Christmas-time Is Coming 🎄

Greetings family and friends!

One December many years ago (seems not long ago, but it probably was) at school we presented a musical called “Getting Ready for the Miracle”. I still often hum the title song. “Getting ready for the miracle of Christmas Day?”  Are you? Are you getting ready for the miracle?

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)

Because we've heard the Christmas story so many times, we forget the amazing miracle it is. God came to earth as a human baby! We need to take time to get lost in the wonder of this miracle. I want to take time this month to celebrate these words “unto you (me) is born a Saviour.” Maybe you too want to get ready to receive a deeper appreciation for how this miracle makes everything in your life more - miraculous.

We want to share a few things that have been happening in Roatan. We aren’t there but we are connected and are celebrating from a distance.

When we left in August, we had known that there would be some big changes at the Sandy Bay Adventist School. We had shared in the planning and over the next few months it all came together. The school recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open their computer lab. The intent is that all students will have access to the computers. The room is completely remodelled with new wiring, furniture, and glass in the windows. At this time, the school has 5 desktop computers with the goal of doubling that number over the next few months. 

Our pictures are clips from a video.  In the video, the ribbon cutter saws away at the ribbon with a pair of very dull safety scissors.  Larry wants to bring this little girl a new pair of scissors. 

We are also celebrating a few graduations. Jacee is the last of our first little group who studied English in our classroom. Jacee graduated from high school last week earning a 97% average.  We couldn’t be prouder!

Jacee with family at graduation. 

Keliani was so pleased as she graduated from grade 9. Her mom and dad were very excited to witness their daughter achieve this milestone – an opportunity they didn’t have. The school taught the grads to dance so that each grad could dance with his/her parent. Isn’t that sweet?

Greicy and Nahun’s son, Dilan, had his special moment too as he graduated from kindergarten. This little guy is a sharpy and is beginning to read and work with numbers. Time flies.

The island is recovering from the year-plus of no tourists with work for many people who had been looking. Larry receives frequent messages from Chris from his new job as a security guard. He also sends pictures. He looks intimidating to me! Elias, our tour guide friend is booked every day. We see many Help Wanted messages from restaurants and resorts on Facebook. There is work. But we are concerned with how quickly money is spent as soon as it is earned. There seems to be more self reliance, and less praying. Does this sound familiar?

Chris has work!

We plan to return to Roatan this winter. At this time, we haven’t booked our flight or accommodations. It appears that travelling is the thing to do this winter, so it is a bit trickier finding flights in our price range. And, since our house is no longer our house, we also need to co ordinate finding a place to lay our heads as well as finding a flight - something we never had to do when we had our house. It will all come together. We just have trouble with waiting.

We are beginning to organize how we will support students and other needs for 2023. We have included our 2023 plans on the following page.

As the year wraps up, we want to thank everyone who has supported us with funds, prayers, and conversations of encouragement. We so appreciate each person! We wish you the merriest Christmas this year and want to encourage you, too,  – get ready – celebrate the miracle of Christmas Day.

    For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)

           
                                                   Many blessings!  Larry and Susan

 

🍂 September Update

Hello!

Our summer return to Roatan has come and gone and now we are back on the farm preparing for fall. Our trip was so quick – only two weeks – but in that time we feel that we accomplished the three goals we had set for ourselves.

We were able to check in with so many people. Each of the students that we support has successfully completed his/her second quarter of the school year. We were very pleased to be invited to participate in various activities at the Sandy Bay Adventist Bilingual School. Larry was consulted about plans for the new room to be used for a computer lab. I spent a morning reading Canadian storybooks to the younger grades and speaking to the older students to encourage them in their English studies. On the Friday before we left, while Larry packed 😉 I assisted with the school-wide spelling bee. Spell G-R-E-A-T!

It was such a JOY to spend time visiting and having friends come to visit. Our hearts are full 💕 !  Chris and Laura are thriving now that they are settled back in Roatan. Laura works a few days a week house-cleaning. Her employer recently surprised her with funds to remodel the front of their house to use to sell second-hand clothes. “Laura’s Closet” will soon open to local customers. We are worried for Maria. While her oldest son finds day-jobs as he can, the family is subsisting. We assured her that we will assist her as we can. Recently she invited another single mom to come live in her one-room house. While visiting, I noticed that the women have put up tarp curtains to divide the house. While this woman is likewise in need, between the two they share babysitting, freeing one to look for work. Challenges continue but the nearby church provides support.

Our second goal was to say good-bye to our house. In Roatan, furnishings are left for the new owners, but Larry needed to finish selling/distributing his tools. The final items rolled away on our last day in Roatan. We tried to savour all the good things we enjoyed about our special Roatan house. A few days after we left, the house sale closed. We will go back, just not to our house. We have many options for places to stay. And we have so many golden memories of our time living in that house. (Our blog at roatancampbells.blogspot.com (2022 September) recalls experiences at Our House).

Our third goal? We needed a vacation. Roatan is a beautiful tourist island. People come for fun and relaxation. We have had plenty of fun over the years, but rarely have we taken advantage of the tourist opportunities. So, we went to the beach – and not just on Sunday. I snorkeled and Larry lazed. Most mornings we lingered over our coffee up in the perch. Coconut shrimp dinners and other treats were enjoyed. 

We spent a day with our favourite tour guides, Elias and Rosa, traveling “down island”. Our trip included a delightful water-taxi ride through the mangrove passages (long-ago pirate hideouts). Winding roads took our car up and down as we caught glimpses of the ocean and travelled through tunnels of trees. It was a day of greens and blues. A good balance of treats and normal made for a time of refreshment and re-creation.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul ~ From Psalm 23

And now? We’re home and content. We’re asked when we will go back, and we say we don’t know. There is the fall farm work to do without Larry’s partner, Paul. We have family responsibilities. So, as during the two years we couldn’t travel, we rely on online connections, hoping that this time of waiting won’t last two years! We have trusted people who can be our eyes and hands.

For those who support us financially, we will continue to have needs including school support and support for families with medical or other needs. We continue to appreciate every donation and recognize that it is a gift that comes from open hands and hearts. We also need your continued prayers for the people we serve and for our family over the next months. Let’s make plans to visit and catch up together soon.                        

Blessings to all! ~ Larry and Susan

🏡 Our House 🏡

 

“Congratulations! We closed!”  was the message we received from our real estate agent. A few days later it was really official – the wire transfer of funds for payment was made to our account in Canada. And with that – our house was sold. I don’t think we really thought it would go so fast. We listed it in February, but in our minds once April arrived we anticipated slow season for sales, and July and August slow-slow season. But, in late July we had our offer with closing in early September. We are happy!  We are sad! We are content.

For nine years, this was the house where we stored our second toothbrushes, our sandals, and a week-plus of unmentionables.  This is the house that allowed us to do God’s work. This is the house that was at the end of imaginary line between Home 1 close to those we loved, and Home 2 close to those we loved. I guess we feel a little like the peg at one end of the line has been pulled up and right now it is twanging with no place to re-peg.

So, this is a time of reflection. Not on the stuff and not so much on the building itself but on the work we were allowed to do from that house and on those we love as a result of that work. It’s a time with so many good memories:  

➤ when our classroom was used for English classes, homework help, and computer literacy/games

➤ when our classroom was used for games 

➤ when we hosted Eat and Study Friday night Youth Group

➤ Larry's memories come with lots of sweat

➤ can't forget living with Juan for a few seasons - a companion for Larry and regular meals for Juan

➤ remembering deck and laughter-filled visits 

                   ➤ and attempts at growing in the heat

➤ remembering last visits

➤ and final, for now, goodbyes.

While the sale is completed and our house isn't our house now, we are content. We had an opportunity - a temporary gift - provided to us to do the work we had been given. We were able to share day-to-day living with many friends in Roatan. Our house is gone, but our memories continue as a lasting gift. We thank God for both gifts - our house, and our memories - and look forward to where we will call home in Roatan again.

Tidings of Dis-Comfort and Joy

Submitted to the Independent News (Ridgetown)

Tidings of Dis-Comfort and So Much Joy

Saludos a todos. That’s one of several things we have learned. It means Greetings to All in Spanish and we are pleased to greet you as the guest contributors for this week. We are the Campbells and have been blessed to spend several months of each year on the island of Roatan, Honduras serving as we are needed. We confidently share that we were drawn to this work by God. Our expectation was that our life experiences – teaching, farming/problem solving, and our love for Jesus – could be used to make changes in the lives of the people living in the small Spanish/Caribbean community of Sandy Bay. 

We have made over 30 trips to our place in Roatan. Despite our pleasure in being able to spend so much time there, frequently we are in situations where we are not comfortable. It is hot! There are three months when rain comes in buckets. There are insects and lizards. While the physical conditions are often uncomfortable, it is our shortcomings that really cause us discomfort.

Many people speak Spanish, and we still have only functional Spanish. We serve many people that we would not normally be drawn to. We come from excess and hurt to see the results of living without. We continue to be ashamed of making unthoughtful comments. It is in this discomfort that we have come to depend on lessons taught by the Master Teacher. And it is in the lessons we experience our joy. 

When we wonder how to help because we see so much need, Jesus reminds us of his teaching about the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:29-37). He teaches us to help those he puts on our path. And, as an extension - not everyone is on our path. 

Chris kept barging on our path. I did not want to help Chris because he was a thief and an addict. Chris stole my classroom computer. Chris stole anything we left on the deck including our light bulbs! While Larry wanted to help Chris go to rehab, I thought he did not deserve our help. But Chris was put on our path and with the urging of several, including Larry, Chris went into rehab. Over the course of a year, Chris replaced his bad habits with Jesus. As an added bonus, we have developed a good relationship with not only Chris but his family.

Jesus teaches us about Kingdom multiplication. As Jesus took the five loaves and two fish offered by a boy,  and fed the 5000 (John 6:1-14) Jesus frequently takes the little we have and makes it much. 

For several weeks, I had avoided Concepcion’s invitation to come to visit her daughter Patti. I knew Concepcion wanted me to persuade Larry that Patti needed a new house. Eventually, Concepcion’s persistence wore us down and on a Saturday afternoon, Larry and I traveled up the hill to Patti’s. What we saw broke our hearts! But we knew what we had in our bank account, and it wasn’t enough for a house build. Back in our house, Larry pulled out his trusty calculator, and pencil. He made the sketch and the calculations. On Monday morning, we opened an email from a friend who had helped build a house previously. He told us he was coming to Roatan in a week. He also told us he had money and wanted to help with a project if we could find one. Jesus took our little – and multiplied it so that Patti’s old house was replaced with a new, sturdy one.

Not everyone can pack up and travel to a hot, lizardy country. (Too bad!) Do you ever wonder what discomfort could give you such joy? We’ve been blessed - trading our comfort for discomfort has produced such incredible joy. We’d wish the same for you.

We are reminded of the benediction in Ephesians 3: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. ~ Amen. 

🌷Spring - Looking Forward and Back

For many months Larry and I were discouraged that there was no good way to travel to Roatan. I think lots of you heard our grumbles. When  we were finally able to travel, we knew the wait had been worth it. Our 9-week session, from January to mid-March became the sweetest time we have ever spent. We had a contentment in just BEING – not meeting any timelines or fulfilling any expectations. I expect that you too have had times when you found that your “no plan” was the best plan.

We have recently had several people asking what is next. Our house is listed to sell. We have had several showings, but no offers. And that is quite alright with us. We know our house is in a unique location – perfect for mission work but maybe not for a person looking to spend time on the beach. We know our house will sell when the time is right. If it sells, there are many rentals available for us to explore. If it doesn’t sell, we know where we will lay our heads the next time we return.

We hope to return in July. During February, we were able to register eight students in private schools. Four of these students are at the Sandy Bay Adventist Bilingual School. This school is just inside the Colonia and transportation is not required for children living in the Colonia. 

We have been quite impressed with the dedication and creativity of the staff of this school to always provide for the students including online classes and one-on-one time during the lock-down.

We popped into the school on several occasions in February and March. As conversation progressed with the director, we were able to encourage her to tell us about her vision for the school. She shared that it had always been the plan for the school to continue to grow. 

Initially a K-grade 6 school, the school had been on target opening grade 7, 8 and 9 over three years. With the pandemic and overall economic challenges the plans have stalled. The director is looking for help with continued expansion; we are wanting a school that provides a quality bilingual program through to grade 12.

Larry is very excited about this building project. The shell of a room for grade 10 is in place.  In July he hopes to have funds in place to complete that classroom – windows, doors, interior walls, and furnishings. The director also has a vision for a computer lab and science room to open at the same time as the grade 10 classroom.  Much discussion with the director and her board is needed before final plans can be made.

During our recent time in Roatan we were able to spend much time with the families we had only been able to text for such a long time. We had many opportunities to visit with Greicy and her family. As the days passed, we were so impressed with the maturity and confidence we recognized in her. 

The week following our return, it was announced (finally) that public schools would indeed open for in-person learning, one or two days a week. It was Greicy who alerted us to families that would not be able to attend school because they were unable to purchase the required uniforms and school materials. We sent funds, and to our delight, Greicy accompanied these children to the local tienda to shop for what was needed. This is what we had done for so many years with Greicy and her family and in turn, she now took this responsibility. We are so excited – we have been replaced! 

We continue to look forward to what we can see as our mission in the future. God continues to plant a yearning in us to return. Again, we are so thankful to all who continue to share this with us. I’m sorry you didn’t get to enjoy any of the warm, balmy, flower-scented, gentle breezes - you are the hardy ones! With this late spring, we all would like some tropical warmth. (I thought we packed some for you ….) Many blessings to all of you. 

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Larry has lots of adventures. This is a recent one - Adventures with Elias – The New Van. (Larry has many adventures with Elias.) Shopping for a van for Elias was just the perfect activity for shopper Larry. For Elias, there is potential for many tourists to enjoy an island tour in this comfy bus with his tour company Let’s Go Roatan Tours.