Year End's Review

We just sent our last team of the year home and what a year it has been. It has been a year of such term oil in Honduras, but in the midst of everything God showed up and showed us once again how big He really is.

The year started out as a normal year and then on June 28th President Manuel Zelaya was removed from power and the whole country was turned upside down and fear struck. Curfews began, riots broke out, a new president came into power, and it seemed like we were headed for some very difficult days. Teams began to cancel due to the unrest and the U.S. put out warnings for all travel to Honduras to stop unless it was necessary. Prayers from around the world were being lifted up and you could see God begin to move in such a mighty way. It was amazing how in just a few short weeks things went back to pretty much business as normal. The protests were still taking place in certain areas of the country, but much more toward the push for peace than violence.

Teams began to show up shortly after the Presidents removal and God did such a work through the teams and in the people of Honduras. We saw tons and tons of beans and rice given to the poor families living on the sides of the road, a new church plant as a direct contact of the food ministry, street kids being fed downtown, and the boys of the ministry being discipled and challenged in ways they had never thought. Through all of this we witnessed hundreds of people coming to know the Lord and getting excited about what God had in store for them next. In a time that we felt was unrest was actually a time for people to find rest in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One of the last nights we spent in Monte Redondo was one of the most powerful things I've seen as I watched 495 people show up to the church in this little community. It was not so much of the number of people that were there, but it was the hunger for the things of God that really touched my heart. I looked in the church and realized we had ran out of seats, but I noticed the faces in the windows. I walked around the church to see people gathered at every window just to hear what God had to say to them. It showed me once again how people truly are seeking the things of God. To God be the glory!

We are now back in the U.S. for a short time to refuel and going to churches to share what God is doing in Honduras. We are so looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in the upcoming new year, so please pray for us as God continues to carry us through such an awesome calling and allowing us to be a part of what He is doing.

We hope that each of you have a Blessed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. We could never be able to express how we appreciate each and everyone of you.

God Bless,

Richie and Lori Womack

E-mail us: teguc07@yahoo.com

Political Unrest

We want to try and keep eveyone updated on the political unrest here in Honduras. As of Monday morning ex-president Mel Zelaya worked his way back into the country of Honduras. He is now holed up in the Brazilian Embassy surrounded by Honduran police and military. The Intrim government here has asked for the Brazilian Embassy to hand over Zelaya. All power, phones, and electricity have been cut off in that area and the country has been under curfew as of 4pm Monday. The curfew has been extended to 6am Wednesday morning and all air travel has been suspended both in and out of the country. There have been demonstrations taking place, but have been quickly dissolved by the national police and military. All major roads leading into and out of the city have been blocked to hold down on any protests here in the capital. So far everything has been relatively calm.


We will be posting updates through Facebook and with the office in the U.S.


We have recieved many e-mails and phone calls checking to see how we are. We so appreciate everyone that have sent encouraging words and the prayers that have been lifted up. We are doing fine and have been very safe through all the unrest that has taken place. Hopefully the curfew will be lifted very soon and we can go back to business as normal, but until then we will stay in our house until things improve.


Thanks for all your prayers and support during this time. I always remember what my pastor told me "there is no safer place than where God has you" and we know that God has us here and that He is in control of everything.

God Bless,

Richie and Lori Womack

Tegucigalpa, Honduras

What's been going on?

We have finished up with summer teams, started english classes once again, starting our next discipleship class in a few weeks and moved to a new shelter. It has been challenging to say the least with everything that's been going on over the last few months. Ex-President Zelaya was ousted from his position which created uncertainty in the country and curfews making it difficult to move around in the city. It has now calmed down and things are back to normal as teams are making their way back into Tegucigalpa. There are still protests here and there, but nothing to worry about as they have been non-violent and organized. We want to thank everyone who called to check on us and all the prayers that were lifted up during this difficult time. Please continue to pray for the unrest of Honduras as they move into the new elections in November.

Florida Team sharing during a food misitry visit.

Lori has once again started up the English classes at Noah's Ark School and the boys are really enjoying trying the new words they have learned. It reminds me of when we were in language school in Costa Rica. They may not use it correctly, but they are trying their little hearts out to use what they know and that's exactly how you learn. Please pray for Lori and the boys as they move forward in teaching and learning. Lori has also been working hard on the child sponsorships in order to keep things up to date.

Lori and Juan Asael singing at Noah's Ark Baptist Church

I will be starting a new discipleship class in the next few weeks and this will be our 5th study in the past year, so please be in prayer as we start to deepen our understanding of God's Word over the next 6 weeks. I have also had an opportunity of watching a new church being planted in the community of El Guascolile and what a work God is doing in this little community. I was asked to preach two weeks in a row and saw 23 people come to know the Lord. This church already has over 50 regular members each week. Pastor Roldofo has been leading this church until such a time as God sends them a new pastor, so please lift him up as he continues to help this church out as well as pastoring the church in Monte Redondo.

Chruch in El Guascolile

Pastor Roldolfo, Mario, Richie, Avi and Edwin

Last night Lori and I went to a little church in Cerro Grande Zona 3. I gave an evangelistic message to a group of around 60 people. We had one decision for Christ, but the hand that went up was a man in his late 50s. He and another man played in a group that only played Christian Ranchero music. Last night was the first night he had truly realized that grace was sufficient and that we can't work our way into heaven. Most of the time we run into people that think they can either work their way into heaven or their religion will get them there. Please pray for our new brother in Christ as he moves forward in his new life. After the service last night God had opened up another opportunity to speak at another church near Ojojona in the near future. Please pray as God continues to open up these doors to share His love and grace.

We now have a new shelter in Cerro Grande Zona 2 and what a blessing it will be to the ministry. With this new shelter we will be able to house more boys, more team members, have our school there, and start a new transition home for the older boys 18 years or older. We have moved the little guys into their new home and all they could say is "masizo" (very cool). They will have their own play area big enough to play soccer and just hang out. Thanks for all the prayers during the search for this new facility. God has provided in a big way.

Need
Lori and I have been in Honduras for over a year and half now and have gotten established in our ministries and with the people of Honduras. We are constantly being challeged by transportation needs. With each of us having to go in different directions we are finding it more difficult to get where we need to be in one vehicle. We are now having to drop one off as the other goes to do something else, which leaves one of us waiting for several hours for the other person to return. We ask that you pray with us as we pray for God's provision for another vehicle. If you feel led to help with this need you can send your donation marked "Womack Vehicle Fund" to:

Forgotten Children Ministries
P.O. Box 24085
Chattanooga, Tn 37422





God Bless,
Richie and Lori

Trip to Campamento Viejo and our first team of the summer from Birmingham.

Juan Carlos' Story

This past Sunday Stan, Juan Carlos, and myself began a journey to Campamento Viejo to meet and spend time with Juan's family. Juan Carlos shared with us how God was moving in his life and how he wanted to further his knowledge of the Bible and start to learn more English. he truly spoke with a passion of what God is calling him to do and how excited he was about this new chapter of his life.

We arrived in Catacamas around 5:30 Sunday evening and were able to meet up with Juan Carlos' mother and two sisters. Catacamas and Campamento Viejo are like living in the Old Wild West where you see pistols on their sides and cattle drives down through the middle of town.

Sunday night we took the family to the nearby super market and bought a good month's worth of provisions. It was amazing to watch them for the first time to be able to shop and to actually get what they needed without the worry of "do I have enough money to purchase all this". Later that night we took the family to a nice little restaurant (As de Oro) for a typical Honduran meal and a time of fellowship. It was an awesome sight to see Juan Carlos cutting up with his sisters and just enjoying the moment.

Monday morning we headed out around 8 in the morning for our journey to Campamento Viejo and as most of you know there are no street signs in Honduras to help you along the way. We made our first wrong turn about 30 minutes into our trip and had to back track for an hour until we finally got onto the right road. Even though we were lost for a bit it was worth every minute of it to see the smile on Juan Carlos' face to be spending time with his mother and two sisters. We traveled for 2 more hours on a road filled with holes, cliff edges and the occasional car trying to pass on a road made for one car. After 3 hours of traveling we arrived in Campamento Viejo which is not too far from the Miskitia Jungle.

The good part of the road to Campamento Viejo

Slow Dangerous Curves

These are the mountains we had to drive through.

We were able to meet Juan Carlos' grandparents, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews. It was like a thanksgiving with all the family there. We went to a place nearby that fixed us some typical Honduran food and had a time of fellowship. After lunch Juan Carlos shared his testimony of what happened to him while on the streets of Honduras and where God has brought him to today. It was such a touching moment as we watched him share the Gospel with his entire family. Stan then began to share more in depth of how important our decision to have a relationship with Christ is and that decision determines where we will spend eternity. A few minutes later Juan Carlos' mother accepted the Lord as her personal Lord and Savior. What an awesome day in the Lord and to see this precious lady become a new creature in Christ.

Juan Carlos' mothers house

Juan Carlos with his mother, two sisters, and niece

Juan Carlos with his grandparents

Richie with Juan Carlos' two nieces

Around 2:30 we began to say our good byes and started the journey back to Catacamas to stay the night before heading back to Tegucigalpa on Tuesday morning. Before we left one of Juan Carlos' grandmothers wanted to give him a gift and she brought him a live chicken to take back with him. To most people this would be a little unusual, but this is all she had to offer and what a humbling experience to know she gave all she had. Juan Carlos kept saying what a blessing it had been to visit with his family once again and to see his mother come to know the Lord.

We arrived back in Tegucigalpa around 1:30 pm on Tuesday and we were all ready for a little rest after watching God accomplish so many things in less than 48 hours. God truly deserves all the praise and glory for what He did!

Birmingham Team

The team from Birmingham came last week and really demonstrated what the Body of Christ looks like. They each had their own unique gift and it showed as they ministered to each person God put in their path.

We started the week out with such a powerful testimony to the Lord. The Lord had led us to three new houses to do food ministry and at one of the houses they met a man named Ismael Romero that had just lost his wife and two year old daughter in a car accident just three weeks prior. He showed the team their clothes and the car that had been involved in the wreck. It was amazing that anyone walked away from this wreck. Stan shared the Gospel with him and the man accepted Christ. he later told Stan why his life had been saved from that horrible car wreck. He said " I know that God knew you were coming today and that's why he spared my life, so that I may have a relationship with Him today". What a powerful statement from a man in his most tragic time and yet he found all the hope and peace that day that only God can give. Please rejoice with us and pray for our new brother in Christ.

Ismael Romero's house.

As the team continued to hand food out from the bus they began to share the Gospel with everyone they came into contact with. This resulted in many new brothers and sisters in Christ.

There was one young man by the name of Gregory that was such a blessing to the ministry this week. He had conducted a fundraiser to buy a new basketball goal for the boys and to also help out with furnishings for the new casita we have built. This 13 year old young man was able to raise over $4,000 for the ministry. Thanks for all your hard work Gregory in furthering God's Kingdom work!

The team also held soccer tournaments with all the boys in the ministry and then provided a day at the water park on their last day with us. God truly is good!!

Until next time,

God Bless

Time to Update

We have just returned from the U.S. and things have been a little hectic the last few months. As most of you know we have had to leave the country every 90 days in order for our passports to be valid. We have faced many trials trying to get our residency here and we are now happy to say that we meet tomorrow to finalize our paper work. Glory to God!

As of three weeks ago I had to have surgery on my knee and praise God all has gone well with the surgery and the recovery as well. Lori had to come back three weeks before me, so it was an awesome day this past Saturday to see her again.

We will start with our first team next Friday, so we are excited to get busy and see what God is going to do this summer. Please be praying for them as they get ready to minister to the people of Honduras.

Over the past several years we have had two missionary couples (The Diegelmans and The Fosters) that have been raising support to get to the field and we heard they have been given the green light to start language school this August. Please be praying for them as they start their new journey and start to face many different changes in their lives. It is not an easy thing to give up your family, friends, church, the comforts of home, community and the steadiness of income. They have stepped out on faith for God to provide all their provisions, so we give all the glory to God in what He has done and is going to do through them as they come on board with the ministry full time. We are so excited about these couples coming along beside us and sharing in ministry together. Please check out there blogs in our "missionay friends" links.

Thanks for everyones prayers and support over the last several years. We can not say or show how much we appreciate and love each one of you. Without God and your willingness to partner with us, we could not continue to do what God has called us to do. Once again thank you soooo much!!

God Bless,
Richie and Lori Womack

How fast can God's word travel?

The other day while Lori and I were out making rounds we came to an intersection where several street kids hang out. They are usually selling stuff for other people or trying to wash your windshield for a Lempira ($.05 U.S.). We really didn't need our windshield washed that day, but decided to give the boy some money to help him out. As I handed him the money Lori handed a Gospel tract to him as well. We watched the boy as he walked off and began to read the tract. He stopped working and immediately went and sat down on a nearby sidewalk and continued to read the tract. Before we knew it three more boys gathered around him and began to read along with him. I was blown away at how God could take a small tract and impact four lives in the matter of 30 seconds. It reminded me of Matthew 28:19. All we need to do is "go" and God will take care of the rest. We don't need to fear anything as we sometimes allow ourselves to do. People often say that it's different and easier in another country to share the Gospel, but I have found it much harder. First of all the language is much more difficult for me than English. All we have to remember is to see things through God's eye's and it makes things so much easier than looking through our own. God created each and every one of us and we function in the same way. Our hearts are designed the same way, we breath the same air, we all need food and water to survive and we need to know Jesus to have a relationship with the Father and to experience eternal life. The only thing that changes when we go to another country is the color of skin, language and the scenery. God is not after any of those things. He is after the hearts and souls of man. It's that simple and yet we make so much more complicated than that. Please pray for the boys out on the streets and we get another opportunity to share more about the love of Jesus and the price He paid for us.


Boys reading the tract on the side of the road




God Bless,
Richie and Lori

Cold in Honduras and Need Your Help!

Well like in the states Honduras has turned cold and windy. I know that most people think it's always warm and sunny, but in certain times of the year here it turns off cold and for the people of Honduras they aren't used to the cold. While we sit in the comforts of our homes with the central heat and air the people of Honduras don't have that option. When we got home today we had three street kids at our doorstep waiting on food and the youngest boy (Enrique) did not even have a jacket, but an old short sleeve shirt thrown over his shoulders and shivering from the cold. God always knows what we need and today he provided that need for little Enrique. Lori and I made a mad dash through the things we had here to try and provide some kind of warmth for this 8 year old boy. We opened up one of the trucks and found a childs medium wind breaker. It fit him perfectly and a huge warm smile came over his face.

Enrique, Pedro, and Christian

During our conversation we talked about the ministry and the opportunity they could have being off the streets. Then Enriques brother (Pedro) told us a horrible story of the last time he went home. These boys are sent out in the streets to beg for money and help support the family. Pedro had been out begging and didn't have a good day out on the streets. When he arrived home his step dad told him he was going to kill him because he didn't come home with enough money. Pedro is only 10 years old and this is one of the situations that put them in the streets all alone. They simply get too scared to go back home in fear for their life. This is where the ministry comes in to play as we fight to save the lives of these young boys before the enemy swallows them up while in the streets.

We are asking for people to come along beside us and help provide some wind breaker type jackets to provide to these kids during this cold climate. The sizes we are looking for are 10-12 mediums and a few 14's as well. If God leads you to help out with this you can send them to the office in Chattanooga at:

Forgotten Children Ministries
5959 Shallowford Business Park West
Ste. 4274
Chattanooga, TN 37421

Once we have received them we can send them down with the teams that are coming. Thanks so much for all that you do for these forgotten children and God Bless each one of you. Please keep these boys in your prayers.

Until next time, God Bless!

The Year Has Begun!

Our first three teams have come and gone and what an awesome three weeks we have had. It's always funny how we plan a week and in an instant God has a different plan. Our teams have listened and followed God's direction as He led them.

The boys receiving Christmas cards from other kids in the states.

Team #1
Our first team came from Dawson Memorial in Birmingham, Al. They spent quality time with our boys in the ministry through many activities as well as food ministry. It's always a joy to see the boys with smiles on their faces as they play like a normal child should. Before coming to the ministry these boys never knew a life with very much fun and love. They were in the streets begging for money, digging through a dumpster for their next meal, or huffing glue. Thank you guys so much for being the hands and feet of Jesus and loving on the boys.

Team #2
Our second team was a group of men from Montgomery, Al and Canada. They came down to help us with some projects at the farm and two families in our food ministry, but God gave them an opportunity to be a blessing to a lady (Elisa) that is 106 years old. This lady had lived in the same house for 30 years when she was moved out with no place to really call home anymore. She had two other sisters, one brother (Antonio), and a sister in-law (Maria) that were living with her as well. The ages of all five range from 74 years old to 106 years old. The team heard about the need this woman had and came together to build her a new house. There was also a man in the village that donated the land that her new house stands on. The team was able to finish the roof, walls, and concrete floor before they left and this week we will be installing doors, windows, and painting. God is good and faithful. To Him be the glory! The team also built two outside cooking facilities for two of our families in the food ministry as well as supplying food to several families in our area. You guys are awesome!

Elisa's New House

Team #3
Our third team also came from Birmingham, Al and what a group they were. They did food ministry, evangelism in two communities, built a new cooking facility at Noah's Ark Baptist Church, and discipleship classes. The kitchen they built will provide food to the kids of Monte Redondo. What a blessing you guys were to these communities and the people that will be receiving a meal each week out of the new kitchen.

Street Kids

Street Kids

These teams also went to the streets to share pizza with the kids, but most importantly shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is so heart breaking to see these young kids in the streets. The youngest kid being three years old and being taken care of by other street kids.

Praises

We have been here for almost one year now and from the time we arrived God started putting street kids at our doorstep. We have had so many opportunities to share the Gospel as well as the ministry with these kids. We have received the first two in the ministry last week from these divine appointments. I met Noel one day begging for money at the Dippsa and the next day he showed up to help me wash the ministry vehicle. From that day on Noel has been my little buddy. Please be praying for Noel and Jose (Noel's brother) as they are adjusting to their new life.

Noel loving life in the ministry

Prayer Requests
1. Children still in the streets
2. Missionaries raising support
3. New kids in the ministry
4. Norma's family
5. Ministry
6. Teams that will be coming
7. Elisa's house and family

Until next time, God Bless!

Norma's Fight

Tonight has been a sad night here in Honduras. A lady, by the name of Norma, passed away at 32 years old after fighting an illness for the last week and a half. Norma has been working in the ministry for several years and was always full of life and enjoyed it to the fullest. We will truly miss her and her always smiling face. Please pray for the family during this difficult time as they will have the funeral tomorrow in Choleteca.

Norma at Christmas