November, 2017. Where Did This Month Go?!

 Hello family and friends,

It is the between time – the time between the fall harvest/preparations for winter, and Christmas celebrations. This is our first year since 2008 that we have been here on-the-farm for this between time. We are looking forward to celebrating Christmas here, AND we are anticipating our return to Roatan in time to watch the spontaneous fireworks to welcome the New Year from our upper deck at our house in Roatan.

These three months have been a season of thanksgiving. From what appeared to be less than favourable growing conditions, God has provided a very good yield for all crops. We have been able to find frequent opportunities to focus on our kids and grandkids. It has been a rewarding time and we are feeling refreshed. For this time we thank God.

With several opportunities to keep connected with those in Roatan, and a few on Mainland Honduras through social media and video chatting, we keep up with what is happening. Although we miss the face to face contact, we can continue providing encouragement – a surprising spin-off ministry, made possible with the help of Google Translate. This helps us also as we make our plans for returning.

As we begin to collect and focus our attention on our next season in Roatan, we are aware that as always God leads and will provide opportunities we can’t even imagine! We are including an Anticipated Needs List as a guide for you. We are always humbled as we watch the way needs and resources provided mesh. We are aware if we are presented with a project, but haven’t the resources, this isn’t our project. So, we leave this list with you, praying God will move in the hearts of those who can help and that both giver and receiver are blessed.

For the remainder of this update I want to share with you about some people you have already been praying for and to introduce you to a few new faces. As you read, you will see how excited we are about these people and hope you too can share a bit in their successes and challenges.

Sandra and Jimena – please continue to pray for Jimena. She has now been in

treatment in Tegucigalpa for one year. When I talk with her mom, Sandra, I can often hear discouragement in her reports. She reports that Jimena’s “defenses are low” quite frequently. Today she reported Jimena received a transfusion of blood platelets. I have no idea what this means or if it is good or not. Sandra has learned so much in this past year about things she really wishes she didn’t have to experience with her three-year-old. Please pray, pray, pray for healing for Jimena, and opportunities for refreshment and peace for Sandra.

We want to reintroduce you to Son Rise Mission Church. This is the church we had originally worked from, but when the founders returned to live in the States, we also left. Over the past few months, we have felt encouraged to consider again being a part of this church and mission. We are very much encouraged by the two new pastors Pastor Ivan and Pastor Saul. Our teen Bible Study has been welcomed into that fellowship. Over the next months, we will see what our role will be as this church re-establishes itself in the Sandy Bay community. Exciting for us is the upcoming baptism of two of the boys from the teen Bible study from Son Rise. Jacee and Wilson will join the group being baptized by Pastor Ivan. What a joy this is to us!

Pastor Saul and family

Pastor Ivan and his wife, Carolina

                            

                               

We request prayer for Deizy, from Son Rise church. Deizy will come home from radiation treatment in Tegucigalpa this weekend, returning in January for surgery. Deizy is confident that all that comes her way is in God’s hands. Please pray she continues to hold on to her Rock.

Geyzi with her toga.

Greicy 

We will send a special update about our 2017 Graduates in a few weeks. Oscar, Junior, Greicy, Geyzi, and Walter were all supported by friends.  Since we won’t be there for the grads, we can’t wait to see pictures they have promised to send!

As a tease..... two of our grads sent pictures from the day they were getting their grad photos taken. We're so excited for them!

Perhaps you can tell we are very excited about the opportunities we hope to have over the next months. Thank you to so many of you for your continued support. We feel loved and empowered by your prayers, words of encouragement and financial support. 

Blessings!!  Larry and Susan                              roatancampbells@gmail.com

Note: I decided to remove the Anticipated Needs List from this post.  If you would like a copy, please send me a note. Thanks.

A Month of Memories

Our view from above - it was hazy but still a great view of our Beach Sunday spot.

Our time was short - we knew it! - so we needed to make the most of our time, and also store lots of memories in our remember-ers to pull out when we had returned home. We hope that we left a bit of us behind to continue to encourage and bring a smile of remembrance too. It will be three months until we return - after Christmas - so these memories will be revisted frequently.


As promised in the September update, here is some of what we have seen and were able to catch in photos.  

When we arrived, Marcio had left us a toy plane - a reminder we were coming back, I think.  So, before we left, we gave him the plane back while we were away. I wonder if he'll find it to return it on December 30?











My favourites 
from visiting in the Colonia:

There is no slipping by this casita, even if you
have places to be. Lesli's kids always have
big hugs and smiles.  I can frequently
catch up on tidbits of gossip. The youngest,
Ashley, isn't shy about peaking in my bag
because there might be something
for her! The oldest of the youngest kids
assures me she is reading the picture Bible
each night to her younger sibs.
Each time I go by, the kids make me laugh -
this little chick received lots of
Ashley's attention.

Can you see it?  It's a little black sheep.  Keliani and her family have  two black sheep, two puppies, and a bunch of chickens and chicks.
As well as the family pets, Arezzi and Victor also have 4 kids with a little one on the way in November. They have a FULL house!

Keliani, Owen, and Vashni
with their newest puppy.

It's election year.    
Vote for me.
The president provided
some homeowners
woodburning stoves.

Greicy prepares tortillas for her little ones using their
outside clay wood stove.

Right now on special,
10 pounds of laundry
will be washed, dried and
folded for approximately
$5.  Women also wash
laundry by hand, at a cost
of one large laundry pan
 for the same price.
What is the best deal?

New enterprises in the Colonia include
laundromats.  This one will even
come to your house to pick up
and then deliver!

Maria with Richie - hasn't he grown! 
Young cousin lives with her mom
in the lower apartment.
Richie received the "boy" gift - a car.  
Cousin received a "girl" gift - a bunny. 
Soon Richie had the bunny and
cousin the car! It's universal!

Tania's baby, Natalie, was born in May.  She's adorable! Such a practical baby cradle, with a short piece of rope to pull to rock when the baby is needing a bit of comfort.

        Church pictures:

     Transportation pictures:

Through our car window -
The passenger - just perched on the seat
adjusting her hair.  La-la-la....
All the way to Coxen Hole....

The church bus.

Home Sweet Home:

Wish you were here picture:

September Update

September, 2017

Hello everyone!

In a few days, Larry and I will be squeezing our bodies into jeans, sleeved-shirts, socks – things we haven’t needed for 5 weeks - as we make our trek back from the tropics to more temperate climes. There’s a combine seat waiting for Larry, and three little grandkids waiting for cookie making and swinging.  But, we feel like we are just getting into the swing of things here in Roatan too!  It’s hard on our hearts! We will enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas in Canada, Ontario, Ridgetown, down-on-the-farm and then back we come for the winter in Roatan. We are blessed!

I want to make our thank yous first in this letter.  Thank you so much to all of you for your support, encouragement, and prayers.  Thank you for the emails and messages. Also, special thanks to those who have cut our lawn, collected our mail, checked on our house, handled money stuff, and kept things going while we were away.  You all are part of this adventure in Roatan and we couldn’t be here if not for all you do!

 

 We want to share some special praise reports and also update you with how things are for a few people you have been introduced to recently. 

There has been a change at Son Rise church with two new (new) pastors bringing excitement and love for the people they serve.  They are patiently restoring relationships.  We have been welcomed and are just beginning to feel at home again with this church.  

Sunday was a special time for us at church. Oscar confidently and humbly prayed, read the psalm, and provided a short commentary for the congregation. Oscar is one of the students we have worked with for 6 years, and both Larry and I were like proud parents as he spoke! Oscar will do great things for God, we’re sure!

We are praising God for how He has provided for our Eat and Study group as well as answering prayers at Son Rise for a Youth Group.  On Friday, we hosted our last Eat and Study evening at our house and introduced Pastor Dino and his wife Carolina to those in the group who didn’t know them.  Pastor Dino welcomed all in our group to come to the church each Friday evening to begin the new church youth group.  Hurray!  God has made this transition so smooth.

  Many of you will be wondering about Chris Palmer and his family.  Chris is our friend from the beach who recognized his need to change his life and spent a year in rehab and discipleship.  He and his wife continue to serve at the rehab center. Last week, Chris and Laura returned to Sandy Bay and gave their testimonies.  Chris told of the power of scripture in drawing him away from his old life and into a life free from addictions and free to serve.  Laura spoke of the joy in the release from addictions and at last having her family together.  The congregation of Son Rise welcomed the Palmer family and prayed in thanksgiving for the restoration of this family.  We are thrilled!  Praise God!

 

We also want to update you about Jimena’s progress.  She and her mom have been able to come back to Roatan from the hospital in Tegucigalpa for 6 weeks. It has been such a positive time for the family to be reunited.  When asked about Jimena’s progress, Sandra reports that the doctors give positive responses to her questions but Jimena will still need another year or more of treatment.  We are praising God for this opportunity for the family to be together and that Jimena is able to be out and about playing with her brother and cousins. It has also been a very challenging time for the family.  David (Jimena’s dad) works collecting garbage.  Although he continues to work 6 days a week, he has not been paid for over a month.  This is something that happens here.  Please pray that David receives a fair wage for his work. 

We thank God that He allows us to witness His work here.  There are days when we wonder what we are doing here.  There are days we do nothing!  Really!  We just are here – cleaning the shed, or doing laundry or sitting with the fan blowing on us.  Then there are days when it begins in the morning and continues and then, we are just about to eat our supper and we hear “Miss Susan/Larry” at our gate, and the meal waits. 

We have several prayer requests:

1.      Please thank God for providing for the families we work with.  It is the low season for work. However, they continue to eat and have a home, and this is all God’s provision.

2.      Please pray for Franklin.  Just when we think he has hit rock bottom there is more. Pray that He recognizes his need for Jesus.

3.      Please pray for the dads of the children we work with.  Pray for responsibility and leadership in the family. Pray that they can find work to provide for their families and their own self-esteem.

4.      Please pray for us as we again re-enter the land of excess. 

Within the week, (maybe tomorrow?) we will publish a final blog for our season here.  It will be a picture blog. You can access it at   roatancampbells.blogspot.ca   “A Month of Memories” (I like alliteration… )  We are looking forward to sharing with you in person, and also hearing lots of news from you! 

                           Blessings! See you soon,   Larry and Susan