2014 - Weeks 1 & 2 Photo 'n Prayer Review

Week 1

RO4Y Staff pose with "el ano viejo", the old year.
A Honduran New Year's tradition of "burning out the old year"
to bring in the new.

PRAY that the Lord would have His way with the ministry of Rancho Oasis and that He would continue to refine & mold our lives and His ministry.

Marillyn and Tabi make the face for "el ano viejo".

RO4Y friends, the Amara family, from Marillyn's childhood church, Calvary Chapel Pacific Coast, visited the Ranch for a long weekend and joined in the New Year's celebration!

Naomi's sparkle dance

This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God
gave you when I laid my hands on you. 2 Timothy 1:6 (NLT)

PRAISE: Tabitha asked Jesus to "come into her life" (her own words) a few days after our New Year's celebration. Exciting news! PRAY for her compassionate heart to grow in understanding of her Savior!

Tobi enjoyed himself a little too much...

For our God is a devouring fire.

Hebrews 12:29 (NLT)

Ilsy & the kids celebrate the end of "el ano viejo" (never mind it was only 9:30 PM)

Friend & fellow missionary, Marc Tindall,
preps the Ranch's Youth Group for their work at the dump.

Every Wednesday, Marc delivers food & feeds workers at Tegus' landfill/dump/crematory.

PRAY for the youth at Rancho Oasis to find God's calling on their lives
& to find more ways to help those around them with greater needs.

The ladies serve rice and beans from the back of Marc's truck on New Year's day.

The day's events brought much to reflect upon as we started 2014.

Post-dump, fast food lunch stop.
Our first youth group field trip was a success.

Ilsy gets into the Word with the Friday afternoon girl's Bible study.

PRAY for the girl's understanding of Scripture & their salvation.

The Ranch's Filipenses U-14 team watchs the Filipenses U-12 team take on
the Filipenses Reserves (ages 8 - 10). It was an upset victory for the Reserves 3 - 2.

PRAY for Oscar, Jose Miguel and Jon, as we
coach these boys to grow in their relationship with Christ.

Captain of the Reserves, Josue Emmanuel or "Apa", chases down the ball.

Week 2

Jon & Naomi take a father-daughter trip to share about
Rancho Oasis at the Teen Missions Honduras campus near Lago Yojoa.

Honduran students from around the country join
to study how to serve their own people for Christ.

PRAY for the Ranch's involvement with Honduras youth who are passionate about Christ. Perhaps the Lord will open some opportunities for

discipleship & service at RO4Y.

Teen Mission students watch the 2013 RO4Y Video.

On our departure from the missions camp,
Naomi & I enjoyed some time at Honduras' largest lake, Yojoa.

PRAY for Naomi, Tabitha, Tobias, Poema, Lissye, Fernando & Genesis.

Our kids need to know Jesus' love,
just as much as the one's we serve at the Ranch.

Taller CDP student, Ana Melissa, continues to make some quite impressive paper bead necklaces.

Taller CDP student, Yovanis, assembles some fun(ky) paper bead bracelets.

PRAY for the Ranch's trade school, Taller CDP.

We are revamping the cooking & agriculture classes
and improving the artisan craft class.

Tobias hangs with Rocio, one of the daughters of a trade school student.

Lucinda continues to work with the younger girls group during Friday afternoon's Bible study.

PRAISE for staff like Lucinda; PRAY for more!

The Bible study students show off their friendship bracelets
after discussing the theme of "friendship with God."

PRAY for Ilsy, Jon, Lucinda and Marilyn (Oscar's wife),

as we share God's truth with these young ladies.

The "not-so-glamorous-side" of having three soccer teams:
equipment maintenance!

PRAY for the Ranch's 3 soccer teams:

our season is finishing soon and these boys need Jesus!

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

John 1:10-13 (NLT)

2013 - Weeks 50 - 52 Photo 'n Prayer Review

Week 50

Ilsy directs her eighth and final kindergarten graduation

PRAY for Ilsy as she transitions into full-time service at Rancho Oasis.

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.

Honduras' version of ice skating: plastic (outside of one of Tegus' malls).

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.

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".

Jon's father, David Beard, looks at Ojojona's nativity scene with Tobias.

Jon's mom, Marsha Beard, assists the cooking students and Ilsy with our
2013 Christmas Cookie Gift Project

Marillyn with trade school student, Tania, and her cookie dough!

Ilsy works with her team on ordering their "scavenger hunt" Bible verse.

Marsha helps watch the Bible study girls are their way home after study.

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

Mordecai, Esther and Daisy learning to play.

Jon's parents take Naomi and Tabitha for a Grandparent night at the retreat center.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Tobias Dayne!

Week 51

Tobi tries out his new ride in the multipurpose room.

Naomi and Tabitha meet some donkeys at the new property.

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.

Jon poses with his father and RO4Y board member, David Beard, at the new property.

"That's some pine ya got there."

Sunset at Rancho Oasis.

The family enjoy Tobi's "Merry Minty Chocolate Peppermint Birthday Cake"

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.

Poema likes to "taste-test" the beads before purchasing for her jewelry.

Taller CDP's New Students!
Left to Right: Keyla, Monica (Ana Melissa's sister) and Cindy.

More NEW Students!
Darlin (Yahaira's sister) and Leonidas.

Artisan Craft students with Christmas cookie bags.

Packing the Christmas cookie bags.

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.

Grandma time: making ginger snap cookies.

Happy 30th Birthday Ilsy - her first EVER birthday cake. Seriously!

Ilsy shows off her Girl's Bible study Christmas craft: a candle holder -
celebrating that the "light of the world" has come to us.

A Girl's Bible study favorite: the tire-swing!

Mildres rides the tire-swing.

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).

Beard-family-advent-Bible-scavenger-hunt-verse.

Week 52

Pre-Christmas Beard family breakfast.

Regalos de Navidad

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.

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!!!

AM Poema: not so sure how to get our of her hammock.

Christmas day breakfast with family and staff!

Ilsy reads the Christmas story from a Spanish children's Bible
after Jon read from an English version.

Sharing Christmas blessings with Oscar, his wife, Marillyn, and their daughter Genesis.

PRAISE for an amazing staff and God's provision to bless them!

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.

The U-12 boys walked away with their first victory against a new club in the league:
Corderitos 0 - Filipenses 6 (in orange)

"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)