Roatan Mission Trip 2008 - Day 4

DAY 4: Hello church!
Thank you for your continued prayers. We definitely need them and God is hearing and answering. You'll find out how as you read this email. This might be a longer email but a lot has happened today. God is moving in hearts here and He also protected us from harm and possible death today. I'll start off with some humor. We were having breakfast and talking about some things on the island that we can do on Saturday for fun. There's a zip line on the island and Diane wanted to know what a zip line was. It was explained to her that it was a wire between two trees and you slide down it. Diane asked "Will we hit the tree?" We all burst into laughter and said "No" and then I added that it's called an "Extreme Zip Line" when you actually hit the tree. After lunch the men on the water crew went up the mountain and they have gotten water to 10 homes so far. This is no easy task as the inclines are incredibly steep. While up on the mountain, some kids were sliding on a piece of gutter. They wanted Brian, who we call "Bob", to give them a push. He gave them a big push but with the angle of the slope, the momentum was more than he could handle and he ended up falling head first down the hill on his belly. He was able to come to a stop and get up before the kids noticed what had happened. However, some kids higher up the mountain saw it and teased him later about it. We all now affectionately refer to Brian as "Bob-Sled." By the way, Bob-Sled is okay and wasn't hurt at all. With the amount of rock, glass and garbage around, we are relieved he wasn't scraped up. He just had a lot of the brown dust stuck to his shirt due to the sweat. VBS went well at the school this morning and they loved the games we played with a parachute and balls. They were just shrieking with glee. They'd never played with a parachute before. We had at least 60 kids at the morning session in la colonia (the mountain village). The afternoon VBS was larger today with perhaps 40-50 kids from the Sandy Bay area. Our medical ladies are working wonders at the clinic with sorting through a big closet to organize the supplies so you can actually find and use them. Marlene drew some blood today and was teaching someone how to do malaria slides. Their help has been a great asset to the clinic. Several people from our team narrowly escaped a head on collision as they headed to the jail today to witness to the inmates. After arriving safely at the jail, the team was allowed in and taken into a dark hallway which was like a dungeon. Then they were locked in. They didn't know they would be locked in with the inmates and this caused some momentary alarm and fear on the part of the team because they had no idea what the people had done to end up in jail and they could be in there with murderers. They were reassured that the hard criminals are taken to the mainland and these people were just brought in over the weekend for petty crimes. The prisoners were very happy to have them show up. There were mostly men there and about 5 women. The cells were dark and some were completely without light so it was impossible to tell how many people were in those cells. The toilet is a hole in the ground. People's families have to bring something for the prisoners to eat or they will not get any food. Curt and Celanie gave their testimonies. Bill preached and Bibles were distributed and every prisoner wanted one. The team prayed with the prisoners and several prayed the prayer of salvation! Adam led the music with his guitar and when they did "La Montana" about moving mountains, everyone in the jail knew the song and they sang so loud that Adam and the guitar could no longer be heard. It made some of the team members cry to hear how much the people sang from their hearts. Another jail visit is planned for Thursday. Late this afternoon we went up to the village in the mountains to hand out bags with hygiene items, beanie babies, candy, Bibles and to share Jesus and invite them to an outreach tomorrow night (Wednesday) here at the Son Rise Inn. We drove two vehicles into la colonia, a pick up was the first vehicle followed by our van with a manual transmission. There's a fork in the road to get up by the school and as you veer to the left you go over a culvert. The road is washed out on the left side by this culvert which drains into a sewage ditch full of wet muck and garbage. I was sitting on the left in the first seat in the back of the van and noticed this part of the road as we took the left to go up the hill. As we headed up the hill, we didn't have enough power to make it and the van started rolling backwards. Then the engine died and we continued to roll back down the hill and veer to the left. If the back driver's side wheel would go into that washed out part of the road, the van would surely tip over into the sewage ditch. I panicked and started shouting "STOP!" I was praying out loud "LORD HELP US!" But we kept on rolling. I cannot describe the sheer horror and terror I felt as we continued to roll backwards toward that rut in the road. It was a sickeningly helpless feeling and my mind was whirling and dazed at the same time. I thought of my two children and that I just couldn't leave them and die crushed in a sewage ditch in Honduras and I prayed harder. All of these thoughts raced through my mind in the seconds that we were rolling backwards -- but it seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. Then I heard Jessica scream from the back seat "STOP! WE'RE GOING TO FALL INTO THE SEWER!" and the van stopped. Everyone in the back started yelling at George who was in the back seat by the door on the right to open the door to let us out because although the van was stopped for the moment, we still didn't know if we were going to start to roll again. George couldn't get it open because of child proof locks which prevented the door from being opened from inside. One of the ladies from the front seat got out and let us out. We couldn't bail out of there fast enough and we walked up the hill instead. As the van tried again to make it up the hill, it spun its tires and sent a shower of dirt toward us which smelled and tasted like manure when it hit my nostrils and mouth. As I was engulfed in that cloud of dirt, I just was so thankful to be alive that I didn't mind the taste of the dust cloud so much. This near accident was quickly forgotten, for the moment, as we split into teams and made our way up the mountain with our interpreters to share a trac about eternal life through Jesus with the people. Darla and I were together and climbed what was basically a washed out goat path to the homes up on the mountain. The people who live there go up and down with ease and the children run and jump on the paths. However, with my knees being bad, I didn't know how I could possibly make it up such a steep incline. But slowly and surely, Darla and I made it up the side of the mountain and distributed our materials. Everyone we invited to the outreach said that they would be there. We got an up-close-and personal look at the homes and all I could think of was that the animals in the US have better homes than these people do. I could not imagine living in these tarpaper shanties on stilts which keep the houses level as half of the house literally hangs off the mountainside. I also noticed that the mountain was "alive" in that you can hear all kinds of sounds on the mountain because there's no privacy. You could hear people talking, children playing, and all kinds of music going. I realized that kind of noise would drive me crazy if it were happening in my neighborhood in Hutchinson. But it sounded fun as I listened to it here in Roatan. Well, what goes up must come down! We had to figure out how to get down the mountain. The interpreter went first and Darla hung onto his shoulders as he guided her down the hill. I was invited to be part of the train too but I was afraid that I would slip and wipe out Darla and Elias and so I stayed back several yards. I kept thinking that I didn't want to be the bowling ball that wipes out two pins ahead of me on the path. At times I didn't know where to step and I'd grab a tree trunk or fence post to hang onto until I was sure I had a sure footing. I turned back to look up the hill and one of the women we'd spoken with was watching us and smiling as we looked completely inept trying to get down the mountain. I smiled and yelled "Gringos locos!" (Crazy Americans) and she laughed. I think she really enjoyed our visit. I still can't believe how people go up and down those mountain paths like goats. They try to carve steps but the rains come and wash the steps out. When we got back from la colonia, we had a wonderful supper and then headed out into the dark to distribute outreach invitations to the people of Shady Bay. Many of them said they would be there. One little boy ran up to us and said "That puppet show was fun!" He had been at VBS today. That was a blessing to hear. We finished off the night with some group worship and sharing time and then we headed to the beach for a moonlight swim off the pier. It was very refreshing. As I looked up at the stars, I realized that they're the same stars, hanging in the same place, at the same time as I see them each evening when I sit out on my patio garden in Hutchinson. What a huge universe and what a huge God we serve. Please pray for our outreach tomorrow night (or tonight by the time you read this). Please pray that people would be saved. A couple of people on our team have decided to get baptized in the ocean, most likely on Thursday or Friday! We are hoping that many will be saved tomorrow night and will consider joining them in baptism. Wednesday night is a very important outreach starting at 8pm CST (7p Roatan time)! Also, please continue to pray for our health and safety! Love, Gabra and Team Roatan 2008