klugezone

The Gospel is about transformation-the transformation of our lives by the life of Christ within us. We have to ask ourselves: Do our lives reflect the grace,truth, and love we have received through Christ?* *shine

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Location: Honduras

Monday, July 28, 2008


Food pantry.


I have written several times about the food pantry. We have about five families that we help with food on a regular basis and many others that we help with occasional help.


The families we help are in different circumstances. One lady, Inez, has six children and her husband is in jail. She works very hard. She has no education at all, she can not read or write even her own name. She has no skills in the work force and the only way she can make money for her family is to get up at four in the morning and bake these hard little cookies over a fire and then taking them and walking along the streets to sell them for pennies. She walks the streets all day, she is even working Sundays now, she also takes in laundry to wash for extra. Now when I say take in laundry you have to remember she is not throwing it in a washer and dryer but she is scrubbing it on a big flat rock, pouring water over it and hanging it up to dry. This is not an easy life, but Inez really tries and works very hard. Her children are in school with the help of the school scholarship program and she is very proud of them and hopes and prays that they will be able to get an education so that they will not have to work so hard for so little. Inez just can not make it with what she earns, we help by supplementing her food every other week. She doesn’t ask for much and is always very thankful and even slightly embarrassed by having to accept this help. I tell her she has no need for embarrassment as she is doing her very best.



One of the newest women we are helping is Sonya, she has been abused by her husband for several years now. She finally filed papers and had him removed from the house. While that is a big and positive step it led to a whole new set of problems the biggest being that she on longer has any support or help and she has three children. Including a one year old little girl. I was frantic to find a way to help her, she sends the kids to the kitchen and volunteered to help so that she could eat as well but it was just not enough. She also has little education and there are just no jobs here. She is very confused and this is a very difficult time, but thanks to some very tender hearts who saw a need and reached out to help we have been able to help her feed her little family. I do not know what will happen with Sonya but I will continue to help were I can and I will most defiantly be lifting her up in prayer.





I have a lot of women ask for help to buy milk, it is so expensive here. I first talk with the women and find out if they are sending their kids to the kitchen. I explain that with the money they save sending all of the kids to eat they could use that money for milk. I also try to find out if they have employment. If not I tell them to come and work a few days in the kitchen, they will not get paid but they do get breakfast and lunch for themselves and their children on the days that they work, which can really add up. I try to encourage them to take steps to help themselves where and when they can.

When I take the food into the community I visit with each family, I look at school work and try to encourage the children to continue. I take time to sit and visit with the moms and I am often a sounding board for their fears and doubts. It is often overwhelming for these ladies to try to handle everything on their own and they often need to just talk.

They are very thankful and often tell me “Thank you.” I tell them that none of this is from me. That it comes from money that was donated by others in the states whose heart was touched and whom God is using to reach out to help. So that all blessing come from God and that all thanks should go to him.
I want you to know that I am thankful to you as well as God, to everyone who prays for these families, to all of you who help financially where and when you can, you are making a difference in the lives of these children.ve to the families, the food varies on the needs of the family as well as what is in season, what is on sale, and what we can afford to buy.
Oil and margarine:



Tomato paste is used to make a sauce with onion and peppers to have with pasta.
Eggs, the price has gone up and we are not able to buy as much as we use to.
Powdered milk and oatmeal. Milk went from L38 to L56 in the last couple of months.



Beans, rice and sugar we buy in bulk and then the girls help me break it up into smaller bags.

Cornmeal
Pasta and soup mixes are one of the more affordable foods and with the price increase for beans and rice we are buying more pasta. The soup mix is not the most nutritious but it is filling and affordable.
Toilet paper and soap, cloro (bleach) and vitamins are not "food" products but they are needed.
The vitamins are a wonderful supplement and right now I am still using donated vitamins so there is no cost.
Spices and salt, these are very cheap and they add a lot to the meal.
Cookies and Kool-aid is not a necessity but it is nice to give the children a small treat. For a few cents you can bring a smile to a little ones face.


Fruits and Veggies: whatever is in season is what we buy. Sometimes it maybe oranges and others bananas, we buy only what can be used in a short time quickly as no one has refrigeration.



Wednesday, July 23, 2008


CHOCOLATE FROSTED CUPCAKES WITH SPRINKLES……...







……...ENOUGH SAID


KFC


We ran into Terry Reeves at the airport and in a matter of minuets we had made a rough plan to take the Sunday School Class from the church in Mololoa to KFC.
This was no small undertaking. I called Jen and she started working on getting permission slips for the kiddos and Diane and I went to make sure that KFC was available for a group of about 70 kids and a very large group of North Americans.
The next morning dawned bright and clear and I was more than a little nervous about bringing 70 children on a bus to a restaurant with only a small time to prepare. As anyone who works with children knows you feel an awesome responsibility to care for and protect these small ones.


We gathered at the church and sang a few songs, we then sent out the eldest child from each family with the permission slips. We divided the children into groups of about 10 and tied red ribbons on their wrist for easy identification. We had to walk them to the bus as there was no place for the bus to turn around. We had a plan and as usual it was a wash, literally, the sky opened up and the rains poured down and thunder shook the building .
It finally began to let up but the place was a muddy mucky mess. We had a small change in plans and used the truck to ferry the children to the bus. It was a bit messy but it all went remarkably well and we were only a mere six minuets behind out target time.



After the bus was loaded you could feel the excitement in the air. Our kids in their ragged clothes, splattered in mud, some with no shoes, were grinning ear to ear and barely able to sit in their seats. They were standing up and down, looking out the windows and pretty much jumping out of their skin. This called for a little distraction and what better form than a few songs.
As our bus bumped and splashed along the kids sang their little hearts out. We sang songs of praise and joy all the way to KFC.
When we pulled up I was a little worried about a mass exodus. But with Jen at the helm we calmly walked into the restaurant and then the kids did what kids will do


Run
Climbed
Jumped
Screamed
And just had Fun.


How cool it was to see these little dirty kids who so often get over looked or treated as second class citizens treated like royalty. The group that was here was awesome with my kiddos. They became as children, they did not care that they did not have nice clothes, they did not care that they had matted hair, they did not care that they really did not have any idea how to “behave” in a restaurant, they did not care that they had no shoes and muddy little feet. They just played.




I loved watching these little ones that I have come to love over the last few years have a chance to be totally spoiled. Okay I admit I was a little worried but Ken and Diane had door duty and everything ran smooth. We did not lose a one.
The bathrooms with running water, soap and the driers were a big hit. I think some kids spent more time in there than on the play ground.


When dinner was served the kids all set at a table with a new friend and ate and ate and ate. It seemed as if the food would never end. Mountains of chicken and French fries and biscuits, unlimited refills of soda and as much ketchup as they could eat. One little boy ask if he could take his bones home. Jen thought they were for his dog. But he said no they were to play with. He was taking home chicken bones to play with as a toy. Here he is with his "toys" on the chair with him.


It was so cool seeing them eat until they could not hold another bite and still have some left to take home. Kind of reminds me of the whole loaves and fishes story.











It was time to leave. All the kiddos were still really pumped up but now their little bellies were full. They had been given a very special day that they are still talking about. They all gathered to go and decided to give what they had to their new friends. They did not have gifts to give other than their hugs and thanks and a few songs. But what they had was given freely and with an honest appreciation for the special time.



We loaded back up on the bus. It was a much quieter ride home. In fact more than a few little ones fell asleep on the ride. Just worn out.


When they got home we had to slop in the mud and slipped and slid our way to the church. The moms that met us there were bombarded with tales of giant slides, big balls and tons of chicken. Poor little Alex actually got sick at his stomach from overeating, but the whole time he was sick he kept telling his mom how big the pieces of chicken were and how good they tasted.


What a special day for some very special children. Thank you to everyone who made this day possible, it was so much more than a play ground and a plate of food. It was a chance to minister to some little ones who so often get overlooked in a world that tends to judge by appearances. Thank you for seeing the heart of these kids.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

I find that I often tell God my solutions instead of telling him my problems.
What I should do is tell him my problems and wait for his solutions.