Feliz cupleanos!

Guess what?! I almost forgot! I got older the other week and we celebrated with a "not-a-surprise" birthday party that my darling wife threw for me. She made about seven or eight pizzas from scratch, made yet another great tasting birthday cake (interestingly, it was flavored with lime) and then...FINALLY....I got to watch TRANSFORMERS. I have been waiting to see this movie not since it came out, but since I was about 11 years old playing with my imitation, knock-off transmo-bots (girls, I don't expect you to understand this part of the post but you guys will).

Shortly before we left for Honduras, I bought a really cool Spider-man t-shirt and brought it along. Then to my delight and surprise, the principle of the High School (Jonathan) has one exactly like it, albeit a slightly larger size....he is obviously an excellent dude. He has also gotten me kinda hooked on Dr. Who TV series. Never watched it before but it really is a cool show. He also got a "hell-O nurse!" reference which absolutely floored me. I don't think anyone I've ever known has gotten that reference. Google it and look for the Animaniacs.

One really neat thing to share with you. Jonathan brought his son Jaden to the party. Jaden brought a couple of hot wheels and gave me one for a present. I, of course, being the adult said, "Thanks Jaden...can you take this with you so that when I come over to your house I can have something to play with?" to which he replied "No...it's a present. You have to keep the present with you or it isn't a present." That's kind of like the present that God has given us. It's only good if we keep it and use it. If we just say to God "Thanks for letting your Son die for me. I'll open that present later when I'm ready to. Until then, thanks for coming to my party." How pointless would that be? What a great lesson to learn from a 5 year old.---Mike

Our Church

Currently, we are attending Iglesia Bautista El Hatillo. In English, it means "El Hatillo Baptist Church." It is pastored by Herb Caudill, a good friend of Max Furr's. Herb has spent a good part of his life working to bring pure, safe drinking water to third world counties. If I had to do it over again, it sounds like a great option for a vocation in life.

We meet every week at his house on the big back porch they have. The church has grown so much in the last 6 months that they are ready to start building a formal church. They have almost enough money to buy the land and will break ground (Lord willing) very soon. From where we live it's about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the school down a dirt road and up a STEEP hill. The church has about 80 members and is given in Spanish. Herb's wife, Bonnie, sits in the back with few of us "gringos" and translates for us. His messages are clear and simple and we both look forward to the day when we can hear and understand them in Spanish!

We meet every week at his house on the big back porch they have. The church has grown so much in the last 6 months that they are ready to start building a formal church. They have almost enough money to buy the land and will break ground (Lord willing) very soon. From where we live it's about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the school down a dirt road and up a STEEP hill. The church has about 80 members and is given in Spanish. Herb's wife, Bonnie, sits in the back with few of us "gringos" and translates for us. His messages are clear and simple and we both look forward to the day when we can hear and understand them in Spanish!

I recently got to speak at the Thanksgiving dinner at the church for a bunch of other missionaries. As many of you know, when I had to speak in front of the Gordon class it was nerve-racking. And I'll have you know, it still is!