February 6, 2002
Part A

The sound of a gentle rain awakens us from a night of well-needed sleep. Morning seems to have come to quickly this day and the thought of a day filled with rain, momentarily dampens our spirits. BUT.. only momentarily. The sound of gasp from awe can be heard and then the call to friends. Come look at the promise! Tears fill my eyes even now as I write this. A glorious rainbow fills the sky. Onside touching down into the blue crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea, the other side crossing over us. Promises of Gods love, clear in the sky for all to see. Praise God for His tender mercy towards us. The Lord of creation is still on His throne. It is well with our soul.

What does it take to get to Guanaja? Along with a much prayer, it will take one bus, 3 airplanes, and one boat. Add to that a magnitude of faith, a reserve of energy and an abundance of patience! A determination to go on, regardless of the circumstance will also greatly help. Other than that, it is a cinch. Now we know for a certainty that the name "island challenge" could not of more fitly described our mission encounter.

As you know, before we left I requested special prayer from you. The boxes that we shipped from Tampa never arrived and will not be here until the end of the week. They contained most of our medical supplies and our food. We will still open the clinics today for diagnosing, but they will have to come back to get any drug they might need. The dental clinic will be open and Bruce Williams DDS and his assistants Kathy Stairs and Judy Sirard are busily preparing for the uncoming crowd. This year we also are blessed to have Donna Bainum working as our dental hygenist.
We have bought some more food to hold us over until the boat arrives with the rest of our food supplies. So, our budget is going way over the expected allotment. Remember it is not to late to help with the trip.

Four of our team never made it out from their starting point of Orlando, Fla. to meet with us in Miami and continue on. Their plane had mechanical problems and could not continue on. They will be coming in today. Now for the better news, most everyone's luggage made it here safely. There are only 15 bags of luggage missing, with 8 bags being located and arriving today by boat. The best news is we are finding out we are still loved even with a slight smell emitting. The other blessing is we are having our character refined and molded quickly by these slight trials. Whatever inconvenience we might be experiencing is purely trivial to what the local people have gone through in the last several years since Hurricane Mitch.

Flying into San Pedro Sula was a joy. There are no jutting mountains as in Tegucigalpa and the land was fairly flat and lush. We could see field after field of vegetation. Banana bushes, and some pineapple were easy to spot. The airport was clean and neat. There didn't seem to be as much outright poverty and destruction as other places we have seen.
Security at the airport wasn't as scary as in Tegucigalpa with so many people carrying rifles. Going through the security area though was still fairly serious. I saw Kathy Stairs sitting on the floor putting her work boots back on after they made her remove them. Several persons were closely searched and others hardly at all. Tim Bainum M.D. had a blessing from the Lord when he boarded in Pa. He was carrying 120 pounds extra weight in his cases and they just let him through with out having to pay the extra $120 dollars. He was carrying donated drugs in his bags and I wouldn't be surprised if an angel pushed that bag on through for him.
Our tee shirts with the Island Challenge logo on them brought us much attention and I am sure favor. Not only did it help identify us as missionaries so we went through customs easier, it brought the comments and questions from many people near us. Opening the doors for great conversations. While we waited in Hartford to board our plane, John Livergood ,Todd Duval, Mark Bugbee, Jenna Bantjes, Matt Thompson, Maxium Tier, and several other of our young people were playing a game of hacky sack when a young military man with a bomb sniffing dog who were making their working rounds through the crowds. The dog made quick sniffs at all objects as they patrolled the room. It was very impressive. Then something happened that was just too much for that poor dog. He found a bunch of people, playing with a ball. He lunged for it, got it, and quickly his work took second place to his nature, as with sheer delight he wanted nothing more than to play ball. Reluctantly he was brought back to his tour of duty. The young man then passed the rest of our group where Jessica McGowan sat with her camera in hand, the fellow passed her the dog leash as he grabbed her camera and took a picture of her with the dog Morayma Claudio wasted no time on this great opportunity. But she being closer to the soldier's age quickly gave her camera to someone else and had her picture taken standing next to him, the dog in front!
The flight from San Pedro to Guanaja was on two small planes and we were not certain that they would even be able lift off with our added weight from the luggage. But alas, we made it just fine. The boat ride was an hour long and of course the only thing modern about it was that it had an engine. We divided up into two boats for the long hot ride from where the plane landed on the Cay and cruised onward. I think this might be the one place in the world that the saying, you can't get there from here could be plausible!
The sea was spectacular. Calm, clear and inviting and we could look over the side of the boat and see right to the bottom. Anna Bugbee who is 5 years old was next to me and said she saw a stingray go by. Where we docked is about 300 feet from the building whose floors we are sleeping on. A long way when you have to carry so many heavy boxes and suitcases. The building here that is partially finished is large and primitive but they have installed 6 flush toilets for us women and we are particularly pleased with them. A heavy white plastic material divides each stall. The men have a cleverly designed hole in the ground for a urinal and plastic walls. The floor is made of cement. They have one flush toilet in a room that also contains a sink, with a regular wood door to close. Our showers have been made special for us also. The water is cold and refreshing as it comes from a spring. We are being very careful not to let any water get into our mouth accept the bottled water we have brought with us.

A few of the local ladies prepared our first meal for us. And oh was it so very appreciated and needed. We were so exhausted after our 18-hour trip. Our group has now grown to over 80 as we have picked up people meeting us in Honduras. Not a small group to feed. The food was delicious. No one can cook beans and rice like the Central Americans. There were huge pots of many various dishes, all flavored in a new and exciting way. What a treat and a blessing it was.

Some have thought we were a bit crazy for taking on this big a challenge. But never forget, today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground!
With thankfulness in our hearts for being able to serve Him through serving His children, we send you our love. Pray for our mission and us. The conditions are rough, heat and humidity is almost overwhelming. But the love of Christ will sustain and strengthen us.

While it is not possible for us to send you personal mail due to the cost of the satellite phone ($2.00 a minute from the time you push send) we do invite you to send us emails of encouragement, individually or as a group. Please do not send any forwards or attachments. Send emails to berkshiremission@aol.com
You are all loved, missed and prayed for.

Smiling cheerfully in the Lord,
Jennifer Young