An umbrella story

what the rainy season looks like in coxen hole!!!

Now what do you use your umbrella for?   Sounds like a simple question doesn't it?   The rain!!   Well here in Roatan we use our umbrellas for both the rain and the sun.  It is so hot here for about 8 months of the year so an umbrella gets used as protection from the sunshine and when the rains starts (in October) we carry it for protection from the rain.

this is mr charlie who does the mangrove tour in Jonesville

this is a lady at the garifuna festival in Punta Gorda

I would say that an umbrella would be seen on the arm or over the head of many many women on this island.  So many different colours, and patterns.  

I remember the first time I went to the market with some other missionaries as they wanted to buy a double umbrella (that means it has two layers of fabric and is very sturdy)   They paid about 12.00 (or 240L) for theirs.   They thought it was a good deal.   I lost my umbrella a few months ago so I went to the market and went looking for an umbrella.   For those of you who know me, I love love love GREEN!  So I found this beautiful green and orange umbrella.. very tropical. 

i wish my umbrella was open but you can see how pretty it is

 Very beautiful!   When I asked the guy how much??  He said,  For you?  100L.  I burst out laughing because that is truly the 'local price'  I knew I had become 'honduran' when I got that price!!

So lets get to the umbrella story shall we?   Okay well last week I went into Coxen Hole with Christena and her wee son David.   She is graduating this week and we went looking for a grad dress together.  It was a blessing to have a couple in Australia help with her grad costs (photos, cap, fees, and gown)  PLUS there was enough left over to buy a second hand dress.   So we were out, and of course, I had my trusty umbrella.    

 It was a lovely hot day and so we used my umbrella to keep David cool as we walked along the dusty dry streets of Coxen Hole.  I left it in one shop and had to to go running back before  someone took it.   Ya that happens here!   Sigh.  Since we weren't able to find a dress that fit her we decided, with the help of Brittany to go back to town another day and buy fabric so Unes could make it for Christena.   It was then that I realized that I had left my umbrella somewhere.  I proceeded to 'backtrack' and look for my umbrella...again!!  Now Brittany said, "Oh Miss Debi, you ain't gonna find dat umbrella.  She be long gone!!!"   

And I said,"Brittany, I believe that the Lord could bring that umbrella back to me if He wanted!!"  She didn't look as convinced as me.   So did I find umbrella that day??  NO!

Can you imagine my delight when Christena pointed out MY UMBRELLA hanging in the little shack where we had our car parked??!  HAHA!   So I approached the lady asking for that umbrella, telling her I lost mine the day before.  Of course, she said it belonged to her cousin.   ARGH!

Now you might think to yourself... why don't you just go and spend another 5 dollars and buy another one!??!

Two reasons:  1. We don't have selection like you do in N.A.  I couldn't just go buy another one like mine.  There wasn't anymore.  And I loved my umbrella!

2. I believed that He would bring it back to me!

God's kind of umbrella....

It's funny once you 'say' something than it becomes a reality.

Okay so fast forward to a rainy Tuesday morning at the shop.  It is pouring down rain.   Do I have an umbrella?  No.   But there is a local man who is always selling umbrellas.  He walks up and down the street hollering "Sombrillas!"   Suddenly I spy a beautiful green and orange umbrella amongst his simple black umbrellas.   I holler back at him and in my limited spanish  I tell him that is MY umbrella (it isn't new.. it is all worn out on my handle)  He says No it's new.  I give him the look and he gives me the look.  I realize at that point that I am going to have to buy back my umbrella!!  Only in Honduras!   So I ask him how much?  He says 100L and I burst out laughing!!  NO!  It's not new.  It's mine.  I tell him to wait and I go to my purse and grab 70L (about 3.50) and hand it to him.  He smiles. I smile.  

I am so glad I got my umbrella back. God brought my umbrella back to me!!  Isn't He good?!! It isn't a big deal but it was my favorite and it was worth it for me to buy it back!   

 That is exactly what God did for us.  He loved us so much that He bought us back.  Many people have forgotten that we belong to Him but He looks down and says "She is mine.  He is mine"   Jesus paid the price for our sins by taking the penalty and although we deserve to die in our sin He said "No they are mine! I paid a great price." He died on the cross so we can live!  Not spent in dollars or limperas but with His precious blood.

The moral of this story. If you love something enough you will pay to have it back.  And if you believe God to do something:  HE WILL! 
After all, He brought my little umbrella back to me, didn't He?  :-)

umbrellas are better when shared with a friend!
right carol?  

Blessings!

I was.. I am ~~ French Harbour Feeding Program

If you could wish for anything what would it be??  I would wish for enough food for everyone.

That no one would go to bed hungry. That there would be the pungent aroma of meat cooking and spices filling the air.   MMMM!   Well in my corner of the world that is beginning to happen and I am excited to tell you about a new ministry we discovered call "I was.. I am" 

One of the hardest things about living here in Roatan is daily encountering people who have nothing.

Nothing to eat.  No jobs.  No shoes on their feet.  It's a hard reality.

Miss Rotha has lived on this island all her life.  She told me that for years kids have been  asking her for food.  One of the dangers of living here, is after being bombarded daily for food and 50L, peoples hearts just get COLD!  Well I am happy to say that Miss Rotha has allowed the Lord to MOVE her towards HELPING!  But what can be done?  How is it possible to the feed the poor?  People can barely get by each day themselves, let alone helping someone us.

I would like you to read Miss Claire's story:

One HOT July day in 2010 when I stopped for gas with my daughter, a young boy approached the car. As he smiled and spoke I recognized him as a face I knew briefly. He was Pablo. He politely asked “Ma'am, could you give me some slippers?” My daughter, Maria, immediate
ly answered “no, but if you will meet us at Miss Nessie’s field at 3:00, we will have fun and also gifts for you.” He agreed though he said he would be in class, but he would come.

At 5 p.m. just at the close of camp, Pablo came running down the road! Maria’s heart leapt for joy and the team continued camp—Just for Pablo. He wanted to know right away if he had “Missed the gifts” and Maria assured him “no way.” She led him over to the side, gave him a Cross Training Sports Camp tee, some treats and a Bible. From that moment God began to prick my heart more. Each time we saw Pablo, he was “hungry.”

Elton, my husband of 39 years and I came to Roatan in October 2011. He got a glimpse of “the boys” up close and personal. It was time to ACT---Time to join the vision of Miss Rotha and feed the children on a regular basis. A call to her brought her over to meet us and discuss with us her heart to feed the hungry children of French Harbour and help with other personal and educational needs. Elton asked “What do you need to get the program up and running?” We discussed a place, refurbished kitchen and volunteers and the cost per child. With a gift of “seed money” given through CTSC our commitment was made.

In the months that followed the image of the children of French Harbour stayed in my heart. Each CTSC volunteer became engaged and touched by the lives of these children. Then, as God would have it He called a team out of North Carolina to join CTSC on a mission. Through that mission, Live Again Ministries (LAM) out of Locust Grove, North Carolina joined in the vision. As we began our support, we needed a theme, a name, a focus. It was then that God gave us the “I Was…I Am…” scripture as a guide for this new ministry.

“... I was hungry and you gave me something to eat...” Matt 25:35ff
“I am a new creature in Christ”  2 Cor. 5:17

Yes, there is something special about Pablo to CTSC. God used Pablo to turn our hearts in the direction of French Harbour and the children “HE hath made in His image.”

 So let's fast forward and go and see what this feeding program is all about okay? 

As Bob and I drove up we saw the above kids running up the driveway.  I asked them where they were going (although I knew of course) and they said, "we's goin' ta git someting to eat"

 The little boy in the middle of the above photo is Subu, and he and his sister basically live on the street.  Their Mom, oh Lord set her free, is addicted to drugs and they are left to fend for themselves.

Come into the Light little ones!

The way it works at the feeding program is that the kids in school are fed first.  They get a number as they come in.  First come, first served. Sherman, the man in the photo below told me that it isn't uncommon for kids to faint in school due to malnutrition. They need nourishment to be able to think.    They are making a difference!!   They feed the school kids, then they feed the  mothers with small children and then the other street kids.

But before they eat, the kids recite memory verses.  Now what I love about that is that the kids pick their own verses to memorize.  It isn't just 'rote learning' and some of them are reciting LONG passages of scripture and even three or four verses.   Then they sing songs together and it is such a beautiful sound to hear.  I wish I could have recorded their happy voices!   Why is this part BEFORE the actual food?  It is because although they are hungry for food, they need spiritual food.  Food that lasts forever!  

this girl is happy to get rice, beans and a small piece of beef

Presently they are feeding approximately 60 kids in the morning and between 80 - 100 kids in the afternoon for lunch!   Although many of the children are from the town of French Harbour there are also kids from a very poor area of the island called Higuero (I am not sure if I am spelling it correctly)  My friend Nidia went to that community last year with the Because We Care  food drive and it is a very impoverished area of the island.  Many of the kids have to hitch hike to get to school since they don`t have money for the bus or taxi.   I believe this feeding program is keeping these kids in school.   Food is such an awesome motivator!

Can you see the holes in his shoes?  These kids are so poor!

I am so happy that we are able to get involved as well.   We are currently taking donations at the Made in Roatan shop for this feeding program.  Look for the 'donations gourd' on the counter.  As well, one of our local artists, Jenny Roberts, is donating 20% from each painting that sells in the shop!  I, as well, donate things that I make to the Feeding Program and I am happy to see that week after week after week I am able to hand them money to help feed the kids!!  

I am so grateful for Rotha and her vision to help her island and for people like Claire and Ronny who have come on board too.  But more then anything I am grateful to the Lord who knows the very hairs on all of our heads and wants to take care of us all.   It is starting in French Harbour, hopefully spreading across this tiny island, across the ocean to your neighbourhood as well. 

 Imagine what the world would be like if we all decided to live by the Golden Rule:  

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.    And the second is like it:  love your neighbour as yourself"  Matt. 22:36ff

Many blessings!

Light and love

What are the basics in life?

  food and water, sleep and rest, covering and protection

Timothy said it this way:  If we have food and covering, we these we shall be content.

I don't know about you but I sure can complicate it!   But truly on this island people are barely keeping it together in the 'food and covering department'.  It gets so desperate for them.  Many of them start each day at 0.  Can you imagine?!

This past summer the Mom of one of our artists told this story and I want to share it with you.  She is a single mom with 8 kids ranging from age 22 to a 2 year old.   She has been so diligent in looking for work but there just wasn't any jobs on the island this summer.   The ship in Coxen Hole stopped coming and went to the Mediterranean (weather there is more moderate then over 100 degrees with over 100% humidity!)  So times were really tough for her.   

So this is her story:   I had nothing.   No food for my kids, no milk for my babies.  They had been drinkin' sugar water for a couple of days.  So I thought I'd call my friend in Grand Cayman who was working.  I begged.   I did.    But he said he had nothing to give me.   But he told me to pray!   He told me to get on my knees and pray.   I said, O but you got to help me!! 

  And he said, No only the Lord can help you!  But you got to get on your knees and pray.  And by tomorrow you will have everything you need for you family.  Trust in the Lord!!!

So this is my story:  On the same day (without knowing about Miss E) my friend asked if she could bring over some of her missionary friends to buy from "Made in Roatan".  Of course we said, YES!  Guess who they bought from?  Come on play along!   That's right.   Without me knowing or saying anything the Lord led the ladies to buy almost exclusively from Miss Elizabeth's girls stuff.   So the next day, when the girls came over to our house to make jewelry we had money for them .  Yes we did!  Hallelujah!   And by the end of that day, that family had everything that they needed in the basics.

 A woman on her knees crying to God = food and covering.  

But here is the problem:   not all stories end up like Miss Elizabeth.  Many people this summer really struggled and it 'seemed' He didn't answer their prayers.  They waited.  They waited.   They cried and they prayed.  It was heart breaking!     It became overwhelming for me.  I felt the burden so great that at times I felt smothered and crushed under the weight of it.  Please understand these people are 'our people'.  We are in their lives, we know their stories, we see their babies.  I cry at night thinking about them being hungry or cold.

People hustle here to get what they need and I found myself slipping into "hustle mode'   Trying to rustle up some money and basics for the people here.  And guess what?   (no you don't have to guess...)   the coffer ran dry.   The Lord stopped the flow of provision through Made in Roatan to a small trickle.   And Debi, oh.. she was digging deep and trying and trying, and getting more and more frustrated and angry!!   At one point I thought of leaving the island because the burden of the impoverished was sooo heavy on my soul that I couldn't sleep, I couldn't think straight, and as more and more people crossed my path with needs, and more needs and more needs I felt like I was drowning.   I had nothing to give them (or so I thought...)   I lost sight of the true basics.   He was trying to teach me a hard lesson and I wasn't learning it.  Ever feel that way??   Oh yeah....

But, and thank God for the buts in life...I will be forever grateful to the Women of Purpose who came to Honduras and provided missionary women with a wonderful, refreshing, renewing retreat!!   I could write a whole blog about them and I may do that later but let me suffice to say that for those of us who were depleted, desperate, empty and dry the WOP ladies came with open hearts to bless us, support us and pray for us.

  One of our sessions was called "Heart in Ministy Assessment tool" The question that has so deeply impacted me and re-directed me was this: What was my original calling from God?

He simply said to bring  light and love to Roatan.

I write that with tears slowly sliding down my cheeks because it is so beautiful.   So biblical.  So like HIM to stick to the basics.

Light ~~  His Word

Love ~~  Himself

When we first went to Roatan that is exactly what we did day after day after day.   We'd get up in the morning, pray, and ask for His guidance and then we'd go out.   We'd sit on porches and listen and pray.   We would share His Word.  And light shone in a dark place.   And love burst into aching hearts.   

And then over the years, I began to complicate it.   I will be and am forever grateful for the Lord establishing our ministry with Made in Roatan.  It helps so many people on this island and the support from all of you is astounding.   BUT I realized this summer that I had left my original vision and replaced with "provide for the poor"   I am telling you that is a great need here but it can never ever be my primary vision from Him.  The burden of that responsibility is too great!  I can't handle it but He can!!

My true job is to bring Christ to these people.   Anything that happens practically (food and covering)  is a bonus.  He is the best gift, the true provision, the source of true hope.  He is what we all need!  I feel renewed to stay with the original vision and keep it simple.

light and love

Yesterday in church we sang "We are marching in the light of God"   I wish I had brought my camera to video it for you but I didn't. But I have linked to a video of some adorable children in Africa singing this song.

Marching in the Light of God

We are marching in the light of God

We are living in the love of God

We are moving in the power of God

So let's stick to the basics, shall we:  Light bearers and Love givers.