November 2012 Update

To the Saints that are holding us before the throne of our God. May His grace and love shower over you in ways that you never expect! “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever.” Psalm 118:1 This Thursday is Thanksgiving and a day when friends and family gather together to celebrate the blessings of life! This will be only the 3rd Thanksgiving in our 44 years of knowing each other that we will not be gathering with the Rhodes’ family in Estill, SC. We have been so blessed to have been able to keep that tradition for so many years. We will miss our family as they gather there, but the Lord is good. Joe and I will be gathering with some new friends in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and sharing a meal. The Lord provides many new blessings each day to us here. We pray that your Thanksgiving is a most blessed one that is filled with God’s blessings, love, fellowship and lots of good food! It’s hard to realize that this time last month Abney was here with us. Now she is in Brisbane, Australia nannying for her sister, Stacey, with her two little ones; while Stacey and Simon attend the School of Redeeming Cultures. After Abney left, Jack Melvin who is also a SAMS (Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders) missionary stayed with us for two weeks until he was able to find an apartment. It turns out that he’s next door to us, but four floors up. We continue to find ourselves facing new ways of life and change! Each day we see the Lord’s hand upon us as we go about our work here at St. Mary’s School and Church. We stay busy and time seems to fly by so quickly. We are so grateful for our apartment across from St. Mary’s and feel so at home now. We have enjoyed our Thursday night Bible Studies at St. Mary’s Church. There is always a little eating time afterwards. I have been able to make a caramel and chocolate cake for two birthdays we celebrated! The cakes turned out pretty good even with the high altitude here in Tegucigalpa. Our daily life at St. Mary’s School is so exciting, busy, challenging, and prayer filled!! Joe helps with the chapel service for the high school when Fr. Gerardo Alonzo, the Dean of St. Mary’s Co-Cathedral is absent. He also teaches Christian Education to the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. When I am not helping with my English Coordinator duties, I teach Christian Education to the Kinder, Preparatory, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. Last week I went with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders for a day Retreat at the El Hogar Institute which is located in the Amarateca valley. We had a blast!! Many of the children could not believe how fast this grey headed lady could run when we played “Duck, Duck, Goose.” Of course when I tripped, fell, and rolled in the grass all of them raced and stood over me silent until I rolled over laughing!! Praise God for thick uncut grass!! The very first Saturday in November, the Daughters of the King Chapters here in Honduras had their first Diocesan Assembly. I was able to attend. This time brought back many memories from the early years of the DOK in the Diocese of SC when we held our first Diocesan Assembly. Two DOKs from the United States were present. Missy Denny, the new National 1st Vice President from San Antonio, TX and a dear friend, Lana Valenta, from Dallas,TX. I had quite a surprise to see my friend there. She knew I was coming to the Assembly, but I had no idea she would be there. A sweet, special time was had by all!! A couple of weeks ago, St. Mary’s Church held a supper for married couples. There was candle light, special music for entertainment and good food. Joe and I were the speakers for this event, sharing about our life as a married couple. Thank you Lord for our 41 years of marriage: our children, their husbands, and our grandchildren! Speaking of grandchildren…our daughter Marie and her husband Paul are expecting #4 in May!! God is so good!!! Our Sundays here are special. Joe leads the English service for St. Mary’s. We are small in number but full of life!! Then we remain for the Spanish service where Joe helps Fr. Gerardo with distributing communion. It is a wonderful Spirit filled worship service! Recently we attended Fr. Gerardo’s 5th anniversary celebration to the priesthood. Fr. Gerardo and his family have been friends of ours for almost 18 years. God is so good!!! This past Friday, Joe went to the airport to meet a team from All Saint’s Episcopal Church in Lakeland, FL to deliver two translators for them from St. Mary’s School and to pick up 50 Bilingual Bibles that were purchased through a gift from the Church Periodical Club’s “Miles of Pennies Fund” of the Episcopal Church Women from the Diocese of South Carolina. It’s always good to know when teams are coming down, because they can always bring something to help the missionaries in the field. Last Saturday, we attended the 6th grade graduation of the children from the El Hogar Orphanage. Truly a day of celebration for these young girls and boys. They definitely know how good God is and how His love endures forever! In closing we have a few prayer requests and invitations for you! First, we will be returning to the states on the 11th of December to Sumter, SC for Christmas break and will be returning to Honduras on January 8, 2013. Our prayer request is for safe travel, good connections, good weather, easy entrance through immigration and customs going both ways! Also, wise use of our time while we are home. We have many people to see and things to accomplish in our short time there. Second, pray about attending the New Wineskins Conference -- April 4-7, 2013 at Ridgecrest Conference Center, Ridgecrest, NC. This is a wonderful gathering of brothers and sisters from all over the world sharing about the Kingdom work they are doing. It is a time for worshipping together, attending workshops, networking, fellowshipping, and praying together as a Church. There are so many wonderful speakers and teachers! Check out their web site at www.newwineskins.org. Third, it is that time of year to issue our Team invitation to come and help at St. Mary’s Episcopal School with their VBS/Youth Retreat and service project. The dates are from June 4-15, 2013. Please let us know by December 21, 2012 if you would like to be a part of this Team, then we’ll contact you with further details. And Fourth, our VISA process. Upon our return to Honduras in January we will be able to finalize our VISA process. We would love to have it all completed by April before we attend the New Wineskins Conference. Pray for quick approval!! Thank you again for your love, support and prayers….and continuing on in Psalm 118… “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! The Lord’s right hand is lifted high. The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!” vs. 15-16 And, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Vs 24 Be Blessed to be a Blessing, Tina and Joe The Reverend Canon Joe & Tina Rhodes 2280 Clematis Trail Sumter, SC 29150 USA 803-469-0720 HN 011-504-977-1531