Roatan Mission Spring 2017 Update
Greetings, friends! Blessings and hope your year is going well thus far. God is continuing to bless and grow the ministries on Roatan beyond what we could have imagined. We are so thankful to Him for allowing us to be a part of building His kingdom here. Roatan's ministries are certainly growing and we are excited to tell you about what has been happening. Tish and Travis will often post ministry pictures and notes on Facebook so please connect with us there and we hope you can come visit us! Your continued thoughts, prayers and support mean the world to us and encourage us daily!
UNIFORM DISTRIBUTION DAY!
In late January we had our big uniform distribution day. Thanks to Jamie and Ron McDonald for allowing us to use the Casa de Luz building for this. Thanks to our amazing donors who gave to help these kids be able to get their uniforms, shoes, backpacks and school supplies. Special thanks to the Tollesons and Sassenburg families from our home church in TN for helping us pack all the supplies! Without these donations these children would be unable to attend public school. Seventy-eight children from the dump ministry and forty-five from Christo Rey were given uniforms and supplies. School runs from February through November here on the island. Often people ask us if they can collect anything to help . We always can use children's underwear, new or used tennis shoes, white socks and rain coats. If you collect those items we will work with you to get them here! We raise funds throughout the year for this event and you can sponsor a child for $75 or a half sponsorship for $37.50. All donations are tax deductible through our Roatan Mission 501c3 organization.
MR. ISRAEL GETS A WHEELCHAIR
One of our grand-fathers at the dump ministry (Special Treasures) was run over by a car last year. Mr. Israel was dragged for quite a way and the fire fighters had to amputate his leg in order to get him out from under the vehicle. As you can imagine, his recovery has been long. We were able to send him to the mainland for treatment for his amputated leg and for his back which was very deeply abraided. He has now healed and is getting around in a wheel chair quite well. Thank you to the Shaw's for his wheel chair!
We are trying to raise funds for him to get a prosthetic leg from the mainland so that he can be more mobile. His family has partnered with us in prayer for this and we are trusting God to provide the way. We were also able to provide another man a wheelchair in Coxen Hole that begs by the gas station. He is thankful and joyful for this gift.
CURRENT PROJECTS
The colonia church, Christo Rey, has been worked on some more with a ministry mission team from the Oasis Church that helped work on the second floor. This was such an important step as it is helping to better waterproof the church and make more space for children's ministries. Pastor Rossel has over 40 children each Sunday and has also begun a Christian soccer team that he coaches and mentors.We need help to complete the second floor of Christo Rey. If you would, please pray that the Lord will soon provide the funds we need.
We have also enjoyed a mission team from Lake Travis ,Texas. Middle school, high school and adult participants did a wonderful job serving many ministries on the island. They stayed in our new mission housing and we really enjoyed getting to know them in this way!
THANK YOU TO OUR INDIANA CHURCHES
Just two weeks ago we had a 90 person team of cruise shippers who were in Roatan for the day and served at the dump feeding 85 people and distributing grocery bags and hygeine items, repaired 5 homes, and put on a mini VBS at a local church. It was a jam packed awesome day! They brought doctors who also saw many patients over the course of the day. This group was comprised of folks from seven churches in Indiana. What a blessing and what a great way to use a cruise! Here is a link to a great video made of their time with us: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=ji5qoi-iWZw
DUMP MINISTRY MEDICAL NEEDS
Mario (Pictured above left), is an 11 year old boy who sustained an eye injury .We met him through the dump ministry. He had been hit in the eye and had a partially detached cornea and was going to be blind in that eye for life if it was not operated on soon. By God's grace, a medical eye team was here that week! We love seeing those provisions of the Lord. They were able to evaluate the needed work and the next week we sent him to the mainland with his mom for the needed surgery to save his sight. He had the surgery last Monday and we are thrilled to report he is doing well and the eye is healing nicely!
Lixsy (pictured above right) is a 4 year old from the Special Treasures Dump Ministry. Six months ago she was diagnosed with Leukemia and in Honduras with little access to good care, her odds were not looking good. We have assisted with her treatment and 3 trips to the mainland for Chemotherapy so far. We are asking God to provide the money to continue treatment. We hope to provide $900 to continue her treatment for the next 4-5 months. If you feel led to help with her medical expenses, please contact us. We want to see this sweet girl get better! She will have to make several trips to the mainland and will need funds for travel and hospital.
R CHURCH
Our church in West Bay continues to grow with more than 150 attending weekly. This is a 25% growth over last year. All of Pastor Travis's sermons since August 2015 are now uploaded on iTunes. Click here to browse the messages in Genesis.
The R Church has continued to grow and it is amazing to us the way that the Lord is using this body for ministry. We are so grateful to have such precious members who do so much to help the people here. Please pray for us as we seek to add some new elders soon.
Tish continues to see counseling clients at Clinica Esperanza and leads the Ladies Bible study each week.
SINGLE MOMS COFFEE MINISTRY:
PLEASE SUPPORT THE COFFEE MINISTRY! We have 40 lbs of Fresh coffee in the states! Just $12 per bag and less with larger orders! When you order missions coffee you are helping support a real family with very real needs. This feeds real people in need and helps with repairs to homes. WHY DRINK ANYTHING ELSE? We promise you will love the taste and rich flavor! You can order online here.
KIDS UPDATE
The kids are doing very well if a bit too grown up already! Yikes-it happens fast! Eli and Heather are doing very well at Island Academy school and Zach is doing well with online high school while pursuing his Dive Master certification.
It has certainly been strange having Ella in the states for her senior year of high school but it has gone well and we are grateful to God for his provision for her in so many ways. Lisa and Rob Scott have been so gracious to open their home to her and be a fantastic "second family".
Thank you so much for your prayers and interest in what is going on here. We love you all and miss you. If ever the opportunity arises, please come see us! Blessings and God's peace to you all.
 |
May God Bless You Richly! |