Spartanburg Angels mission, schools, pediatric clinic.

We are answering the call to missions! A few months ago, our church, River Hills Baptist in Moore, SC, had a ministry fair. The point of this fair was to show people at the church and in the community where to go and what to do if they wanted to help out in a specific area. We felt this was a great idea because there are a lot of people who would like to help out in an area, but have no idea how to start, or where to go. My husband and I teach a class on Sunday nights for preschoolers, so we had a booth there to recruit some help for that. While we were there, I looked around at all the tables there, and picked up brochures to several that I was interested in. God has given me a heart for others, and I have always wanted to go on mission trips and help out that way. We both just want to be used for God. However, God has never said, “Ok. You need to go here”. This time He did. I was talking to Robert Black, a member of our church who is very actively involved in Spartanburg Angels ( www.spartanburgangels.com ), and he told me about one of their ministries to reach out to the people of Roatan, Honduras. I immediately felt God say, “That’s where you need to be”. So, I got all the information on it, Robert Black e-mailed me the website, and we contacted an organization called Alternative Missions.

(NOTE:) Alternative Missions is not on our website but I gave Chris and Dora information on them because they have a very good mission program to St Helene, which is a small island next to Rotan's northeast end. The two islands are so close together that when you look on a map they appear to be one island; when in fact, they are separated by what amounts to a large canal. Robert Black

Since then, God has opened it all to us. At that point in our lives we were still searching and praying for a career opportunity for Chris. He had had several interviews, but with no call-backs. All signs pointed to now is the time to do this, and that God was going to keep holding all of Chris’s job opportunities until we did this for Him. The day after we made the decision to obey completely, Chris got a phone call for an interview. This interview was to be a second interview from four months prior. He had a few doubts about whether or not to go, because he did not want to waste their time since we were going to be leaving for three months. We prayed about it and there was no doubt he was to go to the interview and tell them all his plans, just be open and honest. So, he was. He called me after the interview just beaming! He said it was like watching God play with puppets. They were so controlled by God that they asked him to work for them until he left, then return to work when he got back from Honduras. Praise God! It was awesome.

We are now seeing His plans for us unfold. Chris and I will be leaving for Honduras at the beginning of December, 2005. We will be meeting the Alternative Missions team when we get there, and will be assisting them for the three months we will be there. Chris and I are so excited to see what God has planned for us and them. This will be our first mission trip, and hopefully not our last. As we finalize travel plans, we also have to raise the money needed to support us while we are there, and take care of things here in the states too. There are a couple of ways to give if you would like to help in our support.

Chris and Dora are each keeping a journal of their feelings and experiences concerning this upcoming mission trip. They have agreed to share them with us. I believe you will find them interesting as they develop and might be a good learning experience for us all.

CHRIS DALY DORA DALY
(Click on each name to see their pre-trip diary entries.)

CHRIS AND DORA'S COMMENTARIES
Read these posts from the bottom up: Chronologically

Closing commentary:

Well, we are back. I got to tell you, we are feeling a little “Helene-sick”. We are glad to be home, and we have ”settled” back in to work and home life. However, we miss the extended family that God has introduced us to. God has also taught us some very important lessons about mission work, and what we thought it was.

For one thing, we did not go there to “better” their way of life. We went there to do what Jesus did in his entire ministry, be friends to the friendless. I cry even as I write this because I think of how close, in just three months, we came to know these people. The love they have there, and the openness to us was untouchable. The most special thing for me was the friendships with the children. There were a group of boys on the island who we affectionately named, 'the lost boys'. They were between 9 and 12 years old and the best bunch of diverse kids I would ever wish to meet. They were each so special in their own unique way. This island did not need our American way of thinking. They only needed our love, and understanding of God’s word and His grace to us. They have “nothing”, and they need “nothing”. They are truly happy. God has given them so much, and it was very refreshing to be a part of it, even if it was only for three months.

Now that we are “home” and are getting back to the swing of things, I can’t help but feel like I am missing out on something everyday. I know I am where I am supposed to be for now, but it will always be in my heart, that I cannot be there with them all the time. I will not, at least for a while, be able to open my door and have Phil, or Danard greet me at 6 in the morning. I will not hear their sweet little island voices say, “wanna play wit’ we today, Dora?”; and for this my heart is heavy. But, I know that God has a plan for this, and that I am right where he wants me to be. I just pray that He sends me back soon, so that I can learn more of Him, and be more of Him to them, or wherever else He sends me.

Thank you for praying for us: Dora Daly

Read these posts from the bottom up: Chronologically

February 22, 2006 11 more days and counting. . . . hee hee. I am starting now to miss home, since it is so close and all. Did I tell about my overnight party? I don't think I did . Well, they came over just as I was working on my Treasure box at the school, for our class. So, they helped me with that. Then I had to hurry and get their rooms ready, because I had been so busy that day already. Then I took them for a tour of the clinic because they had never been in it. They loved the prayer deck, as most people do, and then we headed back down for dinner. After dinner, we went upstairs and got Jessica and played Karaoke on playstation. They loved it. They both love to sing. Hanging out with them , you totally forget that they are only 12 and 14. So hard to believe. Then we watched and movie, because that is something they do not get to do often, and they wanted to watch another, but it got vetoed. Jessica volunteered her laptop, and we took it down to their room and started another movie. It turned out to be a flop anyways, so we played cards and laughed all night any way. I love them. they are so sweet and so much fun to be around. So then they went home after breakfast, and I had to get lunch ready. After lunch, Emily and I went to see if the ladies were still going fishnin, b/c it had rained earlier that day, and that usually cancels everything. Oh, I forgot to tell you that in the morning, everyone else went snorkeling, but all came home wounded in one way or another. The waves were so bad that it dashed all of them to some degree upon the coral. Emily's legs were all torn up. So anyways, they all decided we were still gonna go. Shanna took me to a local shop where I bought some line. . . yes that's it, just line. We don't use fishing poles. You just hold the line and hope this time that you don't get cut. Then we bought a few hooks from the guy at the dock, who was having a good laugh at our expense. But, none had any sprat, or bait, so we had to head out to the sand ! bar and look for conch. That was fun, and I am glad I had my water shoes, cause that grass stings. My legs were burning after we were done finding our conch. I found 2 and Emily and Tannie found one each. If you have never seen a live conch, look them up online. They are freaky looking! They have a big claw and black spiraly eyes. ugh, so weird. Oh, but before we even left for the conch search, our dory, a glorified hollowed out tree, started to sink with only Emily, Tannie, and Marina in it. No wonder the old man was laughing. Yorgin, a very sweet boy, said he would get me his dory, a fiberglass dory. I said cool, how much, and he said for nuttin. I saw him paddling it over to us, so I gave him 20 limp anyways for bringing it to us. Carrie, Shanna, and I got into his dory, and Tannie and Emily got another fiberglass dory from Darby. But, Marina did not want to ride in a fiberglass dory b/c it makes your bonkie itch, so she paddled and bailed water all the way to where we were.! She kept screaming, wait for me you gals, wait for me. We could hardly paddle b/c we were laughing so hard. The funny thing about the dory is that if more than one person looks over their shoulder the whole thing starts to tip. So we had a few scary moments. Well, by the time we got all of this done, we had hardly any time left to fish, so we hooked somewhere close, and threw our lines in, but to no avail. So we are going again this Sunday afternoon. Yahoo! I can't wait. I just found out that the lady that took the pictures that day, said they were no good and erased them, so I will hopefully have some more pictures soon. I will send some pictures tomorrow, but it is too late tonight to do any of that. I have been so busy at school that it is almost impossible to do anything else. I have really been enjoying it though. I love teaching, and (not to brag) I think I am pretty good, well that is what everyone says and I feel good doing it. Sorry I have not written until now, but I hope y! ou will all understand. I will be home in ten days now (I have been writing this email on and off for two days in my spare time). Can't wait to see you all. Love Chris and Dora

February 15, 2006 Just thought I would let you know that the Valentine's Day thing we got invited to got postponed. It will be this Thursday night. Oh and I met with Zanoli and Saroli to get our lesson ready and ended up chatting for a long time afterwards. These girls have big dreams. And I would love to see them come true! Sanoli wants to be a Dr. and Zanoli wants to be a flight attendant so she can travel the globe. They both wanna study in America. Also, the teachers, Marina, Shanna, and Tannie all want me to go fishin with them on Saturday. Marina says we will fish, bathe, and talk for hours. It will be so much fun. I am so excited. Also, when I was over on the North Side, Miss Liolyn told me she really loved me and hated to see me go. Ugh that one hurt! It is so nice to be loved and to love them all. but I have to leave. Though not for forever. I so plan on returning often, If God allows. Oh and one more thing. If Larry ok's it, Zanoli and Saroli might be staying the night in the next cabin to us on Friday night. Everyone else on the team says its fine, just have to run it by Larry. I am so excited about this whole week. I hate that I only have two more weeks to go. I feel like I really fit in here, and am gonna miss it so much. I really miss you guys too though. . . so torn!! Thanks for all your prayers and I will be taking pictures of everything so you can see it too. And of course for my scrapbook! Love, Dora and Chris

February 13, 2006 Hello everyone. Just was going to update everyone on what 's been going on. This past Friday, I went down island (Roatan) to help get groceries, and to do some shopping since I am going through shopping withdrawal!! JK I wanted to start shopping for some souvenirs since we only have a few weeks to go! Well, Jessica went too and we headed out to shop while Christy and Abbey grocery shopped. We found a few things at Carrion, and then headed to find a phone so she could call her boyfriend. Well that was fun, and she did get to talk to him. I was gonna make a call, but we were out of time, and had to meet them at Warrens, the other grocery store on Roatan. On the way there, we passed an ice cream shop, and it was too hard to resist, so we went in and ordered two strawberry cones. It was so o o o o nice to actually have ice cream. You do not get ice-cream here, .. .. often . It is either too expensive, or will melt by the time you get it home. So then we headed to lunch at a place called Que tal, which means what's up, or what's happening. In Spanish. They are really good, and very nice too. Manuel, our taxi driver, joined us for lunch. He and Joe were trading languages on the ride to and from Coxen Hole. Joe was brushing up on his Spanish, and Manuel on his English. Saturday was so much fun, because we went to a place called Pigeon Keys. You can see them from Helene, but they are so small that they look like two big pirate ships or something. The water was so clear that it looked just like a swimming pool, and the reef was awesome!!! We snorkeled for a while, and then explored the tiny island. We were mainly looking for Iguanas, because they are all over the place there. We got some great shots of it, and I will send that email as soon as I can. The computers are acting up this week. Zanoli and I are supposed to get together this week and do the weekly Bible study together. We are doing Delilah, her choice, and she agreed to help me with it. Which is a huge step ! for her. Pray for that please. That it will go well, and that she will see that she can do it, and not be "shamed". This is what they always say when they are embarrassed about something, or don't want to so something. Marjieis off island this weekend, so we are missing her, she is with the new team about to some here. They are all nurses. Matriculation, school registration, is going on this week, and I have already had my first aggravation this morning. One of the ladies argued with me about whether or not the shirt I had for her sons would fit, so I told her that I already had them try them on, and then wrote their names in them. Well, she wanted a bigger size for both of them, so that next year they would still fit. . . . . Oh Boy. So I just gave it over to Emily because you all know how little patience I have, and I did not want to get upset. They do stuff like this all the time, I was told later, they just like to argue sometimes. It's all good though, it's not really a big deal I guess.! Anyways, that is all for now I will send some pictures later. Please write soon. I love to get your emails. For those of you who do write, thank you. we love hearing from you all.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The other night we had just sat down to dinner, and we heard this child screaming, and would not stop. So Scott, the Dr., went out to find a one year old boy and his mom. The boy had blood pouring out of his nose, and was of course ,hysterical. He was swinging on a swing, and some how dell off, and did not get out of the way fast enough and it had smashed into his nose two times, and broken it. Ugh. The poor kid was crying so hard that he made himself sick several times, and of course that ended my appetite. The worse part was that the mom was doing nothing to console her son, and was probably more upset with him than anything because this emergency cost her 50 limps. Last week a small boy named Adriel, was pushed down by an older kid, and probably sprained his wrist badly, but instead of incurring the 50 limp charge, his mom sent him home and told him to stop crying. It was hard to watch. This is some of the need here, education and health care. I will leave you with that. Much love, Dora and Chris.

February 4, 2006 It is almost time for school to start here, and the kids already are saying how much they can't wait. So different from American kids. And for good reason too, they have nothing else to do but play, and that even gets old. Harden, an old man with AIDS, died last night at about 7:30. The good news is that a week before he was bed ridden (about three weeks ago) he came forward at church and received Christ as his savior!!! Yahho! Another soul snatched from Satan's grasp! This morning they had the funeral, but I did not make it, I didn't know it was today, and some of us already made other plans since it is our only day off. Chris, Joe, and Camas had to help carry the coffin with Harden in it, to the grave site. There weren't enough Island men to do so. Pray for the people here, some of them know God is at work in some way. But there has been about a death a week for four weeks.

The fun part of today was. . . well all day. At 6am, Jessica and I trekked to Rocky Point, which is about a 45min- 1hr trek. We brought our snorkel gear and set off to find the reef that Marjie said we should go see if we are out there. Well we swam for about 15min, and no sign. So, we tried another direction. About the time we finally saw signs of reef, a boat started to head our way. Joe, a member of the team here, has gotten his hand chopped up in a boat propeller here, so when we see a boat, we wave like mad! So he did see us, but slowed his pace and came to us. He started shouting "You gonna get eaten by that shark!" "Where?" we asked in a panic. "There are lots of sharks out here! Especially in this weather!"

Well, I had already asked Joe about it before we left, so I wasn't really scared. The sharks around here are Nurse sharks and small ones at that. But Jessica, who doesn't know this, Freaked out. She nearly left me out in the middle of the ocean by myself. I am a very slow swimmer, and she has! been on Swim teams. So there was no way to catch up. Luckily, her panic calmed and she remembered me and waited. We had a good laugh and had an even better one when we told the team about it at breakfast. They said the guy has probably told all his friends how he terrified to gringo girls about a shark. It's a big joke here I found out. Oh well, you live and learn.

Then this afternoon. Chris and I went out to the reef that Joe took us to before, by ourselves. It was so fun. And scary because, we swam over the reef to the drop off. And if any of you have seen Finding Nemo, it is just like the big deep. It is so vast it makes you panic at first. We did not linger long there, and went back to exploring the reef. We did have to be careful to look out for berras (barracudas). We picked up a starfish that was about 20" in diameter though. That was so cool!!

That is about all for today. I may write more later. Love! you guys and thanks for your prayers. Oh and sorry no pictures. I don't have an under water camera.

Love, Dora

PS. Please don't get the wrong Idea. We are not on vacation, we just have weekends to play, and we build relationships with the people we work with and the people we are ministering to. Your humanity reaches more people for Christ than your Christianity ever will. . . . I heard a smart man say that many times.

February 1, 2006 Sorry everyone. I am trying to get some pictures to attach, but the computer and the internet is being funky! So I will send an update now, and will send the pictures as soon as poss. Where to begin. . . . .

OK well last Sunday, not this past Sunday- the other last, On the way back from the North Side church evening service, it started to rain. No big deal, right? Well There are only two types of rain here: all day rain or rain in spurts. This was a spurt and it was like a monsoon or something. The waters were rushing past us, and we so did not even try to dodge the "puddles" anymore as we had on the way there. Oh, and did I mention I had not taken a rain coat or anything? It was Marjie, Sheila, Camas, Emily and I (in case you have not noticed Chris NEVER goes to the North Side. Marjie says he has a case of the wussies.:-)) and we were loving the walk back ,really! It was so much fun. We were so soaked and there was one point where the water was so bad that it was up to our knees, that is how badly it was raining! We eventually started jumping in the puddles splashing each other, as if it made any difference. I was gonna take a picture of us soaking wet, but couldn't find my camera fast enough, so that moment did not get captured. dang! Oh! Then on Thursday, something else big happened. Scott was making his rounds to the North Side and ran into Zanoli, one of the really shy girls I have been trying to talk to. All the women here are really shy at first, but she is even more shy than they. But anyways, she asked him to make sure that I was coming to the Bible study at 3 that day. So, when he got back to the Point, where the school is, he poked his head in and told me. You could imagine my excitement! I was thrilled. I always go to church over there, and try to talk as much as possible with them, but to be invited by her is something extra special. I could not wait until 2:30, it could not come soon enough. When it did, I went to get Marjie to walk over there, but she had already left. So, off I went with God leading the way. And I was reminded of that when I came across a bull on the path. Normally I would not worry about it, but the people and the kids here "molest" (that is the island word for bother) the animals so badly by throwing rocks and hitting them with sticks, and then they wonder why the animals are mean. So anyways, here I was head on with a big ol' bull, who was only tied loosely to a tree, but with more than enough slack to get me if he wanted to. He looked up at me warily for a few moments, and I took that time to plead in prayer, then he put his head down and passed by me instead of me having to pass him. Whew! I was so relieved. Of course I immediately burst into praise and thanksgiving as I continued on my way. When I got there, I went to Ms. Liolyn's house because I thought that was where we were having it. Zanoli, Zaroli, and the pastor's wife, Heather were there reading the Bible. That is when I found out that it was going to be at Marion's house. So, Ms. Liolyn lead me over there, but on the way we had a nice chat. She asked when I was leaving, and then, of course, when was I coming back. Of course, I said I had no idea, but I said it would be as soon as God tells me I can. To which she said, well maybe when you come back you will bring a baby with you. Maybe twins! . . . .Whoa! time out. how did she know I wanted twins? So I told her that I did want twins too. She said she had always wanted twins, but never had them. Maybe, she said, if I'd have had twins I could have only been pregnant 5 times, since I had 10 kids. She is such a neat woman. So loving and kind. We got to Marion's house and she gave me a bucket of water to wash my feet, because I didn't wanna muck up her house due to muddy feet from the trip. Eventually there were about 8 ladies that showed up, and we studied about Ruth. It went really well and they are starting to open up in front of me. I love it! They are so neat and so strong. They so everything. I am amazed.

The sad part about going to the study is that I will have to give up Kid's Club on Wednesdays, because I can't miss two days of teacher training. So, Jessica is gonna take it up. She is the new intern and she wants to do it anyways. Chris has been working odd jobs here and there. He is helping Camas (one of the team members here) build an upper room for storage in the school. Who knew? And after that, he works on setting up a new satellite system for our internet connection, and cell phones (wish they would hurry up!) and is making some friends of his own. There's Honsito, (he is 24, married with two kids, and makes windows as well as fishes), Ewins (Honsito's brother, who is always wearing at least two shirts because he is cold!!!!), Jerry (the groundskeeper here who also plays electric guitar at church), Willis (who is married with about 6 kids, works around the clinic, makes jewelry, and we just found out that he can box too), Ordlyn (pronounced odd-lan, is a drifter, who lives here and there, takes advantage of gringos, but is nice too, Chris is trying to get him to bible study, he says yes, but never shows), Bobby (who owns a store, fishes, drives the boat for us, and has 5 kids. He's really fun to talk to), Teddy (the preacher from the North Side, who is really tall, and very sweet), and John. I am gonna take a minute to tell you about John.

John Bowmen is an islander that grew up in America, and served in the Marine Corps for 18 years, but he was never a citizen .. . .go figure. He was deported because he committed a felony, and here he is. He is a Christian, and is so neat. He started a project called Clean Sweep, which cleans up the island. He, and two boys, Shem and Marvin clear the roads all day of trash, and debris, and mud. Right now they are putting what looks like a cobble stone road through Mangrove Bight, because the mud is so bad there. He is married to a woman named Mary, and her three kids- Trisia, Trisianna, and Jamal (which is from John).

Ok so how much longer can I make this email. I wanna get you all caught up. Jessica and I invited all the young kids to play futbal with us on Saturday. That was so much fun. There is one kid named Gavin who is about 6 years old, and is the best goalie I have ever seen. This kid is amazing they way he dives at the ball and nothing can get past him. I am so glad he was on our team! These kids are so athletic here, they are never inside, so they play all day. We call the group that always hangs together, the Lost Boys (like from Peter Pan) because they remind us of them so much. Then, there was the boxing match at four, so we did not get to go spelunking, but I think we may do that this Saturday. I hope. Sunday we played kick ball with the younger kids, and then jumped into a game of futbal with the older kids. That was rough, and they even took it easy on us. Somehow I got stuck "holding" (goalie) and I stunk something awful! I need more practice. But none of them got mad at me, and they tried not to hammer me with the ball either, which I was thankful of. Chris played rather well I thought, and at one point told Michael, their goalie, that the next time the ball touched his foot, it was going in the goal. . . . and it did! It was so funny, Chris ran around imitating an airplane, and then fell to his knees shouting, "I have the gift of prophecy!" They all laughed and we played until dark. I have a feeling that will not be our last game.

Well, I have to go now. We are attending a funeral for a lady named Gleeda. She had heart failure, and they had the wake last night. It goes all night into the morning, and then the funeral. Marina, one of our Teachers in training, is her daughter, so it's much more personal now. And it was Shanna's aunt. she is another of our Teachers. Please pray for them. Thanks for reading all of this, and I will try to get those pictures out soon. Please write back, Love Dora and Chris

January 21, 2006 Hi Everyone,

I hope you all got the email with pictures that Dora sent out a few days ago. If you did not just let me know and we will send it again. Today was pretty cool. All of us interns went over to the north side of the island this morning to the best beach on the island. We swam some and just walked the beach. It was fun. Then this afternoon, after lunch, we went snorkeling on the coral reef! It was awesome! The only bummers were the fact that we had to swim out to the reef, which was about a quarter mile, and then when we got there it was overcast and raining. We still had fun though. However, the best part of the whole trip was when we got back to the dock and started to wash our gear off. Well, Dora noticed that Jessica's (the third intern) feet were really red all over, like something had scraped all the skin off of her toes and feet! Well we all looked at it and she said it did not hurt, then we realized it was the dye from her sandals rubbing off on her feet !! Well, you know us, we had to have some fun with this. So, we all started walking up to the clinic and when we got within eye sight of it Joe (the guy that took us snorkeling) and I both picked Jessica up and Dora ran up to someone and told them to get Scott (the Doctor) cause Jessica was hurt. So, Scott came and we hurried Jessica into the clinic where Scott began to ask all kinds of questions about what happened. It was then that Joe said "Nothing happened, its shoe dye" Of course, we all burst out into laughter. However, Scott did not. He just made a comment about crying wolf and left. So, we thought he was mad so I went and talked to him and apologized, and he told me that he was not mad at all, he just didn't think it was that funny. (You just have to know him) So I told him we wouldn't do that sort of thing to HIM again cause its no fun unless everyone laughs at the end. There was one redeeming fact though. Right after Scott left,! we were all sitting outside of the clinic talking when Susanna came around the corner and asked "What happened?" So, of course, we fell right back into our act. We told her that we didn't know what had happened and that we were waiting on Scott so he could open the clinic. Well she fell for it, and this time when she found out it was a joke we all laughed. Now, we are just hoping that Scott does not charge us 50 limpiras for the visit because that is how much we charge everyone for all emergency visits! Oh well, 50 limps is only about $2.50 in U.S. money. Talk to you all later.

Chris

January 15, 2006 I know, I know, it has been 9 days since I have written, please forgive.

just teasin! No really, We have been so busy and the whole "crappy internet connection" thing. I have been so busy in the school, working from about 9am-5pm for teacher training. Please pray about that because I am getting a little burnt out. We talked about it today though, and are gonna rotate it. We have had some excitement though! First of all, we were invited for a weekend off Helene. There is a man named Wally Moore (the kids here call him Wally-mo'. He is a Gringo from California, and he is the reason Alternative Missions got started here (well he obeyed God). He is very wealthy, God obviously knows he can handle being so, and he and his wife have built a house in Carib point Bight (it is on Roatan). So Marjie, Chris and I left on Wally's boat Friday morning for a fun, relaxing weekend. . . . and it was!!! Ensimor drove us there and I am glad because he is the best boat driver ever! At one point I was a little scared because he stood in front of the steering column (instead of behind it) and drove that way.

When we got there, we saw this big American/Island house yellow with green trim and a red zinc roof. Very bright. Wally was the best host. We went to dinner at a place called Romeo's, and had some pasta, Oh Yeah! Then, that night I saw a fishing pole in his loft and asked if I could go fishing. Then, after he said of course, I saw there was no hook. So, he took it to his care taker, who speaks Spanish, and tried to explain that we needed a hook. Well, not only did he fix it with a hook, but he gave me a handful of Sardines for bait. Oh I was so set. I went out to the dock at night (cause every great fisherwoman knows you go when it is dark) and proceeded to fish. Well, the first sardine fell off the hook, so not my fault. And the second one hooked about an 8 inch fishie. Oh man, was I excited! I was screamin "I got one yahoo!!!" and then realized. . . . I am alone and cannot take this off the hook. Well, God was looking out for me because Freddy, the care taker, heard my joy and came to the end of the dock where I signed to him that I have no idea how to take it off. He was very kind and took it off the hook for me. Then Chris came down and said it was dinner time, so I had to go in.

After dinner though, Wally took me down to the dock to do more fishinin (as the islanders call it) because I had two more sardines to get rid of. Well, the wind was so strong, that when I sat down to bait my hook, it grabbed my bag of fish and took off! Wally laughed at me and thought I was gonna jump in to get them. So then on our way back up the hill to his house he hugged me and thanked me for the exciting fishing trip.

Oh well. Then, and of course this was one of the most welcome things ever, we took hot showers!!! That's right HOT showers. Oh man what a treat. His wife is a very picky decorator and it shows. All the best. Oh and of course I took advantage of the CLAW FOOT BATH TUB!!!! Then into our AIR CONDITIONED bed room. We were so spoiled, but it was nice to feel like we were home in the states for a few days anyways. God has used him for so much, and he has said that all of his possessions are to be used for God, and this weekend, it was used to minister to us. Oh yes, and the beds actually had box springs, we didn't think they made beds this comfortable. We have been sleeping on boaords with a thin mattress for a month. But, when we got home (Helene) we were glad to be back, and had been missed too. We really like it here, bugs and heat and all.

So, that brings us to today, Jan 16th. A typical Monday. . . . not!!! We were tutoring some kids at the school. I had Phil, he is so sweet! He has the "peacemaker" mentality of all the boys. And he was recognizing words and reading them. He could read all of "Bears on Wheels". And was so proud that I was impressed with what he could do. So much so, that he wanted me to add some other words to the ones we were learning, but I said we should save them for tomorrow and he was happy about that too. Something to look forward to. Well, in the middle of that, Reymac came in saying, "A house is on fire". So out we went. The house, second down from the school was engulfed in huge flames, and the wind was blowing it into the island. So, all the gringos (the Brits from Coral Cay came up to help too) formed a bucket brigade chain and we dowsed the surrounding shrubbery with water. I had to bridge the muddiest part, and nearly lost my "slippers". so I had to take them off and just sink into the mud mid-calf deep. Then, when the ranks shifted to get water to another part, I had to stand barefooted in an ant hill (practically). So, my feet are pretty eaten up, but all in a days work! The fire is subdued now, and the only inhabitant was rescued before we even got down there. What was amazing to me was how all the islanders had just gathered to WATCH, not to help. They were all crowded around before we all decided to gather buckets and wet everything. THen, as we worked together to do all this, they still sat there. Only about 5 islanders even attempted to help. I even heard one of the on lookers say "this is like watching a movie". The islanders are hard to figure out sometimes. They are all about family and community, but sometimes not. Just pray about that too. Also, I cannot tell you why, but please pray for peace for a husband and wife here named Wally and Donnalee Boddin.

I think that is everything. Please keep your emails coming and I will try to do the same. We love you and miss you all.

January 1, 2006 Wanted to write and say hey to everyone! Happy New year to you all as well. At least I got out of eating those nasty black eyed peas! Although I will miss collard greens.Even though they smell like. . . .well everyone knows what they smell like. I am trying to think if anything big happened this week. . . .

We went to Roatan to do our weekly grocery shopping, and it was quite a fun experience. I had been before, the day before Christmas Eve, and wanted to get some girly clothes. Well we ran out of time. I think I told you that I was unsure of what to pack, so I packed some skirts, but no tops to go with them other than men's t shirts. Well this time, a store named Carrion, was having a sale, so we got to get some really nice shirts for cheap.(by the way, look up the word "Carrion" in a spanish dictionary) Also on this day, if you spent over 500 limpera (about $25) you got a free hand towel.Yahoo! But, the funnest part was on the way back. The wind was coming in from the NE, and the waves were huge! So Susanna and I had to sit on the tarp to keep the groceries from getting soaked (to little success) while the waves were crashing down on us like waterfalls! We would jump way up in the air and come crashing down, usually Susanna and I would come right out of our seats and cling to each other as if that would magically keep us in the boat. I could not stop laughing, expecially when we were totally dripping with water, I remembered our towels from Carrion. I pulled mine out and said "MAn its a good thing we got these free towels!" We all cracked up and we actually used them to dab our faces when the salt water was really bad in our eyes. It was way better than any kind of roller coaster!

Then, later that night, some of the older boys (Jonathan, Darvin {pronounced Darwin} , Jergin, Phil, and Denard) were on the deck playing Futball, so they asked me to play. I said I would, but then to further persuade me, Jonathan says "Come on Dora, you too fat you need to get thinner, so play" well that was just what a girl likes to hear. (Just a side note, here on the island they say you are big, or fat and it means wealthy or healthy. But they have learned what it means to us and that we don't like it, so they say it more now just to see if they can get under our skin.)I'll have to say they are really good at it, but I scored a lot of goals too! I was very proud of getting the ball past a 7 yr old boy! (that one's for you Brian and Mia). When we were tired, no wait, when we had lost the ball, we sat on the steps and talked. These kids have no guidance, no role models. Its really sad. They asked us about our posessions, cars and such. But we made a point to tell them, we work hard for these things, you don't just step off the boat in America and you get rich. No one gives you money, you work for it. They don't understand that about Gringos. But Jonathan has this determination in his eyes and with the right guidance, he can do anything. He's so smart.Emily has invested a lot in these boys, and they show it. But parents do not. Jergin said he wants to learn how to read (he is 9 or 10) because his mom says you are nothing and can be nothing if you can't read. I told him to get to school, we could teach him to . Then he said he would, but you never know. Darvin said "I am too dumb to learn dat". Of course we said he wasn't and that he could be taught and go anywhere and be anything he wants.They don't get that at all here. He also said he would die before he made any money at all, its just so big and out of reach for them. . .they think. This is the main battle here.Education and religion, well relationship with God I mean.

Today, Chris, Marjie and I trudged through the jungle to the North Side to go to church. I saw some of the ladies from my first Bible study there. What was sad was, there were no men (other than Chris) at the service at all. Now, granted a lot of the men on the North Side are gone for months at a time for fishing and such. But other than that, there were none.The bars are always full ,and at night there are plenty of people walking up and down the path, drunk or high. Our window is right by the path so we hear it everynight.But, we have gotten used to the sounds by now, and usually can sleep right through the night. Tomorrow night is the women's Bible study at Marjie's and I am gonna ask myself over (as you all know I am good at doing) to some of their homes to get to know them better.

Well the first short term team of the Month has just gotten here, so I gotta go say Hi. Love you all and please keep writing. Chris and Dora

Sorry no pictures

December 25, 2005 Well, Christmas was a little different this year, but just as nice. (Of course we missed our families and friends) God always makes each day here special and of course, so do the people here. Some of you already know of the Christmas Eve island entertainment. . . . The Boxing Match.Doyle, the rich man on the island whom Chris and I have dubbed Don King meets Mr. T, set up a boxing match between a Nicoraguan and a native to St Helene. I am trying to attach some pictures. The names of the men involved was a man they call "Capone" and a man they call "Ryoo" (Rye-oo). At least 100 people (men, women and children) showed up for the event. Naturally Chris and I went too. It was pretty neat. Doyle had set up a ring( four sticks and some nylon rope) and they put lawn chairs in each corner. The sad part was that since it was a Holiday, everyone showed up drunk. . .well not everyone, but a lot of them.One guy even interrupted the fight by throwing some of his b! eer (which he had open in one hand) on Capone, and then threatening to throw a jug of Rum(which he clasped in his other hand) at him as well. It got kind of crazy at one point, but the match itself was very professional.And it was free admission. The Nic., Capone, won by one solid hit to the head, and down Ryoo went. Then they made friends, and we found out there is to be another match on New Years Day.

This morning, I awakened to some really bad cramps, so I missed out on the present opening and the singing of carols and praise songs. But, after everyone went to church, I snuck Sheba in my room and she cuddled on the bed with me and we slept. Chris came home and found us, and took s picture. I miss Jubilee taking care of me when I am sick, so having Sheba there really helped.Chris brought me my presents, which were from the Bensons and Marjie, and I felt bad b/c I had not gotten them anything, but what can ya do? Chris and I didn't ev! en get each other anything. Oh well, I am sure its gonna be ok.Then, the cooking started. Oh and the people came by to get the gifts that people had donated. That was really neat.There are some pictures of that too if I could ever get them to load! Larry made the Turkey and the stuffing; I made mashed potatoes and candied yams; Sheila made green bean cass, and cookies. We had so much food!

While this was all baking, and we had a break from the rain, we held the annual "throw candy and water balloons at the kids" event. They loved it! We go up on the top deck and throw candy on the main deck to lure the innocent children on, then throw water ballons at them. The kids taunt us and laugh and really have a good time.Part of me thought. . isn't this just a little cruel. . . nah!!!! Besides, we don't hit the young ones, just the older kids who want us to try to get them. The younger ones we just throw it beside them as they bend over to pick up the goodies.

Then. . .finally, it was dinner time. We had the missionaries from Costa Rica come and eat with us. It was really fun to talk to them too.They have some really neat ideas for older kid activities.Please pray about that. They have nothing on this island for the teenagers to do, except hang out at the disco or bars. They don't really have organized sports, and we need someone to teach the locals some things to do with the teens. That is a big need here. The younger kids too, but they don't really hang out at the bars, and we have stuff for them to do most days.

Thank you all for all of your prayers and letters. They really do help.Keep praying for our health. We still have two more months to go and so far have been well.

We love you, Chris and Dora

December 22, 2005 Well let's see what has happened this week? Emily, Susanna, and Sheila Benson got here and things definitely picked up. I have been helping Emily get the school cleaned out and organized. We are almost there. Also now we have opened the school to let kids come in from 2-3 to read if they want to. Raymak is the first there everyday. He is so sweet. Then usually Denard, Phil, and Dominique come in to read as well. Sometimes they get frustrated, but we sound it out and at the end they hold up the book and say "See, I read (reed) dat all by myself, nah?" They love to see what they've accomplished its so neat. I have gotten more used to the roaches, but I hardly see any in our cabin. Thank God. Only seen three this whole time. And I am happy to report, they are now KIA. Yess!!! I opened the clinic door today and one fell on my chest. . .ugh! That one has joined the others that have crossed my path so far.. . in Davey Jones' locker. Oh yeah.

Something happened Sunday night that I am going to copy from Emily's post (no pun intended) from this Tuesday . . . . . . . .

12-18-05, 3 AM
Lord, tonite was different. Tonite was hard. I awoke to Toshiba's rabid people-on-the-porch bark as I heard footsteps and men's voices. I knew what had to be going on-an emergency. A guy was lying on the deck gasping for his life. I ran to get Marjie at her home as it seemed it took her forever to get up to the Clinic. I saw Raymac, Dovens, Peter - they picked him up and put him on the table. Marjie got a mask and oxygen on him. He was writhing and straining to breathe. Chris came out to help after hearing all the commotion.
I went for Dad in the backyard as Marjie had told me because we needed to get him down island, but as he has been running a fever of 103 for the past three days, he stood and limped to the toilet and began to vomit. I was able to at least get out of him the code to the safe. I just needed to double-check as I had had to have access to it last year when we were short-staffed and he was off-island alot. Mom came back with me to help.
Mom, Chris, Dovens, and Raymac were helping to hold the guy still and in the best position to breathe. He kept jerking straight up, neck first, with all his strength to draw his next breath. We sent Raymac to get gas for his boat but he soon wandered back saying it was too rough on the sea for his small dory too make it - "can't make it, Ms. Marjie". So, we sent him for Ensmore to drive our boat, all the while Marjie was running around working to find things and pack them. Chris took over for me as I went back to the safe and got out money for her in the money bag with a made-up expense report and pen. Then, I took over again while Chris ran to put on some flip-flops. Bugs were biting bad from the floor. The only thing going through my mind as I steadied this kid's head - he is as old as me - was, "Lord, You are the breath of life. Give it to him." A few seconds would pass in between lunges for breath, and then more seconds in between, and I kept thinking, "This guy could take his last breaths in my hands." I started to feel nausious, weak, sick. I yelled for Chris to take back over and he did. I ran to the front porch.
I needed fresh breeze, a cup of water. My throat had started getting sore earlier in the day and now I felt like I could throw up. I looked around and tried to steady my own head and breathing. Bresa (the cat) - I needed to hold her, pet her, to be close to something alive. She came and I stroked her head and neck. This was therapeutic. Now, I know why Jamera always surrounded herself with cuddling the animals. It now made sense to me more than ever. In her line of work where so muchu energy is spent maintaining life and beating death, having something living and breathing - alive and full of life in your hands seemed to balance all the nerves and fears and insecurities right out. I moved to the steps and Toshiba came to me - no mind the bugs now. I just sat and raked my fingers across her head and chin and ears. She loved it and understood the need to feel living touch herself more than me.
Finally, about 30 mins later around 2:30 AM, the patient came around and was able to breathe steadily enough without the oxygen. Ensmore had just come so I let him know he could go back since the guy had come to and there was no need to go down island. We would ride it out until morning. Marjie decided we would put him up in Cabin 1 and she would stay with him through the night. So, Mom and I made beds, and set up fans and water for them. The crowds that had gathered were now heading back to their homes.

I slept through the whole thing though. You all know how heavy a sleeper I am. I am going to attach some new pictures and one is of the island we swam to the other day. It was fun, and Sheba went with us. She's such a neat Dog. She is a guard, friend, and guide for all of us. And she understands all we tell her. So good to have a dog like that here. All of the other dogs here are so dumb! I mean they are never taught, so its to be expected. There is one dog named Bad Habit, and this poor thing has no sense. Every day he shows up with a new wound because he will not back off. He's super sweet and just wants to curl up with other dogs, well most here do not want that, but he tries anyways. Poor guy. He smiles too. Its cute. I think that is all that has happened. Oh yeah Chris has been and still is the "man in charge", because Larry is still sick, and Scott has gone home. I am really proud of him. He deals with all the problems and islanders and does a good job. Everyone (of course) loves his sense of humor. We are going to put up our Christmas tree tonight yahoo. And Friday are going down island (to Roatan) to get supplies and gifts and things. My first shopping trip in a while! So those who are giving money to support us. . . give more!! jk ha ha. Well we hope you all have a great Christmas and We will try to send new pictures and updates every week. We'll see though. Things are picking up as far as to do lists. We love you, Chris and Dora

PS. Can you believe that while we were decorating the tree and singing the Grinch's "Yahoo Doray" that we were wearing sweaters and long sleeves? When it rains all day it hits 70 and you are literally cold. Same with today (12/22/03) We are wearing long pants cause it has poured all day and is cold. Tis the season I guess.

December 16, 2005 Ok let me try to explain these pictures. The first one I think is the ant trail. You see these lines everywhere. They look like water has worn it away, but upon further investigation, you see an ant highway! So cool. Then I think the hanging laundry inside picture kinda describes itself, but we had to bring it in cause the rain is off and on some days. Yesterday we climbed to the top of the mountain, and Chris had to use the Machete a few times (which he loved!). You can see the awesome view from up there! The sunsets are beautiful! Oh and the other picture is of the school house that they built here. This is the only English school on the island. The rest of the schools here and on Roatan are Spanish teaching. ((Actually, there are private schools on Roatan which are bi-lingual - Robert)) The kids can't wait for school. They crave attention and to be taught! Emily (the main teacher) and I are spending our days cleaning out the school from the hurricanes, and getting things ready to teach the "teachers" from the island. We want them to be ready to help teach the kids. The picture of the ocean with the houses in it is off the back porch of the school, which is located in The Point. The water is so beautiful most days, that you just wanna jump in, but you have too much work to do. Oh yes, I included a picture of our wonderful shower. You have to pull the chain to get it to work, so you take one handed showers. But I love the cold water! I always have. Chris isn't ok with it yet though.

This is all I have for now. We miss you all and love you very much. Thank you all for writing. Love Chris and Dora

To all in SC: Sorry to hear about you losing power and I hope all are ok!

To everyone: I am jealous that you guys get to go see Narnia and hope all the power in the theatres are off as well and son't come back on until we get back! JK

To Robert Black: Did you get the dates and places of the Christmas thing in Roatan. We will see what we can do.

To Momma and Daddy: Thank you for taking care of that for us. Wish you could send those brownies, but takes too long.

I will try to keep responding to all the emails, so keep em porin in! Love to all thanks for praying!

December 8, 2005 This is Chris. The picture of the fenced in area is just a broader view of the restaurant we ate at with John. Also, the lady in the picture is Becky...she is only here for a week and is from Seattle. As for the housing, it varies quite a bit. Most are on stilts, and are usually no more than two rooms. Hardly any of them have windows, and none have indoor plumbing. People just build outhouses over the water just offshore. Then the sewage comes in with the tide into the areas where the kids play. A lot of the houses have generators so the people have electricity. I went to one man named Jerry's house, he is a great man of God, and he had a couch, two loveseats, two TV's and what looked like surround sound!! Of course, with the harsh sea environment none of it was in great shape but it was comfortable. That is the story with just about everything here. The sea air does not let anything last very long. A lot of the new construction is very well done, but after a while by the ocean, it quickly falls into disrepair. Hope this helps. Chris

December 8, 2005 Here's a picture from the boat ride over. This is about a mile out you can see straight to the bottom. Then there is a pic of us at our island lunch with John, the man in blue, and the other kid is Shem. Shem just had his thumb sewn back on cause he was opening a coconut with his machete and hacked it off. But the next day he was out with us cleaning up the beaches. It looks so painful. He's a great kid, but oddly enough does not like rice. . . . huh. Then we went to Bently Bay and I got to jump rope with these girls. They would sing " Mexico, Mexico over (ower) da hill, Mexico Mexico, durat durat (do that do that) split split split, turn around round round, touch da groun groun groun, now jump out! " It was so neat and they love to see adults play with them. Another pic is of the houses around here. Enjoy!

Received 12/07/2005 Sorry I missed you, but the internet is very in and out here. You better eat all those nasty nuts before we get home!!!! The food and everything is great here. My legs are a little eaten up with bug bites, but I bathe in bug spray, so praying they'll lighten up.Yeah the boys said my hair was "all wreck up" so they wanted to plait it fa me. They were ripping it out was more like it. Later that day I had brushed up against a plant that did n't like me and paid dearly. My foot swelled, and it spread through my body fast. My head was on fire and itched so badly I just soaked it in the sink. Scott, the dr, gave me benadryll and threatened a shot of it if it didn't stop itching soon. So I was happy when it did stop. It's really sad the way kids are treated here. No one really cares about them and kids fall in the water a drown because they are left to do whatever they want all day and they like to play in the water at times. They call it bathing. We are trying to clean up the beaches too. They call it Clean Sweep. IT was sad to see a spot I was almost sick at cause of the trash and sludge and smell, and I saw a three year old girl squatting to poop there. No one cares it seems. And why should they, they don't know anything else. I'll write more when I can love you and miss you. Dora

PS don;t even get me started on the condition of the animals here. You wanna go pet the cute puppies, but don't because they are covered with ticks and mange. Very sad. And they don't realize that they spread all the worms and things to the kids. Oh and when you show a kid attention, they hang all over you cause no one shows them any love. It's really heart breaking, but you can work with that .

PS all the islanders do speak english, but tis hard to understand sometime cause is almost jamaican, nah? we be pickin it up some. its fun to larn and de kids help us larn it.

Received 12/05/05 Hello Everyone,

Dora’s email: ghotiddaly@yahoo.com