Lamplight Newsletter - Summer - 2005

Summer 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a while since I have written a newsletter. We have been back for three months serving in the new children’s home, the House of Hope. Believe me, it’s not because there was no news that you didn’t get a newsletter, but because it was hard to find the time to just sit and write one.
When I left Honduras in October we were renting a little hot gray cement three bedroom house. I said goodbye to the dismal kitchen, the makeshift tables instead of kitchen counters, the cement floors, the cockroaches, and the little mouse perching on the top of my shelf above my bed that I could never catch.
When I came home in March, (my family actually returned in February, but I had to stay later due to some family affairs that needed my attention), my husband had moved my family into the children’s home, the House of Hope. We opened the home with nine Miskito children, twelve total, including my own three. We now have seventeen Miskito children.
How wonderful to walk into a home with tile floors, and tile counters and real cupboards and cabinets. We have long hallways that the kids run up and down with towels tied around their necks playing superman. We have a living room and dining room large enough to play beach ball in. There is a large play ground where the kids squeal as they slide down the slides and swing on the swings which, they especially enjoy during the rain.
There are double front doors and a lot of windows so the house stays cool. No more cockroaches running around in the kitchen. As a matter of fact the only things that run in the kitchen now are the refrigerator, the freezer and the water in the kitchen sink. I moved my shelves next to my bed just like before but instead of a real mouse I found a little stuffed toy mouse and placed him up on the top shelf, (to replace the real one that always threatened to jump on my head at night), as a little reminder of what the Lord has done for us.
Like any home we have our ups and downs. We rejoice when we have the room and facilities to properly care for a malnourished baby, and then cry when they keep us up all night. I praise God for the people who send school materials such as crayons and pencils, and then have to keep myself from cursing when the children write all over the walls with them. I sometimes wonder will the day give me enough hours to take care of the needs of all the children, and can my refrigerator give me enough room to display all the cards that were given to me on mothers’ day?
I marvel that some of our children are the color of the rusty clay and others as black as the dirt. Some of our children have one leg, others have two. Some speak Miskito, others Spanish, and still others speak English, there are even a few that speak all three. We have to keep them from quarreling with one another in the house with each other, but heaven help the outsider who picks on one of our children because of his or her handicap or difference.
It’s funny how we always seem to have more dirty socks and underwear then clean. How we can never catch the child who leaves the water running. I was so excited to just not have one bathroom, but eight. Then I realized what a chore it was to just keep them flushed and cleaned. Remember, we are dealing with children and families who for some have never used a toilet before. The children bless the food before they eat it, and then bless the Lord again when it’s not their turn to do the mountain of dirty dishes. I rejoice for every pound a malnourished baby gains, and cry for every pound I gain.
God continues to show me his awareness of every big and little need like when Nancio and Ursula both needed black school shoes. A box of old sheets and clothes were sent and at the bottom two pairs of shoes, just the right size and the right color. A lot of beautiful baby boy clothes were sent on the last container. We haven’t had a baby boy living with us for almost two years. Tony came a month later; seventeen months old and only twelve pounds.
We cheered when Ricardo, Leny, and Alba Julia, came home walking with their new prosthetic legs, and Flor Angel with her new arm and we cried when we met baby Senia who has no mouth, no nose, and one eye. She also needs surgery for club feet. I hope that by caring for these people’s children, who are sick and in need, we are showing them that there is a God who loves them. By educating special needs children we are providing for them an escape from pity and begging and exploitation and equipping them to care for themselves in a way that brings glory to God, giving hope to others who are also handicapped or have handicapped loved ones. When we provide milk and cereal to malnourished babies and children we are stopping the hunger that makes a child weak and sick and at risk to disease and death.
I thank all the people that help to support us in what we do. I thank God for your prayers as we need Gods help to help others. I thank the individuals who spent time and money to come and visit, braving the heat and bugs to help change a babies diaper or clean a storage room or just to bring encouragement. I realize that you could have chosen to go to a resort or on a cruise, but God knows the difference you may have made in a child’s life while you were here.
I pray that as some of you have given to meet our needs that your needs will also be met. I also pray that even though you may not get a newsletter every month that you will not forget us.
A special thanks to the pastors and churches who allowed us to share with you our ministry and your willingness to share the burden.
For those of you who would like to have us visit your church this winter, please contact us by email at rogerkatrina@gmail.com. We will probably be coming out in the end of October for a family reunion. So for the three months that follow, we will be available. Remember, the sooner the better, so we can make plans.

Please make family support checks payable to:

New Testament Mission
604 Lemon Street
Sebring, FL 33870-6915
(Be sure to note in memo space, ‘for Roger and Katrina Engle’)

If you wish to support the House of Hope send checks to:

Send Hope
720 E Main, Suite A
Allen, TX 75002
(Be sure to note in memo space, ‘for House of Hope’)

Cooking to fill the Gap (From Kevin)

5/24/05


Just got done with lunch and I know that the food that I just feed these children will only last awhile. They need more than just food to fill the gap and I pray for them to get hungrier for the word of God. Yea they are young now but us being here helping them, loving them and disciplining them, I believe we can make that deference even if only one turns out I feel it is worth it. So today I pray Lord that these children build an apatite for you and your Word, strengthen, guild, and protect them in Jesus name. Amen

I’m Home (From Kevin)

5/18/05


Just got back the other day and I’m glad to be Home. If you don’t know I’m the cook at the House of Hope. I’m the quiet one in the background that doesn’t usually get seen. I just love these little children. The one that has really been getting attached to me is Chelma or I should say I’m the one getting attached. Both of her feet were deformed and she went and had them fix in the States. She speaks very good English and learning more and more every day. Most of these children here are starving for attention, and needing a father type figure in their life. What a great opportunity I have to give a gift of Love witch only comes from the love of Christ.

Sorry For Not Keeping Up!

This is the third month since my last posting. I apolagize. I promised to post some pictures and then ran into some problems. From there it just got easier to put it off again and again.
Anyway, we now have Katrina and Kevin back and I'll be adding them on as contributors to this web-site. So you'll have plenty to keep you up to date.
The Grand Opening of the House of Hope is this weekend and, for those who don't know it, we are keeping a verfy fast pace. So that's about all I have time for right now.
Love you all. Hope you stay in touch better than I do.

Good To Be Back!

We´ve been back a week and, overall it´s good to be back. The kids are adjusting well and evreybody is starting to fall into a normal routine.
One of the things that I´m constantly needing to do is refresh myself spiritually. Last week we didn´t go to church Wednesday night because we had just gotten here and were still settling in. Well, by the time Sunday rolled around, even though we had done our morning devotions together fairly faithfully, Kevin and Margarita and I were all in need af some refreshing. Isn´t it awesome, the way the Lord always gives us what we need, even when we don´t realize it?
Our pastor, David Castro, entitled his sermon, "Aviva el Fuego!", which literally means, "Revive The Fire!" Meaning the fire which is within you!
Well, after that, let me tell you, I´m still on fire! Isn´t God Wonderful?

The Engle Family

The Engle Family
We are Roger and Katrina Engle from the New Testament Church in Sebring, Florida. We are the proud parents of four children; Joshua -12 yrs. old in July, Bu-bu (Roger III) – 8 yrs. old in November, Christian – 7 yrs. old in June, and Victoria – 3 yrs. old in November.

In addition, we have informally adopted two children who live with us when we are in the field, about nine months of each year; Brigida (BREE-hee-da) – a 12 yr. old whose mother gave her to us to raise so she could finally start school (She is in the second grade and loving it.), and Selvin (SEL-veen) – a 7 yr. old, (When we first got him he was at death’s door. Well, almost three years later he calls us Mom and Dad and we can’t imagine living without him.)

My wife has been working in Honduras as a missionary for almost thirteen years and I for ten. We were married in Florida in January of 1995 and returned to Honduras after the birth of Christian in 1997.

We are also affiliated with Send Hope, a mission organization based in Allen, Texas, and M.O.M., or Mission On the Move, a ministry that focuses on drilling wells and caring for children, out of Springfield, GA.

Our mission work is in the city of Puerto Lempira, Honduras, which is in a region known as La Moskitia, or the Mosquito Coast. Gracias A Dios is the official name of the state but it is generally known as La Moskitia for the population of indigenous people that are the majority there, the Miskito people.

The city of Puerto Lempira is a small city, about five to ten square miles, and roughly 22,000 people. Probably about 65 percent of the population are Miskito. The remaining 35 percent is a mix made up of Mestizos, Garifunas, Pech, and Sumo, with a smattering of European or American development workers and missionaries. Our main focus is on children’s health and education, both physical and spiritual.

A young man named Ricardo, whom we helped receive his own prosthetic leg last year, as well as a young couple, Kevin (An American Volunteer), and his wife, Margarita (A Honduran Miskito) are our only staff. Ricardo is our handy-man, Kevin is our staff cook, and Margarita is the staff house keeper.

We do several different ministries, all for the purpose of reaching children and bettering their lives. Our hope is to reach their parents with the gospel and halt the deterioration of this city by forming the next generation under the influence of God.

Among the ministries we use to do this is a renourishment program for grade two and grade three malnourishment cases referred to us by the hospital. We provide baby formula or powdered milk for malnourished children on a weekly basis. Each week we try to have contact with them and monitor progress.

Another ministry is a type of surgery logistics program to help people with the cost of temporary relocation for the life saving or life changing surgery their child needs.

Some people have asked us the question, “How many people have we helped in the past ten years with Nourishment, Education, or Transportation?”, and I have to say, truthfully, that I don’t know. We never kept records until we began to be sponsored by Send Hope specifically for these activities. But in the past year we have transported about ninety people, provided nourishment for about thirty children, and provided four scholarships to the Christian School.

We are building a hospitality house called the House of Hope, which will house such people and their children as well as long term disabled children, who will live with us for the school year so they can either go to the local AG Christian school, or be tutored, (if their disability makes it impossible to attend the school).

Another desire is that the House of Hope will be able to house Christian teen-agers who will be asked to help with daily chores and engage in a very intensive Christ based discipleship program, much like Teen Challenge, the discipleship program we both attended as youth and Katrina worked in for a year after graduating.

We hope you will pray for us. If you are interested in receiving our newsletter or a regular e-mail update of our progress, or maybe you would even like to have us speak at your church, contact Holly Stewart:

lamplightholly@aol.com

Thank You and God Bless You!

First Day of School!

Journal: "Roger Engle
Today was little Victoria's first day of school. It's only pre-kinder, but she was so excited you couldn't tell the difference. We did her hair in little barrettes and then decided on pony tails, changed her clothes 3 times, then I walked her and the other children to school.
I wanted to escort her to the office and present her to Barbara deCastro, the school Administrator, but she wanted to go out and play in the yard with all of the other children and I let her while I waited outside Barbara's office.
Everything was fine until she realized that I had not followed her out to the schoolyard. Then she began to cry.
When I heard her crying, of course, I went to find her and, when she had ceased to cry, I took her to her class. That's when the crying began in earnest.
Now, Victoria is not the first three year old I've encountered in my days. Nor is she the strongest willed. I think it's simply because she's my little girl that I feel the way I do when she carries on that way. Needless to say, it wasn't the momentous occasion I thought it should have been, but they never are. Are they?
Later, after going to the bank to get the money for the tuition and registration, I returned and she was still crying. Everyone was on edge and I felt miserable. Barbara, the Administrator, reminded me that that's how the first day of pre-kinder is for a lot of kids. Not that that actually made me feel better, but it was a good way to think of it.
I wonder if she'll be ready to go back again tomorrow."

Back To Honduras!

Journal: "Back to Honduras!Written 1 day ago
Roger Engle
Got here yesterday and went straight through customs without a problem. Looks like things are improving some, right? I still had to stand in line for an hour and a half with Victoria screaming, Christian bouncing off the walls(literally), and Bubu trying desperately not to get stepped on or shoved by rude travellers. 'I want my Mama!' It's like a bad song stuck in my head. My loving wife is still in the states and God do I miss her."

Okeechobee, FL

Abundant Blessings Assemblies of God Church in Okeechobee, FL, was very good to us this past weekend. We got there Saturday night and spent the night with our dear friend and co-laborer, Holly Stewart, and her husband, Larry, and son, Robert. We were given the opportunity to speak there Sunday and were blessed.
Then we rushed to eat some sandwiches and jet up to Sebring, (an hour away), hoping to catch at least the end of the Sunday afternoon service there at the mission. Well, when we got there we found out that the tradition of decades at the mission had recently been changed. We had missed the newly established Sunday morning service and were heartbroken. I guess it just goes to show that no matter what it is you get used to, you can’t take it for granted.

Gainesville, GA

Wednesday, in Gainesville, GA, we visited with a good friend of Katrina’s from her high school years, Terry Borcheller. We hadn’t seen Terry since 1997, or so, but he has been a faithful supporter.
What a joy to see him again and his get to know his growing family. There’s his wife, Tracy, and their two children, Taylor, their 6 year old little girl, and Trenton, their 3 year old little boy.
They took us to their church and we really enjoyed ourselves. The church is called Free Chapel and is a very large church. The praise was fun and we heard from a guest speaker by the name of Wellington Boone. What an excellent meeting it was.
Tracy, thanks for the yummy soups and such, and Terry, you play a mean game of football. I’ll be ready next time.

The McIntyres

Monday and Tuesday we spent with Jimmy and Susie McIntyre, in Blairesville, GA. They’ve been friends since I returned to Sebring from Teen Challenge in 1993. They always wanted to have their own custom built home overlooking a mountainous countryside. It makes me happy to see them realizing their dreams. God bless you guys.

Katrina's doing great!

She returned to Texas yesterday, January 11th, for her two week post-op check up and Dr. Knoll said she had healed so well that no cast would be necessary. The tumor was benign, as hoped for, and the rest is just to monitor her healing. Hallelujah! Thank You Lord! And thanks also to Dr. Knoll for all her help. Thank you all for your prayers, as well!

The word is, that she will only need one more check-up with Dr. Knoll in Texas. The last one will be done in Honduras by another specialist who will be there at the appropriate time.

At The Tutens'

This past Sunday we spoke at Guyton Christian Church, in Guyton, GA. Guyton Christian Church is a Disciples of Christ denominational church and their pastor is a friend of ours named Gerald Demarest. They have been very generous with us each year now for the past three years running, ever since a group from their church visited us in Puerto Lempira, and we hope to have an ongoing relationship with them for many years to come.
One of the great things about coming to Guyton is the hospitality. Mr. Jack Tuten Jr. and his wife, Joyce Anne, have hosted our family this year and last and we have not wanted for anything. It's almost like having another set of parents in Georgia.
The peace and quiet is hard to beat, as well. We are thankful for the little refuge that Guyton has become to us. We always look forward to our visits here.
So if you're ever in Effingham County, or in the Savannah, GA area, period, visit Guyton, and in particular, Guyton Christian Church, and be kind to those you meet. You can be sure they'll return your kindness.

In Alabama

Well, everybody here seems to think Auburn should be the national champions. Who understands how these championships are decided anyway?
We've just spent the past few days as guests of Dr. Elizabeth Hollingsworth in Tuscaloosa, where we had dinner with Missions Pastor Vial Fontenot and two of his missions co-laborers, Dan Shea and Beverly Davis, from 1st Baptist, as well as our dear new friends, Giovanni and Marciela, (I hope I got their names right), and their daughter Dina. The following night we had dinner with Dr. Mckinney and his pastor from the Methodist church. They sounded as though they may be interested in coming to visit the House of Hope.
Our thanks to Dr. Betty and those friends with whom we had the chance to visit in Tuscaloosa.

Katrina's Surgery

This past Thursday, Katrina had surgery on her hand and the tumor was removed. Dr. Knoll said that the tumor appeared to be the type she had originally believed it would be, and there, she said, is probably benign. Katrina will be returning to Plano to find out the results of the biopsy, and to have her hand casted, this coming Wendesday on the 11th.
Thank you all for your prayers and concern. We'll try to keep you all updated.