Roatan Honduras with the Vick 6

We just can't stay away....

2011-05-24T13:32:00.000-05:00

So we are about to complete our 5th month back in the states....the last couple of months have been pretty emotional. We had many visitors as well as a great Easter and Mother's Day. Our friends Wayne and Stacia that have four kids our kids' ages came in to visit us, the Nichols family was in for Relay for Life and stayed with us too, then we had or pastor Jeremy and his family from Roatan,

3 Months in The States....Who Knew It Would Take So Long To Adjust???

2011-04-06T13:25:00.000-05:00

It has now been three months since we arrived back in the states.....WHEW! It has been as hard to re-adjust to living in America as it was when we first arrived in Roatan, Honduras. Who knew it would take so long to get back in the swing of things back home? Thank God for our dear friends and family here for lifting us up in prayer and never failing to listen or just be here for us....even our

Freezing temps on our tropical toes!

2011-02-01T20:39:00.001-06:00

So, I totally had to blog about something a little more upbeat after my last blog. You can only waller in your sorrows for so long, that self-pity thing can become viral if you don't watch it...thank God for his grace when we feel so doubtful. So, the low for tonight is supposed to be around 18 degrees Fahrenheit....that is SO darn cold for our thin, tropical blood! We only thought that our

One Month Back Home

2011-01-30T19:21:00.004-06:00

So it has been one month since we got back from our journey to Roatan....Some days have been good, others not so great. It is definitely difficult to adjust to such change: NO ONE that we know or are close to could possibly understand or GET what it is I am speaking of. We love our friends and family and enjoy sharing our journey with them, but seriously WE could not have understood the

One Year and Back in Texas

2011-01-19T10:35:00.001-06:00

Well, we completed our one year commitment to Roatan and are now back in Texas. I cannot believe it flew by so fast! There were days that I thought the year would never end and others that just seemed to fly by. Each day was filled with such awesome opportunities to minister to others and just be a great example of what Christ's love LOOKS like. We are truly blessed and thankful for this past

Holidays in Motion

2010-12-11T17:44:00.001-06:00

After getting through Halloween and being in charge of the haunted house at the kids' school, we barely got a breath of air when we began the journey into Thanksgiving. Our church hosted a HUGE potluck dinner at a local resort. It was absolutely beautiful with tons of food and fellowship, the kids swam and played while we all ate more than our bodies could possibly handle. We were not sure

First game of fall balll for the colonia Pirates

2010-10-30T00:12:00.001-05:00

This afternoon we had our first game with a local team from West End, the Westenders. They had a world of experience compared to our kids but our guys amazed everyone watching! Our team hit the ball, ran the bases, had double plays, etc; all of it absolutely defying everything these kids knew. Trey was in awe of what these kids were able to accomplish with what seemed as so little training...

We thought our guests had ceased for a time, however, they had other plans....

2010-10-26T15:27:00.000-05:00

Apparently, when you live on a tropical island for the better part of a year, there are a whole host of guests that creep into your life. We have had friends, family, honey bees, tarantulas, geckos, monkey lalas, mice, rats, ants....what are we forgetting here? Oh, that's right, BOA CONSTRICTORS! How on earth did that not top our list of guests? The two sweeties were perched above our washing

More Birthdays, Goodbyes and Travel.....

2010-10-12T13:53:00.013-05:00

This past week Trey went to Texas and Arizona for the week. It was his first trip off-island in 10 months! Not only was he able to gain a new appreciation for the the little things that we can sometimes take for granted here on Roatan but he was able to have a ton of quiet time while driving across Texas. The slower pace of life was much missed, as he juggled his "schedule" to include meeting

Fall is here and a new guest arrives

2010-09-23T14:26:00.000-05:00

Today is the first day of Fall and we are not anywhere near the cool temps most are enjoying back in the states. But, hey, we do live on a tropical island with year round warm temperature and beautiful blue water & white sandy beaches....some trade off, huh? Parker just had her 4th birthday, it was so much fun. We had a Tinkerbell pinata that was bigger than her and the power was out the whole

Summer is over and school has begun!

2010-08-20T10:41:00.000-05:00

Summer is over? Where did it go? We have been so busy that when we finally look up and see that we are entering the end of August, it is a little mind boggling....Our last visitor, Lat Nichols - 14, just left last weekend and completed a week of serving the community and doing lots of fun island stuff, Anna and Wiley have started school at the bilingual school here in Sandy Bay and we are

The half way mark!

2010-08-04T17:51:00.000-05:00

So it has been six months now that we have been here in Roatan, Honduras. That's all??? Seriously though, it has flown by so quickly and we cannot even imagine how fast the next six will go by. After hosting many different families in our home as well as two teenagers, not to mention helping out lw4r with their short term mission teams; we will be ready for some down time to possibly get off

Short Term Missions, House Builds and More Goodbyes...

2010-08-04T17:40:00.000-05:00

The last two months have been so much work but so rewarding all at the same time. We had five weeks straight of short term mission teams with lw4r. This was an opportunity for us to help shuttle people, participate in VBS, take rice and beans to families and really just a way for us to help enable people with an abundance to give to others in need. So much more to be said about all that

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

2010-07-17T15:48:00.000-05:00

This week we had a blast with the short term mission team from Roopeville, Georgia. Having met them last summer, we picked up right where we left off and never missed a beat. Anna and the youth pastor, Chris Altman, were up to their old pranks and rest of the team made it feel like we were back home with southern friends again. Just hearing their accents when they speak was refreshing to us!

It has been an absolute whilrwind around here!

2010-07-15T00:18:00.001-05:00

The last two weeks for us have comprised of spending most of our time in la colonia with the short term mission teams. It has been crazy busy and we are enjoying every minute of it! Well, the heat is a bit much, but at least we are surrounded by water to cool off with! The team from Talapoosa, GA was awesome last week. They had VBS, discipleship classes, soccer and baseball sports camps,

Fourth of July in Roatan, Honduras

2010-07-06T22:04:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, after we picked up the team from Talapoosa, GA we got them settled in at the SonRise Mission Inn in Sandy Bay, grabbed some lunch and headed for church set-up. Sunday we had church and take-down then an afternoon of swimming and hanging out as we prepared for the week ahead. As far as Fourth of July celebrations, we opted out because we were gearing up for Monday and decided to

Dropping off and Picking up...

2010-07-04T14:58:00.000-05:00

So, every Saturday for the next few weeks we will continue to drop off one short term mission team and pick up another one. It can be fun to go to the airport because you never know who you might see and get to catch up with. It is also quite a sight to see our little pick-up loaded down with luggage as well as the lw4r truck all loaded down and then a van and another SUV busting at the seems

New Team Arrives

2010-06-29T17:53:00.000-05:00

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

Last Day of School and Kindergarten Graduation!

2010-06-29T17:16:00.000-05:00

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

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

2010-06-27T22:20:00.001-05:00

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.

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

2010-06-09T23:14:00.000-05:00

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

A new family arrives

2010-06-01T11:04:00.000-05:00

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

New guests....creepy crawly ones!

2010-05-11T22:15:00.002-05:00

Okay, so we signed up for this knowing that we would have to forgo many amenities, however, never in a million years did I ever think that we would be living with this many different creatures (inside our home), not near it or around it or passing by it, but literally INSIDE of it! Our guests that never let us down are the geckos. They are actually pretty cool looking, they are almost albino

Ah, the joys of receiving email from home!

2010-05-04T22:09:00.000-05:00

Wow, where to start? The outpouring of support from friends is just amazing! Since our last update we have gotten emails from many of you that are very encouraging; we cannot express enough our appreciation to each of you in how much this means to us. Being so removed from the everyday grind is great in some ways but very tough in other ways. We miss our friends and family back home so much

Build a House and Family Comes In For a Visit!

2010-04-27T00:54:00.002-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been crazy with preparing for the Dwellings house build and then the actual week-long erection of the home in Gravel Bay, Roatan Bay Islands. It was a very intense time in that the days began at sun-up and did not end until sun-down while the temperatures were reading around 95 with a feels-like temp of about 120 or so and full-on humidity. The guys were such

Culture Day in Roatan, Honduras

2010-04-23T14:32:00.001-05:00

Today we celebrated culture day at Anna and Wiley's school. The families at the school come from so many different cultures: Italy, Holland, Honduras, Canada, Costa Rica, USA, Mexico, and Great Britain just to name a few. Each family brought a dish from their native culture, we took queso & chips since we used to eat it all the time and it is pretty much served in every restaurant in Texas. We

Three Hour Tour - To the Electric Company?

2010-04-22T11:28:00.001-05:00

So, today was crazy….went to pay our electric bill on the final day that it is due. Note to self: do not EVER do this again. The line at the electric company wrapped around the building, about 150 people in line. It is the hottest month so far with zero wind right now, blistering heat, extra humidity, and I have two of my kids with me. What to do? I let Anna watch and play with Laney in the

Easter in Roatan, Honduras

2010-04-08T18:06:00.000-05:00

I can honestly say that Easter was our most liked day so far while here on the island. We got up, got everyone dressed in their Easter Sunday best and headed out for a fun-filled day. Started out at church, Jeremy preached to a standing room only crowd while kids’ church enjoyed a good message followed by an Easter egg hunt. After the service, we all made our way to the beach to participate in

Semana Santa in Roatan, Honduras

2010-04-03T23:18:00.000-05:00

This week in is Holy Week in Honduras and the long awaited arrival of people from mainland Honduras to Roatan. They descend upon the Bay Islands for their vacation and celebration of what Christians all over the world call the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This week for businesses can amount to a few months worth of income and is long awaited by many restaurants, hotels and vendors

Engineers from Northern Arizona University

2010-03-23T11:45:00.000-05:00

Trey spent last week with a group of engineers from Northern Arizona University. They visited last year and saw the needs of the people of the colonia and couldn't stay away. They applied for funding for a water treatment facility in the colonia and decided to return and further assess the needs of the people before moving forward. As it so happens, engineers are very intelligent, but not all

Painting the town...er, school

2010-03-23T11:27:00.000-05:00

We spent Saturday painting at the Sandy Bay Alternative School. We ended up completing four classrooms; all very large with very high ceilings. Whew! We worked our rear ends off spackling, sanding, taping off trim, painting and chasing kids around. We had a family from Oklahoma and one from Michigan, several teachers from the school and neighboring schools as well, some of the students and

The wheels on the car go….

2010-03-12T17:28:00.001-06:00

Well, you usually have no reason for concern about your wheels when they are going round and round, however, in Roatan anything goes. Or so we are finding this out… Yesterday, Melissa, Carmen and I, as well as all six of our children, all loaded up in the car to take a quick trip into Sandy Bay to drop off Carmen at her home and me at the school for a meeting. As we were driving, we noticed a

Busy, busy, Busy....

2010-03-12T09:09:00.000-06:00

This past week has been pretty crazy. Trey worked with the short mission team everyday, all day. Wiley spent most days with him and we pretty much blew off school, but at least he was surrounded by some really awesome work and learned important values and lessons on serving others. The team left on Saturday and they went and saw them off. We spent a couple of hours at the beach and played aerobie

March is upon us!

2010-03-03T11:09:00.000-06:00

March On! Saturday, Trey and Anna helped pick up a short term mission team for Living Water 4 Roatan. They are a group from Florida and the men will be finishing a concrete block storage building while the ladies do discipleship classes with a group of women in the colonia. They have morning classes and evening classes as well as fun stuff for their children if they choose to bring them, which

Who needs power when you have homemade pizza...

2010-02-22T21:31:00.000-06:00

Mondays are our grocery shopping day. Melissa and I team up and ride to the grocery store(s) together to use this time to hang out and have mom time while running our errands. Trey usually drops Anna at school then I use the morning to home school Wiley and Parker before we leave around lunch time. Trey normally keeps Wiley and the baby while I take Parker with us. The baby takes her nap and

Birthdays, Scooters and Bees...Oh My!

2010-02-20T11:13:00.000-06:00

In the middle of our crazy few weeks, Trey and I decided to have our birthdays of all things; on Valentine's Day we celebrated with a surprise birthday cake and a ton of homemade birthday cards. Melissa made me my favorite cake of all, homemade carrott cake with real cream cheese frosting and even put candles on top for Trey and I to blow out! The cards that all the kids made were just darling

My how time flies!

2010-02-17T14:38:00.000-06:00

So, it has been one month today that we arrived in beautiful Roatan, Honduras. It has not been the easiest few weeks but we are all still accounted for! I have actually struggled with writing the blog, haven't felt interested or moved to do so. Not sure why since I absolutely love to write and communicate with others that are interested in our story...however, I think I became so wrapped up in

Yackity Yack!

2010-01-29T13:00:00.000-06:00

We have spent the past three days with four children taking turns yacking! Poor babies and poor momma...Things happen in threes: we got our stuff, got hot water, and got sick. WHEW! I guess we are done for now. Although, I thought it was supposed to be three good things or three bad things, not an assortment...oh, well, not complaining since we are all better now and have our stuff and hot

Working on the well

2010-01-25T21:27:00.000-06:00

Today, Trey and Anna went up to the Colonia with Henry from Living Water for Roatan. One of the water wells that supplies water to over a thousand people was having problems and was not generating water like it should. After troubleshooting the well, they figured out it was a prolem with the flow valve and thus saved a whole lot of time and money in that the pump will not need to be pulled.

We made it!

2010-01-23T07:38:00.000-06:00

We finally made it to Roatan for the second leg of our journey here in Roatan, Honduras! After preparing our home in Crystal Beach to be a rental again, a very long and tedious task with four children under foot, I might add, we spent the night with our dear friends, the Ashtons, and headed out to the airport first thing Sunday morning; escorted by non other than Uncle James. Little Laney was

Cool things that our friends are doing in support of our mission to Roatan

2009-12-26T13:16:00.000-06:00

Here's how some of you are helping: ■If you read our blog this summer you are aware that soccer is the sport in Honduras. We played with kids and adults on dirt fields in 100 degree heat. Most of them played without soccer cleats or even shoes. Well, we now have enough cleats, soccer balls and uniforms for two whole teams thanks to Michelle Nelson. This girl took the bull by the horns and

Getting ready to Go during the holidays.....eeek!

2009-12-11T12:50:00.000-06:00

While we realize it is the holidays here in the US, we also realize that we have SO much to do to get ready to GO to Roatan! Packing the essential items like flip-flops and swim suits is the easy part but when it comes to the everyday things like bug spray and believe it or not spices to cook with, we need a plan of action. Yes, they sell bug spray in Roatan, but it is twice as much as it is here

Thanksgiving At The Beach

2009-12-01T17:43:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the beach this year! This was our very first holiday at the beach and it was beautiful outside and the kids had a blast baking and getting ready for the feast. Trey's uncle, James, joined us for the day and we had a great time eating everything in sight. When we said our blessing over the food we also asked everyone to say what they are most thankful for and

Kids on a mission in Crystal Beach, Texas

2009-11-25T13:30:00.005-06:00

Our kids got the whole week off this week for the Thanksgiving Holidays. Not sure who approved this, just kidding...we have had a great week so far: Anna and Wiley and a few other classmates from their school spent the day handing out food to families in need. It was awesome to see kids, whose families were waiting in the food line, jump in to help give back to their community while getting

Monday, Monday

2009-11-20T14:25:00.003-06:00

It has been two weeks since the launch of our support campaign to return to Roatan. Now, comes the hard part, waiting to see if everyone is on board and ready to join us on this effort. Our financial statements are sent to us on the 2nd and 4th Monday every month, so this Monday will be our very first report. The excitement of knowing that we have so many people that are rooting for us and

Vick Family Launches Campaign to Raise Support...

2009-11-09T19:13:00.010-06:00

Well, we did it! We finally launched our formal campaign to raise support for our long-term family mission to Roatan, Honduras. If you haven't already, check out our website http://www.vick6roatan.yolasite.com/div>

New Things On The Horizon....

2009-10-23T17:29:00.002-05:00

Here recently we have been enjoying the awesome weather as well as some other great things.My mom and her husband were in for a couple of days to visit with us, that was fun and we did all the Galveston fun stuff of hitting The Strand and of course the beach. They are back in Seattle now, missing the grandkids and the fantastic weather we are having.Trey went to Arizona for the meeting with the

2009-09-17T20:06:00.003-05:00

Since our last blog, we have had a few changes occur. Our three oldest started school here in Crystal Beach, Texas, Parker turned 3, I signed up to start substitute teaching at the school here on the peninsula (I am the only sub located here...negotiations need to begin very soon.....) jj:)So much change with being here at a beach front school and yes, you can see the beach from the windows in

Where did you guys go???

2009-08-19T21:44:00.010-05:00

Where did you guys disappear to? Well, sorry that anyone has had to ask, we sincerely have been trying to find our way. We promise.After our 'sabbatical' to the ranch, we headed to the beach house for a couple of days and then to to the gulf coast, through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and then on to Florida. We had a great time catching some Florida waves and hanging out with family.Of course,

Week One back in Texas

2009-08-05T22:00:00.014-05:00

Okay, so it has been an entire week since our last blog. We have been quite busy and there is no slowing down anytime soon. We spent a couple of days at the beach house in Crystal Beach. We actually visited the local school here, Crenshaw Elementary, the kids said they want to go to school here. Lord, we need a sign of some sort, please make it so obvious, like a fire in the sky with very

Our last day in Roatan

2009-07-27T22:02:00.006-05:00

Our last day in Roatan, Honduras was eventful, to say the least. We decided to start out with a quick breakfast at 7am and then straight to the beach. It was so strange knowing that it would be our last time piling into the little Nissan pick up, all windows down, kids hanging out the windows, no seat belts, you name it, we did it, only if it was something we didn't normally do in America. Too

The last Thursday and Friday in Roatan

2009-07-24T22:34:00.007-05:00

Our last two full days have come and gone in a flash. Thursday we took it easy, knowing that we soon would be full speed ahead with packing and airport stuff and kids and all that. We met up with who else but Melissa and Jeremy and the twins to swim and go to the Iron Shore. The iron shore is an area of what looks to be dead coral or volcanic formations that formed along the seashore. Pirates

Our last Wednesday in Roatan

2009-07-22T21:07:00.006-05:00

Keeping up the trend of 'last ofs', we have now officially had our last Wednesday in Roatan. The days are flying by and the thought of returning to reality is really unsettling...when we return, we will stay the night at a friend's house, all of our belongings are still in storage, we have to pick up our vehicles and then we will spend a few days at the beach house in Crystal Beach...trying to

The Official 'Last Ofs' Begin

2009-07-21T21:39:00.009-05:00

This is the beginning of the official 'Last Ofs' of Roatan; Our last Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, etc. On our 'last Sunday' we started out our day at rchurch, Laney spent some quality time with several of the male friends that we have made, she absolutely adores men, who of course just scoop her up and will hold her for as long as she wants; atta girl. Before the service was over, Jeremy, the

A Visit to Santa Helena

2009-07-19T14:03:00.014-05:00

We are officially able to say that we have pretty much taken the kids on every possible excursion that we NEVER in our minds thought possible. Now we can add a visit to the island of Santa Helena (or Helene).Thursday, we had to be up and out the door by 8am to get to Oakridge in order to catch our boat to the island. The getting up part is easy at this point because all of the little ones are up

Ten More Days

2009-07-15T09:10:00.005-05:00

Well, once again we have had some evening power outages and this has contributed to the absence of blog posts. However, we have had some much needed rain almost every day for the past few days, sometimes a couple of times a day. We end up in the middle of the night rushing around closing windows and then later rushing around re-opening them to take advantage of the ice cold air blowing in from

Weekend Update from Roatan, Honduras

2009-07-12T22:17:00.007-05:00

The power was out last night, so this will be a weekend update.Saturday was a tough one, we helped transport the mission team from Georgia back to the airport. They totally caught us off guard and presented us with the sweetest gift, a plaque with scripture that each one of them had signed and written little notes on. I had to fight back the tears, it truly was amazing how easily we bonded with

Three weeks down and two to go...

2009-07-10T20:27:00.005-05:00

Well, to round out our third week here in Roatan, Honduras, we finished the vacation bible school at the Colonia and went to the beach for the first time in five days. Our last day with the kids was really fun, they have really bonded with each person of the mission team as well as our family. We really had a great time getting to know the team from Roopeville, GA; they made us feel like part of

More VBS and Soccer Matches

2009-07-08T21:28:00.004-05:00

Today was the second to last day of vbs with the mission team from Roopeville, GA. The kids of the Colonia are really growing attached to the team and we are just delighted to be a part of the whole thing. Anna and Wiley have quite a following, the kids just gravitate toward them. We have to remind Wiley that playing in this kind of dirt may not be such a great idea (no sewer systems or plumbing)

Getting to know the kids of the Colonia

2009-07-07T21:18:00.008-05:00

Today was day two of vbs at the Colonia. Those kids are amazing. They were there eagerly awaiting our arrival, figuring out which one of us they were going to hug first or who's back they were going to jump onto. They are so loving and willing to trust.Anna and Wiley are beginning to grow friendships and bond with a couple of the kids. Their closest buddy so far is Ashlie and Aylisa was right by

VBS at the Colonia

2009-07-06T21:31:00.005-05:00

Today we had our first day of Vacation Bible School with the kids of the Colonia; this took place in the open-air church right in the middle of the Colonia. They were so excited to see us and not a bit intimidated, they knew we were bringing nothing but joy and the opportunity to play and be a kid. Plus, we threw a little discipleship in there. What is so amazing is the fact that these beautiful

6:30pm curfew and fried shrimp

2009-07-05T21:51:00.006-05:00

We started out today with our chicken empenadas delivered to our front door. Yummy, they are so good! Then we headed out to rchurch. After church we went home for lunch and took naps while Trey went to check out the land that lw4r might be purchasing for the new community center that will include classrooms, a soccer field and basketball court. This is a very important part of the big picture in

4th of July in Roatan, Honduras

2009-07-04T22:50:00.004-05:00

Our 4th of July was a little different this year. Not being in Texas where everything is huge was quite a change. We went to Infinity Bay Resort in West Bay, this is where everyone was going that wanted to see fireworks. They had hot dogs and hamburgers and around 7ish (we are on island time here and NOTHING begins or ends on time; BC would fit right in) we got a glimpse of what they were able to

Wiley's World in Roatan, Honduras

2009-07-04T13:40:00.010-05:00

Today's blog is courtesy of our own Wiley Vick, age 5. This is Wiley's World:Catching lizards (they usually lose their tail during the hot pursuit), grasshoppers, june bugs and cock roaches (ew!)Chasing crabs at night with a flashlight (through the water).Studying the fine art of fire dancing; presently seeking a circus to join.Picking the fruit off the trees without the caretaker's permission (a

Food for thought in Roatan, Honduras

2009-07-02T21:20:00.004-05:00

When we got to Roatan, we knew that we'd be in for some changes. Thought you might enjoy some of our new finds.The house we are in has a water well that the gutters are piped into, the caretaker said we could drink it, but we might regret it for about a week (Montezuma revenge). So, we only wash and bathe with it. Our drinking water is in large 5-gallon jugs in a dispenser, like an Ozarka water

How and Why Roatan, Honduras

2009-07-01T13:13:00.007-05:00

Many have asked how did you find Roatan, Honduras and why did you choose to go there as opposed to somewhere else? About eight years ago, when Trey's mom, Phyllis, got sick from meningitis, we enlisted a care-giver at his personal care home in Conroe. This gentleman had a house on Roatan and told us a little bit about it and the people of this island. It sounded beautiful and laid back and just

Current Events in Honduras

2009-06-30T20:54:00.006-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are doing fine here in Roatan, Honduras. The recent political unrest is mainly secluded to the mainland, for now anyway. The locals that we have gotten to know are quite optimistic that the democratic system will work and that President Mel Zelaya will not get his way. He is due back in Honduras on Thursday and it is said that he will be arrested if he

Top 10 of Roatan (so far)

2009-06-30T08:53:00.007-05:00

Today's blog is courtesy of our own Anna Vick, age: 9these are the things I like so far:10. makeing homemade tortillas9.watching the sunset go down8.driveing in to town with the windoes down7. hunting for iguanas, lizards, and,birds6. watching crab raceing and fire dancers5. eating fresh food from our trees4. watching zip liners below the house; today we are doing it3. butifull flowers2. seeing

The end of our first week in Roatan, Honduras (four more to go)

2009-06-27T21:38:00.007-05:00

We had a tough time trying to put into words what our day on Friday was like, so we decided to think a bit before putting pen to paper...Friday morning we met up with Henry and Frances of LW4R and they took us up to the colonia for the first time. This area is land that the people have squatted on and now call home. There are now about 2,900 people that live in the colonia, in other words, it

Another Day in Roatan

2009-06-25T21:11:00.004-05:00

We started out our day at the usual time, 5:30-ish...goodness that is so early, but when you go to bed at 8, you are bound to get up earlier than usual. Seriously, 5:30 is too early no matter how early we go to bed. We now eat breakfast at 6:30 and then we end up eating lunch at 10 or 11, how old are we? No offense, but this is pretty funny.So, after breakfast we went to the beach, which we

2009-06-24T14:07:00.005-05:00

Okay, so we have survived some different situations in the past two days, so our postings have slowed a bit. We have lost power for an hour or two at least two times a day the past two days. So, without a/c, it is alright when you have ceiling fans going non-stop and the ocean breeze blowing into the windows, however, the wind shifted to the north and it has been pretty warm in this house

Day Three and the Crab Races

2009-06-22T07:48:00.004-05:00

We started off our day meeting up with our new friends, Henry and Frances Zittrower, they run the local mission here called Living Water for Roatan. Check them out online, very cool things they are doing here on the island for these great people. The church is called rchurch, check them out online too, they meet at a resort called the Mayan Princess. There were about 15-20 people at the service,

Day Two and the Supermercado

2009-06-20T21:36:00.008-05:00

Well, day two was pretty adventurous, we finally got our rental truck and the only law that the rental agency warned us about was to 'watch out for the taxis, they are crazy drivers'. We ate breakfast and took our first journey into town and went to the supermercado. It was something else, little shacks lined the streets, the beachfront nearest the store was nothing but little shacks. I'll have

First Day of Island Life

2009-06-20T21:01:00.003-05:00

We made it! The flight was a breeze, the little airport actually has a beach front run way. Honduran customs was simple and the car and house rental agencies were waiting for us with a large sign "VICK". So, we shoved our six large pieces of luggage, stroller, car seat and the six of us into two cars, along with two sets of drivers which each had a friend along for the ride...we looked like a car

All packed up.....

2009-06-16T22:13:00.007-05:00

All four kids have their passports and we are officially on our way!We have managed to fit the entire contents of our home into a storage unit and into part of an office space. Who would have thought? It has only taken an entire week...sad. How much of the stuff that we have do we not really need? Most likely most of it.It has been about 105 degrees, or at least it feels like it, here in Conroe,

Five more days...

2009-06-14T22:39:00.018-05:00

It is Sunday night and we are down to mattresses and veryfew other furnishings. We are so glad to have so many things to get done before we leave for five weeks with four kids...otherwise, we would obsess about what to take or not take and we would probably think a little bit more about the fact that we are about to spend 2-1/2 hours on an airplane with four kids!!!!! oh, and 5 weeks in a foreign

Countdown Begins

2009-06-12T21:27:00.003-05:00

We leave in 7 days! We are feaverishly packing and trying not to pull out our hair! We are currently renting a house and must have everything in storage before we leave for five weeks. This has not been an easy task with our oldest going to camp and needing certain items for her trip and not to mention the other three little "helpers" along for the ride. As each box is packed, another is unpacked

here we go

2009-06-07T23:20:00.001-05:00

OK, so we have decided after many months of contemplation to take the leap of faith and take a month off to volunteer in a third world country with our kids. Yes, that is right, WITH the kids. After many months of research and most importantly, prayer, we have been in contact with several different organizations and they have greeted us with open arms.Our Pastor, Kerry Shook, speaks of "open