Sick Moto

 There has been a lot of 'dog activity' on our property lately!  One day there were about 4 dogs all milling about and a couple of them 'loved' Moto in ways that are rather inappropriate.  Moto is fixed and then kept mounting him and licking him.  I was in constant "SHOO!" mode and finally Carlos was able to close up all the places around the property where they had dug themselves in.

About a week ago we noticed that Moto was bleeding from his penis.  I honestly thought that he had gotten into a fight since he did come home with a few battle scars on his head and neck.  On Friday he began coughing up a white mucus and so the following day I too him to the vet.

It turns out that he does have a respiratory infection and he also has a transmissible venereal tumor
The vet had to sedate him in order to give him the chemo injection.   Poor Moto.   The vet couldn't believe that he contacted that disease since he is fixed and he can't copiate.  I told him about that one 'cute little spaniel' kept coming around and licking him and he said that yes it could be transmitted that way!!  What a drag!!!  Fortunately we caught it early so the tumour isn't that large, but he still believes it will take about 3 more rounds of chemo to manage it.  I am praying that the Lord will shrink it quickly and heal him completely!  Please pray with me for our dear Moto.    We would be rather heartsick if anything happened to him.

Last night we let Moto sleep on the front porch so he wouldn't be bothered by any dogs ... although they haven't been coming around for the last couple of days.  He is still druggy and can barely walk.

  The poor doggie.

sedated

moto prepped, drugged and ready for his chemo

the mission trip to the mainland!

On Thursday Bob and I hopped on to a little Sosa plane to fly to Tegucigalpa on the Main land to go to a mission retreat in Valle de Angeles (valley of angels). A month ago there was a terrible plane crash where 14 people lost their lives flying into that airport that has is classified one of the top 5 worst airports to fly into.. so needless to say we were praying and there was a cooperate sigh of relief when we landed.  We were gratefully met at the airport by a young honduran woman named Sumaya who generously drove us to the Canadian Embassy so Bob could get his passport renewed (with no problems.. hallelujah!) and then to various stores.   The one thing I wanted was small round magnets for making seashell and driftwood magnets but to no avail. Oh well.   We are having some friends from Canada come on Thursday and I hope they were able to find some.

click on this to see large

Being in Telg. was quite the experience!!  My first impressions: what a busy city!!  It was like culture shock for me after being on this quiet small island for so long!!  I was happy to finally leave the city limits and start our  22 km. drive up to Valle de Angeles. 

what a quaint little village!

This little village is surrounded by mountains, covered in pine trees and has the largest most fragrant roses I have seen in a long time.  The town is all cobbled stone, narrow roads with quaint little shops and restaurants and cultural delights around every corner.  The people are friendly and as they say there  "esta lugar es muy tranquilo"  (this place is very peaceful).  On our free time we enjoyed wandering around shopping, and talking with the locals.  

My first impression:   it is cold!!   They told us to bring warm clothes and I am glad for the jeans and the hoody I brought but I was chilled all weekend.  But the elevation is about 3000 ft so it is to be expected and it was a nice change.   Even with a warm blanket, and socks my feet were still cold!   But the air was fresh and that was a nice change!

My second impression:   so many flowers!!!  I don't need to tell you I was in flower heaven!  I was.  Oh my goodness!  Our little hotel had so many amaryllis growing:  deep reds, oranges, striped pinks!  I was in my glory.   As well there were geraniums, daisies, cosmos, roses, lilies, glads, impatience... every imaginable flower!  OH!!   One thing my Mom taught me is: there is no harm in asking.  So I went to the owner and asked for some of the amaryllis, lily and a purple alium and of course, he said yes (hallelujah)
It was quite humerous seeing us walking through the airport with a big bag of plants and a dozen donuts from dunkin donuts.   Life is better on Roatan with flowers and donuts I'd say!!

i was overwhelmed by the beauty!

My third impression:   I love these missionaries in Honduras!!!   The people we met were so friendly, God filled and real.   It was wonderful to exchange stories and passion, pray together, laugh together and learn together.  The key speaker for the retreat was David P. Robinson who taught us about "Coaching and Leadership"   You can check out his website here.   It was a wonderful, refreshing, empowering, connecting time! 

what a wonderful time we had!!

Finding refuge

Yesterday, I admit I went to church with a heavy heart.  I think sometimes when we are feeling discouraged it is easy to hide away until the storm passes but one thing I know about the Lord:  He knows it all and the best place for me is to go to the "heavenly hospital" to get a touch from Him.

As we walked in they started singing "Jesus is on the Mainline" and I just looked at David and smiled.   David sang that song and it has always been my favorite.  The interesting part is that we haven't ever sang that song at church but the morning David comes with it they sing it!!  A coincidence?  I don't think so.   

After we sang a good number of good gospel song the pastor came up and began to pray.   He said, "someone here needs specific prayer".   I was out of my seat like a rabbit fleeing a fire!   I knelt down and the moment I bowed my head and my heart the tears began to flow.   I laid things down before Him one by one by one and as I did healing and peace began to come into my soul.   I have been thinking about this lately alot and I am not sure if it is just me or it is something we all struggle with but here it is:   when I am going through tough times I sometimes overlook the emotional pain of it and it isn't until I cry out (literally) to Him that He is able to come to that wounded place in my heart and begin to heal me.  I am all for believing and praying, but at times I need to be believing, and praying and crying for Him to be able to really get into those deep crevices of my heart and reassure me of His care and His love.

And that is what He did:   He came like a Father only can and soothed my soul so profoundly and beautifully.  He assured me that He is working deep in David and although he will have physical challenges in his life God is drawing him into a deeper reality of who he is before Him and what He can do in and through Him.   He assured me that He can not and will not fail us and we can rest assured that He will continue to provide for us.  In a way it is good to be financially 'strapped' here in Roatan because we are in good company with most of the people who live here.  He takes care of them, He takes care of the birds and I know He will take care of us as well.  (Matt. 5)

the light began to dawn as He spoke to my soul about His care

It is a wonderful thing to be able to weep with brothers and sisters too.  It is the one thing I love about our church in French Harbour:   It is the real deal.   You don't need to come in looking all fine and go away looking all fine but being a mess inside.  It is okay to quietly come before Him with whatever, whenever in the service.  It isn't uncommon to see someone just slip up to the front and then someone else will just go pray with them.  And that is what it is all about right?  The church should be more like a hospital instead of a gathering where we do our best to look our best when inside we are dying a slow and quiet death.

I am grateful, so very grateful for the support I received yesterday at church.   And here is the interesting part:  no one asked me what is wrong, because they didn't need to know what is wrong they just needed me to find WHO was all right.   And I did.  Thank You Jesus....

I don't know what you are going through but if you are in a valley or a fog or in pain at all then find Him IN it.   He sympathizes with our weaknesses and if a very present help in times of trouble.

No matter what... He is near.

  No matter what.. He is sovereign.  

No matter what... He is working it out.

No matter what.. He loves, He loves, He loves...

like the waves that lap against the shore..

He loves, He loves, He loves

Bless His name

No power, His power....

As most of you know I am an early riser, so I was having my first cup of

coffee at around 5:15 when I saw a flash off in the distance and then, wham

the power went out.

I thought that perhaps a line had been struck by lightning

and decided to head back to bed instead of sitting in the dark

drinking my coffee.

I assumed the power would come on in a few hours as it usually does

and in the meantime David and I decided to go for a walk.

We got the news this week that he has Ankylosing spondyltis 

So he needs daily exercise and stretches to keep from seizing up or worse: fusing! 

We suspected all along that there was something wrong since he had

very little flexibility.

Even still, it still came as a shock.

He is taking it quite well but I know it is a hard since he doesn't know how

quickly it the discs in his back and neck will fuse and what that will mean for him

We are praying and trusting the Lord will not only help David to cope

but also to bring healing.

I know He can do it since nothing is impossible with Him.

Thanks in advance for your prayers.

This week has been full of trials and tests for us.

We are navigating some problems with our investment, and are currently

really 'tight' financially, and will be for the next few months.

Of course it is the week where the water pump

goes and as well our car needed a new battery.

I am participating in a study on Believing God by Beth Moore,

so I think my faith is truly being put to the test.

For the most part I have peace through out all of this

but have moments when it threatens to overwhelm me.

I am grateful for His peace in the midst of hard times.

Truly I am.

This little dog has decided to move in!!

Look at those sad little eyes!

We were surprised to see this sweet little doggie sitting on our porch when we went for our walk. 

Moto, our dog had his first sleepover and this little guy didn't have any intention

of going home to his place on the beach.

It was a lovely walk, mild and beautiful. 

I don't know why I didn't bring 

my camera case because once the rain started I was worried about my camera

getting wet

but we used the big leaf as an umbrella for my camera

smart huh?!

!

 As we were making our way home, donning the leaf over my camera

in the rain, that we ran into Truman, our neighbor and he told us the reason 

the power was out.

A power pole had fallen over due to the heavy rain in the night

 

The power pole on the beach and the water  that runs down from the Colonia had

over time eroded away all the 'sand' around it.

What I thought was a flash of lightning was actually the

power line bursting into flames as the pole fell to the ground

We were so thankful  that it fell away from the sea because if it was later

and had fallen the other direction it could have fallen on the kids going to school!

We tried to call Reco, the electric company but none of the numbers

worked so we actually drove to report the outage.

I am happy to say that by late afternoon, the crew had dug down,

put in a cement fitting, re-attached the lines

and soon we had power again!

Way  to go Reco guys!!!

I was so grateful they fixed it so quickly as I thought

the way the rest of the week was going that maybe we'd be without power

for a few days...

but thankfully that wasn't true!!

Oh about the little spaniel doggy:

I took him back to the owner on the beach

He didn't want to stay there so they had to lock him inside.

We will see how long it lasts!

carlos' birthday and other news

Hi again ... after a long sabbatical of writing!   Writing is a habitual thing for me but the problem is this: once I get out of the habit of writing it is hard to get back to it.  We have been so busy these days: almost too busy for the caribbean life!!   I was 'under the weather' for a while there.   I thought it was a parasite but it turned out just to be some nasty bacteria that was making me sick.   I am thankful for Dr. Raymond who ran the necessary tests and gave me the medication to eradicate the problem.  I am feeling so much better these days!

 Today is Carlo's birthday so I thought I should write and honour him as 'the best gardener' in the world!!!  We really thank God for him.  He has integrity, a kind heart, a love for God and a helpful spirit.  So this morning when he came to work I made him the breakfast of his choice:  anything he wanted!  He opted for a baleada:  a soft tortilla, scrambled eggs, hot sauce, refried beans, honduran white cheese (like parmesan) and avocadoes.   I also made him a cake but we will take that up to his house at 4:00 pm to share with his family.

carlos now 19 years old and still 'trusting' God daily

We are happy to say that he is doing very well in school.  I don't know how he manages to work all day (til 4:00 pm) and then rush up to the colonia, eat and then be back down for evening school at 6:00 pm.   They recently had to move to another place, higher up in the colonia that doesn't have any electricity so just the other day I gave him one of our oil lanterns so he can read and do homework in the evenings.

David is adjusting well to life in roatan.  He is volunteering on Tues. and Thursday in a mentoring/tutoring program at the church in French Harbour.   He also subbed one day at a school in French Harbour.  He said they were the best grade 5's ever!!  It was a good experience for him. 

 

He is currently helping our friend Edwin, edit some footage for a tv program here on the island called "Pure Gospel".  He also had the chance to play at the Rchurch with the worship band.

The other day Jeanette and I had planned to go get our hair cut by Brenda, a lady who has a salon across from the Reco Electric Company just past Los Fuertes.   But unfortunately when we went there it was closed.  I don't know about you but when I want a haircut it is because it is LONG overdue.   So we went in search of another place.  Jeanette needed to pick up some stain at Ace Hardware and I decided to ask the girls who work there where they get their haircut.  They gave us vague instructions to Lucy Salon de Belleza in French Harbour... "it is a little yellow place on the seaside"   We found it.  Lucy, unfortunately doesn't speak much English so we resorted to looking in books for a haircut.   I found a cute short cut and decided to take the plunge and get something different.  It is soooo much cooler!!!

 

Bob and I took some 'time off' a couple of weeks ago and went for a trip through the mangroves with Mel and Dusty (some volunteers from Canada who helped build a house here) .  Here we are relaxing and enjoying each other's company.   I am so thankful for Bob!    We continue to thank God for the opportunity to serve the people here in this beautiful place!