June 30, 2014 Another Wheelchair Given Away This Time In Danli

This little cutie is Marisol. The first picture shows her at the rehab center in Danli where she is coming for therapy. They are teaching her to stand up, and in the picture she has some heaters on her legs. 

She learned to use a wheelchair when she was at the Telethon. This is her first wheelchair. 

She was sooo excited. You couldn't slow her down. She put the brakes on and off and wheeled herself around. 

Up to now, her mother has carried her in a back-pack baby carrier.

This is the child, that when I met her, had some serious ulcers on her legs and feet from dragging herself around the dirt-floored house. She has no feeling in her legs and feet. Since then she has had her tendons operated to give her feet - and she is wearing her first shoes - and she is going to rehab to learn to stand and maybe walk.

Her life has changed radically.  

Jeannie Loving fellow Honduran missionary wrote these comments and delivered the wheelchair for me.

June 21, 2014 Nachito Receives His New Wheelchair In Danli

He is used to being carried by his parents. 

He loved the freedom!

Jeannie Loving fellow Honduran missionary wrote these comments and delivered the wheelchair for me.

May 26, 2014 Hard Headed, Stiffnecked and Proud And Asking For Judgment

Have you ever known anyone who is stiffnecked? Have you ever known someone who would bow their neck and make a decision, even knowing the decision was wrong, and yet continue in their decision for pride's sake? Have you ever known anyone so full of pride that they refuse to make a change knowing that they have made a decision that gives them a destination called destruction? 

Exodus 32:7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them:...
9 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

When we become stiffnecked it is because we have corrupted ourselves.

Exodus 33:3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way... 5 For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee:

The people of Israel, who were taken out of Egypt, missed the land of "Milk and Honey" because they were stiffnecked. Their children when into the land, but they did not. When we become hard against God and what He is trying to teach us, when we become stiffnecked, we many times miss the blessings which God has for us.

Deuteronomy 9:6 Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

God wants us to have understanding of the way He works in our life. He wants us to understand that if we are stiffnecked then we lose out on many of the blessings that God has for us. He writes these things for us to understand how He works in our lives.

Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

Each individual must make a decision NOT to be stiffnecked. Only you can make that decision for yourself.

2 Chronicles 30:8 Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. 9 For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

When we are stiffnecked, we cannot serve God. Yielding unto God is the opposite of being stiffnecked. We cannot enter into His presence when we are stiffnecked. When we are in a position that we are stiffnecked, we must turn again to God, because we have turned away from Him. God is gracious and merciful, if we return unto him. If we do not, then there is judgment.

Right now someone reading this is saying but all this is Old Testament. Yes and it is New Testament also, Stephen was stoned to death because he gave this very word to the hard hearted religious leaders. The covered their ears it made them so mad. They refused to hear because they wanted to believe that God would bless them no matter what they did.

Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Are you doing something wrong in your life and expecting God to bless you anyway? Are you being stiffnecked and hard headed? Are you continuing in sin and waiting for the hammer to fall? If the answer is "yes", then ask for forgiveness and enter into His presence. When we are in His presence there is fullness of joy!

1 John 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

April 20, 2014 Fire At The Guimaca Orphanage Farm

The fire by night, this photo was taken by a neighbor looking up on the ridge beyond the houses.

The fire covered the entire property except for where the buildings are.  Keith and Vickie Crowder and all the kids helped fight the fire with the help of a few neighbors.  Keith is an experienced volunteer firefighter from Oklahoma, so he knew exactly what to do.

The next morning revealed about 300 fence posts burned and fences down everywhere,

We need someone or some people to help us repair the fence line.  Each post is a minimum of $10 each and there are about 300 posts ruined.  This is a $3,000 project and then there is the new barbed wire to buy.  We are thinking of using PVC 4" Tubes filled with concrete and a 1/2" rebar.  This would increase the life f the posts by years and years.  It would give us a pretty white fence and it would be indestructible.  Fire could theoretically melt the PVC but not the cement inside.  The cost if we go this route is more like $16 per post.

Here is an example of what those posts would look like.

Does Anyone Have Lowe's Or Home Depot Gift Cards Which They Would Like To Donate To The Children's Home?

Electrical supplies update!  

I have asked people and asked God for help for all the electrical parts and pieces which were stolen from the new orphanage/farm which was donated to the ministry. 

Money, electrical parts and gift cards from Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal Mart 
will also be accepted and appreciated.  

We need several churches to help us raise money and to make missions trips to help us fix up and clean up the children's farm and get everything ready to move in. 

Anyone know how to get a JAMMED pump out of a 325 foot deep well?
We think it is jammed at about 65 feet deep.  Seems someone was trying to steal it and it fell in on them and jammed part way down... Hoping we don't have to replace tube.

We hope to be moved in by June with the 10 children plus more.
We are now 15 days away from the date which we wanted to move in and we have been unable to raise all of the funds needed, but we are not discouraged!
We are on our way!
Keith and Vickie Crowder and I are on our way to the USA to raise funds for the farm.

Ten children and their house parents ready and willing to move to the farm. Vickie and Keith Crowder are the missionaries who will run the children's home.
You can see their blog here.
http://www.acall2remember-ringring.org/

As you can see from their BLOG they do a lot of community ministry.
They are a wonderful Spirit filled couple who are GREAT with kids.

We do not have electricity yet and cannot get electricity until we have all of the supplies. 

$260 has been donated. 
Then another $520 was donated and then today another $250 was donated.
SO WE ARE ON OUR WAY!

The $260 plus the $520 was used to buy Romex in the USA which is being shipped down on a container. Why? Because it saves us a lot of money to buy the Romex in the USA verses here in Honduras where it is not available and we have to buy several different wires which cost more.   We were able to purchase 1,000 feet of Romex for $260 or $.26 a foot.

The wire to do the same job is $1.96 per foot in Honduras! 

And a friend is shipping it down for free.  

That saved us $1,700 per roll.

With last week's donation of $520 we were able to purchase another two of the 1,000 foot rolls, That donation knocked out the most expensive part of the electrical job at the children's home.  In all that got rid of $5,586.00 worth of Honduran expenses for a mere $780.00 and I am guessing that the other wire which is needed is also much less expensive in the USA.  

We need 450 feet of 2 gauge wire x 3 which in Honduras is $5.10 a foot for a total of $2,293.20.  In trying to look this wire up on the Lowe's web page I am confused as to what we need.  Anyone with electrical sense out there who wants to help me figure it out? 

This is one of the homes on the property which was donated.

Everything electrical was stolen out of this house, including all the wire.

This is the other house on the donated property.

Everything electrical was stolen out of this house also.

The electrical lines between the homes and the transformer were also stolen.

I originally asked for the $14,250 for the electrical supplies for the new orphanage and along with the money He is also sending supplies! Thank you Lord! Thank you donors!

List of things still needed and prices if purchased in Honduras!

Price sheet on electrical supplies in Tegucigalpa	Number of items needed	net cost per unit in $	Total Dollars   Needed
double light switch	11	$2.41	$26.49
single light switch	55	$1.20	$66.22
double light switch cover	11	$0.84	$9.24
single light switch cover	55	$0.42	$23.10
recepticals	48	$1.04	$49.73
receptical covers	48	$0.42	$20.16
waterproof  single gang box	3	$4.48	$13.44
waterproof double gang box	15	$10.08	$151.20
waterproof covers	18	$1.96	$35.28
220 volt receptical	2	$4.76	$9.52
220 cover	2	$2.30	$4.59
Ceiling fans 5 blade 52"	9	$140.00	$1,260.00
wall fans	18	$112.00	$2,016.00
Breakers 240 volt 40 amp	2	$22.40	$44.80
Breakers 120 volt 20 amp	16	$10.08	$161.28
breaker box 20 hole for 125 main	2	$84.00	$84.00
125 main	1	$67.20	$67.20
10 gauge wire 49 L. per foot	100 feet	$2.74	$274.40
12/3   wire 35 per foot	2850 feet	$1.96	$5,586.00
Inter net wire 19 L. per foot	200 feet	$1.06	$212.80
Light bulbs  large round	20 bulbs	$4.54	$90.72
Light bulbs reg.  100 watt	100 bulbs	$4.48	$448.00
6 foot ground rod	1	$19.60	$19.60
Bulb change stick	1	$29.68	$29.68
Motion sensor lights	15	$33.60	$504.00
Flood lights	30 bulbs	$7.00	$210.00
Light recepticals	45	$2.41	$108.36
Light receptical boxes	20	$0.90	$17.92
Wire snake	1	$23.52	$23.52
Conduit elbows	16	$0.36	$5.82
Conduit connectors	30	$0.22	$6.72
Out side junction boxes	15	$2.52	$37.80
Conduit clamps	75	$0.34	$25.20
¾’ -10'   conduit	31  pieces	$1.20	$37.32
2 gauge wire x 3	450 feet	$5.10	$2,293.20
Entrance alarms	9	$22.40	$201.60
			$14,258.92

                                                                               - $5,586.00 already purchased
                                            __________                                                                                              so if we do not buy anything else in the USA we will still need $8,672.92                      
If you have any questions, email me at teresa   @   smartteams   . org
   

April 21, 2013 What Does A Missionary Do?

Someone asked me... "So what exactly does a missionary do?"
I think the answer is more like, "What doesn't a missionary do?"
In the last few years I have: 
planted fruit trees and vegetables, 
taught the Bible in the prison, 



baked cakes for two weddings, 



bought a prosthetic leg, 
watched as a friend slowly died of cancer, 

wrote a book on being Falsely Accused 
For Sale On Amazon.com



been a wonderful hostess even when I was too tired to move,
been invited to the Ambassador's house for an afternoon party,
been hugged by the president of Honduras who was later ousted,



sorted pills for medical brigades, 
broke my leg, 



played taxi driver to other missionaries, 
gone to junkyards to find replacement mirrors for a car after they were stolen,



held a dying baby, 
given away 2,200 wheelchairs,



done without a washing machine for 2 weeks, 
broken my arm, 
failed miserably in my war against cockroaches,
hosted open air crusades, 
hosted missionaries for the night, the weekend, the week and more
had a Bible study in my home for almost a year,
bought chicken food, 
missed my mom and dad, 
taken human rights people to the scene of killings, 
saw the look on people's faces when I ordered 50 roasted chickens at once, 
made guava jelly, 
been a comfort to a survivor, 
changed a car battery, 
done without electricity for days at a time, 
returned a kidnapped baby to her mom, photo below



finally learned to squat to pee and not get myself wet, 
stayed up with people all night at the hospital, 
dried tomatoes, 
watched a baby be born, 
hugged a policewoman as she cried about her family,
learned how to tell whether my upset stomach is amoebas or worms or just an upset stomach, 
dug 4 wells, 
preached at a funeral, 
watched a pastor give his adulterous wife chance after chance to make it right, 
collected rain, 
closed down an orphanage because they abused children, 
been cursed for having done that,
reaped a harvest of guava at my farm, 



learned to cut above the knot (helping in surgery), 
learned that bees like perfume, 
learned that I do not like raw clams, 
sorted used eyeglasses, 



learned to carry my own toilet paper all the time, 
had a telephone stolen, 
wasted nothing, 
hauled a coffin to a small town, 
bought building supplies, 
jump started a car, 
had a car battery stolen out of a locked car,
made some wonderful new friends,

 

 

balanced check books, 
delivered flyers door to door, 
driven a horse trailer, 
made 200 cupcakes for the gang, 



faithfully gone for a manicure and pedicure every 3 weeks, missed my children and grandchildren, 

learned how to put together adoption dossiers, 
lost a friend of many years, Joan Anderson,

left to right Billy Anderson, Joan Anderson, Teresa Andrews Searcy, Michael Searcy

caught a bad guy trying to sell rocket propelled grenade launchers to me of all people and had him deported back to the USA where he was from, 
studied my Bible and then studied it some more,
designed a home, 
hosted 48 eyeglass teams,
lost a camera, 
taught two dogs who were trained to kill to be submissive to me,
gave advice to an Army general, 
taught a Honduran mother how to make cinnamon toast, 
built a church, 
hosted medical teams, 
made 10 gallons of coleslaw at once, 
broke my toe, 



bought eyeglasses for the needy, 
taken friends to get their hair dyed, 
rescued children who had been sexually trafficked, 
stayed healthy except for a few breaks, 
broke the news to a mother and sister that their son and brother was killed,
written a sermon on why Christians should get involved politically, 
missed my parents 60th wedding anniversary, 
filed charges against a corrupt police officer, 
am on a first name basis with the pharmacist because I buy so many meds all the time for people who are in dire need,
learned how to get rid of planters warts and would you believe it is with superglue and prayer? you just smother them to death, no surgery needed
rescued children from gangs, 
had Christmas with no Christmas tree for the second time in my life,
rescued a kid from suicide,
took almost a million people to the doctor, (evangelistic-ly speaking)
taught someone to drive,
lived well, 
served well, 
aimed high, 
loved better, longer, stronger and even when people don't deserve to be loved I have loved them anyway,
forgiven even when it was hard, 
and followed Jesus.

What do I still want to do? (not in any order)

I want to:

learn to make pine needle baskets like these shown in a photo by Mercy International


have more revelation of the Word of God,
learn to make the lady fingers, 


Lady Finger photo credit

get to the point that I experience the presence of God all the time,
take a painting class, 
go to Greece,

 


finish my book on the Grace of God,
build a small cottage at the beach and decorate it English cottage style, 
learn to make a crazy quilt,



Crazy Quilt photo link
host a television and radio Bible teaching program once or twice a week,
fall in love with someone who loves me as much as I love them,
get a fish farm up and operational, 
receive the gift from God to be able to have His healing power flow to cure cancer, 
learn to bake 50 different kinds of bread, 



find Christian homes for 2,000 orphans,
learn to churn butter, 


How To Churn Butter Link
see India (especially the Taj Mahal),
make 5 kinds of cheese, 
make a wood fired oven for artisan bread, 



live to be 120 years old,
build a windmill, 
visit Israel and stay for a while,
owe no man anything,
take beautiful photographs,
ride an ostrich,
complete my home, 
visit Egypt,
learn to fly a helicopter,

I live an interesting life and look forward to new experiences every day!The only thing which would make me happier is if my parents, children and grandchildren were close to me for me to love on all the time.