A Day at the Beach

Every month, we take the children at the Mission Lazarus Refuge on a field trip. Last Saturday, we went to the beach in Cedeño which is 45 minutes outside Choluteca on the Pacific Coast side of Honduras. For 10 of the children, it was their first time to the beach/ocean. As they walked nearer the ocean for the first time, their eyes were as big as quarters and they said, “!Que grandisimo!” (How HUGE!) They were amazed at the size of the ocean and how it seemed to go forever. We enjoyed a few hours swimming, playing in the sand and sharing a picnic lunch.

It was a GREAT day for everyone!

Chad

Well, I am sitting in my parents' office at their house checking my e-mail while I am waiting for some chicken to boil. I am making dinner for my sister and her husband because I have a new nephew!!! He was born Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 8:35 p.m. I am excited that I am here with my sister and her husband during this special time. Wayne, my brother-in-law, specifically aksed for poppyseed chicken for their first night back home after the baby was born.

I am also getting to know my new neice, Reagan, who was born July 26th. My nephew Nathan is growing up so quickly. I am having so much fun with my family and playing with the kids.

Chad is heading to Roatan tomorrow. I am glad he is getting to go and enjoy some time off. He really deserves it. He has worked so hard this summer with all the groups and I just really hope he enjoys himself and gets some "Chad time".

It was great to be at Berry's Chapel Sunday night for the Honduras trip presentation. Mike Hayes and Mac Hughes did a wonderful job leading the service and sharing about the things they had done on their July trip. Mac, if you are reading this, you did an outstanding job! Thank you for sharing your heart with us and most of all with the children of Honduras! You are so special.

Have a wonderful Labor Day!
Shelly

Don't Worry

We have not blogged lately because we are EXTREMELY busy. With groups in right now, our mornings begin early and our evenings end late. I thought I worked a lot in youth ministry but this puts that to shame.

As I tell my Mom, we are alive and doing well. We are running all over the country of Honduras on a weekly basis but just wanted to let you know that we are still here and that we do not have much time to blog but will catch up once our busy season is over...the end of August.

Have a great 4TH OF JULY!

Chad

I have been planning...

I have been planning this blog for a few weeks now and it just seems to get longer and longer as the days go by. Interesting, huh! New things happen each day and I just add those to the blog list.

Well, going back to the week my parents were here. We had a wonderful time with them and I am so glad that they got to come visit Honduras and see what Chad and I have been talking about for so many years now. We drove up to the coffee plantation, visited all four of the Mission Lazarus early childhood development centers, toured the ranch, and introduced them to many people and friends that Chad and I know.

One day we drove out to the beach to visit a church building where Mission Lazarus has a cafeteria where we feed lunch to about 100 children daily. On the way there, I said to mom and dad, "We should try to get some shrimp while we are here and have that for dinner." Great idea, right? Well, I called a friend that I have out there and asked if he could help us get some shrimp and of course he was willing. I hung up and mom said, "Are these shrimp going to have heads?" I called Roberto back and asked him to have the heads removed before he got them. "O.k.", he said and so I thought nothing else about it. When we met up with him, he gave me the cooler and I took it and off we went toward San Marcos. Mom and I got ready to prepare them, opened the cooler and there were whole fish, eyes and all, crabs, and wouldn't you know, shrimp with the heads still on them. We gave the fish and crabs away to a friend of mine that has a restaurant here in San Marcos. While we were there delivering the fish to her I asked her how to best prepare the shrimp. She told me all we needed to do was break the heads off with our hands and then the shell and legs come off easily. Mom and I got back to the house, began the process like Carmen had explained and we gagged for the next hour trying to get the shrimp cleaned and ready to cook. We finally decided we needed to cut the heads off and boy was that so much better. After we got them peeled, I bet I washed those things 8 times before I felt like I had all the gunk off of them. We skewered the shrimp, rubbed them with garlic and butter and threw them on the grill. They were the best shrimp I think I have ever eaten. And oh so FRESH!!!

Mom and Dad, thank you for your visit. It was great getting to show you what all we do and experiencing Honduras with you. I am so blessed to have parents that love me the way you do and that are interested in what I am doing. Thank you also for spending my birthday with me. It was the best birthday gift I could ever receive. I love you both very much.

Last week the rain began here in Honduras. We were so ready to see it because it has been so dry and dusty for six months. It was a matter of 2 or 3 days that the landscape, the mountains and plants just returned to life. It is so green and picturesque here now. Last Thursday I was driving to the office and I had to stop on the side of the road and take this picture. After I took it I thought oh, I'll add that to the blog that I am planning to write too. It was so beautiful that I couldn't pass it up. All I could think when I looked at it was how truly AWESOME God is and how He provides us with His "artwork" every day for our pleasure.

Our summer interns arrived Monday. Chad, Meredith and I drove to Tegucigalpa early Monday morning to meet them at the airport. There are 8 right now, one more will arrive next week. We have been showing them around all of the Mission Lazarus projects and getting to know them over the past few days. They are a great group and I look forward to working with them this summer.

Today, Meredith, Jarrod and I drove to Nicaragua to a place where about 5 women make pottery. This place is absolutely in the middle of nowhere. Actually when we were driving in, Jarrod said, "I bet you guys are wondering how in the world I ever found this place." Yes, I was wondering because it truly is a hidden town down a dirt road. It was fun just getting spend time with them talking, catching up and crossing the border.

I hope all is well where ever this finds you. Our next group arrives Saturday, so keep us in your prayers as we travel to pick them up and as we continue through the summer. BLESSINGS!!

Shelly

Exciting day at the airport

Shelly and I were in the Tegucigalpa airport on Monday to pick up her mom and dad. We can walk through the airport with our eyes closed because we have been in there so much so to see something new and interesting stirred our curiosity.

First, the deportation plane from the States arrived before the normal flights to stop on the runway away from the airport to make the people on board walk off and down the runway to some area away from everyone. I wonder what happens to them once they do arrive on their native soil?

Second, as we were waiting for Hugh and Lynn to get through customs, I noticed a lot of very large guys coming through. I initially thought that they were US military coming in to serve for some time in Honduras. That is pretty common in the airport. I didn't think much about it until we were waiting for luggage to come along on the belt when I looked up and saw the head football coach at the University of Georgia. He had on his Georgia red logo shirt and I made the connection. The very large guys were football players and they must be on a team mission trip. At least I hope that is the case. If it is true, I respect him for doing that. We were out of there pretty fast with Lynn and Hugh's luggage so I did not get a chance to ask the coach any questions.

It was a pretty interesting day in the airport in Tegucigalpa on Monday. It is amazing what you will look for in the most common of places. We are having fun with Shelly's mom and dad. They are seeing the town and taking it all in for the very first time. We grilled hamburgers tonight and ate on the patio outside. The burgers were excellent!

Only 3 days until Shelly's birthday...the big 29. If you want to send her a card, you can email it to shelly@missionlazarus.org. She would love to hear from you.

Chad

Let the Groups Begin

Yesterday officially started our busy season. A group from Lipscomb University is the first group here as of yesterday and we have groups everyday until August 16th. My job is to keep up with them the whole time.

I picked them up at the airport yesterday and we loaded all the cars and I told them to wait for me to pull out of another parking lot to meet them and they follow me to San Marcos. We pulled out of the parking lot to find out that they were no where in sight. Where did they go? Did they decide to follow another white truck to who knows where? My heart sank. Luckily, they were forced out of the parking lot and turned the wrong way but had enough sense to come back to the airport after a few miles. Rule 1 - When lost, always return to your original place of departure. I only had to wait about 5 minutes before they returned. Did I say that they had no way to communicate also? It could have been a very bad situation.

After we reunited, we headed down the road about 10 minutes and one of the SUVs they rented stopped running right in the middle of the street. We pushed it over to the side and called the rental company to rescue us. I thought that we were doomed. How can you start your first group of the summer out like this within 15 minutes of their arrival? We waited about 45 minutes for a replacement vehicle and headed down the road again.

No more mishaps. We made it to the ranch within reasonable time and had supper, orientation, devo and then went to bed. They are working hard today. My goal this summer is to keep you informed of what is happening with all our groups...and their mishaps that only happen in Honduras...on our blog. Enjoy the stories. I just hope not all groups start out like this one.

Adios.
Chad

My aunt and uncle's visit

Here are some pictures of our adventures with my Aunt Sue and Uncle Terry over the weekend. They were in Nicaragua last week working with their church from Greenwood Park in Bowling Green, KY. They decided to fly up to see us for the weekend. We cannot tell you how much fun we had with them. Thank you for visiting!!

Chad

Pictures of what's happening

Top picture: Shows a beautiful sunset on the island of Roatan in the Carribbean off the coast of Honduras during Holy Week (Easter).

Middle picture: Several students from the University of TN came to Honduras for their Spring Break under the leadership of Molly Hayes to work on the homes and do an art project with the kids on the ranch one day after school.

Bottom picture: The Meek family visited us last week for their Spring Break. They did an excellent job painting the Mission Lazarus school in San Marcos. They stayed in our home for the week and we thoroughly enjoyed having them. We had a great week.

Chad

A Tough Week

We have had a tough week here in Honduras. Gloria (the sick mother with 7 children who Mission Lazarus is helping) passed away Tuesday morning. She had been fighting congestive heart failure for a few years. She was bit by a bug called a chinche here in Honduras when she was young and the symptoms didn't show up until about 15-20 years after.

Gloria was in a lot of pain through her life with her sickness but always had a smile on her face. I will miss seeing her encouraging smile. She has 7 of the most beautiful children I have seen in Honduras who Mission Lazarus will continue to support.

Please pray for the children as they grieve their mother's death.

Chad

Two New Homes

We have failed as bloggers. We have not kept you up to date on what is going on with us and for that we apologize but hopefully you will see what we have been up to since our last blog with this entry.

I can not tell you how overwhelmed I have been over the last two weeks. We have had 2 churches (Berry's Chapel and Maple Hill) here building house #2 and #3 on the ranch. Mission Lazarus Refuge now has 3 homes sitting on the ranch which is hard to actually concieve. Can you beleive it, 3 homes? 84 men from the United States paid to come to Honduras to build something that they may never see what it produces in the future. I take my hat off to the men who came and built. You guys are amazing. I admire you for your skills (and lack thereof) and for your willingness to make a difference one child at a time in Honduras.

To see both homes go up piece by piece was awesome! To see the skill and understanding by a core group of men to make sure the house will stand for years to come was awesome! I am overwhelmed with the fact that 2 more homes sit on the ranch and within a few months, children will fill them and their lives will forever be changed.

I want to thank Mac Hughes, Mike Hayes, Mike Johnson and Justin Latimer for their willingness to put these groups together. Thank you for your hard work before, during and after the trip. I appreciate you so much. Thank you to the other 84 men who came and conquered. Do you know how special you are to our Lord? I was able to see a glimpse of it while you were here. God bless all of you!

Chad

True Orphans

I cannot imagine what it must be like to be a child of 10 years old and have no Mom and Dad. We are working on getting the paperwork for 2 little boys, Oscar-10 years old and Victor-7 years old, to move to Mission Lazarus Refuge very soon. Oscar and Victor are not brothers by blood but have lived together their whole lives. They are actually cousins but Victor was given to Oscar's mom when he was a baby. Oscar's mom and dad (and Victor's) have died. They were living with an aunt who has died also. They are without family.

We went with Oscar yesterday to his old home in hope of finding someone who knew where his papers might be. After an hour driving on a long dirt road with many bumps along the way, we entered his parent's old house to find no papers and not much information. As it was getting dark, we arrived back in Choluteca to drop him off at his foster parent's home.

Oscar is a very smart young man. He has only finished the 1st grade and is 10 years old but he is wise beyond his years. He said two lines yesterday that I will never forget:

"No tengo nadie" meaning "I have no one."
and
"Dios es mi padre" meaning "God is my father."

How powerful! I am looking forward to getting to know Oscar and Victor more and I ask that you pray for their paperwork as it is never an easy job to find all that we need.

Chad

Feliz 2008

Happy New Year! I am going to go on the record right now and say that 2008 will be our best year. I really believe that this year will be our best for Mission Lazarus and the missionaries here. We are on the verge of some great things and 2008 is already getting off to a great start. I hope you are challenged by the new year with new beginnings and will make it your best year also. Let's shoot for the stars!

Shelly and I have just spent some time in the States with our families for Christmas. What a great refresher to be with family and friends! We needed the break and feel energized and ready to start again here in Honduras. Shelly is a bit under the weather right now but will jump back soon. Staying with Honduran tradition, we arrived in our apartment with an inch of dirt/dust on everything and the electricity going out soon after we settled in. We have only been here 24 hours and the electricity has gone out 3 times. The wind is very strong here right now which caused the trees around the lines to interfere with them and cause an outage. Welcome back to Honduras!

Shelly and I have the best families. I want to publically say that we have the best Moms and Dads that anyone can ask for. I am willing to put ours up against yours any day of the week. Thank you to our parents for making our time in the States so special. We love you very much!

Everything is good here. We are ready to hit the trail again on Monday morning bright and early. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, appreciate the electricity that you have (because I am typing in the dark right now) and start the new year off with a BANG.

Let Your Light Shine,
Chad

Wrapping it up

Do I have a wonderful wife or what? Her blog yesterday made me break down and cry. I am so blessed to have her and I take advantage of that. Life is so precious and we need to take time to share with those who are closest to us.

I am back in San Marcos now. I arrived back last night after spending the day with Sandra and the brothers. We went to Gerardo's office at Baxter first to find some things which was difficult. We then went to the hospital to pay his bill which ended up being about $1,100. The family is putting together a list of funeral costs so that we can help. I will share that with you when I receive it this weekend.

My guesstimate is that the total cost for Gerardo's expenses will be about $3,000. If you are interested in giving to that overall expense, you can make a check to Berry's Chapel church of Christ and mail it to 7052 Sunrise Circle, Franklin, TN 37067. Please designate on the check that it is for Gerardo Flores. I will personally make sure it is put towards his expenses.

Please keep Gerardo's family and especially Sandra in your prayers. This is so tough for them because Gerardo was such a special person for the family. He will be missed.

Chad

Greater love hath no man...

I just want to express my thoughts and feelings on the events of this past weekend. I am in TN right now and Chad is in Honduras. Chad called me on Thursday telling me that our brother and precious friend, Gerardo Flores, was in the hosptial again after many previous visits this year. I prayed for Gerardo that day asking God to comfort him and give him the relief from the horrible pain that comes with his illness each time. Friday, Chad called me in the middle of the afternoon, which was weird because he usually calls me later in the evening to tell me about the events of his day. I answered the phone and Chad said, "Shelly, Gerardo died!" I immediately lost it and asked questions about what happened and was trying to get a grip on what was going on. Chad remained very calm and walked me through the details. He told me he would let me know when he knew more.

He called me about an hour or so later with new information and still very calm and collected. I told him that I wanted to fly to Honduras to be there with him and with Sandra, Gerardo's wife and his family. We decided that would not be necessary and we left it at that. We talked a couple more times that afternoon and evening.

Saturday Chad went to Tegucigalpa and spent the day with Sandra and Gerardo's family making sure that they were taken care of. He was there comforting, offering his help, and just there as a a shoulder for them to cry on. I received calls throughout the day on Saturday and then again on Sunday catching me up on everything. All he could talk about was making sure that Sandra and Gerardo's family were taken care of.

I write all of this to say that my husband, Chad Hedgepath, is truly a servant of God. I cannot express how proud I am of him and the way he has poured out his heart to this family in their time of need. Chad was very close to Gerardo and has lost who he considers his best Honduran friend, but instead of asking for comfort from others, he was there to comfort others. Gerardo was a servant just like this and I think that is why he and Chad understood each other so well. It did not matter if he was sick or having difficulties in his own life. He was always "laying down his life" and looking out to help carry someone else's burdens. I know Gerardo is smiling at Chad and saying, "you are such a man of God, thank-you for taking care of my family."

Chad, I cannot thank God enough for blessing me with you as my husband. I am so blessed to have you in my life. You are such a strong hold for me and the greatest example of what a true servant really is. You give of your love to whoever needs it. Not just to those that you choose, but to all that God puts in front of you. Thank you for your example and for being that support for me and so many others. Know that even though I am not physically there for you right now that I will always stand beside you and support you in everything that comes our way. I love you so much.

Shelly

A Great Man

The world lost a great man today. Gerardo Flores passed away this afternoon after suffering from sickle cell anemia his whole life. He was only 35 years old. He has been in and out of the hospital all year and was there when he died. His family will have his body in their home tonight and will move it to their church building tomorrow morning. They will bury him on Sunday afternoon. Please keep his wife, Sandra, and his family in your prayers.

I will never forget Gerardo. He was my best friend in Honduras. I loved his smile. I loved the way he shaked his shoulders when he laughed. He was always so optimistic and happy. He would do anything to help you out. I have never met anyone like him in being so giving all the time. He would make the time to spend with you and made you feel like the top of the world. I love him. I will miss him. I cannot believe that I will not be able to see him face to face any more. I have so many memories of him that I will cherish forever.

Thank you Gerardo for being so special in my life. Thank you for being so encouraging and teaching me more than you will ever know. I want you to know that I will do whatever it takes to see that Sandra and your family are taken care of. I can't wait to see you in Heaven.

Chad

The Right People at the Right Time

Baxter Institute (a Christian university in Tegucigalpa) is having their graduation on Saturday. They had groups of Americans start arriving yesterday and I traveled to Teg to pick up two men who wanted to see the projects of Mission Lazarus firsthand. Little did I know that it would be one of those great life moments. I did not know they men and had to have the President of Baxter introduce them to me. We rode for 3 hours to San Marcos getting to know each other.

We woke up this morning and left the house at 6:30 am to go to the ranch for my weekly devotional with the workers. I showed the men around the ranch and talked about what God was doing through Mission Lazarus. We then traveled back into San Marcos to see some more things and pick up their luggage from my house so they could travel back to Teg this afternoon.

I wanted to take them by Gloria's house to see her and her 7 children. Gloria is dying of congestive heart failure and they are some of the poorest of the poor in San Marcos. They have no running water, not bathroom facilities, no electricity and many times no food and live in house which is not even considered a shed. They are filthy dirty but have smiles on their faces all the time. I love this family and strive everyday to provide their basic necessities. While we were in the house, I asked if they had any food. THEY HAD NOTHING! Not even a crumb. One of the men caught onto it. He handed me $20 as we walked out the door and said to do whatever we could with it to help them out.

We immediately went to the grocery to purchase a $20 provision which is enough food for 2 weeks for this family. After we delivered the food to the house and the men realized that they had just helped this family beyond what we could ever imagine, we got into my truck and drove off. I told them that I strongly believed that God put them in that place at that time to help that family. These men came to Honduras for a graduation but felt compelled to visit San Marcos de Colon and was introduced to a family that needed their help at that very moment. I thanked them for being there and for providing and for making a difference in that family's life even though it may only be temporary.

The man in the back seat starting saying something in response and then got choked up. In a cracked voice he said, "We are the ones who are truly blessed. That family made a difference in me." Isn't it amazing how God works? He puts us in situations to be a blessing but transforms us through the process.

God was present today in a big way in my life. I am so grateful to have been in Gloria's house today and allow God to work in the lives of those two men. What a blessing! Be careful to not pass up what God might be asking you to do today. Thanks Thomas and Raymond for visiting!

Chad

Heading Home...

We have been BUSY! In the past week, we have moved another family into a Mission Lazarus home, had our last day of school in our 3 schools, taken the children from the refuge on a field trip to Tegucigalpa, had the district final evaluation in our San Marcos school, visited Duyure where we plan to open a new school next year, celebrated Chad's 31st birthday and tomorrow is our Kindergarten graduation. We have just crammed it all in haven't we.

The children at the refuge especially enjoyed celebrating their "tio Chad's" birthday.

Monday we are flying home to see our families. We are so excited about the time we are going to get to spend there. Hopefully over the next few weeks we will get caught up on our blog. I just want to wish everyone a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Enjoy the time with your family and make sure to tell each and every one of them how much you love and appreciate them.

Shelly

I want to post pictures, but...

Our internet is not working great today so I cannot put the pictures I want to share with you on the blog. I will keep working on it this week.

We are doing fine. It has not rained in 2 days which is BLESSING. We need lots of sun right now to dry things up a little. Everything is soup. Mission Lazarus is helping with food bags to those effected by the floods 2 weeks ago. Bags are going out on a daily basis for families. That is encouraging.

We are just working hard at this moment. Hope you are also.

Chad

Flooding Pictures

It has now been raining for 96 hours straight. Some of it is just a sprinkle, but for the most part it is pretty much a steady rainfall.

The above 2 pictures are of a bridge that you have to cross over to get to Jarrod and Ally's house. There were people on the other side telling me to bring them food because they could not get across to go to the market. Of course, I wanted to help, but obviously couldn't.

Shelly

Rain, Rain, Go Away, Come Again Another Day!

It has been raining for the past 72 hours. It is unbelievable how much water the clouds hold. We have been told there is a tropical storm around and it is supposed to continue raining for the next 3 days. Chad goes to the ranch every day with his rubber boots on. There is so much mud and water, I think it will be a while before this place dries out.

Yesterday, Meredith Jones and I trekked up the mountain in San Marcos to visit a little girl from school that has been having seizures. There was no other way to inform the mother of the doctor's appointment that she has without visiting her at home. We could not get the car all the way there, so we parked and walked. Let me begin by saying that we had been in the office all day in Choluteca and I definitely was not planning on going mountain climbing in my Merrell slip-ons. It had already been raining for 2 days, but there was a break in the rain so we decided to go for it. We walked, or should I say slid, up one road and had to look for the trail that leads up to this family's house. We found it and I am not kidding, it is straight up. It was beginning to drizzle somewhat but we thought, hey we've gone this far why not continue on. The lady that lives on the corner told us it was not the best idea because the rocks we would have to walk on were slick. Ignoring her advice, we decided we could make it. Very slowly, one step at a time, we made it and there were two little boys at the top applauding us as we arrived. We found the house and went in to talk to the mother. As we stood in the canopy area talking to her it began to pour. We visited for while and then said our good-byes. We were already muddy and wet, so we decided just to deal with it, head back down and not worry about the rain. About half way down, one of the little girls brought us an umbrella, but by that time we were already soaked and were more concerned with each step that we took as to whether we were going to end up covered in mud. Neither of us wanted to slide down on our rear end so were were taking it very carefully. I remember Meredith making the comment that going us she never thought about having to come back down. We finally reached the car again and all we could do was laugh. It was an experience that I will NEVER forget. Meredith called me this morning and we were still laughing and reminiscing about the rainy adventure that we went on.

Tristan cannot stand the rain nor getting wet. Here is a picture of him that Chad's mom took last week during "bath time." You can tell he was just so excited!

We are trying to stay dry for the most part. I do ask that you pray for the many families here that do not have cover for their heads and for those that are in danger of flooding. Please pray for their safety. Our friend Gerardo Flores is also very ill and I ask your prayers for his recovery. If anyone knows of a specialist that could help him, please let us know. We are very concerned for his health. He has sickle cell anemia, but we believe he needs other tests due to the severity of his illness.

Shelly