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!

Pictures for Randall and Michelle

Yes, Caroline is getting bigger. And yes, she is supposed to be getting bigger. She is now 5 months along in the pregnancy and is starting to have difficulties with her...wardrobe. We were talking to Randall and Michelle this evening and they said they wanted some profile pictures. So here are a few...
9/3/079/26/0710/15/07
11/5/07

11/19/07

Honduran Suprise

Packing to come to Honduras was very stressful and tiring. I was very grumpy and wanted to smack Mike most of the time. I had never felt that way before and thought that it was the stress of packing up everything we owned. Once we got to Honduras, I was so tired and so out of breath. I had been hiking at Grandfather Mountain (which is a higher elevation than where we are) and had not been out of breath like when I got here. After being here a week and still being out of breath and tired, I thought that something was wrong. I just took a pregnancy test at the end of June that was negative, but I thought that I might as well check and see if that was why I was so tired and out of breath. I didn't have a pregnancy test on hand, so I borrowed one from the couple next door. On August 9, 2007, the above picture is what came of the pregnancy test I took. The neighbor did not have the directions sheet for the pregnancy test, so she took one and compared the results. They were different, so then we had to look it up on-line and I found out that I was pregnant. I didn't tell anyone in the states until I had my first doctor's visit on September 7th and knew for sure. The picture here is the picture of the first ultrasound.

Seeing Mike's face at the doctor during that ultrasound was priceless. The doctor told us that the expected due date is March 30th. Our second appointment was October 8th. Dr. Figueroa was pleased that the placenta is in a good place and the baby has a good heartbeat. At that time I was 15 weeks and he could not be 100% sure of the baby's gender. We have another appointment on November 5th and hopefully he can tell then. Even still, green and yellow are good colors in baby clothes!

We are so thankful to have this wonderful blessing in our lives and thank God for His blessing on us. We had been trying to have a baby for 2 and 1/2 years and we are for certain that God has perfect timing and this is His timing!

Caroline and Baby

More pictures from Amapala

I thought that you should see more pictures than pigs on the beach!

Track Team

Well, I suddenly have more free time now that track is over. I am very thankful to be done with that so that I can do some sewing and paper grading! This is a picture of our entire track team!

I have missed coaching with Scott Brent, Kenny McClellan and Allen Rice...but this chair reminded me of them...there is a chair almost exactly like this at North Forsyth where all of the track supplies are located!!! This chair was at the track where we practice and have meets!

Outside our door

About 50 feet from our front door is the guard house/gate. Every so often, the guards "serenade" us around dinner time. It's really kind of neat to enjoy your meal with the sound of "Honduran Bluegrass" wafting in the front door with the cool evening air. This is a quick clip of this evening's entertainment.---Mike