

2009-07-03T20:54:00.002-06:00

Thanks to God for safe travels today. We had a flat tire, but an otherwise uneventful day - which is saying a lot give the current conditions. There was a "marcha" in La Ceiba today, but it was very peaceful and certainly not any danger to anyone. It was the people of Honduras marching to let the world know that they do not want Zelaya back and that they want democracy upheld in their country. Very different from what you are seeing on the news in the states, isn't it? Twenty-five thousand marched in Tegucigalpa today to send the same message, "we want peace, we don't want Mel back". I wonder if the world will hear the message?

This was the second flat tire in two weeks so it was finally time to buy new tires. I had a Honduran tell me that my tires were bald today - a remarkable thing considering the condition of the tires that most Hondurans drive on - kind of made me proud. But, the desire to get as much life out of those tires as possible was starting to turn into an unsafe thing - and quite inconvenient to have a flat every time we go to town.

The big news of the day was that we went to immigration and got our 30 day extension without having to leave the country! Yeah! Our abagado (lawyer) has been such a blessing to us! We are just so thankful to be this far along in the residency application process this early in our time here. Many have waited much longer.

Lastly, as we celebrate independence day tomorrow, please remember that the USA did not come upon independence easily. It has been a hard fought and bitter battle many times to secure, and protect our freedom. I fear that our freedom is more in jeopardy today than it has ever been. The founders left us so many warnings in their writings about what could happen and what would most likely happen if we weren't vigilant about keeping our freedoms. Among these , Thomas Jefferson writes: "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground". He was right of course, and the condition that he spoke of has happened and is happening in the United States of America in great quantities. I've been so encouraged to see the Honduran people rise up in protection of their young democracy. It is incredibly brave for them to march in support of keeping Zelaya out of the country when the whole world tells this little, poor, nation that it should take him back. They know better, and they aren't willing to concede even though they know that the whole world is against them. Talk about overwhelming odds. Reminds me of a little colony taking on a world power around 433 years ago. It has been good for me to see how wrong my country can be and how people can and should rise up and do something about it.

Good night and God Bless!

DF

A voice of reason.

2009-07-03T09:24:00.002-06:00

Preventing a Honduran Bloodbath

This article (link above) is the one of the clearest voices of reason that I have heard in the last week. It is by a LATIN AMERICAN writer. Here are the first few paragraphs:

The United States Ambassador to Honduras, Hugo Llorens, an extremely competent diplomat, tried very hard to keep Honduras's Congress from ousting President Manuel Zelaya. After his arguments and pressures were exhausted, and faced with something that seemed inevitable, he did what he could: he sheltered the president's son at his residence to save him from any violent outcome.

Fortunately, Zelaya's expulsion from the presidency and from his country was bloodless. It wasn't exactly a military coup: the Army acted on orders from the Supreme Court after Zelaya's continued violations of the law. The ousted president seemed intent on getting reelected, even if it meant violating the Constitution, and on dragging the nation into Hugo Chávez's "21st century socialism" camp against the will of the Honduran people.

Nevertheless, if there is still something worse than the depressing spectacle of a freely elected president forced to leave his country at gunpoint, it is that same leader trying to force his way back in. If Zelaya returns, he will be arrested and charged with an array of crimes. His imprisonment will embarrass any who decide, irresponsibly, to accompany him on such a mad adventure.

Thanking the Lord for our safety. A prayer for travel tomorrow.

2009-07-02T21:37:00.003-06:00

We are safe. There is no sense that we are in any type of danger here. The US embassy here in Honduras has issued several travel advisories requesting that all non-essential travel be cancelled. The department of Colon (the "state" that we live in) has issued a 6pm to 6am curfew. We are doing our best to abide by the laws of the land and respect these advisories and curfews. Other than this, there is nothing happening here where we are that is out of the ordinary. Friends came over for ICED coffee tonight. Heavy on the ice. It is incredibly hot here right now. I wandered around the house last night and finally slept out in the rocking chair last night for awhile because it was so hot. I wouldn't have thought it was possible to sweat this much. :)

We would ask that you pray for us tomorrow as we do have to travel into La Ceiba (about an hour away) in order to get groceries and to take care of business at the immigration office. We are at our 90 day time limit to stay in the country, but we are now far enough along in our application process for residency that we can pay our $20 per month per person and NOT HAVE TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY! Yeah! This is a huge answer to prayer and most especially now as we might not be able to get back in!

We would also ask that you pray for a large group of travelers going to and coming back from the airport in San Pedro tomorrow.

We want to emphasize that there is no reason to think that this trip would be dangerous (we wouldn't go if there were). It is necessary that we go, but we go asking God for protection, guidance, and wisdom.

Please pray for each of us as we deal with fatigue from heat and a week or so now of stress related to the political crisis. God is so good to us and we thank Him for the safety and relative calm in the midst of this political crisis.

Many of you have sent emails telling us that you are praying for us and we thank you SO MUCH for your prayers!

DF

Some excellent new articles coming out in today's US Media

2009-07-01T10:57:00.002-06:00

The NYTimes (unexpected) and the Wall Street Journal (expected) have both come out with some very good articles today. The tide might be turning:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/world/americas/02coup.html
*note, link may require registration

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124640649700876791.html#mod=article-outset-box

Here are the first few lines from the WSJ article noted above:

As military "coups" go, the one this weekend in Honduras was strangely, well, democratic. The military didn't oust President Manuel Zelaya on its own but instead followed an order of the Supreme Court. It also quickly turned power over to the president of the Honduran Congress, a man from the same party as Mr. Zelaya. The legislature and legal authorities all remain intact.

We mention these not so small details because they are being overlooked as the world, including the U.S. President, denounces tiny Honduras in a way that it never has, say, Iran. President Obama is joining the U.N., Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez and other model democrats in demanding that Mr. Zelaya be allowed to return from exile and restored to power. Maybe it's time to sort the real from the phony Latin American democrats.

Stay tuned.... and keep praying.

Thanks!

DF

Sometimes a picture says it all.

2009-06-30T13:38:00.007-06:00

The picture in the middle is of ex-president Zelaya hanging out with his buddies Hugo Chavez (Venezuela) and Raul Castro (Cuba) yesterday in Nicaragua. Please note that he is the one that the EU and the USA are now supporting and say should be returned to power. All of the other pictures were taken (without permission) from the websites of Honduran news agencies La Prensa, El Heraldo, and La Tribuna of a peaceful march that took place today in the capital city of Tegucigalpa in support of the new government and in support of freedom. The picture center left is of an older lady holding up a copy of the constitution - the very same constitution that Zelaya tried to usurp and that the rest of the democratically elected government protected when they removed him from office.

Honduras Political Crisis - Update #6 A word from our director

2009-06-29T22:12:00.003-06:00

Once again, we are well. There is no additional concern for our safety at this time.

Here is a letter from our director Jeff Mckenny:

Dear Friends,
As most of you know these past few weeks have been interesting and tense times in Honduras. Despite clear opposition to the plan from the great majority of legitimate authority in Honduras, the former president of Honduras (Jose Manuel Zelaya Rosales) was pushing hard to hold a “ non-binding” referendum to demonstrate support for a revision of the “un-revisable” articles of the Honduran Constitution, this in an apparent move to indefinitely retain power when his current term in office expired at the end of this year. This “referendum” was ruled unconstitutional by the supreme court of Honduras. It was determined to be illegal by the congress of Honduras ( by an overwhelming majority of both parties). It was determined to be illegal by the Attorney General of Honduras, and was opposed by everyone from the Honduran Human Rights Ombudsman to the Bishops and Cardinal of Honduras to the major Honduran evangelical groups. Tensions increased last week when the supreme court of Honduras ordered the Military and Police to not support this illegal referendum. When the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( Gen. Vasquez Velasquez) agreed that he would follow the order of the supreme court, then president Zelaya fired him. The chiefs of the Navy, Army, and Air Force all resigned in solidarity with Gen. Vasquez, as did the Minister of Defense. The Supreme Court then re-instated Gen. Vasquez. When then president Zelaya continued to move ahead with his plan for an illegal referendum, the supreme court, backed by the congress ordered the arrest and expulsion of President Zelaya. On Sunday morning, ex- president Zelaya was flown to Costa Rica, leaving behind a signed letter of resignation which has been published read and unanimously accepted by the Congress. Later in the day on Sunday, Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela sent a plane to Costa Rica and Zelaya was flown to Nicaragua. Roberto Micheletti, Liberal Party President of the Congress has been sworn in as President, and the referendum was essentially cancelled.
Inside Honduras things have been remarkably calm. There has been a curfew called for 9 PM 28 June to 6 AM 29 June and 9 PM 29 June to 6 AM 30 June. No curfew and no other curtailment of Constitutional rights has been announced officially. Although 500 Venezuelan professional agitators have been flown in and have set up small but raucous demonstrations in San Pedro and Tegucigalpa, as best we can tell there is calm and order throughout the country. We have in the past 30 minutes checked all internet news, found a lot of evidence of saber rattling and name calling from many spokesmen/ officials outside of the country. These range from all of the usual suspects ( Chavez, Castro, Ortega) to the misinformed major media outlets and also to the heads of state of many western countries... All calling inexplicably for Zelaya to be returned to power ( which the vast majority of the country pretty clearly does not want) and calling this a military coup( which it wasn’t). We have also checked with all the major airlines, (despite rumors to the contrary they are open and currently running normally except where affected by the curfew). We checked with the American Embassy multiple times. Their official advise is that “American Citizens defer all non-essential travel to Honduras until further notice”, and additionally advise “American Citizens residing in and visiting Honduras to restrict travel to necessary trips only on June 29 2009”. They also “ strongly recommend that American Citizens abide by “ the 9 PM to 6 AM curfew 29 June. We have checked with the Policia de Transito, and though there have apparently been demonstrations at the Puente de Democracia @ El Progresso, they say that the bridge is open. However, we just checked with one bus line “ Cotuc”, and they are not running today as they say that demonstrations have closed bridges. Additionally we have tried to contact other buslines several times and they are currently not responding to phone calls. We also asked Joel / Cynthia who have relatives in El Progresso re. the bridge there. They concur that there have been demonstrations, but we have no confirmation whether the bridge is currently open or not. Iain Mckenzie is planning to take a group through to the airport in SPS tomorrow AM. We should know later in the day how that travel went from a first hand report.
So, what do we advise/request? We advise and request the following:
1.) Pray for Honduras. Pray that outside influences will not have their uninformed or agenda driven sway and that the Honduran people and the Honduran Legal and Constitutional processes be allowed to decide our own way. Pray also please for guidance, courage and wisdom for the legitimate authorities, and that God’s peace would continue to reign.
2.) Stay informed. This is a very fluid situation that seems to change hourly. Our internet system is working well and is an excellent way to get/ stay informed. We have found that the Honduran newspapers online are the most reliable and up to date sources.
3.) Abide by the curfew and any other curfew’s or advisories posted on the US Embassy’s website.
4.)Communicate with family/friends/supporters. Feel free to use the above synopsis of recent & current events if you’d like.
5.) Come up with a personal plan for yourself and your family, considering food/ travel plans/finances. We’d be glad to advise on a case by case basis.
6.) We will try to send out an update in the next 24-48 hours.
7.) Again.......Pray for Honduras... Pray that this is not just resolved well and peacefully and in the best interest of Honduras, and by Hondurans, but that God would be honored in the process and that we would do our part by living out His Gospel among these People, in this Nation.
GOD’S GRACE , BLESSINGS, AND COURAGE,
Jeff Mckenney for Loma de Luz.

Honduras Political Crisis - Update #5

2009-06-29T11:36:00.009-06:00

Please know that we are safe and do not feel any sense of danger at all here where we are on the North Coast of Honduras. We are having a normal day here (whatever that means) and are keeping close tabs on what is happening in relation to the crisis.

The entire world seems aligned against Honduras this morning and mis-aligned with the facts of what is being characterized as a military coup. In previous updates I've explained why what has happened does not fit with the Webster's definition of a coup, but rather a legal action by a deocratically elected government whose president was breaking the law.

I've chosen four articles that seem to reflect the truth of the situation for anyone who would like to read more and be more informed about what is really happening:

The first two articles are from the Wall Street Journal:

Honduran Officials Defend Coup

Opinion: Honduras Defends Its Democracy

These two articles are from personal blogs from people that I have no knowledge of at all. I presume they are Honduran, but I have no idea who they are. What they have to say rings true with everything I know about the situation and the facts leading up to the crisis. I really appreciate the information contained in their articles and their stance for democracy here in Honduras:

Hondurans For Democracy

The Silent Majority of Honduras Speaks

Honduras Political Crisis - Update #4

2009-06-28T20:01:00.006-06:00

The situation here seems to be calm from our very remote perspective in the jungle on the north coast of Honduras. The president of Honduras was arrested this morning and is now in exile in Costa Rica. Most news reports have him flying to Venezuela tonight and then on to Nicaragua tomorrow. The legislature has sworn in his successor, and the new president has issued a two-day curfew from 9pm until 6am. What protests we are aware of seem to be peaceful. Honestly, much of the country seems to be breathing a sigh of relief tonight. Things have been escalating for weeks and it certainly didn't seem like that was any other alternative than to arrest Zelaya. He simply wouldn't stop and he wouldn't recognize the authority of the congress (to pass laws) and the Supreme Court (to declare his actions illegal according to the constitution).

**Warning, the following comments are political in nature and reflect my deeply conservative bias. Please forgive me if they offend you in any way.

The world's reaction to the events of the day are puzzling at best. All of the news reports and the statements by governments are calling this a coup. If you check your dictionary you'll see that a coup is an (sudden) overthrow of a government. That did not happen today. Indeed Zelaya has been trying to usurp the authority of the other two branches of government with his actions of the last few weeks. If anyone was trying to overthrow the government, it was him. The Supreme Court, the Attorney General, and the Legislature have all declared his actions illegal, and then all called for his dismissal. The Supreme Court issued an order for his arrest which the military carried out, and then the legislature impeached him and then installed the next in line for the presidency according to the constitution as the president. Tell me, does that sound like someone overthrew the government, or does that sound like the government worked as it should have in a moment of intense crisis when the sitting president decided to willfully violate the constitution in an effort to re-write it for his benefit? Coup? I think not.

I am most dismayed by the reaction of the Obama administration. Indeed, I am embarrassed by their reaction. The Wall Street Journal has been much more well informed and has displayed a response more in keeping with the support of democracy than has the Obama administration. Secretary Clinton has said that the "only legitimate president of Honduras is Zelaya", and that they are working to restore him to power peacefully. What!? The only stronger statements in support of Zelaya have come from Chavez in Venezuela and Castro in Cuba! Note to Obama: this is not good company to be in. I would like to ask Obama and Secretary Clinton one thing: what should the government of Honduras have done today? Zelaya has wasn't just trying to buy himself a little bit more power, he was trying to effect enduring change in the constitution in an entirely illegal manner that would benefit himself. Shouldn't you be supporting the democratic option here in Honduras? If so, then you're backing the WRONG GUY! The Obama administration was either entirely uninformed and caught flat-footed by this crisis, or worse, has chosen knowingly to support the left-wing socialist to the detriment of democracy.

I suppose I am showing my age and my deeply conservative bias with this next statement, but I sure wish Ronald Reagan were in the White House. I can just hear him issuing a statement in support of democracy here in Honduras and throughout the world and telling Chavez that he would be well advised not to meddle in the affairs of other nations as he has done in this case.

Honduras Political Crisis - Update #3 President arrested

2009-06-28T08:38:00.002-06:00

President Zelaya has been arrested this morning by the military. This will be characterized by the media as a coup, but it is not. The supreme court has ruled the actions of the president illegal. The legislature, including key leadership in the president's own party, have declared the vote that the president is pursuing illegal. The attorney general of Honduras has called for the president to be arrested as one who is breaking the law. In this case, the military was well within its jurisdiction to arrest the president. The government seems to be collecting the ballots that have been illegally distributed by the president (these ballots were provided by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela)and the "vote" that was scheduled for today seems to be off. So far today, I am not aware of any violence. Please pray that there will be a peaceful and legal transition of power. Please pray for Roberto Micheletti, the president of the legislature, who would be next in line for the presidency as the Vice President had resigned months ago. Please pray that those who are in power now would only use their power to achieve free and fair elections this coming November and to safeguard the constitution of this country and that they would not take advantage of their newly won powers for any personal gain. Thank you and God Bless. DF

Honduras Political Crisis - Update #2

2009-06-26T21:08:00.004-06:00

It is hard to tell whether or not the situation here is really getting worse today or if this is just a lot of political posturing going on. President Zelaya has reportedly been distributing ballot boxes today in defiance of the Supreme Court order rendering the vote illegal and banning him from holding the vote. The military chiefs who were fired have been reinstated by the Supreme Court and President Zelaya has refused to rescind their firing. They have stated that they are now rightfully back in power of the military, whether the president recognizes that or not. I suppose that is a good thing.

Perhaps the most troubling news of the day is that Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has announced that he is considering getting involved in the crisis. This may just be saber rattling, but one could easily see him moving military forces into Honduras in support of Zelayas so that he could "annex" Honduras through Zelayas. There is a story in the Honduran Newspaper La Prensa this evening that indicates that Chavez is considering "intervening". This would really be a worst case scenario for the crisis here in Honduras. It may well just be more inflammatory words from this foolish man, but it is unsettling to say the least. Please remember that this is the same man whom President Obama shook hands with and gladly accepted a book on socialism from at a recent summit. We know that Chavez has regional aspirations and we know that he faces a very weak US Government right now that would in all likelihood let him march right into Tegucigalpa.

Please pray that Chavez (and Zelaya) would be shackled by the Holy Spirit and that the people of Honduras would rise up and defend their country from threats interior and exterior to the country.

On a personal note, it has been a long and tiring day. Two hospital patients died today - one a young girl with an inoperable brain tumor and the second a young man who was a victim of machete violence. It has been an emotionally draining day. We went to La Ceiba today for groceries and had a flat tire, but thank the Lord it was in a good location and I was able to change the tire pretty quickly and get it repaired. It is a good picture of what life can be like down here - very draining. It is 9:20 pm and I feel like it is midnight.... time for bed - but first - time for prayer.....please join me.

Thank you and God Bless. DF.

Honduras Political Crisis - Update #1

2009-06-25T20:55:00.003-06:00

Dear Friends,

We hope that this post finds you all well. We will be sending out our next newsletter in a couple of week and I'll wait until then to tell you more about how we are doing, but please know that we are well. We write tonight to ask you to pray for an urgent political crisis that is developing here in Honduras.

The current president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, has called for a referendum vote this Sunday on whether or not to hold a further vote that would seek to seat a constitutional assembly and in effect, re-write the constitution. Following in the footsteps of Chavez in Venezuela and Ortega in Nicaragua, president Zelaya hopes to eliminate term limits and install himself as dictator of Honduras. The rest of the democratically elected government stands in opposition to Zelaya and his plan. We hope that this will be enough to stop him, but we are especially concerned about recent developments. Last night, the top military officer here in Honduras bravely told the president that he would not carry out the executive order to hold the vote (the Army's traditional role here when there is a vote) since the Supreme Court had declared it illegal. He was summarily fired and the chief officers of the Army, Air Force, and Navy all resigned in a show of solidarity with them. The defense minister also resigned. The president has positioned troops around his residence in the capital city in Tegucigalpa and the Attorney General has called for his dismissal.

Please join us in praying for the stability of the country and for the safety of the people here, and also for the long term stability of the work here at Loma de Luz.

Here is an article from the Wall Street Journal about the crisis: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124597369604957305.html

Sunday may prove to be a particularly dangerous day here in Honduras for the Honduran people if the crisis continues to escalate. We do not believe that our family is in any danger (we certainly won't be traveling Sunday). Please pray for the people of Honduras:

-for safety in the midst of this crisis for those that are demonstrating and for whatever may happen Sunday

-for the rule of law to be upheld

-for wisdom for the chief of the armed forces and for those in positions of power within the government

-for this fragile democracy to hold fast

If you are interested in finding out more, I'll post some updates on the blog at www.davefields.blogspot.com over the next few days. Thank you for your prayers.

Dave and Marinajo Fields
Hospital Loma De Luz

Mariah's Baptism Video!

2009-06-22T00:39:00.003-06:00

Mariah's Baptism - Easter 2009. Thank you Lord!

Sarai - why we are here.

2009-06-17T20:11:00.005-06:00

It started yesterday evening about 5:00 pm as I was leaving the office here at the hospital. John Alden (the doctor on call that evening) came racing up the hill in his truck and drove around the corner to the back door of the hospital in a manner that told me something "was up". Since my office is near the "Emergency Room" (2 beds), I could also hear some pretty strong crying coming from the windows - which are always open. I thought I would walk down to the ER and see what had just come in and see if I could lend a hand. As soon as I walked in the room I saw John standing at the head of the bed over a child who obviously had a pretty good head injury. One look from John told me that he was pretty concerned. I took up station next to the girl and started rubbing her shoulder and trying to calm her. The ten or eleven year old girl had been involved in pretty serious bike crash and had a nasty gash on the top of her head. It went almost down to the skull and was several inches in every direction. Fortunately my years as an EMT prepared me well for this type of thing and I was able to help out without passing out. As I gave her the shh,shh,shh,shh,shh that a father might give a crying child, I rubbed her arm and told her that everything was all right as best as I could in Spanish. I really felt the presence and peace of the Lord as I calmed her and she almost immediately stopped crying and closed her eyes.
Soon after, in a coincidence that can only be attributed to God, some visiting anesthetists just happened to walk by several hours after their scheduled surgeries had all been completed and were able to assist John with sedating the young girl so that he could stitch her up. After cleaning her up and stitching her up she was admitted to the hospital overnight for observation and rest. While John was working on her, I went out and sat down with the mom and prayed with her (I am just learning to pray with people in Spanish - imagine the equivalent of a baby crawling). Her mother needed so badly to know that her baby was out of danger. After consulting with John, I was able to go back out there and tell her that she was indeed out of danger. I found out that the little girl's name was Sarai (I am probably not spelling this correctly).
The next day (today), I went to visit Sarai a couple of times. She tensed up immediately when I came up to her bed as if I knew her this morning - she did not remember me at all. So I took the curtain that was hanging around her bed and made a makeshift skirt out of it and started dancing the hula for her. Her laughter was such a blessing. Hearing children laugh when they are hurting is so beautiful.
This evening as I was leaving the office around 6pm (almost dark here) I encountered little Sarai and her mother leaving the hospital. They had convinced John to let her go home, but didn't have a ride to their home village of Limeras (about a 20 minute drive) and the buses had stopped running for the day. I was able to give them a ride home and I know that God took me by them at just the right time to be able to pick them up.
It occurred to me, on the way home, that this is really why we are here. The computer work that I do here makes me "useful" and gives us a legitimate reason to be here - but we are here to participate in what God is doing through the work of Hospital Loma De Luz. Our little hospital makes such a big difference in the lives of people here each and every day. Many of our doctors and nurses get to be involved in stories like this every day, for me it is less frequent. I'm so thankful for this little reminder of why we are here.

Judios - contextualizing the gospel.

2009-04-11T08:27:00.007-06:00

As I neared town, I could see the small mob of people on the streets. A few among them were dressed completely in black, with all of their exposed skin painted black. They carried sticks and were menacing the crowd a little bit...until they saw my truck. They quickly broke off from the main crowd to take up position in the road to block my path yelling and shaking their sticks at me. As I pulled closer to them several put their hands on the hood of my truck - as if they were pushing my car backwards - in order to completely block my path while the others rushed at my open window. I quickly pulled out the package that I had readied for them and held it high out the window. As soon as I handed the package to one of the black "Judios", the ones in front immediately "released" my car and rushed over and mobbed the unlucky fellow that had initially received my package to see what I had given them. As they were distracted by this I sped off heart rate a little elevated and breathing a simple prayer of thanks as I had just made it through my first encounter with the "Judios".

As you know, Semana Santa (Holy Week) is kind of like a week long Mardi Gras celebration where tons of Hondurans come to the North Coast to party and play on the beaches up here. We are remote enough (for now) that the big crowds are still West of us in the bigger towns. The roads are crazy, and there is a real danger to local people of violence and accidents this week. Some unavoidable circumstances led me to have to travel (a three hour car trip) on Thursday. One of the other missionaries had mentioned that the "Judios" would be out and prepared me for the scene that you just read about. They dress up entirely in black and they represent Judas - the one who betrayed Christ on Easter. "They want you to give them a Lempira" (roughly worth a nickel) she said. "Some of us missionaries won't give them any money and if you don't, they will try and paint black tar all over you and all over your car". "Some of us just give them the money and go on."

Well, what would you do? Would you give them the Lempira and gone on about your way, or would you hold your ground and not give the money to such an obvious cult like expression?

This dilemma faces us as missionaries in many different ways at many different times. How do we reach out to (and live in) the culture in ways that are meaningful without compromising our Gospel witness. If we don't give the Judios the Lempira, we face being "tarred". More importantly to me, I want to "fit in" to the culture here. I don't want to be perceived as an American who won't participate in the culture and the Judios are definitely a reality during Holy Week. They do this every year and the locals just see it as part of the Holy Week fun. I went to my one friend who was born and raised here (and speaks good enough English that we can communicate well) and asked him about it. He assured me that it is very much a part of the Holy Week here. I know that I may well see those same faces (minus the black paint and clothes) at church next week - or more importantly that they will see me and my actions on the road Thursday will impact how they perceive me as a missionary. Some missionaries that I respect greatly have decided that they won't play the game and won't give money to someone who portrays himself as a betrayer of Christ.

Well you already read the little story that I started out with and you know that I gave them a "package". What do you think was in it? Yes, there was a Lempira in it - but it was wrapped around some Spanish tracts that told these Judios (I hope) how precious they are to God. Next year, I hope to write a tract specifically targeted to how Christ loved even Judas and give one out them. What do you think? Is this an acceptable compromise or just a "religious" way of getting out of being tarred by the hoodlums? Each of us has to decide where we fit in for the cause of advancing the gospel and where we stand firm in the culture in order to prove the point that some things simply can't be compromised. You can't come to Christ on your terms. You must come to Christ on His terms - total surrender.

Don't think that this is only a problem for Christians who serve as missionaries. You deal with the contextualization of the gospel all of the time where you are also. Each week, your church struggles with how much to contextualize the gospel through the message that is preached, the songs that are sung, and the entire worship service. The goal is to make it "appealing" and "relevant" without compromising the heart of the message. What do you think? How is YOUR church doing in finding the balance in this?

Lastly, as a Christian, you probably deal with these same issues as you try and live your life in an increasingly secular culture there in the US. Do we let our kids go to that party or that school function? Do we go to that party at work or to that gathering of co-workers on Friday afternoon at that bar? What are we willing to expose ourselves to in order to "fit in" or maybe to be a Christian witness in our culture. We each have to make real decisions about this topic. Where do you fit in? Have you compromised so much that you've lost your Christian witness? Or on the other side, have you isolated yourself so much that you don't have any real social contact outside of the church?

We all have Judios in our life. It is a cold hard fact of the world we live in. Let's pray that God would give us the wisdom about how to "be in the world, but not of it" as the Bible says.

I will say that the Judios seemed pretty interested in what I gave them. As I returned through the town again, they rushed up to the car again. They didn't stand in front of it this time. They all seemed eager to get another Lempira (or were they eager to get another tract?). I can only hope that God was able to use the tract in some meaningful way.

Mariah's Baptism

2009-04-11T08:19:00.002-06:00

This is just a very quick note to let you know that Mariah will be baptized tomorrow at the Easter Sunrise service (yes, on the Caribbean - how cool is that?). We are SO excited for this and look forward to posting pictures early next week. Please say a prayer for her that the miracle of the resurrection will be SO REAL to her and that she will see that through her faith in Christ, she indeed gets to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ!

Hello dear friends and family!

2009-04-11T08:09:00.003-06:00

Hello dear friends and family,

Let me start with a simple apology. I'm sorry for not having written in the blog for so long! There are so many stories to share - I am trying to develop the discipline to sit down daily (or almost daily) and write something. It seems like every day brings some new experience into our lives that we could have never imagined and we want to share them all with you!

By the way, in case you are interested, I am trying to do six things well each day:

Prayer and fellowsip with the Lord
Quality family time
Exercise and health
IT work for the Hospital
IT work for my company (how the Lord supports us)
Communicate with our friends and family back home

Many days, I'm lucky if I get one or two of these right and I haven't yet figured out how to do all six well or really even how to do them each day.

Prayer Requests:
That God would give each of us the right priorities and then show us how to organize our day to be able to accomplish them well.
Please always pray for safety for our kids and all of the children here at Loma De Luz.
Good times of communication and closeness with Marinajo.
Our Spanish studies and working to learn the language.

Semana Santa (Holy Week)
Holy week here in Hondruas is really different than it is in the States. It has a real "Mardi Gras" feeling to it - except it lasts all week long! As we came in from Orlando (or latest VISA trip) last Friday, Holy Week was just getting started. Flights and hotels were all full and the roads - which are normally crazy here - were outrageously full with people obviously on holiday. It seems that pretty much the entire coutry comes up here to the North Coast to drink, party, and play on the beaches all week. Unfortunately - there is not much that is "holy" about Holy Week here. It is a week long drunken revelry complete with car accidents and violence.
Fortunately, we are fairly insulated from this out here at Loma De Luz, even though we are on the north Coast where everyone comes to party. We are far enough removed to be spared the really big crowds. Local people do seem to be rowdier than usual, but in Tela (about 70 miles west of here) we had heard that there were 70,000 people on the beach Wednesday. Nothing like that here.

We do have several missionaries traveling during this time and there is a hightened awareness of the danger that always goes with traveling this time of year. So please remember to pray for those of us down here that are traveling over this weekend.

One experience from Thursday serves as an excellent example of what it means to be a missionary in a foreign culture. I'll tell the story in my next blog post titled "Judios". I hope to have that one out later today - so stay tuned!

With our love and prayers that all are well and that the beauty of Easter is all around you!

Costa Rica Photos!

2009-01-06T21:01:00.000-06:00

Costa Rica

2009-01-05T10:18:00.000-06:00

In the last two segments (The Breakers and Visa Trip), I’ve written about stress – the stress of not knowing what in the world we are doing a lot of the time as we learn to live down here in Central America. I’ve written about stress because this has been a particularly stressful time in our lives. I think that it is common for where we are at in our lives – as new missionaries. Other missionaries told us that we would encounter very stressful times as we learned to live in the new reality of life outside of the United States and away from much that is familiar. So while it is not unexpected, it is kind of our first really rough spot since we left the US three months ago. We know that rough spots exist in every country, and in every walk of life. So, in writing about it, it is not my desire to elevate our rough spot above yours (dear reader), because we are “missionaries” but simply to tell about it in sufficient enough details so that I can get to the good part – the part where we learn to trust God more and where (hopefully) we learn to worry less.
My last point before I get on with the story: just because I’ve been writing about a particularly stressful time in our lives, this doesn’t mean that all has been bad. Quite the contrary – in the midst of the stress and worry – there have been beautiful days and a beautiful Christmas season. We went swimming in the Caribbean on Christmas day for heaven’s sake – so please don’t “worry about us” we are doing well – just learning how to live in a new environment that at times can be very difficult indeed.
We found ourselves in a difficult position: Having to leave Honduras for at least 72 hours to renew our visa. This is not possible to do in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Nicaragua. Previous plans to go to Belize seemed imprudent right now as we couldn’t be sure that the route was safe and we didn’t feel comfortable enough yet with our language skills to be able to ask the right questions and get a good sense of the answers to questions like “is it safe”. Remember that no one in all of Central America answers a question directly (perhaps a slight exaggeration) – one must learn to listen to the answer in the answer here.
So, at the urging of our dear friend, Iain McKenzie from Scotland, we began to look at flight options to Panama and Costa Rica. Several missionary families in our group had spent a year in San Jose Costa Rica for language school and knew the area well and assured us that a good and safe trip was possible there. I had always wanted to see the Panama Canal, so we looked into Panama as well. We found very inexpensive tickets ($160.00 each round trip) to San Jose, so we purchased the tickets and the hunt was on to see if our friends could find us a place to stay in San Jose for three days muy pronto.
God worked in so many ways to deliver us from our uncertain situation and to show us His mercy and grace during this time – it is hard to keep it all straight. First, there were our friends Nelson and Margo, who spent a year in San Jose for language school and who sprung into action on our behalf and began emailing friends and contacts in Costa Rica to help find us a place to stay. They contacted a man in San Jose named Fernando who seems to have a ministry helping to arrange travel connections and lodging for missionaries in San Jose. Before we knew it, Fernando had written back, asking if we would like stay with a family in San Jose that “takes care of missionaries” and that would provide us lodging and meals. We were hugely thankful to have received such and offer and immediately said yes and thank you. We emailed off our flight info this person in Costa Rica named Fernando and began to pack. On Sunday we drove to San Pedro Sula for an overnight stay and got ready for an early flight on Monday (12/29). We had a nice (short) flight on the newest aircraft that we had ever flow in before to Costa Rica. Very windy conditions made the landing one of the most exciting ones we’d ever had – landing in an “S” patterns down the runway. We cleared customs and walked out of the airport. If you’ve never experienced this in this part of the world, let’s just say that you know what cattle feel like at the auction. Each person is inspected with regard to how much money they might possess (gringos are “grade a” in this respect). It feels completely overwhelming the first time you experience it. It doesn’t take long to get over the intimidation – but it is interesting. But, in our case, there was a young man standing there holding a placard with Familia Fields de Honduras on it, just like we were royalty or super rich or something. The nice young man, named Oscar, ushered us outside where a taxi / minivan was waiting and in five minutes we were on the road and on our way to…….well we had no idea where. Lots of thoughts go through your head – like what if these nice people are taking us to a warehouse somewhere to beat us up and take our money. I have definitely watched way too many movies. After a 20-30 minute taxi ride and some very pleasant conversation – all in Spanish – Oscar took us into a nice neighborhood and said “this is my house, David….and your house.” We’ve probably all heard the “mi case es tu casa” saying in Spanish – but we were about to experience it firsthand. Oscar’s father and mother greeted us at the door as if we were their long lost relatives that had finally come home. In the traditional Spanish fashion, they lingered over both Benny and Mariah explaining how beautiful they were and kissing them and caressing their hair as if they were indeed a prince and a princess. They began to show us their house and tell us that we were honored guests and that they were so excited to have us stay with them. I can’t even explain to you what it was like to have these people treat us like our visit was the best thing that had ever happened to them. I can tell you that we love to extend hospitality to others, but we were absolutely blown away by the warmth of Oscar (Sr.) and Sonia. As they continued to show us around the house and tell us that they were delighted to cook every meal for us and that if we needed anything that we were simply to tell them what it was and that they would take care of it. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that I just broke down crying and hugged Oscar Sr like he was my dad and thanked him with my tears. All of the apprehension about what was the best thing to do on our visa trip just disappeared. We were right where God wanted us to be.
Oscar Sr. and Sonia have hosted over 200 missionaries in the last 20 years. Wow. After and early lunch, they hurried us off to our rooms to rest – complaining loudly whenever I tried to help with the dishes. Later in the afternoon, Oscar took us to the grocery store (a huge super mega grocery owned by none other than – you guessed it – Walmart) taking Benny down the cookie isle pointing at every cookie and asking him which was his favorite and then buying it for him. The home that we are staying in has this cool inner court-yard with plants and partial open ceiling that opens up to a beautiful blue sky. It is secluded, simple, and perfect. Across the courtyard, we have our own rooms (2 of them) each with a private bath and a laundry area with a small fridge. There were two big rocking chairs in the courtyard and toys for Benny to play with. What a wonderful provision God had in store for us! It was better than anything that I could have tried to prepare for us. The second day, after a relaxing morning, Papi (Oscar Sr. as now become Papi and Sonia is now Mami) took us shopping in a souvenir district called Moravia, with tons of little souvenir shop – very reasonably priced and lots of fun.

The third day (New Year’s Eve) – we went on a driving tour to the South and East of San Jose, to a town called Cartago where we saw a Catholic church that dated back to the Spanish colonial presence in the 1600’s. The people still today crawl down the long center aisle on their knees to the altar at the front to pray. We continued south from there to ?? where we saw incredible mountain valley vistas with coffee plantations dotting the hillsides. Wow. The beauty of Costa Rica is something that we just won’t ever forget. The trip concluded with tearful goodbyes to a family that in four short days has welcomed us into their family and in a way that only God can do, we had become one family. It is one of the most beautiful things that happens to us as missionaries and it is such an incredible blessings.
One other thing; Marinajo and I were blessed to be able to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary during this trip to Costa Rica. Words fail me to describe the incredible blessing that she is. I’ve learned some new language to express my love for her in Spanish (after all it is a “romantic language”). I’m so happy and thankful to have been able to celebrate our anniversary in Costa Rica together with mi amour.
So in two short weeks we went from the “breakers” to this place of beauty and peace. I know that the breakers await me once again as we return to life in Honduras. I thank God for giving us this respite and for giving us an opportunity to see that His hand covers us as we prepare to get back to work in Language school and ministry.

Visa Trip!

2009-01-01T10:18:00.000-06:00

We’ve known that we would have to leave Honduras every 90 days, for visa requirements, for quite awhile now. We’ve planned for it. We put $200.00 per month in the budget for it. As our first visa trip got closer and closer (yes, we’ve been here 90 days already – amazing) – I searched and searched for the most inexpensive way to get out of the country and back in to renew our visa for another 90 days. One law that makes this more difficult than it might seem at first glance is that we cannot refresh our visa by simply skipping over the border. We are not permitted to refresh our visa in Guatemala, El Salvador, or Nicaragua – the neighboring countries. We don’t know the reason for this law. It complicates matters a bunch not being able to drive over a border, stay a night or two and then return. Also, we have to stay out of the country for at least 72 hours. That means that we have to plan on a three day stay wherever it is that we go. When in Colorado, God led us to a wonderful couple in Belize who have an orphanage in Punta Gorda – which is on the eastern border of Belize and very near (via water) to Honduras. We had planned on driving into Guatemala and then taking a ferry over to Belize and to stay with our friends in the orphanage. We felt that this would be the cheapest trip possible for the four of us. After doing a bunch of internet research (you know me) – I was convinced that it was possible – but I was not certain that it was a safe route.
We spent the week of Christmas at the hospital and I told many of the missionaries of our plans to drive through part of Guatemala and then take the ferry over to Belize. There was a general sense of unrest among the community about our plans – with several well seasoned missionaries expressing doubt about the safety of the route. Since we would be travelling alone, with kids, it seemed wise to listen to their concerns and think about an alternate plan – and quickly – as we had to get out of the country pretty quickly to satisfy our visa requirements.
This situation illustrates beautifully the stress that I wrote about last time in the blog when I spoke of “the breakers”. In the states, we are used to having to plan a trip around the least expensive route, but we have two things going for us that we don’t have here: there are at least two routes to almost anywhere – our interstate highway system is truly an amazing system when you compare it to road travel options here in Central America. At best, there is one way to get some place, and at worst – you may have to go way out of your way, on routes that aren’t well mapped, to get someplace. Secondly, of course, is the security of travel in the States. We don’t really have to think of the “security” of a particular route. Here, in Central America, you pretty much always have to think that way. I understand that in parts of Guatemala there are major drug routes that lead down into Honduras and that because of this, there is much danger in parts of the country. One missionary family at our hospital endured a terrible tragedy on the roads in Guatemala many years ago, in which a missionary was killed by violence. Here, it is the unknown that is so difficult: “I don’t know if there is a road that goes there, I don’t know if it is safe. I don’t know if there is a ferry, I don’t know when it leaves.” If you want to know these things, you have to go try them out - which is less risky when one is not traveling with wife and kids.
Another part of the stress of all of this (most decisions that we make) is that I feel a heavy burden to spend our money in the wisest way possible. This is compounded by the fact that we are spending money that has been given to us for our ministry here. This is a new part of being a missionary that no one told me about and that has become very real to me. I don’t want just to spend our money carefully (a good thing), I want to spend it in the best possible way at all times. While this may sound like a noble goal, it is often impossible to know beforehand if you are indeed spending your money in the best possible way (of all possible options). This is often learned only with experience. Decisions become almost impossible to make. I had budgeted $200.00 per month for our visa trip, which mean that we would have around $600.00 available every three months (90 days) to make trips with. If we drove over to Guatemala and took the ferry to Belize, I felt that we could hit that budget. Any other choice would involve flights, which would almost certainly lead to expenses over and above $600.00 that I had budgeted. It isn’t that we don’t have any extra money, we do – I just wanted to do it for the amount budgeted and I wanted to “prove” that I could do it that cheaply (when several told me that I couldn’t). I now had the pride issues of wanting to be “right” in my planning and budgeting. Pride is a great attribute to add to worry – they go together so well, don’t they! 
So this is the place that we found ourselves in, now convinced that the route planned to Belize was possibly unsafe and sure that any other option would be much more expensive and yet needing to leave the country in a week or so for at least three days.
It is now time for me to write the next chapter in the telling of this story and in the explaining of the incredible blessings that can be ours in the midst of the stress and uncertainty. The story doesn’t end in “the breakers”, it only begins there. The breakers serve to remind us of our need, they make us dependant on Christ. The blessings in the breakers are so much bigger than the stress or the troubles there. Please read on to the next post, called “Costa Rica” to hear about the beautiful conclusion of this conundrum that we found ourselves in.

The breakers

2008-12-22T23:13:00.001-06:00

If you are really quiet here at night you can hear the surf as it comes in and breaks up on the reef near the shore. It is a beautiful sound. During the day, you can see the white caps of waves a fair distance away from the shore. When the white caps contrast against the blue sea, it is one of the most beautiful sights you’ll ever see. That which sounds beautiful at night and looks beautiful during the day is actually a pretty violent process. The reef seems to beat water up pretty hard by the time it gets to the beach. I suspect that if one were trying to get through there in a boat, you might find out the hard way that this seemingly beautiful approach is rather perilous.
I have discovered a similar truth in the last week. The place that we live in is beautiful. The people that we live with are dedicated and wonderful Christian missionaries. We know that we are supposed to be here. But coming here is difficult and learning to live here is costly. If you don’t know the way, there are plenty of breakers. I have been trying so hard to hold it together the last couple of weeks – it is time to let a little bit of out here in these pages. I’ve been rushing around trying to keep language school, work, missionary work, parenting, and Christmas for our family all in some sort of balance and doing a terrible job of it. It is just too much to do and instead of recognizing that, I’ve just kept going and going.
The stress of living in a new country is a constant, tiring stress that says nothing is really familiar, nothing is common. We love the newness of it and the “differentness” of it - but it carries a price in stress and worry. Is it safe? Does it cost too much? Can I eat that? How do I say that in Spanish – how do I get what I mean across to the person across the counter? Are my kids safe? Are they happy? What street was that on? How do I get there? Questions like these are just never ending right now. It brings with it a tiredness of the soul that I wasn’t expecting. Christmas has magnified this a bit. We feel obligated to try and get the right gifts for the kids. We want to send meaningful cards off to our friends and family in the states so that they know how much we miss them. The normally busy La Ceiba has turned in to a mad house of traffic and people. There isn’t a mall in every city here – the mall and the shopping in La Ceiba serve a huge surrounding rural area. All of the people in Northern Honduras seemed to be in La Ceiba last week for Christmas shopping. We are out here in the relative tranquility of the hospital now, but I hear from those that went to town today that it was even worse.
As someone who has been pretty good at worrying before ever coming here, I’ve found many new ways to do so and frankly, I’ve been losing my grip on reality over the last two weeks as I’ve rushed around to try and meet too many deadlines, too many expectations – all placed on myself by me. The thing that I’ve lost is that sense that God is in control and that I just have to follow His leading. A counselor once told me that I was trying to “elbow my way into the Trinity”, I still think that it is the best description of me when I’m struggling that I’ve ever heard.
The sin of trying to control one’s own destiny may not be very high on the list when we think about sin – but I guarantee that for me it is dreadfully evil. I completely deny God’s sovereignty over my life when I try and be sovereign over my own life. Business and burdens become the “breakers” that my efforts crash over as I try to accomplish everything, leaving nothing undone but the most important things. When God says “my yoke is easy and my burden is light”, I believe He means that we are allowed to cease striving when we come to Christ. We don’t have to impress anyone (or everyone, in my case). We don’t have to control everything. We can recognize that God loves us simply for who we are in Christ. We can realize that Christ is in control and that we no longer have to try and maintain that illusion that we are in control. What a wonderful blessing! Cease to strive; rest in the completed work of Christ. What a beautiful concept. This thought rescues me just as I am about to be strewn to bits in the breakers. Suddenly a pathway through the reefs appears before me:

John 15:5 (New International Version)
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

The sound of the waves grows louder as I end tonight. They are a blessed reminder in that they toil without ceasing, yet they never cross the boundary that God has marked out for them. Please help me to abide in you Jesus that I may bear fruit and please help me remember that apart from you, I can do nothing.

Why we can't send gifts from Honduras to our beloved family in the southern United States.

2008-12-06T11:20:00.004-06:00

I am proud of my southern heritage, and I am very proud of my family from Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee - all of which wear shoes most of the time.

Having family from the south does present some difficult challenges as we consider what to buy them for Christmas.....

Mumbai

2008-12-01T22:23:00.003-06:00

I confess that I haven't really paid attention to what happened in Mumbai last week. We were in Balfate getting stuck in rivers (and swimming across others). We were walking on the beach and enjoying the company of the other missionaries and finally, celebrating Thanksgiving. I had heard of the siege in Mumbai, but it wasn't until I read about it from an Indian missionary brother of ours that I finally "got it" in terms of how horrible it was.

Bro Ghuna Kumar is a man that we have had dinner with once, so I can't say that I know him well, but I do know him to be a man of God. I've received his newsletter (subscription info below) for about a year now and I've found it to be a good source of information for events in India. His reporting of the persecution in Orissa, for example, has been factual and "level-headed" to the best of my understanding. That said, when he described the recent tragedy in Mumbai as "India's 9/11", that got my attention.

Please read the item from his newsletter below and please join me in praying for the dear souls in Mumbai that were lost as well as those that are left behind to cope with the violence. Please also join me in agreeing with Bro Kumar that the severe escalation between India and Pakistan will subside before war breaks out.

Lastly, let me point out that Bro Kumar states that the killers are from Pakistan as a fact. I have no idea if this is true. It may well be a fact. It seems to me that there is still some question as to where they are from - but I am just not in a place to make any judgments on the validity of that point.

DF -- 1 Dec 2008

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SUNDAY SCRIPTURE - 30 NOV 2008
R. C. GHUNA KUMAR
Dec 1, 2008

India’s 9/11 took place on 26/11 in Mumbai. It was like a war in Mumbai. About ten terrorists who belonged to Pakistan and who were well-trained entered Mumbai through sea route and stormed Mumbai with bullets and bombs. They targeted 12 places. The well co-ordinated attacks have been claimed by an organization called Deccan Mujahideen. The terrorists targeted landmarks like Mumbai's Taj Mahal and Oberoi/Trident hotels, a Jewish centre, as well as Mumbai's main train station, a hospital and a popular restaurant. They killed the people indiscriminately with machine guns and grenades, and then took hostages, especially looking for American or British passports holders. Their aim was to destroy all these places and kill over 5000 people and bring the economical capital to a collapse. Their target was also the foreign nationals and Jewish people. It was a monstrous act for them to kill the young Rabbai Gavriel (29) and his wife Rivka (28) along with their four friends leaving the two year old son. The rabbai was in charge of the jewish center at the Nariman house, Mumbai. The two year old Moshe Holtzberg kept crying “Ima Ima” in Hebrew which means “mummy, mummy” during the memorial ceremony. They killed over 195 people and among them were 25 foreigners who included 5 Americans and 5 British. The terrorists were of ages between 18 to 24. One of them namely Ajmol was caught and it is reported that two of them escaped and the rest of them were killed. In the whole operation which lasted three days, 30 police men and 3 commando chiefs were killed. This has brought a real terror to the people of Mumbai and to those who live in cities. People of India are shocked and grieved because of this gruesome incident. Some of you called me and also mailed me to find out if I was in Mumbai at the time of attack. I am so thankful for your concern and enquiries. Please pray that the tension between India and Pakistan will subside. Both the countries are amassing the troops in the borders. I believe the terror attack was done by certain elements of Pakistan. May be Pakistan should take measures to clear of the terroristic groups rather than encouraging them.

Mariah swims her first river!

2008-11-27T22:09:00.001-06:00

This is a quick video if Mariah swimming the Bejucal river. The current was pretty swift and her parents were both scared to death to let her attempt and incredibly proud of her for making it over so well! She swam straight and strong. She "owned" the river and slammed right across.

Crossing the plancha

2008-11-24T22:02:00.002-06:00

The sensation was one of being inside a capsule. I’ve driven my truck into the plancha a few times now and never really gotten a thrill out of it, until today. Times past, the water has never really gotten much deeper than the wheels - maybe a little but higher. Today, as I got further and further into the river I realized the depth (pun intended) of my mistake. As the water swirled around me high up onto the doors of the pickup, I had this strange sensation of being inside a capsule in the river. The water was all around me but I wasn’t getting wet. I didn’t need to look down at my feet to realize that this whole “capsule” experience was about to change. My bare feet inside my sandals could feel the water rising inside the truck and I could feel the wheels start to spin. My capsule only had a few more minutes before it became a sunken boat – completely filled with water. My heart just sank. I was terrified that I had completely ruined my new (used) truck. I put the truck in reverse and felt the wheels spin in reverse. I tried to “rock” the truck back and forth, the way you might if you were stuck in the snow, and slowly felt the reverse motion catch a little bit of traction. I tried to “feather” the clutch – giving it just enough pressure to go backwards without spinning…..

This is where I need to pause the story and do a little bit of explaining of just exactly how I got myself into this mess. When we get back to this part in the story, it will be important to remember that I had miraculously just caught a little bit of traction and I was slowly moving backwards out of the river.

It is now the end of November and it has been raining steadily since October, just the way it is supposed to in “rainy season” here in Honduras. Our little apartment in La Ceiba has kept us warm and dry and although we’ve gone through a bit of street flooding, at times rather deep, we’ve not really experienced anything very difficult. In the times when we’ve driven out to Hospital Loma De Luz (our eventual destination once we finish language school in La Ceiba) we’ve always had it pretty easy. The hour and a half drive features four river crossing, three with bridges. Two of these bridges were washed out by the last storm about a month ago, but have since been repaired. The one river crossing that does not have a bridge is called the plancha and during the rainy season its depth usually defines when trips can be made or when they cannot be made. The question is often asked “how is the plancha” as the missionaries determine when to come in to La Ceiba for groceries and gas and such. We’ve been here at the hospital for a couple of days now (since Saturday) and we were able to cross a couple of days ago with no problem. Today (Monday) my dear friend Howard brought food and supplies for the hospital in his two-wheel drive truck. He managed to make it through the plancha this morning with no problems. To my amazement, he made it through the nearly impassable muddy road all the way here to the hospital. How he made it without getting stuck in the mud in a two-wheel drive truck I’ll never know. I told him when he left to return to La Ceiba to call me if he had any problems. I fully expected him to call and tell me that he was stuck in the mud as the ruts are up to 18” deep in places right now and the mud is truly the worst I’ve ever seen. When he did finally call, it had been so long since he left that I was sure he was calling me to tell me that he was home safely. “David, I have been stuck in the plancha two times now and I need you to come get me right away”. The scenario was so bad that I immediately thought he must be joking. Stuck in the plancha? Twice? “You’re kidding, right?” I asked. Silence. You are joking, right? “David, I am serious – you must come get me right away.” Wow. He wasn’t kidding. I had told him earlier that I didn’t think he should try to come in today and I had offered to meet him on the La Ceiba side of the plancha, and now I was a little bit angry with my very good friend. Did I mention that I was just sitting down to eat a late lunch? I grabbed my sandwich and my raincoat and took off.

Those who know me well know that I am never happier than I am when I have someone to “rescue”. So it was with a mixture of irritation (why didn’t he just listen to me?) and a mixture of exhilaration (I have to get through all of this mud to rescue my friend!) that I made the thirty minute or so journey to the plancha crossing. One of the strangest things about traveling here is that you can go through one or several weather fronts in a very short amount of time. The little town of Lucinda is only about a mile west of here, but I ran into a major rainstorm the other day while driving over there. No rain at all at our house. I mention this because as I got closer and closer to the plancha the rain got heavier and heavier. I arrived at the crossing in a drenching downpour. Cars and buses were lined up on either side of the crossing (my foreboding begins here). Howard is parked about a cars length from the water and waves me down towards the water in my truck (more foreboding). As I get down there to the bank, I notice a white pickup stuck in the middle of the river (major foreboding). When I get out he tells me that he wants me to tow him across in my truck. “Ok” I said, “let’s do it” – hoping that I sounded much braver than I felt. We tied the two trucks together and I asked him to show me the path that I should take across the river. “Stay to the left of the truck in the river” he said, stating what I felt was rather obvious. Ok, ready – here we go! As I drove out into the middle of the river, around the truck that was stuck in the middle (on the left – of course), the water began to get really high really quickly. ** This is when I started to get that completely surreal “capsule feeling” that I started with at the beginning of the story and yep, you guessed it, this is where I started to get stuck. I’m going to push the play button here and resume the story – remember that I had just started to get some traction going backwards, but what I couldn’t tell you without all of the background info was that I had to backup right into a two-wheel drive truck that I had pulled into this mess! I suddenly realized that I couldn’t tow in reverse and that there was no way that I was going to be able to back out of this river, even though I was starting to get a bit of traction.

Several Honduran men jumped into the river and began to push Howard’s truck backwards. I had to back up quickly enough so that I could keep from slowing them down and yet slowly enough not to squish them in between our two trucks. So now I am backing up through the river with four or five guys pushing the truck right behind me. This is not how we define fun! We finally got far enough back that Howard was able to back out on his own and got back up onto the sweet sweet ground that we had started from. Well we no more than got back on the bank, but the guys started urging me to drive back into the river, but this time to hold more to the downstream side to my right. Well at that time, I was convinced that no one was going to get me back in that river without holding a gun to my head. Seeing my obvious terror at driving back into the river, one of the Honduran guys just walked right in and motioned for me to follow. Walking through the river backwards and motioning like he was landing a 747…..what else could I do? I drove right in after him, this time holding to the downstream side. I felt that “capsule feeling” again as the water swirled around me, but this time the water wasn’t quite as deep and the wheels (thank God) never stopped turning. We made it to the other side! The whole crowd of people who had gathered to watch the show started yelling like a bunch of Indians and I’ll tell you that I’ve never felt happier in my life than I did as I pulled up on the other bank of the river.

As we untied the rope, Howard gently chided me for not listening to his instruction and for straying too far to the left. I responded with a shoulder shrug and a smile. I will certainly never make that mistake again. The Honduran guys asked me if they could load a motorcycle in the back of the truck for the return trip across the river. Sure! How could I deny my new friends a ride back across? The airplane landing guy walked right back in the river backwards and guided me back across the river. This time it seemed easy and I kind of held the wheel with one hand and hung my elbow out the window “truck driver” style and we went back across. A few people cheered when I got back across the river, and then moved on to see what the next entertainment would be. I’ll never forget the picture of these two old guys standing up a little farther on the river bank, standing right next to each other, holding a piece of black plastic over themselves to shield themselves from the downpour. They had stood like this for this for the whole show. I don’t know who they were of why they were there, but they seemed really glad they had come. They had the most satisfied look on their faces as I drove by. “Thank you”, their eyes seemed to say as I drove past them. I drove about a half a mile back down the road towards home until I was out of sight of the whole things and then I just pulled over to the side of the road and sat there in the silence. My hands were shaking and I was a stressed out mess! I kept shaking my head as I drove back to the hospital in sheer disbelief of what I had just experienced. Oh, what I would have given for a camera back there and someone to have been able to take a picture! I was now just a little bit less of a rookie than I had been an hour ago and a little bit more of the jungle had rubbed off on me here in Honduras.

How was your Monday?

2008-11-17T21:51:00.021-06:00

One of the things that we have prayed for is the opportunity to see how different life is here outside of the United States. Today, we got a glimpse of that as we awoke to a long night of rain and to a very flooded street outside of our apartment building. Let me be clear here; we haven't had any flooding in our apartments. All of these pictures were taken from the comfort of our truck or our apartment (high and dry). We are simply getting a glimpse into what life is like for the Hondurans here - not experiencing it first hand. These local people had to struggle through streets that were inundated with flooding.

I offer these images (and the comments next to them) not to push you towards guilt, but to guide you towards gratitude. Anyone reading this is rich in a way that most of the people in these pictures could never imagine. My first reaction is shame at the inequality of it. My second reaction is simply gratitude. My third reaction is wonder and awe at the grace with which these Honduran people conduct themselves in the hardest of circumstances.

Image 1 - View of the street outside of our apartment this morning. The water is about two feet deep.

Image 2 - View of the street in the other direction outside of our apartments this morning. Just before I shot this picture a horse wandered down the middle of the road and then took refuge in a higher grassy field next to our apartment!

Image 3 - this is in El Centro or near the town square. There is a man in the back of that truck handing freight out to these two guys, who are then carrying it inside.

Image 4 - these poor people are trying to walk along the edge of the street where there is (sometimes) an elevated sidewalk. They alternate between being ankle deep and being knee deep in water as they try and walk to work.

Image 5 - of all the people that I've observed in La Ceiba thus far, the trash men have it the worst. These guys separate out all of the garbage, looking for anyting valuable to augment their pay of about $125-$150 per month. The young man (14 yrs old?) inside the truck was singing....

Image 6 - this fellow rides through the streets all day selling gunieos (like a banana - used in cooking here like a potatoe might be used in the states) for 1 Lempira each (about a nickel).

Wanna see what we did today?

2008-11-14T22:25:00.003-06:00

Click here to see pictures from our day in the mountains!

Today we went to Pico Bonito National (Honduran) Park - about an hour outside of La Ceiba - with our dear friend and Spanish teacher Dianna. We got to cross over a river on a suspension bridge and take a couple of short hikes thorugh the jungle. We saw some beautiful moutain and jungle scenery. Enjoy the pictures!

Update #6 - Bridges are open! Life returns to normal...for some.

2008-11-10T13:28:00.002-06:00

Thanks be to God, the bridges are now repaired and open and all of the missionaries from Loma De Luz can travel here to La Ceiba for refreshment and resupply. From discussions with local missionaries, it appears that the power was restored and the bridges were repaired in record time. We just give thanks to God for His provision for our folks at Loma De Luz.
For the local Honduran people in the surrounding villages, life continues to be very hard indeed as some have lost homes and for some, food supplies are short. The government is delivering food via helicopter to some areas around the hospital, but we are hearing that the supplies are not going to those who need it most. Since the missionaries at the hospital are so familiar with the local villages, they have taken the lead and are moving food and supplies into the area and distributing it to those in the most need. We are thankful to say that our truck was used in several of these early trips to deliver food. We had no other part to play - but we are glad that it could be used for this purpose.
We are helping Nelson and Margo Concepcion shop for beds for families from eleven homes that were lost in the flood and hope to be able to buy them soon and send them up into the mountains above the hospital to the village of Las Flores. Again, it is a very small part to play in a very big effort - but we are grateful for the ability to be involved.
Please continue to pray for those that were already poor and struggling as they cope with either partial or total loss of their homes and possessions. We continue to learn new ways to be thankful for the incredible blessings that we have as North Americans.

Update #5 - Storm Pictures

2008-11-02T22:28:00.005-06:00

See the embedded slide show below, or click here to view in a photo album.

Manos Para El Mundo

2008-11-02T21:52:00.004-06:00

** Note, I haven't been able to post this for a couple of days. The storm at the hospital kind of overshadowed everything the last week. I wrote this on 10/28. DF

Yesterday (10/27) I met with Luis Vargas, here in La Ceiba. Luis’s ministry is called Manos Para El Mundo (Hands To The World). He works with local churches in a remote mountainous area of Honduras near the town of Lempira
Click here for map The people that he works with are Lenca Indians. They are incredibly poor and often malnourished. Manos Para El Mundo receives food donated through Kids Against Hunger and then distributes the food through a network of local churches in the villages. His goal is to feed 4,000 children, ages 0-5. In the last month, torrential rains have affected much of Honduras. Flooding has been a huge problem and landslides have affected the area of Lempira where Luis ministers. The need is great.

The food that Kids Against Hunger provides is a super-enriched “rice casserole” packaged food that never spoils, is easy to prepare, and contains a wealth of vitamins and minerals. You can read more about it on the feedingchildren.org website (see the "Kids Against Hunger" link above). There is a shipping container in Minneapolis with approx 280,000 meals designated for Honduras to be distributed by Luis’s ministry. Luis has secured most of the funds and donated transportation needed to get the container from Minneapolis to Gulfport, MS and then on to Puerto Castillo, Honduras.

As of yesterday (10/27) Luis needed $3,000.00 more to get the food hereto Honduras and to get it distributed. As we met at the food court in the mall in La Ceiba, my daughter Mariah, my wife Marinajo, myself, and Luis joined hands and prayed that God would open the door for that food to come and be distributed to these children who so urgently need it. Now, less than 24 hours later, it would appear that this prayer has been answered. Luis spoke with one person who committed $1,000.00 and my family (Dad and Julie) in Tennessee have been in contact with someone there who can fund the remaining $2,000.00.

Praise the Lord! I just continue to be in awe of how He answers prayer and how works through His people!

F.Y.I – Luis needs to be able to ship about 10 containers per year here to be able to feed 4,000 children per year. Wouldn’t it be an amazing gift to find 10 or 20 families there in the states that would sponsor one container per year? Please continue to pray with me that God would open doors for such an amazing work and that God would continue to provide for Luis and his family.

Update #4 - Power and water have been restored.

2008-11-01T20:55:00.003-06:00

Thanks be to God, the power and water have been restored to the hospital as of late last night. Of course, conditions remain difficult for the missionaries at the hospital and we covet your prayers for them. Conditions are infinitely worse for the local Honduran population in the surrounding villages and we do cry out to God for their protection and for His provision for them.

Here are a couple of excerpts from other who have written about the storm with some good info and some very poignant observations:

From www.themattbrown.com:

The government flew in some helicopters today (10/30)and dropped off lots of rice beans and corn for the locals. So thankfully, they all have some food that should last until the middle of next week or so. Hopefully, the bridges will be repaired by then.

From John and Penny Alden:

In the midst of a broken motorscooter, broken guitar (temporarily glued and screwed!), dark days and darker nites, mud everywhere, always damp, devotions by lantern, broken water systems and faltering electrical systems, we rejoice in God’s protection and goodness. We sleep in dry, elevated beds, our roof doesn’t come off, we have buckets to collect water (many don’t), we have canned goods backed up when the dry beans and rice run out. John still finds a way to serve me HOT coffee with my bible reading in the dark. (Thanks to Shellie and Mitch for the French press!) We have seen the Body of Christ functioning smoothly, with great humor, making fun out of flood cleanup, meeting one another’s needs. We have seen Hondurans soaked to the bone, with huge, genuine grins on their faces, often singing. One young male employee, oblivious to me crossing the chapel courtyard yesterday, burst thru the door of the waiting room and danced with abandon across the chapel, joyously singing a praise chorus. (He had just been in to see a doc for bone pain!). The rain was beating on the metal roof of the chapel, not a dry spot to be found, a water pipe below the cement floor in Xray had burst, necessitating shutting down water to the hospital, and one could hear the sound of the pickax and sledge hammer as they beat out the cement to fix the pipe, we were slinging mops to sop up the leaked water and moving all the wound care supplies out of the water…but he was dancing and singing. We are blessed to be here.
As you wrap up in your polar fleece blankets and snuggle together on dry mattresses after a satisfying, hot meal that fills you up, please think of our friends here, those who have lost the little they have, who never get dry, never get full, never get warm…and say they are fine. We are humbled…..
In Him, Penny

Update #3 - Amazing pictures after the storm

2008-11-01T20:33:00.007-06:00

These are some fantactic pictures taken by Matt Brown. Thank you so much for posting them on your blog Matt! (www.themattbrown.com)

This is what we mean when we say that the bridge washed out. The bridge is still standing, but the approach to the bridge is completely gone.

Another shot from Matt of the approach to the bridge. This bridge and one more are inoperable - making vehicle transportation to and from the hospital impossible.

Crop damage and home damage from the storm are very serious indeed.

A side view of the bridge showing the damage to the approach.

Update #2

2008-10-31T14:06:00.004-06:00

Friday - 10/31 - Another strong day of rain here in La Ceiba. Localized street flooding, but that is all so far. We are hearing of a forecast of four more days of strong rain.

Let me pass on another email from Loma De Luz with some more (sad) information and an update:

Dear Cornerstone Friends--
I have some additional information to share with you, and I ask for continued prayer. There has been loss of life among the Honduran people of our community, which I did not know about when I wrote before. The Bejucal River flows into the sea at Balfate. When the river became swollen by the rains, it appears that a hydroelectric dam up the river opened its flood gates, but not gradually--all at once. This sent a wall of water down stream which slammed into Balfate, bringing water and mud into every building, and drowning at least 2 people. Four people were drowned in another nearby river, the Lis Lis. Many farms have been washed away in addition to homes, and some communities have been devastated. For this region near the hospital, the catchment area we serve, conditions are worse than those in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. And, 48 more hours of rain are expected. So the Honduran people are really hurting. Please pray for them. Please also keep praying for the beleaguered and isolated missionaries. But it is the Honduran people who have the hardest burdens. Lift them up. Pray that the Lord will be near to them (as He promised He would be near to the brokenhearted).
--Sally for Cornerstone and Hospital Loma de Luz

Note: Do not take this reference to Hurricane Mitch lightly - that storm decimated this area. It was their Katrina. For them to say that some areas were affected by this recent storm more than Hurricane Mitch is an amazing statement. Our prayers go out to the Honduran people whose lives have been so badly affected by this storm.

Update #1

2008-10-30T21:22:00.002-06:00

It is now Thursday evening (10/30) and as nearly as we can tell, our friends at Loma De Luz are fairing pretty well in the midst of the storm that knocked out electricity and water. They have been able to get some type of drinkable water supply going and the generator at the hospital is functioning well (thanks be to God). The electricity is still out to all of the missionary homes (some have generators) but they all seem to be in good spirits. Tomorrow we will be sending some supplies in by canoe across the rivers that have bridges out. The roads seem to be passable, not sure how log it will be before bridge approaches are repaired. The Honduran people in the surrounding villages are still suffering many hardships. The villages seem to be without water. I can't imagine their trials. Please keep all of the Honduran people in your prayers as many are enduring trials associated with flooding. You probably know this - but this isn't like the wildfires in California where everyone goes to a shelter and has food, clothing, and a cot to sleep in. Many here live in "survival mode" at all times and situations like this just compound their suffering greatly.

Please pray for the two missionary families that had some water in their homes. Pray for their endurance as they clean up. Pray for safety and comfort for everyone as they deal with no electricity - cold showers, and such. May each of them walk in the role that God has given them in the "Body of Christ" there at Loma De Luz and may each of them have the spirit of servitude in everything that they do. Please pray for the quick restoration of water supply, electricity, the bridges, and that the generator conitues to run without difficulties.

Thank you for your prayers!

Rain and flooding here, please pray.

2008-10-28T22:48:00.003-06:00

Dear Friends,

Let me pass on an urgent prayer request from the Hospital Loma De Luz. The hospital was innundated with rain today (28th) and much damage was done to the infrastructure that brings water and electricity to the hospital. We have heard that as many as five local people may have died yesterday as a result of the flooding in the surrounding villages. Please pray for the local people as they face huge trials in the midst of the flooding. Please pray for our missionaries at the hospital as they also face great challenges over the next few weeks. Transportation will not be possible to La Ceiba (where we are right now - taking language school) for at least several days and maybe up to two weeks - so supplies will be very short. The water delivery system and the electricity were both badly damaged in the storm. Please pray that God would provide for our dear friends as they embrace the challenge of recovering from the storm.

Thank you!
Dave and Marinajo Fields
Mariah and Benny

Here is the email that was sent out by the Cornerstone Foundation yesterday evening:

Dear Cornerstone Friends,

I was just about to write to you with a good news report on the water situation when I got news of a new problem which also involves water.

The good news: In our last email update, I mentioned some alternate / back-up water sources which didn't really produce enough water to serve our needs on a regular basis. Well, the good news is that once the rainy season rains arrived, those water sources (springs) began producing more water--enough to better handle our needs.

The bad news: Now it's raining way too much, and there's too much water. It has been raining horrendously heavily--much more so than what is normal for the rainy season. A foot of rain fell last night, with more coming down. The tremendous amount of water has overwhelmed drains and burst pipes which were unable to bear the strain of draining such a huge volume of water. The power lines are washed out in many places--some sections for hundreds of meters. Every house in Balfate has water in it, including some of the missionaries' homes. The satellite link is down off and on, depending on the thickness of the cloud cover (so not much contact with the outside world is possible). And of course the rivers are all out of their banks with bridge ramps washed out, keeping the entire area isolated. Finally, the flooding, ironically, makes finding drinkable water very difficult.

So please pray--for better weather and conditions, for God's help in making so many repairs, for the missionaries to find the Lord's help when things seem discouraging, and for God to be glorified in the midst of all. Please also pray for the many Hondurans who are cold, wet refugees from hard hit communities, for those whose mountain farms are washing away, and really for all of them. For so many of the people, who live always closer to the bone, finding ways to get warm or dry and to find food in these conditions is not so easy.

Also, there are also several missionaries who are scheduled to be flying out of San Pedro Sula in a few days and currently have no way to get there.

Please lift all of this up to the Lord. Thanks so much.

--Sally Mahoney
for Cornerstone Foundation and Hospital Loma de Luz
Tuesday 28 Oct. 2008

A weekend in Balfate (visiting Hospital Loma De Luz)

2008-10-26T21:40:00.002-06:00

10/25/08 (Saturday Night)
We’ve come “to the hospital” (about an hour and a quarter drive from La Ceiba) here in Balfate for a short overnight weekend stay. This is Loma De Luz – the hospital where we will live and serve once we are done with language school in La Ceiba (about three months from now). We’ve been here before as guests – now we come as missionaries. We are staying tonight in our “home” here which has already been made ready for us – a little three bedroom apartment that is part of a much larger house that has been made into a tri-plex. We have seen it before. Dad and I stayed here in August. This is the first time we’ve stayed here as a family. As the rain falls down onto the metal roof in sheets and the cool night air blows in off of the Caribbean, I am having another one of those “pinch-me-is-this-real?” kind of experiences. It hits me all over again that we now live in Honduras as missionaries. That dream that was conceived in January of this year and birthed in May upon our first visit is now a reality. Wow. Having never lived abroad before, there is this special kind of wow that I go through several times a day that says “wow – I now live in a different country”. I can certainly say that for a large part of my life, I never would have dreamed of living outside the USA. This kind of surreal sensation extends much deeper tonight as I realize that this home (our eventual home) is really quite remote. We live in the jungle, really. Wow – there it goes again.
I killed my first scorpion tonight. We were eating supper over at Margo and Nelson Concepcione’s house and Margo ran out to their freezer on the front porch to grab something and came back in to report that she thought she had seen a scorpion. I went out to investigate and didn’t see him at first. As I was about to head back inside, I saw him hiding under the door. He took off across the front porch, the curl of his back tail left no question as to his identity. He was perhaps three inches long. I stomped on him and flattened him good. Take that! His back tail convulsed around trying to find something to sting for several seconds before he was finally still.
This time of year is absolutely beautiful here. I remember so vividly our first visit here in May: brutally hot. Several times the temperature went over 100 degrees, high humidity – no rain and no air conditioning. We stayed in an upstairs apartment. We were miserable. The last time I was here was in August. It was still hot, but much better. The thing I remember about the August trip was that it was so incredibly dry. Dust everywhere. This time it is wonderfully cool and there is no dust. The rain is wonderful. Perhaps the rivers will swell and perhaps we won’t be able to drive back to La Ceiba tomorrow but we will worry about that tomorrow. For tonight, the coolness and the sound of the rain swirl around us in a delicious motion. It is intoxicating.
I haven’t said much about Andrea before now. She is a little girl in the children’s center that has absolutely stolen my heart. Yes, my heart still belongs to my daughter Mariah and in a different way to my son Ben, but Andrea is special in a way that I can’t describe. She was terribly abused by her step dad – which resulted in her step dad being shot by her mom (he recovered). Her mom has aids and was on death’s doorstep. When I first met Andrea in August, her mom was in a hospital in La Ceiba (described fully here: ) and her dad was in jail. Both parents were most likely dying of aids. Since then her dad has either bribed his way out of jail or escaped – all that we know is that he is free and her mom has made nothing short of a miraculous turn around. She and her mom live here in sanctuary housing and at the children’s center. Her mom seems happy and healthy (an absolute miracle) and Andrea seems happy and content. Why am I telling you all of this? Because this afternoon when we arrived we immediately dropped Ben off to see his new friend Samuel at the children’s center and Andrea came out to greet us. She asked for and received permission to come with us to help unpack and spend a few hours with us this afternoon. She came with Marinajo and I to our new apartment here and helped us unpack and then played with us and “hung out” with us for a couple of hours. I found myself sitting on this big oversized recliner type chair in our apartment reading children’s books to Andrea. The books were written in English, but she only speaks Spanish – so she would teach me as many words as she could from the pictures and then I would fill in as much as I could with what little Spanish I know to try and get the basics of the story across to her. I was sitting here reading stories with this beautiful little nine-year-old girl whose world had exploded just a few months before. Without this place – the hospital, the children’s center, and sanctuary housing – her story would have been just another lost story in a sea of lost children here. Now, she has joy and safety and health, and some dumb gringo to try and explain the three little pigs to her in broken Spanish. It was like a mix between language school (with a nine-year-old teacher) and charades. What a beautiful experience.

In Awe and Wonder of God

2008-10-24T17:41:00.013-06:00

Perhaps you remember my great adventure and great privilege of being able to help drive a very sick young girl to the hospital in San Pedro Sula? The blog post for that day can be found here:

http://davefields.blogspot.com/2008/08/day-4-82108.html

Well today I finally have a picture and a report on her condition and it is nothing short of miraculous! Young Chelsi Yanera is doing well. Here is the report from Norma Hunt (Nurse from Loma De Luz):

Chelsi received 12 units of blood and 7 units of platelets. After 42 days in the hospital she is home and doing well. I look forward to taking her back to La Ceiba to thank the doctor who attended her with out charging. Pray that this will impact the doctor.

This beautiful child that you see now was bleeding from the mouth and nose. Her sclera (the white part aroound your eyes) looked like a giant blood blister in both eyes. Her platelets were at zero and her white blood cell count was elevated to around 50,000. The fact that she is alive at all is so amazing. Thank you God for giving this little girl's life back to here. may it be used for your glory!

Thoughts on the rain and humidity here in Honduras

2008-10-22T18:08:00.007-06:00

(Pictures are of the flooded street out in front of our apartment after heavy rain)

After living in Honduras for two weeks - we have a new definition of humidity. Humid is:

Wet clothes and towels that never dry (unless you put them in the dryer) - (note on this - most people down here don't have a clothes dryer - so once something gets wet - it really doesn't dry. So, when it rains, they tend to take layers off and put them in bags and walk around with fewer clothes on until it stops. )

Paper cannot be kept in the printer - it wilts like a wet napkin and then shreds in the printer it is so wet. I have to keep paper in the sleeve until ready to print.

Sweat. Benny especially just sweats profusely all of the time. Any type of activity results in drenching sweat.

I checked the weather the other evening and we had 96% humidity at that moment.

Marinajo likes the tight tight curls in her hair!

We have an air-conditioner in our bedroom. At night it feels like we sleep in damp washcloths instead of sheets.

It rains most every evening and often all night. Each day there is usually some sunny time – so we make every effort to get out and do something when it is sunny. In other areas of the county (near San Pedro Sula) for example – there has been some pretty major flooding. It is on the news every evening but we can’t yet understand enough Spanish to know what is going on. We are nice and dry in our apartment though!

Hello from Honduras!

2008-10-21T19:20:00.002-06:00

Hello dear friends and family. This is my first blog post after moving to Honduras. It is now Tuesday Oct 21st and that means that we’ve been “in country” for two weeks now.
These first two weeks have been a strange mixture of new and very unique experiences mixed in with a lot of “routine” type things. Let me explain: In our first two trips down here, we put our lives largely on hold back in the states and came down here 100% invested in the experience of being down here. We had no kids with us – we lived moment to moment, experiencing God in ways that have been well chronicled in the pages of this blog. We prayed with a sick and dying lady. I helped to race one very sick child to the hospital in San Pedro Sula. We drank through a funnel of God’s goodness and calling on those visits – but they were short term trips – designed to seek out God’s calling and everything was magnified because of their short duration. We had “STS” – short term syndrome. Those first two trips set the expectation that life would be like that every day down here. Now we have been here two weeks and it is very clear that living here will be full of adventure, excitement, and well….ordinary. Ordinary, you say? Yes, ordinary. You see we brought something with us when we moved down here this time that we hadn’t brought before – our lives. We brought our children, we brought eight big suitcases and four small suitcases full of our stuff, we brought Dave’s business down here: in short, we brought our lives down here. Now we live in an apartment here and the toilet leaks and the neighbors are loud and we need milk and bread, and toilet paper!
Don’t misunderstand me – we aren’t sad that we came, we have experienced God in new and unique ways and we are more certain than ever that this is exactly where we are supposed to be. But we are going through a difficult transition of getting our lives set up down here. Hmmmm, somehow – we didn’t fully expect or understand that transition. We are moving from short-term missionaries to long-term missionaries.
More on this transition as my thoughts on it develop over the next few days – and much more to come on every day life here in Honduras. In short it is a beautiful country that is more humid than I ever thought possible. We arrived just at the beginning of the rainy season and they don’t call it that for nothing. The rain is immense, frequent, and warm. Each day seems to have a sunny period – but each evening and most nights seem to be just pure rain. The people are poor, friendly and have warm, beautiful smiles. Life here is different enough that it feels like we live in another country and yet there are many “American-type” places to eat and to shop and yes, even a local version of Starbucks here called “Café-Americano” (thank you for that one Lord).
One reason that I haven’t posted on the blog (besides the obvious busyness of getting settled in and getting started with language school) is that I’ve been waiting for something really profound to happen. I realize now that profound will come in a different package now that we are here for the long haul. Small profound things have happened – but nothing REALLY big – just the simple, difficult tasks of moving into a new apartment and getting setup with life here. We’ve also gone to a missionary conference and we’ve started language school and home school and I’ve started working 3-4 hours each day. As you can see – we’ve more than enough to do to keep us “off the streets” and “out of trouble”.
Lastly, in the midst of all of this talk about things being ordinary- I want you to know that we are very comfortable – very happy – and most of all very thankful to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving us the opportunity to come here and serve. When I think of what many missionaries have had to go through in their “new land”, frankly I’m embarrassed at how easy we have it here. Life is good and we are well! Thank the Lord!

In the next few days, I’ll post a few short quick stories on things that have happened that were definitely not ordinary:
In the last two weeks we’ve waded in water 2’ deep in order to open the gate to get up into our apartment, seen a very young boy hunt and kill a rat without any type of weapon, heard music played louder than I ever thought possible, seen sheets of paper wilt like a wet napkin in the humidity, attended to a Honduran Pentecostal church service and walked through an open air meat market the likes of which you would never see in the USA. We continue to seek the Lord in the midst of all of these new experiences and in the midst of a very big transition. God’s blessings to each of you!

Of rocks and rapids

2008-09-15T22:19:00.003-06:00

If Christianity were to be compared to a river, many Christians would be standing ankle deep in it. They enjoy the exhilaration of being in the river, and perhaps the water at times feels good (other times it almost certainly feels too cold or hot) – but they just aren’t going to get in past a certain point. I think that the banks of the river are fairly gradual for most of us, sloping gently down towards a middle that is deep and where the current is much much stronger than any of us is comfortable with. God beckons us to the middle of the river, where He is in control and where we are not. He beckons to a life of surrender, we wade in the eddies* enjoying the feeling of water around our ankles.
By the Grace of God (most certainly not through our own effort) Marinajo and I find ourselves further out into the center of the river than ever before. As we prepare to leave our friends, family, and all that is familiar for Honduras, there is a very real sense that the current has taken us over. This has never been more real to me than it was Saturday evening. We were in the process of moving all day Saturday. Assisted by dear friends, we moved a piano, and then about 24 boxes of items that we had packed away for long term storage while we are to be gone. This is the stuff that we don’t want to get rid of, the keepsakes, the memories. In the process of moving we stopped by our home in Windsor (now rented) several times. I don’t know if it was the act of putting the memories into storage, saying goodbye to a dear friend (my best friend, really), or saying goodbye to the house that did it – but somewhere in all of that I began to feel this overwhelming sense of loss. After all of the moving, I met my family, late, at Christ Community Church for Saturday evening worship. I had barely sat down when the tears welled up side of me. All evening, as the worship service progressed, my emotions just took over and I could barely keep from weeping there in the pew. As the sermon ended and the Praise and Worship band came up to play, I just kept feeling this deep sense of loss at all that we were leaving behind. The friendships, the familiarity, the sense of home here, it was as If each of these things were being peeled away from my heart and it hurt. I started looking for Pastor Steve (missions pastor). I knew that of all of the people in the church service, I could walk up to him and spill my heart out to him and he would understand. I wouldn’t have to explain to someone that I didn’t know that we were about to leave the country to go into missions work, Steve knew all about this. I also knew that Steve’s heart would be open to just listening. I can’t tell you what a blessing he has been to us as we’ve walked this journey of faith in getting ready to go to Honduras. So, I told Marinajo what I was up to and then went and found Steve and asked him if we could talk. I could barely hold back the torrent of tears that was certainly coming. Steve, sensing the seriousness of the moment, took us back into a private prayer room where I simply fell apart. I am just not given to large displays of emotion. I cry a lot – but just little bits at a time where you might have to wipe away one tear, but never the river. Tonight there was a river of tears. I still don’t fully understand why. I just know that God had tapped my emotions and was releasing sorrow and anguish that had been building up about leaving. I should say that these last few weeks have been particularly stressful and that it is very possible that the stress had been building up to a moment like this. Steve just kept his hand on my back while I sobbed out the words to try and describe what I was feeling. He just listed, like I knew he would, and kept his hand on my back to let me know he was there. Four hundred Kleenexes later, I was finally able to compose myself long enough to talk normally with Steve. I explained to him that tremendous sense of loss that I had been feeling.
(Back to the river analogy) I think that by God’s grace, we’ve stumbled in towards the middle of the river such that we are in over our heads. Make no mistake; I think that this is God’s design for each of us. I guess the rocks are what surprised me the most. I think our American mindset makes us think that if we are “in the middle” of God’s will, then we will be floating around like the angels, playing harps and laying on clouds. Nothing could ever be wrong with one who is “so spiritual” to be in that place. In fact, I find myself tumbling along in the river, bouncing off of big rocks as we go by. I don’t know why I am surprised. Jesus defined it so well by His life and His words. “In this world, you will have trouble” or “the world hates me, they will hate you also” or “blessed are you when men hate you”. Where did we get the idea that the Christian life is supposed to be easy and prosperous? As we prepare to leave, we bounce around among the big rocks like money and family and Saturday night I swam headlong into a boulder of loss and sadness. I don’t feel like I’m steering at all. I can remember the instructions from the white water rafting instructor years ago, “if you fall out, no matter what – keep your feet in front of you, whatever you do don’t go down the rapids head first”. And that is what this feels like: rapids.
Here’s the point. We stand in the river, ankle deep, thinking that there is safety there. And in a sense, there is – for we are in control. We get to decide just how much of God we take in at any one moment. We can climb out of the water and go back to our daily lives and then wade back in next Sunday to see how it feels. But this is no God at all. Rather it is a god that we control. God (Jehovah) never accepts this kind of faith. It is familiarity, not faith that we have when we are up to our ankles. God demands more. When we do finally slip into the middle a bit and get bounced around by the rocks some, we get back out shaking and cold and our friends on the shore say “see, I told you so” and others who are standing ankle deep say “you’re doing it wrong” and we just assume that the middle must only be for pastors and such. What we don’t understand is that the rocks and the rapids bring weakness. God is interested in only one thing for us, that the life of His son Jesus be made more and more real in us. His goal is that we might become His righteousness and that we might be made to abide. “Apart from me, you can do nothing”. But “abide in me, and you shall bear much fruit”. Lastly this: Jesus said that it is only in losing one’s life for His sake that we can truly find life. If we try and keep our lives, we will lose them and if we are willing to forfeit them for Him, then we will find life. I think that the only place that the character of Christ can be truly formed in us is in the moments of our discomfort, the moments where we lose our footing and are swept away, if you will. This process simply can not happen as long as we are ankle deep.

So why go in for it at all? Why endure the rocks and the lack of control if all we are to learn is how hard life can be? We go in to the middle of the river because only in its complete abandon can God be truly known. Oh the joy of feeling the presence of God in the midst of your complete brokenness! If you want something that will satisfy you right down to your very fibers, then find yourself with no hope, but Him, and then let Him deliver. Throughout this whole sobbing mess Saturday night, my overriding feeling was one of God’s presence and peace in the midst of pain and loss. He is SO FAITHFUL. He says that He will never leave us or forsake us and that is so true in the rocks and the rapids. We find that God did not design us for a life of comfort, rather He designed us for a life of adventure at His control. And we find that like an engine that is finally rid of the bad gasoline, or the bad spark plug, we are finally free to be what we were designed to be. Life is never so hard as it is in the middle of the river, but it is never so good as it is there either.

*Eddie - Water flowing upstream behind a rock or other obstacle. Eddies often provide a safe place to get out of the current

In a dry and weary land.

2008-08-30T22:35:00.001-06:00

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

So begins Psalms 63. “In a dry and weary land where there is no water”.

Angry dust clouds billow from a truck speeding down a dirt road like steam pouring out of a steam engine as it labors up a hill. Those on bicycle, horseback, or those walking are consumed in the cloud as someone carelessly speeds by – completely oblivious to the discomfort that they have inflicted on a fellow human being.

Construction across the street causes the Bilbo (dust) to rise up to our house like storm clouds gathering in a massive thunderstorm. Rumor has it that this same construction site has run out of water – their well has run dry.
The small village of Lucinda is out of water. Out of water.

These are the images that I bring back from Honduras. It is said that Honduras has two seasons: wet and dry. This is definitely the dry season. Yes, the place that we are going to is in the jungle, but the jungle is a place of extremes and right now, the extreme is dry. The whole area strains under the dryness and awaits the next extreme, the rainy season. In a month or so, torrents of rain will change the landscape and the plancha (dry river bed) will roar with water once again. People will make their wary river crossings in too much water. But right now, it is dry. It is so dry that several areas are out of water.

When was the last time anyone in the United States contemplated being out of water? When we need water, even in a place like Las Vegas Nevada, right in the middle of the desert, we turn on the faucet and there is water. A water shortage means that we cannot water the grass, or plant new sod. It doesn’t mean that we have no water to drink. Local environmental laws cause all construction sites to be constantly attended by a water spray truck so that dust is not a problem, even as they move dirt and work the land. What I am trying to get across here is this: the Bible is rife with imagery about water, and for the most part, we don’t get it. We have no idea what it means to be thirsty, really thirsty.

When God said, through the prophet Isaiah For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground, or when He said come, all you who are thirsty; come to the waters. The people understood this imagery for what it was. It spoke to perhaps the deepest physical need that they had - the need for water. When God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water, the people understood the imagery of their sin – broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Sin can never satisfy you, you will always be thirsty. And then when Our Lord Jesus said If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him and when he said to the Samaritan woman at the well Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life, the reaction was from someone who knew what it meant to be thirsty. She knew what it meant to drag herself to the well every day, in the heat and the dust, simply to do what we take so easily for granted. Sir, she said, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water. Her reaction was completely understandable, and it was completely physical. But Jesus had something else in mind; he revealed himself to her as the Messiah. Thirst can make us look for answers. The dryness can give us a perspective that we cannot have any other way. The reality of spiritual condition before Christ is worse than those images that I wrote about. We are completely without life, we are in the deepest of deserts. But, the reality of our spiritual condition in Christ is so much more than we understand. We are so drenched with God, in Christ, that we literally stand justified before a righteous and holy God. We have a never ending source of water (The Holy Spirit) welling up from within us. We have more than we will ever need. More than we need to get through cancer, coma, or chaos. More than we need to face tomorrow. More than we need to rise up in blessing and holiness in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and reflect His glory. For that is our purpose. May we be refreshed in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.

All who are thirsty
All who are weak
Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of his mercy
As deep cries out to deep (we sing)

Come Lord Jesus come
Holy Spirit come
As deep cries out to deep

~
Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Day 6 – 8/23

2008-08-25T15:04:00.001-06:00

During Friday night’s dinner, we received a call on the HAM radio from John and Penny Alden (also missionaries here at Loma De Luz) asking if Dad and I would be available tomorrow for br…… and then the transmission cut out. Such is the life of communications here in the campo. Just to give you a sense of how communications sometimes happen here, later John and Penny were able to contact Dr. Renee on the radio and then she called me on the cell phone (yes, there are cell phones here) to relay the invitation to breakfast for this (Saturday) morning. Needless to say, we accepted. Besides never having met John and Penny and wanting to get to know them, I also wanted to get my hands on their truck. It was for sale and we believed that God was leading us to buy it. So up the hill we went to breakfast with John and Penny. I know I keep saying this and I imaging that you might tired of hearing it, but all the same – John and Penny were just delightful people.
John and Penny are some of our role models in terms of integration with the Honduran culture. John works at some of the local Honduran clinics and with some of the local doctors. Penny and John both work quite a bit with a local Honduran church and have invested their hearts into the Honduran people here. I know it sounds crazy, but it is quite possible to come here (in my capacity as a technical person) and never really integrate with the culture. You have to want to. This of you who kow us know that we do want to – but it takes some real effort to make it happen. John and Penny are two people we can emulate as to how they have accomplished this.
After breakfast, John was good enough to take us on an extended tour around the area. We drove to all of the local villages within ten miles of the hospital and John explained each of them to us and kind of gave us a sense of how each of them fit into the local landscape. Since John works in these towns, we didn’t just drive down the main street and say that we’d had a tour. We drove down many side streets, stopped at a few people’s houses, and generally got to know the area. Thank you John for taking so much time with us! The information and orientation that it provided were invaluable!
After some rest, we had a very nice dinner with the Merrits and the Greens. To illuastrate how things often happen around here, I’ll explain how we decided to do dinner together. We had a cooked whole chicken, and mentioned to one family that this would be far too much for us to eat and invited them to join. Well, they were planning on getting together with family number two, but let’s just throw it all together in pot-luck and all three families can eat together. Pineapples were harvested from outside and cut up (you can’t believe how good they taste!), mango, melon, plantains (small banana like fruit – the Honduran potato) and all of a sudden you have a great meal for six! What a blessing!
We had a really nice time of prayer after supper and coffee. We prayed for adult missionary kids living at home, and struggling. We prayed for our family as we prepare to go and for Marinajo as she endures a long time at home without me. We prayed for the longstanding needs at the hospital, more staff, enough money, etc. And lastly, my dad prayed for Marinajo and the kids and I. I was really touched by the fact that my dad was down here praying for me as we prepared to come. What a neat blessing. I know that he’s been touched by all that he has seen and done and I can tell you that he and I have been able to spend more quality time together here than I could have ever dreamed for. Thank you so much God for this time that he and I have been able to spend together!

Day 5 – 8/22

2008-08-23T15:46:00.000-06:00

Thank God for a normal day! Ha! Sitting around working on computers seems like such a wonderful break from all of the emotion of the last two days. Today was a welcome return to something a little less dramatic and a lot more mundane. I did get to see some of my absolutely favorite people today. I got to see Don Felipe, Bob and Zina, Iain and Liz, Bairon, and all of the staff at the hospital. What a blessing. Several times today I was moved to tears just at the sight of some of these dear people. Just at the incredible blessing of getting to see them again. God has given us such a love for the people that we work with here that seeing them is like seeing family that you haven’t seen in years. Can this possibly make sense to anyone reading this? I hope so. Not really that much to report today. Bairon and I worked on the some computers at the hospital today and I rested from all of the exertion and emotion of the last two days. It was 98 degrees here today (with no A/C!) – very hot. This was by far the clearest day I’ve seen here. The Caribbean ocean is incredibly blue and the islands can be seen clearly out to the north – absolutely beautiful! We had a wonderful supper with Iain and Liz, Zina, and Renee. Iain is from Scotland and he kept us entertained all evening with stories and jokes. Sitting around the table taking is what you do here, because there isn’t anything else to do. It gets dark here at 6:30 pm all year round and there are no televisions, so we do what our grandparents did, we eat together and we sit around and play cards or talk. What an amazing concepts. We often get the feeling here that we’ve stepped back in time and tonight was another one of those experiences. I did get to meet Andrea today, the most recent addition to the Children’s Center. What a beautiful child. She comes from horrific circumstances, too terrible to be told here, but she is just such a beautiful child. God did not bless Hondurans with wealth, but He did bless them with their children. They are all beautiful with incredible smiles and laughter and Andrea stands out even among them. She is a shining testimony to why God called Iain and Liz to build a children’s center here. As children come in from terrible family situations, they provide a foster care type of environment for them. It is a safe place in the storm that will care for them and tell them about Jesus. What an amazing and wonderful blessing for these little children. I go to bed tonight so thankful for the opportunity to be here!