We are way overdue with an update! Sometimes it feels like time just flies by with everything we are involved with, and this has been a really busy year for us!  So much has happened here, but I will give a brief overview.

We have been blessed to have some wonderful friends & relatives come for visits. Kaileen came for 3 months to visit from March through June, and she was able to help us with a lot of things. We were able to do a lot of fun things with her, and she gave us some fresh insight that was helpful. In June, Jennifer came, and stayed until August, when we went back to the States for a visit. She returned with us in September, and will be with us at least until December. She has been a huge help to us, and lifts our spirits when we are feeling discouraged. In July, Meghan and Kelly came for a week, and it was so wonderful having them here! We were able to go to the BMDI (Baptist Medical & Dental Mission) near Teguchigalpa and see what they are doing on the other side of the country as well as see some old friends from Nebraska.

In Tapachula, Mexico

Kelly with Estefani, Eneyda, & Kellin

We had to leave the country for our 90 days in April, and when we got to the border of El Salvador, the guard told us that we needed to leave the region, and he took our visas out of our passports and told us we needed to get on a bus to either Mexico or Costa Rica. We opted for Mexico, and spent an exhausting 42 hours on busses, but ended up having a nice time while we were there, and it was an interesting experience for us. A week after returning home, all of the ladies were able to go to Teguchigalpa to a Women of Purpose Ladies retreat. A group of people come from the states twice a year to put on a conference/retreat for missionary women, and it was a great time of fellowship & renewal for each of us. We can’t wait to go to the next one in November!

In August, we had the opportunity to visit the states. Since our ministry has grown so much, we didn’t feel that we could leave all at once, so we took turns. Natalie, Alye, Lisa, and Jenn, left mid August and were able to visit friends and family in Colorado, Memphis, Indiana, Nebraska, & Florida. It was really nice being able to visit a lot of our loved ones, and to restock some of our supplies. Some of our friends sent clothes & shoes & school supplies back with us, and that was really nice.

At a Colorado Rockies Baseball game (in the rain)

Gordon and Chantalle went to the states the same day that we left, and will be returning in late October. They have been able to travel to most of the same places where the rest of us did, and have had a great time there. It has been hard being apart for so long, and we’re all really excited to be all together again soon.

We found out that we will have to leave our home. At first we were very discouraged, as we thought we would be able to live here for a long time, and there aren’t very many houses available for rent; especially large enough for all of us and our ministry. We drove around with our cousin Chris, and saw a lot of possibilities, but nothing super close to where we are now. A few days ago, our landlord painted a big sign outside stating that our house was up for sale, and we had A LOT of neighbors come by who were very concerned about us leaving the neighborhood. We minister to a lot of families and small children who wouldn’t be able to go very far to us. Anyways, one of our neighbors brought us the keys to his son’s house that is vacant, and although the house is in very rough condition, it has the space we need and is right on the same street where we live, so we could continue our ministry with the people we know God has called us to help. We are excited to get to work on fixing the house up to livable condition, and a lot of people have already volunteered to do all of the labor for free, so we just have to pay for supplies. We started work this week, and it has been encouraging to see so many people show up to help us with the work! We are hoping to move the beginning of November, and are hoping that we are able to raise the funds necessary to put in the plumbing, electrical, and kitchen so that we can live in the house.

Our community center & youth programs have really grown, and it is exciting to see new children coming around. We are now averaging about 20 kids every week, and the older kids are learning to lead the younger ones. We have the older kids help with the younger kids’ mid-week class, and they are getting really good at it. The kids go around our neighborhood collecting various fruits and vegetables for Aly to make food that we serve to everyone, and it is nice seeing everyone getting involved.

 Kids Night

We have resumed our Ladies Bible Study for English speakers, and we all really enjoy that every week.  It is really nice being able to spend some time speaking and learning in English! We are getting ready to start a new study with teen girls, and are hoping to get one started for the teen boys. We would like to start a Ladies Bible Study  for the women in our neighborhood as soon as we are confident enough in our Spanish.

We are hoping to start a couple of new programs after we are settled into our new home. We would like to start a baking co-op and involve the teen girls. We will teach them how to make various baked goods and candies, and they can sell them during soccer games to earn some money for their families.  The girls are all really eager to start, and it should be fun. The children also had the idea of starting a sort of “Meals-on-Wheels” for the elderly people in our community. There are several elderly people who have trouble getting healthy meals, and don’t have family to take care of them. We would like to have the children prepare simple meals to bring to them each day during the week. It has been exciting to see our neighbors pull together to help one another.

It has been really exciting to see a lot of the kids growing and learning new skills and how to be respectful and helpful, and seen a lot of positive changes in them. We have also had the relationships with our neighbors grow and develop, and it is great seeing such a huge change in only a year. A lot of the kids want to make wise choices, and we are seeing more kids excited about going to church and learning about God.
 

Thank you so much for your continued support. It would be impossible to reach these people without your help.

Love,

Gordon, Lisa, Aly, Natalie, Chantalle, & Jennifer

Prayer Needs:

*Please pray for the kids who are currently being sponsored to be in school: Jessica, Darwin, Efren, Byron, Fatima, & Carla are all doing well in school and thriving.

Carla is in first grade

Jessica recently celebrated her quincinera

Darwin is in his first year of colegio & is a really hard worker

Fatima has turned her grades around, and is doing well in 4th grade

 

*Please pray for the kids who are hoping for sponsors for next year: Cecilia, Jennifer, and Josie are still waiting to be sponsored, and will be finishing sixth grade in November.

Cecilia - the oldest child in her home. Her father recently died,

 leaving her mom struggling to provide for the family.

Jennifer (above) and Josie (below) are sisters who live with their mother and several siblings in a one room house. They will both be completing 6th grade in November and are hoping to attend colegio.

*Please pray for our kids who are struggling:

Franklin has had a lot of trouble making the right choices, and if he doesn’t start making better choices, it will seriously jeopardize his future. We have worked closely with him in the past, and he is going through a really rough time. He comes from a pretty rough family, with no father, and a mother who has a lot of health issues, and is working to provide for her 8 children.

Franklin

Kevin was one of the neighborhood bullies when we moved in, and we were all afraid of him. He would drive by and throw rocks and yell profanities at us. After reaching out to him several times, he has softened, and is no longer mean to us. He still doesn’t want to go to church or Bible studies, but he would kind of like to go to colegio.

Daniel will be graduating from elementary school soon, and he doesn’t have very much ambition. He comes from a very abusive home, and he has stolen from us, but he is also struggling between knowing what is right, and the pull of doing the wrong thing. His sister, Kimberly, has been out of school for 2 years, but would like the opportunity to attend colegio now. We are giving her some work to do to see if she can be committed to school.

Daniel

*Please pray for us to have the funds and energy to get our new house ready to live in. A lot of people where we live have offered to help with the work, and we just need to raise the funds to purchase supplies. If we can raise about $5000 we will be able to put in electrical, plumbing, paint, and make the house secure. The location is great, and it has a lot of outdoor living space, which is very nice. Most people around us don’t live with electricity as we know it, and they don’t have inside bathrooms, which are things that we would really like to have.

*Please pray for our health, as we seem to have more than our share of health issues. Currently Jenn and Lisa are fighting pneumonia, and Aly has had a stomach bug for a couple of weeks. We are looking forward to a healthy fall!

If you would like to contact us, our contact information is:

Lisa and Gordon Eytzen
c/o Roberto Diaz del Valle
9 KM. Carretera la Guama a Pena Blanca
Hotel Finca Las Glorias, Pena Blanca
Santa Cruz de Yojoa, Cortes
Honduras, Centro America

(it takes about 2 months to receive mail)              Email: jesushelovesme@hotmail.com