One thing that is really lacking here is adequate education. A lot of people only go to school until about 3rd grade, some only attend to 6th grade, and few complete colegio, which is sort of like a combination of junior high, high school, and trade school. Without an education, it is nearly impossible to climb out of the poverty that most of the people around us live in. Many of our neighbors pick coffee for a living, and for a full day’s work, they are fortunate if they can earn $3.50. For this reason, a lot of people have even their young children working to try to make enough money to survive.
We decided to help as many students as possible attend school, as well as providing a good environment to do their homework, and tutoring when necessary. Often times, the kids have homework that involves the internet, but they have no way to access the internet, so we allow them to use our computers. We are also switching from group instruction in English to private lessons with those students who have shown an interest in learning and proven that they are committed to studying. We were able to save enough money to purchase the homeschool version of Rosetta Stone English, and will start using this program to teach 10 students as soon as we are able to purchase a desktop computer.
The school year started about a week after we arrived back in Honduras, which made for a very busy return! This year we were able to help 4 students attend elementary school and 5 students attend colegio – 3 of them for the first time. Their needs ranged from help purchasing backpacks and uniforms to purchasing school supplies, to assistance with transportation needs to and from school to school tuition. All of the students in colegio are the first people in their families to have the opportunity to attend colegio, so it is really exciting for them. We are hoping to be able to help even more kids next year.
We will continue to help one day a week with Sister Maria’s day program for preschool children, as well as continuing in our ministry at our church. Eulogio and Leah Crespin, fellow missionaries who have been highly instrumental in the running of our church, are leaving Honduras to follow God into the next chapter of their lives, and will leave two very big gaps, that we will do our best to help fill. We will be helping more with the youth, which should be interesting.
We have some fun changes in our home as well. Our oldest daughter, Alyssandra, came for a 3 week visit, and has felt God calling her to stay, so she is here indefinitely. After a lot of prayer, we also invited a young man from our church who was living in the local orphanage, to join our family. His name is Douglas, and he has been a huge help with the tutoring of the neighborhood kids. In a few weeks, our friend Kaileen will be joining us for awhile to help out. She is really gifted with singing and playing the guitar, and we’re excited to see how God will use her here.
Answers to Prayer:
*One huge answer to prayer is that our relations with our neighbors have been going really well. There was one family in particular who had some negative feelings towards us, and after following God’s leading in how to respond towards them, the relationship has been mended, which is amazing. While we were gone, our neighbors looked out for our home, and they have helped catch Conan when he has snuck out. We are very thankful to have several neighbors who look out for us and help us when we need it. We are also thankful that we have made friends with some fellow missionaries who are here from Georgia. They are living about a half hour away from us and are involved in a similar ministry with helping kids in their area obtain an education. They have been a tremendous encouragement to our family.
*We were able to find sponsors to send Jessica, Efren, and Darwin to school this year. Thank you!
*We had a fun and safe trip back to the USA, and our family issues have been resolved for the most part.
*The “hotelito” which opened next door did not work out, and he decided instead to turn the place into apartments. Still not ideal, but much better than a hotelito or motel! For the time being, it looks like we will be able to stay in our home!
Prayer Requests:
*Please continue to pray for both Gordon and Lisa’s medical needs. Gordon’s nerve damage has progressed quite a bit, and it has become more difficult for him to get around. He is handling it very well, but we are praying that the damage will stop progressing. Lisa has been dealing with a bad flare up of her lupus, and has had a lot of fatigue and joint pain. We figured out that by adopting a gluten free diet, her symptoms have gotten a lot better, but it is a big adjustment.
*Pray for stamina as we assist multiple students with their homework and provide tutoring.
Thank you to everyone who has joined us in our ministry here. It is so exciting to see tangible ways that God is working. We are very thankful that God has allowed us to live here in this beautiful country, but we could not do what we do without the support of people in the states. As always, if anyone is interested in visiting us here, we would be glad to have you.
If you would like to receive monthly updates, you can email us at: jesushelovesme@hotmail.com , or if you would like to receive updates by mail, call Elia Parkin at 402-658-3542.
If you would like to help support us financially, you can donate online at: http://www.shepsstaff.org/eytzen.aspx or by mail:
Shepherd's Staff Mission Facilitators
PO Box 53640
Albuquerque, NM 87153-3640 Be sure to note EYTZEN # 4182 on your check.
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