Melchor, Laura, Alex & Bryan (and sweet Arlee on the side)

by Alex Waits

My phone rang the other day with the voice on the other end doing its best to impress me with his English.  It was funny and I knew immediately that it was Bryan Alastro.   He called to let us know that he was going to be leaving for medical school in a few days just in case we wanted to see him off.   Are you kidding, of course we’ll be there!

It has been a long journey for Bryan, one of the young men that Reach Out Honduras supporters are sending to medical school this year.  Bryan Alastero, an orphaned young man with an infectious smile and a kind manner.  He is the type of young man that you hope your daughter one day meets.  Since his mother’s death, Bryan has kept his dream alive of becoming a physician.  He accomplished this by working in the hospital and surrounding himself with pictures and ideas of his future.  He also relied on his faith to get him through times of intense trial that would have made even the most faithful man give up.

Bryan, and his cousin Melchor (the other medical school scholarship recipient through ROH) are embarking on a great journey, requiring a focused commitment, in one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

Commitment in anything can be a wavering thing.  How many people are still sticking with their New Year’s resolutions?  I am reminded this week of the commitment these two young men have made that sets them apart from many.  They will be sharing a tiny room with a single burner stove and a water dispenser and 2 small mattresses;  much different than the typical college experience.

They move forward on a journey without knowing about much that lies around the corner.  Attending college in Honduras is extremely economical, but there is very little in the way of financial aid.   If you are orphan and have nothing, a dream such as medical school appears to be almost unreachable.    If you are an orphan and have nothing in La Moskitia, the poorest region of Honduras, medical school is nothing more than a pipe dream.

But, not so for these two!   Because of the generosity of the friends of Reach Out Honduras, these two young men have scholarships for this year.     Know friends, that your prayers and contributions for these 2 are good investments.

We are committed to assisting these young men as much as we possibly can.  There are no guarantees that we will be able to meet their needs in the future, but we rest confidently in the knowledge that the Lord has provided for this year and will provide for them little by little.

Despite this fact, the two never questioned what if or how can we?    They simply rely on their faith that has taken them so far despite great odds against them.  May we all learn something about faith.  May we live it!

If you can commit to praying for these young men on a weekly basis, please let us know.  We would like to let them know how many gringo brothers and sisters in Christ they have in the US that are cheering them on in the spiritual realm.

You Might Also Like...

• Our US Visit 2012
• Knowing God’s Love
• Prayer Triggers

Sponsors & Players Needed

Visit HERE  to register or take advantage of Sponsorship Opportunities!

Players:

$100 Per Player Fee includes:  Box Lunch, Green Fees, Range Balls, Gift Bags and more…

Sponsorship Opportunities:

(for your Church, Ministry or Business)

Golf Cart Sponsor -  $1,500

Driving Range Sponsor (1 Available) $1,250

Putting Green Sponsor (1 Available) $1,000

Lunch Sponsor (2 Available) $500

Hole Sponsor (18 Available) $250

Hole Contest Sponsor (2 Available) $250

(Longest Drive Contest &  Closest to the Pin)

For more information on Sponsorship opportunities, Contact Us

You Might Also Like...

• Sponsor a Child at Familia Alastero Orphanage
• Reach Out Honduras – Wish List
• Our Video

We will be visiting the US in March & April of this year.    While we hope to have a great deal of time with friends and family just hangin’ out, we also are in fundraising mode.    This trip, we will be fundraising for a future school and for our family’s personal support… two very different things.  It is certainly much more fun to raise money for a school than to talk about our personal needs… and yet, without the personal support, we cannot stay to build to the school.    What an odd paradox we have on our hands.

For this reason, we are speaking to anyone who wants to listen.   Our words this year will be focused on sharing God’s work.  It is His work here and we are just speaking about the work.     If you would like to host an event for Reach Out Honduras, we would love to speak for whatever length of time you have available.

So far, we have the following commitments on our calendar:

Sunday, March 4 -   Faith Fellowship Baptist Church – Denison, Texas

Sunday, March 11 – The HC Church – Arlington, Texas

Sunday, March 18 – OPEN

Sunday, March 25 – Heath UMC – Heath, TX

Saturday, March 31 – Red Oak, Texas

Sunday, April 1 – Pin Oaks Christian Fellowship – Anna, TX

Sunday, April 1 – 3:00-6:00 – FAMILY FUN DAY!

Sunday, April 8 – EASTER

Sunday, April 15 – FUMC Plano Adult Sunday School Classes – Plano, TX

Monday, April 16 – 2nd Annual Reach Out Honduras GOLF TOURNAMENT – Frisco, Texas

We are also available Wednesday nights and a few Saturday nights during this time.   Please let us know as soon as possible if you are interested in meeting with us.

Blessings in Christ,

Alex & Laura Waits

You Might Also Like...

• Join the Thanksgiving Team 2011!
• 5 more orphans in Puerto Lempira…
• Lessons from Charlie

Often, we forget to write about what is happening here on a daily basis.   Days get busy, weeks fly by and we realize we haven’t posted anything here in months.

There are moments of great joy and success in the Lord’s Name and moments of great disappointment.   Amidst all of these, there are days which are truly unforgettable.

Today…  one of the unforgettable ones.

Over the past 3 months, we’ve been talking to students and parents about a wonderful Christian boarding school in Copan, Honduras.   Last year, one young lady went from Mama Tara’s Orphanage.  She is thriving.

This year, we visited the school in person and decided that we would try to get the word out and gather applications and grades to submit students for the 2012 school year beginnin in February.     Two weeks ago, we submitted 20 students for consideration by the school, Arbol de Vida.

Today, we received word that all 20 were invited to attend.   This opportunity is life-changing.   This good news is the result of work on the part of so many…   Mama Tara’s Board in the US, House of Hope volunteers here and in US, Dr. Marianne Serkland, Morgan Hayden and Reach Out Honduras.  But most of all, this is a work of God.  First and foremost, He knows these young people and has provided them with this gift.

In 2 weeks, Laura will travel with the students, sit in on interviews and sign for these students.     A teacher and volunteer from the US, Abby Ealey, will be going with Laura to Copan to sign for several students she recommended.

Now…  here’s the catch.   Some of the students still need sponsorship money.  If a student comes from an intact family, the family pays $25 per month.  This is a HUGE amount for a poor family.  However, they are willing to sacrifice for their children to be able to attend such an awesome school.

We are looking for individuals to partner with these families on a one-time basis or monthly basis.     Here is the link to sponsor a child through a one-time gift or a monthly gift.   If you want to sponsor a specific student, we will need to handle this on a case-by-case basis.

We do not have pictures of all of these students, so this program is very different from our sponsorship program for younger children.

You Might Also Like...

• Miracles Are Everywhere… What Do You See?
• A Little Off of the Top!
• New Children Need Sponsors! – updated again!

From the outside, it might have looked like any other 2 year old birthday party for precious twins. This birthday party in September, though, was anything BUT ordinary.

Here is the invite…  what a cute idea for the front…

and here is the back…  asking for the party attendants to bring donations for Reach Out Honduras!

Here are the sweet birthday kids …

And here are their parents.   It is a great work of these parents to start teaching their kids at such an early age how to share their blessings with less fortunate children.   We admire and honor this family.   They met Reach Out Honduras through one of our Board members, Liz James.

From this party, the Thanksgiving team delivered to us over 80 lbs of baby formula for malnourished babies in our town.    And they brought 30+ bottles of liquid pain relief for children, 15+ bottles of vitamins for children,  lots of Pepto Bismol for kids, tons of bandaids and gauze, etc.

We are so prepared for the needs that present themselves at Mama Tara’s and Familia Alastero and throughout the community as families look for assistance when their children are sick and hungry.

Thank you, Tran family, for your example to your own children, to their friends and family and to all of us at Reach Out Honduras.  May we all LOVE like children, with arms and hands open and extended to the needs of others.

Previous post in this series:

Kids Helping Kids – Bearing Fruit

You Might Also Like...

• Give!
• Good News!
• Book Mobile – Phase 1

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

Celebrate Jesus this Christmas with a gift that makes a difference to others in the ‘Land of the Forgotten People’, La Moskitia, Honduras. Partner with Reach Out Honduras this Christmas to provide both spiritual nourishment, education opportunities and physical provision.

Consider a gift for friends/family… we will send you a printable certificate and/or a card directly to your recipient to notify of the gift.

Select the ‘Add a Dedication’ box as you make your donation and enter the recipient’s name and address.

When you click on the picture below, it will take you to the Christmas Projects page where you can read more about each option.

Because of Christ,
The Board of Reach Out Honduras

You Might Also Like...

• When God Comes Through…
• Be an Advocate and FUNdraiser!
• Our Video

by Alex Waits

There are times when I really miss the US.  Thanksgiving is certainly one of the times of year that my thoughts are filled with the sights, sounds and smells of the US.  After living here in Honduras for a year and half, my attitude toward what we are missing has changed to just being thankful of what we have.   As Thanksgiving approaches, do you look toward it with excitement and anticipation or with dread and disdain?   Is it your time to serve the less fortunate in your community?  Or is it your time to serve your family with a heavy dose comfort and love?  What if we could do both?

A recent bible study with the kids got me thinking.  If we were back in the states, what type of Thanksgiving would we be having?  Would we focus solely on family?  Would we invite friends over to have fellowship with others?  Would we invite those people we pass on the street that have nothing to sit down at our table with us…..wait a minute, what?  During our bible study, we read Luke 14:13 and it really got me thinking about what it said.  “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” (Luke 14:13).

Once again, this year during Thanksgiving, there will be a large group of friends/volunteers giving up their Thanksgiving holidays, time with family, friends and turkey to serve the less fortunate here with our family in La Moskitia Honduras.  It’s very much a selfless act on their part and humbling to experience on our part.  We truly value this time here as we reach out to the community with both types of food…  food to eat and food for the soul.  If we give one without the other, we have failed to follow Christ’s example.  One will fill their bellies for the day, and the other can keep them going when darkness closes their day.

These servants will not be receiving turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, and pecan pie on the 28th.  In exchange for those treats, they will instead enjoy a lot of beans and rice, cold showers and lots of physical exercise.  We pray that it’s a Thanksgiving they never forget…….in a positive way.  It will not be one that is lost in memory banks because of the similarity of past holidays.

Just like here in Honduras, there are people right where you are that have no one for the holidays.  Perhaps their loneliness is of their own doing, perhaps it’s just the circumstances of a life.  In a lot of cities in the US, those with little live on the same street as those with everything.  My hope and prayer is that everyone is thankful this Thanksgiving for the little things.  I pray that those with little find comfort, friendship and warmth from a friend or stranger.  If you truly feel daring, ask that neighbor that never seems to have any visitors stop by, or perhaps the widow at church that has no one in the area.   My experience tells me that you will be the one who walks away changed.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

You Might Also Like...

• Corporate Matching Gifts
• Alex
• When God Comes Through…

We have the amazing privilege of hearing from children across the US who want to help the children in La Moskitia.    These US children have creative ideas and hearts that are ready to share what they have been given.    Over the next 3 months, we have 3 different stories to tell of US kids who are making a difference here in Honduras.

Today, it is a joy to share our yesterday with you.    I’ll let the slide show speak for itself.

Thank you to Colby and Rylee of north Texas.   We love you both and were so excited to share your gifts with the street children of our town.

You Might Also Like...

• We Are Six…
• Who Needs Turkey!
• Adios Hermanos

by: Alex Waits

Who do we, as Christians, spend time with and minister to daily?  Do we surround ourselves with fellow believers and like-minded Christians yet pass by those who might need Christ the most because we fear….man?  Do you feel like you have limited gifts to offer the Lord for his use?  I’ve been blessed this week by a great couple from Florida.  I’ve spent a great deal of time with husband (I’ll name him the Barber).  I’ve really enjoyed the twosome;  helping them with translation and showing them around the area and orphanages.  The Barber is truly one of a kind.  He has a large heart and a friendly face that opens line of communication with many he encounters  He also has a talent of cutting hair, and he has cut enough hair in the last few days to put Super Cuts to shame.

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to see God’s compassion work through the love extended to a group of men just about forgotten by society here.  The Barber and I packed up his equipment and headed to the prison here in town.  I’m sure at some time you’ve all at least seen a movie with a third-world prison scene in the movie.  Well in reality, those movies are pretty accurate with one exception.   The prisoners here just don’t seem as mad at the world and outside people as the movies depict.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a horrible place, but there are glimpses of light and the Lord in even such a forgotten place.

The Barber ended up cutting about 15 inmates’ hair.  I know why many of them are incarcerated, but the Barber never asked the “typical” questions about past offenses or transgressions.  He just kept cutting, smiling and showing a Christ-like love through his compassion and detail to each inmate like they were each high-paying customers.  He never appeared nervous, or frightened in the least.

What I saw was heart-warming and insightful.  The Barber went beyond just buzzing their heads.  He asked exactly what type of cut each ‘customer’ wanted.  He took the time to make sure the men liked what he did.  Additionally, he cleaned the hair off all of them and dossed them with talcum powder. I saw the tenseness of the men disappear during this interaction, particularly when he applied the talcum powder.  It was as if each man slowly felt worthy of the attention and reluctantly accepted it by the end of the haircut.  Many of the inmates that were the first ones to receive a haircut hung around until it was all over.  It was as if they wanted to see their friends experience the same benefit as they received.  I found myself wanting to jump into the chair for a new cut!

Oh yeah, we attended to these men in their sanctuary where they hold church service.  In hindsight, I could not think of a better place to love and fellowship with these men.  So, the next time your pastor mentions an outreach opportunity and you think, “But I don’t have any talents to reach people”.  Think about “the Barber” a retired gentlemen from Florida who cut hair and cut down barriers to some pretty tough guys. He may not have lead anyone to Christ right then and there, but he might have laid the ground work for the next  person that brings the gospel.

You Might Also Like...

• What We Believe
• Pictures – 3
• Financial Friends

We are in the process of updating our E-mail list for the Prayer Team.  This is also how we currently distribute newsletters.    If you receive e-mails when there is a post on our website, this is NOT the same thing.    So sorry for the confusion.

To be on our monthly E-mail list, enter your Contact Information here.

You Might Also Like...

• What If…??
• Compassion
• Book Mobile – Phase 1