Week 50
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Ilsy directs her eighth and final kindergarten graduation |
PRAY for Ilsy as she transitions into full-time service at Rancho Oasis.
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Oscar and Jon (not pictured) in a meeting with the other soccer coaches. |
PRAY for the U-12 & U-14 boys teams to bare some spiritual fruit
during this seasons championship.
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Honduras' version of ice skating: plastic (outside of one of Tegus' malls). |
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Tobias and Lissye, Ilsy's daughter, color with two children during our trade school craft class. More students, including some single-mothers, are now attending class. |
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Ana Melissa on the left teaches one of our new students, Cindy, how to roll paper beads. |
PRAISE that in the absence of our last intern, Chelsey, we've been able to ask one of the students, Ana Melissa, to assist in teaching the new students. PRAY that Ana Melissa will mature in her relationship with the Lord, as we would like to make this leadership role more "official".
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Jon's father, David Beard, looks at Ojojona's nativity scene with Tobias. |
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Jon's mom, Marsha Beard, assists the cooking students and Ilsy with our 2013 Christmas Cookie Gift Project |
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Marillyn with trade school student, Tania, and her cookie dough! |
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Ilsy works with her team on ordering their "scavenger hunt" Bible verse. |
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Marsha helps watch the Bible study girls are their way home after study. |
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Coach Oscar gives the U-14 boys a pep talk before their first game. God decided to use the game to teach humility as we tried a new goalie against the reigning champions: Barcelona 11 - Filipenses 0 |
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Mordecai, Esther and Daisy learning to play. |
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Jon's parents take Naomi and Tabitha for a Grandparent night at the retreat center. |
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Happy 3rd Birthday, Tobias Dayne! |
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Tobi tries out his new ride in the multipurpose room. |
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Naomi and Tabitha meet some donkeys at the new property. |
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The Grandparents and girls mark the four corners of the Beard's new adobe home! |
PRAY for wisdom for Jon, as he works with local mason & pastor,
Jose de la Paz, to begin projects on the new property.
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Jon poses with his father and RO4Y board member, David Beard, at the new property. |
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"That's some pine ya got there." |
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Sunset at Rancho Oasis. |
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Taller CDP Artisan Craft classes' first field trip for material shopping in Tegus. The students saved 25% of their earnings to buy their own supplies. |
PRAY for wisdom as we seek selling opportunities for the students.
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Poema likes to "taste-test" the beads before purchasing for her jewelry. |
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Taller CDP's New Students! Left to Right: Keyla, Monica (Ana Melissa's sister) and Cindy. |
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More NEW Students! Darlin (Yahaira's sister) and Leonidas. |
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Artisan Craft students with Christmas cookie bags. |
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Packing the Christmas cookie bags. |
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Post-study, Youth Group UNO card game. A universal favorite! |
PRAY for direction for the youth group and the Biblical studies in 2014. We're wrapping up the New Testament and looking to grow in the Lord.
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Grandma time: making ginger snap cookies. |
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Happy 30th Birthday Ilsy - her first EVER birthday cake. Seriously! |
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Ilsy shows off her Girl's Bible study Christmas craft: a candle holder - celebrating that the "light of the world" has come to us. |
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A Girl's Bible study favorite: the tire-swing! |
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Mildres rides the tire-swing. |
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Fabio crushes the ball outside of the penalty area with this header for the U-14 team. The boys played well up top, but forgot to bring the defense. Juventus 5 to Filipenses 1 (in orange). |
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Beard-family-advent-Bible-scavenger-hunt-verse. |
Week 52
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Pre-Christmas Beard family breakfast. |
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Regalos de Navidad |
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Selfie photo 6:45 AM at the village corn grinder to make masa or "corn dough". I waited 1.5 hours because everyone in Honduras eats "Nacatamales" for Christmas eve dinner. |
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The first step of road repairs at the new property: digging ditches and leveling the road. |
PRAISE for God's provision for financing the road work and providing much needed work for these local men. The day after Jose gave me an estimate for the cost of the work, a RO4Y supporting family asked if they could help finance the job for the road. God is good!!!
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AM Poema: not so sure how to get our of her hammock. |
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Christmas day breakfast with family and staff! |
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Ilsy reads the Christmas story from a Spanish children's Bible after Jon read from an English version. |
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Sharing Christmas blessings with Oscar, his wife, Marillyn, and their daughter Genesis. |
PRAISE for an amazing staff and God's provision to bless them!
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My Christmas gift - removing any "romantic" notions of the missionary life. |
PRAY for our vehicles. An attempt was made to pick up the Durango after nearly two months in the shop, but a few miles later, I returned when the same issue appeared. Nonetheless, the new 15-passenger awaits instructions to get to Honduras.
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The U-12 boys walked away with their first victory against a new club in the league: Corderitos 0 - Filipenses 6 (in orange) |
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"Should'a - Could'a - Would'a" The U-12 boys had a heartbreaking loss to our Santa Ana rivals after multiple attempts on goal, including the corner kick! Santa Ana scored on a fluke shot that the wind took up & over the goalie's head. Santa Ana 1 - Filipenses 0 (in blue) |
PRAISE for our first victory with the U-14 boys. Despite having one of our players expelled (red card) for "tackling from behind", the boys held their ground and came from behind to win 3 to 2!!! (I was so engrossed in the game that I forgot to take pictures!)
Dirt + Water + Pine Needles = Adobe bricks
But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:15-17 (NLT)