Travel Plans

(copied from old blog. entry dated: 3/25/2007 11:19:00 PM)


At last we are on our way to the airport.  Right now we are at the Humphries' home in San Pedro Sula.  Tomorrow morning we will be on an airplane heading to Miami, landing there at 3:40 p.m. and soon thereafter heading to Orlando.  This is a much-anticipated trip and we're going to enjoy it so very much!  I hardly know how we'll sleep tonight, the four of us are so excited.  

Thanks to the response of our supporters, we have been able to secure the clinic in Rio Viejo, advance with the graduation procedure, and purchase our tickets, etc.  Without you we wouldn't have been able to have peace of mind away from our house and work-place.  God is so good, we pray the richest blessings over you who responded to our plea for help.  It is such a wonderful feeling to know that you are with us here on the mission field, working together.  

For the next four months we will be looking for an opportunity to share with you at your churches, homes, and meeting places about our work in Honduras.  So let us know, via email, if there is an opportunity to fellowship and talk about our plans for the clinic in Rio Viejo, NOW THAT I'M A DOCTOR!  It feels so good to finally be able to say that. 

We are so looking forward to seeing you soon.
Martin

They grow up so fast...

(copied from old blog. entry dated: 3/14/2007 3:51:00 PM)

Just wanted to show you a few pictures of our baby girl, who is now 11 years old!  Wow, where did the time go?  It seems like it was just yesterday that she was born in La Ceiba and we were driving up the bumpy dirt road to take her home.  She is still a wonderful and sweet little girl and will always be our baby, though she hates to hear us say so... 

       

 Rachel with Mom in the front yard of the clinic....                  Rachel, Samuel, and our new addition to the family
                                                                                                                       ........ SUGAR!

URGENT NEED.

(copied from old blog. entry dated: 3/11/2007 3:19:00 PM)

Re:  Urgent Needs                  

Dear Friends & Supporters,

We pray the Lord’s richest blessings on you and your family.  We hope where ever you are spring is bringing about better weather and sunshine.  Hopefully we just had our last big rain storm for the season and except for a few leaks in the roof, all is well in Rio Viejo. 

I know you’re wondering why the title of this message reads “urgent”.  It is true that we are all in good health, in good spirits, and anticipating God’s faithfulness always, but we are pressed in all directions and we feel the weight overtaking us, and so we ask for your prayers and your help. 

As you may know, I have finished all my obligations to the country of Honduras, but I am still fighting the bureaucratic process that every medical student must undertake in order to graduate and receive certification from the medical community.   This year it is particularly difficult because of student strikes which have kept the medical school closed for several months.  The faculty is unable to work; therefore much of our paperwork cannot proceed. Meeting the graduation requirements is not only time-consuming, but financially burdensome.  We have been living in Rio Viejo, in the clinic, to minimize our monthly expenses and to expedite the completion of the building itself.  This by the way has helped immensely in both aspects.  However, the graduation process dictates numerous trips to the capital city, which are all very costly.  Secondly, to try to overcome the bureaucratic hurdles we have been obligated to hire a lawyer.  We have been in Honduras for more than 3 years and have not been able to return to itinerate because of the medical curriculum’s requisite of continued medical training.  As a result of our prolonged absence, we have not been able to fund raise since 2003 and our monthly contributions have steadily declined.  So I am asking for your help, especially financial help, in order to graduate and get my family back to the States. 

Last month we sold Wendy’s 1994 Toyota Tercel to help with some of these expenses and to get my truck running again.  With these funds we were able to pay for the used engine, a trip to the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa to renew the kids’ passports, some of the fees for graduation, and the first payment for the lawyer.  But airline tickets to the U.S. are expensive, and there are so many other fees yet to be paid.   Our tickets were purchased on credit to take advantage of a special fare ($2,098), saving us more than a thousand dollars from the regular price.  We are scheduled to return to the States on March 26^th, flying into Miami, and returning to Honduras on July 20^th.  So between March and July we will be itinerating and fund raising for our next phase of work in Honduras.  We hope that 2007 will be the inauguration of the clinic and regular medical services will be offered to the people in this area.  We were challenged by a recent trip to Loma de Luz Hospital, which is a missionary medical outreach, similar in function to what we hope to establish in Rio Viejo.  We believe God to fulfill what He has put in our hearts.  It is a large undertaking, but He is able.

Before our departure there are some final projects that must be completed on the clinic in order to insure that its contents are safe during our four month stay in the U.S.  I will be adding metal bracing and locks to the outside doors to they cannot be easily forced open.  A fellow missionary and friend who recently made a trip to the U.S. and left her home unoccupied in Rio Viejo was victim to a break-in and theft the first month she was away.  We are trying to prevent this from happening at the clinic by making sure doors and windows are secure and also by having the Pastor’s son from the village sleep in the clinic each night. 

There is much to be completed in the next two weeks and we ask for your prayers before our departure on the 26^th of this month.

These are our immediate urgent needs:

Graduation Fees:                  9,000 Lempira     $ 500

Outstanding Lawyer Fees:    4,000 Lempira     $ 225

Airline Tickets:                                                $ 2,098

Immigration Exit Fees:                                     $ 120

Securing the clinic:                                           $ 500

We want to thank you for your support during these last three very difficult years.  We have been stretched spiritually, emotionally, financially, and thank God that in all these things we are more than conquerors.  We are thankful to God for you, who continue to keep us in your prayers, on your church bulletins, and that the people of Honduras are never far from you, your congregations, or your prayers.

You are welcomed to visit our website, hhim.us and/or send your contributions to

Healing Hands International Ministries

P.O. Box 234

Fayetteville, TN 37334

In His Love & Grace,

Martin Williams & family

Walmart Bound....

(copied fro the old blog. entry dated: 3/4/2007 7:31:00 AM)

Hello everyone!  Yes, we have been lost in a blur of busyness the last weeks and unable to update you on the recent happenings in the Williams household!  So much good news, where do I start???

Firstly, Martin's truck is up and running again and he is beside himself with joy!

                

The exchange of engines was completed on February 17th while the kids and I jumped around and squealed with delight at hearing the diesel engine roar to life again.  After several test runs to La Ceiba and lots of little adjustments we made the trip last week to the capital city of Tegucigalpa to continue to work on Martin's graduation papers.  The battle continues to get all of his grades onto his transcript.  The lawyer has been such a help in this area but admits that she has never seen so many problems before.  Martin just said, "Welcome to my world, the world of the foreign student..." ha/ha/  It has been an ongoing battle for the past eight years trying to keep it all straight.  Slowly but surely they are getting the classes and grades returned to his transcript, one by one.  We are praying for it all to be completed very soon.  As for graduation, the date has been moved yet again!  I know, it's hard to believe, unless you've lived in Honduras for the past 13 years - it comes as no shock to us.  They are now saying that graduation will take place on the 27th of April.  We are guessing that really means sometime in May.  So the decision was made to fore go the walk in cap and gown and just receive the diploma and a handshake without the formal ceremony.  So Martin will submit all of his paperwork and receive his formal letter of completion in the next 3 weeks and we will leave on our much-anticipated trip to the States.  Which brings me to our next piece of good news...

We have purchased our tickets to the States and our departure date is March 26th.  We applied for new passports for the kids last week in Tegucigalpa and Martin will be picking them up on the 16th at the U.S. Embassy.  So yes, our last bit of good news is that we are "Walmart Bound"... as the kids would say!  We are counting down the days and beginning to pack up the house and prepare things for our trip back.  We'll have to finish our last quarter of school while we travel around, but Samuel and Rachel have assured me that it is perfectly fine with them to work in the car as we drive from place to place itinerating.  ha/   They have already planned their first day in the U.S.   After landing in Miami at 4 p.m. they would like to drive to the nearest Walmart, run through the front doors and shout to all within earshot, "WE'RE BACK!!!" and then just run though the place breathing in the smell of the States.... ha/ha/   Then it's back on the interstate to the nearest Cracker Barrel restaurant, then straight to Grandma's house.  They have it all planned out, and are having a blast planning and talking about it constantly.  Their joy is contagious and we are all smiling inside and out.



We have a busy last few weeks planned before our departure to the U.S. and many things to get accomplished.  We would certainly appreciate your prayers.  Martin's transcript and classes must be resolved in order to get his letter of completion, and he certainly needs God's favor with those in authority in order to get this accomplished.  There are lots of preparations we need to make in order to leave the clinic secure.  We plan to have the pastor's son in Rio Viejo house-sit while we're gone in order to keep out intruders, but new door locks, etc. must be made in order to make it more secure.  The kids must finish up the 3rd quarter of school while helping Mom pack up the house and bag up things in order to keep the humidity from ruining books and pictures while we're gone.  We haven't quite fixed all the roof leaks, or maybe I should say that new leaks are constantly springing up to replace the old ones.  So we must leave things packed up tight to keep out critters and rain and humidity while we are away.   Martin would like to make one more trip out to Las Minas.  The kids and I will go with him this time since the truck is now running.  And he will be making weekly trips to Tegucigalpa in order to finish the graduation process.  Lots of little things and big things to do over the next three weeks and we would certainly appreciate your prayers.

Last month Martin was able to make a trip to Las Minas with fellow missionaries who provided the school children from 1st - 6th grade with brand new backpacks donated from a church in the U.S.  The public schools in Honduras begin in February and our friends and fellow missionaries in La Ceiba, Darrell & Becky Fillpot, had just received hundreds of brand new backpacks filled with school supplies  to be given away to needy children in Honduras.  We asked if Las Minas could be included in their choice of villages and they gladly accepted our plea for help.  So few people are willing to travel the three hours up into the mountains, crossing rivers and driving down roads that are difficult even for a 4x4 truck to cross.  But the Fillpots not only agreed, but transported two hundred  backpacks, a ministry team from their church with a portable sound system, and had an entire presentation with music and dramas for the students and parents presenting the gospel message to them before the backpacks were given out!  It was a great day and we are so  thankful to them for their contributions to the school children of Las Minas.  Martin was so excited to be able to provide these very needy people with such a wonderful gift.   As you can see, even though his year of Social Service is over, his love for the people of this area continues.  I am sure we will be making a trip to Las Minas as soon as we return to Honduras.

Our last piece of news today is about a new addition to our family.  NO, I'm not pregnant. ha/  We have a new puppy!  Martin brought home the cutest little brown mutt from Las Minas on his last trip there and we have fallen in love with this tiny thing we call "Sugar".  She is the most adorable mutt, and has quickly become a part of our family.  She will one day be our barker to warn us of visitors to the clinic.  Her parents are both small dogs, so she will not get much bigger than she is right now and she is so smart already.  I'm sure the people of Rio Viejo will come to know her quickly as she greets our patients.  She mostly barks at pigs and just follows the patients around, but we hope she will soon learn that she must stay at the clinic and not follow every patient home.  I'll try to get a picture up for you to see our little "Sugar" from Las Minas.  We plan to take her back to her Mom before leaving for the States and they will keep her while we're away for 3 months.

Well, I will sign off this update with something I've been wanting to say for so long now...
See you in the States in a few weeks!!

Big hugs and much love from the Williams of Rio Viejo to all of you there,

Wendy & family