Each year, the mission team does something a little different. This year is Honduras Home-Makeover. Located just a couple miles from the Ministries of Faith and New Life is a "house" where a woman named Victoria lives.  She has extreme health issues and suffers from severe asthma.  A lot of this is due to her living arrangements. Because she is so poor, she lives in a house made of clay, sticks, and tarp. She has a stove just a foot or two away from her bed, and animal feces scatter the floor of the house which is nothing but dirt. The house is currently in the process of being demolished so that our mission team can build Victoria a brand new house and get her back on her feet with the necessities.

Thoughts from Patty Goldsmith:

I find that every time I come here I am reminded of things we have done. After seven years, I have lost some of the wide-eyed wonderment until I see someone new to Honduras have that awed experience and I see things through new eyes.

I think I know what to expect and then God shows me and shares with me something I have seen before but haven’t taken notice of. Like, the mist raising from the ground up towards the mountain tops, the children kneelling and praying at the altar after breakfast. The sounds of Honduran children laughing, singing, people in conversation, music playing, the sounds of people working. Who could forget the sounds of barking dogs, crowing roosters, birds singing, a cacophony of sounds. And, the smells of Honduras-wood fires in the stoves and flowers; a smell that is Honduras.

I am in awe of God who has created all this and continues to create new life here as He does at home. I wonder what God sees as He looks on us. I hope He sees each of us working to become more Christ like. One day, one person, one life at a time-a change that brings Him glory, honor and praise all the days of our lives.

Thoughts from Dave O'Byrne:

Today is our last full day here. Yesterday we finished our work on Victorias house. Our bodies are tired and sore, but our hears are full from the blessings we received from God through the gratitude of Victoria and many others. The neighborhood where Victoria’s house is located is called Nazareth. It reminded me of John 1:46 where Nathaniel says, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" That's what the response of many people here would be of that neighborhood. The "Nazareth" in Azacualpa isn't the home of the Savior of the world, but it is the home of many people who love the Savior of the world. In spite of what we see as poverty, they have found treasure worth more than diamonds and gold.

Kelli & Dave O'Byrne