Please join us in Prayer.......

I know that this is not a new request but we really need prayer in the area of donations for our container. There are so many things that we need and it would be more cost effective to get those things in the states. We are so close to being able to move into the cottage but without our container it just would not be possible. We have many things purchased and have received some very important needs for the children. However, if we can not get enough to fill the container it would not be cost effective to ship it over. This is going to be a sad thing for us for it will greatly delay the shipping of the container until September or October. We do have all of our personal things there waiting plus our own furniture for our bedrooms. When we moved here we only packed the things that were necessary until we could get our container, with that said our family memories, books, and such are all waiting in storage in Tampa at the children's home. If we can not move in ourselves it will only prolong when we will actually be able to take in children. We are asking that all of our friends and readers join us in prayer to fill this container. If you would like to help you can visit our WISH LIST on http://www.wal-mart.com/ (you will need to type in Amy Coats) then click on my name as the link and a list of items will pop up. There are all kinds of items that we need from bedding to toys that range in price starting at $5. The wonderful thing is that no matter where you live or what you purchase you can have it shipped to the local store in Tampa FREE of CHARGE. You just NEED to list our helper Mandy Higgins as the pick-up person and she will pick it up and put it in storage for us.
If you do this please be sure to LIST our EMAIL ADDRESS amy@teamhonduras.com  so that we can ensure you receive a tax receipt for your giving. Thank YOU ALL AGAIN for everything that you do for us.

again the link is:
http://www.walmart.com/
type in Amy Coats
select my name when it pops up
remember to use site to store option with STORE # 5036
Tampa Walmart Supercenter Store #5036
 6192 Gunn Hwy
Tampa, FL 33625
Phone: (813) 968-6477

When it ask for email address please use: amy@teamhonduras
and make pick-up person: Mandy Higgins

Thanks Again ...We know that God will provide the things the home needs and the container will ship in time to be here for August. So that we can help the children of Honduras.....there are already many that need the home just within the church here. Please help us HELP the CHILDREN of Honduras.

Pastor Fain, with his group and our kids

Sorry it has been awhile since our last blog but things have been very busy around here. We have had tons to do with the building and getting our documents for residency. We worked hard to get all of our papers in the states and had everything we needed.....just one small problem...they are all in English. So, I spent about a week or so translating all of the documents. That was a large task to conquer between caring for 2 little boys.  But Praise the Lord it is finished. 

We also had a small team from Ketucky help out with the building. Pastor Jeff Fain from Immanuel Baptist Church in Kentucky along with 5 young men from his church came down to spend a week here with Team Honduras. They were able to sand all of the walls in the cottage to help prepare them for the painting process. Thanks GUYS...you were a huge blessing to us. Having a 4,000 square foot building means lots of walls and they all helped Mark and Hunter knock it out in a day. Next step...Paint...Wahooooo!

The cottage is getting closer and closer to being down everyday. This week they have installed the lights and put up light poles around the property. They have also been working on the back staircase to the bodega or storage area above the house. Another very important thing..... the guys have been welding the bars for the windows. While no-one really wants to have these on their windows they turned out very nice. They will also help to keep us safe. The cottage should be ready by the end of this month. Then it is just a game of waiting for our items to be purchased and put on the container. God has put so many people in our path and you all have helped us out so much. It has been a HUGE BLESSING to see all the things that have been purchased for Esperanza de Honduras. Thank YOU...we have just a few more things we really need to have before it is ready to ship.

We have some other exciting news for you all. Micah is now an official Hondureno. We went yesterday with help from Juan Carlos (a member from our church) to get his birth certificate.  We started by going with Bro. Matt to the Register of Deeds only to find out that when they gave us his paper at the hospital they forgot to stamp it. So, we headed back to the hospital in San Pedro to get a stamp/seal put on it. Having a "gringo baby" here means that people are always looking at you and loven on the baby. We walked right in to find the same young lady who had helped us the day he was born. We walked out with 3 copies of the paper we needed and headed back to get his birth certificate. Now, MICAH is OFFICIAL...next step..passport and birth abroad certificate.

Two New Adventures Here......

It has been a busy week here in Honduras. The cottage is almost complete. They are only working on small things inside such as hanging the lights. After that, we will have to wait until our container arrives. The next phase will be to paint and to decorate the cottage. We will have some odds and end things to take care with the help of work groups that come from the states. We recently, went to check on ceiling fans as well as large appliances. This is a very costly group of items for the home. We were going to purchase them here in Honduras, however, it looks like it could cost a large amount more than if they were purchased in the states. Please help us by praying for the funds for these items so that they can be put on the container.

We had a very interesting day on Tuesday. Mark was invited to speak to the local fire station just above where are new home will be. There are only 2 fire stations in El Progreso that serve over 200,000 people. They also only have 5-6 people working at a time and sometimes have to repsond to calls an hour from the station. Here there is no paging system, so that means that someone must man the office phone 24 hours a day. They receive calls from 112 (or as we know it 911 dispatch) along with calls made from personal phones for emergencies. While Mark was talking with the guys from the station he noticed that they only had 1 airpack. That means that the guy holding the nozzle of the hose gets the mask while the others behind cover their mouths and nose with their hand. Please pray for these men, what a dangerous job it is to begin with and here they do not even have the proper equipment to help the citizens of their city. We are praying that this can also be an area of outreach for us along with the children's home. I know that Mark hopes to go back and encourage the men with training in the future. Please pray for him because this is an awesome opportunity to witness to these men. They put Josiah up in the trucks and let him try on a helmet....he thought he was in Heaven....

Something very interesting happened to me this week as well. I had my very first driving expereince in a new country. Some of you may be thinking what is so interesting about that? Well, let me clue you in a little....see when we lived in Costa Rica for language school neither of us drove for an entire year. We took a public bus or a taxi when we could not go where we needed by foot. So, I was already without a car for a year. We headed back to the states before we moved and I drove some in Tampa when mark would let me....lol...he missed driving a lot.....plus it is a man thing to drive....lol.....anyway when we moved here I knew that I wanted to have a little bit of my independency back and the only way to do that was to get behind the wheel. Here you have to be a defensive driver. You have to not only be aware of the other cars on the road but also the people walking, riding horse and carts, mopeds, bikes, and motorcycles. Here, people pass on both sides of the road and cut you off in a quick moment. However, Taylor and I ventured to the grocery store and we had a successful trip back to the house.

We also were excited that we have now had our little Micah with us for 1 month as of Thursday. It is so amazing at how fast the time has flown by, as well as how much he has already changed.

The Start of Something New......

Yesterday, was the very first Sunday for Sunday School here at Iglesia Bautista El Faro. Mark and I have been given the opportunity to teach children's church during the preaching hour. As we entered the doors of the church on Sunday morning you could feel the excitement in the air. The people were there with smiles on their faces ready for a new dimension of learning God's word. The classes were broke up and everyone had a classroom. We have two nurseries, a class for 3-5 year olds, 6-9 year olds, 10-12 year olds, Teens, singles and then the adults. It was such a great Sunday morning to start new spiritual growth for the people of "El Faro". Quickly, after Sunday School Mark and I headed over to the classroom where one of our teen helpers along with 37, 6-9 year olds sat waiting for the start of class.

We started by taking them to the restroom and then we proceeded with the class. The kids were great. It reminded me of my teaching days at Hilltop. Even though it has only been two years since I have taught it  seems like forever since I was in front of the classroom. Mark did a great job of teaching the lesson and I introduced and taught the Bible verse and led some songs. While, I must say that it was a challenge because we still are babes in the area of Spanish...the children were great. They were well-behaved and very attentive......now don't get me wrong you always have those two or three kiddos that you have to keep reminding to listen, not talk and be still. However, the kids really acted like they enjoyed the class and responded well to our questions and activities.

Please help us by praying that Mark, Christian ( our teen helper) and myself will be able to witness to this young group of children. This age group is the largest in the church and at this stage of their life they are like sponges. They all had our memory verse memorized before the end of class. We are very excietd about the future of this class and look forward to seeing this class grow.

Almost Home......

front porch

WOW!!! That is all that we can say right now. We were told last night that the very first cottage...our new home will be done in 15 days...YES, you read that correctly 15 DAYS! We are so close to being able to move into our new home. It has taken on a new transformation in just a short month and half. However, even though we are almost home we still have so many needs. We know that PRAYER is the KEY to helping us make this happen. We know that God will supply these needs but we can not open the home until it is furnished and ready. So, today we have a PRAISE..."WE ARE ALMOST HOME".....but we have many PRAYER REQUESTS.......please help us by praying that we get those items on the list. If you contribute an item or funds to purchase items you will receive a donation slip to use on your taxes. If you do make a purchase to be shipped please use my email address: (amy@teamhonduras.com and list MANDY HIGGINS as the pick-up person). She is the daughter-n-law of our director and is in charge of our things in the states.Thank you all for the prayers and support. We are excited to show you the most recent pictures from today's visit to the property.




office door entry




living room and new door frames



It's the Little Things.......

The days here have been very busy and we hardly seem to have a break. There is much to do and lots to help oversee with the building not to mention having a new baby. However, we were excited to receive Christmas in May here. Hilltop Church in Fuquay sent us care packages with little things from home that we can not get here in Honduras. Some things we might be able to get but they are very expensive. It was such a special time for our family as we began to unpack and sort through the boxes. We discovered tons of "TO GO" drink packets for our water bottles, along with Lance Cracker's, muffin mix, Mrs. Dash, Taco seasoning and so much more. Each box contained a new surprise for us and we were all so excited especially with the chocolate and the "PEEPS". We will savor each bite.

Then Mark and I began to talk about the men that are working on the property to help build our new home/cottage for Hope of Honduras. We also thought about how hot it has been here lately. The temperature has been in the high 90's and the heat index at times feels like 118 degrees. These 15-20+ men work out in the heat everyday except for Sunday's. The work is so different than the work that men in the states would do. Meaning this.....they do not use all the modern equipment that we have in the states. Almost all things are done by hand; digging ditches, mixing concrete, even using a machete to cut the tin for the roof. It is a long hard, hot day for these men and most drink the water from the spicket, which we don't do here. We thought that it would be nice if we treated these men with lunch. So, today we went and bought pizza, watermelon and gallons of fresh cold water. They all came in and sat down on benches made of wood and cement blocks. It's the little things that we sometimes take for granted.....like cold, clean and fresh water. They were very excited and grateful for a hot lunch and nice fresh ice cold water. Most of all they were just excited and grateful to be able to be working on our home. They are making so much progress and it will not be long now. They were working on placing the tiles in the bathrooms along with placing the tiles in the kitchen. (You can check out more pictures on my Facebook page) God is so AWESOME and it will not be long now. Please help us to continue to be a godly influence on the men working on the home and that they will know that the little things are worth sharing with others.

From a Mother's Heart.........

I write this blog from my heart, the heart of a mother. One week ago today, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. God entrusted us with this wonderful human being that is so dependent on both Mark and I for his every need. He can not feed himself, change his little diaper, or even really communicate his needs other than with a soft cry. As, I sit here and admire my little bundle of joy, tears also begin to fill my eyes. I sit here and think about the mother's here in Honduras who may not be able to provide for their little ones. How they long to be able to give them a better life but can not. I think of the many mother's who are forced to give their babies and children to other family members or even friends to take care of and raise so that they can go out and find work. Then you have those that are lucky enough to stay with their parents but are forced to work to help provide for the family. They start the cycle all over again. This is a cycle that seems to never end. A young girl has a child, they grow up in poverty, they are walking the streets looking for work or picking up plastic bottles to take and sell to recyclers.

These children will never know a different way of life, for many they will never get to experience the days that we as parents long for...for our children. Those days include shopping for school supplies for the first day of school. It may also include something as simple as having a birthday party. My momma was always big on celebrating the holidays for myself and brother and sisters. Whenever, there was a holiday with the exception of Halloween we always had a gift of goodies. My momma made an impact on my life in that way that I try really hard to do the same for my children. I love to have parties for my kids and celebrate their birthday each year. However, I look at some birthday parties that my friends have given their children in recent days and even the party that we gave Josiah and think about how the kids here in Honduras might not even have such a grand celebration on their wedding day. I am saying all of this to say that the days are approaching for us to provide a loving home for some of the children of Honduras. Mark and I need you to pray that God will lead us to the right people to help us start the process of taking in children.

We also ask that you help us pray that the hearts of the government officials will be softened and we will have no problems starting the process. Another very important request is that God will make it very clear and give us wisdom in electing and placing the first 12 children in our care. There are so many children that need help but God knows that there are 12 who desperately need to be in the home. This is from my heart the heart of a mother. God has paved the way for us to get here and now the road is getting shorter and shorter. The days to come will be a challenge for us. We will begin the process of many meeting and trying to make our contacts. We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers. May God Bless you ALL.

We are also in need of many items to help complete the home please take the time to check out the        Wal-Mart wish list and prayerfully consider helping the children of Honduras.