New Team Arrives

Trey helped pick up the first short term team of the summer for lw4r at the airport.  They ended up bringing in a ton more baseball stuff, so we are set to have some major baseball going on here in Roatan.  Might even get the men's baseball team to get involved and a teenage team started.  Good stuff.

This week Trey will be helping the team get from one place to another as well as assisting with some of the construction that they have going on.  The kids and I will be going to the VBS in the afternoons as well as photographing the team and the different projects that they have going on this week. The team is adding two rooms to a house, shelving and ventilation to a storage building, laying some water pipe, doing bible studies, vbs and distributing food; all much needed and very appreciated.

Tonight we are going to what is supposed to be an amazing puppet show that the team has hired.  This will be up in the colonia and should be fun for the kids.

Take Care and God Bless,
Connie

Last Day of School and Kindergarten Graduation!

So, we had our last day of school and Wiley graduated from kindergarten.  They had a huge celebration and the entire school (about 75 kids) got to watch the program.  Afterward they had food and a present exchange with one-another.  He is growing up so fast, we can hardly believe it.  We'll be the first to say that he LOVES school; playing with his friends and digging in the dirt, but he could probably care less about learning in general.  If it doesn't involve cars, mud or catching bugs, you probably won't get his attention very well.  Thank God he had Mrs. Eleanor, she was a champ and able to keep an entire classroom of boys in their seats and learning.  We will miss her next year but will move full speed ahead into first grade in the fall at SBAS.

The older classes got to participate in their own last day of school celebrations: high school dance line, art presentation, end of year slide show, LOTS of food and the roatan radio show.  Check it out, the director of their school and Anna's teacher are two of the DJs, Athena and DJ Duke, cool stuff on the island of Roatan.  Anna got to talk on the radio, she was so excited about it too, made us proud to see her jump right in.  That would be a great job one day! 

Oh, did I mention that it was soooooo hot and the power was out?  Roatan, gotta love it!

Take Care and God Bless,
Connie and Fam

Moving, Baseball and Friends from Texas, It doesn't get much better than this...

So, after spending the first half of this year getting all settled into a house here on Roatan, we have moved into a different house in a totally different area of the island.  Some might say it is less safe, however, we have bars on the windows and a "watchie" to help keep intruders away.  This island is not known for violent crimes, but break-ins are common and expected if you are careless. 

We were moved into our new house less than a week when we welcomed Eric and Tara Kendrick and their two sons as guests.  So exciting to see friends from Texas and to show them the island and all that we are involved with.  They were even able to bring a few extra bags full of baseball equipment that many friends from home took time to collect.  Thank you, Eric and Tara for lugging all that extra baggage along with your two babies and all that is required when traveling with kids! 

With only a few days to give them the grand tour, we hit the ground running and barely got them to the house from the airport before Trey and Eric took off for baseball practice.  It was the hottest part of the day and I think EK forgot to put on sunscreen.  But, once they got there, the kids from the colonia were so stoked to each have their own mit and a selection of bats and balls to choose from.  Thank you to everyone that donated items and went out of your way to give back!  These kids will thrive because of your generosity.

We hit the beach, took them on a tour of the colonia and the water project with Henry from lw4r, visited the local Honduran school in the colonia, took he baseball team swimming, went snorkeling, and ate some great food.  Time flew by and we miss our dear friends. 

Take Care and God Bless,

Connie and Family

Little Ones With Birthdays....My how time flies!

This past week we celebrated Laney's second birthday!  We can hardly believe that it has already been two years since we were blessed with her arrival; she is so stinkin cute.  It is amazing how quickly they develop their own little personalities and views of those around them, God bless her for dealing with three older siblings all the time.  She is one tough cookie, we always call her our little bull-dog because she can face plant into the concrete and might cry for a second or two but always is ready to get back up and keep going.

We have been without an oven for over a month now, so Melissa was so kind to jump in and volunteer to make Laney's birthday complete.  So, Melissa ended up baking cupcakes and a cute tiny cake just for Laney.  We celebrated after church set-up on Saturday and everyone was so excited to have a treat after our hard work.  Thanks Melissa!  And happy birthday little Laney lou!

Take Care and God Bless,

Connie

A new family arrives

The Tichi family recently arrived, they have three kids (6, 7, & 8), so our kids are pumped to have even more kids to hang out with and get to know.  They are from Durango, Colorado and have made a three-year commitment to Living Water 4 Roatan.  Wow, they are amazing in their faith and willingness to serve others!

Mike and Trey have been diving once or twice a week and getting to know the island kids that are the dive masters.  Talk about some life stories; these kids from the island have had some pretty tough lives and know nothing else of what life could look like.  It has become a great opportunity for a couple of good dads/husbands to minister to these kids about all the possibilities that this life has waiting for us all.

Last week, their family started taking a truck-load of kids from the colonia over to the ball field to play baseball.  The kids are so interested in learning and playing sports; yet another great opportunity to take our kids and model what being a family can look like.  The kids in the colonia have a very different view of how a family operates; abuse in every form imaginable, neglect, you name it.  All it takes is the commitment on our part to model a positive lifestyle and they will never forget that there really is another way to do life.  Praise God for this awesome opportunity to love on these kids and let them just be kids in an unconditional environment.

Today, we will hit the ball field and hope to eventually get a team or two put together for the fall ball season.  Very cool stuff.  Trey sent out an email to recruit donations of baseball equipment, lots of replies and people cleaning out their old ball bags to donate.  Eric and Tara Kendrick and their two boys arrive on June 21st and it is looking like they will be bringing a couple of extra bags full of everyone's ball stuff!  Thanks Kendrick family!

Take care and God bless,
Connie