Weblog
Monday, 02 November 2009
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Sept 2009 Update
"REFUGIO DE LOS PINOS"
Dear Friends and Family,
Hello! We are trying to get this update out a little earlier this time, so here goes. All is well here, even with the political mess, which we are not effected too much by anyhow, other than the curfews.
Sept- 2nd, "Don" Beto and Kristina came and watched all the kids except, Jamie, Jalynn, Jerin, and Victoria. We stayed the night in Teguc, so we could meet Jordan the next day, incase of any road blocks and/or curfews.
The 4th, Johnnie and the boys went shopping to get last minute things for the wedding. Jamie made the wedding cakes, which we had to cook in the typical horno, due to electric problems in the other house and no gas in our house, but they turned out fine. Jamie did a very nice job on the cakes and also made all the flowers for the wedding. The 5th, was the big wedding day. Rodolfo, his wife, and daughters were here early, so helped decorate and get everything set up. The wedding went well, but we are so glad it's behind us. The couple seem to be happy and getting along well. We had a few guests (22) from Teguc, Santa Cruz area, and Salama to put up for the night after the wedding. Johnnie and Jamie did a good job getting everyone a place to sleep with room to spare;) Jordan took Bessy's family to Teguc though, since they needed to get back. After breakfast the next day, we worked on getting everyone back to their homes. Johnnie ended up taking Chon's family and Eva+ back to their homes.
The 7th, we just laid back to rest and enjoy having Jordan here. We played baseball and went up to the zip-line. Then the 8th, knowing he wouldn't be here for his 23rd B-Day the 16th, we celebrated it while he was here. We also helped others (Manuel-22 the 8th y Jonathan-22 the 15th) celebrate their B-Days by making and sending them cakes on or near their B-Days. The 9th, Johnnie, Vickie, and Jordan went to Teguc to work on Jordan's residency papers, which is what he had came for. Sandra, our lawyer, got everything in order just in time, since Jordan was to head out the next day. The time flew by, but Jordan's glad to be back with Bessy, Joseph, and ? in OR.
The 15th, most of the family headed about a half an hour east to the Guayape River for a cool down. Then the 17th, Johnnie and Vickie were able to get away once again for their recommended time as a couple. They got back just in time the next day for the family to take dinner and a cake to "Don" Ramiro (Victoria's bio-abuelo) for his 80+ B-Day.
The 21st-25th Johnnie and some of the kids took a group to Puerto Cortez for a Bible conference. At that same time, Ex-Honduran President Mel Zelaya snuck back in the country and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy, which made life crazy for most folks, due to curfews to protect from demonstrations and rioters. The 21st was also Guillermo's 21st B-Day, so Vickie and the rest of the kids took a cake over to celebrate and Diana had dinner for us all. That evening, we played naive and went on in to the B-Day party, but Johnnie the other kids were stuck in the motel without being able to enjoy the beach, which was just across the street from the conference. The 27th was Dia de la Biblia, so since Johnnie was asked at the conference to bus their church group to their retreat center for an outing, we all went along, where they had a service, everyone brought their own lunches, and then a couple people were baptized. The time out was cut short due to another expected early curfew, which isn't as stringent out where we live as it is in the capital and larger cities.
The 28th Johnnie and Vickie went to visit with the local "minister" and his wife, about the changes and things they've seen going on with the local congregation (Ex-Mennonite/Crossroads Christian Fellowship), which has left them confused. They had a nice visit and were glad to have the opportunity to share their concerns and feelings and maybe get a different perspective on what they might be seeing. The 29th, Johnnie went to do some past due shopping, since we were almost out of everything, but due to one of our freezers kicking the bucket and another headed that way, it's hard to stock up to much. We also have animals to butcher, but no place to store the meat. Therefore, we hope we can get both fixed and/or get replacements before to awful long.
The 30th, we received news that Eunice (Mamucha), a good friend and sister in Christ has been told she can't return to finish raising the 8 girls she's taken in from little tots for over the past 10 years. That brought Vickie to tears, since the two of them were fairly close and she will be greatly missed.
Johnnie is still working on the last minute details of the remodel that was started in March and almost finished in June on our main house. He and Bayron finished the girls closet and Jamie's loft this month and Jamie has helped with getting the girls' extension painted. Johnnie also has gotten the new metal screen doors painted with the anti-corrosive paint. There's quite a bit more to get to, but he's taking it one day at a time. Now they're trying to get ready to plant again in hopes that the bean crop isn't lost as with the corn they had planted. lt's been a terribly dry wet season this year.
Well, guess that about wraps the month up. We pray all is well with all and thank you all so very much for your prayers and support. God is so good and continues to bless us in so many ways.
Love in Christ,
Johnnie, Vickie, and Family
"Refugio de los Pinos"
Johnnie & Vickie Orr Family
Apartado Postal 30-747 Toncontin
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, C.A.
011-504-378-5637cell
011-504-757-1494hm
http://www.xanga.com/orrkids
http://www.facebook.com/JohnnieOrr
Friday, 30 October 2009
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Sept 2009 Update
"REFUGIO DE LOS PINOS"
Dear Friends and Family,
Hello! We are trying to get this update out a little earlier this time, so here goes. All is well here, even with the political mess, which we are not effected too much by anyhow, other than the curfews.
Sept- 2nd, "Don" Beto and Kristina came and watched all the kids except, Jamie, Jalynn, Jerin, and Victoria. We stayed the night in Teguc, so we could meet Jordan the next day, incase of any road blocks and/or curfews.
The 4th, Johnnie and the boys went shopping to get last minute things for the wedding. Jamie made the wedding cakes, which we had to cook in the typical horno, due to electric problems in the other house and no gas in our house, but they turned out fine. Jamie did a very nice job on the cakes and also made all the flowers for the wedding. The
5th, was the big wedding day. Rodolfo, his wife, and daughters were here early, so helped decorate and get everything set up. The wedding went well, but we are so glad it's behind us. The couple seem to be happy and getting along well. We had a few guests (22) from Teguc, Santa Cruz area, and Salama to put up for the night after the wedding. Johnnie and Jamie did a good job getting everyone a place to sleep with room to spare;) Jordan took Bessy's family to Teguc though, since they needed to get back. After breakfast the next day, we worked on getting everyone back to their homes. Johnnie ended up taking Chon's family and Eva+ back to their homes.
The 7th, we just laid back to rest and enjoy having Jordan here. We played baseball and went up to the zip-line. Then the 8th, knowing he wouldn't be here for his 23rd B-Day the 16th, we celebrated it while he was here. We also helped others (Manuel-22 the 8th y Jonathan-22 the 15th) celebrate their B-Days by making and sending them cakes on or near their B-Days. The 9th, Johnnie, Vickie, and Jordan went to Teguc to work on Jordan's residency papers, which is what he had came for. Sandra, our lawyer, got everything in order just in time, since Jordan was to head out the next day. The time flew by, but Jordan's glad to be back with Bessy, Joseph, and ? in OR.
The 15th, most of the family headed about a half an hour east to the Guayape River for a cool down. Then the 17th, Johnnie and Vickie were able to get away once again for their recommended time as a couple. They got back just in time the next day for the family to take dinner and a cake to "Don" Ramiro (Victoria's bio-abuelo) for his 80+ B-Day.
The 21st-25th Johnnie and some of the kids took a group to Puerto Cortez for a Bible conference. At that same time, Ex-Honduran President Mel Zelaya snuck back in the country and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy, which made life crazy for most folks, due to curfews to protect from demonstrations and rioters. The 21st was also Guillermo's 21st B-Day, so Vickie and the rest of the kids took a cake over to celebrate and Diana had dinner for us all. That evening, we played naive and went on in to the B-Day party, but Johnnie the other kids were stuck in the motel without being able to enjoy the beach, which was just across the street from the conference. The 27th was Dia de la Biblia, so since Johnnie was asked at the conference to bus their church group to their retreat center for an outing, we all went along, where they had a service, everyone brought their own lunches, and then a couple people were baptized. The time out was cut short due to another expected early curfew, which isn't as stringent out where we live as it is in the capital and larger cities.
The 28th Johnnie and Vickie went to visit with the local "minister" and his wife, about the changes and things they've seen going on with the local congregation (Ex-Mennonite/Crossroads Christian Fellowship), which has left them confused. They had a nice visit and were glad to have the opportunity to share their concerns and feelings and maybe get a different perspective on what they might be seeing. The 29th, Johnnie went to do some past due shopping, since we were almost out of everything, but due to one of our freezers kicking the bucket and another headed that way, it's hard to stock up to much. We also have animals to butcher, but no place to store the meat. Therefore, we hope we can get both fixed and/or get replacements before to awful long.
The 30th, we received news that Eunice (Mamucha), a good friend and sister in Christ has been told she can't return to finish raising the 8 girls she's taken in from little tots for over the past 10 years. That brought Vickie to tears, since the two of them were fairly close and she will be greatly missed.
Johnnie is still working on the last minute details of the remodel that was started in March and almost finished in June on our main house. He and Bayron finished the girls closet and Jamie's loft this month and Jamie has helped with getting the girls' extension painted. Johnnie also has gotten the new metal screen doors painted with the anti-corrosive paint. There's quite a bit more to get to, but he's taking it one day at a time. Now they're trying to get ready to plant again in hopes that the bean crop isn't lost as with the corn they had planted. lt's been a terribly dry wet season this year.
Well, guess that about wraps the month up. We pray all is well with all and thank you all so very much for your prayers and support. God is so good and continues to bless us in so many ways.
Love in Christ,
Johnnie, Vickie, and Family
"Refugio de los Pinos"
Johnnie & Vickie Orr Family
Apartado Postal 30-747 Toncontin
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, C.A.
011-504-378-5637cell
011-504-757-1494hm
http://www.xanga.com/orrkids
http://www.facebook.com/JohnnieOrr
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
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July-Aug 2009 Update"REFUGIO DE LOS PINOS"Dear Friends and Family,Hello there! As usual, time continues to fly by and at times, it seems we are barely keeping up. There are always things that need to be done, but we are trying to take one day at a time. We do try to just take a day of rest on Saturdays and spending time enjoying fellowship together. All the political stuff that has gone and is going on really hasn't effected us too much, even thought at times, we thought it might. Out at the highway were one turns down the road which leads out to our place, was closed off a couple times, keeping us and others from being able to travel to Tegucigalpa (the capital) and/or heading into town (Guaimaca). There is a back road though that we were able to take a long way around to make it into town when we had to make it in. Diana and her family have been selling milk for us in town, so we have to take it in each day. We've been very fortunate to not run into any of the protesting that has gone on in the capital the times we've had to travel there. We've had to take several trips in to work on renewing and changing our residency status from missionaries to immigrants. Anyhow, on with the update.
July- The 3rd, we went to the little village of San Quin and did the VBS program that the OR group had left for our kids to do there. There was a fairly good turnout at Diana's aunt's house where we did it and all seemed to have a good time. lt wasn't much after that, that Jonathan (21) came to Johnnie telling him that he was still thinking about leaving our home, so realizing that Jonathan seemed determined to leave and with the problems we had been having with him, we "released" him into the world without much explanation on his part. Please be praying from him, and us for that matter.
The 6th, Johnnie started working on putting up the boards from the top of the walls to the ceiling, to finish off the division of the boys' bedrooms. The boys worked on redoing the fence out along the main road. lt looks real nice and will do a better job of keeping animals in and out. The girls have been keeping busy with the normal up keep of the house, helping Vickie make cheese, butter, "sourcream", trying to keep baked goods on hand, and then there is always keeping up with the meals. Bessy's dad also stopped in that day to just to see how we were all handling all the political turmoil.The 9th, Johnnie took a group of 10 kids, the majority of ours to a church camp up near Lago de Yajoa sponsored by Jim and Teri Riley. They picked up a few more kids in Teguc on the way.
The next day while Johnnie and all the others were gone, Vickie and the other kids took a B-Day cake up to Don Juan to celebrate his belated B-Day and his niece's B-Day.
The 12th, "Don" lnes invited our family to a church services to be able to see the guitar and amp being put to use that the group from OR brought down for him.
The 15th, "Dona" Kristina came to teach the girls how to make rosquias. "Don" Beto and Bayron made a table to work on near the typical oven.
The 17th, Johnnie and Vickie were able to get away as a couple for the night.The 25th, our family took "Don" Heber's family to a church meeting up in the mountains about an hour south of town and the folks up there had lunch for us.
August- The 1st, we had "Don" Heber's Church group over for a great time of fellowship, lunch, and there were even a couple baptisms.
Then the 5th, Johnnie, Vickie, and the girls headed visit Cinithia and Yadira's Grandmother, since that is what Cinthia requested for her 15th B-Day. lt was quite the ride up on the mountain ridge top where the road was barely wide enough for our 4X4 pickup. Late that afternoon, Johnnie, Vickie, Victoria, and Cinthia headed to Tegucigalpa for the night to be able to there to pick up our group from NE, since there were threats of roads being closed due to rioting (protesting). We took the next morning easy before heading to the airport about noon to pick up the group of 6.
Johnnie loaded the luggage in the luggage rack on top of the van and we headed to get a bite to eat (Tortas at Taco Mexi). While at the restaurant, eventhough the guard was supposedly watching the van, one of the suitcases were stolen off the top of the van. We then headed to exchange money and went to do some shopping, since the bag that was stolen had the majority of clothes for three of our visitors in it.
After picking up a few items, we headed home where the kids had BQ chicken B-Day cake waiting for us and had the house decorated for the B-day girl and our visitors.
The 7th, Gene helped Johnnie put the screen on the two back doors. The ladies worked on unpacking and then went to do some more shopping in town before meeting up with everyone else for lunch at Sanson's. The 8th, our lawyer Sandra and another legal aide friend of hers came out to write up some custody paperwork on Victoria.
The 9th, we went to the church meeting at the "Baptist" Hospital to do the VBS program there and afterwards we went up to "Don" Nolberto's where "Dona" Kristina had made lunch for us (pollo ensalsada).
The 10th, the majority of our family (including Guillermo, Diana, Dennis, and Carlitos), "Don" Beto and Kristina with their little grandson Kevin, and the group of 6 from Alliance, NE headed to Tela (north coast).
Beto (70) and Kristina (48) had never been to an ocean or beach, so they soaked in the view all the way there, since they were seeing much of Honduras that they had never seen. We headed back for home the next afternoon (about 6 hours), with even a little more excitement than we had planned for. About two hours from home having dinner at Pollo Campero in Comayagua, we heard what we thought were only rumors of an enforced 10P curfew due to more protesting (rioting) in the capital. We got to the first road block about 10P and 15 minutes from Teguc. Johnnie asked "Don" Beto to go see how he could sweet talk our way through, but he returned to the bus to let us know that nothing could be done. Johnnie sent him back to talk to someone higher up and we were finally allowed through. We got to the second road block just on the outskirts of Teguc and were told to forget the idea of getting through unless we wanted to be arrested, but a police vehicle from the last blockade came along and so Johnnie sent Beto to work again, which led to us following the police vehicle on in. Once into Teguc we turned to head out again on our way to Guaimaca and came to even another road block where we told them our story and they asked to see evidence of us having been to the beach. Once they were convinced, we headed on out to where we thought we'd hit the forth roadblock at a police post where we're usually stopped, but there wasn't anyone there stopping traffic. Once to Talanga we were signaled to stop, but then they ended up just waving us on. P.T.L.! You all may not realize the miracles that got us home that night. lt was about mid-night when we got home and then had to take Beto and Kristina home, but we were quite thankful to be home at last.
The 12th, Jonathan stopped in for a little bit and shared a few songs on the guitar with Jamie and then caught a ride with Johnnie, who took all but Gene to Tegu to buy food to deliver food packages to needy families. We headed out he next day for the airport about 8A. Victoria's bio-mom went with us to sign the custody papers in Teguc, which we did after seeing the group off. Then we got a little shopping done and headed home. The 15th, Johnnie and Silmer went to Santa Cruz to pick up "Don" Roman, Chon, and Lupe to take a trip to fellowship and encourage brethren over on the other side of Salama.
Then the 17th, Johnnie, Vickie, and all the girls headed to Tegu to take the twins out for their 10th B-Day. They had been waiting all day in hopes we'd show up, so they were thrilled we ended up showing up.The 20th, Johnnie cut the corner of his right pointer finger off doing household repairs, but it's healing up nicely. Then the 21st, Johnnie took a group of Mennonites from up in the mountains to Teguc, up to Picacho (statue and zoo). A neighbor fellow who drove back to Honduras was able to find us a window for the van in the States, so now we need to get it in. The
24th, Karla popped in to visit on a motorcycle she had just purchased, then Johnnie took some of the kids to drop off a B-Day cake for Olvin for his birthday. He was the guy that helped Roger with the masonry work on the house.
Then the 25th, was Stephanie's 8th birthday, so we went to Sanson's for dinner to celebrate. Her mom showed up to visit right before we left, eventhough she said she had forgotten it was her B-Day, so she joined us.Well that about wraps up the last two months. We've had troubles with our laptop, so we'll see now if we can get this out.... Oops, major problems with the hard drive and key board, so we're late getting this out. Thought we had lost it, but P.T.L. we've found it and are now getting it out. We pray this finds you all feeling blessed as we are. Take care and God bless and direct!En EL,Los Orrkids
"Refugio de los Pinos"
Johnnie & Vickie Orr Family
Apartado Postal 30-747 Toncontin
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, C.A.
011-504-378-5637cell
011-504-757-1494hm
http://www.xanga.com/orrkids
http://www.facebook.com/JohnnieOrr
Friday, 24 July 2009
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May - June 2009 UpdateREFUGIO DE LOS PINOS
Dear Friends and Family,Hello all! We had hoped to have the May update out sooner, but with all the remolding and trying to get ready for our group from OR, we didn't get it done. We are really enjoying the changes of the house. lt's so much roomier, has a much better layout, is airier, and the kitchen is great. lt's also much easier to keep track of where everyone is at. We are so thankful that we were able to get it done. Again special thanks to Harry and Carol Joers from OR for making it possible. We still have painting and other last minute details to take care of, that we are trying to get to little by little, while trying to keep up with everything else on the ranch.May- The 1st a private school from town had Johnnie take a bus load to a water park on the other side of Teguc and he took along some of our kids. Vickie was glad she had stayed home with some of the kids, especially when she heard that it ended up being the busiest day of the year (Labor Day) and the place was maxed out. Johnnie wished he too would have been able to stay home, especially by the end of the day. Then the 3rd Johnnie took "Don" lnes and the church group he works with in our bus to Tegucigalpa for a get-together with another newer body that had been started not long ago by one of their members.
The 7th of May was Carlito's B-day, Dennis' little brother, so the girls made him a cake to help celebrate and had them to dinner.
The 8th was the Mother's Day program at the school where Nelson, Franklin, and Dennis attend. Then 9th for Mothers' Day the kids, as usual, made it very special. Breakfast was served in our room and then they sent Johnnie and Vickie on a picnic they had packed for them. Then that evening, they had BQ ribs.
The 15th we went camping, since Anne had stuck around hoping we'd do so before heading in to Teguc and then on to the States after that. She's a joyful ball of energy and was a joy to have around. Anyhow, we packed the pickup full of all the supplies and headed up on the hillside on the other side of the property, where we've camped out before and set up camp. We roasted hotdogs, played games, sang some songs, and had a great time of fellowship. The week of the 18th the girls started another craft class. Then the 19th Johnnie and Silmer took Annie up to El Hatillo, not far from where we use to live, to meet up with people who she was going to stay with for the rest of her stay in Honduras.
The 21st we had a church gathering of about 50 here in our new living area of our home with room to spare.
Then 24th we had Dennis' family (parents and little bro) over to celebrate his 14th B-day. 
The 25th Johnnie, Vickie, and the girls met up with Annie in Teguc to take her to San Pedro Sula to catch her flight, so she wouldn't have to take a bus on her own and it also gave us another chance to see her before she headed out. We stayed the night in Pena Blanca with the Rose family like we typically do, to break up the trip and not make such a long day, and that way we also get a chance to fellowship with them.The 30th Levi came by to visit and later in the day, Kevin ended up showing up for a short visit. He didn't have much to say, but we thought it was step in the right direction in restoring his relationship with us.
The 31st Johnnie, Vickie, and Victoria headed out to SPS to pick up Jamie, who was flying in from Denver, after being in the States for about 3 months. lt sure was good to have her back and Victoria was so happy to see her. We stayed the night at the Hoff's, since the next day we were to pick up Bayron.June- The 1st after enjoying a bit of fellowship with the Hoffs, we headed to the airport to pick up Bayron, who also had been in the States for about 3 months. He stayed at an animal hospital and hotel in SC to get a little bit of experience working with animals. We ended up getting home around 8pm that evening, but were glad to have Jamie and Bayron back home once again.
The 6th was "Don" Beto's B-day, so we took ice-cream up this time, since "Dona" Kristina was going to be making him a cake. The next day they invited us up for lunch and cake, since that is when they had decided to celebrate with family that had come in from Teguc. Then 9th Mareli came to pick up Junior to take him to a specialist to find out about a skin discoloration he has.The 13th Johnnie took another school group on a trip in our bus. Then the 14th we worked really hard to get things wrapped up for the OR group to come. That same day Dennis' mom and dad came by to ask if we could care for the boys for awhile, since she had a family member that was ill and needed caring for and they too had work that needed to be done on their house they were building.
Therefore late morning the 15th Johnnie, Vickie, Wilmer, and Victoria headed out in the bus to pick up the group from OR in Tegucigalpa. We ran a few errands before heading to the airport and saw the plane fly over on the way there, which Wilmer and Victoria were pretty excited about. Wilmer had gone along since it was his 13th B-day and so we thought it would make it even more special for him to get to go along. Other than Jamie, none of the other kids knew that Jalynn was coming back home with the group. Jalynn climbed on the roof of the bus when we got to the gate of the ranch, so that the kids wouldn't see her right away and then later walked in when everyone was having prayer for dinner. lt was quite the surprise to them all when she walked in.
Jerin was so busy visiting with the visitors ("the gringos") that he was really surprised when he finally saw her. He gave her such a long big hug, she said, "you can let go of me now!" lt was hard keeping back the tears of joy seeing how excited everyone was to have her home again. lt sure is good having almost everyone home once again (just short of Jordan's family). The house was decorated with balloons welcoming everyone and for Wilmer's B-day.The 16th we all just took the day easy fellowshipping while the group got settled in and unpacked. That evening the group set up Bingo and we all played until everyone won a gift pack that they had brought down for each person. They also shared the CD program they were going to be playing for the puppet show for the VBS's we were going to do while they were here.
The 17th the group and the older kids went to do a VBS up at the school up the road from us in Nueva Ezmeralda where Karla teaches and we celebrated Keith's B-day.
They did another one the 18th further up the road in Guarlaca at the school where Beto and Kristina's grandchildren attend.
Afterwards, she had lunch (albonidga) waiting at their house for us all.
Then in the evening, Diana and her family brought dinner and we celebrated Diana's 18th B-day. Diana was especially excited, because her mother had finally consented to letting her and Guillermo get married. The 19th Johnnie, some of our kids, and some from the group went to Tegucigalpa to shop. The ones that stayed behind just had a laid back day playing with the kids and having a good time.Then the 20th most everyone headed to Santa Cruz to do another VBS
and got home in time for dinner and to celebrate Darin's B-day, which included more fun and games.
The 21st after breakfast we all headed out for the north coast near La Ceiba at a the beach resort, Palma Real, 
to spend a couple days relaxing and having fun together. 
The next evening after a nice relaxing day of enjoying some great meals and the beach we had a church gathering and celebrated the Lord's Supper together. The following morning most of the same ones who had traveled in the van decided to head out a little earlier for home and the rest of us relaxed a little more until after lunch until we had to head for home in the bus. After we had gotten of the paved "highway" though and started to climb the dirt road up over the mountains, the bus started to overheat. We stopped to check it out and debated on continuing on, but finally Johnnie turned around to head back to "civilization", but some ways back from the pavement still, the bus started making a terrible noise, so Johnnie immediately shut the motor down.
The boys thought they found the problem, but that wasn't it, while Johnnie looked for help. A little while later a couple fellows on a motorcycle passed by and one said he was a pastor and that their church group had a campground just right there through the trees where we could most likely stay until we figured what to do about the bus.
They even had a small group of visiting gringos there who shared snacks with us, we had a time of sharing and fellowship with them in the little chapel, they put the gals up in a nice room just off the house they were in, and then our guys all bunked in the hot rustic dorm room on the property.
The next morning they even served us pancakes before they had to leave and the mechanics got there to look at the bus. Then we headed out to the main road, where we caught a public ("chicken") bus to head home, leaving the bus there to be fixed.
That was quite a culture experience for all of us:) That bus was quite full with folks even having to stand and had a few mechanical problems of its own, so a couple stops apart from the normal ones had to be made to try to fix the problems. After all day on the bus, we finally made it home and the ladies who were home already, cooked us dinner. The guys that had made it home spent the time building the platform for the zip-line they had put together for us last year.
The 25th we spent the time hanging around the ranch and the group got packed up to be ready to leave the next day. Kristina and Karla cooked lunch for us here on the ranch.
"Don" Herberth's family came out that late afternoon and made dinner for us (pupusas and baleadas),
before we had a "talent show" later that evening. Diana's family and Levi also came out to join in the fun and fellowship, which made quite a large group of people. Praise the Lord for plenty of space He has provided for us. While the group was here, we were blessed to have Jonathan's cousin visit us from Teguc, who the group had brought a guitar for, and also Manuel visited us from Teguc and Karla was here most of the time also. The 26th we all loaded up after breakfast in the van and the pickup to take the group to the airport. After seeing them off, we stopped to get a bite to eat and then some of the boys went to pick some things at the market and the rest of us did some other shopping before heading home. We found out after we got home that the airport had been closed right after the group had flown out and there had also been some rioting going on. We were just thankful we didn't run in to any of that and they had no problems getting out.
The next mornng Johnnie, Vickie, and Jamie dropped off the guitar that the group had brought for a "pastor" friend (lnes).The 27th Johnnie and a few of the boys headed in the pickup to get the bus that was supposedly "fixed", but praise the Lord that they got most of the way home before running into problems. lt was quite late by the time they got home especially due to the problems, but thankfully they made it home without having to leave the bus somewhere again.
Then the 28th we got news that "Don" Juan's sister had died, so Johnnie took some of the kids to help prepare the body in the afternoon and the rest of us went to the viewing later in the evening. The next afternoon we went to the burial and Johnnie helped take a bus load in the bus.Well, guess that about wraps up the past two months. We were in hopes to have gotten out the May newsletter before the group got here and send it with the following information on the kids, but are having to send it with May and June since we never got it done. Now it's time to get the next month's news out. Yikes! Praise the Lord He still remains on His throne. He is so very good to us and has blessed us so and continues to watch over us! Thanks once again for all of you who are there for us with your prayers and financial support. May God bless you all richly!Love in Christ,Los Orrkids"Refugio de los Pinos"
Johnnie & Vickie Orr Family
Apartado Postal 30-747 Toncontin
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, C.A.
011-504-378-5637cell
011-504-757-1494hm
Thursday, 28 May 2009
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March and April 2009 UpdateREFUGIO DE LOS PINOSDear Friends and Family,Hello out there. Time continues to get away from us and seems to be just flying away so very fast. Can't believe we are already at the end of May. Our house remolding is about to the point to where we can start painting, so that means it's about done. lt's so much roomier and a much better lay out in so many ways, and the kitchen will be so much better and easier to work and get around in together with everyone in our family. Special thanks goes out to Harry and Carol Joers, Molalla Christian Church, and other supporters who made this all possible.March- The 1st started out with more land problems, so we've been working on trying to get that all straightened out.
Charlie (the fellow who had given us one section of our land and the section we live on, he had given to the Nelson, which we bought from them) and
Ken and Konnie (the Nelson family we bought the property from we live on) came down and they spent about a week helping us try to get it all ironed out. We were working on getting the bean crop in and we were also able to glean a tomato patch once again. Therefore,
Vickie put up about 60 quarts of tomato sauce. What a blessing that was! Johnnie had to go to Tegucigalpa about every day of the week to work on the paperwork for the land. We appreciated the Nelson's sacrifice to make it down, as they were getting ready to move to Ecuador to minister and also thanks again to Molalla Christian Church and our supporters for making their trip possible. We also appreciate Charlie for making his way down to see what help he could be of. The kids sure enjoyed having a grandpa figure around a few days and the feeling seemed mutual. lf nothing else, it was nice to have the moral support from he and the Nelsons.
The 7th was Franklin's 15th birthday, so we took the day easy, went out to a little eatery for lunch, and had cake in the evening. The 8th Johnnie, Jonathan, and Junior took a bus load of university people to Tegucigalpa, but when they got there, Jona chaperoned Charlie in Taxi to the airport. Jona met up again with Johnnie after making sure Charlie got off ok. While the group which had rented the bus visited the Picacho Park area, Johnnie and Junior walked to Mareli's to visit Junior's relatives.
The first week of March was also when we started work on the remodel of our house and septic. Manuel has even been out to help some and Guillermo and Diana are always out helping. The first couple weeks was spent working on putting in a new septic system. Roger is the same mason we've used in the past and his helper Olvin. Roger makes about $15/day and his helper makes half that much. They're both fairly quiet and shy, but we've enjoyed having them at our meal times sharing in our devotion times. inviting them to eat our meals with us has opened a great door for witnessing. lt's been neat seeing them become more comfortable and get more involved. Anyhow, the old septic system was shot and was under the porch area, which was to become the new kitchen area. The new tank is just outside the back yard gate.
On the 15th when Johnnie and Jona were about finished taking out the last of the support beams in the tank, a board with a nail in it fell and hit Johnnie in the face and cut a couple good gashes just below his jaw bone and only a couple inches from his jugular vein. He was planning on treating it himself with a homemade butterfly bandage, but Vickie and the kids thought it was too bad. Therefore, he cleaned it up the best he could, shaved off his full beard, and had Jerin and Jonathan take him to the hospital, where they ended up giving him 12 stitches. A day or two later he had to run about a half hour to Talanga to get a Tetanus shot. We had to run over to the other two houses to use the bathroom for about two weeks while they were putting in the new septic system, which was kind of crazy, especially at night:) The guys are helping the masons as much as they can to try to keep the costs down and to get the jobs done faster.
The next stage was putting up the walls for the new the new kitchen. The old kitchen will be used as a pantry and specialty kitchen for making cheese, cake decorating, and etc.
Closing in the passage way and tearing down the exterior walls to the master bedroom and the smaller girls' bedroom between the house and the garage came next. Then came putting in a new bathroom for the boys where the front entrance used to be and knocking out interior walls and taking out and moving windows. We left a step down in the girls' room where we extended it out and put in a big walk-in closet, with a loft over that. The floor was raised up to the same level in the master bedroom due to the size of the waterbed in there. That left us sleeping on the floor for about a week or so until we could get the wall painted where the bed was to go up.
The 23rd Vickie made pocket pizzas and a cake for Victoria's bio-brother, Kevin, for his 4th B-day. The 31st Jonathan and Vickie went to Tegucigalpa with Eunice. Jona went to donate blood for a family member of one of the boys we ministered to years ago and Vickie ran errands with Eunice. Sandra, our lawyer, ended up calling and needed some money to process more of the land's paperwork, so they also ran that over. Well, guess that about wraps up March. Most of our time has been pretty much taken up with remolding which all have gotten involved and then the girls and Vickie just trying to keep everyone feed.April- The 1st Roger's father came and started making an "horno" (typical oven) that for some time Vickie has been hoping for. The evening of the 2nd, Penny, Jamie's Great Dane started to have her 13 Great Paradane puppies, which were fathered by our Great Pyrenees, Peluche (stuffed animal).This time of the year also keeps us (the boys) busy fighting forest fires.The 4th Johnnie, Vickie, and all the girls stopped in Santa Cruz to drop off a birthday cake for Cruz, since his birthday was in a couple days, on the way to one of
Rodolfo's younger daughter's wedding up in the mountains in Mariposa. We passed by La Canada to pick up Chon's since we would be staying the night with them. The roads were much better than they've been in the past, but praise the Lord for our 4X4 pick-up.
The half an hour or so hike to their house there and back twice was good exercise for our girls. Our girls hit it off withChon and Lupe's daughters as though they've known eachother for years, so they had a great time with them. They visited into the night, but were up bright and early to help out grinding corn to make tortillas and help out with whatever needed to be done around the house. The girls said that they didn't feel intimidated by eachother as with others. They all went for a short walk after breakfast before we had to leave and we had a nice time visiting with Chon and Lupe. Rodolfo showed up earlier that morning to ask for a ride for his family, so we picked them up on the way down the mountain. Then we stopped in Santa Cruz to pick up cabbage Roman wanted us to try to sell for him.We were quite loaded with some of Rodolfo's family, Chon and his coffee beans, and the cabbage.
Diana invited us all over for her mother's B-day on the 6th for dinner, so we supplied the cakes and drink to help celebrate. The 8th Dona Juanita showed up for a visit.
We celebrated her B-day since we had just missed it. She is always such a blessing to have around, counseling the kids and helping around the house. We sure have been thankful for the Shop-vac that Chip (from Alliance, NE) sent down with Johnnie last year. lt's sure gotten a work out with all the dust and dirt we've had to deal with all the remodeling we've been doing. What was thought to be a two month project will most likely run about three and will hopefully be finished by the end of May, before the group of 11 from OR get here.
The 11th Don Nolberto showed up to help us get the horno going, to try it out. We have now cooked chicken, beef, goat, lamb, biskets, sweet breads, banana bread, cookies, bread, corn, baked potatoes, pizza, coffee cake, and pita bread in it. A whole meal can be done all at one time.
Roger built a base for a fuego (typical stove), which the 16th Dona Kristina more or less finished for us. lt works best for making corn tortillas and we use it for much more also. A new calf was born on the 15th.
The 17th was Nelson's 19th birthday, but he didn't want to do much, so we ordered out Chinese food for everyone else and Johnnie bought him a typical plate of food from a little restaurant nearby for dinner and then we finished the evening with cake. Some of the kids seem to have a hard time on special occasions, missing especially family members who have passed away, so it's hard for them to feel like doing much and/or figure out what they want to do. Nelson's mother passed away not long before he and some of his siblings came to live with us over 6 years ago. The
19th was Honduran Fathers' Day, which isn't as big of a day as Mother's Day, since most Honduran homes are without a father. The kids made a nice breakfast and we let the workers go home early, so they could go to their Fathers' Day programs, and then we had a bon-fire in the evening.The 20th was a day of visitors with Cruz popping in, Roman and Santos stopped in to get a couple horses, and
Chon and Lupe came with their girls to visit and stay the night. Too bad Johnnie had to take a trip to Tegucigalpa though, but was not back to awful late to get some time to fellowship.
Then the 27th Johnnie, Vickie, and all the girls headed to San Pedro Sula to pick up Annie Wallace, Camile's sister and also Wilmer, who was coming home about a month earlier. lt was a surprise to the kids since they had no idea he was coming in. Due to road construction, we got there a little late, but just in time for them to be bringing him out in a wheel chair. Boy, was he excited to see us. The girls had a shocked look on their faces when we got to the van and then when we got home, the boys were shocked to see him when we got out of the van. He sure adds more life to the household. We were fairly shocked to see him in a wheel chair and how dependant he was on it.
He was also sent with a special walker, but hasn't wanted to use it much. We've heard through the grapevine that the reason he was sent home early instead of another month of therapy, was that the hospital he was in closed down, due to lack of funds. We've been told though that with therapy two to three times a day, he should be walking on his own in about six months to a year. Problem is that he doesn't like therapy very well and especially with all that we have going on in our home at this time, it's hard to even find the time to do therapy. We really could use someone to come to be with us for about three months and help us with his therapy and to also teach school to the five younger children. He uses braces to secure his lower legs and feet and will continue to do so for the next six months and uses other leg braces at night to keep his knees straight and will continue to do so for the next year. The reconstruction of his feet looks great, but one of his legs still turns in, making it difficult to walk straight.We had a vision brigade out to our area, at the hospital near us, the 29th. Several of our kids helped with that and they all got their eyes checked. Four of our kids got glasses and then the group gave us part of the donations that came in after seeing over 150 patients. Trevor and Valerie Colby still run the F.A.M.E. medical mission in Teguc, but we don't see them very often, so it was good to get to see them and we appreciated them thinking of bringing their group out to our area. Hopefully one day it will work out for them to make it up to Santa Cruz to see the people there. Then to end the month, the
30th was Jose's 15th birthday. We cooked pizza in our new adobe oven for lunch, went out to a little eatery for dinner, and then back home for cake.Well that wraps up this update. We pray this finds all well. Thanks so very much for your prayers and continued support. God bless and direct!En Cristo,Los OrrkidsP.S.-There's nothing new with our land situation that we know of, but have been told we should be okay. Supposedly Charlie lost the piece over at the other end, so please don't stop the prayers from coming:)"Refugio de los Pinos"
Johnnie & Vickie Orr Family
Apartado Postal 30-747 Toncontin
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, C.A.
011-504-378-5637cell
011-504-757-1494hm
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