Good afternoon church family, 
We, the 12 that you at Faith Baptist/Open Arms Church sent on mission to Honduras, have landed safely at home.

Our day started very early, 2:30 am. We all gathered in the lobby and had to take a Lyft to the Houston airport as the shuttles were not running until 6. As we arrived, we saw a lady that was having a bad day. She was very upset and hollering and making a very big scene, so we gathered as a team and prayed for her.

The flight from Houston to Newark was perfect and was 20 minutes ahead of schedule (this was one of my main concerns this trip because we only had 63 minutes to catch our next flight) but once again God is good and we had enough time. We then flew from Newark to Halifax and landed safely. 

Once again, I thank first of all God for all he has done for us, and second, thank you church family for your prayers and generosity.

And last I wanted to thank each team member for trusting in me to be your team leader.

Signing off,
Queen Pat

This morning we enjoyed our last breakfast in Honduras; pancakes, scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. After we finished our last minute packing we helped Rick load our luggage onto the back of his truck and then he and Otto drove us to the airport. 

Rick made sure we all got checked in before we said our final “thank yous” and “see you laters”. We got some lunch at the airport, boarded, and took off shortly after 1:30pm to Houston. 

While waiting in a long lineup to get through customs and security in the Houston airport a few of us played “Heads Up” to pass the time. We finally made it through, got all of our luggage, and as we made our way to the hotel shuttle we ran into a friendly face, David. As a brother in Christ, he encouraged us the same way he did last year. 

Some of us Door-dashed some food to our hotel for supper and then went to bed. We have an early morning ahead of us. 
​
Please continue to pray for us as we make our way home, and pray specifically for some of the team members who aren’t feeling the best. 

See you all soon!! 

-Vicki ​

Good day!
Today was waterpark day. A big yellow bus picked us up so we could all travel together with the kids.
The kids were excited and as we got closer to the park, they could hardly wait to exit the bus. It is such a joy to watch the children have so much fun thanks to all at Faith Baptist making it happen. We just got to be the ones to share that blessing with them. Thank you from the team!

The drive home was a little more subdued as the kids and adults were tired. 
At the home goodbyes were said to some of the older kids as we will not see them tomorrow. God is good.

Devotional time was a reflection of the day with some personal testimony. It is encouraging to hear others stories to lift our hearts toward God.
​Thank you for praying for us.
 
You can do it! 
Jason 

Today was culture day for us. We started the day with a delicious breakfast as usual and had our morning devotions. We then loaded up and headed to meet Gabby and her dad, Omar, to do a tour of the Coffee Farm. We got to see the beans and try some raw beans which are really sweet. We then returned to the house to where they roast the beans. We got to see the dryer for the beans. We were going to watch the roasting process but the machine was broken down. We went into the house where Gabby and her mom, Edda, made coffee with a perk and a slow drip. Their coffee beans are Arabica beans.

After we left Gabby's we went to La Carpa de Doris which translates to messy chicken. Our driver, Otoniel, joined us as well as our translator, Laura. We then went to the leather shop and then to the market where we were able to look around and do some shopping. After the market we all gathered in front of the Siguatepeque sign. When we were finished at the Square we went to the Spanish Institute where we were able to take a tour and learn what they are about and what they offer.

We went to La Casita De Los Chicharrones for supper where Melodie joined us. There we all had the option to order from a variety of different foods. After another delicious meal here in Honduras we headed back to Cerro and had a little down time. Some of our group went to the store with Melodie to get some snacks for the group. When they got back we had some time to visit with Melo before doing our nightly devotions as a team. When we do our nightly devotions we each talk about a highlight of our day. Matt wasn't able to join us as he was feeling a little under the weather and went to bed early, so please pray for him. It was a day of adventure. Thanks to all our FBC and Open Arms family for your continued prayers. 

​-Barb- 

​Today was our first sunny morning. Some of us were early birds and enjoyed the warmth of the sunrise.
 
After a hearty Honduran breakfast we had our devotions before the bus came to pick us up to go to Casa Hogar. We were able to enjoy the sun and Alex led devotions with the kids outside. He talked about the fruits of the spirit and the importance of them in our life and being a good representative of God and letting your light shine bright. They all received a glow stick to represent their light.
 
We had a meal with the kids and took a ride in the back of the truck to the cinema to watch a movie with the children. Before leaving town, we were able to visit the chocolate shop to pick up a treat.
 
We ended the day with Alex sharing his testimony, which gave to an inspiring ending to our nightly devotionals.

​- Lyle

Today we were blessed with another beautiful day in Honduras; even with the overcast weather. 
We had our breakfast and devotions this morning and shortly after, we headed to the home. Starting with devotions with the kids, we read from 1 John 4. After we had spent some time in prayer together, we played some games. 

The boys were super excited today to line up and pick a new dinky car from the table and the girls went outside to paint their nails and put hair tinsel in their hair. The boys quickly joined us for nail painting and hair tinsel too😂 Some of the boys remembered after that they were just “too cool” for hair tinsel and wanted it removed. You would not believe how difficult it is to take tinsel out of a tween boy’s hair, especially when he screams bloody murder as a joke to make you think you hurt him😅 

After it had stopped drizzling outside, a lot of the kids and some of the team played soccer and you can bet that the Honduran team whooped Canada by a long shot - haha! When some of the older boys got home from work they played volleyball as well and put Kaylie’s volleyball skills to the test! 

During devotions tonight, Mat shared his testimony with us which was very impactful and revealed more layers of his story. 

We had lots of laughs and everyone ended the day feeling encouraged and ready to rest from an eventful day.
​ 
Emmy 

​We made it safely to Honduras. It was sooo smooth, there were pretty much no complications. It was awesome. We were all running on very little sleep though, but most of us got some more sleep on the plane. It is such a relief to finally be here. We went to a restaurant for lunch and had baleadas and pupusas. They were really good. After that we went to the Home, Casa Hogar. It was AMAZING!!! They were sooo excited to see us. Evening devotions were really great. We got to worship and fellowship together and then pray over the kids at the Home. Overall it was an awesome day!!   
                                                           
​ - Kaylie -