Lots of building going on.  Of course, spiritual building is the main focus.  

Last year lots of groups helped us plant trees in Cantarranas.  Look at the starfruit trees already producing this year! ​

There have been construction projects in Talanga...including needing to replace most of the walls outside and in for the parsonage, and change the roof to not dump over the wall into the neighbor's property, which will be hopefully started a good way this week.  Also, the back wall for the church has been failing, and work started this week to make the hole, for the next team to help seal back up properly.  None of that was planned, but it was needed, and we were able to switch things up and with so many groups, help out quickly.  

And...we finally got the pavers for continuing things in Cantarranas, but unfortunately not enough groups, not enough days to get them all installed soon.  We have started, but quite a bit left to do.  (around 50,000 pounds worth) to then see how much left will need done.  

The well continues.  I could have cropped this picture more, but I love how the front tire shows the state of the road up there as well.  Said road which will be another project to tackle later this year with funding coming in to help there as well.  

Also...the farm property you probably didn't know we have in San Juancito, long dormant, we are now prepping to see what God would have us do there, the fence in Cantarranas should be ready for serpentine wire (FINALLY...don't ask how many years this project has taken) and other finishing touches, more will be happening with unexpected gift for stucco in Danli, and getting the Milk Project its own water source there, improvements/maintenance in Sampedrana on the Milk Project and fixing the drying racks for coffee there and building new ones as well, more stucco work in Las Botijas, several small projects in Tegucigalpa...you could say several guys will be busy for the rest of the year it looks like, praise God. I am also probably forgetting a few other projects...since I didn't originally sit down to list these all out, but they have just been bursting forth with help, ideas, funding, groups...it is amazing.  (don't forget of course much later in the year and into 2026, that we will be able to buy more pavers and have help to put them in up near the farm in Sampedrana!)

We also pray the Holy Spirit would be quite busy, in the midst of all this physical work, also doing and guiding the spiritual work that could and should go along all of it, and for the pastors and directors to ever be mindful of that as we go forward.

Thanks for your prayers, thoughts, comments, and everything!  

Ever lives in Sampedrana and is in the Milk Project.  

Last week, in the midst of a lot of other stuff flying around me, I got a text from Marvin, forwarded from pastor Juan, sharing how the church had been praying for Ever and visiting his mother, who is catholic.  They were asking if there was a way to send more help.

It seems Ever's mom was going to make orange juice for them, and asked Ever to get some oranges.  He went out to climb the tree, fell, and broke both his arms.  

They were quick, because usually I hear those sort of things from the Milk Project staff...who as it turns out had also already been sending home cooked food for Ever with his brother, who is also in the Milk Project.  

Well, plans were soon made, and Consuelo (Milk Project director there) went down to Comayagua and bought a bunch of food to take to help the family.  Not only that, but she and Sulma went to deliver the food personally...an hour walk up the mountain (closer to the coffee farm)

It was cool to stop for a minute to just think...this is how it is supposed to work.  Church, Milk Project, thinking alike, helping out, and going above and beyond a job description, but being the church, praying for Ever in a time of great physical hurt and difficulty just going about his day, and for his mother, and his siblings for many weeks to come trying to help him.  

As I sat down to share this, I got curious about Ever's name.  It seems to be the Biblical name Eber (the letter H isn't always included at the beginning phonetically since in Spanish it isn't pronounced, and B or V are interchangeable in Spanish.)  He is a descendent of Shem, one of Noah's sons, and possibly/probably where the word Hebrew comes from.

And as soon as I found that, I was reminded of the message from the pastor in the group last week, shared at the 26th anniversary service in San Juancito, from the book of Hebrews:

  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us

I'd be lying if I said I had a good handle on things some days.  Praise God...there is just too much going on, and even for me, trying to keep up is hard.  Does it feel good to admit that? Yes and no.  But it is the truth. 

Cute kids in the clinic getting glasses, and holding stuffed animals.  Cute x 5  

Jose Luis continues to share in the clinic, and host several home Bible studies.  I am up on the numbers being seen in the clinic, but only God knows how He weaves everything together there.  I do know that Tuesday just in optometry they saw 45 patients.  (while two people were out with the group in a medical brigade, helping almost that many people with reading glasses and other help as well.)  

Personal hygiene lessons, and help trimming fingernails, not something we normally cover in reports on the Milk Project, but that is another area where it is hard to cover everything that happens on a daily basis.  

Emergency repairs done on the rusting supports for the TV station and pastor house in Talanga.  Shout out to Jeffry and Eduardo for helping pastor Manuel on all this, and for today prepping to buy more material to fix the upstairs walls and change the roof, to help in the future, and also since there is a neighbor next door who is building his house right next to our building.  

We are closer to actually seeing if there is water, and where, in Las Botijas.  This is the equipment finally delivered, now to see the company put everything together, and see how it works.  And praying it works extraordinarily well.

Recognize this?  When we did the construction in Tegucigalpa, we had the old gates from the man cave garage.  This is one of those repurposed, for the garage in the church building in Danli.  That patina is a no-cost option

Combo trip was cooked up for delivering food to the Milk Project in Cantarranas, a meeting for Maria, and Jeffry and Jose Luis to mend the breaking door lock for the church and the Milk Project, while Jorge also helped taking food as well to Talanga nearby.  Pretty cool when scheduling happens and works out so well.

Gray Ford and White Ford have been in the shop...for "a while."  I am not lying when I say I have been actively trying to not count how long, so as not to get depressed.  Got both back yesterday after "extensive" repairs (can you feel the monetary pain associated with those air quotes?)   But today with the first test drive to get the above materials for Talanga...an oil leak.  Hopefully just something that needs tightening.  

Making decisions on when to give up on a vehicle is hard.  Sometimes, it seems hard to make decisions, or the right decisions, on number of things!  Other times, it is also just hard to have time to make all the decisions one way or another.  

And, most of the time, praise God, there are many other empowered people making all sorts of decisions, doing all sorts of good, helping people, acting and living out the Good News in many different ways.  

I can't keep up.  That's no lie. 
But God does.  And that is one of the amazing things about Him.