OCUPADO = BUSY

The word ocupado in Spanish means busy in English. Boy, do we know that meaning of that word. It seems that 2007 has already flown by with this being the last day of February! Where does time go? We had 33 men from TN and TX here last week working around the clock to build our first home at Mission Lazarus Refuge. They completed 75% of the house and it looks great. Thank you men for your GREAT work!

We escorted them to the airport on Friday and came home to find out that we did not have water. Have you ever gone without water for a day? Don't misunderstand me, I mean no water anywhere. It is hard to clean yourself, make food, wash dishes, maintain life without water. We have a man coming to our house at 4 pm today to fix the problem. This will be his 3rd visit. We will see what he comes up with this time. The motor to our pump burned out.

Life in Honduras makes you wonder how people do it around the world. People without anything get by with nothing. Have you ever thought about that? I don't know how they manage. It has been a pain living without water for 5 days, think about for your whole life. Did I mention that you cannot even flush the toilet? I admire those who have nothing. They are truly stronger than I am. I will not be taking water for granted as soon as we have it. Enjoy yours for me for right now. Adios.

Chad

February ML Newsletter

"Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me." Psalm 27:10

Many people have been praying fervently for Mission Lazarus' Children's Home and those prayers are beginning to be answered. It is with much pleasure that Mission Lazarus announces the following...

You may not recognize the name Mission Lazarus Refuge at Las Palmas, but you are familiar with the name Las Palmas Refuge. The name for Mission Lazarus' newest project has been officially established, the Mission Lazarus Refuge at Las Palmas. The clarification in the name gives ownership and identity to the home as a Christian community outreach while maintaining the historical name of the community where the Refuge is located.

The Mission Lazarus Hacienda is a 1,200 acre working ranch and is home to the Mission Lazarus Refuge. The Hacienda is fully functional with crops, cows, horses, pigs, turkeys, chickens. Our goal is for the Hacienda to play a major roll in providing for the children's home. We are excited about the development of Mission Lazarus Refuge at Las Palmas and what God is going to do for the children living there!

It is a thrill to announce that after 3 months of working directly with IHNFA, the Honduran Government’s Child and Family Protective Services, on Thursday, January 11th, we received official notice that Mission Lazarus Refuge at Las Palmas has been approved by the government to operate as a children’s home.

The Director of IHNFA was very impressed with our facilities and our future plans. This approval has taken similar projects many months to obtain but God has blessed Mission Lazarus. We are grateful to all of you who have been praying for this project.

On Wednesday, January 17th, Doris Corrales accepted our offer to be our Honduran Director of Mission Lazarus Refuge at Las Palmas. Doris lives in San Marcos de Colon with her husband Raul and 8 year old son Raul Jr. Doris' education is in Primary Education and she is very excited about joining our Mission Lazarus team.

Doris has a lengthy job description since we are in the beginning phases of building Mission Lazarus Refuge. Please continue to pray for her and her family as they make this transition in their lives and as we work together to make a difference in the lives of children in southern Honduras.

We currently have 2 homes under construction at Mission Lazarus Refuge. The existing house is undergoing extensive remodeling to accommodate 10 children and their care givers with an addition of new bathrooms and kitchen facilities.

On February 16th 33 men from Berry’s Chapel church of Christ in Franklin, Tennessee; Maple Hill church of Christ in Lebanon, Tennessee and First Colony church of Christ in Sugar Land, Texas will be arriving to begin putting the walls and roof on our first new home. This will be the first of ten homes built in a community style setting. Our Honduran masons have been working hard for a month to have the foundation ready for the men in February. These houses will become homes to many of neglected, mistreated, abandoned and orphaned children for years to come.

As soon as we finish the construction of both homes, we will begin to receive children at Mission Lazarus Refuge. We will move the Beltrand family (6 children who Mission Lazarus has been taking care of since their mother died and their father abandoned them late summer last year) into one of the homes and bring 10 more children to the Refuge for the other home. At that point, we will be responsible for the upbringing of the children at Mission Lazarus Refuge. We need your help to accomplish that task!

You can sponsor a child at Mission Lazarus Refuge for $250 a month. Sponsorship is a great blessing for the children of Mission Lazarus Refuge and for you. It is an awesome responsibility not to be entered into lightly, without prayer and thought. Children may be sponsored by individuals, families, groups, classes or congregations. You may also partially support a child for as little as $50 a month. We will group you with others to provide full support for a child. We have been informed by the local director of IHNFA that there are currently 37 children in the nearby city of Choluteca who are waiting to be placed in a home. Will you help us help them? We need child sponsors imediately to ensure that all is taken care of when it's time for the children of Mission Lazarus Refuge to move in.

With your help, Mission Lazarus is empowering local men and women to show God's love, to plant seeds of hope, and to grow their own churches. Your financial support is appreciated and always needed, but it is your prayers that are blessing the work in southern Honduras. On behalf of the Mission Lazarus staff and American missionaries, Muchisimas Gracias!

Chad

The Arm!

My arm is doing better. As you can see from the picture, all the skin has pealed off my forearm and it is as smooth as a baby's bottom! I keep a lot of cream on it to keep off the infection and wrap it when I am at the ranch or in a lot of dust which is hard to stay away from here. I only have a little pain with it from time to time but it is much better than a week ago. Luis' arm and Danilo's leg are improving also. Thank you for your prayers!

Our friend, Gerardo Flores, who we also mentioned in our prayer request, has gone home and is improving significantly. He received 4 bags of blood while in the hospital. We plan to visit him tomorrow in Tegucigalpa.

Oh yes, Tristan is doing well also. He could not stand to be left out of an opportunity for his picture to go out on the internet.

Thank you for your prayers! They mean so much to us. By the way, did Tennessee get snow last night? It definitely did not snow here. Send some our way.

Chad