8 Hours of Hot Yoga without the yoga

(You will have to read the entire post to understand the title!!

 

Today we started bright and early with breakfast at the hotel. Breakfast here is not complete without some kind of beans, which everyone knows is good for the digestive system!

 

We stopped  by the grocery on our way to Agua Agria because many people needed to buy lunch and other supplies. We headed to Ag40ua Agria which is probably no more than 15 miles from the center of town, but it’s at the end of a bumpy, rutted rocky road. That means the trip takes 30-40 minutes.

This is Wyeth from Louisiana helping with the eyeglass clinic. Nahum, in the striped shirt, is the associate minister. He helped us translate.

Going to Agua Agria is like going back in time.  We always see cows, chickens and pigs roaming freely through the village.  Most houses do not have electricity or indoor plumbing.  Torch has worked here for 9-10 (longer than I have been coming.  No other missionary groups go there, often times the people only see a doctor or receive medical care when we have a medical clinic.  Also, when the word gets out, many others travel from surrounding villages to get there.

 

The plans today were to:  1. Have a medical & eye glass clinic   2.  Have a ladies’ Bible class  3.  Have a VBS lesson  4.  Have a gospel meeting  5.  Build an outdoor meeting area for the church

 

Noticed the sign they made for us!

 

 

 

 

Diane had asked me to help her with her Ladies’ Bible class lesson, but that was not until later in the afternoon, so we worked with the eye glass clinic.  Just imagine trying to help people find the glasses they need when you can’t speak someone’s language.  I soon learned the phrases, “Para leer?” (For reading?) and “Mas Fuerte o menos fuerte?”  (More or less strong). 

Diane is teaching the ladies' class. This is the new classroom that her church sponsored last year.

 

 

 

 

A church had donated a large supply of reading glasses and that part wasn’t too hard.  It was more difficult to help those who couldn’t see far distances.  We basically had a bunch of donated glasses ( all strengths and types) and they would just try them on until they found one that worked the best for them.

 

 

 

 

At 3 pm, Diane had the class for ladies.  Her lesson was about how to use the 24 hours of the day that we have to show love and honor God.  Diane had asked me to think of something we could make or do to illustrate that and we decided to have them make a bracelet with 24 beads on it and one bead was different.  That different bead was there to help them remember to put God in their life. 

A picture made from a puzzle.

This young lady is wearing the bracelet that I had them make.  I'm sure you can tell that I'm miserably hot!!

 

The rest of the group worked with the “ninos” in a VBS class and after that Jeremy Myers from Arkansas had a wonderful lesson for the gospel meeting.  We had a wonderful and productive day, but after spending the whole day in 100 degree temps with high humidity, we were beat and it was hard to stay awake at dinner!

 

Right across the "road" from the church (about 10 feet LOL!) 

 

 

Here’s an extra amazing story for you:

Diane and I sat at dinner with a Honduran doctor who is working with us.  There is a great story to tell about Dr. Ponce.  Last year or the year before, the advance team and interns landed in Tegucigalpa and Erika Wenger, one of the interns, starts talking to this man in the airport.  Erika is not shy!!! While talking to him, she  finds out he is a doctor, so she asks him to work with us. Incredibly, he agrees to work with us.   Not only that, in the next few days, we find out that he is considered a hero in Honduras.  He was a great track star and ran in college.  He also qualified and ran in the 1988 Olympics in Korea!!  I had forgotten that story, but as we were sitting with him, I remembered that.  He seems to be a very humble, kind man and he has a great heart for his people.  Besides working with us, he has his own ministry where he and his wife goes out in the communities to help the poor.

 

 

 

Until next time! 

PJ xoxo