Heathers Missions

I tend to wear many hats as a staff member of Mission Encounters Int’l, but by far, the services I do to care for our field team is the most significant (in my opinion).  Member Care is the category of services involved to ensure that missionaries are coached and counseled as a means of helping them fulfill their call.

It’s been a wonderful year serving the staff of MEI in this inaugural year of member care.  I so appreciate the  dedication to staff well-being that the MEI board and leadership have displayed; especially so after listening to countless stories of missionaries feeling cut off and/or abandoned on the field.

Team Support Program

MEI’s Team Support services are comprehensive covering screening, pre-deployment training, field readiness & team dynamics assessments for the prospective staff member.  It’s my task to ensure that new staff and Discipleship Encounters personnel are prepared to “leave well” and serve on-site confident that they have coaching and soul-care available to them.  They also have MEI’s Team Support services covering them when they go through re-entry upon returning to the states at the close of their time on the field.

As Team Support Director, I provide onsite assimilation coaching and customized care for each person.  When I’m not onsite, I meet with them on a regular basis, utilizing internet conferencing.  My goal is to ensure that each person serving with MEI is supported, equipped and encouraged to the extent that they remain on the field “until God calls them off, instead of the enemy picking them off”!

I am doing a mental review of the last 24 hours, and it’s just so bizarre to me! I am confounded by the unique privilege I’ve been given to travel here to Thailand once again. This completed the third trip I’ve made to work with the staff (and now friends) of Tamar Center in Pattaya. I realize I am one of few people who get to do what I have done, and I’m so grateful.

Training, Tears, and Taxis

Our last day of training covered information that was, (as the other days), of great benefit to the trainees as well as to their future clients.  But the grand finale was when we, my friend and co-trainer Nancy, put on a role playing demonstration of a client-counselor scenario.  Remember, translators were required for ever word we spoke over the past 5 days, so we took our places accompanied by our own translator.  I hope you can imagine the chaos of 4 women trying to portray a serious session in 2 languages!

We closed with a prayer of dedication and blessing for our trainees and their soon-to-open pregnancy ministry there on soi houk. I was overcome with the significance of it all, and the tears began to roll. Then my Thai friends began to express the impact of

Trainees, trainers, translators

what they’ve been taught, and how they’ve been changed. Their gratitude caused more tears – in all of us. Here’s a photo of the crew… my dear Pattaya friends, Nancy, myself and our two translators.

Our taxi driver picked us up and we began the 2-hr drive to Bangkok. Well, it should have been 2 hours, but this man drove like no other driver I’ve ever experienced. We sped down the highways and made it to the city in record time. Seriously, it was a little unnerving. But our driver put on an eclectic mix of CDs for our listening pleasure. It worked off and on, because his mix was primarily American music, but the most random selections. The rock was ok, but when Kenny G came on playing Christmas songs, well Nancy and I just couldn’t help the smiles and snickers. Then it was B. B. King and the blues, followed by John Lennon all the way to the Guest House. I don’t know what we were more relieved of – the crazy drive or the funny music!

My colleague is safely on her way to other matters here in Thailand, while I rest up for an early morning departure. All have asked me, “When will you be back to Pattaya?”. I wish I knew…

There’s quite a rhythm to working with translators, and I have blundered my way into discovering it. My friend, Nancy, and I are blessed to be working with 2 Thai women who are not only excellent translators, but they have a perfect combination of training to fill in the blanks and make our training relevant to our Thai audience. Gade (pictured) has counseling training, and Tui has a nursing background. They have been working so diligently to assist us, and we are very appreciative.

We’re 3 1/2 days through the pregnancy ministry training, with just one partial day left to complete. Tomorrow will be “dump day” – when everything we’ve missed gets covered. The staff and volunteers of Tamar Center have done amazing to engage with the training and press through the broken communication that comes with translation. I will be involved in role playing the flow through of client services tomorrow afternoon. We’re planning to utilize the new facility for our acting exercise, and I’m excited to see how these volunteers will react when they see their beautiful ministry area.

Back to Bangkok

I’ll be heading back to Bangkok late afternoon tomorrow. I’ll spend 24 hrs there before boarding an airplane at 6 am to begin the journey back over the int’l date line and the Pacific to the U.S. Sawasdee!

I left California Sunday afternoon and 3 flights latter arrived in Bangkok at midnight on Monday! It still amazes me that planes get up in the air, let alone cross large bodies of water and time zones with hundreds of passengers sleeping (?) away without any sign of concern or wonder. I am one half of a 2-person team returning to Pattaya, Thailand for the purposes of training & equipping staff and volunteers of Tamar Center in a new work they will begin early August. We arrived at the Bangkok Guest House at 1 am and managed to sleep well before breakfast and a 2-hr taxi drive to Pattaya.

Lattes & Lectures

It’s been great to see our Thai friends and the progress of Tamar Center’s two newest building endeavors: a restaurant and their pregnancy counseling facility. I am particularly enjoying the lattes coming my way during our training sessions, especially today… just 4 hrs of sleep last night! I am here to provide training, support and operations prep for this pregnancy ministry. I believe the staff & volunteers will be very busy once word gets out of their services. The builders completed work on a great looking facility on the 2nd floor of Tamar Center’s building. It’s a beautiful place, and I am so excited to see where this ministry is going to go. We have small vision, and I am quite certain God has bigger plans than we can imagine.

Jeremiah 29:11 was the opening verse today: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.” Yes and Amen!

It’s nearly 7 days since I left Helene, and I am still adjusting! I can only imagine what it’s like for long-term field staffers to make re-entry adjustments.

Stats, Numbers, etc.

Many people have asked about the location and other details of Helene. With assistance from Dominic, full-time MEI Helene staffer, here is a FAQ summary about Helene:

Passing Bently Bay community

Location:

Stats and Miscellaneous Numbers:

<1,000      Approximate population of La Isla de Santa Elena (Helene)

4.5              Approximate size of the Island of Helene in square miles

90°              Current temperature, “feels like 99°”

80%               Current humidity

18.89            Exchange rate of Lempiras to one US dollar

5                   Full-time MEI staff currently on Helene

7                   Staff members total

57                Number of children currently enrolled in Helene Christian English School

1                    Helene Children born in my presence

Assembly on covered deck

42                 Days in Honduras so far this year

15                  Days in Thailand so far this year

7                    Round trip boat rides “down island” to Roatan

14                  Baleades I’ve eaten (YUM!)

3                  “Roads” on Helene

0                  “Roads” on Helene three months ago

10                Approximate number of motorized vehicles on Helene

2                   Motorized wheeled vehicles on Helene three months ago

1                  Showers, military style, allowed per day (we make our own water!)

1                  God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

1                   Faith

1                   Lord – Jesus Christ

There’s been quite a few days where our sweet Caribbean breeze has been strangely absent. All that remains is the heat and humidity, and the glassy smooth appearance of the ocean. It was on one of those days, Saturday, when we three women of Team Helene decided to enjoy some time in the ocean.

Come on along!

Pristine Island Beach

We picked up 4 girls from the Northside community and hiked down to the shore. It was everything you’d imagine of a beautiful, undeveloped, Caribbean coast scene. We marveled at the children who grow up with this beauty in their backyard. They have no idea how extraordinary it is!

Our little group of 4 children grew and grew as more and more children rushed into the water to join us. Soon enough we were each splashing with a mini-pile of children attached to us. All told, we

Water, sand, water...

called it our 3 gringas & 18 children outing. It was not only refreshing, it was tremendous fun. I took a little break from the activity and went out to the smaller reef formations with my friend’s snorkel gear. It was the first time I’ve ever done that, but wow! – what beauty underneath me! It was something else to see tropical fish in their natural environment rather than the aquarium store!

What to take back?

When it was time for everyone to head to their homes, I noticed many turn to treasure hunting. My friend and I searched for sea glass, and found some cool pieces I must say. The kids, however, were more in food mode. Many picked up and relished fresh mangos they found along the pathway. One small girl found 2 large coconuts. She struggled to carry them all the way home, but they were a prize and I’m sure her

Black wishys heading home

family was happy with her determination. Speaking of prizes, two boys showed off the rewards of their hunting efforts for the day – 3 iguanas. One was a large green iguana, and they also had 2 “black wishys” on their pole. They are a source of food here.

All in all, a great day in the water and a great time with the children.

How do you spell "Ahhhh"?

Mia at the keyboard

I’ve been snapping pics of the many animals around here, just because you wouldn’t believe the variety.  On the domesticated side, we have two clinic cats, Taz and her daughter, Mia.  Mia is a bottomless pit of need for attention and touch.  She has become  a daily visitor in Mr. Larry’s office while I’m working in there.  If I don’t give her attention as often as she’d like, she moves herself onto my computer.

“Farm living, that’s the life for me” – I don’t know how many of you remember Green Acres, but I sure find myself humming that tune around here.  There are 2 huge pigs just down the road whose squeals sound like they are in my room.  There are cows that roam this area dragging a piece of rope used to catch them if needed.  We try to keep them out of our grass, but the other day we woke up to vaca in the back.  Ted tried to talk the cow out, then tried to lead the cow out.  I call him the cow whisperer now, but really, it took walking behind the cow with a broomstick in hand to make it move in the right direction! It was great entertainment watching it all and I’m sorry I missed the photo op.

The culprit

Roosters, I have issues with the roosters.  Whoever said they crow at dawn?  Not so!  They crow anytime, all the time. One starts it, then the others answer.  I hear them crowing all night long, all down the island!  One particular rooster lives in our yard with his 3 hens.  They just wander around and serve no domestic purpose at all – no eggs, and their meat is too tough to eat.  What an existence they have!

About the Ants – There are about 3 different kinds here.  There’s the “wewe” – those are the leaf cutters.  Here’s a picture of them at work.  There are narrow paths winding through our back

Leaf cutters at work

grass – just the clearings the ants create as they march along.  I was taught not to step in those paths at night!  There are black ants that look like they are hopping, I guess they are harmless.  Then there are the tiny biters…not so harmless!

Guess what?  Almost mating season for the tarantulas! They are starting to move about at night.  Dominic lets us know how many he spots as he does his security walk each night.  Soon enough they’ll be out “en mass”, looking for that special someone!

Our clinic building is a pretty safe refuge from all the critters, so I rest well at night.

Start of school day

Monday through Thursday are school days for Helene Christian English School students.  I love listening to the sounds of school days.  School starts at 1:30, but before that I hear Dominic meeting with teachers as he mentors them.  When the bell is rung to signal the start of school, all the children meet on the covered deck, greet the director, and begin their day with a song of worship.

I spend most of my day in Mr. Larry’s office, tending to MEI-Helene business, while listening to the sweet sounds of young students singing A-B-Cs (Hooked on Phonics version), and repeating their teachers’ lessons. The office is located directly across from Dominic’s 4-6th grade class.  I love listening to the students answering his Bible lesson as he teaches the Word to them.

Examples – Last week when it was time for the close of the

Miiis-terrr Dominic?

week assembly on the covered deck, Mr. Dominic did some Jesus-like situational teaching.  His class was ready to walk from their room to their position on the deck, but they failed to walk out in an orderly manner.  He called them out on it, made them return to the class room and walk out once more.  He used that to explain to all the students how we are examples of living to those who are younger.  He told them they should not do what’s expected only when a teacher is nearby, but that they should set an example for those around them at all times. Sounds like 1 Timothy 4:12 to me!

I can’t help but pray for the students of HCES.  I believe this school is one of the more strategic ministries for long-term impact of discipleship lifestyles on this island.  What does the Lord have in store for this generation of HCES students as they mature on this island?  I pray it comes to fruition and that they continue to learn of Him as they learn their lessons.

Thursday morning I met with the Helene director and our nurse manager to discuss policies about our medical clinic and childbirth situations. We came to agreement just in time, because one islander started labor a couple weeks earlier than expected. She arrived at the clinic shortly after supper. We thought she’d deliver around midnight, but her progress was slower. I went downstairs around 11:30 pm to check on the mother and see if our nurse, Deirdre, needed a quick break. An hour later I realized there would be no sleep, so I took an assisting role to help our laboring mother work through her contractions. There was a lot of “Jesus, help me” and “Miz Deeeeee-dra” going on, and we all knew Jesus was with us!

Those of you who have experienced back labor will be sympathetic to her difficulty, and how slow baby’s journey to the outside world can be when baby is facing the wrong way. Our mom became discouraged and decided it just wasn’t “her time”. By then it was 5 am. I slipped out to talk over options with the MEI director, and we prepared to call in the local midwife. Not needed! Deirdre was able to speak directly to this young woman’s

Just minutes old

fear, and by the time I returned we were only minutes from birth.

And so it is with great joy that I announce the 5:15 am birth of a healthy baby boy… and maybe the beginning of the D & H birthing team!

Boatmaster Horman

Tuesday I went shopping “down island” (to Roatan) when our boat went out to take a visiting dentist back to the airport at the close of his short-term mission with our dental clinic. “Dr. Bob” was very interested in naming all the landmarks (if that what you call them by sea). So our boat master, Horman, drove us with Dr. Bob’s interests in mind.

Horman is an excellent boat driver, skilled at navigating the many reef formations around here and working with the current and swells to give us all as smooth (and dry) a trip as possible.

Poor navigation

Horman did not drive this ship…