We are thankful for all the seniors who have been such an integral part of the ministries of WGM at Asbury University. As a “thank-you” to the graduating seniors on our cabinet, each year we have a special banquet in their honor, complete with a humorous tribute song (which you can view here.) We also have an open house for seniors to bring their families to the WGM center following graduation ceremonies. This year we had a wonderful time of celebration at both of these events!

Anna, Audra, Ben, Cassie, Josh, Sarah, and Shannon – we love all of you and look forward to all that God will do in and through you as you continue to follow His leading in your lives! Thanks for all of your dedication to WGM and its ministries. You will be missed!

After the trip to see the family, we spent some time touring Choluteca with Tim, one of the WGM missionaries on the field. He even took us to the market to do some shopping and to get some Honduran donuts! We then went back to the vocational school and got to meet some of the students and see the classes. One gentleman who was in Choluteca with a work team from a church in Ohio came to the school with us. He sponsors one of the students at the school, so it was really neat to see them meet each other! It brought us all to tears!

That evening we celebrated our last night in Honduras by going to Gordo’s – a restaurant that specializes in steak, chicken and pork platters. We ate to our hearts’ content and then made one last juice run!

We are all sad to leave tomorrow, but it has been a wonderful trip and a life-changing experience! Glory to God!

Since only a few people can work on the roof at any given time, many of us spent the day playing with Chacho’s two daughters, Kelin and Yaneli. They were so precious! It was obvious that they enjoyed our company for the day! We have all fallen in love with the children here and love to see the joy in their faces every time we give them attention. I think the most difficult part of going home will be leaving them.

One thing that we can’t fail to mention about our time here in Honduras is our nightly “juice” ritual. There is a natural juice stand about a block down the street from where we are staying. For about $2 in US money, you can get a large cup of amazing juice combinations such as mango-strawberry, orange-lemon, melon-papaya-pineapple, and about 100 others! Every night before our debriefing time as a team, we make sure to go for some juice! We are not looking forward to leaving it behind as well!

Derek Webb reflected well on this in a song he wrote quite a few years ago: “I get turned around/ and I mistake my happiness for blessing./ And I’m blessed as the poor/ But still I judge success by how I’m dressing.”

God is working through our team, and we praise Him for that. He is also working in our team, cultivating us and helping us grow. It’s tough to wrestle with some of the issues that come with learning to be content in all things, but we know God is changing us for the better!

Today, Leah and Isaac graciously spent one more day translating for the Ohio State medical team. We have really missed them, but we know they are doing good, important work. We are excited that they will be with us tomorrow At the work site! The rest of us spent the day working at the home of a very sweet family. Last summer, one of the pastors of the church we attended Sunday night died. We went to his widow’s home today and put on a new roof and started digging a ditch where a wall will be built for a new extension to her house. Her current roof leaks during the rainy season. She also takes care of her daughter and her grandchildren during the day. They all live with her in her compound. The church felt she needed to be honored and thanked for her husband’s service to them, so this was a very special project to the community. We were incredibly blessed to be part of it!

We had the opportunity to spend the day in a small village, Siete de Mayo, helping with a work project while the Ohio State medical team was down the road in a school giving medical assistance to the people of the village.

Isaac and Leah spent the day translating again for the medical team. We missed them but know that their talents were put to good use!

The rest of us helped build a house for a local midwife. She is currently the only woman in the village to help deliver babies. Half of her house was made of cardboard and her floor was slanted. Every time it rains, the walls could barely stand and water continually collected and pooled on the floor of her single-room house. It was the first time many of us had seen an adobe home up close before, and it was an adventure learning how to build one!

After much sweat, mud, and dirt-flinging we began to see progress on the wall and floor.

It was such a blessing to work for and along side the midwife and her family. By the time we stopped for the day, we had half the wall built and significant progress on leveling the floor!

Although we were svery tired, it was a great day and an amazing opportunity filled with so many blessings.

as we headed to the beach we made a quick stop to tour a vocational school nearby. The school was built after hurricane Mitch to help teach boys 15 and over in the area. Since it was founded, the school has expanded to teach not only boys but also girls. They offer classes in auto mechanics and sewing. The school also hopes to begin computer classes as soon as enough funds are raised. It was so amazing to see how much God is working through the school to impact the lives of the youth in Choluteca.

After the tour, we were off to the beach!!! For most of us it was our first time putting our feet in the Pacific Ocean. It was so nice to relax and take in the beauty of Honduras in such a fun atmosphere! For lunch we got a traditional beach meal of shrimp, fish, and fried plantains.

The sun really wore us out but we had fun before heading back to Choluteca for an evening church service at the Overholt’s church – Iglesias Shalom.

We all enjoyed the worship and fellowship with the people of the church. All in all, we had a pretty wonderful day! We are so eager to see God’s plans unfold throughout the rest of the week!