URGENT NEED.

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(copied from old blog. entry dated: 3/11/2007 3:19:00 PM)

Re:  Urgent Needs                  
Dear Friends & Supporters,
We pray the Lord’s richest blessings on you and your family.  We hope where ever you are spring is bringing about better weather and sunshine.  Hopefully we just had our last big rain storm for the season and except for a few leaks in the roof, all is well in Rio Viejo. 
I know you’re wondering why the title of this message reads “urgent”.  It is true that we are all in good health, in good spirits, and anticipating God’s faithfulness always, but we are pressed in all directions and we feel the weight overtaking us, and so we ask for your prayers and your help. 
As you may know, I have finished all my obligations to the country of Honduras, but I am still fighting the bureaucratic process that every medical student must undertake in order to graduate and receive certification from the medical community.   This year it is particularly difficult because of student strikes which have kept the medical school closed for several months.  The faculty is unable to work; therefore much of our paperwork cannot proceed. Meeting the graduation requirements is not only time-consuming, but financially burdensome.  We have been living in Rio Viejo, in the clinic, to minimize our monthly expenses and to expedite the completion of the building itself.  This by the way has helped immensely in both aspects.  However, the graduation process dictates numerous trips to the capital city, which are all very costly.  Secondly, to try to overcome the bureaucratic hurdles we have been obligated to hire a lawyer.  We have been in Honduras for more than 3 years and have not been able to return to itinerate because of the medical curriculum’s requisite of continued medical training.  As a result of our prolonged absence, we have not been able to fund raise since 2003 and our monthly contributions have steadily declined.  So I am asking for your help, especially financial help, in order to graduate and get my family back to the States. 
Last month we sold Wendy’s 1994 Toyota Tercel to help with some of these expenses and to get my truck running again.  With these funds we were able to pay for the used engine, a trip to the U.S. embassy in Tegucigalpa to renew the kids’ passports, some of the fees for graduation, and the first payment for the lawyer.  But airline tickets to the U.S. are expensive, and there are so many other fees yet to be paid.   Our tickets were purchased on credit to take advantage of a special fare ($2,098), saving us more than a thousand dollars from the regular price.  We are scheduled to return to the States on March 26th, flying into Miami, and returning to Honduras on July 20th.  So between March and July we will be itinerating and fund raising for our next phase of work in Honduras.  We hope that 2007 will be the inauguration of the clinic and regular medical services will be offered to the people in this area.  We were challenged by a recent trip to Loma de Luz Hospital, which is a missionary medical outreach, similar in function to what we hope to establish in Rio Viejo.  We believe God to fulfill what He has put in our hearts.  It is a large undertaking, but He is able.
Before our departure there are some final projects that must be completed on the clinic in order to insure that its contents are safe during our four month stay in the U.S.  I will be adding metal bracing and locks to the outside doors to they cannot be easily forced open.  A fellow missionary and friend who recently made a trip to the U.S. and left her home unoccupied in Rio Viejo was victim to a break-in and theft the first month she was away.  We are trying to prevent this from happening at the clinic by making sure doors and windows are secure and also by having the Pastor’s son from the village sleep in the clinic each night. 
There is much to be completed in the next two weeks and we ask for your prayers before our departure on the 26th of this month.
These are our immediate urgent needs:
Graduation Fees:                  9,000 Lempira     $ 500
Outstanding Lawyer Fees:    4,000 Lempira     $ 225
Airline Tickets:                                                $ 2,098
Immigration Exit Fees:                                     $ 120
Securing the clinic:                                           $ 500

We want to thank you for your support during these last three very difficult years.  We have been stretched spiritually, emotionally, financially, and thank God that in all these things we are more than conquerors.  We are thankful to God for you, who continue to keep us in your prayers, on your church bulletins, and that the people of Honduras are never far from you, your congregations, or your prayers.



You are welcomed to visit our website, hhim.us and/or send your contributions to
Healing Hands International Ministries
P.O. Box 234
Fayetteville, TN 37334
In His Love & Grace,
Martin Williams & family