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The Honduras Project Update Newsletter - March 2003
Christmas 2002
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Meghan, Zachary, Laurie, and Ray Griggs in Puerto Lempira, Gracias a Dios, Honduras
Another year is coming to a close and God continues to show us that he is at work, in La Mosquitia and in the lives that we are fortunate enough to become involved in.
Lately we have been attending the Church of God in Puerto Lempira, mainly because of the strong Sunday School program. We feel that this is very important nourishment for Meghan and Zachary, as well as for us. They enjoy going and have several friends from our barrio (neighborhood) that attend. Just last Sunday, we had a visit from the pastor and he shared with us his visions for the church and he asked us if we would be interested in joining the teaching team. This includes the Sunday school program, but also small group discussion on missions, stewardship, and a children’s church. For the first time in the 3 years that we have been in La Mosquitia, we as lay persons have been invited to be truly involved the in ministry needs of a local congregation. The gospel has been here for many, many years, but now there is a need for maturity and an understanding of what it means to have the gospel and how to reach out to others in discipleship.
In November, the Assembly of God church held the first Vacation Bible School that we are aware of in many years. A youth group from a sister church in Tegucigalpa came and presented the weeks activities, with many children in attendance (November is when the schools let out for vacation until February). Many children got to hear the gospel on their level and many received attention and hugs that they were obviously craving.
Our children’s health continues to be good with a few of the typical
coughs and colds.
Zachary had stitches twice this year, the first in January after getting
caught in barbed wire and the latest was when a friend got a little wild
with a machete, luckily it was not deep and the friend didn’t intentional
swing at him, Zachary was walking by at the wrong time.
Both Meghan and Zachary have lost a tooth in the past month, and have several loose ones. The tooth fairy will be busy this next year. This season, Zachary can truly sing, ”All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth”, of course he doesn’t believe that it is a real song, he just thinks his goofy parents made it up. Why doesn’t he trust us???
Zachary continues to develop physical coordination skills, running, jumping, soccer and karate kicks, while Meghan’s fine motor skills develop. She has become quite the colorer and drawer. It is always amazing to see the personality similarities compared to the gender differences, and how apart they are.
We finished another school year with flying colors; Zachary will go on to 2nd grade, and Meghan hopefully into the 1st grade. I say hopefully, because according to Honduran Education Law, you have to be 6 ½ years old to enter 1st grade and she will turn 6 the week school starts. I am not going to try to break the law, just get around it. The Assembly of God church is starting a bilingual school that will have classes for pre-K, kinder and 1st grade and maybe a 2nd grade, depending on enrollment the first year. Each following year, they will add one grade as the students move up. Because the school will follow a slightly different set of rules, I think I can get Meghan into 1st grade. Another advantage that we have is that the church/school board has asked me to teach/coordinate the classes. The church is also going to have a private Spanish school in the afternoon; the director of that aspect will oversee me and sign off on everything, that way I can work for the school.
We have been able to help start many new, small private businesses this year in fact the number is over 30. It is literally amazing to see how the Lord continues to open doors and bring the right entrepreneurs forward. We are able to work through several of the Moravian reverends even though politically they were blocked from working with us. This has a real multiplier effect because each of these reverends is discipling a younger pastor so the stewardship training that Ray is able to impart is being shared with many more pastors and Christians than Ray would have time or ability to share with individually. Three additional Moravian Churches started businesses this year and two of those were those receiving stewardship training through their reverend and local pastor. We are helping the members to give of their time in addition to the crops and money. For example, the church in Kuri on the Kruta River has two women operate the church store and restaurant every day. 12 people per week tithe time so that their local church can be more self-sufficient. It is working. The church has bought and almost paid off a gasoline generator and is now paying on a freezer that is part of the church store. This is the first generator and freezer ever in this village. Ray spent a couple of days with the church elders in early December teaching them to operate and maintain the generator, as well as, wiring the church, parsonage, and church multipurpose building for lights, the freezer, and a future electric piano. These are the first electric lights to ever be in the village and they were operating just in time for the second Sunday in Advent. It was truly amazing to see the dedication service of the new lights and generator. The people thanked God and each other for making the dream a reality. They had been talking about and planning this for over 2 years. I was proud that they did not make a big deal about my part of the happening. They are already planning how they will be expanding the church business next year. I am fortunate to be helping Christians to realize more of the potential and confidence that they can have with just a little bit of encouragement.
Some of the other businesses that we helped to start this past year were loggers (they use chainsaws) and wood sawers that are now using a bandsaw instead of chainsaws to rip boards. This has doubled their yield due to less losses. A member of the Reformed Church in America made the difference in this area with a two week training course that took a bandsaw that had been donated a couple of years ago from being idle to actually being used. A sewing cooperative is making sheets and mosquitio nets locally. Another church group is baking bread and pastries to sell. Additionally, we have helped to start a lobster diving boat, seafood marketing, a watermelon farm, teak tree plantation, and African palm plantation businesses this year.
We see more problems in the administration of businesses than we see in the technical end of the businesses. This is an area that Ray is attempting to help train in but, it is not his forte. Ray is currently working with his second Miskito partner to teach business administration, basic book keeping, and how to study if you are making a profit or not.
The wood working businesses continue to be some of the strongest. Ray continues to help about 16 woodworkers around the Mosquitia to improve the quality of products while expanding their markets.
The wood and wooden product import business that Ray, Greg Machu, and Mark Olsen have been researching the past year and a half is about to get started. Miskito Coast, Inc. purchased its first 10,000 board feet this Fall and hopes to start shipping wood to Texas about April 2003. This business idea grew out of visit that Mark and Paul Michalik made to visit us last year. We were blessed to have Greg come and visit us this Fall. The first wood purchase was able to almost double the net income to over 50 families associated with wood harvesting, sawing, and transportation.
The solar kilns that Ray has been researching and beginning to build should become a reality in early 2003. Ardmore Moravian Church has been key in making this business idea a reality by partnering with us in the form of a gift to the revolving loan fund that we are operating. Renato Gomez is a Miskito forestry engineer who is partnering with Ray in bringing the kiln idea to be a reality.
There are even more ideas for businesses on the horizon. If you have an idea for a business or have interest in sharing an idea for expanding or improving a business we welcome your counsel. We are trying to share the potential projects that we are researching in order for other experts to help guide us in our business development efforts. Two heads are always better than one.
This has been a tough year with Ray’s mother Annie going to be with her Lord in August and Ray’s godfather, Erwin Koslovsky battling a form of blood cancer.
It has also been a year of many joys such as Ray’s brother Ross becoming engaged to wonderful lady, Miss Brenda Wessels. The wonderful love and support that we continue to feel from our family and friends, especially during hard times. The financial support that keeps us here in Honduras where God has called us to serve for the time being. The healthy growth and development of our two wonderful children in a tri-cultural situation.
We wish to thank everyone for all of the love, prayer support, communication, financial support, and guidance that we have received in the past year. It has been wonderful and greatly appreciated.
Joyfully in the love of Jesus Christ, the reason for the season,
The Griggs’
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