And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue this work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6
We have been dreaming and praying for the ability to expand our medical services in Rio Viejo for many years. We are blown away by what God has been able to do with us up to this point, but He has given us the dream of doing more. Last year we announced that we would be starting an expansion project that would span over a few years. We have been working on our expansion project for just over a year and we are seeing great results. This project includes adding some longer term housing and expanding the amount of land we have in Rio Viejo, all for the purpose of housing more health care providers and to expand the services we can offer the people of Honduras.
This year the main focus of our expansion project has been the construction of the two story family apartments and the fencing of the newly acquired property. The beginning of 2020 was filled with different visitors from Louisiana and Alabama with one goal in mind: the framing of the three bedroom apartment of the second floor and to get a roof on the building. It took three different groups to accomplish this hefty goal, but by the end of February the framing and roof were completely finished and the building was ready for the next phase of construction. Unfortunately in March the country closed its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic and all construction was stopped.
After five long months of waiting for Honduras to re-open its borders, the good news finally came that normal scheduled flights would begin again and visitors could come into the country. Construction of the new family apartments began again with the arrival of a combined team from City Hope and St. Amant Church. These guys brought in the cavalry to help us work toward the completion of the new family apartments.
Their long list of projects included hanging the wood siding, installing the drop ceiling, and connecting plumbing and electricity to the second floor as well as painting the first floor apartment. From sun up to sun down these guys pushed forward and never stopped. Their hard work paid off and we are closer now than ever to having the apartments move in ready.
While our stateside visitors were finishing up the apartments, our local crew of Honduran workers began the construction of the perimeter fence surrounding the new 8 acres of land. Once the back section of land is secured, hopefully by the end of January 2021, we will begin building the first two houses on the new property! This is such an exciting time for us and we ask that you continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we move forward to complete this big dream that God placed in our hearts.
“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes”. Isaiah 54:2