2010 and THE HANDS OF CHRIST

Merry Christmas from Honduras,

As we look back at 2010, we can see that much has been accomplished. For this, we give all the glory and honor to God. After all, He is the giver of all wisdom and abilities to succeed in this ministry.

We would like to thank each of our supporters. Without your prayers, contributions, and willingness to serve our work would not be possible. Your gifts have allowed more than 10,000 people to receive the medical care they so desperately need. For example, while a team was here with us we had a mother bring a severely dehydrated and malnourished baby to our clinic. The decision was made to send the baby to the hospital where it could receive intravenous rehydration treatments. This saved the baby’s life. One of the team members decided to sponsor the baby and is purchasing food and clothes for the baby. In a matter of several short weeks the baby responded to the nourishment it was receiving and is growing stronger. These are the miracles that each of you that support us is causing to happen.

Lives are changed physically and for some, spiritually too. Because we are here in Honduras, people are coming to know the Lord as their personal Savior. This only happens because you care enough to support us and to help us purchase the medicines that we need to run the medical clinics. God’s work continues here in Honduras. Some progress is being made on different permits and agreements with the Government Health department. Our Women’s Clinic plans continue to move forward. We are now working with the Honduran environmental agency to get their approval for our project. The slowness of the government is frustrating for us. We are trusting God that all will happen in His time. It is amazing as we look back and see how God has placed different people into our ministry at different times to help and encourage us, but more importantly to further His Kingdom and His work. He is Faithful all the time.

As 2010 comes to a close, please remember us in your end of the year giving. All gifts are tax deductable. We hope that you will continue to support us as the New Year begins. Please keep us in your prayers. Always pray for our safety and pray for us to hear and obey God. Pray for our base of supporters to grow. Please encourage others to visit our website www.thehandsofchrist.org. Please feel free to contact us at johnyana_41@hotmail.com. We would love to hear from you. If you would like to send a team or come as an individual please contact us and let us know.

We hope each of you has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May God’s peace fill your hearts and minds, and may He fill your days with blessings that you cannot imagine. We appreciate each of you.

For correspondence or donations: The Hands of Christ -- P.O. Box 1252 – Franklin, Tennessee 37065

You may also donate through the website at www.thehandsofchrist.org .

In Christ Service Always,
John & Ana Lamon
Honduras

Alternative Gift Giving for The Hands of Christ

December 2, 2010

Friends and Supporters:

As we enter this holiday season, The Hands of Christ is blessed to have faithful financial and prayer supporters like you. As you are making your Christmas and gift selection over the next few weeks we would like to offer you an alternative. If you would like to "purchase" a gift for The Hands of Christ in honor or memory of someone I will send you a gift tag to hang on your Christmas trees or wrap as a gift. Some examples of items you can gift to us are:

$15 for Medicine Bags and Supplies

$500 Shipment of Medicines

$30 for One Month Telephone Service or Utilities Assistance

$25,000 Cost of Medicines for One Year

$100 for Truck Fuel for 2 Weeks

$600 for Housing


Please send your gift and item notation to me by Dec. 15th at P.O. Box 1252 Franklin, TN 37065 or email me at the address below, I will in turn send you a “tag” for your tree!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sarah Hathaway
The Hands of Christ, Inc.
A Non-Profit Organization
www.thehandsofchrist.org
sarah.hathaway@comcast.net

What a Gift!

We recently received a gift from a young lady 10 or 11 years old who asked her friends to give money to The Hands of Christ instead of giving her birthday presents. She and her friends gave a $105! Wow!!! Way to go Elizabeth! Their sacrificial giving will help the needy in Honduras receive medicine and hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Thank you, Elizabeth for your example of putting others first in the name of Christ!

NEW WEBSITE

Please checkout our new website at www.thehandsofchrist.org!

Dedication of the Land for the Women's Clinic

Hello from Honduras, John writing here. We have finally had a good rain here in the mountains after more than a couple of months without adequate rain. Maybe things will green up a little now. With the elections approaching on the 29 of November, the Honduran people are hoping to finally put their political problems behind them. It has been 5 months since the now ex-president was removed from office for illegally trying to change the constitution.
Yesterday, Tuesday, November 3rd was a special day for The Hands of Christ, Inc. We gathered 3 pastors and 12 lay persons at the Women’s Clinic site and had a dedication service for the land that the clinic will be built on. The land was anointed for Christ’s service and all that participated walked the land and spent time praying for the building process and the women and families that will be served there. One of the prayers was for God's blessing in the work that would take place there. Afterwards, all were invited to our home for a delicious lunch (I cooked part of it ). Please see the attached photo of the dedication. On the 9th of this month we will be coming to the states to participate in the Global Mission Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. Please pray for our trip that it will be safe and very productive for our mission.
On a more difficult note, our truck is having more and more problems that are very expensive to repair. It is 11 years old and has served us well but it is time to get another one. If you can help us financially with this endeavor it would be greatly appreciated. We cannot go to help others if we do not have transportation. Please pray specifically and ask God if you are to help us and how, in the purchase of a new to us / used vehicle.
We appreciate each one of you and all your prayers and help that you have given The Hands of Christ.

Ana writing here. As my husband has already said, yesterday was really a wonderful day for us. It's true that months ago God gave all of us this land. And if you see, I said "all of us", rather than just "us" because each supporter of this ministry helped us take the first step in the vision for this to become a reality. We know that God already made it a reality before we did anything. We are witnesses of His tremendous power and love for His creation. Thanks to God, because He let us participate in this project for His Glory and Honor. God doesn't need any help but He wants to bless all of us for being givers. I am not talking about just money but giving of your prayers and letters that let us know that we are not alone in Honduras. We are all children of God. As Christians we need to take care of each other’s needs. Thank you for helping us care for the children of God in Honduras.

Thanks again because you have never left us alone. We are far away in body, but we are together through the Holy Spirit.

Work Continues at the site of The Hands of Christ Women’s Clinic

John and Ana continue to work and oversee work of the process of clearing the land for the future women’s clinic. All rocks, trees in the direct site and tree stumps must be removed and most of the work is completed by manual labor. The trees and stumps are piled together and burned.

Under Curfew

Good afternoon! John and Ana called this morning to say that they are under curfew as are all residents of Tegucigalpa. Ex-President Zelaya returned to Honduras under the cover of night and there is or was a demonstration in Tegu in support of him. The media would have us to believe that tens of thousands people were involved in the demonstration but John said that it was probably 4 or 5,000. The city is really very calm and under curfew. John and Ana do not feel unsafe in any way right now. They are using these days to prepare for upcoming clinics getting medicines and supplies ready and for rest. If you have not been to Honduras, just riding around the city will exhaust you because the road conditions are quite bad. There are some stretches of road that are nice and smoothly paved but most are filled will pot holes if they are paved and many roads where John and Ana serve are all dirt and rutted from rains and travelers.

Please continue to pray for their safety and ability to serve the needy people of Honduras. Also, pray that the United States government would realize that the majority of the people in Honduras are "for" the new government and not for Zelaya and what he stands for.

plowing with oxen

From top left: Jessica Murphy giving out medicine in Ciudad España. Top Right: 4 members of the church in Ciudad España praying for a patient. Bottom Left: A pill counting party with Claudia Stull, Betty, Charlotte Shepherd, Jessica Murphy, and Brandy Burns.

This lady cooked our lunch (chicken, rice, and beans) on her home stove Claudia Stull doing pre-clinic in ciudad España where we saw around 300 patients

This Baptist Church was the site of our medical brigade about an hour and one half south of Tegucigalpa.

Dr. Ana checking the heartbeat of an unborn child in Las Hadras

Charlotte Shepherd preparing the medicine for the patients in Ciudad España

These two pictures are of the hand carved road we traveled to get to Cerro Verde (Green Hill)

The community school where we held out clinic in Cerro Verde

This man was using his ox drawn cart to carry his corn to town to sell

On the way home from Guayabal we passed this young boy carrying firewood home so his mother could cook the family food

This crowd of 300 patients greeted us Friday morning in Guayabal just outside of Lepaterique The pharmacy team of Jessica Murhpy and Jackie Parks ready for patients in El Espino, Lepaterique
The pharmacy team of Jessica Murphy and Jackie Parks ready for patients in El Espino
Teresa Law seeing patients with her translator Oscar in Las Hadras

Nurse Brandy Burns checking the blood pressure of a patient in Las Hadras

Laura Dover translating for Dr. John Waits in Cerro Verde (Green Hill) outside of Lepaterique

A view of the land we have purchased for the women's clinic -- Ana Lamon signing contract for purchase of land -- John Lamon signing contract

This past week we were back in Ciudad España which is a community built for refugees from Hurricane Mitch which hit Honduras in 1998. We were there Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We saw around 100 to 105 patients a day. Usually we see 15 -20% that just come for medicine for the future (we don’t like that). But here everyone was really sick. We saw lots and lots of children and babies with diarrhea and respiratory problems. The government health department for this large community has no doctor and practically no medicine. They were sending people to us!
The church that we worked through is call “Iglesia Cuadrangular”. What I like about working with them is while we are doing the “medical part”, they are working on the “spiritual part”. They would talk with the patients about Christ love for them and His plan for their salvation. They had a group of ladies that would pray with people for their healing or whatever problems they had. They also prayed for our health and our women’s clinic. If God is for you who can stand against you.

Global Missions Conference

Good afternoon! John, Ana and John Israel arrived in Memphis earlier this week to spend a few days with our parents and are now preparing to go to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the Global Missions Conference at First UMC. They are meeting with potential donors for the women's clinic and visiting with other supporters while in Memphis. Please continue to pray for their preparation for the conference as they will be speaking with different groups and sharing the vision that God has laid on their hearts. May the Lord Bless you in all you do.

Message for the week of January 10th

Hello from Honduras,
What a great week we have had! Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we worked in a new neighborhood. The name of it was Alemania or Germany in English. They were extremely poor and have been affect greatly by the increase in the minimum wage that took effect the first of the year. I know that sounds like a good thing….and it is, but, the problem is the business owners do not want to pay or cannot pay the increase. The pay increase ranges from 60% up to 256% depending on where you are (rural or urban) and what type of job it is. Thousands have already lost their jobs and more will. Some businesses have already moved to other countries such as El Salvador and Nicaragua. Many of the poor want to keep the wage they have so they won’t lose their job and this way they can still afford to buy food to eat. Thursday there were some manifestations of workers and teachers protesting in favor of the increase in salary. The teachers are also protesting and saying they will not go back to work until they are all paid for last year’s work. Many have not been paid in more than 4 months and some up to 10 months. How many of us would work if we were not getting paid? Also, the teachers are in favor of the minimum wage increase because their salaries are tied to the minimum wage. If it is increased they get an automatic wage increase too. This is causing an already bad situation to get worse.
All this week we have seen many elderly and some not so elderly with high blood pressure. We are seeing lots of fungus that is on the entire body. Not just a couple of spots here and there which is typical. We have seen plenty of respiratory problems as well as muscle aches and pains from the hard physical life that the people lead.
We are so grateful for the support that each of you offers us and we appreciate your continuous prayers. We will be in the states beginning January 24 for several meetings raising money for the Women’s clinic and a 5 day mission conference in Tuscaloosa Alabama. Please pray for our safety during the trip as well as each day here in Honduras. Please pray that all that hear of our work will open their hearts and be generous in their support of us, purchasing the land, and the Women’s clinic. Pray for us to hear and obey God’s voice every day. Pray for us to have a good supply of medicine to work with. Pray for us to be in good health.
We appreciate each of you!
Sorry I don’t have any pictures… someone stole our camera! Please visit our blog at www.thehandsofchrist.blogspot.com and leave comments for John and Ana. Please click on the word “comment” to leave John and Ana a message.

Always
In Christ Service
John & Ana Lamon

For donations or correspondence by regular mail:
The Hands of Christ
P.O. Box 1252
Franklin, TN 37065

Telephone in Honduras 011-504-228-1902
Cell phone in Honduras 011-504-9-967-4574
Fax 011-504-228-1783
Sarah Hathaway 615-591-1706

Zechariah 4:6 So he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit,' says the Lord Almighty.

Today we were back in Guayabal, Lepaterique. It was quite different from yesterday in several ways. The first being it was much colder. Lots of people were wearing coats and hats. We were literally in the clouds today. The clouds were low and we were up high in the mountains. They were moving right in front of us. The other thing that was different was that the people came from up to four and five hours away and were much sicker than yesterday. We are so glad we are able to help them. The first photo is of the modern way to go to work. The horse comes equipped with machete, rope, saddle and other assorted supplies. The second photo is of a little boy that dumped over the coal bucket on his foot. He came back today and was much better. The swelling was almost gone and he had less pain. We used an ace bandage to hold the gauze and burn medicine on. The last photo is a family of five. All the kids and the mother had respiratory problems and fungus.

Today we went to the north side of Lepaterique to Guayabal. On the way we encountered these 4 young boys carrying firewood home so their mother could cook their families food. The other photo is some of the 101 patients that we saw today. We will work in Guayabal Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. We treated lots of fungus, sore throats, and sinus problems among other things.

This is a mother and child. The child was examined by Dr. Ana. She is an example of the poor children in and around Lepaterique, Honduras. She is very short {as is her mother} and underweight. Many of the children that are 10 - 12 years old are only 40-42 inches tall and weigh 50 pounds or less. Some shortness is due to genetics, but most is due to malnutrition and parasites.

Dr. Ana with her husband John Lamon are giving health checkups to 260 children in a feeding program in Lepaterique. This is a very poor area an hour west of Tegucigalpa. It is very mountainous and does not have very good soil for growing crops. Many of the people in this area are descendants of the Lenca Indians. They work very hard for the little that they have. We work through a group of christian churches in the area that works very hard to spread Christ love for the people. Our work goes hand in hand. A medical brigade always draws a crowd. While we are caring for the people physically the local church members are telling them about Christ love and salvation for them. This is works really good because the local congregation can follow up with the new believers.