From MILES to TILES............

On the way to San Pedro

Well, the journey has brought us to our first complete week here in Honduras. It has been a wonderful adjustment so far. We have been very busy over the past week with just getting familiar with the area and driving in a new place. We are so grateful though that it is becoming second nature very fast.

The people here are very friendly and we love our church family. They have greeted us with open arms and hearts. I think that they are as excited as we are to see how the Lord's plan will unfold for the children's home.



Tiles for the cottage



kitchen tiles

Pastor Mike, Mark, Alexis and Al

We have already had guests here with us this week which was a blessing and help to us. Pastor Mike and Al Schaffer from the home in Tampa came to see the progress on the building as we walked room by room looking over all the details of the plans. We made some great accomplishments on Wednesday as we went out to pick out tiles for the floors, bathrooms, and kitchen. It is just like when you are buying or building your own home and you go to pick out all of the inside furnishings....it is so exciting to see how the cottage will take shape. We also went to pick out lights and ceiling fans and such for the rooms. We need ceiling fans and free standing fans because the homes here do not typically have air condition. With that said, Wednesday was about 103 degrees and that was the (temp.)not the heat index. We can not put A.C. in the cottage because when the children leave the home many will not be able to afford to have that luxury so it is best to not have them get use to something like having air in the house all the time.

Also, on Wednesday we become members of our local church here, "Iglesia Bautista  El Faro". We are so excited to see just what the Lord has done in the lives of the people here and how they are so faithful to serve and to be in the services.

Today, we had our first doctor  visit here for the baby and also got to check out the hospital where he will be born. We are eager for his arrival and the doctor informed us today that he is 6lb and 5 oz as of now and we still have 4 weeks to go. Looks like another "BIG" boy in our future. Please pray though that he will turn and even come early so that there are no complications.

We are still in need of many items on the Wal-Mart Wish List, everything from silverware sets to a good camera for pictures to keep you all updated with. The one thing that we really like about Wal-Mart is that no matter the amount of the purchase you can have it SHIPPED to the STORE in TAMPA for FREE and we will have someone pick it up for us and load it in the container. We are looking at a container and the cost is going to be around $3,000. It will only be worth it to ship if we have it FULL. Again, there are items on the list from sippy-cups, bunk beds (7 sets), to mixing bowls. We just ask that you prayerfully consider helping us. When you partner with us by helping to purchase an item, you are not just helping 6 people (the Coats family) you are helping all the children that will stay in our care over the next.....well only the Lord knows that number. Just know that we don't ask for ourselves but we are asking so that we can help those boys and girls that are here in Honduras that may be sleeping on a card-board box tonight, or ate dinner from a trash heap, or that had to bath in the local river to get clean. God will bless you for helping to reach these boys and girls no matter what or how you choose to help. Thank you to you all and we know that many of you have already helped us out greatly. Just know that we are so grateful and we can't wait to place the first few kids into a nw safe, clean, and new house, that they can CALL HOME.

The Journey Continues.....Here at Last......

WOW! It has been well over 2 years since God put the burden on our hearts to help start Hope of Honduras Children's Home. After a period of transition to live in Tampa to train and work with the staff and kids  we moved to Costa Rica. We spent almost a full year in San Jose, Costa Rica preparing ourselves for living in another country and learning the Spanish language. Then, a short stay back in Tampa to tie up loose ends and get stamps for paperwork ....now we have finally made it to Honduras.

The Lord has been so good to us and we had a wonderful experience in the airport. We traveled with 20+ bags and were expecting to have to pay close to $800 for the additional baggage due to the new rules with the airlines. However, Tuesday night when I finally went to sleep I asked the Lord to please give us a nice person to work with at the airports and that we would not have any trouble with our luggage.

As we arrived at the airport on Wednesday morning at 5 am we were greeted with a nice gentleman who helped us load all the bags we had on 2 pull carts. He looked at us and pulled us into a line that was much shorter. He began to count bags and said, "you are gonna have to pay alot for those bags". We said yes, we know but we are moving and have no other options. He said if I could save you some money would you be willing?.....we replied with " OF COURSE". So he upgraded our flight from Tampa to Miami to first class tickets for $225 and with that we each got 3 checked bags for FREE. So, we ended up only paying $100 for the extra bag. WHAT A BLESSING!!! We saved close to $400. It is so amazing how God works and puts people in your path.

We arrived in San Pedro Sula around 1:45 on Wednesday and again were greeted with very friendly and kind people here in the airport who did not question us or our 20+ bags that we had come with. Brother Matt and Brother Nathan picked us up from the airport and helped us get settled into to the home that we will be staying in until the cottage is complete or at least livable.

front of the cottage

With that said 20 bags did not get here ALL of the items that we will need for the home or our family here. We do have a contact for a container but we need your help. Because of the cost of the container it is very important that we get it filled to the max and the only way that we can do that is through people like you, who give. The longer it takes to fill the container the longer it will take to ship. We need to have this container by the end of June so that we can be ready to move in the first of July. Please, PLEASE, PRAYERFULLY consider checking out the 2 WISH LISTS that we currently have. We have one at http://www.wal-mart.com/
and one at http://www.target.com/ we are also asking for IKEA gift cards to help purchase bunk beds and shelving items for the bedrooms. (they make them more compact and easy to fit in the rooms).  I do know that you can purchase items from Wal-Mart and have them sent to the store in Tampa on Gunn Highway FREE of charge and we have a contact person to pick them all up for us. We can not do this alone we need your help and you will receive a tax receipt for you giving. Please help us see the children's home doors open with a nice and complete home for the children to live in. Thanks Again for all of your help. We love you all and look forward to sharing many more updates from HONDURAS!!!!!

Meet Karla........

  Many of you may have read that we have a young lady from Honduras training here in Tampa. Her name is Karla. Karla lives with her mom and dad and 2 brothers in El Progresso, Honduras. She was born on June 28th and is 20 years old. She has lived in El Progresso her entire life. Karla started to attend "El Faro" in 2006 but become a faithful member in 2008. I asked Karla if she remembered when she accepted Christ as her Savior and she said "yes, it was June 14, 2006.

Some of her ministries in the church included helping to keep it clean and working with the children. She said that she really loves working with the kids. When the need came about for helper in Honduras she said she knew it would be a great opportunity. However, she wanted to pray about it and see where God would lead. She said after she prayed "HE" opened all the doors for her. She is very excited about the future.

I asked her what were her hopes for the children's home in Honduras, she replied with this :
1) she wanted them to learn about the Bible and to change and grow Spiritual
2) she wanted them to learn the right ways to live and not to get involved in gangs like many young people in Honduras.
3) that the home would take care of their physical needs such as food, clothing and shelter.

Karla has been in the states for 2 months now and has never been outside of Honduras until she came here. So, I asked her what her first impression was when entering the states. Her response was this, " the states are very fast....everyone is always in a hurry." Wow! do we even realize that this is how others see us as Americans?  I can say that from living in Costa Rica, everyone here lives a very fast paced life and food included in that.

  I then asked her what where some of her favorite things about living in the states. Karla responded with "I Love TACO BELL and MT. DEW.....how funny is that. But neither of those two things are available in Honduras.

Karla asked that you keep the following prayer requests in mind when praying for her:

Prayer Requests:
That she can learn English well and quickly
Pray for her family in Honduras
For Hope of Honduras and the construction of the cottage
For the church in Honduras
For the Pastors of "El Faro" and their families

Karla is a sweet young lady and we have enjoyed getting to know her and practice our Spanish. We have a long way to go but with God's  help nothing is impossible. Also, it is funny to see how Karla has already picked up on some of the American humor of what we call "picking". She is a joy to be around and we look forward Please help us by praying for her and for our family as we prepare to leave for Honduras. to when her studies are complete and she can help us in Honduras.

Happy Birthday Blessings......

  When we were in Costa Rica we had talked to Josiah about having his birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. We had thought about the fact that this would be his last birthday in the states for a very long time and we wanted him to be able to remember it. Well, at least the best he could for a 3 year old. We asked him what kind of party he wanted....meaning what kind of cake...? He went back and forth between Scooby-Doo and Spider-Man. He finally settled for Scooby. The last 2 months or so of our stay in Costa Rica, all he could talk about was his "Scooby-Doo" party and everyone he saw he invited. It was really sweet. He was at the age where he really understood....my baby is growing up. We decided to have his birthday party on Monday instead of Thursday so that family and friends could attend. Not all of our family was able to be there but they were there in our hearts. He was so excited about the whole evening and you could see that on his face and in his eyes. If you know anything about Chuck E. Cheese you know that...that place can be a mad house of parents and kids running around. However, Monday night it was nice and peaceful and we were the only big party there. Way off to the side was a small family party of about 6 people or so and well there were not many other people in the building. We had a run of the whole place.

We were also able to have Karla attend the party. She is the young lady from Honduras that will be helping us after she trains and studies here in the states. She started talking to me in Spanish and we chatted back and forth. Our hostess started to talk to me and asked me about Spanish. She was actually from Nicaragua. So, we talked about our time in Costa Rica and how we had visited her home country. It was a blessing and she was so sweet to Josiah. She loaded him up with extra tickets.

After the party it was time to pay. Mark started to carry the gifts to the car and I was left to pay. I was surprised with yet another blessing. Someone had paid for Josiah's party. The Lord never ceases to amaze me at how he works through others to give out blessings. Words can not express how many blessings that we have received just in the past few months. From little things like a sweet lady at the airport paying for one of those luggage carts, to a many who have purchased things off of the 2 Wish Lists for the children's Home. Not only has God provided for Josiah to have a wonderful state-side birthday but he he uses people that we have met along the way on our journey. We don't know who ALL have blessed us because many have chosen to stay silent....however....Dios Sabe!!!! God Knows!! and We pray that HE BLESSES YOU as MUCH as WE have BEEN BLESSED BY YOU.......

Welcome Home at Hope.............

Ms. Becky & Josiah

  Thursday, we were able to see all the kids and staff here at Hope that we have not seen since we left for Costa Rica, almost a year ago. It was so exciting to see how the kids have grown and changed within that year. We visited with a few of the staff early that morning. Then we headed off to the Sheriff's Office here in Tampa so that Mark, Taylor and myself could have our fingerprints done in order to receive a background check for our residency in Honduras. Please help us by praying that this papers are processed rapidly and that we can send them to phase 2, which is the getting them sealed with the Secretary of State. Once we receive these papers back we can head to the Embassy in Miami. 

Karla & Ms. Chris

 

That afternoon we were able to go out to eat with our directors here and Karla. Karla is from Honduras and will be our assistant once she finishes English classes and training here in Tampa. It was so encouraging to know that we could actually talk to her in Spanish...and better yet, we understood her and she understood us.

After dinner we headed back to the boys dorm where all the kids and staff had planned a "WELCOME HOME" party for us.    It was so nice to be able to hug and fellowship with them all.....We were also able to see our friends from back home Kim and Jeff Huff who are now in full-time ministry as house parents here at Hope. God is so Good. It is truly amazing at how he uses us and leads us along the way.

Almost Home..........

   Well, Wednesday March 30th we put all of our belongings into Fernando's van and headed to the airport in San Jose. It was a bitter-sweet time for us. Another chapter in our lives has closed and a new one is about to begin. I am so thankful for our time that we spent in Costa Rica and for all the friends that we have made along the way. We have many new missionary friends around the world as well as many Costa Ricans that have become dear to our hearts. We are so thankful for the teachers and staff that God put in our path to help us and encourage us in our Spanish skills over the past year. Not only our teachers but our neighbors and many that we met along the way.  We will surely miss them all.



Argentina Soccer Player(white shirt)

  Our first flight was interesting as we noticed that many people (AA employees kept coming on the plane before take-off). Costa Rica had played Argentina in a soccer game the night before and 2 of the players from Argentina were on the plane. Then as we were trying to get ready for our second flight in Miami we were in line behind a group of women....not really sure what kind of cult/group they were in...it was nothing like we had ever seen before. They were in long skirts and had different types of scarves on their heads. One of the ladies were not able to pass because she did not have a photo I.D. so the lady checking passports, tickets and I.D. let us go ahead while they figured out what to do with her. Anyway, she had a bag that was on the x-ray table ready to go through. Well, we knew it was not our bag and so we put all of our stuff in front of it and left it there. I thought to myself..."I am not pushing someone else's bag...I have no idea what is inside". Behind us was another gentleman with a Hispanic background and he did the same thing, he was not gonna push the bag either. Come to find out, those ladies had a bunch of knives and liquids in their carry-on. All stuff which a normal person would know is not permitted on a plane. So, needless to say it was very interesting but thankful for how AA security handled the situation.



 Once we arrived in Tampa, we met another really sweet lady and she paid for us to get one of those carts to help with our 14 bags. It was not long and we loaded all of our things up in Pastor Mike's van and we headed home. However, not before we made our first gas station run....lol. We stocked up on sodas, chips and American candy. Most of which we could not buy in Costa Rica. We sat around and chatted for awhile and were just overly excited to finally be in our "Home Away from Home".