Friday, July 14, 2006

We miss you...


As we continue to seek God’s direction and plans for our lives we covet your prayers at every step. In addition to the preparations for our move to our final destination in Honduras, the trip with our belongings by bus, and our transition to another culture once we arrive, we also ask for your prayers for Margo and her family as they suffer the loss of her grandmother, Phyllis Adler. Phyllis passed away August 13th at the age of 91. She will be missed not only by her family, but also by the staff and the friends she made at the assisted care living facility in Fort Wayne. Many were blessed the past few years by her sweet and tender spirit while she lived there.
Another loss we are working through right now with countless others is that of our friend, Ben Lindle, who passed away last week (July 6th) at the age of 24. Nelson still remembers having Ben in his 3rd to 5th grade Pioneer Club class. When we first went to Honduras in 2003 to look into the ministry opportunity at Hospital Loma de Luz, we were amazed that someone “passing through” and visiting the hospital after spending time at an orphanage in Guatemala had also heard of the infamous “Big Ben” ! The only thing bigger than Ben was his heart for others...
The picture above is of his inner city latino kids choir that came to perform at Community Church of Greenwood in a
double decker bus almost 2 years ago.
The picture to the right is of the Lindle family at our going away party last year. Ben is on the right.

"FAMILY REUNION" IN PANAMA...








We were able to take a road trip to Panama in June to visit with Nelson's family in Panama. It was good catching up with his brother (Erwin) and his family, his nephew (Stephen), his cousin (Gerta), his uncles (Ramon, Oscar) and his parents.

IRAZU VOLCANO




Imagine having to sweep the sidewalk and cleaning the gutters and roofs of your home everyday, because of tons of ash that fall from the sky. Imagine walking around with an umbrella in order to avoid getting dirty, or driving with the headlights on even in the daytime. These are real situations that occurred when the Irazu volcano erupted on March 19, 1963. The volcano had the nerve to erupt on the same day that President John F. Kennedy visited Costa Rica. For the next two years after the eruption, the volcano spewed showers of ash that went as far as San Jose, and that damaged many crops and homes. The volcano’s first recorded eruption had occurred in 1723, during colonial times, but the 1963 eruption seems to have been much worse.

The park that includes this volcano covers 2309 hectares, its highest point being 3432 meters (approxim. 10,300 feet) above sea level. There are two theories for the name “Irazu”, one being that it’s a combination of “ara” (point) and “tzu” (thunder), and the other being that it’s named after “Istaru”, a 16th century Indian palisade built in the nearby town of Cot. The park is remarkable because of its surreal lunar landscape. There are two main craters, one is called the “Diego de la Haya” crater that contains a strangely colored lake (some days it’s light green and others it’s red) and the other is 300 meters (900 feet) deep.

CELEBRATION!!!


On May 28th we had a housefull of friends from school and church help us celebrate Shelby's 15th birthday and Kristyn's high school graduation.

OUR PROUD CLASS OF 2006 GRADUATE!




May 26th was the graduation ceremony for Sojourn Academy, the school affiliated with the Spanish Language Institute. Most of the children of the missionaries attending the language school attend the academy. Because of the workload she's carried since her freshman year at Frankling Township High School, Kristyn met all but 2 required classes and was able to go through the graduation ceremony a year early. Kristyn is on track to finish up with her two classes by the end of the summer.

We're all very proud of you, Kristyn!!!