Woodville - March 2010

We have our location!!!

A community meeting was held the first week of March to discuss the future of Woodville, which included a discussion about the LIFE Center. The meeting was well-attended and Scott Yosko was particularly thrilled to see so many youth present and taking an active interest in the future of their home-town. The big news is that the LIFE Center Committee, together with the Community Foundation, decided on a location for the building!! And Judge Blanchette, representing the Community Foundation, signed an Ernest Money Contract on the property. The location selected is a 7-acre lot just south of Wal-Mart on Cobb Mill Road and is called "Shepherd's Place". It is a beautiful piece of property with plenty of pine trees and a creek on one side. It is located close to town and as everyone shops at the Wal-Mart, is convenient to the entire community! There are also an additional 50+ acres adjacent to the property that could be considered in the future for expansion.

This is a huge step! And this step, along with the feasibility study that is still underway, shows we are definitely moving forward!!

Roatan - March 2010

We just got back from a 2-week stay in Roatan. Some good friends, Giovanni and Judd, spent the first week there with us and we all stayed very busy! Giovanni brought down children’s clothes, toothbrushes and toothpaste that we hand-delivered with the Schulers to members of their congregation who are the poorest of the poor. They were all so grateful for the gift, and we were humbled and enriched by meeting every single one of them. Time was spent tutoring many of the children after school, helping them with math and English in particular. After tutoring they love to play Uno, and Mrs. Schuler awards the winner with a piece of cake – so the kids take it very seriously!


Our friends also took it upon themselves to fix the 15 bikes at the home, all of which were broken! The kids loved it and we never found them inside the house the rest of our time there... they were always out playing on their bikes!

We went back by the Alfreida Brooks school that we had visited before and checked out the security bars ALF helped purchase so the rooms could be locked up at night with no risk of their desks, books or supplies getting stolen. While there, we spoke to Darla, the young teacher we had met last September from the island of St. Helene. She had mentioned that the people on the north side of the island didn't have a school and were trying to build one, similar to Elfrieda Brooks, as a community school. We were very interested in finding out more to see if we could help. She arranged to have her dad pick us up in his boat and take us to the island to meet the people and learn what was going on.

The place they had been holding school through last year was no longer available to them, so until a new building can be constructed, they are having classes in this temporary shelter they have built. After meeting several of the community members and the two teachers, we agreed that we would help them build a school, but that their buy-in" (as we don't give away money without the other party having some skin in the game) is to clean up their community of all the trash. As we've seen in most of Roatan (except the tourist areas), the land and natural resources are not being respected and almost always consist of trash lining the beaches and common areas that the locals live in. They agreed. And so we are well underway to getting all the resources and labor needed to construct a solid school building, with much of the materials being donated 'at cost', and much of the work being done 'pro bono'. Our goal is to have the building finished by the end of summer.


Here is a picture of several of the beautiful people of St. Helene on the site where the permanent school building will be located. The project name we've come up with for this is "Top S.H.E.L.F." with the SHELF acronym standing for "St. Helene Education and Litter-Free" project. Check back later for more updates on this and all the other activities taking place in Roatan!

Roatan - February 2010

Back from Roatan again! What a whirlwind! We enjoyed spending time with a variety of people discussing education on the island and how to join forces to improve it and add skills training to help people get jobs and make a decent living. More on that to come later!

We had a great time with the children at the home. This trip, I brought everything with me necessary to make chocolate chip cookies with the kids! They were excited about having home-baked cookies, but the funny thing was… as soon as I got everything out and was ready for them to start helping me cook, ALL of the boys were eager to help and were crowding around me, but ALL of the girls scattered like the wind! It was almost as if they were ‘afraid’ of cooking. So of course, we made them all take part and they learned that they actually could do it and it wasn’t scary! It could even be a little bit fun! In the end, everyone helped and the kids enjoyed 3 cookies each. For most of them, it was the first time they had ever had a chocolate chip cookie which, to me is unthinkable!!

While the cookies were baking, there was opportunity to have some quality time with several of the kids. We love them so! We were also able to deliver more letters to the children that have mentors, and collected letters from some of the kids back to their mentors. It’s beautiful to see their faces light up when they receive their cards and letters from their mentors, knowing that someone “far away” is thinking of them and remembers them. I pray that these relationships will be life-long and life-changing.

School started the Monday after we left, February 8th. For the four children who have been financially sponsored through ALF to go to the Methodist Bilingual School, the Schulers worked with all 4 of them through the Christmas break to prepare them for the higher demands that will be expected of them. Sibelis, in particular, was nervous about what to expect in her new school, but the Schulers said she was more than ready to take it on! I look forward to getting a full report on all of them on our next visit! Again, thank you to those of you who contributed to make it possible for these kids to go to the better bilingual school. It will make such a difference in their lives.

The Schulers invited to take us for a walk to meet some of the people they minister to in the area. It was like being in a National Geographic magazine. They introduced us to a 60 year-old man called “Pastor” who lives by himself back in the jungle about a 30-minute hike off the main road. I couldn’t imagine making that hike every day, in the dark, in the rain, etc. We kept criss-crossing a little creek, which of course he and the others who lived along the way, used for bathing and washing dishes and clothes. Other families we met along the way had very rudimentary shelters to live in, which served them well on a nice day, but I couldn’t imagine being “holed up” in them for the months of rainy season. The people we met had next to nothing materially, had no running water or electricity, yet were mostly quite happy, friendly and hospitable. “Pastor” invited us into his home and gave us some fresh bananas called “apple bananas” that I had never heard of before. I’m not a big banana fan, but these were delicious and tasted like a blend of banana and green apple. We were so glad to have had the opportunity to meet “Pastor” and the other families on this hike as it allowed us to see the “real” Roatan. This is how probably 80% of the islanders really live – if not more. And these are the people we hope to minister to and help.

Lastly, it looks like a new television program called Majesty Outdoors will be coming to film in Roatan! The founder and host of the show is a friend of ours and he has been following what we've been doing in Roatan, specifically with the children's home. He approached us with the idea of filming a couple of the teens there. This is exciting as their mission is to minister to fatherless teens! We discussed the idea with Pastor Glen Solomon at the home and he has agreed. We are excited at how this will bless some of the children at the home! To find out more about Majesty Outdoors, go to their website at http://www.majestyoutdoors.org/ We will keep you posted!

January 2010 - Roatan

Happy New Year! It’s already off to a great start here at ALF. We just got back from the island where we were able to let 4 children at the children's home know that they will be able to attend the “bilingual” (or ‘private’) school near the home that provides a better education than the public schools. They are very excited, although maybe a bit nervous, but they have great tutors helping them bridge the gap to get them prepared. Mark and Susan Schuler have a ministry of, among many other things, tutoring many of the children in the neighborhood for both their regular studies and English. They have been hard at work getting these 4 children ready. A BIG “¡Gracias!” to the donors who made this possible!

Also, we had the privilege of introducing 6 of the children to the new Mentors we found for them! Like an individual “sponsor” (but with no financial commitment required), these Mentors will be writing to their child on a regular basis and sending cards and small gift packages for their birthday and Christmas to let them know someone cares about them and that they are uniquely special. 5 of the 6 children have individuals who are Mentoring them, but one little girl was selected by a girls’ club, so she has lots of love heading her way on a regular basis!

On New Year’s Eve day, we went to the children’s home to pass out the very first cards, letters and gifts that these Mentors sent to begin their new relationship with the child they had selected. The kids’ eyes were wide with excitement and anticipation, and they poured over the letters they received. It was such a blessing to see their hearts filled up by receiving love from someone that most of them had not even met yet. We will continue to deliver letters and packages to these children on each trip that we, or an ALF representative, make in order to keep these relationships growing.

While there, we learned that some of the lights at the home had not been working for over a YEAR! With a quick trip to the hardware store the men with us were able to quickly get those lights working again, which I think some of the children were more thankful for than the other gifts they had just received! : )

As for the roof on the children’s home, we had some builders on the island take a look at it and it was decided that it does not need replaced, but only needs some minor repairs where the vents join the roof. That is good news as it won’t be too costly and should be easy to do. We still target our February trip to get this accomplished.

September - Discovery

It was another fabulous training in September! Here are some snipits from the notes that have come in:

“You helped SAVE my life! All my life I’ve been hurt and confused and constantly pitying myself because I didn’t understand why me? Why my family? I have struggled so much with feelings of hopelessness. So many times I have almost completely given up on my life. If it weren’t for my daughter I’d have ened it long ago. That’s how I felt before. Now I have shed all of those negative feelings and am now filled with the joy and peace I’ve been waiting for and deserve! - Rebecca White

“I can’t think of one part of my life that has not been changed by this experience. Mountains were moved – my heart is free. I once believed that the abundant life was not meant for me – that I was the exception to the rule. I came here needing to know that there was more to my life than what I had. You showed me that it is bigger and better than what I had hoped it could be.” - Lynn Erwin

“I came into this program with a feeling of no direction, fear of the unknown, insecurities in who I was and feelings of not being good enough. This program helped me deal with those issues in a way that brought out of me my own answers. I now feel like I’ve been given direction, I do not fear the unknown, I have a better sense of who I am, I do feel good enough and I now have confidence in maintaining what I have gained through this program.” - Raul Giron (?)

“Today I realize I am worthy of love not because of my job but because of who I am.” - Terri Robinson Professional Counselor

“This experience is totally different from anything I have ever been through. It has been good to receive vision and renew my passion for people.” - Stephen Birmham – Pastor

“What a wonderful weekend! I have never had such a life changing experience. I came here a cold-hearted, resentful woman. I am leaving a free, happy woman.” - Jenna Palmer

“I walked in these doors carrying 58 years of shame and anger over what happened to me as a child. I packed 24 years of anger at my ex-husband. I topped that off with years of guilt over how my divorce affected my 3 kids. Today, because of Discovery, I am free of the anger and shame and have forgiven myself for being an imperfect mom.” - Judy Hindelang

“I came into this program with what felt like the weight of the world on my shoulders. Now, I still have some weight on my shoulders, but it’s more like an empty backpack. And for that I would like to say thank you with all my heart.” - Jason Agan

September 2009 - Woodville

Great news!! The money needed to do a feasibility study has been raised! The next step is to find a qualified company to do the actual study, get the results and start designing a building that will support what the study says can be supported by the demographics of the surrounding area. Progress is slow, but it's still progress and we're headed in the right direction. Our next visit to Woodville will coincide with their County Fair where we will see many friends we've already made, and hopefully make some new ones.

September 2009 - Roatan

We just got back from Roatan where we spent the better part of a week building a walkway for the children's home. It goes from the entry gate where the kids are picked up and delivered from school and other activities, up to the front door. Since the yard is mostly dust and dirt, this will allow the opportunity for the kids to get in and out of the house without tracking mud and dirt in everytime they go somewhere - especially during the rainy season. Here are some 'before' pictures.



We couldn't have picked a hotter time to work outside, but it was fun working with the children. They did a lot of the manual labor themselves and we hope they'll take pride and ownership in their accomplishement.


Through no fault of the kids, we broke the water pipe three times! But by the end we had become experts at it and used it as an opportunity to teach the kids how to do some repairs.



In the end, it turned out great! And what a way to bond with the children. They are all wonderful and beautiful and we look forward to our next visit with them. Our next project will be putting a new roof on the house as it has many bad leaks.


Also during our stay we visited a school in Coxen Hole. There were no classes while we were there as it was Independence Day and school was out for the week, but two of the teachers met us there and gave us a tour.



The 2-room school doesn't currently have enough space for their K-6th grade classes, so 2 classes are meeting outside until a new addition is completed. We were so impressed with the passion and dedication this young teacher has for her students and we look forward to returning on a day when we can meet the children.