This year is "different" ...

Dear Family and Friends,

Since returning to Honduras in January after our second “furlough” trip to the U.S., and completing our second full year here at the Rancho Ebenezer children’s community (March), there’s been a feeling that something about this year is “different.” 

For starters, we are more comfortable in our second culture now. Things that once felt so foreign are now familiar and no longer a surprise. We are also making (we think) fewer communication mistakes and cultural blunders. Though we of course miss our friends, family and communities in the U.S., we must be honest that it now feels more like we’re “home” when we’re here. We have prayed to feel a part of the culture here but it’s taken time (many of you and many others told us this would be the case!) As we have shared in previous newsletters, making friends and feeling accepted didn’t come right away. The language barrier was part of that, but another factor was simply time. Our Spanish is technically much better now, so there is that, too! 😉 At any rate, we are grateful to God to currently be experiencing growing connections and friendships both on and off the Ranch. The off-Ranch part is because we have been regularly attending a local Spanish-speaking church (that’s a whole story in itself!) Becoming part of a local church family has been an incredible blessing. We’ve prayed for all of this since our first few weeks in Honduras, and God has blessed us both in the waiting and in the receiving. 

Though all of this is praise-worthy and so good, it hasn’t been easy. We are simultaneously feeling more comfortable while also stepping more and more out of our comfort zone on a regular basis. Relationships here take more work due to the culture and language differences. They require more grace. They insist on being able to laugh at ourselves (and with others at ourselves). Above all, they prioritize connection and conversation over to-do lists. 

As this year started it was clear to us that God wanted us to focus on doing the important work and not the “easy” work. Our primary ministry role here continues to be the coordination of short-term mission teams - which at this point feels like second nature for us. It’s much easier to create team schedules and work with teams to complete projects than it is to develop a true friendship with someone who doesn’t speak your first language. We’re still doing a lot of team planning, of course, since that work is important to the Ranch, but if there’s a chance to sit with another adult over coffee and talk or pray together, we’re making sure there is always time for that. 

We believe that as we continue to deepen relationships, more fruit will be within reach. How can God not reward the efforts of believers from two cultures who are seeking to work together to love and support kids who have experienced tough beginnings? We are thankful for the prayers and encouragement of so many of our friends and family as we do the work God has called us to do here.

The boys are continuing to thrive in their second culture. Bryeten will soon complete 5th grade, Chance 2nd grade, and Mac 1st grade. They are looking forward to the upcoming summer break. Just like this time last year we’re gearing up for another busy summer team season. More than 150 people will come here for a week or longer between May 20 and Aug. 9. We will be hosting many team members who have become friends to us - many of them have been coming to serve at the Ranch for many years before us! It is such a pleasure to help plan the week for each team - identifying projects that they can work on both on and off the Ranch, and seeing them share their love for Jesus with the children of the Ranch who are so special to us. This year teams will be restoring several of our children’s homes through repairs and painting (getting them ready to receive new children in the future) and they will be making needed improvements at the homes of at least three local families. 

A prayer need we have at this time is for the school at our ministry, which the boys attend. We have a wonderful team of Honduran teachers, but the school continues to be in great need of missionary teachers. Will you please join us in prayer that God will send one or more missionary teachers to serve for the 2025-26 school year?  

We haven’t done the best job at communicating these last few months, but please know we hold you all in our hearts and we are grateful for your love and support. ♥️

In Christ,
Steve, Kris, Bryeten, Chance and Mac
Steve.Nelson@wgomission.org  Kris.Nelson@wgomission.org

Photos top to bottom:

1) Recent photo of the boys - Bryeten (almost 11), Chance (8) and Mac (6). They won't stop growing!! 

2) We enjoyed a pool field trip in January. Mac loves every opportunity to have fun with his classmates (two are pictured) and other friends from the Ranch.

3) Father’s Day in Honduras is celebrated on March 19. Steve was treated to lunch at our church along with all the other fathers.

4) An incredible blessing this year came in the form of a young lady who served for 3 months. Eleun was involved in so many activities serving the children of the Ranch. She was a bright light here at the Ranch and became a special friend to Kris!

5) This is what 2nd grade Spanish class looks like here at the Ranch! If you are interested in serving at our school, have we mentioned the small class sizes? 😊

6) Steve has perfected the making of cinnamon rolls. Better than Cinnabon, seriously! Come visit and he’ll make them for you!

7) A recent team poured a concrete floor for the sweetest local family. It is such a blessing to be used by God to help improve the quality of living conditions for our local neighbors!

8) Friday nights are for sleepovers at the Nelson home! Whenever possible, we invite 2 or 3 of the Ranch boys to our house for dinner and hangout time. And the next day we sleep!! 🤣

9) We’ve learned that we must prioritize time for our marriage. We celebrated Steve’s 40th birthday with a trip to Roatan, just us. We are grateful for a strong marriage and the opportunity to serve together!

10) Afternoons playing on the soccer field (a.k.a. Campo). It's impossible to capture it in a photo - but the cool breeze during approaching sunset at 5,500 feet elevation can only be described as perfection.

11)  Bryeten was a reader during our Good Friday service of worship and remembrance. 

12) We had been waiting patiently for a day warm enough to have some water activities. It's been a longer rainy season than usual and many days it stayed cloudy and cool. On the bright side, we haven't had many wildfires like we did the last two years during the early part of the year! 

13) We said "see you later" to our dear friend Angelito in March. He is pursuing an opportunity to travel and work overseas! 

14) Chance the Builder! 

15) Our team weeks almost always end with a bonfire. It is always a special but bittersweet time! 

The Goodness of God - May 2024 Nelson Family update

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope this letter finds you healthy both in body and spirit! It has been a busy few months at our ministry and we are gearing up for even more action in the next few months. After just over a year of service as the Serve Team Managers and Host/Hostess of Rancho Ebenezer, we have found our rhythm and continue to be amazed at how God has blessed this ministry and our family through everything that is happening here. In this letter we will share three examples of how we have seen first-hand God’s power and goodness to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine… 

Recently we have been used by God to help facilitate some significant physical improvements to the Ranch, including the construction of a metal building to provide shade over the concrete play area at the Ranch school. This project had been greatly needed and prayed about for several years prior to us joining the ministry in 2022. At one point there were plans to build it, but due to COVID and other factors the plans were put on hold. This year, God provided for this project through a new donor to the ministry. The donor had never been to Honduras but is friends with several members of Tech Serve International, a network of skilled missionaries who provide construction and other technical support to the Ranch and in many developing countries. The donor along with several men skilled in the construction of metal buildings came to Rancho Ebenezer in March and had the structure built within 3 days, at no cost to the ministry! The donor was deeply moved by the experience of his first mission trip, and says he intends to come back and help with future funding needs. Our role was simply to communicate and facilitate the planning of this project. We thank God for using us in this way to bring this needed addition to the Ranch! 

In addition to physical needs and improvements around the Ranch, God is also using us to support the development of the Ranch staff in the form of trauma-informed care training. This is a huge passion of ours because we saw first-hand the impact trauma has on kids when we were foster parents. Caregivers of children who have experienced trauma often burn out if they do not have sufficient training and support, and we see this happening among Rancho Ebenezer’s caregiving staff. Not being trauma-informed care trainers ourselves, what could we do? Well, God already had the answer: A team from one of our home churches, First City Church in Pensacola, Florida! For several years, FCC has been on the front lines of efforts to dramatically help kids and families who have experienced trauma in Florida. The church leaders believe that Scripture is clear that God did not call the state to care for orphans and widows (James 1:27), He called the church to do it. In 2018 FCC began exploring ways to help the State of Florida’s child protection efforts. They began with initiatives to recruit and support foster families and more recently they created a nonprofit organization called FC Outreach, Inc. This faith-based organization receives state funding for programs to provide wrap-around care for vulnerable families, create a safety net team for at-risk families, and provide Christian services including case management, therapy and respite care. A team from First City Church will be at Rancho Ebenezer May 25-June 1 to provide trauma-informed care training, meet 1:1 with caregivers to pray over and brainstorm solutions to specific child needs, and provide other services to enhance our children’s services team. Please join with us in prayer that God will be glorified through His servants as they help the Ranch staff better understand and care for kids who have experienced trauma.

A third way that God is using us is by giving us inspiration and ideas for helping the ministry grow resources and better utilize existing resources. One example is Casa Bondad (Bondad means goodness in Spanish). Casa Bondad was constructed, along with the other houses on the property, to be used for housing children in a family setting, but currently it is not needed for that purpose. God inspired a vision to transform Casa Bondad into a Multi-Purpose/Activity Center to include a sensory/play therapy room, art and music room, library/tutoring room, full kitchen, and a more accessible location for storing donations and resources. This project will serve many purposes and meet many needs at the Ranch as there is not currently a designated space for providing therapeutic and development activities for the children, and the storage of children’s services supplies is small and not easily accessible by caregiving staff. We presented the vision to ministry leadership and it was approved in February. At that time, we didn’t know exactly how much or if any funding would be available, so the idea was that we would ask each team this summer to help, and make an appeal for other donations if needed. Well, God again had another idea in mind! About a week after the project was given the green light, I (Kris) was talking with a man who has been coming to Rancho Ebenezer for many years to provide summer enrichment activities for the children and help out where needed. He asked what projects we were working on that he might be able to help with this summer. I shared about the Casa Bondad project, but didn’t ask for his financial support. I explained that possibly he could help with painting and doing light repairs in the house during his visit, and that all our summer teams would be involved in some way. A few days later I received an email from him that he and his wife would be making a donation to the project and that his church would conduct a congregational offering to help with the project expenses!! God answered our prayer for the project resources before we had really begun praying for them! Their donation and his church’s offering will fully cover the purchase of furniture, appliances, storage shelves and many other items that will allow Casa Bondad to be used by our Caregivers, Support Staff, Missionaries, and Serve Teams to conduct a variety of development and/or therapeutic activities with children. As A.W. Tozer said, “With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack?  Surely we are the most favored of all creatures.” Praise be to the God of all goodness, wisdom, power and love! 

Thank you for reading our newsletter! As you can see, some wonderful things are happening. We are thankful that God is choosing to use us in His plans for Rancho Ebenezer, and we pray that through these projects He will receive great glory. 

We love you all! 

Steve, Kris, Bryeten, Chance and Mac

Steve.Nelson@wgomission.org  

Kris.Nelson@wgomission.org

     

     

Photos from top to bottom: Easter Sunday at the Ranch. Before photo at the school sport court. After photo at the school sport court. This Spring we were blessed to have several personal friends choose to vacation in Honduras and spend some time visiting us. We all enjoyed these special visitors and getting to show them some of the beauty and adventure here. Kris took a quick trip to the U.S. in May to attend the Skelton Family Reunion, which included a joyful surprise visit with our daughter Yese and her boyfriend Josh. Mac with some of his buddies enjoying ice cream made from coffee and blackberries grown at the Ranch. A recent team donated a pickleball set which has been enjoyed by many of the kids and staff. Bryeten enjoyed learning to play a cajon drum with a team member. Chance during the school’s Easter celebration. The house behind the team was built in just 6 hours for a disabled man and his wife in a nearby community.   

10 Miracles We've Experienced ... February 2024 Update

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Dear Family and Friends,
We hope this letter finds you well. It’s been a little while since our last update and much has been happening since we returned from our trip to the U.S. We arrived back in Honduras on Dec. 9, just in time to participate in and help lead various Christmas and holiday activities. This time with the kids and staff of the Ranch was such a blessing! 

The beginning of March will mark one full year since we officially moved to the Ranch and began our roles as the Serve Team managers and host/hostess. We are still the only North Americans serving full-time but we are seeing progress on that front with several prospective missionaries currently exploring opportunities to come and serve at the Ranch! Please pray for them to receive clear direction from God about His will for them and, if it is to come to the Ranch, to fully equip them with all the support they need. Though our need for a few more full-time missionaries is great, we can say that the Ranch has a wonderful team of Honduran believers who serve the children very well. Over the last 12 months our admiration for them has grown tremendously. It has been a pleasure to do what we can to support their work by engaging teams and visitors to partner with the ministry to make improvements to the Ranch and share the love of Jesus with each child. God is making so many things happen!  

Recently we sat down and wrote out a list of all the miracles that we had seen over the last year. We would need several more pages to include them all, but here are a few we are especially in awe over: 

1. Our marriage, though we have been attacked by the enemy in multiple ways, has grown stronger. Thank you to everyone who has prayed specifically for our marriage - please keep the prayers coming!! 
2. Seeing our boys learn the language, make friends and grow in their faith. They have made transitioning to a new culture look much easier than it is!!
3. Though the initial call was terrifying, our relief to learn that our daughter Yese and her friend Josh survived a car accident last September with only minor injuries. 
4. Our Spanish is nowhere near fluent, but with intentionality it is allowing us to build relationships with many of the Honduran staff. We also have experienced strong relationship development with the children of the Ranch (it’s easier with them because they speak English!) 
5. A “divine appointment” with a local pastor which has allowed us to provide meaningful off-Ranch service opportunities for two of our teams - and more in the works. 
6. Growing financial support for the Ranch, including several larger donations that will allow for the completion of several important physical improvements to the Ranch in the coming months. (Pictures to come in the next newsletter as many of these projects will be fully realized next month!)
7. One of the Ranch youth, José, committed his life to the Lord and was baptized last November!
8. Getting our Honduran residency finalized (after months of prayer) in God’s perfect timing, just in time to attend a drivers’ license class that another missionary organized - saving us from having to navigate the difficult process of becoming licensed drivers on our own!
9. Incredible Short-Term Missionary support for the ministry. Last year we hosted 7 official (week-long) teams and about 100 total people (full and partial-week team members, prospective missionaries and other guests). This year we currently have 11 week-long teams scheduled plus 5 partial-week teams and several visitors, including prospective and former missionaries, for a total of 270+ guests serving at the Ranch! (Every guest to the Ranch represents monetary support for our operations and/or critical help in the form of work being done that our team otherwise could not do!)  
10. The 270+ visitors this year includes Serve teams from both of our home churches in Florida - Lynn Haven Methodist in Panama City and First City Church in Pensacola - plus some very dear friends!

We could share so much more, but you get the idea… Our God is so good and He supplies everything we need in His perfect timing! We are thankful for your prayers and financial support that allow us to serve here and experience these and many other miracles first-hand, knowing all the while that the best is yet to come! We love you all!

Steve, Kris, Bryeten, Chance and Mac
Steve.Nelson@wgomission.org 
Kris.Nelson@wgomission.org

Want to partner with our family in Honduras?

Financial contributions can be sent to: World Gospel Outreach, Preference Nelson Family, PMB 250, 6068 US Highway 98, Suite 1,  Hattiesburg, MS 39402 or online at wgoreach.org/nelson. To sign up for our newsletter, email Kris.Nelson@wgomission.org. 

Merry Christmas from Honduras!

Christmas 2023, year-end summary... 

This year was our first full year living overseas as a missionary family. Our transition to Honduras began in 2022. After attending language school for 6 months we officially began serving in our ministry roles in March 2023 at Rancho Ebenezer, a Christ-centered foster care community near Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Bryeten (9), Chance (7) and Mac (5), attend school with the children cared for by the ministry. They are thriving in their bi-lingual classes and have so much fun with the other kids during day-to-day and special activities! Our daughter Yese is still living in Panama City and is working at a hospital there. 

We are serving the Ranch as the Serve Team managers and host and hostess, which means we plan and coordinate mission teams and other visitors to come and serve at the Ranch and in the nearby village. We also lead a weekly youth group and help with other things to support children’s services and the overall operations of the program. The Ranch is located on a beautiful 80-acres of mountaintop property. In addition to all the beautiful flowering and fruit-producing trees, there are 3.5 acres of coffee plants on the property. Steve’s favorite mornings are when we wake up to the smell of coffee roasting. 

Living overseas is both a blessing and a challenge. We love the Honduran children we have the privilege of serving. We love that the boys are getting to experience a new culture and learn a second language. We love being part of what God is doing at our ministry (we have many amazing stories of how we have seen Him moving)! We miss our family and friends. We miss some of the opportunities of home - such as organized sports and activities for the kids, safe and modern playgrounds, getting to spend time regularly with friends, worshiping in English with our church families, and being able to receive mail. We are the only North Americans serving at our ministry location currently. Learning the culture and language is difficult, but we are working hard to build relationships and be of service to the Hondurans who work at the Ranch and are doing such hard, holy work. We have committed to serve for a total of 4 years so we expect to be living in Honduras until at least August 2026, or possibly longer, depending on what God has in store for us in the future. 

When we wrote this message we were in the U.S. on our first “furlough.” Each year we are able to come home for a total of 6 weeks to spend time with family and raise support so that we can continue to serve in our ministry. We enjoyed our time stateside and the chance to see many people we love so much. We were able to relax, ride bikes, walk on the beach, spend Thanksgiving with family, attend our home churches, and enjoy the beautiful Fall weather in the South. We were reminded of God’s many blessings and of his plans and purpose for our lives. We would love to have you come visit us in Honduras sometime. If you are interested in visiting or learning more about our ministry, please email Kris.Nelson@wgomission.org.  

We wish you the most joyous Christmas season! 

The Nelsons - Steve, Kris, Yese, Bryeten, Chance and Mac

From top left: Steve and the boys building bunk beds at the Ranch; our graduation from language school; family photo February 2023, Mac with pal Brando; Chance and friend Junior; Bryeten helping with a painting project at the Ranch school; with Reenie and Big Daddy at Thanksgiving; enjoying beautiful Panama City Beach; with big sister Yese; Riding bikes with cousins.

First Missionary Furlough Thoughts

Over the last few weeks we have learned that missionary furlough essentially means cramming a year’s worth of travel, social engagements and extended family time into 6 weeks. Exhausting but worth it!  

We have been to Pennsylvania, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. We have spent time with Yese and many other family members. We have shared about our missionary work with many supporters and friends. We visited with our dog Nellie and the sweet family who adopted her. We have done our best to keep up with the boys’ school work. And we have had a lot of fun! 

Praise God for this opportunity to be home after our first full year in Honduras! We have just under 2 weeks left! Please pray we get some rest so we can return to Honduras ready to continue the work God has for us there. 

Next Stop: USA!

 Dear Family and Friends,

As we write this we’re packing our suitcases for our first trip home to the U.S.! We are very excited for the incredible opportunity to spend six weeks on “home assignment,” Oct. 29-Dec. 9. It will be tough to leave our work at the Ranch, but we are thrilled to have an opportunity to share with so many of you about our first year as a missionary family and the goals we have for the coming years. We’re also incredibly excited to see our daughter, Yese, and many other friends and family, and to enjoy a little rest and relaxation.

During our trip to the U.S., we plan to be in the following locations:

• Oct. 29-Nov. 2 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Nov. 3-10 - North Georgia and surrounding area 
• Nov. 11-17 - Lynn Haven/Panama City, Florida area
• Nov. 18-Dec. 1 - Pace/Pensacola, Florida area
• Dec. 2 - Dec. 8 - Daytona Beach, Florida area 

If you’re in any of the areas we’ll be in and want to get together, please contact me (Kris) at 850.377.5136!

Though we have not had many Serve Teams in the last two months, we have been busy preparing for our 2024 teams, helping out at the Ranch school and assisting with other activities, including hosting kids’ activities and Youth Group in our home and leading Freedom Forever, a curriculum that aims to help kids heal from trauma and find freedom in Christ. Additionally, the boys participated in the local parade for the Honduran Independence Day and Steve and I were able to attend a weekend retreat for missionary couples.  

If you or anyone you know would like to come on a mission trip or explore longer term missionary opportunities, please contact us! We can host individuals, families or large teams. We have learned this past year that there are plenty of opportunities for anyone to serve and honor God here!  

Thank you to everyone who has kept our family in your prayers. We have felt them daily since beginning this adventure of ministry! We are so thankful to be serving here, and for the prayers and financial support that has made it possible. We love you all!

Steve, Kris, Bryeten, Chance and Mac
Steve.Nelson@wgomission.org 
Kris.Nelson@wgomission.org

All Glory to God! August Ministry Update

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV

Dear Family and Friends,

We’ve now been in Honduras for one full year! In our last newsletter (early June), we shared that we were excited and ready for a busy summer of Serve Teams. We can now say with much gratitude to God that we could not have asked for a better first “busy season” of ministry. We had several teams who have been to the Ranch many times and others who were serving with the ministry for the first time. Being new on the field, we learned a lot from each and every group! And we saw God move in some really big ways, bringing a lot of joy and energy to the Ranch community. 

There are way more highlights of the summer than we can possibly share in this newsletter! For the kids, one of the best parts was making new friends. The Olson family from Houston came on a family mission trip and our boys had the best time playing and serving with their three kids. Our new friends are already planning to return in 2024 and we cannot wait to see them again!  

For Steve and me, the best part was seeing God at work in the formation of many relationships. Many of our team members were very intentional about having meaningful conversations, sharing their own walk with Jesus, and providing encouragement to the Ranch kids. Additionally, we were able to be part of the first ever Freedom Camp at the Ranch (a camp for children who have experienced trauma to help them find their freedom in Christ), partner with a local church to pour concrete floors for two widows and distribute food in the community, and participate in ministry staff events, including trauma-informed care training and a spiritual retreat. 

We are continuing our Youth Group on Wednesdays with the Ranch teens, and we are now leading a monthly “Freedom Forever” activity with the children 12 and under. Freedom Forever is a follow-up to Freedom Camp, designed to reinforce the gospel truths and support each child’s ongoing healing process. Other highlights of the summer included Missionary Kids Camp (Bryeten attended as a camper and Steve as a servant) and getting to see some church friends from Florida who were serving on a mission trip in another part of Honduras. 

On a personal note, since our last newsletter we celebrated two birthdays - mine and Steve’s. Since mine was a milestone birthday, Steve had some big surprises in store. Months prior he had reached out to many of our friends and family asking for letters and rhymes (a tribute to my Granddaddy, Doc Skelton, who was famous for his rhymes) so he could gather them in a book. Somehow he managed to keep this a surprise from me! He also put together a video with photos which he showed during that week’s Youth Group, helped two of the Ranch girls plan a little surprise party/dinner for me, and he and the boys made me a special breakfast. It was a very full and memorable day!  Luckily for me, Steve is two years younger, so I have two years to try to figure out how to make his 40th even half as special as he made mine. 

Now that the busiest time of the year for us has ended, we’ll be working on some other things at the Ranch. Steve is continuing to lead the WGO Kid Art program and will be helping out by teaching some P.E. classes at the Ranch school this year. He will also continue helping with maintenance and light construction projects around the Ranch. Kris has taken on a greater role with the Vocational Education program and is working with other Ranch staff to enhance that program to provide for more life-skills training for the teens. And of course, we are already planning for future teams. We have eight teams, totaling over 140 people, already on the 2024 schedule, with room for more! Teams can come anytime of year, not just summer. If you are interested in organizing a team to come and serve with us, or coming as a family or small group just to check things out, please contact us anytime!  

And finally, we saved the best for last… It’s time to come home to visit! We will have our yearly home assignment from Oct. 28-Dec. 9. Our tentative schedule is as follows: 

• Oct. 29-Nov. 2 - Pittsburgh
• Nov. 3-10 - North Georgia area 
• Nov. 11-17 - Lynn Haven/Panama City, Florida area
• Nov. 18-Dec. 1 - Pace/Pensacola, Florida area
• Dec. 2 - Dec. 8 - Daytona Beach, Florida area 

We hope to be able to see as many of our friends, family and supporters as possible! We will share more information in our next newsletter or you can text or email us to coordinate a time to get together! 

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for our family, for the Ranch kids and for our visiting teams over the last couple of months! We are so thankful to be serving here in Honduras, and for the prayers and financial support that has made it possible. We love you all!

Steve, Kris, Bryeten, Chance and Mac
Steve.Nelson@wgomission.org
Kris.Nelson@wgomission.org

Want to partner with our family in Honduras?

Financial contributions can be sent to: World Gospel Outreach, Preference Nelson Family, PMB 250, 6068 US Highway 98, Suite 1,  Hattiesburg, MS 39402 or online at wgoreach.org/nelson.

To receive e-mail newsletters, email Kris.Nelson@wgomission.org.

Thank you for your prayers and partnership!

Photos from top to bottom: Enjoying a little family time at Lake Yojoa, one of the most beautiful spots in Honduras; Bryeten and Mac with friend, Davis, who came to serve at the Ranch with his parents and sister; One of our summer teams hard at work serving in the local community; Enjoying dinner with friends from Lynn Haven Methodist; Steve and Bryeten at Missionary Kids Camp; Kris and the kids reading all the sweet letters to Kris in her birthday book; Steve receiving a surprise birthday cake from Ranch managers; Steve and the boys building new bunk beds in team housing.