Just Some Highlights to 2011

Well, I thought that since this is the last day of 2011 we would share some of our blessings, favorite things, crazy things, and just fun facts of 2011. There are so many....we could not possible name them all....

(These are in no particular order)


1.  Birth of a healthy (Honduran) baby boy: Micah Alexander 5/12/2011
2. Packing up 3 kids and 2 adults with 24 bags and a pack-n-play to get on an airplane
3. Praying all night long that God will give us a helpful person at the airport so we would not have to pay  $900 almost for our extra bags. God answered that prayer with a baggage person who helped book us first class and we only had to pay $300 for the upgrade. BLESSING
4. Seeing how faithful people are to the Lord and the ministry by not only filling 1 (40ft) container but 2 (40ft) containers.
5. Getting stopped by the police.....just to have them jump in your truck with a prisoner as you escort them to the station. (This was Mark and Hunter).
6. Driving for the first time in a foreign country....by myself...(Amy)
7. Never leave HOME with OUT IT....your passport that is......
8. Sharing the Gospel and seeing people get saved inspight of our bad Spanish.(Proof that the Bible speaks for itself all you have to do is be willing to share.)
9. Singing in the choir...in Spanish....Mark, Amy, Taylor and Hunter
10. Seeing Fireworks on Christmas Eve
11. Hearing gunshots at all hours of the night
12. Going into a store with a little baby....only to have every female worker run over to see him and say "oh que lindo su bebe....el es mi blancito...(my lil whitey....)
13. Sitting in a restaurant eating when your 3 year old see's a bus pull up and says "Hey look at all those Gringo's".....white people getting off the bus /possible youth groups
14. Successfuly ordering through a drive-thru in Spanish
15. killing snakes in your front yard
16. killing a large rat with the weed-eater (Both of these are Mark)
17. Fishing in the old baptism almost everyday after daily chores and school (Hunter)
18. Waling to the pulperia for cokes and a snack
19. Visiting the beautiful beach in Tela....and having the whole thing to yourself.....literally
20. Giving a few spare limps to the handicapped man at the stop light along with a tract
21. Having a child ask you for the rest of your drink that you were about to throw away
22. Seeing children dig through the trash for food or eat off of the plates that people left on the table
23. Getting to go to Disney World and see Woody and Jessie (Josiah)
24. Getting to fly back home and spend Thanksgiving in Flordia with our families
25. Finding Cherry Coke in a store here
26. Living in our new home...cottage #1
27. Seeing how much Josiah loves working outside with his daddy. ( he asked for his own tools and boots)
28. making new friends here in Honduras
29. Seeing the Mayan Ruins in Copan
30. Going to the waterfall and jumping in (Taylor and Hunter)
31. Looking outside everynight as the fireflies light up everywhere on property.......hundreds at a time
32. Saving a rabbit...a.k.a Coco from being eaten ....yep...our new pet..THANKS Choy!
33. Hearing Josiah after he met Santa Clause here in Honduras...."Momma he is not the REAL Santa Clause"...me: "What makes you say that Josiah?".....Well, momma he doesnt speak any English.....LOL
34. Getting pulled over by a police man for a routine check.....just to hear him ask me if I was from Spain?....he has my american passport in his hand....I ask him...why do you think I am from Spain...(plus my spanish is not that good)....his response....well you have blonde hair and green eyes and you are very kind you must be from Spain...nope I am from North Carolina....
35. Going to the bank to pay your water, electric, car tax and other bills.
36. Winning the make your hubby into Santa Clause at the adult Christmas party game...(becasuse he has a bald head....cotton balls stick better with no hair...hehehehe
37. Parking beside a car at the grocery store that had an OBX sticker on the back
38. During the delivery of Micah ....my doctor is listening to old school 80's music...after he is delivered and the stitching begins....(no-one else is in the room but me and the doctors.....the song "And another One bites the Dust...)...yep just what I wanna hear during an operation.....lol
39. Going to our first Spanish wedding.....
40. flying home to Florida to bring Karla back to Honduras


There are so many more wonderful and crazy things to tell you all about but well....it would simply take to long...So with that said......HAPPY NEW YEAR.....may we not dwell in the past but take a step forward and keep our eyes on the Lord in 2012....for we know not when the Lord will return.......


Happy New Year,
Love,
The Coats Family
Mark, Amy, Taylor, Hunter, Josiah and Micah

Our 1st Christmas in Honduras........

Josiah, Woody & Jessie

  The last 3 years we have been in 3 different countries. We spent almost one year in Tampa, Florida before we headed off to language school. That was our first Christmas away from family and friends back home in North Carolina. The following year we were living in Costa Rica for our year of learning Spanish. However, we were blessded with family tickets to fly back home to NC to spend that Christmas with family and friends. What a blessing that was to be able to surprise everyone.  This year we spent our first Christmas truly away from our families back home. It was bitter-sweet. We know that while we missed a NC Christmas with our sibblings and parents we are where God wants us to be. We also know that if you are out-side of God's Will you will never truly be happy. We have had our first Christmas here in Honduras but next year will be another first as well.....you see next year we will hopeully have a full house (12 Honduran children) with us celebrating the reason for the season. They will become our new family. We had a great time here celebrating a Honduran Christmas with Karla and her family on the 24th. We enjoyed a great meal of pork, chicken, rice and salad. Topped off with cake and fireworks....I don't think I could have been anymore nervous than I was that night...lol.....The reason...you might ask.....every child that was old enough to walk had a sparkler in their hand and the others 6,7,8,9+ were lighting them with matches and throwing firecrackers. It was fun however...just a new custom for us. So, our Christmas was explosive ....you might say. I have included some pictures for you to see the fun we had.....We hope that you all had a Very Merry Christmas as well. As we head into 2012 we are going to try and carry the gospel to the children and people of Honduras we pray that you all will try and do the same state side....remember it is all of our jobs to share the gospel with the world.....He is the Reason for the Season....so lets start out with HIM in 2012.

Sincerely Serving Him,
Mark, Amy, Taylor, Hunter, Josiah and Micah

our dinner

Me, Genesis, and Tatianna

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Back Home in Honduras......

Micah's 1st time out of Honduras

 Sorry that it has been awhile since our last update. We have been very busy here lately. Well, actually we just arrived back home here in Honduras. We were able to fly out of country and visit family in Tampa for Thanksgiving. While we were not able to see all of our family we were able to share some quality time with part of them. They also ate up the fact that they could see little Micah for the first time. It was crazy to think that...that was his first trip to the states. He has a US Passport but had never actually been there.

While we were there we were able to enjoy Thanksgiving with the works......and let us not forget Black Friday shopping. Taylor and I along with my sister-in-laws and Alyssa my neice were able to introduce Karla to her very first Black Friday.  (I think that SHE LOVED IT)....she was so excited it was like seeing a kid in a candy store. 

The Lord Blessed our trip there and we were all able to go to Disney. Thanks to the people who made that possible. Dreams can come true. I will never foregt the look on Josiah's face for as long as I live when he saw Woody and Jessie. You know that childlike faith...believing in something that you really have never seen. It all was so real that moment that passed by on the float.  Seeing him get all excited about those two made me think of how we will react to seeing Jesus for the first time. Will we wave our arms and shout out HIS name in disbelief that it really is him standing in front of us. Will we get teary eyed at just his presence?  As I watched Josiah and his sincere reaction....I want my christian life to reflect that same kind of love for Jesus and my family. 

As we packed up and headed back home here to Honduras....I was able to witness again that same kind of excitement.....the moment that Karla's momma saw her for the first time after 11 and 1/2 months. Tears flowed and hugs

Micah is Official.....

WOW! It is so hard for me to believe that 6 months ago I gave birth to my 4th child. It is also amazing to me that I gave birth to him in another country. Having Micah in Honduras has been well...lets just say an adventure. You know there are so many things that we take for granted but so me many more things that we just don't even think about. I know myself, I am truly amazed at how much my eyes have been opened.

Micah was born in the country of Honduras which automaticly makes him a Honduran resident. However, he was born to two North Americans which you think would automaticly...no questions asked make him a U.S. citizen as well. It really amazed me at the amount of documentation and evidence we had to show to prove he had the rights of a U.S. citizen just like his sister and brothers. We had to show ultrasound pictures of the pregnancy, doctor bills, proof that we had been in the states ourselves for so many years, pictures of Mark and I together while I was pregnant, pictures of his birth. It was kind of crazy. It made me think about how when we get saved......God does not care where we came from...he does not care where we were born.....he freely accepts us as we are only with one condition.....that we ask him for his grace and mercy and to forgive us of all our past. When we put our faith and trust in him...we have become official in the family of God. We do not need to show proof of who we are...however we need to show proof of a life that was changed. If after trusting Christ our life has not changed....not only through our eyes but to those who see us.....sometimes we are just back-sliden and really meant business with God and the devil trys to convince us that we did notmean business.  Dates are a very important thing when you make a decision in your life, make it official by writing down the date.  When you do this...you can also go back and say ...yes, I remember I accepted Christ as my Savior on --------(whatever date) and I was at --------You can have that peace to fight off the devil.......Well, November 16th, we received Micah's birth abroad certificate and his U.S. passport.....he is now official. We can leave country.....for the 1st time with him.

Our new Cabinets....

We have been waiting many months for our new kitchen cabinets. Like everything here, you have to have it custom made. Sometimes, you get things you were not expecting and other times....well lets just say even the best translation can be misinterupreted. Anyway, last week the guys that were building our cabinets came to install them. Honestly, I was a little nevous at first...wondering what they would look like....did he understand the design and vision that I had for the kitchen. Well, thankfully he did and they turned out just beautiful. We had to wait much longer than we had thought but in the end it was worth it.

With that said, it made me sit back and reflect on my life as a christian and my walk with the Lord. Sometimes, things don't always go the way that I want them too. There are days when I wish that I could just rush through to finish something or maybe even skip a step so that I can move forward. Well, just like the cabinets above that needed to dry, then cut, then dried somemore and put together and so on....this is the same as our christian walk.  Sometimes, we are in such a hurry that we rob ourselves and the Lord of a blessing. Many times, we do a project or service for the Lord but we rush through it.....just think about how beautiful that " YOU FILL IN THE BLANK" could ave been had you taken the time you needed too.

For example: Saturday soul winning and visitation. One~ do you attend ? Two~ If you do.....do you rush through and hand out a tract and invite them to church and move to the next house or person?? Or do you take the time to sow some seed........ask them a few questions....lead them into "Do you know where you will spend eternity when you die?" Then depending on their answer.....you could end with a much happier ending to your start...especially if you are able to share the gospel.  I know myself, that I have this fault with trying to be in a hurry and make sure that everything is accomplished. But, really in the end......what is the most important thing....

Again, back to the cabinets.....the builder could have rushed through...nailed some wood together....stained it and then brought it to us.....but "NO"...he took his time....followed each step of the process and made sure that he delivered a well constructed, planned out product. That is what I want my life to be like for the Lord. I want to offer HIM my best.....

Mozart, Mountains, Machetes and Meds

Well, life has been super busy here so sorry that it has been awhile since my last blog. We have finished the inside of the cottage except for the kitchen cabinets which should be installed tomorrow. Sometimes ....well all the time really ...life flies by so fast that we hardly know what day it is. We have been back and forth a number of times in the last 2 weeks to San Pedro Sula to work on Micah's documents as well as extend our Visa's here. We have our residency papers in but not finalized as of yet. We are also waiting on Micah's birth abroad certificate as well as his US Passport. These are high on our prayer list at this time. Also, please pray for our little guy as he has an ear infection and bronchitis right now. He really is a little trooper.

 Micah is growing so fast and is easily entertained. We do not have any baby dvd's but I did discover a few baby Einstein clips on youtube. He absolutley loves watching it. He is such a good baby and really hardly ever cries. We are thankful that God has given us our little Micah.

We recently were able to start back-up with our homeschooling and Josiah had his 1st day of k4 last week. He is really enjoying school and cant wait to wake up and go to the living room for class. However, please pray for our little buddy as he has had a double ear infection now for almost 3 weeks. He will have to see an ENT here in Honduras to see if he has to have surgery to remove the tubes that he had put in before we went to Costa Rica.

Okay, so we have read about Mozart and meds. Now, it's time for moutains and machetes. We recently as a team had a staff retreat to plan for the upcoming year and reflect on 2011. We all visited the city of Copan to see the Mayan Ruins. What an amazing drive to see God's creation then we were able to walk the cobblestone streets of Copan. We have a wonderful team here and it is so amazing to see how God is guiding us all. We are excited to share with you all that Nathan and Jennifer will be extending Team Honduras into the city of Santa Barbara as they start a new church plant here. Praise the Lord for how he has blessed the team here and the church as well as the congregation over the last 6 years. Please keep them in your prayers as well as they will be moving out away from Progreso in January. OH yeah, bet you are wondering about the machete.....well, when leaving Copan we were parked beside 2 taxi buses when the one behind pulled the bumper off of the one in the front. When the driver realized what had happened he jumped out of his bus and went to the passenger side and grabbed a machete. He then started to run after the other driver. When, the other driver was out of distance he began hitting the other bus with the machete. You just never know how someone is going to react.....so...our lesson...don't try to park next to a microbus...the driver could have a machete....hehehehe

Until next time.....thanks for reading, praying and giving......

TEAM HONDURAS

The story of 2 containers......

 WOW....a lot has happened in the last few weeks. It is so hard to believe that after much planning and many donating and buying items off of our wish-list we have finally received our container. Wait, that is not the best part....you all gave so generously that we had to have a second container. That is right we received not 1 40ft container but 2 40 ft containers. THANK YOU all so much. We had chills as we finally saw them rolling down the dirt path to our house and not to mention just about in tears when we cut the locks off. We were so blessed that the conatiners were not opened or inspected on the Honduras side. Not one thing was missing or broken during shipping. In fact, it really was a miracle. You see every item that comes into port must be opened and inspected by the border. We were expecting to have to go the port to be there when it was inspected. We were also not able to get tax free status for this container due to a new change in process, so we just knew they would kill us in taxes.....well all I can say is GOD IS GOOD!  We received the call that our container was to be delivered unopened on Thursday without border review. Our broker said this statement..."somebody must be praying for you all" and we know that you all were praying for us. The very next day, they changed the law and every container from here out must be inspected. WOW! what provisions he has for us. We had 55 people present the day we unloaded those 2 containers and what a blessing it was to see all of the things that were inside. It was just like Christmas for us. We started the very next day decorating "Esperanza de Honduras. What a blessing this home will be for little boys and girls. You all have helped us created a beautiful home to live in....and Mrs. Chris and Many Higgins from Hope in Tampa did a great job decorating and putting it all in order. I have posted a few pictures for you to see just what it looks like with the things that you all helped make possible. We love you all and are pleased to say this is now: Esperanza de Honduras.

Our living room

unloading the container

boys dorm room

older girls bedroom

play area in the living room

drawing and game area in the living room

little girls bedroom

Hope that you all enjoy the pictures....we will be posting more soon!

Never a dull Moment.......

Well, life has been very busy here in Honduras.....we have moved into the cottage and hopefully this week we will receive our container. While we have moved in we are still living out of suitcases, but only for a short time longer.......makes life a little difficult with 4 kids laundry. But, we are hanging in there. Last night, I could not sleep so I decided to do some work in the office. After, I had done all that I could do...I decided to go ahead a go to bed...it was around 1 or so. I had just laid down when I heard a motorcycle that sounded like it was really close to the house. I got up to look and just when I had walked to the front in Taylor's room...I saw a guy slide on his bike. I ran to get Mark so that he could help see what was going on...(he was alseep along with the rest of the family). The guard began to tap on the window and say that we had a drunk guy wreck in the front yard adn that we needed to call the police. We went outside to see that he was only a car length away fromn Taylor's room in the front yard. We called Alexis so that he could help us with talking to the police. Once they arrived they took the man off to jail along with his bike.What a crazy evening....Even stranger is how he got on the property.  With that said we need to put a brick wall around the property here. Not only could he have hit the house or a car....but this means that anyone can get in on the property. Please help us about praying for the funds to build a wall. We have 10 acres of land here so that is going to be a big wall but we need to start on the childrens home side of the property first. We want to be able to protect the cottage and the kids that will live here along with our own family. PLEASE help us pray for those funds to start this project.

5 Loaves and 2 Fishes......

 Since we have been on this journey we have been making a list of all the items that we need to have here in Honduras. Many have given and bought items to be able to be sent over here for the home. We ordered a huge 40 foot container and each day the staff at Hope would collect items we needed to be shipped. We have been worried that we would not have enought to fill the container especially with a ship cost of $4,000. Well, Praise the Lord he has supplied. This week we taught the lesson on the 5 loaves of bread and the 2 fish. We taught the children here how God used one little boys lunch to feed 5,000 men, not including women and children. We even had a visual lesson with 5 little loaves of bread and 2 fish (sugar cookies that I baked and shaped into large fish....)(I know I should have taken a picture...but I forgot). We had 41 in class on Sunday and they all had bread and some cookie...even with some left over. We began to explain how God will supply our needs and how he only needs something to work with.

 Well, I am happy to tell you that we have been blessed yet again. Not only do we have the container full and ready to ship....but we need a second container. PRAISE THE LORD.  We do ask that you help us by praying for those two containers. We even ask you to pray specificly that they will clear customs with no problems, we will not have to pay any taxes on any of the items, and finally that no one will tamper with the locks and steal anything.

THANKS TO ALL WHO HAVE GIVEN IN EVERY FORM, WHETHER BUYING ITEMS, DONATING FUNDS OR GIFT CARDS. ALSO, A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR FRIENDS......WELL REALLY THEY ARE OUR FAMILY AT HOPE CHILDRENS HOME IN TAMPA FOR LOADING IT ALL UP! WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!




We will Never Forget.........Reflections on 9/11

  On the eve of the 10 year anniversary of the attack on our nation, I think about how the world moved in slow motion that day.  That day started just like any other day. People woke up and headed off to work and school. I know exactly were I was and what I was doing. I worked for IBM at the time, in the office for out-sourced HR departments of large companies. My co-workers and I heard of the first plane that hit the world trade center and we all pulled up the news feed on our computers. Mark was working at the fire station that day. I was able to witness the second plane crash on the live news of WRAL. Shortly afterward I was talking to a man in D.C. about his medical benefits when suddenly we got news of the pentagan attack. He quickly shouted that his dad worked there and hung up the phone. That very day people all around the world were in shock of the events that had just happened. As a nation it seemed as if we grew closer....putting God back at the center of our lives. Hebrews 13:6 "So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

  As I reflect on the past and how the world responded and was shocked at the attack on our country, I also think to the future. Can you imagine how people will respond will Gabriel blows his trumpet and the Lord returns to gather those who have put their faith and trust in him?  It will not be an attack on the country like 9/11 but planes will crash and buildings will burn. People will be standing below in shock of what they are seeing. Some will think that we have been attacked yet again and then those who have heard the gospel will know that this is the end. I am glad that I will not have to worry about facing that day. I have put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ and know that without a shadow of a doubt when that trumpet sounds I will ascend into Heaven.....if I have not already passed away before the Lord makes his return. Today, I want to share with you that you can have the same hope that I personally have, along with millions of others who are saved. You don't have to be one that is "left behind".

Tonight, I was reading in my Bible and came to Hebrews 11:13 "These all died in faith, not having received the promises,but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."   I think alot about the generations after Christ was born and died. We have never met Jesus, we have never seen him on t.v., we have never heard his voice....yet we know he is real. We have a book of his promises and still some do not believe.

We can have eternal life in HEAVEN when we die. First, we must acknowledge that we are all sinners...Romans 3:23 " For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."  We must then recognize that there is a price for sin. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of son is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  In Romans 5:8 it says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." I am happy to say though we have hope....if we confess our sins (Romans10:9-10) then he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  I know that this seems so easy....but friends...that is all there is to it. Repent of your sin, place your trust in Christ and ask him to live in your heart, and he will forever change your life.

Where will you be in 10 years.....? I want to be serving the Lord...whether here on earth or above in Heaven.....either way.....I know that my soul is secure and my name is written in the Lambs Book of Life.  Just like the faith we have have in "Old Glory"......we can to have faith in the "Old Book, the Bible"

When you think your late.....God has perfect timing.....

 Wednesday evening Taylor and I along with the little boys went to the grocery store before church. I had plenty of time....like 40 minutes actually. However, while standing in line to pay the people in front of me decided to make things alittle difficult for the cashier. After, 20+ minutes in line it is now my turn to pay. I get my few little items and run with a cart in heels to my car. My phone begins to ring....it is Elsey wanting to make sure that I am picking her up for church. I let her know that we are just across the street and on the way. When I get there...thinking that she is going to be ready...she runs to my car and with excitment asked "can my mom change" I said sure. We waited and a few minutes later Elsey and Maria both walk to the car and get in. We were able to take Maria to "our" church for the first time. She is still however, waiting on that door but that night she decided to come along anyway.  God is so good and we hope to see her again soon.

No Water, No Internet.....No Problem......HA!

Sorry that it has been awhile. One we have been really busy and two we have not had internet. Talk about feeling a little disconnected from the world. No, really we have been 4 days or so without internet and wtaer is on and off for the last 5 days. However, even with that we have still been able to move forward. Many things have been going on here the last few weeks with the cottage and church.

First, we would like to say that Elsey has adjusted well to her new glasses. She has a constant smile on her face and we continue to visit her and her family. She was not in church on Wednesday night so I went to see her on Friday. She expalined that she had been sick and did not have the money for medicine. I then went to get her some medicine and a bottle of shampoo. Once, I returned her mo m asked me if I could go and see her other daugter who is 20. She had been very sick and they wanted me to talk to her and see her. (I was like "ok" but you understand that I am neither a doctor nor a nurse. I talked with her and watched as the listened to my advise.  We saw that Elsey and her family had a new house but the door is still  not there. We had heard that she had one but it did not work out. So, we are still praying for a dooe so that Maria can attend services.

  The same day that I went to see Elsey, I decided to go and see Catherine. She was the young lady who had asked to use my shower the day she had her baby. I am happy to say that Isaac is growing like a weed and is already a month old. I had such a wonderful visit with her and her family. In her house lives Alba(Catherine's mom), Ana (Not sure how she is related), Catherine and Isaac, Genesis(Catherine's little sister), Abram(Catherine's brother), Dora(Catherine's aunt) and Catherine's grandma, That is a lot of people in one little house. Taylor and I along with Josiah and Micah had a sweet time of fellowship and I was able to share a few more clothes with her. I then invited her to the ladies meeting that we had at church. I am happy to say that they both attended.

We are also preparing for the shipment of the container. We are so very excited about all of the items that are just waiting to be packed in. THANK YOU TO YOU ALL WHO HAVE GIVEN TO THE HOME!

The house is now fully painted inside and they are working on the outside. We will keep you posted on the days ahead.