Going through the Fire                                                                                                                   August 30, 2013

This past week has been incredibly difficult, but we have also witnessed God showing Himself to us in so many ways. When Gordon started feeling sick Monday night, we thought it was just a routine illness, and on Tuesday morning, Gordon felt weak, but was strong enough to eat breakfast and he was able to walk to the bathroom to get ready. We set him up with listening to the radio and went to work. Aly & Suyapa both checked on him, and he was doing fine at noon. Around 2pm, my cousin and I checked on him, and he was significantly weaker, so we thought that it would be wise to take him to the doctor for some IV fluids. He seemed to be getting stronger after a few hours, but we decided it would be best for him to spend the night at the little hospital in our area just to be on the safe side. Around 10:30, the doctor checked him and felt that his condition was getting worse, and that it would be good to take him to a larger facility. Aly and I got ready, and drove him to Siguetepeque, about an hour away. The doctor there was a little concerned about his breathing, and they hooked him up to a machine to monitor his oxygen levels and put him on oxygen.

At about 4am, Gordon asked if we could pray and read the Bible together, so we read from James, and prayed. By this time, Gordon wasn’t able to speak, but he prayed silently. After praying, Gordon dozed in and out of sleep and was very restless. After that time, he was no longer responsive. We tried to make him comfortable, and finally around 8am, he was finally able to sleep peacefully. Aly and I were straightening up our things in the room, and Gordon started breathing with more difficulty. At about 9am, he took a deep breath in and didn’t let it out, so we called the doctors, who attempted to revive him and performed CPR, but it didn’t work. His official cause of death was a strong strain of bacterial pneumonia, and he died at 9:20am on August 21^st.

This week has been very difficult for all of us, and we still can’t believe that Gordon is gone. He was a great husband and a wonderful father to many many children here, and will be greatly missed. Our entire community is grieving with us, and offering a lot of love and support. We have seen God glorified in so many ways... every step along the way it seems that Satan wants to throw up road blocks, but God is knocking them down. From us being alone in the registry office in our county seat, to literally running into one of the local pastors who readily lent his support, to an attorney willing to stay late to help with our paperwork, without charging extra, to finding a lightbulb on the side of the road months ago that miraculously fit in and worked in our car when our light went out, to missionary friends who "just happened to be" driving around an hour an a half away right when we needed their assistance, to a US Embassy worker who stayed 5 hours after work to help with our paperwork, and many more ways. We know He cares, and He is here with us.

We still feel that Honduras is where God wants us to be, and we are praying for God’s provision in our ministry here. Currently our biggest struggle is that most of our income thus far has been from Gordon’s Social Security and disability income, and we will no longer be receiving that money. We are in immediate need of committed monthly supporters to help us continue our work here. Without more monthly supporters, there will be no way to continue this work here.

We have our school with 25 students, which reaches out to children who would otherwise be unable to receive an education. We provide each student with clothing, healthy food, and a good Christian bilingual education that is individually tailored to each student’s needs. We need for each student to be sponsored at $50 a month, for a total of $1250. We also currently have 4 children living full time with us as well as 3 more children who are sleeping at our house. We have been asked to take in one more boy who lost both of his parents and has no other living relatives, so we are considering taking him in. The cost for the children living in our home is $`150 a month, which comes to $1200. This money goes to provide all of the 8 children’s needs – from medical care to clothing and food. We have a couple of children who are seriously malnourished and need special care that we provide for them.  We currently are receiving about $700 a month consistently from our supporters, leaving a shortfall of $1750 a month.

We are asking each of you to pray about supporting our ministry here. When Gordon became disabled, he could have chosen to stay in the United States and ride his bike, travel, and enjoy playing golf, but he didn’t. Gordon wanted his life to have meaning, and we talked many times about his feeling that he needed to honor God with his life until the end, in spite of his disability. Many people here have been inspired by Gordon’s choice to continue serving in a difficult environment when many people would have chosen a more comfortable life. We could truly see what an impact Gordon's life had made here in Honduras by his funeral, which was overflowing with people, and pastors from all different backgrounds wanted to speak on his behalf. Even the town drunk, who Gordon always greeted with a friendly hello, asked to be a pallbearer, and participated in the burial.

We recently were asked about taking in two boys – Jefer and Kevin. Jefer is 9 years old, and we discovered that he was living alone in a small shack, so we agreed together that we needed to offer him a home here. He moved in about a month ago, and has been thriving in his new home. Gordon and I discussed the fact that taking in a young child would mean a long term commitment to living in Honduras, and Gordon agreed without any trouble – we both felt that God placed Jefer in our lives for a reason. Kevin is a 12 year old boy who witnessed the murder of both of his parents and was left without other family members. He currently is staying with a neighbor, but it is a very unstable situation. We met Kevin on the Sunday before Gordon died, and decided that we would take him in on Tuesday, but that was the day that Gordon became ill, so Kevin is still staying with neighbors until things get settled here.

Please consider supporting our work here in Honduras – we try to have our children write monthly letters to their sponsors, and will provide photos of the children you are helping. I am planning on posting photos with bios of each children, but rather than wait, I will detail a tiny bit about each child here below.

Children living in our home:

Fatima – Most of you have heard about Fatima. She is a spunky 14 year old girl who lived on the streets for 2 years, and has lived with various family members. She has never known her father, and never lived with her mother, although she sees her somewhat regularly. Fatima’s mother attempted several times to kill her, and is very hateful to her. For that reason, her aunt asked if Fatima could live with us so that her mother would have less of an impact on her life. She has lived with us off and on for the past 2 years, but has lived here consistently since April of this year. We have seen great improvement in Fatima’s attitude, and she finally feels safe, loved, and part of a family.

Jefer – Jefer is 9 years old, but very small for his age due to malnourishment and perhaps a form of dwarfism. Jefer does not know who his father is, and his mother abandoned him in April, when he began living in a small shack. When we became aware of his living situation, we invited him to live with us. He was very shy and quiet at first, but has started opening up and being a “normal” silly little boy, which is really fun to see. Jefer moved in with us about a month ago, at the end of July.

Kellyn and Eneyda – Kellyn and Eneyda (13 and 12) are sisters, and are Jefer’s aunts. Their parents asked if they could move in with us because they didn’t feel that they could adequately care for the girls. Kellyn has always had very sad looking eyes, and is very timid and nervous. Eneyda has a ton of energy, and is tiny for her age, as she is a dwarf and suffered from years of malnourishment. The girls moved in with us in early July, and the doctor has already said that the girls are no longer malnourished, so we are happy about that. It has been exciting seeing both girls smile, laugh, and really come alive being in a loving environment.

Cindy, Estefany, and Darwin – Cindy, Estefany, and Darwin are siblings who live across the street from us normally. Their mother has 5 children, and they also live with a single mother of 2 children in a one bedroom home. Their father left them almost a year ago to pursue a better life, and has no plans of returning. The kids started staying with us because they were always tired and didn’t have adequate space to sleep. Although it started as a sleeping only situation, the children spend most of their time here, and we help their mother with the younger boys when we can. Their mother is our cook and school helper, Suyapa.

Kevin – Kevin is 12 years old, and witnessed the brutal murder of both of his parents. We don’t know a lot about Kevin yet, as he hasn’t moved in with us completely, but he has a warm smile, and told us that his dream is to someday be able to help alleviate the suffering of the poor people in his country. We are looking forward to making Kevin a part of our family.

The kids in our school (with very short bios… I know this is a bit long already)

Kindergarten: Elki, Angelina, Angel, Dominic, and Jadiel, all 5, are attending part time getting ready for a full day of school next year.

1^st grade: Jessica, 12, who is attending school for the first time, but appears to be of normal intelligence

            Maria, 13, who has some learning difficulties, and struggled through 5 years of 1^st grade, but will finally finish 1st grade this year!

            Alex, 29, who, due to learning difficulties, is in school for the first time.

            Deyni – 6, a smart kid who recently lost his father and needs a lot of TLC throughout the day

            Danny – 6, also smart, but has some attention issues.

Estefani – 8, a very bright girl who got stuck in 1^st grade, but has already, in less than a year, finished all of her first grade curriculum, and moved up to 3^rd grade math. We are excited to see her excited about learning!

Jefer – 9, recently completed 1^st grade, and began 2^nd grade. We are hoping that he can finish 2^nd & 3^rd grade by the end of next school year and be caught up with his age group. He is doing great in school!

Jose – 6, a bright kid, but with weak family support. He is very inconsistent in his attendance, and he needs a lot of prayer that he will be able to continue in school because his parents don’t know if they want him to have an education.

3^rd grade: 

          Cindy, 8, who is very bright, and already up to a 5^th grade math level. Working at her own pace, she is             really excelling, and we are so proud of her!

Isaac, 17, suffers from a hearing deficit, and was not able to continue school past 2^nd grade. He seems to be a quick learner, and is one of our newest students.

5^th grade: Estefany, 11, is very bright, and quickly caught up to her grade level.

Eneyda, 12, is very spunky and smart, but has more energy than she knows what to do with. When she is positioned next to a teacher, she does very well, and is almost caught up to her grade level in all areas.

Fatima, 14, is very strong willed, and learning doesn’t always come easy, but she has caught up to grade level and is working hard to finish 2 grades this year.

Gaby, 13, is very loving and a hard worker. She is working hard to complete 2 grades this year, and is almost there!

Katerin, 12, was not allowed to stay in school because her father didn’t think she was smart enough to “waste” their money on. She has proven that she actually is very smart, and has done 3 years of math already, and has a strong proficiency in English.

6^th Grade: Kellyn, 13, has had a lot of emotional pain, and as she deals with that, she is able to focus more on her schooling.

Colegio:  Flor, 13, is going through an adoption to a wonderful family, which makes for some emotional days, but she has a sweet spirit, and is doing well in class.

Franklin, 13, was making some bad choices and wasn’t planning on continuing with school, but he is doing well and thankful for a second chance.

Cecilia, 14, was out of school, but very excited to have the opportunity to resume her learning, and is doing great in class.

Jennifer, 15, was thinking she would have to settle for finding someone to marry her, and is excited to have the opportunity to learn and pursue her dream of being a teacher.

Please consider helping these children stay in school. Most of the children above would not be able to attend any school without our intervention. As always, we welcome visitors, and are looking for mission teams to come any time.

If you would like to financially support our mission, please follow the links on our blogspot: www.eytzenfamily.blogspot.com

We also welcome paypal donations, which can be made via our blogspot or through out email: jesushelovesme@hotmail.com

Thank you so much for your continued support. We know that we are going through a storm right now, but that in the end, God will be glorified, and we have faith that He will see us through even this most difficult time.

July 2013

Our family has undergone a lot of changes lately, which has brought a lot of discussion about what it means to be a family.  In our home, our family is constantly changing, with people coming and going, people joining in different ways, and we don’t all speak the same language. In our recent discussions about how we have such an odd family, we discussed how our current family is more like the family of God. Thankfully, God doesn’t stick to the standard of accepting only those who were born in, and He takes anyone in, regardless of language or what they have to offer in return. It is interesting how even most Christians are so skeptical about letting new people join their families, and that adoption of anyone other than infants is pretty rare.

Eneyda

Fatima

      

Kellyn  

Jeffer

All of us, minus Jeffer

The other thing that we have observed during this time is how even when a child is joining a new family, and that family is offering something so much better than what they are leaving behind, it is still difficult. There are always things to give up when doing something new, and even when parents aren’t able to parent well, it can still be difficult to leave them. Some of our kids have left really unpleasant circumstances to live with us, but there are some things that they struggle with. We have new rules to follow, and the way we do a lot of things is odd to them. There are a lot of similarities to becoming a Christian. Although the life that we can have with Christ is immeasurably better than a life without Him, there are some things that we have to leave behind, and there are usually changes that God convicts us to make, and that’s not easy even though it’s totally worth it.

This summer has been a summer of struggles and lots of changes. We had 3 mission teams come to help with some much needed construction projects in our neighborhood, and they also allowed us to make some much needed changes in our school, like upgrading our electrical system, painting, and making 3 functional showers. We have several students who do not have adequate facilities for bathing in their homes, and they have really appreciated being able to bathe at school so that they can be clean and smell fresh. The teams also provided toiletries and underwear for the students. We have seen an improvement academically as the students are able to feel better about themselves, and we are thankful for that. There are still projects that need to be done, and we are praying for more teams to be able to come. Please let us know if you are interested in coming for a week or more to help out.

We also dealt with a lot of health issues and struggles. Fatima, Aly, Gordon, and Lisa all contracted Dengue fever, and it is a miserable thing to have! Dengue brings fevers, rashes, nausea, body aches, headaches, and a loss of energy. Gordon and Aly both ended up in the hospital – Aly just for one evening to receive IV fluids, and Gordon for 3 days to treat dehydration and to monitor his low platelet count. He was extremely weak, and unable to walk for about 2 weeks. Chantalle had an ear infection and strep throat, and Jennifer had to deal with a lot of intestinal issues. We are all still working on getting healthy, and dealing with lower energy levels. Gordon is now able to walk again, and continues to get stronger every day, and the rashes are gradually clearing up, so Lordwillingly next month will be better!

In addition to the health issues, we have had a string of mishaps occur. One of the girls had a minor car accident that will require replacing our bumper and one of our headlights, and another one of the girls popped one of our tires. We also had a rock hit our windshield while we were driving, and it is badly shattered. Due to our healthcare expenses, we are waiting to take care of most of the repairs until we can save up enough money. We also had an incident with our toilet… Gordon fell while he was sick and the toilet shattered! It was a pretty shocking sight with water squirting out everywhere, and made for a lot of clean-up, but we were able to buy a replacement the next day, and the brother of one of our students put the new toilet in for us, so all is well in that department.

Our family has undergone some changes lately! Fatima, 14, has been living with us since April, and the adjustment was difficult at times, but she has adapted well, and she is usually a pleasure to have around. We also had two sisters, Eneyda and Kellyn, move in with us about a month ago due to a difficult family situation. They are 12 and 13, and have adjusted really well to living here. We are not sure how long they will be with us, but so far it has gone well having them here. Our most recent addition is Jeffer, who is 9, and he just moved in last week.  He has never known his father, and his mother recently left him to find “a better life”. He was living alone in a small apartment and was very afraid. We are thankful that he is able to sleep and feels safe and loved here. For short term, we also have 3 siblings who are in our program staying with us: Darwin, Estefany, and Cindy. They are only staying with us until appropriate housing is found for some of their extended family who is staying in their home. 

Prayer needs and Praises:

·         Finances! We have been hit with a lot of unexpected expenses lately, with healthcare expenses, car repairs, and extra mouths to feed. We are in dire need of more regular supporters to help with our normal expenses, as well as additional help to replenish our savings that was completely depleted. We are looking for sponsors to pay $50 a month for each of our school children.

·         Our new family members – Although the children are enjoyable to have, there are always adjustments with new people, so please pray for each of our new family members. We also need to raise additional support to provide for their food & clothing needs.

·         Residency! We are going to have to apply for residency within the next 6 months, which will cost $2500 ($500 per person), and will provide residency for 5 years. If we are not able to get our residency, we will not be able to continue our ministry here. When we went for a visa extension, we were denied the extension and told that we would need to either apply for residency or return to the United States. We ended up having to go to Guatemala, where we were denied again, but thankfully, another attendant gave us 90 days.

·         Please Continue to pray for our school! We are hoping to add a couple of new students next year, but only have a few spots, so we are praying about which students to allow to attend.

·         More teachers – if you are inclined at all to teach, and would like to spend some time in a beautiful environment, please contact us for an application! Because of the unique nature of our school, we need to maintain a very low teacher to student ratio so that each student can learn to the best of their ability.

·         We STILL need an electrician!!!

·         Jennifer went back to Nebraska to attend College. We are missing her a lot already! Please pray for her as she starts this new chapter in her life.

PRAISES:

·         A LOT of work was accomplished by the mission teams who came. We are so thankful for all of the work that was accomplished!

·         We are starting to get stronger and healthier. Please pray for continued health.

Thank you to everyone who supports us in our ministry! We could not do any of this without your help!

Love, The Eytzen family J                                    

Email: jesushelovesme@hotmail.com

Blogsite: www.eytzenfamily.blogspot.com