We're Home...and where are all the bags!

Hello everyone,

This is going to be a quick post, mainly because it is 2:30am. We just got back to the Outer Banks. The good news is...we all made it back home safely. Praise God! The bad news is...our bags are still in Atlanta. Please pray that they find their way to us soon. But it is good to be home, and we will see you all at church in the morning.

Signing off,
The McKenneys (and Team Reunited)

Again, thank you so much for following our trip and praying for us along the way.

Last sleep

Tonight is our last sleep on Helene and we have had a good night. The worship service went really well. We played several songs with a few of the islanders and then opened the mic for anyone to offer a special song or testimony. Many of the island girls stood and sang. It was very encouraging to see their willingness to sing. Josh shared with the islanders the miracle that God has done for Nathan, Tricia, and Gwyneth. He encouraged them about the awesome God that we serve and shared the Gospel story. We finished the night with George jamming on the harmonica to "When the Saints Go Marching In." It was quite an experience.
Then we had a debriefing meeting with the full time staff here in Helene. We all shared a "God moment" that we experienced this week and how that will impact our lives when we return to the Outer Banks.
We are now off to cleaning and getting ready for leaving first thing in the morning. Again, please pray for safe travels home tomorrow. Thanks for following our journey. And to God be the glory!!!

Good Night,
Terry and Josh

P.S. Quote of the Day: Terry trying to take his fins off in the shore break saying "I feel like a mermaid."

WOW

There are no words to describe the day we've had It rained torrentially during the night. We all got up between 5:30 and 6:00AM to climb the mountain. Josh showed up at 6 to tell us that it was too muddy to go. He was met with stares and grumblings, and in the end most of us trudged through very steep jungle mountains to the top of the hill. There had been a cross put up at one point and we could see forever. It was beautiful. We came back in time for devotions at 7:30. We were very muddy (so much so that when Chris took off his shoes and socks, it looked like he still had them on) and somewhat scratched up, but otherwise intact.

After breakfast, everyone went in different directions. Bonnie, Emily, and Bethany took a boatload of 20 girls (from 1-6 grade aged) "down island" to get measured for uniforms. The were all dressed up for the trip, and everyone was excited. It was a little rough crossing over, but not too bad. After being measured, we went to a "shop" (a house with chips hung out on the lattice work) and brought snacks and drinks. We stopped by a "restaurant" to get a refried bean tortillas for the girls. While we sat there, in the rain, waiting for them to cook, the girls started singing songs. As they sang, in their Island lingo, "Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world", I was so moved. These girls are precious in Hs sight and I'm so excited that I got to witness His love in action through the Bensons.

While we were on our boating excursion, the others split up and some worked hard on finishing the fence around the playground while others went visiting to Rocky Point. It was good huff down the road, and once again they saw how poverty stricken the people in the community are, but how appreciative they are of the people from the mission. In the afternoon, we again split up and while some finished the fence, others went out to another part of the island. We all met on the north side and swam for a short time.

Many of our prayers were answered today. Everyone got everywhere safely. The rains held off and didn't interfere with our projects. We finished the fence (including a coat of DEISEL FUEL instead of paint). Even though the seas were rough, the girls had a good time on their trip. Thank you so much for lifting up our requests.

Right now it's 7;15PM. We're getting ready to have a praise and worship service. The bands are gearing up and I hear George warming up his harmonica. After that we'll have a 'debriefing' and then pack and clean up. Our plan is to leave here by 7:30 AM in the morning.

Hopefully, if all goes well, we'll be able to have some recreational activity in the morning. Some will go "snubaing" and others will ride a zip line above the forest. Cool huh? Some prayer requests:

* We'll be able to get out of here on time and have a safe crossing
* The plane trips will be without incident (we forgot to tell you that when the Miami group was landing, they aborted the landing at the last minute and went screaming back up into the air. It took 3 tries before successfully landing. I don't think we get that many tries on take off....
*That Claire and Ramon will have a safe trip up to meet us.
* That as we leave the Bensons and the other missionaries here will be encouraged and strengthened and the mission will continue to fulfill it's purpose
*Pray that as we return home it won't be 'business as usual' and that this trip will have lasting impact on all that came and that God will continue to give Nags Head Church the vision to reach people to discover new life in Christ.

Thank you for your faithfulness in checking up on us and praying for us. Hopefully, if all goes well, we'll see you Sunday!
Bonnie

A few prayer requests.....

We have a few things we'd like to ask you to pray for tonight:

1) That the rain would hold off long enough for us to finish our fence project and do our visiting.

2) That we'll have a good turn out for Kids Club and there will be lots of opportunity to share Jesus' love with the children here

3) That Bethany, Bonnie, and Emily would have a safe trip "off island" with some of the school girls to get measured for uniforms

4) Linda is the cook here at the mission. Her son, Hardysito, is 4 years old and has been diagnosed with lymphoma. She has taken him to Tegucigalpa for a month of treatment. Olivia, a missionary from Roatan, has gone to try to help arrange medical care and transportation for them.

5) Pray for the church service that we will be hosting here at the mission tomorrow night for the islanders. There will be music and sharing.

5) That Barbara and Bonnie won't expire from exertion as we take a jungle hike up the mountain tomorrow morning at 6:15AM (we're taking a machete)

Everyone is doing well and we appreciate you praying for us. Tomorrow is a very full and important day. We appreciate your continued prayers.

Good night from the islands....Josh, Bonnie, and Barbara

A Day of Sharing

As I write this, I'm wearing a bracelet made by one of the islanders who also is the mailman. He makes beautiful jewelry and he was selling at the Market Day hosted by Team Honduras. Our team had the opportunity to shop for handmade items. What a blessing to see their faces filled with appreciation as we enjoyed browsing amongst their handiwork! It was hard not to buy it all from all the vendors because they all have so many basic needs. The Market Day was just one of the many things we did today that enabled us to be in relationship with the islanders. We did medical visits, home visits, swam in the Caribbean with some young island boys and girls, and hosted a Kids Club session in one of the communities. Cathy tells me that she and Katie had the most personal interactions today at Kids Club since we've been here --she was even able to share Jesus with 3 girls using salvation bracelets. The weather cooperated and they were able to work together under a big tree in Mangrove Bight. AMEN!!

Because of the Market Day, we've had a little more down time than usual. It has given me time to process some of the amazing things that have happened this week. Although physically tired, I continue to be energized by the good things that have happened as a result of our visit. The Bensons have made such an impression on the islanders. They can truly see God through them and they love them. I'm not sure how the islanders manage without them when they are home on vacation. And I love to listen to Emily speak with a Caribbean accent!!

Love, Barbara
P.S. It was clear from our home visits today that the women on the island are expecting Josh and Bethany to give Miss Sheila a grandchild soon. They even offered up some advice for Josh and Bethany to help get things started. Imagine that!

Thursday Morning

Katie and I led devotions this morning. We read some from Esther 4:11-17. It went pretty well. We talked about taking a stand and not backing down in the face of obstacles. After that we divided into groups with some doing construction and others doing visitation. The construction group seemed to get a lot done on the fence we've been building around the school grounds.
Emily, Bethany, Barbara, and I went on visitations to the east side of Helene. The east side was much more marshy and dirty than the west side. It had just rained so it was really muddy which made walking more interesting and difficult. Lunch time, gotta go.
Cathy

Amen

Hello everyone,

We just got back from church, which was definitely a cultural experience. The speaker said "Amen" at the end of most sentences. It was testimony night, so everyone was encouraged to share a scripture, a song, or a word of testimony, if they felt led. The music was different than we are used to, but we enjoyed worshiping our God with them.

Please check out photos of our adventures at:

www.nhcmissions.com

Just click on Honduras Trip Photos at the top of the screen. You can also read more about the Bensons and the other missionaries our church supports at this site. Thanks!

Getting dirty (and sweaty) for Jesus

Today started off with bang...or should I say a snap (that would have been Bonnie breaking the drill bits...(where is Ace when you need it?). With the help of some archaic tools, we finished the framing for the fence around the playground. The rain forced us to ABORT several times, but we kept at it until lunch. Meanwhile Barbara, Bethany, Terry and Alex were shoveling dirt. Terry broke off the handle of his shovel and ended up using it like a giant spoon. Bonnie broke so many drill bits that she was afraid they would run out and never finish the project, so she gave up the drilling and went on to placing screws with the power drill. Chris believes that if you cut a board, it should fit, even if Cathy measured wrong, so he forced the boards into place with the use of a log (Camas said he wanted it "snug")...anyone want to hire us to do work when we get back???

After lunch a group of 'young people' (that includes Bonnie) decided to take a dip in the Caribbean. We hiked through fire ant hills and muddy trenches to get to a half stable public dock. Bonnie decided to swim in her muddy clothes as a way of washing them...talk about the ultimate multitasker. We all stood at the end of the dock, and no one would take the first plunge. Until....you guessed it....the old woman in the group jumped. The others soon followed suit. The water was warm to us, but the local children were forbidden to go in because it was too "cold". The children enjoyed telling us which of the fish we could see swimming around us would bite...but finally admitted that they only bite the hooks.

Josh and George didn't help with construction this morning, because they were in the medical clinic helping Dierdre, the nurse. They dealt with colds, congestion, scabies, worms, and gun shot wounds. (an accident of course). George has done more hands on medical work in the last 2 days than in the last 10 years from behind his desk (his words, not mine). They also became drug dealers (legal, or course) and Josh had to break up a kick boxing fight on the porch (between 2 local children...not the ones on our team).

This afternoon we were supposed to visit neighboring villages, but it poured most of the time. Chris discovered he has innate plumbing abilities that he didn't know existed. George showed off his prowesness as an electrician by installing lights under the covered deck. He displayed his machoness when he tried to jump off the ladder screaming because he mistook the gecko for a scorpion. Of course, finding a scorpion outside the ladies bathrooms last night has us all on 'alert'. Evidently George is a little more concerned about scorpions than the rest of us, as it took him 30 minutes to go down the hall during the night because he had to check out every nook and cranny for scorpions.

After dinner we are going to a church service at a local pentecostal church. The dress code at these services is much stricter than at home. Boys must wear long pants and collared shirts, and girls must wear skirts....to hike through the jungle...in the dark. We'll post later and let you know how that goes. For now, this is Chris, George, and Bonnie signing off.

Paula....George say's he loves you and misses his sweetie...

Oh, blessed rain!

Good morning, all!  Yesterday was truly amazing.  Bonnie has captured the true spirit of our mission and our visitation.  Our visitations today will happen in the afternoon and we will go in areas of the island that we've not been.  We'll be meeting and praying with islanders.  This morning we'll be continuing on our construction projects and helping Emily get classrooms set up for school opening in February.  There are kids, kids everywhere all the time and love abounds.  What a feeling!

Yesterday one island women was sitting on a deteriorating deck attached to an incredibly small hut using a pipe to scrub clothes, thanking God for giving them rain so they have enough water and ended by saying "God is so good."  I say that often, but it took on new meaning coming from her.  How humbling!

I just read some of the comments from some of our loved ones back home.  Thank you all for the encouragement and love.  Nathan, I want you to tell Tricia and Gwyneth that we pray for your family every morning when we have devotions.  Updates are given on the unfolding of the miracle and we praise God for what he doing through you.  Larry said he's  sure that"God is showing off!"--because He can!  

Well, it's off to the fence-building team.  We'll work between the raindrops when they come and hope to get much accomplished.  That rain not only brings water to the islanders for their daily needs, but also relief from the hot sun for the gringos!

Love, Barbara

Busy, Busy, Busy

Today started out with devotions at 7:30.  Bethany reminded us how special we are to our creator and how He looks at us and loves us as individuals and His love isn't based on our talents or good looks.  This message is critical to the islanders and our mission is to share that with them  We then split up into 3 teams and hoofed it to neighboring villages.  Some of us trekked through the jungles, and others followed paths that led to small house groupings.  While there, we were introduced to the people, talked with them, in some cases prayed with them and worked on building relationships.  George went on medical rounds with the nurse to check on people that can't make it to the clinic.  

Since today was laundry day, most of the women were busy washing the family's clothes.  This consists of tubs, or buckets,  of laundry and soap being 'agitated' with a piece of PVC pipe .  The next step is to use a washboard to get the stubborn spots.   The clothes are rinsed  out in another bucket and hung out to dry, usually under the houses due to the frequent and unpredictable rain.  In spite of their business, they all stopped to talk to us.  The living conditions were extremely poor, but they showed hospitality and acted pleased to meet us.  

After lunch, we all worked around the mission.  Some of the ladies cleaned and organized the kitchen, and most of the young people (Bonnie included:) tried to help build a fence.  The rain drove us to put the power tools away, and we worked shoveling dirt and gravel to fill in the playground for the school.  In some places, a step in the wrong place meant a shoe full of muck.  Since we could do that in the rain, we worked through the afternoon.  In the meantime, George and Chris worked at replacing roof vents on the mission roof.  

Even as I write this most of the young people have gone to a youth service at the church right next to the mission.  George has his harmonica out and I can hear him playng "When the Saints Go Marching In".  He's tearing it up!  We're not sure what tomorrow holds, but we do know this: We're here because God wanted us here, and we're excited that we get to be a part of His mission here in Honduras.  

Bonnie 

We are in Helene!

We arrived in Helene (after 1 hour in a bus & 45 minutes in a boat) at around 10 o'clock this morning.  We unloaded the boat and the staff gave us a quick tour of the facilities.  After getting settled into our settled into our rooms, we ate a nutritious lunch.   Now, we are hard at work!  

Just wanted everyone to know that we are finally here.  Hopefully tonight, we will get a chance to read some of your comments!  Thanks for your prayers!

  

Reunited...and it feels so good!

Good Morning everyone,

We are officially reunited on the island of Roatan!  Both of our planes landed yesterday, but we were unable to blog until this morning.  Last night, we were able to help out at a wedding of one of the full time missionaries.  George took hundreds of pictures with his professional camera.  He was something of a hero. 

Well anyway, we slept at Casa Calico last night, and today we will head, by boat, to the island of Helene, after our breakfast of bananas, eggs and french toast.

Pray that the boat ride over is uneventful! 

Safe and Sound in Miami/Houston

We have all safely completed the first leg of our journey.  Half of us are in Miami and half are in Houston.  Delta was nice enough to put us up in hotels for the night.  They even provided a shuttle and meal vouchers.  Thanks for your prayers!  God is definitely providing for us all the way!!!  

We will all be arriving in Roatan tomorrow and will have more photos for you then.  Thanks!

Group photos

Here is a quick group photo.  Please pray for us as we are about to split in half (5 headed to Houston and 5 headed to Miami).  Thanks.

Thanks Paula, Claire, and Tommy!

Where would we be without Paula, Claire, and Tommy?  Probably still in Nags Head.  They woke up early this morning and met us at NHC at 4am to drive us to the airport.  Then when our flight was changed, they drove us around Norfolk for IHop and a good sleep on a mall bench.  Thanks so much guys!  

A few pictures from the airport this morning

Here are a few pictures from the airport this morning.  Please pray that the weather will hold out and that we will make our next flights.

A God-Given Detour

Well, our day has begun with an interesting twist.  We arrived this morning at Norfolk International Airport to find that our flight is cancelled due to weather.  That's right...CANCELLED!  I spent an hour talking to the attendant trying to find a way to Honduras.  The only solution was to split into 2 groups of 5.  The first group (Bethany, Josh, Chris, Terry, and Barbara) will be flying to Houston tonight and then arriving in Roatan tomorrow around 1pm.  The second group (George, Bonnie, Alex, Katie, and Cathy) will be flying to Miami and then arriving in Roatan tomorrow around 4pm.  George was able to score us two rooms in Houston and Miami to make the overnight trip a little smoother.

We see this twist as a God-given detour.  Remember, we are missionaries everywhere we go.  Please pray for us as we encounter many people on our adventure, that we might represent our God well and give Him all of the glory.

Thanks for your prayers,

Helene Team (We are working on a better team name, so please send us your ideas!)

P.S. Pictures are coming soon!

Our Detour

Last minute preparations

Thanks for starting our journey with us.  We will be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning.  That means that everyone is doing last minute packing with hopes of getting a few hours of sleep.  Please pray for us that God gives us safe travels to Honduras.  Thanks!