Pray for Miguelito

This morning me and my kids dropped Brian (my husband) and Brian (our intern) off at Micah at 8:45 and then headed off to Spanish class.  After Spanish class we met up at the airport to greet the team arriving from Riverwest, a mere 3 hours later and were given the news that Miguelito had disappeared while going with some of the other Micah boys to by a Coke across the street from Micah.

He has now returned to Micah but did get high on glue while he was gone.  Miguelito is the one who's mother passed away a couple of months ago.  Please pray for us as we minister to him while he comes down off the glue and continue to help him through the grieving process.

Armor Up

2 Kings 6:17
Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Axel decided to leave the Micah Project and return to life in the streets. Michael and several others have talked with him and have been unable to get any clear reason from Axel about why he left. I saw him last Friday and he gave me his usual big, bright smile and waved. He doesn’t appear to be running from anything or anyone, as we first thought. He doesn’t appear to be afraid or unhappy in any way. He doesn’t seem to be angry or bitter. We can not find anything to give us a clue as to why he decided to leave.

You know what? That stinks. If there was some incident we could point to and say “aha, that’s what triggered it” we could try and fix the problem. But there is isn’t, there is only Axel’s own free will.

Barrio Buenos Aries is not a very safe place these days. Violence has been on the rise in that neighborhood for awhile, and the murder of William on the front steps of Michael’s apartment building made sure we didn’t forget that things are getting a bit sketchy. The front page of the newspaper is a photo of the latest homicide scene, or the word DENGUE in the largest font possible. There isn’t a day that we are able to forget the dangers of living in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. So we buy lots of mosquito repellent and try to walk the fine line between being poisoned by DEET and contracting Dengue; we don’t drive with the windows down or go out after 9:00 pm (if we can avoid it), and never walk the streets alone. We lock ourselves in the house behind steel barred windows and steel security doors and go to bed feeling safe and secure in our self imposed prison.

We take all kinds of precautions to protect ourselves from the dangers of the world. But do we take the time to protect ourselves from the real danger that’s out there? Ephesians 6:12 says: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. The media makes sure we don’t forget the dangers lurking in Tegucigalpa, but Satan doesn’t go to the same lengths to remind us that he is the real reason we need to be vigilant. When things are going smooth at Micah, or in life, it’s easy to forget the spiritual battle that rages all around us. But when something happens, something like Axel choosing to leave for no apparent reason, we remember what the real danger is. I know that when things go smooth I tend to let my guard down; I don’t spend as much time in the word, I don’t pray as much, I don’t bend my knee before the Lord as often. I used to pray for people to be taken out of painful or difficult situations in life. Now I pray for them to be taken through it, because only in walking through the fire do we learn to trust in the only sure form of safety, Jesus Christ.

As often as I forget where the true battle rages, I forget that I’m not alone in it. Sometimes I wish that, like the young servant, my eyes could be opened and I could see the armies of the Lord. Wouldn’t that be cool? To see the angels standing at the four corners of your house with their flaming swords? Or to see one of heaven’s warriors riding on horse and chariot as he takes out one of the demons of hell? Wouldn’t it be cool to see the prayers of the saints float up to heaven and then watch God issue the command to move out? There is a saga unfolding all around us greater than any blockbuster Hollywood will ever produce and we get to be part of the main cast.

I hope to be reminded often of the uncertainties of this world, not so I can put another lock on my door, but so I will remember to spiritually armor up before heading out that door.

Hector Update #2

Later in the day on Saturday after I made my last update the doctors rechecked Hector's platelets and they had risen enough to discharge him!  He is back home at Micah and doing very well.  Thank you all so much for your prayers on Hector's behalf.  I believe God intervened in response to the prayers of the saints and healed Hector so quickly, without him ever requiring platelets or a blood transfusion.  Glory to God!

Hector Update

Thank you to all who have been praying for Hectorcito.  He is still in the hospital and although his platelets are still low he is in good spirits and feeling a bit better.  He was never given platelets or whole blood, I'm not sure what the reason for that was.  It could be they simply did not have any to give him.  But his body is beginning to make them an his counts were up from the 20's to the 30's and will be rechecked today. 

Please continue to pray for a full recovery for Hector, and for strength and stamina for the different staff and older Micah guys that have been with him in shifts 24 hours a day.

Please Pray for Hector

Please pray for Hectorcito.  He was hospitalized today due to complications from dengue.  It appears he has hemorraghic dengue which can be life threatening.  Normal blood platelet counts range from 150-450, his have dropped to 22.  He will most likely need platelets and/or whole blood.  Your continued prayers over the next critical 24-48 hours are needed. 

Blessings and peace,

Natasha

A Time of Joy and Sorrow

The Joys -

Praise God, the team from Grace Point arrived on Sunday, most having had little sleep on that red eye from Portland.  I kidnapped my friend Nancy Brannen to ride with me in the car to Metro Mall for a quick lunch (with the group).  It was a good thing she was loopy from lack of sleep or she would have been screaming instead of laughing as I tried to follow David Hawthorne, driving very Hondureno to the mall.  After lunch they piled into a 30 passenger bus and headed for the small mountain town of Gracias.  Locals had begun working on the church and now after 2 days with our team helping out they are just about ready to put a roof on it. 

Let me brag on my son for a minute.  Michael is 12 and was part of the puppet ministry team back home in Oregon.  We told him to learn all he could so he could put it to use in Honduras and he is doing just that.  He picked 2 songs to perform at VBS in Gracias, figured out what props and items were needed, and created a piano, mixing board, and mic out of cardboard and paint.  Today when there was no power they improvised a short skit and tomorrow, with batteries running the CD player, they will perform the 2 songs he coordinated. 

I talked to him last night and he was a little bummed out, felt like he didn't do much other than get bit by a monkey.  But today he staked his claim, grabbed a pick ax and there was no stopping him.  Way to live out your faith Michael!  I'm so proud of you!

The Sorrows -

Just before leaving for the airport to pick up the team Hectorcito was taken to the ER with a 104 degree temp and a suspected case of Dengue Fever.  We're in the midst of a nationwide state of emergency for Dengue with 3 times as many reported cases year to date as compared to last year.  Doc Ferrell told us before we left about dengue, "it won't kill you...you'll wish it would, but it won't."  But people are dying, approximately 22 so far this year, most of them young and here in Tegucigalpa. 

Instead of writing anything more about Dengue, I hope you'll read a post by my friend and fellow blogger Laurie Matherne. 

Starving kids.  People dying from Dengue.  Young men being shot on the steps.  Sometimes life here gets to be a little overwhelming.   I couldn't agree more with Becca Bell's Facebook comment:  We heard gunfire this afternoon and ran downstairs to find a 22-yr-old guy from down the block shot dead on the steps of our apt building in the falling rain... yesterday he was chatting with John and today they took him away in a body bag. "Lord have mercy..." Your kingdom cannot come soon enough.

Yes, Lord, have mercy.

Death on the Doorstep

A 22 year old man is being buried in Tegucigalpa today.  His name was William.  He lived in Barrio Buenos Aries, where the Micah house is.  He had parents, siblings, 2 young children, and a girlfriend that is 4 months pregnant.  Like many young men in this neighborhood, he was involved in gangs and drugs and that lifestyle played a part in his death on Thursday.

William was a friend of Juan Carlos and, according to Juan, his death was a "crime of passion".  It seems that the girlfriend had another man on the side who didn't care for William still being in the picture.  So the new boyfriend hired someone to kill William.  Thursday afternoon, on the steps of the apartment building where Michael Miller, John and Becca Bell, and Jenna Miller live, William was shot in the head 3 times, falling to the street where he died. 

Brian and John Leonard, a friend from Portland, came across the scene just after it happened.  A crowd was forming around William, police were arriving, questioning anyone who might know who killed William.  Eventually William's body was taken away, the street was cleaned up, and the people went home. 

Yesterday we drove past the place where William died and it seemed so odd to me that nothing had changed.  People were still buyng Coke's and chips at the pulperia, young men were still playing soccer in the street.  Emily and Jenna were going in the front door to the apartment building.  Life just continued on in the place where William died.  If you didn't know what had happened, didn't know that his body was lying in the church across the street from where he was shot, the 24 hour wake in process, you never could have guessed that something so tragic had taken place the day before.  Never before had James 4:14 been so crystal clear to me, that life is but a vapor, here for a little while before vanishing away.

But maybe something could change, maybe.  Beauty from ashes - it's on the front of the Micah brochure - and it's what we pray for God to create out of this tragedy.  Yesterday morning Brian, Juan Carlos, and John Leonard went to the streets for ministry.  Eventually there was a group of about 15 young men with them, they all knew William and were either on their way or coming from the wake.  They all talked about William and the sadness of his death and Brian siezed the opportunity to tell them that life for them could be different, that they don't need to have the same ending to their lives that William had.  Then Juan Carlos shared his story, how he was into the gangs and drugs and how he gave his life to Christ 2 years ago, and how now he has hope for a future.  And then he prayed.  Juan Carlos prayed for his friends standing there, still in the gangs and drugs, still living without hope; there wasn't a dry eye in the group.  Brian told them about the Monday night Bible study and discipleship classes and invited them all, and the "leader" of sorts said they'd be there. 

Maybe something did change in that neighborhood after all, in that place where William died.  Maybe hope was born for some of those that knew William.  Maybe.

Honduras Driving Tips

I found this article awhile back and laughed like crazy.  This was written by Judith Shaffer and published in Honduras This Week Online in 1996...nothing has changed:

Hondureñismos

I, not being a Honduran native, have had one experience that very few Hondurans share: driver's ed. Now, this isn't about me feeling superior because I come from a country where people are expected to learn how to drive before they drive. On the contrary, I feel a certain relief when I'm on the road in Honduras. Gone is the fear that I might inadvertently commit a traffic violation and be chastised by a ticket-happy cop. You see, traffic violations don't really exist in Honduras. In order to have violations you need enforcement. But before you have enforcement you need laws. And before you have laws someone has to care. And that's the beauty of driving in Honduras: no one really cares.

Before the transit police start sending letters of opposition to the HTW editor, I suppose I'd better clarify that Honduran law does, in fact, cover traffic. But traffic laws in Honduras carry about the same weight as the prohibition in a Chicago speakeasy.

For someone who got through driver's ed by the skin of her teeth and failed her first driving test after knocking over two orange pylons and running a red light, Honduran roads are a kind of paradise on radial tires. Those of you used to driving by the rules, however, or at least having rules to drive by, might want to take a look at the following pointers. Think of them as a crash course on how to drive like a Honduran. Oops. Did someone say crash?

Speed Limits: To calculate the maximum speed limit in Honduras, take the average mph of a 16-year-old boy driving his father's BMW on a Saturday night and multiply it by the speed of sound. The minimum limit is anything faster than parked.

Passing: The best places for passing on Honduran highways are sharp mountain curves. For best results, tail the vehicle in front of you at a distance no greater than two feet and swerve into oncoming traffic a few times to get the feel of the pass before actually completing the manoeuver. Seasoned passers accentuate their performance by flashing their brights and honking their horns.

Traffic lights: Green means go. Yellow means go. Red means at least three more cars can squeeze through before the drivers waiting on the perpendicular road throw their vehicles into gear and accelerate.

Merging traffic: If you think you can merge without being hit by approaching traffic, merge. If you think you might be hit by an approaching vehicle, but its driver looks alert enough to be able to brake in time, merge. If there's room for an oncoming car to move over, creating space for three vehicles across instead of just two, merge. While you're weighing these options, keep your foot off the brake and allow your vehicle to inch forward slowly.

Right of way: Whichever vehicle is moving faster has the right of way. If two vehicles are moving at the same speed, the larger has the right of way. If one of the vehicles has CD (cuerpo diplomatico) plates, that vehicle has the right of way.

Honking: Your horn and your brakes serve the same purpose. They can be used interchangeably.

Potholes: You have three choices when approaching a pothole: you can drive right over it as if you didn't notice it was there, you can swerve to avoid it, or you can brake and drive over it slowly. In the latter two cases, all movements must be made suddenly and sharply. Do nothing to alert the vehicle behind you of your intent to swerve or stop until the last possible minute.

Turning left: Your blinkers are for decorative purposes only. If you want to turn left, stick your arm out the window, aim it toward the ground at a 45-degree angle with your palm facing backward and cock your hand back several times at the wrist. The faster you cock, the faster the vehicle behind you will brake.

Turning right: See "Turning Left".

Stopping suddenly: See "Turning Left".

Changing lanes: See "Turning Left".

Warning fellow drivers of oncoming danger: See "Turning Left".

Letting fellow drivers know that you're aware of the fact that they want to pass you, but aren't the least bit interested in letting them: See "Turning Left".

Waiting in line: There is no need to wait in line on Honduran roads. If you find yourself in a general traffic jam, take advantage of all available means to advance your vehicle, including oncoming lanes, soft shoulders, sidewalks and landscaped medians. If you approach a vehicle from behind and it's waiting to turn left, don't stop at its rear; pull up alongside the vehicle and ease ahead of it, making sure to fully block its view of oncoming traffic.

Pedestrians: If you think pedestrians have the right of way, I hope you're in a car and not on foot.

Prayer Requests

This weekend we began our busiest part of the year with 3 teams from the States coming back to back.  Between last Sunday and August 4th we have just 6 days without teams here and I believe we are scheduled to work the weekend during those 6 days.  Please be praying for Brian as he is was just very sick for 4 days and the bulk of the work (for our family) will be falling on him.  He will be working approximately 5 weeks with very little time off.  Please pray for the other missionaries as well, Michael, John and Becca Bell, Jenna, David, and Roger, that the Lord will give us all the strength to make it through these next few weeks, and that He would provide times of rest for all.

Also, please pray for Brian James and I as we stay behind next week while the team from Grace Point heads to Gracias to work with Victor Almendarez. 

Blessings and peace to you all,

Natasha

But I'm Just a Car 'Canic

 After spending a total of 10 years in the Navy, Brian enrolled in the automotive technician program at Spokane Community College.  In 1992 he got his first job in a GM dealership in Spokane and, over the next 18 years, migrated from there to Phoenix, to Portland.  I remember one day sitting with him at lunch shortly after we met (met again, that is - at our high school reunion) when he was feeling a little unsure of himself, he said "but I'm just a car 'canic." 

Being a car 'canic was good thing in my book.  At our reunion he told me he worked for Carr Chevrolet, but he didn't tell me, and I didn't ask, what he did.  So when, after 2 months of praying about it, I called Carr to ask him out (yup, I sure did) I asked the receptionist what he did there.  I'll apologize now to any car salesmen that are reading this, but I am a somewhat shallow person and my impression of car salesmen at the time was less than stellar.  To my relief she said he was the heavy line tech...I had no clue what that was other than being a mechanic, but it sounded pretty cool to me.  I asked her to transfer the call and the rest, as they say, is history.

Brian wasn't just a car 'canic.  He was and is a great mechanic.  One day he opened his bay doors to find a Peterbuilt truck staring him in the face.  Another time a Franz bread truck from Bend was towed to him after the previous mechanic gave up, leaving all the parts in boxes on the floor of the truck.  He was the guy that worked on the Nike buses.  Anyone in Beaverton remember those?  Michael was little and he called them "the silly buses" because of their shape.  Brian called them silly buses because they were junk.  Another time he went out to a Christmas tree farm in Aurora and fixed a DC 10 Cat that had been out of commission for years.  In 2004 he was ranked one of the top 10 GM technicians in the Western region, that's 750 techs.  He looked at his ranking and said "I just want to make #1"...and he did, the following year. 

I'm pretty proud of my husband.  He can fix anything that has a motor, faster and better than anyone else out there.  The last 2 years in Beaverton while he was attending Multnomah he worked on cars in the driveway to make money.  Everything from beat up Honda's to BMW's, Gertrude the Winnebago and a Jaguar.  I am amazed at his ability to diagnose and fix absolutely any car that comes his way. 

After he got his #1 ranking he looked at his ranking sheet, then looked at me and said "now what?"  Well God had a plan.

Frederico Quiros lives here in Honduras.  He owns the Chevrolet, Nissan, Mazda, Jeep/Chrysler, Hyundai, Maserati, and Ferrari dealerships in Central America.  (Brian got to stand next to a Maserati when Frederico fired it up and that was just about the best thing next to my homemade bread that he's ever had.)  Brian met him a couple of years ago and has gotten to know him quite well since we moved here.  Frederico is quite excited about the Micah Automotive Tech school that will be starting soon and has offered tons of equipment and help to get the program off the ground.  A couple of months ago he asked Brian if he would do some consulting work for him, to help get the service departments more standardized and up to snuff.  Today he was the main presenter in a meeting with Frederico and several of his service managers in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Honduras.  He talked about the importance of getting all of the dealerships on the same fee schedule, of teaching the technicians to be honest and to do the job right the first time.  He talked to them about training the tecnicians in reporting methods.  He talked to them about how it was more important to make customers want to bring their cars back to that dealership forever, than to make a few extra bucks on this particular service.

When it was all said and done, Frederico had decided to purchase a software license for all of his dealerships, that will ensure that Billy Bob mechanic in Tegucigalpa is working the same way as Dexter Doolittle in San Salvador, that they will follow the same diagnostic paths and charge the same amount of money for the same repair.  The automotive repair industry in Central America is about to radically change and my husband, just a car 'canic, is leading the charge. 

Just a car 'canic.  Sounds pretty cool to me.