Count Your Blessings

Josue and I tried to take pictures of the river rushing through our yard, but there was not enough light. Around midnight the water around our house had gone down enough for us to take these pictures looking into the windows from the outside.

Here you can see that the water is almost touching the seat cushions of our dining table set and the fridge has turned over due to the amount of water in the kitchen.

The water rose high enough to enter the oven, dryer, kitchen cabinets, and fridge.

The next morning, we reviewed the damage to the bridge beside our house.

After all the water was swept out, you can clearly see the line of yucky mess that remained.

Nasty mud was layered throughout the entire house.

The three guys are standing where we used to have posts marking our property line beside the river. Also, the land was as tall as where you see the grass in the middle of the picture.

The majority of the water entered through this side door at the garage.

The front yard is significantly higher than the back yard. Here you can see how high the water got to our bathroom window (approx. 8 feet high).

The path of destruction of the river that plowed through banana trees on the property in front of our house.

Josue's family and friends were a HUGE help in cleaning the majority of the mess and helping salvage items.

On Saturday, President Pepe Lobo and the mayor of our city held a community meeting in the local Catholic church (a stone's throw from our home) to see how to best serve the needs of the families with damaged homes.

Thank the Lord, we are healthy and safe. Storms like we saw could have had much more damaging affects on our lives. The house is still standing--which is a wonderful blessing. But we are in need of repairs as well as a retainer wall to prevent the river from flooding us again. If you are able to help us financially to repair our home, please email me for more information as to how. jmarnold.tmp@gmail.com

Our Back Yard

Squeaky Clean Teeth

On the 4th of July, a group of 25 kids (and their mothers) from Mololoa loaded onto a bus to go to a dental clinic sponsored by Terry Reeves' group. 9 group members worked alongside 5 Honduran dentists and assistants.



To start out the process, one of the Honduran dentists spent 20 minutes with the children explaining how to properly clean their teeth. Then, all the children were given a toothbrush and went outside to brush with the dentist guiding their movements.

Once back inside the building, the dentists began to call children back to have their teeth cleaned in one of the four stations available. While the other children waited two members of Terry´s group sang and played to keep them occupied.

If their was a serious cavity, then unfortunately teeth were pulled. We had a few cryers, but overall it went very well.

The Mud Slingers

Several different groups participated in removing the NASTY mud caked against the back walls of the church, classroom, and kitchen. Thank you to all of you!

Daycare Play Area

Thank you to Terry's group who did the majority of leveling out the front play area of the daycare.

Not long after you all left, a hired worker finished the job. So, breathe easy knowing you will not be continuing this next summer. :)

But I am sure that I will have other dirt hauling jobs if you get a hankerin'.

VBS with Keith Boyer's Tampa Group

Food bags for the kids and their families

On behalf of all of the Sunday school kids, THANK YOU to Keith Boyer's group for the food bags.

The kids LOVE the new playground

Words cannot even begin to express our gratitude for the new playground. So, here are pictures of the kids that speak for themselves.

Thank you to everyone in Terry's group who made it possible for our kids to have these smiles!

The only addition we have made to the BEAUTIFUL playground has been two red toddler/baby swings for our littlest ones. They cost us $62, and I am hoping that someone reading this blog would be willing to reimburse the daycare for the expense. Send me an e-mail if you are able to help us out.