Photos of Christian

Dr. Hector, Christian and Sandra.

Christian and team member Katia, who is a native of Honduras.

Christian and his mother Sandra

Our friend, Christian.

Christian's home.

A little boy named Christian

Normally Luis leads the medical brigades, but he is currently in the states so the director duty has fallen to me this week. The team this week consists of three churches, Lakewood from Texas, Gethsemane also from Texas, and All Nations Church from Chicago.

I realize that I need to eventually do a post describing what a typical brigade week looks like, but I just wanted to share a prayer for a family we met on Monday and Tuesday.

As part of our brigades we also try and bless a family in the community with a cement floor. (see the earlier post for some previous pictures) As it turns out this week we were working in a community that was built after Hurricane Mitch, which meant that all of the houses had a concrete slab already. On Monday, Mark Harden (our concrete coordinator) and I took the pastor and started driving up the road to find a house that we may be able to work at. As usual God led us to the perfect house. In honesty the actual concrete project we would do at the house was not that "big" of a project, but the opportunity to minister to the family was.

The family in the main part of the house consisted of an older lady and 4 chidren ranging from 26 yo. to 6 months. The "other" part of the house consisted of a add on section made out of sticks, boards, cardboard, plastic and tin. The entire area was probably 14x6 if that. In the front part was the earthen stove that they used, then there was a sheet hanging from the tin roof dividing the room in half. Behind that was the cot, that Christian and his mom Sandra slept on. When we first got there Christian, 6 years old, was hiding his face and hiding behind the sheet. Talking with his mother we discovered that he had skin cancer. At lunch time Mark and I went back to get the Honduran doctor, and a couple of nurses from the team. As the doctor examined Christian we could see the extent of this young man's cancer. Basically from the middle of his chest up to the top of his head was affected. The most severe areas were his nose which was almost completely gone and a large open abcess on his left cheek about the size of a silver dollar. He also could not see very well, if at all, because of the effects to his eyes. We went back to the brigade site and got medicines for the entire family and then the following day, Mark and some team members did the concrete floor, while others ministered to Christian by playing with him and giving him sunglasses. They also were "the hands of Christ" by applying lotion to his entire body and even washing his feet. As you might imagine, during this time, Christian also ministered to the team. Please lift this family up in your prayers.

As we shared the events of the day last night at the mission house, the ones that went to the house told of the impact in their lives that this brave young boy brought. It is so wonderful how God uses everything to His Glory.

And as bad as Christian's face and little body seems, we are assured that in Heaven his face will be unblemished and perfect,......................


just as it is right now in God's eyes.


--Alan

I hope to get the pictures of the young man from Hector (our doctor) and post them.

Jordan's Poem

Our beautiful daughter Jordan recently wrote the following poem. She even submitted it to Brio Magazine and they are going to post it online. (She finally let me post it here)

For anyone who doesn't know Jordan she is 14 yrs. old and was born with Spina Bifida.

Just the way I am

Its not so bad
Being different
Its not easy
But I'm used to it
Its all I've ever had
Sure, I've been teased
And I've felt the stares
But I've also felt the love
Of the ones who really care
Sometimes I wish I could change
But don't you think it would be boring
If we were all the same
We'd have nothing to talk about
Nothing to do
Its not easy being different
But its better to just be you
I can't do all the things others can
But I don't mind so much anymore
Because I know I am safe in His hands
He has a plan for me
Even when it seems hopeless
I know there is a reason He made me like this
There is nothing wrong with me,
Its not a DISability,
Its just a DIFFERENT ability
I wish people could understand,
Its not something I despise
I am perfect in His eyes
Just the way I am.

Love and Hugs,
Jordan

Getting Ready for the U.S.

We are in the process of getting things ready for our furlough back to the U.S. Dana and the kids will actually be flying out on Thursday the 14th. Please keep them in prayer as they will be also driving from Miami to S.C. I will be leading a brigade the week of the 17th, so I will not be in the states until the 25th. I will have the "pleasure" of riding Greyhound for 16 hours back up to South Carolina.

We still have some things to get ready before Dana leaves. We are working on a slide show presentation that we can briefly show at churches. We also have to get the house situated before we leave. We have been blessed because one of our Honduran friends has agreed to house-sit for us. That is a relief because not only can they watch the house but they can also take care of JoJo, our dog.

We are all looking forward to visiting our friends and family when we get back. As mentioned in a previous post, leaving your friends and family is a tough decision. But God has blessed us with a wonderful support network of friends that lift us up in prayers and encouragement. We are so grateful for all of you.

See you back in the USA in a couple of weeks.

---Alan

Van Fire

We wanted to send out a great praise and an special prayer request. On our way home today our van caught on fire. Fortunately it happened in our driveway and we all were able to get out of the van safely.

We first want to praise our Lord for his protection and providence in this situation. We had just returned from a trip to the ranch and we were very fortunate that this did not happen on the ranch road, in town, or as we travelled up the mountain to our house. Secondly when the smoke started we made the right decision to stop and get everyone out of the car. We also had some neighbors that helped. Also, a couple of men from the mission house came and stopped the flames at the front seat and prevented them from reaching the gas tank and causing an explosion.

Now the prayer request. Obviously we will now be looking for a vehicle. Ironically our plan was to purchase insurance on the van when we returned from our furlough. Unfortunately it appears that we were a little late in our decision. Although we were planning on only liability, which would not have covered this anyway. We trust that God will provide and we ask for prayers for the right decision regarding the next vehicle.

Thank you all for constantly lifting our family up in prayer. Because of those faithful prayers we are safe and were protected in this incident. Our family is grateful.

The Sims Family