Typical Day

A typical day. Well, we don't really function on an 8 to 5 schedule here, so there really isn't a routine here. Each day is different. So let me give you a quick rundown of what we do each day.
Monday: This is Mark's one day off each week. We like to relax as a family, but also enjoy inviting a family to our home for dinner.
Tuesday: Mark studies all morning and then attends a staff meeting at the church in the afternoon as the staff and pastors at the church review the activities of the week, pray, and organize responsibilities. Three days a week Reagan attends a tiny, Christian, bilingual preschool that is only a 5 minute drive from our house. The classes are taught in English, but all of the children talk in Spanish. Reagan seems to be sorting out the languages well, and is communicating better each day with his new classmates. We are beginning to meet other families there as we drop off and pick up Reagan. Meanwhile, at the house we welcome a dear, sweet woman to our house. She rides a bus almost 2 hours each way so that she can have a job that will provide for her needs. Her neighborhood only receives water one day a month, so we are thrilled to hire her to work in our home two days a week. When Corina is in our house, we all speak Spanish. It's a great way to practice in Spanish as a family. Corina is teaching Monica to make some of the traditional Honduran foods. Also on Tuesdays, in the evening, Monica attends a women's bible study at the church. They are currently studying the book of Exodus to see how God cared for His people. Late in the evening Mark attends a class at church: Panorama of the New Testament.
Wednesday: Mark goes to EARLY morning prayer and a men's bible study breakfast. (It starts at 5:30.) He has been challenged by some fantastic teaching from some of the older men at the church. After the men's breakfast, Mark and the other four men who are receiving church planting training attend a book study with the evangelism pastor. Monica is at home with the kids during the day. We like to walk down the street to the park or play in the street with the neighbor kids.
Thursday: Mark studies all day. Monica studies with a tutor two days a week. Doña Georgina is a retired professor who taught Spanish to Peace Corp students for many years. Some of the grammar forms and vocabulary used here are different than what we learned at language school in Costa Rica, so Doña Geo is helping Monica adapt to Spanish that is more specific to Honduras. On Thursday evenings, Mark meets with Norberto, the evangelism pastor. Norberto is preparing Mark to do one-on-one discipleship with Hondurans in Spanish. Later in the evening, Monica meets with a woman from the church named Juanita who has led many people to Christ. They are doing the same discipleship training as Mark and Norberto.
Friday: Mark studies all morning and then participates in a prayer meeting with the staff, students and pastors of the church. He also has a meeting with the pastor of the church. Since all of the classes that Mark is taking are taught in Spanish, he spends a good amount of time reading books and studying his Bible in Spanish. We are both memorizing verses in Spanish.
Saturday: Saturday mornings vary for Mark. Sometimes, he does construction at the church or is part of ministry outside the confines of the church campus like evangelistic medical brigades or food giveaways to the needy. As for the ongoing church construction, after renting a grocery store for several years, some land was found to build a church building. We now occupy a new building, but it is far from finished; we are already growing out of it. So Mark usually works a few hours on Saturday mornings to haul dirt, excavate rocks or dig holes. In a recent medical brigade the Honduran Army provided medical care for several thousand needy Hondurans, and one of the church planting students from the church shared a formal gospel message to hundreds while Mark shared the gospel one-on-one in the shadows. Last weekend, Mark attended a Saturday morning missions conference aimed at informing our Honduran church of the effectiveness of Latins going to Muslim nations to share the gospel. On Saturday afternoons Mark takes two classes. And in the evening we attend the first of three weekend church services where Mark has many servant responsibilities.
Sunday: Mark goes to church early to help set up and make preparations for the two morning services. Usually Monica attends the service on Saturday nights and helps in the children's classes on Sunday mornings. Impacto has a wonderful children's program with music, Bible lessons, crafts, and fantastic teachers. During the first service, Monica helps with the infants (including Clarissa.) The next service, she helps in whatever class has the most kids. Mark also helps out with a variety of tasks on Sunday morning. It ranges from directing cars in the parking lot to serving communion. Our ministry work usually ends by 2:00 PM and we have a late lunch as a family or with new Honduran friends.
So that's a "typical" week for us.