Thursday, November 27, 2008

Two Themes: Nigeria and Thankfulness Encourages People!

I was thinking yesterday as I was writing about Thanksgiving that I was happy that I know how to show my appreciation to people when they do something for me. As a child my mom and dad, but especially my mom was always on me to say "thank you" on every imaginable occasion. As a result, at her insistence, I learned to say "Thank you" and "Yes, ma'am" at every turn. Those lessons, learned early in life, have stuck with me.

Over the years, Mike and I have given away cars, furniture, pianos, money, food, clothing etc. But it was rare that we received a heart felt "thank you". When we did, it almost always was discussed between us. Many people have never learned to say "thank you". They might be thankful, but they have not learned to express themselves. Perhaps this is why God encourages us in the Bible to express ourselves "OUT LOUD".

Many years ago I went to Nigeria several times in order to help a local pastor there. Nigeria is located in west Africa. I worked in Akwa Ibom State which is close to Cameroon.

Yesterday, I received the following note, by surprise via Internet. This note came all the way from Nigeria, West Africa. Although at the time, Rev. Moses Umoh, was not very expressive about his thankfulness for the church and school which Mike and I built for him and his congregation. It is interesting to note that indeed, he was and continues to be thankful.

When I went to Nigeria in the 80s, it was a hard place to travel. Our children were small and Mike and my mother took care of them at home in Missouri. But, after praying, we all felt that I was to go to Nigeria to visit with Moses and to minister there. I am glad that I did.

Moses had a small home, but his wife Apple kept it clean. The typical home looks something like the homes in the photo to the left, but Moses and Apple's home was rectangular.

I slept on the floor on a grass mat with his small son next to me. I bought a gecko from the local kids and put him in my room to eat the mosquitoes at night where I could sleep. I contracted Malaria. I shivered and had high temp in a place that was close to 100 degrees every day, but I returned again and again, because that was the plan of God for my life at that time.

I took my bath outside every morning using a plastic cup and a 5 gallon bucket of water brought from the local river, which was about 2 miles away. The shower consisted of several long sticks stuck into the ground and covered with banana leaves for privacy. There was no roof. One morning I was taking my shower and looked up and to my surprise a Nigerian man had climbed a Coconut tree about 35 feet in the air where he could have a bird's eye view of me taking my shower. I screamed. Rev. Moses came running and told the man to get down out of the tree.

All the women gathered at the river to get water and to wash clothes, but mostly to talk.

The first time in my life I had ever seen a pineapple growing was in Nigeria. I lived on rice, bananas, eggs and yucca or cassava. I was not accustomed to all of the spices and didn't like the the goat stew served with goat meat, skin and hair cut into squares. Yes, you read it correctly, skin and with the hair intact. UGH!

The following note is from Moses. 20 years later. Several years ago Moses showed up at my doorstep unannounced and began to cry, telling me that he wanted me to return to Nigeria. He cried huge tears as he said to me, "You came when I had no bed you sacrificed and you slept on my floor and now I want you to return and sleep on a bed, in my guest room." I could tell he was really thankful.

Good morning Teresa,

It was good speaking with you yesterday. My joy is full as I heard from you, of the great things God is doing through you in Honduras and around the world, through the seeds planted through your ministry. It was 20 years ago, that God brought us together in Oklahoma, at a WMF convention and further used you to lay a foundation of a growing ministry in Nigeria, in the town of Ukanafun.

That seed has grown now and more lives are impacted through the word, Christian school programs and media evangelism - Our Radio program; 'The Hour of Hope' has been on for 15 years now. It is a weekly broadcast on Radio AKBC. Every Monday by 5.30 pm, it reaches 27 of Nigeria's 36 states and the neighboring countries of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

The Christian school you built has grown up to a High School adding one grade at a time; many children have graduated from here to go on to colleges.

INFRASTRUCTURES: The ministry and school compound has over 15 buildings now with upstairs [solid structures], we have branch schools and churches in other places in the state and we even have a technical school in my village. Akwa Ibom State is progressively developing and Nigeria is advancing in so many areas. It is quite safe for travelers, I can guarantee this.

VISIT TO NIGERIA: Please come over and visit us in Nigeria. If you can make it in January 09, it will be fine or any time of your convenience.

Ekponobong has finished college, waiting for NYSC posting. He is gifted in so many ways, music and auditioning in broadcasting, though he read Agric Econs and Extension in the University. He is going to sing in Reinhard Bonke's crusade next month at Ikot Ekpene as the music leader. Pray for him. We are praying for him regarding marriage and a Masters program.

Samuel is 4 years old, Daniel and Deborah are 18 months old. They are growing. Please pray for Deborah to walk. She did fine until when she was seriously ill, she had a set back. Pray she will be okay.

We are praying for you on various topics like ***** that God will minister to ***** and open ***** eyes. We are also praying for your ministry as you move with compassion to reach the unreached with love, around the world. We are praying for your son's political ambition in Honduras as God will surely see him through. Be baptized with the hope that God will perfect all that concerns you. Psalms 138:8.

I pray that the Lord will grant you peace, good health, anointing and wisdom as you serve Him diligently in Jesus name. Please pray for us as we are deeply involved in Reinhard Bonke's crusade in my Akwa Ibom State. It will be a moment of refreshing from God's presence. I hope to hear from you soon.


Bishop Moses Umoh

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thanksgiving!

Yesterday I started a study on praise and thanksgiving since someone reminded me that Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. In Honduras we do not celebrate Thanksgiving, so I totally forgot about it.

This morning, I remember and am thankful for the many times I have experienced the comfort and support of His presence. I reflected on the times when it felt like no one (except for mom and dad) was there to stand and support me, when uncertainty about life, caused my thoughts and emotions to spin. I remember when everything in my heart hurt. Most of us have experienced those seasons in life. Many call these experiences the valleys in life.

David Maldonado our oldest grandson to the left. He is holding a cupcake he made with me on one of my visits to the USA.

As I continued to reflect on life, I intensely recalled those moments when in the midst of depressing and heartbreaking hours, the glorious presence of God’s tangible love invaded the obscurity, flooding me with His sweet presence and peace and giving me the courage and strength that I needed to continue. When God manifested His presence, the battle settled.

I remember after the car accident knowing that my neck was broken, seeing that Sarah was in a coma, seeing that Mike was screaming saying, “she is going to die, she is going to die.” I began to pray and thank God for His presence in that situation. About that time my sweet little Jessica (8 years old at the time) began to sing sweet praises to the Lord, sitting on the side of the road. God’s presence entered the seemingly hopeless situation and He began to touch all of our hearts. No matter how devastating the circumstances were, they were insignificant in His presence.

The only fitting response to God’s divine intervention in our dark hours is to be thankful. Thankfulness is the only appropriate response. The memory of moments like these releases from deep within me an inexplicable gratefulness for all He has done for me. God is awesome.

45 of the 150 Psalms start out with words of praise. I want to learn to be thankful and to praise Him when I am in good situations and when I am in bad situations. I want to be as passionate about praising Him as He is with me about “never leaving or forsaking me.” I want to learn to be thankful to God all day every day. I encourage you today to join with me to thank the Lord for all the wonderful things he has done for you.

Psalm 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.

A few weeks ago I was reading where the Bible says that God formed us in the womb. I think about that and I am happy that He chose to give me my parents. I am grateful for them, they are a blessing to me. I also am thankful for my two precious daughters. God chose to form them in my womb. I am thankful for their father, Mike. God chose him as my husband and as the father of my children before I was born. I remember praying at the young age of 14 years old for the husband that I would marry and for the children that I would have. I was 14 and was praying for God to be preparing the spouses of my children. He did. Rene and Casey are both wonderful fathers to their children, my grandchildren.

Rene Maldonado, my son-in-law with Shelah, our fifth grandchild to the left.

God is touched when we express our gratefulness to Him. He created us to have fellowship with Him and our thankfulness and praise is like a sweet savor to Him.

When I think of favorite smells, I think of grandma Jewel’s homemade biscuits baking inside the wood fired oven. I would be visiting, sleeping in my grandparent’s log cabin, under her hand quilted, cotton stuffed quilts and then I would smell her biscuits. The smell would wake me up in the morning and bring me to life. Biscuits and Blue Ribbon Syrup and fresh butter that she churned and made on the farm, just remembering them, makes me smile. This is how God feels when we remember Him and are thankful to Him. Our praise smells good to God and makes him smile when we remember to thank Him.

Casey Gonzales our son-in-law to the left with Christina, the second child of Sarah and Casey and our fourth grandchild. A more recent photo of Christina is posted below.

This morning tears came to my eyes as I received an email from my friend Susan. She has a prodigal daughter that she and her husband are praying will return home. She wrote to ask me to join them in prayer. I imagine that there is nothing that hurts a parent as much as an ungrateful child. When one gives their all to their children and the children are ungrateful and reject them, it hurts terribly. Imagine how God feels when people reject Him.

Daniel Maldonado, our third grandson to the left.
He is holding two candy dinosaurs he and I made together.

Many times as parents we do things that are best for our children, because we see something in the future that they do not see. They may become ungrateful as a result of our decisions or they may become ungrateful as a result of outside influences. We must make sure that we as Christians do not do the same thing with God. Many times we are in the middle of circumstances that seem to make it impossible for us to be thankful, never the less we must discern that God wants the best for our lives. We must see things from His point of view. We must be grateful that He loves us and cares for us.

Michael "Mikey" Gonzales, our second grandson to the left. He is in the boat at the lake.

In John Chapter 12, Mary of Bethany poured out an offering of perfume on the feet of Jesus. This was her act of thanks for the ministry she had received as a result of his presence and his teaching. Mary had a grateful heart and her way of showing her gratitude was to do something very special for Him. Bible scholars presume that perhaps the costly oil she poured out on Jesus’ feet was her dowry. Because she was grateful for all that Jesus did for her, she poured out her future. With no dowry, there was no hope for a good husband and there would be no wedding. How did Jesus respond? How did the disciples respond? Read John Chapter 12 and find out.

To be grateful we must sometimes take or eyes off ourselves and our situations and appreciate and admire God for who He is. I am convinced that most divorces happen as a result of one of the partner's becoming ungrateful and unthankful for their spouse. This opens the door and the ungrateful spouse starts criticizing and complaining and then they are susceptible to the first "outside influence" that comes their way, to "console them or counsel them" as they are telling their story of woe. An illicit relationship is born and next thing that comes along is a divorce.

In Mark chapter 8 we see that Jesus gave thanks. But what did He give thanks for? He was in a terrible situation, He had compassion on 4,000 very hungry people, but there was not enough food to feed them. Jesus was thankful and his thankfulness paid off. God performed the miracle of the loaves and the fishes and fed the 4,000. Many times we find ourselves in seemingly impossible situations. This is preciously when we need to praise and worship God. This is when we need to look for the good in people and the good in the circumstance.

I love Luke 17:11-19, ten lepers were cleansed BUT only one returned with a thankful heart to express his gratefulness to the Lord. This was the one leper who was not only cleansed, but was made whole. Leprosy eats away at the flesh, to be cleansed and healed from the leprosy is one thing, but to be “made whole” is another. This man may have lost toes or fingers to the leprosy but he was made whole, because of his thankfulness. To be made whole means that everything which was lost due to the leprosy was returned. Jesus called the leper's gratefulness, faith. When we are thankful for what the Lord has done for us, we have a chance to be made whole, not just healed, but made whole. If you have lost something in your life, don;t just pray for healing of the hurt, PRAISE and be made whole. God will count you gratefulness and thankfulness as faith and you will be made whole.

Christina Gonzales our fourth grandchild and our first granddaughter to the left. She is tired after a day at the lake with Casey and Sarah and her paternal Great Grandma Charlene.

I am blessed even in the middle of all the corruption in Honduras. I am thankful even in the midst of all of the circumstances which life has thrown my way. I am blessed with time to study yesterday and today, because the battery on my truck is dead. The dead battery was not a blessing neither was it a gift from God, BUT I have decided that I am blessed because I have time to do what I enjoy most, study the Word and help others who need help. I have made a decision to find a blessing in everything. I am blessed because God loves me!

Christina and Mikey Gonzales with 1 of our 3 granddogs.





Sunday, November 23, 2008

Unreal! Jose has worked so hard, fought an uphill battle and now this!

Honduras is listed on Transparency as 126 of 180 countries that are listed. That means that there are 125 countries in the world less corrupt than Honduras and only 54 countries more corrupt than Honduras.
http://www.transparency.org/

Today I saw what I believe is corruption! Jose is the coordinator for the Department of Valle for the Presidential Campaign for Miguel Nolasco. Jose also is running for Congress on the Liberal ticket with Miguel Nolasco's group.

As the coordinator, he in theory should be given the credentials for the polling booths for the Department of Valle. He has trained people to work at the polling booths and he has them ready to go.

Votes are counted by hand. Each presidential ticket receives 2 credentials for each polling table. So there is a Primary and a Suplente or secondary person at the table at all times. When one leaves to go to the bathroom or to stretch the other takes over the position. In theory, no one can fake votes, or miscount or add extras because there are 2 people from each group watching the table.

When Jose received the credentials for the polling the Presidential Candidate only gave him the Primary person at the table. He then told Jose that he had given ALL of the Suplente credentials to an ONG called Honduras Por La Transparencia.

In just the department of Valle that is 274 credentials. In the entire country this 9,940 credentials. Miguel Nolasco says that he has given those credentials to a Non Government Organization called Honduras Por La Transparencia, however, no one has heard of them.

I called the Tribunal Suprema Electoral and they don't know them.

I called Transparency International in Brussels, Belgium and they have never heard of the group.

I called the DEI and the group is not registered in Honduras, at least not with them.

What does this mean? It means that the credentials were sold, bartered or given away OR it means that someone contacted the presidential candidate and sold him on the fact that they are a real ONG with enough members to fill 9,940 spots at polling tables. He says it is a Christian organization, but no one in the church community has heard of them either.

What else does this mean? It means that Jose must be VERY, VERY CAREFUL on election day, not to lose the race because of corruption.

Another Interesting Week In Honduras!

Water and diesel don't mix! But in Honduras, the gas stations sometimes try to mix the two in order to make more money. We pay a huge amount of money for diesel and then it is laced with water. My FORD has died several times this week, because I got some bad fuel. So when it dies and a certain light comes on the dashboard, I have to climb out of the truck, lift the hood, climb up on the "mata burro", (Spanish for kill the burro) (In English I think it is called a brush guard or something like that.) put my feet on the battery and stick my head back as far as I can and turn a yellow thing 90 degrees and then the car pees (excuse me) the car evacuates the water. The I have to climb down off of the "mata burro" and check to make sure when the car stops peeing (excuse me) and then I have to climb up again and close the yellow thing-a-ma-jiggy.


Plus, I blew out another tire! These Honduran roads are terrible!

I was on my way to rescue Jose, but because it is not safe for me to drive alone I called one of Jose's friends to go with me and because we were going to be gone way after dark in a not so safe area on dirt roads, I added 2 more men to the truck to go for a ride.


About 45 minutes into the trip, the right front tire blew out. Dirt road in the middle of no where, no lights, no telephone service, no one that had ever changed a tire, except for me. I worked on it instructing the 3 Honduran men, WHAT A MISTAKE. All three were really "macho" and no one would listen to me. Finally 3 strangers who knew how to change a tire stopped to help.


So, I and 6 Honduran men changed the tire. It took "us" about 70 minutes to change the tire. I went along with the "group decision" culture thing, since I really didn't want to get dirty. I think if I had done it myself it might have taken 30 minutes if I could have lifted the tire.


Jose wasn't with me, he had called me to go and tow the Mazda, because he was stuck 2 hours into Coray on a dirt road. I stopped by the hardware store and bought some tow rope, since Jose had decided to clean out my car and decided that the tow rope which I always carry with me was unnecessary. When he called me to drop everything and go help him, he said that he "didn't understand" why the Mazda wouldn't start. When I arrived and asked a million questions in order to get to the bottom of the problem, I found out that he tried to drive through a creek behind another car and the car "died".

I towed the car about 20 miles on a dirt road and then when we got close to the police post in the small town of San Francisco de Coray, Jose stepped on the brakes in the Mazda to make me stop. I was in the Ford F350 and I was clueless that he was going to slam on the brakes, so HE broke the tow rope. There is of course a logical explanation. He didn't have any more minutes on his mobile telephone and the horn on the Mazda didn't work. Honduran MALE thinking!

I thought I was "finished raisin' kids" but it seems like the Lord has other plans. Jose is a good young man, the problem is that he thinks cars are like horses. He thinks they can go anywhere you are willing to go.

Tim says I have to take off the distributor cap and dry out something or another and see if that will work. If not then I have to buy something or another and install it and see if that will work. He is going to give me a lesson today when he arrives, to see if I can get the MAZDA on the road again.

Someone had just sent a gift to the ministry and so I am purchasing 2 NEW TIRES tomorrow morning. This morning when I went to the garage to get the FORD out to go pick up some things from the store, the FORD wouldn't start. I don't know what is wrong, but Tim will be here soon to check it out.

Friday, November 14, 2008

More Corruption! Charges filed against me for "THREATENING TO KILL SOMEONE!"

Well this is one of those things that might be found in a novel, but never in real life.

Sometimes, I feel like one of the Bible prophets or like Joseph, that was always in trouble and because of no fault of his own. THIS TIME IS NO EXCEPTION. I am doing my work and helping Jose to win the election and I am falsely accused.

Wednesday November the 12th, I interviewed several people for the WORK FOR FOOD program and all in all had a VERY blessed day. That is until I arrived at Pastor Joel Garcia's house in San Lorenzo late in the day.

At exactly 6:29 PM my cell telephone rang and it was an unknown number. I answered it and was met with a male voice on the other end. He said, "I am the Criminal Prosecuting Attorney and I need to speak to Teresa See-are-see." I replied, "I am she." Then he told me that he wanted me to go to the prosecutor's office immediately because he had charges filed against Jose Benavides and I for "threatening to kill someone."

I asked the Fiscal (fiscal is the word for prosecutor) who had filed such crazy charges and he told me he wanted to see me face to face to talk with me and would not tell me over the telephone.

One thing that I have learned living in Honduras is that things are not always exactly like they appear to be. It was dark outside and I made a decision to tell the Prosecutor that I was not coming in to speak with him. I told him I would come in on Friday, with my attorney and not before. He tried to get me to come in alone without my attorney, "just to talk" and maybe this was "just a misunderstanding".

He repeatedly tried to get me to come in but to no avail and finally, when he realized that bullying me wouldn't help, he asked to speak to Jose. I passed the telephone to Jose and Jose agreed to go in to see the prosecutor the following day Thursday at 2:00 PM.

I got off the telephone, got over the shock, got mad, talked to several of my friends and formulated a plan. Then I sprung into action. One of the things which I did was call the police to ask if a report had been filed against Jose or I and I found out that NO report had been filed with the investigative police. Now I was really mad. The man had lied to me!

I called the prosecutor back and he didn't answer his telephone. Angry, I called another fiscal which I know in Tegucigalpa and she agreed to see if he "really" was a fiscal and then to call his office if he was and to talk to him and see what this was all about. She informed me that he was required by law to give me a written summons in order to force me to come in to talk with him. She also informed me that it was crazy for him to call me after 4:30 or 5:00 PM at the latest, because this was after working hours and NOT allowed except under certain circumstances and this didn't meet the criteria. She further stated that his office number stated that he was "out to dinner".

As soon as I hung up from her, the phone rang one time and it was the fiscal returning my telephone call, but he hung up so I had to return the call. I am assuming that he was using his personal telephone and didn't want to use his minutes to speak with me. Yet another clue that things weren't exactly as they were described.

As soon as he answered the telephone, I started grilling him for answers. The first thing I did was ask for his name, he hadn't given it to me in the first telephone call. He said his name is Felipe Osorto and I wrote that down, then I asked for the number of the Denuncia. A Denuncia is the paperwork that we from the USA might call a police report. He started dancing with me on the telephone, trying to keep from answering me, but several times, I repeated the same question and finally he began to tell me that there are several kinds of denuncias and this one was verbal and in order to avoid all of the paperwork, he was "as a courtesy" calling me in to speak with him.

When I found out that he didn't have a written denuncia, I was more than sure that he was involved in corruption and doing some illegal intimidating for a "friend." I told him that if I understood him correctly, he didn't have a written denuncia and he didn't have a case and he didn't have proof and he was trying to call me to come to his office without a written summons and he wanted me to come in after dark. Once again he tried to threaten me with the "trying to save the all the red tape and paperwork excuse" and "trying to keep this from becoming a problem for you" excuse, but I was not buying it. I gave him my address and told him to send me the SUMMONS.

I told him that my attorney told me that he MUST send me a written SUMMONS and that without a formal SUMMONS I would NOT come in to talk to him. I further told him that my attorney said that there was NO REASON that he couldn't tell me who had filed the report and if he was not willing to tell me, then she would call him to find out why he was not willing to tell me. So he told me, SeƱor JuƔrez filed the report.

TO THE LEFT IS A PHOTO OF THE FALSE ACCUSER
Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia

Just so you know, the photo was taken off of the internet tonight. It was not a photo which I had taken! (SMILE)

By now, I was furious. It was obvious that this was a "political trick" and this fiscal was trying to intimidate Jose and I. SeƱor Juarez is really Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia, a political sleazebag (excuse me)who is running for congress again in the Department of Valle, Honduras. He has lied and been deceptive since the day that the campaign started and as a result has made me upset with him on several occasions, so much so that I banned him from coming to my medical teams.

One of the reasons I became upset with him, is that he showed up at my house with a girl "just a friend" on his arm and yet he has a wife and children at home. Then the following week, his wife said to me, "Did you have a good medical team with EleƔzar last week?" I told her that I didn't have any kind of medical team with EleƔzar and if he told her that I did, she better find out where he was, because he was not with me on a medical team. During the entire hour they were at my house, the 18 year old made eyes at him and touched his leg under the table. Furthermore he told me that the girl was from Amapala but she is really from Transito. He is a confirmed liar.

Another reason for which I do not like the man is that he tried to deceive me into using SMART medical teams to his political benefit. I held the teams in areas where he said that there was "severe need" and then I found out that he was advertising that "HE" was doing the medical teams. Three times I spoke to him about it and three times he lied and said that he would stop the radio advertising and finally I "lowered the boom" on him and told him not to EVER ANNOUNCE ONE OF MY TEAMS AGAIN or I would take legal action and use it to publicity to humiliate him.

Regressing back to last week the Blue Nationalist Party did a poll and in that poll, it showed that Jose "Cobra" Benavides is currently in the number two position as winner of the Red Liberal congressional race in Valle, Honduras. Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia is way below Jose in the polls and has a burr under his saddle about this fact.

For those of you who are not from Arkansas, a cockleburr is a sticker, when one is under a horse's saddle it is very irritating and will cause him to buck. The expression "burr under his saddle" means something that irritates someone enough that they will respond or get angry.

When I found out that it was Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia who filed the complaint, I told the fiscal that he was allowing a lying and corrupt politician to use him in his office as prosecutor and that I would have both of their hides for the attempt to intimidate me. I told him, "If I don't have a summons in writing at my door within the week, then I will file charges against you for corruption." And I further stated that "If Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia has placed false charges against me for threatening to kill him I will file a court case against him for defamation of character and I will win."

Now the fiscal has a problem, he has called me, he has told me the charges and he has told me who had filed them. He knows he has lied to me, because I know that there were NO charges filed, so now I have him running like a dog with his tail between his legs. But running is not enough I am now biting. I told him, "You have until Friday morning at which time I will arrive with my attorney and talk to you." I further told him, "You started this mess and I am going to see it through to a conclusion, I will not be bullied and I will not be falsely accused."

The problem is that Congressman Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia and his corrupt friend Fiscal Felipe Osorto both of Nacaome Valle have not thought their wicked plan all the way through to it's conclusion.

Later Wednesday night another police friend who had heard about the incident called me at 10:39 PM to tell me that Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia had just left the police station where he had filed a report which was pre-time dated to a time which was 2:00 PM, even though the report in truth had been done at 10:00 PM at night. He also told me that the report was logged into the Control Book and that the report before it was time stamped well after 2:00 PM, which is impossible if the report had been logged in correctly and legally. Furthermore, he told me that the report did not mention my name or Jose's name and he told me the name of the witness who is Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia's brother. (How convenient!) My police friend also told me that my telephone number was not in the report. Eleazer's brother is his witness. Also very convenient!

Thursday afternoon as promised Jose went to the Fiscal's office and the Fiscal Felipe Osorto was not there for his appointment with Jose. The fiscal was a NO SHOW!

Friday morning my attorney drove from Tegucigalpa to Nacaome to meet with the Fiscal and when we arrived at his office as agreed, the COWARD was not at his office and the people at the office stated that he was in court. We then went to the Police station to see the "police report" which had been filed after the fact. Later that day, we found out that he was not at court either.

My guess is that after speaking to me the Fiscal Felipe Osorto called Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia and told him that I was going to file a legal suit against him, if he mentioned my name and falsely accused me. Yet, to cover himself the Fiscal needed Eleazer to go in and make a report.

This tool is called a vise. It is used to squeeze something really hard and hold it in a position where it cannot move.

What these false accusers, in their infinite wisdom, had not counted on was the fact that I had called to see if a report had been filed against me or Jose Benavides. They had not counted on the fact that I have been really good to many policemen and have helped many family members of policemen with medical problems. They did not know that I have paid for funerals and weddings for policemen. They did not know that I was just a telephone call away from all the information I needed to know.

Now I have the Fiscal in a vise. He had to have a police report or his "goose was cooked." He knew by the way I talked to him that I was not kidding.

I also have the congressman in a vise. Dr. EleƔzar JuƔrez knew that if he accused me, I would have court charges filed against him rapidly, but now he had his friend the Fiscal in trouble, because he thought they could bully me and threaten me and I would be scared.

The Fiscal needs a report, but the congressman needs to keep from getting sued. They have a double problem. If either one does what the other wants, the other is in trouble. Oh my, isn't it interesting how the truth always floats to the top and how darkness always runs away from light.

What is the answer to their problem? That answer is easy for liars, the answer is to lie some more and create a false report. And that they did. The congressman arrived at the police department after 9:00 PM. I have 5 witnesses to that fact. Most of which are policemen. Upon arrival he looked for the most vulnerable sucker he could find, a young and inexperienced police officer and he talked that officer into taking the report and falsifying the time of the report.

When my attorney and arrived at the police department, we found that there was NO report with my name on it. We also found that there was a report filed by Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia stating that he had been followed by a car and ..... Nowhere in the report was my name or Jose's name or any characteristics that pertain to us mentioned. The attorney and I placed the young policemen who took the report in the hot seat and he had several different answers to the same question.

Policeman:
I came it at 2:00 PM and that was my first report.
Teresa:
If that is true, then why was the report not here when the Fiscal from Tegucigalpa called at around 7:00 PM?
Policeman:
I just got mixed up because that was the time of the incident.
Teresa:
The report says the time of the incidents were 6:00 PM and 1:30 PM nothing says 2:00 PM.
Policeman:
I was somewhere else doing a report at that time so I couldn't have done it at that time.
Teresa:
But you told me that was your first report, so how could you have been doing another report if that was your first one?

At this point I am mad and my attorney tells me that she thinks I should file a denuncia against the Fiscal for corruption and abuse of authority. We start the report with another "more experienced officer" and as he writes the report the young officer continues...

Policeman:
It was about 4:00 in the afternoon when I took it.
Teresa:
Then I am sure that the report immediately before that report in the Control log will show that it was done before 4:00 PM correct?
Policeman:
I made a mistake when I wrote down the time, it was in the evening.
Teresa:
So now we have gone from it was the first report, to it was 2:00 in the 4:00 to it was evening. Were you paid to change the time on the report?
Policeman:
It was just an innocent mistake.
Teresa:
It was an innocent mistake that could cause me legal problems and you didn't think about that did you? You didn't care if you were hurting someone else did you? You didn't care about the truth did you? I think this may end up being a lesson for you if it doesn't end your career.

Telephone rings and it is another police officer who lives across the street and has gotten wind of what is going on and wants to talk to me. I dismiss myself go outside and he tells me what time the congressman was there making the report and tells me that he is more than happy to be a witness for me.

Meanwhile the young officer or his co-workers send someone out to see who I am talking with. They see the police officer talking to me.

I return to the office and report that I have another witness to the time that the congressman made the report.

As we are filing the report we realize that the copy of the report was never sent to the prosecutor. Oh my, how was he calling me for a meeting without a report in hand?

The following is what should have taken place:

  1. The report is made with the police.
  2. Detectives investigate and talk to witnesses.
  3. When they have their case airtight they send a copy along with their investigation to the prosecutor and he decides to investigate more if he thinks the case has merit.
  4. He sends out a written summons for me to appear.
  5. I appear and he makes a decision to prosecute or not.

What really happened:

  1. The lying congressman calls his friend the prosecutor.
  2. The prosecutor calls to intimidate me.
  3. I am not intimidated.
  4. The prosecutor is intimidated.
  5. The prosecutor calls the congressman to go and make a report.
  6. Sometime in the process the prosecutor decides that the report needs to be timed prior to his speaking with me, so they lie.
  7. They get the policeman to lie on the report so now there are three which have broken the law. The congressman for making false accusations, the fiscal for abusing his power, the policeman for falsifying a report.

By the end of the report, the young policeman's hands are shaking in the other room. I am sure his stomach is in a knot. I tell him he has until Monday to come clean with me or I am also filing charges against him in Internal Affairs. By now, the entire police station knows what has happened. We take our copy of the report and promise to give it to the Fiscal General in Tegucigalpa.

My questions are the following:

Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia was out to dinner on that same night in a resturant. I wonder if he was with the Fiscal? I wonder if the Fiscal was being paid with dinner for his telephone call to me?

How did the Fiscal get my name since it was not on the police report?

How did the Fiscal get my telephone number since it is a cellular telephone which is NOT listed under my name and is not in the Police Report?

Since the neither of my cars are similar to the cars listed in the report how did the Fiscal come to the conclusion that it was me who supposedly made a threat against Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia?

Is the Fiscal Felipe Osorto going to take the blame for all of this? Or is he going to crumble under the pressure and tell all on Dr. EleƔzar Alexander JuƔrez Saravia?

How is it that the Police Report was dated and timed for after the telephone call from the Fiscal and yet the Fiscal told both me and the Fiscal from Tegucigalpa that there was no written report?

How is it that the Fiscal was calling me in to talk to me when the report had not been investigated by the DGIC (investigative police) and the report copy in fact had not yet even left the DGIC office to go to the Fiscal? Is the Fiscal telepathic?

There is never a dull moment in Honduras. I feel sometimes like I am going to laugh until I cry at the stupidity of the devil and his servants.

I am so glad that the Lord gave me a good brain to think with and a good heart to love with. I hope to finish my book on FALSE ACCUSATIONS soon.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

All about Meriam continued

Yesterday I wrote a little in my blog about Meriam and her family. Today I want to include some photos of her house from the outside, where you can get a prospective of what I am speaking of.

The roof is a zinc roof, but has tile on top to keep the house from being so hot under the Honduran sun. The clothes line is the barbed wire fence outside.


Meriam walks 330 feet to get water from a water pipe at a neighbors home and she must pay 65 lempira a month for this privilege. That is almost a day of her husband's average daily wage.

Below is a photo of the well where Meriam gets water for her family. It is my understanding that water only arrives to this pipe 2 or 3 days per week.

Meriam's dream is to have water connected to her house where she doesn't have to walk so far. The connection costs 3500 lempira or $185 and neither she or her family can afford this cost which is equivalent to almost 2 months of her husband's wages.

Below you can see a snapshot of Meriam's kitchen. Behind Meriam's shoulder you can see her stove which is made from mud mixed with cement. Meriam cooks with wood. The families provision consists of fish, small crabs, rice, corn tortillas and beans when they can afford them.

Meriam goes to the nearest large town 3 times per year.

Meriam says she is the only person in the house who has shoes. The kids go to school without shoes and her shoes are dress shoes so she only uses them for special events.

If your heart is touched by Meriam's story and you want to help Meriam and her family, a check can be written to:
SMART Medical Teams
PO Box 444
Spring Hill, Kansas 66083

Meriam and 3 of her 4 children in the photo below.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Meriam Zulema Reyes and her family in Playa Grande

The last several weeks have been a whirlwind of activity.

Among other things, I have been working physically and brainstorming with an international food agency trying to develop an ongoing food program for the poor. I like to give, but I hate it when people think that they deserve handouts for sitting at home and doing nothing. Below is one of the homes where I interviewed the people and they seem to be good candidates for the "WORK FOR FOOD PROGRAM" which I hope to be implementing soon with the help of the international food agency. This program will have the people doing specified work assigned to them by a local leader, under my supervision on a weekly basis. The pilot program will be 3 months and we will then reevaluate to see how it is functioning.


To the left meet Meriam Zulema Reyes who was born in 1978. She is the mother in this home. She carries water from 330 feet away for the family to bathe and drink.

The father, Wilmer Javier "Chino" Banegas was born in 1980 and he and Meriam are the proud parents of 4 children. "Chino" is a local fisherman, but he doesn't have his own boat. When the tide is high, he might earn as much as 300 lempira per day, but the tide is high in cycles every 6 days and during low tide he can only wait for the high tide to come again. The low tide days he occupies himself with clamming and hunting for "curiles" which are small clams which the family can eat.

Figuring that "Chino" can only work half time he makes a total average of $7.91 per day and then he has to pay 25% of that to the man from whom he rents the boat. In the end he makes about $5.93 per day. Meriam washes clothes for others to augment their meager income.






Melyn Johana to the left in her pink blouse is the oldest child she is 8 years old and currently is enrolled in school.


After Melyn comes Neily Joslin who is 6 years old. Neily is shown below all smiles and posing in her white flowered shirt for the camera.





Four years later Wilmer Javier was born. He is now in his terrible twos and full of energy. Today when I arrived he was in his Tommy shirt, recently received in a package of clothing sent to flood victims. If you don't count the dirt, he is a strikingly cute young man.

Last but not least is Edras Alexander at the ripe old age of 1 year old. Unfortunately Edras was asleep and I didn't get a photo of him. You can see the lump in the hammock below and that is where Edras is sleeping.

The family of 7 have two twin beds and 2 hammocks. They have no electricity and they have no running water.


On the left side of the photo, you can see Meriam's brother Jose Catalino who is 18 years old. He lives with Meriam and her husband and helps with the fishing.

Meriam owns a piece of land (given to her by the government) that is 7 meters by 22 meters, but her house is pieces of plastic and wood with a little metal and palm leaves thrown in for good measure. All of the other children behind are curious neighbors who came to visit.

I am hoping to find a person or a church group who will donate cement for the floor of Meriam's house. I need about $150.00 to complete this project. I am not speaking of a think slab, I am speaking of covering the floor with cement, where the children have a better chance of survival. To make this slab, we must by iron to place inside the cement where it will not crack.

I also would like to find a church group who will help buy cement blocks where we can help Meriam and "Chino" build walls either one by one or all at once. If you know of a church group that would be interested in a Thanksgiving project or a Christmas project let me know. In future news, I will be letting you know about other families, one by one.