I cannot believe how fast time has flown by. I LOVE the Island of Helene and all the people on it. I am going to miss this place so much, once we leave. I cannot believe tomorrow is our last full day here.
Today was a great day. I was working down on classroom two. It has been slowing falling down. It is built right by the sea, which gives it a great breeze but not a firm foundation. So we have been jacking it up this week and than pouring concrete to keep it up. At the worst corner it was raised 14 inches. It was hard dirty work but it was great to do. I really enjoyed it.
The frazier family is loving their time in Helene. Kevin worked hard today. Molly has been running around with the kids all week. Cleve did a great job sanding and varnishing a door. Cindy worked SUPER hard at clean sweep and was awared the serve necklace tonight.
Not wanting to leave,
Paul
We woke up this morning to the great sight of dark skies. While it has been much cooler here than I am used to, it still is hot. The sight of clouds and the threat of rain were a welcome sight. During breakfast the skies opened up and we had a short downpour. The rain stopped so we were off to work.
Today it was our turn for cleansweep. Cleansweep is a project that helps to keep the island clean. We were working with one of my favorite islanders Bye Bye. Elbert or Bye Bye for short is a great God loving man. I met him the first time I came down to Helene and have enjoyed working and talking with him ever since.
We tackled the area just before the bite. The problem with the coastline here is that all the trash that is thrown out at sea washes up. I like this kind of work because you can see the results instantly. The beach looked so much nicer after we were done. Right before it was time to leave for lunch we got caught in a massive downpour. We ran and hid in a little storage hut. I was a little worried about scarring a dog that was in there too, I did not want it to feel trapped and attack his way out. Thankfully that did not happen. 
After lunch we were back at it for cleansweep. We got a lot done and it was great to look back up the coastline and see a trashfree beach. Even a local boy chipped in and helped for almost an hour. He did a great job and we would use the rake and shovel to make seaweed sandwiches and grab more trash than either of us could alone. On the way back to the clinic we got SOAKED. But it was ok, the rain is not cold like Oregon rain.
Ewings wanted me to play some soccer and even thou I am bad I thought why not. We played keep away for over a half and hour while getting soaked to the bone but I was never cold. Our side entertainment was watching sheba(the clinic’s dog) heard cows.
We’ll it is time for dinner and than church. I have loved my time here and am trying not to think that it is already half way over. The first two days seemed to go slow and now today it feels like someone pressed the fast foward button.
Later,
Paul
Jeez time sure does fly when you are down here. I did not get a chance to post a summary of yesterday so I will do a quick one of both Monday and Tuesday.
On monday we went on visitations and sports camp. I LOVE visitations. They are so great because you get to go out into the community and meet people and talk with them and then pray for them. It always amazes me how the majority of prayer requests are not for themselves but for others. It touches my heart when people ask us to pray for members of their family that are struggling or involved in drugs. One woman asked us to pray for her husband to accept Christ.
On monday afternoon we had sports camps. We went up to a recently cleared mud field. We had mostly younger kids. They are so good and fast. I stood no chance. By sheer luck I did score one goal. After I got tired I talked with Teddy for awhile that was nice. It is so great to see how well Teddy is doing and how he is a great leader in the community.
For the afternoon activity we took a walk up to the cross. I was the guide so to speak. The path up to the cross was very overgrown. I got to use a machatte to clear it. It was fun hard work. Getting up to the cross took much longer than usual because the trail was so overgrown but the view was well worth the work and scratches from the bushes. Once you get ontop of the cross the beauty of Gods creation takes your breath away.
Today we were working on construction. I started out in the morning digging a pit to burn trash in. While it is hard work we take turns between using the pick axe and shoveling out the loose dirt so you dont get too tired. I know that my arms will be sore tomorrow thou. A great bonus was that I got to work with ewings the whole time.
In the afternoon we worked on screens for the school. They just upgraded from windows to shutters which give MUCH more airflow and such make the building a little bit cooler but now they need screens. So we were working on building the frames and putting on the screens. It takes awhile to do each window right. Ewings being the funny guy that he is stapled by shoelace to the deck at one point. That should teach me to tie them more often.
After work we played a little bit of basketball. I got owned. O well it was fun.
I just got back from listening to Ewings and Camas rock some worship music. Ewings has been working hard on the drums and all his practice has sure payed off. He sounds great. I have so much fun with that guy. We were cracking jokes and laughing all day.
My family is doing awesome and having a blast. I am so glad God called us to serve here this week.
God Bless,
Paul
Today I got to celebrate Easter Helene style. It was quite awesome.
We started off at the church of God. I have never seen a church service in Helene so packed. Standing room only. The singing was so loud it was awesome. The sermon was delived by a very loud southern travling missionary. I felt like I was in a moive.
In the afternoon I helped sort books in the school. It was a tedious and long task. But I am always glad to help out the school.
It has been so much fun having my whole family here. They all seem to be liking it alot. I really enjoy introducing them to everyone I met this summer.
Ewings is great and I am glad that I get to hangout with him some more. Yesterday when he gave me a hug he also poured water down my back. Sneaky guy. I got him back today thou!
It has been AMAZING to see everyone again. Seeing bye bye, teddy, willis, jarina and many more has been great.
Kenree is IN SCHOOL!!!!! and has not been kicked out!!! YAY. AMAZING. I am so excited about that.
We went to the Northside for church tonight. The long walk is better at night since it is cool. Banjo who helps us at the airport was the one giving the sermon. He gave a great talk. He had a great qoute: “leave the but follow Jesus.” If only I could not say but…. and always follow Jesus.
We got back real late so off to bed.
Thanks for your prayers.
God Bless,
Paul
Note: I am already in Helene, Honduras. I was not able to post this before I left because the site was down. We got here today and had great travels, very smooth. YAY.
I am on my way back to Honduras. I am so excited. It has been a quick prep time. Less than 24 hours after my last final I am on a plane to Honduras!!!!
My whole family is going with me this time! I am so excited to have a spirtual experience together. It will be quite fun to see them in Honduras. Once we get back it will be great to be able to talk about the experience together.
I cant wait to see all the friends I have made in Honduras. I tried calling Ewings today but he did not pick up.
I plan to blog everyday while I am there, but it may not be possible. We are only there for a week but it will be a great trip. I will post pictures when I return. I think it will be a little weird only going back for a week.
The last two times I have been in Helene, God has used it to grow my heart for others, service and for Him. I cannot wait to see where God leads me this time.
I cant wait to come serve the people once again. What goes on here is amazing. The clinic helps essential drinking water, medical serive and education. God truly has blessed this ministry. I always enjoy seeing the people praise God here while they have so little.
Please pray for my family and everyone else on the trip.
God Bless,
Paul
I am back in the States. It is good but weird to be back. I needed to get a new battery for my laptop so I went to the mall on Sunday. Walking through Washington square I probally passed about 800 people, the total population of Helene. Yet, I did not say hi to a single person, not because I am anti-social but that is the culture here. I don’t like it. I miss saying hi to everyone. The sense of community it builds astounds me.
Before I left I went out with Camas to find Jovie (pronounced Joey, v is wee). He looks great. I let him know that he has lots of people praying for him. And Camas expessed to him how awesome it is to see him alive.
Here he is.
Gary was spotted down island and is still recovering. Both of these boys being alive today really is a miracle of God and God’s timing that the right people we’re in the right places.
I am working on posting all my photos. Give me a couple of days.
It is cold here. But I think my body is readjusting back.
God Bless,
Paul
I am all packed and off to bed. I still do not think I have processed the fact that tomorrow at this time I will be in Beaverton, Oregon. Pray for me as I change cultures.
I have many more blog posts that I have not gotten a chance to write up yet that I plan to post. One to look forward to is a recording of Ewings, Daniel and Camas playing Rise up, and higher. We spent a couple of afternoons recording a bunch of songs. Ewings and Daniel love hearing it and it sounds pretty dang good on a CD. So I should be able to post a few once I get back to the states.
I am also trying to work on a site where previous short term teams could upload their photos and share their stories.
Hopefully www.ilovehelene.com will become somewhat of a portal to what is currently happening in Helene,Honduras.
While this is probably my last post from Honduras(for now). Like I said, I plan to post a couple more in the next week. I need to do a reflection and all that fun stuff. Plus I need to upload all the photos that I could not while I was here.
Thank you to everyone who has been reading. Thank you more to everyone who has been praying for me. Thanks to all those who have helped support me financially. And thanks to all those who have left comments. I have appreciated it very much.
God Bless,
Paul
I have talked so much about the class I have been helping out with but have not posted any pictures of me with them. This is because the kids get all worked up when we take pictures during school. And it is alot of work to get them to all pose for a picture. Since it was my last day working in the school on Thursday, at the end of the day we went for a group shot. I put my camera on a shaky wooden thing and amazingly the wind did not blow it over.
I am going to miss these kids so much. Even though they gave me a run for my money often, they were so much fun to work with. And when you helped them with something I loved the look in their eyes as they began to understand.
Missing Helene Already and I am still here,
Paul
I woke up at 4:20 this morning to hike up to the cross and watch the sunrise. When I got up there the stars were still out. They were clouds in the sky but I think that made it better. As the sun started to slowly rise, the sun began to paint the clouds. They colors slowly changed as the sun got closer to peaking out. Today had a double sunrise. A cloud positioned itself right where the sun came up. So at first it was not super bight. Then slowly the edge of cloud started glowing. Then when the sun came out it was so bright. I have never seen a brighter sunrise before. Capturing on camera was hard. I played around with some settings, to try and capture what it looked like. Enjoy the pictures.
I really felt God’s presence up there this morning. Creation amazes me. The whole world looked so beautiful as the sun rose.
Drawing a parallel. As I watched the sun come up today, and the a new day was born. I could not help but to think how Jesus has given each of us a chance at new life. And if we just accept Him he washes us clean, everyday,every moment. All sin gone. And we shine like a beautiful sunrise because He died on the cross.
Enjoy the pictures.
When I got up to the cross, light was forming on the horizon the shutter on the camera had to stay open for 1.6 seconds to absorb enough light,since i did not have a tripod I used the base of the cross to steady it.
The white dot in the center is a star.
Rays of sun on the clouds
As the sun rose higher it looked as if the cloud was on fire
Beautiful. That bird showed up at the just the right moment.
Sun coming up over the cloud. It was way brighter then that outside,but I think the sun overwhelms the camera.
A little overexposed but it looks cool.
Praising God,
Paul