Latest Newsletter
¡Qué Pasa!
Sally and I finally made it back to Honduras this summer, spending June and July there after having to cancel our January/February trip. It was wonderful to work with the Hands for Jesus Christian School teachers and staff. Plus we of course loved spending time with the children! I know it’s cliché, but they definitely do grow up so fast.
We were able to deliver some TVs for the classroom, present the new Bible class material, assist with campus internet and computer issues, and a host of other activities. However, the best part of our trips is spending time with students, teachers, and staff. We wish we could have spent more time with them, but other mission work also demanded much of our time.
One of the successes at the school has been the integration of information technology. We have a plan to continue expanding technology into the classrooms. Part of that plan was met with several new TVs for some classrooms. We also want to put six more computers into classrooms. This will go a long ways towards bringing the classrooms into the 21st century. We will be sending more information soon on how you can help us with this project.
Thank you again for all your prayers and financial contributions. Without you (and God!), we couldn’t be doing what we’re doing to help “the least of these” in Honduras.
Blessings!
Tim
Bible Class Curriculum
After a lot of effort, we were finally able to deliver the new material for Bible classes at Hands for Jesus. The curriculum covers the books of the Bible as well as Christian ethics. The program is divided into age-appropriate lessons and includes both instruction and activities. Sally presented the new material to the teachers and it was enthusiastically received. Now the students will have a much more disciplined approach to Bible classes and their daily devotions.
Classroom Technology
Thanks to kind donors to Hope & Help for Honduras, we were able to purchase six large-screen smart TVs for classrooms. Now, all the classrooms at Hands for Jesus that need TVs, have them. These help the teachers provide dynamic instruction to the students. We are hoping that with recent upgrades to the school internet, the TVs can stream content that matches the class curriculum.
Spotlight On: Danny (former student)
Danny is 30 years old. He attended Hands for Jesus Christian School from Kindergarten through 6th grade (the school’s highest grade at the time). The school body was small back then: there were only four students in his class most of those years. Ms Joyce Carroll (the school’s founder) and two other teachers oversaw all students. The school used the PACE study material, which is a self motivated and independent study curriculum. This particular study worked very well for Danny. He was so advanced that many times he would finish his books and then assist in helping/teaching others.
Danny loved attending Hands for Jesus because it reinforced his Christian training (he says Ms Joyce was very serious about Christian values and applying the 10 commandments to daily life). He especially loved that PACE taught about world history. He knows more about world history than any person I have ever met–Honduran or North American. He believes students should of course study Honduran history first but it is important that they open their eyes and ears to world history in order for past mistakes made by civilizations to not be repeated.
Danny is an “old soul” even when I first met him (he was only 14); he was calm and wanted to help others. At 18, Danny began working with a team from Thomaston, Georgia, for several years. They formed a connection that remains today. Danny said he would love to see some North Americans working at the school because homework is so hard for students in English. They have little help outside the classroom; he says the Honduran teachers often can’t stay overtime to assist students with their homework. He said that in 6th grade he would stay late and lower level students would let him assist them with their homework before they went home.
Danny is on a 3 year work program to the USA and will return to Honduras next year. He is currently working in the USA as a head groundskeeper for a high end golf course. He works half time in New York and half the year in Florida. Before coming to the states, he worked as a supervisor at T-Mobile in Tegucigalpa for several years.
Danny owns a dental practice in Honduras. His girlfriend is a dentist. He uses the money he is making working here in the US to purchase materials and equipment for the dental practice. He does not know what God has planned for his future. He says he does not desire to be living in the US forever and fulltime, but he is open to what God has in store for him. His real desire is to evangelize and help the people of Honduras and the people in the United States.
His life verse is Colossians 3:23-25. He said he loved this verse when he was at Hands for Jesus, and memorized it with the help of his teacher. He has never forgotten that he was taught to do whatever he does as if he is doing it unto the Lord. He laughed and said Ms Joyce made sure he memorized the KJV.
Danny gives credit to Hands for Jesus for his Christian maturity and his love for learning. He said the greatest gift the school gave him was a desire to learn new and exciting things. He also realized he never would have gotten his job working with teams, opening the door to his long friendship with Trinity Baptist Church in Thomaston. He would never have gotten his job with T-Mobile or the job he is currently working if not for the school.
– Contributed by Bonny Abbott
Danny with the Thomaston team, 12 years ago.
Danny (second from left) with a few members of the team, plus missionaries Jimmy and Bonny Abbot, last year.