MINISTRY

Prayer Requests:

- More laborers
- July we will have a medical team here again
- Wisdom to lead and what to teach the Bible study group

Praises:

- Thanks to Zack and Katie, we now can lock off the activity center area at night
- VBS was a lot of fun, learning about who Jesus is and what He did for us!

Other Notes:

The VBS group from New Providence COG went really well. It was a good time of games, songs, food, and Bible with the children of La Providencia.

Jeff Swope came along with Providence Church and helped start to build a new house for a family in the sponsorship program. Our team here is working to complete it. Thank you Jeff for raising the money needed to build the house!

Zack and Katie were here for four days to help weld a few gates for us as we continue to develop the activity center area.

PERSONAL

Prayer Requests:

- To stay driven to keep studying Spanish
- To lean on and find our fulfillment in Jesus as we wait for a Christian community here in La Providencia

Praises:

- My parents, aunt, and uncle were here to visit for a week. It was a great week since any time with my family is wonderful! We were able to play pickle ball, eat a lot of good food, and visit children in some of the smaller surrounding areas.
- It was good to get back into the shop and start some wood projects

MINISTRY

Prayer Requests:

- More laborers
- Wisdom to know how to show and teach the teenagers stronger values after dropping out of school due to cell phone usage and lack of parental guidance
- Wisdom to know how to work with our staff/volunteers, teaching them to teach and love the children
- Corrine and her group who will be visiting in August

Praises:

- Thanks for everything the medical team did while they were here! It was a great time!
- For the rain, the generator, and now the hot sun with no rain.

Other Notes:

Zack and Katie gave a donation to improve the soccer field. We were able to build larger goals and buy goalie gloves. The guys have been enjoying the upgrade!

This year, our large grasshoppers have come back. Vivien had the kids on the mission property a few days and creatively had them collecting and disposing of as many as they could.

Vivien continues to improve the activity center area. There are 8 leaders that are playing with the kids in the afternoons, and some of them are starting to be trained. It is fun to see more Hondurans being interested in volunteering.

The medical team was here this month, and this year we did 3 medical days. It was a great week even with the electricity going out a lot and a lot of rain! We visited Tapiquilares and had songs, games, a Bible story, and, of course, food.

A quote I found somewhere and enjoyed: "The world loves by reaction—insult for insult, kindness only once earned. The kingdom loves by revelation. It does not ask, 'What did they do to me?' It asks, 'Who is my Father, and how do I reveal Him here?'"

Working with the families in Honduras can be trying and sad at times. Vivien has been able to have great conversations with many of the teen girls. The one girl shared that her parents kicked her out of the house because they didn't love her. She has two younger siblings, around 3 and 5 years old. We decided to ask the parents if we could have a fun weekend with them in our house. They came for two days and one night, and it went well. Not sure where it will all lead, but having kids in the house was definitely a change; a little more mess and noise, but fun! The younger sister didn't want to go back.

PERSONAL

Prayer Requests:

- To stay driven to keep studying Spanish
- As we think about a family (e.g., adoptions, caring for the unwanted, or natural)
- As we learn to have healthy biblical conversations from two different upbringings

Praises:

- Enjoying the natural pace between workgroups and enjoying the community of workgroups who speak English
- We have started to work on our backyard screened in living room again. Looking to finish here in a few months!

Other Notes:

We didn't have time to watch all the World Cup but found time for a few of the games. We did have a small party for the final game!

MINISTRY

Prayer Requests:

- More laborers
- For the children to learn how to bless rather than curse with their words
- Wisdom to know how to work with our staff/volunteers, teaching them to teach and love the children
- Tayana and Talita, Vivien's friends from Brazil, will be helping the ministry for 3 months starting here in September. They will be helping with the farm, activity center, and social media content. Pray for their health and communication with Spanish as they speak Portuguese and only a little English.

Praises:

- A young girl confessed to stealing some money! Children here lie and steal, knowing it is wrong, but they have a very hard time confessing. So, it is great to see growth in the kids as they learn about confessing for the things they do wrong.

Other Notes:

Stephany continues to do a wonderful job visiting the sponsorship children, helping keep the program running smoothly. Vivien enjoys building relationships with the young girls in our area and helps Stephany any way she can.

Corrine and her friends came down for a short visit to see everything we are doing. There was no special project they helped with; they just got involved with all our normal schedule for the week, helping out at the activity center, going on sponsorship visits, visiting our local school, having a game night, and doing a prayer walk and devotionals. We were grateful for their company and help!

The last few months we have had a bunch of projects we were working on, and we had a few extra guys working with us. Thursday morning devotions were full, with around 10 guys, and we had some good conversations. In showing my appreciation, Vivien and I made pancakes and eggs for them one morning.

A couple from our town has decided to get married, and asked us for help. We were invited to their civil wedding and now will help with more details with their religious wedding as they get counseling from their church. We are excited to see more people wanting to get married!

PERSONAL

Prayer Requests:

- For rest and fun, this upcoming month is our 1st year anniversary! We are getting away for a bit, followed by a missionary conference.
- As we think about starting a family, caring for the unwanted, and possibly adopting.

Praises:

- Seeing God work!
- Beautiful weather and the nature!

Other Notes:

This past month we were able to continue building our outside living room, thanks to Mt. Vernon's support. We are excited as we expand our house and talk about the future!

MINISTRY

Prayer Requests:

- More laborers.
- The previous director will be here for 3 weeks building a house in La Providencia.
- Taynara and Talita: Pray for wisdom as they manage their time, lead new ideas, and teach classes for kids, teens, and adults.
- Unity, as our team grows. We are talking with 2 young adults about coming full-time helping with the activity center and sponsorship program. Pray that they would be focused on the same mission and have a servant’s heart.
- Wisdom to follow God's leading as we dream about the mission's future programs.

Praises:

- We left for a week, nothing fell apart, and ministry kept happening!

Other Notes:

There is a 4-week teen camp with mission outreach coming up in January. A few of our teens have gone in the past, and it was a wonderful opportunity for them, growing in their relationship with Jesus. They memorize a lot of Scripture, receive training, and then do outreach. It cost $125 to send one teen to the camp. Our goal is to raise enough for 10 teens to go, but if we raise more, we will send more!

Vivien continues to work with the teens helping out in the activity center. We enjoy seeing them grow in their roles as they learn about leadership and how to deal with children.

Taynara and Talita are here! These are two girls from Brazil that are friends with Vivien. They will be here for 3 months, helping at the activity center, farm, social media, and just getting involved with a lot of what we do. They will also train Hondurans on how to work with children.

We continue to enjoy hosting our neighbors and friends and staying connected with the families. There is a grandma who is taking care of 8 children. They are our regulars at the activity center, and they challenge us and the leaders with their behavior. But, little by little, they continue to change and learn about living the truth of the Bible.

PERSONAL

Prayer Requests:

- Energy as we have a busy upcoming month.
- As we think about starting a family, caring for the unwanted, or possibly adopting.

Praises:

- Brazilian community for Vivien!
- Wonderful week of rest at the beach!

Other Notes:

For our 1-year anniversary we went on vacation to the beach, Tela, here in Honduras - yay! After the beach, we went on a mission retreat. It was an encouraging time talking with other missionaries, and it was very relaxing and rejuvenating!

Our outdoor living room is coming along. We will hopefully put on the final touches in November!