Everyone arrived safely with all of their luggage. One of our group members was not able to catch the flight from La Ceba to Guanaja today so he will fly in tomorrow. Judy and I have been preparing three days and nights for the group’s arrival. All the food that we shipped from Miami arrived safely and no boxes were broken or damaged.

While Judy was unpacking the one gallon glass jars of pickles, she dropped one on the kitchen floor and it broke. The jar traveled hundreds of miles in a container over calm and stormy seas; was unloaded twice from the container to the transport ship, then to Guanaja. The jar arrived safe and sound, but lo, we were the guilty culprits for breaking it!

The small plane from la Ceba was not able to carry 72 bags from OKAA group (Okanagan Adventist Academy, Kelowna, BC, Canada), so they loaded the luggage onto a cargo ship that will arrive tomorrow.

The group is in great spirits. The Okanagan group is always so well prepared.

The weather here is hot and steamy! It's 95 – 100 degrees Fahrenheit with high, high humidity!! Some of these Canadians came from Northern British Columbia, where they had four feet of snow on the ground when they left. They feel like they've literally gone from the freezer to the frying pan!

Friday, March 16, 2007

We spent a couple hours this morning in our orientation session. After lunch, we sent everyone to the job sites. We're finishing the set-up and pre-work.

The meetings started tonight. However, there was not as much advertising as we had hoped, so we had a small turnout, about 40 in the adult meetings and more than 70 for the children. The OKAA group has already made a beautiful impact on the locals here, so we expect the numbers to rise.

We are working and staying in Banacca Cay, which is about 500 yards off the main island of Guanaja. It has been evangelized quite often by Americans who have a burden for the salvation of the people.

Banacca Cay does not have streets, only small, narrow sidewalks. People do not use bicycles either. Everything is transported on small carts, similar to what is used in Home Depot.

The weather today was unmercifully hot and humid. The locals said it was one of the hottest days since last August, which is very unusual for this time of year.

Today we unloaded the rest of the luggage and half a ton of fresh fruits and veggies. My, their produce here in Honduras is wonderful. The papayas and pineapple are the best! The group will be eating very well!

Sabbath, March 17, 2007

The group helped out in Sabbath School and church. The young people from OKAA helped with special music. Jamie Stickle, Danielle Dimanyatz and Erroll Palipane had special music. They are good musicians.

I preached at the 11:00 hour and sang a few songs for the church. They love music here, especially southern gospel. After church several of the members were humming “I’m Free,” a song I sang for church.

After lunch, we boarded the three or four boats and headed out for a Sabbath afternoon hike to some waterfalls in a rugged part of the island. The boat ride took about 45 minutes. We hiked into the gorgeous canyon with cool, fresh waterfalls. The trail was quite rigorous. When we arrived after an hour of hiking, it started to rain, or rather pour! The precipitation lasted for several hours, and we hiked back in the refreshing drizzle.

A few more people attended the meetings tonight. But, apparently, most of the folk here are used to meetings starting on Sunday nights, so we will see how tomorrow night looks.

Eight Bible workers from Nicaragua are planting the seeds of the gospel. They are wonderful young men who speak both Spanish and English. Several of them are from an English speaking island in Nicaragua (Corn Island). We need to look at that spot for potential projects in the future for our groups!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

The group hit the job sites first thing today. We moved lots of block and sand. Everyone was sweating abundantly. The workers can’t drink enough water. I am sure that I perspired two gallons today!

We decided to treat the group to “dessert first.” Usually, we have an excursion during the latter part of the week. But we arranged for a large boat to pick us up after lunch and take us to a secluded beach (there are no beaches on Banacca Cay) where there was also some world-class snorkeling available.

My, my, my! I’ve been scuba diving for 20 years! The snorkeling here is some of the best in the world. It was better than what we experienced in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia last year. It was awesome – clear water, 84 degrees, and calm coral reefs (orange, red and purple with thousands of sea fans) just a few feet under water. I just wish I had an under water attachment for my camera.

Many in the group had never snorkeled before, so we gave them a world-class experience!

The evangelistic meetings tonight had a much higher attendance – about 150 people, with many non-members. About 139 kids came to the children’s meetings. The local pastor, Pastor Miguel Adonia, said that they have never had more than 100 kids show up, so we are plowing new ground.

A retired pastor, Gordon Houston, is doing a fine job as the speaker, but is having some challenges with the DVD. We hope to eliminate the problems by tomorrow. The group was really pumped after the beach trip!

The construction sites are having some challenges. Materials and supplies are hard to get. Some of the materials were not on hand, so we have had to make some major adjustments in our assignments.

The eye clinic is running beautifully.

Ruth Smith and her kitchen crew have prepared absolutely fabulous food! No one will go hungry here. Brother Terry Zapata, a local, owns a small bakery. His bread, rolls and cookies are wonderful.

Keep us in your prayers,

Joedy & Judy Melashenko

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