Blog Worthy Pictures
Just a couple interesting pictures. Guildy is working on her drinking-out-of-a-glass skills. It’s messy business, but, as in all things Guildy-related, she sure is cute. We thought the smoothie mustache picture was blog worthy.

This big moth was out our little back door entry way. They are actually kind of creepy when they fly around….more like a bat than a bug. Nothing like a gigantic insect to make you feel a little uncomfortable!

Another Swimming Hole
Yep, in addition to serving the Lord, it seems to be our mission to seek out all the good swimming holes in the area. So, once again, we went swimming this past weekend. The particular place had a small water fall running into it. It is located about 10 miles from San Luis, and it was just a short walk from the town of Rio Coco. This picture is the typical scenery in the area. Pretty impressive, huh?!

When we got to Rio Coco, a group of men were getting ready to take a string of horses and donkeys up into the mountains to harvest beans they had grown. The picture only shows a few, but there must have been twenty horses and bunch more guys.

Josh jumped off the high rocks in a couple places. I, however, not possessing the same degree of bravery, chose to just float around the pool. And I actually didn’t swim for long. There were a ton of tiny fish, and they were nibbling everyone’s toes and legs. Well, I had a scab on my leg, and they kept attacking it. I figured I better not spend too much time allowing the nasty little carnivores to eat on me. Aside from that, it was a great trip. And, like any successful outing, it made Guildy good and tired so she took a nice, long nap when we got home:o)

Rio Bejucal
The Bejucal River empties into the Caribbean just west of here. Within just a couple miles, it rises several thousand feet into the mountains, which creates some beautiful scenery. Access to the river used to be somewhat limited, but they are now building a hydroelectric plant several miles up the river, so there is a good dirt road within about a half mile of an amazing swimming hole. For the people living along the river, most of whom have a few dairy cows and raise plantains, this is the first time they have had a real road or electricity. We wonder if they see it as an improvement or an intrusion.

The walk into the swimming hole, while short, is very scenic. The white flowers are just one example of the abundant exotic flora. Also of interest were the leaf cutter ants…..the same type you see on the Discovery Channel.! Not sure if they'll show up in the pic, but interesting nonetheless.

The swimming hole, pictured in the background, is deep enough to jump into off the large rocks. The area has lots of thermal activity, and a hot spring runs into one side of the pool. In some spots, the sand on the bottom of the pool is too hot to stand on comfortably. About a quarter mile upstream from the pool is a 40 foot waterfall, but we didn’t go up to it this trip because it requires hardy swimming skills, which Guildy obviously lacks. So we spent our afternoon eating lunch and enjoying the cool water.

Buying Veggies….Honduran Style
While we buy most of our groceries at the grocery stores in La Ceiba (which, incidentally, have all recently been purchased by Walmart), we try to get as much as we can locally. The Veggie Guy (actually there are several) drives around town selling his wares out of the back of his pickup. He has a loudspeaker that blares out a recording of what he’s selling, so you have plenty of notice when he’s coming. The local, easy-to-grow fruits and veggies, such as plantains, bananas, and watermelon, are about a third of US prices, and most other stuff is about half. Eggs are about the same, and, unfortunately, we can’t convince the local stray chickens to lay eggs in our yard. Apparently they are already laying elsewhere.

Fresh milk is about $1.25 a gallon. A few of the local dairy guys have a co-op, which sells milk and makes and sells butter and cheese. I think the butter and cheese require a Honduran upbringing in order to appreciate, but the milk, while somewhat "green," is much better than anything at the grocery store. We have a milk pasteurizer, which makes the whole process pretty slick.

Pulperias are tiny stores that have a little of everything in miniscule packages. Because the economy here operates on such a small scale, people don’t have enough money at one time to buy the quantities of food normal to American grocery shopping. So, one can buy bullion cubes one at a time, an individually packaged tablespoon of baking powder, or a single roll of toilet paper. Every neighborhood has a pulperian within quick walking distance, and most of them are run out of their owners’ houses. Our pulperia is two houses down from us, and it is owned by a lady named Nora.

July Newsletter

Greetings from the Brownings in sunny San Luis, Honduras!

We hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the summer wherever you are. We have been in Honduras for about two months now, so we figured it was high time to let everyone know how we are doing and what we are privileged to be a part of here on the north coast.

We are lucky to be a part of an amazing ministry! The Honduran and American staff at Hospital Loma de Luz (www.lomadeluz.net) continue to provide physical and spiritual care to about 50 people per day, 5-6 of which are inpatients and the rest who come to the clinic. Everyone has opportunity to hear the gospel and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. We think that’s an awesome outreach!

The Trapeze Bed
Rigo doing pull-ups in the trapeze bed that Josh and Mito built.Since neither of us are medical people, we sort of work ‘behind the scenes’ doing our small parts to keep the hospital ministry moving forward. Hospitals, medical equipment, cars, houses, plumbing – they all require maintenance and repair and Josh has been busy lending his skills to these tasks. Occasionally he gets to build something new rather than fix broken things. In June, he and Mito, one of the Honduran employees, built a trapeze bed (traction bed) for Rigo who was paralyzed from the waist down about four months ago. When he came to Loma de Luz, he was extremely sick from an infection in one of his legs. Doctors here removed a pin from his ankle which allowed the infection to clear up. His condition continues to improve and he has a very positive attitude. In this photo, Rigo was showing Josh how he could do pull-ups in the trapeze bed.

Men’s Group
Every Tuesday night, Josh attends a Bible study with 8-10 Hondurans and two other Americans. When we were here in 2004, one thing that struck us was the need for more discipleship, so it is very encouraging to see this group of Honduran men committed to studying the Word and keeping each other accountable to live it out. Josh loves it. He says it’s just like his Wednesday morning Bible study back in Bozeman….except it’s on Tuesday nights and in Spanish!

Math and Science Tutoring
I spend most of my time being a stay-at-home mom but I’m still able to do some math and science teaching. Right now, I only have two students, but in the fall I will be teaching chemistry, algebra I, and advanced math, so I will have several more. The students come to our house while Guildy is napping, so we’re able to work uninterrupted (most of the time :o).


Guildy Update
It just wouldn’t be a newsletter without an update on the smallest and cutest member of our family. Guildy is a one-year-old as of June 13th. She is walking, babbling, learning to use a fork and showing us more of her little personality every day. She’s a bit of a novelty with her blond hair and blue eyes, so the Hondurans always say how pretty she is. She’s also growing a whole mouthful of teeth, which has been challenging! She is such a blessing to us!

Prayer Requests
We are so thankful for the opportunity to serve and be a small part of God’s work here. Please be praying for us and the hospital ministry:
1. Please pray for the daily operations of the hospital and for fruitful interactions between patients, staff, and doctors.
2. Language is always a challenge for missionaries. Please pray for our Spanish.
3. We have awesome neighbors here in San Luis. Pray that we would be good ambassadors of our Lord in spite of our linguistic shortcomings.
4. There is so much going on here. Pray that we would not be caught up in ‘busy-ness,’ but rather be about the Lord’s business.
5. We have stayed blessedly healthy so far. Please continue to pray for our safety and protection.

In Closing
Thank you all so much for your support in all forms. The Bible teaches over and over that the body of Christ requires each member to do its part. Let us rejoice together in the small parts we get to play in reaching the north coast of Honduras for Christ and echo Paul in our desire to see “the word of the Lord run swiftly and be glorified” (2 Thes. 3:1).

In Christ’s Love, Josh, Linzy, and Guildy

Guildy and Anna

We joke that we have been leading parallel lives with Bob, Angela, and Anna Garner. They are another missionary family here from New Jersey. They got married within a few weeks of us, and our daughters are only 4 days apart. Guildy and Anna are in the "parallel play" stage of life, where they don't really play with each other socially. They just recognize each other as other living objects. But they sure are cute together!