Damascus Road Community Church

Team meets at BWI Airport at 3 am for departure. After arrival in San Pedro Sula at 11 am, missionaries will exchange money, eat at Wendy's, help load trucks and then wait patiently for departure. Travel to Copan and get settled into houses. Go into worship and prayer. Small group with the Church in Christ.

Today we traded 20F for 75F and hot showers for tepid showers after leaving home at about 1:30 am and landing in San Pedro Sula at 11:00 am local time (USA Central time). We arrived in Copan about 9:00 pm with sore tail bones from riding in the hard backseat of a pickup truck for 3 1/2 hours over a Honduras highway complete with spectacular landscapes and heart breaking poverty. We traveled over major potholes, speed bumps and washed out roads. We're already adapting to the custom of not flushing toilet paper and creatures on the walls. The group is bonding quickly. We're both staying at Senior Motino's house where our accommodations are quite comfortable. Worship was taken from Luke 4:18-19 where Jesus began His ministry as we prepare to begin our ministry here. Notes by Nancy and Stacy

CA Team does construction, children's ministry and family box ministry. Medical team does house-to-house ministry. Jesus Film Project.

For breakfast we had beans, tortillas, scrambled eggs, goat cheese, cream sauce, American style Doughnuts and Honduran coffee. Morning worship was taken from Luke 11:24-28. The best way to beat sin is to get so involved in service that there's no time. Today we will have lots of opportunities to serve and make a difference.

Food Team led by Phil: Coincidence or Providence? In 2007 Sam was preparing to serve in Honduras that summer and for her senior project had even raised funds to purchase soccer balls and jerseys for children in Honduras. An unplanned pregnancy prevented her from serving that summer. She wasn't on the list to come in January either, but responded to a call at the Holy Rain Worship event and even that was nearly interrupted by the tragic death of a close friend just days before departure. She was again tempted to back out when we had the Kelly shares the gospel

layover in Atlanta. Last night Phil noticed a soccer ball in a duffle bag stored at Momma Lola's house and thought it might be fun to take to school children. Today, Sam signed up to serve with Phil's team, serving food to students. While she was shopping for food at the market place, Phil went to Mama Lola's house and picked up the entire duffle instead of just the ball that he found last night to take along to the school. While Sam played with school children, other team members were distributing soccer jerseys. Suddenly Sam turned around and discovered that she was surrounded by children wearing Linganore High School soccer jerseys... the jerseys she had purchased and packed for the trip in 2007 that had been stored un-noticed by anyone until last night. Today, Sam finished her senior project with a personal message of love from God just for her.

Renee, Erica, Lauren and Kelly enjoyed playing with the children after delivering food to students at the school. Kelly shared the gospel.

Construction Team led by Sergio: Sergio took a team to the new church building to try to finish it enough for worship to be held there on Sunday. They parged walls and worked on rebarb in preparation for pouring the concrete floor tomorrow. Wil Maier signed up to serve with this team, but didn't work today. Instead, he pulled out a small football and decided to play with the children. He said that not being able to come in the summer made him more aware how precious the time is here and he had determined that instead of being about the project he wanted to be fully in the moment with the children. He had a great day and the work scheduled for the day still got done.

Medical Team led by Wendy: They saw only four people and encountered one particularly difficult situation. They found themselves in the home of a 5 year-old girl with a tumor in her leg. The parents of the child had been told by a doctor that the leg needed to be amputated in order for the child to survive, but her parents just couldn't bring themselves to see her without the leg. They wanted our team to pray with them for the child to be healed.

Mud House Team led by Roger: This group started their day gathering pine needles on the side of a mountain to mix with mud to give strength to the mud house. After filling several sacks with pine needles the team returned to town to shop for food in the market place for an afternoon food run and had lunch before heading to Las Mesas. Salvador led th Stacy and Dana building Mud Wall

e project. Roger and Nancy helped mix pine needles with mud while the others packed mud in the walls. Everyone got their hands dirty. The team completed portions of two walls before cleaning up to serve food further up the mountain. Ashley and Dana took the prize for getting the most mud on them and Stacy admitted to feeling like a child again.

Roger and Salvador shared the gospel from the mountaintop after the team handed out food to hungry children.

Clothing Team led by Leila: Kathy went with this group to deliver a family bag to a family she had shopped for. When they arrived at the home, the big surprise they got was that the Mama had become pregnant and given birth to a new baby since we measured the family. Jennifer found a place for several pair of shoes and handed out baby blankets and clothing someone had given her.

Dave and Angie arrived from Santa Barbara with Mama Vilma and her girls. Today was the first time that Mama Vilma has ever been outside of Santa Barbara. Roger first met Keyla when she was 5 years old. Keyla is now 23 years old and has nearly completed her college education.

Worship this evening was taken from Matthew 24:37, with the challenge that we not let anything stand between us and full devotion to Jesus. Roger noted the reference about the time of the end being like the time of Noah... Noah preached for 120 years and still only 8 people came into the ark and were saved. Roger made an appeal that we each determine to let nothing stand between us and full devotion to Jesus.

CA Team does food, family box and construction ministry. Medical team does house-to-house ministry.

Phil led worship from Matthew 11:28-30 and Phillippians 3. "Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yolk upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy and my burden is light." We all came down here carrying stuff we want to get rid of in our lives. Nobody wants garbage. Everyone tries to get rid of it. We try to sanitize it, but we continue to generate it everyday and we never get rid of it. Sin is like garbage in our lives. Today is the day to break the chains as we press on in Jesus.

With the threat of heavy rains looming for late afternoon, everyone agreed to take along snacks to hold themselves over for a 3 pm lunch so we could do as much work as possible before the rains arrived. Senior Motino spent much of his day praying about the pending storm and reported at dinner time that news reports now indicate that the rain will stay mostly east of us. The mission team is grateful for the prayers of Senior Motino, prayer partners, and family members who make it possible for us serve.

Construction Team led by Sergio and Justin: The greatest need for help today was for cement mixers to help mix and pour the slab of concrete for the church being built in Ricon del Buey, a very poor community on the edge of Copan. Sergio reported at evening worship that "Women Rock!" With the exception of Wil and Justin, all of the American helpers were women and they managed to keep all of the Honduran men busy all day until the entire slab was poured and leveled.

While Wil and the ladies shoveled sand and mixed cement under incredible leadership and Mixing Cement

coaching from Justin, Sergio slipped away to help Dave start a new ministry making beds to help get people up off of dirt floors. Besides coaching team members, Justin had fun interacting with everyone as a servant leader carrying supplies like 50 lb bags of cement, 5 gallon buckets of water and even helping the Honduran men lift heavy wheel barrels full of wet cement over freshly poured concrete strips running the length of the church floor.

Meanwhile the American ladies took turns doing the various parts of mixing cement and giving their backs a break by playing with the children who had gathered around to play in the sand pile and watch the Gringo's at work. Missionaries played in the sand, made up games to play with the children, and Kathy even found a way to make a stand up seesaw with a flimsy piece of wood that had 8 children on it at one point.

Bed Making led by Dave: Dave and Jennifer spent a good part of the day developing a template for making affordable beds and chasing down materials for a prototype. An inexperienced helper at the hardware store offered to rip some very green and sappy pine wood to make the boards just the right size and nearly cut a finger off while trying to feed the wood into the saw blade from the wrong side of the saw. Sergio noted Bed Making with Dave

that while the guy drew a little blood from the end of his finger, God's protection as we do this mission had spared even this willing helper from serious injury. After the near injury, Sergio did his best to coach the helper on how to use the saw properly as he used the saw to cut our wood (something you would never see back home in America). Jennifer especially enjoyed this project as she is married to a professional cabinet maker. She had fun sketching the plans and estimated that we can make beds for about $25 each to lift people out of the dirt.

Food Ministry led by Phil: This team got a slow start buying food in the market place but was eventually on their way. The highlight of their day was a visit to an elderly woman named Alxendra who has severe arthritis and had no mattress to sleep on. Team members packed jerseys onto a hard bench to provide a little padding for this woman's aching bones until they can return later with a mattress. Then they took turns gently stroking the woman's arms and comforting her. Before long three young children present in the room had joined in providing very tender care for this woman. Before leaving, little Angie (a Honduran girl) prayed the most beautiful prayer for this woman that didn't leave a dry eye in the room.

Roger noted that including young children in this ministry has always been a part of this ministry and we need to continue to look for opportunities to include them. In fact, it was 18 years ago when Roger first met Keyla who is now 23 years old and will graduate from college in June and is already looking for work. At age 9, Keyla's mom allowed her to travel to Copan for the first time with our team as an intrepreter. She has been a vital member of this team ever since. Roger shared that Keyla's only offer availabe to her currently is an office job in Tegucigalpa that would keep her busy for 40 hrs per week at minimum wage. Roger shared how a group of our leaders met just before lunch to share and begin praying about how we might be able to employ Keyla full time as a part of this mission. Later in the evening Keyla shared how her Mama is very excited about serving with us and couldn't get over how many vegetables were available in the local market.

The Medical Team led by Wendy: This team traveled with Edgardo in his vehicle which was better equipped to handle muddy roads in the event of rain back to the home of the 5 year old girl with the tumor in her leg to talk with the parents about medical options for Orfa. We offered the financial resources for the parents to take her for medical treatment in Guatemala. Through contacts with a personal friend who is a pastor in Guatemala, Edgardo was able to arrange for this family to be taken in by this pastor when they travel to Guatemala where they will be able to meet with an oncologist. Edgardo will drive the family on Monday to seek treatment.

The Clothing Team led by Leila: Leila reported that they delivered the last family box A Family Box Delivery

today. Many of the family boxes were delivered in July by locals but did not get the usual food supply that would have been delivered with the clothing and household goods. Much of this team's work on this trip has been to purchase the food that would have been delivered this summer and to take it to the families. Today, a very elderly man married to a young woman cried as he praised Jesus for the gift of provision to his family. The praise and gratitude left everyone speechless and glassy eyed.

Later in the afternoon, after delivering another food box the clothing team stopped by The House of 13 project site to make an appointment for a visit on Sunday afternoon. This was a project selected by Collegiate-Adult team members in the summer of 2008. Funds for this project were raised by team members online.

The Mud House Team led by Roger: Roger reported that the mud house is about 75 percent complete. Everyone got their hands dirty. Jimi was especially good at flinging mud. Salvador, who is now 67 years old does the work of 5 men and is especially inspiring given that the average lifespan for a Honduran man is 45 years. Roger hopes to throw a special birthday fiesta for Salvador this summer. This man loves Jesus and has memorized huge portions of Scripture, in some cases whole books.

Roger also shared that a young woman showed up on the site today and kept telling him how she wanted the mud mixed. Eventually, Roger learned that she is the young woman who will be living in the house and she wanted to make sure the house was constructed properly to not wash away when it rains.

Richard Ramsey's Testimony: Richard shared with the team that he first came to

Honduras 5 years ago largely for the adventure just to see what it was all about. He fell in love with the people of Honduras and was blown away by the deep friendships formed with Damascus Road members while serving together. He was hooked and this is now his fifth trip. Richard retired two weeks ago and is looking forward to being back under one roof with his wife near Ocean City, New Jersey, where she has been living since her retirement a few years ago. He shared how they have been involved in two like-minded churches during this transition time and will soon be fully engaged at the Sunrise Church in Ocean City. It happened that his wife had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Ecuador with that church and has since been recruited as the missions administrator. It is Richard's dream to dedicate his retirement years to mission service with his wife. As part of this dream he plans to be rebaptized tomorrow into full mission service. He noted that he hopes to change a few of the practices of the team, like getting them out of hotels while they are in Ecuador and into homes where they can begin to form real relationships with the people.

Roger closed the day with evening worship which focused on how true intimacy is really formed through shared experience in Jesus. While pop culture thinks it happens when you share your deepest secrets, that really leaves you vulnerable should there ever be a break in that relationship. Roger drew on the example of Peter who walked with Jesus and moved between great successes and great failures in his spiritual journey. Peter was the rock Christ would build the church on one day and a few days later was told, "Get thee behind me Satan." Peter was bold for Jesus at the beginning of Acts and later confronted by Paul for messing up. Each time Peter failed he returned to the source of true intimacy which is Jesus and we need to do the same in our Christian walk.

P.S. It's day three and not one person has been sick at all. There are lots of dirty clothes yet the mission glow is coming through.

CA Team attends Church in Christ. Baptisms and prayer over projects in the afternoon. Dinner at a restaurant and share "What I Love About You" worship. Optional visit to Mayan Ruins (recommended for first-timers). Family box ministry measures families after church.

We woke up to cool drizzly rain... still warmer then back in Maryland, but many team members did not have adequate clothing or blankets for the temps so the sharing began. Following an early breakfast seven vehicles departed for the 30 minute drive out of town and up the mountain road to Las Mesas where they picked up anybody who was willing to come to Church of Christ in Copan. Passengers piled in the back of the pickup trucks and sat on one another's laps in the SUV's wearing their Sunday best. Meanwhile the rest of the Damascus Road team were transported by motorcycle taxis to church.

At church Farmin led a spirit led time of praise. Roger delivered a message about our value in Christ while Sergio served as the Spanish interepreter. At the close of the service he called all the single women to come forward for a special prayer over them. Then he asked all of the Godly men to come forward and lay hands on the shoulders of these women and pray for their protection and purity, that their hearts would be for God and that they would not loose their focus on God by the distraction of unGodly men. Roger then asked all of the Godly women to find a young man to lay hands on and pray that his heart would be for God first and that he would not be distracted by work or pornography. In closing, Senior Motino delivered a short message with Odette as his interepreter.

Following the service we had a fellowship meal provided by Damascus Road and prepared by the cooks who have been serving us all week. Damascus Road missionaries served the food onto plates and carried the plates on trays until everyone was served.

Missionaries and mountain folk piled into the available vehicles including an assortment of motor taxis, pickup trucks, and SUV's and traveled to the river for two baptisms. The first was for Richard Ramsey as he begins his retirement into a life fully devoted to Kingdom service. The second was Jessica Erichsen, seeking the joy of the Lord in her life.

While missionaries walked back into town, the families from Las Truck Travel

Mesas piled into Damascus Road vehicles for the trip back to their mountain homes. Wil made a stop on the mountain to treat all of the passengers in his vehicle. On route back to Copan, a vehicle pulled off the side of the road blew its horn as Nancy passed by. She and Angie looked over and noticed the fluorescent tape we had placed on each Damascus Road vehicle so we could easily identify one another. Nancy and Angie realized something was wrong and quickly turned around. It was Wil and he was worried sick that he had lost his wallet somewhere up on the mountain. He had been carrying it in his fleece pocket closest to the driver's door and somewhere as he was getting in and out of the vehicle it fell out. He had searched the vehicle and just didn't know what to do. There had been one truck driver up on the mountain who seemed like he was trying to hassle our drivers at a point where Nancy and Angie were directly behind him and Wil had gotten out of the vehicle there. He wondered if they could remember the stretch of road. Nancy and Angie offered to go back up the mountain to help him, but before doing that Nancy suggested they pray and then led the prayer asking God to protect the wallet and to help us find it. Following the prayer, Angie asked Wil if had checked all of the cracks in the pocket of the door. He said he did but would check again. He opened the door, looked down and there it was tucked in a pocket of the door. Relieved and praising God, Wil, Nancy and Angie, Wil said, "Save time. Pray first." Together they thanked God and finished the trip back to Copan.

Back in Copan missionaries had a little down time while those who wanted to go made a trip to visit the House of 13 Family. Kim got see for the first time how God provided for this family by laying them on her heart along with Kendra Varnon and Brittney Rudisill back in July of 2008. She was the only one of the three ladies who found this family of 13, living in a small one-room adobe house, who was able to return on this trip. Kim had successfully launched the fund raiser from England online that raised more then $6,000 to build one of the largest homes we have built in Honduras. It was a moving reunion for her and a family she will never forget.

After supper and just prior to worship, Phil treated the Damascus Road team and many local friends to ice cream at a local ice cream shop.

Angie: A dirty little boy, Milton, slipped his hand into hers within minutes after she arrived in Las Mesas on her first trip to Honduras. In that moment this little boy broke her heart and won his way onto her screen saver. Last year, Angie found the little boy again. She gave him a handful of marbles and took another photo to update her screen saver. Today, she found him again. As he sat in her lap and as she gently stroked his side, she felt something hard in his side pocket and asked what it was. The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out the handful of marbles.

Other favorite moments included Wil finding his wallet, the baptisms, and the special prayer for the young women during the worship time.

Evening worship was taken from the words of Jesus in John 1:43-51 and Luke 11:33-36. Each missionary chose another missionary to serve by washing their feet and telling them how they saw Jesus in their partner this week.

Just before the foot washing, we passed a bowl to take an offering from the team to help with the medical expenses for the little girl with the tumor in her leg which raised over $800. We praised God for providing for this little girl by using believers from the USA, Honduras and Guatemala. As you are reading this, we ask that you stop and pray for this little girl and her family.

CA Team does food, family box and construction ministry. Medical team does house-to-house ministry. Jesus Film project.

Octavio (father) and Raina (mother) Lopez, and Orfa who is the youngest of 9 children joined us for breakfast and worship before heading to Guatemala. The growth on Orfa's leg has been growing for 5 months and has already been operated on once. She is in pain. Wendy (our team nurse) and Ashley (interpreter) will travel with Edgardo and the family for the initial consultation today. The team gathered around the family and prayed for healing. Following is part of the prayer prayed by Edgardo as interpreted by Sergio:

There was barely a dry eye in the room as our hearts were broken by the suffering of this little child. We pray for healing.

Jim, Kathy, Jessica, Wil, Dana, and Richard will be traveling to Santa Barbara shortly to get a head start on the work there. The rest of the team will join them on Wednesday. The construction team will lay tile at the church under Justin's leadership. Phil will lead a team on a feeding mission to Guatemala (9 kilometers away). Dave hopes to complete the first bed today to be delivered to the woman with arthritis. Roger will take a team to hopefully complete the mud house in Las Mesas.

Morning worship was taken from Romans 8:5. We prayed, "Lord, help us see sin for whatever it is that we might be repulsed by it."

P.S. For Shelly back in the USA... There are 29 missionaries here for your Communication Card Report. Please share the notes about Orfa with the Damascus Road Prayer Team.

We prayed for Angie's boy, Milton. When she took him home today she had to leave him with two young siblings and no adults at home. There is fear due to a tragedy in the family two weeks ago. The mother tends to stay away from the home so the children are left on their own. We prayed for God's protection over Milton and his siblings.

Stacy brought some children's clothes and was praying for the opportunity to give them to the right children who could use them. Today, she found two girls up on the mountain who were shivering from the cold and was able to give each of them a warm fleece. She saw the joy on their faces as they found warmth from the gift she brought. She also enjoyed the smile on the face of a little boy as she shared a stuffed turtle donated by her son Aidan.

Jimi saw Jesus in a little boy who was teaching a baby about water. The little boy was splashing the water making the baby laugh.

Kim reported that Alihandra, the woman with arthritis, received a mattress today which will make her more comfortable. Even as she was taking a little comfort, she was more concerned about her daughter then herself. She wanted her daughter to have a mattress even before herself.

Phil shared how its a very emotional experience to see someone like Alihandra. The tender hearts surrounding her are amazing. "Yesterday, she sang with us. Today, as we prayed with her, her hand was up in praise. How can she be so joyful in her pain? That's the way it should be."

Justin, "Thank you for the children who live in Ricon del Buey. They are in the center of something happening in that church. May they hear the praises being sung to You. May they experience your love. Pray for the children that they might know You and GO in your service."

Sarah got to help Elda with one of her English classes. Sarah helped them with pronunciations. She also got to watch Sesame Street in Spanish.

Roger, "Thank you for the joy in Jessica. Thanks for Motino and what a blessing he is."

Family Box Ministry with Leila and Robin: measured 9 out of the 10 families today. "We found some families with deep needs in a variety of circumstances. There is one family left in Las Ranchos to be measured. We found a dad raising twin girls and son by himself. We also had a single mom. Robin met and measured members of some pretty broken families today. We have some real opportunities to guide and provide for them. Thank you Lord for the opportunity to serve them."

Bed Making with David: Thankful for the help making beds. We're getting the process worked out. Met Daniella this evening who speaks English and a little German. She makes bracelets and has potential for helping with developing micro-businesses. We're supposed to meet her and her mother tomorrow afternoon. Robin bought a bunch of bracelets. It's a simple micro-business.

Fermin is buying basic grains: beans, corn and rice in bulk straight from the farmers, repacking and selling them for a profit.
Abraham Gara: We built a house for his family in June. He was working for a different employer. He is now buying shoes and will resell them for a profit

Construction at the Church: Local children were getting in on the action today. Justin got a ride in a wheel barrel and was dumped by children.

Mud House with Roger: The group got a little rowdy today but made good progress.

Robin reported that once all the funds were tallied, $900 was raised by our group for Orfa's medical care. In addition, several bags were put together for their extended stay which included clothes and other items.

CA Team does food, family box and construction ministry. Medical team does house-to-house ministry.

Worship was taken from Matt 19:16-21 "If you want to be perfect, GO, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me."

We are all rich, especially when you look at the people in these mountains. The key to having JOY is keeping your priorities right: 1) Jesus, 2) Others 3) Yourself.

Leila came on her first mission trip in 2001 and has been every year since. It changed her life. She went to college and studied for a career in missions. She now has a job at another church that involves working with missions.

Wendy and Ashley arrived during morning worship. Their journey yesterday led them to a clinic in Guatemala and then onto Guatemala City where they had to leave Orfa and her mother while tests continue. Very likely Orfa's leg will be amputated. Because it was not safe to travel at night the group spent the night in the home of a missionary who is currently in the USA on leave. This family has made its way into the hearts of our team.

Mission leaders spent the morning in a meeting with leaders from the Church in Christ. It was a time of joining hearts and sharing how God has blessed both Damascus Road and The Church in Christ through our union in Christ. During praise, Salvador walked over to where Roger was kneeling and laid hands on his head as he prayed a blessing over him. From there, Salvador, Senior Motino and Roger each laid hands on every missionary in the room and prayed a prayer of blessing and unity in Christ over them. The praise and prayers lasted nearly three hours and were followed by a feast prepared by our cooks.

Dave continued bed making with a few helpers while others visited friends and did some shopping or went to the Mayan Ruins.

The clothing team measured the last family on the way to worship in Las Mesas. We had a wonderful group worship looking out on the beautiful view in Las Mesas.

Before heading back down the muddy mountain road we made Mud House Couple

one last stop at the mud house to drop off two beds and mattresses that the team made. Pictured to the right is the couple who will live in this home.

In the evening we returned for a birthday fiesta for Maritza, (wife of Manuel, pharmacist). Overall it was a day rich with fellowship and celebration.

Tomorrow we travel to Santa Barbara where it is possible that we may not have access to the Internet. This may be the last post until we return to the USA. We thank you for your continued prayers as we travel tomorrow and begin our work in Santa Barbara.

Mission Honduras 2010

Continue to pray for safety and the movement of the Holy Spirit as our missionaries serve.

News from the Collegiate-Adult Rescheduled Team - Copan
January 7-16, 2009

Mission Honduras 2010

Continue to pray for safety and the movement of the Holy Spirit as our missionaries serve.

News from the Collegiate-Adult Rescheduled Team - Copan January 7-16, 2009

News from the Collegiate-Adult Rescheduled Team - Copan
January 7-16, 2009