Hey GSCH Partners

5-21-07

Hola Partners,

Time to fill you in on what is new at the GSCH. WATER........Lots of it from our new well which was coordinated with Water For People who seek to provide safe drinking water for those in need. A picture of our drinking water and they said they were on board to help out. Their knowledge and financial help combined with donations from several individuals and a church from Florence AL. brought in the water. We Thank you so much that now our water is clean and no longer a muddy mess after the rains. Health has also been better since we stopped drinking the river water. That's a big plus all by itself.

While growth has been slow since my last entry we have increased slightly to 223 children. Numerous petitions to send us children have been submitted but we are in a financial low and we are really stretched to care for the 223 children we have. I feel we are in a time of waiting on the Lord as He does something in our midst. What.....I am not sure but I know he is with us and has a plan. Hard as it is to wait there are times in our life when wait is the right thing to do. So for the moment I spend my time seeing where we might improve and making plans for much needed maintenance on the casitas once we have funds to do so.

Speaking of maintenance we are spending lots of time and money on keeping our aging transportation on the road. Our biggest van is good for short runs but overheats in the mountains and leaves us stranded on the side of the road until it cools down and we can put water in it. Parts for it are like looking for a water lily in the desert. The small van we had the engine rebuilt last year and is one of our more reliable modes of transport. Still it has many worn mechanical parts from our super smooth roads. Those of you who have been here know there is no such thing as a smooth road in Honduras and understand that driving 100 miles here is like driving 1000 in the states in terms of wear and tear on transportation. Our 1997 Chevy 4x4 which was revived after over 3 years in a junk yard with a broken crankshaft is working out well but my 1998 Ford 4x4 has seen better days. For the first 2 years here it was our only transportation and the speedometer broke about 4 years ago with 98,000 miles so I would guess its pushing 250,000 miles. We are needing to get it replaced also since we have rebuilt the rear axle 3 times after the rear tire pasted the front tires up driving in the mountains. This is not a fun thing to have happen! Well the engine still runs it is loaded with worn parts and we pray every time we use it that it will get us to town and back with all 4 tires staying attached to the truck.

Frustrated with the condition of our transportation and security of driving them we are praying that God will touch the hearts of people to help us replace them so we can safely travel and not always be in the patch and repair mode. I prefer to spend my time working helping the kids recover from their past rather then spend my time looking for parts are repairing a vehicle. Until then my time will be spent doing what I can to catch the bigger risks like the steering tie rod end that dropped out as we were leaving the home which gave us no steering control. Praise the Lord it we had not left the property and were traveling slow and stopped without incident.

What can you do?? Well all we ask is that you pray and spread the word to pray for the GSCH to get donations to replace our transportation. If God leads you to help you can contact us for more information. Or send a donation to the GSCH vehicle fund in Hattiesburg MS. Team Captain Will Holder of Petal MS. has stepped up and started looking for 40 people to give $500 to help us purchase a good used 4X4 to replace our worn out Ford. You may have an idea or know someone who might be able to lend a hand. My address is vaughn@bmdmi.org

Writing the above is not easy for me but I was once told that I need to let people know when there is a need. This is a need that has reached the point where I feel God wants it known so when He answers everyone will give Him the Glory that is rightfully His. To God be the Glory in ALL things!!!!

Until next time!! Keep looking Up!! Greg

3-3-07

Howdy Partners,

Well it has been awhile since we updated so where do I start???? Our time back in the USA was a busy one and from the end of Sept to the first week of Dec. we traveled many miles and met many new friends. God blessed and protected us during our journeys to share what God is doing at the GSCH. Each fall we spend time in the USA to raise funding and challenge others to get involved in what God is doing. Every Christian should be on mission for God!

Returning to Honduras Dec 13 we were overcome with our children's love. We believe that each year they miss us more and more. They were prepared with the gate decorated and signs welcoming us home, lots of hugs and a big glass of tea for me and diet coke for Eva. Then it was down to the campo below the main house for a royal welcome of singing and skits and welcome home speeches.

Christmas was a major event and this year we had outgrown the front porch with 210 children so we moved to the school court yard. We are praying to get our roofed building so we will not be subject to sudden showers when doing events like Christmas, Mother and Father's Day, and other activities. Before going to the school we went up the mountain caroling and passed out gifts to several families and care boxes of supplies to help them have a Christmas dinner. At the school we did the Christmas story and then handed out gifts. Around 5am we crawled in bed to be bounced out again at 6:30am by the little ones who slept through the night. They wanted their Christmas too!!! A few of our teens crawled out of bed to help get them settled and playing and we worked/snoozed in shifts throughout the morning.

New Years was pretty much the same late night singing and games but without fireworks this year. Honduras banned fireworks due to so many children getting burned or finger blown off each year. We respected the new law and refused to buy any even though booths were set up to sell telling us that the police would not enforce the law. Well laws are meant to be respected even if they are not officially enforced. I did not want to send my children a mixed signal.

Jan and Feb were spent working on Valentines and preparation for school starting. Our annual Valentine Banquet was hosted by the girls this year and Eva and some of our Tias did a performance of singing and dance. It was funny and also beautiful. The teenage girls sang, danced and did skits for us and served all the teen boys dinner that night. It was a special time which Eva and I love to do because we try an use this time to reinforce the meaning of true love and show them a happy healthy marriage still very full of love. Next year the boys have it and we are already in planning stages to make it super special for the girls and ladies.

Since the last week of Jan. we have started to grow. As soon as people found out we were back we began to receive calls and visits. We had 210 children in Dec. but 5 were returned to their families by IHNFA and a Tia left with her 3 so we dropped to 202. However we have increased in number to 221 and now have children sleeping on cushions on the floor. We have 47 living here in the casona with us. Paper work is out on 6 more even though we are over filled.

A few weeks ago I stopped in Burger king and was approached by a woman who cuts the girls hair. She asked if we could open our home to her two nieces ages 13 and 15 who were being used by their mother to make money selling their bodies. She said that the 13 year old had puller her aside one day to asking her for help. We are waiting for them to go in to IHNFA to report this problem before coming here.

Every week there are several babies in the paper that have been abandoned in the hospital, on the side of the road or in dumpsters. Two weeks ago there were two abandoned in the hospital and one in a roadside ditch with the umbilical cord still damp all in the same day. It is sad that this little blessings were thrown away without a second thought. I contacted IHNFA and told them that we are here to help with these little ones.

There is no doubt that satan is mad and out to destroy as much as he can. Funding is lower then normal yet the cost of everything is through the roof. Violence is up and has moved onto our block. A neighbor lady was killed as she walked down the road less then a 1/4 mile from here and since then several people have been robbed at gunpoint within a mile of us. So please remember us all in your prayers as we continue to move forward in faith.

Our website is in upgrade process and we hope to offer some new features soon.

Until next time partners! In His Love and Grace, Greg

8-25-06

Hola Partners,

Well it has been a month of just the right amount of rain for us to get to planting or corn, beans and pastures. We had a few heavy rains that slowed us down a day or two but we will be planting this week. .

Last month we sold several calves and cows that were low milk producers so we can start an upgrade in our milk production. A cow eats about the same if it is producing gallon of milk or 5 gallons of milk so feeding and upkeep is the same cost. This makes the higher producing cow more appealing so we are moving that way to a quality herd in mind. We took the money from the cows we sold and bought 2 Jersey cows and 3 charbray cows. The Charbray will be our first move to a dedicated beef cow.

We installed our incubators and got our first chicken hatch. Did not turn out as we hoped but we are in a learning curve. I discovered two problems and our second hatch turned out better. Still not were it needs to be but we will keep learning.

God has continued to add to our family and we now have 209 with several more possibilities in process. Poverty continues to rage and so people are needing more help with their children.

Eva started Christmas shopping last week and spent two long long days looking for the right gifts for each child. You may say why are we shopping so early! Well with 209 children we have to get an early start, close to Christmas there are no toys left but lots of long long lines and we leave for the states on Sept 11 and return home on Dec 13. So we got to shop while we can. This means we faith shop because we have very little funds to use at this time. We know God will lead and the funds will come in.

Construction projects continue where funding has been designated but general projects have been shutdown until funding is available. Around this time every year our funds get low so we begin shutdown on expansion and concentrate on the daily operation until funding picks up. Pray with us that funding will increase to meet the needs. Our school is completely out of funding and is running red ink. Being that I am responsible to raise all funding I am making some adjustments to try and hold the red ink to the same numbers and praying for some donations to pick us back up into the black. I have faith God is touching hearts and the answer is coming soon.

Crime and violence continues to raise here as it is doing all over the world. Keep your missionaries in prayer as we have to be in places from time to time that are known to be higher risk areas. When there we pray without ceasing for His protection and guidance. Once business is done we leave the area.

Well we will be back in the states in a few short weeks (Sept 11) to speak in churches and invite more partners to include us and the GSCH in their thoughts and prayers. Pray that as we travel God will bless and others will be brought into a closer walk with the King of Kings. Pray also that God will open the portals of Heaven and through His people the home will be blessed to continue and to grow.

Until Next time, may His Love and Peace be With you and the Joy of His Presence fill your Soul, Greg

6-30-06

Howdy Partners,

Well this month has been a busy month here at the GSCH. Construction continues on Casita 8, the Reeds Casita and our School expansion projects plus a number of smaller projects like adding office and storage space and fixing our septic lagoon levee which was ruptured last fall during one of the hurricanes.

Eva's parents came to visit bringing our niece and nephew along so we had a great 2 weeks with family. Of course we got things going with games, a paintball war, a midnight treasure hunt. All had a great time looking for the clues and having to complete the task assigned. I personally liked that one at the pig pen where each team had to catch a baby pig and one of the team had to kiss it on the snout! Those drafted to kiss faired well but I got a report that the pigs were upset because they did not get any cake or ice cream when all was done. I mean after all they were the highlight of the hunt.

We also had one of the most famous Christian groups in Central America come to the GSCH for a concert and to spend time with my children. Last year we went to a DC RETO concert and I commented to my children that I would love to have this group come and do a concert for them and the area. Well I as usual I was not thinking when I opened my mouth. Afterwards I thought, Greg now how are you going to get this famous group to come to a little children's home in the middle of nowhere? But I just left in God's hands and a funny thing happened while we were in the states in Nov. This group performed in one of our workers church and she got introduced to them and took the opportunity to ask them about the home. They told her they would love to do the concert. So to make a long story short we made all the arrangements and the concert was a great success. We were so happy as we watched our children and over 170 people from the community celebrate Jesus. As I watched their excitement I thanked the Lord for answering another desire of my heart for my children. These two young men spoke and encouraged those present to seek the Lord and forget their past. Then they said their desire is to one day purchase a bus and fix it so they can tour around Honduras and set up to do free concerts wherever they can. They said they would like to make the GSCH a regular stop each year. The next day I met with our children and let them know the blessing that God had provided by allowing this group to hold the concert. I also asked them to pray that DC RETO would be blessed with a bus so they can further spread the gospel free of charge to all who will hear. Pray with us that God will continue to bless these young men as they seek the lost with the good news!

Our current plans are to return to the states around mid Sept until around the second week of Dec. We have already penciled in some churches to speak at but still have plenty of open dates. If you would like us to come and share you can contact me at vaughn@bmdmi.org to make arrangements. We usually book up early , unless God has other needs for us to see to, like hurricane cleanup. Hope it is a long time before the next one.

Well I will close as it is past the hour and the mosquitos have invaded my outdoor office.

In His Love and Protection, Greg

5-17-06

Hey Partners,

It was a busy week with 2 family visitation days, school exams and preparations for Mothers day in the school and Church. Here Mother's Day lasts 3 days, starting on Friday in the schools (Eva had two to attend) and then Sat. lots of hugs, presents and visits from the kids. Then Sunday all day long will celebrate "Love for Mom!"

So we are busying preparing all this week for this grand event that lasts 3 days but actually should last all year! I mean after all what does the word "Mom" signify? Sure everyone knows that the husband is head of the household. I believe that Mom is the heart of the home, the one who thinks with her heart to bring forth love and healing to all who inhabit her little nest.

Eva's little nest has grown somewhat in the last 10 years from no children to 203 as of this week. Needless to say she is busy running around checking on each one to make sure they are safe and healthy. But she could not be happier as she now feels the love of so many children as they work to make her day a very special one.

Well gas continues up up up to $3.79 with no end in sight. The government is talking about a law that will use the license plate number to set the days you can drive your car and the days it will not be allowed on the road. Extreme measures to curb the shortages we are now seeing.

Saturday, the 13th during the parents visitation I was blessed as I spoke with one of our children's mothers. She was with several ladies of her church who wanted to know the home that her daughter was in. She told me "I did not know the Lord at all and lived a very rough lifestyle. But coming here and visiting, seeing my daughter receiving God's love changed my life. I am now a believer and know that God had a purpose for my daughter coming here." Together we all praised God for His love showing through to this mother and changing her life.

A few weeks ago, Karen, one of our teens was picking up some clothes on the back porch that had fallen to the floor while drying. As she picked up a rag something moved and she felt a sting. At the same instant she saw a snake slide off the back porch and into the grass. Looking down she could see a single fang mark on the top of her finger. Running inside she went straight to the Tia who called the nurse. Telling her to put a light band above the wound to slow blood flow the nurse begin to get some things ready while I was located. I quickly drove down to the clinic praying that Karen would be ok, as we have some pretty serious snakes here. Calling on the radio asking all to pray as we drove quickly to the Casita. I quickly moved the other children out of the room and after seeing Karen's finger a little red and slightly swollen I left her with Nori to go and look for the snake. First though we did a children's roundup to get the little ones in the casitas then began turning over anything the snake could hide under but found no sign of it.

I went in to check on Karen and told her we had located the snake and it had died after biting her. She smiled and said "You lying!" I told her no we had not found the snake but I am sure it probably left town and not to worry. After keeping a close eye on her pulse and swelling we gave her some shots to reduce the chance of infection and continued to watch her close for several hours. She showed no signs of venom and the swelling had even gone down leaving only the one fang punture wound as evidence anything had happened. She never showed any sign of poisoning. Sunday Morning we testified in the service of God's faithful protection of His Children.

Continue your prayers for us as we Gladly serve the King of Kings here in Honduras.

Until next time,..... Adios Partners Greg

(Sent 2/15/06

Hey Partners,

Its been awhile since we talked and much has happened. Our hometown of Lake Charles LA. suffered a direct hit by Hurricane Rita just 3 days before our return to the states. Each year we go back to go church to church raising funds for the home. Usually by the time we fly back we have very few open Sundays but this year was different and we had only 4 churches booked. I asked God what was going on and Eva answered saying maybe He wanted us to rest a little. Sounded good to me, after all our workload with 168 children was heavy.

Well when Hurricane Rita hit I knew why we had not booked up like normal, God knew our families would need our help with the cleanup and repairs. So most of our time was spent helping family and friends however our time in Nov and Dec booked up quickly and we had all dates filled up.

Returning to Honduras we had Christmas with the children....wild having so many children opening gifts and squealing for you to look at them. Its whiplash in the making but everyone had a great time.

School has just started back up and we are bulging at the seams with some classes having more then the max number of students. So our school is in for additional construction. We need to add a couple of more classrooms, computer lab, and teachers meeting room. In addition we need a multipurpose building to have assemblies and activities. We are starting to plan a Vo. Tec. training class in welding, electricity, carpentry, cement work, and plumbing. For the girls sewing and beauty classes have been talked about. We plan to try and get the department of Education to approve the program and give diplomas to those who complete their training

Since mid Jan we have grown to 185 children. This is much quicker then I had planned but I see the reason for the growth. Things continue to get tougher here as prices continue to climb. Gas prices are $3.55 a gallon and high prices on Diesel push the cost of every other product higher.

We had several visits over the last year from people interested in starting a children's home. They come looking for information to help them get started. In July 05 we were visited by a nice couple from England who want to start up a home in south Honduras. They returned in Nov with their pastor. Ian, later wrote: May God continue to bless you and your very large family, just to encourage you, when we visited in November i asked one of your older children tell me what makes the Good Shepherd so special, she answered 'for the first time in my life i have somewhere i can call home, where i am loved."

Continue to pray for us and the children. Two Hurricanes hit LA. this year in areas where much of our financial support comes from. Homes and businesses were lost by people who have help the GSCH for years. Logic says that our support will drop. But then logic says someone who has died can't come back to life 3 days later!!! Thinking along this line we are not worried and stand in faith that God will continue to grow and care for His Good Shepherd Children's Home. May God Bless each of you in a Special way, Our love Greg and Eva

(sent 6/27/05)

Hey Partners,

Thought it was about time to give ya'll an update. Only 4 nervious breakdowns and six days in a straight jacket this week means a good week.

No things are lovely and lively. We stand at 161 children with one in hiding the DA is sending, 3 from the Judges office that have not shown up and 3 more from Social Services coming. Most of the kids in IHNFA's Casitas know my name. Some come and talk to me when I walk in while others holler at me as I walk to the office. They actually holler nice things.

Heavy rains washed out our road so we could not drive in or out from Thursday until today. A 4 to 5 foot hole was washed out at the end of the bridge and the fence along the road was lying all across the road. The other road (which is worse then the one ya'll travel) forges the river and it has a 5 foot or deeper hole in the middle of it where current has pushed out the rocks.I would be stranded on the Tegucigalpa side had I arrived about 30 min. later. On Wed night I sat on the Tegucigalpa side of the river with one of our kids, the Pastor and a Tia, with a van full of groceries. We arrived at 8pm and got across at 4:30am. Up the next day for a dental appt at 9am.

Rains have slowed everything down but we push forward. They have sped things up in the house as we run around with buckets to catch the raindrops inside.

Violence continues everywhere and the military is out in force for the moment. A gang of robbers was caught in our area after several months of daily robberies. Some of the people they grabbed were forced to drive on our road to our side of the river where they parked and robbed them, turned them loose and then the victims walked out over the hill to their homes.

Internet and phone connections have been a real problem this year. When it rains and the lines get wet the internet goes down then the phones bite the dust.

School is going well for our children but the public teachers are doing mini strikes and threatening to go out for a long time if their demands are not met.

Well those are the highlights for now. Keep those prayers going up!

In His Love and Grace, Greg,

(written 5/24/05 and the rain is still causing problems as Arlene developed.)

Hey GSCH Partners,

Hope all is well. Things here are extremely wet from Hurricane Adrian. We did not get as much rain as predicted (24") but did get plenty. Everything was closed down including the roads, schools and everyone was thinking it would be another Mitch. The wind actually calmed down to nothing here in the mountains.

Since I was grounded for the hurricane I managed to get the second laundry room plumbed and the conduit and boxes set for the wiring. Since I was working alone I did not want to try and pull the wire. Will get that when I have someone to feed while I pull.

Our count has grown to 154 and next week we will probably increase another 6 to 9. IHNFA and different organizations want to send more and parents show up daily asking to put their children here. I am having to turn them away due to funds and no space. Even with Casita 6 now open we are going to be overbooked with the ones IHNFA and the Judges are sending.

We got the blessing of news that a friend in MS has purchased a meat saw and grinder for the butcher house. Miguel was thrilled since the after hours trips to town to cut up the meat are made by him. With gas at $3.50 per gallon plus paying to have it cut up the home will save money with this purchase..

With the quick growth we will probably run short on funding in the school. Our calculations where based on 134 children but we are twenty above that. In addition some High School startup costs plus a new requirement by the government which added two teachers to the payroll added to the shortfall. I project we have funds for about 3 months, leaving about 4 to 5 months of teachers pay. This load will shift over to the home acct. which means a considerable increase in Home acct outflow. But we know that God is more then able to supply! We anxiously await to see His way in which this will be met.

Regards of how God plans to meet this need I have begun some early adjusting in the area of construction projects with no designated funds. These projects, such as Security fence, and odds and ends building projects will have to wait until I am sure the school is funded through the year. Once that is accomplished I will resume these projects or if funding designated for one of these construction projects comes in I will continue.

We are already seeing the fruits of having our High School. Our children are getting much better grades and have commented on the difference in the teachers here and in their old High School. Even the students from the village are excited about having teachers who show up and show up ready to teach. In a school meeting some parents of the outside students commented that one reason they wanted to send their children to the GSCA was because they could see a difference in the children of the home and want their children to learn the same respect and discipline.

Well I will go for now. I have plenty of paperwork to catch up on. Monday will be a super busy day in town since I lost Thursday and Friday to hurricane.

In His Grace, Greg

4/20/05

Greg has informed us they have accepted 5 more children (total at 146 now) and are planning to accept 5 more plus they have papers working on 2 more. Asked if he had opened Casita 6 Greg replied “no we are stacking them up.” On the maintenance trip Casita 6 was getting close with the cabinets installed and plumbing underway. Maintenance group was able to replace Counters in Casitas 1&2 (that termites and water damage had in bad condition.) Thanks to Keith Breaux! No major injuries to any of the workers and many smaller honey do’s completed. Unfortunately part of the group was unable to make the trip since it was discovered at the airport Honduras requires 3 mos. remaining on the passports. Two months left and you do not go. Mitch Brown’s electrical infrastructure work was put in service without a problem and now relieves many of the overloaded problems at the Casona (main house.) It also provides a safe way for use of the generators during the frequent power outages. Pictures from maintenance trip in the picture gallery. See the kids and some group members.

Listening to the Voice of Truth,

2/17/05

Greg has told us they just accepted 2 more babies and have taken in 3 teenagers to raise the total children to 138 at the Good Shepherd Children’s Home..

The high school is in full operation at the Good Shepherd Christian Academy allowing the older children to continue their education in a Christian environment. Some of the local village teens are enrolled as well. The new high school operation allows the children to learn without the interruption from teacher strikes that had been plaguing them in the recent past. It also allows the learning to occur in a safe environment.

The next GSCH Maintenance Group is schedule to go to the Good Shepherd Children’s Home March 18-21.

If you have any information you would like to share or any questions please use the contacts list shown on the About Us page.

Trying to be obedient each day,