Day 8 – February 5 – Jesus Paguaga and I headed to Tegucigalpa and the airport this morning at about 10:00. Denny Petrillo’s flight was due in at 1:12 p.m. We arrived just in time to greet him as he came out of the Customs area. We arrived back in Danlí and the hotel shortly after 6:00 p.m. and after dinner in the hotel’s restaurant, retired to the room. It’s been a long day of driving (including a long wait in a traffic jam caused by an accident involving a large truck). We were ready for lights out.
Day 9 – February 6 – Today I am half way through my stay here on this trip. It is Sunday and Denny and I headed over to the El Zarzal church building for worship and Bible Class with the brethren there. Brother Nery preached a powerful sermon and afterward taught a great class. After church, we walked over to a nearby strip mall and got some lunch, as well as, took advantage of the free wi-fi there and caught up on some email. We then returned to the hotel to get some rest. This may surprise some of you, but we are able to watch the Super Bowl here, even though the play-by-play is broadcast in Spanish. Tomorrow, Denny starts his class on Hermeneutics.
Day 10 – February 7 – Denny Petrillo began his class on Hermeneutics today. I was a little intimidated to begin with because brother Cesar, who is Denny’s translator, was not there. When we finally got in touch with him, he said he was on a bus headed our way but stuck in traffic…still in Tegucigalpa!! And the only person who could possibly fill in was…gulp…me! Well, I told the class to help me and Denny to go slow and we made it just fine. Cesar arrived sooner than I expected and things continued to go well. The students (and visitors) are really enjoying the class. After class, just like last Monday, we loaded up and headed to Jacaleapa for a soccer match. A good time was had by all. We were pretty tired when we got back to the hotel room, ready for a good night’s sleep.
Day 11 – February 8 – Today, after chapel at 7:30, I left Denny with the class and I came back to the hotel to get some work done here. I returned to the class around 10:00 and was with them the rest of the day. Today, there were approximately 10 in the class, counting the visitors. After class, we returned to the hotel. We learned of the very serious condition of Denny’s mother-in-law and he has made arrangements to fly back two days early to be with his wife. Our prayers will certainly be for their family. Tonight, we had our regularly scheduled class. Yonis Gonzalez taught a class on Acts 6; there was good participation. After class, Nery and I discussed some of the details concerning the feeding of the 5,000…er, the 80, that we expect for graduation Friday night. Denny stayed at the hotel so that he could prepare the final exam for the students, since he is leaving tomorrow.
Day 12 – February 9 – The last day of classes! Denny was able to finish his material. Everyone has been very pleased with this class and very appreciative of the opportunity to be involved. We have had visitors every day, with three teenagers being there every day. Prayers are continually being offered on behalf of Denny and the Roberts family in their time of grief, as well as, a safe journey for Denny. This morning early, Nery and I headed out to put a down payment on the food we will need Friday night. On our way to getting dollars changed into Lempiras, we ran into car problems. After trying to get it going again on our own for about 35 minutes, we called for help. Luis came and took me to the bank and Nery waited for the mechanic. Fortunately, all went well at the bank and the problem turned out to be a condenser, so no major repair bills. For dinner, I scheduled our regular staff meeting at a local restaurant (Ovi & Ser) which serves quite a delicious menu. We were joined by three of our teachers. We presented these three with a nice portfolio from Bear Valley (that matches one the graduates will receive, but they don’t know that, so don’t tell them). We also talked about the future of IBH. I expressed my appreciation for the work they have done over the past two years. I also told them that the teachers who have come to this school over the past two years from the United States have told me how impressed they are with the Institute and that we must do what we can to continue. Denny added his appreciation for these men and their work in the kingdom of God, and told them that this is a very important part of the Bear Valley Extension program, that the students and faculty of the Institute in Denver pray regularly for IBH. For their part, the teachers expressed their appreciation for the confidence that Bear Valley has shown in them and that they are determined to continue and working with us together to make this a success for the cause of Christ. We returned to the hotel around 7:45. This has been a good day!
Day 13 – February 10 – Today was Denny Petrillo’s last day in Honduras for this visit. He, Jesús, Cesar Tábora and I left Danlí about 9:30 a.m. and headed to Tegucigalpa and the airport. Denny’s flight was later than the arriving flight of Bob and Chase Turner so he was able to see their plane land before heading through security. We were sorry to see him leave early, as was he, but we understand he needs to be with his family. His class was well attended and very profitable for the students. Bob and Chase had a good flight down from Houston and after lunch we headed for Danlí. Cesar stayed in Tegucigalpa. We arrived back in Danlí around 4:00 p.m. We were able to see the school some (from the outside) before heading over to the home of one of the members of the congregation for the Thursday night class. It has been another good day!
God Bless,
Donnie Bates