May 2011 photos!

In May, we had the opportunity to celebrate Jarvin's graduation from the Universidad Latina in San Jose, Costa Rica. Jarvin completed an Associate's degree in psychology. He is now back in Teguz, where he is living in the Timothy House and teaching in an adult-education program not far from there. He will continue his education this fall in order to work toward his Bachelor's degree in Psychology as well!

Mayday! May Day! The boys spent May 1st in a small village called Orica, where they had a lot of fun in a local river! Above, the guys enjoy the fresh water after camping the night before!

May 8th was Michael's birthday, which he usually likes to spend far away from the Micah House. Can you tell why? Let's just say that he's still trying to get cake icing out of his left nostril!!!

May is the time for mid-term exams in the Honduran school year! Here, our eighth-graders Moises, Joel and Pedro Luis take their Bible exam on the Micah House patio.

The Micah Tech vocational school continues to hum along as well. The younger boys are making their own jewelry boxes, which has been a long, painstaking process. Here, David, Fabian (from our neighborhood), and Wilmer sand down their boxes!

Every day, between twenty and thirty people come to the door of the Micah House looking for help. Many of them are truly needy, and we seek the Lord's will on how we can help them. Sometimes, all we can do is give them a plate of beans and tortillas. This was the case above, when these three little kids came to the door looking for something to eat. They were going through the neighborhood looking for cans and bottles to recycle; they were very happy when Jenna handed them food!

The Micah Moms have made great strides in the development of the Grupo Mama Jo bakery! Natasha Wiggs (yellow shirt), has been working really hard to perfect recipes for bagels, cinnamon rolls and scones and is training the women in micro-enterprise development. Here, Paola, Daisy, Maria and Aleyda show off some of their finished product!

This year, we have started a new initiative called "Escuela para Padres" which is a monthly meeting with our boys' family members in order to be able to speak into their lives in a more intentional way. In May, Micah chaplain John Bell taught a class on how to handle stress from a Christian perspective. It was a very powerful and healing time for the families! Here, John prays for them after his session.

Another exciting development this month: Olvin Funez moved back to Honduras! He graduated from the University of Houston in December, and is now back in Honduras to work for a foundation called "Building a Future". It is so good to have him back! Here, he chats with Micah board member Eduardo Barahona at our weekly soccer ministry for street kids.

Marvincito, who lived with us from 2007 through 2010, has been back on the streets for over a year. In May, Becca Bell (who has an amazing ability to NEVER LOSE HOPE), helped him check into a rehab program outside of Tegucigalpa. It has been an extremely difficult road for this 16-year-old, but we pray that his time in rehab will be a transformative experience. Here, Becca drops him off for day one at rehab.

We were blessed at the end of May with a visit by some friends from the First Presbyterian Church of Houston, Texas. We love when our friends visit us (hint hint!!!). Here, they get their first look at Tegucigalpa from the base of the Christ statue! Back row: Pedro Luis, Mary Floye Federer, Joel, Julie Harris, Jason, Marta Birchfield, Jim Birchfield, and Victor Harris. Front row: Juan Carlos, Becca and John Bell.

Dinner at the Micah House! Here, Axelito, Hector, Miguelito and Jason enjoy dinner with Jim and Marta Birchfield.

Mary Floye has been a dear friend of the Micah Project since the very beginning! She makes a couple of trips to Honduras each year, and, in the words of Miguelito, is the mom of all the boys! Here, she hangs out in the market with a street kid named Jose Daniel, who we have known for many years.

Our boys will take any opportunity to sing their songs! Here, Luis, Miguelito and Axelito sing one of their new songs for our friends from First Presbyterian. To hear the song, called "A Letter to my Mom," follow this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsuESZg1Ziw

What is Michael unfolding and why is he showing it to Santiago and Franklin (Villa Linda Miller leaders)??? Could it be plans for a new Micah House? Could they be standing on the land we are hoping to buy??? Maybe so!!!