Bringing home the medals in the spelling bee...

Today was the school-wide spelling bee at the kids school and the Coder kids cleaned up: Angel won first place in his class, Mauricio second in his class, and Pedro brought home a third place in his class!

Great job guys!!!

Yours truly was the "Alex Trebek" of the day; pronouncing the words and judging correct or incorrect!

Beds & Bibles....

Sunday afternoon we delivered and helped to set up more beds in the village and then went into our Bible Study for our leaders group.

Fabila and team win first place in their science fair!

We didn't have a camera so the only picture we have is this small one from our phone. We'll try to get some from other (smarter) parents and post later. The story is Fabiola and 3 others presented a science project:

 Lava Lamp/Energy Saver

They put water, vegetable oil, and food coloring into a bottle and then dropped in an Alka Seltzer. The result was a bubbling effect looking like a lava flow and when you added a flashlight to the bottom it produced beautiful light without using electricity!

Sorry it's so small, but that's Fabi and her teammates holding their 1st Place certificates. And Fabi was the team captain!

More foundation building...

Fabiola, Mauricio, and I went to the village this afternoon for another hour of foundation building. We've set aside one hour each week to meet with the village leaders and discuss various topics from the bible to help them to find their way in Jesus Christ. We keep telling them we're not here just to help them get new homes, nicer homes, but to also bring the blessings of Jesus Christ into their lives.

We're really taking it slowly and trying to build a firm base for them so the enemy finds it much more difficult to steal their seed. Right now we're working on personal worth and reconciling our relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Today we spent the entire hour on 2 Cor. 5:14-21 and we had a lively discussion. Just saying that is a major breakthrough because they just were not the type to sit down and discuss anything; let alone the bible and God. Step by step they're getting more comfortable and beginning to believe that God really can, and does, care about a poor little village in the cane fields.

Pray for them as we continue this "Pilgrim's Progress" with El Doradito and pray for us that we allow the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Changing lifestyles...

God continues to enable us to bless the village of El Doradito (Buen Esperanza). With a generous donation from Oryphan's Heart, Wellspring of Life was able to purchase bunk beds for the children in the first two completed homes. We delivered them this morning and while Mauricio and Joyce assembled the first bunk and taught others to do the next two, our children taught them how to care for God's earth by taking trash bags and picking up the garbage around the village...and there was lots! Along with giving them homes they never dreamed of we want to change their mind sets, their thought patterns, and help them to find new priorities. One way to teach is to lecture; a better way is to demonstrate...the children chose the latter.

Cesar & Rosa teach Canchita & Rosita the art of clean-up!

Pedro, Rosa, & Angel on garbage detail...

Full bags, time to get another bag...

Here comes the pillows...

And the mattresses...

And the beds...

And the assembly team of Joyce & Mauricio...

The finished product with new occupants: Consepcion & granddaughters Dulce & Canchita!

New sheets, new mattresses, new bed: ready for some good sleeping!

Joyce says, "Outta my way!"

Our walk toward residency....

What started over almost 3 years ago and now has cost us nearly $6000 is about to come to an end...I think! On Thursday Joyce and I spent 3 hours sitting in the Immigration Office waiting for our turn to have our 'carnet' (a laminated I.D. card granting residency) made, but it didn't happen...again! After all the waiting we were processed and given a 'provisional carnet" which is good for 90 days and told to return in 2 months to receive our laminated carnet! That's right! It will take 2 months, if we're lucky, to laminate our cards. And Honduras can't figure out why they're in a rut!!!

Oh, and the culture here gave us a little joy while we were waiting: in the midst of the Immigration Office surrounded by a horde of people, Joyce had her cell phone stolen out of her pocket! Welcome to Honduras!

Mother's Day celebration...

On Friday Joyce enjoyed the morning at the Good Seed Mother's Day Program.

There's a new sheriff in town & PEDRO is his name!

White face mimes Mauricio



                         &

                                   Fabiola

Cesar's gettin' his groove on!